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India’s tour will deliver New Zealand Cricket (NZC) the biggest payday in its history – probably in excess of NZ$25 million – thanks to a multimillion-dollar deal for television rights. The board will pocket a staggering $1 million for each of the 22 days that India will be in action, making the deal the biggest one-off broadcasting windfall in New Zealand sport.The New Zealand board has also taken out insurance against being unable to deliver matches to Indian broadcaster Sony. “We normally have insurance for gate receipts if a match is rained out, but for a tour of the magnitude of India we’re insuring everything, including TV rights,” NZC boss Justin Vaughan told the .During a tour, it is the host nation that bears the expenses of visiting teams, but in turn gets sole access to all broadcast rights and gate receipts. Over the past two years, NZC’s income has been around $30 million, but this year Vaughan hoped to bring in “north of $40 million” from broadcast rights, sponsorship and ticket sales.Broadcast rights account for up to 75% of NZC’s income and after the previous tour by West Indies and the upcoming series against India, broadcast revenue is expected to be in excess of $30 million.Vaughan did not give away the exact figures, but said a tour by India generated “many times” more income than tours by Australia, South Africa and England, who are on the next tier. He said the Indian tour was worth more to NZC than the payout from the 2007 World Cup, which was around $20 million.”I doubt we’ve had a bigger year than the one that’s in front of us,” Vaughan said.He also said it was vital for New Zealand to perform well on the field, as he was looking to negotiate the rights for the next cycle in the Future Tours Programme (FTP) and was keen on another Indian tour as soon as possible.”This series is as important as any I can remember,” he said. “The tour is important on so many levels, obviously financially, but we cannot emphasise enough how important it is for us to do well against them on the field.”This Indian team rates itself extremely highly and if we are competitive against them then the levels of respect New Zealand gets in terms of international credibility will increase and that’s really important as we look at the planning of the FTP beyond 2012.”To have some influence over that [FTP] people have to understand that we’re a serious player. We can’t always rely on good relationships with England and Australia we have to be able to prove it on the field as well. Because an Indian tour is so important for our finances, we’d like an Indian tour to come in the next four-year cycle.”

The Supreme Court has ordered that the Rajasthan Cricket Association (RCA) elections, which were originally scheduled for February 22, be held on March 1. The order comes as a boost to Lalit Modi, the IPL chairman and RCA president, who had sought relief from the apex court on the issue.Modi, who was close to the previous state administration in Rajasthan, has been facing resistance at the local association from a group of dissidents ever since the government changed hands after an election last year. Local police have also lodged a series of cases against Modi over the last month on various charges, including fraud and forgery.The dissidents, meanwhile, amended the RCA’s constitution with the backing of the state administration and called for elections on February 22. The apex court, however, upheld a plea by Modi who questioned the election process as per the amended constitution and sought the court’s intervention to ensure a free and fair election. The court also appointed an independent observer to conduct the elections.”My stand gets vindicated,” Modi told reporters in Mumbai. “All the illegalities done by the other group by changing the constitution have been set aside by the Supreme Court. I’m extremely happy.”

