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Syed Shahid Akbar, a Hyderabad prodigy in the ’70s, has died of a multiple organ failure at the age of 54. Akbar’s is one of the more poignant stories of what could have been. His contemporaries all expected him to play for India, but Akbar couldn’t quite make it. He ended with just 31 first-class matches, and a highest score of 97.He was a dashing left-hand opening batsman, and an electric fielder in the days before Mohammad Azharuddin had arrived, “the best in Hyderabad in those days”. Harsha Bhogle, who played Universities cricket with Akbar, says observers in Hyderabad cricket circles used to imagine him opening with Sunil Gavaskar even before he had made his Ranji debut, at the age of 18, in 1976.Arshad Ayub, former India offspinner, was a dear friend and colleague. He played with Akbar in school, in university, and for Hyderabad. He regrets they didn’t do it together for India. He remembers Akbar as a nice person, whom he never saw “even raise his voice to anybody”. Ayub says, “He was probably the best talent around during the time. Unfortunate that he didn’t make the grade.”Akbar played his last first-class game in 1984, and faded away. He kept working at State Bank of India before taking voluntary retirement. Ayub says he wasn’t very social after his cricketing days, but didn’t look back with regret. He kept watching a lot of cricket, both on TV and in Hyderabad, and would discuss a lot with Ayub. He remained a voracious reader, and would share the books with Ayub after finishing. Ayub is left with a valuable gift: all the books Akbar shared with him.Akbar is survived by his wife, and a daughter who lives in Australia.

Any sense of haughtiness among Australia’s players, after what amounted to a points-victory over South Africa in Brisbane, has been ardently shooed away by Michael Hussey as the two sides reconvened in Adelaide. Much chatter was devoted to the momentum the hosts gained over the final three days of the Gabba Test, recovering from a poor first day with the ball and a dire first hour with the bat to be the only side with a chance of victory on the final afternoon.Chief among the proponents of this view was Australia’s captain Michael Clarke, who opened his regular newspaper column with the following words: “It’s amazing how much can be taken out of a draw”. Hussey, however, was intent on snapping Australia out of repose and back into a state of urgency, rejecting the notion that Brisbane’s psychological blows would have much bearing on proceedings at Adelaide Oval from Thursday.Reminded of the corresponding sequence of Test matches during the 2010-11 Ashes series, in which England batted their way out of a considerable hole in Brisbane and then took that confidence into fashioning a startling first half-hour in Adelaide, Hussey said the first session of the second Test would say far more about its outcome than any of the days’ play that preceded it in the first.One significant difference between 2010 and 2012 is the additional times the two sides have had between matches, allowing South Africa’s players to holiday while Australia’s returned to home ports. Whatever fatigue developed over the course of two lengthy first innings in Brisbane has thus been suitably flushed out.”I don’t really like to think we take any momentum coming out of Brisbane,” Hussey said. “I think we start nil-all again, and the first session is very important. Coming out of Brisbane in the Ashes a couple of years ago we lost the first session against England here in Adelaide very poorly, we were 3 for 1 in the first half an hour of the match and were basically playing catch up from then, so it’s very important that we start this match well.”What’s happened in Brisbane is gone, it doesn’t really matter, what matters is that first hour, that first half an hour in this Test match – we’ve got to start better than we did a couple of years ago against England.”Clarke used the term “patchy” to define Australia’s overall display at the Gabba, and this is something that must improve if his team is to prosper this week. Should the bowlers be called upon first, they will have an even narrower window for early wickets than was afforded by the Brisbane surface, as Adelaide’s turf can lose its vestigial early moisture in a matter of minutes. The top-order batsmen, meanwhile, cannot rightly expect to give up 3 for 40 and again be bailed out by Clarke and Hussey.South Africa are also unlikely to be so accommodating again if they have the chance to press home an early advantage. It was clear in Brisbane that the loss of the second day to rain sapped Graeme Smith’s side of the expectation that there was sufficient time to win the match, but no such precipitation is forecast for Adelaide and its desert climate. Hussey would not entertain the suggestion that South Africa’s Test side is not collectively ruthless enough, pointing to the world rankings as proof of their capacity to go in for the kill.”They’re the No. 1 team in the world, so they’ve obviously been ruthless in Test matches and won Test matches playing their style of play,” Hussey said. “So I don’t think you can question the way they go about their Test cricket, because they’ve been so successful for quite a period of time.”I think we’re close definitely, and I believe we can beat them definitely, but we’re going to have to play good, hard disciplined Test match cricket for long periods of time. We can’t just do it for an hour or a session, we’ve got to be able to do that all day, and back it up day after day. The one thing they’ve been able to do in the past few years is they play good, hard disciplined Test cricket for long periods of time, and that’s why they’re No. 1.”That’s what we’re aspiring to do and I don’t think we’re far away, particularly playing in our home conditions, where we know the conditions really well. I think that definitely brings us closer.”Shane Watson arrived in Adelaide with a steep task ahead of him in order to be available for the Test, and his success in recovering from a calf strain will be monitored closely from the time Australia commence training on Monday morning. “I believe he’s been running, so that’s positive, there’s still three or four days leading up to the Test match, so I’m sure he’ll be given every opportunity to prove his fitness to get ready for the second Test,” Hussey said. “I did speak to him in Brisbane and he was very keen to try and make sure he’s right for this Test match.”Even batting a long innings can take a bit out of the body, so he’s got to make sure he can get through that first, then hopefully offer something with the ball as well.”

