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Mark Cosgrove, who was dropped for the Pura Cup match against Victoria, has been dumped from South Australia’s ING Cup side for the game against Western Australia at the WACA on Friday. Daniel Harris replaced Cosgrove in both teams and is the only change to the squad that beat New South Wales on January 23.South Australia Graham Manou (capt, wk), Ryan Harris, Nathan Adcock, Mark Higgs, Greg Blewett, Trent Kelly, Daniel Cullen, Paul Rofe, Callum Ferguson, Shaun Tait, Daniel Harris, Shannon Tubb.

The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) has signed off players’ rights with their agreement to a ten percent commission pay-out to International Sports Management (ISM), their United Kingdom-based brokers. The commission is deductible from the players’ base fees and even on their bonuses, a scenario described as grossly unacceptable and potentially dangerous by the Sponsorship Negotiation Review Committee (SNRC).The details of this aspect of the Digicel agreement were revealed in Justice Anthony Lucky’s SNRC report, which was handed over to Ken Gordon, the new WICB president, on August 15. The report will be discussed at an executive board meeting on September 4, in St John’s, Antigua.In chapter three of the report, entitled “Does an improper relationship exist between the WICB and Digicel?”, it is explained that the two commission agreements, one dated February 23, 2004 and signed by Roger Brathwaite, the chief executive officer of WICB, and the other dated July 6, 2004 and signed by Teddy Griffith, the then WICB president, commit the WICB to the payment of a ten percent commission to ISM or the belatedly created company Sports Bureau International (SBI). SBI was only established in 2004, after negotiations began with the WICB. SBI was also a company that David Brookes, an ISM director, admitted was created to mask the identity of Digicel when the WICB asked Cable & Wireless (C&W), 18-year-long sponsors of West Indies cricket, to match the rival bid, a clear breach of the contract the WICB had with C&W at the time.Clause five of the agreement, signed by Brathwaite in February that year, states the following: “The WICB shall pay to ISM a commission equal to 10 per cent of the aggregate value of the sponsorship agreement [in money or monies worth and including, without limitation, any bonuses or incentives] paid or received by the WICB pursuant to a sponsorship agreement.”The report declared: “So not only does ISM get a 10 per cent commission on the base fees but even the players’ bonuses negotiated under the contract”. The committee also found that the WICB would not have had to pay a commission to C&W and would have stood to earn approximately US $600,000 more than they ultimately received from the Digicel contract.The SNRC report interviewed sports management professionals, all of whom stated they were not aware of any sponsorship agreement where commissions are paid on players’ bonuses. Further, under the agreement signed by Griffith on July 6, 2004 and Andrew Chandler, an ISM director, the WICB’s supposed sponsorship funds are to first pass through ISM/SBI for the deduction of their commission before the WICB receives its share.Clauses one and two of the agreement state: 1. Subject to and in accordance with the provisions of any act or regulation applicable to the same, all payments under the Master Sponsorship agreement shall be made by Digicel through ISM to WICB. 2. ISM shall be entitled to deduct from each of such payments the commission to which it is entitled under the commission agreement before accounting for the same and paying the balance to the WICB.The SNRC did not agree with this arrangement. “In the view of the Committee,” the report states, “this is grossly unacceptable.” The report also raised serious concerns over a clear conflict of interest for ISM/SBI as it was determined that they ultimately represented both sides and that the WICB was paying all the commission.Brathwaite told the Committee that the situation was so because ISM/SBI brought the sponsor. The Committee also asked the question: “Why did the president (Griffith) and CEO (Brathwaite) not insist on the Board’s money coming to the Board as well? This was like a salesman who works on commission telling the company’s costumers to make cheques payable to him or her and not to the company. So the company who has the majority of the cheque has to wait on the sales representative to pay the company its majority share from his or her personal account.”The report stated that the situation was not only highly unusual but potentially dangerous and could result in serious financial losses to the WICB. For example, should any creditor or the government of the United Kingdom appoint a receiver/liquidator to ISM shortly after the funds have been transferred from Digicel for subsequent transfer to the WICB, those funds as well as future cash flows could end up frozen, the document pointed out. As was stated in an earlier report, WICB’s Memoranda and Articles of Association were not adhered to and the SNRC was unable to discover any evidence of Board discussion or ratification or of a resolution authorising the president and other WICB directors to sign the new agreement.The following questions were raised: 1. Why did the WICB sign the new agreement when there was a potential new and better offer on the table from a proven, tried and tested company (C&W) with whom the WICB had an 18-year relationship, if it did? 2. Why did the CEO and president not use the opportunity to up the ante to get the best deal possible by making C&W, Digicel and any potential sponsors fight it out to maximise its offer? 3. Why if ISM was representing the WICB it tried to conclude the deal with Digicel when potentially there was a possibility of a better offer?Brookes had stated he did not want to lose the deal he had worked hard to secure. So his personal interest was paramount and not necessarily the WICB who at the end was bearing the cost of the whole deal.

