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The Supreme Court has allowed the Indian board to keep its autonomy but yesterday’s ruling has not helped resolve the dispute over the telecast rights which has plagued Indian cricket for more than five months. While the working committee of the BCCI is likely to meet on February 6 to discuss the telecast-rights issue, Zee Telefilms, which had contested the BCCI’s decision to cancel its bid of Rs14000million (approx US$320million) for the rights to televise Indian cricket for the next four years, is certain to take the matter to Bombay High Court.The Supreme Court dismissed Zee’s public-interest litigation against the BCCI on the grounds that the board wasn’t a “state”. However, it allowed Zee to contest BCCI’s decision under article 226 at the High Court.A Press Trust of India report quoted a Zee Telefilms spokesman as saying: “The writ petition has been dismissed under article 32 of the Constitution but is maintainable under article 226 before the High Court.” He added that Zee would be approaching the High Court as soon as possible after consulting with its legal team.Zee, which plans to launch its own sports channel later this year – their lack of pedigree in sports telecasting was one of the bones of contention when the bidding process started – had argued that since the BCCI picked and controlled the team which represented India at international events, its actions were subject to the same clauses that governed the functioning of the “state”.

The Delhi High Court has allowed the Indian board to open technical bids to grant telecast rights in India for the next four years after Zee Telefilms, one of the bidders, said it had no objection to it.A division bench, comprising Justice BA Khan and MB Lokur, allowed the board to open technical bids to decide the eligibility of the bidders, including Zee Telefilms, and asked the board not to disclose the outcome. The BCCI has been asked to inform the outcome to the court on October 19, when the matters comes up for further hearing.On behalf of the BCCI, senior counsel Soli Sorabji and AM Singhvi requested the bench to allow opening of the bids, saying that there was not much time left to decide the issue ahead of the home series against Sri Lanka, scheduled to begin on October 25.Zee had moved the court on August 22 seeking direction to the BCCI to consider it for the bid of telecasting matches between October 2005 and September 2009. It also alleged that the tender favoured only ESPN Star Sports. The BCCI had asked bids from channels having experience in telecasting live matches in the last three years, as opposed to the two-year qualification it has asked for in the past. The last date for submission of the bids was September 26.However, the BCCI maintained that it only wanted bids from channels which had a three-year experience as a direct original licensee from any event owner of telecasting live international matches in each of the three years – 2002, 2003 and 2004 – to bid for the telecast rights.

Pakistanis 8 for 279 (Razzaq 89*, Hafeez 61, Tait 2-49) beat Australia A 266 (Haddin 129, D Hussey 45, Naved-ul-Hasan 3-42) by 13 runs
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Brad Haddin’s sparkling century could not prevent a fighting comeback from the Pakistanis in the VB Series warm-up match at the Adelaide Oval. Twice the tourists’ cause seemed lost, but they regrouped through Abdul Razzaq’s blistering 89 off 61 balls, and then sealed the match with three wickets for Rana Naved-ul-Hasan.Australia A were strolling towards victory at 4 for 254 in the 45th over after Haddin, the captain, had reached his hundred in as many balls with help from Brad Hodge (30) and David Hussey (45). Naved then swung the match for the final time as Australia A collapsed with two run-outs and lost six wickets in four overs.Cameron White fell when Shahid Afridi dropped a caught-and-bowled chance off Haddin, and the ball cannoned into the stumps with White out of his ground. Then Haddin was caught short of the crease 12 runs later to end Australia A’s chances. Naved, who had removed Damien Wright and Nathan Hauritz, finished the game by having Shaun Tait caught behind, although Tait was unhappy with the decision.Pakistan’s day began badly when they slumped to 5 for 117, but Razzaq, who has struggled with a mystery illness during the tour, arrived in the 30th over and showed he was in a healthy state by blasting six sixes and four fours to lead the recovery.Razzaq and Shahid Afridi added 68 from 33 balls as Hauritz was hit the hardest, conceding three sixes in six balls, and Pakistan set Australia A 280 for victory. Mohammad Hafeez had stabilised the innings with 61 before he was caught in the deep off Hauritz, and the thrilling late onslaught included 26 runs from the final 13 balls.Wright, Tait and Mick Lewis collected the first five wickets, including the dismissal of Inzamam-ul-Haq. Playing his first game since the first Test because of a back injury, Inzamam scratched out 10 from 40 balls before falling to Tait.

