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A controversy-riddled season for Delhi took a new turn yesterday when Arun Jaitley, the President of Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA), sacked the senior selection committee and appointed a new one for the remainder of the domestic season.The DDCA resolution said: “In view of the fact that some recent decisions of the selection committee of the Ranji Trophy lack the appearance of fairness and are not being taken on cricketing considerations alone, the Executive Committee hereby decides to supersede and dissolve the selection committee with immediate effect.”The committee comprising Vivek Razdan, Bantu Singh and Sunil Khanna, with Anil Jain as its convenor, was shown the door after Delhi barely managed to avoid relegation from the Ranji Trophy Elite Group and started disastrously in the domestic one-day competition. Maninder Singh Jaggi, the assistant coach, was also shown the door.The new committee has Chetan Chauhan, the former Test player, as its chairman along with Surender Khanna and Vinay Lamba. Sunil Dev has been appointed its convenor, a senior DDCA official said. At its first meeting on Wednesday, the new committee made two changes to the side that suffered a debacle against Himachal Pradesh by replacing Yogesh Sachdeva, the offspinner, and batsman Gaurav Chhabra with Kuldeep Rawat, the allrounder, and offspinner Victor Wilkins.Jaitely was reportedly enraged at the way in which the selectors included Navdeep Tomar as the 16th member of the squad for the last two matches. Speaking to the Sneh Bansal, the DDCA general secretary, said, “The name was added without permission of the Executive Committee and the player was from outside the 21 picked for the season. This was the reason for this unprecedented action.”It has been a winter of troubles for Delhi. Mithun Manhas had declined to lead the team against Punjab and Aakash Chopra took charge. Delhi went on to lose that match and things started on a downward spiral. In a manner that would have rivalled any Bollywood plot, the selectors were reportedly threatened by the supporters of Tomar, which had the selectors scampering for police security.Manhas and Chopra both refused to lead the team and Manhas relented only after Jaitley had a talk with him on the issue. However, Delhi subsequently suffered a humiliating 141-run defeat against a lowly-placed Himachal Pradesh. Under pressure and allegedly facing threats the selectors picked Tomar again, including him in the list of 16 that was sent to Jaitley.”We had told the selectors not to yield to outside pressure. We were concerned at the happenings and were convinced that Delhi cricket’s interest was not protected. We pledge to improve the image of Delhi cricket. We are aware of wrong doings in the junior teams too but will need time to cleanse the system. A beginning has been made,” Chauhan said.

The second ODI between Hong Kong and Scotland at Mission Road was abandoned without a ball bowled due to persistent rain across the city. The match had been pushed into a reserve day but that mattered little as wet weather continued from Thursday into Friday and with no chance of the field drying out, play was called off before the scheduled start time on Friday’s reserve day.The result meant each team got a point from the abandonment, which pushed Hong Kong above Netherlands into first place, though Netherlands has a chance to leapfrog Hong Kong when they play UAE on Friday in Abu Dhabi. Scotland is now in third place with seven points, one ahead of Kenya on the table.This was the third time in six scheduled WCL Championship matches during the current competition that Scotland has had to split points due to poor weather following a no result and a total abandonment in the Netherlands last September. Scotland also came close to missing out on maximum points in their opening two encounters at home in July against Nepal but managed to come away with two wins despite wet weather in Ayr.

Owais Shah says he is nearing his peak as a batsman following his recall to the England squad for the first Test against West Indies at Lord’s. After hitting 88 on his debut at Mumbai last March he was sent back to county cricket where his weight of runs – and a change of national coach – has brought him a second chance.”It has been frustrating but you have got to realise that the selectors are trying to do the best for Team England,” he told the Press Association. “I am somewhere near my peak as a batsman. In the last three or four years I have scored reasonably heavily in county cricket in both forms of the game and I like to be looked upon as a reliable batsman in the Middlesex line-up.”That’s something I strive to achieve and is my aim. That is something every top batsman at each county strives to do. I am just starting my Test career right now and who knows what will happen.”Shah is primarily in the squad as cover for Kevin Pietersen, but could also find a place in the side if England opt for seven batsmen. But whenever his next chance comes, Shah knows what to expect and doesn’t want to over complicate the situation.”I am 28 now. It would be wonderful if I could another Test and try to make myself into a regular Test player, whether I do or not time will tell, ” he said. “It is simple – I have just got to get out there and bat, face the ball, play tight and score runs.”Simple as that regardless of what shirt I am wearing Test cricket is still the same game, you just have one extra day. I’ve just got to back myself to get some runs. I don’t see it as a pressure situation. I just try to play every game is if it is my last and do my best whether I am playing for England, Middlesex or my club Ealing.”

