IPL likely to be the part of ICC calendar

MELBOURNE: The International Cricket Council is likely to include Indian Premier League in its calendar.

The multi-million dollar Twenty20 tournament has been included in the final draft of a radical proposal to revamp ICC’s international programming.

The suggested schedule includes IPL and will be presented to the ICC’s executive board in Dubai over the next two days, reports The Australian.

Leading players and player associations have demanded a space for the IPL for fear that emerging cricketers will abandon playing for their country and instead take the big money on offer in the IPL.

A recent survey by the Federation of International Players Associations showed that more than half of the 64 players polled from seven of the nine active Test countries, including Australia, were willing to sacrifice the end of their international career for IPL money.

The new proposal has each of the nine active Test nations playing each other over a two-year period in three-Test series.

The top four nations would then play semi-finals and a final in the third year, while the fourth year of the cycle would be kept free for “icon” series such as the Ashes.

The current future-tours program, which runs on a six-year cycle, does not end until 2012 but the ICC has already begun discussing what will replace it.

Clarke strikes as Marshall chases

Stuart Clark made a much-needed breakthrough for Australia as Xavier Marshall led West Indies’ mammoth chase of 475 but a string of dropped catches threatened to dampen the visitors’ spirits as they searched for a 2-0 series win. At tea on the fourth day West Indies were 99 for 1 with Xavier Marshall on 42 and Ramnaresh Sarwan on 18, and they needed another 376 to complete a highly unlikely victory.

Marshall was his usual lively self, cover-driving against the fast men and taking quick singles to keep the fielders on their toes. He took yet another blow to the helmet - his third for the match - when he tried to hook Stuart Clark but Australia were frustrated by his confidence after he was dropped twice earlier in his innings.

Australia’s fielding was unusually substandard and nothing went right for them until Brett Lee snared a chance at mid-on off Clark to remove Chris Gayle for 26. The Lee-Clark combination was a fitting one as both men had suffered from missed opportunities in their opening spells.

Gayle had a life on 8 when he drove a Lee half-volley on the up to mid off, where Beau Casson, who had taken a goalkeeper-style catch in the same spot in the first innings, put down a much simpler opportunity. Gayle could also have been run out on 20 when Lee ran in from mid-on and his throw at the bowler’s end missed, while Gayle was loitering halfway down the pitch after a mix-up with Marshall.

Marshall was also a recipient of some good fortune, dropped on 1 and 22. The early miss came when Simon Katich’s horror run in the cordon continued - he put down two at first slip in the first innings - and he grassed a straightforward chance at third slip off Lee. Brad Haddin then gave Clark a headache by dropping a gettable one-hander diving to his right after Marshall edged a cracking Clark legcutter.

It was hardly what Australia needed having given themselves five sessions to dismiss West Indies on a pitch that, while still offering some bounce, was becoming easier to bat on. Michael Clarke and Haddin guided Australia through a subdued morning as they gradually built up the total with West Indies, by the end of the session, making no attempt at dismissing them and simply waiting for Ponting’s declaration.

His decision came at lunch with the score on 439 for 5, denying both men the chance to score half-centuries with Clarke unbeaten on 48 and Haddin on 45. The first session went largely as expected, although a pair of wickets for Sulieman Benn was just reward after he bowled a marathon spell that had started midway through the third afternoon.

Benn went for some boundaries off both batsmen - Haddin clobbered him down the ground for six after taking three fours off his previous over - but he always looked dangerous. Coming around the wicket to the right-handers he curved the ball beautifully and pitched several in line with off stump, jagging them away sharply to beat the bat.

Benn finished with 3 for 154 from 47 after Katich was caught driving on the up to cover for 157 and Andrew Symonds went in similar fashion for 2. But by that stage the lead was already approaching 400 and the only bowling that was really going to matter in terms of the match result was that of Australia.

Pakistan cricket chief warns team

The head of Pakistani cricket has taken the unusual step of writing directly to the team management, expressing his disgust with the humiliating 140-run defeat to India in the triangular series in Bangladesh.

