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Yorkshire have submitted plans for their new pavilion at Headingley as part of their multi-million pound investment in redeveloping the ground.The new pavilion, if approved, will be situated at the Kirkstall Lane end and, for the first time, will mean cricketers will no longer have to share the same dressing room facilities used by their rugby counterparts.”In 2005, with the help of Leeds city council the club purchased the freehold of the famous ground and in so doing went a long way towards protecting a 15-year staging agreement with the ECB to host international cricket in Yorkshire,” a club statement read. “However, the job is still not complete – because there is a need to invest in the ground before 2019 to improve player, broadcaster and spectator facilities as well as growing the capacity to over 20,000.”Although intensely proud of its pedigree, the club does not under-estimate the challenges that lie ahead and the increasing competition from other venues across the country to stage international cricket.”While the club has and will continue to have an excellent relationship with its rugby-playing neighbours, there is an acceptance that separate changing rooms and amenities are now essential – and these will form part of the new pavilion.”It was hoped that the new pavilion to be ready in time for the Ashes Test next year, but it was revealed in January that Yorkshire estimate the redevelopment work will only be half finished.

Ramnaresh Sarwan, the West Indies vice-captain, hasbeen ruled out of the five-match ODI series againstPakistan due of a foot injury, sustained duringthe final day’s play of the Test series againstPakistan.Sarwan was batting on 35 when he was struck on theright foot by a vicious, swinging yorker from Umar Gulduring the 32nd over the West Indian second innings inthe morning session. He immediately fell to theground, in visible pain. After a few minutestreatment, he was carried off the field by trainers.He was taken to a local hospital for X-rays, whichconfirmed a small hairline fracture in his rightinstep. He will fly back to the West Indies before theODI series.Sarwan was recalled for this match after being droppedfor the second Test in Multan because of poor form. Inthe first innings, he had been bowled for a duck byGul, from another reverse-swinging yorker.Sarwan is a vital member of the West Indies ODI sideand widely regarded as one of the most accomplishedODI batsmen in world cricket. Though his form duringthe DLF Cup in Malaysia and the Champions Trophy inIndia was patchy, he averages over 44 from 115matches.

Stuart Clark, Phil Jaques and Mitchell Johnson are the three new faces in the list of contracted national cricketers, a 25-member group that Cricket Australia announced today. They replaced James Hopes, Cameron White and Mick Lewis. Brett Dorey, who was also upgraded to a contract after selection for several VB Series matches last summer, has not been offered a full contract.”Jaques, Clark and Johnson have all performed very well over the past 12 months and have been rewarded with contracts, while Hopes, Lewis, White and Dorey’s contracts haven’t been renewed on this occasion,” said Andrew Hilditch, the chairman of the National Selection Panel (NSP). “However, they are quality players and we look forward to them performing well in domestic cricket and putting their name forward again for future selections.”The contracted players are paid a base retainer, which is levelled according to a player ranking system decided by the NSP. Each player also receives match fees, tour fees and prize money for on-field success.List of contracted playersNathan Bracken, Stuart Clark, Michael Clarke, Daniel Cullen Adam Gilchrist, Jason Gillespie, Brad Haddin, Matthew Hayden, Brad Hodge, Brad Hogg, Michael Hussey, Phil Jaques, Mitchell Johnson, Michael Kasprowicz, Simon Katich, Justin Langer, Brett Lee, Stuart MacGill, Damien Martyn, Glenn McGrath, Ricky Ponting, Andrew Symonds, Shaun Tait, Shane Warne, Shane Watson.

