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Australia’s media, tired of yet another Shane Warne incident, are signalling that they’ve had enough – their message suggests that it’s time to lower the boom on Warne. And even some team-mates are alleged to be concerned.The latest scandal involving lewd text messages allegedly sent to a South African divorcee, and mother of three, has Australia’s media united in the view that they are tired of Warne’s larrikin antics.Leading the way has been Mike Hedge for AAP. He wrote that it must surely be time for Cricket Australia to acknowledge that the world’s best team could do without the world’s best legspinner.”Yet again it seems Warne has allowed his unique combination of arrogance, stupidity, naivety and immaturity to get the better of him,” Hedge wrote. “Even if he didn’t bombard a South African woman with suggestive messages – and he hasn’t yet said he didn’t – Warne’s record is so damaged that he needs to be cut loose.”Greg Baum, a widely respected cricket journalist from The Age in Melbourne – Warne’s home town – said the latest incident was “a tatty tale of decline”. He fired shots at Warne, and also at the television company which employs him as a commentator while he’s suspended for using drugs on the banned list.”Channel Nine reports on Warne’s indiscretions while continuing to employ him – as a colleague drily notes – as the highest-paid cricket reporter in Australia. Warne bitches about media intrusion on his private life, while making a fistful of money working in media. Not even when his wrong ‘un is working can Warne have it both ways,” he wrote.”Warne is not a bad bloke on the terms on which most people meet him, but that is not enough. Reputable sources say his Australian team-mates are tiring of escapades; after all, what tarnishes him also tarnishes them. Believe it or not, most care about the team’s reputation. And Stuart MacGill keeps taking wickets.”Sydney Morning Herald writer Richard Hinds said: “In an age when the human fallibility of sporting heroes is exposed with depressing regularity, another Warne scandal comes as little surprise. What seems staggering is that Warne would be so reckless – and, yes, stupid – as to repeat the phone-message offence that last time cost him the Test vice-captaincy.”One leading sports psychologist refers to the condition where high-profile athletes fail to learn from past mistakes as the ‘pedestal complex’. Surrounded by doting officials and smitten fans, they fail to see how normal rules of behaviour can apply to them.”In the Australian, author Roland Perry noted: “If this latest allegation is true, someone should tell Warne to pull his head in, drastically improve his behaviour towards women and then surgically remove his mobile phone. If he were left with letters to write, he wouldn’t bother. Trouble is, no one will counsel him. His employers, Cricket Australia, the state team and Nine, either haven’t the nerve, or the inclination. Cricket Australia is staying out of it. None of our business, we are told. But it is.”Nine thrives on the controversies. In 2000 they were euphoric over the messy drama involving the English nurse, who received dirty phone messages. Mike Monroe on A Current Affair interviewed her. Then Warne – under contract – was forced to come on the same show, humble and defend himself. Nine’s ratings were terrific. Just watch how they handle this latest allegation.”Andrew Ramsey wrote in the Australian: “It became apparent to many close to Australia’s World Cup success in South Africa last year that the level of camaraderie and spirit among the players was heightened when Warne departed the tournament in the wake of the scandal over his taking a banned diuretic.”None deny Warne’s undisputed genius with a cricket ball, but his propensity for erratic mood swings and his ability to create unwanted media storms have created a sharp edge to the intra-team harmony.”While the critics sharpened their pencils, the woman at the epicentre of the storm – Helen Cohen Alon – urged Warne to take a lie-detector test. “He’s a fantastic guy, there’s nothing wrong with him,” she said, before adding the proviso, “it’s just that you cannot get away with things that you try and do to a woman all the time.” It might take more than a lie-detector test for that to penetrate through to Warne’s inner consciousness.

