The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has decided to commission a financial review of all 18 first-class counties. This action has been taken following criticism of disproportionate funding of clubs that stage Test cricket and those that do not, and a reported loss for major counties.Speaking to BBC Radio Leicester, David Morgan, the ECB chairman, said: “There is concern on the part of the non-Test match grounds and that is being addressed in this review. It will report within a six to eight month time frame, I would think.”The move was backed by Neil Davidson, Leicestershire’s chairman. “It’s got to be welcomed,” Davidson said. “There is a view in certain counties that there is too much mystery surrounding revenues from Test match receipts. We need to get some clarity there and some fairness in the distribution system.Davidson raised concern over the allocation of funds on the county circuit. “[Hampshire chairman] Rod Bransgrove has identified that there’s as much as £40 million being raised and only £1.6 million going into general distribution of the funds,” he said. “I don’t know whether he’s right or wrong but that’s what the audit has to get to the bottom of.”Of the 18 first-class counties, only six – Durham, Lancashire, Nottinghamshire, Surrey, Warwickshire and Yorkshire – take revenues from the sales of Test match tickets. Last season, Leicestershire suffered a £94,000 loss, while Derbyshire and Kent had six-figure deficits. Morgan’s own club Glamorgan reported a £175,000 loss. However, it was recently announced that Cardiff would become a Test venue in 2009 when Australia return for the Ashes.
Marvan Atapattu has expressed his disappointment that Sri Lanka will not be playing the best West Indies side in their two-Test series. “Personally I would like to think when I finished my career that I had played with the best teams. So obviously with Lara, Sarwan and Gayle not being here, I will be thinking that I didn’t play the best side that I’ve heard of.”Lara gave us a bit of a rough time when he was here the last time, scoring over 600 runs in the series. But the game of cricket is such that it doesn’t mean that it happens every time. We were looking forward to the challenge this time but it is a bit disappointing now that he is not here.”Atapattu said his team had a similar experience in Zimbabwe last year when the top white cricketers took a stand against the Zimbabwe Cricket Union on the racial issue concerning selections. “We managed to motivate the guys in different ways according to the form of the game that we played in one-day or a Test match. We’ll have a plan here as well. As we came good out of that tour I am sure we will do the same here.”Atapattu admitted that his team had not played much cricket since the tour of New Zealand, which ended in April. “In the past few weeks, along with Tom Moody who has taken up the job as our new coach, we had a program or two. We have worked hard at match situations and hopefully we will do well when the series actually starts.”He said that the first Test at the SSC ground was important from Sri Lanka’s point of view because it will be their 150th since gaining Test status 24 years ago. “It is always important and always special when you play a Test match for your country. It is even more special when it is the 150th.”We have got a new management now. As far as the players are concerned we are trying to focus as much as we can on the game. We do need the right support from the management staff and I am sure we will get it.”Atapattu welcomed the return of Muttiah Muralitharan to the team. He joined them at practice after representing Lancashire in the County Championship. Muralitharan is returning to Test cricket after a gap of nearly eleven months having undergone an operation in his bowling arm.”It is nice to have Murali back. He is not only the best bowler in my side but the world’s best bowler. He troubles more batsmen than anybody else in the world. It is exciting to have him back after a long lay-off. Everybody in the side is looking forward to having him among us.”With regard to the players’ contracts, which the Sri Lanka Cricket interim committee has yet to finalise, Atapattu said: “Nearing the series I think the contract will be of less priority. We will try and focus more on the cricket that we are going to play. I am sure the authorities are looking at the contracts and the legal side of it and will get it over sooner than later. Our job in the meanwhile is to focus on cricket, at least until this series is over.”
Barbados 367 for 8 (Campbell 81, Smith 114) lead Guyana 310 (Sarwan 121, Chanderpaul 81; Collins 4-85) by 57 runs ScorecardBarbados snatched a slender lead over Guyana thanks mainly to Dwayne Smith (114) and Sherwin Campbell (91). Barbados began the third day on 138 for 3 with plenty of work left to be done.Initially it was Ryan Hinds (56) and Campbell who took Barbados forward. They added 105 runs for the fourth wicket, before Hinds was caught by Vishal Nagamootoo off the bowling of Rayon Griffith (155 for 4). The next man to go was Campbell. He fell nine runs short of the three-figure mark, caught by Ryan Ramdass off Travis Dowlin (215 for 5).From then on, it was only Smith who kept Barbados ticking. His 114 at number six gave the team just the impetus they needed, and he only fell after the first innings lead was secured. Mahendra Nagamootoo claimed Smith’s wicket, caught by Narsingh Deonarine. By this stage Barbados had a 10-run lead.Ian Bradshaw made his presence felt with a timely 33 low down the order and Barbados finished the day on 367 for 8.
Two brilliant knocks from Khaled Mashud Pilot and Anisur Rahman had postedRajshahi Division well into a commanding position after day-3 of IspahaniMirzapore Tea 3rd National League. Their opponent Khulna Division isfighting to evade the looming innings defeat with 147 for 4 at the close ofthe day.Rajshahi had amassed 536 runs for 8 wickets when their swaggering skipperKhaled Mashud decided to declare the innings against a Khulna first inningstotal of 239. Mashud hammered the second double century (201 not out) in theLeague (Minhajul Abedin got the first one) with good support he got fromAnisur Rahman (107) and the Shamimul Haque (43).Mashud, the skipper and wicket keeper of Bangladesh National team, has addedmore 144 runs to his overnight tally. To reach the double figure he sent theball 18 times to score boundaries and chose the aerial for a singleoccasion. Thanks to his fifth wicket stand with Anisur Rahman that procuredRajshahi 155 runs.With Shamimul he summed up another 108 runs in the next wicket and declaredthe innings soon after he reached his double hundred.Khulna Division suffered a middle order collapse after a good start.Sajjadul Hasan (45) and Nahidul Haque (43) set in motion auspiciously asthey gathered up 88 runs in the opening stand.However, after Nahidul’s departure Khulna middle order crumbled miserably asthey lost the next 3 wickets in quick succession. At stumps they werepulling out all the stops on 147/4 with Hasanuzzaman (31) and Asadullah Khan(19) on the crease.
