A Special General meeting of the BCCI has been convened on February 23 in Chennai to take a decision on former president IS Bindra and the Punjab Cricket Association based on the findings of the disciplinary committee. Bindra had been issued a showcause notice for his alleged criticism of the functioning of the BCCI.
The NKP Salve Challenger one-day tournament between India Seniors, India 'A' and India 'B', scheduled at Chennai during the second week of this month has been postponed in view of the Sharjah series. The dates for this tournament will be finalised at a later date.
Indian umpire AV Jayaprakash will officiate in one of the Test matches in Sri Lanka during the forthcoming tour of England. Former Indian batsman Hanumant Singh has been appointed as the ICC match referee for the tour.
The cricket chiefs in Asia and Africa have decided to come together to set up a joint council to promote cricket in the two continents. Acording to Jagmohan Dalmiya the already existing Asian Cricket Foundation (ACF) has now decided to join hands to form an Afro-Asian Cricket Council and an agreement in this regard will be signed in April.
Chairman of selectors Chandu Borde denied issuing orders to the curator of the pitch at Wankhede Stadium, to prepare a flat track for the first Test. Reports stated that this was done to counter the spin and pace strength of the Australians. Borde said he was neither involved in the preparation of pitches nor had any conversation with coach John Wright about the pitches.
South African cricket chief Ali Bacher has decided to ignore the summons to appear in a Pakistan court to defend a libel suit brought forward by former Test umpire Javed Akhtar. The suit for $1.7 million by Akhtar came following the evidence given by Bacher before the King Commission last year. Bacher said that his evidence before the King Commission was because the South African Board had urged him to disclose any information he may have had regarding match-fixing and corruption in cricket. He further stated that he has been advised the Pakistani courts does not have any jurisdiction in the matter.
Gujarat vice-captain Bhavin Mehta lost his wife and four-year old daughter in the recent earthquake when his apartment in the Naranpur area in Ahmedabad crashed right before his eyes. Bhavin, an off-spinner had just gone to the barbers shop and thus escaped.
In the meanwhile another Gujarat batsman Niraj Patel, a young player with the National Cricket Academy will not return home (in Ahmedabad) after the Duleep Trophy encounter going on in Pune. Patel who is on the reserves of the West Zone side said his house had developed cracks and authorities have forbidden people returning to such buildings. His family has moved in with relatives staying some 35 kms away.
Indian leg spinner Anil Kumble has started rehabilitation exercises after undergoing shoulder surgery in South Africa last month. Kumble who is undergoing physiotherapy feels much better. He would be travelling to Johannesburg again later this month to consult shoulder specialist Mark Ferguson, who operated on him on January 17. It is hoped Kumble will be back in action for the India's tour of Zimbabwe in July this year.
Former England Test ace Mark Ramprakash has been released by Middlesex with a year still left on his contract. Middlesex secretary Vinny Codrington confirmed the County Championship Second Division side has agreed to let the 31-year-old leave. Ramprakash, who has spent his whole career at the London club, was dropped from the England squad last year after a slump in form when he was promoted to opening batsman. Ramprakash said he wants to play for a First Division county in an attempt to win back his England place: "The decision to leave Middlesex is a career move. A new county could give my career fresh impetus. I need a fresh challenge." However, reports say that Middlesex are angry at the manner of Ramprakash's departure. Meanwhile English county champions Surrey have made the first move to sign Ramprakash following his release from Middlesex. Paul Sheldon, the Surrey chief executive, confirmed that the club will soon be meeting the player to discuss the prospect of him continuing his career for Surrey
Senior Indian police and tax officials conceded that they believed bookmaker Mukesh Gupta's claim that he made a secret payment of $36,000 to Australian cricketer Mark Waugh. RW Sawani, director of India's Central Bureau of Investigation, which produced a report on match-fixing, has stated that Gupta was a credible witness. "We found no reason for him to lie about these foreign players." Said Sawani.
Television coverage of England's Test series in Sri Lanka is in doubt because of a row over the non-payment of a bank guarantee by the rights holders. The Board of Control for Cricket in Sri Lanka had awarded the rights to sports agency WSG-Nimbus in a £29m deal. But Nimbus has failed to hand over a down payment of around £1.8m, prompting the BCCSL to begin legal action. The case is due to be heard on 13 February, just nine days before the start of the first Test in Galle, and fears are that the matter will not be resolved in time. In the meanwhile, the BCCSL has started negotiations with three other companies including Sky Sports and Channel 4, who have the rights to screen the series in England, and are awaiting developments. WSG-Nimbus has a three-year agreement with the Sri Lankan board for a minimum of 12 Test matches a year. Interestingly, they also hold the rights for the 2003 World Cup in South Africa and the International Cricket Council accepted their bid for 2007 tournament in the West Indies after their £360m bid.
England A leg-spinner Chris Schofield has claimed that his on the field outburst during a match against Barbados in the Busta international series last week was justified. Schofield was involved in an ugly scene with Barbadian wicketkeeper Courtney Browne after being given out caught behind. Following the incident he was reprimanded by England A tour manager James Whittaker who said at the time: "He assured us it won't happen again and if it does, he knows he is in serious trouble." However Schofield admitted: "I know I shouldn't have reacted angrily when I was given caught behind in the match against Barbados." However, he also added: "But my actions were justified." "After the day's play was over, we looked at the video and it showed that the ball had bounced before wicketkeeper Courtney Browne had caught it. "I should not have been given out." The incident followed on from a bad-tempered match against Guyana the previous week where acting captain John Crawley had to tell his players to cool down after several decisions went against them in the field.
Scores at a glance…
Duleep Trophy (2nd day)
At Pune (West Zone vs East Zone)
West Zone: 656-7 decl (HH Kanitkar 42, SR Tendulkar 199, VG Kambli 117, J Martin 39, S Bahutule 62, R Powar 113 not out, A Agarkar 32 not out)
East Zone: 50-0
At Panaji (South Zone vs Central Zone)
South Zone: 141 (V Bharadwaj 50; DS Bundela 4-58, Jai Prakash Yadav 3-46)
Central Zone: 469-3 (G Khoda 246 not out, A Khurasiya 51, M Kaif 69, Y Goud 75 not out)
Carlton One-day series (11th match)
At Perth (West Indies vs Zimbabwe)
West Indies: 178 in 47.2 overs (B Lara 83 not out, RL Powell 37)
Zimbabwe: 134 in 42.3 overs (GJ Whittall 33, HH Streak 33 not out; N McLean 3-21, M Samuels 3-25)
Result:West Indies won by 44 runs (to qualify for the final)
Man of the match: BC Lara (WI)
England U-19 in India (1st One-dayer)
At Hyderabad
India U-19
won by 3 wickets.
England U-19: 127 in 46 overs (N Peng 28, I Bell 27, R Ferley 27; S Vidut 3-26, Arjun Yadav 3-20)
India U-19: 130-7 in 26.1 overs (Ajay Ratra 22 not out, C Tremlett 3-31)
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Compiled by: Mohandas Menon
