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New Zealand’s advance to the semi-finals stage of India’s Buchi Babu tournament is not the only reason coach Ashley Ross is happy.A deliberate pre-tour scheme to develop the skill of reverse swing among the side’s bowlers has borne early fruit.”We worked on it at the pre-tour training camp, looking at the mechanics of what is involved and have worked on it here,” he told CricInfo from Chennai today.”None of this is about working on the rough side of the ball, it’s all about preparing the good side and looking after its shine,” he said.Chris Drum, Shane Bond and Kyle Mills have all been producing significant reverse swing but the most memorable efforts came from Jacob Oram yesterday.”Jacob bowled two amazing reverse swing deliveries within three overs, one of which the batsman left only to see the wicket knocked out of the ground. He hit the stumps twice at vital times in the game.”We have a new toy and we will be continuing to work on the skills,” he said.Ross said he would be passing on the information and strategy to new CLEAR Black Caps coach Denis Aberhart for New Zealand to consider when touring Pakistan next month.”We will have to make sure we execute the skill with accuracy. It is a huge change in bowlers’ mentalities.”Ross has been delighted with the way the players have adjusted to the conditions in the tournament.The first game, which ended as a close first innings contest, had been the first game of the season for most of the players involved and they had responded well, especially when under pressure on the last day.While the scores were very close, New Zealand was also under a penalty threat as a result of its over rate and for a time was in danger of losing the game as the result of a mathematical imposition due to the over rate.”We were very focused in what we had to do and under trying conditions the guys never faltered,” he said.Seeing Matthew Horne celebrate his return to top play by scoring a century was satisfying, although Ross said the side had probably not helped its overall batting performance by trying to score a little too quickly for the conditions.The last wicket stand between Bond and Drum had been the matchwinner.”Shane used his feet well and was hitting the spinners into gaps for twos and their 56 runs was the difference,” he said.That first game had been the hardest of the two the side had played because of the requirement to adapt but the side had taken on board the lessons from their Indian opponents and applied them in the second game.Team captain Matthew Bell had batted for long periods in both games. Ross estimated that of New Zealand’s total batting time in the two games, Bell would have spent 60% of the time in the middle.Hamish Marshall, who scored two centuries at the same ground in last year’s tournament, added a third in the most recent game to make it three out of three.”The interesting thing this time was that after both his centuries last year he suffered heat stroke but he had no problems this time,” he said.The spin bowlers had been doing well and Ross was pleased with the way leg spinner Brooke Walker bowled in the most recent game, while Glen Sulzberger with his five wicket bag yesterday had picked up eight wickets in the tournament to date.Ross wasn’t concerned by Test opener Mark Richardson’s failure to get among the runs in the two games.”He nicked two good deliveries and got out. I’m backing him to make a big contribution in the next two games,” he said.”It was nothing outside his game plan that caused the problem,” he said.Ross was pleased with the spirit that has emerged in the team. After the first game an optional training run saw 12 of the 14 players take part. He didn’t expect so many at today’s optional run.And the social committee’s suggestion of a Le Mans-style Tuktuk race to the team dinner about 30 minutes from the team’s hotel had produced some sensational driving from the drivers who were on a 100 rupee bonus to get their passengers first to the dinner.Ross reported the side had no injury or illness problems.

Legspinner Karn Sharma has been ruled out of India’s tour of Zimbabwe due to a fractured finger in his left hand. The BCCI said there would not be a replacement, which means India will now have only 14 players to pick from for the three ODIs and two T20s.”It is unfortunate for Karn that he had to miss out because of injury,” India captain Ajinkya Rahane said. “He was a crucial part of our team.”Rahane said the reduction in squad strength didn’t make selection any easier. “It is not easy as a captain to select 11 players because all the players in the squad are equally important for the captain and it is really challenging to pick the best 11.”Karn had played the fourth and fifth ODIs of the home series against Sri Lanka in November last year, taking no wickets for 125 runs in 19 overs. His unavailability leaves India with only two spin options – offspinner Harbhajan Singh and left-armer Axar Patel – for the series in Zimbabwe.India depart for Harare on July 7 and are scheduled to play ODIs on July 10, 12 and 14, followed by Twenty20 internationals on July 17 and 19. Rahane was named captain of a second-string squad that was missing MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina, R Ashwin, Shikhar Dhawan and Umesh Yadav.Revised squad: Ajinkya Rahane (capt), M Vijay, Ambati Rayudu, Manoj Tiwary, Kedar Jadhav, Robin Uthappa, Manish Pandey, Harbhajan Singh, Axar Patel, Dhawal Kulkarni, Stuart Binny, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohit Sharma, Sandeep Sharma

