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A bizarre situation has occurred during the alleged spot-fixing trial with the two Pakistan cricketers on trial requiring visa extensions to remain in the United Kingdom.Applications have been made to the relevant border agencies in the UK as currently the visas of Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif expire at midnight on Monday, October 31. Usual trends can see such a practice take weeks but with the two players on a high-profile trial and with a verdict pending, fast-tracked extensions are being requested.Should the jury release ‘not guilty’ verdicts arrive either on Thursday or Friday of this week, then one or both of the players would not need the extensions and would be free to return home to Pakistan. The extensions are needed in case the verdict is delayed beyond the current visa deadline date.Former captain Butt and pace bowler Asif face charges of conspiracy to cheat, and conspiracy to obtain and accept corrupt payments, following the Lord’s Test in August last year when they allegedly conspired with agent Mazhar Majeed and teenage fast bowler Mohammad Amir and other people unknown to bowl pre-planned no-balls. Butt and Asif deny the charges.

Darren Sammy, the West Indies captain, has said his side isn’t going to let up in the third ODI on Tuesday, despite having already claimed the one-day series. West Indies won the second game in Mirpur by eight wickets to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-game series.”We still got a job to do,” Sammy said. “We win the series 3-0 and we get four ranking points so it’s a very important match. It’s not about revenge but going out there putting up a professional display. We win the series 2-1, we get no points. We win it three-love, that’s four points.”One of the team’s stated goals is to make their way up the one-day ranking ladder before the 2015 World Cup, and a sweep here would get them started. West Indies are currently eighth in the ODI rankings, nine points behind New Zealand.Although they won the first two games with ease, Sammy said there was still work to be done. “I thought the lower order batted very well in the last game but we, including myself, dropped a few catches. We had them under 60 for 5, we could have restricted them to under 120.”The seamers have done most of the damage for West Indies, despite the pitches in Bangladesh normally being more conducive to spin, and Sammy said that was testimony to their discipline and perseverance. “Bangladesh normally have spinning wickets. We back our bowlers. When you bowl fast, you do that on every wicket. We control what we can, our line and lengths. We are disciplined.”Bangladesh have won their last four games in Chittagong but West Indies are determined to end that streak. “We prepared well, so it improves our chances to win,” Sammy said. “The team is slowly gelling together.”Lendl Simmons and Marlin Samuels have been the two form batsmen for the visitors. Simmons made a hundred in the first game before narrowly missing out in the second, while Samuels made an aggressive, unbeaten 88 in the second game to see West Indies home. “He’s [Simmons] matured over the years,” Sammy said. “He had a break from international cricket. Playing first-class cricket and Champions League has given him exposure and he’s been consistent.”Samuels, who returned to international cricket earlier this year following a two-year ban, was also singled out for praise. “Before he had a two-year break from international cricket he was playing very well for us. He’s a natural strokemaker. He took a few games to get back into his own. The work he has put in for somebody who has been out from cricket for two years is tremendous.”Batting coach Desmond Haynes was another who received credit for the improved displays from West Indies. “Haynes has done some good work since the Pakistan series,” Sammy said. “It’s good to see that the guys are showing in the middle what they’re practicing in the nets.”So far our fast bowlers have taken the wickets. So far we’ve been batting well and we lost only six wickets in two one-dayers. It hasn’t happened in a long time. Credit to the guys and how the coach has incorporated a professional culture in the team. It’s all well for West Indies cricket.”

Ryan ten Doeschate, the Netherlands allrounder, has been named the ICC Associate and Affiliate Player of the Year for the third time in four years, and for the second year running. ten Doeschate was chosen ahead of Afghanistan allrounder Hamid Hassan, and the Irish duo of Paul Stirling and Kevin O’Brien, both centurions in the 2011 World Cup, during the awards ceremony in London.ten Doeschate, 31, played six ODIs in the voting period – August 11, 2010 to August 3, 2011 – all of them in the World Cup. He scored two centuries and a half-century, and averaged 61.40 for the period with a strike rate of 89.24.”I’m really sorry I couldn’t be there tonight,” ten Doeschate said. “It’s obviously a great privilege to win this award and I’d like to thank all the coaches and my team-mates who have helped me during what has been a very good year for the Netherlands cricket team.”ten Doeschate also was the first Associate player to win an IPL contract. He was bought at the 2011 auction by Kolkata Knight Riders.

