Malcolm Speed: “The confirmation of this team does not change the need for the stakeholders in the game to come together and resolve their domestic differences’ © Getty Images

The ICC has confirmed that USA will participate in the ICC Trophy after their cricket association named a squad and also stated that the team would not be disputed by a faction which has been contesting the legitimacy of the USACA.In a media release, Malcolm Speed, the ICC’s chief executive, said: “The nomination of the team and the confirmation from the opposition group that it would not be disputing the squad through any domestic legal or other type of challenge or submitting an alternative team clears the way for USA’s participation in the event.”Though the immediate issue of participation in the ICC Trophy has been resolved, Speed warned that there were other matters that needed to be sorted out. “The confirmation of this team has addressed the ICC’s most immediate concern regarding cricket in America but it does not change the need for the stakeholders in the game in the United States to come together and resolve their domestic differences in the overall interests of the sport.” Earlier, the ICC had indicated that USA might not be allowed to participate in the tournament after internal bickering between the two factions who both claim to represent the USA Cricket Association.”The ICC does not and will not unilaterally get involved in the domestic issues that affect its members,” Speed said. “The ICC has repeatedly offered to assist the disputing parties in the USA to help find a way forward but these offers have not been accepted by both sides. These offers have now been withdrawn.”It is now up to the factions within cricket in America to find a solution to their internal dispute through the mediation, arbitration or legal systems that are available to them. I hope this happens quickly and that a resolution can be found.”

Greg Chappell: impressed the panel © Getty Images

The exercise to select India’s next coach is finally over, with Greg Chappell, one of the game’s all-time greats, being appointed. The BCCI-appointed committee met at 10am on Friday, and made an announcement on the subject at 12.30pm. Initially, the board had not ruled out the chance of another round of discussions with the short-listed candidates after the preliminary round of inteviews was marked by chaos and confusion. Tom Moody, Mohinder Amarnath and Desmond Haynes were the others in contention.The committee – comprising Sunil Gavaskar, Ravi Shastri and Srinivas Venkataraghavan – began their first interview with Mohinder Amarnath at 2.25pm on Thursday, a delay of almost half-an-hour, as a photo shoot had to be completed first.Amarnath, the only Indian in the race, sporting a small Indian flag at the meeting, took close to two hours to make his presentation and finish his interview (although he was allotted 45 minutes) apparently because he had problems with the laptop computer he was using. This happened even though Amarnath had brought along his brother-in-law to help handle the technology side of things.So Chappell, the second in line to be interviewed, occupied the hot seat at around 4.20pm, a good hour-and-a-half after the time he was allotted. Furthermore, Cricinfo has learned that Chappell had to complete his presentation in quick time as Ranbir Singh Mahendra, the board president, and Jagmohan Dalmiya, the former BCCI chief, had to leave the Taj Palace hotel around 5pm to keep a prearranged date with the prime minister. The interviews of the two remaining candidates – Haynes and Moody – then resumed after 6.30pm when the officials returned.Sources close to the committee revealed that they were “impressed” by Chappell’s crisp presentation and the brief question-and-answer session that followed. In this period the committee attempted to glean the basics of what Chappell hoped to achieve if he was handed the job. One thing that went in Chappell’s favour was the fact that he was prepared to commit as many as 290 days a year to the job. When Chappell was last short-listed for the job in 2000, remuneration was reportedly a problem. However it has been learned that all four candidates this time around were happy to work with whatever figure the board thought appropriate.Haynes, meanwhile, emerged from his interview appearing relaxed and, when mobbed by waiting television channels and other media people, asked jokingly, “Are you guys going to leave me alone now?” The comedy continued when one of the reporters commented that Haynes was the dark horse in the race, to which he replied: “Yes, look at me [pointing to the colour of his skin], I certainly am the dark horse.”The BCCI could not afford to waste time in announcing the successful candidate, as two of those short-listed – Chappell and Moody – had also been in talks with the Sri Lankan board, which is keen to make an appointment soon. Moody, who was the last to emerge from this round of interviews, told the media that he believed the fact that he was the youngest of the four candidates was neither an advantage nor a disadvantage.He did, however, stress the fact that his knowledge of the modern game would work in his favour. When it was suggested that he had not played as much cricket as some of the others in the fray, Moody remarked: “I’m not here to represent India, I’m here to coach the team.”Ultimately, though, Chappell’s greater stature within the game, and an ability to think out of the box, helped swing it his way. After almost five years of near-steady progress under John Wright, Chappell now has the task of taking India to the next level – that inhabited by Australia.

