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The Indian Cricket League (ICL) has received support from an unexpected quarter with West Bengal sports minister Subhash Chakraborty saying the ICL would be allowed to use the Eden Gardens and other grounds in the state.”Whatever facilities we have, we will make available to the boys who have been punished, particularly by the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB),” Chakraborty told , an Indian television channel. “I have no objection. All the fields will be available for them as all the fields are available for CAB. The owner of the fields is the state government not any other body. The Eden Gardens was looked after by CAB. Now the lease period is over and it is state government’s property. If Kapil and others like to play in Eden Gardens, I would allow it. What is the harm in it?”The minister’s public support for the Subhash Chandra-owned Essel Group’s venture has come as a surprise as the current CAB president Prasun Mukherjee has the backing of the Sharad Pawar-led BCCI regime.The BCCI decided not to recognise the league and barred the defecting players from playing for India or at the domestic level, besides withdrawing all financial benefits.The ICL has managed to lure as many as 44 Indian first-class cricketers and seven overseas players, including Brian Lara and former Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul Haq, in the initial list for its proposed Twenty20 tournament expected to be held in October.

Arjuna Ranatunga, recently appointed chairman of Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC), has said one of his prime concerns is to improve the standard of junior cricket in the country and to prepare a team to win the 2011 World Cup, which will be hosted in Asia.The last time Asia hosted the World Cup was in 1996, and Sri Lanka won it under Ranatunga’s captaincy. “If we address the few problems that we have at present and pick the right team and create the right environment, winning another World Cup is within our reach,” Ranatunga said while addressing the media after taking over the chairmanship of SLC. “Today we can draw a lot of strength having the world’s greatest wicket-taker in the history of the game [Muttiah Muralitharan] and also the best batsman in the world [Kumar Sangakkara],” he said, “but for some reason our team is not occupying the place it should be at present.”I was lucky to win a World Cup, but the important thing is was from there onwards I don’t know whether we have gone on the right track,” he said. “I personally feel that we are second to none. We are one of the best sides in international cricket today, one of the most talented cricketing nations in the world. It’s very important to get it right.Ranatunga said he was keen on working for the betterment of the game and that the help of former cricketers would be a plus. “Something that I’ve always wanted to do to was to try and give something back from the administration side after retiring from cricket,” he said. “I am not really concerned about what people say. I came here to do a proper job and address the issues facing Sri Lanka cricket today. We have lot of past cricketers and captains who are keen and willing to help. It’s a huge advantage for me.”Ranatunga said he was confident of achieving his goals within a certain timeframe, just as he did when he led Sri Lanka to a World Cup win. “This position is not a new thing for me. I’ve worked in the cricket committee for a short period,” said Ranatunga, after being appointed chairman following the resignation of Jayantha Dharmadasa on Monday. “The important thing is that I am a straightforward person. I will do the right thing. I have got the blessings of the President of the country and the two Sports Ministers. It is very important for me to get the backing from the Sri Lanka Cricket staff, coaches and even the media.”In the past a lot of good things have taken place but we have to put right areas where we have gone wrong. Cricket is something that belongs to everyone in the country. I think I have a great responsibility and there were a lot of people who wanted me to take over this post. Now that I have accepted it, it is my responsibility to do the right thing for cricket.”Ranatunga said his parliamentary experience would be also aid him in improving the game. He expressed his desire to take cricket to the villages. “I think in the recent past it has not gone the way it should. Cricketers in the provinces and districts should be given the same facilities and employment as in Colombo so that the game develops in those areas,” he said. “What we have here today is that because of the lack of such facilities we have all of them coming down to Colombo which is not good for the game.”When my team won the World Cup there was about 60-70 percent cricketers from the outstations [places other than Colombo]. Even today the majority of our national team comprises outstation cricketers.Junior cricket is high on Ranatunga’s priority. “Something has gone wrong somewhere in our junior cricket and we have to address that immediately. School cricket is the foundation of our cricket,” he said. “I believe that if you can get the junior and Under-19 cricket going properly the problems that exist in the national team will cease and we’ll have quality cricketers coming through.”

