Matthew Maynard has been appointed as assistant coach of England’s Test and one-day teams. The 39-year-old Maynard, who retires from playing for Glamorgan with immediate effect, will take up his new appointment on June 9, and his contract will continue till the end of the 2006 domestic season. During this period, Maynard will also work with the players in England’s National Academy and the representative age-group teams.In a media release, Hugh Morris, ECB’s performance director, said: “Matthew’s role will be to provide specialist coaching and support to both the England head coach and the director of the National Cricket Centre at Loughborough. His knowledge and experience of the game are first rate, and he will clearly have a significant role to play in preparing our best young cricketers for the demands of international cricket.”Maynard’s international career was nothing to write home about – in four Tests, two each against West Indies and Australia, he only managed 87 runs at an average of 10.87, while 14 one-day internationals fetched him the meagre return of 156 runs – but as a county cricketer, he was a giant. He showed early promise, becoming Glamorgan’s youngest centurion when, as a 19-year-old in 1985, he scored a hundred on his debut, against Yorkshire. Over a first-class career spanning 20 years, Maynard scored 24,799 runs at an average of more than 42, with 59 centuries. He also captained Glamorgan from 1996 to 2000, and was named a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1998.Reacting to his appointment, Maynard was suitably delighted. “I really enjoyed being a part of the England management team during the winter and am very pleased that I am now going to be involved with England’s elite cricketers on a longer-term basis. I have spent 20 years with Glamorgan and leaving Sophia Gardens behind will be a big wrench, but this is a terrific opportunity for me to bring my skills and experience to bear at the top level, and I am very excited about the prospect.”Mike Fatkin, the Glamorgan chief executive, expressed his disappointment at Maynard’s impending retirement, but wished him luck with his new assignment. “It’s disappointing to be losing a player of Matthew’s calibre, but he had indicated his intention to retire at the end of the season anyway, and as opportunities such as these don’t come up too often we’re happy to help in any way we can. Matthew has made a terrific contribution to cricket in Wales, both on and off the field, for more than 20 years and his will be substantial shoes to fill. But we’re delighted that he’s been identified for such an important role and we’ve no doubt that he will be a great success in his new position.”

Brian Lara, Ramnaresh Sarwan and Chris Gayle are among the big-name absentees from West Indies’ squad to face Sri Lanka in the forthcoming Test series, but Tony Howard, the team manager, is hoping that his young and inexperienced cricketers will rise to the occasion.”We have a very good and exciting team on tour here and we expect them to come good individually for West Indies,” said Howard at a media conference in Colombo. “These young men have been asked to replace the senior players but sometimes we realise the senior players are also junior players. Now we have a new crop of players looking to stamp their authority on the game of cricket.”Negotiations are currently taking place between the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) and the Players’ Association to end the bitter contracts dispute that has brought the game to its knees in the Caribbean, but Howard admitted that the possibility of any other players joining the squad now was very remote.”Like every other player on tour here you have the option to choose if you want to participate or not,” said Howard. “That is you make a decision on your future. Whether or not it is the end of the road for the senior players, only they can decide that.” The WICB picked six players from the Caribbean and added eight others from the West Indies A team currently touring Sri Lanka, to make up a 14-man squad, captained by Shivnarine Chanderpaul.Howard was philosophical about the impact that the impasse would have. “Like any other aspect of life cricket evolves,” he said. “If you check our history you will find out it has happened time and time again with every international team. I certainly remember the time when it happened during the Packer series and out of that came Malcolm Marshall, Sylvester Clarke and players like that.”I have absolutely no doubt that you are going to find a similar occurrence here. This is just another stage of evolution of cricket in the Caribbean. I think out of this will come better than senior players.”Despite his team’s inexperience, Howard denied that the series would be a cakewalk for Sri Lanka. “A Test match is a competition between two teams. As you know cricket is a game of glorious uncertainties. Anybody can win. Sometimes the toss makes the difference, on other occasions it is a brilliant innings or a great spell of bowling. It depends on who is best on the day.”Bennett King, West Indies’ coach, said the whole side was focusing on solutions not problems. “We are trying to keep moving forward. We’ve been trying to focus on the present and absorb the moment that we have got together and that we are here. That’s what is important.”Chanderpaul was equally upbeat, and cited the talents of a new generation of Caribbean cricketers. “We have a group of young, new and exciting players like Xavier Marshall, Ryan Ramdass, Narasingh Deonarine and Tino Best who are keen and ready to play Test cricket. I know they are capable of doing the job. This is a good opportunity for them to make a name for themselves. I don’t have much to worry about.”

