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Former Pakistan captain Wasim Akram is likely to beef up the starstudded PIA in the second round of the Patron’s Trophy Grade-I CricketChampionship Thursday.Akram skipped the five-wicket victory against Allied Bank in Sialkotlast week after indicating that he would only play in matches atLahore and Sheikhupura.PIA, who surprisingly have won this tournament only twice – when itwas known as the BCCP Trophy – in 1970-71 and 1971-72, take on lastseason’s runners-up National Bank at Sheikhupura Stadium.If Akram plays in this four-day clash then he will be in directconfrontation with his old pace partner Waqar Younis. The Pakistancaptain, alongwith with his deputy Inzamam-ul-Haq, were given specialpermission by the Pakistan Cricket Board to play for National Bank.Inzamam, who was unable to play in the opening match because of somedomestic commitments, is also likely to get back in action againstprobably the most potent pace attack in the country. Besides Akram,PIA have Abdur Razzaq, Azhar Mahmood, Fazle Akbar and Mohammad ZahidSenior at their disposal.Reigning champions Pakistan Customs started the new season on aperfect note when they thrashed Wapda by innings and 111 runs. Buttheir young team will be severely put to test by a vastly experiencedHabib Bank side at Iqbal Stadium.The seven-time champions were rarely troubled by newcomers Pak PWD intheir first game, which they won by 227 runs.Second round schedule (Sept 27-30):PIA v National Bank at Sheikhupura Stadium (Umpires: Masroor Ali andZamir Haider). Match referee: Saadat Ali).Habib Bank v Habib Bank at Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad (Umpires: AtharZaidi and Nadeem Ghauri. Match referee: Anwar Khan).Allied Bank v ADBP at Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore (Umpires: Saleem Badarand M. Akbar Khan. Match referee: Farrukh Zaman).KRL v Wapda at Pindi Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi (Umpires: ShakeelKhan and Z.I. Pasha. Match referee: Azmat Rana).Pak PWD v Sui Gas at Jinnah Stadium, Sialkot (Umpires: Riazuddin andRasheed Bhatti. Match referee: Fahimuddin Alvi).

Graeme Smith has confirmed that his role with the South Africa squad is on an ad-hoc basis although added that he was pondering further involvement having been asked to helpSmith spent New Year’s Day at South Africa’s net session ahead of the second Test against England where he worked with the batsmen and Hashim Amla, South Africa’s captain, said although he wasn’t aware of the details of the agreement, he understood Smith would be with them, “for the rest of the series.” But with commentary commitments to and host broadcaster , Smith clarified that there was no official agreements as yet.”There has been a request to join up with the guys and help a little bit. I am considering it, but I had made commitments before the start of this series that it’s important to stick to,” he said during commentary on the first morning. “Obviously my heart will always be with the Proteas and I want to see them as successful as possible, if I can add value. But it’s got to work itself out, it’s not a role that’s been committed to yet.”But Smith and Amla are on the same page about what’s ailing the South African line-up and they agree that it’s lack of confidence. Both the former captain and the current one have spoken about the need for an injection of self-belief to break the streak of seven Tests without a win.”Naturally they’re a bit uncertain I would guess,” Smith said. “The challenge when you’re short of runs and confidence is that you become a very internal person. You almost go into self-preservation mode, you can spend hours in your hotel room thinking about it.”Sometimes you can get out of it by helping your teammates and share the load. I had a few chats with the guys and you can feel there’s a real hunger to be successful.”Smith also spent time with Amla discussing the challenges of leading, both with the bat and on the field. “I had quite a nice chat with Hash about his gameplans with the captaincy, and how he is managing all the new information that’s coming into his head,” he said. “We spoke a lot in Durban of just managing that space, when you’re under pressure with things coming at you from all over the park. As a batter you have to clear your head out. He’s got to find his way, his routine to get that all out of his head so he can focus on scoring runs.”

