Kevin Curran, the Zimbabwe coach, has revealed Zimbabwe are planning to return to Test cricket in November 2007, following their withdrawal at the start of this year. Zimbabwe have arrived in South Africa for a three-match ODI series as preparation for the Champions Trophy.”We will be playing the West Indies at home in November next year,” Curran told the news agency in Johannesburg. “We think that will give us time to develop our very young team, and we also believe that the West Indies would be at the right level of play for our return to Test cricket.”Cricinfo revealed more than a month ago that Zimbabwe’s return to the Test arena would be when they met West Indies at that time.Curran added that tours such as this short trip to Zimbabwe were vital for an inexperienced team. “It’s a very young team – the average age is about 21 so we need to play lots of competitive cricket. We are also planning a number of four-day matches against teams like South Africa A and other A sides.”As these players gain international experience, they will improve and become more competitive. If they can get 30 or 40 international caps under their belts, they will be much better prepared for the return to Test cricket.”So we will grab any opportunity with both hands. Losing about 20 senior players made a huge dent in Zimbabwe cricket.”The team were greeted at Johannesburg airport by Gerald Majola, the Cricket South Africa chief executive, who said the tour shows how South Africa are keen to help Zimbabwe.”We are very serious about the future of Zimbabwe cricket. We have taken a conscious decision to help Zimbabwe whenever we can, and the three ODIs are to help their preparations for the qualifying round Champions Trophy.”However, Majola was quick to point out that the series is also vital for South Africa’s build-up to the tournament in India next month, especially after their withdrawal from the tour of Sri Lanka after bombings in Colombo.Zimbabwe, led by Prosper Utseya the offspinner, start their tour with a 20-over match against the Eagles in Kimberley, before their opening ODI at Bloemfontein on September 15.

Over the past decade, this space in the almanack has become an annuallitany of despair. Last year’s report on West Indies cricket referred to “themost agonising period in its history”; the year that followed was to be evenworse.The most acrimonious and protracted row yet between the West IndiesCricket Board and the West Indies Players’ Association led to the replacementof Brian Lara as captain, the refusal of most of those selected to tour SriLanka, a split between the players, and the intervention of the Caribbeangovernments. The board’s projected loss of $7m for the year endingSeptember 2005, double that of the previous year, compounded the crisis.Meanwhile, the WICB elected their fourth president in six years, and thechairman of the company organising the 2007 World Cup in the Caribbeanresigned over differences with the board, heightening misgivings overwhether the region was capable of such a massive undertaking.The latest trouble between the board and players began within weeks ofa rare success, in September 2004, when West Indies won the ChampionsTrophy in England. It was sparked by the board’s decision to replace itssponsor of 18 years, Cable & Wireless, with Digicel, an Irish newcomerengaged in a fierce conflict with C&W for the Caribbean’s mobile-telephonemarket. The Players’ Association objected to clauses relating to the Digicelsponsorship in the team’s contracts for a one-day series in Australia, claimingthat they infringed players’ rights to sign individual endorsements with othercompanies, and it advised members not to sign.The dispute was eventually referred to the cricket subcommittee of theCaricom (Caribbean Community) governments. A provisional ruling enabledthe WICB to pick its best team for the tournament in January, though theywon only one of their six matches and failed to reach the finals.But the issue resurfaced once the squad returned home, leading to theend of Lara’s second stint at the helm. When six players were disqualifiedfrom selection for the First Test against South Africa because of theirindividual contracts with Cable & Wireless, Lara withdrew in protest. Hehad a C&W contract himself, though he had not been banned because hisdeal predated the sponsorship switch. Vice-captain Shivnarine Chanderpaultook over.Cable & Wireless freed its players of their obligations so that they wereeligible for the Second Test. But, even