Australia hold the advantage going into the second Test against Pakistan, which starts on Friday at the Sharjah Cricket Association Stadium. In the end, Australian experience may count against a young Pakistan side that is still getting its act together. The decision by Wasim Akram and Saeed Anwar to rest and play two exhibition games in the UK has clearly weakened the Pakistan team.When it comes to experience, no one in contemporary cricket has played more Test matches than the Aussie skipper Stephen Rodger Waugh. Tomorrow will mark his 150th Test appearance, second only to Allan Border’s 156 in all-time Test records. Together, the Waugh twins have played 270 Test matches and scored 14,635 runs, including 47 hundreds. Steve Waugh has 104 Test catches and Mark holds the world record number of catches with a whopping 176. Though in the twilight of their careers, the Waugh twins could have a crucial role to play in the second Test.This “home series” is being hosted at neutral venues due to security concerns which prompted Australia to refuse to tour Pakistan. The remaining two Tests are to be played in the emirate of Sharjah in UAE. In the first Test at Colombo, the inexperienced Pakistan team showed a lot of resilience to bounce back, making the all-conquering Aussies sweat it out for a 41-run win. One over from Shoaib Akthar in the Australian second innings changed the scheme of things; he dismissed Ricky Ponting, Mark Waugh and Steve Waugh in four balls.Pakistan will hope for a performance of similar fire from the “Rawalpindi Express”, and for Waqar Younis to fire on all cylinders. “I’m at my best. I am running fast, and the rhythm and flow is there,” Shoaib said yesterday. “I feel very strong in the legs. I’m always keen to do well against Australia. They are the best batting side in the world, and it gives me a lot of motivation to destroy this line-up.”Sharjah has provided many golden moments to Pakistani cricket. Javed Miandad’s last-ball six to clinch an unbelievable victory over India in a limited-over game should still motivate young players in the current team. Pakistan have played two Tests at Sharjah, while this is Australia’s first.Given the nature of the pitch, spinners will have a crucial role to play. Shane Warne and Saqlain Mushtaq have already shown that they are in prime form, and Australia might give young off-spinner Nathan Hauritz his first Test cap. Jason Gillespie has pulled out of the series with a calf injury. If Australia decide to go in with just one spinner his place will go either to Andy Bichel or Brad Williams.Australia may even drop one of their batsmen, which would probably be Mark Waugh. “Playing five bowlers in a Test match like this when it’s going to be hard work for the bowlers in a lot of heat – that’s one option that’s been talked about,” Steve Waugh said. But Australia might not want to leave out their best batsman of spin.Pakistan will take heart from the performance of their new young opener Taufeeq Umar and the middle-order batsman Faisal Iqbal, both of whom impressed in the first Test. But with the injured Inzamam-ul-Haq still missing, the Aussie attack might prove a handful as it proved in the first Test.This is going to be a battle royal. All eyes will be on Shoaib Akhtar, but Australia will no doubt come out fighting. The counter-attack might come in the form of Matthew Hayden, who has a proven record over the last couple of years. Australia will also take comfort in the good form of Justin Langer and Ricky Ponting, who top-scored with 141 in the first Test. Their bowling will rely heavily on Glenn McGrath’s ability to strike early, but the real edge will be provided by Shane Warne, who has considerable success against Pakistan. Warne has picked up 60 wickets in 10 Test matches against them, and took 11/188 in the first Test of this series.Teams (from):Australia: Steve Waugh (captain), Justin Langer, Matt Hayden, Ricky Ponting, Mark Waugh, Damien Martyn, Adam Gilchrist, Shane Warne, Brett Lee, Andy Bichel, Nathan Hauritz, Glenn McGrath, Brad Williams.Pakistan: Waqar Younis (captain), Taufeeq Umar, Imran Nazir, Abdur Razzaq, Younis Khan, Misbah-ul-Haq, Faisal Iqbal, Rashid Latif, Saqlain Mushtaq, Shoaib Akhtar, Danish Kaneria, Mohammad Sami.

