The uncertainity over who will take over leadership of the Indian team if Rahul Dravid leaves the field has been answered for the moment with Sachin Tendulkar being appointed vice-captain for the two-Test series against Bangladesh.”Tendulkar has been made the vice-captain,” said Surendra Bhave, India’s administrative manager.India did not appoint a vice-captain for the one-day series against Bangladesh but Virender Sehwag took over when Dravid left the field for a brief while during the second ODI. The one-day squad did not include Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly or VVS Laxman and, with Sehwag dropped from the Test squad, the question cropped up once again.Laxman had been appointed vice-captain for the Test series in South Africa in December 2006, after which Sachin Tendulkar took over the role for the home one-day series against West Indies and the World Cup in the Caribbean.
April has been just another wacky month in the wacky world of West Indies cricket.Filled with typical incongruities and oddities, it has ended with puzzling twists that, at least according to those who now preside over its destiny, have overnight turned doubt and despair into new hope and optimism.The sudden official confidence in the resurgence of a team that has nosedived from top of the world to within an inch of rock bottom in a decade, is based principally on the return to the captaincy of Brian Lara for the third time, and the eventual signed accord between the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) and the West Indies Players Association (WIPA) on several of the issues they allowed to undermine the game they are supposed to promote.The supposed new dawn broke this weekend with the first of seven one-day internationals against Zimbabwe. Its high noon is a year down the line, with the first World Cup to be staged in the West Indies. Zimbabwe’s cricket is in even more of a mess than ours. It has created such a decimated team of wide-eyed juveniles that Lara should be able to successfully launch his third and final attempt at moulding a strong team and leaving a legacy to match his phenomenal, long established batting reputation.The first genuine test only comes once India, one of the best led, best balanced and strongest of opponents, arrive in two weeks for five ODIs and four Tests. If Lara’s elevation generally came as a surprise – even, judging by his own comments, to himself – it was signalled months ago when Ken Gordon, the WICB president, appointed him as the only current player on his ‘Win World Cup’ committee, even above then captain Shivnarine Chanderpaul.Gordon described Lara last week as the logical choice as new captain, based on his “unquestioned” experience and knowledge. But much the same was said by earlier presidents when Lara was first installed, in place of Courtney Walsh in 1998, and again when Wes Hall persuaded him to take over from Carl Hooper in 2003. Expectations were similarly high on each occasion but came to nothing.Lara first resigned in 2000 after “two years of modest success and devastating failure” to take a break from the game. Last year he withdrew from the team in solidarity with players dropped because of the sponsorship row with the board rather than fight their cause in the prime position as captain. Why Gordon and the former players who have now implored him to take the helm once more are persuaded it can be different this time is not clear. Every West Indian, desperate for an end to years of defeat and distress, will pray for the promised revival under Lara and wish him well. Perhaps it will be third time lucky and, for all the glory his batting has brought to West Indies cricket during its most dismal times, he deserves a more fitting finale than he has had in his previous stints at the helm (ten wins against 23 losses in 40 Tests, 37-42 in 82 ODIs).Yet such a record, along with his frequent statements over the past year that, in his 37th year, captaincy was no longer a consideration and he aimed to cut down on ODI appearances so as to prolong his Test career, do not correspond with the claim that he was the only logical choice.Quite the opposite. It is clear that this is a short-term measure designed to provide a bridge to the World Cup. It takes no account of the long-term future that required a new, younger captain, especially as his immediate opposition would be Zimbabwe.The most disturbing aspect of the whole business was Gordon’s dismissal of the alternatives as not ready for the role, even to the extent that no one was named as vice-captain. That, we were officially and bafflingly informed during the first ODI yesterday, would be decided by Lara “should the need arise during the match”. Ramnaresh Sarwan, aged 25, six years an international cricketer and twice vice-captain, must be even more confused than when Guyana preferred Chanderpaul to him as their skipper immediately after he was first chosen West Indies’ deputy. Chris Gayle, Daren Ganga and Wavell Hinds, all experienced cricketers, and others with ambitions to lead the West Indies one day must also be nonplussed by Gordon’s blanket rebuttal. But that is the way of West Indies cricket, typified by several other recent events.April started with the resignations within days of each other of two of its most prominent leaders, Chanderpaul as captain and Roger Brathwaite as the board’s chief executive officer. Two men thrust into their positions by default, they joined a host of others who had found the challenge beyond them. Soon, the longest serving member of the board, Chetram Singh, never one to be out of the limelight for long, was openly and consciously slating his president on some specious grounds, following up by hailing Chanderpaul, whose captaincy he had championed, for making the right decision to quit.
