Denesh Ramdin, the 19-year-old wicketkeeper from Trinidad, is the only new face in the West Indian squad that was chosen for the Sri Lankan tour, starting on July 15.Ramdin has played only 13 first-class matches and managed one hundred and two fifties. Ramdin’s inclusion meant that Courtney Browne, who kept wicket in the recent series against South Africa and Pakistan, was left out of the squad and was one of the two notable absentees along with Reon King, the fast bowler.The West Indies board also said that two more players will be added from the West Indies A squad which left for Sri Lanka on Friday. The 13-member West Indian squad is scheduled to leave on July 1 and will play two Tests and a triangular one-day tournament involving Sri Lanka and India.The West Indies board has also issued the invitations as well as match/tour contracts to the players and asked the players to indicate their agreement by June 21.Squad
Ian Bradshaw, Dwayne Bravo, Shivnarine Chanderpaul (capt), Pedro Collins, Corey Collymore, Fidel Edwards, Chris Gayle, Wavell Hinds, Brian Lara, Darren Powell, Denesh Ramdin (wkt), Ramnaresh Sarwan, Devon Smith, plus two players from West Indies A.

The ICC today announced the outcomes of the ICC Executive Board meeting and ICC Annual Conference that took place on 27 and 28 June at Lord’s Cricket Ground.

New members approved

The ICC Annual Conference approved applications from Jersey, Guernsey, Mali and Slovenia as Affiliate members, and upgraded Belgium, Botswana, Japan, Kuwait and Thailand from Affiliate to Associate status. This takes the total membership of the ICC to 96 countries.Welcoming the approval of the new member countries, ICC’s president, Ehsan Mani, said: “It is a tribute to the ICC Development Program that new members are being accepted into the ICC family on a regular basis. For Jersey, Guernsey, Mali and Slovenia the reward is newly-acquired status as Affiliate members while Belgium, Botswana, Japan, Kuwait and Thailand have all demonstrated to our other members they have the necessary structures in place to take the step up to Associate member status.”

Review of the structure of cricket

The ICC Executive Board approved a proposal for the staging of a Scheduling Summit to explore the detailed and practical implications of moving the Future Tours Programme from its current five-year cycle to a longer cycle of home and away international fixtures.The Summit will be held at the ICC offices in Dubai on 25 and 26 August and will be attended by representatives of all 10 Full Member countries, together with a representative of the top six Associate Members, a player representative and a delegate from the Asian Cricket Council.

Appeal process

The Board of Control for Cricket in India notified the ICC Executive Board that it intends to dispute the process that was used to deal with the appeal of India’s captain, Sourav Ganguly, under the ICC Code of Conduct.The ICC, through its president, Ehsan Mani, has agreed that should the BCCI wish to take this matter further it must write to the ICC which would then refer this to the ICC Disputes Resolution Committee.The ICC Executive Board comprises the presidents/chairmen or designated nominees of the 10 Test-playing nations and three representatives from ICC Associate Member countries:

The ICC Executive Board is the ultimate policy-making body within the ICC. Commercial matters are dealt with by the IDI Board which will meet on Wednesday, June 29, in Dublin. The composition of the IDI Board is currently the same as the composition of the ICC Executive Board.