John Bracewell, New Zealand’s coach, has hinted that the fast bowler Tim Southee, who starred in the recent Under-19 World Cup in Malaysia, could be in line for a Test debut against England in Napier this week, as New Zealand look to bounce back from Monday’s 126-run defeat in the second Test at Wellington.Southee took 17 wickets at 6.64 to take his New Zealand team to the semi-finals in Malaysia, a performance that earned him the Man-of-the-Tournament award. Prior to that, he had impressed with his pace, control and temperament during his Twenty20 debut against England at Auckland, where he finished with 1 for 38 from four overs.Though he is still nine months short of his 20th birthday, Southee was added to New Zealand’s third Test squad as cover for Kyle Mills, who reported soreness behind the left knee after the Wellington defeat. Bracewell, however, suggested he was not simply there to make up the numbers.”He’s a class bowler and the selectors have been watching him for some time,” said Bracewell. “They believe he’s ready for the job. If the surface is as predicted at Napier, there will be something in it in the first session, then after that it will be reasonably flat. The defining factor will probably be swing bowling, and at the moment England have the edge on us in that department.”All of England’s bowlers, apart from [Steve] Harmison, swing it, and swing it reasonably late,” he added. “We really have only got Kyle Mills who swings it on a consistent basis. Therefore, having that extra option of genuine swing might put the balance back on an even keel.”After their exertions on a flat track in Hamilton, New Zealand’s senior bowlers were visibly off the pace at Wellington, in particular Chris Martin, whose three wickets came at more than 50 apiece. “We are happy with our bowling depth but we are looking for an extra day in terms of recovery,” said Bracewell. “There’s a bit of wear and tear, from the consistent cricket that Chris and Kyle have had over last season. We’ve got options around the squad, but there’s time to get these two close for the next Test.”Bracewell’s temptation to tinker with his attack was no doubt prompted by the success of England’s revamped line-up. Out went the two stalwarts, Matthew Hoggard and Steve Harmison, and into the fray came James Anderson and Stuart Broad. Both suffered at the hands of New Zealand’s strokeplayers during the one-day internationals, but bounced back to play major roles in England’s victory.Peter Moores, England’s coach, was delighted with the impact his new attack had made, and gave a clear signal that Anderson, Broad and Ryan Sidebottom would take some shifting now that they’d earned their places in the starting eleven. “The lads who have got possession, that’s always a strong place to be,” he said. “If they keep playing well they’re going to give themselves a great chance of carrying on.”It was quite a tough decision to make that change, especially on Matthew Hoggard,” said Moores. “He’s at an age where he’s still got a lot of bowling left in him, which is good for us because we’ve got to make a squad which is very competitive. I don’t think there was any complacency in the squad before the changes, but the thing about competitiveness in any job is that it’s good because it keeps everyone pushing forward.”Bracewell was also impressed with what he saw from England, and claimed he hadn’t been surprised by the impact of the new incumbents. “I felt that Anderson is a class bowler, a genuine swing bowler, and this was a ground for swing bowling. He got taken to in the last two one-dayers, but that’s the nature of one-day cricket. Broad has bowled a heavy length throughout the one-dayers, and once again he went a little square in the last one. But both of them are good bowlers. They bowled well as a unit.”New Zealand’s captain, Daniel Vettori, had been openly critical of the Wellington pitch prior to the second Test, feeling that the extra pace and bounce it provided would play into the hands of England’s bowlers. But Bracewell took a slightly different stance. “To tip the balance in our favour, we would have liked to play two spinners, but it was an excellent pitch,” he said. “The defining moment in the match was we didn’t bowl well to Tim Ambrose.”Ambrose is England’s only centurion in the series to date, while New Zealand have only Ross Taylor’s 120 at Hamilton to look back on. “Both sides would have liked to have seen more hundreds in the matches,” said Bracewell. “But that’s a testament to the bowlers on both sides, not necessarily the wickets. They bowled magnificently throughout the series. It’s not all about going out there and getting double hundreds. The intriguing cricket comes when a bowler scalps the opposition and probes their weaknesses.”One player who has been unexpectedly well probed is Kevin Pietersen, who is in the midst of the worst run of form of his career. He hasn’t reached fifty for 10 consecutive innings, and Bracewell believed that England were suffering as a result. “He’s a class player, and a point of difference player. He scores at a rate that generates results, and every Test team needs one of those players. We’re really pleased with how we’ve bowled to him, and cut him down in terms of strike-rate and put pressure on him.”Even so, Bracewell accepted that, following the Wellington defeat, the pressure had now shifted to New Zealand ahead of the Napier decider. “England didn’t come over to draw against New Zealand, they expected to win,” he said. “They were odds-on favourites, heavily so, and if we can knock them over, we’ll be delighted.”

