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Send us your feedback … what do you think?”Samir Inamdar, Cricket Kenya’s chairman, has dismissed suggestions that his board should have acted to suspend the Centrals province much earlier than they did.As revealed by Cricinfo earlier this week, Centrals were suspended after they failed to promote the game, so much so there were doubts if there was any active cricket being played in the area. Their officials had also failed to attend meetings or respond to queries from Cricket Kenya.”We have tried our utmost to sort out affairs in Central,” Inamdar told Cricinfo. “We did make attempts to get cricket in Central kick-started in the interests of promoting the game there. Senior members of the CK board, including myself, had agreed to travel to Thika in November last year in an effort to get as many clubs and schools together and to create a body capable of running the game there. Joshua Kiragu [the Centrals chairman] said, after being pressed to organise this, that it was inconvenient.”This meeting was rescheduled to December and again at the last minute we had to cancel because we did not receive any confirmation that he had convened a meeting.””We did the same thing in Rift and this was highly successful. It can only work this way if there is someone in a province able to mobilise people to come to a meeting to discuss cricket. Not having seen Kiragu at board meetings after that, we had to refer the matter to the executive committee. This was left to after the World Cup since preceding that we had the Mombasa tri-series in January, the World Cricket League in January/February and preparations and departures for the World Cup in March/April.”The executive tackled the matter in its meeting on May 13 and resolved to remove Kiragu from the board for failure to attend board meetings, and to call a Special General Meeting to discuss the matter with the governing council about Central’s position. The executive had recommended the Council to suspend Central from its membership and the Council approved this at its meeting on June 3.”Let me make it clear that this decision to suspend Central was taken aftersome long hard thinking,” Inamdar continued. “It was never our intention to deprive a province of its status if there was anything that could be done to keep it (and cricket) going.”Some critics had accused CK of taking the decision too close to the elections. “The other three provinces were unhappy that Central, having done nothing for the last two years, would be able to have a say in national cricket affairs and perhaps even influence the outcome of any election,” Inamdar explained. “I cannot question this as it is an entirely reasonable stand to take in my view.”This has come about at a time when all provinces are being asked to overhaul their constitutions to ensure that they comply with the CK constitution in the interests of uniformity. Central does not have a constitution nor any capacity to make one now. This is fundamental if it is to select anyone to be a delegate at the AGM. It cannot have a delegate because it has no registered clubs affiliated to it. Faced with this situation I do not know what else we could be expected to do in the run-up to elections.”

Marvan Atapattu, the injured Sri Lankan captain, has put his health and family ahead of his career in order to live a pain-free life after years of cricket. The rigours of international cricket have taken its toll on his 35-year-old frame, with his spinal cord being especially badly affected.”The back injury was there since I was young. It came and went and wasn’t a major concern,” Atapattu confirmed. “What I used to do was to take a couple of injections and carry on since I was 20. It wasn’t a real problem. It triggered in a bad way in India and that was very bad.”In Australia during the VB Series I had to take an injection in almost every state and had to go for MRI scans. It didn’t look like working and there was no progress,” he added. “It came to a stage where I had to decide whether I am going for surgery. The doctors diagnosed a disc pro lapse, that means the disc is jumping out from the spinal cord and touching the sciatic nerve that runs down my leg. I had to make a decision whether to do surgery and I knew surgery meant that I would be out for a couple of months.”It was at this point that Atapattu turned his thoughts away from cricket and underwent a micro-disc hectomy. “I thought of putting my health in front more than anything else. I thought this is enough as it was a vital time of my life,” he said. “I had to give everything back to the family. It was about living a comfortable, pain-free life after the years of cricket. I had to take that decision along with the family.”Atapattu went under the knife and surgeons removed disc material that was touching the troubled nerve. “The doctor said that three months after surgery I will have a chance of playing again. Now it is almost three months. When I saw him last on June 19, he said I was six months away from playing cricket. It’s a gradual process. You’ve got to do things slowly. If you go fast, you will fall back to zero again and all the symptoms come back.”Atapattu admitted that he was feeling much better now than when he last played for Sri Lanka in March. “If it gets to me again I know how tough it is,” he said. “We are doing all things possible to strengthen the muscle. I would like to try something away from the international level in a warm-up game perhaps to test my fitness level. It’s not like fielding ten balls which we do at practice. It’s going to be for three-and-a-half hours and you’ve got to be 100%. There are no half measures.”All these years you have been wanted by the public, team-mates and the selectors. I don’t want to create a situation where people don’t want you, but you just want to hang on. I guarantee I won’t do that.”