Pakistan’s 12-match winning streak was brought to a shuddering halt by India in Mirpur on Tuesday, although 10 of those victories were against Zimbabwe and Bangladesh.

The heavy loss prompted Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief Nasim Ashraf to send an email to team manager Talat Ali, expressing his displeasure with the performance and commitment of the players and officials.

The contents of the message were widely reported in the local media on Thursday with English daily Dawn highlighting some of Ashraf’s more critical words.

“Last night’s performance against India in which we lost by over 100 runs was embarrassing,” Ashraf wrote.

“It is not a question of losing a match but our overall performance and the lack of resolve and commitment bothered me.

“We were smiling and joking as if we were some junior team which was happy just to be given the privilege of playing against a top team. This has to stop.”

Ashraf singled out wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal, describing his performance as “pathetic”, particularly an incident when he dropped a catch but still claimed it.

“This is unsporting behaviour but perhaps one has to give him the benefit of the doubt. But I do not want such behaviour from our players please warn everyone. We ought to be looking at playing another wicketkeeper,” Ashraf added.

Symonds fined for missing team bus

Australia all-rounder Andrew Symonds has been fined after sleeping in and missing the team bus to a training session in Barbados.

Symonds was 10 minutes late for the bus but did not miss any part of practice after finding his own way to Kensington Oval, the Australian Associated Press reported.

He was fined an undisclosed amount by the team’s leadership group consisting of skipper Ricky Ponting, vice-captain Michael Clarke, coach Tim Nielsen and manager Steve Bernard.

Symonds is the second Australian player to be fined on their tour of West Indies after sleeping in. Spinner Stuart MacGill was also fined for turning up late on day two of the second Test in Antigua.

Symonds was also fined and suspended for two one-day games after arriving drunk on the morning of a one-day match against Bangladesh on the 2005 Ashes tour.

India win by 140 runs and end Pakistan’s 13 match winning streak!!!

India showed how the hectic pace of Twenty20 cricket could be replicated in the one-day game, pounding 330 on a sluggish pitch and rounding off a thumping win in their opening match of the Kitply Cup. Pakistan, coming off 12 successive wins against weak opposition, crashed to their worst defeat against India and their coach Geoff Lawson, who had hoped for a 150-run win, would have been embarrassed to see the shoe on the other foot.

India’s domination was complete. Their mammoth total was made possible not by one but three batsmen: Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir made the most of some sloppy catching, getting within four runs of India’s highest opening stand against Pakistan, before Yuvraj Singh raised visions of a 375-plus total. They settled for 330 but it didn’t really matter in the final analysis. Once Pakistan crumbled to 26 for 3, it was only a case of picking up the pieces.

A run-rate of 6.6 is impressive in all conditions but the fact that India kept it up on a sluggish pitch that offered some assistance to the medium-pacers added more gloss to the effort. Their fifty came up as early as the seventh over but Pakistan’s four-pronged pace didn’t start as badly as what the run-rate suggested. They troubled the batsmen with swing and cut and even managed the edge on a few occasions but they were let down by poor fielding. Younis Khan allowed Gambhir two lives - on 4 and 29 - with identical edges flying past his at second slip and Kamran Akmal let off Sehwag on 43 when he lost control of the ball after appearing to have snared an edge to his right.

Sehwag, who walked all the way back towards the ropes before returning, made the most of his good fortune, racing to his first fifty in a year. He was dropped for the final stages of India’s CB Series but an injury to Sachin Tendulkar allowed him another chance. He wasn’t his customary buccaneering self, and that was probably because of the nature of the surface, but he continuously peppered the region behind square. Preferring to use the pace of the bowlers, he walked across and whipped a few off his pads while settling for the judicious glide on other occasions.

The area behind square was productive for Gambhir as well but it was the occasional skip down the ground that unsettled the bowlers. He didn’t hesitate charging the quicker men and actually cut one over the infield, off left-armer Wahab Riaz, with both his feet in mid-air.

