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XXXX Queensland Bulls fast bowler Michael Kasprowicz will throw his weight behind the unsung heroes of cricket in Queensland with the launch today of “Kaspa’s Crew”.Kasprowicz, who recently became the State’s all-time leading first class wicket-taker, will be the public face of the Queensland Cricket Volunteers’ Recognition program, which was officially launched today at Allan Border Field by Queensland Cricket Chairman, Damien Mullins SC.A member of the Australian One Day squad that toured India earlier this season, Kasprowicz said he was honoured to back an initiative that recognised the lifeblood of the game.”It’s been my experience that those people who are the heart and soul of any club do it largely because they enjoy being part of a team environment," he said.”Hopefully the launch of this program will allow us to bring all of our volunteers into their own special team and thank them personally for their efforts,” Kasprowicz said.Queensland has an estimated 8000 volunteers involved in the sport throughout the State, with their unpaid work at a grassroots level representing a major stake in the overall strength of the game.Cricket Australia’s latest strategic plan has identified a decline in volunteerism as a significant challenge to the game, a factor that prompted the initiation of a dedicated Volunteer Recognition Program.Mullins said the workload assumed by volunteers was admirable, with their efforts spread across 85 associations, including 350 clubs and 2200 teams, and affecting approximately 31,000 players.”Having an individual of Michael’s standing in the game will allow Queensland Cricket to provide a degree of acknowledgement and recognition of our volunteers as part of an on-going program,” he said.”We chose Michael to be the face of the program due to his outstanding contribution to cricket on and off the field. He is one of our most popular players due to his generosity of spirit and down-to-earth personality and is widely renowned in cricket circles as a fair and honest player.”Among the components of the program in its initial year will be a signed Christmas card from Kasprowicz to registered volunteers, certificates of appreciation and press advertising throughout Queensland at the end of the season listing every volunteer in their respective region or area, including a message of thanks from Kasprowicz..Mullins also announced that Queensland Cricket major support sponsors Australia Post would extend their corporate support to the program.Kasprowicz revealed at the launch that he had a personal stake in backing the program.”I didn’t have to go far to think of someone who defined the spirit of a volunteer,” he said.”I was fortunate enough when I was starting my senior club career at the University of Queensland to encounter someone who became a very good friend of mine, the late WEP Harris,” he said.”WEP was involved with Uni for nearly 50 years as either a player or an administrator, and he did just about everything there.””He was the first bloke at the ground to take off the covers, he cooked the burgers, looked after the players, collected the subs, and was usually the last bloke to leave after phoning the scores through to the paper.””Before he retired he was a dentist and I know that he used to make club training four nights a week when he was working without fail and then be there for the whole weekend sometimes.””There are people like WEP all over Australia so being involved in something where I can say thanks for their efforts is a pleasure and an honour,” he said.Queensland Cricket has compiled a database of volunteers that will comprise “Kaspa’s Crew”, which will be continually updated as new members are identified.Kasprowicz will be back in action on the playing field tomorrow when the Bulls take on the Southern Redbacks in an ING Cup day/nighter at the Gabba from 2.30pm.

Western Province pulled off a remarkable win in their opening Super 6 match.With the Eastern Province top order making merry despite being set a stifftarget, it looked like Ackerman’s declaration half an hour before lunch,which left the visitors a target of 290 in a minimum of 79 overs (3.6 to theover) would prove a failure. However, Willoughby stopped the rot with hisfirst hat-trick, and went on to take 4 wickets in 5 balls and 5 in 12 as aremarkable collapse saw EP slump from 188 for 2 in the 55th over to 199 allout in the 63rd. Willoughby finished with career best figures of 6 for 44.WP had scored freely before lunch, adding 139 in better than even time asKirsten and Trott both reached aggressive half centuries. The visitingattack was hampered by the absence of Hayward and Kruger.EP batted positively before and after lunch. The spinners Adams and Harriseach took an early wicket. However, Ackerman then turned to his seamers andthe bottom fell out of the EP innings.The win left WP top of the Super 6 log, now less than one full point aheadof Northerns.

