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The Bangladesh Cricket Board has confirmed that Habibul Bashar will lead the side until the end of the World Cup next April.”We believe Bashar can lead the team well in the coming World Cup,” a senior board official told Reuters. Bashar said that he was happy with the board’s decision and that it would help him chalk out the plans for the World Cup.The announcement followed a meeting of the BCB in Dhaka at which a number of other issues were addressed.At the forefront of these was confirmation of the tour of Zimbabwe in December. The BCB said that they would play seven ODIs. The tentative schedule was for two matches to take place at Bogra, one at Khulna, two at Chittagong, two at Dhaka and a Twenty20 match, also at Dhaka. Mahmudur Rahman, the BCB’s CEO, said: “The venues at Dhaka have not been finalised but in all probability there could be one match at Mirpur and one at Fatullah.”The board also confirmed a previous resolution taken by the working committee condemning the incident in which a number of journalists were injured at Chittagong during the second Test between Bangladesh and Australia in April 2006.

Despite his matchwinning figures of 5 for 41, Brett Lee knows from experience that imperious one-day form is no guarantee of Test selection. A barnstorming run in New Zealand earlier this year didn’t secure a return then and, once bitten, twice shy, he was taking nothing for granted now.”Going back a few months in New Zealand – I was pretty disappointed I missed out,” Lee told journalists at Lord’s. “I have put that right behind me now and I’m not worried about looking to the future right now. I’m going to focus on one thing right now, and that’s we’ve got one more game left.”I will do anything possible to get out there and play for Australia,” he added. “I am not looking too far ahead. If I get that call to be in the eleven on July 21, I will be over the moon, but I am not looking too far forward.”Lee’s captain, Ricky Ponting, was giving little away either. “He bowled well leading up to the Test series in New Zealand as well and didn’t get picked. Right from the start of this tour he’s done all he can and I know he will keep doing that. He has given himself the best chance.”Ponting was more forthcoming on the subject of Jason Gillespie – whose one England wicket this season has come at the cost of 252 runs. Gillespie fared no better at Lord’s today, his seven wicketless overscost 42. “He will be the first to admit he is down on confidence at the moment,” said Ponting. “Andrew Flintoff is the one that got into him most today.”He added the conditions at Headingley were a factor in their nine-wicket defeat there, but he had no complaints this time under blue skies at Lord’s, on what he considered to be a better wicket. “This is the best wicket we have played on so far.”Ponting, in fact, has never lost a match at Lord’s, and was surprised that it had been chosen as the venue for the first Test. “To have the first Test at Lord’s is great,” he said with an eye on the psychological high ground. “Australia have a great record here. I think it will be an advantage for us.”The new one-day regulations give a distinct advantage to the side bowling first, but Ponting insisted that they had had no bearing on his decision. “We upset England by bowling first,” he claimed. “They like to bowl first: they have made that pretty clear, and I was more than happy chasing that total today.”Matthew Hayden was absent injured for this match, butPonting confirmed that he was expected to play in theTests, although he may sit out at The Oval. “He’s inpain and struggling but I had a good look at him inthe nets yesterday. I know he has had treatment.Michael Vaughan was in understandably sombre moodafter the defeat. He revealed little at the press conference,but he did say that England are still very much in thereckoning for the NatWest Challenge trophy after theirwin at Headingley. “We just need the same intensity onTuesday,” he said, “and we may win a trophy.”