Riaz dismissed both openers in a space of a couple of overs but went on to have a forgettable day. It was the first time he was up against top-class opposition and the wheels began to come off once Yuvraj went after him. He even let slip two beamers - the second was probably because of the slippery ball - and wasn’t allowed to complete his final over. It meant he earned the dubious distinction of bowling the most expensive spell against India, conceding one more than what Ata-ur-Rahman did in Sharjah back in 1996.

Incidentally it was in that game where India passed 300 for the first time in an ODI. Here, more than 12 years later, even 375 appeared a possibility when Yuvraj was striking them clean. He gauged the slow nature of the track and ensured he played late. A couple of half-trackers were swatted away over midwicket and his neat clips towards square leg suggested a batsman preparing to explode.

It was always going to be an uphill task for Pakistan and the contest was all but over once Praveen Kumar struck four big blows, including two in two. Swinging the new ball either way, he showed how dangerous he could be in congenial conditions. Kumar had Rohit Sharma to thank for the opening breakthrough: a sensational reflex catch at short cover got rid of Salman Butt.

A slightly wide ball was lashed hard but Rohit, throwing himself to the left and ensuring his hands got around a low chance, hung on superbly. There was no need of any such acrobatics for the next one: Younis Khan snicked to the wicketkeeper and walked back for his second successive duck. It capped off a miserable day where he had also dropped a couple of catches.

Akmal and Misbah ensured Kumar didn’t have a perfect day - taking 17 off his fifth over, including four cracking fours - but Akmal was livid after falling to a full toss, lobbing a leading edge to mid-on. Misbah too couldn’t carry on, falling to an injudicious waft, and it was left to Shoaib Malik to pick up the pieces. He soldiered on to a fifty but his meaty blows were largely inconsequential in the face of a step mountain. Chawla finished with four wickets, tormenting the tail and rounding off a near-perfect day.

Sehwag doubtful for ODI against Pakistan

With the euphoria of Indian Premier League all but settled, Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his team will have to quickly get back into the One-day mode to snap Pakistan’s 12-match winning streak when the traditional rivals face off in the tri-series here on Tuesday.

Pakistan routed Bangladesh by 70 runs in the tri-series opener on Sunday night to extend their unbeaten streak to 12 matches and it would be a tough task for Dhoni’s young Indian side to halt the archrivals.

Pakistan coach Geoff Lawson has already sounded the war bugle when he said that his wards would look to thump India by a bigger margin to make it 13 wins in a row.

India, severely under-strength because of pre-tournament injury woes, would be in for further trouble as opener Virender Sehwag is a doubtful starter due to high fever.

Besides, the team is still awaiting the arrival of pacer S Sreesanth’s replacement Manpreet Singh Gony.

With seniors like Sachin Tendulkar, recovering from a groin injury, and Harbhajan Singh, serving a ban for slapping Sreesanth during the IPL, not in the ranks, it would be anything but easy for Dhoni’s young brigade against Pakistan.

The team had a feel of the ground and the conditions on Sunday and put in three hours at the indoor nets after rain prevented any outdoor practice session.

The short tri-series, being seen as a warm-up for the Asia Cup later this month in Pakistan, is crucial for the Indians as it provides an opportunity for players like all-rounder Yusuf Pathan, spinner Piyush Chawla and Gony to show their worth in absence of the seniors.

With the pitch at the Sher-e-Bangla Stadium likely to assist the batsmen, India’s new-look bowling attack, to be spearheaded by Irfan Pathan and Ishant Sharma, will be severely tested.

No doubt, the Indian team has the batting strength to score heavily on a strip like this but it remains to be seen how their bowlers contain hard hitters like Salman Butt, Kamran Akmal, Misbah-ul-Haq, Younis Khan and Muhammad Yousuf.

The much-anticipated contest meanwhile faces a major threat from the weather gods. The opener itself was truncated because of intermittent drizzle and this match too could see rain interruptions.

As for the Pakistani attack, medium pacers, particularly young talent Wahab Riaz, were impressive in last night’s win over Bangladesh. But with Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif missing from the attack, it remains to be seen how Sohail Tanvir and his bowling colleagues fare against India’s star-studded line-up.

