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Roddy Smith, the chief executive of Cricket Scotland, has expressed his disappointment at the fact there is likely to be no television coverage of this summer’s ODI fixture between Scotland and England.Smith, who has been working with the ECB in an attempt to secure a TV deal for what he describes as the “biggest match” in his organisation’s history, at the Citylets Grange in Edinburgh on August 18, is now almost resigned to the prospect of the game being ignored by broadcasters, in much the same fashion as Scotland’s newly-completed rugby tour of Argentina.”Sky had first refusal, but they have a lot of other cricket commitments in August, so have decided not to pursue their interest in the game, whilst the BBC are dedicating so many resources to their coverage of the Olympic Games [in Beijing] that they are not able to fit us into their schedules,” said Smith, who further revealed that the cameras will be absent from his country’s meeting with New Zealand in Aberdeen next month.”We are still talking to [satellite company] Setanta, but the SPL will have started again by the time the England team come up here, and the chances in that direction are receding. It is disappointing, because there is obviously an awful lot of interest from the public on both sides of the Border over the Scotland v England contest, and, as matters stand, the only people who will see the game are the [6000] spectators who come to the Grange on the day. We appreciate, though, that the BBC have a massive commitment to the Olympics, and they will be covering all the action on radio, in the shape of Test Match Special, but clearly, it would have been good if they could have shown it on television too.”Smith, ever the diplomat, is entitled to be quietly furious at this turn of events. After all, the BBC screened full coverage of last year’s meeting between Ireland and England, and it seems frankly absurd that they have ruled out any involvement in a match which is certain to generate significant attention from the cricketing sphere and also the wider world. It isn’t even as if the match will clash with any major weekend pursuits, because the likes of Kevin Pietersen, Paul Collingwood and possibly Andrew Flintoff will lock horns with Ryan Watson on a Monday, but the decision appears to be cut and dried.Smith also confirmed that the Scotland squad for the triangular series involving Ireland and New Zealand will be announced at the end of this week and he is hopeful that the Scottish trio, Kyle Coetzer, Navdeep Poonia and Calum MacLeod, will be released by their counties (Durham and Warwickshire) to participate in the brace of ODIs.

Flavours of throttle
Different positions, same effort. With Kumar Sangakkara standing up to the stumps Gautam Gambhir didn’t walk down to the fast bowlers but shuffled around to try and create room. Off In successive balls he succeeded in cutting Chaminda Vaas but the bowler was backed up by brilliant fielding. First Gambhir walked across to outside off stump and chopped one to the left of gully, where Mahela Jayawardene dived and saved four. Next ball he cut the ball hard further away from Jayawardene but Tillakaratne Dilshan, at backward point, pulled off an acrobatic aerial fling to prevent runs. Soon after a frustrated Gambhir cut a short ball to Dilshan at backward point and was out.At long last …
Vaas’ search for his 400th one-day wicket had been put on hold by a left hamstring injury, a wicketless yet economic spell in game three, and Tuesday’s washout. Today he finally got there, and the noise at the Premadasa could have been heard round the island. With the first ball of his seventh over Vaas got Yuvraj Singh to edge one that went straight to short midwicket. As the stadium erupted into a tumultuous din, Vaas spread his arms, shut his eyes, and roared before his team-mates swamped him. Then he was lifted into the air. It was an endearing moment and a landmark thoroughly deserved by a Sri Lankan legend. Fittingly, Suresh Raina couldn’t score off the remaining five balls, and Vaas, that most economical of bowlers, finished with a maiden over. He became only the fourth bowler to reach the landmark.Third time’s a charm