Darren Bravo, the West Indies batsman, has joined Nottinghamshire for the remainder of the season as a replacement for David Hussey and Adam Voges.Bravo, the half-brother of allrounder Dwayne, will go straight into the squad for Friday’s CB40 match against Glamorgan after Nottinghamshire undertook an extensive search.”We scoured the world to find an overseas batsman to reinforce our top order and we felt that Darren was a player who was worth pursuing,” Mick Newell, the director of cricket, said. “He has an excellent record for a 22-year-old batsman and we feel that he is a player who has the hunger to succeed in county cricket.”His Test record demonstrates that he is comfortable in adapting to different conditions and we’re hopeful that he can make a good contribution between now and the end of the season.”

Likely squad

• Openers: Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, M Vijay

• Middle order: Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman, Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh/Virat Kohli

• Wicketkeepers: MS Dhoni (capt), Parthiv Patel

• Spinners: Harbhajan Singh, Amit Mishra

• Pace bowlers: Zaheer Khan, Ishant Sharma, Sreesanth, Praveen Kumar, Munaf Patel/Abhimanyu Mithun

India are set to welcome back Gautam Gambhir, Sachin Tendulkar, Zaheer Khan and Sreesanth to their Test side when the selectors meet in Chennai on Saturday to pick the team for the series in England. Virender Sehwag’s fitness, though, remains uncertain after he underwent surgery on his shoulder. There have been conflicting reports on how long his recovery will take, but the selectors might risk picking him even if he is a doubt for the first Test, which begins on July 21.Sreesanth, Gambhir, Sehwag and Zaheer have all spent time rehabilitating at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bangalore, and Gambhir and Sreesanth have publicly declared their fitness. Zaheer, too, is expected back. Tendulkar had asked to be rested for the the West Indies tour and should be charged up for England.M Vijay is likely to retain his place at the top if Sehwag doesn’t make the cut but if Sehwag is fit India are unlikely to take an extra opener along – unless they pick a 17-man touring party as they did to South Africa. That squad included two extra quicks, one extra spinner, one extra middle-order batsman, one reserve wicketkeeper and an extra opener.When everybody is fit, the XI selects itself, with Sreesanth edging out Praveen Kumar as the third pace bowler. Praveen will be one of those extra quicks for sure after his impressive showing in the West Indies, and Munaf Patel and Abhimanyu Mithun will jostle for the final pace place. Munaf, though, wasn’t fit for the West Indies Tests, and that could play some role in his selection for England. Amit Mishra will be the extra spinner, Parthiv Patel the reserve keeper, and Vijay the extra opening batsman should India need one.The final spot remains the one in the middle order. Suresh Raina has all but earned himself the No. 6 slot for the Lord’s Test, but the extra middle-order batsman makes for an interesting debate. Cheteshwar Pujara is yet to recover from his injury – he picked up a knee injury during the IPL, when his foot got stuck in the turf as he attempted a sliding save – and is ruled out. Virat Kohli hasn’t had a great debut series in the West Indies, and will be challenged by the Man of the Series in the World Cup, Yuvraj Singh. Yuvraj was expected to make his Test comeback in the West Indies, but a chest infection kept him away. Now that he is fit, Yuvraj v Kohli, mentor and protégé of sorts, will make for some debate.

Leicestershire 332 for 8 v Sri Lanka A
ScorecardJames Taylor hit an unbeaten 161 to provide nearly half of Leicestershire’s total on the opening day of Sri Lanka A’s tour. The county side reached 332 for 8 as Kosala Kulasekara took 4 for 64 for the visitors at Grace Road.Taylor hit 17 fours and two sixes in his first first-class hundred of the season after averaging a slightly disappointing 34.50 in the first half of Leicestershire’s County Championship campaign. He added 109 with Matthew Boyce (43) after the hosts had been 33 for 2.While unable to remove Taylor, Sri Lanka chipped away at the other end. Kulasekara removed Josh Cobb and Wayne White to leave Leicestershire 182 for 5 before Tom New joined Taylor to add 86 for the sixth wicket.Again Sri Lanka struck back to keep themselves in the contest as legspinner Seekkuge Prasanna claimed two wickets but couldn’t wrap up the innings. Nathan Buck survived the final 50 minutes alongside Taylor who will hope the final two wickets can see him to a double hundred.

New Zealand’s top 20 cricketers have been asked for their views on the leadership capabilities of Brendon McCullum and Ross Taylor, as well as the culture within the national side, as part of their end-of-season reviews. The interviews are taking place at the same time as New Zealand Cricket considers whether to appoint Taylor or McCullum as the team’s next captain.John Buchanan, New Zealand’s director of cricket, confirmed on Saturday that the subject of captaincy had been broached with the players, but said there was no question of the players picking the man for the job. Buchanan, national selection manager Mark Greatbatch and coach John Wright are all currently interviewing players.”One of the areas they needed to comment on was leadership,” Buchanan told the , “the culture of leadership and what their views and thoughts are of it within and around the Black Caps. We asked their views and thoughts on the captains they have played under – either Ross and/or Brendon. We wanted them to express their views on that.”We listened to what they had to say and that’s really the process of the reviews at the moment.”Buchanan said it was not the intention of the reviews to find out if the players preferred a particular captain. “I’m sure it’s probably been interpreted that way but I don’t think that’s specifically been asked. It’s a broad topic of leadership and, when it comes to captaincy, they are the frontrunners and the players have been asked to provide a view on them as individuals and what they bring to the captaincy role.”We are not necessarily canvassing them on a voting process… we really just want a viewpoint.”

