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Barbados and Jamaica are into the finals of the West Indies Under-19 tournament but not without controversy. Confusion initially reigned over who would contest the final of the limited-overs series after both semi-finals were wrecked by torrential rain and strong winds in St Kitts.Guyana’s team management said that on the basis of the tournament’s playing conditions, they had qualified for the final because of their No. 1 seeding from the preceding three-day tournament.Barbados, meanwhile, assumed they too had missed out on a spot in the final, based on the playing conditions laid down for the tournament. However, Derek Nicholas, the West Indies Cricket Board’s operations officer, revealed that Barbados and Jamaica would contest the final, based on standings after the three-round preliminary campaign.Barbados finished top of the standings with ten points while Jamaica and Leeward Islands were joint second on eight. Guyana were fourth with six points.Jamaica, sent in by the Leewards in overcast conditions at Cayon, had reached 70 for 3 after 21 overs when rain and wind, associated with the passage of Hurricane Dean, swept across the ground bringing a swift end to the contest. With the pitch waterlogged along with most of the outfield, umpires Cornelius Sam and Rudolph Wattley had no choice but to call off play.Before the abandonment, Shacoya Thomas, unbeaten on 24, and Andre Creary, on 5, were leading a revival after Jamaica had slipped to 53 for 3.In the second semi-final at Conaree there was even less play in the game between Guyana and Barbados. Sent in by Barbados, Guyana reached 22 for 2 before adverse weather lashed the ground rendering conditions unfit for play. Umpires Steadroy Techeira and Troy Mills made an inspection at 1.15 pm before making their final decision.Earlier, play began 66 minutes late due to late preparation of the playing area occasioned by extremely windy conditions. Barbados started positively when fast bowler Diego Stuart bowled Chris Pattadin for 4 with the third ball of the match to leave Guyana on 6 for 1. When the rain finally came the pitch was left uncovered as the ground staff, like the players and spectators, rushed to safety indoors as the wind speed increased rapidly.

Two of England’s leading international grounds, Lord’s and The Oval, are considering offers to stage exhibition games involving teams from the Indian Premier League, according to a report in .Although the venues for the initial games have already been allocated in India, there seems an increasing likelihood that other international venues will be also be used, as a way to promote the tournament around the world as much as provide world-class facilities. As it stands, however, the London venues will only host exhibition matches.Paul Sheldon, the Surrey chief executive, declined to comment to , while a spokesman for the MCC also refused to make a statement.Meanwhile, the Domestic Structure Review Group, chaired by Glamorgan chairman Paul Russell, will go before the ECB on April 9 and is due to suggest a radical response to the IPL. The committee proposes two new Twenty20 competitions, the first of which will run in early summer along similar lines to the old Benson & Hedges Cup which ran for 30 years from 1972. It will feature Minor Counties, the universities and Ireland and Scotland.The second tournament, according to today’s , will be called the English Premier League, taking place at the height of summer and consisting of 21 teams in three groups of seven – with county sides supplemented by international players from India, Australia and South Africa. The idea falls in line with the suggestions made by ECB’s chairman, Giles Clarke, that England should mirror some of the IPL’s makeup: namely, that Twenty20 sides field three overseas players and four players under the age of 23.”We wanted to see something radical come out of this committee,” an insider told the , “but instead it is as if they have put all the same balls into the hat, shaken them around a bit and taken them out again.”The idea of restoring the old Benson & Hedges Cup under a different name is just crazy. What this needed is some vision, a different pair of eyes. The DSRG should have gone out and sought the input of the players, the press, television. What about city teams, for instance, rather than counties? If we don’t take this thing by the scruff of the neck, we will find that the game has been pinched off us by other operators.”

