Lance Gibbs, the former West Indies spinner, has asked the team management not to ignore the spinners in the region and to give them a chance.”Chris Gayle was the leading wicket-taker against South Africa and here [in Barbados] against Pakistan,” Gibbs was quoted as saying in The Nation. “He was also one of our best bowlers in the one-day matches. There are better spinners than Gayle, and they must be given the chance.”Gibbs, who was the first spinner to pass 300 wickets, pointed out that the spinners have dominated the domestic cricket in the Caribbean. “There is a little spinner from Jamaica named [Nikita] Miller and he has been doing well. If you look at the history of our [regional] cricket it has always been the spinners who have taken the most wickets, but they have not been given the chance. What the spinners need is a chance. They need to be played and trusted.”Bennett King, the West Indies coach, was quoted on digicelcricket.com website that there was dearth of quality spinners in the region, and they needed to use the domestic competition as a tool to work out their technique instead of doing so at the international level. “There are steps we need to create from regional cricket so that we can help initiate those spinners, then move them into international cricket.”However, Gibbs argued, “I certainly believe the spinners have merited selection. I don’t care what the coaches say that they are bowling the wrong line and stuff like that. The line can improve and the bowlers can improve once they are handled properly.”Don’t use the bad line as an excuse. Yes, the lads might bowl a few bad balls, but you have to work with them, the fast bowlers bowl a few bad balls too. For example, Stuart MacGill bowls four and five bad balls an over, but he still plays for Australia. He has been given an opportunity. The nonsense about not being good enough and not playing spinners is absurd.”West Indies have selected several spinners in recent times including Omari Banks and Dave Mohammad, who have been dropped due to inconsistent form.Advising the emerging spinners, Gibbs said, “If you are going to play against an individual you must know his strengths and his weakness. That’s all you have to remember. Once you know strengths and weaknesses you know where to and not to bowl.”You have got to be able to work it out. All the talk about analysts and other techniques will mean nothing if you can’t remember strengths and weaknesses. If you can’t remember what’s important, you have no right out there. It’s big boys’ stuff.”

The Zimbabwe Cricket Union this week made a last-ditch bid to lure Heath Streak back into the fold by offering him a new contract, according to a report in the Zimbabwe Independent. Streak is understood to have rejected the approach.The ZCU claimed that it was in negotiations with several of the rebel players, but it declined to name names, and none of the cricketers we spoke to had been contacted.The Independent quotes a source close to the dispute as saying that the ZCU was trying to lure Streak in the belief that if he came back then others would follow. But given that Streak has serious issues with several senior members of the ZCU, it seems highly unlikely he would consider any such offer. The source added that the proposed contract would have “nailed and fixed” Streak.Stuart Carlisle, one of the rebels, said that the ZCU’s activities had to be challenged, adding that “until this cancer is removed none of the senior rebels will return.”

If there has been an aspect of this Test moredisappointing than the pitch, it must be the audience.Rahul Dravid, on the very first day, said that he was”maybe a little disappointed” at the low turnout, butpointed out that it was tough to get away to watchcricket on a weekday. Saturday brought no appreciableincrease, however, and only on Sunday afternoon wasthe ground filled to even half its capacity. Theoppressive heat and the soulless wicket may have hadsomething to do with it, but what little crowd therewas, right from New Zealand banner-waving cheerleaderSonny Shaw to Parthiv Patel’s classmates, ensured thenoise levels remained high, even if the audience countwasn’t.**************For five days, the scoreboard at the Sardar Patelstadium listed New Zealand players who may not beimmediately recognizable. Natahn Astle and CraigMcMillian, of those players, did particularly well. Daryl Tufey and Danel Vettori were two other similarly misnamed. Astle, incidentally, was just “alittle crocked,” according to Lou Vincent, and hencehis late arrival at the crease. One journalist,however, spotted Astle coughing and sneezingvehemently at his breakfast table, while a New Zealandreporter, after a visit to the dressing rooms justbefore lunch, told of how Astle was resting flat onhis back, and how Mark Richardson was none too bonnyeither. “It just happens sometimes,” said Vincent.”You try to be careful, and then one day you brushyour teeth in the tap water and something happens, oryou just happen to catch the flu.”