In the meantime, Clive Lloyd, the eminent former captain rejected after he was nominated as vice-president at the board’s directors meeting last year, was named head of a reformed cricket committee. As was immediately evident, it is a post that carries far greater authority. The first problem requiring the attention of Lloyd and his colleagues, all members of the teams he led during the glory days, was the prolonged and tiresome impasse between the WICB and WIPA over retainer contracts. They had all passed this way before, on the opposite side as players. Now they declared in a public statement that they were “at a loss to understand the reasons for this matter being dragged out as long as it has”. It was a sentiment widely shared by those who still cared about West Indies cricket.Lloyd’s committee described what had been put forward as “a good offer, fully competitive with other full member countries of the world” and, as only ten days remained before the start of the series against Zimbabwe, recommended a cut-off date for the players to sign so that a new captain and team could be named.There was one drawback. The board was still drafting its contracts so the deadline had to be shifted. It was not until 3 a.m. last Wednesday that the deal was finally done: 23 years after the retainer scheme was first mooted by then WICB president Allan Rae to Lloyd’s team, specifically to combat the exodus of players to apartheid South Africa. As those who have managed to maintain their interest in West Indies cricket through all the nonsense of recent times, waited to know if there would be anything to watch in the coming weeks, there were other bewildering developments.One of the WICB’s representatives in the contracts negotiations was Desmond Haynes, the former West Indies opener who, only eight months earlier, was secretary of WIPA. Now one of Barbados’ directors on the board against which he once had a protracted court action, he has found a fellow director to be the new president of the Leeward Islands Cricket Association Gregory Shillingford, who was fired as the WICB’s chief executive officer three years ago.And if these contradictions were not perplexing enough, there were the full page, colour advertisements in Thursday’s newspapers in Trinidad and Tobago. Each featured a prominent image of Brian Lara. One proclaimed: “Born Leader – Raise Your Hand!, the other Lara In The Lead!” One was for Digicel, sponsors of the team that Lara captains once more, the other for TSTT, the Trinidad and Tobago off-shoot of Cable & Wireless, Digicel’s fierce rivals with whom Lara has a personal contract.Only in West Indies cricket.
