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MATTERS ARISING AND DECISIONS TAKEN BY UCB GENERAL COUNCIL IN JOHANNESBURGON 21 AND 23 MARCH 20021. UCB RESTRUCTURINGThe General Council has approved the Price WaterhouseCoopers recommendation to restructure the UCB and all its affiliates intoseparate amateur and professional arms. Other proposals regarding possiblechanges in the structure of domestic cricket are being considered. If thereis to be a change to the structure of the domestic game, this will occuronly for the 2003/4 season.2. DARYLL CULLINANThe General Council reiterated the position of the CEO,Gerald Majola, that the issue of Daryll Cullinan’s departure from the teamselected to play against Australia in the second Castle Lager/MTN Test matchat Newlands, is closed. The Council decided not to take the matter furtheras the UCB has no contract with Mr Cullinan.3. COMMUNICATIONS STRATEGYIndependent Communications consultants Spin Media have beenappointed to work in conjunction with Communications Director BronwynWilkinson to develop a strategy to improve communication between allstakeholders in South African cricket.4. UCB INDABAUCB CEO Gerald Majola recently signed a performanceagreement with the Ministry of Sport and Recreation in terms of which theUCB reaffirmed its commitment to transforming cricket in South Africa. AnIndaba will be held of all UCB stakeholders in July 2002 to discuss newtransformation targets and to assess adherance to those targets which wereset in the UCB Transformation Charter three years ago. The UCB has exceededthose targets in all fields except for umpires, coaches and groundsmen. TheIndaba is expected to set new targets for another period as yet to bedecided.5. SELECTION PANELThe decision to appoint the national selection panel untilthe 2003 Cricket World Cup was rescinded and a new national selection panelis to be elected at the UCB AGM in August. It is possible that the size ofthe panel may be reduced. Future policies for squad and team selection willbe set at the UCB Indaba.6. AFRICA CRICKET ASSOCIATIONThe General Council congratulated UCB President Percy Sonnon his appointment as Vice President of the Africa Cricket Association.7. CEAT CRICKET RATINGS TEAM OF THE YEARThe General Council also congratulated the South Africannational team on winning the CEAT Cricket Ratings International Team of theYear Award (2001) for the second time. Denis Lindsay travelled to India lastweek to accept the trophy on the team’s behalf.Gerald MajolaChief Executive Officer

Sri Lanka’s new chairman of selectors believes that experience will be thekey to success in the 2003 World Cup in South Africa, suggesting an imminentshift away from the youth focused selection policy pursued in recent years.The new policy follows the resignation of former Sri Lanka captain MichaelTissera as chairman after a disagreement with the Sports Minister, just daysbefore Sri Lanka’s first Test against England, which was quickly followed bythe resignation of two other selectors, Don Anarusiri and MaheshGoonatilleke.The Sports Minister Johnston Fernando accepted the three membersresignations and appointed Guy De Alwis as head of a new three-mancommittee. He is joined by Sinhalese Sports Club ground manager, televisioncommentator and former Sri Lanka cricketer Ranil Abeynaike and RogerWijesuriya, the only member to remain from the previous panel.De Alwis’s comments suggest that veterans Aravinda de Silva, 36, and HashanTillakaratne, 34, could force their way back into the one-day squad, ascould discarded all-rounder Chandika Hathurusingha, 33, who has been inoutstanding form in domestic cricket in recent times.”Today the game has become so competitive,” says de Alwis, “and I wonderwhether the youngsters at times can cope up with the pressure ofinternational cricket. I personally don’t think going for youth is the keyto success in the World Cup. Experience will be vital.”As has been the case with previous committees, World Cup success is theoverriding priority of the new committee: “Our main target is to win theWorld Cup in South Africa. We want to have a balanced side. We will talk tothe captain and the coach and will work out these matters.”De Alwis, a former wicket-keeper batsman who represented Sri Lanka in the1980s, reveals that he is looking forward to speaking to the experiencedcricketers who have been overlooked in recent past.He also sounded a warning to the players, demanding a consistently highlevel of performance: “Players must realise that they have to performconstantly at the top level. My committee is not keen on past merits andrecords. We will look at the performance.”If that means that hard decisions have to be made then so be it: “Some willbe definitely unhappy with us, but I have been called to do a job that Iwill do even if the stakes are high.”He is not yet ready to unveil the extent of the proposed changes: “I can’tbe specific at the moment as it would not be fair to discuss these withoutspeaking first to the captain and the team management.”