After last weekend’s successful staging of the US Western and Eastern Conferences at Plano (Texas), the launch of American ProCricket’s official season at Richmond Bank Ballpark on July 2 was an eagerly anticipated. The overall verdict: pretty good for an inaugural event, with a glitch that will hopefully be resolved with time and experience.The glitch, curiously enough, had little to do with cricket, and more with the technology being improvised for the inauguration. It appears that the camera-bearing stumps, ubiquitous in international Tests and ODIs, were somehow left behind, and had to be installed before the match could start — an understandable oversight, given the fact that this was the first time they were to be deployed in the USA. However, this caused a one-hour delay, and there was some grumbling from the spectators who had to cool their heels, with beer providing the appropriate antidote.Once the match started, there were few problems — the contest between New York and Florida was entertaining if one sided, as Florida coasted to an easy win.NY, with Tusar Arothe, Merv Dillon and Larry Gomes (the latter hastily drafted in when he was found to be in New York) as their international players, batted first and scored 88 in 19.2 overs. Florida had been considered the strongest team in the League, with Wavell Hinds and Darren Ganga (West Indies), Colin Miller (Australia) and Brighton Mutumbwa (Zimbabwe) as the Florida international players. They lived up to that reputation by scoring the needed runs in 12 overs, with Hinds peppering the boundaries with fours and sixes.The American Pro Cricket games are being played in professional minor league stadiums under floodlights, and the Richmond Bank Ball Park was no exception. The official paid attendance, as reported by the independent stadium management, was over a thousand spectators. There was music, lights and 16 TV cameras (including the stump cameras), which captured every move on the field, with replays on the stadium widescreen. While familiar to spectators overseas, this was the first time they had all been used in North American cricket, and constituted an eventful launch for ProCricket.So, how did this game appear to that all-important person, the American spectator with no prior experience of the game? Here is an edited first-person account, from an admitted cricket rookie:”So I ventured out to watch the first ever pro cricket game in the USA. As a rookie to cricket, I was full of excitement.Fast’n’Furious is the motto of the league. Well, they had the furious part right away, the game started 57 minutes late because someone forgot to bring the wickets… no joke. Now the Fast part, that would be Florida’s batting and how fast it took them to get beat NY, 12 overs only.Back to the game, NY [were] really really bad. Their batting was mediocre, and their running seemed to be coached by a blind man. Countless times they were run out for miscommunications.The crowd? Not bad, louder than last game and …more as well… They also seemed a bit drunker (what else was everyone supposed to do besides drink for a 55-minute game delay?)Will I go to more games to watch my local NY Storm? Sure, I will probably go again, but after watching NY play twice, it seems like they will be the Gold Coast Seagulls [a defunct team from NY] of the ProCricket League – people will show up to watch the other teams do good.Final thought– not a bad time, got to see some cricket in a stadium in NYC, which could never be a bad thing. A good experience overall, I hope people will give this league a chance. “An interesting footnote: ProCricket is said to be offering the local leagues and the local teams 50% of their gate revenues in exchange for allowing their best players to play in the Pro Cricket tournament. It is an indication that ProCricket is serious about establishing itself among US cricketers as a bona fide alternative to ICC – and USACA – sponsored international cricket, and time will show if their strategy will be successful.

Sri Lanka’s batsmen, faced with New Zealand’s daunting 515 for 7, sparkled in the morning, wobbled in the afternoon and consolidated in the evening. When a thunderstorm forced a premature close for the second consecutive day, they were comfortably placed on 267 for 4.With a double strike soon after lunch, Sri Lanka were in danger of following on, but an unbroken fifth-wicket stand worth 133 runs between Hashan Tillakaratne, used to such rearguard action, and Mahela Jayawardene, who needed to make up for his horrendous dropped catches yesterday, gave them a fighting chance of saving the game.Having negotiated a testing spell from Shane Bond, New Zealand’s most penetrative bowler, Tillakaratne and Jayawardene settled down and were rarely troubled in the evening. Jayawardene put his dismal World Cup form to bed, easing his way to his 17th fifty, finishing the day on 58 not out. Tillakaratne, who came agonisingly close to being trapped lbw when padding up to Darryl Tuffey late on, was unbeaten on 71, his 19th half-century in Tests.Sri Lanka were not out of trouble yet, but assuming that they score the 49 runs needed to avoid the follow on, they would expect to bat out the final day on a featherhead surface still offering the bowlers scant assistance. The first priority tomorrow will be seeing off the second new ball, which was taken minutes before the rain. Even if they did collapse spectacularly, Stephen Fleming may be forced to bat again to refresh his tired bowlers.After their disastrous two overs on Saturday evening, when Marvan Atapattu had been dubiously adjudged lbw to the fifth ball of the innings, Sri Lanka had made a spirited start to the fourth day. Chaminda Vaas, the nightwatchman, scored just 4 before edging to Fleming at first slip, but Kumar Sangakkara and Sanath Jayasuriya then rallied, adding 103 from 184 balls for the third wicket.Sangakkara, freed from the exhausting burden of keeping wicket, was especially impressive. Aggressive from the outset, he kick-started his innings with a flurry of early boundaries off Bond. He should have been dismissed early, but the New Zealand catching was nearly as shoddy as Sri Lanka’s on the previous two days. Bond missed a low return catch when Sangakkara mistimed a punched drive on 11 and Fleming grassed a low chance at slip off Jacob Oram when on 23.Undeterred, Sangakkara remained positive, greeting Daniel Vettori’s introduction with another string of boundaries. Aware that Vettori represented a key threat, Sangakkara disturbed his length, driving through the covers when full and sweeping in front of square when Vettori pulled back. He breezed to his tenth Test fifty off just 73 balls.Jayasuriya – now back opening the innings after a failed experiment in the middle order during the last tour to South Africa – was slow in comparison but certainly no slouch. Characteristically strong through the off side, he completed his 23rd Test fifty in the last over after lunch.Going into lunch on 114 for 2, Sri Lanka were well positioned. The pitch – slow and flat – held few fears and clear blue skies offered little encouragement for New Zealand’s pace bowlers. However, the cruel dismissal of Jayasuriya, who was bowled for 50, swung the initiative back to the visitors. Playing defensively, Jayasuriya jabbed down at a short delivery from Bond only to watch in horror as the ball bounced back over his head to neatly dislodge his leg-stump bail. (114 for 3).Shortly afterwards, Sri Lanka slipped deeper into the mire when Sangakkara pressed the self-destruct button. Over eager to attack the offspin of Paul Wiseman, he walloped two straight boundaries but perished when aiming an expansive legside swat. The ball spun, took the leading edge and Oram held a fine catch running backwards from extra cover (134 for 4).Bond, who troubled the batsman with his extra pace, finishing the day with 2 for 64, dominated the New Zealand bowling. Darryl Tuffey, his new-ball partner, and Oram were tight but rarely threatening. Wiseman’s best moment was the dismissal of Sangakkara while Vettori toiled away for 21 overs without success.

