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Malcolm Speed: ‘I have no intention of walking away from my position because of the issue’ © Getty Images

I read with interest on Saturday morning a story in the media reporting I had been sent a letter from stakeholders within Zimbabwe’s cricketing fraternity calling upon me to resign as CEO of the ICC over the organisation’s handling of that country’s cricketing problems.I have not yet received the letter but even if and when I do I have no intention of walking away from my position because of the issue. On the contrary, I am determined to use my role to try and ensure the matter is resolved in as satisfactory a way as possible for all sides.In relation to the letter, it is worth pointing out that the reports indicate it appears to emanate from a group of people currently outside the current Zimbabwe Cricket set-up. Their disenfranchisement may help to explain why they appear to have an axe to grind and I am a convenient target but their accusations against the ICC are wide of the mark.Those accusations ignore the make-up of the organisation. The ICC is not simply Malcolm Speed or Ehsan Mani [the president]. It is made up of 96 members, all of whom are charged to run cricket in their respective countries or territories without interference from the centre.From those 96 members come ten Full Members, of which Zimbabwe is one, and the representatives of those ten members, as well as three further delegates from the Associate and Affiliate members plus the chief executive, president and vice-president make up the Board of Directors.That group is charged with overseeing the running of the game on the world stage but it is not the ICC board’s responsibility to dictate how each individual member runs its own affairs. That would be impractical and would also be likely to provoke widespread opposition among members.Nevertheless, we have recognised the problems that exist within cricket in Zimbabwe and, within our framework, have endeavoured to help resolve them.I have previously travelled to Zimbabwe to discuss the situation with the chairman of Zimbabwe Cricket, Peter Chingoka, and players and their representatives. And as an organization, the ICC has consistently urged all disputing parties to get together and resolve any differences they may have.The ICC has welcomed the decision of Zimbabwe Cricket to step back from Test cricket while it tries to address its problems and has also endorsed the action points issued to its interim committee by the Zimbabwe Sports and Recreation Commission.These include dealing with allegations of financial mismanagement, ensuring disputes between players and the board are effectively addressed and providing certainty for other ICC members that the strongest possible Zimbabwe cricket team will be able to fulfil future international commitments.The ICC will continue to urge the interim committee to address the action points in an open and transparent manner and looks forward to hearing back from Chingoka with the results of that work at the meeting scheduled for October.In the meantime, the Zimbabwe team is performing competitively in its current ODI series against the West Indies but the ICC recognises that restoring the side to one that is competitive at Test level will take some time.As CEO I will do all I can to assist in that process and I have no intention of shirking the task.

Cricket Australia has said that it has no immediate plans to start playing Twenty20 matches, although it will continue to monitor the situation.James Sutherland, CA’s chief executive, said that the absence of any formal international competition meant it did not demand integration into an already-packed summer schedule.”We’re not wanting to jump into it,” Sutherland explained. “I guess one of our observations of it is that Pura Cup and ING Cup have talent development functions for the Australian cricket team. There’s no international cricket that’s played in the 20-over format so in some ways we’re reluctant to tinker with what is a tried and true format, that works really well for the success of our national team.”Twenty20 cricket has been a massive success in England where crowds have flocked to games. In July, more than 28,000 watched Middlesex play Surrey at Lord’s in a zonal match. It has also been successfully launched in South Africa, and other countries are adding it to domestic programmes.Australia are scheduled to play the first international 20-over game in New Zealand this season, and one against England during the Ashes tour in 2005.

