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Amid the quarrels and hard positions adopted by the parties directly involved in the current dispute in West Indian cricket, there has been the growing voice of a party indirectly connected to the details, but central nonetheless. It is the voice of the supporters of the game in the Caribbean.In expressing its concern, that voice has spoken in many dialects and has offered several solutions – as contradictory as is its tradition. But it is growing louder and more desperate in its tenor as the Test series against South Africa draws nigh with no satisfactory resolution on the table.The parties directly involved in the farcical negotiations – the West Indies Cricket Board, the West Indies Players’ Association, the feuding telecommunications sponsors: Digicel and Cable & Wireless – have all clearly been serving the interests most important to them from wherever they sit. It was hardly possible to expect more. But while it is easy to become too caught up in the various press releases from professional spinners, it is time to step back and listen to what resonates within the cacophony of the public voice. Simply put, it is concern for West Indies cricket – the concern about its life or its quality of life, and the dread at the possibility of its near death.Much time has already been spent debating the rights of the parties involved. Much energy has been expended on pointing out which one occupies the highest rung on the ladder of blame. It is time to come home to face the core issues surrounding the problems in West Indies cricket, because even when this specific crisis finds abatement, the roots of the problem will not have been addressed, and the monsters will keep rearing their heads.Five years ago, the University of the West Indies organised what was called the Caricom/UWI Stakeholder’s Cricket Conference at its Cave Hill Campus. The conference gathered 200 recommendations for saving West Indies cricket and agreed to submit them, along with 17 resolutions, to the next meeting of the Caricom Heads of Government. It is difficult to say whether the resolutions or recommendations reached any further than the meeting of the heads, but little evidence has emerged to suggest that they have. One of the resolutions, for example, was “that partnership and inclusion of all stakeholders be the basis of all management principles and decision-making”, and another “that the composition of the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) reflects effective partnership and inclusion of all stakeholders.” The conference provided a platform for many of the normally silent stakeholders to speak about cricket’s welfare, and it facilitated such a wide range of perspectives that the material it gathered can still provide useful information for a long-term solution to the problem.Unless the core problems are not identified and discussed West Indies cricket will continue to get waylaid by repeated crises. Recognising that times have changed so rapidly in modern sport, the people at the core of the game ought to come together to examine their relationships with each other and discuss what they see as the major problems affecting them. Thus, the West Indies board and the players (not merely their association, as is now the case) should come together and discuss freely and in good faith what ails the sport. Given the facilities that have developed at the the Cave Hill Campus since the Conference of 2000, that would be a good place for such a discussion to begin. The material from the preceding discussion should be made available, and there should be a commitment from the outset that whatever emerges from the talks would be absorbed and refined for implementation. None of the other groups need to be part of this initial discussion, as it should remain focussed on the maladies of West Indies cricket.Given the calamities that could still befall the game if things are not carefully managed, it is not too ambitious a proposal. Caricom was part of the process in 2000, it has been part of the discussions now; it should take the lead and allow the individual voices of the players to be heard and allow the board to have its say – without the sponsors blowing down their necks.It would be the first step towards reconstructing the tattered relationship between the board and players – so vital to the process of rebuilding. The time for dictatorships and payment without performance has passed. A new alliance must be formed between these two links in the chain. It doesn’t have to be a life of confrontation and conflict. Even if they accept that there will be differences, if there is trust between the parties, nothing would escalate to such a dizzying state that while they busy themselves sorting out internal muddles, they mistake the sharks outside for a prize catch.Let us know what you think.