The Orissa-Bengal East Zone under-14 Tournament match at theEngineering School Ground in Cuttack meandered to a tame draw on thethird and final day on Thursday. Bengal by virtue of the 157 run firstinnings lead earned 5 points while Orissa had to be content withthree.Bengal in their second innings got to face just 10 overs in which theyscored 22 runs for the loss of opener Arindam Ghosh (7). The otheropener Rohan Bannerjee (7) along with Avishek Bhowmick (6) wereunbeaten when stumps were drawn on the final day.Opener N Dash (45) along with NC Mohanty (5) gave a sedate start forthe Orissa first innings by adding 28 runs in 5.5 overs. Then Dashadded 38 runs with S Patnaik (18) for the second wicket in 8.3 overs.Resuming at 77 for 4 on the final day, Orissa lost three furtherwickets. Then Sambit Rout (32) and Bharat Prakash Samal (39) added 70runs for the eighth wicket to lend some respectability to the Orissatotal. But after their fall the Orissa innings folded up at the scoreof 205. S Pearuddin (5 for 46) was the most successful bowler forBengal.Earlier put into bat on the opening day, Bengal ran up a huge 362.Opener Arindam Ghosh top scored with 69. The Bengal middle order thenchipped in with a solid batting display. The chief contributors beingS Mukherjee (37), S Peeruddin (29), P Dutta (43), S Gond (33) andskipper Himadri Pal (44).

Wolves are one of the Premier League clubs interested in signing Flamengo striker Pedro, according to renowned journalist Guillem Balgue.

What’s the story?

Speaking on his Twitter page on Saturday, the Spanish journalist said: “I have been told about a new top Brazilian striker wanted by PL clubs. Pedro. Flamengo rejected $35m offer from Palmeiras which would have made him the most expensive exchange between South American teams ever.

“Flamengo doesn’t sell to rivals, but would sell to European clubs for around $20m. And there are clubs looking at him: Betis, Sevilla, Brighton, Southampton, Wolves, Palace…”

At 24, the Brazilian is catching the eye of other clubs, having scored 58 goals in 159 career appearances, having come through the youth ranks at Fluminese before joining Serie A side Fiorentina from whom the striker joined current employers Flamengo, initially on loan before making the move permanent last January.

With the Brazilian top-flight starting in January, Pedro has already scored three goals in seven league appearances this campaign, which has amounted to 394 minutes of football, a goal every 131.3 minutes.

Bruno Lage’s side have struggled in the final third this season, having scored just 31 goals in 30 Premier League matches, a tally they will certainly be looking to improve next season.

Wolves supporters will be buzzing

With the West Midlands outfit toothless in the final third on too many occasions this term, it’s no surprise that Fosun are monitoring a striker. It also suggests why supporters will be delighted to see them linked with a forward.

Raul Jimenez has blown hot and cold this campaign, with the Mexican forward netting six goals in 30 appearances so far this season. However, supporters will likely just be relieved to see the 30-year-old still playing after recovering from a horrific head injury sustained last season.

19-year-old Fabio Silva is yet to make a name for himself at Molineux whilst Hee-Chan Hwang started his first season in England brightly with four goals in his first six league appearances but has since found the back of the net just once in the following 16 league games since.

Wolves are still in the hunt for European football, with the Golden Boys sat in eighth place in the Premier League, two points behind sixth-placed West Ham United, although the Hammers do have a game in hand.

Therefore, if Lage’s side are to secure their place in continental competition next season, extra squad depth will certainly be required, particularly in the final third.

By signing Pedro, Wolves will be acquiring a striker who is still young with plenty of room for improvement whilst already scoring frequently at a decent level.

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Moreover, Transfermarkt value the 24-year-old at £10.8m, meaning that the Black Country club could find themselves on the right end of a bargain.

