Tests come first, says new boss
INCOMING international cricket boss Haroon Lorgat last night declared the sanctity of Test cricket would remain, despite the frenzied grab for Twenty20 dollars.
As New Zealand legend Sir Richard Hadlee said yesterday cricket was at the crossroads because of the game's latest phenomenon, Lorgat, who will replace Malcolm Speed as the International Cricket Council's chief executive in July, moved to ease growing fears over the traditional five-day format.
"I sat in on the ICC cricket committee meeting this month and they were very clear that Test cricket should remain the pinnacle of the game. And I agree," Lorgat said.
Twenty20, which began in England in 2003, is making rapid progress as the game's most popular format.
A slew of Twenty20 events have surfaced since the inaugural ICC Twenty20 World Cup in September.
Cricket Australia is the latest governing board to investigate whether it is feasible to follow the lead of the Indian Premier League and the rebel Indian Cricket League and stage its own Twenty20 tournament aimed at the domestic and international market.
England, the West Indies and Pakistan also want to make up ground and cash in on the Twenty20 rage after India took the initiative.
"It's a form of the game we can use as a wonderful opportunity to grow cricket globally, though we will have to manage the load that Twenty20 takes on against Test and 50-over cricket," Lorgat said.
"We might be having too much of it at first, but I hope going forward we can keep a sensible balance between Twenty20 and the other formats."
Hadlee, one of the game's greatest fast bowlers, has urged the ICC to ensure the IPL becomes a stand-alone tournament in an already crowded schedule so it does not rob international cricket of its best players.
For this to happen, governing bodies may demand compensation from the Board of Control for Cricket in India because of reduced time to stage profitable Test and one-day international series.
Most countries remain frustrated they do not receive a cent from the IPL, despite providing some of the tournament's leading talent.
"For the benefit of the global game, it is important that there is a window of opportunity for the IPL to be played and that it does not clash with any country's international commitments," Hadlee said.
"For that to happen, the Future Tours Program organised by the International Cricket Council needs to be reformatted to accommodate the IPL."
(c) Herald and Weekly Times
ICC considers Test match league
The International Cricket Council is to consider a Test match league or periodic play-off between the world's top two sides to maintain the five-day game as the sport's pinnacle.
The ICC's cricket committee, chaired by former India captain Sunil Gavaskar, recommended in Dubai that there was a need to identify a balance between tests, one-day internationals and the increasingly popular Twenty/20 formats.
The committee also agreed on a proposed set of playing conditions for the trialing of an umpires' decision review system which is to be tested during a test series this year.
The ICC Board could ratify the plans on June 29.
(c) Reuters
Cricket: Glamorgan's Wood loses battle against old pal Kirby
RAIN once more ruined the opening day of a Glamorgan County Championship Division Two match.
Like the first four-day game of the summer against Middlesex last week at Lord's which ended in a tame draw, the opening day's play against Gloucestershire at Bristol was severely affected by showers.
After play started at 11.30am because of a damp pitch, Glamorgan bravely chose to bat first, a decision partly based on the assumption the soft wicket would see more variable bounce as the match progressed.
But it was always going to be a major test in the opening hour against the experienced and accomplished Gloucestershire bowling pair of captain Jon Lewis and Steve Kirby.
And the home duo severely challenged the Dragons' top order with some quality swing bowling allowing them to pick up a wicket each in the opening session.
Lewis dismissed Gareth Rees for two when the left-hander nicked a superb delivery behind to Stephen Snell. After a brief stoppage for rain, two for one soon became 15 for two when Matthew Wood was dismissed by his former Yorkshire team-mate Kirby.
This duo were in the same side that won the County Championship title in 2001, ironically clinching the title against the Welsh county at Scarborough.
Kirby and Wood had originally renewed their acquaintance on Sunday in the abandoned Friends Provident Trophy clash.
Then the Glamorgan opener had gained the upper hand in their duel, securing an unbeaten 91 before rain denied him his maiden debut one-day century bid for the Dragons.
But Kirby, who was yesterday named in the England Lions side to face New Zealand next week and will miss the FPT return against Glamorgan in Cardiff on May 9, redressed the balance as he tormented his old pal before dismissing him. Wood only managed four runs in 38 balls in an hour, his one scoring shot an edge through slip, before he succumbed to Grant Hodnett who took the catch at third slip.
But, after the exploits of top performers Lewis and Kirby, the back-up act of Mark Hardinges - who has been lined up to play club cricket for Mumbles this season - and Anthony Ireland could not live up to top billing.
Captain David Hemp and Mike Powell guided the Welsh county through to 56 for two before a downpour forced the players off the field once more at 1.53pm.
Play was abandoned at 3.45pm with both Glamorgan batsmen finishing the day unbeaten on 23.
Powell needs 22 runs today to pass 10,000 first-class runs in his 11-year county career.
(c) 2008 owned by or licensed to Media Wales Ltd.
Stanford $200m for England/WI games
SIR ALLEN STANFORD has reportedly offered the England cricket board a staggering BDS$200 million for five Twenty20 matches in five years against a West Indies all-star side.
Stanford, a Texas billionaire, held talks with David Collier, the chief executive of the ECB, earlier this week when he offered $20 million for a match between England and a West Indies all-star team to coincide with Independence Day in Antigua on November 1. If the match takes place, it will be the most expensive cricket match ever played.
That offer, said a report in The Times, could be spread over five years.
"I talked to David about the first game and then how we could collaborate in the future," Sir Allen said. "I said it could be an annual event. Maybe we could come to Lord's in 2009 and then alternate. I would be happy to make a five-year commitment."