India were 480/9 at the end of the third day’s play in the third and final Test match against Australia at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai, on Tuesday. They lead by 89 runs going into the fourth day tomorrow. India scored 269 runs, losing eight wickets in the 90 overs bowled today.India resumed at a commanding score of 211/1. But Glenn McGrath drew first blood for Australia with the very first ball of the day; SS Das trapped in front of the wicket on his overnight score of 84. In the seventh over of the day, McGrath went on to dismiss VVS Laxman (65), caught by Mark Waugh at second slip.Sourav Ganguly who had a tense stay at the crease before lunch, troubled by Gillespie’s pace and bounce, was the next man to be dismissed. He made 22 runs off 76 balls and never looked convincing today, before playing a flashy shot outside the off stump to give Gilchrist a simple catch off the bowling of McGrath.Meanwhile, Sachin Tendulkar was cruising along watchfully, punishing the loose balls to the fence. Rahul Dravid who joined him in the middle was in attacking mood as the two batsmen went on reaping runs off some listless Aussie bowling in the post lunch session. Dravid’s good form was evident in his stroke play and in the assurance he has shown in the middle as he smashed Gillespie for a straight six.Soon after tea, Tendulkar lofted Colin Miller to the mid-wicket fence; the mistimed stroke went up in the air straight to Michael Slater. But Slater misjudged the flight of the ball completely and over ran forward to miss out an opportunity to dismiss the most sought after wicket in international cricket. Slater’s misery in the field on this tour was truly compounded.Aussies were losing their way as Gilchrist failed to latch on to a leg side catch offered by Dravid off the bowling of Gillespie. Tendulkar reached his 25th Test hundred in grand style, lofting Miller for a straight six. The crowd got to their feet to applaud the little master.Jason Gillespie was bowling with a big heart and rewards were due to him. Gilchrist and Gillespie got together to dismiss Dravid and Tendulkar in the space of 26 balls. Dravid made 81 attractive runs off 140 balls with the help of six and a dozen boundaries. He and Tendulkar added 169 runs for the fifth wicket in 42.2 overs.Tendulkar waltzed his way to 126, punctuating his knock with two sixes and 15 boundaries before being dismissed. The highlight of his innings were the three fours he scored off an over from Shane Warne. There were two little gems to the fine leg fence off Warne who was bowling around the wicket. This prompted Warne to bowl a bouncer and Tendulkar dispatched it to the third man fence with a stylish upper-cut.Gillespie’s telling spell of 7-4-15-2 made a difference to the outcome of the day’s play, enabling a late order collapse of the Indian innings. Warne who bowled well all through the day was at last rewarded with the wicket of Sameer Dighe (4), trapped in front of the wicket.Colin Miller who had trundled all along, being whacked to the fence by Tendulkar and Dravid, managed to get amongst wickets. In fact he claimed two, Zaheer Khan (4) caught and bowled and Harbhajan Singh (2) caught by Mark Waugh at slip. At close of play, Sairaj Bahatule was unbeaten on four with Nilesh Kulkarni who is yet to open his account.

