The names of the 30 Test and one-day international players who will make up the squads for the ICC World XI sides to take on Australia in October will be announced in early May.The panel of selectors – the chairman Sunil Gavaskar, Mike Atherton, Sir Richard Hadlee, Clive Lloyd, Jonty Rhodes and Aravinda de Silva – will choose from the cream of the world’s cricketing talent in nominating players for the matches.”It’s a fantastic brief to be able to pick from the greatest players in world cricket to take on Australia,” said Gavaskar. “I’m sure that every cricket fan would love to be in the selectors’ position, discussing and debating the merits of so many outstanding players. The challenge will be in narrowing our choices down to just 30 players with so much talent to choose from for both squads.”Players from the nine Test-playing countries and the ten which have ODI status will come under selectorial consideration. Following the announcement of the initial squads of 30, the selectors will meet again in early July to reduce these down to groups of 20. Captains and vice-captains will also be announced then.The inaugural ICC Super Series, sponsored by Johnnie Walker, will involve three one-day internationals in Melbourne’s Telstra Dome, and a six-day “Super Test” at the Sydney Cricket Ground.The final teams of 13 for the Super Test and 14 for the ODIs, plus management and coaching appointments, will be confirmed in August. Combined prizemoney and match payments for the one-day series will be US$1,254,000, while the total money available for the Super Test will be US$1,390,000. The matches will be accorded official Test and ODI status.The challenge awaiting the ICC World XI teams is to succeed where national sides have mostly failed. Australia have not lost a home Test series since 1993, and are undefeated in a one-day series since 2002.
The Indian government, severely criticised by the opposition for supposedly linking the cricket tour of Pakistan to the forthcoming elections, has given a tentative go-ahead for the series. The initiative was taken by Atal Behari Vajpayee, India’s Prime Minister, and Yashwant Sinha, the External Affairs minister, said as much in New Delhi this morning, leaving the BCCI with the onerous task of convincing several reluctant players to tour.Sinha announced that the tour would proceed as scheduled after a meeting at the Prime Minister’s residence. According to news reports, Vajpayee was especially keen that uncertainty over the tour shouldn’t derail the peace process. The foreign secretaries of India and Pakistan are meeting on Monday, and cricket will certainly figure prominently on the agenda.A three-man BCCI delegation, which returns from Pakistan on Monday, will brief both the board and the government about the security issues, and it will then be left to the BCCI to work out the modalities of the tour.Sami-ul-Hasan, the PCB media manager, said the board viewed it as a step forward, and that the controversy was needless.”We can look forward to a thrilling series and view the Indian initiative as a very positive step,” Hasan said. “There is generally relief, more so because the whole controversy was quite unnecessary to begin with. We can now concentrate on proceeding with the organizational aspects of the tour.”Earlier, it had been rumoured that the series would be postponed until after the general elections in April-May. With that in mind, reports had suggested that the Board of Control for Cricket in India has asked the government to arrange a bail-out clause which would help them to escape sanctions from the International Cricket Council.According to a report in the , Jagmohan Dalmiya had informed the government of the board’s willingness to put the tour off to a later date. This information was reportedly conveyed through Pramod Mahajan, a Bharatiya Janata Party leader, who in turn has asked the External Affairs ministry to contact their Pakistani counterparts with a view to asking the Pakistan Cricket Board to acquiesce to India’s request for a postponement.Dalmiya’s earlier suggestion that the Test matches be played, and that only the one-day internationals be postponed to a later date, didn’t find favour with the government. Under ICC rules, the BCCI could be fined up to $2 m for failing to honour their commitments. The PCB has already ruled out any chance of the matches taking place at a neutral venue.No reasons have yet been given for the sudden volte face, which will be greeted with delight by many fans on both sides of the border. The chairman of the PCB, for one, was pleased.”It is a positive announcement,” Shaharyar Khan said. “We were never in doubt about India’s tour.”
New Zealand’s prospective players for next summer’s World Cup have been put on notice by selection convener Sir Richard Hadlee.With the National Bank Series tied up at 2-2 going into Tuesday’s series decider at Carisbrook in Dunedin, Hadlee told CricInfo today that the side’s performances had been disappointing.”If we had made the progress we thought we had then we would have nailed England at Napier and made it 3-0,” he said.”But at least we are finding out some things about players,” he said.The selectors had not made any changes to the team as they felt with another round of domestic games starting tomorrow there was little point in taking a player from those games to effectively be 12th man in Dunedin.New Zealand’s failure to develop some consistency had been of concern to the selectors, especially after winning four out of five games in Australia, then losing five in a row, winning two against England, and then losing two.”Realistically, we’ve won two out of our last nine games,” he said.Hadlee was not concerned that New Zealand was running short of time before the World Cup to sort out the final side.”We’ve got plenty of time,” he said.There was the Sharjah tournament, the Pakistan series, the West Indies series, the ICC Knockout tournament and New Zealand’s home series against India next summer.”There are lots of competitions available to us.”But some players are not helping themselves,” he said.England had improved during the one-day series but Hadlee backed England captain Nasser Hussain’s comment that two bad matches don’t mean you are a bad team.”New Zealand are still good enough to turn it around,” he said.Hadlee also said that he expected all members of the one-day side to play the next round of State Championship matches, “unless they have a very good reason not to.”Some of the players needed to take part in those games to work on their form to be ready for what was shaping as a pretty tough series, he said.He said the first Test team to play England would be named four or five days before the Test which starts in Christchurch on Wednesday, March 13.