Until the end of the Indian tour of Pakistan, we will be running a daily Paper Round of what newspapers in India and Pakistan, and from around the world, are saying about this series. This is what the media had to say today:Cometh the hour, cometh a pronouncement from Shoaib Akhtar. A year after being savaged by Sachin Tendulkar in a World Cup encounter at Centurion, Akhtar preached the team mantra while looking ahead to the forthcoming series. “The media may bill it as a `Shoaib vs Tendulkar’ contest but this series is much more than that,” he said in an interview to . “We have to go at all the Indian batsmen if we want to win the series. If we play as a team we will win. Cricket is definitely a team game although individuals might dominate it.”He was philosophical about the Centurion hiding. “I think I am a more improved, controlled and focused bowler after that game,” he said. “Both teams have to prove themselves once again … I think it would be a case of how our bowling fares against their strong batting. Because while their bowling is inexperienced our batting is a bit inexperienced.”* * *Hanif Mohammad, the subcontinent’s original Little Master, took a walk down memory lane in the pages of . Speaking about the 1954-55 series, characterised by stifling defensive cricket, he gave insight into a time when winning wasn’t quite everything. “The matches were keenly fought but there was nothing called sledging,” he said. “In fact, during those times bowlers would give way to the batsmen as they ran between the wickets. And if they’d be caught in the middle, they’d apologise. The camaraderie was brilliant.”Hanif, who also remembers being flummoxed by Subhash Gupte’s flipper, suggests that relations between the sides off the pitch were also cordial. “My mother, who was from India , was a cricket buff,” he said. “She insisted that we host a banquet for the Indian team. We used to live at our Garden Road residence at that time. Getting someone who could cook Indian food was a big problem. But after much struggle, we found a cook in Karachi. He prepared delicious Indian food, and mind you separately for the vegetarians in the team.””The party was great fun with dance, music and jokes,” he added. “I still have a picture with my mother, brother Wazir, bhabhi posing with Indian cricketers like Naren Tamhane, [Vijay] Manjrekar and Gupte. That’s a treasure for life.”* * *Polly Umrigar’s view of that same tour is a little different. “Then, as now, there was a fear psychosis about touring an unfriendly country,” he told . “Some players were scared to go, but I wasn’t. There was security. When we went to a cinema there would be cops all around us. But we came back having enjoyed ourselves thoroughly. The culinary fare laid out was straight out of Arabian Nights, biryani with badam, pista and all. There was a marked difference in the hospitality as we moved northwards [in Pakistan]. The south was not so friendly.””When we reached Lahore, there were people taking us to some homes and pointing out `these are yours’ — homes from where the Hindus had fled during Partition. Rickshaw-wallahs would not take money from Indian fans. `Hamare bhai aaye hain’ [our brothers have come], they would say.”Umrigar had mixed memories of events on and off the field. “The warmth was mixed at the ground as well,” he said. “There was no hooting by the crowds, no jeering. There was no cheering when we hit a four. But we didn’t mind. At Lyallpur, the team had to stay in a railway bogey as the city had no hotels. It was quite upsetting to some players. But there were good hotels in the other cities.”Nostalgia isn’t always about rose-tinted glasses though. Never one to mouth empty platitudes, Umrigar went on to say that the cricket played on the tour “tended to be boring”.

CLEAR White Ferns, captain Emily Drumm was “hugely relieved” to beat Australia at the Bert Sutcliffe Oval in the fourth game of the Rosebowl series today.Drumm, who compiled 88 of New Zealand’s 196/9, later went to hospital for x-rays on an injured thumb sustained after being hit by a shot from fellow captain Belinda Clark when fielding at short mid-wicket.However, the 27-year old told CricInfo, “That’s the least of my concerns right now,” after being given the all clear to play tomorrow.”You are very pleased to come away as winners because when you lose back-to-back games it breaks confidence. There was a lot of pressure today when TV and the public expect us to play like the World Cup,” said Drumm.New Zealand’s first win over Australia since the CricInfo Women’s World Cup final in 2000 was achieved by the narrow margin of 22 runs.Nevertheless, the home side had the game wrapped up well before Therese McGregor and Cathryn Fitzpatrick, who is doubtful for tomorrow with a calf strain and batted with a runner, added an unbeaten 41 for the last Australian wicket.This seemingly insignificant stand decided the fate of the Rosebowl, which will remain in Australia as New Zealand failed to separate the final pair before they passed the threshold of 157 that prevented a bonus point being won.The reason that Australia was in such a poor position was due to effectiveness of Aimee Mason’s off spin on her home One-Day International debut.She took four for 33, including the breakthrough wicket of Karen Rolton when the score was 81/1 in the 22nd over and another regulation Australia win was looming. After having Lisa Sthalekar and Julia Price caught by the immaculate Rebecca Rolls with successive deliveries, Mason removed Julie Hayes six balls later with the arm ball coach Mike Shrimpton taught her at the Academy last year.Earlier, the 19-year-old Central Hinds bowler attacked to make 34 off 36 balls with two sixes, one over square leg and one over long on. She regards herself as a “bowler who bats” and had previously scored just one 50 for CD, but as one who likes “to give it a bit of a go,” she took on the Australian bowlers.It was Mason’s partnership of 58 for the sixth wicket with Drumm that set up New Zealand’s best total of the series, and then, after Clark (43) and Rolton (26) had added 60 for the second wicket, it was Mason again who turned the game.The Australian batsmen’s failure to reach 50 emphasised the importance of Drumm’s knock on a good wicket on a rare hot and sunny Lincoln day.”I took quite a few risks in my innings. I believe in calculating to hit off the stumps to square and behind. They are shots I practice a lot to get them to bowl outside the off stump to try and get runs on the off side,” Drumm revealed.She continued, “Playing Australia, they’re the team you want to beat – these guys are really good.” Drumm missed the final stages of the match while in Christchurch Hospital, but returned to Lincoln in time to celebrate the success.The jubilant skipper concluded, “I couldn’t be more pleased to have helped the team to victory. We are a very young side who obviously coped without me. To did what they did when I wasn’t here shows that we don’t have to rely on certain players.”

