Andrew Hall, the South Africa and Lions allrounder, was found guilty on December 8 by Michael Kuper, an advocate, at a disciplinary hearing which was held at the head office of the United Cricket Board of South Africa in Johannesburg.Hall was charged with breaching the rules and code of conduct of the South African board during the Standard Bank Cup match between the Lions and Dolphins at the Liberty Life Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg on December 2, 2005.Hall was charged and found guilty of contravening two clauses:Clause (1.2): Players and team officials must at all times accept an umpire’s decision and must not show dissent at an umpire’s decision.Clause 1.5 (1.5.2): Participants shall not engage in unbecoming or detrimental conduct which could bring them, the board or the game of cricket into disrepute.He was suspended for one match and hence is not eligible for the Standard Bank Cup match between the Lions and Warriors at Johannesburg on December 9.

Roddy Estwick, the West Indies Under-19 coach, has said his team are looking forward to their short tour of Pakistan, which starts tomorrow with a one-day match at Karachi. The trip acts as preparation for the squad ahead of the World Cup, in Sri Lanka next month.”We have got good team spirit and good ethics and five one-dayers against the Pakistan Under-19 side would provide us with good preparations for the World Cup,” he told Pakistan newspaper the .Estwick said his team was picked on the basis of the player’s performances in the inter-island U-19 competition, adding that they had some talented players in their line-up. Commenting on the decline of the West Indies senior team, he maintained that “all the teams of the world go through this kind of periods.”West Indies squad Leon Johnson (capt), Jason Mohammed, Richard Ramdeen, Gajanand Singh, Andre Fletcher, Nelon Pascal, Kemar Roach, Javon Searles, Sharmarh Brooks, Andre McCarthy, William Perkins, Sunil Narine, Kieron Pollard, Richie Bachan.