New Zealand Cricket has decided that Hamilton will not host a one-day international during Australia’s tour which starts next month. Westpac Park was scheduled to host the fourth match of the series on March 2, but following criticism of the pitch there during New Zealand’s match against the FICA World XI on January 26, the board decided that an alternative venue would be sought.Martin Snedden, NZC’s chief executive, said that the pitch had probably not settled completely since being laid in April 2004, and indicated that it might not match up to international standards. “We have decided to move the Australian ODI as we can’t afford to risk the pitch for that match not being up to international standard. We need to ensure the match is played on a good-quality surface.” The match is likely to shift to Auckland, Christchurch or Wellington.”The Hamilton City Council has done tremendous work improving facilities and upgrading the quality of the ground at Westpac Park,” said Snedden. “The issue with the wicket block is likely to be short term. With the exception of the pitch issues there were a large number of positives from the day [the January 26 match] which showed that the venue has the ability to successfully host ODIs.”We made the decision to play Wednesday’s match at Westpac Park based on previous experience with Waikari wicket-blocks. We had expected that the block would have settled enough to allow an acceptable playing surface to be prepared. That wasn’t the case, and ultimately the responsibility for that decision rests with NZC.”I am happy with the efforts of the Westpac Park turf-management team. The issue appears to be one with the block not settling as quickly as would be expected, rather than with the preparation of the playing surface.”The pitch at Hamilton came in for severe criticism, with Shane Warne, the World XI captain, suggesting that it wasn’t upto international standards. The World team was bundled out for 81 in that game, and the match finished in just more than 35 overs, forcing the sides to play a ten-overs-a-side game.

Looking for a definition of bitter-sweet? Try Simon Katich.Katich, proclaimed the unluckiest man in the world by Ricky Ponting when he lost his Test place to Andrew Symonds, has been trying to enjoy Australia’s Test series triumph over Sri Lanka. “It is so good to see the boys having success and win,” he said. “But you have that feeling that you haven’t contributed if you haven’t physically been out there.”Unlike players who are dropped at home, Katich cannot disappear off the radar.Where he’d like to be at the beach or finding consolation among friends and family, instead he has to watch Australia winning without him. “It has been hard because I have been at the cricket all the time,” he explained. “But it has still been a big thrill being here for the first time when we have actually won.”Katich has a Test average of 60 and was dropped despite scoring a match-saving century in his last Test against India at the SCG. He realises Symonds was picked purely for the conditions here, given his offspin bowling and batting prowess against spin. But that doesn’t make it any easier for a player who was in hot touch throughout the summer.”I felt this tour would be a big one for me,” Katich continued. “The summer was great but I was planning to kick on and make that spot my own but that is the way it has gone and I cannot do much about it. I felt pretty disappointed because I knew I had made improvements to my game and felt I was in the best form of my career and I planned to play in the Test series. That’s what made it so disappointing and frustrating.”The instant you find out you have been dropped is probably the worst feeling you can imagine as a cricketer, particularly when you know you are playing well … that’s when it’s hardest to take.”But he’s also had plenty of support from an Australian side full of players who have been dropped and have fought their way back into the side. “I have seen it happen to a few of the guys. They have done their time. I got a nice letter from Matthew Hayden explaining to hang in there. He has been through it himself a few years ago. Punter [Ponting] had a chat as well before the first Test.”The guys have been really good about it. They make you feel a part of it all but when you are not playing you don’t feel as if you are contributing because you are not out there.”Katich said a hand injury, caused when a ball hit him on the end of his left ring finger, has affected his wrist-spin bowling which hasn’t helped his selection cause. “I have been trying with my bowling but I have not been bowling as much as I would have liked because of my hand.”While the Symonds experiment hasn’t been a grand success, the likelihood of another spinners’ paradise for the final Test of the series at the Sinhalese Sports Club starting on Wednesday means Australia will most likely keep the same team which won the first two matches. At this stage Katich hasn’t heard otherwise, but as he admitted: “I have kept a pretty low profile.”

