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The West Indies Players Association (WIPA) have accused the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) of once more acting in bad faith by failing to have in place required retainer contracts (RCs) for players of the West Indies. In the view of WIPA this is a most “disappointing development” since, as reliably learnt yesterday, there have been frequent reminders by the Association to the WICB’s management.Ken Gordon, President of the WICB, was unavailable for comment either at home or at the Board’s office in Port-of-Spain. He is reported to be attending the football World Cup in Germany. But reached by phone in St Lucia, where he is attending the second test between West Indies and India, Dinanath Ramnarine, WIPA’s president and chief executive officer, confirmed that the players were “still, most regrettably and unnecessarily”, without retainer match or tour contracts.Ramnarine said that at this stage he preferred not to “deal with the problem in any detail” until the WICB has had the opportunity to give a response to WIPA’s “latest reminder to honour commitments we had accepted in good faith…commitments that are yet to be realised to the players who are making commendable efforts on the field, as shown against Zimbabwe and now in the duel with India”.

For some time, rumours have been circulating that all is not well within Team USA, and that the squad was not a happy place to be during the recent Champions Trophy in England.The man at the eye of the storm is Imran Awan, a fast bowler, who was replaced shortly after the USA arrived in the UK. The press release at the time cited “special circumstances” rather than injury as the reason for his early return home.Various reports have been circulating as to the circumstances which led to his replacement, most of them based on unsubstantiated rumour. But there does appear to have been a row of some kind when the squad were in Jamaica ahead of the tournament.A source close to the USA board said that a decision was made to deal with the matter after the side returned home. But Charlie Javed, a board member and part of the official tour party, insisted that the incident be addressed there and then. Awan returned home, but no mention was made on the official USACA website and details remain sketchy. Probably because of the vagueness of information, rumours have abounded ever since.The USACA are known to be concerned with the entire process and has said that it will look into all allegations, however spurious they might seem. But an unnamed official added that this was a complicated and sensitive issue, and would have to be handled with appropriate delicacy.At a time when the future of cricket in the USA is under the spotlight, this distraction is unwelcome and needs to be put to bed as soon, and as transparently, as possible.

Tim Lamb, the chief executive of the England & Wales Cricket Board, has announced that he is standing down. He will be leaving Lord’s in September, after eight years in the job.His position had been weakened by the continuing confusion over England’s planned tour of Zimbabwe later this year, and there had been signs that he had lost the support of the counties who make up the ECB. There had been intense media speculation since a story in Tuesday’s Daily Mail which stated that he would be leaving.Lamb, 51, said today: “I feel that after nearly eight years in the role I have probably taken the ECB as far as I can. As the organisation moves into the next phase of its development with a revised strategic plan and new challenges to face, it’s time to move on and hand over the reins to someone else.”I have been privileged to be the first chief executive of ECB following its creation as the single national governing body for cricket in England and Wales back in January 1997, and I am very proud of the Board’s many and varied achievements since that time. I believe that cricket as a sport has a new vibrancy about it and has taken some significant steps forward at all levels in recent years. I hope that’s the generally held view among those who follow and support the game.”Looking back on his years in charge, Lamb reflected: “It’s a high-intensity role that has demanded my total focus and commitment for a considerable period of time now. Sometimes, if you’re not careful, the job can almost take over your life completely, and inevitably there have been sacrifices that have needed to be made from both a personal and a family point of view.”I still feel that I have plenty to offer, but I think now is the time to stand aside before I risk losing any of my motivation or enthusiasm. There are some important tasks to complete over the next four months, including the delivery of a world-class ICC Champions Trophy tournament on behalf of the international community in September. Then I shall feel ready to move on and let others build on what has been started.”David Morgan, the ECB chairman, added: “It has been a privilege to work with Tim in the establishment and subsequent development of the single governing body for cricket in England and Wales, and he will also be missed by those in the international cricket community where he has performed with distinction over the last decade.”

