Group A
With half-centuries from Imran Farhat and Rafatullah Mohamand Habib Bank Limited (HB) chased down Zarai Taraqiati Limited Bank’s (ZTB) 267 with two wickets to spare at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.Despite Aamer Bashir’s 81 and Adnan Raza’s unbeaten 55, ZTB could not set a high enough target. Abdur Rehman, the Pakistan left-arm spinner, took 3 for 54 and Shahid Nazir, Pakistan’s right-arm fast bowler, took 2 for 25. HB’s top order set up the platform for the chase as Farhat and Mohmand added 47 together and then Mohamand added another 79 with Hasan Raza. But Mohammad Khalil and Naved Ashraf triggered a lower-order collapse and four wickets fell for 39 runs. Nazir and Sajid Shah held their nerve and scored the required runs with three balls to sprae. Khalil and Ashraf got three wickets each for the game.National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) bowled out Pakistan Customs for 144 and reached the target for the loss of two wickets at the Sheikhupura Stadium.Tahir Mughal and Wasim Khan, NBP’s opening bowlers, sent back the first four Customs’ batsmen for 60 runs. Then Mansoor Amjad, a legbreak bowler, took three middle-order wickets for three runs though Customs’ managed to last out 47 overs for their paltry score. Usman Arshad top-scored for Customs’ with 35.Salman Butt and Qaiser Abbas set the tone of the chase adding 93 for the first wicket. Abbas was unbeaten on 72 when NBP reached the target in 34.4 oversGroup B
Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGP) had an easy chase on their hands as Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) crumbled to 103 at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium.Only two WAPDA batsmen – Masood Asim (30) and Aamer Sajjad (37) got to double figures. Three batsmen failed to score at all. Imran Ali and Tauqeer Hussain, SNGP’s right-arm fast-medium bowlers, took three wickets each.Yasir Arafat was not out on 50 when SNGP reached the target in 19 overs for the loss of two wickets.An 108-run partnership between Shehzad Malik and Azhar Ali got Khan Research Laboratories (KRL) a five-wicket win over Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) in Rawalpindi.PIA made 277 in their 50 overs with half-centuries from Agha Sabir and Faisal Iqbal. KRL had a setback early in their innings with two wickets falling at 43. But the Malik-Ali partnership was preceded by two fifty-run partnerships between Saeed Anwar jr (52) and Bilal Asad (68) and Asad and Malik(83*). Fazl-e-Akbar and Bazid Khan were the only two out of seven PIA bowlers who got wickets.

Anil Kumble has announced his retirement from one-day cricket but said that he will be available for Test matches.”It’s been a long, 17-year journey at the international level,” Kumble told reporters during a press conference in Bangalore. “Hopefully I will finish my Test career on a brighter note.”Kumble took 337 wickets at 30.89 in 271 one-dayers . His last game was against Bermuda at the World Cup where he took 3 for 38 in India’s 257-run win.”One-day cricket is not a bowler’s game, so I was always grateful when any wicket came my way,” he said. Kumble, 36, made his one-day debut in 1990 against Sri Lanka at Sharjah.Rahul Dravid, the Indian captain, acknowledged Kumble as one of India’s greatest cricketers. “What Anil has performed for India over the last decade and a half has been legendary,” Dravid said. Kapil Dev, the former Indian captain, said that Kumble had gone further than anybody could have imagined. “I never thought he had so much ability, but with time and determination he went beyond anybody’s imagination.”The Indians, who were knocked out in the first round after losing to Bangladesh and Sri Lanka in group B of the preliminary league, returned home on Thursday. “I wanted to go out on a high after the World Cup, but that obviously did not happen,” said Kumble.Kumble is renowned for taking all 10 wickets in a Test innings against Pakistan in New Delhi in 1999, only the second bowler to achieve the feat after Englishman Jim Laker. His best one-day performance was 6 for 12 against West Indies at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata during the Hero Cup tournament in 1993.

