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.

Kanpur will not host the third Test, scheduled from December 18-22, between India and Sri Lanka. The Tours, Programmes and Fixtures Committee of the Indian board will decide on an alternative venue on December 3 in Mumbai.”The Uttar Pradesh Cricket Association [UPCA] has expressed its inability to conduct it [the Test] at Kanpur as per the original schedule and the Tours Programmes and Fixtures would take a decision on the matter in Mumbai on December 3,” Ratnakar Shetty, the BCCI’s executive secretary-in-charge, told PTI.The UPCA said that they could not stage the Test because of the local municipal council’s refusal to hand over the ground. “It is not correct to say we have expressed our inability to host the match,” said Jyoti Bajpai, the UPCA secretary. “We have informed the Annual General Meeting that we have not been yet allotted the ground.” Usually, the UPCA takes charge of the Green Park Stadium 30 days before a match.

ScorecardAn enterprising 88 from Sourav Ganguly could not stop Tamil Nadu from inflicting a 222-run victory over Bengal on the final day at Kolkata, as Rajamani Jesuraj’s six-wicket haul stunned the home side. Jerusaj, who picked up five wickets in Bengal’s first innings, put in a fine spell today to make it 11 for the match. Resuming the day on 109 for 3, Bengal lost the wicket of Abhishek Jhunjhunwala (39) in the second over. From here on, it was only Ganguly and Deep Dasgupta (49), the wicketkeeper, who showed any resolve in their approach. Aashish Kapoor, the veteran offspinner, chipped in with 3 for 44. The four points gained from this comprehensive win put TN third in the points table, just behind Bengal. And they have successfully avoided relegation to the Plate division. Ganguly, with two fighting fifties and some key wickets, would have gained confidence as he travels to Pakistan to join the Indian team for the upcoming Test series beginning on January 13.
ScorecardFifties from Vinit Indulkar and Sushant Marathe highlighted Mumbai’s eight-wicket victory over hosts Gujarat and maintained their side’s dominance atop the Elite Group A points table going into the final round of matches. Mumbai began the final day by winding up the Gujarat innings for 220 in the morning session, as Ramesh Powar capped a fine bowling performance by picking up his sixth wicket – and 10th of the match. Set 214 to win, Mumbai were given a 50-run start by Marathe and Sahil Kukreja, who became the first of two wickets to fall en route to a convincing victory. Marathe departed for a good 64, but Indulkar continued on in authoritative fashion to take Mumbai home with more than 13 overs remaining. Amol Muzumdar partnered Indulkar in a 91-run stand with an unbeaten 42.
ScorecardSunil Joshi and Anil Kumble, Karnataka’s veteran bowlers, shared the spoils of a comprehensive final-day victory over Delhi at Bangalore. Karnataka, with their second win of the season, sit just behind Group A-leading Mumbai with 12 points. Thilak Naidu, the wicketkeeper, and Balachandra Akhil (47) extended their overnight stand for the sixth wicket to 59 before Joshi chipped in with a quick 26 to allow Sujith Somasunder to declare Karnataka’s innings on 280 for 8. Set 306 to win, Delhi were in trouble from the start, losing Shikhar Dhawan in the first over, caught by Kumble off the bowling of Vinay Kumar. A 49-run stand for the third wicket between Aakash Chopra and Mithun Manhas was the only positive session of play for Delhi, as Joshi and Kumble then combined to bag six wickets and dismiss Delhi for just 138. This dismal performance highlights a poor season by Delhi, who have plenty to improve before the next round of matches.
ScorecardUttar Pradesh gained its first win of the season with a ten-wicket victory over Hyderabad early in the final day’s play at Lucknow. UP gained 5 points and are now third in the Group B points table, behind Punjab and ahead of Hyderabad. Piyush Chawla, the young legspinner, was the star yesterday, taking his third five-wicket haul in as many games as Hyderabad were bowled out for 227. UP knocked off the required 29 in easy fashion.
ScorecardTen wickets fell in the final day but Andhra secured with a draw against Punjab at Visakhapatnam after Reetinder Singh Sodhi’s sporting declaration set the hosts 265 to win from a possible 77 overs. Punjab, 98 for 3 overnight, put up a healthy 185 for 7 in 48 overs with Reetinder Sodhi top-scoring with 45. Lakshman Kishore, Andhra’s offspinner, took 3 for 62. MSK Prasad and Venugopal Rao, who batted with promise in the first innings, scored 46 and 37 not-out respectively as Andhra adopted a cautious method throughout the final two sessions of play. Punjab’s two points from the match puts them second in the points table, with 11.
ScorecardA drawn match against Baroda ensured Services were relegated to the Plate Group without a single victory this season. Always behind the gun following Baroda’s mammoth first innings total, Services did well to put up a competitive total over the course of the last day-and-a-half. Their 388 was down to decent, if unattractive, performances from the middle and lower orders after Jasvir Singh fell for 67 early in the morning. Irfan Safi Pathan, the opening bowler, Rajesh Pawar, and Yusuf Pathan shared the bulk of the wickets to fall. Baroda then batted out the remaining 12 overs to maintain their position atop the points table with 15.
ScorecardA fine hundred from Abhijit Kale was enough to send Railways to the Plate Group as Maharashtra secured a draw on the final day’s play at the Karnail Singh Stadium. Kale, who began the day on 32, went on to record his 25th first-class hundred as Maharashtra successfully batted Railways out of the match. Given that the next highest score was 30, Kale’s contribution to his side was all the more a fine effort. Madan Yadav, the slow left-arm bowler, returned figures of 4 for 105. Set an imposing 328 from 56 overs, Railways were slow off the blocks and eventually ended on 110 for 5 after key strikes from Sairaj Bahutule and Rohit Jadhav rocked the top order.

