Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) president I S Bindra today lamented that the Indian cricket board (BCCI) was not “aggresively marketing” the sport at the domestic level, and added that a state association has shown if there is the will, an event like the forthcoming Challenger Trophy too can become as popular as one-day internationals.Slamming the BCCI, Bindra said it was only interested in making money and not promoting cricket at domestic level, which he claimed holds as much market potential as that of the ODIs. He explained that unlike the PCA, which he claimed was being run in a “thoroughly professional manner”, the Indian board “is not being run in a professional way”.Referring to the Challenger Trophy limited-overs series, to be played in Mohali from October 10-13 between India, India A and India B, Bindra, a former BCCI chief, told reporters: “We promise it will be as big an event as an ODI played between India and Pakistan”.He continued that it was the first time TV rights of a cricketing event had been sold in Canada. “Zee and ten channels including Zee Sports, Zee UK, Ten Sports, ATN Canada, Direct TV-USA will beam live pictures of the Trophy. For the first time, a cricket event is being covered ball to ball worldwide on internet and mobile handsets.”We are very close to making as much money as PCA makes during a ODI which is played here. “

Ashley Giles will fly home to undergo hip surgery after England’s third Test against Pakistan. This means that he will miss the five one-dayers, but he hopes to be fit for the tour of India in March, the start of an intensive 19 months’ cricket for the England side.Football physiotherapists have advised that Giles may need three months to recover after the operation which will take place in Cambridge two days after he returns to England. He will spend Christmas on crutches.Giles has been carrying the injury since April, when he damaged his right hip playing for Warwickshire against Sussex in April. He missed the two-Test series against Bangladesh but physiotherapy and cortisone injections allowed him to play in the Ashes and the current Pakistan tour. But now the effects of the injections are wearing off.”It’s got worse between the first and second Test,” he admitted to reporters on the eve of the third Test. “I’ve tried to manage it but I’m fed up with it being in front of my mind. You feel old once you start to carry injuries and I feel I need a bit of closure on this now by getting it sorted.”The surgery will be performed by Richard Villar who has operated on many sportsmen. “Surgery will involve going in to either repair or whip out a piece of cartilage,” Giles explained. “There is also a little bit of a bone spur on the ball of my hip and he [Villar] may have to shave that down because that may be the thing that is catching on the cartilage.”I have worries because there can always be complications when you go into a major joint. But it comes hand in hand with the job. You are always going to pick up injuries but if you want to perform at your best you have to get them done.”

Scorecard

Beau Casson’s second four-wicket haul of the match helped to consign the South Africans to a humiliating innings defeat in their tour opener at the WACA against a Western Australian side who came into this match with four defeats in four outings so far this season.Needing to offer more of a show than they did yesterday, the South Africans, who resumed on 2 for 25, lost seven wickets for 139 on a pitch that was far from unfriendly. Ashwell Prince was the only batsman to offer resistance, making 49, and it was only thanks to some late-order defiance from Shaun Pollock and Nicky Boje that they avoided an even heavier defeat. After yesterday’s poor display, Micky Arthur, South Africa’s coach, promised more fight. His message clearly didn’t register where it mattered.Although Prince was the top scorer, he was put down at point off Steve Magoffin while on 1 and with the score at 37. Just two runs later Western Australia got the early breakthrough when opener Jacques Rudolph, who is pushing for a berth in the opening Test, was caught for 18 after hooking a Ben Edmondson delivery. Wrist-spinner Beau Casson, who took four wickets in the first innings, struck next for the hosts when he had Justin Kemp caught at long-on for 8. That left the Proteas struggling at 4 for 67 but worse was to follow when stand-in captain Mark Boucher was caught by Justin Langer at first slip, again off the bowling of Casson.At lunch, the South Africans were 5 for 120, but they lasted less than an hour into the afternoon session. Pollock, who made 25, became Langer’s second slip catch of the day before Makhaya Ntini completed his pair when he was trapped lbw after a Casson delivery nipped back from off stump. Andre Nel added just 3.Graeme Smith, who missed the match because of injury, played down the defeat. “We expected it in some ways coming out of India and travelling straight here and having a day before the game,” he said. “We didn’t expect to be at a level where we thought we would compete, but obviously we played even below that. But I don’t think it’s a concern, we’ve just got some hard work to do going into the first Test, we’ve got enough time and we’ll do it.”

