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Netherlands’s last-gasp fight to stay alive in the Intercontinental Cup begins tomorrow with their latest match against the UAE in Sharjah.Currently positioned fourth in the table on 34 points, Netherlands face a tall ask to stay in the race: they need to collect maximum points in their last remaining three matches if they’re to reach the final. Not even a draw will suffice.”There is no doubt that we need 60 points in the next three matches to reach the final and the countdown begins in Sharjah,” Jeroen Smits, the Netherlands captain, said. “To win this match, we need 20 UAE wickets which will not be easy because of different conditions and the UAE will not be an easy opponent in its own backyard. But we have all that is required to win matches.”The situation is equally clear for UAE, though they don’t share the same hopes of qualifying for the final. Languishing at second-to-bottom, tomorrow’s game is their seventh and last of the tournament and they have only pride to play for.”Prior to the start of the tournament, I never thought we would go into this match playing for nothing more than pride. But if we are in this situation, it is because we have not played to our full talent and potential,” Saqib Ali, the UAE captain, said. “The team is disappointed to be in this situation but it will not stop us from playing hard cricket against the Netherlands. We will try to finish the tournament on a winning note and try to restore our battered pride and confidence.”There have been some exceptionally good individual performances but we have not been able to put together a performance which could win us matches,” Ali said. “Frankly speaking, our batters didn’t put enough runs on the board to allow the bowlers attack the opposition. But we are keen to finish the tournament with a good collective effort.”Netherlands’ prospects were dealt a blow, however, with the news that their legspinner, Mangesh Panchal, will miss out. Additionally, there is a doubt surrounding Pieter Seelaar’s availability. He was hit in the face by a bouncer in the last match against Namibia. “He will confirm his availability before the toss on Thursday,” Smits said, “but he took active part in the training sessions and I am confident that he will declare himself fit.”SquadsNetherlands (from): Jeroen Smits (capt), Peter Borren, Mudassar Bukhari, Daan van Bunge, Ryan ten Doeschate, Tom de Grooth, Maurits Jonkman, Muhammad Kashif, Alexei Kervezee, Geert Maarten Mol, Edgar Schiferli, Pieter Seelaar, Eric Szwarczynski, Bas Zuiderent.UAE (from): Saqib Ali (capt), Arshad Ali, Khurram Khan, Mohammad Tauqir, Nizel Fernandes, Shadeep Silva, Fahad Alhashmi, Shoaib Sarwar, Alawi Shukri, Indika Batuwitaarachchi, Naeemuddin Aslam, Ahmed Raza, Muhammed Aman Ali, Amjad Ali, Rashid Khan, Salman Farooq, Abdul Rehman and Vikranath Shetty.

Michael Clarke has vowed not to look too far ahead after his short-term Test future was sealed with Damien Martyn’s sudden retirement. A century at Adelaide not only showed Clarke was ready for an extended stint in the side, but it also led to Martyn walking away from the game mid-series.The men are close friends and have exchanged text messages since Martyn’s decision, a move Clarke believed opened a spot for him during the third Test at Perth from Thursday. “If Watto [Shane Watson] was fit for this game, I still would’ve assumed I would’ve been the one to go,” Clarke said in the . “Marto’s performances have been outstanding over a long period of time. A player of that class is always going to come good.”With Marto retiring, I guess there are spots there. But I’ve got to focus on continuing to score runs. I feel like I’m batting pretty well and my goal is just to focus on that – one ball at a time, not look too far ahead – because as I’ve seen before it can all be taken away from you very quickly.”Clarke fell away after two brilliant centuries in his first month in the Test arena in 2004 and had to fight his way back. He has batted at No. 6 in the opening two games of the current series and does not expect a move to No. 4, where he sat for a couple of games when Martyn was dropped after the previous Ashes.”I haven’t spoken to anyone but I’d assume I wouldn’t go back [to No. 4],” he said. “I don’t even really want to think about it. In my opinion, Huss [Michael Hussey] is batting that well it makes sense for him to go to No. 4. I’m rapt just to be in the team at the moment given that a few games ago I was playing for New South Wales. It’s slow and steady for me now.”Clarke said he hoped “it’s not my fault” Martyn retired. “Marto made that decision because he did what he thought was best,” Clarke said in . “Now this gives us the chance to continue our friendship outside cricket, I guess.”He’s a great mate of mine and I’m not going to get the chance to play international cricket with him anymore. I’m the first guy to congratulate Marto on every single thing that he has achieved. He’s helped me a lot. He’s a very close mate.”

