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Morgan and Pawar nominated for ICC presidency

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David Morgan and Sharad Pawar go head to head © Getty Images

The ICC have revealed David Morgan, the chairman of the ECB and Sharad Pawar, the BCCI president, as the two nominees to succeed Percy Sonn as president of the board.Sonn, 57, began his two-year term at the ICC’s annual conference in 2006. The board has the option of extending his contract to three years but, if not, his successor will take office at the annual conference next year. Pawar, who became the BCCI’s president in November 2005, has the backing of five member boards, including the Asian bloc.The voting process, however, is not restricted only to the 10 full-member boards. There are also the votes of the 32 associate members of the ICC, and the 55 affiliate members. Naturally the votes cast by the full members count for more than those of the others. The winning candidate needs to secure a two-thirds majority among the full-member countries, and a simple majority overall. The votes are weighted 75% in favour of the member boards, with 25% going to the associate and affiliate members. The 55 affiliate members only get five votes between them. It sounds rather complicated, but, basically a two-thirds majority of the full members will do the trick.A new nominations committee, put in place in July 2005, will meet soon to consider the nominations, before announcing its recommendation to the next executive board meeting in March. Voting will then take place at the annual conference which, this year, is being held in London; the successful candidate must secure support from two-thirds of the members.”This is the first time this method of selecting the ICC president has been employed,” said Dr Muttiah, chairman of the ICC nominations committee. “It is a fair and transparent process and one that we believe will ensure the most suitable candidate gets the job.”

VRV five-for puts North in control

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Scorecard

VRV Singh snared five of East Zone’s top six batsmen to put North Zone in control © AFP
 

VRV Singh’s five-wicket burst put North Zone in control on the second day of their match against East Zone in Rajkot. East were skittled out for 143, to give North a massive 213-run first-innings lead and put them on the brink of a place in the final.Resuming at 260 for 7, North’s lower-order continued their spirited showing to take their side to 360. Chetanya Nanda did the bulk of the scoring, carting nine boundaries in his 59-ball 58. After Shib Paul dismissed overnight batsman Uday Kaul (48) to grab his 15th first-class five-wicket haul, Vikramjeet Malik (13) and VRV (20*) chipped in with aggressive cameos.East’s reply started off belligerently and despite the early loss of Arindam Majumdar and Anustup Majumdar, the run-rate continued to hover around the six an over mark. VRV, who had inflicted the first two blows, removed the experienced Shiv Sunder Das (23), and Manish Vardhan off successive deliveries to reduce East to 69 for 4.VRV, who was part of the Indian squad to the Australia tour, was still not done though, removing wicketkeeper Halhadar Das four overs later to leave East in serious trouble at 93 for 5. Wriddhiman Saha was the only batsman to stand firm against the onslaught, remaining unbeaten on 56. The next highest contributor was extras with 25, including 17 no-balls.With East’s prospects of making the finals looking bleak, North piled on the agony in their second innings with Aakash Chopra’s unbeaten 56 taking them through to 109 for 2 at stumps, an overall lead of 326.

Mission control for contrasting teams

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Match facts

Monday, April 28, 2008
Start time 20:00 local, 14:30 GMT

Final hurrah? Matthew Hayden will play his final game of a successful IPL stint for the Chennai Super Kings © Getty Images
 

The Big Picture

Overwhelmed by Rajasthan Royals over the weekend, the Bangalore Royal Challengers host the Chennai Super Kings at home in a match perhaps most significant for a shifting of guard. For Chennai, Matthew Hayden and Michael Hussey leave on May 1 while Jacob Oram catches a flight on April 30, which means it will be the last the fans see of the trio. Both Hayden and Hussey have scored valuable runs and Oram was Man of the Match against Kolkata. Table-toppers Chennai will surely miss them and it’s hard not to imagine them wanting to sign off in style. Bangalore have struggled to defend and chase totals at home, and their team composition needs serious addressing. Their best bets would be to bring in Misbah-ul-Haq and Dale Steyn, arguably their best players. While Chennai prepare to lose three stars, Bangalore need to embrace two.

Watch out for …

… final hurrahs from the aforementioned Chennai stars. The short boundaries at the Chinnaswamy Stadium will entice Hayden, and Hussey has been a bit quiet since his manic hundred against Mohali; if Oram gets promoted in his last game, well then …; and don’t forget Misbah and Steyn, if they play.

