All posts by csb10.top

Now comes the test for New Zealand after the West Indies fought back outstandingly on the third day of the second Test at St George’s, Grenada.Having run into a Gayle-force batting hurricane as Chris Gayle enjoyed a maiden Test double century, New Zealand now find their seemingly impregnable 373 not quite the score of security they might have imagined.There was a time in Test cricket that such a score was regarded as money in the bank, but not nowadays.A team being well headed on the first innings, having spent a long and fruitless time in the field, can find problems of concentration when it comes to batting. And concentration is not as high on the list of priorities of many modern Test cricketers as it should be.Hence the reason for New Zealand needing to show all the qualities that have been part of their efforts this summer, most notably in Perth and in Auckland, if they are to secure their goal of winning the first Test series in the Caribbean by a New Zealand side.By scoring at such a good clip, and considerably faster than New Zealand could achieve, and admittedly with the benefit of a huge piece of luck when umpire Srinivas Venkataraghavan refused to give Gayle out on 93 when he was caught of Ian Butler’s bowling, the West Indies have created their chance to tie the series.They still need to make a good start on the fourth day to ensure they gain a good lead, and as long as Shivnarine Chanderpaul is at the wicket after his outstanding international summer this year, then that must be the prospect.While the pitch has not deteriorated to the same extent as clearly occurred in Barbados, there is still sufficient bite in the West Indies attack to put the New Zealanders under genuine pressure.From the first day it was clear that leg-spinner Mahendra Nagamootoo was able to gain appreciable turn. At that stage it was not vicious or spiteful, but having to wipe out a significant first innings deficit creates all sort of different mind-sets for the batting side and, New Zealand, if they cannot quickly polish off the West Indies on the fourth morning, will have their disciplines tested.Not only Nagamootoo looms as the danger however. Left-arm fast bowler Pedro Collins has been making quite a mark for himself in this series and has been consistently troubling the quality batsmen in the side.The combination of Collins and Nagamootoo will be an intriguing prospect and if they are bowling with runs to play with, then a genuine old-fashioned stoush could be in prospect.While nothing official has been heard in relation to Craig McMillan’s absence from the field during the day, reports were that he had split webbing between fingers on his left hand. Depending on the extent of the split, that could be another problem for New Zealand’s batting effort.One thing that has been clear from the bowling effort during the match is that the effort put into fast bowler Shane Bond’s recuperation has been an outstanding success.To come from no international play since January, into three one-day games and a second Test match in a matter of weeks, to bowl the fastest ball of his career, recorded at 95.4mph (153kph) on the second day of the Test is outstanding.Just what a weapon he can be in New Zealand’s Test future is obvious. On that second day he was bowling consistently around the 90mph mark and while not quite as fast as often on the third day, he still produced wicket-taking deliveries. Gayle was dropped twice during the innings from his bowling, on 136 by Mark Richardson and on 199 by replacement fieldsman Matt Horne, while his dismissal of Carl Hooper was pure class.New Zealand’s hopes are in their own hands, and two absorbing days of play may yet remain in this contest.

