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West Indies’ tour of Australia has suffered another jolt, with the players demanding US$500,000 as appearance fees and the board subsequently rejecting that demand. The West Indies Players’ Association wanted the money for the 14-member team in addition to match fees, tour fees and incentives, according to Chetram Singh, a board official.According to an Associated Press report, Singh, who is also the president of the Guyana Cricket Board, said that the demand “puts the tour in jeopardy”. Singh also termed it as “absolute madness”, hours after the players’ representative, Dinanath Ramnarine, lay it in front of the board. The players were paid a total of US$390,000 in appearance fees for 2004, which included four Tests and seven one-dayers against England before two Tests and five one-dayers against Bangladesh.West Indies’ tour of Australia was almost called off last month after most of the senior players, including Brian Lara, stayed away from a training camp because of a conflict over personal endorsements. The players felt that they risked losing their image rights because of their contracts with Cable & Wireless, the rival company of Digicel, the board’s new sponsor.The board barred the players from the camp but both parties soon agreed, after mediation, to resume the camp on November 29 and allow an arbitrator to sort out the issue.

Division One

Points TableHampshire completed a comprehensive victory over Nottinghamshire. The champions fared slightly better in their second innings, but once Darren Bicknell fell for a patient 97, Notts’ spirit seemed to wane. Shaun Udal capped his season in great style by grabbing four wickets, to see the champions fall by an innings and 188 runs.In a rain-interrupted day at The Oval, Mark Ramprakash continued where he left off yesterday, as did Surrey who reached 607 without losing any further wickets against Middlesex. 203 further runs were added with Azhar Mahmood scoring the bulk of the runs. He remained not-out on 167, and Ramprakash reached 242. Surrey hold a lead of 203 runs, in a match which is almost certainly heading for a draw.Sussex wrapped up a comprehensive victory over Kent by 8 wickets at Hove. Kent could only manage 238 in their second innings, collapsing from their overnight score of 144 for 3. Naved-ul-Hasan and James Kirtley each took four wickets, which left Sussex with the straightforward task of knocking off 148 runs. They lost two wickets, but Mike Yardy saw them home with 55.Gloucestershire are struggling in their match against Warwickshire, and face an uphill battle to avoid defeat. Set 411 to win, they closed the third day on 97 for 2 with Naqqash Tahir picking up both wickets. Earlier, Warwickshire had amassed 320 with Nick Knight making 94 and Jim Troughton 57.

Division Two

Points TableLeicestershire scraped past Lancashire by just four runs in low-scoring game at Old Trafford. James Anderson mopped up Leicestershire’s tail to restrict them to 200, and set Lancashire a target of 175 runs. But Lancashire lost wickets regularly, with three wickets for Charl Willoughby and Stuart Broad.Monty Panesar took his ninth wicket of the match as Yorkshire stumbled to 101 for 4 in their second innings against Northamptonshire. On a rain-affected day at Northampton, Michael Lumb was left not-out on 31, as Yorkshire trail the hosts by 198 runs.Luke Sutton made the remarkable decision of declaring Derbyshire’s innings, midway through the 171st over, with Graeme Welch left stranded on 99. Sutton declared on an imposing 707 for 7, and quickly grabbed two wickets to leave Somerset on 173 for 2, trailing by 275 runs.Rain also affected play at Worcester, but there was enough play possible to ensure Worcestershire hauled their way up to Essex’s first innings score of 574. Stephen Moore, not-out overnight on 124, fell nine short of 200, and Ben Smith reached 154. Worcestershire closed on 424 for 3, and trail by 150 runs.

Worcestershire have agreed terms with Shoaib Akhtar as one of their overseas players for 2005, subject to clearance from the Pakistan Cricket Board.Shoaib, 29, who was the first bowler to break the 100mph barrier when he bowled to Nick Knight in Pakistan’s World Cup match against England in 2003, won’t be available for the whole season because Pakistan are scheduled to play two Tests and three one-day internationals in West Indies in May and June.”I’ll be rested and raring to go when I start in July,” he said, “and, from looking at the players Worcestershire have in their side, [I’m] confident we’ll have a successful season.” Shoaib played for Durham for the last two seasons, and Somerset in one first-class match in 2001.”I love playing county cricket in England and I’m really looking forward to helping Worcestershire get straight back into Division One of the Championship and challenge for honours in the one-day game.”Tom Moody, Worcestershire’s director of cricket, was excited by the news. “Shoaib creates a huge buzz wherever he bowls,” he said, “and I have no doubt he will be a popular member of the squad both on and off the field. He is a world-class strike bowler in both forms of the game, and he will spearhead our drive for success.”

