As expected, the levels of security around the National Stadium in Karachi ahead of Thursday’s one-day international are more akin to a presidential visit than a cricket match. But given the will-they, won’t-they discussions over the viability of the game going ahead which have been doing the rounds for months, it is almost a miracle – but a welcome one – that the match is happening at all.About 3000 police and paramilitary forces will guard the National Stadium and the teams’ hotel over the next two days. Both sides will have a security blanket protecting them on trips between the hotel and ground.Stringent security measures are in place for a sell-out crowd of 33,000, with all spectators having to prove their identities before being allowed entry to the ground. The gates will open three hours before the 11am start to allow police to carry out stringent searches.”We have made extremely tight security arrangements for the match,” Major General Javed Zia, director-general of the paramilitary forces, told reporters. “We know this is a very important match for the city and we want to ensure nothing is left to chance.”England will be the first non-Asian side to play in Karachi since they won the final Test in December 2000. Since then, unrest and bomb blasts have meant that Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and West Indies have all refused to include the city on tour itineraries.England will arrive on Wednesday afternoon and leave on Friday, spending less than 48 hours in the city. A bomb blast last month about 200m from the five-star hotel where the England team will stay had threatened to lead to the match being rearranged, but the authorities persuaded the England management to adhere to the agreed itinerary.The Pakistan Cricket Board and the government will be determined that the game passes off without a hitch. If it does, then it will be far easier to re-establish Karachi as a vital venue on any tour.

Bloomfield 225 for 6 (Dilshan 107*, Dissanayake 46) beat Nondescripts 221 (Pushpakumara 47, Wijesiriwardene 4-25) by four wickets
ScorecardTillakaratne Dilshan celebrated his selection for Sri Lanka’s tour of New Zealand with a sparkling unbeaten 107 to guide Bloomfield to a four-wicket win over Nondescripts in the final of the Premier Limited Over Tournament at the Sinhalese Sports Club.Bloomfield had been in trouble on 16 for 3 – the recalled Sanath Jayasuriya making only 5 – before Dilshan and Shanuka Dissanayake (46) consolidated with a fourth-wicket stand of 108. Dilshan struck ten fours in a perfectly-paced innings to secure the win with five balls remaining.Nondescripts, who were put in, struggled to build on a good start, losing their last eight wickets for 107 runs, including their last four for one run as Omesh Wijesiriwardene polished off the tail with 4 for 25.

Matthew Hayden has turned down an offer to return to Hampshire as their second overseas player for 2006. He has decided that he needs a break from the game ahead of the Ashes series next winter.Hayden, who made almost 1500 runs for Hampshire in 1997, has returned to form in dramatic style during the Australian season with 949 at 73 in seven Tests – a resurgence that began at The Oval in September with his backs-to-the-wall century.However, despite Shane Warne begin Hampshire’s captain the club have been unable to come to an agreement with Hayden, but are hopeful he will return sometime in the future.Rod Bransgrove, the chairman, told BBC Radio Solent: “We couldn’t quite reach an agreement, but I’m sure he will return in the future. Matt will have played 16 months of consecutive cricket by the time our season starts. He was keen to come back and see the club from the inside after all the developments. He loved his time here in 1997.”

