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Dinanath Ramnarine, the West Indies Players Association (WIPA) president, has said that the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) is slowing down the process of trying to conclude an agreement over long-standing issues.Speaking in an interview with CMC Cricket Plus on the fourth day of the Carib Beer Series final between Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago at Guaracara Park, Ramnarine said a recent letter from Ken Gordon, the WICB president, appeared not to rubber-stamp an agreement that had been earlier reached with other WICB executives.”One of the constraints that we have is that you would have heard around February 6, the chief executive of the WICB basically saying we reached agreement on the collective labour agreement, the code of conduct and the memorandum of understanding,” Ramnarine said. “I recently received a letter from the president of the board basically saying those agreements were drafts. Our position is that we signed off on the agreement. There wasn’t a signature, but it was agreed across the table.”The two parties met last Thursday in an effort to try and resolve issues that have plagued West Indies cricket over the past two years. “What [has] frustrated the whole process in dealing with the WICB is every time we negotiate with them and you reach an agreement across the table, the next meeting everything changes,” Ramnarine said.Recently, Clive Lloyd, chairman of the WICB’s cricket committee, called on WIPA to try and reach an agreement over retainer contracts by mid-April. Ramnarine said, however, 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. 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,” said Ramnarine. “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.”

ScorecardFile photo: Udara Jayasundera made a painstaking 63 off 153 balls for the Sri Lankans•WICB Media

The Sri Lankans’ bowlers let the NZC President’s XI’s eighth-wicket partnership plunder 124 runs, but batted marginally better than in the first innings to secure a draw in the three-day warm up game in Queenstown. The hosts took a 206-run lead before declaring and the Sri Lankans then moved to 226 for 6 by stumps.A 153-ball 63 from opener Udara Jayasundera led the Sri Lankans’ innings, and heightened his chances of a debut in the first Test against New Zealand next Thursday. He struck up a 108-run partnership with Kithuruwan Vithanage, who hit 61 off 109 himself. Angelo Mathews made an unbeaten 54, while Dinesh Chandimal collected 29. Kusal Perera and Kusal Mendis were dismissed for low scores for the second time in the match.The President’s XI bowlers shared the six wickets between them, Neil Wagner taking 1 for 31. Seamer James Baker picked up the innings’ best figures of 2 for 21.Earlier in the day, the Presidents’ XI’s resumed on 288 for 7, before hitting 111 runs in the next 15.3 overs. No. 9 batsman Tim Johnston hit 62 from 74 balls while Shawn Hicks finished with 79 not out from 85 deliveries. Sri Lanka lent their opposition a hand with 44 extras, including 21 no-balls. Dushmantha Chameera claimed his fourth wicket of the innings to end that eighth-wicket partnership and invite the declaration.

Pakistani players and dignitaries attended a memorial service in Lahore for Bob Woolmer on Sunday.Captain Inzamam-ul-Haq led a contingent of seven players among the 400 mourners at the 100-year-old Sacred Heart Church in Lahore while officials lit candles and laid floral wreaths at a portrait of the late coach.Inzamam, accompanied by team-mates Salman Butt, Imran Nazir, Shoaib Malik, Mohammed Asif, Mohammed Hafeez and Kamran Akmal, said Woolmer was an “excellent coach and above all things was an excellent human being.””After Woolmer’s family, the Pakistan team was the most aggrieved by his death,” AFP quoted Inzamam as saying during the hour-long service.Archbishop of Lahore Reverend Lawrence Saldanha said Woolmer was like a “second father” to his players. “We pay tribute to his excellent qualities. He was known for his passionate interest in cricket. We salute him for his professional competency, as well as his sense of responsibility and commitment,” Saldanha said. “He was also a kind and gentle person who won the hearts of his players who looked up to him as a second father.”Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Nasim Ashraf described Woolmer’s death “a terrible tragedy” and said that he was a “rock of stability” who lived for cricket and loved the sport. “He was internationally known and was the first modern coach of cricket. The world will follow his method and teachings.”He remembered Woolmer as a man of simple tastes, choosing to live in a room at the National Cricket Academy rather than a five-star hotel, who developed a taste for Pakistani food and movies and understood some Urdu. “He would go to food street (a restaurant area of Lahore) and watch Pakistani movies and he once told me that the boys do not know that I understand half of their jokes.”Ashraf lit candles and along with Punjab governor Khalid Maqbool laid wreaths on behalf of President Pervez Musharraf around Woolmer’s portrait, which was decorated with red roses and yellow marigold. “Muslims and Christian citizens gathered here at the Sacred Heart Church over the sorrowful death of coach Bob Woolmer and all prayed for the departed soul,” Maqbool said. “Defeat and victory is part of the game. The disappointment of Pakistani cricket team is just for the time being. It will soon emerge as as one of the greatest cricket teams of the world.”Experts from Britain’s Scotland Yard and a couple of senior Pakistani police officers are assisting the Jamaican police in investigating Woolmer’s murder.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