John Buchanan, the coach of the Australian team, wrote what he insisted was a “private” letter to the players after they were bowled out for 196 on the fourth day of the Adelaide Test. The Press Trust of India (PTI) has got hold of that letter, one that reveals his disappointment and the deep-rooted bond between him and his players.Buchanan’s disappointment was evident when he wrote, “I am so disappointed with the soulless, un-Baggy Green, immature performance [at Adelaide]. I love each and every one of you but like my own family, you thrill, you frustrate, you anger. I question, what progress have we made as a team, as individuals.”He also voiced his concern over the player’s priorities. “In the lead-up to this game and up till tonight, the issues that have dominated conversations, priorities and by definition (I may well be incorrect), your attention/focus/clarity-deal-making; sponsors, Tug’s [Steve Waugh’s] farewell to Adelaide; helmets; what the media is saying about you.”He cited a specific example to bring out the tough situations that the team had responded to in the past. “About this time, four years ago in Hobart [against Pakistan in 1999], Gilly [Adam Gilchrist] and JL [Justin Langer] responded to a `no-win’ situation with courage, conviction, and a toughness of character and concentration that is the pure fabric of the Australian cricket team. Today the only similar response I saw was Willo [Brad Williams who had injured his shoulder] bowling, batting, throwing and diving at mid-off!! What has happened in the interim?”Buchanan concluded by looking forward to the next two Test matches at Melbourne and Sydney. He adds, “However if the result does not go our way [in the Adelaide Test] then we would expect to see the Baggy Green spirit…the courage of Willo, Gilly, JL to be clearly on show to you all so that we march to the MCG and the SCG playing in the spirit.”When asked about the letter, Buchanan said it was “disappointing if it found its way anywhere.” He added: “It’s a matter between myself and the players, not just the players, the whole team. That would be my only comment.”This is not the first time that a leaked letter from Buchanan has found its way into the newspapers. On the Ashes tour in 2001, an inspirational note invoking theories put forward by Sun Tzu’s The Art of War, intended as a gee-up for his players, was pushed under the door of a reporter by accident.

Michael Vaughan has again indicated that he has not ruled out a return to the England side during the forthcoming Ashes series.It has generally been accepted that Vaughan, who has not played an international for almost a year because of a long-standing knee injury, would not be fit until the one-day series which follows the Ashes at the earliest. But in an exclusive interview with the Daily Mail, he said that there is still “a small window of opportunity” that he might be ready for the final Tests at Melbourne and Sydney.Vaughan will join the Academy side in Perth when the series gets underway. “Everything would have to go between now and then, but it’s in my mind,” he said. “I would have to stay fit, and it would also depend on the state of the series and how the England management are thinking. But it’s definitely what I am aiming for and definitely a target.”But England’s chairman of selectors, David Graveney, told BBC Sport that talk of Vaughan’s return was premature. “We know his rehab is going well and that’s great news but there is a lot of water to go under the bridge,” he said. “He still hasn’t had a bat. He is running but he hasn’t twisted or turned on the knee.”Vaughan hasn’t held a bat since his last operation in July, although he is taking part in golf’s Dunhill Links Championship this weekend as a “mental break” from his rehabilitation. “I wouldn’t play golf if it would in any way jeopardise my knee. I’ve done a few straight-line sprints. I began running three weeks ago and hope to start batting in a couple of weeks.”The twisting and turning and fielding will be the real test,” he admitted. “The next month or so will confirm if it is progressing well or if we will have to take a bit of a backward step.”My knee aches but it was sore throughout the whole of the Ashes and there were many injections,” he added. “But I am getting good feelings. There is not that give-way sensation … nothing of the jerking feeling.”Vaughan will undergo another scan in a fortnight, and a date for his departure for Perth will be agreed then. While out there, he will combine playing cricket with fitness training.