***************Finally a vehicle with a more extensive securityconvoy than the Indian team’s arrived at the Moterastadium. Narendra Modi, chief minister of Gujarat,arrived silently and stalked into the stadium,surrounded by Black Cat commandos. Narhari Amin, the president of the Gujarat Cricket Association, escorted him to a glass-fronted room next to the AIR cubicle, from where Modi watched Craig McMillan and Nathan Astle grind thebowling. Just before the presentation ceremony, Modiwas kept waiting for almost 10 minutes as officialsscurried about, waving frantically for the teams tocome out of their dressing rooms. Whopping big chequeand trophy presented, Modi left as swiftly andunremarkably as he came.*************************The pitch had the final word, so the final word on thepitch. One Gujarat junior cricketer says that itshould have been no surprise that this wicket playedas it did. Around one month before the Test match,BCCI pitches committee chairman Venkat Sundaram dropped in to assess a 40-over-a-side match played between Gujarat’s Ranji probables. Theside batting first made only 165, and the surface, thecricketer says, played exactly like this one – nothingin it for the fast bowlers and only slow, slight turnfor the spinners. Sundaram seemed happy with that,for the surface was virtually replicated for the firstTest.

Kevin Pietersen has been cleared of any serious injury after a scan on his groin revealed only a minor strain. He was forced to sit out most of Australia’s innings during England’s loss in the third game of the NatWest Challenge, but has now been cleared and is available for selection for the first Test of the Ashes. The squad will be named on Thursday morning at Lord’s.Pietersen is fighting for a place with Graham Thorpe, and David Graveney, the chairman of selectors, told the BBC Today show that picking the squad would pose some problems. “I’m a big fan of both of them,” said Graveney, “It’s the young emerging player against the seasoned player who’s had a lot of experience.”Thorpe, who recently recovered from a back injury, staked his claim by scoring 73 for Surrey against Gloucestershire, on his return to county cricket. Pietersen replied with a defiant 74 against Australia at the Oval.Pietersen is hopeful that the innings will find him a place in the Test squad: “I think I have done enough and hopefully it goes my way when they pick the team,” he told AFP, “I just think I’ve ticked enough boxes in terms of what I had to do. I knew that this was a massive game at The Oval. I’ll be very disappointed if I’m not selected. I was disappointed to miss out against Bangladesh, but I knew these one-dayers would be instrumental in getting me involved in the squad that’s picked this week.And he says he has been given a taste of the sledging he will face if he does make the Test squad: “There were a lot of shouts from the fielders saying, ‘This is Test match cricket, can you hack it? Hopefully, I proved to them I’ll be a difficult wicket to get if selected.”Michael Vaughan, the England captain, welcomed the dilemma facing the selectors. “You want as many players as possible to pick from, and we are quite fortunate we have plenty to pick from for Test match cricket,” said Vaughan “I think Kevin has given the selectors a big headache, and that is all you can ever ask as selectors and a management team.”

Goolam Rajah has been appointed to manage the ICC World XI teams for the forthcoming Super Series in Australia. Rajah, South Africa’s manager, is the most experienced team manager in the international game.He has been involved at a senior managerial level for more than 11 years and will find time to squeeze in managing the Africa XI side in the three-match one-day series against an Asian XI, before working the World XIs.Malcolm Speed, ICC’s chief executive, was delighted to welcome Rajah on board. “[His] background and experience will be an important asset in making sure that players arriving in Australia from around the cricketing world are well planned for and looked after during the series. I have every confidence that he will do an excellent job.””I thought I had experienced most of what the game had to offer in team management roles,” said Rajah, “but the opportunity of working with the ICC World XI teams is a great honour and a personal privilege. It will certainly be a highlight for me and I can’t wait to get started.”Playing Australia in Australia will be a huge challenge for the players and I see my main role as making things work smoothly and efficiently as part of the management team, leaving the players free to concentrate their energies on training and preparation,” he added.