Afghanistan captain Nawroz Mangal has said that his side’s tour of Pakistan would help in re-opening the gates of international cricket to the country. “This trip of Afghanistan to Pakistan is a support to Pakistani cricket,” Mangal told .Afghanistan will play a three-match one-day series against Pakistan A with the first match in Islamabad on May 25, and are the first foreign side to visit Pakistan since the Lahore attacks on Sri Lanka’s cricketers and support staff in March 2009.The series is being played even as Sri Lanka expressed reservations about visiting Pakistan after the PCB sounded out their Sri Lankan counterpart on the possibility of a tour in October.PCB chairman Ijaz Butt hoped that the Afghanistan tour would pave the way for more foreign teams coming to Pakistan. “We want to send a message to the world that Pakistan is a safe place to play cricket and the people of Pakistan would welcome any team coming here,” Butt said.Apart from doing their bit towards the return of international cricket to Pakistan, Afghanistan are also hoping to get more games against quality opposition, something that hasn’t been happening regularly despite their rapid strides in international cricket. Afghanistan have progressed in 2009 from ICC Division Five to Division One and also secured one-day status the same year. They also won the ICC Intercontinental Cup in 2010, and qualified for the 2010 World Twenty20 in the West Indies.”We are here for ourselves because we don’t get international matches as an Associate member,” Rashid Latif, Afghanistan coach and former Pakistan wicketkeeper, said.Afghanistan shocked a second-string Pakistan side in the semi-finals of the Asian Games Twenty20 event in China last year and Mangal said that result proved his team had the ability to beat anyone. “Asian Games was the biggest ever thing that happened in our cricketing history,” Mangal said. “Playing against Pakistan A is also the biggest chance for us, we can show talent to the cricketing world.””We can request the ICC or any other cricketing authority to give us some more matches against Test playing nations and hopefully we will play (the full-strength) Pakistan team one day here in Pakistan as well.”Mangal recalled his days playing cricket during his stay in refugee camps in Pakistan during the Soviet war in the 1980s. “I still remember those days when I was immigrant here during the Soviet war. We learnt cricket here and it’s a gift we took back home.”Latif said Afghanistan has at least 120-125 players who compete in regional tournaments in the war-ravaged country. “Out of these at least 30-35 are capable of playing against Associate nations,” Latif said. “Not many people have seen us in action on the cricketing field, but I hope we will give good competition to Pakistan A.”Pakistan A will be led by left-arm fast bowler Sohail Tanvir and have international players like Umar Amin and wicketkeeper Sarfraz Ahmed.

Scorecard
Lancashire Lightning celebrated the start of a new era for their Old Trafford ground with a comfortable 20-run Clydesdale Bank 40 victory over the Unicorns. The Red Rose county, playing three spinners, defended their competitive 201 for 5 on a slow and low pitch, restricting their visitors to 181 for 9.This was the first competitive match played after the re-orientation of the square during the winter as part of the venue’s redevelopment, with the Statham End and Pavilion End those now in use.Stephen Moore scored 50, Steven Croft 41 and Farveez Maharoof a brisk 38 not out after the hosts had been invited to bat first by visiting captain Keith Parsons. Glen Chapple and Sri Lankan Maharoof then returned figures of 3 for 25 and 3 for 33 respectively in the Unicorns’ chase.Timing the ball was a particular problem for both sides, with Moore and Maharoof looking most at ease. Lancashire only scored 85 runs between overs 10 and 30 but Maharoof and GarethCross, who hit 18 off eleven balls, accelerated as they helped to take 50 off the last five overs.Maharoof cracked four fours and a straight six off the medium pace of Glen Querl to boost Lancashire.Querl was the pick of the visitors’ attack with 2 for 45 from eight overs and spin duo Amar Rashid, the brother of Yorkshire’s Adil, and Chris Peploe also struck.Unicorns opener Jackson Thompson smeared Chapple for six over cover early in their chase but the home captain responded well by taking wickets in three overs to leave the score at 34 for 3 in the ninth. He bowled Michael Thornely, had Thompson caught behind by Cross and had Chris Benham caught at first slip.Wicketkeeper Josh Knappett (25) and Parsons (31) steadied the ship with a fourth-wicket partnership of 58 in 15 overs. But the required rate had increased thanks to tight bowling from left-arm spin duo Simon Kerrigan and Stephen Parry.When medium pacer Luke Procter bowled Knappett and Gary Keedy had Parsons caught behind the hosts were firmly on top with the score at 92 for 5 in the 25th. And they further strengthened their hold when Maharoof bowled Rashid and Parry had Luis Reece caught at short fine-leg by Keedy. The Unicorns were then 137 for 7 in the 32nd.Maharoof continued his fine start to life as a Lancashire player – he scored a debut hundred in the recent Championship win over Somerset – with the further scalps of Neil Saker and Querl.