* Murali and South Africa clinch CEAT awardsStar Sri Lankan spinner Muthiah Muralitharan has been named the CEATInternational Cricketer of the Year 2000-01. Murali headed the CEATRatings with 111 points and comfortably edged out his compatriotMarvan Atapattu, who finished runner-up 16 points behind. The SriLankans completed a clean sweep of the top three positions as Murali’sskipper Sanath Jayasuriya ended third with 93 points. Jacques Kallis(87) and Sachin Tendulkar (85) took spots four and five respectively.The annual CEAT Ratings which were instituted in 1995/96 aresupervised by a panel comprising three of the game’s gray eminences,Clive Lloyd, Ian Chappell and Sunil Gavaskar. They take into accountall the cricketing action between May 1 and April 30. InterestinglySachin Tendulkar has never won the award in the six years since itsinception. His CEAT Efficiency Quotient (CEQ) of 3.04 was however thehighest among the leading contenders for the Award. Previous winnersinclude Brian Lara (1995-96), Venkatesh Prasad (1996-97), SanathJayasuriya (1997-98), Jacques Kallis (1998-99), Sourav Ganguly(1999-00).South Africa clinched the CEAT Team of the Year award with a tally of98 points, which included 57 from the 14 Tests and 41 from the 26 ODIsthey played during the year. Pakistan (1996-97), Australia (1997-98and 1999-00) and South Africa (1998-99) were the four previousrecipients.* Chinnaswamy stadium pitch being relaidThirty years after it was first laid, the square at the Chinnaswamystadium in Bangalore is being relaid. Under the supervision of GKasturi Rangan, the chairman of the pitches committee of the BCCI,work on the relaying has already begun.”The idea behind the reconstruction is to have hard, firm wickets,”says Kasturi Rangan. “We have told other associations to provide truewickets and if we make a start here, then we can set an example forthe rest to emulate,” he says. According to Kasturi Rangan, theentire surface will be playable within 50 days. In all, there will beeleven strips, one centre wicket and five wickets on either side. Thecost of the entire exercise is estimated at Rs 10 lakh.India is scheduled to play a Test match at Bangalore against Englandlate this year and the new surface is likely to provide a hard andbouncy track. Bangalore staged its first Test match against WestIndies in November, 1974.* Patel, Hazare join NCAMedium pacers Rakesh Patel of Baroda and Swapnil Hazare of Mumbai havereported at the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore a couple of daysago.Patel, who was inducted into the NCA after the first set of 20 nameswas announced last month, was in the camp for the probables for thetour of Zimbabwe in Bangalore. However he was out of action for sometime due to a knee injury. which he sustained during the Ranji Trophyfinal against Railways in April. Hazare was forced to miss a month’straining at the NCA because of his college exams. The NCA will take aten day break from June 16 before the inter-zonal acadmies tournamentcommences on June 28.

