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Shane Warne has decided not to play in any of Victoria’s one-day games this season mainly because of the Ashes schedule.”As has been well documented, I haven’t had international aspirations in the one-day game for some time,” Warne said. “While managing my workload ahead of the Ashes is also a consideration, I feel it’s appropriate to step aside at state level and allow another Victorian to play and push for higher honours.”Greg Shipperd, the Victoria coach, confirmed that missing the one-day games was Warne’s suggestion. “But I should add if exceptional circumstance arose, such as last year when Cameron White and Brad Hodge were on international duty, Shane [Warne] would step in for a one-off as he did last season,” Shipperd told the , a Melbourne-based daily.Shipperd added that if White, the Victoria captain, was called up for national duty then Hodge was likely to take over captaincy of the state team. “He has grown into a leadership role and is now sharing his knowledge with the team,” Shipperd said. I’d be very comfortable with Brad leading the side.”Warne and Hodge though will be looking for some practice ahead of the Ashes as Victoria named a 15-member squad for their one-day and four-day matches against Western Australia (WA). With injury sidelining at least four players, Rob Quiney, an uncontracted left-hand batsman, has also been given the chance to play in Victoria’s opening matches of the season.”There’s been a massive build-up to this season, so we’re all raring to go,” said Hodge. “WA have a number of stars in their line-up, so it’s going to be great challenge for us. But we’ve put in the work and are confident of picking up valuable early points and paving the way for a top season.”Victoria’s opening fixture is a Ford Ranger One-Day Cup match on October 13 after which they meet Western Australia in the four-day Pura Cup encounter on October 15.While Warne will not feature in the one-day game on October 13, he will play one this weekend for St Kilda, his local Melbourne club. “This weekend Cricket Australia is promoting Long Live Club Cricket, which is an initiative I’m passionate about, so I’ll return to my grass roots and play for St Kilda, which is something I rarely get the chance to do,” said Warne.

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.

John Wright has been retained as India’s coach for a further year. Wright, 50, has held the job for four years and his extension lasts until September 2005. India have put in some good performances during Wright’s tenure, beating Australia in a home Test series in 2001 and drawing with them in Australia earlier this year, as well as reaching the World Cup finals in South Africa in 2003, and beating Pakistan in the first Test series between the two for 14 years.The extension to Wright’s contract was widely expected, but is surprisingly short-term. Jagmohan Dalmiya, the Indian board president, explained why this was the case: “It all depends on whether the coach wants to continue and if the players are comfortable.”Two other members of the coaching staff, Andrew Leipus, the team physio, and trainer Greg King have had their contracts extended until the end of the 2007 World Cup in West Indies.The national team left India today (August 16) for their European tour, which starts with the Videocon triangular one-day tournament in the Netherlands, involving Australia and Pakistan, followed by the NatWest Challenge against England, and the ICC Champions Trophy in September.

India A kick off their six-week tour of England with a one-day match against a combined British Universities XI at Durham today. Speaking to the press, coach Sandeep Patil said that the tour was an opportunity for many players to get a look-in into the national side, and that “it is up to these players to grab these opportunities”.Patil also stated that, except for Aavishkar Salvi’s torn webbing, all the players were fit and raring to go. “Even Salvi is also fit to play the first match, but we will take a decision on the day of the match.””I started my cricketing career here in 1979. Now I am here in a different capacity. It is a good challenge and good opportunity for all the 16 players,” said Patil. “We have a very talented and experienced team and 12 members have already played for the country in one-dayers or Test matches.”

The first semi-final of the Red Stripe Bowl competition, between Guyana and Jamaica, produced a thrilling tie. Batting first, Jamaica made 191 for 9 in their 50 overs. Guyana replied with 191 for 9 but go through to the final by virtue of having more wins in the qualifying stages of the tournament.Guyana won the toss and, not surprisingly on a moist pitch, bowled first. Jamaica lost two early wickets to Reon King. Captain Robert Samuels steadied the collapse with a half-century and he found a valuable partner in Gareth Breese to pull the innings round from 75 for 5.Breese had to retire hurt when on 15, struck a painful blow in the box when facing fast bowler Colin Stuart, returned to blast King for 14 in the final over of the innings before being run out for 42. That assault damaged King’s figures and he ended with 3 for 51 from 9 overs.In reply, Guyana lost opener Andrew Gonsalves for 3 in the second over and slipped to 58 for 3 when Shivnarine Chanderpaul was stumped for 12 after consultation with the third umpire.Guyana’s captain Carl Hooper with 31 and Ramnaresh Sarwan (35) pulled the innings round so that at 114 for 3 Guyana appeared to be coasting to victory. They looked to be coasting to defeat when both batsmen were out by the 35th over, but Neil McGarrell, batting at number 8, revived things with 24 not out from just 15 balls.The final over, bowled by Marlon Samuels, was a classic of the genre. 11 runs were needed for victory and, with the aid of some indifferent fielding and a missed stumping opportunity, the batsmen managed to level the scores with one ball remaining. Stuart was on 14 and went for the run that would have given his side the win but, for once, the fielders were up to their task and Stuart was run out leaving the match as a tie.The place in the final had to be decided by a count-back to wins in the preliminary stages of the competition – a calculation that came out in Guyana’s favour by 3 matches to 2. They will play the winners of today’s clash between Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago.