Sourav Ganguly’s association with one of the new IPL franchise owners has been questioned as a possible case of conflict of interest. Ganguly is a member of the IPL governing council and is also a co-owner of the football franchise Atletico de Kolkata; a fellow co-owner is Sanjiv Goenka, who heads the New Rising consortium that today won the Pune IPL franchise.The matter was raised at the press conference that followed the auction procedure and BCCI officials present denied it was a case of conflict but said it would be for the newly appointed ombudsman to decide. Ganguly, when contacted by ESPNcricinfo, laughed off the suggestion of conflict, saying football and cricket are two different sports.

The Kumble Question

The recent resignation of Anil Kumble, another former India captain, from the Mumbai Indians support staff had raised similar doubts over conflict of interest. Manohar was asked on Tuesday whether he thought Kumble’s case was similar to Ganguly’s, as he was not directly related to the Mumbai Indians franchise, and he replied: “No, he was on the technical committee, and the technical committee makes all rules and regulations with regards to playing of the game.”

Shashank Manohar, BCCI president and a lawyer himself, offered a more nuanced defence. “According to me there is not [a conflict of interest] because this is a transparent bidding concept,” Manohar said. “Basically I get questions everyday [about conflict of interest]. People have not understood the meaning of the word conflict. Conflict means where there could be an obvious bias with regards to the decision-making process. When a person can influence the decision-making, then only there is conflict. You can’t extend it to absurdity levels. I am a lawyer, if there is a client of mine, unless it can be shown I have influence, there is no conflict if he bids for a team.”Manohar, though, said his assessment of the Ganguly situation was his own personal view. “Everybody has a right to disagree with me. I am not going to be the judge. The board has appointed an independent agency.”Manohar’s point was that nobody knew the bid amounts while walking into the meeting. They didn’t even know who all were going to bid. The bidders made walk-in offers, which ruled out any knowledge to anyone as to who was going to bid how much. “It was a closed bid submitted at the bidding time,” Manohar said. “Sourav Ganguly has nothing to do with that. Even if somebody has an objection now, we have appointed an ombudsman to look into these cases.”New Rising made two bids in this reverse-bidding process, both in minus. Both were lower than any other bid, but they could get only one franchise according to IPL rules. Every other bidder made at least one positive bid.Manohar did not, however, address the issue of a situation that could arise going forward, where the IPL’s governing council – of which Ganguly is a member as a “cricketer” – might have to decide on matters directly related to the Pune franchise. Though his role is seen as largely ceremonial, it could be argued that he would have influence over decisions taken.It could also be argued that Ganguly is partner with Goenka in a separate entity, and might not have anything to gain financially from New Rising as a co-owner of Atletico. Such a defence has not been put forward by any of the parties involved, although Ganguly’s cryptic reply to ESPNcricinfo might have hinted at that.

Lynsey Askew and Charlie Russell have become the latest women to be invited onto the MCC Young Cricketers scheme.They join Jenny Halstead, Stephanie Davies and Hannah Burr, all of whom are in their second or third and final year of the scheme. Caroline Atkins and Nicola Shaw have finished their three-year stints with the MCC.Askew, the Kent allrounder, and Russell are both England internationals, with the offspinner Russell making her England debut earlier this year.England’s captain Charlotte Edwards was understandably pleased at the continued recognition of the talent in the women’s game. She said: “The MCC Young Cricketers programme has long been noted as a fantastic development model for some of the most talented players around.”I’m delighted that these five girls will be given the opportunity to concentrate on their game in the best cricket environment in the world.”

