The Pakistan board is set to send a formal proposal to the South Africa board for a three-Test match series to be played after the Champions Trophy in September, as it continues its push to fill up an empty international calendar. After Australia withdrew from their tour of Pakistan for March-April, the PCB has convinced Bangladesh to play a five-match ODI series and has a host of other commitments in the pipeline, but still a hole remains in their Future Tours Programme (FTP), especially with regards to Test matches.”We have had a verbal communication with them [South Africa] over a possible Test series and their response is encouraging,” Shafqat Naghmi, PCB’s Chief Operating Officer, told The News. The proposed series will be an arrangement outside the FTP.”Our first priority is to host the South Africans for the proposed Test series in October but if because of any reason they cannot visit then we will be willing to send our team to South Africa.”Naghmi said that the PCB scanned the FTP and tour commitments of the top Test-playing nations and found that South Africa were the only leading side that had a window big enough in their FTP to fit in a Test series. According to the FTP South Africa finish a tour of England in September, visit Pakistan for the Champions Trophy in the same month and are scheduled to host Bangladesh in November. South Africa toured Pakistan in October 2007, winning both the Test and ODI series.Australia’s pull out, due to security fears, meant Pakistan were left with only three Tests (against India) in 2008. Australia were scheduled to play three Tests, five one-dayers and a Twenty20 International. The PCB could not persuade India to visit for a one-day series and their plan to host Sri Lanka is likely to be jeopardised by the Indian Premier League.
The stand-off between the Indian Premier League (IPL) and leading news agencies over contentious accreditation clauses for the Twenty20 tournament starting on April 18 has been termed as a matter of concern by franchises, with some of them planning to discuss the issue with IPL officials if media coverage of the event is affected.”If the issue escalates to a point where media or sections of the media will choose to ignore the IPL, we will have to step in, meet with IPL and seek clarifications. We need to find an amicable solution,” Charu Sharma, the chief executive of the Bangalore Royal Challengers, told Cricinfo.Fraser Castellino, the CEO of Jaipur’s Rajasthan Royals, said they had invested heavily in the venture and would like the entire media on board to ensure that the event “reaches every heart”. J Krishnan, of Hyderabad’s Deccan Chargers, said he was sure the IPL officials would sort out the issue.Sharma is a well-known television professional while the Jaipur franchise is backed by the UK-based Investors in Cricket, a media group with significant interests in television. The Hyderabad franchise is owned by Deccan Chronicle, the newspaper group.The Press Trust of India (PTI), the country’s leading news agency, on Friday joined leading international agencies in calling for modifications in IPL’s coverage norms, failing which they have decided to ignore the event. The News Media Coalition (NMC), the umbrella body that covers global news and photograph agencies Reuters, Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Getty Images, had earlier expressed deep concerns about IPL’s media norms, including curbs on selling photographs to websites and a press-box bar on websites.The Editors Guild of India has expressed reservations on the IPL’s media clauses and the Indian Newspaper Society (INS), a representative body of newspaper publishers, said it was disappointed about the accreditation terms, even after the IPL revised them following discussions with media representatives on Monday.”As far as we are concerned, this issue involves the IPL’s IPR, and has to be sorted out by the IPL. However, if the situation [on media accreditation] escalates we will have to have a say in the matter and will want to discuss the issue with IPL,” said Sharma. “If push comes to shove, we will want to get involved as a franchise on this matter. Generally, we believe that nobody can go forward on an event of this magnitude without getting the media on board and addressing all their concerns.”Castellino offered help to resolve the issue because the franchises needed “the entire media” on their side. “Definitely, the possibility of the media ignoring the event is not a great development from the franchise point of view. We are concerned and may need to discuss with the IPL if the situation is not resolved,” he said. “We have invested heavily in this venture, and we need the event to touch every heart. For that, we need the entire media on our side. We hope the two parties, like two sensible people, will sit across the table and resolve the issue. We really have no time but we, as a franchise, are willing to step in and help resolve this situation.”Krishnan said Hyderabad will leave the issue to the “capable” IPL officials. “We really don’t want to comment on this matter, except to state that we are sure the IPL will find a solution to this issue.”The inaugural IPL tournament starts in Bangalore with the Royal Challengers, the home team, taking on the Kolkata Knight Riders. A Knight Riders spokesman declined to comment on the issue.