The Nine Network will broadcast live Australia’s matches in the SuperSix series of the 2003 Cricket World Cup.The Nine Network will also screen both World Cup semi-finals live onTuesday, March 18 from 7.00pm and on Thursday, March 20 from 11.30pm, aswell as the World Cup Final on Sunday, March 23 from 7.00pm.Times shown for Sydney and Melbourne. Please check your local guide.Friday, March 7: 7.00pm to 2.45am – Australia v Sri LankaSaturday, March 8: 11.40pm to 2.45am – Zimbabwe v New Zealand (secondsession only)Tuesday, March 11: 7.00pm to 2.45am – Australia v New ZealandFriday, March 14: 11.40pm to 2.45am – India v New Zealand (secondsession only)Saturday, March 15: 11.15pm to 7.15am – Australia v KenyaTuesday, March 18: 7.00pm to 2.45am – First Semi-finalThursday, March 20: 11.30pm to 7.15am – Second Semi-finalSunday, March 23: 7.00pm to 2.45am – World Cup Final

Yorkshire had to settle for 10 points from a draw as the weather ruined the prospect of a good finish against Northamptonshire at Wantage Road.The visitors needed 243 for victory going into the final day’s play, and had reached 10-1 from 7.4 overs when rain halted proceedings at 11.35am.Conditions failed to improve, and the match was duly abandoned after an early tea at 3.30pm.The Northants spinners, Jason Brown and Graeme Swann, were expected to find some last-day assistance in the pitch, but it was the seamers who enjoyed themselves at the start.Paul Taylor and Michael Strong were both able to swing the new ball under heavy, overcast skies, and Taylor struck an early blow when he trapped Matthew Wood leg-before with 2 on the board.Scott Richardson and Michael Lumb were at the crease when the rain started, and despite the draw Yorkshire are still 33 points clear of their nearest challengers Somerset at the top of Division One.For their part, Northants are still without a Championship win this season as they battle to avoid relegation.

Derbyshire are bracing themselves for the loss of Wavell Hinds after he took his place in the latest Indian Cricket League event.Hinds was signed as a Kolpak player, but because he has played first-class cricket in another country within the last 12 months and is a new recruit by Derbyshire the club believe they are going to encounter problems over his registration. Hinds hit a half century in his first ICL outing on Sunday.”We think we may have trouble keeping Wavell,” Tom Sears, the chief executive, told . “We are waiting for clarification from the ECB, but because he played in West Indies it could be a stumbling block.”Other Kolpak signings around the county circuit, such as Murray Goodwin at Sussex and Dale Benkenstein at Durham, are not expected to have a problem because they were with their respective counties before the ICL began.However, Derbyshire haven’t given up on still having the services of Mahela Jayawardene even though he is part of the Indian Premier League and Sri Lanka have a full international calendar. Jayawardene was due to arrive after Sri Lanka’s tour of West Indies, but there is now the prospect of the Asia Cup.”We are waiting to hear Mahela’s commitments,” said Sears. “There’s talk of the Asia Cup but we aren’t sure when. We are still keen to have him here and Mahela is keen to play for us. It all depends whether it’s worthwhile for both parties.”Unlike some counties, though, who face a last-minute scramble to find overseas cover Derbyshire are well placed in that department with Chris Rogers, the Australian opener, on their staff for the whole season. He was due to replace Jayawardene later in the season, but could now slot in at an earlier stage.”We have planned ahead for this situation,” Sears added, “so we have good cover for whatever happens.”

Former captains and coaches Intikhab Alam and Javed Miandad have refused to apply for the position of Pakistan’s coach which is being advertised on Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) website. The advert was placed last week as PCB started the hunt for the vacant position caused by the death of Bob Woolmer during the World Cup.Intikhab criticised PCB’s method of advertising for the post and said that it was a technical position and putting it through the website was not the best method.”It is not a post like that of chief executive or a director or general manager but a totally specialised one and there is no chance that I would stand in a queue to offer my services for the job,” Intikhab, the World Cup winning coach-cum-manager, told . “The PCB should have an efficient database of the experienced candidates in the country for coaching job and they should be approached according to their credentials.”Miandad, who has been appointed as the coach on no less than three occasions, agreed with Intikhab’s remarks and termed the advert as a casual approach towards the game by the PCB.”Since the PCB’s only major criterion for the job is first class cricket experience, there will be at least a thousand applicants for the job I should imagine,” Miandad told . “And I wonder how the board intends to judge their credentials.””There is no need to go on the website, it would only create a mess,” he said. “Soon after the World Cup debacle, there were some caricatures of PCB officials in national dailies which showed their desperate attempt to find a new captain through ads. This week, the PCB has done exactly that with the coach’s post. Under such circumstances, I am not willing to offer my services to the board, not at any cost.”