Mark Thompson, the director general of the BBC, has said the corporation is considering bidding for the television rights when they next come up for tender in 2009. Last year, the ECB sold the rights to BSkyB who, from this year, hold an all-encompassing exclusive deal for the next four years.Thompson, who was appointed director general in 2004, believes the BBC “should look very closely at cricket again,” while refuelling the debate that the ECB’s asking price was too high.”I thought that the last round the amount the English cricket board were asking for the rights was very high [sic],” he told BBC Radio Five Live. “It’s a more specialist audience – it’s not as big, for example, for live Premiership football.”We have to think about value. If you buy one thing, you can’t buy another so what you’re trying to do when you’re thinking about the portfolio of rights is what’s your priority.”The decision to sell the rights to BSkyB caused an uproar among supporters and even in government. John Grogan, a Labour MP, tabled an early-day motion in the House of Commons calling for home Test matches to be returned to free-to-air TV. And lobbyists, notably Keep Cricket Free, campaigned for the decision to be overturned.Last November it was revealed that the BBC did attempt to reach a deal with the ECB by pushing for a “dip in dip out” basis; their proposal was to show shortened portions of the day’s play allowing Sky to retain their ball-by-ball live coverage. However, as Thompson concedes, the limiting factor was the money involved.”It depends not just on the choice of the sport, he said, “but also on how much it’s going to cost.”

Lionel Cann, the former Bermuda captain, has hit back at Michael Holding’s comments about Associates taking part in the World CupI was surprised and appalled by Michael Holding’s remarks that minnows ‘devalued’ the World Cup. He was brought in be the guest speaker at our first ever World Cup function and he says we shouldn’t be there!I was not at the function because I was ill, but I read his remarks in Monday’s paper. He is obviously entitled to his opinion but there is a time and a place.Hearing something like that from someone who has been such an ambassador for the game, put me in a real down frame of mind. It seemed like all that we have accomplished and worked towards was nothing in his eyes. With all the negativity that’s been directed towards the team, it’s just one more downer. It’s something that will motivate us and make us want to succeed even more.I actually feel, as someone who has played cricket his whole life, it was quite a selfish statement to make. I don’t think he’s looking at the big picture. It wasn’t that long ago people were calling Bangladesh minnows, now they’ve beaten Australia. There are now 96 countries that are associates and members. The dream of playing in the World Cup is an incentive for all of them. The more competition there is internationally, the higher the standard will be worldwide.Is he going to say Trinidad shouldn’t have been in the football World Cup? I have a lot of respect for such a gentleman, but this is one occasion where I believe he has faltered in his comments.We had a different kind of speech from the Minister of Sport, Randy Horton. He had a meeting with us and let us know he expects us to be ambassadors for this country. He reminded us that there were people before us that laid the foundations and now we have reached the pinnacle.He told us to take this opportunity to get to know the other players off the field – take every little experience we can. He said he was proud of us and that the ministry and the government were behind us. He wished us the best and told us to play with heart and dignity.We’ll take another step forward when we play Bangladesh on Sunday – our first ODI against a Test-playing nation. They’ve beaten teams like Australia, Sri Lanka and India so we are going to have our hands full.I’m currently at home with the flu, along with my daughter, and am not scheduled to fly out to Antigua until Friday but I’m hoping to play. It’s a perfect opportunity to see where we are with all the training we have been doing. They have a lot of players that have been together for a long time and some talented youngsters.Bermuda may have beaten Bangladesh in the past but that was before they became a Test playing country. They have taken their cricket to new heights. You can’t compare Bangladesh then to what they are like now. You can’t compare Bermuda now to teams of the past either, as we’ve had all this exposure. Bangladesh have sorted out their infrastructure and they have world class youngsters coming through. They are going from strength to strength.Hopefully I should make it. I had the flu when I was in Kenya and I played with it through the tournament, so I didn’t have time to recuperate. I caught it again when I came back to Bermuda and I’ve been suffering ever since. Now my daughter has it too, so I couldn’t fly with her being sick. She’s down and I’m down and we’re helping each other through it. With regards to not travelling with the team, I had to put my family first. Family is more important than sports.Reproduced with permission from the Bermuda Sun