West Indians 606 for 4 (W Hinds 147, Sarwan 140 ret, R Hinds 74 ret, Hooper 67, Gayle 62, Jacobs 50*) drew with Indian Board President’s XI 275 for 8 decRamnaresh Sarwan completed a rare century as West Indies’ tour match against an Indian Board President’s XI at Bangalore petered out in a draw.Sarwan, who has yet to score a hundred in his 24 Tests, scored 140 as the West Indies opted for batting practice rather than trying to force a win. At the close they had reached 606 for 4. Sarwan smashed one six and 18 fours in reaching his seventh first-class century, before retiring in order to give his team-mates a chance to gain batting practice.Carl Hooper (67), Ryan Hinds (74) and wicketkeeper Ridley Jacobs (50*) also made the most of the Board XI’s lacklustre attack in the only practice match before the first Test. Hooper smashed three sixes and seven fours in his brisk 73-ball knock, while Ryan Hinds struck one six and nine fours before retiring.Shivnarine Chanderpaul was the only specialist batsman to miss out on a big score when he fell in the day’s second over after West Indies had resumed at 341 for 2. He added just five runs to his overnight 20 before edging seamer Lakshmipathy Balaji to wicketkeeper Parthiv Patel.Hooper was in aggressive mood and set about legspinner Amit Mishra. It was a calculated assault on Mishra who on Saturday was named in the Indian squad for the first two Tests. Hooper hit him for two boundaries in an over and then two successive sixes in the next as Mishra conceded 34 in his first three overs. Hooper reached his half-century in style, hoisting seamer Sanjay Bangar for a six. Murali Kartik ended Hooper’s entertaining knock in his first over when he had him caught by Patel.Mishra ended the match wicketless, his 26 overs costing 114 runs.

Sahara Computers has injected 25 million Rand into South African cricket as sponsorship in exchange for the naming rights for three stadiums. The money will go towards the development of local cricket in three provincial cricket unions.The oldest cricket stadium in South Africa, at Port Elizabeth, will be known as Sahara Oval St Georges, the Newlands ground will be renamed Sahara Park Newlands, and Kingsmead becomes Sahara Stadium Kingsmead.Graeme Smith was in favour of the deal, and did not mind the name change. “The players realise how important money is to the game,” said Smith. “At the same time tradition is important and it is something I have been working hard on as far as the national side is concerned.”Cricketers who were playing 20 years ago could not have dreamed that they would be playing 20 overs-a-side cricket today and, if the future of Newlands is at stake in 20 years’ time, nobody is going to ask questions about where the money comes from.”Smith was supported by Raymond Uren, the president of Eastern Province Cricket Board, who welcomed the arrangement. “The Eastern Province Cricket Board will utilise the funds from this investment to upgrade existing facilities and to initiate further training programmes,” Uren said. “We believe this agreement will certainly provide an avenue for the further development of players, facilities and the sport in general.”Cassim Dockrat, the chief executive of Sahara Stadium Kingsmead, felt the name change would cause problems for traditionalists, “But the new name will add a new dimension to the stadium. We envisage a healthy relationship for the good of cricket.”Sahara Computers has no financial links with Sahara Group, which sponsors the Indian team.