Lights out in BangaloreThe Bangalore Royal Challengers’ home match against the Deccan Chargers yesterday was interrupted for close to six minutes when the lights on the western tower of the Chinnaswamy Stadium went off. But the situation was quickly resolved and the game resumed. According to a report in the , the Karnataka State Cricket Association has only about 500 replacement bulbs left, since the company that used to provide them, has closed.Yousuf’s wait continuesMohammad Yousuf will continue to be barred from the IPL after the arbiter hearing the case filed against him by the Indian Cricket League, filed an interim order to that effect. Hitesh Jain, the ICL’s lawyer, said that arbiter’s final order is expected in July. With his IPL hopes in limbo, Yousuf has signed with Lancashire as a short-term replacement for Brad Hodge, who has joined the Kolkata Knight Riders.
More for Mascarenhas? Dimitri Mascarenhas may return to the IPL for a second spell with the Rajasthan Royals at the end of May, according to Hampshire chairman Rod Bransgrove. Mascarenhas, who will be available to play from May 12 to 26, could come back if Rajasthan qualify for the semi-finals. “We’ll wait and see what the Royals do in the IPL and where we’re at before that’s discussed.” Bransgrove told the . “Things have worked out very well between us so far, they’ve been decent people to deal with.” Rajasthan are chasing a third successive win in Bangalore today.Orange country Kumar Sangakkara, who cracked 94 off 56 balls to set up Kings XI Punjab’s 66-run win over the Mumbai Indians, received the orange cap for becoming the highest run-scorer of the tournament. Sangakkara has scored 168 runs at 56.00 with a strike-rate of 173.19. Rest assured, Brendon McCullum, behind by just five runs, will be keen on taking the cap back as the Kolkata Knight Riders square off against the Chennai Super Kings in game one of a Saturday double bill.
ScorecardJake Carder pulls during his 58•Cricket Australia
Cricket Australia XI’s top order all chipped in with handy knocks, helping the team secure the lead against West Indians on the second day of the tour match in Brisbane.West Indians, who began the day precariously placed at 154 for 6, were led by Carlos Brathwaite’s patient 47, but received little by way of support from the other players, as the team eventually folded for 243. Medium-pacer Simon Milenko was the pick of the hosts’ bowlers, collecting 5 for 76, while James Bazley and Cameron Boyce shared two scalps apiece.CA XI began their reply positively, as the openers Jordan Silk and Jake Carder shared a 68-run partnership. Carder was the more aggressive foil of the two, stroking 58 off 77 balls, but both batsmen fell in quick succession of each other. The hosts, though, did not lose any momentum, as Nick Stevens (46) and Josh Inglis (44) kept the runs flowing by stringing together an 86-run partnership. Once again, CA XI lost two quick wickets, but once again, the visitors failed to make the most of their breakthroughs, as Jimmy Peirson and Matthew Short put up an unbroken stand of 52 to grab the lead. CA XI were 4 for 245 when stumps were called, leading by two runs.