The loss of some of the best Australian players in history has not convinced Michael Clarke that the side is about to slide. Clarke, who has been promoted to vice-captain for the West Indies tour following Adam Gilchrist’s retirement, believes the team will not suffer any falls.Australia leave for the West Indies at the weekend for a three-Test tour and the squad carries a new look after the departures of Warne, McGrath, Gilchrist, Langer, Martyn and Hogg over the past two years. “Australia is playing as well as ever,” Clarke, who was part of the 2-1 Test win and CB Series loss to India, told the Sydney Morning Herald. “Our squad is as good as it has ever been. We have definitely lost a few great players in the last two years, but people come and go and the game stays the same.”The wicketkeeper Brad Haddin has come into the outfit and is in line for his Test debut while Stuart MacGill is back following wrist surgery. The bowlers Ashley Noffke, Beau Casson and Doug Bollinger have also been recruited for the Caribbean trip.”The new guys that have come in have put their hands up and a lot of the guys are looking forward to fulfilling their potential to do well,” Clarke said. “Both Ricky Ponting and I are excited for what is ahead for the Australian team.”After leading the side in the Twenty20 internationals last season, Clarke has now assumed more Test responsibility and will work as an intermediary between the newer members and Ponting. “I am 27 years of age,” he said. “I know all the young guys and they can come to me.”Clarke did not join some of his older team-mates in India for the IPL and his main travel during the international break involved a visit to the United States with his fiance Lara Bingle. His father Les has Hodgkin’s disease and being with family was more important than extra Twenty20 games after a busy summer.”I made the decision for my body and to spend time with my dad,” he said. “It was really nice to be able to spend some time with my family and Lara – it was fantastic for both of us to spend some time together before I headed off on this tour.”Clarke said he felt it was important to get away from the game and the limelight. “I really needed it,” he said. “I love cricket, but at times it can feel like being stuck in a garage and I wanted to get back to that place where you are so keen to get back into it.”He said he now feels fresh and he was full of enthusiasm at the start of Australia’s pre-tour camp in Brisbane on Monday. “It’s great to be back with all the boys,” he said, “and I’m really enjoying some outdoor cricket training.”

Mohammad Khalil, the Pakistan left-arm seamer, has been officially cleared of charges of ball-tampering in a Patrons Trophy match between his team, Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited (ZTBL) and Pakistan Customs at Karachi, due to lack of sufficient evidence. Rao Iftikhar Anjum, ZTBL’s captain, was instead held responsible and imposed a fine of Rs 5000.The incident occurred in the second day’s play, during the 29th over of Customs’ innings, when the umpires Riazuddin and Shakeel Khan suspected that the condition of the ball had changed. They called for a replacement and awarded five penalty runs to the batting side. Khalil was bowling at the moment, and it was reported in the Pakistan media that he was found guilty and slapped a fine by Khalid Niazi, the match referee. However, Niazi clarified the actual version of the events in an official verdict today.”According to the laws of the game, when no one is caught red-handed, the captain is responsible,” said Niazi. “So a fine of Rs 5000 has been imposed on Rao Iftikhar Anjum on behalf of ZTBL. Mohammad Khalil was called in for the hearing just because he was bowling at the time but no evidence or proof was found against him so he has been cleared gracefully from this matter.”

Daryl Tuffey, the New Zealand fast bowler, has been linked to the Indian Cricket League (ICL) and is ready to sign on the dotted line for an “attractive offer”. The ICL is expected to start next month and Tuffey hoped it would not stop him from playing first-class cricket for Auckland later this season.”I’m leaning towards [signing]. It’s the money and a bit of security,” Tuffey told the . “Nothing’s guaranteed with New Zealand Cricket, even the money you get playing domestic cricket back home. You’ve got to start looking after No. 1 at some point.”Tuffey, 29, isn’t contracted by NZC and last week turned down a provincial deal with Auckland. Tuffey said he spoke to Auckland coach Mark O’Donnell, who indicated there would be a place for him when his ICL commitments finish at the end of November. “Not signing with Auckland has just made me a free agent. I’m can play for match fees if Auckland choose to do that. It’s a bit more relaxed for me now,” Tuffey said. “I’m pretty keen to come back and play for Auckland and see what happens from there, if I’m bowling well.”If he does join the ICL Tuffey will join former New Zealand team-mates Chris Cairns, Nathan Astle, Chris Harris and Hamish Marshall. It is believed Craig McMillan will hold talks with Justin Vaughan, the NZC chief executive, over his potential involvement.Tuffey has played 22 Test and 80 ODIs and has taken eight wickets at 15.25 in the opening three rounds for Sutherland in Sydney grade cricket, where he is playing for six weeks. Tuffey said the side, which plays under the former New Zealand coach Steve Rixon, was keen for him to return later in the season if he wasn’t required by Auckland.Tuffey, who played one match in this year’s World Cup before returning home, believed he had “four or five” good cricketing years left. “Who knows what happens if I go to India, but if the chance arose again that would be great,” he said. “But I’m not putting all my eggs in one basket and hoping to play for New Zealand any more. I’ve had a great time playing international cricket but there’s other opportunities outside of cricket that I’m putting first at the moment.”