Middlesex batsman Fran Wilson has been called up to the England women’s squad of 14 for the standalone Ashes Test next week in Canterbury. Wilson’s inclusion, in place of wicketkeeper-batsman Amy Jones, is the only change from the ODI squad that lost to Australia 2-1.Wilson was rewarded for her back-to-back fifties, 55 and 64, for England Academy Women in the warm-up matches against Australia. “Fran has been in excellent form with the bat for club and county this summer, and in particular has put in a couple of notable performances for the England Women’s Academy against the Australians during the 50-over and 2-day warm up matches,” ECB’s head of England Women’s Performance, Paul Shaw, said.Jones was dropped after producing scores of 0 and 15 in the two ODIs she played and her score of 18 in the two-day match against Australia in Loughborough last weekend. Wilson, uncapped in the Test format, has played two ODIs and five T20Is so far since her debut against Sri Lanka in 2010, but hasn’t scored any runs in the one-day format yet.Australia currently lead the Ashes four points to two. The Test, which carries four points for a win and two each for a draw, will be followed by three T20Is at the end of the month.England Women Squad: Charlotte Edwards (captain), Heather Knight (vice-captain), Katherine Brunt, Kathryn Cross, Georgia Elwiss, Lydia Greenway, Rebecca Grundy, Jenny Gunn, Laura Marsh, Natalie Sciver, Anya Shrubsole, Sarah Taylor, Fran Wilson, Lauren Winfield.

Griqualand West opening batsman Pieter Koortzen walked away with theman-of-the-match prize after scoring an undefeated 107 in his team’s 66-runwin over the Highveld Strikers.It was Koortzen’s second century in as many innings in this competition,following on his 123 against North West seven days previously, and it cameoff 113 balls and included 12 fours.Koortzen and Loots Bosman set the tone with an opening stand of 169 thattormented the Strikers until the 24th over, when Bosman was bowled by CliveEksteen, the only visiting bowler to leave in one piece with figures of twofor 33 off his nine overs.Bosman crashed his imperious 89 off 78 balls with 10 fours and two sixes -one driven straight off Ottis Gibson, the other cut square off DavidTerbrugge.Both strokes were nothing short of breathtaking in their sheer audacity, andit will not help the restoration of the Gautengers’ sense of humour thatBosman hit them after he had been dropped on four by Andrew Hall in theslips off Gibson.If much of this sounds familiar, it could be because a similar whirlwindtore through Kimberley when North West came, saw and were conquered. BesidesKoortzen’s effort, Bosman scored 86 and Griquas totalled 318 for six.So no records were set against the Strikers, except that the 306 for fourwas Griquas’ highest total against the not so mellow yellows.The home side couldn’t get much wrong after the start given them by Koortzenand Bosman, but they suffered a significant wobble when, with Eksteenbowling immaculately, Bosman, Grant Elliott and Brett Tucker were sentpacking in the space of 18 balls.Only for Martin Gidley to join Koortzen at the crease and graft 69 runs off59 balls, hitting six fours and two sixes along the way, in a fourth-wicketstand of 111 that ended in the 43rd over when Gidley was bowled byTerbrugge.The Strikers’ reply had a tired look about it from the start, and their onlybatting of consequence was delivered by Nic Pothas and Zander de Bruyn, whoscored 71 and 72 respectively and shared a partnership of 88 for the fifthwicket.By then, however, the writing was on the wall in two-metre-high neonletters.

ScorecardGloucestershire pulled themselves away from the Pro40 relegation zone with a 71-run win against Essex, who are now facing the drop. Steve Kirby took four wickets after Alex Gidman’s aggressive 80 put Gloucestershire on course for a strong total.Essex’s run-chase floundered from the start with openers Varun Chopra and Mark Pettini gone with five runs on the board. Grant Flower soon became Kirby’s second victim as Essex fell to 20 for 3. James Foster (49) and Ryan ten Doeschate (42) pulled Essex back into the contest with a stand of 68, but when Foster was run-out by Ian Fisher the last six wickets fell for 31.Gidman had earlier blazed the ball to all parts during his 67-ball 80, 56 of which came in boundaries. Craig Spearman was equally destructive in his 63 which took 55 deliveries.Danish Kaneria, who bowled intelligently for his three wickets, finally trapped Gidman on the back foot, while ten Doeschate also bagged three to haul in the run-rate. Ultimately, though, Gloucestershire had plenty.

