Jayanda Dharmadasa, Sri Lanka Cricket’s chairman, has been strongly condemned by the Sri Lanka Working Journalists Association (SLWJA) for using abusive language towards the Editor of the Lakbima newspaper during a recent press conference.Dharmadasa grew frustrated at Ranjan Paranavithana’s line of questioning during a media briefing designed to outline details relating to the 2011 World Cup bid and the ongoing affairs of the current interim committee. Dharmadasa referred to Paranavithana as a “drifting madman”.The SLWJA statement, which demands a full public apology, said: “Journalists have the right to question at all times and this has to be understood by the convenors. Persons who are not capable of facing questions from the press should not accept these high-ranking positions.”

The International Cricket Council has written to the Pakistan board expressing concerns over the facilities at Peshawar’s Arbab Niaz Stadium.Abbas Zaidi, the PCB director board operations, said that the ICC was unhappy with the fracas that occurred during the first ODI between Pakistan and India earlier this year. “Actually, it was Chris Broad [ICC match referee from England] who was dismayed at the facilities and arrangements provided for that limited overs game in Peshawar,” Zaidi told , a Karachi-based daily. “The referee had expressed his unhappiness at the lack of security arrangements and related facilities for the teams and the officials after a large number of spectators managed to barge into the ground. But despite the unfortunate fiasco, the match was played in good spirit with no untoward incident taking place.”Zaidi reiterated though that the ICC had not prohibited Peshawar from staging international fictures. “Peshawar remains one of our venues for international matches in the future. But we have asked the Peshawar administration to rectify the situation before we review the centre for staging international matches.”We are keen to take administrative charge of the Peshawar centre from a cricketing point of view. The PCB had already sought control of stadiums at Faisalabad and Rawalpindi, which like Peshawar, are under the control of local administration.”

While few in the international community believe that Zimbabwe will be in a state to resume playing Test cricket when their self-imposed one-year suspension ends in January, until now the Zimbabwe board has bullishly maintained that they will be back.But in an interview with the local Independent newspaper, Ozias Bvute, Zimbabwe Cricket’s controversial managing director, gave the first indications that January might be too soon.”We have a road map of intensive tours for both the senior and Zimbabwe A teams to gain exposure and experience,” he told the paper. “We also have five standing squads formed on the basis of strength versus strength that will be playing against each other locally in between tours. Add to that all the activity in the 10 provinces, the school games and tertiary institutions programme we have initiated and you will see that we have the basis for continued growth and we will continue to re-evaluate ourselves to see if we are ready to resume Test cricket.”We are under no illusion about our quality and capability hence the decision to suspend Test commitments,” he continued. “Quality … we have what it takes. Experience … that is what we are looking for now in all these matches we are playing. It will not come easy but it has to come through performance and we appreciate that in the immediate future results may not come our way.”Critics are quick to point out that Zimbabwe’s cause is hardly helped by the fact that last season the Logan Cup, the country’s first-class competition, was shelved by the board. They also note that the provincial reorganisation has left the domestic set-up in chaos and claim it was only undertaken to ensure that the ruling board could not be toppled.Bvute, unsurprisingly, looked to shift the blame for the side’s form which has seen them lose their last 15 ODIs against Full Member countries. “We are mandated to run the game on behalf of the nation,” he explained. “However, the issue of poor Zimbabwe performances should be seen in context. When we are saddled with a situation of a narrow selection base that does not allow for competitive selection for national assignments should we be held responsible for the actions of previous administrators who failed to ensure continued throughput because they ran the sport along elitist lines as a preserve of the few?”Although Bvute was quick to blame previous administrators, that rather overlooks the fact that Peter Chingoka, the ZC chairman, has been in office for more than a decade. It is during his tenure that the mass exodus of players has taken place and that the fortunes of the national side have gone into freefall.Bvute ended on an optimistic note, insisting: “Since taking over we are redressing the imbalance and are up to the challenge of ensuring that the future is bright.”Zimbabwe take on Bangladesh in five ODIs over the next ten days and much will depend on their performances in those as, aside from the preliminary round of the Champions Trophy, they have no more matches scheduled until December. If they can acquit themselves well against Bangladesh then perhaps Bvute’s assertion that the future is bright might seem less hollow.