Andhra ran out easy victors by an innings and 20 runs on the final day of their South Zone Ranji Trophy match against Goa at Margao on Sunday. The win, worth eight points, takes them to joint second place in the zonal table at 11 points from two games. Goa are languishing at the bottom without a point.The hosts resumed at 249/5, needing to post a total of 351 if they wanted to make Andhra bat again. But a double strike in the fourth over of the day dealt a fatal blow to Goa’s hopes. Skipper Pravin Amre was run out for 11 and three balls later, seamer N Madhukar scalped the other overnight batsman Ananth Bhagwat for 41.From 277/8, Avinash Avare and Nitin Kalekar extended the proceedings with a 51 run ninth wicket partnership but Andhra finally cut short the resistance of the tail one minute before lunch. Goa finished at 331 with off spinner YS Ranganath bagging 4/59. Andhra next play Karnataka at Bangalore while Goa take on Kerala at Ernakulam, both from November 15-18.

A commanding performance with bat and ball saw Elite B secure a nine-wicket win over Plate A on the third day of their four-day Duleep encounter at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai.On Thursday, Plate A skipper Hrishikesh Kanitkar did not have to wait long to rue his decision of batting first. With new-ball bowler Amit Uniyal snaring five wickets and leg-spinner Sairaj Bahatule chipping in with three wickets, Plate A were skittled out for 135 despite being 85/1 at one stage. Opener Barrington Rowland, who made 51, was the top-scorer for his team.When Elite B replied, openers Vinayak Mane and Amit Pagnis led the way with contrasting half-centuries. While Pagnis took just 80 balls to make 55, Mane adopting a more studious approach made 76 off 200 balls. Ambati Rayudu, the teenage sensation from Hyderabad was the other batting star for Elite A, making 52 off 93 balls. The contributions of the trio along with a 37 from all-rounder Romesh Pawar, helped their team make 329 in reply.Having conceded a 194-run first-innings lead, Plate A were faced with the prospect of being inflicted an innings defeat. But with Yashpal Singh scoring 93 and three other top-order batsmen chipping in with 30s, they managed to get to 244 before being all out in their second essay. Bahatule, with 4/44 from 19 overs, was the leading wicket-taker this time around.Elite B lost Mane early in their pursuit of the 51-run victory target. But Pagnis (23* off 18 balls) and Wasim Jaffer (30* off 28 balls) ensured that their side earned a win without suffering any further contretemps.

Zaheer Khan, spearhead of the Indian pace attack over the past few months, has impressed Dennis Lillee, director of the MRF Pace Academy in Chennai, where Zaheer is currently training.”I have not seen any mistake in his bowling,” said Lillee to the Press Trust of India (PTI). “Before the end of this week, we will analyse video clippings of his bowling, including his action and then advice him on improvements.””Zaheer is bowling at 140 to 150 mph speed now. Very few in the world bowl at this speed. Perhaps he is only one level below Brett Lee’s speed. In the olden days, bowlers like Jeff Thompson, Michael Holding, Andy Roberts were termed as ‘express’. Zaheer is also excellent.”Lillee was also confident that Zaheer would slip smoothly into the role of lead bowler, hitherto played by Javagal Srinath. “For a young man like Zaheer, who is fresh in mind and body, it will be easier to handle competition at the top level. What I have seen of him in the last four years makes me feel that he has the potential to handle any situation. However, it is all upto him and no one can do the work for him.”Zaheer is currently at the Pace Foundation to “further his skills” under Lillee. “I have come here because the MRF Pace Foundation has the best of facilities,” he said. “I cannot live on my past performances. I have to keep improving and perform well consistently.””It is a good opportunity for me to be back at the academy, where I have spent time since 1998. Such visits always helps in fine-tuning skills. I am here basically to work on my fitness. I am working towards peaking in my career. Fitness is very important. If I get some advice from Dennis it will help me perform better,” Zaheer said.Zaheer too was asked about Srinath’s retirement and his own role thereafter. “We hope that he does not retire immediately. If he does so, we have to maintain the standards set by Srinath, who has played for a long time. We are keeping our fingers crossed”.India’s new crop of young pacemen, said Zaheer, are “doing really well. It is a good sign. Pace academies like MRF and a few others, started recently, have been doing their best in this regard. It augurs well for India. Perhaps these youngsters derive inspiration from seniors like us.”