after their reinstatement for the restof the home season, the issue would not go away. When the board named 13players to tour Sri Lanka in July, ten, including Lara, withdrew. The level ofenmity between the parties was obvious in a lengthy media release from thepresident of the Association, Dinanath Ramnarine, stating that “we are facinga tyrannical and despotic WICB that has suspended its discretion, jettisonedall reasoning and is hellbent at all costs to do the bidding of its sponsor”.Obliged to fulfil the ICC’s schedule, the board hurriedly assembledreplacements, mostly from an A-team already touring Sri Lanka. As it was,eight members of the A-team joined the Test squad the day after signing a collective declaration refusing the summons to do so, which created such internal wrangling that the management felt obliged to move the two teams into separate hotels. Chanderpaul was the only one of the new squad with more than ten Tests to his name.Meanwhile, back in the Caribbean, there was a public war of words between Cable & Wireless, who accused the WICB of unfair practices, and Digicel. In what was seen as an unusual sign of openness on the board’s part, a three-man commission, chaired by retired judge Anthony Lucky, was set up to review the negotiations that led to the change of sponsors. Their 50,000-word report, delivered in August, criticised the WICB, andparticularly the then president Teddy Griffith, for their handling of the matter, and concluded that Cable & Wireless had been unjustly treated. But it was compromised when Lucky’s fellow commissioners disagreed with his contention, in a separate report, that the Digicel contract was “legally flawed”. The board adamantly rejected several of the commission’s points, but by then Griffith had resigned because of “personal and family considerations”.He was succeeded by Ken Gordon, a 75-year-old media executive and formerminister in the Trinidad & Tobago government, who had a high reputationin the corporate world but no cricketing background. Gordon soon facedyet another resignation and another crisis. In September, Rawle Branckerquit as chairman of the World Cup organisers less than two years into thejob, citing his frustration over differences with his chief executive, ChrisDehring, and a lack of support from Griffith and other board members.Controversially, Gordon appointed himself to the position and added Griffithto the new board.Not surprisingly, West Indies continued to falter on the field. In thecalendar year 2005, their record was eight defeats against one win (athome to Pakistan) in 11 Tests. It was even direr in one-day internationals:15 defeats, with an unprecedented run of 11 including all eight at home toSouth Africa and Pakistan, against two victories. It was a nightmare for thenew head coach, Bennett King of Australia, the first foreigner to hold thepost. He and his all-Australian support staff of assistant coach, physiotherapistand fitness trainer never knew from series to series which playersthey would be working with, if any: more than 30 represented West Indiesduring the year.The discontented players finally returned to the fold for the Test series inAustralia in November 2005, after the warring parties agreed to turn to theInternational Cricket Council and the Federation of International Cricketers’Associations to settle the dispute. West Indies had their moments in Australia,notably when Lara scored his eighth double-hundred and overtook AllanBorder as Test cricket’s leading run-scorer, but they lost all three Tests.At regional level, the domestic competitions were streamlined. In2004-05, they were contested only by the six traditional territories, with theUnder-23 side and invited foreign team included in the previous four firstclasstournaments both dropped. Home and away rounds meant that theremaining teams played ten league matches, up from seven. There was anunmistakable shift in the balance of power. Barbados, first-class regionalchampions for the previous two seasons and unbeaten for 21 matches, lostsix out of ten in 2004-05, and slid from top to bottom of the table.They were replaced as the dominant force by Jamaica, a well-led, wellbalancedside, even when five of their players were on international duty.They comfortably headed the table, with seven victories – including theirfirst five games – and only one defeat, and secured the Carib Beer Cup aftervictory in the final against the plucky Leeward Islands, whose brave secondinningsfight meant the result was less