Close Day 4 East Zone 322 and 213 for 3 (Dhoni 60, Powar 51*) need 196 more runs to beat North Zone 330 and 400 (Chatterjee 4-63)
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Four dropped catches by the North Zone fielders, including two by Yuvraj Singh, could prove critical as East Zone gave themselves a fighting chance of an historic triumph at Mohali. Chasing 409 for their maiden Duleep Trophy crown, East Zone were comfortably placed by the close on 213 for 3, with Kiran Powar unbeaten on 51.North Zone will only have themselves to blame if East Zone pull off their run-chase. After gaining a tremendous advantage yesterday, in running up a lead of 300, North lost their way in the first session as Utpal Chatterjee pegged them back with four quick wickets. Mithun Manhas played back to one that hurried on, then Ajay Ratra was rather dubiously given out caught at short leg (316 for 5). After bowling Dinesh Mongia round his legs for 48, Chatterjee then lured Sarandeep Singh into a return catch (341 for 7), which put him just one away from a career tally of 500 first-class wickets. But the landmark proved elusive – now he’ll have to wait until the start of next season to get there. The tail swished and swatted, and North Zone finally finished on a round 400 – not bad, but much lower than might have been expected yesterday when Yuvraj was creaming the ball around.MS Dhoni gave East Zone the initial momentum with some clean hitting. He pierced the covers with some blazing drives, and wasn’t prepared to let the short ones go unharmed. The crowd came to life when he unleashed a ferocious pull for six when Ashish Nehra banged one short. There were a few streaky edges, one of which brought him his half-century, but it was the ideal start his team needed. After hitting eight fours and a six, he tried another ambitious pull and the resultant top-edge was easily pouched by Yuvraj at first slip (77 for 1). Dhoni’s 60 took him only 47 balls.Arindam Das, the other opener, essayed a few silky cover-drives amid an otherwise solid defensive technique. He was unlucky to be adjudged lbw to Sarandeep for 35, as the ball appeared to be missing leg stump (116 for 2). Rohan Gavaskar lived perennially on the edge and he teased the slip fielders no end. Yuvraj grassed two regulation slip chances, and there were a number of times that the ball flew agonisingly wide of the cordon. Gavaskar finally fell for 49 – edging, inevitably – as North Zone finally got the break that they were desperately seeking (200 for 3).Powar continued where he left off in the first innings, and efficiently mixed caution with some brutal sweeps. He didn’t allow Sarandeep to settle into a rhythm, and swept a few balls from wide of off stump. Powar also had a reprieve, when a diving Ratra failed to collect one down the leg side, and there were a few close shouts as he padded up without offering a stroke. But he looked in ominous touch at the end of the day, and was confident of leading his side to victory: “The wicket is playing well, so let’s keep our fingers crossed. There is no way I am going to give it away after doing all the hard work, like in the first innings. Tomorrow is a huge day.”SS Das was suffering from a torn calf muscle and won’t bat tomorrow unless it’s absolutely necessary. Considering the way the pendulum has swung to and fro so far in this match, he’ll probably have to pad up and limp out for a nailbiting finish.Siddhartha Vaidyanathan is on the staff of Wisden Cricinfo in India.

Mohammad Asif and Shoaib Akhtar are likely to appeal against the bans handed to them by the Pakistan board-appointed drug tribunal.Asif told Cricinfo he would appeal against the decision to ban him for a year and said that he couldn’t explain the presence of nandrolone in his urine sample. “I will appeal against this. I don’t know how this has happened. I wasn’t even aware of the dope test and I was the one who gave it first.”The tribunal’s verdict revealed that Asif had been using a protein supplement, Promax-50, but stopped using it as soon as he was told to do so by Darren Lifsun, the team physiotherapist. It is thought possible that this was the cause of the positive sample. “Obviously I am very disappointed about what has happened. I had no idea.”The case for Asif’s ignorance may be strengthened in light of the tribunal’s finding that the board has not played a satisfactory role in ensuring that its players are suitably cautioned and advised about such issues.Shoaib, facing a two-year ban, has not made any official statement as of now but sources close to him have confirmed that he will also appeal. One source believes a strong enough case exists to lighten the ban.Tauseef Razzaq, Shoaib’s doctor, also said that Shoaib was devastated by the decision and would definitely appeal against the ban. “There are a number of examples where athletes were given the benefit of the doubt for using substances unknowingly and there are studies by renowned universities of the world on whose basis Akhtar should have been cleared,” Razzaq told AFP, referring to Shoaib’s claim last month that he had not knowingly taken any performance-enhancing drugs.The PCB has stated that a new tribunal will be set up in case the players appeal, as seems likely now.