A stunning double century by Saeed Anwar lit up the second day of Pakistan’s three-day Vodafone Challenge match against Kent in Canterbury.Anwar plundered 138 of his 201 runs in boundaries – including three consecutive sixes off acting Kent captain Min Patel – as he and Saleem Elahi (94) put on 307 in an opening stand covering 71 overs.Both Anwar and Elahi batted for 279 minutes, scoring their runs at a run-a-minute, to clatter Kent’s weakened attack to all parts of the St Lawrence ground.The partnership and the innings came to an end when Anwar, five balls after reaching the second double century of his career, toe-ended and attempted drive against Amjad Khan to sky a catch to James Golding at mid-off.Pakistan immediately declared their first innings, just six runs behind, leaving Khan to reflect on a tough first-class debut and his maiden first-class wicket at a cost of 46 runs from just 8.2 overs.Elahi was always prepared to play second fiddle to Anwar’s virtuoso innings, sadly missing out on a century when his side declared after a 197-ball knock that included 10 fours.Afterwards Pakistan’s assistant coach Darryl Foster praised Saeed Anwar’s innings.”It was a great two hundred and it was the perfect leader you could have before a Test match. You couldn’t ask for much more,” he said.”It was a very big confidence booster for him and the Pakistan team to knowthat they have one of their top batsmen in such good nick with the Test comingup.”It is a marvellous pitch and we have had some excellent batting conditionsand now on the final day some of the other batters can have a hit.”In the final session of play Kent extended their lead to 100, but lost three wickets in the process. Saleem Elahi had to leave the field for treatment having been struck on the head whilst fielding at short leg.David Fulton top-scored for the hosts with 40, but Ed Smith fell to the final delivery of the day, stumped off Saqlain Mushtaq.First day centurion, Robert Key, endured a contrasting experienced today. Dismissed for 21 in the second innings, he also put down a sharp chance in the gully offered by Anwar when he had scored 83, with Trott being the unfortunate bowler.

ScorecardChris Nash: unlikely to be falling into the vacancy at England opener despite more runs for Sussex•Getty Images

Andrew Strauss has retired and the debate about who will step into his England opener’s job has suddenly become more pressing. Nick Compton and Varun Chopra, who have both passed 1,000 Championship runs in Division One, have their admirers. As for Chris Nash, whose unbeaten century left him 43 runs short of becoming the third England-qualified batsman to 1,000, he never merits a mention.It will probably always be this way for Nash, no matter how much he waves his arms. In fact, it is perhaps something to do with the way he waves his arms. Les Lenham, Sussex’s batting coach, might put it more technically, but after a couple of Lions appearances, England have lost interest. “It’s always a dream,” he said. “All you can do is score runs and put your name in the hat.”But Sussex spectators appreciate Nash’s fighting spirit and his hundred against Somerset, from 157 balls, has left them strongly placed for victory as, to all intents and purposes, they chase runners-up spot in Division One. He had a few alarms as his hundred approached, stealing a tight run to mid-on to reach 99 and surviving Steve Kirby’s direct hit and then was spared an lbw appeal before he drove Peter Trego down the ground.Alongside him, Murray Goodwin assembled only his second Championship fifty of the season in his Hove farewell. He received a sitting-and-standing ovation as if Sussex members were confused about correct etiquette. They will doubtless get to their feet sometime today.Sussex have lavished praise upon him, and he upon them, and that has just added to the feeling that, at 39, he is heading into retirement. But he wants none of it – he is looking for another county and as he is also viewed as a good team man he should get one last deal. He set off at a dash, with four boundaries in eight balls, his signature cut shot was warmed up by some short and wide stuff by Sajid Mahmood (his signature ball muttered one cynic) and he got the confidence to try to bat big one last time.It was a gorgeous late summer’s day at Hove, the sort that Britain had seemingly forgotten how to produce, and Nash and Goodwin, in an unbroken third-wicket stand of 139, topped up Sussex’s first-innings lead of 87 rather like a few of the spectators are topping up their tans: pleasurably and methodically with a minimum amount of fuss. They led by 273 at the close. You could almost hear Somerset’s ageing pace attack creaking.They had collapsed dismally in the morning. At 68 for 1, Somerset were making sturdy, if unspectacular, progress towards Sussex’s 221. Then they lost nine wickets for 66 in 24 overs. It is never good news for Somerset when Marcus Trescothick gets out, but this was overdoing the feeling of despair.Trescothick, 20,000 first-class runs under his belt, fell lbw to Sussex’s rangy Australian quick, Steve Magoffin, and Somerset lost three wickets for three runs in three overs, the weakest shot from James Hildreth who shovelled Monty Panesar to midwicket.Peter Trego bats like a gambler. In fact, sometimes he bats like The Dice Man, the cult novel by Luke Rhinehart, which tells of a psychiatrist who begins making increasingly important life-and-death decisions based on the casting of dice. It all looks highly exciting and somewhat random. Trego took four boundaries in a row off Magoffin but then self-destructed, hooking James Anyon to deep backward square, where Nash took an athletic catch.Magoffin’s three wickets were matched by Lewis Hatchett, a young left-arm quick, and Panesar, whose three cheap wickets against the tail will have done him no harm as he gently reminds the England selectors that he is still around ahead of the selection next week of the Test squad for India.When Steve Snell drove him to mid-off, Panesar lugubriously joined the celebrations as if he was not entirely sure he had been invited, like the hanger-on walking into the room at a student party. Well, not entirely like that because obviously he wasn’t carrying a cheap four-pack of lager.