For the first time ever in the history of cricket, the United States is sending a team to a World Cup Tournament. Its youngsters are setting sail into (for them) the perilous waters of international cricket, to meet up with the best of their peers in Sri Lanka.One would imagine that this would be an occasion for a national celebration of sorts. But even in the US enclaves where cricket is usually the spectator sport of choice, there is an odd kind of disconnect – lip service is paid to the achievement, but has not been matched by the support that one would expect on such an auspicious occasion. Whether this is symptomatic of a general malaise afflicting US cricket, or whether it is just that junior cricket in the USA has simply not caught on as a worthwhile cause with the majority of US cricketers, it is difficult to say. All that is known for sure is that support for the youngsters who are making their pioneering journey has not been easy to come by, and in fact has been somewhat underwhelming.Consider the case of a souvenir booklet to mark this historic occasion, a brainchild of Laks Sampath who floated the idea a few months ago. The board of the USA Cricket Association (USACA), of which Sampath is a member, listened to his idea with perfunctory interest but did not (at first) seem inclined to do anything about it. Sampath obtained the U-19 team profiles and pictures directly from the USACA treasurer, and the executive and board profiles from their Web site.But only four of the eight US regions sent in any information on their regional activities. And, when it came to advertisements and donations, many regions did not bother to collect a single penny for the cause, and US clubs and leagues did not even take advantage of the offer to keep 50% of their advertisement and donation receipts for the booklet as a once-time opportunity to earn some useful revenues. As if to add insult to injury, the ICC forbade use of their logo and that of the World Cup on the USA booklet. The souvenir booklet will probably break even, but any hope of raising money for the U-19 team vanished into thin air before the U-19 team set sail for Sri Lanka.The USACA itself came up short in meeting ICC requirements to receive the money that had already been allocated for the USA U-19 team. Given its refrain that “USACA has no money”, its forfeiting the $10,000 that the ICC had earmarked for the USA’s U-19 World Cup preparations was nothing short of outrageous. Yet that is precisely what USACA seems to have ended up doing. It has not submitted the audited accounts that was due last September last year, and it has failed so far to come up with a consensus resolution to its legal disputes that could have satisfied the NY courts. Perhaps the USACA had weightier things on its mind, but it is clear that the U-19 team was not one of them.Meanwhile, it was refreshing to see that the U-19 team had managed to steer clear of the brambles and the pitfalls in their path to Sri Lanka, and has even developed something of an attitude. The team is essentially the same “Cinderella” squad that shocked and pulverized its opposition in Canada, remaining not only unbeaten but winning almost all their matches with several wickets to spare.Then, regrouping after a squabble of several months among their elders over selection and training matters, they played two warm-up matches in Florida with a strong USACA Team consisting of first-team senior players. They were in fine fettle, losing the first match but hitting their stride in the second. before leaving for their offshore adventures.The team’s arrival at Hyderabad proved to be an enervating experience. An impressive delegation of officials from the state association braved the arrival time (2 am) to welcome the visitors from the USA, and the new Lal Bahadur stadium was the venue for a crowded press conference where a gaggle of curious journalists and TV cameras showed up with questions on every aspect of US cricket–the idea of cricket in the USA is one that many Indians still find hard to accept! USA obliged with a four-wicket victory over the Hyderabad U-17 team, an auspicious start to their overseas adventure, and their sixth victory out of seven matches they have played from Canada to Florida and India in the last few months.

England’s preparations for the Test series against India were hit a further blow today when it was announced that Marcus Trescothick would be flying home for ‘personal’ reasons. This news, compounded by England’s eight-wicket loss to the Indian Board President’s XI in Vadodara today, will further increase the gloom of an injury-hit side.”Marcus has to go back for personal reasons,” Duncan Fletcher, England’s coach, told reporters. “It’s a blow, yes, but it will force the others to step up. We will be monitoring the situation closely, so all we can ask is that you respect his decision.” He added it was “too early to say” if Trescothick would be back in time for the first Test starting at Nagpur on Wednesday.”Its definitely not an ideal start to have had going into the Test matches,” Michael Vaughan, the England captain added. “He’s such a good player, and he was probably our best batsman on occasion, so it’s a big blow.”Vaughan (knee), Paul Collingwood (back) and Simon Jones (virus) were ruled out of the Vadodara match. Kevin Pietersen joined the casualty list after retiring hurt with back spasms, and Liam Plunkett was also unable to bowl on the second day after picking up a bruised heel. Earlier today it was confirmed that Alastair Cook and James Anderson, on England A duty in the West Indies, were flying in to India tomorrow as cover.On England’s performance in their second tour match, Vaughan was insistent that they would be working hard on smoothening out the rough edges. “We haven’t played to our potential and it wasn’t a great game for us obviously. But full credit to the Indians, they played a good game of cricket,” he said. “We’ve been in this position before, down a game or two, but we’ve bounced back and gone on to win Test series as well. But yes, the position we’re in now is something that we’re going to have to address over the next few days. We’re just going to have to learn from thefew mistakes we made in this game here, go to Nagpur and practice well onMonday and Tuesday.”On his own injury, Vaughan was unable to determine a final position. “Knee’s not bad. I had an injection on Wednesday night and a couple sessions in the nets, so it’s looking better,” he said. “We have to see how it goes on Monday, and then we’ll make a decision on Tuesday for sure.Pietersen’s improving too, and he should be good.””We approached this as a proper match, we needed the preparation and we wanted to win,” Fletcher said while summing up his side’s performance. “The Indian seamers bowled well and used the conditions well. They swung the ball, which is something that we will have to pick up on in the series.With Trescothick gone, and Vaughan’s condition still uncertain, England may actually end up with a new captain for Nagpur. The likeliest candidates would appear to be Andrew Strauss and Andrew Flintoff, neither of whom has been on top form with the bat so far on this trip. England are creaking at the seams with less than a week to go until the series begins.

