Send us your comments …what do you thinkThe real impact of the USA’s suspension from international cricket will hit home next week when north of the border in Toronto the region’s leading teams will meet to take part in the Americas Under-19 Qualifier.The prize at stake is a place at the ICC U-19 World Cup in Malaysia next February and March. While hosts Canada will be joined by sides from Argentina, Bahamas, Bermuda and Cayman Islands, the USA’s young players will be left at home dreaming of what might have been.The USA were present at the last U-19 World Cup in Sri Lanka – on that occasion the ICC hierarchy commendably decided that it would be unfair to punish young players because of the governance issues affecting the national board . But this time there has been no such concession and so the U-19 side will miss out.The sadness of this becomes more apparent when you listen to people involved in grassroots US cricket.Last month, Hemant Buch, co-founder of the California Cricket Academy, told Cricinfo: “There will simply be more and more junior cricket in all parts of North America, and we should have several thousand first-class juniors ready to play competitive cricket by 2011.”When the various factions indulge in their next bout of self-obsessed squabbling for control of the USA Cricket Association, they would all so well to remember that the real victims of their conduct of recent years should be in Toronto this weekend preparing for the biggest week of their lives.

Conventional wisdom says the fourth one-day international at Old Trafford was one India would rather forget; it was a scrap India had got on top of by creeping under the skin of the opposition, and losing from there would have brought a sense of hopelessness. Yet it was also a game they can take a lot of heart from.For one hour in the field – the first period of the run-chase – India displayed more positives than they had over several hours in earlier games. This was, without a shadow of a doubt, their best effort on the field in a long while – throwing punches fearlessly, catching eagerly and mouthing off with abandon. Their ground fielding was only marginally better than earlier but the buzz was unmistakable. Led by Yuvraj Singh and Dinesh Karthik, the younger players took it upon themselves to pump up the volume and inject the side with much-needed energy.One moment, when Kevin Pietersen was new to the crease, summed up the high-voltage approach. Rahul Dravid, after a chat with the umpires, asked Yuvraj, at point, to cool off; Karthik, standing at cover, immediately came to his rescue and shot off an explanation. Nothing, not even their captain, was going to shut them up.Dravid too was more energised than in recent days. The modest total of 212 forced him to set attacking fields right through England’s innings and crucially Dravid did not hesitate to put men around the bat, providing the spinners all the support they could ask for.It was, as Nasser Hussain in the commentary box reiterated several times, the aggression India have been missing. They hardly landed up at Southampton and Edgbaston and even the victory at Bristol came with a sense of fatigue. Old Trafford may have thrown up an alternative path: with three matches to go, and the series almost out of their reach, India could transfer their aggression to the bat as well. Their batting, Bristol excepted, has been jaded and there cannot be a better time to start expressing themselves freely.”We came to 212 with some good contributions lower down the order from Zaheer [Khan] and Piyush [Chawla],” Dravid after Thursday’s match. “In the end, though, I thought we should have scrapped a lot harder and got to 240. That was certainly gettable.” A lower-order scrap would have got them there but what about a top-order breaking free of the shackles?

The line-up may still need tinkering – Karthik at No. 3 does not seem to be the answer – but it is the mindset that needs to change. India are approaching these games as if they are Tests, getting into their stride and building innings, but caution can only take you so far. That approach worked well in the Test series, gradually grinding out the opposition, but the one-day game demands a more proactive approach.Lively young men such as Karthik and Mahendra Singh Dhoni have pottered around at the crease. They are facing good bowlers on home turf but doing very little to rattle them. Up against a predominantly back-of-a-length attack they are finding it tough to break the shackles. Yuvraj’s clean-striking has been the most refreshing sight and he needs to be rewarded with a push up the order. Keeping him at No. 5 is only adding to his burden. It is this younger batch that will carry India through the next few years and into the next World Cup. Four or five of the current team will not be around for the event and it is up to the rest to form the nucleus of a side for the future. India are currently in no-man’s land, neither winning games nor building for the future, and run the risk of sliding further.It is time for the next generation to be thrown in the deep and told to back their aggressive instincts. The series might be decided in Headingley but India need to look at this as the start of a new chapter.