Ange Postecoglou’s Celtic head into Sunday’s Premiership showdown against their Glasgow arch-rivals in an exceptional run of form, with the Bhoys remaining undefeated in their last 25 league outings, winning 21 of those.

As such, confidence within the 56-year-old’s squad will be extremely high, but with Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s outfit also having lost just two Premiership games all season, the Hoops manager will be well aware that his team simply must be at their best if they are to leave Ibrox with all three points this afternoon.

Will Postecoglou make any changes to the team which started the 4-0 win over Ross County last time out? Here’s how we think Celtic could line up against Rangers today, along with the latest team and injury news…

With Postecoglou revealing in his pre-match press conference that both Kyogo Furuhashi and Tom Rogic will be available for selection on Sunday after recovering from their respective injuries, we predict that the Hoops boss will make three changes from the side which started the victory over County.

The back five remains unchanged, with Joe Hart starting between the sticks and Greg Taylor, Carl Starfelt, Cameron Carter-Vickers and Josip Juranovic making up the defensive quartet.

In the middle of the park, despite Rogic’s availability, it is the 22-year-old David Turnbull – who Alan Hutton claimed is playing with his chest “puffed out” this season – given the nod alongside Callum McGregor and Reo Hatate in the Bhoys’ three-man midfield.

FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. Subscribe FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.

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In attack, the £52.5k-per-week Kyogo’s recovery from a long-term injury sees him take the place of Giorgos Giakoumakis up top, while Liel Abada also returns to the starting XI on the right, with Daizen Maeda dropping to the bench and Jota switching back to his preferred role on the left.

AND in other news: £3m wasted as Celtic had a shocker on £7.9k-p/w “loner” who rinsed Desmond for 129 weeks

	Brendon McCullum repeated his national heroics and sealed Otago’s spot in next Sunday’s State Shield final © Getty Images

Brendon McCullum continued his winning ways with his unbeaten 108 steering Otago into the State Shield final against Auckland next Sunday. Having taken 77 off 43 balls from England on Saturday to help New Zealand take the series, McCullum backed up for his provincial side in Christchurch as they defeated Canterbury by six wickets with four overs to spare.Canterbury, McCullum’s former team, batted first and Iain Robertson’s 53 and Peter Fulton’s 66 set the platform for what looked like a healthy total of 8 for 262. The spin of Nathan McCullum was potent and economical – he picked up 2 for 26 from ten overs – while Brad Scott chipped in with 3 for 40, including the important wickets of Robertson and his opening partner Michael Papps.In reply Otago lost Aaron Redmond for 0, but as long as McCullum was there they had nothing to worry about. He struck nine fours and a six, but was much more considered than on the previous evening, spending 126 balls at the crease. Alex Gidman’s 81 was also an important innings and Neil Broom swept in at the finish to blast four fours and three sixes in his 41 not out off 27.Otago now have the chance to upset Auckland, who finished on top of the ladder, and reverse the result of last season. Auckland won by five wickets on that occasion and they have the advantage of hosting the game.

Craig McMillan: “I’ve been going since I was 20 so that’s close to ten years and it has been a long time” © Getty Images