Unbeaten centuries by Skipper N Kumar and DK Singh on the final day saw Biharforce a draw against Orissa in their East Zone Under-22 match at the BarabatiStadium in Cuttack on Wednesday. Bihar got five points while Orissa had to becontent with three.Opting to bat first, Bihar put up 285 on the board with N Kumar leading from thefront with a fine 63. Kumar shared a 83-run fifth wicket stand with DK Singh(52). Then with the help of the tailenders, K Abhimanyu (50 not out) took thescore past the 250 run mark. Saurav Sahgal (4 for 61) and Barman (3 for 39) werethe pick of the Orissa bowlers.In response, the Orissa batsmen struggled to face up to the Bihar attack andwere shot out for 150. RR Das (100) was the topscorer in an innings which sawonly one other batsman getting into the double figures. During a 183-minute stayat the crease, Das faced 157 balls while finding the boundary ropes eight times.Bihar in their second innings were cruising along and reached 183 for six when NKumar and DK Singh took firm control of proceedings. The duo put on an unbeaten203-run partnership in 44.4 overs. They batted for nearly three hours before thestumps were drawn on the final day. Kumar remained unbeaten with 100 (151 balls,10 fours) while Singh was on 102 (134 balls, 15 fours).
An exciting Rangers transfer claim has been made regarding the Ibrox club’s plans to improve Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s squad this year.
What’s the talk?
Finance expert Kieran Maguire has suggested that the club’s proposed Old Firm friendly later in the year could lead to them being able to bolster van Bronckhorst’s team in the transfer window.
The Gers are set to compete against their arch-rivals in the Sydney Super Cup in Australia in November and it could yield significant financial benefits.
Maguire told Football Insider: “If it gives Rangers and Celtic better resources to invest on the pitch, it is a price worth paying.
“I can understand the reaction of the fans. They think these games are so unique that they should only take place in Scotland. They perhaps feel that the unique passion would be diluted by hosting it elsewhere.
“But it helps them pay wages or sign that special player who is going to make a difference, it will have been worth it.”
Delight
This claim will surely delight Rangers head coach Van Bronckhorst.
It shows that the club are exploring a multitude of angles to generate funds in order to improve the Dutchman’s squad in the upcoming transfer windows. The board are being creative in order to give themselves the best possible chance to compete in the Premiership and in Europe going forward, even if it means upsetting some fans who do not want to see them take on Celtic in a friendly.
Supporters may have to bite the bullet on this front and think about the potential financial benefit that this tournament can have for Rangers, which Maguire has explained. For example, if playing the Hoops in November allows the club to sign Aaron Ramsey on a permanent deal, that could make it worthwhile for fans, as he would be a fantastic signing on a full-time contract.
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The Wales international has played more than 400 games for Juventus and Arsenal throughout his career and produced 142 direct goal contributions. This illustrates his vast experience and quality at the top level, which is why the Ibrox faithful would surely be keen to see him join permanently at the end of his loan, and additional funds from the Sydney Super Cup could help them to secure it.
Maguire’s claim does not expressly state that the funds generated will or would be spent on signing Ramsey, but this is one example of the benefits which could come from bringing in more money. If they do not sign the former Arsenal midfielder full-time, they could instead swoop for a player with a similar reputation or look to snap up a young, promising player to improve the team, which is why Van Bronckhorst must be buzzing with this news.
AND in other news, Big boost: Rangers issued Ibrox injury relief which will leave Van Bronckhorst buzzing…
Auckland kept alive their hopes of defending the State Twenty20 title with a six-wicket win over Wellington at Eden Park., but they left it late, squeezing home with only two balls to spare when Gareth Hopkins slashed a six over extra cover.Auckland’s experienced attack was unable to peg back Wellington who reached 182 for 7, an innings built on Jesse Ryder’s 27-ball 66 and then given a late boost by Graham Napier’s 48 from 19 balls.Wellington had to restrict Auckland to under 105 to have any chance of reaching the final themselves, but on a batsman-friendly pitch that was never likely. Scott Styris and Lou Vincent added 96 for the third wicket off 9.2 overs, but Styris’ dismissal checked what was until then a routine chase. Auckland needed 20 from two overs and 11 off the last, bowled by Napier, but Hopkins clobbered a four and then the match-winning six.At the weekend, Northern Districts slipped to second place after losing by 19 runs to Canterbury in Christchurch, Johann Myburgh’s 68 – the only fifty of the match – the difference between the sides in a low-scoring contest.Central Districts took over at the top of the table with an easy six-wicket defeat of bottom side Otago in New Plymouth, coasting to the target of 173 with four overs in hand.