Michael Vaughan: back in the side © Getty Images

Michael Vaughan has recovered from his groin strain and will play against Australia at Edgbaston in the eighth match of the NatWest Series. Vaughan, who was forced to sit out of the last two matches, will be seeking to reimpose England’s authority at a time when Australia are showing signs of galvanising after their shaky start to the tour.Both sides are guaranteed a place in Saturday’s final thanks to their victories over Bangladesh at the weekend, so this match has become a high-profile dress rehearsal. Australia have the momentum at present, having won their day-night encounter with England at Chester-le-Street, although it is unlikely that England will choose to field first if they win the toss today – which was the mistake that Marcus Trescothick made last time around.Australia have made a solitary change to their side. Michael Clarke has recovered from his back injury and reclaims his place ahead of Shane Watson, with Mike Hussey slipping down the order to No. 7. Meanwhile, England’s Ian Bell and Jon Lewis have been released to play in the Twenty20 match between Warwickshire and Gloucestershire at Bristol this evening.England 1 Marcus Trescothick, 2 Andrew Strauss, 3 Michael Vaughan (capt), 4 Kevin Pietersen, 5 Andrew Flintoff, 6 Paul Collingwood, 7 Geraint Jones (wk), 8 Ashley Giles, 9 Simon Jones, 10 Darren Gough, 11 Steve HarmisonAustralia 1 Matthew Hayden, 2 Adam Gilchrist (wk), 3 Ricky Ponting (capt), 4 Damien Martyn, 5 Michael Clarke, 6 Andrew Symonds, 7 Mike Hussey, 8 Brad Hogg, 9 Brett Lee, 10 Jason Gillespie, 11 Glenn McGrath.

‘As soon as I take over as the president of the board, you will see how I work’© Getty Images

Ranbir Singh Mahendra, the new BCCI president, emphatically denied being a proxy candidate for Jagmohan Dalmiya and claimed that the election had been conducted as per the rules and regulations of the board.”This point has come up now and then,” Mahendra said when asked about him being propped up by Dalmiya, “As soon as I take over as the president of the board, you will see how I work. My only endeavour would be to seek the co-operation of each and every one.”He said that his political affiliations – he is a member of the ruling Congress party and the son of former Haryana chief minister Bansi Lal–had no bearings on his role as a cricket administrator. “I have been associated with the board for 30 years, and have worked as joint secretary, secretary and then vice-president of the BCCI .I am connected with the parties but my political career hasn’t been connected with this.”He claimed that the bitterness of this election would not spill over to the functioning of the board. “This type of groupism is always there in every election. So you can’t say it is a division in the board. Everybody is working for the BCCI and the game of cricket.”He admitted, however, that the BCCI needed to be more professional. “The time has come for professionalism and the board members will be taking some steps towards that.”Sharad Pawar, the losing candidate, insinuated that the election process had been hijacked by Dalmiya. “He was both the bowler and the umpire. He decided the final result,” Pawar said while ruling out the possibility that he would take the matter to court. “I will be the last person to go to court. We will fight this type of elements and we will see that the board runs democratically. I will give full co-operation to the next president to manage the board.”Pawar accused the Dalmiya camp of deliberately postponing the meeting to buy time. “It was the duty of the BCCI’s outgoing president to complete this election procedure,” Pawar said, “but the meeting was again and again adjourned and without any official communication to Justice Mohan. Knowing fully well that I have got a clear majority, deliberate disturbance was raised and the representative of Maharashtra, DC Agashe, who has been the member [of the Maharashtra Cricket Association] for 20 years, was sent [away] from the meeting place and not allowed to vote.”

Ramnaresh Sarwan and Chris Gayle have parted company with their attorney, Sanjeev Datadin, after he released a statement on their behalf expressing their disappointment with the manner in which the ongoing contracts dispute had been handled.In a press release dated July 27, 2005, Sarwan and Gayle hit out at the “painful and difficult situation” in which they had been placed regarding the ongoing tour of Sri Lanka, adding that they had been presented with two equally unpalatable options:”Firstly, to refuse to play … and appear to be selfishly abandoning West Indies Cricket and the many loyal fans who have supported them faithfully over the years … and secondly, to choose to participate [and] appear to be abandoning their team-mates and colleagues who have sought their support.”The July 27 release also criticised “the unrelenting and unnecessary dispute” between the West Indies Cricket Board and West Indies Players Association. “Both players wish to express their disappointment with the handling of the entire matter. They fear that the current approach to the resolution of the dispute is only likely to deepen the divide between the stakeholders.”However, the pair have since gone on record to distance themselves from those remarks, and have released an independent follow-up to Mr Datadin’s remarks:”In order to provide clarity and remove the speculation that has been rife as a result of a press release issued by Mr Sanjeev Datadin on the 27th day of July 2005, we wish to state the following:

We have never given any instructions to say or suggest that we will break or have broken away from, disapproved of or had any complaint about WIPA or its handling of any matter.

We have been made aware and have been involved in the decision-making by WIPA on our behalf and other players throughout.

We deny categorically that pressure was placed on us by WIPA to make any decisions at any time.

We have informed Mr. Sanjeev Datadin that his services will no longer be required with immediate effect.

We are totally committed to West Indies Cricket.