Umpire Gerard Abood became the first on-field official to wear head protection in an Australian fixture during Melbourne Renegades’ Big Bash League fixture against Perth Scorchers on Wednesday.Abood said he had been weighing up protection for some time due to the increased power in the modern game. “I’ve had close shaves in the past, a couple have been real tight and they weigh on your mind,” Abood told the Cricket Australia website. “I thought, ‘What needs to happen before we do put one on?’ I’d rather put one on just before I get hit than just after.”The T20 game has evolved to the stage where guys are practising specifically whacking balls as hard as they can and it’s just coming off faster and faster. As far as I’m concerned, it has just reached the point where it makes sense on every level, we’re only 24 yards from the bat and if it’s coming back at us pretty quickly there’s not a hell of lot of time to move.”Abood wore a black Masuri batting helmet, but Cricket Australia, the ECB and ICC are working together to design umpire-specific protective gear.Abood’s move comes after his compatriot John Ward was struck on the head during a Ranji Trophy fixture between Punjab and Tamil Nadu on December 1. Pashchim Pathak, the Indian umpire who was stood at square leg when Ward – who is still recovering from concussion – was struck, had also recently worn head protection. In November 2014, Israeli umpire Hillel Awasker died after being hit by a ball during a match in Ashdod.

Ramnaresh Sarwan, the West Indies captain, has said that his team will look to play positively against England left-arm spinner Monty Panesar, who took 6 for 129 in the first innings of the first Test as West Indies were bowled out for 437. Panesar had a record five lbw decisions given in his favour.”We hadn’t played him before Lord’s so he was quite new to most of us. He didn’t get many wickets with the turning ball but get got a lot of wickets with his arm ball and that is something that we’ll be looking at”, Sarwan said, speaking on the eve of the second Test. “One of the things we’re trying to do is to stay on top of their main bowlers. We saw when Australia played them they were positive against [Steve] Harmison and we have the similar type of approach. We’ll have a better feel of Monty [Panesar] in this game so it’s important that we try and stay on top”.Sarwan said that he was looking for the lower-order to contribute in the batting effort. The West Indies were 187 for 5 in the first innings of the Lord’s Test before vital contributions from the middle- and lower-order helped them finish with 437.Sarwan felt that the Headingley pitch looked to be slower and swing would be an important factor. “A few years ago when we played here and the Test match was finished in two days it was much better [for bowling] than what we see now. The pitches we’ve practiced on seem to be much slower and when you look at the Test pitch it seems to have a similar look on it. There would be a bit if turn on it I would think,” said Sarwan. “I think the conditions have a lot to do with the swing bowling so it’s important that we bowl consistent line and length and hold our chances when they come.””Generally in England you have to bowl a full length because the ball tends to do a lot more than the Caribbean. In the second innings at Lord’s we bowled quite a few short balls, in the first innings we were very hesitant about it and a couple of their players looked very shy so that’s probably a tactic we might be using in this game”Sarwan said that his team would look to build on their performances in the drawn first Test at Lord’s. He brushed aside the fact that West Indies did not have enough practice before the series saying that the time spent on field during the first Test had prepared them for this encounter.

2013

October 8
News – Supreme Court appoints Mudgal Committee to investigate the case
November 2
News – IPL probe panel to meet Mumbai policeNovember 8
News – IPL probe panel meets SreesanthDecember 19
News – IPL probe panel meets Srinivasan, Gurunath

2014

January 19
News – Mudgal committee meets Ganguly, DalmiyaFebruary 10
News – Charges against Gurunath proved – IPL probe report
News – The rules Gurunath violated
Mudgal committee report – Full text
News – Many allegations of sporting fraud, says committee
News – Vet player agents properly – Mudgal report
Video – Do CSK have an escape route?
Features – Six astonishing lines from the Mudgal report
February 11
News – Mudgal Report not likely to hurt Srinivasan yet
March 27
News – ‘All players should not suffer’ – Justice Mudgal
April 9
News – BCCI seeks Dhoni’s deposition before Mudgal committee
April 22
News – Supreme Court asks Mudgal to continue probe
Video – Ugra: Mudgal makes BCCI uncomfortable
April 29
Video – ‘BCCI unwilling to play ball with Mudgal commission’
May 16
News – Mudgal to head investigation of IPL ‘sealed envelope’
June 8
News – Sourav Ganguly to join Mudgal probe panel
August 29
News – Mugdal panel submits interim reportSeptember 1
News – Mudgal Committee gets two-month extension for final report
November 3
News – Mudgal panel submits final report in IPL corruption case
November 14
News – Srinivasan named in Mudgal report
November 15
News – Mudgal committee clears three players named in Court
November 17
News – Srinivasan ignored player’s code of conduct violation, says Mudgal report
News – Investigations into Kundra ‘stopped abruptly’
News – BCCI could seek explanation from Sundar Raman
Profile – Who is Sundar Raman?
Video – Ugra: Srinivasan not in the clear yet

2015

January 22
News – New panel to take call on Kundra, MeiyappanApril 13
News – Board panel has 82 questions for BCCI bossesJuly 11
News – Lodha panel to announce punishment for Kundra, Meiyappan