Brendon McCullum has agreed to be a backup opener in the Test series in England as long as he can hand over his wicketkeeping duties to newcomer Gareth Hopkins. Though the squad includes other part-time openers, Peter Fulton and James Marshall, New Zealand coach John Bracewell said youngster Aaron Redmond will be given a chance and if he gets injured, McCullum will take over.”Brendon would play as a batter only and Hoppy [Hopkins] would come into the side as a keeper-batsman,” Bracewell told the New Zealand daily . “It would be unfair to ask Brendon to do both roles. I’ve spoken to him about that and said only injury will force a change. Brendon’s response was: if that’s the case he would prefer to do the one job.”Bracewell said the team management wanted Redmond to simply play off the back foot and defend, like former opener Mark Richardson did. “Aaron’s accomplished off the back foot and can rotate the strike and that was all Richardson could do. He [Aaron] is a guy who has taken on the opening position to become a Black Cap.”With no third specialist opener in the squad, Redmond is certain to make his Test debut this May. “The bottom line is, if you are looking for security, you can’t offer more to a new player than a year’s full wage [New Zealand contract],” Bracewell said. In preparation for the tour, Bracewell is getting the squad members to play with Duke balls used in England. “We ordered some in and the guys have been bowling with the Duke balls for the last month to make sure we are used to them and we’ve found out a couple of things about them.”

The Intercontinental Cup match between Kenya and Namibia has been rescheduled for June 3-5 in Windhoek. It was originally postponed by the ICC due to the controversies which engulfed the cricket administration in Kenya.The match was meant to take place from February 26-27 but was delayed because of the dispute between Cricket Kenya, KCA and other stakeholders. This was resolved on April 3 by a delegation from the Africa Cricket Association (ACA), led by Peter Chingoka the Zimbabwe Cricket Union boss.Kenya won their first match of the Intercontinental Cup, beating Uganda by 161 runs in Kampala after an impressive performance from Steve Tikolo, their captain, who scored 203 runs in the match. But he is one of three players who have now left to play club cricket in England. Tikolo has signed for Haverigg Cricket Club in Cumbria, Thomas Odoyo has joined Reads in Lancashire and Hitesh Modi is also in England.However, they will rejoin Kenya for the Namibia match. Sammy Obingo, a Kenya cricket official told : “There is no problem in the players going abroad. Once selected in the team to face Namibia, we will call them back.”

ScorecardHalf-centuries by Shiv Sunder Das and Halhadar Das lifted East Zone to 265 for 7 on the first day at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai against South Zone. SS Das, the former Indian opener, scored a patient 82 at the top before Halhadar Das stepped in and led a lower-order revival after East lost half their side for 134.After they chose to bat first, East lost opener Arindam Das early, leg before to the seamer Vinay Kumar, and the top order failed to construct sizeable partnerships. NSC Aiyappa, the Karnataka seamer, struck twice in quick succession to reduce East to 54 for 3 before SS Das and Manish Vardhan added 48. SS Das was involved in stands of 32 and 36 with Palash Das and Halhadar respectively before edging offspinner R Ashwin to M Vijay at the slips for 82. He faced 160 balls and hit 12 fours in his knock.Halhadar and Tushar Saha settled down to construct the biggest stand of the day – 71 – before Saha fell to a brisk 29 off 39 balls to the seamer P Vijay Kumar. Halhadar remained unbeaten on 78 with Debasis Mohanty for company.
ScorecardMohammad Kaif top scored with 64 to propel Central Zone to a healthy position at 179 for 3 before England Lions picked up quick wickets in the last session to restrict the hosts to 238 for 7 by the end of the opening day’s play at Vadodara.Walking in at 70 for 2, Kaif struck 13 fours in his 121-ball knock to charge Central before he fell to the legspinner Adil Rashid, triggering a mini-collapse. Monty Panesar prised out Sanjay Bangar, the former India International, and Harshad Rawle and Mahesh Rawat fell in quick succession.Earlier, Central were off to a steady start, reaching 54 runs without any loss, before Steve Kirby removed Faiz Fazal (37) in the 19th over. Five overs later, Onions made further inroads, but the opener Vineet Saxena settled the nerves, adding 54 runs with Kaif.Saxena fell after scoring a 116-ball 34, but Bangar nad Kaif pushed the total to 179 before Rashid got Kaif to bring the Lions roaring back into the game. But Sanjib Sanyal, who has a first-class average of 43.35, guided Central to the close without any further damage.