Rajasthan Royals continued to surge up the points table by beating Bangalore Royal Challengers comprehensively by seven wickets at the Chinnaswamy Stadium to draw level with the Chennai Super Kings with three wins each. The win was set up by their bowlers, after Shane Warne decided to field, who restricted Bangalore to 135, allowing the batsmen to chase at a comfortable pace.The contest wasn’t too dissimilar to the one between the Chennai Super Kings and Kolkata earlier in the day, where Chennai completed an easy win after their bowlers kept Kolkata to 147. Having been put in on a pitch with a bit of assistance for the fast bowlers, Bangalore, perhaps taking cue from Brendon McCullum’s 158, felt that being positive was the way to go but several aerial shots resulted in a flurry of wickets.Bangalore were forced to play catch up right from the start, a predicament brought about by their batsmen’s urge to attack. Rahul Dravid was the first of the top four batsmen to get caught in the deep square of the wicket. He pulled his first ball, off Shane Watson, straight to Ravindra Jadeja at long leg. Two overs later, Shivnarine Chanderpaul tried to pull too but the ball took the top edge and found Jadeja, this time at third man.Ross Taylor briefly threatened to repeat McCullum’s heroics: he hit Sohail Tanvir for two sixes in his first over – the first over the bowler’s head followed by an edge which flew over the third-man boundary – and two fours in his second. Munaf Patel came into the attack and Taylor lofted him over midwicket for four, bettered that with a six next ball and then edged to the third-man boundary to take 15 off the over. The Bangalore batsmen, ridiculed by many as a Test XI, seemed to be proving a point. However, just when they looked in command, Jacques Kallis stepped out to Siddharth Trivedi and pulled straight to Munaf on the deep square leg boundary. The crippling blow came when Taylor fell in identical fashion, pulling to Graeme Smith to reduce Bangalore to 65 for 4.The spate of wickets didn’t curb the stroke play and Virat Kohli, India’s Under-19 captain, was fortunate to survive a catch on the deep midwicket boundary. Jadeja held on splendidly to the skier that was sailing over his head but, while trying to gain control, he hit the ground and touched the advertisement hoardings, making it a six instead. However, Kohli didn’t capitalise and nicked one to the wicketkeeper Mahesh Rawat while trying to make room and cut.Warne had instant success when he brought himself in the 12th over. Mark Boucher got an inside-edge onto the pads, and Rawat dived to pouch after the ball after ballooned in the air. At 78 for 6, it was left to Praveen Kumar, the India allrounder, to salvage the situation.Praveen relied on big hits to boost the total, and he did it with success, and sometimes with luck. A thick top edge off an attempted slog off Warne cleared the short straight boundary but Praveen showed that he could hit cleanly too by depositing the next ball into the stands at midwicket. He went on to score 34, a knock that ensured Bangalore played out their overs.A target of 136 meant than Bangalore had to strike early to have any chance of a successful defense. Praveen had Rawat caught behind early and dismissed Yusuf Pathan with a bouncer, which was top-edged so high in the air that Mark Boucher had to run towards fine leg to take the catch.Two early wickets gave Bangalore a sniff but Smith emphasised how crucial his presence at the top order was for Rajasthan with a sensible innings. Against the Deccan Chargers, Smith batted aggressively because Rajasthan were chasing 200 plus but today he focused on staying at the crease.Along with Watson he stabilised the innings, and soon Dravid had to turn to Anil Kumble, who was playing his first game in the IPL. Watson, though, greeted him with two pulled fours, and when victory was almost certain, he cut loose against Praveen taking 26 runs off an over which read 4, 6, 4, 4, 4, 4. One was left wondering where all the fielders were for the ball raced to the boundary without a Bangalore shirt in sight.Smith fell one short of his fifty, holing out to long-on, while attempting a third consecutive four off Sunil Joshi but Watson and Mohammad Kaif completed the chase with 17 balls to spare.