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has decided to pay tribute to their former Test captain Wasim Bari by awarding the first one-day international between Pakistan and South Africa as his benefit match."Wasim Bari is being honoured for his meritorious services to the game of cricket and the country," said the PCB’s chief executive Rameez Raja. "He has been and is still one of the greatest ambassadors of the country. A certain percentage of the income from the proceeds will be awarded to Wasim as his benefit."Wasim had originally been allocated a match on October 26, but this had to be rearranged after South Africa’s security fears ahead of the tour. Lt Gen Tauqir Zia, the PCB chairman, is expected to present him a memento in recognition of his services to Pakistan cricket."I grateful to the PCB Chairman for making the match as my benefit," said Wasim, who also served as chairman of selectors between 2000 and 2003.

In possibly its finest hour on the international cricket stage, the United States of America defeated a full official West Indies side on its home ground, in a single day by nine wickets in a two-innings international match.The place: Bourda, Guyana. The date: January 5, 1888.The US tour was intended as a response to the highly successful tour of Canada and the US by the West Indies in 1886. In their first international tour to North America, the West Indies had recorded 12 wins (two of them by an innings and 100-plus runs) against only 2 losses. The US decided to return the favor.The US team was one of the most representative sides to have played overseas, before or since 1888. Captained by C. L. Bixby of Longwood CC (Boston), the team contained players born in, and hailing from, Philadelphia, Boston, New York and the South.The West Indies team was one of the best that could have been assembled in the Caribbean at the time. It was captained by E. F. Wright of Guyana, who had played under W. G. Grace against the Australians and had also scored the first century – 123 – in Caribbean inter-island cricket for Guyana against Trinidad in 1882. There were three others from Guyana, three from Trinidad, three from Barbados, one each from Grenada and St. Vincent; several had first-class English (i.e. County) credentials. The most significant omission was John Lees of Jamaica, the former Cambridge and Sussex player who had the highest batting average on the 1886 West Indies tour of Canada and the US. The Jamaicans had decided Bourda was too far to travel to.The US team had played five matches in the West Indies before January 5. They had won against Barbados, lost to Trinidad, and drawn with St. Kitts and Grenada. Their fifth match against Guyana, on the very same grounds where they were to play the full West Indies side, had been an unmitigated disaster. The US had lost by an innings and 25 runs. And W. A. Harrison, who had taken 7 wickets for 2 runs in 11 overs for Guyana in the US first innings, was now in the full West Indies side.The US need not have worried. They had their own secret weapons.In 18 incredible overs, 13 of which were maidens, S. M. Wain and C. Coates of the US dismissed the West Indies for 19 runs, their lowest score ever in international cricket (for the record, the second-lowest score for the West Indies in international cricket is 26 all out against Ireland by the Clive Lloyd-led team in the 1970s, during an otherwise successful tour of England). Not a single West Indies batsman scored over 4 runs. In less than an hour, the West Indies first innings was over. (Wain was to die in the cross-fire of a blazing Wyoming gunfight in 1889, but that’s another story.)When the US team came in to bat, they had to face Harrison again. But Charles Palmer of Young America CC and wicketkeeper W. C. Morgan (Germantown CC) held up the middle of the innings, and Morgan in fact was not out at the end. The US had scored 64, surviving Harrison’s 5 for 19 in 28 overs.The West Indies had scored 100-plus runs in almost every innings on tour in 1886, and here they were on home ground. Indeed, Robinson (Trinidad) and Skeete (Barbados), the West Indies openers, looked all set for a big score. Then Charles Palmer, the sheet anchor of the US first innings, struck with a dazzling bowling performance; 12.3 overs , 9 maidens, 7 wickets for 10 runs. The West Indies folded and collapsed for 55.The US needed only 11 to win. They did it in five overs, for the loss of one wicket. The US had achieved its nine-wicket victory in a single day.There are no records of other tours from the West Indies to North America after 1886; certainly, no official US side has played the full West Indies national team since that time. The very idea would sound amusing to modern cricketers. Yet it did happen – over 100 years ago. Perhaps – who knows? – it could happen againThis article was originally published in 1994 in Cricketer International’s NorthAmerican EditionContributed by Deb K. Das

