John Major, the former Prime Minister and current president of Surrey, has topped the poll in the elections for the next committee of MCC. He will serve a three-year term, starting on October 1.The other new members of the committee are the recent Kent captain and England one-day representative Matthew Fleming, another old county captain in Nick Pocock (Hampshire), and David Faber, the former Conservative MP.Tom Graveney, the current MCC president, said: “It is marvellous that these Members have put themselves forward to serve on the MCC committee. In particular, I welcome the news that Matthew Fleming has been elected to the committee for the first time. Although I shall not have the pleasure of working alongside them, as I step down as president on September 30, I am sure that they will all provide valuable support to my successor.”MCC have also awarded honorary life membership to seven former Test cricketers, including Jack Russell, the England wicketkeeper. Russell retired from first-class cricket last summer due to a persistent back injury following a career that included 16,861 runs, 1191 catches and 128 stumpings. His finest moment for England came at Johannesburg in 1995-96, when he claimed a world-record 11 catches and then batted for almost five hours with Michael Atherton to save the Test.The other six players recognised for their service to the game are Wasim Akram, Mark Waugh and Michael Slater of Australia, the Sri Lankans Arjuna Ranatunga and Aravinda de Silva, and the former Zimbabwean captain Alistair Campbell.

In the aftermath of their humiliation in the first Test at Lord’s, Bangladesh’s coach, Dav Whatmore, has predicted that more misery lies ahead in the second Test at the Riverside, which begins this Friday.Whatmore, who cut a disconsolate figure as he raked over a succession of batting and fielding disasters at Lord’s, predicted a greener, more alien surface at Chester-le-Street, and feared that the worst could yet be to come, against an England attack that was pumped up by the ease of their opening victory.”You might think things couldn’t get any worse, but we fully expect the Durham Test to be harder,” Whatmore told the BBC Sport website. “England’s confidence is even further elevated while we have to pick up the pieces. If they prepare a wicket that’s a bit sporty it’s going to be extremely difficult.”Although he was disappointed with his team’s performance, Whatmore emphasised that there was a time and a place for in-house criticism. “We’re not getting too emotional,” he said. “I have been known to really give it to the players, but my stomach tells me when the time is right to do that and this is not the time. Right now I have to encourage them rather than yell at them.”Whatmore singled out one or two of his players for limited praise, including Mashrafe Mortaze, who bowled with heart for his two wickets, and Khaled Mashud, whose second-innings 44 was their highest score of the match. “We’re trying very hard to focus purely in the areas that we messed up in,” he said, “mainly in the batting.”And Whatmore concluded: “I’m very impressed with the home attack. They’ve got a group of guys that will just go at it all the time with a lot of spirit. But I have my own players to think about first and foremost.”

The confusion over the telecast rights for the India-Australia Test series shows no signs of ending. Just a day after the Indian board announced that Sony would telecast the series live, Zee Telefilms moved the Supreme Court and asked it to stop this from happening, reported NDTV. To complicate matters further, Prasar Bharati, the national broadcaster, stated that it would go to court as well to challenge the decision.”Prasar Bharati had bid higher than Sony in the initial bids invited by the BCCI for telecast rights,” KS Sarma, the chief executive of Prasar Bharati, told Press Trust of India. “However, the BCCI favoured Sony. We will challenge the issue in [the] Supreme Court.” Prasar Bharati’s bid amount was Rs704crore (approx US$153million), compared to Sony’s Rs600crore (US$130million).Another reason why Prasar Bharati, the parent company of Doordarshan, decided to take the board to court, Sarma said, was because the BCCI had earlier suggested that Doordarshan would telecast the feed, which would be produced by the board itself. “And now what we hear is a totally different thing.”If Zee does manage to get a stay from the Supreme Court, it will seriously jeopardise the chances of a live telecast of the first Test, which starts on Wednesday, October 6.