How does a team like Australia go from 136 for no loss to 235 all out in the space of fewer than 40 overs? Anil Kumble’s scything spell – 17.3-4-48-7 – had much to do with it, as did a first-day Chennai pitch with bounce in it, and the tendency of Australia’s batsmen to defend forward with hard hands. India pulled off a stunning turnaround after Matthew Hayden and Justin Langer got off to a fine start, and only the fall of Yuvraj Singh before trhe close spoiled a perfect day for the home side.The pitch at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore came in for a lot of criticism before the start of the first Test: John Buchannan, Australia’s coach, went as far as calling it “terrible”. But as Irfan Pathan and Harbhajan Singh showed as late as the fifth day, it was fine for batting: Dean Jones called it a “lamb in wolf’s clothing”. The Chennai pitch was exactly the opposite.The ball came onto the bat nicely in the first session, and in the absence of movement in the air and off the pitch, the old firm of Hayden and Langer took full toll. Irfan Pathan relied heavily on swing, and did his best to keep a tight line and length, but was not able to break through. Zaheer Khan also rapped the pad more than once, but was never close enough to convince the umpires.When Hayden lifted Harbhajan Singh over the long-on fence to bring up his fifty and the team hundred, in less than 23 overs, it seemed to be one of days for India. The scoreboard galloped along and Langer, scratchy at first, found his feet and reached a half-century of his own. Job well done, they walked off for lunch with 111 for 0.In the period after lunch, the balance between bat and ball began to shift. There were the first hints of reverse-swing, and Harbhajan began to get the ball to bounce sharply when he gave it a rip and tossed it up. In the first three balls of the 34th over, he sent the openers packing. Hayden (58) holed out to long-off, after Ganguly choked the run-flow, and Langer (71) edged to slip. All of a sudden, 136 for 0 was 136 for 2, and the Indians were pumped up.Harbhajan’s performance gave the team the lift it so desperately needed, and then Kumble got stuck in. Spearing in those fizzing legbreaks, googlies and top-spinners, Kumble made the batsmen play, and prised out Damien Martyn (26), who lunged forward and presented short leg with a catch (189 for 3). Simon Katich and Martyn had put on 63 for the third wicket.From then on, it was Kumble all the way as Australia’s batsmen failed to come to terms with the extra bounce in this pitch. Katich plugged away, nudging and deflecting the ball around for safe runs. At the other end, though, Kumble did not give anyone a chance to settle down. None of the last seven batsmen managed more than 5, and Kumble had found the success of old.
Darren Lehmann, a canny if unorthodox player of spin, chopped hard at a short one before he’d scored, and feathered a nick to Parthiv Patel, who had had a horrid day behind the stumps till that point, fluffing simple collections (191 for 4). Michael Clarke, fresh from a cracking 151 in the first Test, was trapped in front by a pacy Kumble slider that would have knocked the leg stump over (204 for 5).Adam Gilchrist (3) then became the first of three Australians to walk without waiting for the umpire’s decision, after he popped a catch to short leg (210 for 6). Shane Warne lobbed a simple return catch (216 for 7) and Kumble, with five wickets, had gone past Curtly Ambrose’s tally of 406 Test wickets. But he was not quite done for the day.Jason Gillespie was caught by Mohammad Kaif at short leg via bat and pad and was quick to shuffle off the pitch and back to the dressing-room. Then came a hairy moment for David Shepherd, the umpire standing at the Wallajah Road end, the one from which all wickets fell in the innings. Michael Kasprowicz edged Kumble to silly mid-off, but Shepherd turned the appeal down, only to see the batsman walking off (228 for 9). Glenn McGrath, rarely a batsman to hold up the opposition, ran himself out, leaving Australia all out for 235 and Katich stranded on 36 not out.Kumble’s incisive spell, in which he picked up 7 for 25 from 10 overs, ensured that India were right on top. And the luck was still with them when they started batting: Yuvraj, opening the batting for the first time in Tests, edged the sixth ball he faced, off McGrath, to Clarke at second slip, and watched in surprise as the catch was floored. But he did not capitalise on the let-off, and inside-edged Warne through to Gilchrist when he attempted a booming drive. Warne, jumping for joy, had caught up with Muttiah Muralitharan as the world’s highest Test wicket-taker, with 532 scalps.Nevertheless Virender Sehwag, who racked up 2000 runs in Tests, and the nightwatchman Pathan took India through to the close at 28 for 1, 207 runs behind Australia.
