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New Zealand teams could compete in Australia’s domestic Twenty20 competition as soon as 2008-09. The boards of Australia and New Zealand are discussing the potential for a Trans-Tasman tournament, with the top sides going on to compete against teams from India, England and South Africa in the newly-announced Champions Twenty20 League.Glenn McGrath and Stephen Fleming were in New Delhi on Thursday for the launch of the ICC-sanctioned competition, which is seen as an official alternative to the Indian Cricket League (ICL). Although no players were named as definite participants Fleming and McGrath, both of whom had been courted by the ICL, would appear likely to play. Shane Warne’s decision not to sign with the ICL has also fuelled speculation he might join the Champions Twenty20 League, which will start in October 2008.The details are still being fine-tuned but the initial plan is for domestic teams that progress to the international tournament to be allowed to top up their squads with guest players. That could mean Warne or McGrath might sign with an Indian or England domestic team, for example, while an Australian state side could try to lure top players from other countries.”That is certainly a possibility in the Champions League and, in some respects, that is part of the attraction,” Cricket Australia’s CEO James Sutherland told the . “It’s a concept where we have the best of the best at domestic level playing against each other. Previously, apart from really isolated instances, this just hasn’t happened before.”In the first season, the two Australian states that reach the KFC Twenty20 final will earn a place in the Champions League. However, after 2007-08 the states will probably have extra competition for a spot in the worldwide tournament.”We have had preliminary talks with Cricket Australia about establishing a trans-Tasman league which will feed into subsequent global championships,” New Zealand Cricket’s CEO Justin Vaughan said. “Both New Zealand Cricket and Cricket Australia are interested in exploring this potential further with the possibility of a trans-Tasman league starting as early as the 2008-09 cricket season. The two top teams from this league would then progress to the Champions Twenty20 tournament to play teams from Indian, African and European leagues.”

The Bangladesh Cricket Board is faced with a quandary ahead of picking their 14-member squad for the Champions Trophy with Habibul Bashar’s fitness status not yet confirmed. Bashar, their captain, has said he can confirm his fitness status only a week after the ICC deadline of September 7 for submitting the squads.It is possible that Bashar will be included in the squad and later replaced if he fails his fitness test. “As far as I know, one can only replace an injured player from the 30-member probables but we are still not clear about the rules,” Mahbubul Anam, the board general secretary told the , a Dhaka-based daily. “That’s why we have to go through the ICC laws first about the matter then we will discuss with the selectors,”Bashar fractured his left thumb during the second one-day match against Zimbabwe in July. He missed the last Champions Trophy in England in 2004 because of a fracture to his right thumb. Mahbub said that the Bangladesh board might ask the ICC to look at Bashar’s case as a special consideration.But Faruque Ahmed, the chief selector, was confident that Bashar would recover in time for the tournament. “Yes, you can say it is a little bit of a dilemma for the board as well as the selectors because we have to pick the final team by September 7 while we can know the exact position of Bashar only a week later. But I am not too bothered with the situation as Bashar is recovering well and his injury is also not a serious one.”Though Faruque himself supported Bashar’s inclusion in the squad, he said that the final decision would be taken only after the selection panel had discussed it. “I don’t know the details of the ICC rules about the matter but I don’t think there is any rigid law,” he added. Bangladesh are scheduled to play West Indies, Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe in the qualifying round of the Champions Trophy beginning October 7. If they finish in the top two, they will advance to the next round of the tournament to play the six top-seeded teams.