Team news

Misbah didn’t feature on Saturday – surprisingly – but he should slot in this time for Shivnarine Chanderpaul. The longer Bangalore keep him on the bench, the harder they’ll find it to win games. He’s a bona fide Twenty20 star and Bangalore seriously need some power in the batting. Ross Taylor departs on May 1, and given his hard-hitting capabilities, he should get as much playing time as possible, perhaps even open the innings. Steyn’s pace and his ability to swing the ball gives the side plenty of firepower with the ball. He reportedly touched the 150kph mark in the Standard Bank Pro20 final and should play given his form. It may sound harsh, but dropping Jacques Kallis for him seems the best option. Kallis has failed to click in three games; his bowling especially has been pedestrian. Bangalore have persisted with 37-year-old Sunil Joshi but three games and no wickets isn’t encouraging. Charu Sharma, the team’s chief executive, had to field some questions on the logic of fielding Joshi and Kumble after the latest loss, so a change isn’t entirely improbable. There are plenty of local players to pick from.Bangalore (probable) 1 Ross Taylor, 2 Rahul Dravid (capt), 3 Jacques Kallis, 4 Misbah-ul-Haq, 5 Virat Kohli, 6 Mark Boucher (wk), 7 Praveen Kumar, 8 B Akhil, 9 Zaheer Khan, 10 Anil Kumble, 11 R Vinay Kumar.Chennai are unlikely to change their final XI after a convincing win over Kolkata Knight Riders. The South African duo of Albie Morkel and Makhaya Ntini has joined the squad but both will have to wait for Hussey and Hayden to go before slotting in. The two young pace bowlers, Manpreet Gony and Palani Amarnath, have improved with each game.Chennai: (probable) 1 Parthiv Patel, 2 Matthew Hayden, 3 Michael Hussey, 4 Suresh Raina, 5 Jacob Oram, 6 Mahendra Singh Dhoni (capt & wk), 7 S Badrinath, 8 Joginder Sharma, 9 Palani Amarnath, 10 Manpreet Gony, 11 Muttiah Muralitharan.

  • S Badrinath has batted just twice, but he has the second-highest strike-rate of the IPL: 220.00.
  • Bangalore’s B Akhil has the lowest bowling average; his two wickets cost just 8.50 runs each.
  • Amarnath’s 1 for 57 against Mumbai was the most expensive spell of the tournament.
  • Chennai’s Joginder Sharma (4) and Badrinath (3) top the list for the most number of catches so far.

    Quotes

    “In the last two games, I bowled too short or too wide. This time I bowled a better line and length. Yet, I am not completely happy with my bowling. But I am getting there.”
    Oram, who netted a match-winning 3 for 32 against Kolkata, prepares to sign off.