Imran Farhat, Pakistan’s discarded opener, might be called up for the first Test against India after a splendid 107 runs against the Indians on Sunday in the tour match at the Bagh-e-Jinnah Ground in Lahore.Wasim Bari, the chief selector didn’t rule out the possibility of Farhat being considered for the Test team, when asked if he was under consideration for selection after his century despite his not being in the preliminary 18-member squad. Bari said, “The 18 players were only announced for the conditioning camp. But this is a home series and we can call up any player we want. Every player who is doing well at the domestic level is a candidate for selection.”Farhat’s sudden change of luck has also been helped by the fact that Yasir Hameed, who was named in the probables and was seen as a front-runner to open with Salman Butt, has been ruled out with typhoid. Yasir confirmed he had been ill for the last few days and had undergone a course of some 14 injections. He stated, “The doctors say I am okay now and I was thinking of joining the camp but yes it is true I am still feeling weak.”Farhat who last played a Test for Pakistan in December 2004 against Australia had good fortune smiling on him as he chose the perfect time to score a hundred despite playing some streaky shots. Just as he was going out to bat after lunch, Bari was immersed in discussions with Inzamam-ul-Haq and Bob Woolmer, the coach, on how to resolve the opening pair problem created due to the illness of Yasir.It was obvious after the discussions that three batsmen were competing for the one opening slot and when Woolmer and later on Bari with Iqbal Qasim and Ehteshamuddin, fellow selectors, came to the Bagh-e-Jinnah to watch Farhat play it became clear he had a chance of making the Test squad. Bazid Khan, another candidate for the opening slot, was also sent into open with Farhat and got out early.Inzamam admitted that it was yet to be decided who would open for Pakistan in the first Test. He said, “We have some options available to us notably Shoaib Malik who did a decent job against England. We also have Rafatullah Mohmand and Shahid Afridi.” But Inzamam dropped a hint on his mindset when he said that Mohmand was still raw and it would be a risk asking him to make his debut against India in a high-pressure game and that Afridi had done better low down the order.The word on Sunday evening was that Mohmand, Asim Kamal, Yasir and Umar Gul had been released from the Pakistan conditioning camp. But as far as Asim Kamal is concerned he could still upset the applecart as he is still batting in the tour match. And if he goes on to get some good runs before the team is announced sometime on Monday it would put the selectors and team management in an uncertain position whether to drop him or retain him given he has a good Test record.And the rumours are also strong that Farhat has been called up for the first Test, but it would still not guarantee him an opening slot against India as it is no secret that the captain is still wary of again trying out players he has tried out before and they have failed to respond with consistent performances despite good performances at the domestic level.

Eddie Barlow, the former South African allrounder, has died aged 65 after a long illness. He represented South Africa in 30 Tests from 1961 to 1970 and during his 21-year career played for Transvaal (now Gauteng), Western Province and Derbyshire.Barlow was one of the most popular players of his generation, and never gave less than his all as an obdurate opening batsman, an aggressive medium-pacer and a superb slip field. His spectacles and stout build earned him the nickname “Bunter”, owing to his physical resemblance to Billy Bunter.In his Test career he scored 2561 runs at 45, with a highest score of 201 against Australia at Adelaide in 1963-64, and also took 40 wickets and 34.05 apiece. His best bowing of 5 for 85 also came against Australia, at Cape Town, in 1966-67.During the Test at Adelaide in 1963-64 he added 341 for the third wicket with Graeme Pollock as South Africa won by 10 wickets, Barlow being unbeaten on 47 in the second innings. Five of his six Test centuries came against the Australians, plus 33 of his 40 wickets. He was part of the golden era of South African cricket, forming a formidable side with the likes of Graeme and Peter Pollock, Denis Lindsay and Mike Procter. However, Barlow, as with so many South African players, had his international career cut short by apartheid shortly after they had beaten Australia 4-0.Barlow continued to play for Western Province and also had two stints in county cricket with Derbyshire. He ended his first-class career in 1982-83 with Boland and after his retirement he was a liberal voice in the conservative South African political establishment of the 1980s. He became a respected coach at provincial level, never without a theory that he said would lead to brighter cricket, and was appointed Bangladesh coach in 1999. However, a stroke in 2000 left him paralysed and he moved to north Wales where, despite his disabilities, he continued to coach locally.

