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The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) reacted strongly to reports that umpire Darrell Hair is planning on suing the board and the ICC for alleged racial discrimination.The website revealed that Hair was planning legal action after he was banned from officiating Test matches following his role in the forfeited Oval Test between Pakistan and England in August last year.”I can confirm that I have instructed my lawyers to issue an application in the London Central Employment Tribunal alleging racial discrimination by the ICC and PCB,” said Hair at a press news conference in Nairobi.”It is inappropriate for me to make further comment given that this matter is yet to be determined by the tribunal,” added Hair, who had been umpiring the final of the ICC World Cricket League between Kenya and Scotland.An ICC spokesman said the organisation did not believe there was merit in the claim and it would “vigorously defend the matter”. It was the ICC’s only comment on the issue.Hair believes the PCB “unlawfully induced” the ICC to engage in discriminatory acts when it lobbied for his ban before a November meeting. Percy Sonn, ICC president, announced after the meeting: “It was clear from discussions that the ICC board had lost confidence in Mr Hair.”But the PCB maintains that the final decision was not taken by one member, but the cricket community as a whole and Pakistan cannot be singled out. “We haven’t received anything, any notice yet anyway,” Salim Altaf, PCB’s director cricket operations told Cricinfo.”But it was the ICC that said in November that we have lost confidence in Hair. It was an ICC decision based on their member body. I do not see how the question of legal action taken against Pakistan even arises out of this,” he added.Altaf said, however, that were the board to be issued any such notice, they would be prepared to battle it out in court. An ICC spokesman told Cricinfo: “We haven’t received anything from Mr Hair, but even if we had we would not be able to comment as it might be prejudicial to proceedings.”However, Nasim Ashraf, chairman of the board, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that his lawyer had informed him of Hair’s complaint and that he was “simply outraged” over the matter. “This is adding insult to injury. Race has nothing to do with this. Mr Hair was removed from the elite panel of umpires by the full ICC board, which has many countries, because of his poor judgement. This is the most preposterous thing I have heard.”Ashraf added: “It is crass for him to say a black West Indian was let off [whereas] he was a white man and therefore he was charged. Mr Hair was the senior umpire and he literally took over that Oval cricket match. I was present there.”There was only one man that evening that did not want cricket to be played. [It was] a black spot on the history of cricket thanks to Mr Hair.”The Test was forfeited after Hair and Billy Doctrove awarded England a five-run penalty because they believed the ball had been tampered with during England’s second innings on the fourth afternoon. Pakistan refused to come out to play after the tea break, in protest against the decision.Eventually, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Pakistan’s captain, was cleared of ball-tampering charges but given a four-match ban for bringing the game into disrepute, by Ranjan Madugalle. Hair offered his resignation in exchange for $500,000 soon after the Test, before he was eventually removed from the ICC’s elite panel of umpires.

Subscription TV channel Setanta Sports have paid an undisclosed sum to secure the UK rights to the Indian Premier League. The tournament will mark their first foray into live cricket coverage.Setanta have recently expanded into Premier League football and launched their own dedicated sports news channel. They will broadcast all 59 IPL games from April 18 to June 1 with matches due to start at 9.30am, 1.30pm or 2.30pm UK time. They will also repeat the games in peak time.”The Indian Premier League is going to be massive. We’re absolutely thrilled to acquire these rights and add another major sport to Setanta’s programme line-up,” Trevor East, Setanta’s director of sport, told . “Twenty20 cricket has been a phenomenal success and this tournament, with all its world-class players, is sure to capture the imagination of sports fans young and old.”I firmly believe the IPL will become a highlight of the international sporting calendar for years to come. That’s why we’ve shown our commitment to it by signing a five-year deal.”Currently there aren’t any England players involved in the IPL due to the clash with tours and the start of the domestic season.