In the batting department, though Butt, Yousuf and Misbah looked in good nick, Pakistan’s line-up still sports a vulnerable look and even Bangladesh, with their limited options in the bowling department, shot them out in 39.3 overs.

Squads:
India: Mahendra Singh Dhoni ©, Yuvraj Singh, Robin Uthappa, Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag, Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina, Yusuf Pathan, Irfan Pathan, Ishant Sharma, Praveen Kumar, R P Singh, Piyush Chawla, Pragyan Ojha and MS Gony.

Pakistan: Shoaib Malik ©, Salman Butt, Kamran Akmal, Misbah-ul-Haq, Yonus Khan, Muhammad Yousaf, Shahid Afridi, Fawad Alam, Umer Gul, Sohail Tanvir, Wahab Riaz, Nasir Jamshed, Sohail Khan, Rao Iftikar, Bazid Khan and Naumanullah.

Hours of Play: 1500 hrs to 1830hrs and 1915 hours to 2245 hours.

IPL teams to get first pick on players - Modi

Franchises from the Indian Premier League will get first priority over players for the proposed Champions League, and any team that fields a cricketer from the unofficial Indian Cricket League will be automatically disqualified from the international Twenty20 competition, Lalit Modi, the chairman of IPL, has said.

However, Modi told Cricinfo that the Champions League was “still a long way away” and what has been agreed upon by various boards so far is “only an in-principle agreement” to host such an event. “The venues have not been decided, the dates are still open and we are trying to host the event this year,” Modi said.

The England and Wales Cricket Board had on Saturday issued a press release which said that the ECB, Cricket Australia, the BCCI and Cricket South Africa had “reached an agreement for the staging of the inaugural Champions League this autumn” for a top prize of US$ 5 million. However, Modi said he would be able to provide a clear picture only after the BCCI’s working committee discusses the issue during a meeting scheduled on June 22.

Asked about the Champions League’s regulations, Modi, who is also a vice-president of the BCCI, said that “it had been clearly resolved earlier” that the IPL franchises would get priority over cricketers in their team. But the franchises will have to pay a “relieving fees” to the player’s state team if both have qualified for the event, he said.

Elaborating on the case of Michael Hussey, who is caught between Western Australia and Chennai Super Kings for the Champions League, Modi said, “In the case of Michael Hussey, Chennai Super Kings has the option to keep him and pay a relieving fees to Western Australia. The option is with Super Kings.”

However, players like David Hussey, whose IPL team, Kolkata Knight Riders, failed to qualify for the Champions League, will have to play for Victoria, he said. “In case of David Hussey, he has to play for his home team if his IPL team has not qualified. If his home team has qualified, which it has, then he plays for them. The county option is his third fall back,” Modi said.

Modi also clarified that “any ICL player playing for any team automatically disqualifies that team from participating” in the Champions League. “No exceptions will be made under any circumstances,” Modi said.

Currently, about 24 ICL players have been signed up to play for various English counties - the top two Twenty20 teams from England will join Rajasthan Royals and Chennai Super Kings from India, the Titans from Pretoria and KwaZulu Natal Dolphins representing South Africa and Western Australia and Victoria from Australia in the Champions League.

Million-dollar Twenty20 Champions League announced

The inaugural Champions League tournament, involving the domestic Twenty20 finalists from England, Australia, South Africa and the IPL, will take place over a 10-day period in late September and early October with US$5 million on offer for the winners.

The fine detail is yet to be confirmed, but Cricket Australia are currently drawing up the regulations which will deal with the issues of Indian Cricket League players and potential conflicts for players involved with more than one team.

It is possible that the Indian board will be generous towards ICL players after the success of IPL. It was also agreed, verbally, between the boards that foreign players will turn out for their local teams in the tournament. That undertaking was sought by the England and Australia boards at a meeting in Singapore.

However, it has been confirmed the event will feature 15 matches over 10 days, and will take place in either the Middle East or India. Alongside the huge sum for the winners, there will be significant prize money for the teams finishing second, third and fourth.

