Test 1 Day 3 Cardiff

6.43pm They're off. The umpires have offered the rain - it can't be the light - and they've taken it. Strauss is verging on apoplexy but that's stumps on day three. And another great one for Australia, for Clarke, for North. They now lead by 44 runs and are firmly in charge. With a less than bright forecast for tomorrow, England are in a very slippery position and need early wickets tomorrow morning before the rain comes tumbling down. We'll be back at 10.30am tomorrow, so do join us then.

That then, is the story of the day. A team that has lost 5 wickets and has a lead of 44 walks off the ground on the offer of light.

Light rain tonight. Heavy rain tomorrow. Light rain on Sunday.

History beckons!

Test 1 Day 2 Cardiff

Australia 249/1 Ponting 100*, Katich 103* trail by 186 runs.

348 runs scored in the day for the loss of 4 wickets. This on the back of 336 runs for the loss of 7 wickets on Day 1.

Attritional cricket all the way through and I expect the trend to continue. 9 overs before the new ball is available, so England wont be too displeased despite being batted out by Katich and the Prick on Day 2.

Australia's run rate is 3.5. Extrapolating this, it will take them 54 overs to over haul the England total. Then to build up a lead and give themselves enough time to bowl England out a second time.

There are 270 overs left in the test, weather permitting. Two innings changes, two opportunities to use the heavy or light rollers, 4 new balls, all 4 results a possibility.

For England, the new ball is going to be of paramount importance. They cannot let Australia get away by attacking the new ball - that will kill the Test for them right there. And in the 9 overs leading up to the new ball, it is imperative that they make run scoring as difficult as possible for the two set Australian batsmen.

Cut off the runs and attack with the new ball. And if the Australians can tide that, set in out fields to limit run making. There is another new ball available at the fag end of the day, so there is that additional opportunity right there.

If the Australians can be made to get the remaining 186 runs in 70 overs instead of 54, time will again be of essence. If the wicket has not deteriorated significantly, Australia will want enough time to bowl England out ( and leave themselves a window to get the remaining runs, if any).

Day 3 cant come soon enough!

PS:- The one thing that I will be keeping a look out for is the distribution of overs amongst the Aussie bowlers, when it is their turn to bowl. Given that there are 5 tests in 7 weeks, longevity is going to be important in deciding the fortunes of the teams. And given that the Aussie pacers have bowled 76 of the 107 overs in the England first innings, it will be interesting to see how the Prick handles the workload.

Of Cartels and such like...

However, board officials believe a "cartel" of the big four countries - Australia, South Africa, India and England - is building up, which will marginalise Pakistan and other, less profitable countries, raising concerns of a two-tiered cricket world of the haves and have-nots. This is one of the main objections that has been raised and is likely to now cause delays before the FTP is ratified.

"We have raised the issue with the ICC and said to them that there is a cartel building up of four countries and no cartel is ever a good thing," an official present at the meetings told Cricinfo. "They [the group of four] wanted to reduce the number of ICC events to two in four years also. The ICC is abdicating its responsibility here but they are realising it now at least."

It has also been learnt that there are no scheduled series between India and Pakistan in the FTP post-2012, indicating that relations between the BCCI and the PCB have yet to improve. The two boards have been close in recent years, but a change in administration within the PCB and a change in the political atmosphere between the two governments has changed that. The PCB's legal case against the ICC over the 2011 World Cup - set to continue now in the disputes resolution committee under Michael Beloff - has further fractured the relationship. The BCCI, say officials, has pointed to the uncertain political ties between the two countries as a reason for not scheduling any tours.

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KARACHI: Pakistan’s cricket officials fear ‘substantial’ losses in the coming years in case their team doesn’t play against old rivals India but are hopeful that such a scenario will be averted with the help of the international cricket community.

A senior Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) official told ‘The News’ on Wednesday that bilateral cricket exchanges with the neighbouring nation will be revived ‘sooner than later’ in spite of the fact that the Indians have been sending all the wrong signals about a possible resumption of cricketing ties.