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Barrington Rowland produced a massive 283 and led Karnataka to a mammoth 619 at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore. Rowland, unbeaten on 169 overnight, added 229 with his captain, Sujit Somasundar. Rowland, named after the former England batsmen Ken, smashed 29 fours and a six. Somasundar celebrated his elevation to the captaincy with a composed hundred as Karnataka were all but ensured of first-innings points. Madhya Pradesh replied with 120 for 1.
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Andhra Pradesh were reeling at 59 for 5 at the end of the second day at the Wankhede Stadium after Mumbai declared after making an imposing 515 for 9. Ajit Agarkar followed up his lively 52 with two early wickets, including the important one of Venugopal Rao. Earlier, Nishit Shetty and Vinayak Samant had also helped themselves to half-centuries and taken Mumbai past 500.
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Akash Christian and Niraj Patel shared a vital 154-run stand as Gujarat took the upper hand at Siliguri. Bengal added just 28 to their overnight total as Kirat Dhamani, the offspinner, polished off the tail to finish with impressive figures of 4 for 9 from his eight overs. Gujarat then put in a solid batting performance and trialed by just 29 at the end of the second day.
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Delhi fought back at the Jamia Millia Ground as their bowlers reduced Railways to 147 for 5 at the end of the second day’s play. Amit Pagnis made a steady 49 but Railways lost wickets at regular intervals. Delhi had earlier been bowled out for 216 with Ajay Jadeja playing the lone hand with a defiant 87.
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Gagandeep Singh, a medium-pacer, rocked the Baroda innings as Punjab hit back on the second day at Mohali. Gagandeep snapped up 5 for 57 while Vineet Sharma, his opening partner, finished with a four-wicket haul. Despite being bundled out for just 175 yesterday, Punjab managed a 20-run lead, a crucial figure in what may turn out to be a low-scoring battle.
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Maharashtra were shot out for just 83 and were in a deep hole at the Gymkhana Ground in Hyderabad. Having restricted Hyderabad to 231, the powerful Maharashtra batting line-up crumbled in just 32 overs with Narender Pal Singh and Mohammad Ghouse snaring seven wickets between them. Hyderabad extended their lead to 316 before stumps and hold all the aces going into the third day.
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Rudra Prathap Singh’s ten-wicket haul in the match put Uttar Pradesh on the brink of a win against Assam at Kanpur. In a low-scoring tussle, Assam gained a vital 52-run lead in their first innings and had their noses ahead halfway through the day. But they capitulated for just 107 the second time around and left UP a target of 160.

A 16-member Zimbabwe squad left for South Africa today to prepare for the upcoming five-match series against Bangladesh that gets underway next Saturday.The side is captained by offspinner Prosper Utseya and contains four players who are yet to represent the country on the international scene – left-hand batsman Friday Kasteni, opening bat Tinotenda Mawoyo, wicketkeeper Tafadzwa Mufambisi and pace bowler Admire Manyumwa.Zimbabwe will play against the South African Academy and Highveld Lions with all the matches set for the High Performance Centre in Pretoria.The team returns home next Thursday, just two days before the start of series against the Bangladeshi Tigers. All those matches will be held at the Harare Sports Club.Zimbabwe squad Prosper Utseya (capt), Chamu Chibhabha, Elton Chigumbura, Trevor Garwe, Ryan Higgins, Friday Kasteni, Blessing Mahwire, Admire Manyumwa, Hamilton Masakadza, Stuart Matsikenyeri, Tino Mawoyo, Tafadzwa Mufambisi, Tawanda Mupariwa, Piet Rinke, Vusi Sibanda, Brendan Taylor.

Adam Gilchrist has indicated he might be interested in joining the Indian Cricket League when he eventually retires from international cricket. Gilchrist is still planning to play for Australia “for a while yet”, but this week he was forthright in his support for the ICL concept.”It’s quite a good thing for guys like me who are at the back end of their careers,” he said at the Captains’ Breakfast on the eve of the ICC World Twenty20. “I’m ten years older than guys like Graeme [Smith], and about eight years older than Daniel [Vettori], so it’s a great opportunity.”He also felt there was nothing wrong with giving players more options outside the traditional ICC-sanctioned events. “I think the ICC does have a monopoly on the game, and it’s nice for the players to have more opportunities and to have more control of their futures,” he told the South Africa-based .Brian Lara, who has already signed up for the ICL, echoed Gilchrist’s views on the league. “I think there’s room for a lot of players in the market and I’ll be there to support them,” he said at the ICC Awards function in Johannesburg. “The most important thing is that their [ICL] motives are very clean and clear – they want to improve cricket and the standards of professional cricket in India, and that’s good enough for me.”