Scorecard

Brad Hodge produced a fine century that put his name back in front of the Australian selectors and pushed Victoria into a strong position on the first day of the Pura Cup final. Queensland’s bowlers suffered as Hodge, who was cut from the South Africa tour squad despite a Test average of 58, targeted them, and the Bushrangers were firing on a damp day at the Gabba until they lost three late wickets to finish at 5 for 269.James Hopes started the surge with the wicket of Nick Jewell, ending a 192-run stand for the third wicket, and Andy Bichel drove the Bulls home by removing Hodge and the captain Cameron White in a spirited spell. Bichel’s first delivery with the second new ball deceived Hodge, bowling him for 108, and the Bulls will start day two buoyed by their recovery.Three sets of showers interrupted the day, including one a minute into the match, and Queensland struck twice in the opening session with Mitchell Johnson and Ashley Noffke removing both openers for 15 with catches to Chris Hartley. Hodge arrived at 2 for 46 and shared a punishing partnership with Jewell as the visitors upset the plans of Queensland, who as hosts need only to draw the five-day match to win the trophy.Hodge crashed 14 boundaries in an innings that lasted only 168 balls and showed he had re-found his form at a crucial time. Overlooked for Damien Martyn and Michael Clarke, Hodge has said he wants a place on the Bangladesh trip and delivered an ideal calling card.”I guess that every time I play I have to make runs so that’s going to be my job from here on in,” he told . “I still feel a part of that [Test] group and my aim is to be back in that group. Today’s a pretty good step in trying to achieve that goal.”Hodge’s combination with Jewell, who was more patient in crafting 89, ended when his partner hit Hopes to Shane Watson at square leg before Bichel finished with 2 for 56. David Hussey was unbeaten on 20 when he accepted an offer of the light while the nightwatchman Mick Lewis was on zero.