Wellington and Otago, the two teams bringing up the rear of the Ford Trophy points table, played out a tie at Basin Reserve. Set 250 to win, Wellington’s line-up could only accelerate at a run-rate of 3.21. They had made 74 off 23 overs when rain arrived, stayed and put an end to the match. In the end, the two teams had to share two points each.Otago, who had won the toss, but had only one batsman capitalising on it even though six of the top eight got off to starts. Neil Broom made 54 off 57, with eight fours but his wicket paved way for a mini-collapse. Otago slipped from 147 for 2 to 172 for 6 before Mark Craig at No. 8 hit 46 off 41, with three fours and two sixes.They were all out for 249 without batting their full quota of overs, and the main reasons for that were seamer Brent Arnel and offspinner Jeetan Patel. The duo claimed four wickets and gave away only 54 runs in 19 overs, a combined economy rate of 2.84. Their colleagues, however, went at well more than double that rate. Matt McEwan, Anurag Verma and Alecz Day bowled 29.5 overs and leaked 196 runs.Otago’s bowlers, however, were able to put up a miserly display from all sides. Jacob Duffy, the 21-year old seamer, came away with figures of 5-1-8-1 and their most expensive bowler, Craig, still only conceded 25 runs in five overs, one of which was a maiden.Perhaps that was because Wellington were trying to build a solid enough base first, believing they had 50 overs to chase down 250. Captain Michael Papps and Stephen Murdoch were in the middle of a 69-run partnership when bad weather broke out and Wellington had to settle for a tie. At the time, they had nine batsmen left to tackle an equation that read 176 off 27 overs and an asking rate of 6.5.Tom Latham strengthened his bid to claim a permanent place as New Zealand’s one-day opener with a fluent 96 off 111 balls that helped his state side and table-toppers Canterbury to a 98-run victory over Auckland at Hagley Oval.Latham batted through to the 38th over to set a strong foundation, and though his team lost all six remaining wickets and were all out in the 49th over, they had a formidable 265 on the board. Todd Astle, who has been picked to play Pakistan in the upcoming T20s, chipped in with 52 off 67 as well.For Auckland, Colin de Grandhomme picked up 3 for 42 while Michael Bates and Robert O’Donnell claimed two wickets each. But any threat their batsmen could pose was wiped out when they fell to 32 for 5 inside 10 overs and were bowled out for 167. New-ball bowlers Ed Nuttall (4 for 50) and Kyle Jamieson (2 for 24) were the wreckers-in-chief. Auckland’s bottom five added 118 runs, a whopping 70 percent of their runs, but it was nowhere near enough.A century from Dean Brownlie and an unbeaten 99 from Anton Devcich made small work of Northern Districts‘ chase of 225 against Central Districts in Whangarei, for an eight-wicket win. The two put on 198 runs in 32.4 overs to seal the chase in the 43rd over and give Northern Districts four points, taking them to fourth place in the table.Opting to bat, Central Districts were rattled early by James Baker, who reduced them to 29 for 4 in the fifth over with two wickets off consecutive deliveries. Doug Bracewell (80) helped them past 50 with captain Will Young and hauled the score from 91 for 6 to 192 for 7 with Ben Wheeler (53). Two wickets each from spinners Ish Sodhi and Jono Boult then bowled them out for 224 in the 49th over, and Baker finished with 3 for 30 from seven overs.Northern Districts were in a spot of bother early, being 29 for 2 after ten overs. But Brownlie and Devcich scored briskly and put the chase on track with plenty of boundaries. Brownlie struck ten fours and two sixes in his unbeaten 107, while Devcich collected nine fours and a six.
ScorecardPeter Nevill scored an important 69 ahead of the Test series (file photo)•Getty Images
Australia’s wicketkeeper Peter Nevill warmed up for the Test series in New Zealand with a patient half-century to help New South Wales play out a draw with Western Australia in Lincoln. Nevill scored 69 in the second New South Wales innings and Joel Paris picked up four wickets before the match ended with the Blues on 5 for 155, with a lead of 66 runs.The day had started with New South Wales on 1 for 11 and they soon lost nightwatchman Nathan Lyon, who was lbw to Paris for 3, and Kurtis Patterson, who was bowled by Paris for 21. Ben Rohrer’s dismissal for 20 gave the Warriors hope of running through New South Wales in time to push for victory, but Nevill and captain Nic Maddinson shut things down effectively.Their partnership added only 75 runs but most importantly used up more than 50 overs as they frustrated Western Australia’s attack. Nevill was eventually bowled by Paris for 69 from 210 deliveries but the Blues had done enough, with Maddinson finishing unbeaten on 26 from 165 balls and Trent Copeland on 2.