“The repercussions of the latest dispute between the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) and the West Indies Players Association (WIPA) are damaging enough for the two organisations to seek the early intervention of a mutually accepted arbiter.”It is increasingly clear that the divide between the two has become so wide and acrimonious that it is unlikely to be bridged by further bilateral negotiations.”Those were the introductory paragraphs in this column last November 11, the day after the WIPA told its members not to accept the WICB’s invitations to be available for the tour of Australia in January on the specified contract terms, charging they represented “an attempt to exploit the players for commercial purposes”.It took no special skills in logic to come to such a conclusion and, with no essential change in the situation in the intervening eight months, it takes none now to realise that arbitration, final and binding, is necessary to save West Indies cricket from the ultimate disaster of the head-on collision for which the two bodies charged with sustaining it have long since been heading.It is an indictment on both that they remain at loggerheads over a matter that could have been so quickly settled with a little common sense and goodwill.Since it first surfaced prior to the trip to Australia for the VB Series, hundreds of thousands of words have been written on the impasse, hours upon hours have been spent in tiresome and futile discussions and accusations, insults and outright abuse have left the air as pungent as Emmerton.Two foreign telecommunications companies, bitter rivals, each with more capital than many small Caribbean nations, have fought over ownership of the West Indies team and the best West Indian players with a fury once associated with Mike Tyson.If they could have, each would have bitten off the other’s ear.Granted, there has been concerned intervention, from no less a body than Caricom’s sub-committee on cricket, headed by Grenada’s prime minister Keith Mitchell, and even arbitration by Justice Adrian Saunders of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS).But they have been limited in scope and have simply bought time so that the WICB could fulfil its obligations under the International Cricket Council (ICC) schedule.It was inevitable that the argument would reach the point where the procrastination and pussy-footing would have to end.That moment arrived last week when ten of the 13 players chosen for the upcoming tour of Sri Lanka declined to sign the WICB contracts, objecting, as they did back in November, to clause 5, and the WICB responded to the WIPA’s proposal for final, binding arbitration of their differences with a rejection of its own.It now seems as if the WICB is prepared to chose a new team from whoever is prepared to sign the contract, clause 5 and all.That would leave not only the objecting players to consider their future-and there are likely to be many more outside the chosen group- but West Indies cricket as a whole.The WICB’s position from the start is that clause 5 is non-negotiable as it seeks to safeguard the interests of the new sponsor, Digicel, which has put up $20 million for the right.Its relevant parts state: “(a) The player acknowledges that the WICB has the sole and exclusive right to permit any person to represent that they, or their goods or services, have the sponsorship or approval of, or are in any way endorsed with the WICB or any WICB team.(b) the player agrees that at all times whilst representing the WICB (including whilst playing, training, attending official functions, attending media conferences and being present at a match venue) he will not do anything that constitutes a player endorsement in relation to a competitor of a WICB major sponsor unless he has a pre-existing agreement with such a competitor that has been approved in writing by the WICB under this contract or the player’s previous player contract with the WICB or the player’s agreement with such a competitor pre-dates any contract he has had with the WICB.”Such conditions seem reasonable enough. Any team sponsor would seek to protect itself against competitive promotion from a player within the team.On those grounds, the WICB stuck to its position prior to the recent home series with South Africa and deemed players with conflicting personal endorsement agreements with Cable and Wireless ineligible for selection.The consequence was that several of those affected withdrew from their contracts and returned to the team.But legal consultants to the WIPA and its members hold the view that the clause is too restrictive and has advised that they should not sign any contract containing it.Equally, the WICB’s legal counsel is certain that it is on solid ground to insert such a clause as a safeguard of the sponsor’s exclusivity.With such utter divergence, settlement can only be achieved by mediation, either through an independent individual, such as Justice Saunders, or through the law courts.In rebuffing the WIPA’s proposal for a