After winning the World Cup, Sachin Tendulkar said he had achieved the one thing he had dreamt about when he started playing cricket. But he may not hang up his boots just yet. When asked about retirement, Tendulkar deflected the question initially, before saying he saw no reason to change things as he was still enjoying the game.”This is a moment to celebrate, not one to think about my future,” Tendulkar told the ICC. “This is the reason I started playing cricket; to do something for the country. The process has been a long one, and I am still enjoying my game, so I don’t see the reason to change anything.”Gary Kirsten, for whom the World Cup final was his last game as coach of India, also said he didn’t think Tendulkar would stop here. “Sachin is the greatest sporting role model I’ve met in my life,” Kirsten said. “He’s had an incredible last three or four years, and he’s enjoying his cricket even more. I don’t think he is going to stop.”Tendulkar had to wait till his sixth World Cup campaign to win the trophy, and when asked whether this was the final accolade he needed to complete his closet-full of achievements, he said it was in fact the first thing he wanted to achieve.”As a young boy I dreamt of winning this trophy; that’s where it all started. This is by far the best moment and it’s the one I’ve been waiting for for 24 years. There have been heart-breaking losses; in past campaigns we lost in the semi-finals and finals. I never gave up because this was my dream and now the team has managed to win this cup for the nation.”After their victory on Saturday, the Indian team spent the night celebrating with their families and friends before going to Raj Bhavan on Sunday to meet the Indian president. But what Tendulkar is looking forward to is sharing the experience with the Indian public.”The victory hasn’t sunk in yet because I haven’t faced the general crowd outside. I’ve just mingled around with my friends and family. We’ve been in a close unit behind a wall of security. We haven’t had a chance to experience or share our joy with everyone else. That’s a reaction I’m really looking forward to because I can imagine what it would be like. All I’ve seen is their reactions on the news channels and it’s absolutely fascinating.”India have now achieved the two things Kirsten had planned on during his tenure as coach: winning the World Cup and attaining the No. 1 ranking in Tests, but he gave all the credit to his team.”The players are the ones who have had to deal with the pressure and expectations,” he said. “They’ve prepared hard and when they’ve had to make the plays and make the contributions under pressure they’ve done that.”The final at the Wankhede Stadium started with an odd incident where the toss had to be redone because the match referee had not heard Kumar Sangakkara’s call. Dhoni thought he had won the toss initially, but Kirsten said they weren’t too worried anyway.”I didn’t hear too much about what happened at the toss, but we just got on with it because we had already spoken about how we would face obstacles in the final. We would have batted first, but we felt confident after the Australia chase that it didn’t matter whether we won or lost the toss. We would have liked to bat first and put up a big total, but cometh the hour cometh the man, and MS Dhoni left his big knock of the World Cup for the final.”While Dhoni, Tendulkar and Man-of-the-Tournament Yuvraj Singh have been the centre of attention after the win, India’s campaign has had several heroes. Zaheer Khan finished as the joint-leading wicket-taker in the tournament, with 21 scalps, and though his figures on Saturday were marred by an expensive last two overs, Kirsten acknowledged his opening spell of 5-3-6-1 played a key role in restricting Sri Lanka to a chaseable target.”Zak’s early spell was what kept them down to 270 despite a strong finish by them. We kept them anchored in their innings; they couldn’t really get going. [Mahela] Jayawardene’s incredible knock gave them some momentum and they did well to get to where they did. But we felt 270 was very gettable.”There has been much speculation about what Kirsten will do next, but, though he acknowledged he had been approached about the position of coach of the South African side, he said he would take a month or two off before making any decisions.”I’m going to take some time off and spend some time with my family who haven’t seen me in a while, and I’ll decide on my future after one or two months. South Africa have approached me, but I’ve told them I’m not going to make any decisions just yet. I’m going to clear my mind for a while after this magnificent journey.”