straightforward than an eight-wicketmargin indicated. Chris Gayle dominated the match with hundreds in eachinnings, but he played only two other games during the tournament. WavellHinds and Marlon Samuels also compiled big scores on their return fromAustralia, but Jamaica’s overall success depended on those who playedthroughout the season.Donovan Pagon scored 658 runs, which earned him a Test debut againstSouth Africa when Gayle and the others were omitted. Runs also came fromwicketkeeper Carlton Baugh and all-rounder Dave Bernard, while fastbowlers Jerome Taylor and Daren Powell led the attack. But Jamaica’s mostsuccessful bowler was 22-year-old left-arm spinner Nikita Miller, thetournament’s leading wicket-taker in his first season. He claimed 39 wicketsat under 20 apiece, and later toured Sri Lanka with the A-team.The Leeward Islands, often a disjointed side, enjoyed their best seasonsince the heady days of the 1990s, when they won three outright titles andshared a fourth. Their inspiration was 37-year-old wicketkeeper RidleyJacobs, in his final season; he signed off a distinguished career with 816runs, four centuries and an average of 62. His team-mate Stuart Williams,aged 35, was the only other batsman to pass 700 in the tournament. OffspinnerOmari Banks took 34 wickets, enough to earn a recall to theweakened Test squad for Sri Lanka.In October 2004, Trinidad & Tobago were unexpected winners of thelimited-overs President’s Cup. Making light of the absence of five internationals, including Lara, they defeated Barbados in the semi-final anddefending champions Guyana in the final. In January, they beat Barbadosagain, over four days – the first team to achieve the feat in a first-class gamesince they did it themselves in February 2002. But defeat in the return matchat the end of the qualifying stage cost them the chance to challenge Jamaicain the final. Their experienced captain, Daren Ganga, scored 610 runs,including 265 against the Leeward Islands, the domestic season’s highestindividual score. Off-spinner Amit Jaggernauth and newcomer Richard Kelly,an aggressive all-rounder, took 33 wickets each.Guyana, often hit by the weather, drew seven of their ten games. Promisingleft-hander Narsingh Deonarine and Ryan Ramdass, a thickset opener, bothpassed 500 runs; Ramdass scored three hundreds in his first full season, andwas promoted from the A-team to make his Test debut in Sri Lanka. Anotheremergency call-up for that tour was Deighton Butler, a strongly built leftarmfast bowler from the Windward Islands. Windwards were bowled outin double figures in three separate matches – one of which they still managedto win – despite the consistency of opener Devon Smith, who totalled671 runs.But the board’s grim financial situation was taking its toll. The Academyin Grenada for young players was closed after four years, and in 2005-06the domestic competitions were cut back to a single round of five matchesfor each team, plus semi-finals and final. These were troubling developments:Bennett King had repeatedly stressed that a proper structure at all domesticlevels and a significant improvement in facilities were prerequisites for liftingWest Indian cricket out of its prolonged slough.

ScorecardMatthew Nicholson made a quick recovery from his horror last over against South Australia on Sunday by picking up three wickets to blunt the Redbacks’ progress on the first day of the Pura Cup match at the SCG. On a day cut by 23.1 overs due to bad light, the visitors moved to 6 for 263 at stumps, with Daniel Harris and Callum Ferguson both registering half-centuries.Nicholson leaked 20 runs in four balls when New South Wales lost the one-day match at the weekend, but he was back on line during an overcast day and was rewarded with the dismissals of Harris, Darren Lehmann and Cameron Borgas in a return of 3 for 55. Borgas, the South Australia hero on Sunday with three sixes in the final over, fell to a lifting ball that provided Brad Haddin with one of four catches while Nicholson also prevented Harris (53) and Lehmann from converting useful starts.After opening with a 79-run stand between Harris and Nathan Adcock, South Australia slipped to 4 for 130 when a slashing Mark Cosgrove became Moises Henriques’ maiden wicket on his first-class debut. However, Lehmann breezed to 41 from 48 balls and Ferguson collected five fours and two sixes in his 63 to steady the side. Shane Deitz finished unbeaten on 38 while Doug Bollinger and Stuart MacGill each picked up a wicket.