Imran Farhat’s splendid knock of 138 runs was no way inferior in quality to that of his rival opener Shahid Afridi’s blitz of 142, yet the former ended on the losing side only because his team mates did not possess enough experience and temperament to score quickly in the final stages of their innings. They ended up 59 runs short of the target of 320 set for victory by Pakistan Probables, after venturing to field first on a batting pitch at the KRL Stadium in Rawalpindi.A comparison between the batting exhibitions of the two rival openers would not be out of place at this stage. While Afridi made use of years of experience to lead nothing less then a massacre of the Chief Executive XI’s average, or may be slightly above-average attack, Imran Farhat, with not a bit of international experience to help his cause and confronted with a top-class bowling attack, crafted his innings like a mature batsmen.Had there been a little more experience in the Chief Executive XI’s batting line-up, the result of the match would surely have been different. But as it was, they ended up at 260 for three in their 50 overs after an opening stand of 137 between Imran and Taufeeq Umar (58) and then of 70 for the second wicket between Imran and Wasim (34) had laid an excellent foundation for later batsmen’s onslaught.The glittering performances of batsmen aside, full marks, however, to Wasim Akram who juggled his bowlers in arguably the most suitable manner at times when it seemed that Imran Farhat, with his flawless concentration, would run away with the match. He made prompt changes whenever he found his bowlers in trouble, and coming on to bowl himself as and when needed to put much needed breaks on the scoring rate. His field replacements also left little to be required.Earlier, put into bat by Rashid Latif, the captain of the Chief Executive XI, the opening pair of Shahid Afridi and Imran Nazir (61) made the best possible use of a placid KRL wicket to pile up 156 in only 21.2 overs for the first wicket. This partnership proved sufficient for Pakistan Probables to pass 300 runs in their allotted 50 overs, although none of the remaining batsmen could make worthwhile contributions.None of the Chief Executive XI’s bowlers had a good day simply because Afridi had gone on the rampage since the word go. Yasir Arafat got two wickets, whereas Naved-ul-Hasan and Faisal Afridi claimed one each, but they proved a bit too expensive.The Chief Executive of Pakistan, General Pervez Musharif, presided over the prize distribution ceremony after the match. Besides conferring the winner and losers’ check to the captains of both teams, he gave away the man of the match award to Imran Farhat. Saleem Elahi was declared the best fielder of the match.