Peter Borren, the Netherlands batsman, will replace Jeroen Smits as captain for his side’s Intercontinental Cup match against Scotland beginning on Thursday at Mannofield Park in Aberdeen. Smits, who replaced Luuk van Troost as captain after the 2007 World Cup, is missing the match because of work-related commitments.The Netherlands coach Paul-Jan Bakker, said that they could overcome Smits’ absence and draw confidence from their victory against Canada in June. Borren had scored 105, his maiden first-class hundred, in the second innings of Netherlands’ 45-run win against Canada.”I am sure that the boys will not be affected by this latest setback and will keep the momentum going,” Bakker said. “Peter [Borren] is an excellent batsman and has shown his talent on more than one occasion. But he can’t live on tales and will need to start all over again. While saying this, I am sure he is also looking forward to the new challenge [captaincy] and will try to make the most of it.”Bas Zuiderent and Ryan ten Doeschate both missed the game against Canada and remained unavailable for the match against Scotland. Netherlands were further depleted with medium-pacers Edgar Schiferli and Mark Jonkman and offspinner Adeel Raja pulling out due to injuries.”We can’t have a full-strength team all the time, which means there will always be opportunities for the youngsters,” Bakker said. “Now it is for them to take advantage of this and cement their places.””Scotland are a strong team and we respect them. But I understand that they will also be without some of their key players. I think we both are in a situation where we have to fill gaps and hope that the youngsters will raise their hands, take responsibility and fill those gaps.”Scotland’s Intercontinental Cup opener against United Arab Emirates in Ayr was washed out and the quadrangular series that followed, involving West Indies, Ireland and Netherlands, also affected by bad weather.Scotland captain Ryan Watson acknowledged the importance of the match against Netherlands. “We are keen to do well in this competition so it’s very important, after the UAE match was washed out, that we make the most of our remaining home games and take maximum points.””Obviously, as our preparations are already limited by player availability because of their work commitments, we have been somewhat handicapped of late. But the Dutch also fell foul of the weather [in the quadrangular series] and are in similar circumstances, while they also play a lot on matting.”Scotland recalled fast bowlers Richie Berrington, who has played just one first-class match, and Gordon Drummond, who has appeared in four first-class matches, for the game against Netherlands. Gavin Hamilton, Dewald Nel and Glenn Rogers will return to the squad for the third match against Ireland in Stormont from August 9.Despite their loss to Netherlands, Canada remained on top of the Intercontinental Cup table with 26 points from two games. Netherlands were second with 14 points from one game and, UAE and Scotland have three points from one game each. Bermuda, Ireland, Kenya and Namibia were yet to make an appearance.Netherlands: Peter Borren (capt), Mudassar Bukhari, Atse Buurman, Tom de Grooth, Alexei Kervezee, Geert Maarten Mol, Mongesh Panchal, Jelte Schoonheim, Pieter Seelaar, Nick Statham, Eric Szwarzcynski, Somesh Kohli.Scotland: Ryan Watson (capt), Richie Berrington, Fraser Watts, Craig Wright, John Blain, Gordon Drummond, Majid Haq, Omer Hussain, Paul Hoffmann, Ross Lyons, Qasim Sheikh, Neil McCallum, Simon Smith.