Scorecard

Carl Hopkinson and Murray Goodwin both fell short of hundreds, but Sussex nevertheless made Surrey’s bowlers toil in the Hove sunshine to reach 318 for 5 at stumps on the second day.It was not exhilarating cricket by any means, in a match now reduced to three days after yesterday’s washout, but Surrey’s bowlers disappointed. In addition, their fielding lacked spark and accuracy; Usman Afzaal let through two very stoppable singles at cover and, for all his rich talent with the bat, remains an amusingly inept fielder. It is not a flaw that either Butcher – captain Mark or coach Alan – will accept, either.Hopkinson and Chris Nash began confidently, however, with Nash continuing his promising early-season form in an aggressive 46. Nash was off the mark with a sweetly timed on-drive off Jimmy Ormond, who today celebrated a renewal of his contract with Surrey. Ormond was reasonably tight, conceding 19 from his opening six overs and twice troubling Nash whose confidence threatened to overspill. Hopkinson, meanwhile, was more circumspect than his partner, but showed the straightest of bats to a half volley from Chris Jordan that sped through mid-on for four.Nash, who like Hopkinson has yet to reach three figures in his career, was stuck on 46 for nearly half-an-hour and his patience wore thin when he pulled a full delivery from Pedro Collins onto his stumps, ending an encouraging opening stand of 87. After the interval, Hopkinson began to free his arms but was fortunate not to lose his leg stump when he inside-edged Ormond for four. It was a rare lapse in concentration, as was Michael Yardy’s unconvincing sweep to Saqlain Mushtaq which flew to Butcher at slip. The pitch remained flat, the weather fair, but Surrey were just about hanging onto Sussex’s coat tails.Until, that is, Goodwin and Hopkinson combined in an afternoon of run-making. Hopkinson appears to revel in having a fluent partner at the other end, someone to keep the runs flowing while he grinds the bowlers down, and the recipe worked beautifully for Sussex in a third-wicket stand of 129. Jordan, in particular, fed Goodwin’s hunger for the fierce cut. Of Sussex’s top six, Chris Adams might scythe it with greater authority, but few can match Goodwin’s grace. A back-cut down to third man off Collins almost had the elderly members rising as one.Afzaal’s fumbling awkwardness in the covers threatened to encapsulate Surrey’s day in the field, with Goodwin and Hopkinson taking the score up to 246, but he was surprisingly tossed the ball by Butcher and the shock-tactic worked. Hopkinson, his concentration wavering, smacked a full-toss straight back into the slippery hands of Afzaal who held on comfortably.Goodwin, though, continued to drive with supreme timing through extra cover, cutting confidently when the length was too short, and a hundred appeared to be his for the taking. However, no Sussex batsman was to reach three figures and on 98, Goodwin feathered Matt Nicholson, returning for a final burst from the Sea End, to the wicketkeeper. Sussex might be dismayed in losing two batsmen in the nineties, but they remain in control of a match destined to be drawn after the first day’s washout.

Pakistan will be trialling fresh faces during the five-match one-day international series against Zimbabwe, due to begin from January 26. The relatively low-key nature of the series provides an ideal opportunity for Pakistan’s selectors to test players in three departments, before Australia visit in March for a full tour.”We will definitely try out some new faces in whichever department we need them in,” Salahuddin Ahmed, chief selector, told Cricinfo. “That’s not to say that we are taking Zimbabwe lightly, but we need to assess players on the fringes of the national side and this is a good opportunity.”The bulk of the experimentation will be carried out with fast bowling, opening and the wicketkeeping slot, areas which have for various reasons troubled Pakistan in recent years. Salahuddin suggested domestic pace stalwarts such as Abdur Rauf and Mohammad Irshad would be in line for debuts.”We’re also keeping an eye on the progress of Anwar Ali [former Under-19 star] and Sohail Khan.” Sohail, a right-arm fast-medium bowler from the North-West Frontier Province (NWFP) but based in Karachi, has lit up this season’s Quaid-e-Azam trophy with a string of outstanding performances.In nine matches of what is his debut first-class season, for Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC), he has taken 65 wickets; he has already taken eight five-wicket hauls and two ten-wicket match hauls. This includes, in his last match, a Pakistan first-class record haul of 16 for 189, including 9 for 109 in the second innings.The selectors also have an eye on three openers in particular prospering domestically. “Khurram Manzoor, Khalid Latif and Nasir Jamshed have been very good this season from all reports and they are definitely in the mix for that series, as is Asim Kamal,” Salahuddin said.Manzoor, who opens for Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) is the only batsman with over 1000 runs this season (including matches for Pakistan A), while the left-handed Jamshed and Latif, with three hundreds apiece, are not far behind. Latif, in fact, was called up to the Pakistan ODI squad for three matches of the series against South Africa in October, though he didn’t eventually play.And following more mediocre performances the stumps in India, it is almost inevitable that Kamran Akmal will be rested and former U-19 captain Sarfraz Ahmed given a run in his place. Sarfraz was called up to India as cover for Akmal and made his debut in the last ODI at Jaipur, impressing most observers with an assured display. The idea that both play, with Akmal as a specialist middle-order batsman, has also been discussed by the team management.Zimbabwe are scheduled to arrive on January 12 and will play a four-day match and a three-day match before the ODI series begins.