Stephen Harmison, the England fast bowler, says he is all geared up for the Twenty20 clash against Sri Lanka at Hampshire’s Rose Bowl today. Back from a shin injury that sidelined him for several months, Harmison admitted he was confident that England’s recent injury woes had increased the team’s selection options.”The one thing we need is competition…we have always had a good 11 players but then if we have lost two or three players it has weakened the side, but now we have got all bases covered,” he told . “I think Duncan has got an A and B team covering nearly one to 11. He has got one-to-11 A side and one-to-10 B side because I don’t think you can ever replace Andrew Flintoff, but everybody else he’s got cover for which is what we want.”Harmison made his first appearance in England colours since March during a 38-run win over Ireland in Belfast on Tuesday and picked up 3 for 58. Despite conceding eight wides, Harmison said he could be a key factor in the five-match contest beginning on June 17. “I was flying in [against Ireland] and the ball didn’t go where I wanted it to go, but I still felt if I bowled quick enough the batsmen would struggle to handle the pace as other international batsmen could,” he said. “I’m just looking forward to playing if it’s against Sri Lanka, Pakistan or whoever I’m playing against for Durham. I just want to go out there and play a game of cricket. I’ve spent a bit of time on my backside watching television and shouting at the TV when England were playing Sri Lanka. Now I’ve got the chance to do what I do best and that’s to bowl for England.”Today’s Twenty20 fixture has been delayed so fans at the Rose Bowl can watch, on a giant screen, England’s second World Cup football match, against Trinidad and Tobago.Harmison hoped that England could repeat last year’s Twenty20 triumph over Australia here, a 100-run win that set the tone for the subsequent Ashes series, despite the distraction of the football. “Last year was a bit different because it was against Australia, but it’s the same situation because if you go well it takes you into the one-day series,” he said. “We’ll do our preparation and do what we have to do, but we’ll still be supporting England.”

Brett Lee has admitted his embarrassment at unleashing another 90mph beamer, this time at Marcus Trescothick during the NatWest Series final at Lord’s on Saturday.Lee was slammed after bowling a beamer to New Zealand’s Brendon McCullum earlier in the year and, although he apologised after sending Trescothick sprawling early on in England’s innings, questions were again raised.”It is something I am not proud of – I am embarrassed about the whole thing,” Lee told BBC Sport afterwards. “When you are bowling at such a high velocity and trying to get momentum through the crease, and try to bowl a yorker, you only look at a slight variation in your trajectory to the wicket.”I went up there and apologised straight away,” Lee added. “It took me a couple of balls to get over it. You are under a lot of pressure to do well for your country and your team-mates and to have another distraction thrown at you is quite tough.”Ricky Ponting also leapt to the defence of his bowler. “It knocked the confidence out of him straight away. If you look at him after that beamer that he bowled, he’s holding back and [bowling] within himself immediately after that because he just can’t keep his front foot [from slipping].”I’m not trying to defend it or anything, but if you could slow it down and have a look at his front foot you’d understand he’s slipping a lot. There didn’t seem to be any hard feelings out on the ground. Trescothick accepted the apology and everyone got on with it from there.”At the time of the incident with McCullum, Peter Roebuck, in his syndicated column, called for Lee to be sent home from New Zealand. “His beamer was merely the latest in a series of violent deliveries sent down by a pace bowler at best reckless in his approach and at worst utterly unwilling to remain within long-accepted parameters governing conduct on the cricket field,” he fumed. “If Australia’s captain, coach and manager did not have sharp words with Lee after the match then they stand in dereliction of their duties.”

Runako Morton, the former West Indian middle order batsman, has escaped with only a reprimand following a charge of stabbing his cousin. Morton admitted that he had stabbed his cousin in the chest in January this year following a family dispute. He appeared before a court in Charlestown, a small town in the island of Nevis, where the magistrate decided to let him off with only a reprimand.It isn’t the first time that the 25-year-old Morton has had a tiff with the authorities. In 2001 he was expelled from the West Indian Academy for a series of regulation breaches. Then, in the Champions Trophy in September 2002, he withdrew from the West Indian squad citing the death of his grandmother. It later turned out that one of his grandmothers had been dead for 16 years, and the other was still alive.His various disciplinary problems have meant that Morton has played just two one-day internationals, and 34 first-class matches – for Leeward Islands – in six years.