Shane Deitz provided the highlight for South Australia’s 2nd XI and in the process helped his side recover to be 294/5 at the end of the first day of their ACB cup clash with Western Australia’s 2nd XI at Tompkins Park in Perth yesterday.Western Australia won the toss and, on a cold damp blustery morning atMelville Cricket club’s home ground Tompkins Park, asked South Australiato bat first.Jack Smith and Daniel Harris opened to the attack of Michael Clark andStuart KarppinenIn the fourth over Smith was dropped by second slip Adam Voges off Karppinenwithout scoring. Four overs later he was caught at point by Brett Jonesoff Karppinen for two (26 balls) to leave South Australia 12/1.After only a brief but successful spell, Karppinen was replaced at the Riverend by Callum Thorp who carried on through to the drinks break. However, justbefore that break, Voges (who was still in second slip) earned the ire ofthe change bowler Thorp when he dropped his second catch of the day – thistime off Ben Higgins when that batsman was on eight. Voges was soonbanished to the outfield.When the first session drinks break was taken after 14 overs had beenbowled, Harris had scored three (46) and Higgins fourteen (21) and the SouthAustralian score was 1/30.Andrew James replaced Clark at the Canning Road end. The former Canberranquick spraying the ball either side of the wicket in his first over with sixruns being taken off it.James’ next over had a double breakthrough. Playing well away from his bodyoutside off, Higgins was unlucky to have played the ball off the inside edgeand into the stumps behind him after scoring 27 runs (38). Two balls laterMark Cosgrove was out edging to the ‘keeper Ronchi without scoring and fromthe last ball of the over. James followed this up with a sharp maiden over.James was replaced by Beau Casson who bowled two economical overs beforethe lunch break, and lunch was taken with the weather improving and SouthAustralia steady at 3/75 after 28 overs.Wes Thomas 15 (47) was caught in the 34th over when he edged to the ‘keeperLuke Ronchi from the bowling of Michael Thistle (bowling from the River end). South Australia were 4/85. By drinks in the middle session, Daniel Harris (38) and Deitz (15) had moved the score to 114.Deitz pulled at a short ball from James sending it high and deep overfine leg where it fell dangerously close to a river. The six took hisscore along to 36.Before tea, Thorp replaced Karppinen at the River end and then Cassonreplaced James at the Canning Road end. Tea came and the ground was againdark and gloomy with the score on 4/167 with Harris 60 andDeitz 41 after 57 overs.Harris was on 60 (172) when he fell as he pushed out to a ballfrom Thorp and nicked it through to the ‘keeper Ronchi when the score was 168.Michael Thistle came in for some punishment after he replaced Thorp at theRiver end with 26 runs being taken off six overs in his final spell.James replaced Casson as WA took the new ball after 80 overs and the scoreon 5/242. His first two overs of this spell were maidens keepingFerguson quiet. With Deitz on strike for the next two overs he conceded nineruns.The cloud cover had returned when Deitz brought up his centuryturning the ball from James into the leg-side and coming back for thesecond. The South Australians were right onto that fact and gave him agoodly round of appreciation from their positions under the club houseeaves. The Western Australian supporters too were equally generous. Inthree and a half hours of batting Deitz entertained with shots to allparts of the ground with measured aggression at times and respect atother times.At stumps, with picturesque shafts of light bursting through the cloudslow on the horizon, South Australia had taken their score along to 294/5 wickets. Deitz was the story of the day, his unbeaten knockof 114 (197) was chanceless. Harris gave a chance which wasn’t taken andwent on to make 60 before becoming Thorp’s only scalp. Ferguson 48 (117)also remained unbeaten at day’s end, a stalwart ally for Deitz in the unbroken sixth wicket stand of 126.For Western Australia there can be only a measure of disappointment atthe end of this day after chances went begging, allowing the batsmen to take full advantage. Double wicket-taker James was wayward and expensive. Thistle andKarppinen probably could have done more. Callum Thorp was impressivelydisciplined but largely went unrewarded for his efforts and Casson and Clarkboth bowled courageously but without any luck.This game will continue for the next three days with the weather outlookbecoming fine. The facilities at the Melville CC’s ground are fantastic.