Dominic Cork has never been someone to miss the chance to make a point and following Hampshire’s final-ball victory against Somerset in the Friends Provident t20 final, where they claimed the title by losing fewer wickets, he said the performance would have proved the club’s critics wrong.The trophy was secured when Dan Christian, who had a runner after injuring his hamstring the ball before, scrambled a leg bye and Somerset didn’t take the chance to run him out. Both Cork and Marcus Trescothick agreed they’d never seen a finish like it, but Cork believes his team deserved its triumph after battling a growing list of injuries.Cork is only leading the side because of Dimitri Mascarenhas’s long-term Achillies problem, while Nic Pothas, Kabir Ali and Michael Lumb are battling various serious injuries. Even Christian was sporting a pair of black eyes after being struck by a bouncer in the Championship match against Somerset a couple of days before.”I’ve never seen a last over like that. It had everything – changes of ball, runners, wickets, the lot,” Cork said. “It was a chaotic last two overs but I’m proud of all the guys here for taking us over that winning line. Maybe Christian could have been run out but the umpires declared it a match won and that’s that.”The young guys who’ve come in have transformed this side,” he said. “We’ve been slaughtered throughout this campaign in some circles: why weren’t we playing this person? Why weren’t we playing that person?”But with all the work that’s been done bringing the young lads through the academy and then the Dad’s Army we’ve got, we’re able to put a team out that can play against the best and beat them.”Trescothick reflected on his team’s near miss and the frantic scenes on the final ball where they didn’t try to run out Christian who had left his crease despite having a runner. Somerset had looked out of the contest when Neil McKenzie and Sean Ervine were adding 79 for the fourth wicket, but they almost stole the game in the final two overs bowled by Ben Phillips and Zander de Bruyn.”We had the game, but clearly just did not think at the end there,” Trescothick said. “Christian had to be in his ground, so one of them is out of their crease. The umpires were waiting to see what we were going to do, but it ended up being a case where we were tied and they won due to less wickets.”Somerset’s cause wasn’t helped by a nasty injury to Kieron Pollard, who went to hospital after being struck on the right eye by a Cork bouncer in the final over of their innings. Pollard’s eye immediately swelled shut and Cork was visibly shaken by the incident although he showed his professionalism to bowl a superb over.”I wish him all the best because it’s not a nice thing to happen,” Cork said. “I went into their dressing room at the end and asked after him. It’s a bit of a sickener. Nobody wants that to happen and I hope he gets back soon.”

The 39-run over – how it happened

• 49.0: Alauddin Babu to Elton Chigumbura: 5 runs from no ball

• 49.0: Alauddin Babu to Elton Chigumbura: 1 wide

• 49.1: Alauddin Babu to Elton Chigumbura: 6 runs

• 49.2: Alauddin Babu to Elton Chigumbura: 4 runs

• 49.3: Alauddin Babu to Elton Chigumbura: 6 runs

• 49.4: Alauddin Babu to Elton Chigumbura: 4 runs

• 49.5: Alauddin Babu to Elton Chigumbura: 6 runs

• 49.5: Alauddin Babu to Elton Chigumbura: 1 wide

• 49.6: Alauddin Babu to Elton Chigumbura: 6 runs

Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club picked up a fourth win in the Dhaka Premier Division, beating Abahani Limited by 28 runs in Mirpur. It was Abahani’s fourth loss in five games, and their seamer Alauddin Babu’s 39-run over became a world record.After Dhanmondi were put into bat, they were off to a sound start despite losing Junaid Siddique early. Jahurul Islam, who made 60, added 89 runs for the second wicket with Dilshan Munaweera. They lost a few wickets in the middle overs, but a final onslaught put them right on top.Elton Chigumbura, the Zimbabwe allrounder, hammered 50 runs in the last 2.5 overs, including the 39 from the last over of the innings bowled by 21-year-old Alauddin. A promising seam-bowling allrounder who was discovered at 17, Babu had played for Bangladesh’s Under-19 side in 2010, before graduating to senior cricket. He had also spent time in the National Cricket Academy and plays first-class cricket for Rangpur Division.He gave away five off the first ball which was a no-ball, and then bowled a wide. Off the next five balls, Chigumbura alternated between sixes and fours, before Alauddin bowled another wide and was finished off with a six. Chigumbura finished with an unbeaten 69 off 54 balls with four fours and five sixes. Alauddin ended up conceding a whopping 93 in his 10 overs, but not all the Abahani bowlers were this profligate. Al-Amin Hossain took four wickets for 38 runs.Alauddin’s 39 was the most runs conceded in an over in List A cricket, beating the Netherlands legspinner Dan van Bunge, who leaked six sixes in an over to Herschelle Gibbs in the 2007 World Cup. It is also the most in Dhaka Premier Division history, beating Naeem Islam’s 36 (six sixes) off Marshall Ayub in the 2009-10 season, also at the Shere Bangla National Stadium.Abahani were deflated by Chigumbura’s finish, but their second-wicket partnership between Shahriar Nafees and Tharanga Paranavitana added some solidity. The pair put together exactly 100 runs, but the rest of the Abahani batsmen couldn’t hold on to the advantage. Mosaddek Hossain managed 43, but that was not enough as Dhanmondi bowled them out for 254.Offspinner Abul Bashar took four wickets while seamer Shafiul Islam picked up three.