More than anything, it was the combined wisdom of Pakistan’s experienced cricketers that tilted the scales in their favour at the Sharjah Cricket Association stadium. Zimbabwe, slumped to yet another defeat in the Khaleej Times Trophy, losing by 29 runs. Two stalwarts – Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis worked their magic when it was needed the most and outclassed Zimbabwe. But spare a thought for Zimbabwe, an inexperienced side with a new captain, and they did not disgrace themselves. The loss means that Zimbabwe have no chance of qualifying for the final.When Waqar Younis won the toss and elected to bat first on a featherbed Sharjah wicket, he would have hoped to put more than 261 on the board. Especially after Shahid Afridi played an amazing innings first up, smashing the ball to all parts of the park. Hitting the ball cleanly over the infield, Afridi picked his spots well, either going over the onside with fierce power or carving the ball over extra-cover with impeccable timing. In a 36-ball essay that yielded 58 runs, Afridi struck six sixes and just one boundary. Easily the fastest half-century of the tournament, the innings brought the crowd alive.Following Afridi’s early blitz and some sensible, steady batting in the middle order from Yousuf Youhana (41) and a good half-century from Younis Khan, Pakistan managed to post 261/9 off 50 overs. Younis Khan’s innings was well paced and had the right mixture of aggressive and defensive strokes. With just two boundaries in his 58, Younis Khan had to do a lot of running and the effort began to tell. It was a tired shot that caused his downfall, coming after almost 100 minutes spent in the hot, humid conditions out in the middle.After starting well and threatening to bat Zimbabwe out of the game, Pakistan lost six wickets in the last 10 overs, adding just 56 runs to the total in the process.As it turned out, Pakistan had enough runs on the board. Waqar Younis, pumped up and running in with great rhythm knocked the stuffing out of the Zimbabwe top order. In the 8th over of the day, Waqar sent back both Trevor Gripper and Stuart Carlisle. Although Gripper would like to forget that particular moment, Waqar Younis will remember it for a long time to come as the wicket took him to 350 wickets in his 115th ODI. That’s a strike rate that would make anyone proud. After an initial burst of 6-1-16-2 that left Zimbabwe reeling at 13/2 Waqar took himself and Akram out of the attack.The second string of Pakistani bowlers, Abdur Razzaq and Azhar Mahmood are nowhere near as imposing as the men they took over from. The Zimbabweans too thought so, and the Flower brothers took full toll of this. Putting their heads together, Grant, with his booming drives and Andy with his delicate touches put together a partnership that gave Zimbabwe just a glimmer of hope. Stroking the ball freely into the gaps, the pair put on 146 for the third wicket before Wasim Akramstamped his authority on the game.Brought back to bowl the 31st over, Akram sent down a maiden over, changing the tempo of the game. In his very next over, the 33rd, Akram deceived Andy Flower (48 runs, 60 balls, 3×4) getting the left-hander to chip back a return catch. A good diving catch in his followthrough saw Akram complete catch. Not content with removing Andy Flower, Akram sent Dion Ebrahim packing just two balls later. Welcoming Ebrahim to the crease with a quick yorker, Akram slipped in an away swinger next ball and induced the edge. Reacting extremely quickly, Rashid Latif snapped up the ball diving full length to his right.Akram’s burst had done the trick for Pakistan.The matter was laid to rest well and truly when Azhar Mahmood stuck his hand out to field a drive from the blade of Douglas Marillier. Grant Flower backing up at the non-striker’s end could only watch in dismay as the ball brushed Mahmood’s hand and ricocheted onto the stumps. Falling just nine short of a well deserved ton, Grant Flower had spent 159 minutes out of the middle and struck 11 boundaries.Using the old fashioned long-handle to good effect Marillier tonked the bowling around for 37 (43 balls, 1×4, 2×6) but could only delay the inevitable. As entertaining a knock as any played on the day, Marillier’s innings showed that the lad had more than a bit of fighting spirit in him.Returning to complete his spell at the death, Akram accounted for Brian Murphy, having the Zimbabwean captain caught behind. This took his figures to 9-3-19-3, a sterling effort. Fittingly, the end of the Zimbabwean innings came at 232 when a strong throw from Akram found Henry Olonga short of his ground.The Akram-Waqar pair between them ended with the analysis 18.2-4-60-6. That made all the difference.

