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The ongoing debate over Steve Waugh’s future as Australia’s captain surfaced again at the weekend with comments from two former players turned commentators, Jeff Thomson and David Hookes, that the time is right for him to step down.Thomson and Hookes said that with the Australian middle-order aging and with a series against Bangladesh starting in July, Waugh should go in the interest of the team. “It’s time to move on and it’s a good time to do it when the opposition isn’t that good,” Thomson argued. “When he [Waugh] got the hundred in Sydney, I thought that was enough. What’s he going to prove if he plays Bangladesh? Who cares if Steve Waugh gets a hundred?”Hookes, a long-standing critic of Waugh, agreed. “I can’t see any point [him] playing against Bangladesh. He won’t get a hit for starters. Look at the batting,” he continued. “You’ve got him, Lehmann, Ponting and Martyn to come back – they are not young blokes.Thomson went one step further, suggesting that Glenn McGrath should be relived of his new-ball duties in favour of Brett Lee and Jason Gillespie. “If the wicket’s got something in it, you may as well use Gillespie and Lee,” Thomson said. “Lee should be opening the bowling, get the choice of ends. To bowl Lee into the wind is not on any more. McGrath wouldn’t have to wait long. They are only going to bowl five or six overs.”

The Victorian Bushrangers today announced a strong team to contest the season’s opening ING Cup match against the NSW Blues at Bankstown Oval on Sunday. Australian stars, Shane Warne, Damien Fleming and Ian Harvey are welcome inclusions for the Bushrangers, in a match which should be one of the highlights of the domestic season.New leader of the Bushrangers ING Cup side, Matthew Elliott said he was looking forward to the match and season ahead. “Obviously it’s been an unusual build up due to the resignation of John Scholes, but he leaves us in great shape and we’re really keen to open our account with a win this Sunday. The side is well balanced with plenty of options, and I think we’re embarking on what should be an exciting season for the Bushrangers in the ING Cup”.The Bushrangers have also announced the team for next week’s ACB Cup match against South Australia in Adelaide. Leading the side is Bushrangers regular Matthew Mott.BUSHRANGERS v NSW BLUES: Sunday, October 7, 2001 at BankstownMatthew Elliott (c), Jason Arnberger, Darren Berry, Damien Fleming, Ian Harvey, Ian Hewett, Brad Hodge, Michael Klinger, Michael Lewis, Jonathan Moss, Ben Oliver, Shane WarneVICTORIA v SOUTH AUSTRALIA: October 8-11, 2001 at Adelaide Oval (no. 2)Matthew Mott (c), Rob Bartlett, Will Carr, Shawn Craig, Simon Dart, John Davison, Peter Harper, Shane Harwood, Nick Jewell, Andrew Kent, Andrew McDonald, Peter Roach

Glenn Maxwell says he is not a fan of the law change that permitted him to pull off one of the most brilliant outfield catches of the year during yesterday’s fourth ODI at Headingley.Maxwell, fielding at deep midwicket during the closing stages of England’s series-squaring three-wicket win, dismissed Liam Plunkett after parrying the ball on the edge of the boundary, then jumping to complete the take in mid-air despite his last point of contact with the ground having taken place on the wrong side of the rope.Prior to October 2013, the law had stated that the fielder needed to have started in the field of play and be grounded in bounds before securing the catch. That was amended by MCC to reward athleticism in the outfield but Maxwell, one of the best exponents of the art, said he didn’t see the point of the change.”I don’t think it makes a whole lot of sense,” Maxwell said after the Headingley match. “I think you should have to get back into the boundary.”I think if you look at the basketball rule. You have to jump from inside to throw it back in, you can’t jump up in the air and catch it on the way back in.”You’ve got to make sure your feet have landed inside the court and I think it should be the same in cricket.”But while we’re taking catches on our side it doesn’t really bother me, but I know if I was a batsman I’d be pretty upset if that was the dismissal. You’ve just go to play the rules you’re given.”Eoin Morgan, England’s victorious captain, who also fell to a moment of brilliance from Maxwell when he was caught one-handed in the gully for 92, hailed the catch as “fantastic” but also admitted that the rule change had caught him unawares.”I’m unclear on the rules to be honest,” Morgan said. “I think it’s changed a couple of times so I will be asking so that I know for the future.”Maxwell himself only became aware of the law change after commenting on Twitter during a similar incident in Australia’s Big Bash in January. Josh Lalor, Sydney Thunder’s fast bowler, dismissed Cameron White, Melbourne Stars’ captain, having also started with his feet outside the field of play. Maxwell tweeted:He later admitted he was “happy to be proven wrong”, but added he thought it was a poor amendment. MCC later clarified the rule change on its website.”I think it makes it easier as an outfielder,” Maxwell said. “You’ve got to be aware of the rope as well but it made the catch a lot easier to complete, to be able to jump from back over [the boundary] and catch it in the air.”Obviously I didn’t really want to have to do it, but I lost a bit of balance on the boundary line so I thought I had to throw it up, and obviously with the law being like it is, jump from over the rope and back in and catch it in mid-air.”