Left-arm spinner Raymond Price bagged six wickets for Midlands as Matabeleland took a commendable lead on the third day of the Logan Cup match between the two provinces at Queens Sports Club on Sunday.Matabeleland took a lead of 390 runs after closing at 276-8 off 72 overs in their second innings. This was after they had bundled Midlands out for 348 in 93.2 overs in reply to their first innings of 462.The Matabeleland pace bowlers, Pommie Mbangwa and Mluleki Nkala, utilized the second new ball well and put the pressure on Midlands. The visitors lost their first wicket of the day when Travis Friend departed for 25, Charles Coventry catching his powerful drive off Jordane Nicolle at mid-off. Midlands lost another wicket when Alester Maregwede was dismissed by Mpumelelo Mbangwa, caught behind by wicketkeeper Wisdom Siziba for 23 runs.Left-hander Donald Campbell failed to find his best form with the bat and departed for 14 runs after he was caught in the slips by Mark Vermeulen off the bowling of Mluleki Nkala. Mbangwa claimed his third wicket when he trapped Innocent Chinyoka leg-before wicket for eight runs. Nkala claimed the last Midlands wicket when he removed last man Campbell McMillan for two runs.Nkala and Mbangwa claimed seven wickets between them, with Nkala the more successful with four wickets for 83 from 19.2 overs while Mbangwa took three and gave away 74 runs from 25 overs. Nicolle was close behind with two wickets, while spinner Gavin Ewing claimed one victim. Midlands fell 114 runs short of the Matabeleland total in their chase.In their second innings Matabeleland got off to an excellent start with their opening pair of Gavin Rennie and Mark Vermeulen producing 131 in the face of loose bowling from the Midlands pacemen. The two proceeded steadily before Vermeulen, soon after reaching his half-century, fell to left-arm spinner Price when he was successfully caught at long-on by Vusumuzi Sibanda after a remarkable juggling act. He departed for 55, which came off 124 deliveries.The left-handed Rennie appeared on course for another century and together with Charles Coventry put on 36 for the second wicket. But Rennie was run out after Coventry called for a quick single before changing his mind and stayed at his crease with Rennie caught out of his ground. This brought an end to another brilliant innings by the Zimbabwe Test player which saw him score 79 runs, facing 135 deliveries and smashing 12 fours.The young Coventry continued his heroics and went on to get his half-century from 51 deliveries. Matabeleland lost their third wicket when another error of judgement by Coventry saw Barney Rogers run out for 30.The fourth wicket failed to add any runs when Andre Hoffman went out for a duck, nicking a Price delivery to be caught behind by wicketkeeper Maregwede.Coventry had his moment of reckoning when he smashed two sixes and a four off Price before falling to the same bowler, running out of luck when his powerful drive was caught by Friend at extra cover. This brought an end to the 19-year-old’s innings in which he smashed 81, facing 78 deliveries.Price took his fourth wicket when he had Mluleki Nkala caught at silly mid-on by Terrence Duffin before he opened his account. Gavin Ewing followed, caught in the slips by Sean Ervine for four runs. Mbangwa became the last Matabeleland wicket of the day to fall when he was given out leg before wicket to Price with the last ball of day, without offering a shot.Wisdom Siziba was unbeaten with five runs to his name, with Keith Dabengwa and Jordane Nicolle still to bat. Price finished with the best figures of six for 75 in 31 overs and bowled 11 maidens, using the wearing pitch well. The other bowlers did not take any wickets as the other two wickets fell to run-outs. Ervine proved expensive, conceding 45 runs from seven overs.

Brad Williams will be out of action for a month after MRI scans revealed he had sustained only muscle damage to his right knee when dislocating it during Western Australia’s Pura Cup victory over Tasmania.Williams collapsed in agony during the ninth over of Tasmania’s second innings on Tuesday and had to be assisted from the field. The tests showed Williams, 29, had a muscle tear behind his knee and extensive bruising.Scott Meuleman has made a rapid recovery from a dislocated left shoulder, which occurred during the ING Cup loss to Tasmania on October 15, and will make his comeback for the Second XI against South Australia in a four-day match starting on Monday. Chris Rogers will also play in the game, his first since having surgery to correct a chronic hamstring complaint.

England have turned down a proposal to play an extra one-day international in Karachi during their tour of Pakistan, scheduled for November and December this year, according to reports.The Pakistan Cricket Board wanted a second ODI in Karachi because it won’t be hosting a Test. Shaharyar Khan, the PCB chairman, has been in London in an attempt to convince the ECB to play extra matches in Karachi.Abbas Zaidi, a PCB spokesman, told : “They have security concerns about playing in Karachi which are tangible and we can’t pressurise them on this issue. What is confirmed is they will only play one match in Karachi.”The tour itinerary is due to be finalised next week with the three Tests likely to be played in Lahore, Multan and Faisalabad. The five-match one-day series is set to include two matches in Lahore and Rawalpindi plus the single game in Karachi.

Six Indian cricketers and five members of the support staff – including Greg Chappell, the coach – currently in Zimbabwe are without passports after their documents were either stolen or lost. The team manager Amitabh Chowdhary, whose own passport is missing as well, has said that the necessary procedures were under way and that fresh passports would be issued shortly.”We lost the passports on Wednesday while I was watching the match between New Zealand and Zimbabwe at the ground on Wednesday,” Chowdhary was quoted as saying by the Press Trust of India. “Follow-up action has been taken, forms have been filled and we expect the new passports to be issued by this evening.”Suresh Raina, Rudra Pratap Singh, Murali Kartik, Harbhajan Singh Ashish Nehra and Mohammad Kaif were the six players whose passports went missing, while the same fate also befell Greg King, the trainer, the physiotherapist John Gloster and Ian Frazer, the bio-mechanist. Of these, Raina, RP Singh and Kartik were selected only for the one-day squad, and will return home on Thursday, 8 September 2005.