New Zealand’s domestic first-class competition – the Plunket Shield – will take place without match referees in the upcoming season because of budget cuts. The removal of the three match referees is one among a number of programmes to be cut by New Zealand Cricket, who are expected to face a multi-million dollar loss this year.The match referees were tasked with assessing umpire performance, playing standards of the grounds and on-field incidents, all of which will now be handled by the officiating umpires with assistance from regional associations to ensure quality playing conditions.”It wasn’t a cheap programme given we had to pay them, travel them round and pay for accommodation,” NZC head of cricket Lindsay Crocker told . “It was really disappointing but it was a programme we are simply unable to afford.”If we had more income then we would be able to do all the programmes we wanted, it’s just the nature of running a business and trying to compete on world terms with a budget smaller than our competitors. Now we’ll be asking the people who host the matches, the major associations, to step up and take responsibility for quality again.”Crocker said the money generated from co-hosting the 2015 World Cup would be used as a safeguard for the future and other areas of investment. “The World Cup was a one-off, it isn’t a matter of making a nest egg and then expending it. We’ve got to be prudent about that, it gives us an opportunity to sit out any future rainy days and there is also some investment we need to do around facilities.”The Cricket World Cup money and the legacy we attach from there is really around capital projects rather than operational ones.”As was the process before the concept of match referees came into force, umpires will receive feedback through reports from captains and from NZC umpire Tony Hill, who will travel to select matches.

Giles Clarke’s hopes of becoming the next chairman of the ICC appear to be receding, with neither Australia nor South Africa expected to support his candidacy should he choose to stand for election later this year.In order to fulfil his long-held ambition and assume the most high-profile post in world cricket, Clarke would require a majority of the 13 board votes – comprising ten full-member nations and three associate representatives – at the ICC election in June.However, with campaigning expected to get underway in earnest at this week’s board meeting in Dubai, it is understood that Cricket South Africa is particularly opposed to Clarke’s candidacy, at a time when many of the reforms that he was so instrumental in driving through during the so-called “Big Three” takeover of 2014 are set to be repealed.

Lorgat in frame for return?

The apparent sidelining of Giles Clarke could yet pave the way for a shock return to the helm for the former ICC chief executive, Haroon Lorgat, who left the role in acrimony in 2012 and was subsequently appointed as chief executive of CSA.
Lorgat’s parting shot from his original ICC post was the commissioning of the Woolf Report, an independent governance review by Lord Woolf, the former Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales, which called for greater transparency and accountability from the men charged with the running of the sport.
The report attracted the ire of India, Australia and England in particular, who not only ignored its findings but swiftly implemented a range of counter-measures whereby those three boards would take the lion’s share of ICC revenue, with India being allocated 22 percent.
ESPNcricinfo understands that Lorgat held lengthy meetings at Shashank Manohar’s house in Nagpur during South Africa’s Test tour of India in November – a marked step up in status from his previous dealings with the BCCI, in 2013-14, when India’s tour of South Africa was truncated at the last minute, at an estimated cost of US$20 million, in an apparent show of displeasure at Lorgat’s appointment to the CSA role.

“Giles Clarke is the type of personality to say it so much that people believe he is the chairman, and that’s it. That’s not the case,” a CSA insider told journalists at a briefing in South Africa. “We have written to the ICC and it is on the agenda for changing the constitution. There is every likelihood that the ICC will reverse the structure and the things that it did two years ago.”CSA’s opposition has been matched by that of Cricket Australia, according to a report in the Sydney Morning Herald, with the new board chairman, David Peever, understood to have distanced himself from the role played in the takeover by his predecessor, Wally Edwards, who retired from the post last year.With N Srinivasan, the former president of the BCCI and inaugural chairman of the ICC, being forced to stand down from both roles after being found by India’s Supreme Court to have had a conflict of interest in his ownership of the IPL franchise Chennai Super Kings, Clarke is the last remaining architect of the ICC power-grab and, as such, is increasingly seen as being the wrong man to lead the board in a climate of counter-reformation.The weakness of the other seven Test nations since the takeover is understood to be a cause of widespread concern among ICC board members, with West Indies still smarting from a humiliating tour of Australia and the PCB particularly aggrieved at the decentralisation of the Future Tours Programme, which has been replaced since 2014 by a series of bilateral agreements. The idea of a Test championship, shelved last year in favour of a rebooted Champions Trophy, could also be put to a vote.A widespread “review of ICC constitutional amendments” is also expected to be on the table in Dubai this week, with one anticipated change, according to the Telegraph, being the requirement for all future ICC chairmen to be independent of their member boards.Assuming that that change is rubber-stamped – and Shashank Manohar, the current chairman, has driven it through in response to the Srinivasan scandal – Clarke would then be obliged to resign his post as ECB president in order to stand as ICC chairman. Clarke’s new ECB role was specially created at the end of his eight-year tenure as ECB chairman in 2015, ostensibly to provide continuity at ICC level while the board’s new management duo, Colin Graves and Tom Harrison, bedded into their roles of chairman and chief executive respectively.However, the reluctance of Cricket Australia to endorse Clarke is not believed to reflect any weakened standing for the ECB’s new bosses among their peers at the ICC. Peever, the former managing director of Rio Tinto, met with Harrison and Graves in Singapore before Christmas, with James Sutherland, CA’s long-standing chief executive, also present. It was there, during an apparently cordial meeting, that the decision not to endorse Clarke’s candidature was expressed.When asked about the implications of the proposed reforms for Clarke’s future with the ECB, a board spokesman told ESPNcricinfo that it would not be appropriate to speculate on the outcome of a meeting that has not yet been held.

