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.”

Kent closed the third day against Sussex at Canterbury needing another 89 runs to climb to the summit of Division One of the County Championship. But they will have their work cut out, after slumping to 97 for 6 on a day in which 20 wickets tumbled. Kent had begun the day on 323 for 6 in their first innings and handily placed to claim a first-innings lead. But the Pakistani pairing of Mushtaq Ahmed and Naved-ul-Hasan cut them down for 348, a deficit of 30. Sussex in reply stumbled to 155 all out, with Amjad Khan taking 4 for 39, but they were back on top by the close. James Kirtley whipped out two early wickets before Mushtaq and Naved struck twice each.

Danish Kaneria took 6 for 74 in Northamptonshire’s second innings at Chelmsford, to set Essex up for a ten-wicket win. Northants were always up against it after conceding 506 in Essex’s first innings, and though Ben Phillips and Damien Wright delayed the inevitable for a while with a pair of half-centuries, as soon as the follow-on had been enforced the end was nigh. At 202 for 2, Northants were looking decent prospects for a draw, but Usman Afzaal and Bilal Shafayat fell in quick succession and the rest came meekly. Essex needed just two deliveries in the fourth innings to wrap up their win.

Zimbabweans 324 (Taylor 141) and 167 (Anjum 3-26, Amjad 3-39) lost to PCB Patron’s XI 529 for 9 dec by an innings and 38 runs
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It took the Pakistan Cricket Board Patron’s XI under an hour to wrap up a comfortable innings-and-38-run victory over the touring Zimbabweans, as both Iftikhar Anjum and Mansoor Amjad finished with three wickets apiece. Despite a maiden first-class hundred from Brendan Taylor, Zimbabwe had finished the third day just two wickets away from defeat, and there was to be no reprieve on the final morning.Taylor top-scored with 141 as Zimbabwe managed 324 all out in their first innings, but the Patron’s XI fast bowlers dominated day three, sharing the wickets as Zimbabwe then collapsed to 142 for 8, still 63 runs behind.Resuming 10 runs away from the milestone this morning, Taylor went to his century during a 42-run partnership with Tatenda Taibu, his captain. But once their stand was broken, wickets fell regularly, and Zimbabwe were 279 for 9 before a cameo innings from Graeme Cremer, the 18-year-old legspinner, took them past 300 to a fairly respectable score.However, Zimbabwe couldn’t escape the follow-on, and they were soon in trouble in their second innings, with the makeshift opening pair, Vusi Sibanda and Stuart Matsikenyeri, both dismissed before the score had passed 20. Obviously trying to give all his batsmen some time in the middle, Taibu played around with his batting order, sending Taylor down the order. Not that it mattered, as Taylor was soon at the crease anyway, with Dion Ebrahim, Alester Maragwede and Mark Vermeulen all making starts, but failing to capitalise. Taylor failed the second time round, though, and the Patron’s XI wrapped up a resounding victory.After this match, the next item on Zimbabwe’s challenging agenda will be the opening one-dayer of the Paktel Cup, against Pakistan, on September 30 at Multan.

Michael Vaughan has rejected Ricky Ponting’s goodwill catching deal, where the batsmen would accept the word of the fielders, and will leave contentious decisions to the umpires. Ponting, who has tried to lift the standards of behaviour under his captaincy, was disappointed with the refusal and will try again today at the captains’ meeting with the match referee Ranjan Madugalle.”Umpires are there,” Vaughan told . “They have done a really good job over the past couple of years of making the decision out in the middle. I don’t know where we’ve had any instances where the actual TV replay people have come into play, as the umpire asks the player if he caught it and if he says yes, then yes, that’s out. I hope that continues.”The memory of Vaughan standing his ground in Adelaide in 2002-03 still annoys the Australians, particularly Justin Langer who claimed the catch with the batsman on 19. Vaughan went on to make 177.”Every time a player has said, ‘It’s gone in my hands’, the umpire’s gone, ‘That’s out’,” Vaughan said. “Every time a player’s not too sure, the umpire’s said not out. We haven’t had any incidents and we don’t really see it as an issue to bring up.”Adam Gilchrist this week spoke about walking and Ponting, who got the same response from Stephen Fleming last summer, is intent on improving more on-field standards. “I’m one that wants to push it as much as I can,” Ponting said. “It’s a bit of a blight on the game that we refer them all to the third umpire.”