East Zone 388 and 216 for 9 dec (Gandhi 87) drew with South Zone 331 and 7 for 0
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Despite a valiant 72-run ninth-wicket partnership between Ramakrishnan Ramkumar and Narender Pal Singh, South Zone failed to gain the first-innings lead in their opening match of the Duleep Trophy at Dharmasala. Assured of two points, East Zone settled for batting practice and killed all hopes of a thrilling climax.Having secured a crucial 57-run first-innings lead, East were precariously placed at 33 for 4. Rohan Gavaskar’s breezy 37 off 38 balls ensured there would be no collapse, even as Devang Gandhi compiled a fluent 87 to take the team to safety. Gandhi’s knock contained 10 fours and a six. Sunil Joshi was the most impressive of the South bowlers, as in the first innings, finishing with 6 for 160 in the match.East declared at the fag end of the day, and South played out the three overs without losing any wickets. Shiv Sunder Das had laid the solid foundation for East on the first day with a dogged 120, and Laxmi Ratan Shukla’s energetic 84 propped up the total on the second day. None of the South batsmen converted their starts, and only Sadagoppan Ramesh and Sunil Joshi passed the 50-run mark. Central Zone 549 (Khoda 156) drew with West Zone 352 for 4 (Jadhav 154, Kanitkar 96, Martin 50*)
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Dheeraj Jadhav might have tested everyone’s patience with his 445-ball 154, but that innings ensured that West Zone came away unscathed after their opening match against Central Zone at Gurgaon. Jadhav’s monumental effort was complimented by dogged knocks from Hrishikesh Kanitkar and Jacob Martin. Kanitkar contributed 96 to the 216-run partnership with Jadhav, and Martin helped himself to 50, remaining unbeaten in the end.Central’s mammoth 549 was largely built around Gagan Khoda’s 156 at he top of the order. Four other batsmen achieved half-centuries as the West bowlers toiled for more then six sessions. In the end though, neither team picked up any points from the match.

