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The Tasmanian Cricket Association (TCA) announced the Tasmanian Institute squad for the State and Territory Institute of Sport Challenge, to be held in Mackay and Townsville from August 23-30.The Institute Challenge was developed to involve young players in various State Institute programs in competitive cricket, as well as to put on trial new scientific initiatives and rules.This year’s Challenge will see a number of different formats – 20-, 40-, and 50-over matches – as per Cricket Australia’s “obligation to the ongoing development of the game,” said a TCA press release.Two pools of four will comprise this year’s Challenge. Pool A includes the Queensland Academy of Sport (QAS), South Australia, the New South Wales Institute of Sport (NSWIS) and the Northern Territory, while Pool B includes the Victorian Institute of Sport (VIS), the Tasmanian Institute of Sport (TIS), the Australian Capital Territory and an Indigenous X1.The Tasmanian squad will train on August 19 and 20 at Hobart.Squad: Travis Birt, Tim Paine, Shane Watson, David Dawson, Dane Anderson, Scott Kremerskothen, Matthew Wade, Luke Butterworth, Xavier Doherty, Gordon Kerr, Brett Burgess, Ben Hilfenhaus, Adam GriffithCoach: Tim CoyleAssistant coach: Daniel Marsh

Sri Lanka’s Marvan Atapattu may have started his international career indisastrous fashion, recording five ducks in his first six Test innings, buthe is now riding high and is widely acknowledged to be Sri Lanka’s mosttechnically accomplished player.During the recent Test match against Bangladesh the 30 year-old-Sri Lankanvice captain completed his fifth international double hundred, a feataccomplished by only three other players – Sir Don Bradman, Wally Hammondand Javed Miandad – in the history of Test cricket.

In a recent interview with CricInfo, Atapattu discussed various issues, fromhis disappointing start to his career to his growing reputation as a "bigscore" player.These are the excerpts of the interview.Q. How do you feel about the way things are going for you in internationalcricket at the moment?"The team is doing well and I am happy to be one of the 11 players who aredoing well am feeling great about the way things have gone for us in recenttimes."Q. How about being the vice captain of the side? How do you look at thisrole?"Many people are asking about it but personally, for me, being the deputy isnot a big deal. I know my responsibilities. Even if the duties are taken offfrom me I’ll be doing the same things with the bat or in the field. It’s nota big deal. I take it game by game, I try to do the little things I knowbest"Q. In recent times we have seen your appetite for big scores. From the eighthundreds you’ve got, you’ve converted five into double tons. Your commentsabout your desire to go for big scores?"In the longer version of the game I believe that you should go on once youhave made a start. That’s what I do. Never satisfied, always wanting to goon and improve. Also, there have been many instances where I have got outfor low scores. On many occasions I have got out below 10. So, when I get astart, I think you’ve got to make amends for your earlier failures and tryto go on."Q. You yourself admit that you’ve got out below 10 on many occasions. Infact in your Test career from the 84 innings you’ve played, you have beendismissed below 10 on 34 occasions. Does that mean that you are a shakystarter?"I am an opener and when you face the new ball bowlers fresh that canhappen. That’s the way I take it. But now you’ll tell me that’s not the casewith all the openers. Yes, each batsman is different. You see if you get outfor a good ball you can’t help it. It’s important to survive the initialburst and once you do it it’s a matter of going on and making a big one."Most of the batsmen get out quickly after getting the hundred. How hard doyou work to continue after passing the hundred?"I think the important thing is concentration. I concentrate very hard inthe middle even after passing the 100 mark. After going past the 100 mark, Ithink I am on zero and start to work from that point. After sometime I findanother hundred on the board. As I said earlier there have been too manyoccasions where I have got out for low scores, but when I have had theopportunity I have made the most of it."Q. You have scored four of those five double hundreds at home where it’sextremely hot and the conditions are really tough. How demanding it isphysically?"To be very honest with you I have not felt that uneasy. That’s basicallybecause I enjoy my stay in the middle. One of the other reasons I think whyI don’t get physically tired is due to fact that I collect most of my runsthrough singles and twos and more importantly I rotate the strike. So up tonow it’s not been that hard."Q. What do you reckon as your best double hundred?"The best was the one I got in Kandy against an awesome Pakistani attackwhich comprised of Wasim, Waqar, Razzaq and Mustaq Ahamed. I cherish thatinnings. We were two down in the series and I was hit byWasim early on. Itwas my best innings overall."Q. So many double hundreds, but not a single triple hundred?"Like to get one before ending the career. Any batsman would love to haveit. If I can get a triple hundred before ending the career that would be adream come true."Q. Well you had the chance to make a triple hundred against Bangladesh, butyou retried having made the 200?"Unfortunately most of us didn’t realise that. I was asked to retire there.As you say, there was the chance to get a 300, but didn’t realize howimportant it can be after a couple of years. When Bangladesh improve itwouldn’t look as bad as it looks now. We never thought about it and Idefinitely missed a chance there."Q. Do you regret it?"Yes. Now when I think about it I regret. The team management came out withthat idea to retire. They gave me the chance to make the 200 and then theysaid you better retire and give the others a chance and we’ll finish thisgame off. But that’s how it goes and people learn by their mistakes."Q. If we analyse your career, you’ve got a good average of 47 at home. Butaway from Sri Lanka it’s a paltry 29. Your comments?"Well if you analyse with most of the players that’ll be the case. Most ofthe batsmen will have a healthy average at home and a not so good one awayfrom home. But I admit that I have not been consistent outside the country.I am looking forward to improve."Once again some analyses show that you have prospered in the first innings,when you average over fifty, but struggled in the second innings, when youaverage only 17 or 18?"That’s something I realised very recently. In fact, it was one of theemployees of the cricket board who pointed that out. I gave that a seriousthought and I wonder how I didn’t realise that until someone else pointedthat out. If you ask me the reason, I think I relax a bit. And also there’sa psychological aspect I guess. If I fail in the first innings theconfidence will be down and I’ll then fail in the second as well. That’s anarea I badly want to improve on in the longer version of the game."Q. Let’s talk about your earlier days. I don’t think you would want to talkabout that too much. But anyway it was a disastrous start and how difficultwas it and what sort of things were going on in your mind at that stage?" Words merely can’t express what I felt and the pressure that I was under.It was a very difficult period. But in a way I am happy about that. I didn’tget the easy runs some of these guys are getting at the highest level. IfGod had given me them early on I don’t think I may not have worked has hardas I have on my game. I knew that it’s a matter of just one innings and Ihad to wait for seven long years for that one innings."Q. Do you feel that you were pushed too early onto the international scene?"I don’t think so. It can happen for a bowler, but I don’t think that itapplies for a batsmen. There are so many batsmen who have started very youngand done remarkably well. But it’s different for the bowlers."Q. Do you say that the hard times you had early on helped you to be a bettercricketer?"Yes. I realised how hard it is to make just one run at this level.Personally, for me, to get off the mark makes a huge difference. I don’tknow whether you all can see it from our side, but for me as soon as I getoff the mark things start happening. My feet start moving and I happen tofind the middle of the bat. I don’t know whether it’s purely psychologicalbut the truth of the matter is that. Once I get off the mark I feel reallycomfortable."Q. Any future goals?"Not really. What I want to do is just try and be in the side as long as Ican. As long as my body can meet the demands of international cricket I wantto represent the country."