The former treasurer of the Conservative party, Lord Marland of Odstock, has been unveiled as Giles Clarke’s only challenger for the post of ECB chairman.Clarke was proposed by Nottinghamshire and seconded by Northamptonshire and Middlesex, Marland by Lancashire and seconded by Hampshire and Leicestershire. The ballot will close on February 9.Marland, 52, was initially understood to have been assured of seven of the 19 votes in the ballot, with 10 required for a clear majority. Lancashire, Derbyshire and Leicestershire have pledged their support, along with Surrey, Warwickshire and Hampshire, although Charles Fry, the chairman of MCC, has since cast doubt on the solidity of Marland’s support by suggesting that the club will favour the incumbent Clarke.Should that be the case, then the election battle could be as good as over before it has begun. According to The Guardian, Clarke, who saw off Surrey’s Mike Soper in last year’s ballot, already has at least nine counties on his side, with Yorkshire, Worcestershire and Gloucestershire still to decide on their allegiance.A millionaire financier who was made a life peer in 2006, Marland has said he will stand because he has become frustrated at Clarke’s governance, and cited the Stanford Series as evidence that the ECB had lost its way. “I believe it is vital for English cricket in its current situation to have a contest for the chairmanship of the ECB,” said Marland. “There are deep schisms within the game which need to be healed, and I believe I can be a unifying candidate.”The image of our game has been very badly damaged during Giles Clarke’s time at the helm and the Stanford and Moores/Pietersen affairs of recent months have highlighted both errors of judgement and management failures. An uncontested election would imply endorsement of these errors and failures, and that would be wrong.”There has been non-stop fire-fighting in the ECB,” said Marland. “They’ve had firefighting after their failure to get on with India, Australia and South Africa in the IPL, the disastrous Stanford cricket match and their failure to deliver the Middle East tournament as an alternative to the IPL. There needs to be much more harmony in Test match cricket and in cricket in this country. There is clearly a big divide among the counties as to how it is run and things are not harmonious – my approach would be more conciliatory.”Marland was also critical of the ECB’s handling of the recent leadership crisis, telling BBC Radio Five Live that Kevin Pietersen had been badly treated by his employers. “I thought Pietersen showed great leadership taking the team out to India,” said Marland. “I thought that was a brave thing to do and a good thing to do and I don’t think he was treated very well when he returned.”There was then a continual barrage from various camps in the press about his role and that of Moores and I think it’s terribly unseemly. I don’t believe in this airing of one’s laundry in the press. Any well-run operation sorts itself behind closed doors and that is what the ECB needs to do.”Marland held the post of Tory party treasurer from 2003 to 2007, and was a key figure in the successful candidature of Boris Johnson in last year’s London mayoral elections. His sporting credentials are enhanced by his involvement with the independent body, Sports Nexus, which specialises in the structure, governance and accountability of sports.In 2004, pre-empting the controversial Bradshaw-Stewart plan that was squashed by the ECB Board last summer, he co-authored a report which proposed an IPL-style domestic competition, among whose critics was the then-Somerset chairman, Clarke. In 2007, he came close to becoming the first independent chairman of the Football Association, and in 2008, he was appointed president of Salisbury FC.Marland’s nomination came on the day the ECB held a conference at Leicester to discuss the future of Test cricket. That meeting instead became a de facto election campaign, with Neil Davidson, the Leicestershire chairman, outspoken in his desire for change. “It is not healthy for the ECB to be chaired by someone who is basically unacceptable to a significant number of chairmen and their clubs,” he told The Guardian.

Tom Moody, the former Australia batsman and Sri Lanka coach, has refused to rule himself out as a contender in the hunt for a new England coach, following the sacking of Peter Moores.Moody was a candidate to replace Duncan Fletcher in 2007 before Moores was appointed, but at the time claimed he was never approached by the ECB. Now coach of Western Australia, as well as Kings XI Punjab, the Mohali franchise in the Indian Premier League, there were doubts he would be interested in uprooting his young family to come back to Britain. But his comments suggest that he could be open to the high-profile role of England coach.”Obviously a lot has gone on in English cricket over the last couple of days,” Moody said. “I’ve had no formal approach and until I do, I don’t need to really think or consider anything but concentrate on the Warriors.”You’d look at anything. This day and age, you’re not going to turn your back on any opportunity,[But] I’m very happy here in Perth, [the] family is settled, I’ve got a great job, enjoying what I’m doing. I’ve got no reason to be looking further afield.”Speaking to the separately, Moody did little to fully include or exclude himself from the race, though he reiterated how much he loved his last international assignment, as coach of Sri Lanka.”I haven’t given the England job any thought whatsoever because this news has really come out of the blue. The whole situation is a surprise.”Two years ago I was in a different position. I had finished with Sri Lanka and I was weighing up offers. There was speculation about the England job but I wasn’t approached and nothing ever came of it.”I’m reluctant to get involved in speculation now but we’ll just see how it all goes. Things are completely different for me now, but who knows what will happen.”I loved my time with Sri Lanka. It was a great experience and a terrific learning curve for me as a coach and manager. I completely enjoyed the opportunity.”Western Australia pay Moody approximately £100,000 per year, and he earns a further £115,000 coaching Mohali, but the ECB paid Fletcher closer to £500,000 and the board has the financial clout to seal the deal if negotiations go that far.Moores was sacked this week after a high-profile dispute with Kevin Pietersen, who tendered his resignation as England captain. England have yet to appoint a stand-in coach for the forthcoming tour of the Caribbean, though Cricinfo understands Andy Flower, the former Zimbabwe batsman and deputy to Moores, is the frontrunner.