“It is a case of ebb and flow when it comes to Indo-Pak relations,” said Saleem Altaf, PCB’s chief operating officer. “In 2004, India came here after 15 years. But I personally don’t expect it to be that long this time,” added the former Pakistan Test pacer.

In spite of what is a gloomy backdrop, Altaf is hopeful that India could tour Pakistan as early as next year.“It is certainly possible,” he said. “Efforts are on to find a solution for this issue and Iím quite hopeful.”

Pakistan are certainly desperate for a solution. According to an estimate, Pakistan suffered losses of more US$42 million when India refused to come here for a full series early this year in the wake of last November’s terrorist attack in Mumbai.

This led to a suspension of cricketing ties between the two nations, who had previously worked out a bilateral agreement of playing against each other on a regular basis.

If that bilateral understanding is reached again, then Pakistan will host India at least three times in the next six years and will earn an estimated US$135 million.

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So why not in domestic cricket?

One thing which you would like to see changed immediately in cricket?
I would like to see leg byes abolished from the game. Also, I would like to see overthrows after a direct hit not given. The restriction of bouncers should be stopped too.

As Chairman of the BCCI Technical Committee, how about atleast making the recommendation?

Day 1 Test 1 Cardiff

MG Johnson	18	2	68	2	3.77
	19.6 to Strauss, and the bouncer does the trick! It's a quick one and right on line, Strauss can't get out of the way and the ball clearly takes his gloves and flies up in the air, Clarke runs back from the cordon to take a simple chance 67/2 24.4 to Bopara, and the slower ball does the trick! Johnson runs the fingers over this one and Bopara is committed to the drive, he mistimes it horribly and lobs it up for a simple catch to Hughes at point 90/3
	BW Hilfenhaus	23	5	61	2	2.65	(4nb, 1w)
	7.6 to Cook, GOT HIM! That's a catch and a half from Hussey at gully, as Cook felt for this wide delivery and Hussey flings himself to his right to snaffle a corker! 21/1 65.3 to Collingwood, got him - what a catch by Haddin diving to his right! Just outside the off stump, Collingwood edged it and Haddin moved a little late, but clung on with both hands 228/4
	PM Siddle	23	3	93	2	4.04

It was an interesting day at Cardiff, not because it was the Ashes, but because England showed a lot more enterprise when they batted while Australia played to type.

After all the pre series build up, it was England, and Peter Siddle, who showed up to play.

The ball swung all day ( except for the first hour) and there was enough spin at a fair pace to keep the spinners interested.

Unlike David Lloyd, I think 350 is more than enough on this wicket for a first innings score. England played 90 overs today and if they can survive for the first hour tomorrow, time becomes of essence.

If Australia want to avoid batting last, they will have to score at a fair clip and get to atleast 100 ahead to have a good chance of going 1-0 up.

Having said that, England have two spinners, both tall. And with bounce on offer, Panesar and Swann will be able to get more than Hauritz managed on the first day. Along with Anderson, a genuine swing bowler, with Flintoff and Broad being hit the deck type bowlers, England have the bowling bases covered.

Strauss can attack or defend as required. And if the English can extend their innings to beyond the first hour, it is going to be very interesting to see the Aussie game plan.

Also, it is interesting to note the number of overs the Aussie pacers bowled on Day 1. With the English innings still incomplete and another innings to follow, it will be interesting to see how the Prick manages their workloads ( given that their premier fast bowler is hors de combat before the Ashes started).

Given the way the game has unfolded, the middle session of the first day may yet come back to bite Ricky Ponting in the ass!

A little conspiracy theory!

Remember this

Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni today expressed “disgust” over “leaks” from closed-door selection

committee meetings but stopped short of denying reports of differences with the national selectors.

Dhoni had strongly opposed, in the selection meeting on Thursday, the decision to drop left-arm paceman RP Singh for the final four one-dayers of the series against England, to make room for Irfan Pathan. Confirming this, a national selector told The Sunday Express: “Dhoni was quite upset and angry when we decided to drop RP. There was a heated exchange on this issue during the meeting. Some things were said but this happens.”