Blame for what happened at The Oval and its aftermath can – and has been – liberally flung in several directions. Darrell Hair’s eventual and Inzamam-ul-Haq’s initial obstinacy, the ICC match referee Mike Procter’s haphazard communication skills and the Pakistan Cricket Board’s less than firm handling of the crisis.As more information from Sunday dribbles through, the last named in particular are being asked increasingly difficult questions in Pakistan and for them, something is about to hit the fan. Inzamam can still count on public support, given the inclusive nature of his protest (he was defending the country’s honour), but it is looking difficult for his board to expect the same.Ex-officials and players are rarely happy with successors but there appears genuine cause for grief. As a fiasco unfolded on Sunday, Shaharyar Khan, chairman PCB, told Sky TV that his team’s protest was to last “a few minutes”. Immediately a contradiction was set in place; “a few minutes” was considerably more and doubts appeared about the team’s intent.Khan giving a statement was questionable enough (not more though than him appearing in a Pepsi commercial last year), given that the team’s manager Zaheer Abbas was hired for just this sort of situation (Journalist Khalid H. Khan, in asked why Zaheer Abbas was seen doing little more than chatting on his mobile phone, walking in and out of the dressing-room). The next day, the PCB only shook up more dust. They were wrong in claiming that the ball was roughed up because Kevin Pietersen was spanking sixes – those came after the ball was changed.They were ambiguous in their stance on Hair; “he was a good umpire” but their team had problems with his attitude. They were contradictory in their explanation of what happened in those crucial minutes after tea and before the game was forfeited. The fate of the ODIs wasn’t decided though their captain and coach were already publicly threatening cancellation. As Inzamam’s hearing is now postponed, they still can’t find one voice through which to speak – do they want hearings postponed or do they not?

Arif Abbasi, chairman of the PCB through the ball tampering and match-fixing crises of the ’90s and no mincer of words was appalled by the management’s lack of knowledge through the events. “It was a shambles. No one appears to have known the laws regarding forfeiture as the crisis was occurring. The manager Zaheer Abbas went missing, the chairman was making comments about things he didn’t know and there was no communication at all between Pakistan and the umpires. As a study in crisis-management, it was as poor as it gets. Since then, it appears as if they haven’t done their homework on anything.”Others have been similarly scathing. Aaqib Javed was in the 1992 side in England, during which a ball was also changed, with considerably less hoopla. “It’s not the first time it has happened. In 1992 while we were playing, our manager Intikhab Alam told us not to worry, he would handle everything while we should just play on. Afterwards, he sent a letter protesting. Where was the manager now and did anyone know the rules? Let’s not forget though that Hair was correct in all the actions he took and he should be lauded for those decisions.”Javed also raised concerns that Shaharyar hadn’t been firm enough, in his capacity as chairman, with the players or match officials. “One player in the dressing-room told me that all decisions were being taken by Inzamam about the protest. Shaharyar’s very nature is of compromise, once a diplomat, always a diplomat. Not being clear and firm on issues is natural. When they convinced Inzamam to come out, it actually made Pakistan and Inzi look more foolish.”That observation wasn’t a stray one; in an article for , columnist Shahed Sadullah questioned the PCB’s decision, together with Mike Procter, to convince the team to return. The gesture was humiliating as well as pointless, “totally compromising Pakistan’s stand. You either protest or you do not; you cannot hedge your bet both ways. That takes away the moral high ground completely and that is what the PCB’s actions have done.”

One well-placed source close to the board painted a none too flattering picture: “They were like a whole group of Inspector Clouseaus, all bumbling through without knowing quite what they were doing, without knowing the law, making one statement after another, each one contradicting the last.” The list could go on; both Imran Khan and Javed Miandad have also registered their concerns over the board’s handling. But as the source acknowledged, “it’s been such a big cock-up that questions will most definitely be asked when they get back.”For one, the Senate is likely to pounce. Since the 2004 loss at home to India, the standing committee for sports has hounded the board – through wins, losses, draws – over their finances, the lack of a constitution (the board has operated ad-hoc since 1999) and any other topical controversy. This is heaven-sent. The tour is drawing to a close but the PCB’s headaches aren’t. In fact, on return, they are likely to turn into a migraine.

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.