The Sri Lanka Premier League’s Uva Next franchise has paid its players their outstanding fees, having delayed their initial payments for over two weeks. Uva Next owner Tushar Bedi said the players received their payments late last week after the Reserve Bank of India released the money to the franchise. He said the delay had been caused by a late payment by the bank, which the players had been made aware of.New Zealand allrounder Jacob Oram confirmed receiving the payment, and said the players were largely content with proceedings. “We had a meeting with the owners in Pallekele and it’s all been sorted. As of now, it’s all up to schedule.”As per SLPL contracts, players were due 25% of their pay when they joined the team in Sri Lanka, a further 25% on the date of their franchise’s first match in the tournament, and the remaining 50% due upon commencement of the franchise’s final match. Only Uva Next from the seven SLPL franchises had not paid their players on schedule so far, though Bedi said the franchise did compensate the players for the delay by advancing half of their final installment, along with the 50% already owed.”They’ve actually received 75% of their pay at present and we’ve sent proof of payment to the SLC,” Bedi said. “We decided to pay a little ahead of schedule in good faith, because of any inconvenience it might have caused.”

ScorecardNottinghamshire maintained their push for the Clydesdale Bank 40 semi-finals with a straightforward 88-run victory over Scotland at Trent Bridge.Samit Patel led the way for the hosts with 82, while fellow England hopeful James Taylor contributed 68 and Adam Voges an unbeaten 64 as Nottinghamshire made 265 for 5 after winning the toss and batting first. Patel then picked up 2 for 39 with his left-arm spin as Scotland were bowled out for 177, with fellow spinners Voges, 3 for 37, and Graeme White, three for 42 also among the wickets. Ryan Flannigan top-scored for the visitors with 38.The win moves Nottinghamshire second in Group B, one point behind leaders Hampshire, who have played a game more.Having won the toss on a gloriously sunny afternoon, Nottinghamshire skipper Chris Read chose to bat first on a wicket that had seen little action from their rain-affected County Championship match with Surrey on the previous four days. The decision looked like a mistake when Gordon Goudie had Michael Lumb lbw with the first ball of the match, but despite a low and slow pitch, the home side steadily increased the tempo to finish on a score that proved well beyond the visitors.Taylor and Alex Hales put on 82 in 12 overs for the second wicket, with Hales contributing 37 from 35 balls before he was stumped off the left-arm spin of Jean Symes.Patel took his time to get going – with Nottinghamshire having a 10-over spell in the middle of their innings without a boundary – before he drove Majid Haq through the covers to release the shackles. His partner Taylor was generally content to pick up singles in his 82-ball innings, ending when he top-edged an attempted reverse-sweep off Haq to backward point.That brought Voges to the wicket, with the Australian taking advantage of the batting powerplay to race to 50 off just 35 balls in the penultimate over after Patel was yorked by Goudie, who also had Riki Wessels caught at deep square leg.Scotland were never in the hunt but also did not help themselves with two run-outs, although Josh Davey was unlucky to see Harry Gurney deflect Calum MacLeod’s drive onto the stumps at the bowler’s end.Nottinghamshire overcame the setback of seeing seamer Darren Pattinson limp off the field after only two deliveries with a suspected groin strain, and the left-arm spin trio of Patel, Voges and White strangled the life out of the Scottish innings.