Then there was this bit on the Fake IPL Player's blog

Apparently, Captain Kakdi wanted to play this tournament as a specialist batsman. His fingers are sore, swollen, all bruised and patched up due to all the cricket he's played over the last 2 years. And he believes that he commands a place in the side purely as a batsman as well. To my mind, that's a very reasonable demand from a guy who's taken Blues' cricket to heights never seen before. But not quite so for the Big Asses who run the game. He's been told that he doesn't get in if he doesn't keep wickets. Somewhere deep down they probably resent the fact that Captain Kakdi has become bigger than them in the eyes of the public. In their strange drug-induced reasoning, they believe that people stay up late nights to see these good-for-nothings in their pot bellies and ill-fitting safari suits at prize distribution ceremonies. I think someone needs to show them the mirror. Although finding a mirror to fit in their bloated egos will not be easy.

Then there was this

In a bizarre turn of events, the entire Indian team turned up at the pre-match press conference at Trent Bridge on Friday in a "show of unity" following media reports of a rift between senior players.

Once the team had assembled, captain MS Dhoni read out a statement to "the people of India and Indian cricket fans worldwide". The team, he said, was unified, "as good as it has ever been with each individual supporting each other on and off the field". He called the reports, published in the Indian media on Friday, of a rift between himself and Virender Sehwag "false and irresponsible behaviour".

Then, here are the teams selected between Nov 23, 2008 and today

India in Sri Lanka ODI Series, 2008/09
Only T20I: Sri Lanka v India at Colombo (RPS), Feb 10, 2009
India in New Zealand T20I Series, 2008/09
India in New Zealand ODI Series, 2008/09
India in New Zealand Test Series, 2008/09
ICC World Twenty20, 2009
India tour of West Indies, 2009

And now, the 30 probables for the Champions Trophy.

Is there a case that the selectors have been biding their time to get even with Dhoni for his remarks and, post the T20 debacle, they have the carte blanche to do exactly that? I believe there is.

Looking at the teams selected in the period between the spat and now, while the core has remained more or less stable, the fringe selections have more than raised an eyebrow. While each can be explained away in isolation, taken in toto, there is neither continuity nor is there a game plan. More and more, it appears to me as if the selectors have decided to limit MSD's choices.

And then there is the Sehwag injury and the subsequent nonsense. Till date, no selector has stepped forward to state that the selection was made in good faith because they did not believe the injury to be serious enough ( despite Sehwag missing a few IPL games owing to a different injury). And when the shit hit the ceiling, it was left to MSD to salvage the situation.

I also think that the selectors are over playing their hand - a team can only lose so much before public opinion turns against it. And while that may be a good enough reason to get rid of MSD, the greater problem of inflicting the team with self doubt and losing its ability to win will be detrimental to the selectors.

And with Gary Kirsten's contract coming to an end this season, there is only so much turmoil the team can take (if indeed he decides not to continue).

The Empire may be striking back, but are the selectors chopping their noses to spite their face?

Youngistan!

Between Jan , 2008 and July 6, 2009, India's ODI stats read

Played - 43
Won - 28
Lost - 11
N/R - 04

The top ten batsen ( in terms of runs) were

Overall figures

Player	Span	Mat	Inns	NO	Runs	HS	Ave	BF	SR	100	50	0	4s	6s
MS Dhoni	2008-2009	43	38	12	1729	109*	66.50	2029	85.21	1	14	0	109	24
G Gambhir	2008-2009	41	39	4	1551	150	44.31	1703	91.07	4	9	2	162	8
Yuvraj Singh	2008-2009	41	39	4	1445	138*	41.28	1424	101.47	4	6	3	145	48
V Sehwag	2008-2009	27	27	1	1361	125*	52.34	1073	126.84	3	10	0	184	33
SK Raina	2008-2009	29	27	6	946	116*	45.04	969	97.62	2	7	1	75	30
SR Tendulkar	2008-2009	18	18	2	722	163*	45.12	808	89.35	2	4	1	71	7
RG Sharma	2008-2009	37	35	10	634	70*	25.36	888	71.39	0	3	3	48	4
YK Pathan	2008-2009	26	17	8	241	59*	26.77	234	102.99	0	2	5	18	11
IK Pathan	2008-2009	22	14	1	231	38*	17.76	329	70.21	0	0	0	18	2
RV Uthappa	2008-2008	13	11	2	179	51	19.88	275	65.09	0	1	0	12	2