Ashok Malhotra, the former Indian selector, has reacted to John Wright’s criticism of India’s selection policy by saying that he was a “spineless character”.In his book, , Wright had said, “The first six or seven selections were straightforward but when it got down to the marginal selections – those last three or four spots [which] determined the balance of our team and your ability to develop new players – the zonal factor kicked in and things would get interesting.”Malhotra said that Wright did not have his own opinion and would often tow the selectors’ line. “In the end we had to remind him that there were only 14 players and he had to suggest names,” Malhotra was quoted as saying by UNI . “Where do you think so many young players came from if the selectors were not doing their work? Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh and their lot came in because of the selectors. He [Wright] knew 20 players but we knew 290 and so there would be a difference.””I am really sorry to say that these foreign coaches come to India to earn million dollars and go back to write books criticising the country. When they are here they tow the line, and only when they go back they find so many faults.”Pranab Roy, another former selector, said that if this was the situation then more than one player would have played from Bengal. “However, I would not like to comment anything regarding this matter further without reading the book.”

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out – England
How they were out – Pakistan

Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif lit up a gloomy day at Lord’s with twooutstanding spells of pace bowling to set up Pakistan for a seven-wicketwin. Younis Khan, Mohammad Yousuf and latterly Inzamam-ul-Haq made lightof late afternoon conditions that grew darker by the moment to easePakistan across the line with 20 balls to spare.If the weathermen were to have been believed there was very little chanceof a full match being played, so dire was the forecast but in England suchthings have to be taken with a pinch of salt. Although the heady days ofsummer seemed a lifetime ago the rain that did arrive only reduced thecontest to 40 overs-a-side. The light during Pakistan’s chase would nothave been fit for a Test – or even first-class match – but one-day cricketis about getting results for the crowd.It would have been harsh on Pakistan if the weather had denied them for asecond time – after they’d been on top at Cardiff – as they again showedhow dangerous they can be as a one-day side. Shoaib and Asif combined totake figures of 6 for 38 from their 16 overs and blew the England toporder away with pace and swing. Shoaib returned to mop up the tail andearn himself a four-wicket haul. The key for Pakistan is how to keep himfit through the Champions Trophy and World Cup.Pakistan’s target required them to go at just over four-an-over, and meant they could negotiate an impressive new-ball spell from Jon Lewis, who took this chance to show the England selectors that he is worth an extendedrun in the team. He removed Mohammad Hafeez and Shoaib Malik with classicalseam bowling, nagging away on off stump, and could have had a third if ithadn’t been for a tight no-ball call by Billy Doctrove when Younis edgedto Chris Read on 15.Lewis bowled his eight overs off the reel, but the problem for AndrewStrauss was that the pressure wasn’t maintained at the other end. DarrenGough bowled too short while Stuart Broad, who’d never sent down a ball atLord’s, struggled to adjust to the slope which has affected many seniorbowlers too.Younis and Yousuf knew that once they negotiated the frontline seamersthere would be easier pickings against the supporting cast. The pairmilked Paul Collingwood and launched into plenty of shortofferings from Rikki Clarke. Desperate to keep seam operating, Strausstried Ian Bell but by now the batsmen were comfortable.Younis reached his fifty off 78 balls but gave the innings away when heclipped Clarke to Kevin Pietersen at deep square-leg. However, the jobwas almost complete and it was left to Yousuf and Inzamam to add thefinishing touches with some thumping strokeplay confirming, without doubt,where the balance of power lies.