Himachal Pradesh suffered defeat by an innings and 70 runs at thehands of Delhi in the Vijay Merchant Under-16 Trophy North Zone Leagueat the University Ground in Solan on Tuesday. Delhi walked home witheight points and Himachal had no points from the match.Himachal scored 184 off 81.1 overs. Deepak Soni topscored with 51 andParas Dogra made a valuable 43. Abhishek Sharma bagged five for 60.Delhi replied with 379 for seven declared off 94 overs. Opener ShikharDiwan scored 88 off 193 balls. He was well supported by Abhinav Baliwho made 77 off 155 balls. Rahul Sharma picked up three for 87.Himachal began their second innings by losing opener Varun Sharmawithout a run on the board. They lost wickets at regular intervals andwere bundled out for 125 in 49.4 overs. Deepak Soni stood through theinnings and was unbeaten on 45. Abhishek Sharma picked up four for 44,and returned with match figures of nine for 104.
Ange Postecoglou’s Celtic have been handed a huge boost ahead of their upcoming Premiership clash on Sunday.
What’s the talk?
Speaking ahead of Sunday’s Old Firm encounter (via BBC Sport), Gers manager Giovanni van Bronckhorst revealed that, after being sent home from international duty with Colombia due to a thigh injury, Alfredo Morelos has not only been ruled out of his club’s meeting with Celtic but could also miss most of the remainder of the season as a result of his knock.
Regarding the 25-year-old’s setback, the Dutchman said: “Unfortunately, he won’t be with us on Sunday, we won’t have him back in the next couple of weeks that’s for sure. I think a long-term injury, but we don’t know how long yet Hopefully we can give more news after the weekend.”
Postecoglou will be buzzing
Considering just how important Morelos has been to Rangers this season, the news that the striker will be unavailable for selection this weekend, and for a number of his team’s remaining league fixtures, is sure to have left Ange Postecoglou buzzing.
Indeed, over his 26 Premiership appearances in the current campaign, the £11.7m-rated hitman has been in breathtaking form for the Gers, bagging 12 goals, registering seven assists and creating nine big chances for his team-mates, also taking 4.3 shots and making two key passes per game.
These returns have seen the £31.5k-per-week forward average a sensational SofaScore match rating of 7.32, ranking him as the seventh-best player in the Scottish top flight.
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As such, it is clear to see that Rangers being without their talismanic centre-forward on Sunday could greatly improve Celtic’s chances of securing what could well be a season-defining victory at Ibrox. With just six games left of the Premiership season to play after tomorrow’s meeting, the Light Blues closing a six-point gap at the top of the table would be a near-impossible feat in such a short space of time, particuarly with the Hoops landing a huge psychological direct blow.
AND in other news: £3m wasted as Celtic had a shocker on £7.9k-p/w “loner” who rinsed Desmond for 129 weeks
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.
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.
Cricket South Africa may discard the final of the SuperSport series because of complaints over the format of the competition. The board will consider a proposal on Wednesday where each team plays five home matches and five away matches and the one with the highest points will win the championship.”Tame draws are not what we’re looking for. We’re looking for a result and it hasn’t happened in the last two finals. Things have now got to the stage where we wonder whether there’s any point in having a final,” Brian Basson, the general manager of cricket affairs, told SuperCricket. “All the sides will play five home matches and five away matches, they each will have played each other home and away. So no particular side has been favoured and the team with the most points at the end of it all should be the champions.”There needs to be some objective for teams to be playing towards even if they are out of contention for the title by the halfway stage,” said Basson. “So we are also proposing that there be financial rewards – the team finishing fifth will earn more than the side finishing sixth, and so on. Rather than questioning their keenness once they have no chance whatsoever of winning, the ranking order in the competition will see teams rewarded according to a sliding scale.”
The Asia against Africa matches proposed by the newly formed Afro-Asian Cricket Cooperation have yet to meet with the approval of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). The fund-raising matches have been scheduled for August, by which time both Sri Lanka and India would have started their seasons.According to , Shaharyar Khan, PCB chairman, said that he would look at the feasibility of the matches once he got to London to attend meetings of the International Cricket Council (ICC) and Asian Cricket Council (ACC).He was quoted as saying: “We really don’t know much about these matches now, so I can’t make any commitments at this stage but as a policy the PCB feels that the players need to be given a proper break from the international schedule which is already too hectic.”The ACC and the African Cricket Council had planned to hold the games at Johannesburg and Cape Town, soon after India and Sri Lanka finished a tri-series with West Indies on August 14. India are scheduled to tour Zimbabwe later that month.According to Syed Ashraful Haq, the ACC chief executive, Durban – home to a substantial Indian community – had been ruled out as a venue because of its inclement weather. Shaharyar, who said that the board was concerned that the players shouldn’t play too many exhibition games, also added that he would listen to views from other member countries of the ACC before making a final decision.The new body, a brainchild of Jagmohan Dalmiya, intends to hold three fund-raising matches each years, with the continental teams chosen by an independent panel of selectors.