The top ten bowlers ( in terms of wickets) are

Overall figures

Player	Span	Mat	Inns	Overs	Mdns	Runs	Wkts	BBI	Ave	Econ	SR	4	5
I Sharma	2008-2009	29	28	221.3	7	1265	42	4/38	30.11	5.71	31.6	3	0
P Kumar	2008-2009	23	22	179.0	15	891	30	4/31	29.70	4.97	35.8	3	0
Harbhajan Singh	2008-2009	28	24	186.0	4	886	29	3/27	30.55	4.76	38.4	0	0
IK Pathan	2008-2009	22	21	171.2	4	1015	25	4/41	40.60	5.92	41.1	1	0
Z Khan	2008-2009	18	17	147.2	19	656	24	4/21	27.33	4.45	36.8	1	0
Yuvraj Singh	2008-2009	41	28	143.4	0	765	18	4/28	42.50	5.32	47.8	1	0
MM Patel	2008-2009	16	15	106.0	8	520	14	3/42	37.14	4.90	45.4	0	0
YK Pathan	2008-2009	26	21	89.2	0	498	14	3/56	35.57	5.57	38.2	0	0
RP Singh	2008-2009	13	12	85.0	6	506	13	3/46	38.92	5.95	39.2	0	0
PP Ojha	2008-2009	9	9	80.0	5	336	12	4/38	28.00	4.20	40.0	1	0

Even making allowance for Rohit Sharma's form, with Tendulkar and Sehwag back in the squad, where does Dravid fit in?

Flawed

India Emerging Players squad: S Badrinath (capt), Virat Kohli (vice-capt), M Vijay, Ajinkya Rahane, Manoj Tiwary, Ishank Jaggi, Abhishek Nayar, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, R Ashwin, Amit Mishra, Wriddhiman Saha, Naman Ojha, Pankaj Singh, Dhawal Kulkarni, Pradeep Sangwan, Sudeep Tyagi

Probables: MS Dhoni, Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh, Rohit Sharma, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Suresh Raina, Yusuf Pathan, Abhishek Nayar, Ishant Sharma, Zaheer Khan, RP Singh, Praveen Kumar, Harbhajan Singh, Pragyan Ojha, Ravindra Jadeja, Dinesh Karthik, Munaf Patel, R Ashwin, M Vijay, Amit Mishra, Ajinkya Rahane, Dhawal Kulkarni, S Badrinath, Ashish Nehra, Virat Kohli, Bhuvneshwar Kumar Singh, Wriddhiman Saha, Pankaj Singh.

So Manoj Tiwary is good enough for the Emerging Players squad but not good enough for the 30 probables? And Irfan is not even good enough for the Emerging Players squad? And R Ashwin is the number 2 choice offie ahead of Romesh Pawar? And is Amit Mishra the go to guy for all three formats of the game ahead of Piyush Chawla?

And why is Rahul Dravid in the mix?

Is he there because, as Cricinfo puts it -

His inclusion follows the recent struggles of Indian batsmen against short-pitched bowling, brutally shown up in the ICC World Twenty20 where Suresh Raina, Rohit Sharma, Gautam Gambhir and Yusuf Pathan were troubled by bouncers from the West Indian fast bowlers. The problem continued in the subsequent ODI series in the West Indies.

But then, didnt Gavaskar, during the Sardesai Lecture state

Gavaskar also saw Indian batters' perennial weakness against short-pitched deliveries as something that was not an added concern as he felt it was due to lack of familiarity with bouncers that did the batsmen in.

"There's a lot of cricket (that has) been played where there were not many short balls, and so the balance tends to be on the front foot. Then when suddenly there are short pitched deliveries, you couldn't adjust to it. I think that's what happened (to the Indian team). I think there need not be too much concern about it," he said.