    • Australia show no mercy to wanton West Indies

    by csb10.top Uncategorized


    Scorecard and ball-by-ball details4:24

    Chappell: Holder captaincy call a monumental blunder

    Towards the end of Australia’s latest gargantuan first innings in a summer of batting gluttony, the West Indies opener Rajendra Chandrika was struck a painful blow on the wrist by an Adam Voges stroke. Quickly to his aid was the hosts’ team doctor Peter Brukner. Chandrika recovered and later batted; it was the only moment’s mercy offered by the Australians to their hapless quarry all day.More representative was the bowling of Peter Siddle, James Pattinson and Nathan Lyon, all of whom harried their opponents relentlessly and were rewarded with regular victims. Lyon’s loop, Pattinson’s reverse swing and Siddle’s accuracy made for a highly complementary attack, augmented by the stingy Josh Hazlewood.By the close they had reduced the West Indies to a forlorn 6 for 89 in response to 551, leaving open the possibility of another follow on, another Australian innings victory and another three-day Test match. Even if the shorter turnaround to the New Year’s Test in Sydney stops Steven Smith from making such a call, not even the most staunchly patriotic Australian supporter can take too much joy from ritual executions of such lopsided brutality.A second day gathering of 40,416 was the sort of figure both Cricket Australia and the MCC would have been happy about. Nevertheless it was very apparent how on each day the crowds thinned after tea, as though they could not put themselves through the recurring spectacle of one of cricket’s domineers beating up on an opponent in dreadful disrepair. For all the rhetoric of Curtly Ambrose and the good intentions of Jason Holder, there is very little within the power of this touring team to avoid problems that have built up over decades of neglect, infighting and divided loyalties.The first half of day two had Voges and Smith batting without risk or any apparent danger. Their undefeated stand of 223 followed up the strong work of Joe Burns and Usman Khawaja on Boxing Day, and contributed to the statistical mountain being built by an Australian side growing daily under the leadership of their new captain.Smith showed evidence that a rest had helped his sore knee in compiling his sixth hundred for 2015, while Voges continued on the merry way he began at Bellerive Oval in the first Test. He has now made 375 runs in the series without being dismissed, while his career average against the West Indies has reached a scarcely credible 542.Though Smith’s century was marked by a subdued celebration, but Voges was far more animated in marking his fourth hundred of a debut Test year in which he has passed 1000 runs in a mere 12 matches. Only Sir Donald Bradman, Neil Harvey and Sid Barnes managed to get there faster.Together they ensured Australia’s bowlers had plenty of runs to defend once again, and after Chandrika and Kraigg Brathwaite resisted briefly they made steady then increasingly swift progress through the thin remnants of what was once a galaxy of Caribbean batting riches.Brathwaite’s hands were too low and firm to prevent a catch squeezed to short leg when Lyon found bounce and spin. Chandrika was too generous in allowing Pattinson’s in-ducker to strike him in front without offering a shot and then optimistically reviewing the decision. Marlon Samuels’ wretched tour then gained another stanza when he was pinned seemingly in front by Pattinson for a duck and declined to review a ball that EagleEye had passing over the stumps.Very nearly yorked first ball, Jermain Blackwood played a few smart strokes before he was reprieved when the inevitably grey of television replays meant Burns’ apparent clean catch at square leg was overruled by the third umpire Ian Gould. The injustice of that decision was not to linger; Blackwood bunting a return catch to Lyon and Denesh Ramdin flicking a clearer catch to Burns before Siddle snaked a straightening ball around Holder’s dead bat to make it six wickets in the final session.If Voges and Smith did not pile up runs at quite the same rate seen in Hobart, their security at the crease was seemingly unaffected by more patient spells from several West Indian bowlers. Both batsmen gave up edges, Smith an inside edge to fine leg when attempting to force Kemar Roach through the off side, and Voges skewing Carlos Brathwaite past slips 15 minutes before lunch.The MCG surface was flat and easy paced for batting when Smith and Voges resumed, intent upon stretching the hosts’ tally into an intimidating region for the West Indies. There were attractive strokes to be viewed by a crowd that grew steadily, but precious little tension between bat and ball.A reminder of the vast gap between the teams arrived when Australia knocked off their 1000th run for the series, all at a cost of just seven wickets. The scoreboard flashed a reminder that both sides have still got two DRS referrals in their pockets. It is perhaps the only area in which Australia and the West Indies have ever had parity in the series.

    Hair to stand in Sharjah

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    Darrell Hair will stand in his first official match since his employment tribunal against the ICC ended when he umpires the UAE-Kenya Intercontinental Cup match in Sharjah, starting on January 18.Hair withdrew his claim for racial discrimination against the ICC – in relation to The Oval Test forfeiture involving England and Pakistan in August 2006 – during early October, shortly after the trial entered its second week in London.At the time Malcolm Speed said Hair’s immediate future would revolve around the lower-level matches, before a decision would be taken on his long-term future. “For the next six months he will umpire matches at Associate level. I can’t speculate as to whether he will return to umpiring Full-Member matches or not,” said Speed.Following the four-day match in Sharjah, Hair will stand in a one-day international, at the same venue, between UAE and Kenya before another Intercontinental Cup match involving UAE and Namibia, again at Sharjah, starting on January 23.