Scorecard

Trinidad and Tobago had victory over Barbados, and their first regional first-class title in 21 years, in sight after three days of their Carib Beer Series match yesterday. Chasing 412 runs to win, Barbados were 112 for 6 in their second innings when bad light stopped play six overs early at the Carlton Sports Club.Dave Mohammed snared three wickets for 21 runs from ten overs in the 50 minutes before the close of play, Mervyn Dillon collected two early scalps, and Amit Jaggernauth added another to put the Barbadians on the back foot. Ryan Hinds’ 32, Dale Richards’ 31, and Wayne Blackman’s 25 have been Barbados’ best efforts with the bat. T&T, leading by 92 runs on first innings, were dismissed for 319 in their second innings about 45 minutes after the lunch interval. Lendl Simmons, the opener, hit 115, his second first-class hundred to top-score for the visitors, Daren Ganga, T&T’s captain, retired hurt for 59, and Brian Lara scored 47 at better than a run-a-ball. Fidel Edwards was the most successful Barbados bowler with 4 for 56 from 11 overs, and Ryan Austin took 3 for 64 from 14.2 overs of offspin.Barbados, though, appeared to be making a fight of it when Richards batted for almost an hour to put up a 41-run opening stand. Dillon, however, made the breakthrough when he had Richards adjudged lbw for 31 playing across a full-length delivery, and in his next over added the scalp of Kurt Wilkinson, brilliantly caught at mid-off by a flying Richard Kelly for a duck. Hinds, Barbados’ captain, came to the wicket and with Blackman carried Barbados to 41 for 2 at tea. The two consolidated Barbados’ position with a partnership of 45 for the third wicket, after rain delayed the resumption after the break by almost half-hour. Blackman had dropped anchor and looked solid enough until he played back to a googly from Mohammed and was adjudged lbw.The most controversial moment of the game, however, was just around the corner, when Hinds, moving down the pitch to loft a delivery from Mohammed, was deceived by the flight and was dubiously adjudged lbw by Tunley Franklyn, the Barbadian umpire. Two more wickets fell in the space of seven balls, when Alcindo Holder was caught at square cover for 8 advancing and unleashing an ill-advised almighty heave, and Patrick Browne was neatly caught behind off Jaggernauth for a duck.Earlier, the runs continued to flow for T&T, after they resumed from their bedtime position of 145 for 1. Simmons and Ganga scored as they pleased, with the younger batsman arriving at his landmark with a single on a misfield. The pair added 122 for the second wicket before Simmons was caught at backward square leg top-edging a sweep after batting for just over three hours, facing 151 balls and striking 14 boundaries.Lara arrived and was simply Lara, adding 72 with Ganga for the third wicket in the last 45 minutes before lunch. He struck half-dozen fours and a couple of sixes – one over the pavilion at square leg off Austin, the other over long-on off Ryan Nurse – from 31 balls before he was caught inside the deep midwicket boundary. Ganga, who had been struck on his forearm by Edwards, retired hurt during lunch and was whisked away for a precautionary X-ray that did not contain bad news. His absence energised the Barbadians, and they removed the last six T&T wickets for 32 runs in the space of 4.2 overs. None of them scored more than ten, but the lead was significant enough by then. No team has scored more than 400 runs to win a regional first-class match. The Windwards have come closest, scoring 371 to defeat the same T&T by two wickets more than two decades ago at Queen’s Park Oval.Victory would draw T&T level with Barbados on 36 points and, based on head-to-head results, the Trinis would finally be able to get the monkey off their backs. T&T last won the regional first-class title in 1985 under Ranjie Nanan, former West Indies offspin bowler.

Inzamam-ul-Haq, the Pakistan captain, and Wasim Bari, the chief selector, have defended the selection of 17 players for the three-match ODI series in Sri Lanka starting March 17.The selection of so many players for the ODIs led to a protest from Saleem Altaf, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Director of Cricket Operations, who wrote a note of dissent on the squad. “We’ve picked the new players keeping in mind the next World Cup in 2007,” Bari said. ” We need to give the new players who have some potential, some exposure to see whether they can develop into steady performers for Pakistan.”Inzamam said the process of preparing for the World Cup had started with the Sri Lanka tour and that’s why some young players had been included. “We just want to have a look at them closely to check out their potential and temperament,” he added. “You can only do that on a foreign tour and it’ll be good for the youngsters to travel with the team and get used to the dressing-room atmosphere and team discipline.”The selectors have picked Tahir Khan and Abdul Rehman, two uncapped spinners, but have said changes could be made for the two Tests, which follow the one-day series. He said, “In Sri Lanka the pitches offer encouragement to the spinners and it’s not going to be an easy tour for us. Sri Lanka are a tough team to beat at home.”He added that Muttiah Muralitharan, who passed 600 Test wickets on Friday in the second Test against Bangladesh at Bogra, definitely posed a threat to the Pakistan batsmen. “There is no doubt he is a world-class performer and we’ll have to play him very carefully and properly. We’ve practiced for his type of bowling but he remains a threat and must be watched closely.”He was however confident his players could handle the pressures of the tour and noted they had played Murali before. “The only thing is against a bowler of his caliber, you can’t afford to relax at all.” The last time Pakistan played in Sri Lanka was in the 2004 Asia Cup, where they suffered a big defeat at the hands of Sri Lanka, a result that eventually cost them a berth in the final.Inzamam said his players now had to learn from their mistakes of the one-day series loss to India and start afresh. He welcomed the appointment of Zaheer Abbas, as manager, and Waqar Younis, as bowling coach, and felt the youngsters should learn a lot from them on tour.Shaharyar Khan, the PCB chairman, admitted the board had some reservations over sending 17 players for the three one-dayers to Sri Lanka. “I’ve spoken to the selectors and captain and I can understand their point of view for picking some extra players,” he said. “The idea is to give them exposure and test them out in foreign conditions. It’s also a reward for their consistent performances in domestic cricket.”