New Zealand Cricket is “very excited” about the prospect of playing a day-night Test on their tour of Australia in late 2015, after Cricket Australia announced plans to trial floodlit long-form cricket in the Sheffield Shield this summer. The Australian Cricketers’ Association said that while it needed to be convinced on several aspects, particularly the durability of the pink ball, it was approaching the issue with an “open mind”.The potential to attract a much larger television viewership in the evening by roping in audiences in India and other big markets was of chief interest to NZC, according to chief executive David White. “‘We are very interested in the concept,”‘ White was quoted as saying in the . “‘I don’t think anyone is trying to make out that this is going to replace Test cricket as we know it. From a New Zealand Cricket perspective, if it’s successful we would maybe play one game a series. It will give people an opportunity to watch the game after work or after school, at the game and on the television, so that’s got commercial possibilities.”‘Our time zone with the northern hemisphere and India is not the most advantageous at the moment. By playing at night it opens up a lot more opportunity from an international broadcast point of view in terms of a better time zone. So there are strong, strong commercial opportunities there for us.'”While the administrators are enticed by the promise of enhanced revenues, ACA chief executive Paul Marsh sounded caution, saying players weren’t entirely convinced yet and would not want the “integrity of the game” to be compromised.”At the moment the support from the players is divided. It’s roughly 50-50 in terms of players who think day-night Test cricket should be pursued and that has moved towards more support over time,” Marsh said. ”Our view on any playing condition has always been that it must be trialled at domestic level before it gets to international level and I’m glad they are going down that path.”In saying that, we are sceptical about the ability of the ball to stand up and that’s been the problem… you don’t want, by going down this path, to lose the integrity of the game and if you have a ball that is not going to stand up for 80 overs, then I think you have to look at it and say it can’t be taken to Test level.”We’re going into this with an open mind but there are issues we believe exist and we would need to be convinced they can be overcome… if all goes well, it is something that could happen.”White said while it was crucial that players are not disadvantaged at any time during the match, including on the visibility front, recent progress in the development of the pink ball had been encouraging. ”There has been talk about the twilight as a difficult time to bat. The ball is really interesting. I think we’re up to version six of the pink ball and initially my understanding was that it discoloured quickly, whereas now it’s a lot better.”

Graham Onions has been ruled out of contention for the final Investec Ashes Test after breaking a finger in Durham’s recent YB40 match against Scotland.Although it is far from certain Onions would have been included in the squad for The Oval the injury ends his chances of making a Test appearance this season. He was part of the 13 for his hometown Test at Chester-le-Street but did not make the cut for the final XI.Onions has yet to play for England since the third Test against West Indies, at Edgbaston, last year which is also his sole cap since suffering a career-threatening back injury in 2010.Onions broke the knuckle joint on the little finger of his right hand attempting to take a return catch during Sunday’s match in Glasgow. Durham are hoping he will be fit for their next Championship match against Surrey which starts on August 22.