A brief history compiled by Dr. Andrew Hignell (Hon. Statistician and Historian to Glamorgan CCC)Abergavenny is widely regarded by players, the Press and thegeneral public as one of the most picturesque grounds on thefirst-class circuit. Its intimate atmosphere and rural location,nestling amongst the tree-topped hills on the Welsh border, amile or so to the north of a small and friendly market town, tosay nothing of its quaint pavilion and irregular boundary, allprovide a tranquil atmosphere. The annual fixture at the groundprovides a healthy reminder of what cricket must have been likein the pre-commercial era, and for those who play, work or watchat vast, anonymous concrete stadiums, visiting the Avenue Roadground must be a godsend and a breath of fresh air. The wickethas been of the highest standard, and a host of batting recordshave been established at the pretty ground, most recently in 1995when Gloucestershire`s Anglo-Australian, hit a world record 20sixes during the Championship match with Gloucestershire.The Abergavenny club is amongst one of the oldest in South Wales.Formed in 1834, the club first played in the lush fieldsalongside the Rivers Usk or Gavenny, and during most of the 19thcentury their games were held at a variety of locations on thesegreen meadows against teams of gentlemen or traders from towns inthe neighbouring English counties. In 1884 they acquired aregular home on land owned by the industrialist Crawshay Bailey,but over time the wicket became rather poor, and the club lostfixtures as a result. A solution was found in 1896 when anapproach to the Marquess of Abergavenny, resulted in a move to afour and a half acre field off Avenue Road, called Pen-y-Pound.The Marquess was a great supporter of cricket, having beenPresident of Kent C.C.C. in 1878, and although spending littletime in the market town, he was a kindly benefactor to itsinhabitants.The club went from strength to strength after the move, so muchso, that the Marquess generously financed an enlarged pavilion.The new, improved wicket was also widely admired and in 1910Monmouthshire staged their Minor County fixture game withCarmarthenshire at Avenue Road. In 1915 the Marquess ofAbergavenny died, and much of his estate was sold for buildingland. However, Major J.R.Jacob, the Chairman and former captainof the club, helped to secure the freehold of the Pen-y-Poundground for the cricket club.Glamorgan`s amalgamation with Monmouthshire in 1935 led to theWelsh county staging second eleven, plus club and ground,fixtures at Abergavenny, and some of the club`s players were alsochosen by the Glamorgan selectors. In 1948 the ground hosted theMinor County fixture with Devon, and with Glamorgan pledging tostage first-class matches in Monmouthshire, the Abergavennyofficials hoped that their attractive home would be lucky enoughto host a Championship fixture.The superior facilities and larger pavilion at Ebbw Vale won theday, but even so, the Abergavenny club didn`t lose heart andcontinued to be the host of special Benefit matches, both forGlamorgan players as well as those from neighbouringWorcestershire, Gloucestershire and Warwickshire. However, bythe mid 1960`s, Glamorgan were starting to cut back on the numberof venues they played at, and for all of its charms, thelikelihood of Avenue Road staging county cricket looked slim, andthe club had to content itself with games in the Gwent Premierand Severn Counties League.Disaster appeared to strike in 1977 as a fire severely damagedthe pavilion and completely destroyed the adjoining tea room.But as it turned out, the fire proved to be a turning point inthe history of the club as a generous grant from the Welsh SportsCouncil helped to pay for renovations and much larger facilities.These extensions happened at a lucky time, as in the 1980`s,Glamorgan also began to take cricket around the region again.Abergavenny made a formal request to stage a Sunday League game,and in 1981 the county committee allocated the match withWorcestershire to the Gwent ground.The Glamorgan officials were suitably impressed by the hard work,both on and of the field by the Abergavenny folk, and in 1982their efforts were rewarded with the Sunday match withNorthamptonshire. Local businesses also offered generoussponsorship and in May 1983 Worcestershire visited Abergavennyonce again as the ground staged its inaugural County Championshipfixture.Worcestershire and Gloucestershire have been regular vistors tothe ground, and their batsmen, as well as the Glamorgan players,have enjoyed taking advantage of the placid wicket and smallboundaries. One of the best examples was the 1990 fixture withWorcestershire. After Graeme Hick had recorded a superb 252* ,Phil Neale set Glamorgan a target of 495 to win on the final day.They ended on 493-6, and came agonisingly close to setting a newchampionship record. However, the most famous game in theground`s short Championship history came in August 1995 as AndrewSymonds hit 254 and smashed the world six hitting record, byhitting 16 sixes in his double-century, followed by four more inthe second innings. Almost unnoticed Indian all-rounder JavagalSrinath claimed 13-150 and his supreme efforts, on a groundregarded as a bowlers graveyard, were in keeping with the almostunreal atmosphere which is generated by this most idiosyncratic,and charming, of county cricket venues.For further information about the history of this, and othergrounds used by Glamorgan, you may be interested in purchasing”The Cricket Grounds of Glamorgan”, written by Andrew Hignell andpublished in 1985 by the Association of Cricket Statisticians andHistorians. For further details, please consult the A.C.S.homepage on CricInfo, send e-mail to [email protected] or write toPeter Wynne-Thomas at 3, Radcliffe Road, Nottingham.

One big defeat at Karachi was all it took for the critics to sharpen their knives but Rahul Dravid, the India captain, has insisted that the players are capable of brushing it all aside and concentrating on the five-match one-day series. He was confident of Sachin Tendulkar “bouncing back” to form.