Paul Riley, who represented Nottinghamshire Cricket Board in the 2003 C&G Trophy, is standing trial over an alleged assault of a group of cyclists, including Australian Paralympic gold medallist Kial Stewart in March last year.Riley, 22, had been staying for a cricket camp at the headquarters of Australian Institute of Sport in Adelaide. The Crown alleges that he, and his friend Nathan Crack, 31, waited outside for the cyclists. The prosecution claims that Riley knocked out Stewart with a punch to the face.Crack has pleaded guilty causing grievous bodily harm and will be sentenced at a later date.

South Africa, set a target of 152, has made a clean sweep of the Standard Bank One-Day International series by winning the third and last match in Kimberley by 8 wickets.Bangladesh, winning the toss and deciding to bat, was soon in trouble against the swing bowling of Steve Elworthy. Using the new ball to great effect he took the first two wickets in side the first five overs. Both catches going behind the wicket, one to Mark Boucher and one to Martin van Jaarsveld at slip.Habibul Bashar, in the team for the first time in the series, together with Sanwar Hossain played some positive cricket and were rewarded with a well played Bangladesh record partnership of 68 for the third wicket against South Africa. This is also the record partnership for any wicket for Bangladesh against South Africa.It is hard to understand why Bashar, who played some delightful shots, did not play in the first two internationals. He also became the first Bangladesh player to score a 50 against South Africa.Alok Kapali continued the positive attitude before he was trapped leg before from a Robin Peterson ball that kept a bit low. Peterson, capturing his first One-Day International wicket.Peterson took his second wicket ending a partnership of 37 between Khaled Mashud and Khaled Mahmud when Mahmud charged past the ball and was bowled. At 150/7, and ten overs in hand, Bangladesh looked likely to improve on their previous high of 154 in Benoni.Pollock put an end to that theory by getting rid of Mashud, caught and bowled from a slower delivery, and then enticing Tapash Baisya to loft a high catch to Gibbs running backwards at extra cover.Van Jaarsveld being given the ball to bowl some off spin proceeded to take a wicket with his first ball bowled in an One-Day International, bowling Tulha Jubair and Bangladesh had collapsed to 151 all out in 43.1 overs.Pollock, named as Man of the Match, ending with 4/24, Elworthy with 2/25 and Peterson 2/39 were the main wicket takers.South Africa started tentatively in their chase of the 152, losing the wickets of Gibbs for 15 and Smith for 21. Both batsmen not finding their timing and having to contend with the odd ball staying low.Enter Martin van Jaarsveld who after a nervous few balls set about the bowlers, driving and cutting nine boundaries, before being caught at mid on for 42 off 33 balls. He may just have gone to a 50, in his first innings, if he had not got just a little too aggressive. South Africa had lost their third wicket for 103.Debutante Ashwell Prince and Jonty Rhodes put on a partnership of 49 with Rhodes slightly rusty, after his lay off from injury, but grew in confidence with every ball, to take South Africa home.Pick of the bowlers was 16 year old Tulha Jubair and a bright future awaits him. Bowling with late in swing he might have been unlucky not to have taken more than his two wickets. For the rest, just far too many wides and no balls, 22 in total, were bowled. An area, together with the fielding, that Bangladesh has to work on.Man of the Series went to Herschelle Gibbs for his 153 and 97 not out.