Kenyan captain Steve Tikolo has admitted that he wished that he and his team had taken a stand against the old Kenyan Cricket Association earlier than they did.Tikolo and a number of senior players finally went on strike last October after more than a year of disputes over payments they claimed were owed to them by the Sharad Ghai led board. That regime was finally removed by fresh elections in May, and Ghai is awaiting trial on charges that he misappropriated around $3.5 million of KCA funds.”The association was mismanaging the sport and we did not utter a word as things deteriorated,” Tikolo told the Nation. “Last year we said enough was enough and refused to play. Our action prompted the government to act. Now the rot in cricket has been cleaned out. Had we protested earlier then we would be at a higher level in the game.”Tikolo also revealed that he regretted his role in chosing Andy Moles as the national coach. He was one of three people given the task of finding a replacement for Sandeep Patil, but revealed that it was a decision he immediately rued.”We could not work with Moles,” he told the paper. “Our relationship in the dressing room deteriorated by the day … it even threatened our performance.”This made me realise my work is to play – hiring and firing coaches is the job of the association. When things went wrong we could not complain as we were part of the selection panel.”

The Glamorgan allrounder, Alex Wharf, has been drafted into England’s squad for next week’s NatWest Challenge, as a replacement for Kabir Ali, who has developed a stomach injury. Wharf had been placed on standby after Kabir was forced to withdraw from Saturday’s C&G Trophy final between Worcestershire and Gloucestershire, and now has an opportunity to stake his claim for a place in the Champions Trophy."I was ecstatic when David Graveney gave me the news,” said Wharf. “We have a great one-day side at Glamorgan and have become very tough to beat. Glamorgan have given me opportunities and I like to think that has helped bring out the best in me as a cricketer."Last week, Glamorgan claimed their third National League title, with three games to spare, and Wharf’s performances were a key part of their success. He picked up 20 wickets at 22.85, including a hat-trick against Warwickshire, and also clubbed 226 runs at 22.60, with a highest score of 72. He joined Glamorgan four years ago, after previous spells with Nottinghamshire and Yorkshire.It was a huge disappointment for Kabir, however. He had been widely tipped for a place in the England Test squad to tour South Africa this winter, but missed out to the Durham allrounder, Paul Collingwood, and has yet to play a role in a one-day international for England. He made his one-day debut against Zimbabwe in 2003, but the match was rained off before he could take the field.David Graveney, England’s chairman of selectors, felt it was unlikely that Kabir would be back in time for the Champions Trophy. "The medical advice we have received makes his participation in extremely doubtful,” he admitted. “Alex Wharf has been called up to replace him and we will review the situation after The NatWest Challenge."England, whose one-day form has been woeful this year, will meet up at Trent Bridge on Monday, to prepare for the first of three one-day internationals against India. They then take part in the curtain-raiser of the Champions Trophy, against Zimbabwe on September 10, before taking on Sri Lanka in their second match at the Rose Bowl in Southampton a week later.

Halfway down the pitch towards the right-hander, the delivery seemed innocuous. Delivered left-arm from round the wicket by Wasim Akram, it had the usual slithery speed, and was up there in length – an attempted yorker probably, but too full. It began to angle down the leg side, a low full-toss just ripe for Robert Croft, the England offspinner, to flick away to fine leg for an easy boundary. Croft planted his front foot and began the process of turning the ball away. He missed, the ball thudded into his pad, and Wasim roared his appeal. Negative, said the umpire, and we in the press box nodded knowingly: missing leg by miles.Then came the replay, in super slow motion, and it was so astounding it left mouths gaping. For in the last 10 feet or so, the ball ceased angling down the leg side and instead swung back the other way, eluding Croft’s bat by six inches. Unquestionably it would have hit middle stump, but it all happened so fast and late that it deceived the eye of everyone, not least the umpire. The single most astonishing delivery that I have witnessed failed to produce a wicket.For nigh on two decades, Wasim Akram has been a magician with the ball. Left-arm pace bowlers have been a rarity in the game, and good ones even more so: Alan Davidson, Garry Sobers, Bill Voce maybe. But none of them, not even Sobers, could manipulate the ball with the dexterity of Wasim. That ball to Croft may have been exceptional, but it would not have been unique in his career for it seemed he could do it all the time. One such, delivered in an adrenal lime-green fury under the lights in Melbourne, ripped past the outside edge of Allan Lamb’s bat and clipped his off stump – the defining moment, perhaps, of the 1992 World Cup final.This now is his World Cup swansong, for age catches all. It is time to go. Against Australia at the Wanderers in Pakistan’s 2003 World Cup opener, the flame briefly was rekindled as he sneaked an inswinger through the tentative first-ball prod of Damien Martyn, leaving himself on a hat-trick. But later, the instinct and skill that allowed him to spear his reverse-swung yorkers in deserted him. It was not, nor could we expect it to be, the Wasim of old.But he will leave a legacy after almost an entire year of his life playing one-day internationals. Through expedience, Pakistan pace bowlers redefined what was possible, and none more so than Wasim. The memory will linger, of the bright lights, garish uniforms, and Wasim in his pumped up pomp, gold chain swinging, pit-pattering his way to the crease and letting rip. Along with Joel Garner and Shane Warne he has set the benchmark for bowling in one-day cricket. I cannot help it: he remains, through all the allegations of match-fixing and ball tampering, my favourite cricketer. I named my first dog after him and believe me it doesn’t get higher than that.Wisden Asia Cricket