Faisalabad set Sialkot a stiff victory target of 389 runs, on the third day of their Pentangular Cup match at Lahore.By stumps, Sialkot in their run chase reached 25 for the loss of one wicket. Faisalabad, following their emphatic nine-wicket triumph over Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) in the first round last week, now sense their second win coming their way.Sialkot resumed at their overnight score of 208 for 7, still needing a further 51 to avert the follow-on. Thanks to a 51-run eighth-wicket stand and another worth 42 for the last wicket, they saved themselves and took their first innings total to 271.Faisalabad still attained a big first innings lead of 137. In their second outing, they compiled 251 for eight and declared 388 runs ahead to leave Sialkot a rather tough task to conjure up an improbable win.Tahir Mughal, the Sialkot captain, scored 51 runs off 75 balls with five fours. Asim Butt, following his bowling effort of 6 for 85, scored a rapid 32 off only 19 balls with five fours and a six in a crucial last-wicket partnership with Sarfraz Ahmed.Faisalabad got off to a flying start in their second innings, putting on 107 for the first wicket with Mohammad Hafeez following his first innings 113 with another important knock of 60, his runs coming off 101 balls with seven fours and a six.

Sri Lanka’s preparations for next week’s first Test at Lord’s have taken a further blow with the news that Muttiah Muralitharan is to fly home to Kandy following the death of his aunt.Murali, who has taken 611 wickets in 103 Tests, is absolutely central to Sri Lanka’s fortunes on this tour, but fortunately for his team-mates, he is expected to return to England on Sunday, in time to complete his preparations for the start of the Test series on May 11.”He is flying out tonight but will return on Sunday,” confirmed the Sri Lanka team manager, Michael Tissera, who added that Murali had been very close to his aunt and wanted to attend the funeral.He was not selected for Sri Lanka’s final warm-up match against England A at Worcester, after claiming four wickets against Derbyshire last week.

The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) has given the players an April 21 deadline to settle the retainer contracts or face being axed from the squad.The WICB cricket committee – comprising the chairman Clive Lloyd, Michael Holding, Andy Roberts, Desmond Haynes, Deryck Murray and Ian Bishop – issued a statement regarding the retainer contracts issue which said, “The WICB made a proposal to the West Indies Players Association (WIPA) on January 12 on the issue of retainer contracts for West Indies players. It was a good offer, fully competitive with other full member countries of the world. After some three months, we have been unable to conclude an agreement in spite of an increase on our original proposal of five percent.”We have been at a loss to understand the reasons for this matter being dragged out as long as it has, until today. Information has now reached us that discussions are taking place between certain players and interests in direct competition with our major sponsor.”We continue to hope that this information is incorrect. Nonetheless, time has run out on us and we can no longer permit this situation to be dragged out interminably. We shall therefore recommend to the WICB board of directors that a firm cut-off point be established on Friday April 21 for the retainer contracts to be settled. Thereafter the team shall be selected based on those players who make themselves available.”Dinanath Ramnarine, the WIPA president, had said that the WICB was slowing down the process of trying to conclude an agreement over long-standing issues. He said that Lloyd had called on WIPA to try and reach an agreement over retainer contracts by mid-April but maintained that the WIPA would not rush to sign a contract for the sake of signing”The gist of it and the question we have to ask ourselves is if we sign the retainer contracts, are the players going to be better off,” Ramnarine told the . “We are not going to be pressured by anybody into signing a retainer contract because we are the only team that does not have a retainer contract. We will sign the retainer contract once we believe that it is a fair and reasonable contract and it is in the best interest of the player. We are not going to be put under pressure by anybody. I don’t have any pressure from my members. They are well aware of what is taking place and are very supportive.”