With a number of big names missing due to international commitments and defection to the Indian Cricket League (ICL), this year’s NCL has been the most open contest in recent years, and traditional powerhouses like Dhaka and Khulna are finding it tough going. Barisal have cashed in on this, and continued to surprise in round six. Their top-of-the-table clash in Bogra turned into a no-contest as they stormed past Rajshahi to lead with a crushing 222-run victory. Dhaka’s draw at Chittagong pushed them to third. There was no change at the bottom though Sylhet managed a draw against Khulna.There was little sign of what was coming when Rajshahi ruled day one at the Shahid Chandu stadium after being asked to bowl. Quick bowlers Mohammad Shahzada and Alamgir Kabir had the Barisal top five back in the pavilion with the total on 130, and left-arm spinner Suhrawadi Shuvo mopped up the tail to shoot the home team out for 166. Barisal would have been in a bigger hole but captain Hannan Sarkar (77) saved the blushes. By close Rajshahi had raced to 96 for 2 in 27.1 overs. There was a turnaround the next morning when Barisal took four wickets for 20 and Rajshahi were all out for 204. The experienced Talha Jubair (5 for 41) kept the batsman playing at his seamers and was rewarded. Barisal were firmly back in the match when they finished on 177 for 3 at stumps on the second day. Overnight batsmen Sarkar and teenage prospect Nasir Hossain took their fourth wicket stand to 92 before the captain was lbw to Farhad Hossain, just one shy of a deserved hundred. Nasir hit 92 before Barisal’s innings ended at 342, leaving the visitors with 20 overs to negotiate on day three in their pursuit of 305. An uncharacteristic collapse followed, Rajshahi losing their first three wickets without a run on the board, and it was nearly all over for them when they closed day three on 48 for 7. Barisal completed the formalities the next day with left-arm spinner Tariqul Islam finishing with 5 for 21 from a 5.4 overs.At the Bir Shrestha Shahid Ruhul Amin Stadium in Chittagong, Faisal Hossain cracked his third ton (102) in as many matches but, apart from him and No. 4 Tariq Ahmed (83), none of the hosts’ other batsmen really took advantage of the flattest first-class surface in the country after deciding to bat. Chittagong were dismissed for 314 before lunch on day two after which Dhaka crawled to 157 for 3 at stumps off 73 overs. Day three belonged to Marshall Ayub who took his overnight score of 58 to a career-best 181 and Dhaka declared on 366 for 9. Any prospects of a result in this match was taken out of the equation when Chittagong went into day four on 125 for 2, with opener Nafees Iqbal unbeaten on 52. Chittagong lost Nafees (77), Tariq, and Faisal within 10 runs to slide to 177 for 5 but No. 7 Masumud Dowla eased to 102 from 211 balls and Chittagong continued the batting practice to reach 314 for 7.Sylhet decided to bat at the District Stadium, and were going along nicely at 211 for 2 after Mithun Ali had clobbered Khulna’s three-pronged pace attack for a 110-ball 106. He pulled and cut anything slightly short and cleared the boundary five times in a savage display of power. With No. 3 Saikat Ali (88), Mithun put on 182 in just 38 overs but with his dismissal, the wheels came off and Sylhet were all out for 300 inside the first hour on day two. Captain Rajin Saleh was stranded on 49 not out. Khulna made a steady start with openers Amit Majumder and Ashraful Aziz sharing 97. Aziz went on to make 105 and Khulna sat pretty on 250 for 5 at stumps. Solid contributions from Raihan Anas (73) and wicketkeeper Mohammad Salim (48) helped push Khulna to 364. For the umpteenth time Nabil Samad was the pick of the Sylhet bowlers, claiming 5 for 81. With less then a day and a half remaining, the obvious result would have been a draw but Sylhet almost handed the match to Khulna when they were bundled out for 198 midway through the final day. Khulna spinner Atiqur Rahman wrecked the Sylhet batting with 5 for 37 and the hosts were only rescued from a disaster by No. 6 Kamrul Islam who made an unbeaten 89. Khulna had a reasonably easy target of 135 in 30 overs but could only manage 74 for 4.Player of the week: Hannan Sarkar
The Barisal captain had burst on to the scene with back-to-back Test half-centuries against the Australian bowling attack in its peak in 2003. His form and fortunes took a dive after that and the promise was never rekindled. This week however he was on song and his knocks of 77 and 99 brought high-flying Rajshahi back down to earth.