Dravid wasn’t too perturbed by the media backlash after the 341-run defeat in the third Test and said they had come to expect such “extreme reactions”. Asked about cheeky headlines like “Endulkar?” and “Goneguly?”, he spoke about the on-field pressures cricketers regularly endure:”Players like Tendulkar and [Sourav] Ganguly have achieved so much because they have handled the pressures both on and off the field.”It’s not only about scoring runs or getting wickets, but also about how you react to criticism and come out stronger. I think Tendulkar and Ganguly are masters at it. We hope Tendulkar will bounce back here. Thankfully we haven’t been reading much of the criticism or seeing much ofit on television. Having played for so long, one expects it and gets used to it.”The addition of four new players to the squad, Dravid felt, would pep up the rest of the side, with fresh legs adding a bit of sting to the fielding. “They’ve been playing domestic cricket and are keen and excited. They’ve done well before and a couple [Mohammad Kaif and Murali Kartik]have tasted success in Pakistan.”With the pitch expected to suit the batsmen, Dravid, like he had done during the first two Tests, repeated that bowlers needed to set “realistic goals” and learn something from bowling on these wickets. “It’s hard on the bowlers,” he continued, “but it’s usually the team that bowls betterin these conditions that does better. We need to learn from it.”Dravid admitted that the Supersub rule tended to favour the team winning the toss, but was quick to add that it was an innovation that was worth trying out. “The ICC have decided to try it out for 10 months and we probably need to try some different things with it.”

Khaled Mahmud, Bangladesh’s veteran allrounder and former captain, finally bowed out after the first ODI against Sri Lanka at Bogra. And he signed off with a gutsy 36 which rescued his side from ignominy, leaving the field to a standing ovation from a capacity crowd.Mahmud’s announcements of his impending retirement had become as frequent as his Test wickets, but his decision to hang on for one last day in the sun worked out well. It could have gone horribly wrong, but he saved one of his better performances with the bat until the end. It was a far cry from when he was booed off by home supporters after an abject performance – both personally and by his team – against England at Chittagong in 2003-04.His stats do not make pretty reading. In 77 ODIs he scored 991 runs at 14.36 and took 67 wickets at 42.76 with an economy rate of 5.07. He also played 12 Tests, scoring 266 runs at 12.09 and capturing 13 wickets at 64.00. But against that, it should be remembered that he was part of a team that was being beaten regularly, and for some of that time had the added burden of the captaincy. His first-class record, however, is far more impressive.While those statistics were often ridiculed on the international stage – never more so than when he briefly had a Test bowling average of over 400 – he stuck to the task in hand, and was a valued contributor in a young squad off the field. At 35, he was a positive geriatric in such a youthful side.Mahmud will continue to play club cricket, and the chances are that he will pop up again in some capacity. Bangladesh cannot afford to lose someone with his wealth of experience.

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.

Shaun Pollock is set to take his place in the final Test against New Zealand at Johannesburg, after recovering well from the back injury that forced him out of the second match at Cape Town.”Shaun is making good strides towards his recovery and I don’t foresee any further problems,” said the team physio, Shane Jabaar, after Pollock bowled six overs in the nets without any sign of discomfort.A decision on whether or not to include Pollock will still be left as late as possible, after he pulled out at the very last minute from the drawn second Test. South Africa need only a draw to win the series, and Haroon Lorgat, the convener of selectors, will have to choose between Pollock and Andre Nel, the man who replaced him at Newlands.Nicky Boje, who injured his right hand during the second Test, is also on course to retain his place. He received five stitches between his thumb and forefinger after fielding a ball on the third day of the second Test, but yesterday fielded and bowled in practice without experiencing any discomfort.As a precaution, he wore a bandage while batting in the nets, and Jabaar added: “If selected to start tomorrow, he will be strapped to remove the risk of any further damage.”And a further bit of good news for South Africa is that their captain, Graeme Smith, is expected to resume his duties at first slip, but will remain playing with a splint on the ring finger of his left hand, which he injured during a fielding practice before the final match of the Australia series in Johannesburg last month.

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.”