Danish Kaneria has turned down the chance to play in the Indian Cricket League. Kaneria, who is currently playing for Essex, said that he rejected the approach as his priority was to Pakistan and that “money is not everything”. He also called on the selectors to give him a place in the one-day side.In an interview which will appear on the Essex CCC website, he said: “There was an offer to me to play in the Indian Cricket League but my country always comes first to me. I always want to give 110% to my country so don’t want to be playing in another league.”There are three teams I want to play for – firstly my country, then Essex and my department, Habib Bank. They are three major teams who look after me so I try my level best to give to them.”International cricket is something different to domestic cricket so I want to stick with that. Money is not everything. I want to get my name where Muttiah Muralitharan and Shane Warne is. I want to achieve something in my life.”I would love to be in the one-day team and I don’t know why the selectors and captain don’t have confidence in me. They should do because I’ve bowled well in the county game [with Essex] which has a high level in the one-day cricket.”Leg-spinners play a vital role in any one-day team such as India who have been putting Piyush Chawla up against the England batting line-up. I would love to play but it depends on the management, the selectors and captain. They should have faith in me in all forms of cricket.”Kaneria’s next international commitments are in October, with the Test series against South Africa in Pakistan. In the meantime, he has been confirmed by Essex as their one overseas player next year.

Days of fervent speculation came to an end today with the Indian CricketLeague announcing its roster of players, which included Inzamam-ul-Haqand Mohammad Yousuf and an assortment of Indians – former internationals, domestic veterans and greenhorns. However, the organisers failed to shedany light on the details of the tournament.Prominent in the list of 50 released at the press conference were DineshMongia, Reetinder Singh Sodhi, Deep Dasgupta, JP Yadav, Laxmi RatanShukla and T Kumaran, all former Indian cricketers. And apart fromInzamam and Yousuf, the ICL announced the names of Abdul Razzaq andImran Farhat from Pakistan, who have signed on with Lance Klusenerand Nicky Boje of South Africa.Last month the ICL had announced the signing of Brian Lara, the former West Indies captain, and he remains the biggest name to join till date.However, the organisers could not yet reveal where or when the proposed40-day Twenty20 tournament would take place. It is believed that thetournament will be held in October. However, at the same time Australiawill be in India to play a series of seven ODIs. Soon after that Pakistantour India, another marquee series, while India tour Australia straightafter. The organisers do not have a window in which to stage thistournament, without it clashing with the Indian team’s itinerary, andperhaps that explained why they could not come up with dates.Kapil Dev, the chairman of the executive board of the ICL, pointed to theassembled group of cricketers, calling them “the cream of talent” in thecountry, as one-by-one, the 44 cricketers from domestic cricket walked upand took their places on a podium alongside the dais where officials ofthe ICL were seated.The most severely hit association was Hyderabad with eight of its playersjoining the ICL. Bengal and Punjab have also had their Ranji teams eroded,with the likes of Deep Dasgupta, Abhishek Jhunjhunwala, Subhomoy Das,Subhojit Paul and Shibsagar Singh from Bengal, and Reetinder Singh Sodhi and Ishan Malhotra from Punjab. Railways and Uttar Pradesh were two other teams also badly hit.The ICL organisers were also tightlipped about the kind of money peoplewere being offered. They refused to either confirm or deny the kind ofnumbers doing the rounds in the media. It is speculated that players fromIndian domestic cricket – not international stars like Inzamam and Yousuf- were being paid in the region of Rs 30 lakh ($72,600) a year.When it was put to Kapil that the contract period of ICL was three years,and that it was likely that players who signed on with ICL would losetheir regular jobs – most players are employed to represent theircompanies in leagues and tournaments conducted