James Marshall will lead New Zealand A during the four-country emerging players tournament in Queensland in July. The 14-player squad may grow after the World Cup, when another player could be added, and it includes Iain O’Brien, the fast bowler who last played for New Zealand in 2005.Jesse Ryder and Craig Cumming were unavailable for the tour, which includes seven one-day games and two Twenty20 matches. The national selectors hope it will be used to prepare for the Twenty20 world championships in South Africa in September.”A number of new players have been included in this year’s team as a result of their domestic performances,” Glenn Turner, the national men’s selector, said. “We hope that this competition will test and challenge them at the next level.”Turner said the team would spend three weeks in Darwin preparing for the series in Brisbane and Maroochydore. Squads from Australia, India and South Africa will also take part in the tournament.New Zealand A squad James Marshall (capt), Neil Broom, Grant Elliott, Gareth Hopkins (wk), Jamie How, Nathan McCullum, James McMillan, Warren McSkimming, Rob Nicol, Iain O’Brien, Mark Orchard, Michael Papps, Aaron Redmond, Bradley Scott.

Perhaps the major reason there has not yet been a substantive coup in the management of West Indies cricket lies within the realm of recognition by the international governing body, the International Cricket Council [ICC].It is certainly not because no alternatives have been proposed. If it is one thing West Indians have given generously, it is their thoughts on how the cricket they love should be run. Taken one by one, the ideas offer partial solutions, as they often deal with one aspect at a time. However, a careful study of the collection (such as the one generated by the 2000 Caricom/UWI cricket conference) yields a comprehensive range of proposals for the development of the game.What we need is the commitment and will to refine the existing body of thought into a practical plan. But as long as people feel that the ownership of West Indies cricket cannot be wrested away from the current proprietors, they will see such action tantamount to a spinning top in mud.There is a hopeless sense that international recognition will not be granted to any new structure because the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) already has it. Maybe we should think about the nature of that recognition and its basis.The ICC recognises the body that represents the national cricketers of its members. The West Indies has a different circumstance in terms of the definition of nation, given its multinational nature.It might be mentally liberating to examine the status quo and explore some possibilities.Legally, as far as we know, the WICB administers the regional game. As far as we know, the West Indies Players’ Association (WIPA) formally represents a substantial number of regional cricketers at various levels, and the WICB formally recognises WIPA as their representative.

It is a little less clear when it comes to contractual relationships. As far as we know, a few players on the senior team have retainer contracts with the WICB. The majority are contracted on a series by series basis. At least, technically that is how it stands, right? We can’t really be sure because memory relates a different reality of players touring without contracts.For now, let’s just imagine a scenario. Let’s say that the CEO of the WICB announces that players on retainer have no choice but to go on the England tour, and that if the others don’t sign the proffered contract, the WICB will just keep running down the list until it gets a squad of 15.So what happens if nobody signs? A squad of what, eight, ten retained players goes? Unlikely, but imagine what would happen if the players, like everyone else in the region, decide that it is time to act. What if they are made aware of plans for an alternative system and find it attractive? What if they all decide not to sign any new contracts; what if nobody renews? What if WIPA endorses another structure and advises players that they would benefit from affiliating themselves with a new order that is committed to rebuilding West Indies cricket and treating its players as the centre of that resurrection? What if it takes less than a year for existing contracts to end? What if in that period there is massive investment in developing a modern, intelligent, entity to manage West Indies cricket?Who would the WICB then be representing? Would it be able to legitimately keep its seat on the ICC? Would the ICC then recognise another West Indian body?It might mean a period of upheaval that could even see the West Indies having to temporarily withdraw from ICC-sanctioned cricket as things get sorted out.But what if at the end we get it right and West Indies cricket begins its genuine rebuilding, would it be worth it?Sometimes a door needs the push of imagination to swing it open.