Having starred at the Wanderers with match figures of 8 for 99, Sreesanthknew that an encore wouldn’t be easy. On a Kingsmead pitch that wascertainly more batsman-friendly, he finished the first innings withfigures of 4 for 109, including the eye-catching dismissal of Mark Boucher- stumps splayed all over the place.The man with a penchant for the eccentric was his colourful self at thepress conference on Wednesday evening, offering up candid answers on hisdevelopment as a cricketer and the state of the match. “It was hard workthere,” he said with a grin when asked if there was any disappointment atmissing out on a five-for. “You cannot expect five every game or everyinnings. I’m happy to keep working on the basics and not worry too muchabout wickets.”His assessment of the pitch would have encouraged India’s batsmen, thoughhe shied away from saying whether he intended another six-hittingcelebration when his turn came to bat. “It’s on the slower side and thebounce was a bit less than Jo’burg,” he said. “It will get better andfaster. It was a bit more skiddy this morning. But if the batsmen ‘get in’on this wicket, they can go on to get a big score. It’s hard work for thebowlers.”He admitted that the Johannesburg display had increased the pressure ofexpectation, but said that he was prepared to deal with it. “I was verylucky to be performing with people like Anil and Sachin ,” hesaid referring to India’s most experienced duo. “I also spoke to AllanDonald and Wasim Akram; the more you talk, the more you get to learn. Theyall asked me not to try too hard.”That said, he still resembles a coiled spring at times out in the middle,only ever a good ball away from a riotous celebration or a plaintiveappeal. “The pressure is good at the start of the match because it bringsthe best out of you,” he said, while adding that he had been working onreining things in a little. His reaction after dismissing Hashim Amla atthe Wanderers attracted a fine from the match referee, and Sreesanth said:”It all happens when I’m in that frame of mind, but I don’t want to miss agame.”Most of the experts here, right from the batsmen like Barry Richards tobowlers like Donald, have been raving about the seam position when theball leaves his hand, and Sreesanth spoke about how it was a legacy of thetime spent at the MRF Pace Foundation in Chennai. “I worked with DennisLillee and TA Sekar, on swing and seam position. The basic thing[stressed] was not pace, but to get the seam position and how you releasethe ball.”His own transformation from wannabe leggie to pace spearhead is aremarkable one, and Sreesanth attributed his swing-and-seam strengths tothe often-heartbreaking experience of bowling on pancake-flat pitches backhome. “Initially, I wanted to hit the batsman,” he said with a smile. “Butit’s not easy to hit the helmet on Indian pitches. I used to watch guyslike [Glenn] McGrath and [Shaun] Pollock on TV, and learnt a lot. I learntthat there are many other ways of getting a batsman out.”Playing his seventh Test, Sreesanth is too consumed with the present toworry too much about what lies in wait. He certainly won’t be losing sleepworrying about burnout and injuries. “I love playing cricket,” he said,having joked about how the Durban weather reminded him of being back homein Kochi. “When I’m home, I play four or five games of tennis-ball cricketmost days. I just keep playing, and I’m not worried about injuries. Ifsomething happens, it happens.”And whatever happens, he’ll always have the Wanderers, and a performancethat few Indian quick bowlers will ever match.

Jacob Oram, the New Zealand allrounder known for his big-hitting exploits, says that he prefers playing a more controlled innings rather than beginning in attack mode.In New Zealand’s recent record run chase against Australia at Christchurch, Oram contributed a vital 42 from 37 balls – including two big sixes – as he partnered Scott Styris in a crucial stand that took his side closer to a win. The required run rate at that stage was already around 10 runs per over, so Oram said it was satisfying to put decent bat to ball.”It was a buzz hitting the ball like that,” Oram told stuff.co.nz on Monday. “But it’s not something I’d like to do every time I go out to bat, because it’s fairly high-risk. To be honest with you, it (power hitting) has got nothing to do with timing, it’s just how hard you want to swing.”Oram rates his contribution in that historic win as among the top three in terms of satisfaction during his five-year New Zealand career. “It’s great to be back and it’s awesome to be playing at home again. Playing on your own grounds in front of your own crowds,” he said. “I had a couple of tours away during the winter and that was great to get back into the mix and the cricket environment.Oram was sidelined for much of this year with a back injury, and has been taking it a match at a time. “It (the back) is okay at the moment,” he said. “To be fair I don’t take any day for granted, it’s just a matter of keeping on top of it and managing it, and that’s what I basically tell people.”Though he would have liked to contribute more with the ball – he failed to pick up a wicket in three matches – Oram added that the experience of just playing international cricket had motivated him to work harder. “To be back at home and playing some pretty awesome games in front of some very noisy crowds was great,” he said. “I’m looking forward to the rest of the summer now.”New Zealand play five one-day internationals at home against Sri Lanka starting on New Year’s Eve.