Since the conclusion of the Edgbaston Test Match the lads really haven’thad much time off to speak of. Apart from the day at the Wimbledon Men’sSingles final, we’ve trained and, of course, had our tour match againstSomerset at Taunton.During that tour game, Tugga (Steve Waugh), Warney and Pidgeon (McGrath) spent some time with their families away from the team. This was a good thing as it gives these guys time with their families and away from cricket to recharge the batteries for the battle ahead.At different stages of the tour, all the lads will have this opportunity.The team currently has a footy tipping competition covering both the AussieRules and National Rugby League. For reasons unknown to all and in a quitemind-boggling result to date, our fitness guru, Jock Campbell, has raced awayinto the lead.The boys think he is sabotaging the count! Poor old Alfie Langer isbringing up the rear and there is an even spread between the two lads.The Poms are shattered about the rugby and we have heard every excuse underthe sun as to why they have lost.It has been given huge coverage in all the papers here with the scribesblaming injuries and bad scheduling as reasons (the public who come up andspeak to us about it) but I think that they were just beaten by a betterteam! After all they did have their chances too!With the tight schedule, haven’t had a chance to see my South Australianskipper Darren “Boof” Lehmann, but we saw Redback teammate Greg Blewett atour one-dayer versus Pakistan at Trent Bridge.All the lads hope to catch up with them a bit later in the tour.We are all in London now for the Lord’s Test and I am expecting anothersleepless night. The good news is that Haydos, Slats and Binger (Lee) are all fit so with that news I hope we can nail the Poms and go two-nil up.

The ICC has received a copy of the match referee’s report on the Kanpur pitch and is now waiting for a response from the Indian board on the same. But the BCCI played down the issue of what Mickey Arthur, the South African coach, called a “poor cricket wicket”.”It’s a normal process where the match referee submits a pitch report to the ICC at the end of the match, a copy of which is also given to the board,” said Ratnakar Shetty, the board’s chief administrative officer.South Africa beat India by an innings and 90 runs in Ahmedabad on a bouncy track but lost the Kanpur Test by eight wickets after their batting line-up crumbled on an under-prepared surface. Both matches ended in three days.”This is not the first time that a match ended in three days,” Shetty said. “Definitely there were suggestions for some corrective measures but I don’t think it was a notice to the BCCI.”Malcolm Speed, the ICC chief executive, said a letter had been sent to the BCCI seeking an explanation on the pitch.

Ray Mali, the Cricket South Africa president, has been appointed acting president of the International Cricket Council following the death of Percy Sonn in May. Mali will assume the role of acting president with immediate effect and in so doing he steps down as president of CSA, also with immediate effect.Mali, who has been president of CSA since 2003, will remain in office until the ICC’s annual conference in 2008. CSA was asked to make a nomination in line with a recommendation made by the ICC’s Governance Review Committee (GRC) after its meeting in Cape Town on June 1.”I take this assignment as an honour and a big challenge,” said Mali. “I feel lucky to be taking over at a time when the game is in such good shape. With the inaugural World Twenty20 event just round the corner, I want all South Africans to come out and show their support for it. I strongly believe that the use of this shortened format of cricket is one of the ways to take this game forward.”Malcolm Speed, the ICC chief executive, supported Mali’s appointment. “Ray is an experienced and skilled administrator, a man of calm assurance and someone who combines a deep love of the game with an understanding of how best to secure its well-being.”

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.”