ScorecardKent beat Middlesex by three wickets with an over to spare in their final Friends Life t20 game at Uxbridge but it was a hollow victory because neither side had any chance of reaching the quarter-finals.The groundstaff did well to make conditions playable after the heavy recent rain but it had taken its toll and Middlesex struggled to reach 124 for 9 after Kent put them in on a sluggish pitch and sodden outfield where the ball often plugged on landing.There were only 13 boundaries – three sixes and eight fours – in the entire Middlesex innings and none at all after the 15th over.Kent did not do much better, hitting only seven fours, but, crucially, they cleared the boundary rope six times and a fifth-wicket stand of 50 in seven overs between Azhar Mahmood and Alex Blake proved decisive.Blake hit two sixes, one of which struck a house across the road in Gatting Way, in his 22 off 23 balls and Mahmood had made 30 off 26 balls with two fours and a six when Steven Crook followed through to run him out in the penultimate over.Middlesex’s captain Neil Dexter held his side together with 42 off 38 balls with four fours but then he skied Darren Stevens, the best of the Kent bowlers with 3 for 23, to mid on and Middlesex fell away with Tom Scollay (19) the only other batsman to get into double-figures.Kent did not find scoring easy either, with Sam Billings (10) and Rob Key (three) soon falling to mistimed shots but Sam Northeast gave them a platform with 21 off 23 balls before he holed out on the midwicket boundary. Stevens provided timely acceleration with three sixes in his 26 off 18 balls and Mahmood and Blake made victory a formality.

The ICC and FICA (Federation of International Cricketers’ Associations) will be participating in efforts aimed at ending the stand-off – largely over the issue of contracts and the running of West Indies Cricket – between the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) and the West Indies Players’ Association (WIPA). Meetings have been scheduled between June 10 to 13 in Barbados, wherein the ICC and FICA will mediate in the negotiations between the two disputing parties.”The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) and the West Indies Players Association (WIPA) wish to advise all stakeholders of West Indies cricket that they will be meeting to discuss the terms and conditions, which could result in a mutually agreeable, revised Collective Bargaining Agreement and Memorandum of Understanding between the parties,” a joint statement said.The ICC will be represented by its general manager of Cricket Dave Richardson and acting head of Legal Ian Higgins. Tim May, the FICA chief executive, will represent his organisation. “The joint mediation team has established guidelines for the process, one of which is strict confidentiality, and both the WICB and WIPA have agreed to adhere to those guidelines,” the statement said.It is understood that Dinanath Ramnarine, the former WIPA president and chief executive, who resigned from his post in late March this year, is likely to be present at the meetings. WICB sources fear Ramnarine could prove to be a stumbling block, as he has been against a new CBA/MoU and happy to stick with the existing. It is in this area the pair of Richardson and May, acting as facilitators, could play an important role in paving a new path that could be beneficial for both the WICB and the WIPA.The impasse reached its height in 2009, when several senior members of the West Indies team boycotted the home series against Bangladesh. West Indies were forced to field a makeshift side that lost both the Test and ODI series, and was then retained for the Champions Trophy that year.

The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) has confirmed that it has handed responsibility for investigating the circumstances surrounding the death of Tom Maynard back to the Metropolitan police.The matter had been passed on to the IPCC has a matter of course, after Maynard was found dead on tube tracks near Wimbledon Park station on Monday, having been pulled over by police while driving in the early hours of the morning. Maynard, the 23-year-old Surrey batsman, subsequently abandoned his car and fled the scene.However, the police regulator will not investigate the case further, as Maynard eluded the chasing officers before his body was discovered almost an hour later.”The IPCC has assessed the referral from the Metropolitan Police Service regarding the death of a 23-year-old man,” an IPCC statement said. “The police evidence is that at 4.13am officers saw a car being driven erratically which they followed.”The driver then decamped and after a short chase on foot, officers lost sight of him and had no further contact. The man appears to have been hit by a train at 5.04am. In the circumstances the IPCC has referred this matter back to the MPS. British Transport Police will prepare a file for the coroner.”Maynard’s death was marked by a minute’s silence at The Oval, his home ground, before the start of the second ODI between England and West Indies. Tom, the son of former England and Glamorgan batsman Matthew Maynard, has been the subject of tributes and messages from former players and members of the cricketing community and his family issued a statement on Tuesday, expressing their thanks and asking for privacy.The statement, issued through the British Transport Police (BTP), said: “The Maynard family would like to thank everyone for the many messages of support following Tom’s tragic death in London yesterday morning.”As you can appreciate, the news has come as a devastating blow and although the family is grateful for all the kind messages of sympathy, we would ask that we can be left to grieve in private at this very difficult and sad time for us.”