Sri Lanka’s selectors are traditionally a secretive breed, all too often afraid to make public comment and reluctant to explain their decision-making. Thus, the current chairman’s astonishing broadside at the team management, during which he labelled senior players “selfish”, was as remarkable as it is deeply worrying. Asantha de Mel’s attack came out of the blue and will have left the players, quite understandably, fuming.In one sense the willingness of de Mel – a member of the Sidath Wettimuny selection committee that ruffled feathers after the 1999 World Cup when it sacked Arjuna Ranatunga, Hashan Tillakaratne, Roshan Mahanama and Aravinda de Silva – to go public might be applauded. For too long we have known too little about the machinations and thinking behind selection. But this time his communication was not constructive. Whether borne out of frustration or malice, it is likely to widen the gulf between the selectors and the players.de Mel’s central argument was that Marvan Atapattu and the team management have been blocking the blooding of youngsters while on tour (the management select the playing XI on tour while at home the selectors have the final say). The team management – made up of the captain, coach, vice-captain and manager, with input from senior and influential players – have, according to de Mel, been too reluctant to experiment with young talent and thwarted an attempt by the selectors to build for the future.The accusation that the management’s decision-making has been prompted by selfish motives is very serious indeed. It also appears wide of the mark. Atapattu has frequently and publicly indicated a desire to blood youngsters at appropriate times. Moreover, they have been slotted in Zimbabwe (April), the Asia Cup (July) and against South Africa (August) whenever they have been assured of qualification before a dead-rubber game. But Atapattu, quite rightly, is also concerned about winning to maintain the momentum of the team.de Mel cites the case of Thilina Kandamby, who he obviously believes has been given a raw deal by the management. Kandamby, he argues, should have been given the opportunity of batting at No. 3 against Zimbabwe ahead of Tillakaratne Dilshan, the unfortunate casualty of de Mel’s crusade. But Atapattu reasoned instead that, with crucial games approaching against Pakistan, the team’s interests would be better served by Dilshan being in top form. Dilshan’s good touch in the final, when he scored 39 precious runs at a good rate, vindicate that decision.de Mel alludes to Australia’s policy of rotating their players, a strategy that he wants Sri Lanka to emulate. But a closer inspection of Australia’s selection shows that they do not simply throw caps at exciting rookies in one-day internationals or in Tests. When Michael Clarke made his Test debut his talent was so obvious that he had already signed one of the largest endorsement deals in Australian history. He was forced to bide his time and earn his call-up. International caps should not be handed out like toffee apples at a local fair.While Kandamby has shown flashes of exciting potential, especially for the A team during the past year, the fact remains that his record thus far is decidedly patchy. Kandamby has scored just one century in 70 first-class innings. His first-class average is poor, just 28, and his domestic one-day average is also low. What has he done to demand a run in the international side? Very little, is the unavoidable answer. Atapattu could be easily forgiven for having reservations about playing him, even during dead-rubber games.In addition, it is also difficult to understand the urgency of blooding talent in the middle order. The middle order is not stacked full of old cronies about to bow out of the game. During the past year they have also been one of the keys to the team’s successes. The likes of Atapattu, Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene and Dilshan have gelled into a very strong combination. Why try to tamper with something that does not need fixing?The key issue faced by the one-day team at the moment is the make-up of the top three and, ironically, it has become increasingly obvious that the selectors’ faith in Avishka Gunawardene, a batsman who plays and misses with alarmingly frequency and is technically ill-equipped on all but the most docile pitches, has been misplaced. The jury is still out on Saman Jayantha too, and the selectors’ first priority should be to find a suitable partner for Sanath Jayasuriya, not fiddling with the middle order.To drop Dilshan after a moderately lean run in Test cricket –conveniently forgetting two brilliant hundreds against England and Australia during the last 12 months — because they want to force Atapattu to blood a youngster, which is what de Mel claims to have done, is not only incredibly unfair but extremely dangerous, not just for the team but also for Dilshan, potentially undermining his confidence at a vital stage of his career, just when he was overcoming the early-bird demons that had held him back when he first arrived. Unless he has committed some grievous behind-the-scenes sin that we are not aware of, he has every right to feel aggrieved.Sri Lanka are about to embark upon an extremely tough overseas Test series against a resurgent Pakistan team. They will do so now with a weakened batting order and an angry team management. The new player at No. 6, probably Jehan Mubarak, will also face massive pressure knowing that some of his team-mates are upset with the manner of his call-up. But, what is the hurry? Surely Mubarak or Kandamby could have been squeezed in at a more opportune juncture, like, for example, the injury to Ricky Ponting that gifted Clarke his first opportunity in Test cricket.At the moment, Sri Lanka are a side on the rise. After sitting in the doldrums for over a year – largely because of another selection blunder when Hashan Tillakaratne was appointed captain – the future is looking brighter. Atapattu has forged strong team unity and laid down high standards for his players. They now need support from the selectors and administrators to carry them further. de Mel, though, has rocked the boat. Only time will tell how damaging his committee’s actions will be.