Stuart Broad, the England quick bowler, is excited by the move. “It’s certainly an incentive for domestic sides to take Twenty20 seriously which can only help the international team,” he said after the third day’s play against New Zealand. “I’ve always thought Championship cricket is the priority because it develops players for Test cricket and that’s the ultimate. But this could change the emphasis.”

Western Australia and Victoria from Australia, Rajasthan and Chennai from the IPL along with the Dolphins and Titans from the Pro20 in South Africa have already qualified. They will be joined by the two finalists from the English Twenty20 Cup, which starts next week.

Following meetings late last week between the ECB, represented by chairman Giles Clarke and chief executive David Collier, Cricket Australia’s chairman Creagh O’Connor and chief executive James Sutherland, an agreement was reached yesterday between Clarke, IPL commissioner and BCCI representative Lalit Modi, and Cricket South Africa president Norman Arendse.

“We are extremely grateful to our great friends from Australia, India and South Africa for their hard work and determination to get this tournament off the ground,” Clarke said. “The Twenty20 Cup will be even more fiercely contested this season in the knowledge that the two teams who reach the final will qualify for the Champions League and the chance to win US$5 million.”

This event throws up a number of potential conflicts, not least involving an players linked to the unofficial ICL. Chris Read, Vikram Solanki, Stuart Law, Niall O’Brien and Paul Nixon all appeared in the ICL, and if their counties qualify their inclusion will be a major conflict with the Indian board.

The other issue that will occur is involving players who are contracted to more than one of the teams involved, for example Mike Hussey who played for Chennai in the IPL and is also from Western Australia. The clash could also happen with overseas players in county cricket, for example David Hussey, who plays for Nottinghamshire and Victoria.

Somerset chief executive Richard Gould admitted to Sky Sports News: “We’ve already had some discussions and we’re basically looking to mirror what the IPL contracts are. It was first mooted at the Twenty20 World Cup in South Africa and it’s taken a while but now it’s there, I think it’s brilliant for club cricket. It gives it much more juice.”

Pak bowler Mohd Asif gets clean chit in drugs case

Pakistan cricketer Mohd Asif, who was arrested on Tuesday under serious charges of carrying contraband drugs, has been given clean chit for the same, Times Now channel reported.

According to the channel, Pakistan ambassador to UAE that charges against the Pakistan bowler have been dropped. Asif would take the first flight immediately after he’s released from Dubai.

Earlier, he was detained at the Dubai airport for allegedly possessing a contraband drug.

“He was carrying this substance in very small quantity in his wallet for the last four or five months and even forgot about it. He is also not totally sure what it is and it was prescribed to him by a local hakeem for treatment of his elbow injury,” PCB’s human resource director Nadeem Akram reportedly said.

“We have sent his blood and urine samples for testing and the results are awaited,” Akram said. Akram denied any knowledge of the slapping incident. “I really don’t know because neither Asif nor the local authorities have mentioned about this to me,” he said.

PCB, meanwhile, had hired a leading legal firm, Angel and Afridi, to handle the case in Dubai. When TOI contacted a top official of the PCB, he couldn’t confirm the nature of the substance found on Asif. But speculation was rife that the Pakistani fast bowler was carrying either opium or hashish.

On Friday, Asif played the IPL semifinal for Delhi Daredevils against Team Jaipur in Mumbai. According to IPL sources, the cricketer was tested by WADA officials on the day of the match.

“The report of his sample is expected to come in a few days,” a top official said. After Delhi lost the semi-final, Asif was supposed to board the Indian Airlines flight from Delhi to Lahore on Saturday evening.

But the Daredevils reached Delhi from Mumbai around 11pm on Saturday. By that time, it was too late for Asif to catch the Lahore flight and there were no direct flights for the next two days. So, he was booked on an Emirates flight to Dubai at 4am on Sunday and was supposed to fly to Lahore from there.

“Instead of going to a hotel for a few hours, he preferred to reach the Delhi international airport from the domestic terminal,” a source close to the cricketer said.

But no one knows what Asif did in the interim. “We are shocked to hear the news. In the dressing room, we have never seen him behaving abnormally. He is very friendly and I have never seen him take any pills during the entire IPL,” a Daredevils player said.