Shakib Al Hasan, currently ranked as the world’s best allrounder in Test and ODI cricket, is poised to make a return to the county game.Shakib, 24, a former Bangladesh captain, has enjoyed previous stints in county cricket with Worcestershire, but will not be returning to New Road. Essex are one of the leading candidates for his signature. “He is one of the names we are considering,” Paul Grayson, the Essex head coach said, “but nothing is finalised.”Shakib had originally planned to take a break after the IPL, where he is playing for Kolkata Knight Riders, but writing in , the Bangladesh newspaper, he said his renewed appetite for the game had convinced him to return for another stint of county duty.”Before I came to IPL, I had thought that I won’t be playing country cricket,” Shakib wrote. “I have played a lot of cricket in the last year, so I needed a bit of rest. But that rest which I had craved seems to be going away from me once again. I have a call-up from county cricket. I hope it will be finalised in two to four days, but not for Worcestershire, if I play this year it will be for a new team.”The reason I had to retract from my initial decision of not playing county is to let myself play matches. After the Asia Cup, we got a long break so I feel rather than taking rest, it is better to play some cricket. Still I’m looking for a gap in the schedule so that I can take a 15-20 days uninterrupted break from the game. Even this sort of a break has become very important for me.”

ScorecardAllrounder Jon Clare took 5 for 17 and also contributed an unbeaten 40 as Derbyshire took the upper hand on the second day of their County Championship Division Two clash with Glamorgan.Derbyshire ended the day on 152 for 6 in their second innings, an overall lead of 187 after bowling Glamorgan out for 95. They were also indebted to David Wainwright and Ross Whiteley who put on 60 for the sixth wicket after Glamorgan had reduced them to 37 for 5. Wainwright then shared an unbroken stand of 55 with Clare.Following a patient start to the second day from Moises Henriques and nightwatchman Dean Cosker, after Glamorgan resumed on 37 for 4, the wickets suddenly fell one after the other. They lost their last six wickets in 11.4 overs for the addition of 37 runs as they slumped from 58 for 4 to 95 all out – Glamorgan’s lowest score against Derbyshire since the 85 they accrued at Derby in 1970.It all started with Tony Palladino removing Henriques’ off stump before Clare found himself on a hat-trick. He bowled Cosker and next ball captain Mark Wallace also watched his off stump cartwheel backwards. Graham Wagg did survive the hat-trick ball, but then went to a return catch in Clare’s next over. Glamorgan found themselves 85 for 9 with Clare taking his fifth wicket to trap Jim Allenby leg before before Robert Croft edged Wainwright’s first ball of the match to slip.Derbyshire lost a wicket to the third ball of their second innings when Wagg trapped Martin Guptill for a duck. After reaching 7 for 1 at lunch the visitors added a further 10 until Wayne Madsen was caught down the leg-side by wicketkeeper Wallace off Henriques, who struck twice more to remove Wes Durston and Paul Borrington as Derbyshire found themselves 37 for 5.But either side of tea the sixth wicket of Whiteley and Wainwright, who had put on 48 in the first innings, added more valuable runs to take Derbyshire’s lead to more than 100. The pair seemed to be comfortable until Whiteley was run out with a direct throw by Ben Wright running in from cover as he attempted quick single.It ended the partnership of 60 in 29.4 overs, but Derbyshire’s lead continued to increase as Wainwright and Clare hit consecutive sixes off Cosker and Henriques respectively before bad light stopped play with six overs still to bowl.