Northamptonshire 261 for 6 (45 overs, Shafayat 85, White 57, Love 56) beat Middlesex 247 for 9 ( Weekes 111, by 14 runs
Scorecard
Points table

Paul Weekes: 111 in a losing cause © Getty Images

A battling hundred from Paul Weekes was not enough to give Middlesex victory over Northamptonshire, a result which effectively ends their chances of catching leaders Essex as well as easing Northamptonshire’s relegation fears.Middlesex were always off the pace once Martin Love (56) and Robert White (57) had posted a first-wicket stand of 117, and then Bilal Shafayat smashed 85 off 46 balls to guide Northants to a daunting 261 for 6.Weekes anchored Middlesex’s response, and with Ed Smith (42) got the innings off to a good start with a stand of 105. When these two sides met at Lord’s in the C&G Trophy earlier in theseason, Weekes scored 105 (and, coincidently, Smith 42) only for Middlesex to fall away in the closing overs, losing their last six wickets for eight runs.This game followed a similar pattern as the dismissal of Ed Joyce triggered a collapse in which Middlesex lost six wickets for 38, and with it their momentum.

Chris Cairns: to miss out on the action in the final at Harare © Getty Images

Chris Cairns, the New Zealand allrounder, has been ruled out of the rest of the Videocon Cup in Zimbabwe owing to a recurrence of a hamstring injury during the fifth match of a tri-series against India on Friday.Lindsay Crocker, the New Zealand manager, said Cairns had appeared to make a full recovery before the match after passing a fitness test in the nets. New Zealand have further injury problems ahead of the final on Tuesday with Jacon Oram, the other allrounder, also suffering from a hamstring problem.Cairns didn’t make too much of an impression in the tournament, managing only 40 runs and two wickets in the three games he played in.

Boeta Dippenaar will miss the rest of the series against New Zealand and the entire tour of India © Getty Images

Boeta Dippenaar, the South Africa opener, has been ruled out of South Africa’s tour of India in November after being diagnosed with a wrist injury which requires surgery.”Boeta saw a hand specialist this morning and a decision was taken for him to undergo an operation on Monday in Cape Town,” Shane Jabbar, the team’s physiotherapist, was quoted as saying by SuperCricket.co.za. “Dippenaar was diagnosed with a dorsal ganglion on the radial aspect of his right wrist.”Dippenaar, who will also miss the remainder of the series against New Zealand, was replaced by Andrew Puttick for the second match at Cape Town. Puttick was bowled for a duck by Shane Bond but South Africa won the match by 19 runs.Dippenaar’s injury is a big blow to South Africa ahead of a tough India tour. He averaged a fantastic 47.37 in hislast ten ODIs including three half-centuries and a career best of 123 against West Indies.

The bomb exploded near the Sheraton hotel, where England are due to spend two nights in December © Getty Images

Shahryar Khan, the PCB chairman, has insisted England’s tour must go on despite a car bomb exploding in Karachi, killing three and injuring 15 people, near to where the team are due to stay for the one-day international on December 15.Speaking about the match due for Karachi, Shahrayar said: “It is my hope that it will go ahead as planned. It is still one month away, and I assure the England team, that had they been in Karachi now, it would not have been possible to penetrate the cordon of security around them.”Unfortunately, this is a part of a global phenomenon, and not particular to Karachi. When the dust has settled, we will see why, who and what objective was being attempted.”Shahrayar concluded by praising the support and welcome that the England team had received in Multan. “We have been greatly heartened by what we have seen. It has been a wonderful support and a sporting support. We want the rest of the series to be played in the same spirit.”Meanwhile, the Professional Cricketers Association chief executive, Richard Bevan is not jumping to any conclusions. “They [the players] know there is a high-quality, professional team working on security on their behalf and everything has gone according to plan to date. The Karachi match isn’t until December 15 and should we have a problem, the professionals will be advising us in the next couple of days and we can take it from there.”

After a fantastic start to his career, Mohammad Sami has found life hard in the Test arena © Getty Images

Imran Khan, the Pakistan legend, is to give Mohammad Sami, the fast bowler, specialist one-on-one coaching ahead of a home Test series against India in January, according to Inzamam-ul-Haq.”Imran is very concerned Sami has not yet fulfilled his potential,” Inzamam-ul-Haq told BBC Sport. “Imran has said that when we have our training camp for the Indian series he will come down and work with Sami to see what is the problem holding him back.”Sami, 24, has been struggling for form and confidence, and a record of only 65 wickets at 46.12 from 24 Tests has put his place in the national side under considerable threat. Sami burst onto the international scene with eight wickets in his debut Test against New Zealand in Auckland in 2001, and also claimed hat-tricks against Sri Lanka and West Indies during a promising start to his career.Since then, though, he has failed to live up to his reputation and has been tagged as inconsistent. In the recent three-Test series against a touring England, Sami managed only seven wickets. Shoaib Akhtar, who has faced similar criticism though being a proven matchwinner, silenced his detractors with a stunning 17-wicket haul in the series. Consistently troubling England with variations of pace, Akhtar emerged as the leading wicket-taker in the series.It is with optimism – and the desire to see Sami perform like Akhtar – that Inzamam has stated Imran’s intentions. “Imran believes that if Sami can start producing the performances that he has been threatening to do with his vast potential then Pakistan will have a very balanced bowling attack for Tests and one-dayers.”