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The former Australia fast bowler, Jason Gillespie, has issued a stinging attack on Cricket Australia for its treatment of him and accused the board of ingratiating itself with the BCCI.Gillespie’s association with the unsanctioned ICL effectively led to his banishment from first-class cricket. And although he is in the autumn of his career, he nevertheless feels his international career has consequently been unfairly curtailed by CA’s position on the status of ICL players.”For guys like myself and [fellow ICL players] Jimmy Maher and Michael Kasprowicz, our time playing international cricket has gone by, but some of us would like to still represent our states,” Gillespie told Adelaide’s . “It’s quite sad. The ICL isn’t wanting to take guys out of state cricket and Test cricket. In our contracts it clearly states that if you are asked by your state or country to play that form of cricket, ICL will not stand in your way.””The problem is the BCCI have come out and said they’re upset and won’t allow it. He [Lalit Modi, the IPL chairman] said the IPL would not affect the future tours programme, but clearly it has.”Unlike the IPL, the ICL is not officially recognised by the ICC. Subsequently, certain boards banished players from representing their domestic teams, and the boards’ apparent kowtowing to the BCCI marks a worrying time for Test cricket, Gillespie felt.”I can see a time where countries will be bypassing Test cricket altogether,” he said. “With more Twenty20 Leagues, it will go the way where representing your country will take a back seat. For Australian and English players it will always be the pinnacle, but I’m not sure it’s the pinnacle for any other countries.”All other countries don’t see Test cricket as the be-all and end-all any more. Test cricket is in trouble, there’s no doubt about that.”Now 33, Gillespie is turning his attention to coaching, but even that may be restricted by CA.”I was talking to Troy Cooley [Australian head bowling coach] before and he’s keen to get me into the Centre of Excellence but I’m hoping these ridiculous rules of Cricket Australia don’t extend to coaching because I think that would be quite sad.”

Geoff Allott, the former New Zealand fast bowler, has been appointed the general manager of cricket with New Zealand Cricket (NZC). In the newly-created role, Allott will oversee the cricket operations and coaching, management and selection of the New Zealand side.The new position was created as part of a restructure within NZC this year and Justin Vaughan, the chief executive, said it was a key role for the success of the team. “Geoff brings a track record of achievement, both as a respected international cricketer and through his recent experience building and managing a successful business,” Vaughan said.”This is an important new role for New Zealand Cricket. Geoff will be pulling together our high performance cricket areas, driving world-class performance and ensuring we reach our strategic goals.”Allott, 36, played ten Tests and 31 ODIs in an international career that lasted from 1996 to 2000. A left-arm fast bowler, Allott was one of the stars at the 1999 World Cup, where his 20 wickets put him at the head of the bowling tally equal with Shane Warne. Following his retirement in 2001, Allott moved into a career in banking and finance.”Our game has a good foundation to build on over the coming years and tremendous scope for improvement,” Allott said. “I’m excited about being able to contribute and make a difference.”

Matt Hague, the Jersey captain whose side were recently relegated to Division 5 of the World Cricket League, has announced his retirement.”I just feel I’m not quite enjoying it quite as much as I always have and I feel the time’s right to step down,” he told the BBC. “We’ve come a fair way since I’ve been captain so i think maybe it’s time to hand over the reigns.”Hague moved to Jersey having played grade cricket in Australia, where he was born, and led the side during a period of relative success in which Jersey were promoted from Affiliate to Associate ranking by the ICC. However, they were only victorious in one out of their five matches in the recent World Cricket League Division 4 in Tanzania.”Tanzania was an unbelievable experience, not on the result front, but fantastic to play cricket against better players in a different country.We came along a way with Peter [Kirsten] and enjoyed a lot of success. We did so well in World Division 5 and the European tournament in Guernsey and we had a lot of success.”Hague’s announcement is the second blow to hit Jersey cricket in a week, following Peter Kirsten’s move from Jersey to Kenya, where he will join up with his brother, Andy, as part of the coaching team. The decision came as a surprise to many, not least Hague.”All was happy when we were winning, but when we lost a couple of games [in Tanzania] we saw a different side and I was just disappointed that he almost gave up on the team,” Hague said.”After two-and-a-half games that was all we had of Peter, so for the last few games we were pretty much doing it all ourselves. It was disappointing after doing so much together that to give up was quite sad really.”