ScorecardFile photo: After scoring 91 on a turning track, Ravindra Jadeja finished with 11 wickets in the match•Associated Press

This was Ravindra Jadeja’s match. After scoring 91 in the first innings to take Saurashtra to 307 on a turning track, he took six wickets to enforce a follow-on on Tripura. On the third morning he completed his second five-for of the match to help Saurashtra win by an innings and 118 runs. The win gives Saurashtra full seven points, and Jadeja a timely return to form and confidence at the start of India’s season. This was his third 10-wicket match haul in first-class cricket.Tripura began the day on 11 for 3, and resisted Saurashtra’s charge for what looked a certain innings win, but the other Jadeja – Dharmendrasinh – broke the back of their resistance. Once he got Maura Singh out at the team score of 56, the rest fell like a house of cards. Seven wickets fell for 30 runs, and the only contest now left was between the Jadejas: who would complete the five-for. Tripura’s ninth wicket fell to Dharmendrasinh, tying the two Jadejas at four wickets apiece. Ravindra, though, ended the proceedings with the return catch of Tushar Saha, his third such dismissal of the innings.
ScorecardThat Services would win, chasing 77 in the fourth innings, was almost a foregone conclusion at the start of the third day’s play. Their openers still began under pressure for on their staying till the end depended the extra point from the match. If Services had won by 10 wickets, they would have got seven points, otherwise just the six. Anshul Gupta and captain Soumik Chaterjee began cautiously, adding 59 in 24 overs, but Chaterjee fell to the Jharkhand quick Rahul Shukla. Thereafter Gupta and Ravi Chauhan completed the formalities to send Services to top of Group C for a couple minutes. Two minutes later Saurashtra completed their win, and went past them by one point.
ScorecardCenturies from Sachin Baby and Sanju Samson powered Kerala to a 155-run lead against Jammu & Kashmir in Srinagar. Kerala, who began at 158 for 2, were dealt an early blow on day three when Rohan Prem, the overnight batsman, was dismissed for 69. Baby and Samson, though, held firm, batting through the next 57 overs and adding 177 for the fourth wicket. Samson, on his captaincy debut, struck 101 with 16 fours before being dismissed by Ram Dayal. Baby, however, hung around with the lower middle order and made his way to 151. He hit 21 fours and one six during his 310-ball knock, but was removed in the penultimate over of the day, as Kerala ended with 485 for 8.
ScorecardFour Goa batsmen chipped in with fifties, as a strong performance from the team’s top and middle order secured a first-innings lead against Hyderabad in Povorim. Goa, who began at an overnight score of 47 for 1, powered to 349 for 5 thanks to handy knocks from Swapnil Asnodkar (53), Rituraj Singh (59), Sagun Kamat (81 not out) and Darshan Misal (67). Asnodkar and Rituraj laid the groundwork, sharing a 98-run stand for the second wicket. Hyderabad fought back with two quick scalps, but Kamat strung together two more big partnerships – 69 for the fourth wicket with captain Dheeraj Jadhav, and 120 for the fifth with Misal – to ensure Goa carried a lead of 24 going into the final day.