The ICC was meant to be a regulatory body, the game’s supremo. It was never intended that it should itself go into marketing. It is, as if, a civil aviation authority decides to float its own commercial airline.It was bad enough that the ICC should have set up a private detective agency by way of an Anti-Corruption Unit to combat match-fixing, a vote of no-confidence in the police of the respective cricket playing nations, will it be long before the ICC goes into the business of manufacturing cricket equipment?I recall, with some horror, ICC’s plans to take cricket to Disneyland. Mr Jagmohan Dalmiya was then at the helm of the ICC and there was much talk of the globalization of the game. Globalization was not then the ‘dirty’ word it has now become. The world may have become a global-village but the heads of the village are the same, old multinationals and the villagers themselves the cheap-labour work-force.It is necessary to provide this background so that the contract row can be put into perspective. However, it is resolved, one fact has emerged that the cricket world is a shadowy one and the cricket boards have been less than open with the players. The contracts that they have been asked to sign and which affect their livelihood were sprung on the players and there was an innuendo of coercion.When the cricket boards signed on board the merchant-ship of the ICC, were they unaware that many of the players would be affected by the ‘ambush’ marketing clause? It is no secret that the players have sponsors of their own and, of all persons, Mr Dalmiya who now heads the BCCI, should have known this and being a businessman, should have seen that there would have been a conflict of interest in the ICC contracts. Good management is about preventing fires and not about putting them out when they have started.Sunil Gavaskar said on ESPN that the main problem was that the Indian players did not have an Association and in his loud-thinking recommended that the subcontinent players should get together and form a collective-bargaining association. This is all very well but in the impasse created by the Indian government in not allowing the Indian team to play against Pakistan, the Indian players have remained silent.Not a word of support for the Pakistan players who have been financially affected because there is no cricket between the two countries. On the contrary, people like Kapil Dev have been at the forefront of backing the Indian government’s boycott of cricket with Pakistan nor have they said a word about the refusal of countries like Australia to tour Pakistan.All this has seriously hurt the finances of the PCB and is bound to affect the earnings of the Pakistan players. Some show of solidarity with Pakistan cricket would have been welcome. But this is a different matter but it does create road-blocks in finding a common cause.But it is a matter of principle and I have backed the players in the present row. There is one aspect that I find intriguing. There seems to be some resentment in our psyche that cricket stars should be making so much money, as if, by doing so they are defiling the game and are being unpatriotic in the bargain. We don’t seem to resent lawyers and doctors and accountants making money. Somehow, we feel that because cricketers represent the country that should be honour enough. In our heart of hearts, we have not accepted that cricket is a profession.When the question of paying Test cricketers match fees first came up in Pakistan, this was many many years ago, the then Pakistan cricket board was headed by a civil servant and in a column I had asked him whether as a civil servant he drew a salary? If Sachin Tendulkar has become a very rich man, it is because he has cashed in on his talent, he hasn’t robbed a bank or received back-handers for awarding government contracts.While making money, Tendulkar gives the cricket public a great deal of joy. I know of many who make fortunes but give no joy at all to anybody except themselves. The cricket boards should back their players against the ICC’s bid to go into business for itself. The ICC contract is bad in law and is a violation of the right of players to earn a living. The ICC is not a business concern.The Australians have named a full strength team for the Test series against Pakistan to be played at, not one, but two neutral venues, Colombo and Sharjah. The Waugh brothers are included and Steve Waugh retains the captaincy. On paper, it is a terrific side and it should be a very good series.Obviously, we are disappointed that the home series will be played away from home and we will have to watch it on television. One way of compensating the cricket public in Pakistan is for Pakistan to win the series. But in order to do so, Pakistan will have to match Australia in mental toughness.The Australians play their cricket hard and they play to win. But before Pakistan takes on Australia in a Test series, there is the triangular in Nairobi and Pakistan will be up against Australia. All one can say is that Pakistan will have to raise their game several notches.The way that Pakistan played at Morocco will not do. Pakistan will be strengthened by the return of Shoaib Akhtar but it was not Pakistan’s bowling that was wanting in Morocco. It was the batting and the key, one feels, will be Inzamam-ul-Haq. It is important that big man runs into form. And one hopes that this time Saeed Anwar will not be dropped to make way for Shoaib Malik.The Australians will not allow Imran Nazir the freedom he needs and he will have to devise means to break free. It will be a supreme Test for him, a choice between abandon and a more circumspect shot selection. No one questions his talent.