The final leg of the ICL 20-20 Indian Championship, which includes the best-of-three finals, will be held in Ahmedabad instead of Hyderabad. The ICL has said it decided to conduct the finals at the Sardar Patel Stadium keeping in mind the increased infrastructure requirements, with higher crowds expected to turn out for the final leg.The ICL said it expected around 50,000 spectators for the finals. “Our Ahmedabad facility is most appropriate to meet this swelling response to our tournament,” Kiran More, an ICL executive board member and tournament director, said on the league’s website.The final leg of matches for the tournament begins on November 7. It includes the final four league matches, followed by the semi-finals on November 10 and 11, and the finals from November 13-16.The home team, Ahmedabad Rockets, are already out of contention for a semi-final place.In the first match of the final leg of the league phase on Friday, pre-tournament favourites Lahore Badshahs, bolstered by the inclusion of middle-order batsman Mohammad Yousuf, take on newcomers Dhaka Warriors in a must-win game.

Match facts

Nov 7, 2008
Start time 7.30pm (1400 GMT)

The Big Picture

Instead of Hyderabad, the ICL teams will now return to Ahmedabad – which will host the best-of-three finals. The last leg begins with a meeting between the two overseas teams. Dhaka Warriors are buoyant after shrugging off a slow start to the tournament with three consecutive wins against Mumbai Champs, Chandigarh Lions and Ahmedabad Rockets. Two points in their final game of the league phase will assure them a spot in the last four.Lahore Badshahs have been erratic through the tournament, with three wins and three losses. Though there is an extra game in hand, they would not want to leave matters till the end, especially with their final game against table-toppers Chennai Superstars. Mohammad Yousuf’s entry will be a boost in their push to secure a semi-final spot.

Where they rank

Dhaka, currently fourth with eight points, would look to rise further up with maximum points from this game. A win would seal a semis spot, but a loss would just make it a little nervy. Lahore if they win, will be level on points with Dhaka and with another game against already-qualified Chennai to follow, would fancy their chances to go ahead, on points, and not leave it down to net run-rate. Lahore, in sixth position with six points, will have it all to do and wins in their two remaining games are a must if they are to keep afloat in the tournament.

Form guide (last five matches, most recent first)

Dhaka: WWWLW
Lahore: WLWWL

Stats

• Lahore’s Imran Nazir holds the record for the maximum number of sixes in an innings – nine against Mumbai.
• Alok Kapali, has not only registered the first hundred in ICL history, against Hyderabad, but also holds the record for the most number of sixes (17) in the tournament.
• Khalid Mahmoood, Lahore’s wicketkeeper, shares the top spot with Bengal’s Deep Dasgupta and Delhi’s Paul Nixon for the most number of dismissals. His eight dismissals include six catches and two stumpings.

Players to watch

While Alok Kapali has been hogging the limelight for Dhaka, Nazimuddin has quietly picked up two Man-of-the-Match awards. His 29-ball 54 against Delhi and 48 off the same number of balls against Ahmedabad bears witness the annihilation he is capable of at the top of the innings.Lahore’s leading run-scorer Imran Nazir has been a revelation in the tournament with an average of 41.50 backed by an impressive strike rate of 144.34. He was merciless against Mumbai when he smashed an unbeaten 83 of 38 balls, and Inzamam will look for a similar start from the opener in the next two pressure games.

Quotes

“There is no room for complacency and we are not thinking of giving any team a leeway.”

Giles Clarke, the ECB chairman, has floated the idea that England could host Test matches for Asian countries who struggle to fill their grounds, or fail to attract opposition in the first place owing to security fears.Pakistan are one such country. With the growing unease over its political stability, teams are increasingly unwilling to take the risk of touring there. Australia postponed their Test tour of the country earlier this year and the Champions Trophy suffered the same fate after several nations expressed security fears.Clarke has admitted the ECB could take advantage of Britain’s growing ethnic population who “are keen to see their own heroes”.”Indeed it might be said that Pakistan might get a better crowd in Leeds than in Karachi,” Clarke says in a feature on the future of Test cricket in the November issue of magazine. “It’s something we are considering, how we play these types of games and where we can play them.”I like the idea of providing the opportunity with our fabulous grounds and our huge ethnic minority populations who are keen to see their own heroes. And it may be in the interests of cricket; that’s the most important thing for me.”