The ICC have given their strongest indication yet that Darrell Hair, the umpire who was reinstated yesterday, will return to Test umpiring for England’s home series against New Zealand in May.Hair has undergone a rehabilitation period since he was effectively removed from international cricket – with the exception of umpiring the occasional Intercontinental Cup match – in the aftermath of England’s forfeited Test against Pakistan at the Oval in 2006. Dave Richardson, the ICC’s general cricket manager, said yesterday that the board will “probably keep him away from Pakistan matches where we can” but added that Hair’s first real opportunity will come during England’s first home series of the summer.”Both teams rate Darrell Hair very highly,” Richardson said. “It’s likely that he will get an opportunity.”Hair’s reinstatement has sparked outrage in Pakistan, with Inzamam-ul-Haq, who captained Pakistan in the Oval Test, saying he was “shocked and disgusted” by the news. Shaharyar Khan, the Pakistan board chairman during the Oval Test, also expressed similar sentiments.

Both Durham and Hampshire made inroads into the interrupted Championship match at Riverside on Friday. By lunch the home side had scored 141 runs, with Hampshire taking three wickets.With the crowd anticipating the approaching seasons 1,000 from Australian Simon Katich, he cut at a ball from Dimitri Mascarenhas as was caught high up at first-slip by Shane Warne, just four runs short of the magical target.Katich had batted for nearly three hours, sharing a 125 run partnership with makeshift captain Jon Lewis.Paul Collingwood was well held low down at second slip to give Hampshire their first bonus point of the match.Lewis who had batted patiently for four hours, finally fell when he played on to Shane Warne, but by the lunch interval on the second day Daley and Speight had added a further 74 in 15 overs.Rain and thunderstorms predictably arrived during the lunch break. By three pm, the deluge of hailstones, very heavy rain and thunder and lightniing gave umpires Benson and Steele little option but to abandon play for the day.

Division One

A seven-wicket haul from Mushtaq Ahmed not only continued a welcome return to form but also put Sussex in a strong position against Hampshire at Arundel. Hampshire were 92 for 2 in reply to Sussex’s 341 before losing eight wickets for 110 to hand the home side a first-innings lead of 139. Sussex found the going much easier second time round, despite losing two wickets soon after tea to Dimitri Mascarenhas. At the close they had extended their lead to 280 with Richard Montgomerie unbeaten on 62.Durham responded positively to Lancashire’s 367 with Gordon Muchall striking an unbeaten 65 as they fought back from 58 for 3 at Chester-le-Street. Glen Chapple’s 57, along with useful efforts from the bottom three, lifted Lancashire’s total as Mark Davies finished with four wickets. Tom Smith struck twice in his first two overs to remove Durham’s openers, but Lancashire couldn’t press home the advantage as Muchall began the recovery. He was partnered firstly by Dale Benkenstein then Scott Styris. Muttiah Muralitharan failed to make an impression, conceding four-an-over, and Durham will be confident of at least reaching parity on first innings.Joe Sayers missed his first double century by 13 runs as Yorkshire left Kent in serious difficultly at Tunbridge Wells. He was caught off James Tredwell after more than eight-and-a-half hours at the crease. Adil Rashid and Tim Bresnan built on Sayers’ effort with half-centuries as Yorkshire piled up 551 before Darren Gough called them in. Gough then removed the first two Kent wickets in an over – Martin van Jaarsveld going third ball – and Deon Kruis also bagged a brace as the innings fell to 65 for 4. Robert Key and Neil Dexter survived until the close but two tough days lie ahead if Kent are to stave off defeat.Vikram Solanki struck a career-best 232 for Worcestershire on the second day at New Road, but Surrey responded to the home side’s massive total by racing to 144 for 1 at stumps. Worcestershire declared on 701 for 6, equalling the highest total at New Road (701 for 4 declared by Leicestershire 101 years ago) but, for once, Graeme Hick couldn’t capitalise on the flat track – falling to Ian Salisbury for 15. He is now 12 short of 30,000 first-class runs for Worcestershire and 49 adrift of a career total of 40,000. In reply, Surrey sped to 144 for 1 with Jon Batty unbeaten on 66.