Team
Mat
Won
Lost
Tied
N/R
Pts
Net RR
For
Against
Central Dist
4
3
1
0
0
12
+2.072
768/76.0
640/79.4
Northern Dis
5
3
2
0
0
12
+0.306
793/94.2
810/100.0
Canterbury
5
2
2
1
0
12
-0.673
658/100.0
706/97.2
Wellington
5
2
3
0
0
8
-0.552
735/94.2
794/95.1
Auckland
4
2
1
1
0
8
-0.668
604/79.4
660/80.0
Otago
5
1
4
0
0
4
-0.064
739/100.0
687/92.1
Auckland now need to beat Central Districts in the last match on Wednesday, and do so convincingly enough to lift their net run-rate above that of Northern Districts. If they manage that then they will again meet Central Districts in the final next Sunday.
A fine all-round display from Mohammad Hafeez ensured Pakistan avoided any slip-ups as they eased to a 77-run warm-up win over Canada in Trinidad. Inzamam-ul-Haq and Hafeez posted smooth half-centuries to push Pakistan to 273 for 8 before Hafeez and Rao Iftikhar shared six wickets as Canada were dismissed for 196 in the 47th over.The Pakistanis suffered three injury setbacks in the lead-up to the tournament, with Abdul Razzaq, Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif ruled out of the event, but they coped without the trio in a game reduced to 48 overs due to a collapsed sightscreen. A break of more than an hour was needed to fix the problem during Pakistan’s innings.Hafeez was the top scorer with 61 while Inzamam stroked an impressive 59 to give Pakistan’s batting a boost after they slipped to 66 for 4. Anderson Cummins, the former West Indies bowler, struck first with the wicket of Younis Khan, who was pushed up to open on an Inzamam hunch, while Henry Osinde (2 for 41) captured Imran Nazir and Shoaib Malik.The 93-run partnership between Inzamam, who faced 64 balls and hit 11 fours, and Hafeez guided them to safety and Kamran Akmal provided the late-innings push with a 37-ball 56. He blasted four sixes as Pakistan set Canada a challenging total.Pakistan, who open the World Cup against West Indies on Tuesday, then made sure Canada could not build on a promising start set up by the openers Geoff Barnett and Abdool Samad. The pair reached 60 before the side fell to 91 for 5 with the loss of the captain John Davison, who was one of Rao’s three victims.Qaiser Ali and Ashif Mulla both posted 30s but Hafeez entered to finish off the innings with 3 for 10 in 3.4 overs. “Our batsmen and bowlers had good workouts in this game,” Pakistan’s coach Bob Woolmer told AFP. “We did a little bit of experimenting by sending Younis Khan up front, which allowed some other players to feature.”
Stuart Clark is ready to provide Australia’s stuttering bowling line-up with another option as he sets his sights on returning from a bruised rib in Friday’s second one-day match at Cape Town. The problem was at its worst after last week’s Twenty20 loss at Centurion, but Clark was confident he could solve one dilemma in an Australian camp already struggling with the absence of Ricky Ponting [stomach] and Andrew Symonds [hip].Clark’s comments came as Jason Gillespie pushed his South Australia team-mate Shaun Tait for a place in the Test squad for the three-match series. Glenn McGrath’s withdrawal to be with his family has created a huge hole and the list of candidates is building after the one-day team’s early-tour troubles. The bowlers were conquered by Graeme Smith’s unbeaten 119 on Sunday – Mitchell Johnson and Mick Lewis delivered only three overs each – and Clark could play a containing role if passed fit.”I had some bruising on one of my lower ribs and it’s coming along pretty well,” Clark told . “I won’t bowl until Thursday and hopefully everything will be fine then.”Clark, who received an injection into his chest after the Twenty20 match, said the players were not feeling under pressure after their opening ODI defeat. “It’s disappointing to lose,” he said, “but we know we’re a good team. We proved that in Australia. And we want to come out and show the South African public we can do the same.”He has also encouraged Smith to target him over the rest of the series. “Look, if he wants to have a go at me that’s his problem,” he said. “It’s not going to bother me. If he’s trying to hit me out of the park it’s probably giving me more chance of getting him out. Hopefully I can do a Glenn McGrath-like job.”The Test squad is named next week and the tour members will be looking to stay ahead of the state players performing in the Pura Cup from Thursday. Tait impressed with six wickets in the ING Cup final loss to New South Wales and Gillespie said his team-mate should be considered despite not being able to throw after shoulder surgery.”They say Shaun’s similar to Brett but, at the end of the day, they’re wicket-takers,” Gillespie said in the . “I’d love to go, don’t get me wrong, but with Shaun there’s a bloke who bowls 150kmh while swinging the ball, and gets audacious reverse-swing. Shaun bowled some of the fastest deliveries I’ve seen last Sunday.”Gillespie said he had not thought about being picked for the tour, which would mark his return to the international scene after his poor Ashes campaign. “I’m happy with my form and I’ve still got that desire to play for Australia,” he said, “but if it doesn’t happen I’m not going to slit my wrists.” Queensland’s Michael Kasprowicz is another contender and he will play in Melbourne against Victoria from Thursday while Gillespie and Tait have a chance to exploit the WACA pitch in their match on Friday.Tait told the paper he was “not really confident” of a recall because of his throwing limitations. “Trevor Hohns [the chairman of selectors] has said in the media if I can’t throw and dive I can’t get picked,” Tait said. “But bowlers get picked to bowl, so I hope selectors can see past that. I’ve spoken with Trevor and he says they’re well impressed with the pace I’ve got at this stage.”