Until the end of the Indian tour of Pakistan, we will be running a daily Paper Round of what newspapers in India and Pakistan, and from around the world, are saying about this series. This is what the media had to say today:
Imran Khan believes that this tour will help heal the long and bitter divide between the two countries. The Nation reported: “When the two countries are trying to become friendly, trying to ease tensions, then cricket plays a healing role, cricket becomes a cement in bonding the countries together. It transcends sport, it is much more than cricket, it is passion.”Imran added that the series assumed greater significance because it came against a backdrop of decades of mutual hostility which nearly boiled over into a nuclear war two years ago. “Therefore people are really skeptical, is it really heading towards peace? I feel that the two governments have realised that war is not an option. This is a realisation which came after their forces were eyeball to eyeball for so many months in 2002.”Imran, while assuring a friendly atmosphere throughout the tour, said, “There will be a lot of rivalry and competitiveness on the cricket field but there will be intermingling of civil society. Lots of Indians are coming here to watch cricket. This will help ease the tensions. Even an incident does occur, then the two governments will quickly smother over it.”* * *There has been frenetic activity among the punting community as they prepare to leave Mumbai towards the outskirts. The Mumbai Age quotes a leading bookie from the city as he said, “Though we take in bets for all the matches played around the world throughout the year, this is a money-making tour for us and we don’t want to take any chance that could spoil our party. The police will not spare any effort to track us down, so we have decided to stay away from the city and operate in peace.”Apart from betting on which team wins the game, the bookie spoke about `session betting’ being more popular. “In session betting, there will be bets taken on how many runs will a side score in 15 overs, 30 overs and then in the last 20 overs.” Most of their operations will be from Gujarat and the reason offered is fascinating. “Gujju’s have a lot of money, they are very calculative and are inclined towards such things. Even if there is a 10 paise profit, they will latch on to it, as they have plenty of black money to pump in. So the entire Gujarat belt is going to be our prime location for business.”* * *Javed Miandad, the Pakistan coach, has urged the citizens of Karachi to show exemplary behaviour during the opening match of the one-day series at the National Stadium on Saturday. Dawn reported him making a passionate appeal to the people of Karachi to show that they are truly hospitable and good hosts. “This series is being played at a time when both governments are trying to bring about peace in the region. We should set examples by playing excellent hosts to the Indian cricketers, their people and the media. Since Karachi is hosting only one match, the onus is on people to make it an unforgettable and memorable occasion.”Miandad felt that there will a huge amount of emotional tensions that the players will be subjected to. “We must be ready to play under pressure. The political pressure, the pressure of the matches itself and above all, the pressure of the public in both countries. But we must not let our emotion get the better of us.”* * *Balwinder Singh Sandhu, the former Indian swing bowler, has some sound advice for the Indian team. Rediff.com reports him urging the players to completely neglect whatever Miandad had to say, especially once they got on top of Pakistan. “If they [Pakistan] lose, he will get very tough on the team. He is a bad loser and will start mouthing a lot of stuff. Ignore him. The madder he gets, the better for us.”He also provided Sourav and his team with some shrewd tactical advice. “The Indian team should go and wish the man sitting next to Miandad, but not wish him. He was a great cricketer, but if we wish to win we must ignore him on and off the field.”Bishan Singh Bedi had a word of caution about the crowds as well. The Asian Age quotes him as saying, “What they’ve got to be careful about is the crowd. Let us not forget that the crowd cheering would be for the home team. So stuff cotton in your ears and play the game, that is it.”* * *Shahbaz Ahmed, one of the legends in Pakistan hockey, says he cannot wait for the tour to kick off. AFP quoted him as saying, “I am as excited as anyone else. India have not played a Test in Pakistan in 15 years so this is obviously a very special moment for our two countries.”He predicted the intensity in these encounters to be of a high voltage and said, “Look, India and Pakistan just don’t want to lose to each other, be it cricket or hockey or any other sport. Our mindsets are like that. The public reacts horribly when we lose so the players are always on their toes. It becomes more than just sport. It should not, but it does. I don’t believe a word when people say an India-Pakistan match is just another game.”Interestingly he didn’t think the series was going to be closely contested and predicted one of the teams to win comprehensively. “But my gut feeling is that it will not be a close contest as everyone predicts. My experience of playing hockey against India shows that once a team starts to win, it is very difficult for the other to catch up. The initial edge lasts for the entire tour. I can’t tell you why it happens, maybe it is psychological, but it happens.”