DURBAN, South Africa, Feb 24 AFP – Indian captain Sourav Ganguly expects a tough contest against England when the teams meet in a key World Cup match under the Kingsmead lights here on Wednesday.Nasser Hussain’s men surprised many pundits with a 112-run thrashing of Pakistan at Cape Town on Saturday.And Ganguly admitted: “We watched the England-Pakistan game on TV and thought England played really well.”But the Indian captain, who made an unbeaten 112 against Namibia on Sunday as Sachin Tendulkar hit 152, insisted he had full confidence in his side.”I back ourselves to win,” he said. “The batting appears to be looking good, but we have to get a really good score to win.”Although England performed well in the day-nighter against Pakistan, they were handed what appeared to be a key break when Hussain won the toss and decided to bat first.Evidence suggests that teams who bowl second under floodlights in South Africa are at a significant advantage as the early evening dew and increasingly heavy atmosphere assist movement in the air.But Ganguly maintained Wednesday’s match would not be decided by the spin of a coin. He said: “I don’t believe tosses make a difference. The important thing is to play well.”However, coach John Wright admitted the anticipated conditions were causing him a selection problem over whether to recall leg-spinner Anil Kumble.India’s highest wicket-taker in one-day internationals has not played in his side’s last two games with off-spinner Harbhajan Singh chosen as the lone specialist slow bowler.Wright, the former New Zealand batsman, said: “It is always a tough decision. You have to look at the balance of the team and, if you decide to go with one spinner, which one do you go with?”India also have a doubt about Ashish Nehra, following the sprained ankle he sustained against Namibia. Wright said he hopes to have a better idea of the left-arm seamer’s fitness on Tuesday.When the two sides met last, during September’s Champions Trophy in Sri Lanka, India won by eight wickets after Ganguly and Virender Sehwag hit centuries.Ganguly, however, was unconcerned by history.”What happened in the past is not important. It only shows we have beaten England and we can do it again.”Meanwhile, England paceman Andrew Caddick was not overawed by the challenge ahead.”India have been batting well but against the weaker sides,” said the Somerset quick, clearly more impressed by India’s collapse to 125 against world champions Australia than their run-fest against Namibia.And Namibian coach Dougie Brown was confident Hussain’s attack could do the job.”England have just got to bowl straight,” Brown, a former England one-day international, told AFP.”And with the form they’re in, especially James Anderson (who took 4-29 against Pakistan), that should not be a problem.”India do tend to struggle when the ball goes round in the air as it does at Durban.”England, though, have a couple of injured batsmen to worry about.Hospital scans on Michael Vaughan’s strained right calf Monday were clear but the Yorkshire star has had serious calf problems before.And Chennai-born Hussain has been suffering with a stiff neck although both he and Vaughan are expected to be fit.Another factor in Wednesday’s match could be the crowd.Durban has a huge Indian population of its own and thousands of fans have been flying in from the sub-continent as well, turning the fixture into a ‘home’ match for Ganguly’s men.However, Indian crowds can turn on their heroes if they are underperforming. Whether they inspire or intimidate either side remains to be seen.

Nasser Hussain is not in the Essex squad for the CricInfo Championship game against Northamptonshire.There had been hope that Hussain would return to first-class cricket this weekend, which would have enabled him to gain match practise prior to next week’s Third npower Test.His continued absence increases the doubt that he will be available for England next week.The England captain’s hand was broken during the first innings of the First Test at Edgbaston by a ball from Gillespie.”At the moment he is not fit – he is not even fit enough to put on a glove,” Keith Fletcher, the Essex coach, said.”He will not play at Northampton and he will not be playing for our second team either. It is going to take time.”Mike Atherton took over the captaincy for Lord’s and would be expected to continue in the role if Hussain is unable to play, though he made no secret of his desire for Hussain to resume the responsibility.With Vaughan and Thorpe already ruled out, and Giles admitting that surgery may be necessary on his troublesome Achilles tendon, England’s run of bad luck shows no sign of abating.Australia only need a draw at Trent Bridge to retain the Ashes.

Ramnaresh Sarwan has made a convincing return to the West Indies side ten months after a shoulder injury forced him out of action. His second-innings century in Trinidad helped West Indies hold off a first-ever series defeat to Sri Lanka at home and won him the Player-of-the-Series award. Satisfied with his performance, Sarwan said the months spent outside the team had given him time to think of what he needed to do.”I’ve been out for 10 months, players tend to mature around 26-27 and then it carries on till they are 33-34 and I hope that is going to be the case for me,” Sarwan said. “I’ve certainly gained a lot of experience and I think I can use that.”West Indies were set to chase 253 by Sri Lanka and they lost only four wickets in knocking off the runs on day four. Sarwan added 157 with Shivnarine Chanderpaul and fell when West Indies needed only 23 more to win. “After we lost Marlon [Samuels] I knew I had to form a good partnership with Shiv [Chanderpaul]. The good thing was that Shiv was flowing and I didn’t have to do all the scoring, he was positive and that paid off for us.”I’ve been getting off to good starts in this series, I wanted to do the same, pick the bad balls and fortunately I was able to do that and go on and get the hundred.” Sarwan scored 311 at 77.75 in the two Tests.Chris Gayle, the West Indies captain, was pleased to have Sarwan back in the side. “Missing Sarwan really hurt us and it is good to have him back out there,” Gayle said. “He showed how important he is at No. 3. It is good to have him back, he looked the part and I have to give him credit. I hope he can build on this and capitalise on his good starts and get those hundreds – big hundreds.”