Former Pakistan captain Imran Khan Thursday demanded the InternationalCricket Council (ICC) to impose sanctions on India after they withdrewfrom the Asian Test Championship.”The ICC should penalize India for not honouring the commitment,” thelegendary Khan said from Islamabad.The Asiad was left in a spin by India when it withdrew two weeksbefore the commencement of the championship citing security fears andpolitical hassles. However, the event manager decided to go ahead withthe tournament.”Had they not confirmed participation, it would have been a differentissue. But withdrawing two weeks back is a serious crime and it shouldnot go unnoticed. The ICC should impose penalty on India for breakingthe commitment,” Imran, who led Pakistan to the World Cup glory atMelbourne in 1992, said.The all-rounder said India had dented Pakistan’s kitty late last yearand did the same to the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) while Pakistanhelped them earn revenues worth million when they toured India in1999. He demanded reciprocity and urged the Pakistan cricketadministrators to think seriously about its relations with India.India cancelled a scheduled tour to Pakistan early this year whichresulted in an estimated $15million loss to the Pakistan Cricket Board(PCB). On the contrary, India is expected to have earned $50millionwhen Pakistan played two Tests and then the tri-nation series in 1999.”I am perplexed as India has no problems playing Pakistan in any othersport except cricket. I am sure there is some other reason behind,” hesaid with reference to India’s acceptance to send a 350-athletecontingent for October’s SAF Games in Islamabad.The cricketer-turned-politician said Indian Prime Minister Atal BehariVajpayee was interested in talks with Pakistan and ease out tensionbetween the two countries but he was not being allowed to meet withthe demands of the public by the right wing extremists.Commenting on Bangladesh’s early days in the exclusive Test club andbeing thrashed mercilessly by Pakistan here, Imran was of the viewthat they needed time to settle down and get used to the demands ofthe standards at the highest level.”Once a country is awarded Test status, the improvement comes inquantum. If you go back, Pakistan and India were also called ‘B’ teamswhen they started cricket. I think the Test nation comes underpressure when they are new but they are bound to improve,” he said.

South Africa wicketkeeper Quinton de Kock has been fined 75% of his match fee after pleading guilty to his involvement in a shoulder-barging incident with Bangladesh opener Tamim Iqbal on the second day of the ongoing Chittagong Test.The incident occurred at the stroke of lunch, after Tamim played out the last ball of the 30th over bowled by Simon Harmer. When he turned to head to the dressing room, Tamim got involved in a conversation with de Kock and there was some shoulder-barging before South Africa’s captain Hashim Amla intervened.South Africa bowling coach Charl Langeveldt said he did not see the incident, while Mahmudullah declined to comment on the matter during the press conference after the day’s play.”As the over before lunch came to an end, Quinton de Kock walked in front of the stumps to confront Tamim Iqbal,” match referee Chris Broad said. “In doing so de Kock deliberately brushed Tamim Iqbal’s shoulder and rib area. This resulted in a heated exchange between the two, initiated by the contact made by de Kock. This type of incident has no place on a cricket field.”The ICC Code of Conduct’s Article 2.2.7 relates to, “inappropriate and deliberate physical contact with a player, player support personnel, umpire, match referee or any other Person (including a spectator) in the course of play during an International Match”. It also says, “without limitation, players will breach this regulation if they deliberately walk or run into or shoulder another player”.Tamim was involved in a similar incident in the second ODI against South Africa. Rilee Rossouw, while walking to celebrate Tamim’s dismissal, shouldered the batsman in full view of the umpires. He was fined 50% of his match fee.

