Justin Kemp and Justin Ontong have been called up to the South African one-day squad that will contest a five-match series in the West Indies. The two allrounders will replace Monde Zondeki and Jacques Rudolph, who will fly home after the fourth Test in Antigua.Kemp’s six-hitting and composure in times of strife was a big feature of South Africa’s romp to victory in the recent ODI series against England, and Haroon Lorgat, the convenor of the selection committee, revealed how much is expected from the man who’s seen as a long-term replacement for Lance Klusener when he said: “Kemp was an automatic choice after his recent exploits in one-day international cricket, and he has continued this rich vein of form in the (domestic) Pro20 series.”Ontong has been in and out of the squad in recent times, and gets another opportunity to prove his worth, ahead of Rudolph, who he had controversially replaced on the tour of Australia in 2001-02 when the race-quota debate divided opinions in South African cricket circles.Squad Graeme Smith (capt), AB de Villiers, Boeta Dippenaar, Herschelle Gibbs, Andrew Hall, Jacques Kallis, Justin Kemp, Ashwell Prince, Mark Boucher (wk), Nicky Boje, Charl Langeveldt, Andre Nel, Makhaya Ntini, Justin Ontong, Shaun Pollock.

The dressing-room incident involving Shahid Afridi, Younis Khan and Inzamam-ul-Haq, which took place during the Barbados Test, has evoked a strong response from the Pakistan board. stated that Shaharyar Khan, the PCB chairman, spoke to the three players separately and warned that such incidents would be dealt with firmly in future.The three players apparently got into an altercation when Afridi showed his displeasure at being asked to open the batting by Younis in Pakistan’s first innings. Inzamam then joined in the argument and supposedly exchanged heated words with Younis before the other players intervened.Bob Woolmer, the team coach, dismissed the incident as a “minor misunderstanding”, but the board took a more serious view. Abbas Zaidi, a PCB director, told the newspaper: “He [Shaharyar] was obviously not happy with what had happened, but now things have been worked out with Afridi apologising to Younis for his behaviour and Inzamam making it clear he had no problems with Younis at all. The players, including Younis, Afridi and Inzamam, have assured the chairman that they would regroup for the second Test in Jamaica and do their best to square the series and that there would be no such incidents in future.”Zaidi did say, though, that the tour disciplinary committee would consider its views on the matter and submit a report to the board. There are suggestions that Younis and Afridi might be fined, but Zaidi said that a final decision would only be taken after the Jamaica Test. “With the second Test round the corner this is not the time to decide about what action should be taken. And as it is the matter is now resolved and there is no ill-feeling remaining in the team. The players have realised their mistakes and apparently it’s not going to be repeated again.”

After a prolonged hiatus in cricket between India and Pakistan, relations will be reforged as the Indian under-19 team will take part in a quadrangular tournament in Pakistan beginning on October 31. Sri Lanka and Bangladesh will be the other two teams in the week-long competition.The Pakistan Cricket Board announced the schedule for the Videocon Asian under-19 tournament that will be played in Karachi and Lahore. Pakistan will play two of its three matches at the National Stadium against Bangladesh and Sri Lanka in Karachi, while its game against India will be at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. The third match at the National Stadium will be between Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.The schedule for the tournament is as follows:October 31Pakistan vs Bangladesh at National Stadium
Sri Lanka vs India at Gaddafi StadiumNovember 2Pakistan vs India at Gaddafi Stadium
Bangladesh vs Sri Lanka at National StadiumNovember 4Pakistan vs Sri Lanka at National Stadium
Bangladesh vs India at Gaddafi StadiumNovember 6Final at Gaddafi Stadium