What England would give for such consummate one-day batting. Admittedlyconditions were very bowler-friendly first-up, and Pakistan’s attack is ahandful in the sunshine, but the top order found Shoaib and Asif almostunplayable. Even during their 5-0 hammering againstSri Lanka, England’s batting wasn’t the major concern (the bowlerscouldn’t even defend 300-plus) but in this series the main men have yet toeven look like firing.Shoaib started the procession when Strauss fell to the last delivery ofthe first over, before rain forced the players off for nearly an hour. Onresumption life got tougher. Marcus Trescothick tried coming down thepitch, to the displeasure of Asif, who gave him a send-off when he edgedto second slip. Ian Bell was forced back by a series of rapid bouncersfrom Shoaib, then caught prodding at deliveries pitched up until he edgedto first slip.Pietersen tried to hit his way out of the mini-slump he is suffering, but anungainly pull against his nemesis, Asif, was well caught by Rana Navedrunning in from third man. Again, Asif – who’d claimed Pietersen for thefourth time in five innings – couldn’t resist a chirp at his victim.Paul Collingwood and Jamie Dalrymple tried to rebuild, but eachpartnership was nipped in the bud as Shahid Afridi and Abdul Razzaqchipped in with the ball.The major boost to England’s faltering progress came from Clarke and Readwho added 53 off 57 balls. They mixed sharp running with some audaciousshots; Clarke swept Naved to fine leg while Read hooked Shoaib for six.Clarke reached a career-best ODI score before he was cleaned up by Shoaiband England couldn’t even bat out the reduced number of overs. Theirmiserable one-day run continues and it will take a monumental effort toturn this series around against a Pakistan team who are starting to hittheir straps.

England’s injured spinner, Ashley Giles, is confident that he will be ready to take on Australia in the first Test at Brisbane next month, as he continues his rehabilitation from hip surgery.Giles is a non-playing member of England’s Champions Trophy squad, having not played a competitive game since the tour of Pakistan last winter. But he has been working hard in the nets at England’s base in Delhi, bowling up to 12 overs at a time and concentrating on his fitness.”I am here to finish off the end of my rehab, to bowl as much as I can and to make sure I am sharp when I arrive in Australia,” said Giles, 33, who was a valuable member of England’s Ashes-winning team in 2005. He took 10 wickets in the series, including all of Australia’s top eight, and scored valuable runs at crucial moments, particularly at Trent Bridge and The Oval.Giles has not been greatly missed this summer, however, with the emergence of Monty Panesar suggesting that England have found a multi-dimensional spinner capable of attack and defence in equal measure. But Giles is still sure he is worth his place in the side, and is convinced he can step straight back into the fray in Australia.”If I am happy with how I am bowling, even in net practice, I am willing to take on a Test match every time,” he told the BBC. “I could play any number of first-class games, feel like I’m bowling rubbish and not be confident. But if the ball is coming out well and I feel in good rhythm, that will be the sign to me.”As for the challenge posed by Panesar’s performances, Giles was phlegmatic. “He’s the guy who has done well, he’s in possession and it’s up to me to try to win that place back. If I don’t, I support. We showed last summer we play for each other and as a team. There can’t afford to be any divisions in our side.”