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At Potchefstroom, Lions made very slow progress through the day as they were bowled for 190 in 88 overs in response to Titans’s 204. Neil McKenzie (34) and William Nkwe got the innings back on the road after two early wickets, while HD Ackerman (22) tried to up the tempo in his 36-minute knock. It was Nkwe who stabilised the innings with a patient 42, occupying the crease from almost four hours. The extra bounce from Ethy Mbhalati helped him register a career-best 4 for 32. At the close, Titans had reached 30 for 0.
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At Newlands, Western Province Boland bowled the Warriors out 189 to take a 17 run first-innings lead. Arno Jacobs (38) and Mark Boucher (65) had stemmed the tide in a 111-run partnership, but when both fell in quick succession the Warriors were bowled out for 189 on the stroke of at tea. Charl Willoughby, taking four, once again in the wickets assisted by the three from Rory Klienveldt. At the close Western Province Boland replied with 82 for 1, a lead of 99, with Andrew Puttick on 27 and Gerhard Strydom on 35.
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At Durban, Dolphins struggled to 160 for 5 when bad light brought an early end. Eagles had earlier been bowled out for 312. Adding 58 runs to their overnight total of 254, Eagles struck in the first over when Deon Kruis clean bowled Rivash Gobind. Doug Watson, Ahmed Amla and Duncan Brown all made starts but could not convert, to leave the Dolphins at 132 for 5 when Lance Klusener joined Dale Benkenstein (47*).

The national selection committee, headed by Kiran More, is likely to meet on October 13 at Mohali, near Chandigarh, on the final day of the NKP Salve Challenger series, to choose the Indian captain for the upcoming one-day international home series against Sri Lanka.”The committee is tentatively scheduled to meet on the 13th evening to choose the Indian skipper. The selectors would meet the next day (Oct 14) to select the rest of the team members. But this is only a tentative schedule at present,” board sources said on Thursday.India and Sri Lanka are scheduled to play a seven-match ODI series commencing at Nagpur on October 25. More and his co-selectors remain on the senior national selection committee pending the completion of the BCCI’s AGM which was adjourned sine die on September 23 at Kolkata.The senior selection panel is scheduled to meet on October 1 at Delhi to choose the captains and team members of the India Seniors and the India A and B squads for the October 10 to 13 Challenger limited-overs series that will be played under lights.More is expected to talk to Sachin Tendulkar, still recuperating from his elbow surgery, about his availability for the tournament. According to board sources, More was in constant touch with Indian team physio John Gloster on the star player’s progress on the fitness front.Tendulkar has been advised to take part in a domestic competitive match before playing on the international stage by BCCI-appointed sports medicine expert Dr Anant Joshi.Meanwhile Sandip Patil and Robin Singh have been appointed coaches of the India A and B teams for the Challenger Series. Greg Chappell will coach the senior side and would be assisted by John Gloster, the physio. Vaibhav Daga and S Mutthu Kumar would be the physiotherapists for the India A and B teams. The board also decided to avail the services of Ian Frazer, the sports scientist for the Indian team, till the conclusion of the South African tour to India.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) today brokered what is being widely perceived as an uneasy truce between Greg Chappell, the Indian coach and Sourav Ganguly, the Indian captain, following a high profile, closed-door meeting of the committee that lasted four hours.The committee on Tuesday deliberated the standoff between the pair and finally decided that they must bury their differences “in the interests of Indian cricket”. This brings the curtain down – at least publicly – on more than two weeks of mutual recrimination between coach and captain, beginning with Ganguly’s disclosure to the media about Chappell wanting him to quit as captain, and the latter’s subsequent response in the form of a damning email.Addressing a chaotic, and often comical, press conference after the meeting, Ranbir Singh Mahendra, the board’s president, announced that Chappell and Ganguly had agreed to work together. He said: “Indian cricket must go forward”.There was major relief for Ganguly in Mahendra’s announcement that the committee had found no truth in the allegation that he had faked an injury in Zimbabwe. Mahendra sought to explain it away as a “miscommunication”. And there was a hint of support for Chappell in Mahendra’s assertion that players will be henceforth judged on the basis of performance.The other significant announcement by Mahendra was a ban on everybody involved – coach, captain and players – from speaking to the media on this issue. He warned players speaking out of turn of serious consequences.”The committee has heard Chappell, Amitabh Choudhury [the team manager] and