The Brazilian will largely be an unknown name to the Wolves faithful, but the idea of bringing in a striker will certainly appease the fanbase, with additions in attack over summer vital.

In other news: Lage may be heading for fatal Wolves error that could have dire consequences

	Danish Kaneria has landed in hot water after speaking out against his demotion in the central contracts © AFP

Danish Kaneria, the Pakistan legspinner, may land in trouble after criticising the Pakistan Cricket Board’s policy on central contracts and the board’s top officials have referred his case to the disciplinary committee.Nasim Ashraf, the PCB chairman, said the board has taken notice of Kaneria’s column on a website in which he questioned the central contracts policy after being demoted to Category C in the new list announced last month.”We have a clear Code of Conduct and if Kaneria is found guilty of violating it then he will face strict punishment,” Ashraf told the . Kaneria, who has played 51 Tests, wrote in his column that he was frustrated at being bracketed with players who have played fewer matches than him, like newcomer Fawad Alam.”I have played 51 Tests now and once I pass Abdul Qadir’s 236 Test wickets, hopefully this year, I will then only have the fast bowlers ahead of me – Waqar Younis, Imran Khan and Wasim Akram,” he wrote. “I just feel that achievement deserves a bit more respect. I am respected more when I play at Essex.”Ashraf said the board cannot overlook public criticism of its policies by players contracted by it. Kaneria’s case would be discussed by the disciplinary committee later this month.”We devised a transparent formula to evaluate the players,” he said. “The players were promoted, demoted, dropped or inducted (in the central contracts list) on the basis of that formula.”He did speak on the Shoaib Akhtar saga, making it clear that the fast bowler will only be able to win back his place for the home series against Australia if he proves his fitness in this month’s Pentangular Cup.”We don’t care about stars or their celebrity status. For us, the best player is one who is fit, in form and gives his best for the team,” Ashraf said. “As far as Shoaib is concerned, he should know the only way to get back to the team is by justifying his place and he can only do that by proving his form and fitness in the Pentangular Cup.”Ashraf rejected the impression that Shoaib’s refusal to sign a retainership contract would block his re-entry to the Pakistan team.”If he doesn’t want to take the retainer, it’s his decision. We won’t stop him from playing for Pakistan on that ground.”

Stuart Clark will return to the national set-up after missing the original World Cup squad © Getty Images

Stuart Clark will replace Brett Lee in Australia’s World Cup squad after Lee was ruled out with an ankle injury. Lee saw an orthopaedic surgeon today but the problem, which occurred during a training fall in Wellington last week, had not improved and his recovery is expected to take up to three months.”To get told that you can’t be a chance to play in the World Cup is really disappointing,” Lee told reporters. “I couldn’t undergo the exercises, there’s too much pain there….there was absolutely no chance of me playing in the World Cup.”The news is a serious blow for Australia’s World Cup hopes after the bowling attack struggled in New Zealand without Lee, losing the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy 3-0 and failing to defend totals of 336 and 346. “It is a great disappointment for Brett that he is unable to take part in the World Cup and is a significant blow for the planning and preparation in place for the tournament,” Andrew Hilditch, the chairman of selectors, said.”Stuart was extremely unlucky to miss out on initial selection and despite the unfortunate circumstances surrounding his inclusion we strongly believe that Stuart is primed to seize his opportunity.” Cricket Australia has sent a letter to the ICC asking permission to include Clark, who was overlooked for the original 15-man squad when Shaun Tait was chosen.”I have today advised Stuart that subject to ICC approval I would expect him to be on the plane to the West Indies on Wednesday,” Michael Brown, Cricket Australia’s general manager of cricket operations, said.Trefor James, the team doctor, said Lee would be unable to bowl for two to three months. “Brett has injured the ligaments in his left ankle and after further review by orthopaedic surgeon Kim Slater, Kim has advised me that the injury has not improved,” James said.Lee sent Clark a text message wishing him good luck for the tournament. “It’s really disappointing for Brett, because he’s a friend in the team and a friend outside of the team as well,” Clark said. “It’s hollow, but I’m still excited about going to the World Cup.”Australia’s first game of the World Cup is on March 14 against Scotland and the squad is also waiting on the fitness of Andrew Symonds. Symonds had surgery on his arm before the CB Series finals and hoped to make a mid-tournament entry.