The BCCI’s objection to the ICC’s assessment of the Nagpur pitch is that there are “inconsistencies” in the match referee’s report, and the board unanimously stands behind the surface.According to a top BCCI official, the assessment that the Nagpur pitch was “poor” was not right, and that the BCCI was going to contest it strongly. “The report says the ball ‘spun’ on day one,” he said on the sidelines of the IPL Governing Council meeting in Delhi. “It says ‘excessive turn’ only for day three.” However, it is worth noting that the ICC’s guidelines on what qualifies as a poor pitch is “excessive assistance to spin bowlers, “, and not just early in the match.The officials present at the meeting were vehement in their support of the pitch, whose excessive turn, variable bounce and pace had come in for criticism from various quarters. “Excessive turn is subjective,” the official said. “It depends on how the bowler uses it. I don’t think there was anything wrong with the surface.”The ICC informed the BCCI on December 1 that Jeff Crowe, the match referee, in consultation with the umpires, had rated the pitch poor. The BCCI had 14 days to respond after which Geoff Allardice, ICC”s general manager of cricket, and Ranjan Madugalle, its chief match referee, will consider all evidence, including video footage of the match, before deciding if the pitch was indeed poor.If found to be poor, the penalties range from a warning and/or a fine of $15,000 with a directive to institute corrective measures.Another official said the worst-case scenario will be a warning from the ICC, but insisted there was nothing wrong with the pitch. “Early turn is a new concept to them [the batsmen],” he said. “Maybe they are not used to it, but it would have been a problem only if the pitch had been dangerous.”

The not so merry-go-round of West Indies cricket continues later this month when the leadership of the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) changes yet again at the annual general meeting. The president, Ken Gordon, resigns after two years of “moderate success and devastating failure”, to exactly quote the words seven years ago of another leader of West Indies cricket, if in a slightly different context.Val Banks, the Anguillan banker who has been a virtually anonymous vice-president for the past decade, is also stepping down.Gordon, the 77-year-old Trinidadian media executive and one-time cabinet minister, was a complete outsider with no previous experience in cricket administration when he replaced Teddy Griffith in 2005. He followed others who did have the seeming benefit of such a background-Pat Rousseau, Wes Hall, Griffith – but who were all overwhelmed by the peculiar problems of the most prominent position in the small cricket-playing territories of the Caribbean.As the only nomination, his successor as the fifth president in ten years will be Julian Hunte whose vice-president will be Wycliffe “Dave” Cameron, also the only candidate.Given that the interim report from the committee, created by Gordon and headed by retired Jamaica Prime Minister PJ Patterson to recommend structural changes to the WICB, is to be presented this weekend, the new president and his deputy are likely to head a very different organisation to the one to which they are accustomed. Yet the essentials will remain the same.Hunte and Cameron are from different backgrounds, different generations. Hunte, 67, brings with him a long and impressive c.v as head of his own company, politician, trade unionist and diplomat in his native St Lucia. Cameron, a Jamaican several years his junior, is a self-made businessman.Both have served as executives on the WICB. Hunte was a fixture for more than a quarter-century, rising to vice-president and representative at the International Cricket Council (ICC) before he left in 1998 to take up a post as St Lucia’s representative at the United Nations where he had a term as president of the General Assembly.As one of Jamaica’s two directors, Cameron is head of the marketing committee. Since Hunte has been out of the loop for the past decade, his return is very much a case of back to the future, especially at a time when the talk is of a “new beginning” for the board. Yet, on the back of his varied career, he brings a reputation as a pragmatist and a problem-solver, significant qualifications in two of the most pressing issues, straightening out the WICB’s relations with the West Indies Players Association (WIPA) and those with the Stanford organisation.Hunte is astute enough to know from Gordon’s tenure that he needs to leave cricketing decisions to the eminent cricketers who are placed on the cricket committee and the selection panel for just such a purpose.