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has said that it will not force its players to play in the Afro-Asia Cup to be held in South Africa in August. It has said that the cricketers could decide whether they wished to play in the series comprising three one-day internationals between Asia XI and Africa XI .”No player would be pressed to play the matches which have been given official status by the International Cricket Council (ICC). We’ll ask them [players] if they want to make themselves available, but if any player wants to skip the event it’s all right with us,” said a senior PCB official quoted in Apart from Shoaib Akthar, Younis Khan and Danish Kaneria, who are playing for English counties, none of the other Pakistan cricketers have any cricket commitments until October when England is scheduled to tour Pakistan.Saleem Altaf, PCB Director Cricket Operations, said that the Asia XI selection committee would meet in Dubai on August 1 to select the squad. “Majid Khan [Pakistan], Ravi Shastri [India]. Graeme Labrooy [Sri Lanka] and Shafiq-ul-Islam [Bangladesh] will meet to finalise the Asian XI squad,” said Altaf. “But before that we’ve to inform them about the number of players available for selection.” He also said that he hoped that the best players would be available to play.The first game of the Afro-Asian Cup, which has been given official status by the ICC, will be held at Cape Town on August 17. The proceeds from the tournament will go to the Asian and African cricket associations and also to the recently-formed Afro-Asian Cricket Council.

Aakash Chopra wasn’t around when Sourav Ganguly addressed a press conference on his arrival in Mumbai, but he would have been heartened to hear his captain say that he would be in the squad of 14 chosen for the Australia series. Chopra failed in the first innings of the Irani Trophy against Mumbai, but his decent record in the eight Tests he played last season will see him push Yuvraj Singh for the second opener’s spot.Ganguly wouldn’t let on, however, who was favourite to make the XI. In , he was quoted as saying: “Both will get to play in the four-day practice game.”After building a useful partnership with Virender Sehwag – who seemed to thrive in conjunction with Chopra’s adhesiveness – Chopra was jettisoned for the third and final Test against Pakistan at Rawalpindi in April, with Yuvraj’s century in the previous game having sealed his place.The situation got worse when India came back from the summer hiatus with Ganguly asserting that Yuvraj would be considered for the opening slot against Australia. However, such a scenario is unlikely now given that both Yuvraj and Sehwag have been through the horrors, form-wise, since the new season started.Chopra himself hasn’t had the best of starts to the new campaign. His A team tour was ruined by a shoulder injury, and he played very little part in the team’s successes.As for Ganguly, he was anxious to play down the tag of favourites, after some recent poor displays. “We did well in Australia and Pakistan and so we were dubbed favourites for the Asia Cup but we lost,” he said. “It all depends on how we play against Australia.”

Zimbabwe lost another of their experienced players today with a statement from Craig Wishart that he was retiring from the game.Wishart, 31, recently turned down one of the new – and contentious – contracts offered by Zimbabwe Cricket and this is thought to have prompted his decision. He said that “stress from the problems in local cricket” was behind his announcement.Wishart played 27 Tests and 23 ODIs for Zimbabwe, averaging 22.40 and 23.22. His unbeaten 172 against Namibia in Harare was the highest individual score in the 2003 World Cup.”It’s a hard decision, but I can safely confirm that I have retired from all forms of cricket.” Wishart said. “Yes, I was offered a contract but I was not happy with it, and to be honest, I was just tired of Zimbabwe cricket, the fighting, and everything.”I think we are under a lot of pressure. If we do not sort out things now we might destroy everything that we have built and there will be no cricket for youngsters in the future for coming through the system.”Trevor Gripper, one of the senior Zimbabwe players now on the sidelines of international cricket, said he will be playing club cricket but added he did not believe he will ever be selected for Zimbabwe again despite insistence by the board that non-contracted players can be picked. Gripper plays for national league side Old Georgians Sports Club in Harare. Zimbabwe’s provincial club cricketbegins on Sunday.”I will play for my club when work allows”, said Gripper, who has just retuned from a honeymoon after his marriage last month. “But on the national team, we have to stop dreaming. These guys have never done what they say they will do. We are told that if you score runs and take wickets you’ll get selected, but I doubt if that is going to happen.”I am happy to play club cricket, and I’m willing to offer my advice if anyone wants it, and help out the youngsters at the club. But the reality of the situation is that club cricket is in a terrible state. First-class is a joke. Standards have gone down. Honestly, where in Zimbabwe can we get players for five first-class sides? If we can’t do that then that won’t be first-class cricket.”ZC have added a fifth first-class side in Masvingo province, but in a plan to incorporate the province into Zimbabwe’s first-class competition, the Logan Cup, has not yet been announced.The statements by Wishart and Gripper further undermine attempts by the Zimbabwe board to show the world that the situation in the country is on the mend. Earlier in the month, the national players issued a statement condemning the behaviour of the board, and immediately after the board’s AGM was held in near farcical conditions with journalists barred and stakeholders prevented from quizzing senior officials.