Paul Marsh, the son of Rod Marsh, will take over from Tim May as chief executive of the Australian Cricketers’ Association. Ian Healy, the former Test wicketkeeper and president of the players’ union, announced the appointment today following May’s resignation in March.Healy said Marsh, who was the association’s manager of member services and operations for three years, would be an outstanding leader of the organisation. “We consider the role of ACA chief executive to be one of the most important and influential positions within the cricket community and it was essential that the role be filled by a person with a passion for the game and its players,” Healy said.The brother of Tasmania’s captain Daniel, Marsh said he was ready for the challenges of the role, which will include major dealings with Cricket Australia. “My vision for the ACA is to ensure we make a genuine difference in the lives of our members,” he said. Marsh holds a bachelor of commerce and is studying for an MBA. He will start in the position on July 1.

Michael Vaughan defended his team following the unsavoury scenes between Simon Jones and Matthew Hayden, during the washed-out one-day international at Edgbaston. The flashpoint of the match occurred in the sixth over when Jones fielded a drive in his follow-through, then attempted to throw down the stumps, but instead clattered Hayden on the shoulder. Hayden reacted angrily and then exchanged words with Paul Collingwood, causing the umpires to become involved to calm the situation.But Vaughan did not want to blow the incident out of proportion: “I think they [the umpires] just wanted to make sure that both teams weren’t stepping over the line. It’s always tough cricket when England play Australia and Simon apologised straight away and probably a little bit of the incident was untoward.”This England team are all together and I think we have been for two years. Whether we are batting, bowling or fielding we stick together and that incident probably shouldn’t have taken place, but we didn’t need calming down because we know that you don’t want to see those kinds of incidents on the cricket field.”However, Vaughan admitted this latest exchange probably wouldn’t be the last of thesummer: “We play it pretty tough and so do they. I wouldn’t say it will be the last time that England and Australia exchange a few words, I’m sure it will happen throughout the summer.”Ricky Ponting also played down the confrontation, even though he felt it necessary to go up the pitch when Jones and Hayden clashed. “I just wanted to make sure that he was focused and ready for the next ball and he dealt with it and got it out of his system. He is very good at doing that, he’s great a switching on and off and he was fine afterwards.”It was just something that happened in the heat of battle. I don’t think there was any malice or that he meant to hit Matty. But I think when the ball actually did strike him you’d expect there to be some retaliation from the batsman’s point of view. Obviously there were a few words and it was all over and done with very quickly.The Jones-Hayden eyeballing was not the only controversy in a match which threw up plenty of incidents, despite only going just over half the distance. Kevin Pietersen took a low catch at third-man to dismiss Damien Martyn, who stood his ground before the umpires gave him out.Ponting said he was happy with the catch, having seen the replays, and both captains indicated that they would sit down before the Test series to discuss the issue of disputed catches. “What we try and to is to take it out of the umpires’ and third umpires’ hands,” said Ponting. “In Damien’s defence, all he was trying to do was get it from Kevin that he had actually caught the ball.” Vaughan added: “Kevin was confident that he’d taken it, and he said he’d taken it, that’s why the umpires gave it out.”As expected, both captains had differing views on how that game may have turned out if the rain hadn’t arrived. Vaughan was delighted with the England fightback, which restricted Australia’s final onslaught: “At one stage we could have kept them to 250 but when they were 222 for 4 with eight overs left you were looking at 280 or 290 with someone like Symonds in. For us to come back in those last 10 overs was a real positive.”But Ponting was confident his team had enough runs and says the game emphasised how closely fought the summer could be: “We know that we are in for a good contest this summer. I think that has been made apparent so far. There is a challenge there and all of our guys are certainly ready for it.”