Mahendra Singh Dhoni has altered his game to suit the needs of his team, especially since becoming captain, but in one over today, early into his innings, he tried to have a real crack at Thilan Thushara. He attempted to cut and drive the ball, once even sashaying forward, but could not time or place the ball where he wanted. Then he connected, and how. Thushara dropped fractionally short and Dhoni pressed back to slap the ball past short-cover before anyone could blink. That was it for pace, and Sri Lanka opted for spin from both ends.Fetch that
Raina welcomed the mandatory change of ball after 34 overs with a sweetly timed bended-knee six off Muttiah Muralitharan, no less. He cleared his front leg and slog-swept Murali over deep midwicket. It was a shot executed much the way Raina has been seen thumping his UP team-mate Piyush Chawla in the nets. After admiring his shot Raina walked halfway down the track, towards a fatigued Dhoni, and executed it again.A sweeping success
Plenty of Dhoni’s 71 runs came through paddle sweeps, some pulled off well and others scrambling off the edge of his bat as he cramped up in humid conditions. His fifty came up with a cute paddle for two, after which he hobbled off towards square leg. Watching Raina succeed with reverse-sweeping the spinners hard for singles, Dhoni took a cue and played it to perfection off Sanath Jayasuriya in the 39th over. It wasn’t ferociously done, like Raina, but rather placed effortlessly. The ball went straight to the boundary and Dhoni forced a gentle smile Raina’s way.Stuck in a moment
The way Dhoni was going, it needed something special to cut him off and Jayasuriya did just that. Dhoni made room and drilled a full and wide delivery towards cover, where at 39 years and 58 days, the wily old fox pulled off a spectacular diving catch to his left. It was a superb example of precision, reflexes and athleticism. That beauty sparked a stunning Indian collapse of six wickets for 26 runs.

It was here at Colombo, at the Sinhalese Sports Club ground just down the road, that a youngster shyly accepted the Under-19 World Cup winners’ trophy two years ago.He’s still young, not as shy, but once again he claimed the limelight after a brilliant match-winning 111 that led India to a 14-run win against Zimbabwe in the ICC Champions’ Trophy today. For Mohammad Kaif, Sri Lanka really is paradise.Zimbabwe on the other hand, have little to thank this country for. The last time they were here, the marauding Sri Lankans used them as whipping boys. Today there was frustration too, despite a heroic hundred from Andy Flower that carried the Africans to the brink of a famous victory.Zimbabwe had grabbed the initiative in the morning, as Douglas Hondo, a loping medium-pacer who knocked the stuffing out of India’s top-order not long ago in a clash in Kochi, blew a hole in the Indian innings, removing four Indian batsmen in his first spell.After electing to bat, Sourav Ganguly (13) guided Hondo into the waiting hands of Alistair Campbell at slip, who then pouched similar chances off Dinesh Mongia (0) and Yuvraj Singh (3). Sachin Tendulkar, strangely reticent, knocked his way to seven before playing a wild slash against the first ball of the medium-pacer Shaun Ervine.As only he can, Virender Sehwag continued to plunder runs. For fans it’s a treat to watch. No matter what the situation is, what the ball is doing, or, indeed, what is best for the team, Sehwag attempts to hit the cover off every ball bowled at him. On the day, his attitude was a godsend to India. Despite having lost Ganguly, Mongia and Tendulkar in just 9.5 overs, the run rate was a healthy 6.7.This helped the in-form Rahul Dravid. Fluent from the first ball he faced, Dravid punched the ball through the off-side both off the back and front foot, to keep the scoreboard ticking over. It bears repeating, that Dravid is in the best form of his life. His machine-like efficiency has bored many, but as Dravid himself would tell you, it’s better to be boring and win than to be a flash talent and end up on the losing side.Fans, however, sometimes do not subscribe to this opinion. The trickle of Indian fans who came to the cricket on this cloudless summer’s day threatened to go quiet, or worse leave, as the boundaries dried up and India were forced to consolidate. Dravid and Kaif added 117 before the former was needlessly run