The BCCI put on a show to match (and in some ways outdo) the ICC awards last night, when they handed out the CK Nayudu awards for lifetime achievement in Indian cricketand felicitated former chiefs of the board and captains of the Test team.Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Virender Sehwag were the glamour boys,but it was an evening where the achievements of several greats, the spinquartet in particular, were fondly remembered.A red carpet stretching from the Vinoo Mankad Gate well inside theWankhede Stadium led to an impressive podium set up in front of the SachinTendulkar stand, and on it Ravi Shastri, a former Indian captain himself,acted as the master of ceremonies reading out a roll call of names thatwould impress any cricket fans. And Shastri, unlike some of the Bollywoodbeauties who chattered on and on during the ICC awards, did notmispronounce any cricketers’ names. This was a function for thecricketers, by the cricketers, crisp and to the point, and in that sensefar more enjoyable than the one the ICC had put up at a considerably greater expense.The CK Nayudu Awards for Lifetime achievement were conferred by the famousspin quartet of Bishan Bedi, Bhagwat Chandrashekar, Erapalli Prasanna andS Venkataraghavan as well as Nawab Ali Khan ‘Tiger’ Pataudi and Chandu Borde, former captains of India, and BB Nimbalkar, whose record score of 443 is stillthe highest by an Indian in first-class cricket. The Nayudu Award comeswith a citation and Rs 5,00,000 in cash, an increase from the Rs 2,00,000the previous awardees used to received.The BCCI also used the day to formally inaugurate their headquarters, abuilding housed in the Wankhede Stadium that has been constructed inrecord time. Interestingly, the presence of Mohammad Azharuddin – which initially raised eyebrows among the ICC – did not cause a negative stir. Instead, he was one of the star attractions among the media and the officials of the cricket board.Three former captains – Polly Umrigar, who is ailing, Sourav Ganguly, whois playing in the Duleep Trophy, and Kapil Dev – were not present. Amongformer board presidents BN Dutt, Jagmohan Dalmiya – no real surprise there- and AC Muthiah, did not turn up. That apart, the function was anunqualified success and, just in case you thought Bollywood was notrepresented, Saif Ali Khan, the son of Tiger Pataudi, was very much aroundwith his two children in tow, as was Sangeeta Bijlani, wife of Azharuddin.And they certainly beat anyone the ICC could throw up – barring PreityZinta, who endorses Hyundai, the sponsors of the ICC awards – in starvalue.List of CK Nayudu awardees: BB Nimbalkar, MAK Pataudi, Chandu Borde,Bishan Bedi, Bhagwat Chandrashekar, Erapalli Prasanna, S Venkataraghavan.Past presidents felicitated: PM Rungta, NKP Salve, BN Dutt (absent), ISBindra, Raj Singh Dungarpur, AC Muthiah, Jagmohan Dalmiya (both absent),Ranbir Singh Mahendra.Past captains felicitated: Nari Contractor, MAK Pataudi, Chandu Borde,Polly Umrigar, Ajit Wadekar, S Venkataraghavan, Bishan Bedi, GR Visvanath,Sunil Gavaskar, Kapil Dev, Dilip Vengsarkar, Ravi Shastri, KrishnamachariSrikkanth, Mohammad Azharuddin, Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, RahulDravid, Virender Sehwag.

Australia 9 for 602 dec and 1 for 202 dec beat England 157 and 370 (Collingwood 96, Pietersen 92) by 277 runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball commentary
How they were out – England

Australia needed just 19 overs on the final morning at Brisbane to wrap up the first Test by the whopping margin of 277 runs, as England’s final five wickets folded for the addition of 77. Their slim chances of saving the game effectively ended after four balls when Kevin Pietersen flicked Brett Lee to Damien Martyn at short midwicket. He failed to add to his overnight 92.Resuming on 293 for 7, England’s hopes depended largely on some conflicting weather forecasts, but the day dawned bright and heroics rather than hail were needed. Lee took the new ball after the first delivery, and three balls later Pietersen was on his way.Geraint Jones and Ashley Giles gave the vocal Barmy Army – sitting together for the first time in the match and relishing the freedom – some cheer with a few spirited blows, but Jones’s breezy 33 ended when one from Glenn McGrath kept low from a good length and shattered his stumps via an inside edge.Giles continued the resistance in partnership with Matthew Hoggard and peppered the off-side boundary with some effective cuts, but he too fell on the stroke of drinks, as Stuart Clark cramped him for room and Shane Warne at first slip took a comfortable catch from a thin deflection. The same combination dealt with Hoggard six overs later, and the end came swiftly when Harmison hooked Clark to McGrath at fine leg,Australia’s two injury worries – Ricky Ponting and McGrath – both took the field, but McGrath needed injections in his sore heel while Ponting’s back was clearly still an issue as he stood stiffly at mid-off rather than his more customary slip.