Gordon’s most positive legacy was his immediate curb on the spending spree within the organisation that bumped up the WICB’s already sizeable debt. Under his guidance, the board’s finances are in far better shape than they were.But he ran himself into trouble when he delved into cricket matters, specifically over the appointment of Brian Lara for his third stint as captain and the initial rejection of the selectors’ choice of Chris Gayle as limited-overs skipper that was followed by the embarrassment of having to reinstate him.One of Hunte’s immediate tasks, and that of the new chief executive Bruce Aanensen, is to sort out the mess that, based on reports from those in the know, the secretariat in St John’s has become. There has been such a turnover of staff in all departments that some key files and documents cannot be located and proper procedures do not appear to have been followed. It is no wonder even basic tasks end up as blunders.The public attitude towards the WICB has hardened with every gaffe, every intervention into issues of cricket by one of its unqualified operatives and, ultimately, every defeat. It has been correctly captured in the advice in Dave Martin’s new calypso for it to “take a rest”.Hunte and, to a lesser extent, Cameron will be carefully watched and harshly judged. Cameron is less well known in cricket circles than Hunte and he does carry some unwelcome baggage. The Lucky Report into the contentious switch of sponsorship from Cable & Wireless to Digicel, commissioned by the WICB two years ago, found that the Kensington Club, of which Cameron was president, had benefited from Digicel’s financial help in renovations to its facilities.Cameron explained that he had approached both Cable & Wireless and Digicel for sponsorship and only the latter agreed. Such action appeared to compromise his position on the marketing committee and the Lucky Report concluded that there were “legitimate concerns which required examination”.It is not known whether the required examination took place but Cameron remained head of the marketing committee. As such, he secured a significant contract just over a year ago with the Centrex Group, based in Scotland, to form a joint venture company with the WICB to develop its licensing, merchandise and memorabilia ranges.A media release from Centrex at the time stated that the initial phase of the project would see “branding and development of three different merchandise collections”. It revealed that these would be the main WICB range, a Windies sports and leisure range, and a Select Legends range that would include a Sir Garfield Sobers series of merchandise.None of the specified merchandise ranges are yet evident in circulation and it is impossible to know how the untimely death in a car crash last month of Centrex’s head, 40-year-old Jim Whannel, while on a business trip to Manchester, will impact on the agreement. The issue is likely to occupy some time at the meeting but the Patterson report, even if only partially complete, will be one of the main items.After all, it deals with the composition and structure of the WICB and makes recommendations to “improve its overall operations, governance effectiveness, team performance and strengthen its credibility and public support”.

Dale Steyn has said that Shaun Pollock’s inclusion will allow him to play the role of a `shock’ bowler in the second Test against Sri Lanka beginning on Friday in Colombo. Pollock missed the first Test that South Africa lost by an inning and 153 runs because of the birth of his child.”I bowled one decent bouncer in the first Test and, with Polly [Pollock] keeping one end tight, I will concentrate on bowling, basically, two lengths – short and full. With the new ball I’ll bowl full and try to get it to swing, but I will also concentrate on bowling more short balls,” Steyn told Supercricket.co.za. “If you get enough short balls in the right place then they’ll make a mistake.””Every time we bowled a short ball they would play an attacking shot so, while I would never say they were lucky, at some time those aggressive shots will go wrong and there will be a man there to take the catch. Hopefully!,” he said.Steyn took 3 for 129 in the first Test and had given South Africa a perfect start by reducing Sri Lanka to 14 for 2 before Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene put on 624 runs for the third wicket. Steyn had Sangakkara dropped by Jacques Rudolph when he was on seven and one run later bowled him with a no-ball.”I wanted to break my head against a wall. It was always going to be harder from that end because you had jump up a slope as you got into your delivery stride and your front landed before it normally does. Vinnie Barnes warned me about it before the Test started so that made it even worse when it happened.”