Rahul Dravid left cricket assuring everyone that India had an abundance of batting talent which could easily fill in the No. 3 slot he has left vacant. The pundits however find it hard to arrive at a consensus over the most likely candidate capable of filling the void created by Dravid’s departure. Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, S Badrinath, Ajinkya Rahane and even VVS Laxman were all the names that came up as men well-equipped in both mind and with bat in hand to tackle the various hurdles faced by a one-down batsman.”The first and obvious choices would be some of the guys who were already there in the reserves in Australia,” a BCCI official told ESPNcricinfo. He said even the likes of Manoj Tiwary and Punjab youngster Mandeep Singh were on the selectors’ roster along with the above names. “People who are performing at the domestic level would be in the fray. Finally it depends on who clicks at the right time,” the source said.The chief parameter the selectors would look out for, the board insider said, was the player’s ability to perform on the overseas tours especially in Australia, England and South Africa. “One of the most important things is batsman needs to be a good player of fast and short bowling on overseas wickets. At home it is easy. Except for Sachin [Tendulkar] and Rahul, nobody averages above 50 overseas,” he said.Pujara, after his determined 72 on debut against Australia in the Bangalore Test that India won, would seem to be a readymade replacement for Dravid. Again though, not everyone was in agreement. “He has not scored runs in the Ranji Trophy matches after he came back from injury. Also, he has had two surgeries, so with regards to fitness, he could be a concern,” the board official said. Pujara played four Ranji Trophy matches for Saurashtra this season and scored just 200 runs with two fifties. Subsequently, he led West Zone in the Duleep Trophy quarterfinals, but scored just 57 runs in the two innings with 55 in the first.VB Chandrasekhar, the former national selector, said it would not be a bad idea to reinstate Laxman to the No.3 spot. “If they are going to still continue with Laxman, he should be the No.3 for the short term,” he said. But the board official disagreed, saying a more healthy approach would be to think long-term. With India playing their next three Test series (against New Zealand, England and Australia) at home, the selectors had a good opportunity to blood a young talent.What also does not help Laxman’s cause is that he has weaker away record compared to batting at the No. 3 spot at home. Overall, Laxman has made 1611 runs across 23 Tests in that position at an average of 44.75 with four centuries. But in 28 away innings, he averages only 34.40 with a tally of 929 runs compared to 682 runs at 75.77 in nine innings in India, including his highest Test score of 281 in 2001 against Australia at Kolkata. And outside Asia, in 24 innings he has just 797 runs at 33.20 with two hundreds.If he has to look beyond Laxman, Chandrasekhar said he cannot see too many choices beyond Kohli or Rohit. Chandrasekhar qualified his answer by citing the parameters necessary to be a one-down batsman. “Dravid was successful for two reasons primarily. Considering India had a host of top-order batsmen who were aggressive and if there was an early loss of a wicket, it (situation) required him to come and stonewall. Also, if India had a good start, the team needed someone to sustain the momentum and Dravid did the job successfully again.”Aakash Chopra, the former Indian Test opener, said the selectors had the right opportunity now to actually hit upon a long-term No.3 batsman. Though he is a fan of Pujara, Chopra said his other choice would be Badrinath, who played two Tests in the homes series against South Africa in 2010 but never played again. “He has been the prolific batsman on the domestic circuit,” Chopra said. “Allow him to be there for a while and see how it goes.”Chopra said even if age was not exactly on his side, Badrinath had the right fitness, attitude and experience to compete with the youth. “He might be on the wrong side of 30s so to speak, but he is as fit as, or even fitter, than anybody else. And he knows how to score big runs.”Badrinath’s case inside the board, however, does not have much support. “Not only is he 30-plus, but he has been tested already. He is a good player at domestic level but unfortunately does not seem to fit at the highest level.” The official said the selectors would not be bothered even if the player was inexperienced as long as they felt he had the X-factor. He even cited the example of the Rahul Sharma, the Punjab legspinner, who was criticised as a gamble.”Some have that and some don’t. When the selectors picked Rahul Sharma, they were criticised because he had only played a handful of first-class matches and hardly got any wickets. But he has bowled well in whatever matches he has played. It was a gamble but the selectors had faith in him,” the official said.Asked if Kohli was not being groomed for the No.4 slot once Sachin Tendulkar retires, the board source said the selectors would have to keep their options open. “Depends. Three to six are slots where a lot of places would open up as the selectors would have to look beyond the seniors.”Edited by Kanishkaa Balachandran