The year 2003 gets into motion to the strident cries of well-meaning people advocating a total cricketing boycott of Zimbabwe for the World Cup. Once more we ask them, "What about the very serious effect such a boycott would have on the game in Zimbabwe? What plans to you have to counter that damage?"At least England look likely to play now – now that their politicians have refused to pay the compensation that they would owe Zimbabwe if they pulled out unilaterally. It looks, then, as if the only hopes of those wanting a boycott of Zimbabwe lie in what they would call `a deterioration of the security situation in the country’. But we hope nobody wants that. Zimbabweans have little enough to cheer them at present, so at least allow us a World Cup that will stimulate the game in this country.CONTENTS
National League scores and averages
Updated biography: Gus Mackay
Detailed first-class career record: Grant Flower
Letters
Next week sees the start of an innovation, an official one-day inter-provincial competition in Zimbabwe. Normal one-day rules apply, with 50 overs per innings. Provided obstacles can be overcome, some of these matches will be covered from the ground by CricInfo. They are as follows:
Wednesday 15 January: Matabeleland v Midlands, at Harare Sports ClubManicaland v Mashonaland, at Mutare Sports ClubFriday 17 January: Manicaland v Matabeleland, at Alexandra Sports ClubMashonaland v Midlands, at Country ClubSunday 19 January: Manicaland v Midlands, at Alexandra Sports ClubMashonaland v Matabeleland, at Harare Sports Club
One of the world’s greatest fast bowlers has confirmed that he will be playing in Darren Gough’s benefit match at Don Valley Stadium.Pakistan legend Wasim Akram will line up alongside a host of other household names on Thursday August 30 for the Rest of the World XI against Gough’s All Stars in the 40-over Costcutter International Challenge, sponsored by Costcutter Supermarkets UK.The two have been best of friends as well as best of enemies for nearly a decade since Gough made his international debut in 1994. Wasim has been around a lot longer since beginning his Test career as a teenager in 1984.Barnsley-born Gough, aged 30, is England’s seventh-highest wicket-taker in Test Matches. He is delighted that Wasim has accepted his invitation to play in his benefit game.’Dazzler’ said: “I’ve known Wasim a long time, playing against him regularly. Over the years we have built up a strong friendship and we both respect what the other can do on the cricket pitch.”Wasim has never given me an easy time, either batting against me or bowling at me, and I’m sure he’ll be just as competitive when he is playing at Don Valley for the Rest of the World XI.”Wasim is widely regarded as the best left-hand bowler to have played the game. Alongside new ball partner Waqar Younis Pakistan stormed to victory in the 1992 World Cup and he is the only player to have taken more than 400 wickets in both Test Match cricket and One-Day Internationals.Ian Townsend, chief executive of The Medical House plc and a member of Darren Gough’s Benefit Committee, said: “This is great news. Wasim is one of the legends of the modern game. We’re delighted that he has agreed to play in the match.”The day/night game at Don Valley is the highlight to a year of activities to mark an outstanding ten-year career in professional cricket for Darren Gough at both national and county level for the England team and Yorkshire County Cricket Club.The quality of the two teams means the game will rival any first-class match the season’s fixture list can offer. Umpiring the game are Dickie Bird, who has agreed to come out of retirement, and current international umpire John Hampshire.Tickets are available for the match now from the box office on 0114 2565657. Price Pre event sales – Grandstand £14 Adult, £7 U16, Other Areas £10 Adult, £5 U16On the day of the game at the gate – Grandstand £17 Adult, £8.50 U16, Other Areas £12 Adult, £6 U16.
A claim has been made over Newcastle United’s pursuit of England under-21 international Lloyd Kelly.
What’s the talk?
Transfer insider Dean Jones has suggested that the Magpies could be in for the centre-back in the summer because of his history with Eddie Howe.
The Toon head coach signed the defender for Bournemouth from Bristol City for £13m during his time at the Vitality Stadium and has been linked with a swoop for him this year.
Jones told GIVEMESPORT: “Obviously, Eddie Howe knows him very well, and it’s not just that. It’s the potential that he’s got, the level he’s already playing at.”