The deep voice rolling its Rs as it served up sentences in the most delicious Scottish brogue had people looking around the room frantically, wondering what Sean Connery was doing at a conference for cricket coaches organised by the MRF in Chennai. Cinema buffs were immediately disappointed to discover that the voice was only Dr Sandy Gordon’s. But that disappointment didn’t last long, for few people think, and talk, as good a game of cricket as him.Drawing Gordon aside for a second, it was a pleasant surprise to hear him talk about things less incomprehensible than cognitive behavioural psychology. “I played soccer as a part-time professional in the north of Scotland. One of the teams I played for was Buckie Thistle, and Alex Ferguson, who had just moved from Rangers to Falkirk, played against us in the Scottish Cup. He was a striker and I was a defender. They beat us 2-1, but when he came to Aberdeen to coach the team there, I helped him find a good school for his kids and that sort of thing. We got to know each other quite well.”But Gordon isn’t just dropping names when he talks about "Fergie" and the success Manchester United have had in transforming themselves from a good team to a great one. And he isn’t from a purely soccer background either: “I played cricket and golf in the summer and there were three or four families who were very passionate about cricket where I came from, in Huntley.”Okay, so that’s fair enough, we all had a knock in the backyard or kicked a ball on the streets as kids, and that can sometimes lead to a career in sport. But which five-year old says, “when I grow up, I want to be a psychologist”? Not even the young Gordon. “I was keen on all sports and wanted to be a PE teacher. I always knew that and I did it for a couple of years. Then later I decided to do another degree and I became interested in social and educational psychology.”I liked sports psychology because I was a player and I had some pretty bad coaching practices during that time. I also met some players who were emotionally unhinged or had problems dealing with pressure,” he says, chuckling. Today, these two factors comprise the nucleus of a lot of Gordon’s work.Recently, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) woke up to the fact that a psychologist could play a huge role in giving the team an edge. Sportsmen, especially successful ones, tend to have king-sized egos and this could easily get in the way of Gordon’s work. “At the top level every player is looking to prolong his or her career, so they’re not at all resistant to feedback. They just love any kind of feedback. As coaches, we’re paid to give feedback. I’ve never had any player say he didn’t want my opinion.”Not even the big stars of Indian cricket? “I really feel that I was just part of the facilitation process with the Indian team. It’s the players who are out there playing and they’re the ones who should be patted on the back. I’m quietly pleased with the reactions I’ve had though.”But what exactly did Gordon say or do to turn the Indian team into a fist-pumping, charged-up unit? Remember the rugby-style huddles from the World Cup? “They [the team] created the environment. I threw up the questions and challenges in terms of group and individual gameplans and how to attain momentum and they applied all of that to their situations. Remember, I wasn’t there at the games so they’re the ones who did it.”However, on the eve of the World Cup, the morale of the Indian team wasn’t the greatest after the hammering they received in New Zealand. “While they were a bit apprehensive just before the start of the World Cup, they were also excited to be playing in it. A few players were resigned to the fact that they might not play a game. When I talked to them, I asked what they wanted to get out of the tournament. They then understood that there were certain individual goals over and above the team goals that players could achieve.”Interestingly, the very day after the 2002 NatWest Series final, in which India successfully chased 326 against England, Gordon had a chat with the team. They told him that other teams thought they were mentally soft and they wanted to change that. “It was really John Wright’s ambition to identify the areas that needed work. We started to explore why India were mentally tough at home, but struggled abroad. I compared what the Indians did on tour with what the Australians did and there was a world of difference. The players needed to realise that going away does not mean you’re on enemy territory. You’re on a cricket field, and that’s home.”He’s said it before and he’s happy to say so again: “I wasn’t surprised at all at India’s toughness in the World Cup. They fully deserved to be in the final. They didn’t play well in the beginning, getting thumped by Australia, but they bounced back strongly. I was pleasantly surprised to see how well they came together and the way they enjoyed the game.”And to think things turned around for the simplest of reasons. “A commitment by the individual and the team to giving the best effort possible for every delivery. Cricket’s a simple game really. Focussing on the right things, getting your attitude right, thinking positively and decisively.”If only it were that simple to put into practice. “Australia will always be up there because of the domestic competition they have and the type of player it produces. I don’t know the system here, but I know there’s an awful lot of politics involved. So when a player comes through the system in Australia he’s already tough, a thoroughbred. The infrastructure puts Australia well ahead.”Is there no hope for India then? After all, changing the system is so difficult that hardly anyone bothers anymore. As one critic was quick to point out, what good is there in toughening up the national side when the foundations are so weak? “[Training in] mental skills really needs to start at the under-17 level, at least. It’s got to start much earlier than the national team. You can’t unscramble an egg you know. It’s there already and you can’t go back and change things. Certainly this model is only a band-aid solution. It can’t work from the top downwards.”

Hampshire will be making no comment today (Wednesday) after a meeting with Ed Giddins this morning to discuss the seam bowlers future.Rumour and speculation in the papers had intimated that he had retired, however a club spokesmen stated that they will not be making any statement today.On the subject of a replacement overseas player for Wasim Akram, Paul Terry the club manager had stated that they had made an offer to Heath Streak the Zimbabwean captain. Streak who played one season for the county in 1995, declined the offer due to his committments with the Zimbabweans Cricket Union. The search goes on.

India 193 for 5 (Jaya Sharma 60) beat New Zealand 191 (Tiffen 57) by 5 wickets
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A fine 60 from Jaya Sharma enabled India to chase down a modest target at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai, and take a 1-0 lead in the five-match series. Earlier, India’s spinners had kept the New Zealand batters on a tight leash, and only Haidee Tiffen provided much resistance in a disappointing innings.India might have lost the toss, but they took the ascendancy from the very first ball, when Maria Fahey was trapped leg-before by Amita Sharma. The batsmen prodded on thereafter, and the innings was in dire need of some impetus when Maia Lewis, the captain, fell in the 35th over (96 for 4)But a swift 34 – off just 35 balls – from Aimee Mason added respectability to the total and some sheen to the day’s proceedings. Mamta Maben, Neetu David and Nooshin Al Khadeer finished with four wickets between them, and conceded only 104 runs in their 30 overs.India’s reply was built largely around Sharma, who hit ten fours in her well-crafted innings. Mithali Raj injected some urgency into the chase with a brisk 32, and India coasted home with 11 balls to spare.