Craig McMillan feels a hectic cricket schedule is taking a toll on his body, and admits that retirement may not be far away. He said he was enjoying the West Indies, especially because six months ago he was not expecting to be there, but conceded he was unlikely to add to his three World Cup trips.”It can be a rollercoaster at times,” he told . “I’m not going to put a time on anything but there is a good chance this could be my last World Cup. I’ve been going since I was 20 so that’s close to ten years and it has been a long time. I would love to finish on a high at this World Cup with a very good side.”McMillan, 30, feared that too much cricket could shorten the careers of top-class athletes. “There is a lot more cricket played these days,” he said. “It’s something they [the cricket boards and the ICC] need to look at because combined with the Test tours it can get very tough.”Maybe you will get guys just playing one form of the game. That might be a way to sustain yourself and stay involved for the last two or three years of your career, maybe forgoing one-dayers so they can play Test cricket for the last two or three years.”McMillan said a maiden World Cup title for New Zealand would be incredible. “From a personal point of view I’ve really enjoyed this World Cup,” he said. “So I’m hoping to contribute to what will hopefully be a special tournament for New Zealand.”New Zealand have been tipped by many, not least including Ian Chappell and Sir Viv Richards, to make it to the final of the tournament. McMillan looked at the side’s success so far as a “very satisfying” experience and was confident they would go all the way.”One of our strengths is that we bat low down and we’re strong in the last ten overs and I think that will become prevalent in the last few games of the tournament,” he said. “The thing about our game so far is that we haven’t relied on one person. Some teams rely on one or two players and you know that if you put them under pressure then the rest of the side is under pressure. The strength for New Zealand is that we have guys from one to 11 who can, on his day, win a game.”A look at New Zealand’s recent chases in a 3-0 sweep of Australia in the Chappell-Hadlee Series is testament to McMillan’s words. New Zealand’s next match is against Ireland on Monday.

Daren Ganga, a contender for the West Indies captaincy, would like to add to his credentials with another title triumph © Getty Images

The much-vaunted regional first-class double is within their grasp. But Trinidad and Tobago will have to battle recent history against their opponents, Barbados, to achieve it.When the Carib Beer Challenge final bowls off from today at Guaracara Park, Point-a-Pierre, T&T should remember that their two previous encounters against Barbados on home soil ended in defeat, including a 246-run loss in the 2003-04 season at the same venue of this match and a six-wicket loss at the Queens Park Oval in the 2004-05 season.Added to that, the last time the two teams met in a final was in the 1999 Busta Cup competition where T&T, led by Ian Bishop, lost to Barbados at the Kensington Oval.Back in February, though, Daren Ganga and the current T&T squad trounced the Bajans by 264 runs to lift the Carib Beer Cup, the regional tournament. And T&T’s confidence ahead of this weekend’s final was boosted by their emphatic 391-run victory over the Windward Islands in the semi-final earlier this week.Ganga believed his team was in the right mood for the crucial last match of the season and was also mindful of the consequences of taking victory for granted.”I think it is always good having a good performance in a semi-final and getting your opposition in the final to know you are a tough team, a champion team,” Ganga said after the Windwards win. “We played like champions (in the semi-final). To be able to beat a team in three and a little bit days, it is very important for us to send the right message.””We are not going to get complacent,” he added. “We know this is an opportunity for us to make history and to set a path that no other Trinidad and Tobago team has achieved. It’s something we are all hungry for and we are looking forward for that opportunity and ensuring we make the best use if it.”Their confidence is well-warranted given the inclusion of Brian Lara, who despite missing the recent semi-final, is in the line-up as well as the in-form Ganga himself, and their West Indies colleagues Dwayne Bravo and wicketkeeper Denesh Ramdin. Jason Mohammed, who scored a century against the Windwards in the semi-final and who escaped unscathed from a vehicular accident late Wednesday night, should also take his place in the side.Individuals apart, T&T will also take confidence from the good team cricket they have played this season, which has been the main reason for their presence in the final.Unlike T&T, Barbados’ entry to the final was less emphatic. Much less. They owe their advancement to a `not-so convincing’ first innings points win against Guyana in their semi-final, according to Hendy Springer, their coach.He said, “We want to try and get our mental game right. That is the shortcoming in Barbados’ cricket – the way we prepare ourselves mentally and our general attitude going into first-class games.”Besides his apprehension with his team’s mental focus, Springer expressed concern about the ability of the Guaracara Park pitch to hold up over five days.”One of the things that I hope wouldn’t happen is that the pitch deteriorates,” he said. “It’s five days. I don’t know when last a first-class pitch would have gone five days.”Barbados have welcomed back to form the experienced Floyd Reifer who hit a century against Guyana, and will be joined in the batting department by Ryan Hinds, their prolific captain, along with Dale Richards and Dwayne Smith. Excluded from the 14-man squad was fast bowler Jason Bennett.But with an attack reinforced by the experience of Pedro Collins, the visitors will not be mere spectators in this contest.Trinidad and Tobago – Daren Ganga (capt), Lendl Simmons, Sherwin Ganga, Brian Lara, Dwayne Bravo, Jason Mohammed, Denesh Ramdin, Richard Kelly, Rayad Emrit, Mervyn Dillon, Dave Mohammed, Amit Jaggernauth, Adrian Bharath, Samuel BadreeBarbados – Ryan Hinds (capt), Dale Richards, Wayne Blackman, Dwayne Smith, Floyd Reifer, Alcindo Holder, Patrick Browne, Ian Bradshaw, Tino Best, Ryan Austin, Pedro Collins