Middlesex needed less than an hour on the third morning at Kidderminster to wrap up a comprehensive eight-wicket victory against Worcestershire. Set 67 for victory after Dirk Nannes had ripped through Worcestershire’s batting on the second afternoon, they raced to their target in 12.1 overs, with their first-innings centurion, Andrew Strauss, finishing unbeaten on 28. Billy Godleman made 4 before falling lbw to Dilhara Fernando, but Owais Shah ushered them to the brink of their target with 22 from 15 balls, including five fours. The result won’t prevent Worcestershire from returning to the First Division, although they could yet be deprived of the Second Division title if Warwickshire can finish the season with back-to-back victories.Derbyshire will be looking to pin Gloucestershire to the foot of the County Championship after enjoying a dominant third day at Derby. They had resumed on a healthy 193 for 4, but converted that into an imposing 431, thanks to 92 from Greg Smith, and a violent 72 from Graeme Wagg, who clobbered seven fours and four sixes in the course of his 47-ball innings. Tom New, who had been 24 not out overnight, made a useful 58, as Steve Kirby, David Brown and Jon Lewis all claimed three wickets. In reply, chasing an unlikely 398 for victory, Kadeer Ali and Will Porterfield added 81 for the first wicket, but Wagg, with his confidence flowing, claimed both men before the close to boost Derbyshire’s hopes of their fourth win of the season.Tony Frost would not have been playing county cricket this season had it not been for Tim Ambrose’s England call-up that left Warwickshire without a keeper. Tonight he’ll be delighted he decided to come out of retirement, after racking up a massive unbeaten 242 against Essex at Chelmsford. It was the fifth and largest first-class century of Frost’s 104-match career, surpassing his previous best of 144 not out, and it was his second of a golden season in which he has left the gloves behind and is currently averaging 88.00. His performance was the bedrock of Warwickshire’s 514 for 9 declared, as he exactly doubled his overnight total of 121. No-one else exceeded Jonathan Trott’s second-day score of 81, although Rikki Clarke, at No. 8, kept him company with a solid 41. Ambrose, ironically, made a first-ball duck. In reply, Essex set themselves to bat out for the draw, reaching a comfortable 125 for 1 at the close, with Ravi Bopara dominating the bowling for 81 not from 95 balls.Glamorgan are close to wrapping up a comprehensive victory after forcing Leicestershire to follow on at Sophia Gardens. After resuming on 117 for 4, Leicestershire capitulated in their first innings, slumping to 201 all out as the spinners Dean Cosker and Robert Croft built on David Harrison’s early-innings breakthroughs. Only the 18-year-old Joshua Cobb showed any fight with 62 from 150 balls, but when he was the eighth wicket to fall, Cosker quickly rounded up the tail. Following on 249 runs adrift, Harrison trapped Matthew Boyce lbw for 7, and wickets fell steadily thereafter, including that of HD Ackerman for 56. By the close, Cobb was back at the crease, facing a tough challenge even to make Glamorgan bat again.

Durham will probably have to settle for a draw against Sussex at Chester-le-Street and hope for better fortunes in their final-round fixture against Kent at Canterbury next week, after a day in which they failed to forge the sort of first-innings total that might have allowed them to make up for their first-day wash-out and challenge for the top of the table. Their hopes were high overnight, at 325 for 4 with Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Gareth Breese well set in a 182-run stand for the fifth wicket. But both men fell in the opening overs of the day, as Mohammad Sami and Jason Lewry shared nine wickets between them, and Durham’s eventual total of 380 was a disappointment. Chris Nash cemented Sussex’s fightback with a fine 96 but Durham didn’t stop battling. Steve Harmison claimed two wickets, including Luke Wright for a duck, as did Paul Wiseman, as Sussex reached the close on 267 for 6.Nottinghamshire stormed back to the top of the table after trouncing Surrey by an innings and 143 runs at The Oval. Read Andrew Miller’s bulletin.Lancashire launched themselves out of the relegation zone as they turned the tables on Kent in spectacular fashion at Liverpool. Read Andrew McGlashan’s bulletin for more.Somerset haven’t given up on the title but are likely to have to settle for a draw against Yorkshire at Scarborough. John Ward watched the action.