It was if time was standing still as the past, present and future of New South Wales andAustralian cricket were fused at the crease in the recent NSW vs QueenslandPura Cup match.It was the final match of the season and NSW with an 80-rundeficit on the first innings needed to win to make it to the final.Always the man for the occasion, Steve Waugh played a vintage knock,reminiscent of his more famous one only two months earlier at the same venueagainst England.Waugh wound back the clock as he bludgeoned the Queensland attack intosubmission and turned the first innings deficit into a handy lead. It wasthe first time he had made a century on the Sydney Cricket Ground against Queensland.It was 18 years earlier in a game against Queensland that Waugh made hisname. Waugh actually made his first-class debut in a game against Queenslandat the Gabba but it was the 1984/85 Shield final where he came of age.After Queensland scored 374 in the first innings, Waugh batting at No 8 came to the crease with NSW at a perilous six for 223 which shortly becameseven-down when Imran Khan went. The 19-year-old Waugh, batting with a maturityway beyond his years, led the tail to take NSW to 318. He made 21 in thesecond innings as NSW went on to win the final by one wicket, the only timethe Shield has been won in the last session of the season.That game metamorphised Waugh from an unknown into a player who could leadAustralia out of their doldrums. He had performed on the national stageagainst the national captain and it would be less then a year before hewould be representing his country.Notwithstanding brief times when he has been dropped or when he has beeninjured, this has been the first time in nearly a score of years that Waugh has beena regular for NSW. For him it would have been a case of ‘Back to the Future’as he got another taste of what it’s like to be a first-class cricketer inAustralia. It’s a unique situation which Waugh finds himself in. Playerslike Border and Boon devoted themselves to winning the Shield only afterthey had retired from international cricket.Waugh finds himself in a position to win the Shield late in his career, notas a bit player but rather a key cog in the machine. Most internationalplayers try to return to first-class cricket after their Test career isover. Now because Waugh has been dropped from the one day team and has spentthe better part of the season with the Blues, when he finally does decide tohang up the boots, whether or not he decides to play first-class cricket forNSW won’t be an issue.Playing Pura Cup cricket for the last two months has honed Waugh’s skillsand he should be the first player selected for the tour of West Indies.Based on what he saw from the vantage point of 22 yards away, Waugh wouldn’tmind if Michael Clarke was selected.Waugh had the best seat in the house whilst Clarke was putting on a battingclinic. Right from the start, he displayed shots of the highest quality andwas equally merciless on all the Queensland bowlers. This was no popgunattack, rather the leading one in Australia. Granted they were weakened bythe absence of Adam Dale and Joe Dawes and an injured Lee Carseldine but inMichael Kasprowicz and Ashley Noffke they possessed two of the leadingwicket-takers for the year.Michael Clarke is the type of cricketer that Steve Waugh loves and loves tohave in his team as he is the full package. An aggressive batsman, a shrewdpart-time bowler, a magnificent fielder with a cannon-like arm, silky handsand an intelligent cricket brain.Clarke could slot right into the Australian side now and is the type ofcricketer who has the rest of the world bemused as to how this countrykeeps producing players of the highest calibre.The Pura Cup final is a five-day game and has a Test match feel to it. Theintensity and passion displayed in finals past is testament to how much isat stake.In Australian sport, there is no rivalry like the one which exists betweenNSW and Queensland. Cricket has done its fair share in fuelling this rivalryand will do so again as the two lock horns to decide who is the bestprovincial cricket team in Australia, if not the world.The game will be contested fiercely as one. NSW will go into the game asunderdogs. Queensland are playing on their beloved Gabba and gunning fortheir fourth straight championship whilst NSW will be looking to break theirnine-year drought.Only two sides have ever won a Shield away from home. NSW won the firstfinal at the WACA in 1982/83 and Queensland also won at the WACA in 1996/97.Which statistic will give – that NSW has never lost a final to Queensland orthat Queensland has never lost a final at home?The Bulls have not lost a game to their southern rivals since a fullstrength NSW defeated Queensland by eight wickets in November 1993.NSW have the big name players in the two Waughs, Slater, MacGill and Katich.The Blues have been fortunate in that the players have been spreading theload. In Sydney, it was Steve Waugh, Clarke, Nash, Katich and MacGill whocontributed. At the WACA, it was Mail, Slater, Mark Waugh and Clark who roseto the occasion.Queensland used to benefit greatly from the fact that their players werejust on the fringe of Australian selection. Now Andrew Bichel, AndrewSymonds, Matthew Hayden, Nathan Hauritz and Jimmy Maher are all in SouthAfrica which depletes the Queensland side.It was the experiences of that 84/85 final which helped transform Steve Waughinto a hardened cricketer. But for a win over India in the sub-continent, hehas achieved everything there is to do in the game and leading NSW to statesupremacy after such a long drought will be another jewel he can add to atruly glittering career.