Brian Lara refused to look too far ahead – “It’s just one match” – but there was no denying his pleasure at the manner in which West Indies stormed to a 54-run victory in their opening game at the World Cup. In front of a raucous crowd that wasn’t quite capacity, they defended 241 with some disciplined bowling and brilliant fielding, and the margin would have been even more resounding but for a defiant innings from Shoaib Malik.”I still think the batting did it in spurts,” said Lara afterwards. “I thought 241 was a good total in the end. The guys did really well then, but we need to be scoring better throughout an innings.” He pointed the finger at himself and his senior colleague, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, for a sluggish start that saw West Indies scoring at less than three an over even after the halfway mark.The momentum shift started with Marlon Samuels, who stroked a superb 70-ball 63, and added 91 with Lara. “We left 20 or 30 runs out there then,” said Lara, talking about the slow start. ‘Myself and Shiv were pretty slow to get started. Samuels’ knock was crucial. It was a question of who was going to start it, and he did. He carried on too, and built onthat.”For Inzamam-ul-Haq and Pakistan, it was a depressing afternoon, after the bowlers had excelled for 40 overs. “It’s a matter of concern,” said Inzamam, when asked about the batting. “We have the experience in the middle order and the batsmen have to take responsibility.”He didn’t think his decision to field first had affected the outcome, with even Lara admitting that he would have chosen the same option. “Our bowlers did well,” said Inzamam, talking in Urdu. “I was happy with their effort to restrict them to a total that I thought we could chase.”There was no attempt to blame the pitch either. “It was a good one,” he said. “There was some help for the seamers, but I have to give their bowlers credit. They bowled a great line, and didn’t even need to use the spinners.”He was happy enough with his own spinner, though Danish Kaneria’s dismal fielding did bring a rare smile to his lips. ‘The fielding was sloppy,” he said in another masterpiece of understatement. “We’ll have to keep working hard on that over the next few days.”Lara was full of praise for the crowd – “You had to be out there to really feel the atmosphere” – and for Dwayne Smith, who justified the decision to play him ahead of Ian Bradshaw by taking three wickets and clouting 32 from just 15 balls. “He played really well today,” said Lara. “When he came in, we were looking at 225 or so. But then he started hitting it out of the park. And he got two of their best players out [Inzamam andYousuf]. But he knows he need to build on that.”So do West Indies, who started the last World Cup with a similarly impressive win only to lose their way subsequently. Soon after the toss on Tuesday morning, the organisers had given the crowd an opportunity to show their respect for the heroes of the 1975 and 1979 campaigns. But in reality, the best possible tribute to those giants of auld langsyne comes in the shape of performances such as the ones Samuels, Smith and Bravo summoned up against Pakistan.