And didnt this happen only at Lords, now considered the bounciest and paciest wicket in England? Didn't South Africa pay the price for replicating the short bowling tactic against Pakistan in the T20 semifinals at Trent Bridge, a far less pacier and bouncier wicket than Lords?

So, why are the selectors regressing?

Doing a Strauss?

Andrew Strauss, during the 2006-07 Ashes, tried re-inventing his game to fill the void left behind by the absence of Marcus Trescothick.

And in the process, he ended up playing too many shots too soon - a series average of 24.7 with a top score of 50 is proof.

I was reminded of this watching Gautam Gambhir during the T20 World Cup and during the two matches of the current West Indies tour.

Vide his trying to open the face of the bat and run the ball down to third man - a shot he had completely shunned during his purple patch in 2008.

Gambhir has more strokes than most if he chooses to take his time at the crease. But, in the absence of Sehwag, it looks as if he has decided to eschew his natural game and don Sehwag's role.

Problem is, Gambhir is not Sehwag. And by trying to play like him, Gambhir is digging a rather large hole for himself.

Lol!

LAHORE: Pakistan cricketers are planning to encash their Twenty20 World Cup triumph and ask for a hike in the existing contracts with their respective Indian Premier League (IPL) franchises next season. After IPL organisers announced that Pakistan players would be welcome to play next season subject to clearance from both governments, sources in the sports management company representing players like Misbahul Haq, Sohail Tanvir, Umar Gul or Kamran Akmal said they are unlikely to play on their old contractual terms of $100,000 each.

“These players are now iconic figures after winning the T20 World Cup and it makes no sense that they should settle for old terms when other players are being paid in millions,” a source said.

The Pakistan players could not take part in the second season of IPL this year after the Pakistan foreign ministry advised the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) against sending players to India after the Mumbai terror attacks. The franchises concerned then either terminated or suspended the contracts of the Pakistani players who had represented them in the first season. IPL commissioner Lalit Modi has said franchises are free to play their Pakistan signings next season provided the governments of the two countries give the clearance.

“Recently a senior official of the sports management company visited India and met with Modi and other franchise officials regarding the contractual issues of the Pakistan players who were not informed whether they would receive payments as per their contracts or these were terminated or suspended because they didn’t play in the second season,” source added. He said the official had spoken to the IPL organisers about the possibility of Pakistan players taking part in the next IPL season. “But now with the Pakistan having won the World Cup obviously the scenario has changed and it is unlikely the players will go back on their old contractual terms as they feel their value is greater now,” he said.

Looking ahead

India's schedule for the rest of the season looks like this

4 ODI set against the West Indies ( June 26 thru July 5, 2009)
The ICC Champions Trophy (September 24 thru October 5, 2009)
7 ODI set against Australia ( October 2009)
3 Test and 5 ODI set against Sri Lanka ( November 2009)
2 Test and 3 ODI set against Bangladesh in Bangladesh ( December 2009)
3 Test and 5 ODI set against South Africa ( February 2010)
Asia Cup (2-6 ODIs) (March 2010)
ICC T20 World Cup in the West Indies (April 2010)

The schedule does not contain any Twenty20 games in the leadup to the World T20 Cup in the West Indies which, from an Indian stand point, can be a huge negative. With the IPL probably scheduled after the T20 WC, the only games the Indians will get is if the Champions League takes place later in the year.

On the other hand, India play plenty of ODI cricket. Against some very good opposition. And predominantly on the sub continent. Which, with 2011 in mind, is a huge bonus. Team India has a fantastic opportunity to start getting the contours of its 2011 campaign in place.

Finally, Test Cricket. The team has a fairly soft Test match schedule leading into the South Africa series, which will allow it to fine tune itself and get match ready for the big clash. Which, from a morale and match fitness point of view, is a plus.

For Team India, there are some pressing questions, the answers to which can be found in the coming months.

For starters - who replaces the big three in Test cricket? There are plenty of contenders, some with better credentials than others. The Bangladesh series can be a good testing ground to identify and groom the next generation of India's middle order. While it will be a stop gap thing ( with the onus on the selectors to ensure those chosen in their respective roles get further exposure in those roles with the "A" team and their respective domestic teams), it will still be a starting point for what follows after the retirements of Tendulkar, Dravid and Laxman.