Darren Gough is rested for Yorkshire’s CricInfo Championship game against Northamptonshire at Headingley.However, fellow England players Ryan Sidebottom, Michael Vaughan and Matthew Hoggard are included in the squad alongside Scott Richardson, who will hoping to play his second first-class game.Graeme Swann and David Ripley return for Northants and the Yorkshire coach, Arnie Sidebottom, knows it will be a tough encounter.”Things are going well and let’s hope it continues,” Sidebottom said. “They are a good outfit with a strong batting line-up and hopefully it will be a good match.”Elsewhere Jeff Hammond, the Glamorgan coach, dismissed his team’s lowly position in the table as a consequence of the weather more than their ability. “It’s pointless having tables before seven rounds of games have gone as the weather affects a lot of the early matches,” he said.Glamorgan meet Kent at Swansea, with Kent welcoming back Mark Ealham and Matthew Walker, but missing David Masters who has a side strain.Essex look to have the toughest of tasks. They face the might of Champions, Surrey, who will be buoyed by the presence of Thorpe, Stewart and Ward to the ranks that already boost several well-known names.In Division Two, Angus Fraser is unlikely to be available due to a shoulder injury for Middlesex’s clash with Nottinghamshire at Lord’s.Mike Roseberry (rib strain) and Chad Keegan (ankle) are also concerns, but Simon Cook returns.John Emburey, the new coach, credited the middle order as being the strength of his side at present: “Stephen Fleming and Owais Shah are in tremendous form for us and we are happy with our batting while our bowling has been okay but nothing outstanding,” he said.Andrew Harris is hoping to win a place in the Notts side.Lawrence Prittipaul is back in the Hampshire side to play Derbyshire after passing a fitness test on his shoulder injury, and having hit 175 not out for the seconds last week. Former England opener, John Stephenson, looks likely to miss out.Chris Adams should return for Sussex, who meet Warwickshire at Hove. “We are on our own patch and we’ll give them a run for their money,” said Sussex coach Peter Moores.Neil Carter and 21-year-old Jamie Spires come into the Warwickshire squad.Worcestershire travel to play Gloucestershire at Bristol, with Graeme Hick looking for a big score to catch the attention of England selectors needing to find someone to fill in for Nasser Hussain. Matthew Rawnsley is a likely starter for the visitors, while Tim Hancock returns for the hosts.

*Sodhi to lead Punjab in Ranji league matchesReetinder Sodhi will lead Punjab in the first three league matches of the Ranji trophy in the absence of Vikram Rathore, who shifted to Himachal Pradesh this year.MP Pandove, secretary of the Punjab Cricket Association, who made the announcement, added that the Punjab team will take on Baroda in the first league match at PCA stadium, Mohali from November 9 to 12.The other member of the 15-member team are Ravneet Ricky, Samrat Sharma, Ankur Kakkar,Harminder Jugnu, Navdeep Singh, Amit Uniyal, Gagandeep Singh, Vineet Sharma, Rajesh Sharma, Pankaj Dharmani (wicket-keeper), Sandeep Sawal, Harish Puri, Munish Sharma and Sanjay Mahajan.*Zuffri to lead Assam in Ranji TrophySyed Zakaria Zuffri has been named as the Assam captain for the 2002-03 Ranji Trophy season. Among the 14 other players are new recruits Kiran Powar and Sunil Viswanathan.Assam launch their challenge with a match against Orissa at NFRSA Stadium, Maligaon from Nov 9- Nov 12.Squad: Syed Zakaria Zuffri (capt), Parag Kumar Das, Sukhvinder Singh, Kiran Powar, Sumit Ranjan Das, Arland Konwar, Manoj Joglekar, RM Gohain, Mark Ingti, Zaved Zaman, Sunil Viswanathan, Mrigen Talukdar, Mansoor Ahmed, Samarjit Nath and Sourav Bhagawati.Coach: Lalchand Rajput Manager : Sanjay Dey.