Anil Kumble has rubbished reports that seniors in the side are being forced into retirement by the BCCI and the selectors. “We have never discussed that among ourselves. All the talk is only in the media,” Kumble said. “Age doesn’t matter at all [if a player is doing well], otherwise I would have retired long ago.”Kumble also couldn’t see why there should be debate over Sourav Ganguly’s selection for the first two Tests. “He was a part of the last Test series as well. I don’t see a change,” he said.There had been media speculation before the selection that the team management didn’t want Ganguly in the side. “Reports can say a lot of things,” Kumble said. “I can’t divulge what happened in the selection meeting, but I don’t see any change: he was a part of the last Test team, he is a part of this series as well.”The performance of the seniors, including Ganguly and Kumble, has been a recent talking point, especially after the Sri Lanka Tests where they were below par. Ganguly managed only 96 runs in six innings and Kumble eight wickets at an average of 50.00 during India’s 2-1 series defeat this summer.”It is only the media scrutiny,” Kumble said. “The board and the selectors have never scrutinised unreasonably. In terms of the players’ performance, we have performed exceptionally well, except for that one bad series in Sri Lanka.”If you go by the record, I don’t think the senior players have ever performed badly. The reason we got those results in Australia was thanks to the batsmen scoring those runs. It’s never been a problem. It’s just that, leading up to the series, you [media] have a lot of time to speculate. As far as I am concerned I think we have the quality to go out there and get the runs as batsmen and get the wickets as bowlers. I think we have the quality to do well.”Kumble felt the seniors weren’t under undue pressure because of the increased scrutiny. “We have been playing for 18 years, if we couldn’t handle that pressure we wouldn’t have played so long,” he said. “The pressure is always there, we can handle that. It’s just that it needs to be a bit more respectful. When people discuss cricket, when people discuss players, it needs to be handled respectfully. If that is done, we don’t mind the scrutiny. If it’s done rubbishly, and the way it’s being portrayed, it hurts. If it’s respectful it doesn’t matter; everybody is scrutinised.”He was in a brighter mood, though, when discussing India’s chances in the forthcoming series against Australia. “This is the best possible chance we have of winning the series. We have prepared exceptionally well. So we’re looking forward to that.

“It’s more or less the same side we played in Australia. We will certainly try to use the home advantage. We have come pretty close in the last couple of series against them, so this is a really good opportunity.”Talking of the previous series, Kumble will want to carry forward the quality of cricket and forget the acrimony. “That [controversies] was a part of the last series and everyone is now looking forward to this series. The cricket played in Australia – most people don’t remember – was excellent. I am sure it will be good, competitive cricket whenever India play Australia. We are really looking forward to the challenge,” at the end of the fourth day of the pre-series camp at the Chinnaswamy Stadium.It was a day of optional net practice for India, and one could see that they had let the intensity taper off, which was their original plan. Virender Sehwag took the day off, while Zaheer Khan and Harbhajan Singh only batted. The other absentees were RP Singh, who has gone to Chennai for India A’s match against New Zealand A, and Mohammad Kaif, who hasn’t been picked for the first two Tests.

Matt Walker, the Kent batsman, will leave the county having spent 16 years at Canterbury. Kent released Walker from his contract following a season – his benefit year – in which he had limited first-team opportunities. He has been tipped for a move to Essex.Walker, 34, made his debut for Kent in 1992 and scored 9768 runs at 36.31 in 479 appearances. His 275 against Somerset in 1996 remains the best for a Kent batsman at Canterbury. “I’ve thoroughly enjoyed a wonderful 16 years at Kent and have made some good friends, both on and off the field,” he said. “I would like to thank my team-mates, the supporters and everyone at the club for making my time here so special.”I am deeply saddened to be leaving the club that I have always wanted to play for but now look forward to some new challenges.”Peter Morgan, the Kent president, said: “Matthew has made a major contribution to Kent cricket during his 16 years with us. Aside from his huge talent as a cricketer, Matthew’s infectious enthusiasm for life on and off the field has endeared him to everyone connected with Kent cricket.”We will miss him greatly and wish him and his family well for the rest of his benefit year and into the future.”

Chris Gayle has withdrawn his letter of resignation as West Indies captain, and is set to continue leading the side, a West Indies Cricket Board source said at the weekend.Gayle had served notice of his decision to step down as West Indies captain with immediate effect in a letter to the board on July 22. But is appears that after discussions with WICB president Julian Hunte, he has had a change of heart.According to the source, Gayle revealed that his about-turn was also influenced by conversations with team-mates and dedicated supporters of West Indies cricket.He will now be available to lead the side in a tri-series in Canada next week and the ICC Champions Trophy.

The ICC have appointed five regional umpires’ performance managers – John Holder, Arani Jayaprakash, Peter Manuel, Ian Robinson and Bob Stratford – to coach, mentor and assist the umpires as they work towards improving standards on the field.Holder, a former English umpire, will work with umpires in the Americas and Europe. Jayaprakash, an Indian umpire who retired during the Indian Premier League, was appointed for Asia, including Bangladesh and India, while Manuel, a former Sri Lankan umpire, was appointed to Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Robinson, a Zimbabwean umpire, is Africa’s performance manager while Bob Stratford, the umpire coach for Cricket Australia, has been appointed to the Pacific region including Australia and New Zealand.They will work towards the development of umpiring in their regions and will provide individual support programmes that assist international officials in the various aspects of umpiring.”This is more good news for the game as it will provide expert support to umpires around the world,” David Richardson, ICC general manager – cricket, said. “I am delighted with these appointments. The five regional umpires’ managers all have first-hand experience with the trials, challenges and rewards of umpiring at a high level. They all have credibility and respect in the cricket world and they know the issues that face umpires these days. I have no doubt these appointments will be good for the umpires and the game.”This move is part of the ICC’s commitment to ensuring that the standard of international cricket umpiring remains high and continues to improve as we seek to get the most out of our best officials.”The five appointments come after the ICC made former Natal and Middlesex fast bowler Vince van der Bijl the ICC umpires’ and referees’ manager in May.