On the same day that Cricinfo reports of the chaos inside Nairobi’s largest and most influential province – the Nairobi Provincial Cricket Association – it emerges that one side – Swamibapa – has threatened to pull out of the NPCA’s Super League.Swamibapa are reported to be considering the action after being docked 80 points by NPCA officials for not fulfilling their fixtures. The club maintains that it did not do so because seven of their players – including national captain Steve Tikolo – were on international duty at the ICC World Twenty20 in South Africa.The club felt aggrieved with the league’s decision as they had written to the NCPA fixtures secretary, Miq Assaria, requesting the postponement of their matches since they could not raise a team.”We have been penalised 80 points so far and it would not make much difference to us if we play the remaining matches or not because there is no way we are going to recover,” Peter Ongondo, one of the seven and Swamibapa’s captain, told The Nation.The newspaper reported that senior NPCA officials, including acting chairman Sukhbans Singh, claimed to be unaware of the matter. Sadly, this is a typical response from those running the NPCA, and Cricinfo’s attempts to find out what is happening within the NPCA have been equally fruitless.The NPCA Super League appears to be a two-horse race between Kanbis, the defending champions who are on 149 points, and Stray Lions one point behind. Swamibapa are fourth with 68 points.

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.

Lawyers representing the Zimbabwe Cricket Union and the players sacked by the board have resumed talks, in an attempt to resolve the conflict that led to Zimbabwe’s temporary loss of Test status. The AFP agency reports that Alwyn Pichanick, for the ZCU, and Chris Venturas, for the players, are in talks following an International Cricket Council directive instructing the Zimbabwean board to make another attempt to resolve the crisis.The ICC gave the ZCU 14 days from June 30 to agree on a mechanism to solve the dispute, that began with the sacking of Heath Streak as captain.If an agreement is not reached on the process within this timeframe, Ehsan Mani, the president of the ICC, announced that he and Percy Sonn, the vice-president, will make a ruling on the applicability of the ICC’s own Disputes Resolution Process.The ICC’s legal advice is that this process can be applied in this case. This is a position not supported by the ZCU. Speaking after the ICC’s Executive Board meeting last week, Mani said, “We recognise that this is a Zimbabwean dispute and our clear preference is to have it resolved in Zimbabwe by Zimbabweans.””If there is no agreement on the process, the newly elected ICC Vice-President, Percy Sonn, and I will make a final decision on application of the ICC’s Disputes Resolution Process after this 14-day period. The ZCU is firmly of the view that this system has no jurisdiction but the ICC’s legal advice is clear in saying that it does.”

Andy Caddick has been ruled out of the Test series against Zimbabwe after sustaining ligament damage in his right foot.Caddick, England’s leading wicket-taker in last winter’s Ashes series, had retired from one-day cricket after the World Cup in order to concentrate on Tests. But after seeing a specialist this morning, he is likely to be ruled out of all forms of cricket for up to six weeks, after being diagnosed as having damaged ligaments in the arch of his right foot.

The chief medical officer of the England & Wales Cricket Board, Dr Peter Gregory, said: “We will re-assess Andy’s condition again in the near future but at this stage we anticipate, that with rest, he should be fit and available for the npower Test Series against South Africa.” Caddick has been advised to wear a protective surgical boot for up to six weeks to help overcome the problem.Caddick is not the only England player with fitness problems. Andrew Flintoff recently suffered a trapped nerve in his right shoulder and was ruled out of Lancashire’s latest Championship match against Essex. “At this stage there is a slim chance that Andrew will be available for the first Test,” added Gregory. “We will have a clearer idea once we have had an opportunity to assess the results of the tests he underwent earlier today.”But Caddick’s absence will leave England’s selectors with the biggest dilemma when they gather on Saturday to select their squad for the first Test at Lord’s, which starts on Thursday. James Anderson is now likely to take the new ball with Stephen Harmison, both of whom were awarded England central contracts last month, but their lack of Test experience is a worry.Matthew Hoggard and Alex Tudor, both of whom played during the winter, are among the likely candidates to take Caddick’s place, but there is the outside chance that England could turn to Darren Gough, whose recovery from a chronic knee condition has been one of the highlights of the early season.

Chaminda Vaas’s 50th Test has been a wonderful one so far. The leftarm seamer not only did the damage with the ball, claiming four crucialIndian wickets, but also made a more than useful 42 in Sri Lanka’sfirst innings as well.In an exclusive interview with CricInfo at the end of the day, the SriLankan cricketer declared, "It was a good day. Ended up scoring someruns and bowled pretty well."Vaas however just missed on a five-wicket haul and that meant that he still is one short 150 Test wickets. "I am not worried about that. Not at all. I got four wickets bowling well. We’ve got to bowl at them in the second innings and hopefully can get at that then"Speaking about the Kandy wicket, on which fast bowlers have so fartaken 18 out of 20 wickets which fell to full-time bowlers, Vaas said,"The wicket was a good one. It helped me a bit. I bent my back and bowled at the right spot and the wickets came."That Dilhara Fernando and Ruchira Perera too have been taking wicketsin the recent past has taken a huge load off the shoulders of bothMuralitharan and Vaas."The whole nation is expecting me and Murali to take wickets. But recently the other guys like Dilhara and Ruchira have been of immense help for Murali and me. The stress on you is less when you’ve got more wicket taking bowlers."He looks forward with optimism to the future. "When Nuwan Zoysa returns from injury it’ll be even a better attack."Earlier today, Vaas missed out on his fifth fifty as he was dismissed for 42, "I tried to protect Ruchira and get to the 50 but couldn’t make it."Finally it looks as if Vaas has come of age with the bat. He has always had the potential to be a good all-rounder but he knows that has not yet realised it."In the recent times I have concentrated on my batting more with Davand am happy about the progress I have made. I feel I have madeabout 70 percent improvement and more importantly I want toconcentrate on it more."