Imagine him & Burn
PIF must land a Newcastle deal for Kelly in the summer as he would form an exciting partnership with Dan Burn at St. James’ Park.
They would complement each other well as their contrasting styles would help them work in tandem in matches as a pairing.
Whilst Burn excels in his individual duels and likes to bully attackers, he lacks the pace to cover in behind and can be exposed when he gets turned and has to chase after a ball that goes past him – as shown in recent goals for Everton and Chelsea as Alex Iwobi and Kai Havertz broke into the space behind him to score.
He has made 3.1 tackles and interceptions whilst winning 3.0 aerial duels and 4.7 battles in total per game in the Premier League this season – as per SofaScore. This shows that he is a strong one-on-one defender as he is regularly winning 50/50’s to regain possession for his side to make up for his lack of mobility.
Kelly, meanwhile, has only won 1.1 aerial battles per game in the Championship at an underwhelming success rate of 47%. The 23-year-old is not outstanding in the air, like the former Brighton man, and can leave the bulk of those particular duels to Burn.
He does, however, have the turn of pace to cover the 30-year-old and ensure that his speed is not a major issue in games. Former Cherries boss Jonathan Woodgate previously heaped praise on the central defender’s physical attributes, saying:
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
“At the minute he just looks like a bit of a Rolls-Royce doesn’t he? He looked very, very good (against Bristol City).
“I was impressed to be honest with you, especially when (Antoine) Semenyo tried to run him down the line and Semenyo gave him two yards and Lloydy overtook him. It’s eye-catching when things like that happen, especially as a fellow defender. When you see things like that, it’s like ‘you’ve got a bit’.”
This suggests that he will be able to alleviate any problems caused by Burn’s mobility, or lack thereof, and that is why they would be a perfect pairing at Newcastle next season and PIF must seal a deal for Kelly in the summer.
AND in other news, NUFC plot audacious bid to sign £81m-rated “genius”, he “makes football a pleasure”…
In one of the most gripping Tests in recent memory, little could separate India and South Africa as the crumbling pitch at Kanpur produced another enthralling day. Punch followed counter-punch in a match that had all the makings of a classic, and it took a masterful innings from Sourav Ganguly to give India a slender 23-run advantage.A fizzer of a pitch made way for a gripping encounter, one where nobody could afford to miss even a ball. Just when the bowling side appeared to have sized up the situation, a partnership would thwart them; just when the batsmen appeared to be well set, a snorter of a delivery would upset plans. South Africa’s lethal fast bowlers jousted with India’s tenacious batting line-up but none could get past Ganguly, who chose the right moment to produce an unforgettable innings.He walked in a few moments after Morne Morkel had unleashed a most venomous jaffa, one that injured Rahul Dravid before dismissing him. A couple of overs later he watched Morkel nip out Laxman with one that swung in and straightened. This was an uphill task against a potent bowling attack on a spiteful pitch. So composed was Ganguly’s response, so assured his shot selection, that it was difficult to believe that he was batting on the same surface.He cover-drove with assurance and handled – or manhandled – Paul Harris, the left-arm spinner, with a bit of contempt. Harris tried to keep the runs down in between bowling grenades but Ganguly’s 39 deliveries against him saw a scoring rate of a run-a-ball. Makhaya Ntini’s reverse-swing briefly troubled him but the rapacious pull that he uncorked, towards the end of the day, had the bowler looking on in disbelief.The nine fours and a six drew the gasps but it was his scampered singles that frustrated the fielders more. There were cheeky moments too – a glide that bisected the slips and a shovel off Harris that soared over midwicket – which left Graeme Smith huffing and puffing. He seemed to have won a mini battle too: a constant look out for the single led to South Africa muffing simple stops in the field.He shared two vital partnerships. Yuvraj Singh’s in-your-face approach put off the bowlers for a while – Dale Steyn was riled up enough to enter into a verbal duel – before Mahendra Singh Dhoni filled the breach. Both sized up the match situation early, hurrying singles and putting away the boundary-balls, but both were responsible for their dismissals – Yuvraj sweeping in the air and Dhoni rushing down the track as if in a last over of an ODI.