Scorecard
Amit Pagnis, the left-handed opening batsman, led the way with a breezy 35 as Railways romped home to a nine-wicket victory and wrapped up their second Irani Trophy title on the fourth day in Delhi. They needed just 15.2 overs to knock off the 50 required and completed the final rites of a one-sided contest.Railways had got themselves into a great position on the third day when Murali Kartik and Kulamani Parida, their two spinners, engineered a sensational collapse. Rest of India were cruising along at 98 for 2, with a lead of 10, when they lost the last eight wickets for just 39 and left Railways with a meagre target to chase. Barring Dheeraj Jadhav, none of Rest’s batsmen came to terms with the variable bounce of the Karnail Singh Stadium – a fact which the Railways bowlers exploited with skill.Kartik was the star of the show for Railways with five wickets in the game complementing his plucky 96 in the first innings – one that propped up Railways from a precarious 104 or 6. Yere Goud, the middle-order batsmen who scored a valuable half-century, and Kulamani Parida, the offspinner who ended with seven victims in the match, also made crucial contributions.The only silver lining for Rest of India was the splendid efforts of Ramesh Powar, the offspinner from Mumbai, who impressed with his seven-wicket haul in the first innings. Powar will get another chance to prove himself in the forthcoming Challenger Series, starting on October 10, but it remains to be seen if his consistent performances in the domestic level can earn him a recall into the national side.

Nicky Peng will be joining Glamorgan for the start of the 2006 season, after turning down the offer of an extended contract at his native county, Durham.Peng is a product of the Durham Academy and signed as a professional in 2001. However, a loss of form in the latter half of the season has meant that he struggled to regain his first-team place.”Although we are disappointed that Nicky is leaving we understand his reasons for doing so,” said Martyn Moxon, Durham’s head coach. “We are fortunate that we have a number of young batsmen who are emerging from our development squad, which will mean even greater competition for places in 2006. We would like to wish Nicky every success at this important time in his career.”On his move, Peng said: “This was a very difficult decision to make. I am very grateful to Durham for giving me the opportunity to play first-class cricket. However, at this point I feel that I needed a new challenge and to give myself the best opportunity to play regular first-team cricket.”

A fine century by Gaurav Dhiman helped India to an easy 140-run win over Sri Lanka in the third round of the Afro-Asian Under-19 tournament. The result leaves India, who have won all three of their games, at the top of the table.Dhiman’s 121, made from 98 balls, steered India to 293 for 4, and he added 109 for the first wicket with Tanmoy Srivastav (26), and 55 for the second with Cheteswar Pujara (65 not out). Dhiman, Yo Mahesh, Piyush Chawla and Shahabaz Nadeem claimed two wickets each as Sri Lanka were skittled for 153.Pakistan won by four wickets after being set 231 by South Africa with Ali Asad (75 not out) top-scoring. Although Pakistan missed out on the bonus point, they are still well placed to reach the final.In the basement battle, Bangladesh won their first match, thrashing Zimbabwe by nine wickets in just 12.4 overs after bowling them out for 122.