India have lost Yuvraj Singh but regained Virender Sehwag for the first Test at Nagpur © AFP

Virender Sehwag has recovered from a shoulder injury and will play the first Test against England at Nagpur beginning on March 1. Harbhajan Singh has also been declared fit while a hamstring injury has ruled out Yuvraj Singh from the first Test.Sehwag averaged 73.50 in the recent Test series in Pakistan and hit 67 off 60 balls in the second ODI at Rawalpindi before his injury forced him to miss the last three matches.Harbhajan Singh sustained a finger injury before the first ODI at Peshawar and missed the entire series. He played the first two Tests at Lahore and Faisalabad but had a dismal time, going wicketless and conceding 355 runs.Yuvraj suffered the hamstring injury during a matchwinning 107 at Karachi that led India to a 4-1 series win. He had scored a hundred in the third Test at the same venue and was adjudged player of the one-day series after aggregating 344 runs at an average of 172.

Man-of-the-match in one game, and speaking to the media after a crushing loss the next, Mahendra Dhoni is experiencing it all in one-day cricket© Getty Images

On whether the poor form of Sourav Ganguly and Sachin Tendulkar put pressure on the middle order?
Not a question of pressure. Sehwag had been making runs at the top of the order, and there was not much time for the middle-order batsmen to do anything. This was the first chance for them.On when he thought the match was lost
Rana bowled very well, and by the end of 15 overs we had lost four wickets. It was difficult after that.On whether he felt added pressure playing in front of his home crowd
I felt pressure as long as I was away from the field. But once you’re in the middle, it doesn’t matter where you are.On whether he was disappointed by the shot he got out to
Yes, I was. I could have left it alone. I was well set.On why he came for the press conference instead of Sourav Ganguly
Sourav’s busy with the match referee…On whether he expected to do more in front of the home crowd
Look, international cricket isn’t that simple. It’s tough competition and their fast bowlers bowled really well.On the mood in the dressing room
The boys are not shattered. We have won two of the matches so far. They just played very well today and congratulations to them.On whether a strategy will be adopted to combat Rana
We will certainly look at it during the next team meeting. It also depends a lot on the pitches that we get in the coming games.On whether he believed that winning the toss was equivalent to winning the toss
Well, on flat wickets, if you score 300 or 350, you can put pressure on the other team. But just winning the toss doesn’t win you games.On whether poor batting also contribute to India’s loss, since the tail-enders batted without a trace of discomfort
Rana was generating some bounce from the pitch, and that’s what got most of the batsmen out. The runs were made mainly against the spinners and Rana was out of the attack by then.On whether having just a 15-minute break between innings made it hard
It was tough for the openers to bat again immediately because you need a 40-minute break after three and a half hours in the field.On whether he had called up his parents and asked for their blessings before the game
I got their blessing, and still I got out (smiles).

For much of the day, Justin Langer played second fiddle to the batsmen at the other end, but he came into his own later in the day. Especially impressive was the manner in which he handled Harbhajan Singh. Of the 68 runs that Harbhajan conceded, 47 came from the bat of Langer, most of them through sweeps – Langer attempted that stroke 19 times, and it fetched him 26 runs.

Langer v Indian bowlers
	Balls	Runs	Strike rate	In-control %
Zaheer	47	16	34.04	72.34
Nehra	44	24	54.54	84.09
Agarkar	25	27	108.00	68.00
Harbhajan	56	47	83.93	78.57

Harbhajan seldom looked threatening, but on a first-day pitch, the onus of taking wickets clearly lay on the three seamers. Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra and Ajit Agarkar bowled a few good deliveries, but it was largely a case of serving up far too many four-balls – the three seamers bowled 28 half-volleys, which were creamed away for 45 runs. Agarkar was the worst offender, bowling 15 of those.