A new season of one-day cricket on the subcontinent kicks off on Saturday inDambulla, a market town surrounded by some of Sri Lanka’s most ancientheritage sites. But while the idyllic lakeside setting harks back to thepast, drawing in tourists by the thousand each year, the tournament openerprovides a fascinating glimpse of the future, as India try to plug enormousholes in their top order and Sri Lanka experiment with a new opening partnerfor Sanath Jayasuriya.The unavailability of Sachin Tendulkar (elbow injury) for the entiretournament and Sourav Ganguly, at least for the first two games after hisICC match ban was reduced from six to four games after much legalhuffing and puffing, leaves India in new territory, as they will be shorn of 23,587 ODI runs and 618caps’-worth of experience. India have rarely missed both at the same time in thelast ten years and their absence has triggered animated debate as to thelikely shape of the new top order.The safe money is being put on VVS Laxman jumping up the order to partnerVirender Sehwag. This is the entirely sensible and boring option that willbalance the top six. But there are still many secretly hoping that theyounger and longer curls of MS Dhoni accompany Sehwag to the middle. Itwould be a high-risk but potent alliance that would have the potential forcreating major headaches for Marvan Atapattu, who will be missing ChamindaVaas and Nuwan Zoysa, his most experienced pace bowlers.While the ball is hard in the first 15 overs, India have their best chanceof stamping their authority on the game. The Sri Lankan injuries mean thatthe pace attack now has a fragile look about it: Lasith Malinga is exciting andunusual with his round-arm action, but far from polished after just fourmatches; Farveez Maharoof is struggling to find his best bowling form;Dilhara Fernando is under pressure after a long layoff; and DilharaLokuhettige, the new allrounder, is untested.In such circumstances, playing Dhoni – the one batsman to click into form onthe tour thus far – might be a gamble worth taking. But the old hands whofollow India around the world with their laptops, the people who decode theteam’s poker-faced press conference sound-bites for a living, say Dhoni is likely toappear in the middle order with Rahul Dravid, the new captain, at No. 3 andMohammad Kaif at No 4. Yuvraj Singh’s position at No. 3 in both practicegames is considered a red herring – although Greg Chappell has mentioned’flexibility’ so many times this week that we should mentally prepareourselves for the unexpected.India are also set to give an international lifeline to Jai Prakash Yadav, a30-year-old seam bowling allrounder who played the last of his two ODIsagainst West Indies in 2002. He disappeared for a couple of years but strongperformances in the 2004-05 domestic season have given him hope of a secondcoming. With Ganguly set to return for India’s third game next week, he mayneed to make an impression fast.The Dambulla pitch started its international life in 2001 as a batsmen’shellhole; the ball dancing around for the pace bowlers and spinners. But inthe years since the pitch has bedded down and runs flowed last evening whenan Atapattu XI tussled with a Jayawardene XI. However, there is enough helpfor the seamers to persuade both team’s to play three frontline quicks.India will have to choose between Harbhajan Singh and Anil Kumble onceagain.Sri Lanka, too, have been giving their opening combination some deepthought. Tom Moody, their new coach, has made it clear that the time hascome for more stability at the top. In the past 17 months Jayasuriya has hadfive different partners. But Sri Lanka believe that may have unearthed theanswer, Upul Tharanga, a wispy left-hander blessed with sweet timing and anarray of strokes. His classy 35 in the practice match shone with potentialand he is certain to play.The middle order has a familiar feel with Atapattu, Sangakkara andJayawardene ensconced in their normal positions. Tillakaratne Dilshan’sperky batting during the Test series against West Indies should be enoughfor him to get the nod over Russel Arnold, who has been pushing hard for arecall with stacks of runs for the A team. Upul Chandana will then occupythe pivotal No 7 position with Dilhara Lokuhettige set for debut after somelusty blows last night and a mean spell of seamers. Sri Lanka are desperateto unearth a seam bowling allrounder and he is the latest to be tried.With Muttiah Muralitharan, back to full fitness and good form during theWest Indies series, and Malinga already pencilled in then Fernandoand Farveez Maharoof will sweat over the final place. Fernando’s greatercutting edge with the ball and reputation as a wicket-taker may put his nosein front, but it’s a close-run contest because Maharoof, in his short career,has shown and cool head under a pressure and Atapattu needs strong mindswithout Vaas and Zoysa. Maharoof also offers more with the bat.Teams
Sri Lanka (likely) 1 Sanath Jayasuriya, 2 Upul Tharanga, 3 Marvan Atapattu, 4 Kumar Sangakkara (wk), 5 Mahela Jayawardene, 6 Tillakaratne Dilshan, 7 Upul Chandana, 8 Dilhara Lokuhettige, 9 Muttiah Muralitharan, 10 Dilhara Fernando, 11 LasithMalinga.India (likely) 1 Virender Sehwag, 2 VVS Laxman, 3 Rahul Dravid (Capt), 4 Mohammad Kaif, 5 MS Dhoni, 6 Yuvraj Singh, 7 Jai P Yadav, 8 Irfan Pathan, 9 Harbhajan Singh, 10 Zaheer Khan, 11 Lakshmipathy Balaji