Crispen Tsvarai and Bruce Makovah have revealed the reasons they quit Zimbabwe Cricket in an interview with the Zimbabwe Independent.The departure of Tsvarai, who was head of ZC’s technical and player welfare committee and chairman of the Bulawayo Metropolitan province, led to yesterday’s press conference where Themba Mliswa outline dhis plans to remove Peter Chingoka as ZC chairman.Tsvarai’s exit seems to have been triggered by a document he drafted in which he recommended the dismissal of Kevin Curran, the coach, and Andy Pycroft, the A-team coach.The reasons were unclear, although Mliswa hinted that Curran held an Irish passport.Tsvarai’s report was submitted to a ZC executive meeting on September 20 which he failed to attend. The other members of his committee are said to have distanced themselves from his comments.Although Tsvarai declined to tell Cricinfo the reasons for his subsequent decision to quit, and said: “Should you want to know of the reasons why please contact Mr Chingoka.”But the Independent quoted his resignation letter: “I find it hard to continue to chair a committee whose decisions are not respected by what I would call an ‘inner board’ for lack of a better term,” Tsvarai explained to Chingoka.Chingoka fired back in a typically bullish manner. “You talk about transparency in your letter. However, we are struck by the coincidence of your resignation at the time your [technical and player welfare committee] and the board had rejected your personal and unilateral wishes to dismiss Curran and Pycroft.”Meanwhile, Makovah, who had been the chief selector, revealed that he had also stepped down because of Chingoka. “Where there’s lack of policy and lack of professionalism, I have problems,” he said. “I have always had problems with fellow selectors, but my main problem is Peter. When a fish dies it’s the head that starts rotting.”ZC officials subsequently claimed Makovah had not been reappointed rather than resigned.Cricinfo was told that he had opposed attempts to lure back former players who had walked away during the ongoing crisis, and also that he opposed “too many whites in the team”.Another source told the newspaper: “Selection was chaotic and shambolic … Makovah was not attending matches yet he wanted to select players. Even in West Indies he was refusing to watch practice matches but he still wanted to have the final say.”It now seems that Makovah was instrumental in the dismissal of Terry Duffin as captain ahead of the Bangladesh series against the wishes of Curran and there were other rows over selection throughout the series.Makovah has been replaced by Kenyon Ziehl.

Surrey have ended their search for a replacement for Keith Medlycott with the announcement that Steve Rixon has signed a two-year deal to be the county’s manager.Rixon, 49, who played 13 Tests for Australia between 1977 and 1985, is currently coaching New South Wales and will move to England in late March when his current contract expires.”Having been offered roles in English cricket before, I feel this is the opportunity and challenge that really excites me the most," Rixon said. "Working for what I see as the premier county, I’ve been very impressed with what I’ve seen of Surrey so far. It’s clearly a squad with high quality players who I am looking forward to working with. I believe we will continue to build on the winning ways of the past few years.””We have searched the world of cricket to find the best person for this crucial position within the club," Paul Sheldon, Surrey’s chief executive, explained. "Having spent time with him last week in Australia I am convinced that we have found the right man to lead the team into a new era."

Geoffrey Boycott has launched a scathing and wide-ranging attack on the state of English cricket, in an interview on Radio Five Live. He called England’s performance against South Africa “pathetic'”. He also strongly criticised the selectors for looking to the future instead of the present, and called Nasser Hussain “stupid'” for the resigning from the captaincy when he did. The strongest criticism however, was reserved for Duncan Fletcher.Boycott has been forced to watch most of England’s recent matches on television, as he has fought throat cancer from which he is now in remission. In this interview, however, he showed that he has not become any softer.”I don’t take much notice of their wins against Zimbabwe,” he began. “Quite frankly they [Zimbabwe] weren’t up for it. A club side could have beaten Zimbabwe, so saying England have had a good summer so far is nonsense. We’ve not been tested until South Africa came here, and we’ve not only been found wanting – we’ve been pathetic.”Boycott believes that the selectors should not pick young cricketers simply because they’re looking to build a team for the future. He insists that Nasser Hussain and Alec Stewart still have roles to play. “Every time we have a bad match, the selectors come up with the old chestnut of `sack the older players, bring on youth, build for the future’.””Well to hell with the future – what about now? What the public could do with is a tonic now – they could could do with England whacking South Africa at Trent Bridge. So I wouldn’t sack Alec and I wouldn’t sack Hussain – I think they’ve got it right.”Fletcher, who prefers to work quietly from the sidelines, is not spared either: “Whenever there’s any publicity, it’s shove the captain forward. When the team plays well, he [the coach] takes a lot of the plaudits. I think you’ve got to take some of the pressure off Michael (Vaughan) and stand up a bit.”Boycott suggested that England needed someone who properly recognised the importance of County cricket: “He [Fletcher] hasn’t played county cricket and he doesn’t understand the passion we have for it, and resting all the players all the time is killing county cricket. I just feel that it would be better if we had an Englishman who understands that we have a professional county game to support, as well as Test matches to win. You have to marry the two.”Hussain might have got the Boycott vote as player, but the timing of his resignation comes under fire: “Stupid – not good for English cricket. I accept that maybe he was mentally shot – but he should have known that before he went on the field. He did a lot of talking before that first Test match and I thought ‘this guy’s talking himself out of a job’.”