Matthew Hoggard prepares under the watchful eye of Troy Cooley © Getty Images

It’s grim up north, as Southerners are wont to say, but few prospects can have been grimmer than the one facing the Bangladeshis, as they geared up for the second Test at Chester-le-Street on Friday. Under overcast skies – which looked leaden enough to make the new ball sing on a fresh Riverside wicket, but not quite sufficient to cause any much-needed rain delays to aid their cause – Bangladesh prepared for the unpalatable task of salvaging their pride after a desperate first Test.It will not be an easy task. The most disappointing aspect of the Lord’s debacle was not the size of the defeat – in alien conditions, that much had been anticipated long in advance. What was more depressing was the manner of the capitulation. England, by their own admission, bowled woefully in the first hour and yet were gifted a succession of wickets by batsmen who believed they had won the lottery overnight. From Allan Border to Andrew Strauss, many of the most successful cricketers in the game have made a virtue of batting within their limitations – not, as Habibul Bashar demonstrated, by swinging wildly at anything dropped a fraction short or wide.Bangladesh, like England, have resisted the urge to ring the changes – at least those in the Lord’s XI now know what is about to hit them. They will make a late decision on their 16-year-old Mushfiqur Rahim, who sprained his ankle on a flight of stairs, while the seamer, Tapash Baisya, has been added the reckoning after missing the first match with an Achilles injury.Bangladesh’s coach, Dav Whatmore, sounded a warning to his players and the public earlier in the week, when he expressed his concerns about the challenge that awaited at Chester-le-Street. Today, however, he was bullish once again, and scoffed at suggestions that Bangladesh should be stripped of their Test status. “We are a full Test match nation,” he said. “That’s where we belong and where we will stay,”The quest for respect is a double-edged sword, however, and the more that Bangladesh demand to be accepted on this tour, the harder they are likely to be slapped back into place. For Michael Vaughan and England, the temptation to experiment with their batting order must be great, seeing as key personnel such as Andrew Flintoff and Geraint Jones did not get any time in the middle at Lord’s.But instead they have named the same XI, including the redundant Gareth Batty ahead of the seamer Jon Lewis, who would have revelled in these conditions just as Richard Johnson did in 2003 (6 for 33 on debut against Zimbabwe). With the Australians due to arrive midway through the match, now is hardly the time for England to step on what Michael Vaughan metaphysically described as “a potential banana skin”.”You want players to get time in the middle,” Vaughan told reporters at Chester-le-Street, “but you’ve got to be respectful of the game as well. As soon as you start being clever it comes back and bites you.” Nevertheless, with Andrew Flintoff fit and firing on all cylinders again after his ankle surgery, the outlook is bleak for Bangladesh. Even his apparently half-pace workout at Lord’s last week resulted in five wickets from 14.5 overs.”It was a huge bonus having him bowl in the first Test,” said Vaughan, “and it’s an even bigger bonus knowing we can use him just that little bit more now. I wasn’t expecting him to be bowling again until maybe halfway through the one-day games, so it just shows how hard he’s worked on his rehab and how well the medical staff have done to get him back playing again.”Sadly, it will take more than medical staff to put Bangladesh back together again if this Test follows the same pattern as the first Test. “Given the weather we have had the pitch might be more difficult to negotiate than Lord’s,” Whatmore reiterated. All he, and the cricket-loving public as a whole, can hope for is that they can put up a fight, however futile.