About a year and a half of difficult negotiations was finally settled in 15 hours of urgent talks which ended in the wee hours of yesterday morning. And West Indies cricketers finally have the chance to be covered by retainer contracts.The major announcement was made yesterday at the Carlos Street, Woodbrook office of West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) president Ken Gordon by himself and West Indies Players Association (WIPA) boss Dinanath Ramnarine.Addressing the local and Caribbean media, Gordon said eight to ten players still to be named by the WICB, would be put on a one-year retainer starting from May 1 this year.He said in the interim, the 13 players selected to play against Zimbabwe in the seven-match one-day international series starting in Antigua on Saturday, would be given match/tour contracts. West Indies will be led by Brian Lara who it was also announced yesterday had been appointed as skipper for the third time.Both sides, entangled in various tense contract and sponsorship negotiations since November of 2004, heralded the agreement as a landmark one.”This is history for West Indies cricket,” Ramnarine said. “For the first time we set out a framework to deal with disputes In the past we operated in a very ad hoc way. This framework really deals with the board and the players as equal partners. So we are equally responsible for the future of West Indies cricket.”Gordon praised the negotiating teams of both sides-the WICB’s headed by Deryck Murray and which also included Desmond Haynes and Barry Thomas and the WIPA quartet of Ramnarine, David Abdullah, Kusha Harracksingh and Roland Hosein.Murray, a founding member of WIPA and currently a WICB director, also expressed his pleasure with the final outcome. “It is great that we have reached this point in West Indies cricket at this stage. It is one of the steps that we need to put in place to help our cricket to move forward.”Murray, recently appointed to conduct the final phase of the negotiations which had been started by outgoing WICB CEO Roger Brathwaite, ventured further to say: “It’s just one step and it’s almost the beginning of a new relationship between the board and the players. The agreement is relatively easy to sign But making it work to the advantage of the players, the public, all the stakeholders of West Indies cricket is extremely important and it is the beginning of the process I think it’s really the beginning of the resurgence of West Indies cricket.”Disagreement over the final terms of the retainer had threatened to disrupt the start of the Zimbabwe series, with the newly-constituted WICB Cricket Committee, headed by former captain Clive Lloyd, issuing two ultimatums for the conclusion of negotiations.According to Ramnarine, at the heart of the impasse was the matter of compensation for the players over intellectual property rights. Describing the final agreement on the Memorandum of Understanding, code of conduct, retainer contracts and match/tour contracts for non-retained players as, “fair and reasonable,” Ramnarine said that give-and-take on both sides was required.”We have recognised the financial situation of the Board. We have also taken into consideration the position of the team, the performance of the team. There are some performance-based incentives which we have agreed to.”The WIPA boss was also moved to praise his WICB counterparts. “I have to say credit to the board. I’ve criticised the Board at times, but I think that you ought to be fair. And I think the Board has negotiated in good faith. Yesterday both parties compromised and were prepared to do that and hence the reason we were actually able to reach agreement.”In particular, Ramnarine paid tribute to outgoing WICB CEO Roger Brathwaite and former president Wes Hall for the roles they had played in framing the documents and initiating the process, respectively.Neither Gordon nor Ramnarine would say what the contract package-inclusive of a lump sum and match/tour fees-would be worth. But Gordon said his board was determined to fulfill their responsibility. “We’ve had to make some assumptions. We hope those assumptions will be justified by events But we are committed to making this work.”And asked whether the retainer agreement could put an end to major disputes between the WIPA and the WICB, Ramnarine responded: “It’s a fair statement What we did not have in place prior to these agreements was a mechanism to deal with those conflicts. What we have in place is a mechanism to deal with them. There are going to be issues that we disagree on no doubt it (But) we have found a way how we deal with them We just have to deal with it with mutual respect.”

Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the Indian wicketkeeper, says that rotating players will help counter the burnout issue and prolong the careers of players.”When a rotation policy is there, there is no issue of burnout. We get enough rest in between [matches] to recharge our batteries,” Dhoni told Press Trust of India. “It [rotation] gives every player a chance to excel. If the same eleven are playing continously, the players will get burnt out.”Rotation allows other guys in the 14-15 member squad a chance to gain experience so that when the right time comes they can also excel. There should not be any insecurity. It [rotation] is for their own good, for a long career you need to preserve yourself.”Dhoni’s comments came a day after Virender Sehwag, the Indian vice-captain, told reporters that several players, including Rahul Dravid, the captain, had asked the Indian board reduce the number of matches. “There is too much cricket,” Sehwag had said. “Players need a break because they may burn out. They need time for fitness also, time to think about their game and to recharge their batteries. If we want to win the World Cup, we need every player to be fit.” However, Dhoni said that he was unaware that the issue had been raised with the board.Amid the debate, Harbhajan Singh, the Indian offspinner, suggested that players worried about being consumed by too much cricket could opt for rest. “I don’t mind playing as much cricket as possible because I love the game,” he said. “In fact, I don’t think there is too much cricket in BCCI’s schedule in the current season. If any player feels it, he can always request the Board to give him rest. Instead of adopting a compulsory rotation policy, players should voluntarily ask for rest if they want so.”Harbhajan added that as far as he was concerned, no amount of cricket was too much.