Mitchell Johnson has made a last-minute trip to Melbourne to play in Queensland’s Pura Cup match against Victoria after being named Australia’s 12th man for the first Test at the Gabba. Johnson will get some valuable first-class bowling time in the four-day game starting at the MCG on Friday.Queensland will be without Matthew Hayden and the now-injured Shane Watson, both of whom were members of Australia’s original 13-man Test squad. Craig Philipson, who is coming off 73 from 74 balls in Queensland’s Ford Ranger Cup game against Western Australia on Friday, has come in to the line-up.Ashley Noffke and the fast bowler Chris Swan, who took five wickets in his Pura Cup debut last month, have also been included in the squad. Noffke has not played a Pura Cup game this season after hurting his back on the eve of the Bulls’ first match against Tasmania.The injury crisis in Victoria’s fast-bowling stocks has been eased slightly with Shane Harwood to return from a side strain. Harwood has replaced Mick Lewis in the squad after Lewis injured his hip while bowling in Victoria’s draw with Tasmania last week.Harwood hurt his side in the Bushrangers’ season-opening clash with Western Australia last month and joined his fellow fast bowlers Allan Wise, Dirk Nannes, Rob Cassell and Peter Siddle on the casualty list. Victoria have also brought in the uncapped left-hand batsman Robert Quiney to replace Shane Warne, who is in Brisbane with the Australia team.The Victoria captain Cameron White said his team had moved on since their previous encounter with the Bulls, in last season’s Pura Cup final when Queensland declared at 6 for 900 and won by an innings and 354 runs. Both teams have one win from their first three games in 2006-07. “This is a new season, a different ground and a fresh opportunity for us,” White said. “Our batting has been going well and hopefully Shane’s inclusion will give us more firepower given Mick was forced to sit out most of the Tassie game with injury.”Victoria Pura Cup squad Nick Jewell, Lloyd Mash, Brad Hodge, David Hussey, Robert Quiney, Cameron White (capt), Andrew McDonald, Jon Moss, Adam Crosthwaite (wk), Clinton McKay, Shane Harwood, Gerard Denton.Queensland Pura Cup squad Jimmy Maher (capt), Lachlan Stevens, Martin Love, Clinton Perren, Andrew Symonds, Craig Philipson, James Hopes, Chris Hartley (wk), Andy Bichel, Mitchell Johnson, Daniel Doran, Ashley Noffke, Chris Swan.Queensland FR Cup squad Jimmy Maher (capt), James Hopes, Clinton Perren, Andrew Symonds, Craig Philipson, Michael Buchanan, Chris Hartley (wk), Andy Bichel, Chris Simpson, Ashley Noffke, Scott Brant, Chris Swan.

I’ll miss Glenn McGrath’s grumpiness because he was one of the most grumpyfast bowlers I’ve ever known. He was always chatting to himself. The onemoment that I remember most vividly is when he got out when needing fiveto win [at Sydney in 1993-94, where Fanie de Villiers took 6 for 43]. I’llnever forget that, his face and him standing in the middle of the groundat the SCG while Craig McDermott was already halfway to the pavilion.He was just standing there, couldn’t believe what had happened. Thatprobably stood out for me. But there haven’t been many things in McGrath’scareer that have gone that badly wrong.His wife has been very ill as well. He probably feels that it’s time tolook after his family. Both he and his wife have been ultra-positive aboutwhole thing. Deep down, he maybe thinks: ‘Right, I’ve done my bit.’ In myview, he’s done more than that. He did say a couple of months ago that hefelt he had another couple of years left in him. But sometimes, therealisation just hits you all of a sudden. A lot of batsmen around the worldwill say: Thank God. He’s been a very special cricketer, but maybe hefeels it’s the right time.He’s had a terrific career. He’s been a champion, not only for Australiabut for the game of cricket. To fill those boots is going to be almostimpossible. You won’t find a McGrath again. You won’t find another ShaneWarne either. They’re very special individuals.What made him special? Just his absolute skill and the way he wore batsmendown. Once you faced McGrath, he locked you in. You knew that every singleball would be a test. His areas were so much tighter than anyone else’s,and he constantly questioned your ability. Pollock is the only other guy Ican think of who comes close to him. He was accurate and he wore you down.Not many bowlers in cricket history have been as accurate as he is whilebeing able to boast of the sort of record that he has.He had a very uncomplicated action. It wasn’t heavy on the body and hedidn’t hit the crease as hard as most people do. He was a lot like WasimAkram, who also played for a long time. They just kissed the surface.Their actions were so basic that there was not much that could go wrong.Another guy like that was Courtney Walsh, who could have played till hewas 45 [laugh]. The body couldn’t do it anymore, but their uncomplicatedactions gave them a chance. You talk of elasticity and long levers – theytypified that.