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details 1:56

‘Kookaburra balls swings more’ – Ishant Sharma

Ishant Sharma’s searing opening spell defined day two of the tour match, as he tore through half the opposition inside 21 balls, after India had reached 351. Sixteen wickets fell in total during the day – most of these to the new ball, on a surface that remained helpful for seam bowling.The Indians themselves were in trouble at 28 for 3 in the second innings, but were steadied by KL Rahul and Cheteshwar Pujara, who led the team to 112 for 3 by stumps. The visitors lead the Board President’s XI by 342.Ishant prospered bowling full and straight, finding sharp movement off the seam, as well as a little swing in the air. Though the Board XI’s attack is comprised of inexperienced first-class cricketers, the top order is packed with Sri Lanka players. Three of Ishant’s victims – Kaushal Silva, Lahiru Thirimanne and Upul Tharanga, had played in Sri Lanka’s most recent Test in Pallekele. His two other scalps – Kusal Perera and Dhananjaya de Silva – also played in the recent T20 series against Pakistan, at the same venue.

“Major difference is the ball” – Ishant

The extra movement on offer in Sri Lanka was the major change from bowling in India, Ishant Sharma said. Ishant used the movement in the air and off the surface to claim figures of five wickets for five runs in his first competitive spell in the country.
While an SG ball is used for Tests in India, Sri Lanka uses the Kookaburra ball. “Initially with Kookaburra ball it swings, and there was help for fast bowlers today,” he said. “Major difference is the ball. They also leave some grass here so the ball is seaming and swinging a bit. As you can see we also lost three wickets and they also lost quite a few wickets. New ball is important and after that how consistent you are with the old is going to make a huge difference.”
Reverse swing often also plays a role in Sri Lanka, particularly at Galle, where the track is often dry and a strong breeze blows off the sea. “We have been discussing how to maintain the ball, and how we will bowl in certain situations when the batsmen are set and ball is old. Ball is going to swing for 12-14 overs so after that how you will bowl is really important.”

Silva was dismissed off the first ball Ishant delivered. The bowler sent one at the stumps and jagged it in at the batsman to trap him in front. De Silva was gone by the end of that over, when he let another full Ishant delivery through his defences. Tharanga was also out lbw, and Thirimanne and Kusal fell off consecutive deliveries. Thirimanne was caught in the slips as he pushed at a ball just outside the line of the stumps. Kusal barely had time to register the delivery that clattered into his stumps, before he was headed back to the pavilion.Thirimanne’s failure may be particularly significant in the context of the series. His place in the Test XI had been under significant contention, following a string of low scores against Pakistan. He will now know he needs a second innings score to shore up his position.Having reduced the opposition to 10 for 5 inside eight overs, the Indians eased off the throttle. Ishant was taken out of the attack to allow Umesh Yadav and Varun Aaron a run at the lower order. They teased batsmen’s edges by consistently delivering the ball that shaped away from left-handers. There was plenty of pace in that spell too. Of the few runs the Board XI could manage against the new ball, most came behind square.Milinda Siriwardene survived for 47 deliveries, in which he hit 32 runs. The cut and the square drive were his most productive strokes, until he edged Aaron behind, having pushed the score beyond 50.Niroshan Dickwella and Danushka Gunathilaka came together with the score on 51 for 7 to put on 63 together. The ball had aged enough to dull some of the movement, and the zip off the pitch, and both men chose to attack, even when Ishant returned to the bowling crease. It would eventually be the spin of R Ashwin that removed them. Gunathilaka gave up a top-edge as he attempted to launch Ashwin over the legside, and Dickwella was bowled. The board XI innings was wrapped up for 121 runs.The new ball brought wickets again towards the end of the day, when left-armer Vishwa Fernando and Kasun Rajitha combined to claim the Indians’ top three in quick succession. Rohit Sharma collected his second single-figure score of the match when he was lbw to Fernando for eight. Wriddhiman Saha received a somewhat more contentious lbw decision when the ball hit him somewhere near the top of his pad, third ball. Kohli fell for his second low score in the match as well, chipping Fernando straight to cover.Pujara was again on hand to stem the quick loss of wickets, combining with Rahul put on a slow but risk-free 84 runs. Rahul was not out on 47 at day’s end, and Pujara on 31.