Sandeep Patil, the former India coach, and Dinesh Mongia, the former India batsman, have cited ill-treatment by the Indian board and the selectors respectively as reasons for their decision to join the Indian Cricket League (ICL).Patil said he was given “false assurances” of being made the India A coach but, eventually, nothing materialised. “I still have a copy of the e-mail that I was asked to send by Sharad Pawar [the president of the BCCI] expressing my willingness to be India A team’s coach. Nothing moved after that,” Patil told the Times of India. In fact, once Pawar called Ratnakar Shetty [the chief administrative officer of BCCI] and secretary Niranjan Shah in my presence, telling them to make my appointment, yet nothing materialised.”Mongia blamed the selectors for not giving him a proper run and said he was dropped despite some good performances. “Before the World Cup, I was given a break against Australia in Malaysia where I scored 63 not out. But after that I was dropped,” Mongia told the Indian Express. “I think I was dropped because I was scoring runs or I played well, that is the signal I got”.”Later too, I got a chance against Australia [in the Champions Trophy], where I failed. I did tour South Africa, played in Durban, where I disappointed, but everybody else also failed. Later I played in the Twenty20 game and was instrumental in winning the match against South Africa , and again the same old story: I was dropped.”Mongia did play in the 5th ODI against South Africa, two days after that Twenty20 game, and scored an 89-ball 41. He later made a comeback in the tour of Bangladesh and made 17 runs in each of the two ODI games that he played.”If you see a team like Australia, Ricky Ponting, Steve Waugh and Michael Hussey, they all are treated as equals,” Mongia said. “It’s the performance that matters there, not the name. One thing has be to understood, when you are the boss, you have to give due importance to everybody. You can’t just concentrate on the big names and ignore the lesser players.”

Pakistan’s national champions Sialkot have left for India to play Uttar Pradesh, India’s Ranji Trophy winners, in a four-day match from September 27 to 30 at Dharamsala.Sialkot were the winners of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy and were scheduled to play Uttar Pradesh on September 12 but that game was postponed because of time constraints. “The match is final and the Sialkot team has left today for Dharamsala where the match is being held,” Subhan Ahmed, a PCB official, told Reuters. “We wanted this match to be held on time so that we can work on other bilateral proposals.”The Sialkot team includes Test players such as Shoaib Malik, Mohammad Asif and Imran Nazir while Uttar Pradesh have Mohammad Kaif, Suresh Raina and RP Singh from the Indian squad. The boards of the two countries hope that this game will pave the way for more bilateral domestic matches.Uttar Pradesh – Mohammad Kaif (capt), Suresh Raina, Rudra Pratap Singh, Piyush Chawla, Jyoti Yadav, Avinash Yadav, Shivakant Shukla, Praveen Kumar, Mohammad Amir Khan (wk), Gyanendra Pandey, Rizwan Shamshad, Ashish Winston Zaidi, Shalabh Srivastava, Rohit Prakash, Ravikant Shukla
Coach Rajinder Singh Hans, Manager – Gopal SharmaSialkot – Shoaib Malik (capt), Imran Nazir, Majid Jehangir, Mohammad Asif, Atiq-ur-Rehman, Khalid Mahmood, Abdur Rehman, Mansoor Amjad, Shahid Yousuf, Sarfraz Ahmed, Tahir Mughal, Shehzad Malik, Inam-ul-haq
Coach – Abdul Quadeer Chaud, Manager – Azmat Rana