Ganguly,” Mahendra told reporters. “After hearing them, the committee has discussed everything in detail and was of the view that cricket is to go forward. Both coach and captain have to work out mutually and a professional working relationship to be maintained, and for this performance will be the criterion. This applies to the captain, it applies to the coach and the players.”Even before the review committee met this afternoon at the Taj Mahal Hotel in Mumbai it was quite clear that tough decisions involving a change of captain or, alternatively, some kind of cautioning of Chappell was not on the cards. For one, the review committee comprising of the three former captains Sunil Gavaskar, Ravi Shastri and Srinivas Venkatraghavan as well as Mahendra, S K Nair, the board’s secretary and, of course, the ubiquitous Jagmohan Dalmiya, had only advisory powers. Second, the board itself is in the throes of an identity crisis, with the courts having had to intervene to decide when its annual elections are to be held.At the meeting both Chappell and Ganguly made their cases separately and then sat together for the final session. Mahendra later said both coach and captain are happy with the outcome and the committee was confident they would get along well. “We cannot presume that there is no trust. They [Chappell and Ganguly] are confident that they will do it,” is how Mahendra phrased it.Early signs had pointed to a showdown between the two principals. Ganguly apparently arrived armed with fitness certificates and detailed notes to make a point-by-point rebuttal on the scathing remarks Chappell had made about him in the email. And John Gloster, the team’s physio, was asked to be on stand-by to provide the necessary documentation to attest the coach’s claims about the captain’s reluctance to conform to tough training regimens.At the press conference Mahendra, embarrassingly evasive and bumbling in the way he fielded questions, seemed to come to life on the question of Ganguly’s faked injuries. “It was due to some miscommunication” was his curt comment, and if the force with which he said it was meant to preclude further questions it did just that.”Cricket should go forward,” was the discovery that Mahendra seemed to have made following the committee meeting, and it was the repeated rejoinder with which he sought to disarm the more trenchant questioners in the assembled media. “We have demarcated the difference in roles between the captain and coach. The captain has to control the game. The coach has to do his own job,” was all he would offer by way of further detail.Finally, Mahendra capped the hatchet job that the board had done on transparency by announcing a blanket ban on the players speaking to the media on the issue.The temporary reprieve that the board has engineered will help the team concentrate on the forthcoming home series against Sri Lanka, from October 25 to November 12, and South Africa, from November 16 to 28. Ganguly’s failing to come good in these games could well re-open the whole issue. This could also happen if the elections to the BCCI, scheduled to be held within two months, throws up a dispensation not controlled by Dalmiya, who has all along been the Indian captain’s guardian deity.

Shabbir Ahmed, the Pakistan fast bowler repeatedly called for a suspect action, has been permitted by the ICC to resume bowling, in a written report to the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).David Richardson, ICC general manager for cricket, said that “The findings of the report mean that Shabbir can resume bowling in international cricket”. “However, everyone needs to be aware that no bowler is ever “cleared” as they could simply revert to bad habits. All bowlers are subject to further reporting if the match officials are of the view that they have concerns about whether a delivery or deliveries conform to the Laws of Cricket when observed with the naked eye.”After being reported during the Barbados Test match against the West Indies in May 2005, Shabbir found himself banned from bowling in Tests or one-day matches. The PCB then arranged for Shabbir to undergo corrective work with Bob Woolmer and other coaches, and a biomedical analysis of the bowler’s action was submitted to the University of Western Australia in September.Scientists found Shabbir’s action to be within the ICC’s prescribed 15 degree level of tolerance and confirmed that there had been a marked improvement, but not without suggesting areas of probable concern. Under the Procedure for the Review of Bowlers with Suspect Bowling Actions, the analysis has been passed on to the PCB, on the condition that Shabbir bowl in an action consistent with the analysis.Shabbir could be reported, and called again, if he fails to bowl in an action that falls below the levels of tolerance, and that this would remain the discretion of the match officials. In such circumstances the ICC would call for an independent analysis of Shabbir’s action again.If that suspension occurred within two years of the starting date of the previous suspension (13 July 2005), he would be automatically banned from bowling in international cricket for a minimum of one year.