Taufeeq Umar will lead the PCB XI in the one-day warm-up match against the South Africans at the Bagh-e-Jinnah Ground in Lahore on October 16. The match precedes the five-match one-day series between South Africa and Pakistan, starting in Lahore on October 18.Taufeeq also captained Patron’s XI in the three-day tour match against the South Africans before the first Test. Three of the players included – middle-order batsman Naved Latif, legspinner Mansoor Amjad and batsman Shahid Yousuf – have also been picked for the Hong Kong Sixes, starting later this month.Zulqarnain Haider is considered by many to be Pakistan’s second-choice wicketkeeper, hot on the heels of Kamran Akmal, who has been struggling behind the stumps off late. The bowling attack comprises Rao Iftikhar Anjum, who has turned out for Pakistan, and Mohammad Irshad, a promising young fast bowler.PCB XI: Taufeeq Umar (capt), Babar Naeem, Shahid Yousuf, Bazid Khan, Naveed Latif, Ahmed Shahzad, Adnan Raza, Mansoor Amjad, Zulqarnain Haider (wk), Abdur Rauf, Rao Iftikhar Anjum, Mohammad Irshad, Umer Amin, Hafiz SaadCoach Aqib Javed, Team doctor Dr. Riaz

Stephen Fleming feels a policy to keep senior players uncertain of their places in the New Zealand side led to the retirements of Nathan Astle and Chris Cairns, reported the Sunday Star Times, quoting from Astle’s biography that will be released on Monday.”Fleming made it clear he was deeply dubious about the philosophy of keeping senior players uneasy, which he felt contributed to the demise of Cairns and Astle,” said Phil Gifford, a journalist who helped Astle write the book. Cairns retired in early 2006 months after having been left out of the side to tour South Africa while Astle retired in January 2007.In an extract from the book, Fleming said, “The emotional strain that was put on Nathan and Chris Cairns was never measured. These guys were working under unbelievable pressure to perform during a game with the axe hanging over them. I’ve always wondered, looking back at it, whether that time forced the retirement of Chris and then the retirement of Nathan.”Gifford also said that Fleming and Astle were concerned about the influence wielded by New Zealand’s high performance manager Ric Charlesworth. “The man Fleming and Nathan had issues with, at least as much as [coach] John Bracewell, was Ric Charlesworth,” Gifford said. “I got the impression Charlesworth had a reputation as the Darth Vader of New Zealand cricket, a man whose opinions, the players felt, held enormous sway with John Bracewell and New Zealand Cricket management in general.”Astle had been dropped from the one-day squad for the last two games of the series against Sri Lanka in late 2005, immediately after he had played a series-winning knock. He had then been told that his exclusion was part of New Zealand’s long-term planning.”At the heart of the Astle retirement was what happened when Nathan was dropped,” Gifford said. “He says that from the time he was dropped, and the mish-mash of reasons he was given, he was always struggling to stay enthused.”His approach, explained by himself and coaches, was that he played his best with a clear mind and no distractions. The Charlesworth era saw him show some good form but it was ultimately short-sighted, because it drove him out of the game.”Nathan’s well known for not having temper tantrums, and the tragedy for him and the team is that, while he was slowly burning at what was being done to him, John and everyone else in New Zealand Cricket took so long to realise he was being pushed out the door by them, not being re-energised and enthused.”Just why John read it so wrong is a complete mystery to me. Now the dust has settled the whole thing feels to me like an experiment in man management that could hardly have gone more wrong.”