South Africa’s Herschelle Gibbs and Nicky Boje have both made themselves available for selection to play in the Champions Trophy in India in October and November.Gibbs and Boje have avoided touring India since 2000, as they have failed to obtain any assurance from India that they will not be detained by the police with regards to questioning on the match-fixing scandal.Gerald Majola, the board’s chief executive, said: “Herschelle and Nicky have confirmed that they will go to India if selected and that they will co-operate fully with any interviews which the Indian Police may wish to hold with them.”Cricket South Africa will now put forward their names to the selection panel and support them in need, which we hope will assist in the investigation, in order to minimise any disruption to the team’s training and playing programme. Their lawyers will also be available to take appropriate steps to protect all of their rights.”Gibbs had earlier confirmed his desire to travel to India but had inflamed the situation with criticisms of the Indian authorities.In an interview with in South Africa, Gibbs told features editor Mark van Dijk: “Ja, I am going to go. But my lawyer’s coming with me. I’ve put forward a proposal to Cricket South Africa, which was discussed on Thursday. I’ve proposed that my lawyer and I will travel with the team, and once we get to the hotel, they can then do the questioning at the hotel.”I’ve got the 18 questions that they want to ask me. It’s basically exactly the same stuff that I answered at the King Commission. I’ll just be repeating myself.”Gibbs claimed that the delays were all at the Indian end: “They haven’t really played their part,” he shrugged. “You know, we’ve asked them many a time to come question me on neutral territory, and they refuse. So it’s not like I haven’t made the effort. It’s them being hard-arses. That’s it.”However, KK Paul, the Delhi Police commissioner, rebutted the claim. “I haven’t received any such communication,” he told Cricinfo. “If he has to say anything, let him communicate through the board. So far, I haven’t received any such offers from the board or from him.” Gibbs responded later on Thursday in a statement issued via Cricket South Africa in a placatory manner: “I recognise that the police have their processes to follow and I am sorry if it has appeared that I was critical of these. I think whatever I said may have been taken out of context. I’m now really looking forward to representing my country in India at the ICC Champions Trophy.”Tony Irish, the chief executive of the South African Cricketers Association, added: “Over the last five or six years there was uncertainty about a number of things. Legal advice obtained by Herschelle and Nicky has understandably been cautious. I think however, that the players’ great desire to play cricket in India again and to participate in this ICC Champions Trophy has overtaken everything else.”

Progress towards a revised schedule for international cricket took a step forward following the conclusion of the ICC Chief Executives’ Committee (CEC) meeting at the new ICC offices in Dubai.A special scheduling summit was followed by a meeting of the CEC which enabled all of the ICC full member countries and associate member representatives to consider the implications of a move from a five-year programme to a six-year cycle of international cricket.Malcolm Speed, the ICC’s chief executive, said that the gathering of all those responsible for the scheduling of international cricket was critical to the effective completion of this complex task.”We have worked through initial drafts and all of the countries will now be given an opportunity to comment on a revised six-year plan. There is still plenty of work to be done but this was an important part of the process,” he said. “Once we have received comments from the countries the matter will be considered by the ICC board at its next meeting in Australia in October.”As well as consideration of scheduling issues, the CEC discussed a range of other issues during the meeting.Super Series
The on-field umpires will be able to ask the third umpire for help on a greater number of decisions during the Super Series one-day internationals and Test match. Run outs and stumpings will be referred in the normal way to the TV umpire with the TV umpire making the final decision. For all other decisions the on-field umpires will have the discretion to consult with the TV umpire before making the final decision. The CEC confirmed that the only exception to this would be clean catches where the current principle that the on-field umpires should only consult the TV umpire when both on-field umpires are unsighted should apply.The meeting also approved the playing conditions for the Super Series, confirming that the trial ODI innovations concerning replacement players and fielding restrictions would apply. It has been decided that the Super Series matches will be officiated by the top four members of the elite panel of ICC umpires. Officials from Australia will be permitted to undertake on-field duties in the matches but no two umpires from the same country will be able to stand together in the same match.ICC U-19 Cricket World Cup
The CEC approved the competition dates for the next Under-19 World Cup. Sixteen teams will contest the event in Sri Lanka from 5 to 19 February 2006.Twenty20 Cricket
Discussions on the role of Twenty20 cricket in the international arena led to an agreement that ICC management should conduct an investigation and evaluation of a range of scenarios in relation to this particular format. A report will be compiled for consideration by the ICC board.Commonwealth Games
The CEC reviewed a proposal from the organisers of the Commonwealth Games in India in 2010. The matter has been referred to the ICC board for further consideration at its meeting in October.Use of substitutes
The issue of the use of substitutes in international cricket was raised during the meeting. In seeking to clarify the role of the 12th man, the ICC has committed to raising this issue with all full member captains and elite panel umpires during forthcoming meetings with both groups scheduled for October.