Uttar Pradesh
Any premiership coach will tell you the season after winning the championship is the toughest. Uttar Pradesh should keep that in mind, especially because their success was built around natural talent and not systems, unorthodox methods and not planning. Last season turned into a fairytale where they surprised everybody and probably themselves too. Mohammad Kaif, their captain for the latter half of the season, conjured up innovative ways to stun team after team, and led them to their first Ranji Trophy title. Many teams will anticipate their out-of-the-box strategies and moreover, the lead cast from 2005-06 – Kaif and Suresh Raina currently in South Africa – will miss at least the start of the season.UP will once again depend on youth, despite having the grand old trinity of Ashish Winston Zaidi, Gyanendra Pandey, and Rizwan Shamshad. Their bowling looks stronger than last year with Rudra Pratap Singh adding variety to a line-up that includes Shalabh Srivastava, Praveen Kumar, and Piyush Chawla. Kumar’s ability to play cameos anywhere in the order – as he did last season – will continue to be a bonus.The hostel system – a unique method of nurturing school kids – continues to churn out a major chunk of their talent and if UP can add a modicum of method to their resources, they will be the team to beat at the business end of the season.What they did last season
From having four points after four matches and facing relegation, UP produced a spectacular turnaround to beat Hyderabad, Andhra, and Mumbai to reach the final. They continued their surprise-tactics in the title clash as well and opened the batting with Kumar, a strategy that proved crucial to the final outcome. Kumar responded with an upper-cut off his first ball and scored 48 off 55 balls, an innings which demoralised Bengal’s bowlers. They claimed the trophy on the basis of their first-innings lead. Raina, with 620 runs at 68.88 was third on the overall run-scorers’ list; Kumar, with 41 wickets at 23.97, was second in the charts and he also scored 368 runs. The duo, along with Chawla, was among three of the top performers of the Ranji trophy last season.Men to watch
RP Singh will have the most at stake. He’s the closest to national selection as far as the World Cup goes and a smashing start to the season could pave a way for his comeback. India will not be playing home Tests before the end of the Ranji season and that also gives Chawla another complete season to develop his skills and prove that he is indeed India’s next quality spinner. Another promising young batsman is left-hand opener and former U-19 captain, Ravikant Shukla.

Baroda
Baroda, never one of the fancied teams from West Zone, have slowly but steadily built a team that must be taken seriously at all levels. Yet, as is so often the case, all the good work has been undone by forces beyond the control of the team management and the Baroda Cricket Association. Irfan Pathan, one of Baroda’s key players, is unavailable to them because of India duties, and Zaheer Khan, who has been a stand-out performer at the domestic level, has moved to Mumbai.Instead of moaning about what might have been, Dashrat Pardeshi, the former Baroda left-arm spinner and currently chairman of the selection committee, is looking at kick-starting the rebuilding process, and using this as an opportunity to strengthen other areas of his team. “If you go into the past Zaheer [Khan] was our main strike weapon, along with Rakesh Patel,” he told . “Our bowling strength in the last five years has depended on medium-pacers, and they have proved their worth. Now that this is weakened we are strengthening the batting and spinning departments.”Pardeshi went on to make a critical point. “Selection on potential and future prospects is fine at the Under-19 level. But at this level you have to take into account more than that,” he explained. “Now that the money factor comes into it as well – the players are paid well for each Ranji match, you have to take into account performances in local tournaments, past Ranji matches and other important matches, not just potential.” With this in mind Baroda are looking to pack their team with batsmen and allrounders.What they did last season
Having topped their group in the league phase of the Ranji Trophy with 19 points, Baroda went into their semifinal against Bengal, at Kolkata, with high hopes. But their batsmen failed in the first innings, with only a century from Kiran Powar pushing the score up to 241. Bengal responded with a mammoth 619 – Subhomoy Das, Deep Dasgupta and Lakshmi Rattan Shukla all scoring hundreds, ending the match as a contest. Baroda’s batting once again let them down in the second innings, and when the match ended they were on 252 for 8 and lucky not to have been beaten outright.Men to watch
With their team weakened Baroda have looked to induct players from the Under-22 level. These include Ketan Panchal and Pinal Shah, the wicketkeeper, who has already played for India U-19. Broadly, Baroda have gone in for a flavour of youth, but their core still remains the veterans – Jacob Martin and Connor Williams, the top-order batsmen, and the likes of Ajit Bhoite. With Ashok Mankad, that wily old fox, as coach, you can expect that no team will take Baroda lightly and get away with it.