Even now, I think he’s got a year or two left in him. But maybe the bodyjust doesn’t want to go through it anymore.I haven’t seen another bowler who worked away at you relentlessly and asked questionsevery single ball. It didn’t take him long to work you over. He wasn’tscared to make it public either that he’d be on your case. It made youthink. And he was very quick to back it up. He’s targetted a lot of peoplein his career and knocked them over, no problem whatsoever.Where do Australia go from here? Well, Stuart Clark is right there. He’smatured at the right time. He’s 31, and seems to be a lot like MichaelHussey. Australia have found someone in Clark who can take over the mantlefrom McGrath. He’s already shown that he’s a class bowler, but 560-oddwickets is a long way away. You won’t be able to replace that.

Bermuda have left for the World Cricket League in Nairobi without allrounder OJ Pitcher who is suffering from a groin strain. His place in the squad was taken by Kwame Tucker.”Unfortunately this is not a perfect world, and so we have to make allowances for things like this to occur,” Gus Logie, the coach, told the Royal Gazette. “We had plans for OJ, but unfortunately he didn’t come through and so he will be out of the team.”Pitcher will now need to ensure he is fit by the time the selectors name their squad for the World Cup shortly after the side returns from Africa. “From what we saw of him in Trinidad, we are quite happy,” Logie said. “So at the end of the day it is his injury which has kept him out and nothing else.”Bermuda only arrive in Kenya on Friday, and their opening match, against the hosts, has been brought forward by 24 hours, leaving them with one warm-up match (against Uganda) on Saturday. Although they were in Mombasa last November, conditions there are quite different from Nairobi and they will struggle to acclimatize in time.”We have played against some of these teams before and so there’s no reason why we can’t win this tournament,” Logie admitted. “We just have to go in there with the attitude that we can win and make sure that our planning and thought processes are spot on. And I believe we have completed the preparations such as other teams have done, and so there’s no reason why we can’t be successful like other teams. We have to win a few games and get used to the idea of winning.”

Sourav Ganguly is eyeing a recall into the one-day team and has reiterated his willingness to open the batting.”I know people have been talking about that [opening the batting in ODIs],” he told reporters in Kolkata. “And many people have asked me about it. I have opened the batting in one-dayers in the past many times, so I have no problems. If I am asked to open, then I will do so.” India play eight matches against the West Indies and Sri Lanka at home, which will decide the team composition for the World Cup.Asked whether he is looking forward to the World Cup, Ganguly said, “Let’s not think about that now. I want to approach these home one-dayers first, and one at a time. Obviously playing in conditions like Australia and South Africa always help your game. If I get an opportunity in one-day cricket, I think that will help.”Ganguly also voiced his support for Sachin Tendulkar, who’s come under criticism for his slow batting in the third Test. “Don’t forget that Sachin has got 70 international hundreds to his credit, nobody has such a record in the world. The decline in form is part of the game, it happens to every cricketer. He is a genius.”Meanwhile, former cricketers have pressed for Ganguly’s recall into the ODI team. “Ganguly must be chosen for the one-day team, especially since Sehwag is short of confidence,” Ajit Wadekar told . “An experienced player like Ganguly knows how to pace his innings, which can be invaluable for a big tournament like the World Cup,” Wadekar added. Madan Lal, the former Indian allrounder, also concurred. “With Sehwag out of form, Ganguly should be given a chance to open,” he says. That would mean reviving the old Sachin-Sourav partnership. Both are past their prime. But even if only for old times sake, most Indians would look forward to that.”Looking back on the series against South Africa, Ganguly said he was satisfied with his batting in what was his “toughest tour” yet. “I am feeling good. Of course, I wanted to score more runs. But I batted lower down and with the tail sometimes. But that’s okay though.” But he rues the missed opportunity to win the series. “We should have won the third Test. Playing in South Africa, you don’t get chances like this to win the series. We scored 414 runs in the first innings. It’s really sad that we had to lose the match and series despite putting up such a good score in the first innings.”Ganguly averaged 42.80 and was the only Indian batsman to score more than 200 in the series.. “I have never worried about my criticism and I hope that I keep scoring runs in future.” Ganguly made it clear that this comeback (after a ten-month lay-off) was more difficult and, therefore, more satisfying than the one in 1996.