Michael Vaughan believes England are ready to face Sri Lanka in thefirst Test at Kandy on Saturday, after watching his side dig deep fora five-wicket victory over the Sri Lanka Board President’s XI inColombo. At one stage in the game, England were facing embarrassmentafter being bowled out for a mere 134 in their first innings, but theyeventually won comfortably thanks to Matthew Hoggard’s five-wickethaul and a pair of fifties from Alastair Cook and Kevin Pietersen.Vaughan, who has toured Sri Lanka twice before – in 2000-01 and2003-04 – knows full well the value of a win on the subcontinent.”It’s always difficult in this part of the world, so this was a goodgame of cricket for us to win,” he said. “More importantly we feelwe’ve had a good amount of time out in the middle, whether it’sbowling or batting. We feel we’re in good spirits going into the firstTest.”How much of an impact this result has on the Tests remains to beseen,” he added. “But yesterday we were looking like losing, so tocome through and win shows a lot of character, which is a good signfor the team. We’d have liked a hundred in this game because therehasn’t been one on the trip so far, but everyone’s hitting the ballnicely and hopefully they are in good form.”England’s preparations have not been without their setbacks, andVaughan admitted that the back injury that ruled Steve Harmison out ofthe final two days was “disappointing”. He has managed just 16.3 oversin two matches since arriving in the country from South Africa, andremains a major doubt for the opening Test.Harmison was at least given the all-clear after undergoing a scan atthe local hospital, and had been scheduled to bat if needed. “We’regoing to monitor him over the next 48 hours,” said Vaughan. “Yesterdayhe was moving very gingerly, but today he was moving more freely andwas going to go in next, so that’s a good sign.”In the absence of both Harmison and James Anderson, it was left to theunlikely pairing of Hoggard and Ravi Bopara to rescue England’sfortunes. They did so quite dramatically, with Bopara’s performanceproving especially timely given England’s eagerness to find analternative allrounder to Andrew Flintoff.Vaughan, however, would not be drawn on the deliberations faced by theselectors in the coming days, especially as Bopara’s rival for the No.6 slot, Owais Shah, also had a good day with 33 not out. “Ravi’s had agood start to the trip, and he’s an exciting cricketer,” said Vaughan.”But Ace was out there at the end and that time in the middle will beinvaluable for him. The final eleven was always going to be a toughone, and that No. 6 position is going to be especially tough whicheverway we go.”Numbers 8 to 11 will also be a concern for England, as the tail didn’tmanage a run between them in the first innings. “It’s always somethingto worry about,” said Vaughan. “The guys are working hard in the nets,but facing Murali down the bottom end is always difficult. But we’vegot to try and get 20 wickets, and I think you have to go in with thefour bowlers who will get you those 20 wickets.”Run-scoring is sure to be hard for all batsmen in this series, notjust the tail, but Vaughan felt that the lessons learnt in the pastweek would help no end. “You need to be able to defend more out here,and you need your areas to score,” he said. “It’s a fine line forbatting in all conditions. Their attack is very experienced anddisciplined, so there will be times when it’s difficult to score, butI’m sure there’ll be times we can get on top of them.”

Dale Steyn and Brett Lee, who won the Man-of-the-Series awards in the recent clean sweeps for South Africa and Australia, have broken into the top five in the ICC player rankings for Test bowlers.Steyn dismantled the New Zealand batsmen with 20 wickets in two Tests, and has skyrocketed to third place in the list – he was ranked 28th before the start of the series. Lee is two places behind him in fifth, having finished with 16 wickets in the two Tests Australia played against Sri Lanka.Steyn’s team-mate Jacques Kallis is now one point away from Lee’s compatriot Ricky Ponting at the top of the list for Test batsmen. Kallis followed up his three hundreds in four innings against Pakistan with two more in three innings against New Zealand.The other mover in the top ten Test batsmen is Kumar Sangakkara, who jumped to third place – ahead of Mohammad Yousuf – on the back of his 57 and 192 in the second Test against Australia.

Ricky Ponting has warned administrators to remember the failed experiment of day-night first-class matches before trying the same thing in Tests. Cricket Australia is looking at the idea and wants to trial it within the next decade, but Ponting and Daniel Vettori hope the traditional format remains.Night matches were played in the Sheffield Shield from 1994-95 to 1998-99 and the struggle for runs under lights concerned Ponting. “It sounded great at the time, but everyone I’ve spoken to who played in those games found that they were pretty hard work, especially the batsmen,” Ponting said. “There’s colour of balls and all that sort of stuff that they have to get on top before they start entertaining the idea of day-night Test matches. The ball one would be one of the biggest issues I imagine.”James Sutherland, the Cricket Australia chief executive, is investigating the change in an effort to get a bigger television audience. Matches could be played from 3pm-10pm instead of the current schedule of 11am-6pm.Ponting said world captains have all been concerned about playing Tests under lights when the natural light starts to fade. “If they come up with appropriate measures to cope with a lot of things,” he said, “we will start entertaining the idea a bit more.”Vettori said he had trouble picking up the red ball at times during last month’s series in South Africa. “We had the lights put on about 4 o’clock and it made it hard,” he said. “Unless they change the colour of the ball I think it will be difficult.”Ian Chappell, who played in the day-night Supertests of World Series Cricket 30 years ago, said it was a good idea with one major handicap. “That’s the ball,” he said. “Until you fix that up, and can play 80 to 85 overs with it, you really can’t play. If the ball’s not right the integrity of the game becomes a bit of a problem.”Yellow ones were used in the Sheffield Shield competition for the first two seasons and were switched to orange when the players complained they lost them in the background of stadium seats. However, both types scuffed too easily and “behaved differently” to the red balls. The concept was introduced to attract more spectators but was dumped when the crowds were similar.