The last thing India can afford is to undo all the good work the Fab 5 have put together over the years and play musical chairs with the incumbents and their batting positions well after the remaining three have retired.

Given our experiences with finding the next Gavaskar and the next Kapil Dev and the permutations and combinations that followed, it would be better to start now when there is time rather than later when time becomes premium.

The other big question India face is - who are our close in fielders? Is Gautam Gambhir our permanent forward short leg? Who are our slippers when Dravid, Tendulkar and Laxman go? And who takes the fielding positions of those who replace them?

The idea of playing Yusuf Pathan in the slips during the recently concluded T20 WC was daft, imho. If he is a slip in T20, he has to be the slip in ODIs. But he is not. The slips are manned by Tendulkar, Sehwag and whoever else catches MSD's fancy. And quite frankly, there is no method to that madness.

We play Sri Lanka at home and Bangladesh in Bangladesh. In both cases, there is a very good chance we will go in with three spinners ( with Pragyan Ojha bowling the way he is, it will be difficult to keep him on the bench).

And with no leg slip, no forward short leg or silly point, and Dravid's catching form being patchy, we will spend more time on the field than we want to if our catching is shoddy.

And its not just the spinners. For the first time in the longest time, we have both depth and variety in our pace bowling resources. We actually have bowlers who will create opportunities for us, both with the new and old ball. And if our close catching is not up to scratch, those opportunities will go to waste.

And for a team that is now seen as a contender for the top spot in all three forms of the game, the inability to catch will see us move out of contention.

Then - bowler rotation.

Given the fact that we had bowlers carrying injuries from the IPL into the T20 WC and given the number of ODIs we play in the next few months, it is imperative that we have a proper rotation strategy for our bowlers. The last thing India need is for Ishant to play all the games leading into the South Africa series and then be hors de combat, with no replacement to readily slip into his spot.

Likewise, if Irfan Pathan is a bowler who can bat, how does he fit into the grand scheme of things? If we are to play two spinners in ODIs along with two pacers, with Sehwag, Tendulkar, Yuvraj, Raina and Sharma forming the fifth bowler option, is Pathan a better bet than Ishant and RP or does India want to stick to them? And what about Praveen Kumar? And Piyush Chawla?

Ideally, an Indian ODI line up should read

Tendulkar,Sehwag, Dhoni, Raina, Sharma, Yuvraj, Pathan, Karthik, Pathan, Chawla and Kumar although a case can be made for Harbhajan, Zak, Ishant, RP, Gambhir, Jadeja, Ojha, Badri and Vijay along with Uthappa, Munaf, Sreesanth and Virat Kohli.

Finally - is Dhoni the first choice keeper for ODIs and T20s? In Test cricket, he cannot command a place in the side as a batsman alone, which makes it imperative for him to keep. In ODIs and in T20, he can and should play solely as a batsman. The notion of him being a keeper in all three forms of the game will hurt India more in the medium and long terms than help them.

And now is as good a time as any to put this in motion.

Can you count to 10?

The draw for the Champions League, scheduled to be held at Lord's on Tuesday, has been postponed after the ICC told organisers that it would violate a contractual obligation. There is a 10-day ban after an ICC event on its members holding any activity at the same venue.

The ICC World Twenty20 ended at Lord's on Sunday with Pakistan beating Sri Lanka by eight wickets in the final. And the host agreement between the ICC and the hosts - the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) in this case - requires the latter to provide the venue exclusively for a period that begins 21 days prior to the start of an event and until 10 days after.