    Government looks to bypass KCA

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    The battle between the Kenyan Cricket Association and the country’s stakeholders took another twist this weekend with the revelation that the government is forming a new organisation to run the game.It had been hoped that last week’s court hearing in Nairobi would bring an end to years of bitter infighting inside Kenya, but legal delays, which seemed to be almost entirely at the whim of a High Court judge, meant that the hearing will now not be heard until March. It seems that was the final straw for Ochillo Ayacko, the minister for sports, and The Nation, which has followed a pro-KCA line throughout much of this dispute, is reporting that the government, which suspended the KCA last month, has decided to bypass the old regime altogether.Officially, the ICC has stayed on the sidelines throughout this whole affair, but there is plenty of evidence to suggest that it has been involved behind the scenes and, as previously reported here, has held meetings with Ayacko about how best to proceed. Many inside Kenya actually believe that his decision to move against the KCA was accelerated by ICC support. It also seems unlikely that Ayacko would undertake such a bold move without consulting the ICC as to its position – ICC rules state that it will only deal with the body recognised by the relevant government as being in charge of the game inside a country.The Nation reported that a meeting, chaired by Ayacko, was held at Kasarani on Sunday and that an application will be made this week for the new body to be registered. “We are not interfering with KCA,” Sammy Obingo, the former KCA general manager, told the newspaper. “They can continue with their affairs.”Such a move would render the old Sharad Ghai-led KCA an irrelevance. It has no sponsors and is, to all intents and purposes, insolvent. The ICC, which is its main source of funding, is understood to have suspended payments pending the resolution of the dispute, and senior figures inside Kenya have confirmed that there is no money to meet even the most urgent of liabilities.It seems inconceivable that Ghai will not challenge the minister’s move, but it would be hard to see how a court could rule against a body backed by the government and almost all the country’s stakeholders in favour of an organisation which is broke and has such a dismal record of failure and mismanagement.This is certainly not be the final chapter of this whole sorry tale, but it could be a decisive turning point.

    Sri Lanka to have full-time paid selector

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    Sri Lanka Cricket will have a full time paid selector serving in the national selection panel after the 2007 World Cup.The term of the current selection committee ends on April 30, two days after the World Cup final, and depending on the availability of the members, either the same committee or a changed committee may be appointed for the next 12 months from May 1.The present selection committee comprises Ashantha de Mel (chairman), Don Anurasiri, Amal Silva and Shabbir Asgerally. “We have decided that from next month we will have a paid selector serving in the panel so that he can devote full time to the job at hand,” said Sri Lanka Cricket secretary K Mathivanan.”We need at least one selector who can spend his time watching matches and attending training sessions. This way at least there is some justification for the players also,” Mathivanan said. “Selectors should not always depend on newspaper reports and scores to pick players. They should have first hand knowledge of the players.”Sri Lanka Cricket is already making a monthly payment of Rs. 25,000 per selector (US$ 240 approx) as remuneration and providing them with mobile phones. It is a system that has been in existence for the past two years. However they feel that with their individual jobs sometimes taking precedence over cricket none of the selectors have the time to devote fully to watching the players. In the past four years Sri Lanka Cricket has sent at least one selector on tour with national teams.”We have not decided on what sort of fee and other benefits we should be paying the selector. It is a matter for the interim committee to decide,” said Mathivanan.Don Anurasiri, the former Sri Lanka left-arm spinner appears to be the most likely choice. Anurasiri, who appeared for his country in 18 Tests and 45 ODIs between 1986 and 1998, has been a member of the selection committee for the past three years and also accompanied teams as manager and tour selector.Pakistan recently appointed its first paid selection committee when it named former Test cricketer Salahuddin Ahmed as the head replacing Wasim Bari. Former Test cricketers Shafqat Rana and Saleem Jaffar are the other members of the new committee appointed following Pakistan’s early exit from the 2007 World Cup.

    Andrew Hall signs for Northamptonshire

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    Hall, no longer an international cricketer, has switched from Kent to Northants © Getty Images