Sachin Tendulkar has said that he doesn’t have any specific targets for the series but hopes to play as positively as possible and enjoy himself. Terming battles against Pakistan “special”, he felt that India needed to concentrate on their gameplan, rather than worry about individuals in the opposition camp.Tendulkar, who kicked off his fourth tour to Pakistan with a confident 74 in the warm-up game in Lahore, revealed that he would adopt the same approach that had served him well all these years and talked about the big challenges that India had to brace themselves for. “When I started off, I didn’t think I would make 35 hundreds,” he said while addressing a press conference three days prior to the first Test at Lahore. “It’s always been that way and I don’t have any specific targets for this series.”Looking ahead to playing at Karachi, the venue where he made his debut, he hoped that India could repeat their memorable performance in 2004. “We played at Karachi last time and it turned out to be a memorable match,” he added. “I am hoping for a repeat performance this time. There is always excitement when India plays Pakistan. It’s a very competitive atmosphere. But the real inspiration comes from wearing the India cap, and it doesn’t really matter who you are playing. As long as you’re playing for India, that is motivation enough.”Though he acknowledged the quality that Pakistan possessed in the bowling stakes, he refused to be drawn into personal battles when asked specifically about Shoaib Akhtar, who was instrumental in Pakistan trumping England recently. “He’s bowling well at the moment and looks in good form. But we’re not thinking about what they will do to us, we’re more interested in what we can do to them. They have a quality bowling line-up with other good bowlers too. It should be a tough battle.”

Asked whether the two teams were meeting too often, highlighted by three series in the last two years, Tendulkar spoke about the importance of finding the right balance. “Earlier people complained that we weren’t playing that often,” he continued, “now they are saying we are playing too often. We should strike a right balance so that there is no overdose and at the same time not deprive the public of India-Pakistan contests.”Tendulkar conceded that Pakistan are in prime form, after their excellent series win over England recently, and conceded India had their work cut out. “Pakistan has shown confidence and a right kind of attitude, so it would definitely be a tough series,” he said. “Pakistan have been playing well and have carried a good momentum. I think this series will be more competitive than in 2004.””To carry that 2004 experience would be important for us. But we don’t need to be over-confident,” he said. “When we came here last time we had really played well in Australia and followed that up by beating Pakistan. We want to do as well here this time.”International cricket is always competitive but, to be honest, the excitement of an India-Pakistan series does affect the players because there is so much hype in both countries. One feels it is a special series. But it is all about competitiveness, nothing more than that. We eventually go out and play cricket but it gets very hard.”