Before the home season started, revenge was a word frequently bandied about – a desire to get even against the upstart New Zealanders who had drubbed India in both Tests and one-day internationals last winter, not to mention a chance to exact a measure of retribution – however tiny – against Australia for what happened on March 23.After two consecutive defeats in the Tri Series, the idea of settling scores has been replaced by the far more pressing need for survival. If India don’t outperform Australia tomorrow, and New Zealand in Hyderabad three days later, they’ll most likely be locked out of their own party, in front of traditionally frenzied support at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.Australia arrived here with what most reckoned was a B-grade bowling attack. Five matches and four wins later, the likes of Nathan Bracken – a genuine contender for a Test place against India in Brisbane – and Brad Williams are evoking respect instead of derision. That particular emotion has been reserved for an Indian team that has lost its way horribly since a tremendous win under lights against Australia in Gwalior.The pitch at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore appears pretty similar to that used during the Challenger Series two months ago. The grass cover, as it was then, is deceptive, mere window dressing on a pitch that will definitely aid the strokemakers.The last time these two teams played here, two and a half years ago, Virender Sehwag – then a virtual unknown – shot to prominence with a 54-ball 58 and 3 for 59, as Australia fell 60 runs short of India’s 315. The team that wins the toss tomorrow will be eyeing a similarly mammoth total.India should revert to their strongest line-up for the game, with Sourav Ganguly and Ashish Nehra playing their first games of the tournament. Zaheer Khan and Harbhajan Singh have been battling respiratory problems, in a city notorious for its pollen-heavy and polluted air, but both should be fit for the game. That means a relegation to the players’ balcony for Murali Kartik, Hemang Badani and Sairaj Bahutule.If Nehra is risked, and he hasn’t played a competitive game since the World Cup final, that also means Ajit Agarkar will miss out. Rahul Dravid, despite his reluctance, will take the wicketkeeping gloves, with Ganguly having made no secret of his preferred combination. Parthiv Patel can spend time in the nets, sorting out the myriad problems that have taken him from blue-eyed boy to the butt of some ridicule in recent weeks.Australia go into the game with no worries, and are likely to play their strongest eleven with one eye on the final a week from today. That means that Jimmy Maher, Michael Kasprowicz and Brad Hogg will miss out, despite playing key roles in the defeat of New Zealand two days ago.The onus is on India to deliver, a day after their finest modern-day fast bowler surrendered in his battle against a chronic knee injury. If the team does likewise, and rain on their own parade, they’ll go to Australia like lambs to the slaughter – not that wolves’ clothing is much help against these implacable Australians.Teams
Australia (probable) 1 Matthew Hayden, 2 Adam Gilchrist (wk), 3 Ricky Ponting (capt), 4 Damien Martyn, 5 Andrew Symonds, 6 Michael Bevan, 7 Michael Clarke, 8 Ian Harvey, 9 Andrew Bichel, 10 Nathan Bracken, 11 Brad Williams.India (probable) 1 Virender Sehwag, 2 Sachin Tendulkar, 3 VVS Laxman, 4 Rahul Dravid (wk), 5 Sourav Ganguly (capt), 6 Yuvraj Singh, 7 Mohammad Kaif, 8 Harbhajan Singh, 9 Anil Kumble, 10 Zaheer Khan, 11 Ashish Nehra.

Dropped catches cost Minor Counties dearly, together with some wayward seam bowling on a pitch of variable bounce and slow pace, enabling Northants to score 271 for 8 in their 50 overs. Chris Brown was again on top form, taking 2-13 from his 10 overs.This was always going to be a stiff target especially when Howitt was caught at cover off his first ball. Adshead and Dawson batted aggressively, adding 54 for the second wicket in just 6 overs. Trower again showed his class and together with Mann proceeded to keep up with the clock. When Trower(45) was well held driving uppishly to fly gully and Mann(29) spooned a catch to extra cover, the target proved out of reach, in spite of some determined batting from Brown(30) and Kidner.

Javed Miandad has finally signed a contract with the Pakistan Cricket Board, more than 11 weeks after taking over for his fourth stint as national coach.The contract, reported to be worth R10 million (US$175,000) per annum, was signed on the eve of the Pakistan team’s departure for their short tour of England.Miandad had delayed agreeing the new deal while issues regarding salary and perks were sorted out. "He was not pushed to sign the contract," a PCB spokesman told the local News newspaper. "He knew whenever he did sign it the contract would be valid from the date he took over as Pakistan coach and he would receive all backdated payments.”

Heath Streak, Zimbabwe’s captain, has called on his country’s authorities to end the player exodus which has seen the side decimated in recent months. Although Zimbabwe were not humiliated in the Test series against Australia, it was apparent that the squad was down to its bare bones.Since the World Cup earlier this year, Zimbabwe have lost Andy Flower, Henry Olonga, Alistair Campbell and Guy Whittall, who have all retired – and others are believed to be considering their futures against the backdrop of increasing civil disintegration inside Zimbabwe.”It’s important for world cricket that we don’t fall too far behind the top Test-playing nations, and it’s good for the game that we can come out and fight,” Streak told reporters after the Sydney Test. “I think if we hadn’t lost as many quality players, who knows how far we could have taken Australia.”But Streak was keen to try to draw positives from the two matches. “We’ll learn from this experience,” he argued. “I think we’ll be very competitive against some of the lesser teams. You always look at the positives and try and build on it, and there were a lot of positives from this series for us.”Steve Waugh agreed that Zimbabwe needed help, suggesting that the ICC regulations should be relaxed to allow players like Graeme Hick to return to bolster the side.

The first week of the 2003 World Cup has gone by after causing agreat deal of heartache for a lot of people. The biggest surprisewas South Africa losing twice. And if the double blow was not badenough for the host nation, they have lost Jonty Rhodes to aninjury while Allan Donald seems to be struggling in his finalhurrah.