John Bracewell, the New Zealand coach, has admitted he is unsure of what types of pitches to expect in the forthcoming NatWest Series after the tracks used in the Tests.Bracewell, who coached Gloucestershire for five years, said England had produced pitches to suit their style of play during the Test series, rather than using the typical early-season seamers.”The types of wickets they produced are not consistent with the ones they produced over the last five years in the early season,” Bracewell said. “They obviously found a combination playing in the West Indies of playing on drier wickets suited their bowlers who hit the deck, and they found that variable bounce.”Bracewell insisted he now wasn’t sure what to expect in the one-dayers. “They’re a canny bunch and they may come up with something completely different for the one-day series,” he said. “Last year they varied them, they played one team on faster wickets [Zimbabwe] throughout the series and one team [South Africa] on slower wickets.”He added that preparing pitches was not something not in the rule book in New Zealand. “Good luck to them. While we’re not allowed to do it in New Zealand, they’re obviously allowed to do it over here,” Bracewell said. “Our policy is to produce the best cricket wickets possible, not ones that suit the home team. I’m quite happy to go along with our policy.”England have done it well. It hasn’t been a surprise, it’s been a surprise it’s taken them so long to work it out.”New Zealand began their preparations for the NatWest Series with a loss against Derbyshire, and they face Essex and Northamptonshire before their opening game of the competition, against England at Old Trafford next Thursday (June 24).

In an effort to revive truncated cricket ties with Pakistan, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has written to Atal Behari Vajpayee, India’s Prime Minister, requesting him for permission to play Pakistan at neutral venues. The Indian government is yet to officially respond.However, Jagmohan Dalmiya, the BCCI president, said that the revival of bilateral ties between the two countries would be delayed, despite the positive signals from the Indian government. He said: “It may take until early next year because of many reasons. Many of our cricketers are injured, while we have also allowed some of our players to play county cricket in England.”On Saturday Dalmiya met General Tauqir Zia, chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), at an Asian Cricket Foundation meeting in Dubai. But Dalmiya admitted to the Times of India that the meeting failed to find a slot for the Asia Cup – the Test championship involving India Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh – before next February.The Indian government had banned bilateral cricket with Pakistan in 2000. However, the Indian team is allowed to play Pakistan in multilateral events, as they did in the recently concluded World Cup. Direct sporting relations continue between India and Pakistan in other sports such as hockey.Earlier in March, the Indian government had overruled another request from the BCCI to resume bilateral matches with Pakistan. The BCCI claimed that it could be heavily penalized by the International Cricket Council (ICC) for failing to fulfill commitments. In an embarrassing contradiction, the ICC promptly denied such a possibility, maintaining that it will not hold individual boards accountable for governmental decisions.But with big money at stake, both the Indian and Pakistani cricket boards have increased their lobbying with the Indian government. “We want to somehow resume bilateral cricket,” said Karunakaran Nair, the BCCI secretary. Nair said that senior board members would discuss the issue by the end of May.

An inquiry into alleged match fixing in Pakistan cricket has been announced. Hon’ble Mr Justice Karamat Nazir Bhandari of the Lahore High Court has been appointed Commission of Inquiry and has issued the following terms of reference:Inquiry – World Cup 1999

Before Hon’ble Mr Justice Karamat Nazir Bhandari, Commission of Inquiry, Lahore High Court, Lahore.