“There goes Greg again, asking for too much money,” said one veteran Australian journalist at the press box in Nagpur when news filtered in that Bennett King had been appointed the coach of the West Indies team ahead of Greg Chappell. While there has been little official comment from either Chappell or the West Indian Cricket Board (WICB), it has been widely assumed that a squabble over money caused the deal to fall through.But, Chappell has now clarified that this was not quite the whole truth. “What has appeared in the media has not been a true reflection of the facts,” Chappell told Wisden Cricinfo. “When the WICB approached me I was honoured and readily agreed to attend an interview in London just prior to the ICC Champions Trophy. In preparation for the interview I put together a document to support my presentation. The information contained in that document was based on my research into all facets of the game, based on my experiences as a player, selector, administrator and coach, and looked specifically at the West Indies situation and how to rebuild the game in the region.”Chappell has been heavily involved in studying coaching over the last few years, and his philosophy, called The ChappellWay, has found favour with teams and individuals around the world. Chappell recently published a book called “The Making of Champions” that deals with his philosophy.However, it is understood that West Indies were not on the look out for someone to put a system in place that would yield benefits in the long run. They merely wanted someone to step in for Gus Logie, and stop the rot in the national team. “What I presented to the interview panel was a proprietary system based on the research we have done through Chappellway that was based on what we know of West Indian cricket in the past and the present,” explained Chappell. “It touched on all aspects of the development process and was aimed at developing coaches as well as players. I believe it is important that each region in world cricket should be self-sufficient and should be able to provide home-grown coaches.”Chappell insists that he told the WICB that he was only interested in this larger role. “I told them at the interview in London that if they were only looking for a coach to replace Gus Logie then I was not the right person, as I did not want that position in isolation from the rest of the development process.”However, the WICB went ahead and offered Chappell the job. When this happened he was all set to make the move, and preparations were under way so he could reach Guyana before the start of the domestic competition. But when it came to discussing the nuts and bolts – especially the money – things fell apart. “It was obvious from discussions and the offer that was made that the Board wanted a quick fix and was only looking for a coach to replace Gus [Logie]. I reiterated that I wasn’t interested in the position on that basis, and withdrew from the process. Despite what has been said in the media, money was not the major issue. It was a philosophical difference that caused the breakdown in negotiation.”But, this is not the first time this has happened. When India appointed John Wright as coach, Chappell was a contender. At a meeting at the time, he was interviewed by a panel that included AC Muthiah, the then BCCI president, and Raj Singh Dungarpur. After the meeting, a few members of the Indian board spread the word that Chappell had asked for too much money. Since then, however, it has emerged from reliable sources that an actual figure was not discussed. And so, for the second time now, Chappell has lost a coaching position, and allegations of him wanting too much money have begun to do the rounds.While it is too late to clarify what went wrong with the Indian board, it is at least clear that in the case of the West Indian board, money did not cost Chappell the job.

