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.

Tasmania have the chance to leap further ahead of the field in their Pura Cup match against Victoria starting on Tuesday with Ricky Ponting to make a rare four-day appearance for his state. The Tigers are already on top of the Pura Cup table with wins from their only two games.But with rain expected at the MCG this week a result – and the out-of-form Ponting’s desire to spend time at the crease facing, among others, Shane Warne – could be difficult to achieve. Tasmania coach Tim Coyle said Ponting would be a great boost to a young squad of 12 that featured seven players aged under 25.”Having Ricky playing is a rare event for us,” Coyle told . “He’s really keen to spend some time in the middle in this game so hopefully we can look forward to a few hours of sitting back and watching Ricky Ponting bat. And it’s really good to have him around our group. Being as young as we are, it’s great to have the Australian captain here.”Coyle said Tasmania’s flying start to the Pura Cup season was the result of rigorous training. “We’ve really put some work into our preparation,” he said. “We were fortunate to have really good weather in September in Tassie so we played quite a bit of cricket. The preparation has been ideal because often we suffer with the wickets early in the season.”I think everyone was just really ready to play in October this year, more so than ever before. Then there’s the emergence of some of our young players with some match-winning performances, plus an attack that has taken 20 wickets twice. The four quicks are really doing the job for us at the moment.”Ponting replaces the injured Michael Bevan in Tasmania’s side, while Victoria have named an unchanged squad. The Bushrangers, who beat the Tigers in their one-day match on Sunday, are third on the Pura Cup table behind Tasmania and New South Wales.Victoria squad Nick Jewell, Lloyd Mash, Brad Hodge, David Hussey, Cameron White (capt), Andrew McDonald, Jonathan Moss, Adam Crosthwaite (wk), Shane Warne, Clinton McKay, Mick Lewis, Gerard Denton.Tasmania squad Michael Di Venuto, Tim Paine, Ricky Ponting (capt), Travis Birt, George Bailey, Daniel Marsh, Luke Butterworth, Sean Clingeleffer (wk), Brett Geeves, Brendan Drew, Ben Hilfenhaus, Adam Griffith.

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.”

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.”

Scorecard

Uttar Pradesh were bowled out for 269 on day one of their Ranji Trophy clash against Baroda with Rajesh Pawar, a left-arm spinner, hijacking the much-hyped return of Irfan Pathan and claiming five wickets on the flat Baroda wicket.Just like Andre Agassi, whose return to tennis after a dip in form and the rankings resulted in a forgettable loss to a rank outsider, Pathan’s rehabilitation began the hard way. Yethe’d only have been deceiving himself had he expected a return to form on the first day back in the domestic grind and his figures of 22-2-108-2 shouldn’t be seen as bad news because Pathan has done what he came back to do: get the overs in.The way Pathan bowled today, though, explained to an extent why he is back in India. The day started for him with one of the few balls that actually swung, though too much for the accompanying appeal to be taken seriously. Off the third ball, Praveen Kumar exposed the lack of edge in his bowling with a flick over mid-wicket, something other Uttar Pradesh batsmen would do through the day with a wide array of other strokes. His ten overs before lunch yielded a full-toss almost every over with three high ones which didn’t qualify as beamers only because they weren’t fast enough.When he looked for swing, he ended up bowling looping dippers on and outside the leg-stump. When he looked for quicker balls in the good length area, he bowled too wide to bother the batsmen. The short ones sat up nicely for easy pull shots. And the 14 no-balls he bowled meant he kept grunting in frustration all day long.As Arun Lal noted on TV, Pathan failed to find any sort of rhythm. His action lacked the usual smoothness and his run-up lacked momentum. As a result he kept hovering around the 120-kmph mark with his quicker deliveries.He picked up two wickets, one off a bad shot from Shivakant Shukla, the UP opener. The other one, though, came with a somewhat satisfying yorker to Piyush Chawla after the latter had hit him for two humbling boundaries – a flick through mid-wicket and a square cut off the front foot.That didn’t, however, mark a turnaround for he bowled two more no-balls, tried round-the-wicket stuff, got square-cut for four by Mohammad Amir Khan, and was taken off in favour of Rakesh Patel, a right-arm medium-pace bowler, who finished off the UP innings.The other two men under the spotlight – Mohammad Kaif and Suresh Raina – had mixed days at the office. Kaif looked solid in scoring 25 before playing back to an arm ball from Pawar and edging it to Pinal Shah, the wicketkeeper. The pitch held no terrors and he should be disappointed at letting the opportunity go.Early on in his innings Raina struggled against Patel, who kept bringing the ball in to him. Raina, who sustained a knee injury while batting, survived till lunch playing and missing a few, tied down by Irfan Pathan senior. But after lunch he looked a different man, playing some delightful cover-drives, and hitting two mighty sixes – one over mid-wicket and the other a hit from down the wicket to Pathan senior.But if it was disappointing for Kaif, it would be all the more frustrating for Raina who fell, after settling down, to a left-armer’s special from Pawar. After being hit for two boundaries in his previous over, Pawar bowled one that drew Raina out. Beaten in the flight, Raina played for the spin, but the arm-ball only bounced. In one motion Shah collected the ball, adjusted to the bounce, and took the bails off to find Raina short. Pawar also got Tanmay with a full-length diving return catch.Pawar would later describe this as his favourite wicket of the five he took today to reduce UP to 269 on a flat wicket. He was taken off after his first over, in which he removed Kaif, possibly to give Pathan a go at the new batsmen. And the wickets of Raina and Tanmay were bought at a heavy price, the two batsmen having settled down. Rohit Srivastava also looked solid, hitting Pawar for a six over mid-on, but in the same over failed to read a quicker one and cut it straight to Martin at slip. Pawar thought it was his discipline that earned him the five-for; he had indeed kept coming at the batsmen even after they hit him out of the ground and the attack.UP, already facing relegation, have a long day tomorrow, as their bowlers failed to derive any help from the wicket. They will be looking at the early morning freshness to get some wickets.