conclusive ruling on the clause 5 issue from Saunders, the WICB could well have been emboldened by the earlier decision of the Cable and Wireless players to give up their contracts to return to the team, even though all of them are now among those who have rejected their Sri Lanka contract.The WICB might also have been fed up with the threats of a player pullout that have so frequently shrouded recent series in doubt almost up to the time the plane takes off or the first ball is bowled.Yet, seeing that it is confident of its position and even at this late stage, the WICB would be well advised to accept the WIPA’s proposal for a conclusive ruling by Justice Saunders, acceptable to all parties, including Digicel, on every aspect of its match/tour contract.It would put the issue to rest, once and for all, so that we won’t have the same chaos and confusion before the Australian series in November and every one after that.It would let all and sundry know where they stand, not least the players.The alternative is likely to be litigation in the law courts with the players’ lawyers claiming restraint of trade. It represents a potentially long, bitter and costly exercise.In this regard, the WICB’s officers would do well to read transcripts of the judgment in the case Kerry Packer’s World Series Cricket brought against the International Cricket Conference (ICC) on the same grounds in 1977.The ICC then stated: “No player who, after October 1, 1977 has played or made himself available to play in a match previously disapproved by the Conference shall thereafter be eligible to play in any Test match.”WICB representatives, president Jeffrey Stollmeyer and vice-president Allan Rae, the vaunted opening pair of the 1950s, saw the dangers implicit in such a stipulation and argued strongly but in vain against it.The upshot was that Justice Slade found in favour of Packer and the ICC and its member boards (including the WICB) had to fork out more than 200,000 pounds in costs and compensation.Not that the court, Caribbean or Privy Council, would find against the WICB in this case but it is a chance neither necessary nor worth taking.Let Justice Saunders, on his own, settle matters now so that West Indies can, in this case at least, be free of the chains of conflict that have bound it and be able to move on.

England 244 and 4 for 144 (SC Taylor 64) beat Australia 154 and 9 for 231 dec (Sthalekar 98) by six wickets
Scorecard

England retained the Ashes in style thanks to Claire Taylor, whose second fifty of the match drove them home to a stylish six-wicket win in the final session after Karen Rolton’s daring declaration backfired. When the embers of the sole match are raked over Australia may rightfully rue being given only one chance to recapture the prize but England deserve credit for playing to win, and succeeding, when a draw would have been enough.They owe much to Isa Guha who finished with match figures of 9 for 100 and was on for her second five-for when Rolton called her batting troops in at 9 for 231, leaving England needing a mere 142 but gambling big with her side having only one throw. They made some inroads with a few wickets but Taylor played a mature hand which trumped everything the Australians – with two of the world’s fastest bowlers in Emma Sampson and Ellyse Perry – had to throw at them.In actual fact it was Lisa Sthalekar who troubled them the most for the second time with the ball having failed just short of her second Test hundred. Resuming on 95 not out, she had a licence to drill the ball anywhere she liked, having promised that the nineties would not be nervous but bold.Her Warne-like contributions of cunning spin and handy Ashes runs in a losing cause must not go unrecognised, and she and Shelley Nitschke made sure the match went into the final session by getting the ball to spin back a long way and troubling the England batsmen.The final session began with England seven wickets remaining needing 45 runs which was hardly tense and although they lost Sarah Taylor and Lydia Greenway, Claire Taylor and the captain Charlotte Edwards fittingly brought home the Ashes with Taylor striking the final four.The win may not be as widely reported in England as the men’s 5-0 defeat was but that won’t stop the women celebrating long into the night.”We really gave it our all throughout the match,” Rolton said. “We had a disappointing first day but there were several stages with both the bat and ball where we were able to get ourselves back into the match. There was a lot of positive cricket played.”A glowing Edwards said: “I’m delighted, almost lost for words. To beat Australia in Australia is a fantastic feeling. We had always said we would come out here and aim to win this match in order to retain the Ashes and that’s what we did today.”I’m so proud of all my players. We have played some fantastic cricket over these past four days to continually have the upper hand over Australia and to pull through and secure victory today was a great effort.”