As he set out for the tour of England last week, holding for the first time the poisoned chalice that the West Indies captaincy has become, Ramnaresh Sarwan itemised his priorities. “Consistency, cohesion and camaraderie” was the alliteration used by Ezra Stuart in his report to summarise Sarwan’s stated priorities for the challenging campaign ahead.It might have stated the obvious since no international team has been as unpredictable as West Indies over the past decade or so and certainly none more divided. But the points had to be accentuated.The new captain could have added fitness and discipline as other areas requiring attention but there is a new, belatedly appointed trainer to start focusing on the former and new manager Mike Findlay has made early reference to the latter.Twice in his chat with the media, Sarwan used the phrases “very important” and “most importantly” to stress the need to “play well as a team and play as a collective unit”. It has been clear for some time, but more than ever during the recent World Cup let-down, that the West Indies were not pulling together, that they were not truly a team.Given Lara’s absence, the proximity of the World Cup debacle and the ludicrous itinerary that offers only this weekend’s match against Somerset as preparation for four Tests in a month, an immediate reversal of the 4-0 whitewash endured in England three years ago is an unrealistic expectation.What can be achieved are more commitment, cohesion and camaraderie, and a more serious approach to fitness and discipline. Even then, the benefits of such change will take time to materialise. Their implementation depends largely on the encouragement and guidance provided by Sarwan and his senior lieutenants – Daren Ganga, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Chris Gayle and Corey Collymore.With 101 Tests and 13 years in international cricket, Chanderpaul is by far the senior statesman now that Lara has gone. But his role is likely to remain what, except for a brief, uncomfortable stint at the helm, it always has been: batting for as long as possible. The leadership is now in the hands of a younger brigade.Ganga, Sarwan’s deputy, has shown his qualities in leading Trinidad and Tobago to two double-titles in the past three seasons. Gayle, like Sarwan, in his eighth year of international cricket, is nearing the veteran stage, while Collymore is an equally seasoned campaigner with as much to contribute in the nets and team meetings as in the middle.Potentially, Gayle can be the most influential of the group, not only as opening batsman and spinner, but as exemplar. When the West Indies were last in Australia in 2005, Steve Waugh was of a similar view.”The current Windies unit lacks urgency and vibrancy and is therefore reactive, not proactive,” the former Australian captain wrote in his newspaper column. “The good news is that it takes just one player to initiate change by hustling between overs and to liven up proceedings with a bit of chat out on the field, especially if it is a senior player.”Waugh singled out “the highly talented Chris Gayle who has the presence and ability to influence those around him”, adding the caveat that Gayle would have to alter his attitude to do so. It is amazing how little has changed in the interim, both in the team and in Gayle himself. But it is not too late.

With his omnipresent sunglasses, glittering gold chain, changing hair-styles and super-cool demeanour, Gayle is widely perceived as the quintessence of the present-day West Indies cricketer – all style, little substance. It is not an entirely unearned impression, but Gayle is a significant all-round cricketer with a solid record. What is more, he is a spark who can lift spirits, off and on the field, a crucial consideration on a tour such as this.The counterbalance is occasionally evident, never more so than in his lacklustre performance in the World Cup, typified by a manifestly indifferent attitude. It would have been hardly surprising had he been dropped because of it, but he was not the only one affected by the malaise that permeated the entire team and was plain to see from well beyond the boundary. The selectors would have been swayed more by Gayle’s role in less discordant times, more recently in the Champions Trophy in India six months ago when he was Player Of The Tournament.For all the frozen footwork, a basic defect for an opener, he remains the most destructive batsman in the team. If his average of 38.71 is a little short of the accepted statistical standard for leading Test batsmen, it is hardly atrocious. And he did average 50 in the 4-0 Test whitewash in England three years ago.Batting is his forte, of course, but his off-spin is not to be undervalued, as he himself believes it has been. “In the bowling department, I think I have been underused on most occasions,” he wrote in his diary on an internet site last December. “I am not a scapegoat bowler in this team to be used only when things are difficult. Things can be handled a bit better in that scenario.”Perhaps Sarwan will take note, especially in this series when Gayle offers the only contrast in an attack, as ever, based on pace and seam. It is noteworthy that one of Gayle’s two five-wicket returns in a Test innings, 5 for 34 against England at Edgbaston three years ago, was on the day when Sarwan was in charge in the absence of an ill Lara. Sarwan was also leading in Lara’s absence when Gayle’s belligerence, highlighted by his shoulder-to-shoulder clash with Michael Clarke, visibly energised West Indies in their first round Champions Trophy win over Australia last October.The problem is that such dynamism has been too spasmodic, inevitably followed by long lapses into inertia. The team requires more of it more regularly.