Saqlain Mushtaq, the former Pakistan offspinner, is set to play for Ireland in this year’s Cheltenham & Gloucester Trophy. Saqlain, 29, was confirmed as the first of two overseas cricketers that Ireland plan on signing in the new league format of the one-day game in the United Kingdom.Saqlain played 49 Tests and 169 one-day internationals for Pakistan, with 208 and 288 wickets respectively. The fastest bowler to reach 100 wickets in one-day cricket, Saqlain has been acknowledged as the first offspinner to master the , the delivery that spins away from the right-handed batsman even though it is delivered with an offspinner’s action. He also played for Surrey for eight seasons before a major knee surgery interrupted his run of success there.A highlight of Saqlain’s career was his ten-for against India at Chennai in 1998-99 when Pakistan claimed a 12-run win against their arch-rivals. He also claimed two hat-tricks in one-day cricket – both against Zimbabwe – and even hit a Test hundred against New Zealand at Christchuch in 2000/01.He has since fallen out of favour with Pakistan’s selectors, and in his last Test appearance in 2003/04 – against India, no less – he had the unflattering figures of 1 for 204.

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.

The ICC’s reply to Bernard Cameron’s letter requesting an official reply on why USA Cricket Association has again been recognised as the official body for US cricket was provided by Matthew Kennedy.Kennedy, the ICC’s Development Manager, said the approval was made on a strictly legalistic interpretation of the matter. According to him: “The USACA is the national representative body of the cricket clubs and associations of the USA, is one of 96 recognised members of the ICC, and the legal dispute as to who was in governing control of the USACA which is what led to the previous action of the ICC executive board in terms of (non)recognition of either of the disputing parties – is over, [so] there is therefore no logical or legal reason as to why the ICC should not resume full service relations with its member”.Kennedy’s statement could be disputed by many US cricketers, including Cameron’s Major League Cricket. The arguments between “disputing parties” within the USACA were seen by most as a tempest in a teapot, of little concern to any one but the disputants themselves except to the degree that it brought USACA’s activities for the past year to a virtual standstill. The real issue is the “dysfunctionality” of the USACA as openly proclaimed by Messrs Mani and Speed of ICC, and their denunciation of the USACA’s operations and management practices, not the USACA’s internecine issues which are recognisably trivial. Cameron’s request was founded on those premises, and Kennedy’s reply manages to avoid that point altogether.However, some reassurance is provided by the ICC’s stipulations on the re-recognition of USACA. Kennedy makes it clear that there is no free ride here: USACA has to meet specific requirements for it to retain its membership in ICC. “The 2006-07 Associates’ annual grant – due in April 2006 – [is to be] released in quarterly installments so that the situation can be closely monitored and the ICC’s position reviewed at any time”.Then, the ICC demands that ” the interim USACA board agree on a third-party to oversee the next election of the USACA board of directors and that the ruling of this third-party on any related matter be binding”. It also states that “elections for the USACA board of directors be held under an agreed constitution by no later than November 30, 2006” and that this must be “under an agreed constitution” – meaning that the current one must be revised and approved by the ICC since so many elements of the current constitution are disputed, equivocal and contradictory.The ICC goes on to say that the USACA must “appoint or re-confirm all USACA executive positions by December 31, 2006” under the “agreed constitutional mechanism” and adds a warning: “[the]ICC executive board reserves the right to revert to the previous position of withholding funds, and not recognising the USACA at ICC events/meetings, etc., if any of the above conditions are not met.”The ICC has done US cricketers a valuable service by letting them know exactly what it expects USACA to do. It is also clear that the ICC’s stipulations are by no means trivial; the USACA has to drastically change its modus operandi if it is to fulfill the ICC’s requirements. This time, all US cricketers will be watching.

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

Click here to send us your views

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.

ScorecardNamibia’s hopes of staying in the competition are hanging in the balance after the defending champions Ireland skittled them for just 95 at Clontarf.Trent Johnston destroyed Namibia’s line-up with a six-wicket haul in just his tenth first-class match. The Australian-born Johnston, who has been playing for Ireland for two years, took 6 for 23 in a mere 9.5 overs as Namibia continued to struggle with alien conditions.Kola Burger, the left-handed batsman, injected some beef into Namibia’s innings with a fizzing knock of 39. He finally fell to Johnston, too, who made mincemeat of the side.But Ireland’s batsmen didn’t have things all their own way: before rain washed out proceedings for the day around tea, they had lost three wickets as they limped to 78. Nevertheless, they will be confident of overhauling Namibia’s total on the third day and building a decent first-innings lead.