*Sutane to lead Vidarbha in Ranji TrophyStaff ReporterParesh Sutane will lead 14-man Vidarbha team in the 2002-03 Ranji Trophy leagues matches against Saurashtra and Services.Ali Akbar, meanwhile, will lead the under-19 team> Chandrasekhar Atram has been named the vice-captain.Squad: Paresh Sutane (captain), Alind Naidu ( vice-captain), Amit Deshpande (wicket-keeper), P Vivek, Rupesh Shahane, Ulhas Gandhe, Samir Khare, Chandrashekhar Atram, Madhusudan Acharya, Abhijieet Piprode, Nitin Gawande, Swaroop Srivastva, Sandeep Singh, Rahul JadhavStand byes: Amol Jichkar, Amit Date, Umesh Patil, Ketan Kaore, Adwait ManoharCoach: Murthy Rajan Manager SN AbhyankrVidarbha Under-19: Ali Akbar (captain), Chandrashekhar Atram (vicecaptain), Faiz Fazal, Virat Mishra, Anup Fulper, Owamir Afzal, Saurabh Ambedkar, Mohammad Hashim, Akshay Wakhare, Ashwin Rajan, Abhijeet Gaidhane, Vaibhav Rajurkar, Azhar Sheikh, Madhup Aney.Stand byes: Srikant Kotlikar, Mangesh Bhoyar, Amit BhomleCoach: Praveen HignikarManager: Shrish Joshi

Tim Ambrose has been called up to England’s one-day squad for the series against New Zealand. Ambrose, who took over from Matt Prior in the Test side earlier in the year, replaces Phil Mustard and is the only uncapped player in a 14-man squad.Ambrose made his mark for England during the Test series in New Zealand, when he produced a maiden century in his second appearance at Wellington, to turn the tide of a series that England eventually won 2-1. He has now been given his opportunity at one-day level as well, despite managing only three runs in two innings in the current Test series.Mustard has been omitted after averaging 22.8 in his ten appearances in Sri Lanka and New Zealand last winter. He performed fitfully in his pinch-hitting role at the top of the order, often starting with a flurry of pulls and drives only to play one shot too many, although he did make an impressive 83 from 74 balls in his penultimate appearance, the tied ODI in Napier.”Tim Ambrose has already shown that he has the temperament and the ability required to succeed in Test cricket and his selection reflects our desire to use the same wicket-keeper in both the long and short forms of the game,” Geoff Miller, England’s national selector, said. “Phil Mustard will, of course, be disappointed not to have been selected on this occasion but he remains a player of terrific potential and we will continue to monitor his performances closely along with a number of other wicketkeepers in domestic cricket.”Another player who will feel unlucky to have missed out is Matt Prior, whom Ambrose replaced in the Test side, but whose forceful performances for Sussex have since powered him to the top of the first-class averages. He, however, will have to wait his turn for a little while longer. “We’re aware of the need to identify a player who can take over the opener’s role from Phil,” said Miller, “and play in a positive manner at the start of the innings.”The offspinner, James Tredwell, also misses out from the party that toured New Zealand in February, while the selectors did not consider a recall for Andrew Flintoff, whose comeback for Lancashire has been hampered by a side strain that will keep him on the international sidelines at least until the arrival of South Africa in July.”Andrew is still recovering from a side strain and we would prefer to wait until he is 100 per cent fit before considering him for selection,” said Miller. “We will be guided by the England medical team as to when the best time would be for him to return to international cricket. His rehabilitation is progressing well at present and we are optimistic that he will be available for selection later in the summer.”England one-day squad Paul Collingwood (capt), Tim Ambrose, James Anderson, Ian Bell, Ravi Bopara, Stuart Broad, Alastair Cook, Dimitri Mascarenhas, Kevin Pietersen, Owais Shah, Ryan Sidebottom, Graeme Swann, Chris Tremlett, Luke Wright.