Sourav Ganguly, the Indian captain who has been accused by Greg Chappell of being unfit to lead the team in a sensational email to the Indian board, has said he has been vindicated as he had done nothing wrong.Ganguly and Chappell, involved in a public spat which has made headlines since the last few days, had both deposed before a six-member review committee of the board which had hammered out a compromise between the two in Mumbai on Tuesday.”In a way I feel I have been vindicated because I hadn’t done anything wrong,” Ganguly told , a Bangalore-based daily. “The review committee gave me a patient hearing and I put my point of view across to them. I think they were reasonably convinced with my replies and I am very happy the matter has been settled now … You could say I am happy and relieved in equal parts.”Asked whether it was possible for him and Chappell to work as a team, he said, “I don’t see any reason why we cannot. After all, both of us are interested in the welfare of the team and Indian cricket.”He added that there was lot of cricket ahead for the Indian team and it was necessary to forget the past and concentrate on the job at hand. “Whatever happened is in the past I am confident we can come together in the future and work well,” he said. “We have a lot of cricket ahead of us starting with the series against Sri Lanka next month. After a break for a couple of weeks it is time for the Challenger series. We need to do well because our record in one-day finals is not great.”Ganguly’s future as captain, ahead of the home series against Sri Lanka, is likely to be decided on October 13, when the national selection committee, headed by Kiran More, meet at Mohali, on the final day of the Challenger series. The Press Trust of India quoted a board source who said: “The committee is tentatively scheduled to meet on the 13th evening to choose the Indian skipper. The selectors would meet the next day [Oct 14] to select the rest of the team members.”India and Sri Lanka are scheduled to play a seven-match ODI series commencing at Nagpur on October 25. The senior selection panel is scheduled to meet on October 1 at Delhi to choose the captains and team members of the India Seniors and the India A and B squads for the October 10 to 13 Challenger limited-overs series that will be played under lights.More is also expected to talk to Sachin Tendulkar, still recuperating from his elbow surgery, about his availability for the tournament. According to board sources, More was in constant touch with Indian team physio John Gloster on the star player’s progress on the fitness front.

Jacques Rudolph has been called up to the South African squad for the third one-day international against New Zealand in Port Elizabeth on Sunday. Dippenaar was ruled out of the remainder of the series, and the tour of India, with a wrist injury which will require surgery.South Africa used Andrew Puttick, the Cape Cobras left-hander, as an emergency replacement for the second match on Friday after Dippenaar was ruled out just before play began, but he was bowled for a fifth-ball duck by Shane Bond.Rudolph, 24, has played 39 ODIs and he led South Africa A on their tour of Sri Lanka in September. Haroon Lorgat, the convenor of selectors, said he was a natural replacement for Dippenaar. “Jacques had a good A tour of Sri Lanka and would have learnt much about taking responsibility through the captaincy experience on the sub-continent.”South Africa lead the five match series against New Zealand 2-0 following their 19-run win at Cape Town.

Chris Simpson, the 23-year-old allrounder, has been rewarded for his off-season performances with places in the opening Queensland ING and Pura Cup teams. Queensland open the summer with a one-day match against New South Wales at the Gabba on Friday and then host Tasmania in a four-day game starting on Monday.One of the three fittest players in the Bulls squad, Simpson missed more than half of last season with a wrist injury, but he impressed the selectors when captaining the Queensland Academy of Sport during the State Institute Challenge in August. An offspinner, Simpson has already collected 15 grade wickets for Wynnum-Manly.The Australian players Andrew Symonds and James Hopes will return from international duty for the fixtures while Michael Kasprowicz’s fitness is being monitored after suffering a minor hamstring problem two weeks ago. New South Wales, who are in camp on the Sunshine Coast this week, will also have Stuart Clark and Nathan Bracken on duty.Jimmy Maher and Brad Haddin, the two captains, will be able to use power plays and super subs for the first time as the domestic competition adapts the new ICC one-day rules.Queensland ING Cup squad1 Jimmy Maher (capt), 2 James Hopes, 3 Andrew Symonds, 4 Clinton Perren, 5 Craig Philipson, 6 Chris Simpson, 7 Chris Hartley (wk), 8 Andy Bichel, 9 Nathan Hauritz, 10 Mitchell Johnson, 11 Michael Kasprowicz, 12 Brendan Nash.New South Wales
1 Phil Jaques, 2 Matthew Phelps, 3 Dominic Thornely, 4 Corey Richards, 5 Ed Cowan, 6 James Packman, 7 Brad Haddin (capt, wk), 8 Aaron O’Brien, 9 Matthew Nicholson, 10 Nathan Bracken, 11 Doug Bollinger, 12 Stuart Clark.Queensland Pura Cup squad
1 Jimmy Maher (capt), 2 Clinton Perren, 3 Martin Love, 4 Andrew Symonds, 5 Craig Philipson, 6 James Hopes, 7 Chris Simpson, 8 Lachlan Stevens, 9 Chris Hartley (wk), 10 Andy Bichel, 11 Michael Kasprowicz, 12 Mitchell Johnson.