Suresh Raina and Bhuvneshwar Kumar have been dropped from India’s ODI squad for the upcoming tour of Australia, following a poor home series against South Africa.

Ins and Outs in the ODI squad

In: Barinder Sran, Rishi Dhawan, Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami, Ravindra Jadeja, Manish Pandey
Out: S Aravind, Stuart Binny, Suresh Raina, Harbhajan Singh, Mohit Sharma (injured), Ambati Rayudu, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Amit Mishra

A rejigged ODI squad included a maiden call-up for Punjab’s 23-year-old left-arm pacer Barinder Sran, as well as a recall for Manish Pandey, who made his international debut against Zimbabwe in July. Sran has played only seven List-A matches and taken 15 wickets at 26.73.Himachal Pradesh allrounder Rishi Dhawan also found a place in the squad, but there was no room in the ODI team for Harbhajan Singh, Amit Mishra, Ambati Rayudu and Stuart Binny.Patil also said the changes to the team were necessitated by the predictability of the team composition in India’s recent series. “We felt Indian team in batting and bowling was looking very much predictable,” he said. “So we wanted to have some variations, and that is why we have picked a player in our batting order [Pandey] and a player in the bowling department [Sran] also.”Raina has managed just one century in his last 26 ODI innings, and scored just 180 runs in eight matches since the 2015 World Cup. He was unable to shake off this poor run even against South Africa last month, as he managed just 68 runs from five matches at an average of 13.60. Bhuvneshwar’s series was just as forgettable; he claimed his seven wickets from five matches at an average of 49.57 and an economy rate of 7.13.To a question on whether selectors had lost faith in Raina’s abilities, Patil reiterated that no player was written off. “If he had lost confidence he wouldn’t have been in T20 team also,” he said. “Selectors have no right to write any player off. We look at the performance, the fitness of the player and we look at the combination. If a player fits in the combination we pick him.”With just five specialist batsmen in the squad, Raina’s exclusion could open the door for Rishi Dhawan, Pandey or Gurkeerat Singh. Rishi Dhawan, who has played 53 List-A matches, recently struck a match-winning 117 in the Vijay Hazare Trophy against Madhya Pradesh to fire his team into the quarter-finals, to go with 28 wickets from eight Ranji Trophy matches.A source privy to the developments in the meeting said the names of Shreyas Iyer and Shardul Thakur were also discussed for selection. “The emphasis was on identifying a larger pool of talent ahead of the Asia Cup T20 and the World T20,” the source said. “The idea is to promote youngsters and also reward consistency over the years. Rishi Dhawan, for instance, has been doing very well over the last few years.”The source said there were other players in the selectors’ radar as well and that they were keen on watching as many talented cricketers as they could in the lead up to the World T20.According to him, one of the reasons behind the inclusion of Rishi Dhawan and Sran was the nature of pitches in Australia. “There will obviously be good bounce there and it will suit the faster bowlers,” the source said. “The batting ability of someone like Rishi Dhawan will also come in handy. With [Ravichandran] Ashwin and Bhaji [Harbhajan Singh] there already, it becomes a strong No.7, 8 and 9.”ODI squad: MS Dhoni (capt), R Ashwin, Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Manish Pandey, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Axar Patel, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Gurkeerat Singh, Rishi Dhawan, Barinder Sran