Inzamam-ul-Haq has asked for a few practice matches during the preparatory camp for this summer’s tour of England, saying that such outings would help in the comeback of star fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar and prove his fitness.Inzamam believed Shoaib was still just 70-80% fit and a few practice games during the national training camp could prove beneficial for Shoaib, whom he rates as Pakistan’s trump card for the series against England.”Shoaib has been out of the team for some time and is now trying to regain full fitness. But such things take some time and a lot of effort,” said Inzamam, who flew out of the city for Jeddah where he would be leading a Pakistan XI against an Asian XI in two exhibition matches later this week.Inzamam said that it was up to the national selectors to decide whether they wanted to go for any practice games before announcing the final 16 for the English sojourn. He said that he wants Shoaib to regain peak fitness ahead of the tour of England which he termed as a very important assignment.”The tour of England is also very important for us because a good performance there would boost our morale ahead of the World Cup,” he said, adding that Pakistan would need someone of Shoaib’s calibre bowling at full throttle in England.Shoaib is currently working on regaining match fitness after recovering from injured knees. He underwent a twin knee surgery in February. Inzamam refrained to speak on the controversy hovering over the central contract system. He said that the players’ contracts would come up for a review next month and he believes the Pakistan Cricket Board would deal with the issue in a fair manner.Inzamam hoped that his team’s brief tour of Saudi Arabia would help provide a boost to the sport in a region that has millions of Pakistani and Indian expatriates.Several stars from Pakistan and India along with players from Sri Lanka and Bangladesh would feature in the two exhibition matches to be played at Jeddah’s Al-Ahli stadium on May 25 and 26. The event’s organisers are expecting a full house on both days cricket is a huge passion for most of the expatriate population of Saudi Arabia.The Pakistani squad has several top notch players including national team vice-captain Younis Khan, Mohammad Yousuf, Abdul Razzaq, Danish Kaneria, Mohammad Sami and Imran Farhat.The Asian XI has five Indian players and four each from Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. Indian batting star VVS Laxman would lead a side that also has compatriot Ajay Jadeja, who has served a five-year ban for match-fixing. Former Test player Roshan Mahanama, Romesh Kaluwitharana, Kumar Dharmasena and Dilhara Fernando are the prominent Sri Lankans in the team.Inzamam said that he expects some exciting action during the two matches in Jeddah because both sides have the services of a number of capable players.

While 16 teams are already preparing for the World Cup in the Caribbean, Fiji, Japan and the Cook Islands are assembling in Brisbane to continue their pursuit of a place in the 2011 tournament.The three countries – the top teams in the ICC’s East Asia-Pacific (EAP) region – are set to compete for the EAP Cricket Trophy this week with the winner qualifying for the World Cricket League Division 3, to be held in early 2007.That tournament, in turn, will lead to Division 2 (to be held in late 2007) and then Division 1, also known as the ICC World Cup Qualifier, in 2009, with the top five sides from that event securing places in the 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup in the Asian sub-continent.”A place in the World Cricket League, which offers all Associate and Affiliate teams a pathway to qualify for the ICC Cricket World Cup, is a huge motivating factor for the developing cricket countries of East Asia and the Pacific,” explained Tim Anderson, the ICC regional development manager. “Fiji, Japan and the Cook Islands deserve this opportunity and, given the rewards at stake for the winner, the EAP Cricket Trophy will be a fantastic competition.”The EAP Cricket Trophy will be hosted by Queensland Cricket and played at the Redlands Cricket Club in Brisbane.Queensland Cricket Chief Executive Graham Dixon said: “Queensland Cricket is supportive of the ICC’s aim to develop cricket globally and is actively involved in this process through our partnership with PNG Cricket. We are proud to be hosting the EAP Cricket Trophy and look forward to witnessing some great cricket,” he added.Naoki Miyaji, General Secretary of the Japan Cricket Association, said cricket in Japan would receive a huge boost if the national side was successful in the EAP Cricket Trophy.”Cricket actually has a long history in Japan but the popularity of the sport has only started to grow in recent years,” he said. “We are very excited about doing well in this tournament but understand that Fiji and the Cook Islands will provide tough competition.”The Cook Islands is the only ICC Affiliate to be competing in the EAP Cricket Trophy, with Fiji and Japan both Associate members.”As an Affiliate Member we are delighted to have earned the opportunity to participate in the ICC World Cricket League, and certainly aren’t here to make up the numbers,” said Cook Islands Cricket Association President Vane Henry. “Everyone in the Cook Islands is behind our team and I have no doubt we will represent them well.”