under the auspices of theBCCI and its affiliates, and will be unable to do so if a ban were imposed- he responded, “Can you tell me what will happen to your job after twoyears?” Kapil shot back. “As long as they keep on playing well, they willdo well. These are professional people who have to make their own lives.”Kapil was seated alongside the other officials of the ICL – Himanshu Mody,the project head of ICL, Sandeep Patil, Kiran More, EAS Prasanna, BharatReddy, Balwinder Singh Sandhu, Madan Lal, Rajesh Chauhan and Pranab Roy.Kapil was at his emotional best, exhorting his players to do well, andcongratulating them on showing the bravery they had in joining the ICL.”I’d like to take everyone to where we started some months ago. At that time peopleasked, ‘Where will you get cricketers from?’ This is the cream of thecountry,” he said, pointing to the group of 44 Indian cricketers. “Thecourage these people have showed, even I didn’t have at that age. We needpeople like this who want to make their own decisions. They take pride toplay for their country, not being pushed by someone or threatened bysomeone. What we need is to entertain the people in this country. I willback you till the last day I live.”In their turn the players who had joined the ICL spoke of their reasonsfor doing so. “I thought of all the pros and cons. Playing domesticcricket does not give me a chance to play against international stars,”said Abhishek Jhunjhunwala. “This gives me very good security.”Mongia, who is believed to be one of the big-ticket signings, said,”My clear thought is, as a cricketer I want to play cricket. I play clubcricket in Chandigarh, in Madras I play in corporate tournaments, I playRanji Trophy for Punjab, and league cricket in England. Here again I get achance to play with youngsters who are good, and foreign players.”Interestingly, Mody, the head of the initiative, claimed he knew nothing ofthe circumstances surrounding Boje, after announcing his signing.Boje had withdrawn from South Africa’s last tour of India, with the Delhipolice wanting to question him regarding matchfixing allegationssurrounding an existing case in the Hansie Cronje affair from years ago.”I suppose Boje has taken all that into consideration when signing thecontract,” he said. “He has signed with us and that’s all I know. I’m notaware of these allegations of betting or whatever it is you’re speakingof.”International players
Inzamam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Yousuf, Abdul Razzaq, Imran Farhat, LanceKlusener, Nicky BojeIndian players
Hyderabad : Ambati Rayudu, Alfred Absolem, Inder Shekar Reddy, Ibrahim Khaleel, Shashank Nag, D Vinay Kumar, Kaushik Reddy, Anirudh SinghBengal: Abhishek Jhunjhunwala, Deep Dasgupta, Laxmi Ratan Shukla, Shibsagar Singh, Subhomoy Das, Subhojit Paul, Syed Akhlakh Ahmed.Punjab: Dinesh Mongia, Ishan Malhotra, Reetinder Sodhi, Manish Sharma, Sarabjit Singh, Rajesh Sharma, Sumit KaliaTamil Nadu: V Devendran, J Hariesh, R Sathish, Dakshinamoorthy Kumaran, Thirunavukarasu Kumaran, Hemanth Kumar, G VigneshUttar Pradesh: Shalabh Srivastava, Ali Murtaza, Avinash YadavMaharashtra: Dheeraj Jadhav, Ranjit Khirid, Sridharan SriramMadhya Pradesh: Syed Abbas Ali Khan, Sachin Dholpure, Mohnish Mishra,T SurendraRailways: Jai Prakash Yadav, Shreyas KhanolkarBaroda: Kiran PowarAndhra: Syed SahabuddinMumbai: Robin MorrisServices: Yashpal SinghNon first-class players: Abhishek T (Chattisgarh), Raviraj Patil and Puskaraj Mohan Joshi (both Maharashtra)

The committee appointed by the West Indies Cricket Board to review the tenure of Bennett King, the West Indies coach, and his staff has been unable to determine whether the Board are getting value for money. However, they have recommended that King and his men stay put.The WICB issued a media release on the report submitted on February 15 by the committee headed by Jackie Hendriks and including the WICB directors Deryck Murray and Enoch Lewis were the other members.The evaluation of King, David Moore, the assistant coach, Stephen Partridge, the physiotherapist, and Bryce Cavanaugh, the trainer, had been prompted by a request by Chetram Singh, the Guyana Cricket Board president and WICB director, for the Board to determine whether King and his colleagues were worth the collective sum of US$1m they are reportedly receiving. Since his tenure began, King, who has