Group A
A combined bowling effort from State Bank of Hyderabad inflicted a second consecutive defeat on All India Electricity Board in Visakhapatnam. Vinay Dandekar picked up three wickets and was supported by Abhishek Jhunjhunwala and Rana Chowdhary who picked up two each. The problem for SBH was the failure of their batsmen to convert starts. T Suman made a fluent 32, P Srihari Rao chipped in with 37 while wicketkeeper M Srinivas contributed an unbeaten 33. They were not helped by the appalling lack of support from the other end, as the AIEB bowlers kept chipping away.AIEB would have backed themselves to chase down 172 but they didn’t have to go that far. Rain intervened when they were on 99 for 2 in 20.3 overs, well past what they required at that stage in the event of an interruption.Group B
In a thrilling contest in Chennai, Tata Sports Club survived a spirited chase by Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited and prevailed by one run to open their mark in the BCCI Corporate trophy.The chase of 265 was dealt a major setback when Abhishek Nayar’s fluent knock of 85 was terminated by Gaurav Jathar. At 138 for 4, it seemed TSC were in control but captain VA Indulkar and wicketkeeper Uday Kaul struck half-centuries to surge BPCL back in the game. Indulkar was more measured while Kaul stepped up with four fours and a couple of sixes. Just as it seemed BPCL would upstage their opponents, Wilkin Mota struck twice, ending the threatening stand and then dismissing Sairaj Bahutule. Mota bowled the final over and Bahutule fell first ball but BPCL were still favourites, requiring 4 off 5 balls with Kaul still batting. However, they managed just two more, failing to dispatch Mota, and slipped to an agonising defeat.The star with the bat for TSC was Dhruv Singh, who led his team’s recovery from 109 for 5 with an attacking 115. He was supported down the order by Mota, who chipped in with 30 – part of a decisive all-round effort – and Ajit Agarkar, who blasted 31 off 19 to stretch his team’s score to one they barely managed to defend.Group C
Air India eased to their second straight win in the tournament, beating Chemplast by six wickets in Hyderabad. Even a century from Napoleon Einstein and a score of 278 wasn’t enough in the wake of a solid reply from AI’s batsmen. Captain Mohammad Kaif took the lead in steering his team home, making an unbeaten 82 in 88 balls including four fours and two sixes. And there was ample support from the rest. Hrishikesh Kanitkar scored a run-a-ball 53 in a 118-run stand with Kaif, while Sushant Marathe and Chandan Madan put the chase on track with a 70-run stand. Victory was secured without much fuss with 14 balls to spare.Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited edged State Bank of Mysore by five runs in a fascinating encounter in Hyderabad. Both teams were bowled out, there were no half-centuries in the match and yet there were 575 runs scored in all.BSNL opted to bat and seemed to be on track for a more challenging score with a series of consistent contributions from the batsmen in the top and middle orders. Monish Mishra made 39, NS Negi made 41 and Niranjan Behera chipped in with 36 but what was missing was a more substantial innings. Chethan William grabbed three wickets while every other bowler chipped in with at least a wicket to keep BSNL in check and restrict them to a score of 240.SBM were in a good position to secure a win at 152 for 3 but offspinner Kamlesh Makvana broke a 76-run stand between William and B Akhil. He dismissed both batsmen and left-arm spinner Kuldeep Diwan stepped in to trigger a collapse where the last five wickets fell for 31 runs to deprive SBM of a win.Group D
State Bank of Patiala and Income Tax (India) served up the third closely-fought game of the day, with the former prevailing by 17 runs in Bangalore. SBP batted first and squandered an excellent start provided by their openers, R Rehni and Ravi Inder Singh, who added 101. Inder Singh made 75 but there were no major contributions from the rest. Spinners Ankit Sharma and Parag Khanapurkar grabbed seven wickets between them to help skittle out SBP for 218. SBP held the edge in the chase, limiting IT for 104 for 6 at one stage. But wicketkeeper Amol Ubarhande and Rohit Dahiya tried to revive the innings with a 57-run stand for the seventh wicket, but SBP fought back. Mukesh Sharma chipped away at the rest of the line-up, finishing with 5 for 26, and ending IT’s innings with more than three overs to spare.Oil and Natural Gas Corporation raced to victory against Madras Rubber Factory at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore. Despite good starts, the MRF top-order batsmen fell in pairs. The openers Thalavan Sargunam and S Anirudha fell with the score on 87, Sridharan Sriram and Y Gnaneswara Rao then fell in a space of three runs. Venugopal Rao remained unbeaten on 83 but MRF had been in a position to post more than 242 for 6. The score proved inadequate. Praveen Kumar, who opens the bowling for India, shone in his role as a batsman at the top of the order, giving the ONGC innings a boost with a quickfire 54. His opening partner Sandeep Sharma made 75 while Virat Kohli and Gautam Gambhir remained unbeaten to steer their team to victory with 73 balls to spare.

Scorecard

Ben Edmondson and Steve Magoffin humiliated Tasmania at Hobart, where the home side were bowled out for 94. Edmondson claimed six wickets and Magoffin four, justifying the visitors’ decision to bowl first before Chris Rogers continued his outstanding year and the Warriors reached 3 for 155 at stumps.It was Magoffin who started the damage, claiming Michael Di Venuto for 14 and then, in unusual circumstances, Tim Paine for 3. Paine was adjudged hit wicket after swinging his bat in frustration at missing a Magoffin delivery and accidentally hitting his stumps.Magoffin finished with 4 for 50 but Edmondson’s 6 for 28 – his best first-class figures – tore the core out of the home team’s innings. Michael Bevan’s 25 was the top score as seven batsmen failed to reach double figures.Rogers then added to the Tigers’ ordeal, making his way to 93 not out at stumps as the Tasmania fast bowlers failed to have the same impact as Edmondson and Magoffin. Rogers, the leading Pura Cup run-scorer in 2006-07, guided the Warriors to a 61-run lead at the close of play. His sixth score of 50 or more in eight innings was enough to push him past 700 runs this season at an average of more than 100.