The Somerset captain Justin Langer is in talks with the county to sign a new one-year contract to extend his stay until 2008. Langer had a six-week stint at Taunton last year and agreed to captain Somerset following his international retirement after the 2006-07 Ashes in Australia.”Justin has already publicly stated that he wants to come back and play for Somerset in 2008,” Brian Rose, Somerset’s director of cricket, told the county’s official website.”He is thoroughly enjoying his cricket with Somerset and has been making positive noises, in addition to which his family is enjoying their time over here in England as well.”Richard Gould, the chief executive at Somerset, said: “Discussions with Justin regarding his likely return to Somerset for next season are at an advanced stage and an official announcement will be made later this week.” In 12 first-class matches for the county this season Langer has scored 953 runs at 59.56 and he has added another 555 in the one-day competitions.

South Africa’s decision to withdraw from the tri-nation series had all theinevitability of the monsoon showers that have lashed the city over thepast week. Once the bomb went off near Liberty Plaza, and once thesecurity team that they trust implicitly reckoned that the risk had become”unacceptable”, it was only ever a matter of when the players would leavethe country. In the end, it took two days of interminable waiting beforewhat most people already knew was confirmed. The players will now leaveearly on Thursday morning, most likely in four batches.Back in 2003, there had been much anxiety before their tour of Pakistan,with only last-minute parleys and detailed inspections of the safetymeasures convincing the players that it was safe to go. But ever sinceNichols and Steyn came on board to assess security situations, the playershave been content to follow their advice on such matters. Once FaisalNagel, the security officer accompanying the team on this tour, sent areport to the board in the wake of the Monday bombing, saying that thesituation was too dicey to stay on, the players’ minds were made up.That much was clear even on Tuesday evening, after it was announced thatthe Dubai-based Olive group would carry out an independent securityassessment. Far from being flustered, the mood in the South African campwas upbeat and relaxed, with players convinced that they would be headinghome, no matter what. It helped that Gerald Majola, the Cricket SouthAfrica chief executive, had initially come out in their favour, thoughpressure from government quarters had subsequently prompted a rethink.So while the media speculated about what might happen, several of theplayers spent Tuesday night in the Cheers Pub at the team hotel, havingdinner and light-hearted games of pool while joking about which flightsthey would take back home. The team management had apparently asked for 27business-class seats for the team, but with such a bulk booking notpossible, there were plans to send the team in three groups, via Doha,Singapore and even London.By Wednesday morning though, with no decision taken, there was anincreased element of jitteriness and belligerence. A team meeting in themorning reportedly had the team deciding to head home, with or without theblessing of the board. By early afternoon, with the Olive report beingsent to Cricket South Africa, it was certain that they would leave, andall that remained was for administrative hurdles to be surmounted. Majola,who had been on vacation before this crisis broke, hurriedly convened apress conference at 3:30pm (7pm Sri Lankan local time) in Johannesburg,but by then Sri Lanka Cricket had already been informed of the decision towithdraw.An email sent by Majola to Duleep Mendis spoke of the warm relationshipthat the two countries shared, but reiterated that the situation was toodangerous in South African eyes for the tour to go on. And by the timeArthur read out Majola’s statement to the media – no questions wereentertained – Sri Lanka Cricket and the BCCI had already announced theirplans for a three-match series to be played at the Sinhalese Sports Club,where drainage facilities are markedly superior to that at the Premadasa.The very fact that the Indians weren’t keen on a five-match series – theywill leave Colombo more than a week ahead of schedule – suggests that theytoo have a few concerns about the situation. Under the circumstances, itmakes little sense to point fingers at the South Africans for bailing out.With the rain constant and the security cordon tight, boredom and a siegementality were nearly inevitable. A half-hearted performance with mindsback home and nerves on edge would have done no one any favours, least ofall the crowd.