In the latest move to gain psychological points ahead of the most-hyped Ashes series in recent memory, John Buchanan, the Australian coach, has come out with a detailed list of England’s weaknesses, which he feels Australia are yet to “really expose” on this tour.Buchanan’s comments came in the wake of similar salvos from his English counterpart, Duncan Fletcher, who pointed to new signs of uncertainty in Australia’s game and Ricky Ponting’s captaincy. Buchanan said England’s one-day team contained only three world-class fielders, none of whom are yet in the Test side; advised Fletcher to take a good look at the technical deficiencies of the top order, who have struggled against Glenn McGrath and Brett Lee; and said Andrew Flintoff posed more of a threat to the Australian batsmen than Steve Harmison, England’s leading fast bowler.”What I saw yesterday was very, very encouraging from our point of view in terms of the way a lot of English players were dismissed, their top order,” Buchanan was quotes as saying in . “It would be interesting for him [Fletcher] to reflect on how [Marcus] Trescothick has got out, how [Andrew] Strauss has got out, how [Michael] Vaughan has got out through the course of the series so far with the Test matches in mind.”I just don’t think we’ve really exposed the weaknesses of the English team at the moment as well as we should have done,” he continued. “That’s partly a credit to England – Flintoff’s bowled well, Harmison’s bowled some good balls and they’ve had some support at times … But I think they’ve got three fieldsman only. [Paul] Collingwood is obviously a very good fieldsman, [Vikram] Solanki, who they bring on, [Kevin] Pietersen is quick to the ball … but other than that I think they are quite lumbering in the field.”With three more one-day games to go before the start of the Ashes, both sides will aim to carry on this psychological battle in the NatWest Challenge, starting on Thursday. It will also be the first time that one-day cricket’s new innovations will be tested and will give a glimpse of the challenges captains and teams will face in ODIs in the next few years.

West Indian selectors are set to overlook batsman Chris Gayle and name alittle-known off-spinner from the tiny island of Anguilla for the secondTest against Australia in Trinidad on Saturday.Omari Banks, who played against the Australians in a tour match inGeorgetown last week, will become the first Test player from thenorthern-most Leeward Island if he makes the cut from an expected 15-manWindies squad.Anguilla measures just 25km in length and five kilometres at its widestpoint and has a population of about 10,000.Vice-captain Ramnaresh Sarwan will be selected after recovering from afinger injury but Gayle may not be forgiven for missing Jamaica’sdomestic final against Barbados two weeks ago.Gayle opted to play in a lucrative double wicket competition in StLucia, claiming he had received permission from Jamaican cricketofficials when the final was scheduled for the previous week.But the final was moved back and Gayle stuck with the double wicketcompetition, ruining his chances of playing in the Windies’ nine-wicketloss in the first Test in Georgetown.Windies officials have since claimed he is eligible for Test selectionbut the left-hander is expected to miss out on the second Test, whileSarwan will almost certainly replace Marlon Samuels.Wicketkeeper Ridley Jacobs is expected to miss the Test because of agroin injury, enabling Carlton Baugh to make his debut.The 20-year-old Banks impressed the Australians during the tour match,dismissing Steve Waugh and Justin Langer for single figures, and theWindies need his spin to add some variety to an attack which was tooplain in the first Test loss in Georgetown.The four pace bowlers were ineffective against the Australians and Bankshas a strong chance of making his Test debut after playing 20first-class matches.Likely West Indies squad: Brian Lara (capt), Wavell Hinds, Devon Smith,Daren Ganga, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Carlton Baugh,Omari Banks, Vasbert Drakes, Merv Dillon, Jermaine Lawson, PedroCollins, Marlon Samuels, David Bernard Jr, Ridley Jacobs (three to beomitted, 12th man to be named).