Division Two

3rd dayHamish Marshall struck a unbeaten 120 as Gloucestershire fought hard after being asked to follow-on by Derbyshire at Derby. Trailing by 242 they were put in again and fell to 34 for 3, but Marshall and Alex Gidman turned the innings around by adding 186 for the fourth wicket. Marshall’s hundred was his first in the Championship this season and Gidman continued his prolific recent form. In the first innings he narrowly missed a third century in consecutive innings when he was ninth out for 91, but has a chance of making in three in four knocks after closing on 69. Tom Lungley has led the Derbyshire attack, taking two second-innings scalps to follow his five first time around, and holds a key role on the final day with Gloucestershire probably needing to bat for two sessions to save the game.Leaders Nottinghamshire continued to find the going hard on the third day of their match against bottom side Glamorgan at Swansea. Resuming on 199 for 5, David Hussey (98) and Mark Ealham (74*) put on 112 for the sixth wicket for Notts before Dean Cosker and Robert Croft checked the recovery to hand Glamorgan a first-innings lead of 65. Nicky Peng (65) built on that, steering them to 100 for 1 only for late wickets to leave the game well poised. At stumps, Glamorgan were 158 for 4, 222 ahead.2nd dayEssex built upon their healthy overnight position of 309 for 2 to compile an enormous 649 for 5 before snatching four quick Northamptonshire wickets at Chelmsford. Ravi Bopara, resuming on 155, notched the next four runs to match his career best before piling onwards to his first double century. At the other end, Grant Flower was also dominating Northamptonshire’s attack and together the pair put on 320 for the third wicket. Flower eventually fell for 203, but Ryan ten Doeschate then took the bull by the horns, smashing a violent 62 from 37 balls. Northamptonshire’s day didn’t get any better, losing four wickets before stumps – including Usman Afzaal for 73 and their mainstay, David Sales, for 23.Somerset were two wickets away from wrapping up a crushing two-day win over Leicestershire at Taunton, after their top four each registered hundreds. Marcus Trescothick, who resumed on 153, fell for 182 but James Hildreth (163) and Cameron White (114) put on 202 for the third wicket as Somerset raced past 600. A quickfire 36 from their young wicketkeeper, Craig Kieswetter, led to their declaration on 675 for 5, gaining a mammoth lead of 507. Leicestershire simply crumbled, Charl Willoughby and Andy Caddick each picked up three wickets to leave them on 188 for 8, some 319 runs behind.

A Jamaican specialist has testified at the inquest into former Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer’s death that the genetic samples taken from Woolmer’s hotel room matched his DNA and not any of the others questioned in the case, reported the .Investigators took 22 swabs of evidence from the hotel room but none of them matched any of the other samples taken during the murder probe, said Sharon Brydson, an analyst at the forensics science laboratory in Kingston.Several Pakistan players were fingerprinted and swabbed by the police, although they were never termed suspects, after Woolmer was found unconscious in his hotel room on March 18 following Pakistan’s defeat against Ireland in the World Cup.The police had initially backed the government pathologist Ere Sheshiah’s finding that Woolmer was murdered and released a statement to that effect. However, a review by three other pathologists – Nathaniel Cary, Michael Pollanen and Lorna Martin – said Woolmer died of natural causes, possibly due to a heart attack.As the investigation continued, toxicology tests could not conclude whether Woolmer was injected with a poison or not. Marcia Dunbar, a Jamaican forensic analyst, testified at the inquest that evidence of the pesticide cypermethrin was found in blood and urine samples. Of three samples of blood taken from Woolmer, Dunbar said one tested positive for cypermethrin while the others did not and no suitable explanation was given for this. She also said that one of the containers she received from the police containing the samples had been contaminated.John Slaughter, a British forensic expert, later told the inquest that said he found no pesticide in the sample which was tested in his lab on May 4. He said the presence of cypermethrin could have been due to contamination at the government forensic laboratory in Kingston.On November 5, the coroner Patrick Murphy had asked for further tests to be carried out on samples taken from Woolmer’s body. The directive came on a request from Mark Shields, the Jamaica deputy commissioner of police, following discrepancies in the toxicology reports by forensic scientists from the Caribbean and the UK. Shields said more samples would be retrieved from the UK and the local forensic laboratory.

Hyderabad Heroes 143 for 6 (Rayudu 44, Maher 33) beat Lahore Badshahs 137 (Umar 43, Mahmood 34, Razzaq 3-18) by six runs
Scorecard