Scorecard

Jermaine Lawson did his case for selection no harm with a six-wicket haul on the rain-hit third day’s play between Jamaica and Windward Islands at the Beausejour Stadium in St Lucia. Lawson’s 6 for 70 bowled out the Windwards, resuming on 96 for 4, for 251 and gave Jamaica the first-innings points before they progressed to 43 for 2.Lawson, 25, has had his share of injury problems but hit his straps with a devastating spell of 5 for 8 in 6.4 overs. Hyron Shallow (39) was the first to go, caught by Brenton Parchment for 39, Darren Sammy (80) was bowled off the inside edge, and Liam Sebastien (10) offered mid-on the easiest of catches. With the score on 251 for 8, captain Rawl Lewis (14) needlessly slogged left-arm spinner Nikita Miller to long-off. Lawson needed no invitation to go all-out, and removed Deighton Butler and Dennis George with no further change to the total.After the lunch interval, Jamaica lost openers Danza Hyatt, bowled by medium-pacer Jean Paul for 1, and Parchment lbw to Deighton Butler for 11. Wavell Hinds, the captain, finished unbeaten on 19 in the company of Lorenzo Ingram (7 not out) before rain ended play prematurely.
Scorecard
Adrian Barath and Daren Ganga, the Trinidad & Tobago openers, put on an unbeaten 170 on the first day the weather gods allowed play to begin against Guyana at Guaracara Park in Trinidad. After rain and soggy ground conditions hampered play on the first two days, Guyana won the toss and inserted T&T and Barath, on debut, hit 73 and Ganga, on his 28th birthday, made 76 in the 56 overs completed. The duo’s effort bettered the previous best opening stand for T&T versus Barbados – 150 between Richard Gabriel and Kenrick Bainey at Kensington Oval in 1979.
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Only four overs were possible in just about a half hour’s play on the rain-affected third day of the Barbados-Leeward Islands clash at Crab Hill. Heavy overnight and early morning rain drenched the outfield and delayed the start until after tea, when Barbados, reached 9 for 0 before another shower curtailed the day’s action.