In a repeat of their performance at the inaugural National Championships in 2002, the New York Region emerged from its Eastern Conference and Super League finals with an unbeaten 5-0 record, and defeated second-place Central West Zone (Texas) convincingly in the Championship final to reclaim their National title.A national US tournament had long been considered an impossibility by observers. The country was too large, its major cricketing centres few and far between, travel costs prohibitive, and there were no funds or infrastructure to sustain a national tournament. The 40-odd cricket leagues and 600 cricket clubs dotted across the landscape were an impressive demonstration of the growth of US cricket in the past decade, but US cricket had remained Balkanized by geography and demographics, and there seemed to be no way out of its situation.The idea of a national tournament based on territories or zones was first floated by Clive Lloyd and Bernard Cameron of Major League Cricket (MLC), as part of a grand design which was proposed to the USACA board as a way to restructure US cricket. The USACA was less than enthusiastic about working with MLC and indeed, MLC, after a year of operation, seems to have disappeared from the US cricket scene leaving no discernible trace. But the inter-zonal idea for a US national championship survived MLC’s apparent demise, and was adopted by USACA as its own program.USACA’s original plan had been to divide the Championship into two, an Eastern Conference and a Western Conference, each comprising four of the eight regions defined by the USACA. Each conference would conduct its own tournament, and the top two from each would meet in a Super League to determine the national winner.All things considered, the first National Tournament was a success, although not an unqualified one. The Western Conference, held early in the season in the Bay Area, was well-organised and executed. The Eastern Conference was less so: one zone even dropped out because its member-leagues could not agree on a common team or strategy. The finals, in Los Angeles, turned out to be a contest between the Eastand West-coast powerhouses of New York and Los Angeles, with New York emerging as the first champions.By contrast, the second US National Championships were a disaster. The Western Conference, held this time in Chicago, was riddled with problems; appalling umpiring decisions, atrocious pitches, bad arrangements and a host of other problems. (It was learned later that, in an effort to save money, USACA had left it to host leagues to provide volunteer umpires — in retrospect, not a wise move.)In the Eastern Conference, New York were unexpectedly dethroned by the South East Zone (Florida). The finals were almost completely washed out by the aftermath of a major rainstorm in Texas, and the SE Zone emerged as national champions as the winner in the only Super League game.In 2004, the National Tournament was completely revamped. Both Eastern and Western Conferences were played in Plano (Texas) — the consolidation evidently helped a great deal, and things went off rather smoothly. New York and Mid Atlantic zones won the Eastern Conference, eliminating SE Zone. The Western Conference yielded two winners, Central Zone (Texas) and the Northwest Zone, both with the same number of points–the big surprise was the elimination of Southern California, whose star-studded line-up wilted under the spirited attack of the Northwest and the two Central Zones.The full details, statistics and score sheets for the Super League matches can be found at the Southern California Cricket Association web site ( target=”new”>https://www.scalcricket.org).The Northwest Region, representing a far corner of the United States which had not been given any respect in US cricket, had entered the Super League with an undefeated Conference record for the first time in their short history. They performed competently enough in the field, restricting New York to 226 runs, but suffered a complete batting collapse, losing 5 wickets in the first 3 overs, and simply could not recover. Their second match, against Mid Atlantic, ended in a tie — the first one in the history of the tournament.New York, after disposing of Northwest summarily, turned their attention to Central West (Texas), the team with the best chance of defeating New York according to the experts. This was also a victory for New York, but Central West were without their best batsman who was to be absent for the rest of the tournament.Mid Atlantic opened with a loss against Central West (Texas) whose star batsman, Sushil Nadkarni, scored a chanceless 111 with 5 sixes–the best single innings of the Super League. Unfortunately, Nadkarni was injured and unable to play for the rest of the tournament. Their second match was the tied game with Northwest, described earlier.The final was essentially a replay of the second-day match between New York and a Nadkarni-less Central West. New York’s batting was uneven but adequate — excellent batting by the top order, a middle-order collapse, and then a spirited performance by the tailenders to attain a respectable total. Central West opened in fine style, reaching three figures without loss, But a devastating spell of spin bowling by veteran Zamin Amin took out Central West’s top and middle orders, and Central West’s tailenders simply didn’t have the skill and the experience to turn things around.The consolation match between Northwest and Mid Atantic was something of an anti-climax, and the only one in the Super League to be marred by accusations of bad umpiring. Mid Atlantic scored a competent but unspectacular 220. After that, a series of very doubtful umpiring decisions took out Northwest’s best batsmen, and a dispirited Northwest played out their innings for a desultory 150 — a sad end to a Championship performance that, up to that time, had been its best in US cricket.So, who was the best batsman in the tournament: Nadkarni, or Steve Massiah? This question has been hotly debated in US cricket circles, and the tournament did not provide a clear answer. Nadkarni had the best single innings of the Super League; Massiah of New York, on the other hand, was the most consistent batsman, scoring between 50 and 100 in all the matches he played. Perhaps, if Nadkarni had not been injured, we would have had a better basis for comparison. As it is, such judgments will have to wait for another match — or, another championship.