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1st Semi-Final: Pakistan v South Africa at Nottingham - Jun 18, 2009

Pakistan won by 7 runs

2nd Semi-Final: Sri Lanka v West Indies at The Oval - Jun 19, 2009

Sri Lanka won by 57 runs

Final: Pakistan v Sri Lanka at Lord's - Jun 21, 2009

Pakistan won by 8 wickets (with 8 balls remaining)

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Mon Jun 22

16:40 GMT | 17:40 Local Nottinghamshire v Yorkshire at Nottingham, Twenty20 Cup

Wed Jun 24

16:30 GMT | 17:30 Local Surrey v Kent at The Oval, Twenty20 Cup

16:30 GMT | 17:30 Local Nottinghamshire v Leicestershire at Nottingham, Twenty20 Cup

Thu Jun 25

16:30 GMT | 17:30 Local Surrey v Essex at The Oval, Twenty20 Cup

Fri Jun 26

16:30 GMT | 17:30 Local Middlesex v Essex at Lord's, Twenty20 Cup

Tue Jun 30

10:00 GMT | 11:00 Local Middlesex v Surrey at Lord's, County Championship Division Two - day 1

What is the truth?

Ijaz Butt, the PCB chairman, said he was disappointed those organisational issues surrounding the World Cup remained unresolved and added that the legal proceedings the PCB has brought against the ICC would continue. "I had hoped and expected the support of my Asian co-hosts in resolving these organizational difficulties," he said. "I am deeply disappointed that no progress was made despite the intervention of both the ICC president (David Morgan) and vice-president (Sharad Pawar).

"This means that rather than harmony amongst the co-hosts of the 2011 World Cup we will have disagreement and legal dispute. I do hope that they will reconsider their unreasonable stance so that the legal dispute can be resolved and a hugely successful World Cup organized in 2011."
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The four co-hosts - India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, had a meeting under the chairmanship of Sharad Pawar to suggest as to where the 14 matches, originally scheduled to be held in Pakistan, could be played.

However, according to the sources, Shashank Manohar flatly refused to allow PCB to host their matches in UAE. "The PCB matches can only be held in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh (if not in Pakistan for security reasons)", he is believed to have said to the PCB.

The PCB has now again initiated the legal proceedings with the ICC. The PCB chief Ejaz Butt is also likely to raise the security levels in India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka in the ICC meeting on June 25. "What if Government of India does not allow Pakistan team to play in India or Pakistan government refuses to send team to India", Butt is likely to raise the questions.
---
"We sought support of our fellow Asian co-hosts for matches to be played under the aegis of PCB in a safe neutral venue. Despite the fact that these discussions had been brokered by ICC President David Morgan and ICC Vice President Sharad Pawar who is Chairman of World Cup Central Organizing Committee, no progress was made," PCB said in a statement.

"This will mean that organizational issues surrounding the 2011 World Cup remain unresolved and that the legal proceedings the PCB has brought against the ICC in Dubai and in Lahore will continue," it added.

Sources said India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh had asked Pakistan to accept the hosting fees for the 14 matches totaling USD 10.5 million but to forget about hosting the matches at home or at neutral venues.

"At one stage Pakistan was told they could host four or five matches at neutral venues but Butt declined insisting on Pakistan getting its full quota of 14 matches," one source privy to the meetings said. PTI

How is that out?

1.2	Parnell to Shahzaib Hasan, OUT, What a stunner from Van der Merwe. South Africa roar as they get into a huddle. It was a short of length delivery, going away from Shahzaib who top-edges the pull over mid-on. Van der Merwe swung back, ran ahead and dived forward to take a sharp catch.
	Shahzaib Hasan c van der Merwe b Parnell 0 (2b 0x4 0x6) SR: 0.00

Watch the front of his hands - they are facing the ground when he completes the catch. Which begs the question - how is that a legitimate catch?

Not bad

!The Indian team for the West Indies

Mahendra Singh Dhoni (Captain), Yuvraj Singh [ Images ] (vice-captain), Gautam Gambhir [ Images ], Rohit Sharma [ Images ], Harbhajan Singh [ Images ], Pragyan Ojha [ Images ], Yusuf Pathan [ Images ], Murali Vijay, S Badrinath, RP Singh [ Images ], Praveen Kumar [ Images ], Ishant Sharma [ Images ], Abhishek Nayar, Ashish Nehra, Ravindra Jadeja [ Images ], Dinesh Karthik [ Images ].

Ishant could probably have been rested and Munaf drafted in. Also, I would have liked to see Virat Kohli have a go ahead of either Murali Vijay or Badri.

That said, a fairly balanced side. Go well!