Warwickshire’s former captain, Michael Powell, has been awarded a benefit year for the 2008 season.Powell, 32, made his county debut in 1996 and was capped three years later. In 2001, he was appointed club captain and led his team to victory in the 2002 Benson & Hedges Cup at Lord’s.In his career to date, Powell has scored 7,022 first-class runs at 32.06, with 12 centuries including a best of 236 against Oxford University in 2001. “I would like to thank the club for this very humbling reward for my services to the Bears,” said Powell.”A benefit year is a wonderful opportunity for me and one that I am immensely grateful for. I would also like to thank all the Warwickshire members that have supported me throughout my career and have helped make this possible.”Warwickshire’s chief executive, Colin Povey, said: “Michael has been a fantastic and loyal servant to the Bears and we wish him all the best in his benefit season.”

Kevin Pietersen has found himself at the centre of a storm after comments made in an interview with the South African edition of GQ magazine led to the South African board (CSA) writing to the ICC and England board (ECB) demanding that action be taken.At the heart of the furore are comments made by Pietersen concerning events that led to him leaving South Africa and moving to England. He claimed that he was forced out of the game in South Africa because of racist policies against white players. There is a quota system where each first-class team in South Africa is expected to contain at least four non-white players.What is more surprising about the timing of CSA’s complaint is that Pietersen’s comments have been aired many times before, including in his autobiography Crossing The Boundary published in September.If the ICC decide there is a case to answer then he could be charged with bringing the game into disrepute, which covers inappropriate public comment. It carries penalties ranging from a ban of two to four Tests or four to eight one-day matches.It emerged yesterday that CSA demanded an ICC investigation, claiming that his comments amounted to accusations of racism against the country’s cricket system. CSA also asked the ECB to take action against Pietersen for his constant criticism of Graeme Smith, South Africa’s captain.The South African authorities are also thought to be livid at implications made by Pietersen over match-fixing. “At the end of the day (cheating) is wrong,” he was quoted as saying. “But I can see how it happens. Hansie copped a lot more than he should have. I think he took the brunt for the players. There are a lot of people who I think that have done stuff that people don’t know about and got away with it.”Pietersen’s comments about the appointment of Ashwell Prince as South Africa’s stand-in captain also rankled. “I just thought it was further evidence that things were going downhill … it’s got nothing to do with the colour of his skin. It’s just that better players are being left out for political reasons and until that system changes, South African sport will continue to go downhill.”I’ve got some mates who are now on the fringes of playing domestic cricket in South Africa who are better than three or four of those players in the South African side. I’ve got a very good mate who is actually a better player than me, who is now working for SA Breweries, because he can’t get into the side for political reasons and that’s wrong.”

Damien Martyn has been named captain of the Western Australia side for the forthcoming ING and Pura Cup matches against New South Wales at the WACA.Martyn, who has been in sparkling touch in the last two weeks, will be without Justin Langer, ruled out owing to injury, and Mike Hussey, who will make his Test debut against West Indies at the Gabba.Martyn’s men will face a stiff task against an in-form New South Wales in the day-night one-dayer on November 4th and again in a four-day Pura Cup match beginning two days later.ING Cup squad Chris Rogers, Marcus North (vice-capt), Scott Meuleman, Damien Martyn (capt), Adam Voges, Shaun Marsh, Luke Ronchi, Brett Dorey, Darren Wates, Brad Williams, Michael Clark and Peter Worthington.Pura Cup squad Chris Rogers, Marcus North (vice-capt), Murray Goodwin, Damien Martyn (capt), Shaun Marsh, Adam Voges, Ryan Campbell, Brett Dorey, Steve Magoffin, Brad Williams, Mathew Inness and Beau Casson.