Leicestershire have signed Paul Nixon on a three-year contract with the 32-year-old wicket-keeper returning to Grace Road after a three-year spell at Kent.Leicestershire general manager Kevin Hill said: “I’m delighted that we have won the chase for Paul’s signature.I believe his considerable experience, ability and enthusiasm will help the club achieve continued success in the future.”This is the first of what we hope will be a number of signings that will be announced that will put together a squad for 2003 and beyond, that will challenge for all four domestic competitions.”Nixon who first played for Leicestershire from 1989 to 1999 said:”I am very excited and thrilled to be rejoining Leicestershire. I am confident I will be able to play my part in helping to achieve the success that everyone at the club is striving for.”It was a big shock to be told that Kent were not renewing my contract, but it is great to get back to my roots. I spoke to a few other counties but, in the end, returning to Leicestershire was a family decision. It will be lovely to be back.”

Purbrook’s bid for the Southern Electric Premier League, Division 3 crown has been knocked off course by consecutive – and somewhat surprising – defeats by Bashley (Rydal) and Paultons.The unexpected double setback has cost Purbrook top spot, with Alton leapfrogging to the front after beating St Cross Symondians by 57 runs.A run of four successive wins has lifted Flamingo into third place, marginally ahead of St Cross, whom they visit next week.Paultons seem to have the Indian Sign over Purbrook, whom they beat in a run-laden 265-233 affair at The Heath last season.This time Paultons chased, with Ian Hunter’s 94 for Purbrook being rendered purely academic as Purbrook’s daunting 274-7 was overhauled by six wickets … with three overs to spare !Colin James (54), Andy Darnton (46), Duncan Park (36) and Andrew Collins (33) did the spadework before Tony Richman (34) and John Robinson (29) swept Paultons to a glorious victory.It was a much needed win for Paultons, who were languishing in the lower reaches of the table after winning only one of their previous five games."Ironically, we’ve been struggling to score runs all season – then we get 275 all in one go," smiled experienced Paultons all-rounder Steve Mitchell.Beaten by Flamingo and knocked out of the SEC Cup by Rowledge in the space of four days, Alton badly needed a positive performance against St Cross Symondians to get their season back on track.And how they achieved it, with Julian Ballinger’s side pulling out all the stops to notch an important 57-run win at the Royal Green Jackets ground.Michael Heffernan (82) and Bruce Oliphant, with a breezy pre-tea 51, swept Alton to 252-5.Mark Parker (56) steered St Cross to 106-1, but the Winchester side were never able to dictate the pace and finished well short at 196 all out, with Howard Gadsby (4-46) and Oliphant (3-22) taking a lion’s share of the wickets.Not content with upsetting the Purbrook bandwagon, Bashley II struck again – derailing New Milton’s climb towards the Premier 3 stardom.Bashley recovered from Andy Snellgrove’s spell of 4-29 – and an uncertain 42-4 – to post 156 through Graham Pardey (39) and Neil Sexton (33).They were on the back foot as Steve Watts (45) and Dean Miller (39) guided New Milton to 92-1, but a mass collapse, initiated by the crafty left-arm spin of Bob Paul (3-23), sent wickets tumbling and Milton to 144 all out."I think we caught that collapsing bug that seems to be doing the rounds at Bashley," quipped New Milton’s Steve Taylor.Creeping into third place, almost unnoticed, are Flamingo, who are casting serious doubts upon their chairman’s pre-season prediction of a probable summer-long struggle against relegation for the little Corhampton club."He puts it down to reverse physiology," said Flamingo skipper Stuart Shapland, after hitting an undefeated 83 to set up a fourth win in a row against Hambledon.Half-centuries by Mark le Clerq (62) and Matt Jones (55) took Hambledon to 219-6.Even though Flamingo’s suffered their customary top-order wobble, Shapland’s timely 83, coupled with a fine 56 from Tim Richman, made it a fairly comfortable run chase.Chris Westbrook (3-22) and Andy Marks (3-23) did the damage as fifth-placed Hursley Park bowled struggling Redlynch & Hale out for 101 to win by four wickets.Hursley lost five wickets to Matt Truckle’s spin after John