Younis Khan, the Pakistan vice-captain, has said that they will have to keep Andrew Flintoff and Kevin Pietersen in check to have a successful home series against England in October.”We can’t let them [Flintoff and Pietersen] get away. Because they are match-winners and play the spinners well they will hold the key to the series in Pakistan and India,” Younis was quoted as saying by Reuters. “They are a destructive pair and they can turn a match around with their positive approach. They made the difference in the Ashes series.” Younis also said that the series against England would be a tough one. “They [England] have just beaten Australia and any side which has done even reasonably well against Australia in recent times has gone on to perform in their next series.”Having just returned from a six-week stint with Nottinghamshire as a replacement for Stephen Fleming, the New Zealand captain, Younis said that he was not satisfied with his county experience and wished that he had played more cricket while in England.”Honestly speaking there is not a feeling of fulfilment after the six-week stint. Firstly because there was no cricket played on 20 to 22 days of my contractual period of 42 days. We [Nottinghamshire] were not in the Twenty20 Cup and C&G tournament.” Younis was quoted as saying by . “Then I also took time to settle down and adjust to the conditions there which become wet and rainy at this time of the year. But I definitely would like to go back for another stint in England and show my true worth.”He also added that he was impressed by the manner in which cricket was organised and managed in England. “I learnt a lot from observing how they manage things in many areas. They are very well organised and the people there were also very receptive and appreciative of your efforts.”Michael Vaughan, the England captain, said that England needed to perform well in the series against Pakistan and then India in March 2006 to dethrone Australia as the top team in Test cricket. “We haven’t been to the subcontinent and won yet,” said Vaughan. “If we play good cricket over there, I’m sure the rankings will change.”England’s tour of Pakistan starts on October 26 and comprises three Tests and five one-day internationals.

Australia and New Zealand’s women’s team will play three one-day internationals in March 2005, just before the start of the World Cup. The series, called the Rose Bowl Series, is played annually between the Commonwealth Bank Southern Stars and the White Ferns.All three games will be played at Perth; two at the WACA ground and one at Lilac Hill. Women’s cricket will be returning there after a gap of seven years, and it was a move that Belinda Clark approved of. "It is exciting to be playing matches in Perth again, and in particular, to be playing at high quality venues like the WACA and Lilac Hill. The matches will be the last opportunity for our players to fine tune their skills before heading off for the World Cup."What makes the clash more mouth-watering is that New Zealand and Australia are the latest winners of the World Cup. While Australia won it in 1997, New Zealand triumphed in 2000.Schedule
1st ODI 10 March, 2005 Lilac Hill
2nd ODI 12 March, 2005 WACA Ground
3rd ODI 13 March, 2005 WACA Ground

Darren Gough has spoken out ahead of the first Test against South Africa at Edgbaston, urging the England selectors to pick him on merit after his successful recovery from a succession of knee operations.Gough, 32, was named Man of the Match in Saturday’s NatWest series final, after picking up 2 for 9 in seven overs. “I’m as ready as I’ll ever be," he told the News of The World newspaper, "and getting back into the Test team has always been the ultimate aim. I want to be picked on merit as one of the best fast bowlers in the country – and I think I’ve proved that in this NatWest Series.”"It’s up to the selectors now," added Gough, who has taken 228 wickets in 56 Tests, and would dearly love to overhaul Fred Trueman’s tally of 307, to become the most successful Yorkshire bowler in Test history. "I want no favours, no sentiment, but I’m convinced I won’t let them down."Michael Vaughan, Gough’s captain in the one-day series, added his support for a recall. "The five weeks I’ve had Gough, he has been fantastic," said Vaughan. "Whether his knee can hold up to the longer format of the game is not for me to say. It will be down to the medical people and Gough to decide that. But he is a world class player.”David Graveney, England’s chairman of selectors, sounded a note of caution, but could not deny the impact a fully fit Gough would have on the Test team. "Darren is a major influence. When he marks out his run you can feel the response from the crowd – he is a hero."Graveney insisted he had been misquoted in saying that Gough was not in consideration for the five-day format. “We just have to be sure that he can go the distance," he said. "To be fair, 10 overs one day and a break and then 10 overs the next day in one-day matches is different to bowling 25 overs in a Test match and then have to do it all again the following day.”The selectors name their squad on Friday, and in the meantime Gough will play in the County Championship for Yorkshire against Durham on Tuesday. Of the centrally contracted England players, Ashley Giles will be able to play for Warwickshire against Middlesex and Stephen Harmison will be available for Durham against Yorkshire. Both men, however, will be rested from their limited-overs matches.

