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.

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.”

Doug Cowie, the New Zealand umpire, has announced his retirement. Cowie officiated in 22 Tests, 71 one-day internationals, and more than 100 first-class games in an umpiring career which spanned 20 years, and was one of three New Zealand representatives on the ICC International Panel.”I am still dedicated to the game and passionate about improving the role of modern umpires in cricket,” Cowie stated in a media release. “However, the satisfaction gained from the challenges of umpiring no longer outweigh the sacrifices necessary to perform on the field. Recent changes to cricket and umpiring have placed greater demands on umpires and I feel the time is right to refocus my priorities.”Brian Aldridge, New Zealand Cricket umpires’ manager, reacted by saying, “Doug has been an excellent umpire during a distinguished career. He has made a significant contribution to umpiring in New Zealand and internationally. It is important that New Zealanders continue to umpire at the highest level and it will be difficult to fill the gap left by Doug.”Umpiring at any level takes great commitment and we hope to develop the opportunities available to umpires in New Zealand to ensure that more can reach this level and, in the future, sustain a living from a career as a professional umpire.”New Zealand are currently represented by Billie Bowden on the Elite Panel, while Tony Hill and Evan Watkin are the remaining representatives on the International Panel. All Test playing countries have three representatives on the panel, but for now it is unclear who will replace Cowie.

Michael VAUGHAN (ENG) – Captain“I expected us to win games if cricket, but I certainly didn’t expect to win 10 out of 11 test matches. Going into this tournament I was confident we could progress and play well in the tournament.””There was a nice air of confidence going into Tuesday’s game, where we had the belief that we could beat the Australians. Getting to the final is something that is great, but to be honest we expected to be somewhere near it because we felt we played well against India and the wins against India gave us a lot of confidence going into the tournament.””The consistency that the team has showed has been pleasing. Winning game after game is very, very difficult on the mental side more than anything. I can’t speak highly enough of the team and the effort they’ve put in.””It’s the second biggest one day tournament in the world after the World Cup. Being in our home country makes it a little bit more special. A final is a final so it’s a massive occasion for the team.””It’s something to try to achieve, but we not going into tomorrow’s game treating it any differently to what we have done the last few weeks. We’ll just try to relive the performances we’ve given and if we can do that I’m sure we can put the West Indies under some pressure.””We felt we needed a bit more athleticism in the field and a bit more depth in our batting. We feel that Vikram SOLANKI and Alex WHARF have given us both those credentials. We’ve still got to play well, but I feel we’ve played good one day cricket over the last five weeks and in the summer we didn’t play well enough.”

Division One

Points Table

Leaders Kent suffered a frustrating third day after dominating the morning session against Hampshire, who lost six wickets before lunch as they slipped to 182 for 7 and seemingly faced the follow on. But that was about as good as it got, as Andy Bichel cracked 87 and Nic Pothas 74 in an eighth-wicket stand of 138 as they recovered to 325 all out. Kent, with a first-innings lead of 121, pressed for quick runs but lost their way as they creaked to 153 for 7, leaving the game in the balance.It wasn’t much better for defending champions Warwickshire on the first day of their match against Nottinghamshire at Edgbaston. After winning the toss, they were bowled out for 156, with Ryan Sidebottom, who bowled 17 overs unchanged from the pavilion end, and Andrew Harris both grabbing 4 for 41. Nottinghamshire, who had struggled earlier in the week against Middlesex, had an unbeaten fifth-wicket stand of 119 between Chris Read (73 not out) and David Hussey (55 not out) to thank after they had slipped to 75 for 4, closing on 194 for 4

Division Two

Points TableAfter two rain-blighted days at Riverside, there was finally some meaningful action as Durham made 315, thanks largely to Mike Hussey’s 146, spread over three days, with David Masters the pick of the Leicestershire bowlers with 6 for 74. The visitors then reached 217 for 3 by the end of the day, with Dinesh Mongia, who battled through a poor start, unbeaten on 77. Inspired captaincy and sporting declarations will be needed if there is to be any chance of a result.