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.

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.”

Geoff Lawson, the former Australia bowler, has confirmed he will succeed Bob Woolmer as Pakistan’s coach. Lawson told Sydney radio 2KY on Monday morning the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) had called him on Sunday to tell him he had beaten Dav Whatmore and Richard Done for the post. The PCB’s official announcement is expected to be made later today.”It’s such a talented squad they have over there. When you look at the class of players they have, you just have to be excited about being involved with them,” said Lawson after hearing of his appointment.Whatmore was the early favourite on the three-man shortlist, but it is understood a number of players, as well as key members of team management, were more keen on Lawson and passed on their preference to the board. Whatmore’s cause was not helped by the former Sri Lanka captain, Arjuna Ranataunga, who was alleged to have advised Pakistan against Whatmore during a chance meeting with a top PCB official in Glasgow.Pakistan have had 11 different coaches in the past 10 years, with three stints eachfor former great Javed Miandad and Richard Pybus, Pakistan’s first foreign coach, with Woolmer taking over from from Miandad in June 2004.Lawson said he expected to head over to Lahore within a month to prepare for theTwenty20 World Championship. When asked of what changes he is hoping to bring to the team, he said: “Well, there’ll probably be quite a few. I’m hoping to take a few more Australian personnel with me as well.”Lawson played 46 Tests for Australia and, though he has no international coaching experience, he has been in charge of New South Wales. The PCB’s ad-hoc committee is in Karachi for a two-day meeting that started on Sunday and it is also expected to announce new central contracts for the players.

The Irish Cricket Union have announced a squad of 12 for their opening game against Scotland in the InterContinental Cup. Ireland, the holders, begin the defence of their trophy with a home tie at Stormont in Belfast from August 9-12.Boyd Rankin is again absent from the squad, but the Irish are boosted by the availability of their star batsman Eoin Morgan, and wicketkeeper Niall O’ Brien. There is also a place in the 12 for leg spinner Greg Thompson, who has been in action for Ireland A against the MCC in Malahide this week.Irish coach Phil Simmons said of his squad: “Unfortunately Boyd hasn’t fully recovered. He bowled last week, but experienced a little bit of pain. Greg Thompson has impressed me greatly with his legspin. He turns the ball a lot away from the bat, and he’s a wicket-taker, which is exactly what we need.”Tom Hayes, the chief executive of Bank of Ireland Corporate Banking said: “I’d like to wish the Irish team every success as they begin their quest to win the trophy for a third successive time. It’s been a marvellous year for Irish cricket, and as official team sponsor, Bank of Ireland is proud to be part of it.”Squad Trent Johnston (Railway Union, capt), Andre Botha (North County), Alex Cusack (Clontarf), Thinus Fourie (Merrion), Dave Langford-Smith (Phoenix), Eoin Morgan (Middlesex), Kyle McCallan (Waringstown), Kevin O’ Brien (Railway Union), Niall O’ Brien (Northants), Greg Thompson (Lisburn), William Porterfield (Rush), Andrew White (Instonians)

Match abandoned
Scorecard A persistent drizzle in Durban resulted in India’s opening match of the ICC World Twenty20 being abandoned without a ball being bowled. Both India and Scotland got a point apiece, and it left India in a situation where they had to avoid a heavy defeat against Pakistan on Friday to make it through to the Super Eights. Scotland finished their engagements with a point after the 51-run defeat to Pakistan in their opening game.Ryan Watson won the toss and decided to send India in to bat at Kingsmead, but the rain came down again long before the players could take the field. For India, who have played just one Twenty20 game, it meant a day-long wait to give a largely new-look side a hit.Names synonymous with Indian cricket over the past decade and more – Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly – were missing, and for the prodigal sons like Virender Sehwag and Irfan Pathan, it was an opportunity to revive stalled careers. They’ll now be back in the fray for one of the tournament’s marquee clashes, against Pakistan – assuming the inclement weather makes way for some sunshine.