If you go down to the SCG on Saturday you’re sure of a big surprise (unless you’re already a women’s cricket follower). Because on show will be the Australian captain Karen Rolton, the vice-captain Lisa Sthalekar… in fact, most of the Australia players, who will be facing off in the state final, the highlight of the domestic season. And they’re promising exciting cricket.”The women’s game is changing now, you have to be stronger. Scores of 230, 240 aren’t going to really cut it, you have to keep striving to keep pushing for scores over 250,” says Sthalekar, the New South Wales Breakers captain who is aiming high against South Australia Scorpions, who are in their first final for a decade and hunting their first title since 1995.Rolton was playing then and is keen to win once more. “It’s been quite a while,” she smiles. “It would mean a lot to win, there’s been a lot of hard work over the years. It will be quite exciting, it will mean a great deal, and most of the girls haven’t been in a final so it’s all very exciting.”The Breakers, meanwhile, have been in every final for the last 11 years, winning nine of them. This year, they were defeated just once in the tournament, and are a well-oiled unit, beating the Scorpions twice in the opening round back in November at Bankstown Oval, by seven wickets and 25 runs. They secured a home final by coming top of the pile again.Despite sweeping all before them – their future looks bright too as they regularly scoop all the junior titles on offer, too – they remain motivated, focussed and committed. “There’s a culture of always winning and always striving to dominate but also raise the bar in women’s cricket,” says Sthalekar. “Our goal this year has been to play exciting cricket which we have done.”They’ve set the pace as the women’s game has developed well over the last few years, offering more entertainment in the form of hitting over the top and a few hostile bouncers – watch out for Ellyse Perry’s firebolts – alongside the usual skills of finesse.And a prediction for the weekend? Sthalekar believes that while the Scorpions have five match-winning players – Australia’s Rolton, Shelley Nitschke, Kris Britt and Emma Sampson, and England import Jenny Gunn (who actually plays for Sydney) – the Breakers will have the edge through strength in depth. “I was hoping we would meet them because I think they’re the two best teams. It’s going to be a tough challenge for us to get on top of them. I think we might have the depth and hopefully that will get us across the line. If we can stay with them ball-by-ball hopefully our talent will come across.””They may just have the edge,” Rolton concedes. “They’re a good all-round team and we’re developing into that, and our batters are on form. They’ve definitely got more experience but that doesn’t always mean a lot in the final. We’ve had our chances over the years and this is the best year we’ve had. We deserve to be there and we will give them a good run for their money.”Indeed, don’t write the Scorpions off. In Rolton they have the competition’s only centurion of the season, while Sampson is one of the fastest bowlers in the world. South Australia have maintained the side which beat Victoria in the last group round to seal their final spot, while adding Tegan McPharlin.The game, then, promises to be a tight one after some impressive showings from South Australia in their recent state matches, and they will be backed by a vocal band of loyal supporters. “It’s great,” says Rolton. “Our support is pretty good out of all the states. To get people over means a lot to us. It will be great to have some red tops on in the crowd, everyone appreciates the support.”Breakers head coach Richard Bates, in his first year in charge, said the team had prepared well. “The key has been making sure that the players are ready to go, mentally and physically, on Saturday morning and ready for the challenge,” he says. “It is going to be a terrific game. There are so many great players on both sides who are capable of match winning performances. No doubt it will be case of who puts their hand up when it matters and maybe who has a bit of luck too!”As for Scorpions’ preparations, “We’ve done nothing differently,” says Rolton. “The preparations have gone quite well. It’s been hard because last week was full-on, so we’ve had a bit of cricket. Everyone’s prepared well.”Get there if you can.New South Wales Lisa Sthalekar (capt), Alex Blackwell, Sarah Andrews, Charlotte Anneveld, Sarah Aley, Kate Blackwell, Leonie Coleman, Rene Farrell, Alyssa Healy, Lisa Kuschert, Ellyse Perry, Sharon Millanta, Leah Poulton.South Australia Julie Woerner, Karen Rolton (capt), Shelley Nitschke, Kris Britt, Leanne Davis, Jenny Gunn, Alicia Dean (wk), Cara Fiebig, Neisha Iles, Fiona McDonald, Stephanie Morrison, Emma Sampson, Tegan McPharlin.