Tatenda Taibu, Zimbabwe’s captain, has admitted that his side are finding the going tough in the face of a string of heavy defeats.Since the end of the strike by rebel players in the spring, Zimbabwe have lost all six Tests they have played – five by an innings and one by ten wickets, with two finishing inside two days. They have also lost all five ODIs played. The nadir came against New Zealand at Harare Sports Club when Zimbabwe became the second side to be bowled out twice in a day in a Test. The on-field performances have been widely lambasted with increasing calls for the ICC to intervene.Taibu, whose own form has understandably dipped in the face of constant hammerings, said that despite the results, there had been some progress. “But collectively we have not improved,” he told the Harare-based Herald newspaper, “and I am not happy with the way things have been going.”The improvement has been in bits and pieces and most disappointing is the fact that it has been the young players who have been doing well while the seniors have not been doing well. If both the young players and the seniors had been playing well then we would have fared far much better.”In the last series against India there was a vast improvement in our bowling especially considering that a number of bowlers like Douglas Hondo and Tinashe Panyangara were injured. For instance, if you look at our performance on the second day of the final Test, we managed to take nine wickets for 175 and that was a good achievement. However, I was not impressed with the fielding. Zimbabwe have been known to be one of the best teams in terms of fielding but we were just not up to it and it has been up and down.”Also, our batting still troubles me and there was not even a single batsman to reach a century in the eight innings against India and New Zealand. Something has to be done. Now that we have seen our shortcomings, it’s up to the guys to look at how to play. I hope that the guys who will be going to India will learn how to deal with left-arm seamers, left-arm spinners and swing bowling in general.”Taibu revealed that he had held long discussions with India’s Rahul Dravid and had learned much from him. “He [Dravid] felt that our problem is worsened by the fact that we only have one left-arm seamer playing in Logan Cup [Allan Mwayenga] who however, gets the ball to move away from the batsman. When New Zealand came guys were lacking confidence in the ability to deal with balls coming back at them but instead of learning fast, it is a weakness that stayed with us even for the India series. We did not adapt quickly and that is a worry.”Taibu is also rumoured to be increasingly at odds with Zimbabwe Cricket. Sources close to the team say that he was not even informed by the board when Phil Simmons was sacked as coach, only finding out from the media. When he complained, he was told in no uncertain terms that it was not his concern.That unease is said to be mirrored across the team, with several sources agreeing that the side is not a happy unit. That was highlighted by the recent press release issued on behalf of the players which slammed the conduct of the board and its treatment of the country’s cricketers.

Scorecard

Surrey were teetering on the brink of relegation overnight, and the one final push that sent them tumbling was struck by Yogesh Golwolkar, when he trapped Scott Newman lbw on the second day at The Oval. Mark Ramprakash’s unbeaten 200 is impressive on the scorecard, and it was an effortless and graceful innings, but all the meaningful action in this match was done and dusted shortly after noon.As solidly as Newman and Mark Ramprakash batted during the opening session, it was only a matter of time before Middlesex claimed their third wicket – and with it, the decisive first bowling bonus point. There were no boos from the Surrey members or cries for heads to roll: that had already begun with Steve Rixon’s departure and, besides, four captains in a season doesn’t leave much room for manoeuvre. At least the manner in which Newman and Ramprakash attempted to save some face was distinctly better than the shambolic performance on the opening day.Once Middlesex’s first division safety was assured, they visibly relaxed and the game took on an end-of-season feel. Owais Shah and Ed Joyce confirmed that they should stick to batting, while Ramprakash – never one to miss the chance to fill his boots at county level – and the middle-order enjoyed the chance to boost their season’s average.Indeed, Ramprakash’s decision to move from Middlesex to Surrey to ensure himself of first division cricket – a decision which still rankles with many Middlesex members – has now backfired. Next summer he will be right back where he was trying escape from, and there is no easy path back for Surrey.As Surrey’s relegation was confirmed, the new coach Alan Butcher spoke to the media and accepted that there were plenty of changes needed, both on and off the pitch. He pinpointed the professionalism within the team as a key factor, and gave strong hints that this had suffered during the last couple of seasons.”There is a lot of talking to be done as a group,” admitted Butcher. “Over the last two years we haven’t done ourselves justice – and I think the players are holding their hands up to that. We need to get back to some of the group ethos that we had five or six years ago, basically a code that we [are] prepared to live and play by. One or two things have fallen by the wayside in recent years and we need to readdress that.”Quite how Butcher is going to go about the rebuilding process is unclear. He has been given a two-year deal but said that he hasn’t as yet had talks with the committee about their view on the situation. Also, any desire he has to rebuild the team is likely to be hampered by budget and contract constraints.Butcher highlighted Surrey’s lengthy injury list as a key factor to his side’s poor performance this season. Key players have been out of action at vital times: two Surrey stalwarts, Jimmy Ormond and Martin Bicknell are absent for this match, and Butcher said that the years of success had stalled the forward planning of the club, leaving them with an ageing team.”It is something we have been aware of for some time, but probably haven’t addressed it soon enough. Going down will make it imperative that we do something about the playing squad but we can keep some of the players we have and get them fit; with the right professionalism, I still think we can compete.”Some of Rixon’s departing comments expressed disbelief at the lack of professionalism in the county game, and Butcher said he has already talked to some of his players. “I’ve had one or two chats with a couple of the players individually, and some as a group, and I think a lot will take responsibility in that area.”Butcher, the coaching staff, committee and players now have six months to come up with their solutions. The issues off the field need to be addressed before any upturn in results can be expected. There won’t be any quick fixes.