been given full responsibility for the team, has presided over just one Test victory in 12 matches, the latest defeat being Monday’s 27-run loss against New Zealand in Auckland.However, in the release, the WICB said: “The Hendriks Committee noted that there was not sufficient evidence to work with in determining whether the investment in the coaching staff had paid dividends and suggested that the coaching staff be given more opportunity before a further evaluation is made.”Specifically, the Hendriks committee had been asked to:1. Review the conditions of employment which relate to the imported coaching staff and to evaluate the results which have been achieved to date and2. To advise whether, in the view of the committee, the results achieved have justified the investment.However, while failing to come to a firm conclusion on the success of King and his men, the committee commended “the obvious commitment of the coaching staff toward moving West Indies cricket forward”. The committee noted further that ” King and his support team appear to be keen and resolute in their determination to ensure that the West Indies team shows a marked improvement in both one-day and Test matches, and they realise that their future employment with the WICB depends very largely on an improvement of the team’s performances over the next 18 months.” It also concluded that strides had been made in fitness and technical areas.The committee also said King was “in complete charge of the West Indies team in accordance with his mandate and the results achieved by the team must be taken as an indication of the effectiveness of his tenure to date”. “However, off-the-field issues over which the head coach had no control have led to a negative view of his performance, including the lack of funds available for him to carry out certain of his plans and, too, the very unsettling industrial impasse that has existed before and during recent home and away series. The delay in implementing retainer contracts for players was also a cause for great concern by the head coach in working on achieving the goals and objectives set by the coaching staff.”The committee also found there was a need for several changes to be made in the running of regional cricket. These changes included the structure of West Indies first-class cricket, which they said needed to undergo considerable change so as to maximise its effectiveness; the need to adopt and implement the Regional Cricket Development Plan; the reintroduction of a central cricket academy with a vastly improved structure, and the establishment of satellite academies within the territories which would greatly enhance the effectiveness of the central academy; the need for a process and a system to be put in place to raise the standards throughout the region; and the need to appoint a West Indian understudy to the head coach to provide for succession planning.In addition, the committee urged that a consistent and uniform coaching policy throughout the region be established and that leadership training continued to be pursued.

Malcolm Speed, the ICC’s chief executive, has said that he will step down when his contract expires in June 2008.”That will conclude seven years and I will not stay on longer than that,” Speed said from the ICC’s headquarters in Dubai.He denied that the stinging criticism both he and the ICC had received during the World Cup had influenced his decision, insisting that he had made up his mind before then.”It’s not a secret, there’s nothing earth-shattering,” an ICC spokesman told Cricinfo. “He’s just decided now’s a good time. He will be 60 next September and he was is quite content that the future is on a good footing. He will have left the game on a sound footing in terms of finances, thanks to agreements including the recent deal with ESPN-Star.”Speed succeeded David Richards, another Australian, in 2001 and he has overseen a period when income into the game has reached unprecedented levels. But with that has come a marked increase in the power of individual boards, and Speed has often seemed increasingly at odds with the policies the ICC has been forced to follow.The ICC will discuss the process of recruitment in October. It expects David Morgan, who is on the human resources and remuneration committee, to play a role there, particularly as he will be the incumbent president.