The Delhi police, which uncovered the match-fixing scandal when South Africa last toured India, and is still investigating it, has said that it would like to question Nicky Boje if it gets the chance. Boje and Herschelle Gibbs were the two current players who were involved in the controversy then, and Gibbs backed out of this tour over worries about whether he would be questioned.According to the Press Trust of India, a news agency, a senior police official has said that despite the South African board’s request for an assurance to the contrary, the Delhi police would still like to question Boje. This development increases the chances of Boje, who has been named vice-captain, backing out from this tour.

Maia Lewis, the captain of New Zealand Women’s team, has announced her retirement after an impressive international career spanning close to 15 seasons. Lewis, 35, made her debut against England in the 1991-92 seasons and went on to play nine Tests, and 78 one-dayers, where she managed 1372 runs at an average of 22.49.Lewis made a significant contribution with her dynamic captaincy and has been responsible for the development of several young cricketers on the international scene. She led the side in the 1997 World Cup in India, where New Zealand were the runners-up, apart from tours to India, Ireland, England and Australia (for the Rose Bowl series). She was also the leading run-scorer for New Zealand in this year’s World Cup with 189 runs at an average of 31.5.”Maia has had a long and successful involvement with women’s cricket and will be missed as the leader of the national women’s side,” said Martin Snedden, the chief executive of New Zealand cricket. “As well as having an outstanding international career, Maia has been a leading domestic player for a number of years.”She represented Canterbury and North Harbour in domestic cricket and was the leading run-scorer for the State Wellington Blaze in recent seasons – since the introduction of the State League in 1998-99 she made 1578 runs at an average of 41.52. She was also awarded the Ruth Martin Cup, for being the best batsman in the 2002-03 season.Lewis will remain involved with cricket in her role as a community cricket co-ordinator at Wellington.

An Australian coaching delegation is in Beijing in a bid to fast-track China as a competitive cricket nation, Cricket Australia said today. CA officials and the coach John Harmer have organised a six-day course for 30 coaches from Shanghai and Beijing, who all work at university level in various ball sports.China, who were admitted as an associate member of the ICC last year, have ambitions to play international one-day cricket. CA joined forces with the Asian Cricket Council in 2003 to assist Asian countries develop their own coaching set-up to help with their talent identification structure.Ross Turner, CA’s international development program manager, said the delegation’s visit was to provide coaches the necessary skills, resources and capacity to build the game among the 1.3 billion population. “China, unlike Australia, is not a nation where cricket is an ingrained part of its culture,” Turner said. “Cricket is fresh and new in China and we have an opportunity to work with the Asian Cricket Council to help build the game from the basic foundations, and share our skills and knowledge in coach education.”Syed Ashraful Huq, the ACC chief executive, said it was China’s ambition to compete in a World Cup. “Developing a cricket culture takes time, but one thing we can be sure of is that China is now ready, willing and able to make the great leap forward into cricket,” Huq said. “China is the next frontier for the game’s expansion. Coaching, funding and facilities are in place to fast-track China into playing one-day matches against other ICC associates within the next few years.”

David Morgan, the chairman of the England & Wales Cricket Board, has surprisingly revealed that he will push for a return to three-day cricket and a one-division Championship. The Championship was split into two divisions in 2001, and Morgan has made no secret of his belief that a single division would be preferable.Speaking in the Independent on Sunday, Morgan said that there was “real merit in a single Championship, where winning the title would impress everybody. To have a two-division Championship in which Lancashire and Yorkshire don’t play each other is short-changing the game and the public. If you look at the last few years you will have seen by accident the best bowlers in one division and the best batsmen in the other. What the hell is the point in that?”While there will be changes in 2006, it is little more than tinkering, with a reduction in the number of sides promoted and relegated from three to two.”The jury is definitely out on two divisions,” Morgan continued. “The former board discussed it informally and it is something we must address.”What will raise more eyebrows is Morgan’s desire to go back to three-day matches, with 120 overs-a-day minimum as opposed to the present requirement of 104 overs. “It would give the players some rest and it might do wonders to speed to over-rate, a real cause for concern,” he explained. When a minimum over number was first implemented in the 1980s it was set at 120, but it was soon reduced as matches regularly ran an hour or more past the scheduled close.Many county members would support Morgan. The four-day format has not been popular with them, and thoughtless scheduling has not helped with many counties barely playing any first-class cricket at weekends.