Tickets are still available for the Cheltenham & Gloucester Trophy Final – between Gloucestershire and Worcestershire – at Lord’s on Saturday 30th August.No further advance bookings are being taken. Tickets will be available from the North Gate Sales Points in Wellington Place from 8.45 am.Only three types of ticket currently remain available – Adult tickets to the Upper Tier of the Grand Stand (£45 each), Adult tickets to the Mound Stand (£40) and Juvenile tickets to the Lower Tier of the Mound Stand (£5 each).

Western Province overpowered Eastern Province in the Bay while Justin Kemp’s maiden Standard Bank Cup hundred could not have come at a better time, as he smashed Northerns to an exciting win in Centurion. Gauteng completed the weekend fixtures with a convincing win over Griqualand West.PointsTableWestern Province 194 for 3 (Gibbs 47, Smith 51) beat EasternProvince 193 for 8 (Wingfield 39, Mitchell 39, de Stadler 4-35, Kallis3-42) by 7 wickets.
ScorecardEastern Province fought hard to score 193 for 8, but it was the young swing bowler, Mark de Stadler, with a career best 4 for 35, and Jacques Kallis, taking 3 for 42, who walked away with the laurels.Once again the top-heavy Western Province batting made easy pickings of the bowling. Graeme Smith scored 51, Herschelle Gibbs hit 47 and Kallis made 30 not out as the tournament leaders won comfortably in 32 overs.Gauteng 168 for 1 (Bacher 67, Cook 62*) beat North West 166 for 7 (Grace 50, Bailey 53, Terbrugge 3-20) by 9 wickets.
ScorecardAfter winning the toss and batting, North West could not have wished for a worse start: 15 for 4 in the ninth over. David Terbrugge, back in the Gauteng side, took 3 for 6 in his first five overs. Graham Grace and Ryan Bailey fashioned a revival with a half-century apiece, and North West finished on 166 for 7.Gauteng made the best possible start to their innings with Adam Bacher (67) and Stephen Cook (62 not out) creating the ideal platform for what turned out to be a nine-wicket win. The only hiccup in the Gauteng innings was a 30-minute rain interruption.Northerns 225 for 8 (Kemp 107*, McKenzie 61, Abrahim 3-36) beatGriqualand West 221 for 9 (Bosman 58, Gidley 47 Bossenger 33*) by 2 wickets.
ScorecardGriqualand West made things difficult for Northerns, scoring 221 for 9, with Loots Bosman (58), Martin Gidley (47), Wendell Bossenger (33) and Jason Brooker (27) being the major contributors.A magnificent hundred from Justin Kemp, in 70 balls, with six fours and seven sixes, took Northerns to an exciting two-wicket win with two balls to spare. Northerns had earlier lost two wickets in the first two overs but Neil McKenzie (61) and Kemp got the innings back on track before Kemp unleashed his onslaught.

Finals Day for the Twenty20 Cup has become the hottest ticket in cricket with almost 25 per cent of the seats available to the general public sold within three days at Trent Bridge.When the tournament comes to a thrilling climax in Nottingham on July 19, it will be the first time a major domestic final has been played away from the game’s headquarters at Lord’s … and the move is generating tremendous interest.Both semi-final games plus the final and interval entertainment by top UK band Atomic Kitten are included in the programme for the price of a ticket and the Trent Bridge sales staff are delighted with the initial response.Sales and Marketing Manager Lisa Pursehouse said: “With a brand new competition like the Twenty20 Cup we were dealing with an unknown quantity so could not be sure exactly how the public would react.”But the nation’s cricket fans already seem to be extremely excited by the prospect of this new form of the game and as a result we’ve been selling tickets to people from all over the country.”To do that before the competition starts and without even knowing who the four teams competing on the day might be is a terrific achievement.”Anyone interested in reserving their seats for this great family day out is urged to move as soon as possible to ensure they can be accommodated in the most popular areas of the ground.Tickets for the Finals Day are priced at just £30 for adults for premium parts of the ground and £20 in other areas, while juniors under-16 who are accompanied by an adult pay a flat rate of £10.The Twenty20 Cup gets under way on Friday June 13 with all 18 first class counties competing in three regional groups of six teams who will play each other once.Group games will be played in the evenings between 5.30pm and 8.15pm and the three group winners plus the best runner-up will go through to the Finals’ Day at Trent Bridge.Seats can be reserved either on-line at www.trentbridge.co.uk or by calling the Ticket Hotline on 0870 168 8888.