Having dominated seven of the nine days of cricket possible, Rahul Dravid had no reason to be overtly concerned. He admitted that the close-in catching had been a problem area but reiterated that to get close to winning what was effectively a four-day contest was “creditable”.”There were one or two close chances we could have held,” said Dravid about the performance of the catchers hovering around the bat. “These catches, on slow and low wickets when you are standing close to the batsmen, can be tricky. But the guys are working very hard on them. But to be honest, if we can pick one or two of these sharp chances, we can produce results in such close games.”It isn’t an issue that’s crept up only here. India in fact paid for their sloppy close-in fielding two Tests ago, when England levelled the series at Mumbai. The funny part of it was that India’s fielders had, just on the eve of the Test, spoken to Yajurvindra Singh, the former Indian cricketer renowned for being a specialist at short-leg, about the art. Dravid himself made a name for himself as a fine close-in fielder and he elaborated a bit more on what was required to excel there.”The key is to stay as low as possible and keep facing the batsman as late as possible,” he continued. “It takes a bit of practice and courage as well. “You need to do it for a while and enjoy it. You almost need to see yourself as an extra bowler who can make a difference. In some ways you got to see it as making a contribution. I always tell the guys once you have finished batting, who can be an extra arm for the bowling side.”Was he disappointed with his bowlers’ effort today? “I wouldn’t say that our bowlers are not able to give finishing touches. We managed to get 17 wickets on a track which was very slow and afforded only slow spin. It wasn’t easy, for the edges were not carrying. I knew the spinners would bowl more overs today. To get so close to a result in four days was creditable. There were limited ways you could get batsmen out on this track.”India will know that it’s only a matter of ironing out a few chinks before they taste success. “We have a reputation of being poor travelers but in the last two Tests we have come very close to winning on foreign soil,” Dravid justified. “We have shown that we can play good cricket abroad. That’s the focus.”

Joey Carew, convenor of West Indies’ selection panel, has declined to comment on Brian Lara’s plea to include a bowler of genuine pace in the squad for the third Test. With the St Kitts Test due to start on Thursday, Carew has, however, agreed with Lara on the fact that pitches in the Caribbean need improvement.In response to Lara’s suggestion that Jermaine Lawson be considered for selection in the absence of Fidel Edwards, sidelined since the first Test with a hamstring injury, Carew told the : “Brian said that he spoke to some people who said that Jermaine Lawson, the quickie from Jamaica, is ready, but we still have our doubts about his bowling action. He has been called internationally for throwing, and even in a local match. For Lawson to be included in the team, we must see him bowling at top pace with a clean action.”Carew, a former Trinidad and Tobago captain and West Indies opener, was of the opinion that the ideal bowling combination would be three fast bowlers, a spinner, and Dwayne Bravo, the allrounder. “You see when you have this kind of composition, you have an attack that can perform on any surface, because there is variety at your disposal,” he said. “I think that pretty soon, these guys will break the ice and start winning matches for us. So far, we have had some encouraging signs, and it is just a matter of time before they make the breakthrough.””We need better pitches in the Caribbean,” Carew added. “Look at India, they cannot even bowl us out twice. Looking at our bowling attack, a major factor has so far been the absence of Fidel Edwards through injury. He was an essential part of our attack and would have provided the pace that is necessary to be penetrative on such pitches.”Carew said he believed West Indies would begin winning Test matches soon. “What I would like to see happening at present is our batsmen compiling more runs,” he explained. “We have been drawing matches, and even if we cannot win matches presently, then they should not be struggling to draw games.”Carew gave no reasons as to why Dave Mohammed, the left-arm spinner, was omitted from the 13-man squad for the third Test.