Brian Lara, equally sledged and celebrated for the role he has played in West Indian cricket, brought the horns of Brixton to life with a stirring performance against England in the final of the Champions Trophy at The Oval. India-Pakistan and Australia-England might well be the big drawcards at the moment, but those who forget the history and ethos of West Indies-England matches do so at their own peril.There are few figures as compelling as Lara in world cricket. When he gets going with the bat, there aren’t many who can match him for sheer electrifying entertainment. Freddie Flintoff hits it further, VVS Laxman flicks it with more charm, Sachin Tendulkar blunts it with greater control. But few can keep you on the edge of your seat like the Prince of Trinidad.And very few people have had to carry a team for so long, single-handedly, as Lara has had to. West Indian cricket has been in such a freefall over the last few years that their odd victory barely stays in the mind for the flicker of an eye. In that sense, this Champions Trophy means more to them than anyone else. Sure, Australia were desperate to succeed because this is one piece of silverware that is missing from the trophy cabinet in the board offices in Jolimont Street in Melbourne. And England were keen to cap a fruitful season with a headline-grabbing win before football engulfs everything in its wake.But, as Lara put it, victory in this tournament was a chance to put a smile on the faces of West Indians back home. The first people you met when you walked through the Jack Hobbs Gates at The Oval were those working for charity, collecting money for the victims of the terrible Hurricane Ivan tragedy in Grenada. The West Indian team has already pledged money to the cause, but that’s not their speciality. They’re a cricket team – there are others whose job it is to raise funds when it is needed.What Lara and his team can do is give the people of their islands something no-one else can. Pride and passion are commodities which have been in short supply in West Indian cricket teams of recent years. And they have not won a major tournament since 1979, when they were crowned world champions at Lord’s. Some observers of West Indian cricket believe that part of the problem is that this team is Lara-centric.And today, you could see in the first session why it is so with the media. England began well enough, batting calmly in wobbly conditions, but the ball did a bit and the bowlers – even if they weren’t Michael Holding and Malcolm Marshall – did enough to kiss the edges of bats. It was then that Flintoff had a chance to rise to the occasion and plunder the bowling attack. The first chance for him to do so came when Wavell Hinds dragged a long-hop down mid-pitch. Flintoff played a pull shot with the sort of power that would sever a bull’s head in one go, and as the ball screamed towards midwicket, Lara dived low and scooped a fine catch.Then came the second bit of inspiration. Geraint Jones smacked one from Hinds to midwicket, and Lara timed his leap perfectly, couching yet another full-blooded shot, and took the return that popped up. In two moments Lara had shown his pedigree – spot-on field placement and perfect anticipation, to remove two key batsmen and wrest the initiative.He may not have the foresight and vision needed to lift West Indian cricket out of the trouble it is in, but Brian Charles Lara certainly has the magic to put a smile on a face, with or without a bat in hand. And, at the moment, that is all a Caribbean supporter can ask for.

New Zealand’s captain, Stephen Fleming, has been passed fit for the first Test against England at Lord’s, after overcoming a groin niggle, and is set to open the batting alongside Mark Richardson on Thursday.New Zealand have capitalised on the confusion in the England camp following Michael Vaughan’s knee injury, and have named their starting XI a full 24 hours in advance of the match. The specialist opener, Michael Papps, is the unfortunate batsman to miss out, despite his century in New Zealand’s recent defeat against Kent.Although he regularly faces the new ball in one-day internationals, Fleming is more used to batting at No. 3 in Tests – in fact he has opened the batting just once in his previous 82 matches. But once Nathan Astle had proved his form and fitness after his recent knee injury, he was always going to be a shoo-in for his first match since October.On a more disappointing note for New Zealand, they will be without Shane Bond, who had been sidelined for almost all of 2003 after suffering a stress fracture in his back. “Shane is struggling with his fitness," said New Zealand’s coach, John Bracewell, who always imagined Bond’s inclusion at Lord’s would be a long shot. "We are staying with our original plan; he’s still on target to be right for the second Test.”The seam bowler, Kyle Mills, is the remaining member of New Zealand’s Test squad to miss out on selection.New Zealand 1 Mark Richardson, 2 Stephen Fleming (capt), 3 Nathan Astle, 4 Craig McMillan, 5 Scott Styris, 6 Jacob Oram, 7 Chris Cairns, 8 Brendon McCullum (wk), 9 Daniel Vettori, 10 Daryl Tuffey, 11 Chris Martin.