Jason Gillespie has escaped with only minor injuries after an alleged assault outside a nightclub in the Victorian country town of Traralgon. Gillespie was part of the South Australia team that lost to Victoria in a one-day match in the town on Sunday and police said the incident occurred at about midnight that night.”Jason was on his own walking … it appears a couple of people targeted him,” the South Australia coach Mark Sorell told the . “But it seems like an isolated incident.”The paper reported that Gillespie might have suffered a fractured cheekbone, however the South Australia Cricket Association said he was not expected to miss any matches. Gillespie was treated in Melbourne and must now decide whether to pursue charges after reporting the matter to the police.”I can confirm we had an assault reported to us but we can’t confirm who may or may not be involved,” senior constable Eamon Leahy, of Traralgon Police, said. “The investigation is in its very early stages. At this stage the victim has asked that no information be released.”

New Zealand 213 for 6 (McCullum 77, Sidebottom 3-51) beat England 242 for 7 (Wright 47, Mills 4-36) by 34 runs (Duckworth-Lewis)
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

Last week, Brendon McCullum was the surprise package in the IPL auctions – today he batted like a cricketer with a million-dollar price tag. His superlative 77 from 43 balls ensured that New Zealand finished their five-match one-day series against England as they had begun it; with a thumpingly impressive victory. Had it not been for a late collapse of 3 for 1 in seven balls, and the even later invention of rain, this result would have been as comprehensive as New Zealand’s first two victories at Wellington and Hamilton. It really was that one-sided.England were off the pace throughout. They batted too slowly, bowled too naïvely, and fielded like a side resigned to defeat – four chances of varying degrees of difficulty were shelled while the game was still live, including a howler by Stuart Broad at third man when McCullum had made 31. New Zealand were led superbly in the field by Kyle Mills, who took 4 for 36 with two wickets in an eight-over burst with the new ball and two more with his offcutters in the death overs, but none of England’s bowlers seemed willing to follow his lead.James Anderson, once again, was especially culpable. He unleashed the Kiwi beast in his third over by serving up another diet of short wide long-hops that McCullum bludgeoned up and over the covers for two fours and a six. When he returned for a second burst at 75 for 0 in the tenth over, with his side in dire need of wickets, he was clobbered for three massive sixes in a row – the first, which was spectacularly caught in the second tier of the grandstand, took him to his fifty from just 27 balls.McCullum’s form in this series has been nothing short of sensational. He finished with 261 runs from 203 balls faced, and only once, at Auckland, did he fail to reach 40 – not surprisingly, that was the only game that New Zealand went on to lose. Once again he compiled a century stand with his new opening partner, Jesse Ryder, but on this occasion Ryder was little more than a bystander. By the time he was lucklessly run out for 24 from 32 balls, his partner had pummelled his way to 72 from 34.It was England’s captain, Paul Collingwood, who eventually ended McCullum’s stay. One ball after dropping a regulation return chance, he knocked back the off stump as McCullum attempted another heave through midwicket. But Jamie How, in the form of his life, responded with two sumptuous drives before the new batsman, Ross Taylor, got off the mark with consecutive edges for four. It was clear that nothing was going to stop New Zealand now.Well, almost nothing. Just as at Napier, England found a second wind at precisely the moment that everyone else had given up on them. Scott Styris was once again the unwitting catalyst, as he wellied an attempted pull to cover off the undeserving Anderson, before Ryan Sidebottom – very much in the zone – removed the debutant Daniel Flynn and the dangerous Jacob Oram with consecutive off-stump legcutters. At 198 for 6, there was a glimmer for England and they were convinced that Vettori had edged Anderson but Billy Bowden disagreed. Then came the mandatory ball change at the end of the 34th over, and the venom went out of their challenge as the rain began to fall.In truth, England scarcely deserved to get so close to victory. Batting first, their innings had been a mishmash of partially formed anchor roles, and all-too-brief cameos. Phil Mustard never got going, Ian Bell and Kevin Pietersen played themselves in then gave their wickets away in crass fashion – Bell to a lofted drive, a shot he had been playing exquisitely, and Pietersen to a second-ball mow off the spinner, Jeetan Patel.Alastair Cook seemed set to drop anchor for the full 50 overs when he missed a quicker one from Daniel Vettori, who also served up the ball of the innings to have Collingwood stumped for 14. Owais Shah was scratchy in a rare lengthy opportunity, and in the end England owed every ounce of their competitiveness to Luke Wright and Dimitri Mascarenhas, who belted six sixes between them as 81 runs were added in the final eight overs.Unfortunately for England, Wright and Mascarenhas’s ease of strokeplay was the norm for this wicket, not the exception. By the time McCullum was into his stride, there was no doubt about the outcome. England had done well to recover their poise after the humiliations of the opening two games, but the 3-1 series result still flatters them. There is much for Collingwood and his team to work on before the return one-day series in June.