Nearly a year ago, Australia arrived at Eden Park for their only away match of the World Cup. The 55-metre straight boundaries had their batsmen licking their lips and their bowlers scratching their heads. Big scores were expected. Instead, Trent Boult and Mitchell Starc provided a reminder that if the ball is swinging the boundary size is irrelevant, as they rattled stumps throughout the game. In all, 19 wickets fell for 303 runs.This time there is no Starc, as he continues to recover from ankle surgery, though Boult is available for New Zealand. In fact, none of Australia’s three frontline bowlers from that match will be playing – Pat Cummins is also injured and Mitchell Johnson has retired. Instead, the pace attack will be made up of some combination of Josh Hazlewood, John Hastings, Scott Boland, Kane Richardson, James Faulkner and Mitchell Marsh, who played in that game but bowled only one over.Swing will again be key in Wednesday’s match, the first in a three-game Chappell-Hadlee series ahead of the two Tests. Australia are coming off a 4-1 series win at home against India, in matches where 295 was the lowest first-innings score made, and New Zealand are coming off a 2-0 win over Pakistan, which ended with Sunday’s win at Eden Park, where Pakistan made 290 and New Zealand chased a Duckworth-Lewis target of 263 inside 43 overs.Australia’s recent form against India will give them confidence that they can chase almost any target on the smaller grounds in New Zealand, although that will also depend on what kind of pitches are served up after the flat tracks in Australia. Faulkner, who was Man of the Match in the World Cup final against New Zealand but missed the Auckland game through injury, said conditions would determine whether this series swayed towards enormous totals or lower ones.”There’s no reason why… teams can’t get 350 or 400,” Faulkner said. “A lot of it just comes down to conditions. If it’s swinging around, which we think it would over there, the ball will be moving like it did throughout the World Cup. It’s obviously a lot tougher and early wickets tend to fall. Every team at the moment is setting up to go hard in the first 10, consolidate through the middle and try and have wickets in the shed to try and launch.”Especially with the smaller boundaries, I think if you find the ball isn’t moving, there will be high scores. But if it is, it’s obviously a lot tougher for the opening batsmen to adjust. More times than not at the moment 300 tends to be the base and every run over that is so valuable because every single batter in most teams can bat these days, so it makes it really tough for the bowlers.”Faulkner himself was reminded of the challenges faced by bowlers in ODI cricket last month against India, when he leaked more than a run a ball throughout the series. However, the Australians still managed to win the series comfortably due to the success of their batsmen, and Faulkner noted that the evolution of the one-day game had meant bowlers had to accept that their figures would balloon significantly compared to a few years ago.”I think it’s just the way the game has changed,” he said. “When the first rule came out with only four fielders outside the circle and the Powerplay between 35 and 40, it really shook the game up and I think initially it was a bit of a shock – a lot of people were seeing bowlers going for 70 or 80 off their 10 overs and thinking gee they’ve been whacked around the park compared to what it used to be back in the day of 40-45.”I think it’s just the public and all the players understanding how the game has evolved and T20 has had a hell of a lot to do with that. I think every bowler depending on where they’re bowling, whether it’s up front, whether it’s at the death or through the middle, will have their own little goals but I think now people aren’t really looking at how many runs necessarily; it’s about when they are bowling and how successful they are to certain batters at certain times.”I’ve definitely noticed it at the back end in particular, when you’ve got wickets in hand, it’s so hard to defend. It doesn’t matter how good you are and if you execute, teams can still hit you for a minimum of 10-12 runs an over. So if you’re going into the last 10 only two down, if you’re not getting 100 plus off that I don’t think you’ve done well enough with the bat.”The success of Australia’s batsmen against India meant that Faulkner’s batting was hardly required during the series, although he did play one key innings during the win at the MCG, seeing Australia home in their chase alongside Glenn Maxwell. Faulkner’s finishing with the bat could be important for Australia at the World T20 in India next month and while the selectors may consider form in this ODI series when choosing that squad, Faulkner said his focus was purely on the ODIs.”I just think it’s going to be a great series all around,” he said. “I think obviously after both teams playing in the World Cup final and what New Zealand achieved… I’m expecting a really tough series. I think you’re going to see a really good brand of cricket with bat and ball, and a really good fierce competition.”