When asked whether it meant a US$100 million commitment, Sir Allen said: "I would be willing to do it. The money is real and I think we will get a game."
The offer was revealed in the English media a day after the start of the much hyped Indian Premier League, to which Sir Allen is being seen as a counter weight in some quarters.
(c) Cricinfo
Ntini, Morkel to miss Super Kings' first two
Chennai, April 15 (IANS) Mahendra Singh Dhoni will lead a 17-member Chennai Super Kings squad for their opening fixture against Punjab Kings at Mohali, Chandigarh, Saturday in the Indian Premier League (IPL) Twenty20 cricket tournament.
The squad is without South African imports, Makhaya Ntini and Albie Morkel, who are expected to join the team April 26 in time for the Chennai Super Kings' next game against Royal Challengers in Bangalore.
The two players will also miss the team's first home game April 23 against Mumbai Indians.
Also missing from the squad is former India opening bowler Lakshmipathi Balaji, who is still to recover fully from injuries.
The team otherwise has no surprises with the other foreign recruits, Stephen Fleming and Jacob Oram (both New Zealand), Michael Hussey and Matthew Hayden (both Australia) and Muttiah Muralitharan (Sri Lanka) figuring prominently.
V.B. Chandrasekar, director of cricketing operations of Chennai Super Kings, said: 'Both Ntini and Morkel would be returning home for some rest and will join the team April 26. They will be in the squad for our third game.'
Asked about selection of an additional 17th player, Chandrasekar said: 'Basically, we want a cover in case any player is injured. We don't want to take any chances on this.'
The team:
Mahendra Singh Dhoni (captain), Stephen Fleming, Jacob Oram, Michael Hussey, Matthew Hayden, Muttiah Muralitharan, Suresh Raina, Parthiv Patel, Joginder Sharma, Vidyut Sivaramakrishnan, Anirudha Srikkanth, R Ashwin, P Amarnath, Shadab Jakati, Arun Karthik, S Badrinath and Manpreet Gony.
Copyright (c) 2008 Yahoo Web Services India Pvt Ltd.
European Championships schedule
ICC Europe has announced the schedule and venues for the ICC European Division 1 Championship to be held in Ireland from the 25th to the 31st July 2008.
The 50 over round robin tournament will see Europe's top 6 Associate and Affiliate countries - Denmark, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway and Scotland - fight it out for Europe's top spot.
Six grounds will be used to host a total of fifteen matches that will see each country come face to face over five days.
Current European champions Ireland will be looking to retain their title on home soil, and the side's campaign will begin against tournament newcomer Norway at The Hills on 25th July.
ICC Affiliate Member Norway gained promotion to Division 1 after finishing top of Division 2 in 2006, overcoming second place Jersey, and other associate members including France, Gibraltar and Israel.
The other opening matches will see Denmark face Scotland at Malahide CC and Italy take on the Netherlands at North County.
Irish Cricket Union Chief Executive, Warren Deutrom commented on Ireland's hopes for the tournament saying:
"Winning the European Championships and retaining the title is still a hugely important goal for Ireland. Although last year's World Cup success gave us an exciting glimpse of the world beyond, we still consciously compare ourselves to our European neighbours, particularly our counterparts in ICC's High Performance Programme. If nothing else, the fierce competition among traditional rivals makes for highly competitive cricket which, in turn, helps raise the bar for European cricket."
ICC European Development Manager, Richard Holdsworth who will act as Tournament Director commented,
"This is Europe's showpiece event in the tournament calendar and with the region containing three One Day International teams, there will be three ODI's as part of the event. It will be a tough challenge for the likes of Norway and Italy to compete against these highly world ranked countries, but is what the ICC Development Program is all about, and they deserve their chance to compete with the best."
He added "For Ireland hosting this event, we are truly grateful. They have become experts in hosting such events, and their facilities improve each year, which the participating countries will benefit from."
(c) CricketEurope 2008
Cricket: Central Districts looking good in four-day match
Players returning from duty with the New Zealand team made a huge difference for Central Districts in a State Championship cricket match against Northern Districts in Napier yesterday.
The home side entered the match at McLean Park a listless last in the standings after claiming just two first innings results and four points from their seven previous outings.
Internationals Jamie How, Mathew Sinclair and Ross Taylor were all among the runs as Central Districts responded to the invitation to bat from visiting captain James Marshall by scoring 357 for four on the first day of the four-day fixture.
But these three were upstaged by journeyman opener Peter Ingram, who kicked things along nicely with his second century of the season during an opening stand of 115 with How.
Ingram and How scored at more than four runs an over before How departed for 53, then Ingram and Sinclair added a further 121 for the second wicket, again at a good clip.
Ingram was finally dismissed for 112, containing 21 boundaries in 227 minutes.
Meanwhile, Canterbury's obstinate lower order denied Otago total domination on their opening day in Dunedin. There was a lot of talk in the outfield as Canterbury were reduced to 54 for five at Carisbrook, although things quietened considerably after that.
Canterbury were eventually dismissed for a respectable 247, many more than at one stage appeared likely, after their lower order batsmen followed the lead of Johann Myburgh.
By stumps Otago were 26 for 1 in response, with Craig Cumming and Greg Todd set to resume today.
Rain frustrated Auckland's plans when the first day of their match was washed out in Wellington. Auckland need to beat Wellington outright in the four-day fixture at the Basin Reserve to have any chance of forcing their way into the final.
Wellington lead the competition on 32 points, followed by Canterbury on 26 and Auckland on 20.
Copyright (c)2008, APN Holdings NZ Limited
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