As widely expected, Lance Klusener has been left out of South Africa’s squad to tour England this summer. Klusener’s form of late has been poor, and he was dealt a second blow with the news that he wasn’t being awarded a central contract by the South African board (UCBSA), putting his international future in doubt.Even before Klusener’s omission, the South Africa side was missing some familiar names with Allan Donald and Jonty Rhodes having both retired after the World Cup.The Test squad includes two uncapped players – fast bowler Monde Zondeki and Thami Tsolekile, a wicketkeeper. Zondeki is still short of full fitness following a car crash in March. Morne van Wyk, another wicketkeeper, and fast bowler Dewald Pretorius are the only two uncapped members of the one-day squad.Graeme Smith, who succeeded Shaun Pollock as captain following South Africa’s World Cup humiliation, was confident that the side would do well in England. “We are a young side with plenty of exciting talent,” Smith said. “But we are also starting on a new era with South African cricket and we see this tour as another step forward on that path.”South Africa squad for Tests and ODIs Graeme Smith (capt), Mark Boucher (v-capt/wkt), Paul Adams, Herschelle Gibbs, Jacques Kallis, Neil McKenzie, Makhaya Ntini, Shaun Pollock, Dewald Pretorius, Jacques Rudolph.One-day only Nicky Boje, Allan Dawson, Andrew Hall, Charl Langeveldt, Andre Nel, Martin van Jaarsveld, Morne van Wyk.Tests only Boeta Dippenaar, Gary Kirsten, Robin Peterson, Thami Tsolekile, Charl Willoughby, Monde Zondeki

Fast bowlers Ruchira Perera and Ravindra Pushpakumara have been recalledinto Sri Lanka’s 15-man squad for the forthcoming Asian Test Championshipmatch against Bangladesh at the Sinhalese Sports Club in Colombo onThursday.Left arm pace bowler Ruchira Perera was a surprise omission from the SriLanka squad for the third Test against India after two reasonableperformances in the first two Tests matches in Galle and Kandy.Right arm Pushpakumara, 26, meanwhile, gets a recall after more than yearout of the squad. His last Test was against Pakistan in June last year. Hehas played in 22 Tests.Both Ruchira Perera and Puspakumara are likely to play in place of Dulip Liyanage and Dilhara Fernando, who is suffering from a groin strain.Although Fernando’s injury is not serious, the Sri Lankans selectors werekeen that the injury not be aggravated and are likely to rest him.Left-handed batsman Michael Vandort is tipped to make his debut in place ofthe out-of-touch Russel Arnold, who scored just 60 runs in four inningsduring the Indian series.The Squad:Sanath Jayasuriya, Marvan Atapattu, Michael Vandort, Mahela Jayawardene,Kumar Sangakkara, Hashan Tillakaratne, Thilan Samaraweera, Chaminda Vaas,Muttiah Muralitharan, Ravindra Pushpakumara, Ruchira Perera, Russel Arnold,Avishka Gunawardene, Suresh Perera, Dilhara Fernando.

The Otago Under-14 girls’ team has been named for next month’s Southern Zone series in Christchurch.The team is: Olivia Bates, Suzie Bates, Kylie Griffiths, Noelene Harry, Samara Heaney, Ashleigh Jamieson, Rebecca King, Shannon King, Amber Laking, Una Madden, Joanna Meyer, Courtney Winsloe.The tournament will be played in Christchurch from January 14-18.