Rod Tucker, the former Tasmania and New South Wales player, has become the first umpire to be promoted from Cricket Australia’s project group to the international panel. While Tucker’s appointment is in the smaller role of a television official, it is a big step for the former allrounder, who is part of a production line of retired first-class performers who have switched from whites to black-and-whites.There is no place on the national panel for Dave Orchard, the former South African official, who stood in 44 Tests and 107 one-day internationals. Last season Orchard, whose final Test was in 2004, was used as a mentor for younger umpires, but he has been dropped and his only duties will be with Queensland Cricket. Orchard has told the state’s officials he is not retired and wants to keep going, and they say he rated highly in the end-of-season appraisals.A Cricket Australia spokesman said there were umpires with better claims to a position than Orchard. “The selectors assessed that the panel had sufficient experience to assist in the development of the less experienced umpires and that the new additions deserved their opportunity,” he said. “It’s also the ICC’s intention for Cricket Australia to have more access to the Australians on the ICC elite panel over the summer to help out the younger umpires.”Tucker’s place was created by Steve Davis’ rise in April to the ICC’s expanded elite group, which also includes Simon Taufel, Daryl Harper and Darrell Hair. “Rod’s nomination to the international umpires’ panel and the promotion of Mick Martell and Tony Ward to the national panel illustrates the successes of Cricket Australia’s umpiring pathway,” Michael Brown, Cricket Australia’s general manager of cricket, said.Martell and Ward are joined on the national list by fellow newcomer Andrew Craig while Tim Laycock has been cut alongside Orchard. Laycock has been given an assignment during the Emerging Players’ Tournament in Queensland next month, but Orchard, who stood in the series last year, has missed out on that too.Australians on the ICC’s elite panel
Steve Davis (SA), Darrell Hair (NSW), Daryl Harper (SA), Simon Taufel (NSW).Cricket Australia’s international panel
Peter Parker (Qld), Bruce Oxenford (Qld), Rod Tucker (TV umpire, NSW).National umpires’ panel
Jeff Brookes (WA), Andrew Craig (WA), Simon Fry (SA), Ian Lock (WA), Mick Martell (WA), Bruce Oxenford (Qld), Peter Parker (Qld), Bob Parry (Vic), Paul Reiffel (Vic), Rod Tucker (NSW), John Ward (VIC), Tony Ward (Vic).

West Indies have no need to start praying for an outstanding victory over Australia because they have been doing it three times a day already. Dwayne Bravo revealed the method was part of galvanising the team, which needs 241 runs to overcome the world champions in the opening Test.Bravo took 4 for 47 to finish off Australia’s second innings at 167 and West Indies reached 46 for 1 at stumps, giving the hosts confidence of recording an upset success. “We are in a very good position at this time and it is up to us as a team to continue the good work,” Bravo said. “Once we ensure that we don’t lose early wickets to let the Australians back in the game, and once we have a good first session, I have no doubt that we are going to go on and win the game.”Bravo will have an important role to play with the bat on an up-and-down surface while the team will also look to Ramnaresh Sarwan and Shivnarine Chanderpaul for major contributions. Sarwan was not out 8 while Devon Smith had reached 19.”Once you apply yourself and be selective in your strokeplay you can get runs,” he said. “We have to go out there, be positive and believe we are going to get the runs.”Bravo scored a brisk 46 in the first innings and knows he has been guilty of not going on to make big scores. “That is something I’ve got to work on,” he said. “I’ve been working on it and I know I will get over it. I’m 24 years old, I started at a young age and I am learning my cricket at the international level, which is a difficult thing.”Over the past year there have been many off-field changes to the West Indies squad and Bravo said the assistant coach David Williams, the former West Indies wicketkeeper, has helped bring more “togetherness”. “That wasn’t there before,” Bravo said. “One thing that stands out is that the team has been praying three times a day and I think that is the most important thing.”The bowlers formed a unified front after Fidel Edwards and Daren Powell started Australia’s collapse. After one over of the fourth morning the tourists were 18 for 5 and Edwards and Powell finished with three wickets each.Australia were thankful for Andrew Symonds’ 79 and his partnerships of 52 with Brad Hodge and 74 with Brad Haddin. “He played brilliantly,” Hodge, who made 27, told the ABC. “He’s such a powerful man, such a dangerous striker, that he really opened the game up straight after lunch when they brought the spinner on. It got the ball rolling again for us.”