Warwickshire secured promotion, and now need just four points to grab the Division Two title off Worcestershire, after a dramatic final-day, six-wicket victory charge against Essex at Chelmsford. The match appeared to be heading for a draw as John Maunders (107) and Ravi Bopara (133) added 241 for the second wicket. But Ian Salisbury sparked a rapid collapse as Essex lost nine for 69, leaving Warwickshire to knock off 144 in 45 overs. They cruised home with plenty of time to spare, Darren Maddy hitting 63 off 99 balls. However, their real final-day matchwinner was Salisbury, who turned the game on its head, with a spell of 6 for 27 in 11.4 overs. Maunders hit his first Championship hundred and Bopara continued the form he has shown most of the summer with his fourth century. Then Bopara was caught behind and Maunders soon followed, sweeping to Jim Troughton. Salisbury broke a 30-run stand between James Foster and Mark Pettini by having Foster caught and bowled, while Essex didn’t help themselves as Pettini and Chris Wright were run out. Salisbury snapped up the final two wickets to complete his best figures for Warwickshire and his fifth five-wicket haul of the season. Tony Frost, who scored 242 in the first innings, added 71 with Maddy and the victory came with more than six overs to spare.Graham Wagg completed match figures of 10 for 133 as he helped bowl Derbyshire to a 117-run victory against Gloucestershire at Derby. It was a tough ask for Gloucestershire heading into the final day, needing 280 more with eight wickets in hand, and it became even tougher when Hamish Marshall fell early to the swing of Charl Langeveldt. Alex Gidman, driving to point, also fell to Langeveldt and the major early resistance came from nightwatchman Steve Kirby. He took 111 balls over his 28 until being trapped in front by Langeveldt. Seam and spin then chipped through the lower order before Wagg rounded off his impressive game by bowling Anthony Ireland. Wagg became just the third Derbyshire player to take 10 wickets in a match and score 100 runs and the first since 1934.Glamorgan claimed their third Championship win of the season with a 10-wicket success against Leicestershire despite a defiant century from Paul Nixon at Sophia Gardens. The visitors began the final day already four wickets down in the follow-on and soon lost Josh Cobb. Jim Allenby helped Nixon add 51 for the sixth wicket before being stumped off Robert Croft, but the tail didn’t fold. Nixon reached his hundred off 196 balls with No. 11, Garnet Kruger, for company and shortly after Dean Cosker claimed his first wicket to leave Glamorgan needing 63. They completed the chase with ease, as Gareth Rees and David Hemp took 12.5 overs to knock off the runs.

Durham will enter the final week of the season in third place while Sussex face a potential relegation decider against Yorkshire after their match at Chester-le-Street drifted to a draw. Durham will have to rely on results elsewhere if they are to secure their first Championship title and start the last round 10 points behind leaders Nottinghamshire. “We’re still in with a chance, with just the last five days to go, of winning the championship. That’s where you want to be,” captain Dale Benkenstein told the . “We’re happy with a good draw from this game, because it still gives us a chance of winning in the last round.” The two sides appeared content to take what bonus points they could after the first day of this match was washed out and the home side wrapped up Sussex’s first innings for 302 as they missed out a vital batting bonuses. Durham cautiously played out time with Michael Di Venuto reaching 61, passing 1000 runs for the season, while Shivnarine Chanderpaul further helped his average with an unbeaten 25 to go alongside his superb first-innings century.Somerset and Yorkshire settled for a draw at Scarborough, leaving both with plenty to do in the final week of the season. John Ward watched the action.

ScorecardDespite Hussain Butt’s unbeaten century, Hong Kong could muster only 218 in the first one-dayer against Sri Lanka Cricket Development XI at the Premadasa Stadium, a target which was easily overhauled by the hosts with 41 balls to spare, largely due to a hundred from Sachithra Serasinghe.Butt’s 116 was the only significant score in Hong Kong’s effort. Their openers fell cheaply and it was left to Butt to hold the innings together with a string of medium-sized partnerships in which he did the bulk of the scoring. Zain Abbas’ patient 37 off 75 balls was the second-highest score as the other batsmen occupied the crease but found scoring difficult.The Sri Lanka Cricket Development XI, however, got off to a rapid start with opener Amal Athulathmudali cracking 32 off 25 balls with seven fours. They had reached 49 in the seven over when Athulathmudali was dismissed but Kushal Perera joned Serasinghe and added 115 for the second wicket.That partnership took the game away from Hong Kong, and Serasinghe batted on until the doorstep of victory. He was dismissed for 101 off 112 balls, an innings that included a dozen fours and two sixes, with his team one run away from winning the match. Janudika Sriyapala scored the runs that gave the hosts the lead in the three-match series.