1. Whereas the Federal Government of Pakistan in pursuance of the power conferred by Section 3 of Pakistan Commission of Inquiry Act, 1956 and sub Section (1) of Section 5 thereof has appointed Hon’ble Mr. Justice Karamat Nazir Bhandari, Judge Lahore High Court, Lahore as commission of Inquiry to inquire into the allegations of match fixing attributed to Pakistan Cricket Team.
2. The Terms of reference of commissions of Inquiry are as under:
1. To Probe and ascertain whether there was match fixing between Pakistan and Bangladesh (World Cup-1999).
2. The probe and ascertain whether there was match fixing between Pakistan and India (World Cup-1999).
3. To determine whether some persons were involved and responsible for match fixing and betting.
4. To recommend appropriate action and measures that in future this episode is not repeated in case of an affirmative finding.
5. To inquire into the conduct of Umpire Javed Akhtar in the match between South Africa and England during South Africa tour to England in 1998.
3. The public-at-large is informed that the Commission of Inquiry has decided to hold the inquiry at Lahore w.e.f. 22.9.2001 in the premises of the Lahore High Court, Lahore. Those having some information or evidence about the points in issue may get their names registered as witnesses with the Registrar. Commission of Inquiry by or before 20.9.2001. Statement of only those will be recorded during the inquiry, who have their names registered by or before the target date. Such registered witnesses will be separately summoned.

(sgd)
(Kazim Ali Malik)
Registrar,
Commission of Inquiry,
Lahore High Court,
Lahore.

Phone No: +92-42-9212418
Fax No: +92-42-9212281

Central Districts 165 for 9 (Bruce 54, Worker 30, Verma 4-27) beat Wellington 132 (Pollard 44, Ronchi 42, Milne 2-18) by 33 runs
ScorecardFile photo – Adam Milne returned figures of 2 for 18 off his four overs•Getty Images

Tom Bruce’s blitz followed by an all-round bowling display provided Central Districts with their fourth win of the season, by 33 runs against Wellington in Napier.Central Districts were given a strong start after choosing to bat. Captain George Worker and Mahela Jayawardena smashed 48 in 35 balls before Anurag Verma had Jayawardena caught behind for 23 – his first score of less than 50 in three innings in the season. A few quick wickets ensued leaving Central Districts at 66 for 3 in the 10th over. Bruce, batting at No. 4, then combined with 18-year-old Josh Clarkson for a match-changing 53-run partnership in just 35 balls.Bruce struck two sixes and seven fours in his 31-ball 54 and took Central Districts past 150 before Wellington clawed their way back by restricting the hosts to 11 off the last two overs, as they finished with 165. Verma ended with career-best figures of 4 for 27 in his four overs.Wellington lost all that momentum as they were quickly reduced to 17 for 3 in the fourth over of the chase, with Seth Rance picking up two of those wickets. The match swung again as Luke Ronchi (42 off 22) and Michael Pollard (44 off 34), who were the only batsmen to reach double-digit scores, formed a 59-run stand off 38 balls to bring Wellington back into the contest.With Wellington requiring 90 off the last 10 overs, the match looked set for a thrilling finish, but a clump of wickets turned the match in Central Districts’ favour. Wellington were eventually bowled out for 132 in 19 overs, with Adam Milne being the pick of the bowlers with figures of 2 for 18.

A new coach for the Indian team “will in all likelihood be appointed by the end of September”, according to Ratnakar Shetty, the chief administrative officer of the Indian board (BCCI).Quoted in the , Shetty also didn’t deny that the team could have a manager and not a coach for the Twenty20 World Championship.Shetty also told NDTV that the selection of a new coach could take time since the team was in England and some members of the coach selection panel like Sunil Gavaskar and Ravi Shastri were away. “Maybe just after Twenty20 [World Championship] because even our boys are in England. Some members [of the coach selection panel] like Gavaskar and Shastri are also in England during the same periods. Therefore sometime they will have to find out to work on the modalities.”The BCCI continues to be undecided on the selection process even months after the coach hunt began. “If we have to announce and call for names we shall have to have a method of writing to the respective boards like Pakistan did and try to get people to apply.”We don’t know when the committee will meet. But before they meet we shall have to finalise how we go about calling for applications. We will have to set some parameters like what we expect of a coach.”Shetty told that the BCCI was being cautious since they didn’t want “a Ford-like situation to arise again”. Graham Ford had declined the position after being offered the post in June.Shetty admitted that the board had received a few applications – the latest according to news reports from Kepler Wessels, the former South African captain – but no steps had been taken thus far. “We have received some applications but we haven’t yet initiated the procedure.”