out. Dismissed for 71, Dravid showed his disappointment at himself when he walked off the field, even before the third umpire could make up his mind.Kaif then showed how you can combine a cool head with the cheekiness of a brat, taking apart the Zimbabwean bowling. It was not pretty, it was not classical, but it was enough to take India to the mountainous total of 288/6.When he drove on the up, Kaif teased the man at cover, sending the ball just inches over outstretched hands. The heaves over mid-wicket were attempted only when it was possible to place the ball well away from the fielder. When neither was possible, Kaif cottoned on to the fact that fine leg was up in the circle to Ervine and scoop-swatted the ball away to the fine leg fence.No wonder then, that Kaif, unbeaten on 111 (112 balls, eight fours, one six), was the Indian hero on the day, totally justifying his inclusion as the seventh batsman in the side. Even sceptics of the Indians’ tactic of using Dravid as stumper to play an extra batsman would have to grudgingly grant the think-tank its due.The Zimbabwean response to this mammoth total was a handsome if not successful one. No team has ever successfully chased such a tall score at this ground. Andy Flower gave the impression he didn’t care two hoots about this particular product of the statistician’s computer.And despite the venue being Sri Lanka, where Andy Flower averages less than 25, he drove the Indian bowlers to despair. Knocking up his fourth ODI ton – apparently oblivious to the disappointing batting at the other end – he kept the Indians worried, and punters interested till the 49th over of the Zimbabwean chase. The southpaw, who has taken more than 1000 ODI runs off India in his career, brought up his first century against the team, adding to the three he has in the longer version of the game.There was, however, nothing forthcoming at the other end. A steady stream of wickets, with no one making as many as 35 runs, made the task at hand too hard for the lone ranger.The innings Andy Flower played though was worth more than the 145 (164 balls, 13 fours) he eventually ended up with. Thanks to this innings Zimbabwe reached 274/8 in 50 overs.Shirt drenched in sweat, beady eyes popping out in the strain of concentrating for so long and so hard, legs not responding as they had earlier in the day, Andy Flower dared to go where no other Zimbabwean could. His innings, an epic, almost makes you wish he was playing for a stronger team, where his efforts would reap more just returns.Just three days ago, however, this man said, with a steely look in his eye: “Before Zimbabwe got Test status, when I was starting off as a cricketer, I seriously considered moving elsewhere. But I wouldn’t go elsewhere just to play first class cricket because the money was better. That can never match playing for your country.”That’s enough to tell you why this man is so successful, so feared by opponents, and so respected by his peers.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) is to send a delegation to Zimbabwe before the end of the year to assess safety and security in the country prior to the 2003 World Cup.The delegation will include the ICC chief executive Malcolm Speed, as well as representatives from each country due to play in Zimbabwe during the World Cup. The players will also be represented, along with the ICC’s commercial partner, Global Cricket Corporation, and the insurance industry.”There are a number of matches programmed in Zimbabwe, and the ICC will be taking all possible steps to fulfill this obligation,” said the ICC president, Malcolm Gray.”Part of ensuring this is to deal with any real or perceived concerns that any country may have about safety and security issues in Zimbabwe. This visit will provide the ICC and its key stakeholders with the opportunity to make a first-hand assessment of the situation in Zimbabwe.”Six preliminary round matches are due to be played in Zimbabwe, the first of them at Harare Sports Club between Zimbabwe and Namibia on February 10th. Zimbabwe meet England there on the 13th, and India on the 19th. The other three games are at the Queen’s Ground, Bulawayo, where Zimbabwe’s opponents are Australia, Holland and Pakistan.The delegation will report back to the ICC within two weeks of the visit.