The future of Australia’s Boxing Day and New Year’s Tests in Melbourne and Sydney cannot be guaranteed beyond 2008, according to a report due to be presented to the ICC next week.Eight of the 10 Test-playing nations, including Australia, share the same main season, and countries are becoming increasingly unhappy at Australia’s monopoly.”We’ve got a traditional season that we’ve been operating for a long while, and we’re keen to keep working with other nations to do that,” Peter Young, Cricket Australia’s media manager told . “The Boxing Day Test and the New Year’s Test are iconic parts of the Australian summer.”South Africa, who also have their own Boxing Day and New Year’s Tests – except when they play in Australia – submitted a complaint to the ICC to request a review of the games’ scheduling. This prompted the ICC to form a committee, led by their chairman Malcolm Gray, and the resulting recommendations will be submitted to the ICC’s executive boards at the annual meeting in London next week.”The South African submission was along the line of concern that the existing scheduling and arrangements are equitable,” Gray said, “and the West Indian submission was based on their financial situation, putting forward that under existing arrangements it doesn’t afford them sufficient financial support.”But the impact on Australia would be significant if, after 2008, their two bumper Tests could not be guaranteed. CA and the Australian government commissioned a report that was released earlier this month that revealed the Boxing Day Test against England in December generated $86.4m for Victoria’s economy, even though it only lasted three days.

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Saqibul Hasan’s fine allround performance helped Bangladesh A end their one-day series against Zimbabwe A in convincing 58-run win, despite a defiant century from Pete Rinke. The Bangladeshis produced a flamboyant effort with the bat, racking up 331, with Saqibul carting a 55-ball 32 towards the death. Rinke held Zimbabwe’s reply together, but needed more support to get his team close.Nazmus Sadat and Nafees Iqbal handed Bangladesh a flyer with 88 in the first 10 overs. Tushar Imran, the captain, compiled a measured 66 off 64 balls before the middle order upped the tempo again. Mehrab Hossain and Saqibul raced along a more than a run-a-ball, Saqibul striking six fours in his rapid half-century.At 169 for 3 in the 29th over, Zimbabwe were matching Bangladesh stroke for stroke but then they began to lose wickets at regular intervals. The crucial blow came in the 32nd over when Rinke was caught by Alok Kapali, leaving the lower order with too much to do. Saqibul followed up his half-century with a four-wicket spell and Bangladesh can leave highly satisfied with their work over the five-match series.

In spite of a grasp of human nature and the early evidence, Tony Howard, the West Indies manager, does not anticipate internal strife within the team once the current dispute between the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) and the West Indies Players’ Association (WIPA) is settled.”Several years ago when a similar event occurred in the Kerry Packer series I didn’t hear of any lingering things and I don’t think it should be so now,” the team manager said, referring to the decision by captain Clive Lloyd and the leading players to participate in Packer’s World Series Cricket (WSC) while a depleted West Indies Test team toured India and Sri Lanka in 1978-79.Howard described the rejection of the WICB tour contracts by ten of the 13 players initially chosen for the current tour of Sri Lanka as “an individual decision”. “Some chose to [sign], some not,” he said in an interview with the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC) here. “As far as I’m concerned that’s the end of that. Once they become available again, it’s a matter for people to decide if they want to play or if they don’t want to play.”Early signs are that it might not be “the end of that”.Dinanath Ramnarine, the WIPA’s president and chief executive, has openly questioned the position of Shivnarine Chanderpaul, the captain, who has consistently decided to sign the match-tour contract since the row erupted last November prior to the tour of Australia for the VB Series.”It’s rather unfortunate to have the players making a principled stand and the captain of that side going in a different direction,” he said. “It tells a story.”It is not difficult to interpret what Ramnarine believes that story to be. While none of the players has made any comment on the issue, the divide between those who chose to join the Test team here as replacements from the A team, simultaneously on tour of Sri Lanka, and those who turned down Howard’s offer to do so quickly materialised.Daren Ganga and 12 of the other members of the A team originally issued a signed statement stating they would not make themselves available “in [a] show of solidarity for our senior members until all matters are resolved between the WICB and the WIPA”.Six then reneged and did agree to join the senior team for the two Tests and the triangular series of one-day internationals with Sri Lanka and India. It immediately divided players who were team-mates only a day earlier, some of them from the same territory, and caused obvious resentment. The two squads were moved into separate hotels, the seniors checking into the Taj Sumudra while the A players were transferred to the Trans Asia.There was an opportunity for the A players to attend the third day of the first Test and for the Test men to watch Sunday’s A match but it wasn’t taken by either. Howard dismissed suggestions that he had come to Sri Lanka early to put pressure on the A team players to join his squad.”I don’t see that at all,” he said. “My job was simply to address the team as a group, which I did. I offered each of them the same availability to sign if they so desired. Some of them did, some of them didn’t.”It is the fissure between those who did and those who didn’t that has the potential of undermining team spirit when they again come together in the name of West Indies – or even of their individual territories.