The players’ statement in fullZimbabwe’s professional cricketers have issued a statement which slams the conduct of the board, accusing it of being “at best incompetent, and at worst, a bully”. Coming on the eve of Zimbabwe Cricket’s AGM in Bulawayo tomorrow and the first Test against India on Tuesday, it represents a embarrassing slap in the face for Zimbabwe Cricket. It also rubbishes the official line that there is no disharmony between players and board.While the players made it clear that they were not prepared to go on strike, explaining that doing so would not be in the interests of the game inside Zimbabwe, the tone and length of the statement left no doubt that they have no faith in the senior administrators.At the heart of their anger are the unilaterally-imposed performance-related contracts announced by the board last week and a resulting newspaper article purporting to reveal the seemingly high remuneration packages on offer. The players clearly feel that the article was planted by the board and that the figures were deliberately misleading. Clive Field, the players’ representative said: “ZC appear content to use the media to sensationalize the sensitive issue of remuneration.”They are also livid that despite having several months to negotiate and come up with a mutually-agreed deal, the board has implemented something which was not discussed at very short notice.Only three players – Heath Streak, Tatenda Taibu and Andy Blignaut – were offered long-term deals, while the others were put on performance-related short-term contracts which made no allowance for seniority. The 12-month packages on offer made no allowance for the hyperinflation prevalent inside Zimbabwe, and ZC refused to link the payments to the reserve bank rate.Already upset at the way this was handled, ZC then announced on the eve of an ODI against India that the offer to three players – Stuart Carlisle, Barney Rogers and Neil Ferreira – had been withdrawn and no reasons were given. The players continued with the match but a request for more information remains unanswered.”Our position is that this directly and adversely impacts player confidence,” Field said.”It reveals an administration which is at best incompetent, and at worst, a bully. In the continued absence of sound reasons from ZC, such action amounts to intimidation of the player body.”As things stand, the contracts remain unaccepted by the players, who said they are “playing on trust”. ZC has said that new contracts will be supplied by September 14, but the impression is that the players have little faith that this promise will be answered.The sums on offer also differ wildly from those claimed by ZC – according to Field, match fees are now 25% of what was on offer six months ago in South Africa. Furthermore, Zimbabwe’s draconian tax rates seriously erode the sums, and the lack of international cricket played by Zimbabwe means that the potential amounts quoted are almost certainly not likely to be achieved. ZC, they claimed, had also removed perks such as vehicles, DSTV and BUPA, all of which were in place on the 2004-05 contracts.Damningly, the players concluded by asking whether the administration of ZC had also been cut. “If we as players are being told to tighten our belts, what is ZC itself as an administration doing in the same vein?” Field asked.”What salaries are being paid by ZC to themselves? If it is deemed by ZC to be in the public interest to splash players salaries around the press, then presumably they have no objection announcing their own? We look forward to receiving details.”We are concerned that ZC should be held accountable for a set of performance criteria which measure its revenues and management of its finances in a transparent and responsible manner for the betterment of the game.”

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.

Having helped Pakistan fight back from a position of little hope to onefrom where they can at least attempt to win, Salman Butt can bejustifiably proud of his contribution to this turnaround. He went a fewsteps better than his first-innings 74 with a career-best 122, the secondcentury in a seven-Test career, to set up a fascinating final day withEngland chasing a further 174 runs – and Pakistan, nine wickets.Speaking to BBC Sport Urdu, Butt said of his innings: “I am glad that theinnings came when the team needed it most. The effort will only be goodthough if we can win the match tomorrow. In the first innings, I should’vetimed the shot that I got out to instead of trying to hit it so hard. Ithought about my dismissal a lot and the senior players also spoke to me.Like in the second innings, they said I should have just tried to stay atthe crease which I did this time round.”The dismissal of Inzamam-ul-Haq, which ended his 135-run partnership withButt and precipitated a collapse of seven wickets for 75 runs, meant therewas more pressure on Butt to continue his innings. “My plan then was just to stay, butI had a little lapse in concentration and the ball from Hoggard justkicked up a little and caught the edge. But we will try our best now tobowl them out tomorrow.”His maiden century was made against an equally accomplished attack inSydney last year, although Butt said this innings gave him moresatisfaction. “I think the team needed this innings more. The Sydneycentury was in the first innings and, although I am very proud of thatinnings, I think most players will agree that scoring in the secondinnings is always more important. Mostly it was important today becausethe team really needed it.”His performance was also significant because it came in the wake ofPakistan’s much-publicised problems with finding a settled openingcombination. Butt himself was dropped during the India tour early thisyear after playing in the first Test at Mohali. On his recall to the sidein the Caribbean, he was again dropped after failures in the first Test, amove which prompted the panic about Pakistan’s lack of openers.”Every player is under pressure when they don’t perform and it is the samefor me. But the senior players in the team and the management backed me,saying that this happens to everyone. For batsmen, failure is only ever amatter of one ball. Now I just want to solve the problem we have with ouropening by scoring as many runs as possible for Pakistan, for as long aspossible.”