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

It took nine days for the series to finally witness an absorbing battle between bat and ball. While Chennai produced a featherbed and Ahmedabad saw a track with generous sprinklings of green, Kanpur laid out a crackling surface that assisted turn. South Africa made the most of winning the toss, grinding out 265 at the end of a tense first day, but India’s spinners, with some good support from Ishant Sharma, ensured they remained in the hunt.A bone-dry pitch with conspicuous cracks gradually deteriorated through the day. Graeme Smith and Hashim Amla thrived when conditions were best for batting, steering South Africa to 152 for 1, before India clawed their way back through turn and bounce. Seven of the ten wickets fell to spinners, both specialist and part-time, but plucky contributions from the lower order stretched the score past 250. With the ball stopping on the batsmen, and a few starting to stay low, it could well turn into a match-winning total.South Africa ensured they didn’t miss out on scoring opportunities. Smith led the early charge and the plucky duo of AB de Villiers and Mark Boucher made valuable contributions down the order. None of the batsmen were completely assured at the crease – they survived vociferous appeals every once in a while and the ball regularly beat the outside edge – but made sure they scored at a healthy clip.India’s shoddy fielding hurt them, as did their inability to sustain pressure. Barring Harbhajan Singh, who was miserly throughout the day, the rest regularly doled out loose deliveries that allowed the batsmen to break free. Both Piyush Chawla, in his second Test, and Ishant struggled with their accuracy and a number of misfields only hurt them further. How Anil Kumble would have wished to be out in the middle rather than nursing a groin injury back in the dressing room.Kumble’s absence, for the first time since December 2003, meant that Mahendra Singh Dhoni became the first wicketkeeper to captain India. He didn’t have a great start, though, losing the toss and then watching his faster bowlers squander the new ball. Sreesanth had a perilously close lbw appeal turned down in the fourth ball of the match – against Neil McKenzie, who shouldered arms to one that came in – but didn’t go on to make the batsmen play enough. Ishant’s first six overs cost 35 and allowed South Africa’s openers to lay a solid base.

Sreesanth didn’t cause too many flutters through the day but Ishant came back with renewed enthusiasm. Managing reverse-swing at a pace close to 140kph, he broke through Amla’s defences during his mid-afternoon spell. He returned late in the day to nip out Boucher, with one that jagged back and kept low, and polished off Paul Harris with one that uprooted leg stump.The spinners, though, had most of the say. Chawla created the first breakthrough, beating McKenzie in flight and luring him out of the crease, while Yuvraj foxed Smith with one that fizzed off the surface. It was a crucial wicket, especially because of the confidence with which Smith was handling the spinners. He appeared to have sussed up the situation perfectly – clattering the loose balls and showing the temperament to overcome the nervy moments. Along with Amla, who milked the spinners with wristy manoeuvres, he was threatening to take the game away.Yuvraj, though, should have had Smith with his very first ball, when the batsman was on 50. Turning one across Smith, he caught him on the shuffle with a ball that would have gone on to rattle leg stump. Undeterred with the decision, Yuvraj struck a few overs later and triggered a mini-collapse – Amla, who had added 91 with Smith, was undone by Ishant’s reverse-swing, deflecting a pacy ball onto his stumps, and Kallis lasted only seven balls, playing on to the stumps to Harbhajan.The rest of the day was a cat-and-mouse battle – South Africa’s middle order snaffling runs at the slightest chance, the spinners beating the bat, appeals flying and puffs of dust appearing on the pitch. Ashwell Prince was bogged down by 21 dot balls in a row while de Villiers refused to be tied down, doing his best to use his feet against the spinners. Boucher held the lower order together – with Morne Morkel and Harris chipping in – but just when he appeared to shut India out, the bowlers mopped up the tail. Harbhajan ended with 3 for 52 in a marathon 32-over effort but on another day, with more luck, he could have easily doubled the wickets tally.