When after ten years Muttiah Muralitharan and Darrell Hair got together in the middle in Melbourne, it was a quiet and friendly affair with no hints of the MCG controversy that initially brought them so much notoriety. Hair’s appointment for the second match of the Super Series revived memories of the previous meeting, but his hands remained clasped for most of Muralitharan’s two spells, although he had to raise both arms when Adam Gilchrist slog-swept a six.Whistles and claps from the crowd greeted Muralitharan’s appearance in the 12th over and the closest sign of a no-ball call came from the stands for the first delivery. Muralitharan said last week the pair had made peace and Hair smiled at the bowler following his second opening-over appeal.Muralitharan’s only success came as he confused Simon Katich on 47 and his seven-over spell finished at 28 for 1. Returning for three more overs at Hair’s end, where he again bowled in partnership with Daniel Vettori, Muralitharan finished with a highly respectable 43 for 1, and was the most economical of the World XI bowlers as Australia went to pile up 328 for 4.At the MCG on Boxing Day in 1995 Hair called Muralitharan seven times in the Test, giving both men more notoriety than either wanted. Hair received death threats and Muralitharan won a lifetime of analysis from naked eyes and laboratories, including biomechanics tests. To prove his innocence he even appeared on TV to demonstrate how his arm didn’t exceed the right degree of flex.His relationship with Australia reached its worst point when John Howard, the prime minister, ruled him a chucker and with the jeers of previous trips in his ears he said he would never tour again. However, the tsunami relief match at the MCG in January 2005 brought him back to Melbourne, where his beaming eyes and twirling figure received a hugely supportive response.

The Zimbabwe players’ representative, Clive Field, has said players will go on and sign the new contracts issued by the board on Monday.Field confirmed that agreements on the new contracts had been agreed by finalized by both sides, although the rest of the grievances raised by the players last Thursday still stand.”The original contracts had overlooked basic aspects,” said Field. “We were still negotiating things like the injury clause and match fees, otherwise there has been no significant rectification annexed to the contracts.”Also added to the contracts was a payment system where players will be paid retainers at a respectable external value. Other issues tackled were players’ safety, and the position of the players’ representative.”Over and above there are still governance issues that still have to be addressed,” Field added. “The contacts are the basis on which to engage the board, and we have cleared that hurdle. The players are hoping that those issues will be resolved. The chairman [Peter Chingoka] responded to the public statement saying issues of governance is not the players’ area. In a way he is right. But like we have said, when these things are having a marked effect on the players’ performance, they not only have a duty, but a right to say act. I hope the provincial chairmen will make the board accountable and discuss those issues at the board meeting [proposed for Saturday].”A total of 37 players were awarded contracts. Two were given international contracts, 14 signed senior deals and 21 junior contracts. Zimbabwe Cricket also agreed to pay overdue match fees for Tests and one-day internationals against New Zealand in August, and India in September, although there remain concerns about hoe much money the board actually has to meet its obligations.International contracts T Taibu, A Blignaut.Level One Senior E Chigumbura, P Utseya, D Hondo, B Taylor, D Ebrahim, H Masakadza, B Mahwire, V Sibanda, G Ewing, C Coventry, T Duffin, S Matsikenyeri, K Dabengwa, N Ferreira.Level One Junior C Mpofu, G Cremer, A Mwayenga, W Mwayenga, T Panyangara, E Rainsford, T Mupariwa, C Chibhabha, S Williams, A Ireland, T Mufambisi, T Hove, T Mawoyo, H Matanga, C Ervine, I Nicholson, J Nyumbu, I Chinyoka, T Garwe, B Mlambo, R Bennett.