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.

Pre-match press conferences should generally be taken with pinches of salt. In them the pitches are never poor, always sporting and with a little something for everyone. Team compositions are never announced, only inferred. No one player holds the key to anything, all players in the opposing camp are vital and unless a real minnow is involved, both teams start evenly. The toss is always important but never unhealthily so and first sessions are always crucial but not critical.The first question pitched to Inzamam-ul-Haq regarding the state of the pitch was banal enough but because it wasn’t about goodwill, hospitality and political ties, it told a story in itself. For the first time in three series, the cricket takes precedence and it hasn’t come soon enough because both teams are playing some decidedly competitive cricket. Inzamam’s press conferences are generally straightforward enough; straight answers come to straight questions but in recent times, they have become even more so. Primarily, it is because, in the Pakistan camp these days, relative stability is to be found.As has been hinted in the run-up to this series, little is likely to change or be surprising about the eleven Pakistanis who turn up tomorrow. Apart from finding openers, the major dilemma with Pakistan’s opening combination was that when they were found, they were lost almost immediately thereafter. Ten opening combinations in thirteen Tests says less about a lack of natural openers in the country than it does about the selectors’ willingness to give one pair an extended trial. Forget extended, even more than two Tests together few pairs got. For continuity’s sake more than anything else, Shoaib Malik, as Inzamam and Bob Woolmer have been keen to assert, is likely to retain his position as opener. Against a long and strong batting line-up, his bowling will provide one of two much-needed things – relief for the main bowlers and occasional partnership-breaking potential.The only other position over which hovered some doubt was at number six. With Asim Kamal’s exclusion from the squad, a question of three has become one of two: Shahid Afridi and Abdul Razzaq. Inzamam was evasive obviously saying simply, “We have two good allrounders in our squad. One provides us with a spinning option and the other a fast bowling. They will help us with options in either scenario whether the pitch takes spin or whether it is helpful to faster bowlers. It is a good situation for us to have in the squad.” But it is likely, according to some in the team management that Afridi will play. His performances against India – in fact anyone – over the last year and that he scored 92 and took four wickets in his last Test appearance only add more credibility to that claim. The rest is self-explanatory.As for the rest outside team selection, who knows? Who is the stronger side, how will the pitch play, will the weather play a part, is it really as black and white as Pakistan’s bowlers against India’s batsmen, will the toss be crucial? Rumours of a green-top were, like Twain’s death, greatly exaggerated and the pitch looks remarkably similar to the one on which England crumpled in December. In between then and now, the weather took centre stage for a while but even that, as temperatures rise slowly and the sun sheds its shyness, is receding slightly. The weathermen, almost as perfunctory as cricket press conferences, say a cold spell is expected again, possibly during the course of the match but by then the game will have begun writing its story.Really, these are all side issues, only diverting attention from the morrow, when Shoaib charges in to Sehwag, or when Pathan skips in to Butt. Then we will await various, mouthwatering themes that will, fingers crossed, embed themselves underneath the very skin of this series. Will Shoaib be able to maintain his hostility through the series? How will Rana Naved-ul-Hasan acquit himself now that he is a frontline bowler? How will Danish Kaneria bowl against India, now with a reputation to uphold rather than make? And is Inzamam finally going to succumb to the law of averages that afflicts every great batsman, Bradman apart? From tomorrow, the real stories begin.Pakistan (probable) 1 Salman Butt 2 Shoaib Malik 3 Younis Khan 4 Inzamam-ul-Haq (capt) 5 Mohammad Yousuf 6 Shahid Afridi 7 Kamran Akmal (wk) 8 Rana Naved-ul-Hasan 9 Shoaib Akhtar 10 Mohammad Sami 11 Danish Kaneria.

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.

Richard Kelly’s open show of disapproval to his dismissal on the second day of the first unofficial Test between West Indies A and England A has hit him in the pocket.The allrounder was fined 10% of his match fee by match referee Hudson Knight for showing dissent. The fine was imposed following a hearing on Monday morning that was also attended by West Indies A manager Derrick Nicholas, the West Indies Cricket Board’s cricket operations officer.When Kelly was given out by umpire Clancy Mack to a catch at slip off offspinner Gareth Batty, he reacted with disappointment and gave the impression the ball came from the pad.

Shivnarine Chanderpaul has resigned as captain of West Indies with immediate effect. He has been in the post since the series against South Africa in May 2005.Chanderpaul, 31, was given the captaincy during the contracts row between leading players and the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) before the start of the South African series.He informed the WICB of his decision on Tuesday and said: “I would like to take this opportunity to tender my resignation as captain with immediate effect.”This would give me an opportunity to focus on my batting and otherareas of my cricket where I would be able to make a more significant contribution to the team, by being more focused on my batting.” Chanderpaul averaged 47 as captain, but struggled in the last eight months, scoring just 198 from 13 innings.”I have served my time as the captain and would like to pass the mantle on to another person. I would fully support my replacement, and work towards the good of the team,” he said. “I would like to thank all who worked with me during my tenure as captain, and I am looking forward to continuing my hard work for West Indies cricket.”Ken Gordon, the WICB president, emphasised Chanderpaul’s importance to the team and denied that he was forced to resign. “No, I received Mr Chanderpaul’s letter today,” Gordon told CCN TV6. “In it he expressed his desire to focus more heavily on his batting…so I think it was a reasonable approach by him and I called him to thank him for it [his contribution] and to indicate to him that we are all very supportive of him.”Chanderpaul’s last series as captain resulted in a 2-0 defeat to New Zealand. He leaves just a couple of weeks before the home international season begins with a one-day series against Zimbabwe, before the visit of India. The WICB have said a new captain will be named in the shortly.