Terry Alderman, the former Australia fast bowler, has questioned the ability of South Africa’s cricketers after they succumbed to an innings defeat against Western Australia on Wednesday.Alderman, who has also played for Eastern Province in South Africa, was scathing in his comments. “The technique of most of the batsmen was shocking. They played far too many hook and pull shots and those that had to be played with a straight [bat] went down the wrong line,” Alderman, now a radio commentator, told News24. “This is not the South African cricket I knew when I played there. The coach’s excuses are that the Proteas flew over many time zones and that the players were advised to take things slow for medical reasons.”Questioning the mental toughness of the South Africans after their shocking loss to WA, Alderman was forthright. “Your guys looked totally lost against the spinner Beau Casson. He is just a baby learning the art of spin bowling. The Aussies can use three spinners here against you.” Casson, a slow left-arm chinaman bowler, picked up eight wickets in the match. Alderman stated that the only batsman who has the fighting spirit to stand up to Australia was Jacques Kallis, adding: “Graeme Smith is shaky and he talks too much. I think the Aussies will unnerve him”.Alderman did, however, make favourable mention of South Africa’s bowling attack. “The bowling attack does not look too bad. Andre Nel has a Colin Croft action, while Charl Langeveldt can fulfil the role of a Matthew Hoggard. He’s also the workhorse of the team,” he said. “Makhaya Ntini has become a world class bowler after we initially laughed at him when he appeared in the international arena for the first time.”Just when it seemed like Alderman was willing to see the silver lining in the gloom he threw another jibe. “”The weakest link in the bowling attack is Shaun Pollock. He bowls without any speed and I don’t believe he will worry the Aussies too much.”The first Test between Australia and South Africa begins at Perth on December 16.

Given that it was Pakistan’s first series win for two years, as well as the first under Bob Woolmer, an understandably exultant Inzamam-ul-Haq called the 2-0 series win against England one of the best he has played in during his 13 years as an international player. “This is one of the biggest wins of my career. It was a total team effort and I would not single out any one player. They really worked hard and at the right times we performed in the series.”England arrived in Pakistan with six successive series wins behind them including the Ashes summer triumph. With Pakistan’s poor recent home record, few people thought a 2-0 home win likely, but Inzamam said he had always been confident of a good performance. “A lot of people had ruled us out before the series but we had performed well and I had the confidence that we would do better and would win. We were playing in our home conditions and that was a plus, but we still need improvement in all three departments.”Michael Vaughan, in his post-series comments, highlighted the role of Shoaib Akhtar, citing him as the ultimate difference between the two teams. With 17 wickets, an awakening with the bat, a reformed attitude and a recovered knack for striking when necessary, it is difficult to argue the case against. But as Inzamam has highlighted through the series, and in the past, Pakistan have performed well collectively.”Shoaib has performed very well in this series. He put his wholehearted effort and it is always necessary that all your players do the best. But in all three Tests our bowlers put up their best efforts; Shoaib, Rana, Sami and Kaneria all got us crucial wickets on pitches that weren’t always conducive to the bowlers.”This spirit has coincided with the arrival, in June 2004, of Bob Woolmer and Inzamam was quick to pay tribute to his work since then. “Bob has played a key role in the team’s win. This is his first series win and he has helped us improve in all departments. If any player needs his help he goes there, listens to the problem and then provides a solution. His contribution has been crucial.”Although the series victory was already assured after Pakistan piled on 636 for 8, today’s result remained in doubt. On a placid pitch, Ian Bell and Paul Collingwood had seemingly steered England to safety at lunch. They went in at 201 for 2, with the partnership contributing 171. Four balls and four runs after lunch, Collingwood’s dismissal opened the door for Pakistan, sparking a momentous collapse, the speed of which shocked even the unflappable Inzamam.”We knew it was a matter of one wicket because the bowlers were bowling well and I had hopes that with one wicket we could do it. To break the partnership was crucial for us and once Kaneria provided us with two wickets we knew we were there. But I never thought that we would get eight wickets so quickly.”Inzamam, however, maintained that England were still a strong side. “I think the difference between the two sides was not much because at Multan they were dominant for four days and we only won it because of our bowlers at the end. And getting England out here cheaply in the first innings was crucial too. But they are still a strong team. They not only won the Ashes but have won six Test series in the recent past. Even though England have lost the series I would say we played well to win it.”Inzamam’s own performance throughout the series has been phenomenal, as 431 runs, two hundreds and three fifties bear testament to. It prompted in him a rare admission that he was batting at his peak. “I have scored runs when the team needed and I don’t think I have performed so consistently in a series before this. I hope to continue doing this for some time.”