Chris Harris moved up the all-time Canterbury batting pecking order with 82 against England today, an innings that lent some credibility to what was shaping as a disappointing total.As it was, he helped ensure his captain Gary Stead could declare at 212/8, meaning England have yet to bowl a side out in New Zealand.In the process Harris eased himself past Canterbury icon Graham Dowling into fourth on the all-time Canterbury list with 3704 runs, behind Paul McEwan, Rod Latham and Barry Hadlee.Harris said team coach Michael Sharpe generally kept the players up with any statistical milestones but he had not been aware of his movement today.So far this summer he has scored 605 runs at 121.00, the most runs in the season to date in New Zealand, two ahead of New Zealand Test opener Mark Richardson.”You never felt like you were in on the pitch. But the longer you were there the better chance you gave yourself,” he said.With the new ball, and the bounce and pace off the pitch, it was much more difficult than later. There was a lot more grass on the pitch than usual at the ground, he said.When he joined opener Robbie Frew with Canterbury 39/4, they decided they would just try to bat for a while to get themselves back into the game.Harris did receive a big bonus when an appeal against him for leg before wicket from the first ball he faced was turned down by umpire Robert Anderson.He said Frew had said to him the swing was gone so he decided to leave a wider one alone only to have it come back at him.”I was pretty happy with his decision,” he said.What his lengthy stay at the crease did allow him to do was get a solid first-hand look at the advance Andy Caddick has made as a bowler.As youths in Christchurch the two were often pitted against each other and they appeared in age-group sides together before Caddick decided to pitch tent in the English camp as he was able to do thanks to his parentage.”He was a pretty similar height back then, and very much a handful for anyone facing him. He was always a player you would rather have in your side than in the opposition at lower grade level,” he said.
Romesh Kaluwitharana, who was in the Sri Lankan side which won the 1996 World Cup, has been appointed coach of the Malaysian squad on a short-term contract.Five applicants are on the short-list for the permanent position as national coach of Malaysia but none are able to join before July.”All the players are looking forward to Mr. Kaluwitharana’s arrival and it is a tremendous honour for all of us to have a coach of his experience,” Vishnu Suppiah, Malaysia’s vice-captain, said. “It was he along with Sanath Jayasuriya who changed the face of one-day batting and I am hoping he will be able to provide us with some good batting tips as Malaysia’s downfall in the past has been its batting.”
West Ham have been shedding the dead wood from their playing squad since Gianfranco Zola’s departure ahead of new man Avram Grant’s arrival. The club won’t continue any interest in on-loan Middlesbrough forward Mido after he failed to score in his paltry nine appearances for the Upton Park outfit.
I think it is about time Mido accepted he is not good enough for the Premier League as it just isn’t for him. The Egyptian has played for a host of Prem clubs such as Tottenham, Middlesbrough, Wigan and most recently the Hammers.
Mido had enough about him to attract the attention of Tottenham in the first place and did pretty well whilst he was on loan to the north London club from Roma in 2005. He was signed on an 18-month loan deal and initially impressed scoring three goals in eleven appearances in 2004/05 season and 11 in 27 appearances the following season, which was enough for then manager Martin Jol to sign him on a permanent deal for around £5.6 million.
It all started going wrong from there and the player showed his true colours as a poor professional. Jol described him as being “irresponsible and disrespectful” when Mido claimed that former Spurs player Sol Campbell was the easiest defender he had ever played against whilst the former England defender was playing for Portsmouth.
Well, Mido must have been one of the easiest forwards for the Premier League defenders to face as the 27-year-old only managed to score 14 goals in 76 games (in all competitions) from 2006/07 to 2009/10 whilst plying his trade in England’s top flight.
It’s not just at club level the player has had problems either as he clashed with his coaches at an international level also. Marco Tardelli was the first to have problems with the forward and dropped him from his squad in 2004 after the player played a friendly for Roma, despite ruling himself out of international duty due to injury. After Tardelli was sacked the Egyptian FA made Mido publicly apologise for his actions before he was allowed back into the team. He also had a bust-up with Hassan Shehata after Mido reacted poorly to being substituted in the 2006 African Cup of Nations semi final against Senegal…even though the guy that came on for him Amir Zaki scored with his first touch and put Egypt into the final. Although he patched things up with Shehata he was handed a six-month suspension.
It is doubtful that anybody should take their chance on such a character again in the Premier League as he has an awful attitude and lacks the ambition to make it at the top level in England.
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