Kenya’s selectors have delayed naming a squad for their Intercontinental Cup match against Namibia, in view of growing doubts surrounding the future of the Kenyan Cricket Association.The selectors met in Nairobi this morning, but it soon became clear that some had deep reservations as to their authority to pick a side to represent the country against such a backdrop, and also with so many leading players either unavailable or on strike.Officially, the naming of the squad was delayed to allow the availability of certain individuals to be confirmed, but Cricinfo understands that it is unlikely that any announcement will be made until the ICC makes a ruling on the authority of Cricket Kenya, the government-backed new body, to run Kenyan cricket.Cricket Kenya was officially recognised by the Registrar of Societies in Nairobi earlier today, and meetings of all the provincial associations will take place tonight to decide if they are willing to support it and not the KCA.If the provinces do give CK their support then Ochillo Ayacko, the sports minister, is likely to request an urgent meeting with the ICC to ask for its backing. If the ICC does so – and given its recent attitude towards the conduct of the KCA, that seems a real possibility – then CK could be running Kenyan cricket as soon as the end of this week.That would leave the KCA totally marginalised. About all it would be left to worry about would be forthcoming legal action against it brought jointly by the Coast Cricket Association and the Nairobi Provincial Cricket Association – that case is due to be heard in Mombasa tomorrow – and another action by Nairobi Gymkhana over an outstanding debt. A hearing over the legality of the minister’s action, scheduled for March 7, would then be rendered a virtual irrelevance.

Delhi will remain host for the fourth Test between India and South Africa. Hearing the issue for the third day in a row, a two-judge divisional bench of the Delhi High Court asked the Delhi government’s excise department to grant a no-objection certificate, thus clearing the final hurdle for the Delhi & Districts Cricket Association (DDCA) to host the match at the Feroz Shah Kotla.The court also asked the DDCA to furnish a payment of Rs 1 crore (US$ 150,000 approx) to the excise department with the money to be paid in two instalments of Rs 50 lakh each – the first in the next two weeks and the remainder in the subsequent four weeks. The court also set November 27 as the next date of hearing to deal with the overall entertainment tax of Rs 24.46 crore (US$ 3.7 million approx) the DDCA owes the excise department from 2008. The court also asked the government to not take any “coercive” action against the DDCA, which has challenged the calculations of the tax and called it unfair. But that hearing will have no bearing on the Test.According to Ravinder Manchanda, the DDCA treasurer, the BCCI will release the much-needed grants to organise the match. “We have spoken to Anurag Thakur and he has already told us we will be getting the BCCI grant,” Manchanda said. Thakur could not be contacted for confirmation and there was no official release issued by the BCCI.The court’s decision brought to an end a week-long drama that had the DDCA getting involved in a tug of war with the Delhi government and a group of former and current cricketers that had alleged corruption, mismanagement and various wrongdoings by the state’s cricket administrators.The BCCI set a deadline of November 17 for the DDCA to seek all the necessary clearance from the government agencies to host the match, which is scheduled from December 3 to 7. In case the DDCA failed to get things sorted out, the BCCI had finalised Pune as the back-up venue.Serious doubts over Delhi hosting the match emerged after a three-member panel appointed by the Delhi government, having conducted a fast-track probe in to the running of the DDCA, recommended the association be suspended by the BCCI and a body of professional cricketers run the game in state in the interim.A combative DDCA then approached the court to seek its intervention to procure the necessary clearances form the various government agencies like the south Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC), excise department, fire and safety department, Archaeological Survey of India, Delhi Land and Development Office, and Delhi Urban Arts Commission.Although the two justices – BR Ahmed and Sanjeev Sachdeva – facilitated the clearances, they made it clear to the DDCA that this was the last time the court would bail out the DDCA. They asked the DDCA to sort out the issues by March 31, 2016.The first indication that Delhi was likely to stay as the venue came on late Wednesday afternoon when the court appointed former chief justice of Punjab and Haryana High Court Mukul Mudgal as the observer for the Test match. The court said Mudgal could take the help of an “accounts knowing person” if he wanted.Mudgal’s appointment was welcomed by the DDCA, but its administrators would be on the edge considering the court asked him to ensure the state body takes earnest steps to resolve the pending issues relating to clearances from various government agencies.