Talking of Donald, another great cricketer who was looking tosign off in style by winning the World Cup, Shane Warne, hassadly been forced to fly back home after failing a drugs test. I,for one, was looking forward to seeing the blonde bombshell takeon the world’s best batsmen. Arguably the best spin bowler of hisera, Warne’s loss to diuretics has taken some sheen off the WorldCup. He would definitely have played a major role in the latterstages of the tournament when the tracks were expected to takeincreasing turn.Despite Warne’s loss, the popular wisdom is that Australia willgo all the way and win the coveted Cup. But I still have mydoubts regarding their batting. In the game against Pakistan,they probably got away because Waqar Younis failed to apply morepressure when his team had their opponents on the mat. As for thegame against India, Australia did not even have to bat for morethan 20 odd overs.All credit, though, to Andrew Symonds for playing such a superbinnings under pressure against Pakistan. Despite this, I,however, still feel that the Australian middle-order might justcave in during an important game. That is when they would sorelymiss the experience of Steve Waugh, their saviour on moreoccasions than one. Remember, that in the previous World Cup, itwas two great efforts – one by Steve Waugh and the other abrilliant spell from Warne – that took Australia to the covetedtrophy.Brian Lara’s brilliant comeback has, meanwhile, revitalised theWest Indies’ World Cup ambitions. No team can under-estimate thebatting strength of the men from the caribbean, but it is their bowling that looks a bit weak with the part-timers having to chip in with 20 overs.This will leave them exposed against a strong batting side.India’s performance thus far in this World Cup has been dismal. Their batting looks woefully short of confidence, and sadly the message that is being communicated by the body language of the senior players does not make for happy reading.That said, I am deeply saddened by the violent reaction of somefans in India; such mindless acts will only have a negativeeffect on the team. It brings to mind the sad scenes towards theend of the 1996 World Cup semi-final game against Sri Lanka atKolkata. No matter what, violence is certainly not the solutionto any problem.

I feel for the passionate fans of this wonderful game, who feelhurt and let down by the performance of the Indian team. Theunhealthy extent to which the media and the commercial folks havehyped up the game is beginning to prove detrimental now. If thetrend continues, Indian cricket is in real danger of sufferingthe fate of the proverbial golden goose.Having said that, the Indian cricket team and the management, inparticular, deserve all the criticism that is coming their way.The voices that are coming out of the Indian camp provides littlereassurance. If the team management can’t really make out what isgoing wrong with the players, then it is a serious problem thatthe BCCI has to address as soon as possible.I do not doubt the talent and ability of the Indian cricketers,may it be Sourav Ganguly or Mohamad Kaif. These guys have provedto us in the past that they have it in them to do well and wingames for India. With this being the case, I feel that if theforeign coach, sports psychologist, and the computer analyst workdiligently, the players wouldn’t be left feeling as clueless.When it comes to giving advice, I can, for starters, tell our batsmenthis – they need to work hard on their footwork! I am amazed thatsomeone like Rahul Dravid looks so stiff and immobile at thecrease. The same is the case with most of the other players -their feet are not going anywhere, and they have been playingaway from the body, a cardinal sin as far as any top-notch batsman is concerned. All said, my best wishes are still with the Indian team. They nowhave to win the next game against Zimbabwe, though I cannot help but shudder at the very thought of it possibly being a green top at Harare.New Zealand is one team I expect to be in the World Cup final.They have in Chris Cairns a quality all-rounder who can win agame on his own. He will certainly bowl more in the coming gamesand that will add a definite edge to their cricket.

When it comes to their skipper, Sourav Ganguly should try tolearn something from Stephen Fleming. It was a few tacticalblunders by the Kiwi captain that lost his team their openinggame against Sri Lanka. I wouldn’t have expected Fleming to dropVettori, and even decide to bowl first against Sri Lanka. Themistake was made, the game was lost, and New Zealand got off to apoor start. But importantly they did not give up.Fleming and his boys were not willing to let their heads drop,even when South Africa scored 306 against them. Had not rainintervened, I am certain that New Zealand would have scored allthe runs needed to win the game. Fleming led from the front,played a knock that was simply surreal, and took New Zealand tovictory. Indeed, he richly deserves the title – Captain Marvel.This World Cup has gotten off to a stunning start, breaking a lotof hearts and yet providing joy to millions of fans around theworld. The quality of cricket too has been excellent. As we headinto the second week, Australia are at their dominant best. SouthAfrica, meanwhile, are continuing to choke. As for India, theymust play for their life in the remaining games. But when itcomes to picking the team that would go the distance, New Zealandstill remain my favourites.