Ricky Ponting said that he was more proud than relieved after Australiahad kept their nerve to emerge triumphant in yet another crunch game, andhe was effusive in his praise for the bowlers who delivered such tellingspells to script an 18-run victory.Though he was defending just 213, Ponting said that India’s early collapsehad given his team an edge that they never quite relinquished. “I thoughtwe were actually in the game for a fair bit of it to tell the truth,” hesaid, when asked if there had been a particular moment when he scentedvictory. “Though we hadn’t gotten the runs on the board, we got fourwickets quite early and if you looked at their team, you could realisethey had a fairly long tail with Ajit [Agarkar] batting where he was, andHarbhajan [Singh] after him.”We just needed another couple during the middle of the innings. I stillhad Brett [Lee] and Glenn [McGrath] and Stuey Clark up my sleeve, so I wasalways going to bring them back to hopefully finish things off. It was agood tight tussle right to the end, and Australia generally wins most ofthose contests.”The cockiness was tempered by the knowledge that it had been a close-runthing, with the pre-planned omissions of Michael Clarke and Shane Watsonappearing to be glaring ones halfway through the day. “It’s always nice tohave lots of options when you have a small total on the board but wedidn’t have that tonight. Brett and the rest of the guys were terrific. Wecovered the bases we were insufficient in. At the end of the day, it was avery good win. We’ve mixed and matched our teams, and we’ve won justenough games to make the final, as we always wanted to do.”There was unstinting praise for Lee, who finished with 5 for 38 whiledenting Indian chances with every spell he bowled. “I’ve said that I thinkhe’s the best one-day bowler,” he said. “It’s very rare that he doesn’tget wickets with the new ball. And you know that during the middle of theinnings, if you go back to someone with that sort of pace, it’s going tobe difficult for new guys starting against him. It’s just been a pleasurewatching the way he’s going about his work at the moment.”The Brads, Hogg and Haddin, who gave Australia hope with a quickfire77-run partnership, were also singled out. “That was a very good piece ofbowling,” he said, when asked about the manner in which Hogg had outfoxedSuresh Raina. “He’s a pretty under-rated player for us. He’s done a verygood job for a long period of time now. When he gets a chance, he does thejob and no one loves his cricket more. He was a vital cog in the chaintonight, the guy we were always going to have to go to for a breakthroughin the middle overs. He did it twice, and did well with the bat as well.”As for Haddin, Ponting said that his displays in the tournament hadrevealed that a future without Adam Gilchrist might not be so frighteningafter all. “We’ve known for a long time that Brad is a very goodcricketer,” he said. “In most other teams around the world, he’d haveplayed a lot more cricket. He’s just had to wait a long time behind Gilly.You’ve seen the way he’s batted and the way he’s kept. He’s going to be agreat replacement when Adam moves on.”The concerns centred on the batting, once again below par against adisciplined Indian attack. “The running wasn’t great either,” he said witha wry grin. “We’ve got to get a lot better before the final. The battinghasn’t been good. We’ve got out of jail a couple of times – Huss’s hundredthe other day, and Haddin’s been terrific at seven. The guys at the tophaven’t got in and got the runs.”Amid the euphoria, there was also some words of praise for Dinesh Mongia’sfine effort. “I think we always knew he was that sort of player, and theyneeded that sort at the top of their order. I wasn’t surprised when[Mohammad] Kaif came out when he did, and him [Mongia] as well. We knew hecould play, and he was very dogged. Losing wickets around him, it was upto him to stay and steer them through, and he nearly did that.”Lee was understandably thrilled with his five-for, which took histournament returns to 8 for 84 from just two games. “It’s always nice toget two early wickets,” he said. “With a man like Sachin Tendulkar outthere, it’s nice to chance your arm against the best. Along with Ricky[Ponting] and Brian [Lara], he’s the best going around, so I’m prettyhappy.It’s just my second chance. The way the sides have been picked, it’s givenall of us an opportunity to get back into it, and the body is feelinggood. It came out well tonight. Every spell I came up and bowled, I feltconfident, we had fantastic fields.”And though Glenn McGrath didn’t pick up any wickets, his tightfistedness -25 runs conceded from eight overs – played a big part in Lee’s success.”It’s always great to have Glenn back,” he said. “The figures speak forthemselves. Looking forward to the big final coming up on Sunday, the ICCTrophy and the Ashes as well, it’s a big summer, and hopefully one thatGlenn and I will be part of.”He also praised Ponting for his support during the lean years, when heexpended lots of energy in the nets without making it into the XI. “When Iwasn’t bowling well, he sat me down and put a couple of different ideas inmy head,” he said. “Thinking back to Brisbane a couple of years ago, hehad a really good chat with me. We look at Ricky as one for guidance.”As a member of the pace-bowling fraternity, he was also delighted by themanner in which Stuart Clark bounced back after a mauling in the lastgame. “I said after the last game, it’s unfortunate the way one-daycricket goes. He’s the kind of bowler who can turn around straightaway.He’s gone from a disappointing match to bowling fantastic. He bowled atgood pace, had a fantastic caught-and-bowled. That definitely changed hisgame.”