Tommy Simsek, a Melbourne-based physiotherapist, is due to arrive tomorrow to take up an appointment as physio of the Sri Lankan cricket team. Duleep Mendis, the chief executive of Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC), said that Simsek is a highly qualified physio and that he had been recommended by Alex Kountouri, the former team physio.Mendis said Simsek’s contract will run from August 17 till the 2007 World Cup in West Indies. Tryphone Mirando, secretary of the SLC interim committee, said that the national team did not have a full-time qualified physio since Paul Klarenaar left them after the Australian tour in July last year. He said that CJ Clarke undertook the dual role of trainer cum physio of the national team until such time a suitable physio was found.A spate of injuries to the national team players recently forced the SLC interim committee to seek the services of Kountouri once again even though it was only for a short period. Kountouri, who was on holiday in Sri Lanka, reviewed the cause of the injuries to the national team players and subsequently recommended Simsek.During Kountouri’s eight-year period as physio the Sri Lanka team rode a wave, winning the World Cup in 1996, and followed it up with nine consecutive Test victories in 2001-02, feats which hold a niche in the country’s cricket history.Clarke would concentrate on Sri Lanka’s physical training play after Simsek takes over officially, but will also assist with physiotherapy. Clarke has been with the Sri Lanka senior and A teams since the 2003 World Cup, when Kountouri decided to return home.Sri Lanka’s next international engagement is at the end of the month when Bangladesh arrives for a series of two Tests and three one-day internationals.

Three of England’s Ashes stars are to be honoured with a set of special Royal Mail stamps. Andrew Flintoff, Kevin Pietersen, Michael Vaughan will be the first living people, apart from the Royal Family, to be recognisable on stamps.The collection will be available from October 6 and consists of two first class stamps and two 68p stamps – which, coincidently, is the cost of sending a letter to Australia. Julietta Edgar, the head of special stamps, said they wanted to do something to recognise the achievements of the team.”Royal Mail is committed to celebrating social themes and important occasions central to our way of life: England’s victory in this summer’s Ashes series certainly counts as a momentous occasion. I’m sure the public will love using these stamps every day to continue the legacy of this sporting achievement.”This is the latest recognition to the team, which has included Vaughan and Flintoff being given the freedom of Sheffield and Preston respectively. The Royal Mail issued a set of stamps to celebrate England’s Rugby World Cup win, against Australia, in 2003 and the awarding of the 2012 Olympics to London. However, no sports stars were clearly identifiable on the stamps.

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Marlon Samuels pounded the Queensland attack, scoring a colossal 257 to give the West Indians a gigantic 289-run lead at the Allan Border Field in Brisbane. Queensland lost Matthew Hayden in their second innings as they ended the third day on 1 for 52.Samuels, who went past Martin Love’s 250 for the highest score at the ground, hammered 34 fours and eight sixes as the West Indians piled up 612 in just 143.1 overs. He built useful partnerships with Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Dwane Bravo to take the total past 350. Chris Simpson then struck two quick blows for Queensland, removing Bravo and Denesh Ramdin, while Mitchell Johnson sent Brian Lara – batting as low as No. 8 – packing for just 1.At 7 for 384 Queensland had an opportunity to skittle the tail out cheaply and restrict the deficit. But Samuels found willing partners in Tino Best and Daren Powell who did their utmost to frustrate Queensland.Samuels and Best added 72 runs for the eighth wicket, and after Best departed for a defiant 23, Samuels took centre stage. The ninth-wicket partnership added 156, of which Powell made a quick 34 with five fours and a six. Samuels finally got out after playing a dominant role in a string of partnerships, and with Wavell Hinds injured, the West Indians closed their innings on 612, giving Queensland a tough 13 overs to play before close.

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.

Justin Cordy has replaced Jock Campbell as the new strength and conditioning coach of the Australian side.Cricket Australia officials said Cordy, who is currently employed by Australian Football League (AFL) club Western Bulldogs in Melbourne, will start work with the Australian team in the next four weeks. Cordy formerly worked as fitness adviser to the Bangladesh Cricket Board and was the fitness coach to the Australian team in the recent International Rules Series against Ireland.Michael Brown, Cricket Australia’s General Manager of Operations, said Cordy’s experience and formal qualifications in physiotherapy and exercise science would be important in managing the training of the Australian players ahead of the next Ashes series against England in 2006-07 as well as the World Cup in 2007.Campbell retired after a successful stint as Physical Performance Manager with Australia, a post he held since November 2000.