Bangladesh are lined up to play as many as 12 ODIs against Zimbabwe later this year, according to Mahbub Anam, the general secretary of the Bangladesh Cricket Board. “Five matches will be played in Zimbabwe in July while the rest will be in Bangladesh in November,” Anam told reporters in Dhaka.Zimbabwe, who are currently under self-imposed suspension from Test cricket, will tour Bangladesh after the ICC Champions Trophy in India in October.”The series in Bangladesh could be a seven-match one, provided the visitors agree,” Anam added. But Bangladesh had hoped to get Zimbabwe to tour at the same time as Kenya, who are in the country at the moment, but the Zimbabwe board proved difficult to pin down.At the moment, Bangladesh are ranked below Zimbabwe in the ICC One-Day Rankings, but given that Bangladesh are on the rise and Zimbabwe recently struggled to draw with Kenya at home, few believe that will be the state of affairs when the two next meet.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has slapped Jagmohan Dalmiya, the former board president, with another show cause notice. Dalmiya has been asked to explain, within 21 days, the details of the exorbitant expenses incurred during the 1996 World Cup under his time in office.Niranjan Shah, the BCCI Secretary, has been reported by as demanding details of figures related to the Pilcom account held with the Indian Overseas Bank in Kolkata. Shah has been quoted as saying that withdrawals from the bank showed “abnormally high” expenses including telephone bills, travel and cash withdrawals. Details came from a report submitted by N Srinivasan, the BCCI treasurer, to a working committee. Asked whether further action would be taken against Dalmiya, Shah said that would be decided only after he responded to the latest notice.The first show cause notice alleging misappropriation of funds had been issued against Dalmiya and Kishore Rungta and Jyoti Bajpai, two former board treasurers, on February 27. The Bombay High Court had granted the trio interim relief against arrest, but instructed them to appear before the Economic Offences Wing for further interrogation last week. They were granted anticipatory bail as the police prepared to submit their reports to the court.Dalmiya, who also served as president of the ICC, was the convener of Pilcom, which was created to organise the 1996 World Cup in the subcontinent. Inquiries into the Pilcom accounts were initiated after Dalmiya was ousted by Sharad Pawar as BCCI chief in November last year.

Scorecard

Essex put a spanner in the works of Sri Lanka’s preparations for the Natwest Series as they inflicted a six-wicket defeat at Chelmsford. The top-order problems which hit Sri Lanka in the Test series were again on full view as they stumbled to 172. Essex were guided home by half-centuries from Mark Pettini and Ryan ten Doeschate.Put into bat by Darren Gough, who was leading Essex, Upul Tharanga and Sanath Jayasuriya made a deceptively confident start, adding 48 for the first wicket. However, when Gough made the first breakthrough by dislodging Tharanga, the batting again folded like a pack of cards.It was the unheralded, and relatively unknown, talent of Jahid Ahmed who did most of the damage on his one-day debut for Essex. He removed Jayasuriya and Russel Arnold before returning to put a dampener on Prasanna Jayawardene’s fighting 46, which at least gave the score some respectability from 77 for 6. Ravinder Bopara continued his impressive form with three wickets, including Tillakaratne Dilshan and Farveez Maharoof.Pettini set off rapidly in the chase, punching some powerful boundaries in a brisk half-century. At 84 for 3, Sri Lanka still had a sniff of pulling themselves back into the match, but without their spearheads of Muttiah Muralitharan and Chaminda Vaas the attack lacked bite. ten Doeschate took over the charge when Pettini fell to Maharoof and with James Foster added 52 to carry Essex home.Sri Lanka continue their build-up against Somerset, at Taunton, on Sunday ahead of the Twenty20 international against England at The Rose Bowl on Thursday. The Natwest Series starts at Lord’s on June 17.

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.

David Langford-Smith helped Ireland open their European Championships campaign with a 99-run win over Denmark, in Glasgow, as he scored 22 then took three wickets. The Irish batting didn’t really fire, but there were enough useful cameos to nudge the total over 200, which proved well above to capabilities of the Danish.Ireland were well placed on 100 for 2 but stumbled to 173 for 9 as Denmark’s bowlers fought back well in the middle overs. However, Ireland’s score was boosted by a final-wicket stand of 36 between Langford-Smith and Paul Mooney. William Porterfield, the 21-year-old left hander, was the top scorer with 42.Chasing 210, Denmark were never in the hunt and subsided in 32.4 overs. Langford-Smith followed up his runs with 3 for 27 and Andre Botha claimed the tidy figures of 2 for 14.Ireland’s next match is against Scotland on Saturday, followed by Italy on Monday then a full one-day international against Holland on Tuesday.