Harris, who carried his bat for a patient 39, and Paul Edwards (34) had taken the visitors to 79-1.Havant II are climbing the log – big hitting left-hander Matt Ward cracking 90 in the six-wicket win over Waterlooville, whose 199-6 included Chris Baumann (55) and Dave Howe (49).Improving too are Gosport Borough, who heightened Hook & Newnham’s problems at the bottom, with Mike Rees (60) and departing Wyvern sports master Stewart Magee (53) setting up a comfortable six-wicket win.Leckford left-hander Martyn Isherwood is recognised as one of the classiest players in the Test Valley – and how well he batted in an elegant 106 against Hartley Wintney.Isherwood and Mark Tomlinson (60) put on a Leckford-best 164 before flying Scotsman Mike Howard punched a splendid 85 as the Bakers Farm boys rattled up 333-4.Tristan Gregory (57 not out) top scored for Hartley Wintney, but any prospect of the visitors making a match of it ended when Matt Digweed had to retire hurt. HW closed at 166-6, with Andy Cattle taking another three wickets to take his tally for the season to 18 victims.Neil Dodds (5-22) got among the Portsmouth batsmen, but was unable to prevent Ventnor (133) slipping to a four-wicket defeat at St Helen’s.Ventnor’s home match against Redlynch & Hale at Steephill this weekend could have a vital bearing on the situation at the foot of the table.

It may not have healed the scars of their battering in England, but SriLanka will be hoping that normal service has resumed after an emphaticinnings and 196 run victory against Bangladesh, the largest ever win in their 126 Test history.Unfortunately, as captain Sanath Jayasuriya admitted afterwards, the hardtruth is that the win only glosses over the side’s current problems. Despitewinning within three days and scoring a record 509 runs on the second day,Sri Lanka can take few positives out of a game they were expected to win bya country mile.The fast bowlers were poor in both innings: Dilhara Fernando and hisnamesake Buddika were short and erratic; debutante left-armer Sujeewa deSilva swung the odd ball, but did little to suggest he would prosper againstone of the major Test nations.The normally mild mannered Jayasuriya was scathing afterwards: “It was goodto see us winning a Test match again but I am not happy with the bowlers.They failed to bowl a consistent line and length and there were too many noballs. We bowled poorly in England and again here. It’s a problem – we havegot to sort it out as soon as possible.”And the batting coughed and spluttered against teenage medium pacers untilAravinda de Silva pulled on his 19 years of experience to rescue the hostsfrom severe embarrassment. Sanath Jayasuriya’s tenth Test century, asentertaining as it was, meant little against such a flimsy attack, even ifit was made in the middle order, his new home.The fact that it was the experience players that dug Sri Lanka out of a holeearly on the second day was not lost on Jayasuriya, who is unhappy that theselectors have decided to rest five more players for the second Test matchstarting Sunday, including vice captain Marvan Atapattu, star batsman MahelaJayawardene, Russel Arnold, Kumar Sangakkara and Muttiah Muralitharan.”You need some experience,” he argued. “Yesterday we were 56 for three andit was only because of the experience in the middle order that we managed toget the runs. Next game there will only be Hashan Tillakaratne and ThilanSamaraweera with me.”He wants Muralitharan to play: “He’s naturally disappointed, as anyone wouldbe to miss a game. If Murali is fit we should go with him. But the selectorshave picked the side and I have to go with it. I don’t know anything aboutmost of the youngsters, as I have not played with them.”Muralitharan was man of the match here. Playing on his home ground for thefirst time in his Test career, the off-spinner spun out the middle order toclaim his 36th five-for, equally Sir Richard Hadlee’s world record. Hefinished with ten for 98 in the match, his 11th tenth wicket haul.Bangladesh’s Pakistan coach, Mohsin Kamal, in charge for the first time,identified Muralitharan as the major factor: “It was only Muralitharan, whogets wickets against the bigger teams as well. Him taking five is not a bigdeal against us, but we have to make sure he conceded more runs. We have tominimise our mistakes against him.”It was, however, Sri Lanka’s new ball bowlers that made the early inroads,reducing