The Lahore Badshahs’ unconquered reign was finally brought to a close, as the Heroes defended a target of 144 with a disciplined bowling effort to go 1-0 up in the best-of-three finals. Fortunately for the Badshahs, they can still recover from the blip, but the loss couldn’t have come at a worse time.The Heroes decided to bat and Abdul Razzaq gave them the early momentum with a brisk 21 off 12 balls. Steady partnerships were forged during the Heroes’ innings – Jimmy Maher and Ambati Rayudu put on 27 before the latter and Kemp added 53 for the third wicket.Although the Badshahs didn’t manage to take wickets at regular intervals, they curbed the flow of runs. Mohammad Sami, who leaked runs in Thursday’s semi-final against the Kolkata Tigers, bowled his four overs first up for 15 runs. Mushtaq Ahmed gave one less in the middle overs, and the lack of runs on offer reflected in the tally for the Heroes batsmen: Maher 33 off 34, Rayudu 44 off 42, and Kemp 11 off 20.After 16 overs, Rayudu was sauntering with 23 off 32, but he did some damage from there on as 46 runs came off the last four overs bowled by Azhar Mahmood and Rana Naved-ul-Hasan. Rayudu was cut short of 44 by a direct hit from Inzamam-ul-Haq, but two no-balls from Naved-ul-Hasan in the final over saw him concede 17, and the Heroes reached 143..Razzaq got the first breakthrough as the Badshahs began their chase, Imran Nazir’s charge to send the ball into orbit sent him on the path to the dugout. Justin Kemp removed Humayun Farhat, and when Man-of-the-Match Stuart Binny picked up the prized scalps of Hasan Raza and Inzamam-ul-Haq, a seemingly easy target gained gargantuan proportions. At 50 for 4, the Badshahs were left needing a further 94 off ten overs.Opener Taufeeq Umar kept ticking the strike over at one end, but it was the pyrotechnics from Azhar Mahmood (34 off 16) that breathed life into the Badshahs’ innings.Naved-ul-Hasan made a few amends for his expensive analysis – 47 off four overs – with a six and a four in the penultimate over bowled by Nicky Boje, leaving his team with 12 to get off the 20th. The drama was heightened as Razzaq struggled with his line, giving away three wides. With seven required off four, Umar swing and missed, and the attempted single led to the run-out of Naved-ul-Hasan. Razzaq finally got it straight, and Sami’s bat met thin air – the wicket, a dot ball too, made it 7 off 2. Shahid Nazir, the star with the ball in Thursday’s match, failed to connect his first ball and was bowled when a last-ball six was needed to tie.The Heroes scraped home by six runs, and though they have the advantage, the form and prowess of the Badshahs will be tough to overcome for the second match in succession. The teams have a day’s break before the next game in Hyderabad on Sunday, and the Heroes could delight the city they represent by clinching the Rs 25 million (approx US$625,000) prize on offer.

With little more than two weeks left for the start of the Indian Premier League, the eight franchises will meet the IPL governing council on April 2 in Mumbai to discuss key issues like security and ticketing. The franchises will also seek clarity and help from the BCCI-backed IPL council on gaining exemption from paying entertainment tax to local governments on the matches they host.Charu Sharma, the CEO of the Bangalore franchise, said that IPL is a tournament run by the BCCI and if the board usually gets exemption from the tax while staging matches, the franchises also should get a similar treatment. “We don’t own the stadium or even the players for that matter,” Sharma told Cricinfo. “We have them in for a team activity, which is run by BCCI, and I think we should get exemption. We will raise the issue in the meeting.”The franchises are already in the process of fixing ticket prices for the matches – Rs 125 to well over 5000 in Bangalore, and between Rs 200 and 3000 for a game in Hyderabad – and one factor that would affect the rate is the entertainment tax. The working committee of the BCCI took a decision on March 25 that the franchises would be left to deal with the tax and the franchises, for their part, plan to seek exemption.”This is a BCCI-run event and we hope we would be exempt,” J Krishnan, the Hyderabad franchise CEO, said.Yogesh Shetty, the CEO of the Delhi team, however, said that they were ready for the probability of paying that tax. “We are a for-profit organisation and IPL is entertainment and I do see the government at state levels levying the tax. However, what we have to see is whether legally we come under the auspices of BCCI, which is a not-for-profit organisation, and if so can we be exempt from the tax. Anyway this is a state-level issue involving local governments and we will deal with it appropriately.”The franchises believe security and ticketing could be key issues, too. Most of the teams have no previous experience of organising a cricket match and plan to seek BCCI’s counsel in helping them get ready for the event.The Bangalore franchise will be hosting the opening ceremony of the tournament and plans to get clarity on the how the event should be hosted. “We have to make sure the ground doesn’t get affected,” said Sharma. “We will of course seek the help of the KSCA [Karnataka State Cricket Association] but we will be going into details of the launch in the meeting; what we can do and what we can’t.”Other issues like “look and feel of the stadium”, anti- doping procedures and anti-corruption protocol are also on the agenda, said a franchise representative.