Sri Lanka will not make a request to the Indian cricket authorities for a change of Test venue following Saturday’s bomb blasts in New Delhi which left around 60 dead and several more wounded.The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) programmes and fixtures committee, which met on Friday, allotted Delhi, Kanpur and Chennai as the venues for the three Tests against Sri Lanka, starting on December 2.But Duleep Mendis, the CEO of Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC), said yesterday that the venues would remain as decided by the Indian Board. “At this moment of time we will not make any moves to alter the venues because we have not heard anything of a serious nature from the Indian Cricket Board,” said Mendis. “If at all there is some concern playing the Test in Delhi the Indian cricket authorities will advise us.”In releasing the venues, the BCCI had stated that the order of the venues would be decided later taking into account the travel plans of the Sri Lanka team. The BCCI also stated that SLC had not requested for a warm-up game before the Test series and as of now there were no plans to organise such a match.However, Mendis said that as far as he was aware, a warm-up match was part of the itinerary. “If it is not included in the itinerary we will make a request for it,” he said. “We made a similar request ahead of the on-going one-day series and were granted a practice game.”Although they have toured India previously on five occasions, Sri Lanka have not played a Test match in Delhi and the upcoming tour will see them play their first-ever Test match there. On their first-ever Test tour to India in 1982-83, Sri Lanka played a one-off Test at Madras and four years later in 1986-87, they played a Test match at Kanpur. Both Tests ended in high-scoring draws. Sri Lanka have yet to win a Test match in India. The 11 Tests played there have resulted in six defeats and five draws.

Andrew Flintoff has been ruled out of England’s one-day squad after being advised to rest for four weeks while he recovers from an ankle injury. Andrew Strauss has been handed the captaincy for the matches against Ireland and Sri Lanka and will lead a squad full of new faces.Glen Chapple is one of several surprise inclusions and is one of four untested allrounders in the squad alongside Tim Bresnan, Jamie Dalrymple and Alex Loudon. Rikki Clarke, the Surrey allrounder, who was tipped to earn a recall to cover for Flintoff has been overlooked despite decent form for his county.Ed Joyce joins his Middlesex teammate Dalrymple in the squad and has been enjoying a consistent county season. He has the chance of facing his former countrymen when England head to Stormont on Tuesday.The selectors have opted not to risk Michael Vaughan, although he was in action for Yorkshire at Southgate today and had been tipped for a comeback. David Graveney, the chairman of selectors said: “Michael Vaughan is making good progress with his recovery and we will continue to monitor his situation closely. We do not want to take any unnecessary risks with Michael and will wait until he is fully match fit before considering him for selection.”Chapple, 32, has never made it into the one-day squad before, although he was included in the Test squad against South Africa for the Trent Bridge match and he has been a regular on A tours since the 1990s. But finally, after years of consistent county performances for Lancashire, Chapple’s patience – and a fine start to this season – has been rewarded.Meanwhile, Clarke, who has averaged over 50 with the bat this season and took 4 for 45 in the latest round of Championship matches said he though his form might have been enough. He told the Surrey website: “It’s obviously disappointing that I’ve missed out as my form has been pretty good. But I’ll continue to work hard and put in the performances with Surrey and hopefully my turn is just around the corner.”Of late, England have not shied away from giving experienced cricketers their chance at international level. Shaun Udal debuted in Pakistan at 37 during the winter, and Jon Lewis was the oldest player in the England team at Trent Bridge last week when he made his first foray into Test cricket.Squad Marcus Trescothick, Andrew Strauss (capt), Alastair Cook, Ed Joyce, Ian Bell, Kevin Pietersen, Paul Collingwood, Geraint Jones (wk), Alex Loudon, Jamie Dalrymple, Sajid Mahmood, Glen Chapple, Tim Bresnan, Steve Harmison, Liam Plunkett.