The length bowled by the Indian seamers
	Balls	Runs
Half-volleys	28	45
Good length	143	39
Just short	98	50
Short	22	28

If Agarkar bowled plenty of tripe, he also came up with an extremely incisive second spell of seven overs – most of which he bowled to Ponting – in which he conceded just 19 runs, quite a contrast from his first spell of five overs for 40, including one over when he was smashed for three fours by Ponting. During his second spell Agarkar beat the bat seven times, and achieved a not-in-control percentage of almost 29 – that’s nearly three times in ten deliveries. The Australians survived that spell, though, and are now in a position to force the issue on the second day.

Agarkar v Ponting in the second spell
Balls	Runs	Beat the bat	In-control %
40	18	6	75%

Schools cricket has resumed in the province after the Christmas break. In their first round of matches Hillcrest College defeated Mutare Boys High at all age group levels. Although Boys High were well beaten, there is plenty of evidence that cricket is being played and enjoyed by pupils of this former colonial-era cricket powerhouse. Zimbabwe Cricket Union coaches have targeted the school for development. Unfortunately the old cricket fields are overgrown so all games are played away and practices are conducted at Mutare Sports Club.Last Saturday Hillcrest had a tougher test against Harare’s Eaglesvale High School with victories only for the Firsts, Under-15s and Under-14s. The first team also narrowly defeated Casuals Cricket Club by 7 runs in a 35-over local league match on Sunday. Managing only 127 all out (Mike Robinson 31; Jon Brent 2/17, Gary Knoll 3/21) the schoolboys restricted the old men to 120 in reply. Keegan Taylor took three for 24, Tina Mawoyo two for 7 and Andre Soma two for 12 – including former national player Kevin Walton whose splattered stumps on 18 bore testimony to a losing battle with Father Time. Vince Lewis (24) and Brent (33) took the game closer than expected, but the veterans ran out deserved losers after an 11th-wicket capitulation from captain Billy Taylor.Tina Mawoyo had a successful tour as captain of the Zimbabwe Under-16 team to East London in mid December last year. His side reached the semi-finals of the South African inter-provincial tournament. They started with an eight-wicket win over NorthWest and followed up with seven-wicket wins against Northern Province and Boland. A 46-run win over South African Country Districts projected them into the semi-finals where they lost a nail-biter to Western Province by 9 runs. Tina scored 35 against Northerns and 49 against Boland.Before the tour got under way the Under-16s had a warm-up game against the Zimbabwe Under-19s (prior to their tour to New Zealand for the World Under-19 tournament). To the embarrassment of all, the juniors thrashed the seniors by 76 runs. This is the side that chose not to select Manicaland seamer Justin Lewis – reportedly manager Steve Rhodes’s first choice. To make matters worse they called him up as a late inclusion – got him to pack and drive to Harare – only to send him home from the airport after further `consideration’. The agenda-driven policies of Zimbabwe cricket will continue to throw up casualties like Lewis so long as non-cricket priorities are used for team selections.Manicaland cricket has found a valuable new sponsor in Mr. Exhaust/Mr. Tyre whose Mutare Manager Shaun Buckley has put up half the cost of the newly acquired Z$1 million (U.S.$6240) pitch covers for Mutare Sports Club. An ex-seventies first-team player at Mutare Boys High himself, he recently emigrated back to his old home town from South Africa.More worrying is the news that former Manicaland player Dave `Gonzo’ Timms has been sending e-mails to friends in Nyazura requesting information on farm sales as he is considering a return from America.This Sunday sees a top-of-the-table clash between Manicaland and joint leaders Takashinga at Mutare Sports Club. Places in the side will be hard to come by as Test stars Flower, Campbell and Whittall are all playing.