And after walking a disciplinary tightrope in recent times, Ponting spenta couple of minutes having to answer questions about the Tendulkarincident that saw him exchange more than a few words with Mark Benson, whoreversed his caught-behind decision. “The umpire made his decision, andthen he reversed it. I think he actually got it right in the end. Heexplained the reason why. I wasn’t that happy at the time, but it was theumpire’s decision.”Ponting made it clear that he hadn’t approached the umpire to voice hisdispleasure. “I didn’t approach him, he called me over to explain why hehad changed his decision,” he said. “I didn’t actually see Sachin beingcalled back. I was in the middle of a group with the guys, and Mark wascalling me over to explain it.”He refused to accept that such controversial moments made a case for theincreased use of technology. “I’ve never been a great fan,” he saidcandidly. “We’ve experimented with a lot of things. The Super Test was onewhere the umpires could refer everything to the third umpire. There were afew that went either way. I think technology for line decisions, the wayit’s being used, is about as much as it should be used.”You have to understand that umpires are human and they will makemistakes. Much like the players – we probably make as many mistakes asanyone going around. I’m a big believer in leaving the human element in.”After his last transgression, Chris Broad, the match referee, hadsuggested that Ponting was on very thin ice. And but for the umpirestaking a benevolent view of his antics today, he might well have slippedunder. With the Champions Trophy and the Ashes looming, Australia canheave a sigh of relief that it hasn’t happened.

With just one day to go for the annual elections of the Board of Control for Cricket in India it is still unclear whether Ranbir Singh Mahendra will have any opposition or not. Sharad Pawar, the man who opposed Mahendra last year and lost by the narrowest of margins in an acrimonious election, has refused to confirm or deny his intention to stand for the post of president. The constitution of the Indian board allows for candidates to enter the fray even as the annual general meeting gets underway.”I know there are quite a few well-wishers in the cricket board, but I am waiting for them to meet me first,” Pawar is quoted as saying in the . Pawar, who was in Delhi meeting various heads of state cricket associations believed to be opposed to Jagmohan Dalmiya, former board chief, and therefore Mahendra, also said, “Till Wednesday I am busy with my ministerial work, but on Thursday (the day of the election) I may go to Kolkata.”In all this Pawar refused to give a clear-cut answer on the question of his contesting for the post of board president. “I have not decided yet. But that does not mean I am not contesting. I am waiting for the court cases to reach a solution, then we will see how things pan out.”At the moment there are several cases pending that could have a direct impact on the election. Netaji Cricket Club in Chennai, now more famous for the number of cases they have filed against the BCCI than for their cricket, had asked the courts to appoint a presiding officer to conduct the elections. In response, the Calcutta High Court has appointed Justice Suhas Chandra Sen, a retired judge of the Supreme Court, as the observer for this election.There are other cases where the validity of certain members’ representation of the state associations of Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh are being questioned.In fact, Dalmiya told the Press Trust of India, “I am totally confused. Press reports say that elections are on. But the elections depend on the outcome of the cases” .In another development, the Madras High Court has restrained the board from holding the polls till 12.30pm tomorrow.Another factor that could give Pawar reason for pause is that the next year (2006 AGM) will usher in the turn of the West Zone to nominate a candidate for the presidency. At the moment it is the turn of the North. Mahendra, who will complete one year as president tomorrow, has a chance to extend his term by another year. In case he does win the election, he could also seek a 12-month extension at the 2006 AGM.Therefore, if Pawar is to contest, he has to be nominated by a state association from the North Zone. Last time around it was Punjab who put him up. “We haven’t yet received a request (for nomination) from Mr Pawar, but if he does seek our help our administrative committee is going to take a decision,” Inderjit Singh Bindra, president of the Punjab Cricket Association, was quoted as saying by . It has also been suggested that Pawar could seek nomination via Jammu & Kashmir. But Farooq Abdullah, the president of the J & K cricket association, is away in Scotland at the moment, and no concrete information was available on that front.The one thing that is certain, however, is that the term of SK Nair, who has served as secretary of the board for three years, has come to an end. He is likely to be replaced by either Gautham Dasgupta, if the Mahendra faction wins, or Niranjan Shah, if the Pawar camp comes through. Dasgupta is currently a joint secretary of the BCCI while Shah is secretary of the Saurashtra cricket association.