The nature of the surface and the quality of attack made life difficult for the batsmen. Not only did they need to draw on their technical expertise but also show the temperament to forget about what happened before. Virender Sehwag was rooted to the crease to one that came in but it won’t be out of place to say that the jaffa that beat him two balls earlier – after hitting a big crack – played on his mind.Dravid’s ability to play late came in handy – a couple of full deliveries were squirted to the third man region for four – and he often took his bottom hand off the bat-handle to prevent a meaty edge. But his 106-ball resistance ended with a lethal ball – one that took off from a good length, clattered the glove and ballooned to gully.Laxman was more fluent. He struck the fast bowlers crisply – the highlight being the three consecutive fours off Morne Morkel in the 15th over. He had a life on 43, when an edge off Harris eluded Jacques Kallis’ grasp at first slip, but he fell after bringing up his half-century when a ripper from Morkel swung in and straightened, knocking back off stump.India needed a few more lucky breaks – Yuvraj looked plumb when part-time offspinner Hashim Amla trapped him in front, and Ganguly saw Neil McKenzie put down a hard chance when on 40 – but that is exactly the kind of openings a team would look for in such conditions. It’s been a game of fractions, and it may well come down to which team blinks first.
Kangadaran Mathivanan, Sri Lanka Cricket’s secretary, has said that Sri Lanka believe Adam Gilchrist’s use of a squash ball in his left glove during the World Cup final was “unethical” and may take up the matter at the ICC annual general meeting in June.”We are of the opinion that it was unethical for Gilchrist to use a squash ball to give unfair advantage,” Mathivanan told AFP. He said Sri Lanka could call on the ICC’s cricket committee for stringent application of Law 42 on fair and unfair play to ensure only the approved protection equipment was used. He said that SLC would discuss the issue before deciding whether to raise it in London.The MCC who are the guardians of the Laws, said that Gilchrist had not done anything wrong. “Gilchrist’s use of a squash ball was designed to alter his grip on the bat whilst at the crease,” a spokesman said, “something which he was perfectly entitled to do under Law 3.6(c), which specifies only what external protective equipment is permitted for certain players.”The Laws sub-committee said: “The incident could not be classed either as contravening the Law or as breaching the Spirit of the Game.”Gilchrist scored a match-winning 149 against Sri Lanka in the final and later revealed his batting aid. “I had a squash ball in my bottom-hand to help with my grip in training and I decided in this World Cup to use it in a match.”
New South Wales’ slow bowling stocks have received another boost with Beau Casson, the left-arm wrist spinner, announcing today he will leave Western Australia. Casson was the Warriors’ first-choice ahead of the one-day international Brad Hogg in the Pura Cup last summer, but he has decided to fight for a spot in Sydney alongside Stuart MacGill, Jason Krejza and Nathan Hauritz, who is also chasing greater opportunities.Tony Dodemaide, the Western Australia chief executive, was disappointed to lose Casson, who took 17 wickets at 54.23 in the Pura Cup in 2005-06. “If Beau wants to go to the next level, he won’t do that by bowling in the nets in Sydney,” Dodemaide said. “We pulled out all stops to try to convince him to stay. I think he will struggle to get more opportunities ahead of MacGill and Hauritz than he would for WA where he is the No. 1 choice in first-class cricket.”MacGill is the Blues’ main spinning weapon while Steve O’Keefe and Krejza filled the support roles last summer. Last week Hauritz opted to move south after being attracted by the state’s “spin bowling culture”.”The prospect of having left- and right-arm wrist spinners is exciting,” Trevor Bayliss, the NSW coach, told . “Our spin bowling stocks at that level haven’t been all that deep, but with Beau coming and quite possibly Nathan, it creates some competition.”One of the reasons we went after Beau is the SCG wicket is conducive to wrist-spin bowling. We think Beau has got that potential to go further than just state cricket. He’s the right age.”