Gold League
Babar Naeem’s efforts failed to help Rawalpindi avert the follow-on against Karachi Urban, on the third day of their Quaid-e-Azam Trophy Cricket Championship Gold League match at Karachi.Rawalpindi, who are leading the Gold League points table, needed to reach a first-innings score of 357 in reply to Karachi Urban’s declaration at 506 for 5 in order to avoid batting again. They were all out for 351 and then at stumps were following on at 63 for 2.Naeem’s 182 – his first century in three years – with 32 fours and two sixes was not enough. Rawalpindi resumed at their overnight score of 122 for 3, 384 runs behind Karachi Urban. The only partnership of substance that Naeem got was with Mohammad Wasim, the Rawalpindi captain, as the two added 144 for the fifth wicket.Tahir Khan, with 5 for 112, and Azam Hussain, with 4 for 94, kept Rawalpindi in check. Naeem hammered 49 off 56 balls before being dismissed on the last ball of the day in the second innings.Karachi Urban, however, need to beat Rawalpindi outright to displace them from the top of the table. Karachi Urban have 15 points and Rawalpindi 21. If Rawalpindi draw the match then Karachi will only get three first-innings points and remain at number three in the seven-team table.Lahore Shalimar were forced to follow on after being bowled out for 170 in reply to Sialkot’s first-innings score of 384 at the Jinnah Stadium in Sialkot. But at stumps Lahore Shalimar needed only 16 runs more to make Sialkot bat again.Sialkot require an outright win here to get the full nine points and keep in sight of the Gold League final and retain their title. They have 12 points from their first three matches and are currently placed at number five in the seven-team ranking.On day three, Lahore Shalimar added only 31 more to their first-innings score as Tahir Mughal and Kashif Raza took the last four wickets inside 12 overs. Mughal got an innings total of 6 for 77 while Raza for 3 for 50.Following on 214 behind, Lahore Shalimar had raised their position somewhat with 198 for 3 at stumps.Ahmed Shahzad, the Lahore Shalimar opener, made his second half-century in the match following his first-innings 52 with 67 off 116 balls. Shahzad’s opening partnership with Salman Butt, the Lahore Shalimar opener, was worth 123 runs.Faisalabad beat Peshawar by seven wickets and lifted themselves from the bottom position in the Gold League at the Iqbal Stadium in Faisalabad.Faisalabad, who had gained a 30-run first innings lead over Peshawar added four more to their overnight score of 245 for 9. Peshawar were then bowled out for a pathetic 105 inside 36 overs in their second innings.Faisalabad scored off the 72 needed to win in 17 overs for the loss of three wickets. They stumbled at 19 for 3 but then Taqueer Hussain took them to victory smashing an unbeaten 38 off 35 balls.Earlier, Ahmed Hayat, Faisalabad’s right-arm fast-medium bowler, ran through the Peshawar batting and returned figures of 5 for 20 runs in 10 overs. Peshawar looked steady at 82 for 2 but then there last eight wickets fell for 23 runs. Only three batsmen – Mohammad Fayyaz, 46, Aftab Alam, 25, and Rafatullah Mohmand, 10 – reached double figures for Peshawar.Peshawar have now lost three consecutive matches after having started with two wins. Their points tally still stands at 18. With only one more match remaining – against Lahore Shalimar – Peshawar are not in contention for the final now.Faisalabad gained their first win in four matches and the nine points they now have put them above Lahore Shalimar in the seven-team Gold League table. The latter are now faced with the threat of being relegated to the Silver League next season.Silver League