Craig McMillan has retired from international and domestic cricket, citing personal reasons and health problems as contributing factors. McMillan, 31, said he wanted to go out on a high and would now spend time with his family before making any further decisions on his future.”I have decided that the time is right for me to retire from cricket to spend more time with my family, as well as look after my health, as I have had ongoing issues related to diabetes,” McMillan said. “I feel that the past season has been one of the best of my cricket career and I am happy to be retiring on a really positive note.”There had been reports that McMillan would quit to take up a contract with the Indian Cricket League and he said he would consider that option but it was no certainty. “I will now spend time with my family before deciding what direction I will take with my future,” he said.Justin Vaughan, the CEO of New Zealand Cricket, said although McMillan still had plenty to offer he had been released from his national contract on compassionate grounds. “We are disappointed to be losing Craig at this point,” Vaughan said. “His performances at the recent Twenty20 World Cup were tremendous. I understand his reasons for wishing to retire and wish him all the best for the future.”McMillan sits fourth on New Zealand’s all-time ODI run-tally, behind his contemporaries Stephen Fleming, Nathan Astle and Chris Cairns. In his 197 one-day internationals he scored 4707 runs at 28.18, an average that perhaps did not reflect his full potential.His Test career petered out after the home series against Australia in March 2005, however his 3116 runs at 38.46 from 55 appearances made him a valuable part of the side for much of the past decade. McMillan backed up his three ODI centuries and six Test hundreds with more than useful medium-pace bowling which brought him 28 Test wickets at 44.89 and 49 one-day victims at 35.04.A destructive, though sometimes inconsistent batsman, McMillan was 20 when he was first called into the national limited-overs side in 1997 during a quadrangular tournament in India. His striking power was soon obvious – his maiden ODI half-century featured five sixes but no fours against Zimbabwe at Harare.

A Test call-up followed on the 1997-98 tour of Australia and in his first appearance McMillan showed his promise with 54 against an attack led by Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne. McMillan usually brought the same aggression to Test cricket as he did to the limited-overs game, and in March 2001 he broke the record for the most runs in a Test over with 26 off Younis Khan’s part-time legspin at Hamilton.However, he could also show fight and determination when his team needed it. In October 2003, after being dropped from a tour of Sri Lanka earlier in the year, McMillan justified his recall with an unusually cautious 83 not out from 190 balls as he and Nathan Astle rescued New Zealand from what looked like certain defeat against India at Ahmedabad.He twice set a record for the fastest ODI century by a New Zealand player – first from 75 balls against Pakistan in 2000-01 and then from 67 deliveries against Australia in this year’s Chappell-Hadlee Series in February. The latter effort was another case of McMillan justifying his recall; he had lost his national contract in June 2006 and considered a career as a salesman before the selectors gave him another chance.Although he had a quiet Caribbean trip at his third World Cup, McMillan sparkled in the ICC World Twenty20 in South Africa. During what would be his final international tournament he was New Zealand’s leading run-scorer with 163 at 40.75 and a strike-rate of 181.