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 news was pretty devastating, to be honest. He was a very, very close friend, actually more than as a coach…. He was a very respected man. We were together with Warwickshire and South Africa. Bob was an extremely professional man, was an extremely soft person, gave his life to cricket and probably paid for it.”
“I am shocked and badly hurt. We have lost a good coach and a good person. Woolmer was a fatherly figure to all of us and we have lost our greatest supporter.”
“I am extremely sad and very depressed at the news of Bob’s untimely death. He worked a lot with me when I was out of international cricket with my action problems. I was going through a hard time and he really took time off, sought me out and really helped me get through some tough times. His technical knowledge was outstanding especially in these matters and he was a big help. He gave me great support in those days, which speaks volumes of the man. We have not only lost a great coach but a very fine man. You will be missed, Bob.”
“He was a friend of all the players. I used to call his wife, Gill, mom so he used to tease her that I am their third son. I know how it feels when you lose your close ones. Bob used to help each and every player and he has left a big void in Pakistan cricket.”
“Bob always treated me and other players as his sons. He would help any player who was in difficulty and he was the best coach under whom I have played.”
“He used to follow my county performance even when I was not in the Pakistan team. I owe him a great deal and we can never repay his help and services to us.”
“The first thing, world cricket has lost a cricket scholar. You can’t say much more than that for Bob Woolmer. He was thinking of new ideas all the time and took coaching to the next level. It is pity that he is no more with us, and world cricket will surely miss him.”
“We are all greatly saddened by Bob Woolmer’s passing. He was a great cricket man. His life was devoted to cricket.”
“He was a great lad, a great motivator. He was a bit eccentric at times but it is a terrible loss. I remember going to his house in Cape Town and many years ago he showed me his work room. He had everything on computers even then. This was before the technology was readily available and he showed me how he was going to monitor things and study each player’s performance. He was one of the first to really work on the reverse-sweep shot, he probably worked at it too much. He taught people to go back when they were playing it rather than go forward to give batsmen more room to play and he developed a lot of that.”
“We had a marvellous time together. Can’t believe it happened. It happened so quickly. We can’t do anything about it… huge tragedy for Pakistan cricket, a huge shock for the nation. Don’t think I can take it very well…. Was a lovely man, very understanding…”
“What Bob Woolmer did for a team that was at war with eachother was truly remarkable. He gave them a sense of direction, belonging, presence and a feeling of togetherness.”
“The chairman, members of the ad-hoc committee and officials of Pakistan Cricket Board express their heartfelt condolences on the sudden and sad demise of Mr Bob Woolmer. Mr Woolmer was a highly respected personality in the world of cricket and had been serving Pakistan Cricket Team with great dedication for nearly three years. His presence will sorely be missed by all concerned with cricket in this country and by all those in the global cricket community. “”We were all very shocked when we found out. All of us had known Bobpretty well. A lot of us played under Bob, so it is obviously a hugesadness among the guys. We send our best out to his family, and I knowa lot of the guys have been in contact with his wife. A lot of us had a close relationship with Bob over the last few months, especially having played against Pakistan. All of ussocialised with him over a period of time. We will all have very fondmemories of Bob – which is very important. The guys just hope hisfamily can get things sorted out, and that is what is on most of theguys’ minds at the moment.””Bob Woolmer was a wonderful man and also a very, very good cricketer. I first bumped into him when he was playing for Kent under Colin Cowdrey. He was a very good allrounder, an outswing bowler and batted at the top of the Kent innings. There was no doubt in my mind when I first saw him that Bob Woolmer would end up playing cricket for England. I had the pleasure of being captain and selecting him when that happened. He gave his all, all the time. He always felt that coaching Pakistan would be the big challenge but he always had it in the back of his mind that if he could get Pakistan together as a team, they could do something similar to what Australia has done in recent years, because of the incredible talent in that country. “
“You really wanted to play for him. He was such a deep thinker of the game, you really genuinely believed him and he was always trying to take the game forward – and we went with him. He was a fantastic guy. As a man, he was soft, sensitive, a great impressionist – he entertained us.”

“One of our 12th men bringing drinks out told us about it. Everyone juststood back in shock for quite a while. When I was out in the field Iwas thinking about lots of different things for probably the last 10or 12 overs of the game. Everybody was immediately saddened by what weheard. We have played a game of cricket, but there are a lot of bigger thingshappening around the world. There always is. We sometimes get a bitcarried away with what we do in sport. But when something like thishappens it certainly rams home that there are other things around youall the time, happening.”
“On behalf of the England cricket team we know there has been a sad loss to the world of cricket with the death of Bob Woolmer today. We know how much he has had an impact on the world game, the English game and we know how greatly missed he’s going to be. Today’s win and the incidents of the last 48 hours have really hit home to us when we heard that Bob had died when we were on the field today. All our condolences go out to his family. It was only last Saturday that I was in the swimming pool in Montego Bay just talking to him. We were having fruit punches together just discussing the game and certain aspects of it. He was a great talker about the game, he had many ideas and innovative ideas and brought new things to the game. It’s so hard to know that only five days ago you were in the swimming pool with him and now he’s passed away. He’s going to be greatly missed.”
“I first met Bob Woolmer in 1972 when we were playing the one-day series in England. He was picked in the England side as a one-day specialist. The Australians tended to laugh about this, feeling that either you are a good cricketer or you are not. You didn’t need specialist for different types of games. Anyhow I was soon laughing on the other side of my face, because in the first game he clean bowled me and he might have got my brother Greg as well. We then became well and truly aware of Bob Woolmer in 1975, when he got a century at The Oval. He batted for three days, to help England save the game in the fourth Test match in the 1975 series. The thing I admired about Bob, was that he enjoyed helping young cricketers. He really had a genuine love for the game and liked passing on his knowledge. The cricket world will be all the poorer for his passing.”
“It is unbelievable, we only heard it this afternoon. We worked withhim for a few years as the ICC’s high-performance manager, and he wasvery helpful for the Associates. It is a nightmare, it hasovershadowed the game completely. He was so helpful, what he wanted us to do was get the basics right, that was very important to him. He was a very human coach, veryapproachable, I could talk with him all the time. We could always talkwith him about cricket. He loved it.”