Hyderabad got a lead of 177 with two wickets remaining in their second innings against Quetta in their Quaid-e-Azam Trophy Cricket Championship Silver League match at the Niaz Stadium in Hyderabad after they batted through the third day and compiled a score of 274 for 8.Faisal Athar, the Hyderabad captain, hit the 12th century of his first-class career, after Hyderabad resumed at their overnight 37 for 1. On day two Quetta had gained a first-innings lead of 97 by making an impressive 290. Neither side, though, is in a position to qualify for the Silver League final.Athar made 117 off 207 balls adding 88 with Pir Zulfiqar (35) for the second wicket and 84 with Hanif-ur-Rehman (54) for the third.Six Hyderabad wickets then fell with 90 as Jalat Khan, Quetta’s right-arm medium bowler, ended 4 for 35 from 21 overs.In spite of having gained a first-innings lead of 152 over Lahore Ravi, Abbottabad are still uncertain of reaching the Silver League final after Lahore Ravi piled on 323 for the loss of nine wickets in their second innings at the Lahore City Cricket Association (LCCA) Ground.Lahore Ravi, having resumed at their overnight 72 for 1 with a deficit of 80 runs, batted through the day to take a lead of 171.The Lahore batsmen batted consistently, though only Rizwan Aslam crossed fifty. His fourth-wicket stand with Rizwan Malik (32) produced 87 runs.Junaid Khan, Abbottbad’s left-arm medium-fast bowler, got 3 for 74 and Amjad Waqas, a slow left-arm orthodox bowler, got 2 for 22.Multan were set a target of 644 after Islamabad declared their second innings at 482 for 6 at the Diamond Club Cricket Ground in Islamabad.Azhar Mahmood followed his first innings 105 with 169 in Islamabad’s second innings making his first-class career’s eighth hundred and also crossing 6000 runs in 142 matches. Mahmood added 306 with Bilal Asad for the fourth wicket. While Mahmood’s 169 came off 197 balls with 24 fours and five sixes, Asad’s 146 took 248 balls with 16 fours. Multan were 6 for 0 at stumps.Islamabad with the full 36 points from their previous four matches have already qualified for the Silver League final. If Lahore Ravi defeat Abbottabad in Lahore then Multan will join Islamabad in the final.

John Davison, the Canada captain, conceded his side resembled a village cricket team in their seven-wicket loss to Kenya. Davison was equally concerned with Canada’s bowling as their batting after Steve Tikolo guided Kenya past their target of 200 with 40 balls to spare.”There weren’t too many positives there for us,” Davison told . “Geoff Barnett got us off to a pretty good start but once he was out I don’t think we competed for the rest of the game. That pretty much sums it up.”Barnett departed for 41 and Kenya’s spinners troubled the Canada middle-order before the innings finished with what Davison called a series of “village and embarrassing” run-outs. In the field, Canada gave away 18 wides and two no-balls.”It didn’t click,” Davison said. “It was really disappointing. We haven’t bowled that many extras in a game for a long time. Maybe the pressure of the occasion got to us.”Davison said the efforts of the Kenya spinners, especially Hiren Varaiya (1 for 19 off ten) and Jimmy Kamande (2 for 25 from ten) were good but Canada could have handled them better. “(Varaiya) is a good spinner but I don’t think there is a world-class spinner in that team,” he said. “It’s an opportunity missed for us.”Tikolo, who made 72 not out and took 2 for 34 in a Man-of-the-Match performance, said Kenya were a chance to progress past the group stage with a win over England or New Zealand. “I believe in my players, I do have confidence in them,” Tikolo said.”They know this is the World Cup and this is the big stage. How they carried themselves today goes to show they were up for it. All in all it was a good game. Up front we gave away too many runs but the spinners pulled it back in the middle.”