Jonty Rhodes feels that lack of preparation cost South Africa their series against India. While maintaining that the inexperienced side would have gained tremendously from the tour, he admitted that England had a good chance of winning the forthcoming Test series.Speaking at The Country Club in Mumbai, Rhodes said that the selectors would do well to give the young players more chances. "Even in defeat they would have learnt something," Rhodes said. "They need to come to the subcontinent more prepared. One warm-up game is not enough. The same thing happened in Sri Lanka and they suffered."Having played under both Kepler Wessels and Hansie Cronje, Rhodes was candid in his assessment of Graeme Smith. "I think Smith has the passion, a cricketing brain and the commitment to do the job. But I think he is still very young. The pressures involved in captaincy are huge and not many captains these days survive for ten years. Smith could have probably been given a year or two more before being made captain."Ever since their return to international cricket South Africa haven’t lost a home Test series to any team apart from Australia. Rhodes, though, viewed England as a serious threat. "England are a very well-balanced team and in that aspect they are similar to South African sides of the past. We might not have had great individual talent but we gelled really well as a team. I think they [England] have underperformed over the years but Nasser Hussain and Duncan Fletcher turned things around. South Africa generally prepare pitches that are hard and bouncy but with Steve Harmison and the rest, England will be a big threat. South Africa will have to play really well to win that one."As expected, several questions centered around fielding, an aspect of the game that Rhodes termed as "the index of team spirit. Your performance on the field doesn’t go on the scoreboard at the end of the day, but it is crucial from a team point of view. I think if we enjoy the success of other people, we’ll all go a long way in life. Allan Donald may finish with ten overs for 40 rather than ten overs for 50 [if the fielders back him]. A good fielding day lifts everyone."Rhodes elaborated on the current method of team selection in South Africa and encouraged young cricketers to look at it as an opportunity rather than an obstacle. "It is very easy to blame the system," he said, "but if you’re prepared to work your way up, you will make it. If young white players get a negative attitude, they have themselves to blame."Today, all communities are getting the opportunity to show their skills on the cricket field. I wasn’t a particularly talented cricketer. But I had the right attitude, was prepared to work hard and saw things as opportunities and not obstacles. With that mindset you can overcome anything."

