Hits and misses: Cricket's finale highlight for never-say-die team

The curtain came down on the cricket season this week, and it also came down, at least, temporarily, on Monty Betham's season with the Warriors.

These were among the highs and lows of the sporting week ...

HITS

* The New Zealand cricket team, who showed that 19 for four after an hour's play does not necessarily mean the game is as good as over. Plenty of spirit, some luck along the way, but an ideal way to end a satisfying summer.

* Daryl Tuffey, with nine wickets in his first test of the summer. Big-hearted, big smile and a big challenge now to show he is a quality performer away as well as at home.

* Manchester United and Liverpool, who both won their first leg quarter-final games to keep alive the tantalising prospect of two of the English game's giants squaring off for a Champions League final spot.

* Robbie Hart, finally given a chance to show if he has the wicketkeeping talents for test cricket, as Adam Parore's replacement for the test series in Pakistan.

* Andre Agassi, who clocked up his 700th singles victory in winning the Nasdaq-100 Open Masters title in Miami. The long-haired loudmouth teenager is now the bald, happy father, and still winning.

* Michael and Ralf Schumacher, who turned the Brazilian Grand Prix into a 1-2 finish for the family.

MISSES

* Michael Jordan, who finally bowed to a dicky knee and ended his NBA comeback season with the Washington Wizards.

* The clown who made the decision that spectators turning up for the final few minutes of New Zealand's cricket victory over England on Wednesday afternoon still paid $15 to get through the turnstiles.

* The Warriors, still struggling to go blow for blow with the Newcastle Knights. A bogey team if ever there was one.

* Luckless Monty Betham, sidelined nine minutes into his second NRL game as Warriors captain - for at least two months.

* Cricketer Chris Drum - missed, as in "will be" - from the Auckland and New Zealand teams. He has opted for lifestyle over spending his time with sweaty team-mates in dressing rooms. But what a way to bow out. Auckland win the first-class championship and he takes 53 wickets in the season, including four on his home ground as New Zealand square the series against England.