Rahul Dravid, captain of the Indian team, has said that it was not correct to”project this whole issue [endorsements] as a conflict of commercialinterests of the players and the BCCI,” in a release sent out to the mediaon Sunday afternoon. “Let me clarify that there is no conflict between theplayers and the BCCI. The interests of the players and the BCCI areinclusive and not exclusive,” he added.Dravid then sought to make it clear that there was no misunderstandingbetween the BCCI and the players. “The BCCI has always been very caringand considerate about the players’ interests and I am sure that the BCCIwould discuss the issue with the players at a suitable time,” he said.”When this opportunity arises then we shall jointly examine the areas ofconcern, iron out the irksome issues and work out apackage that can take care of the collective interests and concerns of theBCCI and the players.”Dravid added that he had spoken to Ravi Shastri, the newly-appointedcricket manager of the Indian team, and a number of players about the issue. “They all feel that, with a healthydialogue with the board, which there always has been, all issues can besorted out.”India’s cricketers are clearly shaken by the developments of the past twodays, with the cricket board striking very close to home, their endorsements, but Dravid called for restraint from the mediaand the public. “We have had a disappointing World Cup and itis important that we all work together as the various stakeholders in thegame to help improve and take our cricket forward.”The players, who have received no official communication from the boardyet on the matter of endorsements, contracts and several other changesannounced at the working committee meeting in Mumbai on Saturday, havecertainly followed proceedings closely through the media. However, giventhe recent show-cause notices issued to Sachin Tendulkar and Yuvraj Singh,none of the players is taking a chance and talking about the issues onthe record.There have been rumours that the players are considering their legaloptions but this is farfetched given their current relationship with the board.Moreover, Dravid’s statement lends weight to the belief that the players are in no frame of mind for a confrontation with an organisation that is represented by legalheavyweights like Shashank Manohar and Arun Jaitley and headed by a seasoned politician in Sharad Pawar, who clearly means business. And even if they do win, there is little stopping the board from going ahead and notpicking them anyway.The second option before the players is the more radical one of going onstrike, refusing both to sign the contracts in the current form andto play till the issue is sorted out. While this has happened insporting teams and even leagues in other parts of the world, withlock-outs having ruined complete seasons of baseball or basketball inAmerica, it’s hard to see the same working here. If this lot of playerstakes on the board by striking work, there will be others happy to fill the breach.”We are ready for all eventualities,” said a board official. “In thepast we have adopted a very defensive mindset and it has not helped.After all, we are entrusted with running cricket in thecountry.”What sections of the board are stressing on is the fact that it is theirduty not merely to look out for the commercial interests of the Indiannational team but also of domestic cricketers and Under-19 cricketers.Earlier, 26% of the board’s gross revenue was spent on player payments,with 13% going to the national team. Now, however, the board takes only30% of the media rights money into account when calculating the grossrevenue. In either case, the money that is spent on the payments ofdomestic cricketers comes from the deals that the board makes for thenational team.There are also several misconceptions about whom these new regulationswill affect. The board has made it amply clear that all pre-existingcontracts will be honoured, and no retrospective action taken. Thismeans that the seniormost players – people like Rahul Dravid, SachinTendulkar and Sourav Ganguly – many of whose existing contracts arelikely to out-last their careers, are unlikely to be adversely affected.It is people like Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Dinesh Karthik, whose careersare just taking off, who could be seriously affected.