Ray Jennings, the South African coach, has warned his team not to take West Indies lightly despite holding a good record against them. The South African team left yesterday on an eight-week tour of the Caribbean that includes four Tests and five one-day internationals.”The past is history,” Jennings told South African Press Agency. “There’s no point sitting back and saying ‘South Africa have a good record at The Wanderers’, and then we lose a Test there. It’s the same with the West Indies. We have to approach each Test without thinking about what happened in the past. Conditions change, players change, and records mean nothing.”South Africa have won 10 out of 15 Tests against West Indies and have lost just two. They also dominated the last home series between the two sides, winning the Tests 3-0 the one-dayers 3-1.”We will approach each match as a new challenge, and focus on what we have to do,” Jennings said, emphasising that the amount of travelling involved on a tour to the West Indies was also a factor. “Touring is always tough, with all the travelling we have to do – and that travelling includes getting to airports, sitting around waiting for flights, travelling to the hotels. And when you tour the West Indies, there is the additional problem of passport control and customs at each new island. Touring the West Indies is like touring five or six countries on one tour”Jennings also mentioned that South Africa would be on the lookout to improve their overseas record – they lost to Sri Lanka and India by identical 1-0 margins last year. “South Africa haven’t played well away from home recently, and we are determined to turn that around.”South Africa have suffered an early blow to their Caribbean campaign with Shaun Pollock being ruled out of the first Test due to an ankle injury. The team commence their tour with a three-day camp in Antigua. “We don’t want any one player to dominate everything,” he said. “Hopefully, everyone will play their part in the success of the team. I expect the senior players like Makhaya Ntini, Jacques Kallis, Mark Boucher and Herschelle Gibbs who have been there before to lead the way and help the other players get used to the conditions.”Speaking about the sponsorship row which has hampered West Indies cricket recently, Jennings said he was hopeful that the dispute would be resolved. “But whether it is or not will not affect how we approach the series,” he continued. “Obviously, we would like to play the strongest opposition, but we have to focus on our own performance and not allow the problems in the opposition camp to distract us.”
The board of directors of the new Northern Gauteng franchise held their inaugural meeting at SuperSport Park earlier this week to discuss some important matters concerning the new set-up.The board expressed its delight that the Titans’ and Easterns’ joint application for a franchise, to be based at SuperSport Park, had been successful, and they thanked the national board for the vote of confidence.The Northern Gauteng board consists of representatives of the Northerns Cricket Union, the Eastern Cricket Union and SuperSport. It comprises of Brandon Foot, the chairman, Andy O Connor, vice-chairman, Imtiaz Patel, Jesse Chellan, Andre De Villiers, Ashraf Seedat, Amarlal Soma, Prince Thethe and Imraan Soomra.The directors passed several regulations regarding both policy and operational matters. Firstly, it announced that the name of the team would be the Nashua Titans. Foot explained that Nashua had agreed to renew its sponsorship of the Titans for a furher three years. “The Titans brand is the oldest of all such commercial cricketing brands in South African cricket, and has proved to be eminently successful," Foot said. "It makes business sense to retain such a successful brand.”Another matter on the agenda was the the official team colours. The final decision was sky and navy blue, incorporating the colours of both the Northerns and Easterns. Furthermore, the name of the company to be formed by the franchise will include both Easterns and Titans in its title. The board will announce the coaching staff soon.