“I was very close to him, and I had the greatest respect for him as a man anda coach. We have all got to go, but not like this. I saw him just twoweeks ago in Trinidad. I had the highest regard for him and he made ahuge difference to South African cricket. Our thoughts and prayers arewith his family.”
“He was great for the game, he worked hard all his life. I’ve played with a lot of coaches, I think when it comes to professionalism, he was the best. He’s been a great friend to the players”; On differences with Shoaib: “When you live together for 7-8 months, they’re both different characters, you will have differences… But he’s gone now, one shouldn’t talk about this. He’s given a lot to Pakistan cricket, he brought them from nowhere to the top.”
.”It’s a great shock, great tragedy. Didn’t know that he was diabetic and had high blood sugar. We had a good relationship with him. He was a thorough professional; he was a wonderful person to work with…. My condolences to his family” –
“The passing of Bob Woolmer in Jamaica today casts a sad shadow over the 2007 Cricket World Cup . Bob was one of the world’s greatest coaches and as a player his innings of 149 lasting more than 8 hours against Lillee and Thomson demonstrated not only how talented a player Bob was but also his pride in wearing the England sweater. But perhaps Bob will be best remembered as one of the world’s leading coaches. He embraced innovation and was at the forefront of many new developments in the game….. Everyone at ECB extends our deepest sympathy to Bob’s family – we have lost a great friend.’
“We are extremely grieved at his passing away. On behalf of the PCB let me say it’s a moment of extreme grief for all of us. He met with a heart attack and died in hospital in Jamaica . This is all we know at this moment…. Bob was one of the greatest coaches in Pakistan and in world cricket… ”
“It was an incredible shock to hear that news. Bob has been a person who has been around cricket for a heck of a long time, as a player, and certainly as a coach across the array of different spheres of coaching, he’s been at the forefront of coaching for a long time. I think he’s been a person who has certainly been outspoken on key issues, absolutely well-regarded by everybody, and from a coaching perspective, I think he’s left a huge legacy that we can all follow. He’sbeen an innovator, he’s been a creator, he has an interest in a global way to look at the game. He’ll be a huge loss to cricket forever, but he’s left a fantastic legacy, one we can all aspire to – and from a playing perspective, he’s influenced so many people. His legacy is unbelievably long.”

“He had this boyish enthusiasm and loved nothing more than talking morning, noon and night about the game and that is why he was the most sought after coach in the world. He was always enthusiastic and on the ball. So it was no surprise he went on to be the finest coach and manager in the world.”
“My immediate thoughts are with his family and the Pakistan team and my deepest condolences go out to them. I had a wonderful relationship with Bob at Warwickshire in 1994 and our relationship continued to grow over the years even though we sat in different dressing rooms. He was a very focused man with a great love for the game but what shone through was the great love he had for players under his charge, everyone meant something to him.”
“I am sad at the news, I’m still not able to cope with the news. It isvery sad that a gentleman cricketer and a great coach has died. Iplayed a lot of cricket with him and knew him as a person. He wasdoing a difficult job because Pakistan play its cricket with a lot ofpassion and any loss means a lot to them. Woolmer’s death willdefinitely affect the Pakistan team. He has left a legacy of cricketand he will be remembered for his services to England, South Africaand Pakistan cricket.”
“My first tour was to England and we go back many years as cricketers and friends. I valued his company. It’s a sad day for the sport and the cricketing fraternity. This is totally unexpected. I knew he was upset and under intense pressure but no-one could have foreseen this. I send my condolences to his family.”
“We were a group of young boys on the international scene and quite frankly we were clueless. After a tour to the subcontinent he decided ‘Right, we need to do something.’ His intervention changed things and he shaped many careers – especially Jonty Rhodes, and his relationship with Hansie Cronje was legendary. Bob Woolmer was a cricketing man 24-7. He changed our games, changed our thinking. His lifelong work has been a cricket book. It’ll be a wonderful legacy, a great tribute to a great man.”
“Bob Woolmer’s innovation will be a huge loss to world cricket, as will his willingness to share those thoughts. I knew Bob through our county relationships, he with Warwickshire and myself with neighbouring Gloucestershire. I also had quite an involvement with him when completing my Level 4 coaching where he was the specialist batting coach. He was known as the father of international coaching and like a lot of fathers he was also a mentor. He was tremendously well respected in the coaching world, he was a good listener and was well studied in the science of cricket.”