Although more than two years have passed since he last donned a baggy green cap, it would be grossly wide of the mark to describe Matthew Elliott as a forgotten man of Australian cricket. Nor as one of its lost talents.Because, even if the national selectors might have been unmoved by an appetite for runs that continues to be voracious, the Victorian opener clearly remains one of the country’s most accomplished batsmen.Only a matter of days away from captaining his state for the first time, Elliott is happy. Relaxed too. And optimistic as he plots the important new chapter in his career that is about to begin.”This is a very exciting time for me,” says the 30-year old, whose appearance in 20 Tests between 1996 and 1999 gave the world a glimpse of his considerable talents as a left handed upper order batsman.”Having a bit of a break over the winter months before starting the pre-season has meant that I’m enjoying being around cricket again. I’ve really fallen in love with the game again.”It’s not that there has been much evidence that Elliott’s passion for the game has ever wavered. But the chance to fully overcome a persistent knee injury, to enjoy a leave of absence from playing, and to acquaint himself with his responsibilities as Paul Reiffel’s replacement as Victoria’s one-day leader has clearly been rejuvenating nonetheless.As he gears up to play a central role in Sunday’s opening match of the 2001-02 domestic season against New South Wales in Sydney, he airs few anxieties about the summer. He hasn’t been a captain since his days in charge of the Kyabram under-16s so can barely wait to tackle the learning curve that lies ahead of him.”Hopefully, I’d like to take a few of the good points away from every captain I’ve played under and then try and mould them all together. But that’s obviously a pretty difficult task.”I really enjoyed my time under Mark Taylor; I thought he was an exceptional captain. And Shane Warne, tactically, is right there in the very upper echelon of all the people who I’ve played with. He is very astute and very sharp.”There are a few different people from whom I’m ideally going to take little bits and pieces.”With Reiffel now scaling back some of his responsibilities as he nears the end of a fabulous career, Elliott was elevated to the Bushrangers’ one-day captaincy position three months ago. That move has left the state with different leaders in the two forms of the game, and it’s a strategy which the man known affectionately as ‘Herb’ believes might redress the balance after two seasons of limited-overs disappointment.”I’m really looking forward to the summer. We’ve got some clear ideas about the way we want to play our one-day cricket and we have some real direction,” he says.”We’re looking to be a lot more proactive and we’re going to be very open to trying some different things this year.”New South Wales is a really good measuring stick for us first up too. We’ve knocked them over a couple of times in the one-day competition over the last couple of summers, so we’ll be keen to do that again.”The team’s supporters have been burnt too often in one-day cricket over the last decade to be completely confident about its prospects. Records show that the Bushrangers have finished in the top half of the competition only once in the last six years. But it might just be that Elliott’s twin skills as a beautifully stylish batsman and positive skipper prove the difference on this occasion.Even at a time when cracks are appearing at the top of the Australian order, he’s just as undeterred in his response to the question that he must, by now, have become sick of answering. The berth in the national team that was once akin to an obsession now occupies very little focus for a player who gives the impression of being at ease with himself.”At the end of the day, you’ve just got to be true to yourself and be your own person. Not try to be something that you’re not.”What concerns me now is playing well for Victoria, and just being happy playing my cricket. Enjoying my cricket. If you can do all that as a player, then everything else takes care of itself.”And there surely can’t be too many better ways of looking after things than igniting Victoria’s revival as a one-day force.