Former Australian captain Steve Smith. PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES
Hitting the mark

Former Australian captain Steve Smith joined the 10,000-run club with his century against Sri Lanka in Galle on Wednesday. He is the 15th member.
Suppose he is due some grudging respect ... yeah, nah.
In the battle of the fab four, he trails England's Joe Root, who has nearly 13,000 runs and one more century (36).
New Zealand's Kane Williamson (9276 runs, 33 centuries) and India's Virat Kohli (9230, 30 centuries) will likely join the 10,000 club, although New Zealand's test drought will certainly slow Williamson's progress.
Crease bound
Just want to stress the New Zealand team did not have to explain the rules to their American opponents before being defeated by the US in an ICC Women's Under-19 T20 World Cup warm-up match.
It was them who got schooled.
Their narrow loss was a dreadful result for a team boasting 11 domestically contracted players.
That's 11 contracted players, and that should sound some alarm bells. They were supposed to be decent.
The subsequent loss to Nigeria in a Group C game highlighted just how much work New Zealand Cricket has ahead to rebuild the women's game it ignored for decades.
It was very much a bowler's tournament. But Emma McLeod was the leading scorer for New Zealand with just 81 runs at an average of 16.20. Eesh.
Otago duo Louisa Kotkamp (one for 44) and Hannah O'Connor (two for 21) took three wickets between them during the tournament.
Clubbing it
What are the chances Dion Lobb can reach 900 wickets?
When the Green Island medium pacer retired SIX years ago, you would have said zero chance.
He had clocked 415 games and taken a staggering 852 wickets. He was done. And what a fabulous career it had been.
He did say he would hang around and fill-in when needed for the second XI.
But the 44-year-old still has the chops to foot it in the Dunedin premier grade and snapped up five for 30 last weekend to help the Swamp Rats notch a six-wicket win against CDK.
Incredible, really. But perhaps it reveals a little too much about the strength of that competition as well.
The Declaration
Craig Cumming will be an enormous loss to the province when he leaves for the UK next week to take up a role as the head coach of the Blaze in Nottingham.
The former Black Cap forged an impressive provincial record for Otago. Put simply, he is one of our best.
His contribution as a coach since taking over the Sparks in 2020 has been nothing short of outstanding as well.
They have won two one-day titles during his reign and are on track to claim a third this season. They have also set
the benchmark in the T20 this summer and have a shot at winning that title as well.
The Sparks have transformed from a side heavily reliant on a small handful of players to a team with genuine depth.
That is a fine endorsement of his coaching ability.
Look out for our farewell piece on Cumming next week.
adrian.seconi@odt.co.nz