Meanwhile, Asif was named in the Pakistan team scheduled to play a tri-series in Bangladesh which also involves India. If PCB has its way, the cricketer will be going on the tour and will probably be free to take part in international matches till “proved guilty”.

But some of the Indian cricket board officials are not too impressed with the way PCB has handled drug issues in the past. The International Cricket Council even expressed its disappointment at the way PCB dealt with the Asif-Akhtar drug controversy.

“We are really confused with PCB’s policy decisions. On one hand, they suspend or ban a cricketer and on another, an inquiry commission comes and permits that guy to play again for their country,” a top BCCI official remarked.

Rajasthan champions after cliffhanger

League or knock-out there was only one champion. It was fitting that the most consistent side in the tournament held their nerve to clinch a thriller. The Chennai Super Kings summoned every ounce of their reserves to take the match to the wire but a calm swat from Sohail Tanvir, when one was needed off the last ball, sparked some heady celebrations in the Rajasthan Royals’ dug-out. The least expensive side in the league had completed the coup that had them winning 13 of their 16 matches.

A galaxy of international stars might have added fizz to the IPL but it was India’s most improved domestic player who sparkled in the tense final at the DY Patil Stadium. Few outside India might have heard of Yusuf Pathan before this tournament but he imposed himself on the grand stage, snaffling three wickets before smashing a scintillating 56, setting the stage for the inspirational Shane Warne to pull off the last-ball nailbiter.

Chasing 164 wasn’t going to be easy on the slightly two-paced surface and Rajasthan were hobbling at 42 for 3 but the 65-run stand between Yusuf and Shane Watson provided the impetus. Another mini-collapse put them in a spot but Warne and Tanvir put on 21 in a harum-scarum final leg. Chennai’s sloppy fielding didn’t help but the batsmen ensured they didn’t lose their head.

L Balaji, who got a pasting in the first three overs, was brought on with eight needed off the final over. Three tight deliveries piled on the pressure before a costly wide, which also produced a bye, tilted the balance. With three needed off 2 balls, Tanvir hurried two to deep midwicket before settling the victory in the final ball. The best bowler of the tournament did his side a big service with the bat. Warne’s mighty embrace suggested much.

The base was set by Yusuf’s ballistic, yet fortuitous, fifty. Chennai will rue the chance they missed in the 11th over - Yusuf tried to loft Muttiah Muralitharan but Suresh Raina, one of India’s best fielders, couldn’t latch on to the skier after running from mid-on. With the asking rate approaching 10, that could have been a big blow. Murali had no answers against him in the next over, though, when he was blasted for two successive sixes over wide long-on.

Yusuf soon pounded Balaji, backing away and blitzing thunderbolts down the ground, and looked more like a veteran accustomed to such high-pressure situations. He looked set to run away with the match but Raina’s dart-accurate throw from gully added another twist.

Yusuf was instrumental with the ball too. Just as Chennai appeared to be building partnerships he pegged them back with his fastish offbreaks. S Vidyut holed out to deep midwicket, Parthiv Patel snicked to the wicketkeeper, and Albie Morkel top-edged towards short fine leg. Not only was he the most effective of the bowlers but also the most economical - showing the ability to raise his game at the crunch.

Chennai weren’t outclassed, not by a long way. Against an efficient bowling attack, with a slow outfield to consider, they strung together a fighting total. Raina and Parthiv, the duo who took them to victory last night, put on a useful 25-run stand through accumulation rather than attack, ensuring that the platform was laid for the rest of the order.

Morkel’s two sixes injected some verve into the innings before Raina and Dhoni upped the ante. What could have cost them is the decision to send Chamara Kapugedera ahead of S Badrinath. Kapugedera pottered around for a 12-ball 8 and it was left to Dhoni to up the rate. The 17th over, bowled by Watson, where he conceded just three and picked up a wicket, appeared to tilt the scales but a few mighty hits from Dhoni pushed them to 163. It was the highest total at the DY Patil Stadium but only for a couple of hours.