Pakistan A 138 and 246 for 4 (Raza 71*, Shahid 57) beat England XI 126 and 256 by six wickets
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England slumped to an embarrassing six-wicket defeat, shortly before tea on the third and final day at Bagh-e-Jinnah, as Hasan Raza, Pakistan A’s captain, confirmed his burgeoning maturity with a fine unbeaten 71. Raza added 129 for the fourth wicket with Shahid Yousuf, and England’s ignominous day was completed when Imran Farhat carved the winning runs past point off Andrew Flintoff.It’s been a bad 24 hours for England. As their captain, Michael Vaughan, looked on glumly from the sidelines, awaiting the results of the scan on his twisted knee, his bowlers were given the run-around from first ball to last. Pakistan A’s nightwatchman, Shahid Nazir, set the tempo with an uninhibited innings of 43 from 31 balls, and though Flintoff chipped in with all three wickets to fall, the support bowlers were unable to cause any problems on a docile surface.Steve Harmison was at least hostile, striking two painful blows in his opening spell, one of which caused the opener, Farhat, to retire hurt with an injured index finger. But after getting out of jail in their first warm-up at Rawalpindi, England got their comeuppance second-time around.But Pakistan A were the team with the most to prove in this match. Mohammad Asif wants a return to Test colours, after a solitary outing against Australia earlier this year, and he did his utmost to ensure that would happen with a fine ten-wicket haul. Meanwhile Raza, who was reputedly the youngest Test cricketer in history when he made his debut as a 14-year-old in 1996-97, confirmed that – nine long years later – he is finally ready for higher honours. His unbeaten 71 included four fours and three sixes, the largest of which landed on the roof of the press tent, but common-sense was his watchword throughout, as he led the pursuit of 245 for victory.The writing was on the wall for England from the very first hour, as the nightwatchman Nazir climbed into the new ball with an alacrity that England have been trying – and failing – to match all tour. He came to the crease late last night following the dismissal of Taufeeq Umar, and made his presence felt in no uncertain terms this morning, swinging the bat with the sort of insouciant abandon that characterises Muttiah Muralitharan’s best slogs. He hit four fours and two sixes in all – all of them hefty heaves across the line – the last of which plopped over the head of a helpless Harmison at deep fine-leg.Nazir took his fair share of blows as well, including one agonising strike below the belt from Harmison that required a lengthy time-out. His spree was eventually brought to an end when Flintoff extracted his off-stump with a well-directed yorker, but at 98 for 2 in just the 15th over of the innings, Nazir had carried his side well within striking distance of their target.Flintoff added a second wicket to his tally when Faisal Athar miscued a pull straight back into the bowler’s midriff for 8 (103 for 3), but Pakistan A were undaunted – even when Farhat left the crease for treatment – and as an intrigued local crowd began to find their voice from behind the gymkhana railings, Raza began to cut loose against the spin of Ashley Giles.Without Vaughan to spur the side on, England seemed flat in the field and, with several members of the squad practising at the Gadaffi Stadium, they were short of replacement fielders as well. The assistant coach, Matthew Maynard, came onto the field when Andrew Strauss departed for treatment for a minor niggle, and though Strauss reappeared soon enough, he wasn’t able to bring with him any magic formula from the dressing-room.Raza and Yousuf went to lunch with an unbroken 50-run partnership, and they had added 79 more in a serene post-lunch session, in which neither Shaun Udal nor Paul Collingwood was able to make much impression. Flintoff returned to the attack to trap Yousuf lbw for 57 with a leg-stump yorker, but at that stage Pakistan A needed just 18 runs to win, and they rattled them off with the greatest of ease.The only consolation for England is that they slumped to a similarly untimely defeat against South Africa A at Potchefstroom last winter, and bounced back to win the Test series 2-1. But with their captain looking increasingly likely to miss at least one match, if not more, their preparations for Multan have taken an undeniable blow.