Mumbai
Mumbai have won the Ranji Trophy so many times more than anyone else that it is difficult not to peg them as one of the favourites. Amol Muzumdar, a veteran of 13 domestic seasons, has been chosen to lead this season, in place of Nilesh Kulkarni, the left-arm spinner, who will focus on his bowling.Mumbai have a new coach as well. Pravin Amre is well aware of the modern game and its demands, while being firmly rooted in the old style of Mumbai cricket. In recent years there has been talk of a decline in the lofty standards of Mumbai batsmanship – built on the premise that you put an extremely high premium on your wicket. It is this attitude, the mentality, that Amre is aiming to re-instill in this team. “See any team at the start of the season begins with an aim of winning the Ranji Trophy. It’s no different with us,” Amre told Cricinfo. “What makes me really positive is the fact that the selectors, the captain and the coach are all working in one direction. While we’re looking at developing youngsters and promoting them we’re also taking into account the important role the seniors play.” When asked what the primary focus would be, the coach said, “The batting department has to click. That’s crucial. We need to focus a lot on skill training, and that’s what I’ll be doing.”The one thing that has held Mumbai in good stead in the recent past, however, is the manner in which the team has fought back in a crisis. The lower order – especially the likes of Ramesh Powar, Sairaj Bahutule (now with Maharashtra) and Vinayak Samant have chipped in with vital runs when the top order has stumbled. The challenge for the team, though, is in the medium-pace department. With seniors Ajit Agarkar and Zaheer Khan away on national duty, and Avishkar Salvi not in the squad for the first two matches, it provides an opportunity for someone like Kshemal Waingankar, who will be making his Ranji debut, a chance to prove himself.What they did last season
When Mumbai topped their group in the league phase with 16 points and set themselves up for a home semi-final at the Wankhede Stadium against UP, there was widespread hope that an outright win would pitchfork them into the final. There was an outright win alright, but it was for UP, by five wickets, as Mumbai’s batsmen failed to fire in either innings. Once the home of Indian batsmanship, Mumbai did not have anyone in the top six who had represented India. Knocked out in the semi-final, they were forced to lick their wounds, only taking consolation from the fact that they had lost to the eventual champions.Men to watch
There was a time when Mumbai was bursting with talent ready to force its way into the Indian team. At the moment, though, there’s really only one man on the fringe, and that’s Rohit Sharma, the middle-order batsman. For over a year now he has caught the eye with his stylish stroke play, but when he had the chance to make it count – in the Challenger Series – he could not make the most of it, coming up with two cameos but no innings of substance. Still, it is he that opposition teams will worry about, apart of course from the ever-prolific Muzumdar, despite no longer being the scary force he once was.

Some supporters heading to the Caribbean for next year’s World Cup have reacted angrily to what they claim is an overt attempt to rip off tourists with the introduction of special visa requirements for the period January to May.While the nationals of some countries taking part will be exempt – the UK, Canada, Ireland, South Africa and Netherlands for example – those traveling to the tournament from others places – such as Australia, New Zealand, India and Pakistan – will need to apply for the special Caricom visa which will cost US$100.Officially, the idea behind the visa is to enable local border controls to be waived during the event and also to try to ensure that security is maintained at a high level.Officials stated that visa application centres would be set up in London, Toronto , New York, Miami, New Delhi and Sydney. In addition, those who need visas and who were already in CARICOM states may apply directly to the special visa sites locally. They added that it was hoped to process all applications within three weeks.However, critics are quick to point out that the move adds to already vastly inflated prices in the region as businesses look to cash-in on the seven-week tournament. In Australia, fans have lambasted what they called a cash grab. Tour operators, whose clients have paid thousands of dollars each to go to the Caribbean, are said to have been inundated with calls from angry customers.