Events in other sports over the past week have highlighted a phenomenon in cricket that is surprisingly accepted, seemingly without complaint.It is to do with the ball.Soccer teams in the World Cup have been complaining about changes to the ball which has been used in the Cup, with problems in flight and accuracy resulting from the lighter nature of the ball.Similarly, a change of ball for the New Zealand v Ireland rugby series, has resulted in a torrent of complaints, from both teams, over the changed qualities of the new ball being used.Irish rugby coach Eddie O’Sullivan made a pertinent comment when saying if it was good enough for soccer and basketball to have a standardised ball for use around the world, then why couldn’t rugby? Other sports also play to similar requirements.Why should cricket be any different?It was only the last World Cup in 1999 when controversy broke out over the nature of the ball to be used for the event.You could beg the question: If equipment used, read the ball in this instance, is not the same the world over, why should records be taken seriously?If one make of ball swings more prodigiously than another, does that make one batsman’s effort against one ball, much more significant than for the batsmen who didn’t have to deal with swing? And is one bowler more advantaged because his feats have been achieved by a ball that swung more than one used by his rivals.Similarly, for batsmen who were required to face spin from the ninth or 10th over of the innings as opposed to a batsman who scored runs against an all-pace attack.Admittedly conditions do vary from country to country, and for many reasons this is why different balls have been developed in different countries.But part of the challenge of succeeding in cricket is about being able to play in all conditions, whether batting, bowling or fielding.The sight of Sachin Tendulkar batting in full flight in Australia, England, India or the West Indies is one of the marvels of the game, just as watching Richard Hadlee achieve his feats on all kinds of surfaces was another. Both they, and all the other stars of the game, have managed their feats using different balls in different conditions.So does it really matter whether a uniform ball is used around the world?There is no doubt it would result in quite a different mindset from players and administrators.Having the preferred choice of balls for home conditions has long been regarded as an advantage for playing at home. But why should it be?That advantage could be said to be immediately countered by the wildly risky notion of tossing a coin to allow one side to bat or bowl, depending on their preference.There would be immediate consequences for the ball-making industry, although some of the ball makers could well become local makers for the successful tenderer for the ball contract, working to that company’s specifications.It could also be that the preferred maker of balls for Test matches, is not the preferred maker for the one-day variety of ball with its different colour and less lasting characteristics.Given the requirement to use the same type of ball around the world, there would be less chance of one team manipulating the make of balls available between one Test and the next. And this has happened in the past.The International Cricket Council has been working hard in recent years to regulate in some previously shady areas of the game, is it time for them to consider the use of a standardised ball?With the requirement that lights now be used where they are available when conditions are regarded as too dark to continue, is it time to entertain thoughts of a revolutionary new-coloured ball so that more Test cricket can be played in day-night situations?The ball is central to the game, yet it can have remarkably different qualities around the world. Does it have to be that way, or is one of those features that make cricket different?

Confirmation has been received today that Courtney Walsh will be included in the Lashings All Star XI playing against a Gloucestershire Invitation XI at the County Ground, Bristol on Sunday 11 August.Gloucestershire are absolutely delighted that Courtney has agreed to turn out for this fixture and hope that members and supporters past and present will come along to welcome him.Amongst other stars playing for Lashings, Shoaib Akhtar is reported to be bowling even faster than ever and should add even further to the excitement of this fast moving new cricketing concept.Two 20 over games will be played, the first commencing at 12 noon.

South Africa women won the third one-day international against India at Centurion by three wickets, and in so doing won the first-ever Women’s Series in South Africa. A rain-interrupted match was in the balance until the penultimate ball when the winning runs were scored.After a rain-delayed 20 minute start, South Africa won the toss, and on a greenish pitch Cindy Eksteen decided to send the visitors in to bat – a decision that paid off early when both openers were back in the pavilion within four overs.Some quality front-foot play from Mithali Raj (39) and a solid undefeated innings from captain Anjum Chopra (41*) recovered the innings with an 83-run partnership. Rain after 12.5, 20 and 23.3 overs did not help the Indian cause. Breaks in concentration were evident as timing left both players during the three breaks in play.The South African bowlers did well to restrict the Indians to 111/3 in the reduced 30-over match. Far too many wides were bowled and in the end nearly caused the downfall of the South African team.Set to score 137 in 30 overs (D/L Method) the South Africans set about the bowling, staying ahead of the calculator until the last over when there were eight runs required. Some good running between Yulandi Van der Merwe and Cri-Zelda Brits saw the team home with one ball to spare.Mention must be made of the batting of Eksteen (36) and the bowling of the young left-arm orthodox spinner Neetu David. The latter always kept the pressure on the batsman, taking 2/17, and with the batsmen looking to score off her must take credit for the run out of Kerri Laign.The last internation before the one off test takes place in Cape Town on Saturday.