    Andrew Hall, South Africa allrounder who recently retired from international cricket, has signed for Northamptonshire on a three-year deal.Hall, 32, was omitted from South Africa’s World Twenty20 squad this month, a decision which ultimately prompted him to retire from internationals.”A number of counties have been after Andrew’s signature,” Mark Tagg, the Northants chief executive said, “and we are very pleased that he has seen the potential in our club over the next few years and has decided that he would like to be a part of our plans.”Hall had a stint at a brief stint at Worcestershire before joining Kent in 2005 where he enjoyed far greater success. In 61 matches he took 122 wickets, also notching three hundreds and 11 fifties.”I feel confident that the addition of Andrew’s vast experience combined with his proven qualities of being a combative, competitive team man in all departments of the game will have a significant impact in all competitions,” the Northamptonshire coach, David Capel, said.”His pedigree and enthusiastic approach to the game is likely to lead to him having a positive impact at the club in all aspects during the next three years. His bowling ability in all forms of the game is the primary reason for his addition to the squad but it is also recognised that he is a player that has great versatility with his batting roles, making him a him an even more valuable asset to the club.””The opportunity to join Northants and play my role both on and off the field in achieving success and being part of the development plans over the next three years is an exciting one for me,” Hall said. “Before making my decision I have spoken in depth with David Capel, Nicky Boje and Lance Klusener who have given me a useful insight and convinced me about the style, potential and ambition that the club have in progressing and working towards achieving lasting success.”They have assured me regarding the clubs will to compete and enthused about some young talent coming through the ranks and I hope to support their development and help create a strong all round competitive team for many years to come.”

    Charge sheet to be filed against Dalmiya

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    Dalmiya: “I have not received any copy of the alleged charge sheet” © AFP
     

    The Economic and Offences Wing (EOW) of the Mumbai police has found that former BCCI president Jagmohan Dalmiya misappropriated funds to the tune of Rs 2.9 crore during the 1996 World Cup that was jointly hosted by India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. The chargesheet will be filed in a Mumbai sessions court on March 26.”Till now, we have ascertained that there was cheating of over Rs 2,90,00,000 and we will be filing a chargesheet against Dalmiya and two others on Wednesday,” Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) Rakesh Maria told reporters.After investigations, the EOW accused Dalmiya of diverting funds from a bank account in Kolkata that was originally set up for paying legal fees towards various other expenses.Dalmiya however dismissed the development as another ploy by the BCCI to unsettle him ahead of the upcoming Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) elections, which he is contesting.”It’s an offshoot of the old game plan of my adversaries,” Dalmiya said. “Whenever something happens in cricket politics, they resort to such actions to settle scores with me. But, again, I don’t want to comment on speculative matters,” he told reporters in Kolkata.”I have not received any copy of the alleged chargesheet . However I’ll revert to [the] media if a charge sheet is filed and a copy of it is served to me”.The annual CAB elections will be held in the last week of July and the Dalmiya camp is threatening to come back into the reckoning against Prasun Mukherjee, the current CAB president and BCCI point man.The Kolkata High Court had stayed the order and allowed the Dalmiya to contest the elections of both CAB and the BCCI following FIR filed by the BCCI for misappropriation of funds, forgery and cheating in March 2006. Dalmiya had responded by filing a case of perjury against the Board officials.

    History tells Dyson to remain hopeful of record win

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    Dwayne Bravo’s move to the top of the order was a success on day four as he reached 46 © AFP
     

    John Dyson, the West Indies coach, believes a record-breaking chase of 437 is possible for the hosts as they dream of a 1-0 lead in the series with Sri Lanka. West Indies chopped 96 from the target for the loss of Devon Smith as Dwayne Bravo, the stand-in opener, and Ramnaresh Sarwan combined for a 74-run stand.”We will wait and see what happens [on the final morning] and see how things pan out,” Dyson said. “History says that it is possible to get a total like that and it has been done in the West Indies before so you never put that totally out of the question. I think all teams these days look to win wherever possible and if the opportunity to win comes along then we will look to take it.”Chris Gayle, the captain, dropped to No. 4 so he could employ the attacking instincts of Bravo and the move has been a success so far. “Chris felt that it was a good chance to have a change in this innings,” Dyson said. “He feels that Bravo is a very positive player and also having a left-hand, right-hand opening combination in this innings was something we were thinking about.”Dyson was impressed with the returns of Bravo, who was 46, and Sarwan (34). “They handled the last session very, very well,” he said. The coach said the surface remained a “batsman’s paradise” although the Sri Lankans believe it is tricky for run-scoring.Another strong performance came from the left-arm spinner Sulieman Benn, who picked up 3 for 59 before Sri Lanka declared at 240 for 7. “I thought he bowled very, very well for his first Test,” Dyson said. “He came in, maintained a good line, a good length, he didn’t give away very many easy runs at all, and I was really pleased.”I felt sorry for him that he didn’t take a wicket in the first innings, although there was one opportunity missed form his bowling. I was pleased that he has come out there again and bowled pretty well.”