When Dave Richardson joined the ICC as general manager he wanted to be involved with the game on a much broader scale than he had done previously as wicketkeeper for South Africa. Now more than a year into his job, Richardson refuses to be caught offguard and – like his safe pair of hands – cautiously deals with thorny matters like greater use of technology in the game, umpiring errors, chucking and sledging. He presents his views on all those and more issues in this exclusive e-mail interview to Wisden CricInfo. Here are the excerpts:You have been with the ICC for more than a year now. At the outset you had said that unity among the member countries was the most pressing issue. Is that still a concern?
This is an issue recently echoed by Ehsan Mani in his first speech as ICC president, where he said: “Over the past year there have been issues in the game and decisions taken that have tested the unity of the ICC and its members. Over the coming months, one of the key roles for me will be to ensure that cricket is able to resolve these issues and move on from the disputes that have arisen. The ICC will continue to act fairly and impartially in addressing any issue.”It is often felt that the ICC is a body which is reluctant to take a tough stand on critical issues. What kind of problems is the ICC facing?
This is an outdated and inaccurate view of the role and remit of the ICC. Over recent years, the ICC has grown as an organisation and will continue to grow with the support of its members, acting as the driving force in international cricket. Over the course of my time at the ICC, the organisation has been faced with a number of cricketing challenges but through the recruitment of specialised and experienced staff, it is better equipped than ever to deal with these issues. The ICC has proved itself capable of tackling the often complex and difficult cricketing issues in an impartial and rigorous manner.In the Cricket Operations area alone we have introduced the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC umpires. This is the starting point for improving the standard of umpiring. Methods for the proper assessment and training of umpires have been introduced for the first time ever in world cricket. Other problem areas such as illegal deliveries, technology, safety and security have not been swept under the carpet but are being addressed. We are constantly reviewing policies and regulations and then putting in place measures to enforce these regulations.The recent verbal brawl between McGrath and Sarwan raised serious questions about how effective the ICC’s Code of Conduct actually is. What has the ICC done to ensure that the errant players are punished for their misdemeanour?
The Code of Conduct sets the expected standards of behaviour and has recently been strengthened to provide more powers for umpires and the ICC chief executive to lay charges after an incident has occurred. With the standards in place, the focus must now be on ensuring match officials apply the code where necessary.Why has the ICC opted against greater use of technology in the game?
Cricket is a game. Human error in the decision-making process of officials is part of all games. Why should cricket be any different? It is important to the fabric of cricket that the sport is umpired by humans, not robots, and the ICC has no interest in our umpires becoming glorified coat hangers. We will look at any technology on its merits but it will not be introduced at the expense of the umpire’s status as the key decision-maker in relation to the rules and regulations.The Champions Trophy was a successful experiment in terms of use of technology. Why wasn’t it continued?
The trial in Sri Lanka achieved exactly what we wanted it to: it gave us an insight into the use of certain technology under match conditions. What it did highlight was that there was no compelling case at this time to rush into introducing greater technology into the sport. Particularly as a number of practical problems emerged such as the consistency and reliability of some technology.Doesn’t technology take away from the authority of the umpire? Also, the ICC had recently claimed that more than 90% of decisions made by umpires are correct. Doesn’t that seem an exaggerated claim?
Technology alone does not make a mockery of umpires. In many cases it highlights just how difficult a job the umpires have and how well they perform this task. The figure of 90% is based on the analysis of all games we review and of all decisions umpires are required to make in a game.The referral of catches to the third umpire provides a good example of the dangers of rushing to introduce new technology. When it was brought in, people thought it would solve a particular problem. Instead it made it worse. The technology proved fallible and we’ve now moved away from this and given the power back to the on-field umpires. The lesson here is that we need to be cautious about technology. There are other steps that we are trialling to assist umpires such as pitch lines that should be closely examined before charging blindly down the `more technology’ path.Why can’t HawkEye be used as a tool to assist the umpires?
Hawkeye is a broadcaster’s tool designed and used to enhance television coverage and plays no role in the umpire’s work. It is a decision of the broadcasters if they want to use it. The use of this tool also gets back to the basic matter of principle – do you want human umpires or robots?At the ICC’s recent conclave in London, there was a proposal to introduce a third on-field umpire to spot no-balls. Why can’t the TV umpire be entrusted with the job?
This proposal was a side reference and has not been subject to any scrutiny. The point of raising it was to highlight that there are other, more human, alternatives that should be looked at as well as those proposed by people that think technology is the answer to every question.Prominent cricketers like Bob Simpson and Michael Holding have pointed out that chucking is prevalent in the game today. Why can’t the ICC take a firm stand on the issue. Is it afraid of legal action being taken by the individual boards or the accused player? Or does it think that charging prominent players who are the brand ambassadors of the game might result in a loss of revenue?
All of the above. The issue of illegal bowling actions is clearly a highly emotive one and no-one should lose sight of the fact that we are dealing with people when we deal with this issue. When I started at the ICC there was a three-stage process, it’s currently two-stage and there is a review underway to see if it can be more effective by becoming a single stage process.In the ideal world it wouldn’t be an issue at the international level because any concerns would be addressed before players reached this stage and there is work to be done in all countries to detect and address any problems well before a player makes it to the international level. As it stands, there are clearly defined steps in place to deal with this issue and umpires and referees are instructed to apply the laws of the game and ICC Playing Conditions evenly and without fear or favour.Moving forward we are working with the national boards to ensure that they are able to implement policies and strategies that effectively deal with this matter domestically as well as internationally.Some umpires have reportedly stated that the ICC has instructed them not to call players who have illegal bowling actions. Is there any truth to the statement?
I am unaware of any such instructions from the ICC or indeed the comments from these umpires about such ICC instructions and I would be pleased if you could give me some sense of where these comments have been made. As I have already said, the only instruction given to our umpires is to apply the rules fairly, without fear or favour and to the best of their ability.If a bowler has a congenital deformity in the bowling arm and his action is not in conformation with the laws of bowling, shouldn’t (a) it be called illegal or (b) the law be amended to accommodate these bowlers?
All international umpires are aware of the Laws of Cricket and the process for the review of bowlers reported with suspect bowling actions that supplements Law 24. The match officials are entrusted by the ICC to apply these provisions where appropriate. It is important to recognise that it is far harder for an on-field umpire to be sure that an action is suspect with the naked eye than it is with the benefit of a slow-motion replay. It is therefore unsurprising that recent incidents have tended to be reported after the close of play when umpires have had an opportunity to analyse match footage.The actions of bowlers with suspect actions need to be analysed on a case-by-case basis. If there is a physiological reason that explains the action then this needs to be taken into consideration.