On Thursday 30 May 2002, the 1st day of the nPower Test Match between England and Sri Lanka, the stand will be re-opened by Jackie Rawlinson, the daughter of the late Eric Hollies. At around 10.20 am, before the start of play at 11.00 am, Mrs Rawlinson will be invited by Club Chairman, MJK Smith, to unveil a plaque and declare the stand officially open.The redeveloped stand has a dramatic new roof and an extra 1300 seats in what is the most popular spectator area of the ground. This increases the capacity at the ground to 21000 and further enhances Edgbaston’s position as the premier test venue outside of London.The innovative design by architects Bryant Priest Newman and engineers Price & Myers, both firms were part of the team that designed the award winning new indoor cricket centre, provides spectators with a variety of new facilities. These include new stair access, increased concourse space, new toilets including provision for the disabled, a new covered area for food, drink and merchandise, increased seating under cover, much improved disabled access and new tip-up seating.The work has been carried out by locally based Interserve Building and the contract administered by Birmingham company, Francis Graves Limited. Financial. Financial support has been received from Sport England in the form of a £200,000 `Safer Sports Ground Programme’ grant towards a total cost of £2.1 million. "This refurbishment is part of a programme of major improvements at Edgbaston which will ensure that we can provide the very best facilities for our members and cricket followers to watch domestic and international cricket in Birmingham." " With interest in international cricket increasing all the time this development will enable us to cater for greater crowds in increased comfort and safety. The additional capacity will give a wider audience the opportunity to experience the thrill of international cricket here at Edgbaston."

A Pakistan ‘A’ team will visit Sri Lanka on a three-week tour next month, official said. The team will tour between the second week of June and first week of July during which it will play three four-day games and as many limited overs matches, the director of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Brig Munawwar Rana said.Rana said players currently under guidance as Lahore’s National Cricket Academy would be considered for selection while admitting that there would be no age restricts. He said all the youngsters who have either excelled for the junior teams or those who have performed at the domestic front, have been taken under the fold of the academy.But he left the option open while saying any other player with an excellent record would definitely be considered for selection. Pakistan’s junior string last visited Sri Lanka in the early part of 2000 when the Under-19 team participated in the Youth World Cup. The team finished as losing semi-finalists.Rana said the itinerary of the tour would be finalist soon which would confirm the venues and the dates. He, however, agreed that the tour would be a tight one because in three weeks, the team would have 17 days of competitive cricket.In the recent past, the PCB has rightly started giving importance to youth cricket. Last month, a junior team visited Kuala Lumpur for a four-match series while before that, another youth team took part in the ICC junior tournament at Dhaka, Bangladesh. Pakistan’s present crisis of not having skill-ful and polished youngsters to replace the ageing veterans is chiefly because the youth cricket programme has been abruptly halted a couple of days ago.The emphasis on youth cricket provided Pakistan current multi-talented players like Waqar Younis, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Saeed Anwar, Mushtaq Ahmad and Moin Khan etc who were in the same batch of players who played together at the junior level a decade ago.

The overnight announcement of Worcestershire’s recruitment of New South Wales paceman Stuart Clark now ensures that at least 12 Australians will play as overseas professionals in the forthcoming English county season.Worcestershire, coached by former Western Australian stalwart Tom Moody, has moved to sign Clark to a short-term deal at the start of the English summer as a means of providing cover for the unavailability of fellow Australian pace bowler Andy Bichel.Clark, 26, has played only 18 first-class matches in a five-year career with the Blues but has made a big impression on his way to becoming the Pura Cup’s leading wicket-taker to this point of the Australian summer. The tall right armer was also a key figure in his state’s ING Cup title win.He will fill the role as the county’s import player until Bichel returns from international commitments in early May.In the process, he will become one of a dozen Australians recruited as overseas professionals at county level for 2002.Bichel (Worcestershire), Michael Di Venuto (Derbyshire), Martin Love (Durham), Ian Harvey (Gloucestershire), Andrew Symonds (Kent), Mike Hussey (Northamptonshire), Jamie Cox (Somerset), Murray Goodwin (Sussex) and Darren Lehmann (Yorkshire) are all returning to their county positions of last year.After a number of seasons with Essex, Stuart Law is moving to Lancashire while Michael Bevan will play with his third county when he accepts a post at Leicestershire.Clark is the only Australian import without previous experience in English domestic competition.