Bangladesh to 14 for two before a 77 run stand between top scorerAl Sahariar (67) and the experienced Habibul Bashar (34).Eventually, Jayasuriya’s exasperation with his aerosol attack forced him toturn to spin at both ends. Muralitharan struck in his sixth over, cleanbowling Bashar as the right-hander tried to force through the off-side. 22minutes later he was left on a hat-trick as both Akram Khan (5) and AminulIslam (0) popped up bat-pad catches.When Muralitharan dismissed Al Sahariar in a similar manner, straight afterthe luncheon interval, Bangladesh knew they could not last into the fourthday, despite a brave two-hour 26 from captain Khaled Mashud. When he topedged a sweep of Aravinda de Silva, the tourists were all out for 184.For Bangladesh, the greatest positive, apart from the news that they don’thave to face Muralitharan next game, was the performance of their teenagemedium pacers. Khan, a fast bowler himself, praised their effortsafterwards: “They bowled according to the conditions, keeping their line,and got the results. The rest of the day they were on and off, but they areyoung and have shown good improvement in the last month.”

Former manager of Pakistan team, Fakir S. Aizazuddin, has called for a democratic cricket board in this country.In a statement, released Thursday, Aizazuddin says “this oligarchic system of governance by the board where a small coterie holds sway taking all the decisions must stop if any real and worthwhile progress is to be made in the rehabilitation of the present team.”Aizazuddin, who toured England as member of national squad in 1967, argues that all sports bodies in the country have democratically elected councils except the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).”This speaks volumes for the self interest seeking ad hocists, deeply entrenched who are eating into the vitals of the board and are desperate to maintain status quo,” he said.Aizazuddin believes it is cricket board’s ad hocism that is the root cause of all ills which was damaging the morale and destroying the unity of the team.”It was the ad hocism on which the board and itsfactotums were operating,’ he says and adds, “arbitrary appointments and dismissals, ill-planned action, unfair selections generally the pattern on which the functionaries were working. Hasty orders issued and just as hastily withdrawn.”Further, Aizazuddin points out that this kind of working was playing havoc with the team discipline and cohesion thus emboldening the players, encouraging them to form power groups and strut about like prima donnas caring little for authority.Aizazuddin, who managed the Pakistan squad in New Zealand last year, gives a couple of suggestions to improve the situation.Firstly, he says, the institution of the board has to be put on a sound footing by providing it with a constitution in which all the members are democratically elected and they should be technocrats who have played the game at the highest level.Secondly, the elected council will discuss the points of the agenda and after obtaining a consensus from all the participating members of the council decisions will be taken which will then bear the stamp of authenticity and legality and as such will be respected and followed by all including the players.Lastly, Aizazuddin added that all other cricket playing countries have their boards working on democratic lines and the system has proved highly successfully, so why not adopt the same for PCB.

Somerset captain Jamie Cox was back at the County Ground earlier today just a few hours after he landed back in England with his new wife Helen and six-month-old son Lachlan.Jamie landed at Heathrow this morning just before 6am after a flight from Australia, and was back at Taunton just after nine to pick up the keys to his new house for the summer.As he stood outside the pavilion with Chief Executive Peter Anderson he told me: "It’s good to be back at Somerset, it’s a bit chilly after Tasmania, but hopefully I’ll have brought the sunshine with me."What were his immediate plans, I asked. Jamie told me: "I’m going back to the house now where we are going to live. I’ll have 24 hours to catch up and then I’ll be back in at the ground for nets on Friday morning with the rest of the team."Meanwhile Somerset fans will be able to hear Peter Anderson on Radio Five Live between 8 and 10 pm where he will be taking part in a debate on county cricket.