“Our thoughts are with Bob’s family. This has come as a huge shock to all of the England team. “He was a figure who commanded great respect within world cricket and he will be sorely missed.”
“Bob was respected worldwide. He developed into the finest cricket coach in the world. Bob was a very close friend. I am stunned and shocked, I cannot believe it. He was a tremendous professional cricketer and was dedicated to the game. The world will miss him. He did so much for the game. He was well liked and well respected.”
“Having played with him for England in the early 70s and 80s, I know what a dedicated player he was. But moreover, he had an almost childlike enthusiasm for cricket.”
“My prayers and thoughts are with Gill and the boys. Bob was a friend and a fantastic coach who had a huge impact on my career. He was passionate about the game and was always looking for new ideas and possible innovations to improve individuals and teams. He still had so much to offer the world of cricket and he will be sorely missed. I was very fortunate to have played under him for South Africa and Warwickshire. He did a great job for South Africa cricket while he was involved.”
“Bob Woolmer had such a massive influence on my cricket career, and I know that there are countless cricketers around the globe who are just as devastated as I am by his sudden passing. Bob literally gave his life for the game he loved so dearly, and while he had already made such an immense contribution to cricket, his premature death has deprived the game of someone who still had so much to offer the cricketing community. My thoughts and prayers are with Gill and the family.”

The political crisis in Zimbabwe spares no sphere of everyday life. On Sunday, domestic cricket came face-to-face with the madding political air prevailing in the country when three league matches failed to take place due to a police-imposed curfew and stringent ban on political gatherings in Harare.Morgan Tsvangirai, the hugely popular leader of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party, had planned to address thousands of followers at the historic Zimbabwe Grounds, located in the volatile black township of Highfield, in defiance of the legally-challenged, controversial police order. Zimbabwe Grounds, a cradle of the country’s liberation movements in the later 1970s and early 1980s, is adjacent tp the Takashinga Cricket Club, where Zimbabwe’s National League champions, Takashinga, are based.They were scheduled to host Mabvuku in the Vigne Cup, the country’s oldest domestic cricket competition. Social soccer fields at the Zimbabwe Grounds, which are normally a hive of activities on Sundays, were also under heavy police guard.Heavily-armed riot police manned the residential areas surrounding the ground, making any action impossible. By Sunday night, unconfirmed reports said three civilians had been shot dead by the dreaded riot police, notorious for mercilessly quashing any opposition to President Robert Mugabe and his Zanu (PF) government.Operators withdrew public transport in and out of the suburb, with normal life becoming idle as residents feared for their lives. The locals understandably retreated to their homes in reminisce on the police viciousness the last time MDC held a rally in the area. Shops and other businesses were closed and church services cancelled as police lurked in the vicinity, ready to unleash terror on demonstrators and residents they came across.Takashinga’s first and third sides, who were supposed to play away, were not able leave Highfield to fulfill their fixtures. Club members locked themselves in the bar the whole day.Highfield, a political hotbed of Harare, is a poor but significant residential district famous for instigating popular resistances against oppressive regimes. Despite being undermined, Highfield is also a recognised talent-hub in sports and socio-economic fields. Such well-known cricketers as Tatenda Taibu, Prosper Utseya, Hamilton Masakadza, Vusi Sibanda, Stuart Matsikenyeri, Chamu Chibhabha, amongst others, hail from Highfield where they began their careers.

Kevin Pietersen has become only the third England batsman to top the ICC ODI player rankings, after his solid start to the World Cup. Pietersen made half-centuries against New Zealand and Kenya to take a narrow four-point lead from Ricky Ponting and Michael Hussey.He is the first England player to head the list since Marcus Trescothick, who had a brief one-match stay there in 2005. Allan Lamb was the only other England batsman to achieve the feat and that was in 1989.The success of Australia’s top order has cost Hussey, who dropped from No. 1 down to third spot. The earliest Hussey has made his way to the crease in the first three matches was in the 44th over against Scotland, and he has not yet reached double-figures.Shaun Pollock remains a long way ahead of the pack in the bowling rankings, despite his costly performance against Australia. Shane Bond and Muttiah Muralitharan shot to equal second from seventh and ninth places respectively.South Africa need only to beat Sri Lanka on Wednesday to secure top position in the team rankings for the April 1 cut-off date, when the No. 1 side is awarded US$175,000. Australia could overtake South Africa, however, if results fall their way.