Australia have been confirmed as the top seed for this year’s ICC Champions Trophy in Pakistan after the completion of the league matches of the CB Series in Melbourne on Friday. Australia, the current holders of the Champions Trophy, will top the ICC one-day international rankings on the March 12 cut-off date irrespective of how they fare against India in the best-of-three finals over the next week.South Africa, who won the inaugural Champions Trophy in 1998, will be seeded second, followed by New Zealand, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, England and West Indies. The groupings will be announced on March 12.If India manage to seal the CB Series in the first two games, Australia will drop to 127 points but will remain fractionally ahead of South Africa. If they beat India with a match to spare Australia will go to 132 points. India will, in this scenario, remain on 110 points. A 2-1 win for Australia would put them on 130 points while India would return home on 111.Sri Lanka’s consolation 13-run win over the hosts in Melbourne ensured they did not slip in the rankings. A loss would have caused them to stumble to seventh place with England moving up to sixth. The Champions Trophy is scheduled to be hosted by Pakistan in September and October.

A report in today’s Daily Telegraph says that the British government may stop short of banning Zimbabwe from touring in 2009 and are holding ongoing discussions with the ECB over the issue.If the government were to ban Zimbabwe’s players then the ICC would not be able to punish the ECB. However, the paper claims that the government are keen that the board finds a solution itself, although this is unlikely given recent comments from Peter Chingoka, Zimbabwe Cricket’s chairman.Cricinfo has learned from sources close to the government that the preferred option is for Zimbabwe to be banned from playing their bilateral series against England in May-June 2009 but for their players to be admitted for the ICC World Twenty20 later that summer. That would avoid any moves to switch the tournament to another country, which is the ECB’s major concern.The report points out that political events may overtake cricketing ones. Robert Mugabe faces fresh elections in March, and while it is unlikely he will lose, with Zimbabwe’s economy in meltdown – January inflation is around 150,000% – he could face a leadership challenge from within his own party.Giles Clarke, the ECB chairman, said he was confident that unlike previous tours, this time the government would not leave the board to make a decision. “My impression is that the government will not leave this to the cricket authorities and that they will not issue visas to Zimbabwe when they come here,” he told the Daily Telegraph.The one problem that does remain is that Chingoka has been banned from entering the UK because of what the Foreign Office maintains are his close links to the Mugabe regime. Even if Zimbabwe were allowed to participate in the ICC World Twenty20, Chingoka would not be permitted to attend. It remains to be seen how the ICC would view that.

ScorecardAdil Rashid produced a fine all-round performance for Yorkshire to take them to a comfortable 51-run win over Somerset in the penultimate match of the Pro Arch Trophy in Abu Dhabi. Rashid cracked 35 from 40 balls at No. 6 to chivvy Yorkshire’s total up to a competitive 264 for 7 before grabbing 2 for 23 from 10 tidy overs.For all Rashid’s lower-order nous, it was Andrew Gale and Joe Sayers, the openers, who got Yorkshire off to a solid start with a brisk opening stand of 97. Sayers was trapped lbw by Wes Durston for 43 but Gale motored onwards, crunching 11 fours and a six in his 61-ball 63.When Durston removed Adam Lyth, Yorkshire had slipped to 165 for 4 before Anthony McGrath took charge in a typically combative 53 and, together with Rashid, the pair put on 65 for the fifth wicket before Stefan Jones picked up two late wickets.Somerset’s innings never took off. Carl Gazzard fell for 16 and Craig Kieswetter was run out by Lyth for a run-a-ball 26. Somerset’s top-order stumbled to 99 for 4 and, when Rashid trapped Durston lbw for 20, Somerset were 127 for 5. Omari Banks struck 55 from 75 balls but found little support from the lower order.

Shane Warne believes Muttiah Muralitharan’s action should be assessed in a Test match to end any lingering speculation over its legality. Warne is set to be overtaken as the world’s leading Test wicket-taker by Muralitharan, who needs seven more victims to pass Warne’s mark of 708.Muralitharan’s action has been repeatedly cleared by biomechanical tests over the past decade but those trials have never taken place in a match situation. Warne’s bowling mentor Terry Jenner said on the weekend that Muralitharan needed to be tested during a game to clear his name completely, and Warne agrees.”He should be tested under match conditions,” Warne wrote in his column in newspapers. “I’m sure he is sick of it all, but it would be well worth the exercise and hassle.”I think for his own peace of mind and everyone in world cricket, do the testing in the heat of battle – a Test match. Surely the ICC, Sri Lanka and Murali would want that.”Muralitharan was first no-balled for throwing during the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne in 1995-96 and again during a one-day game in Adelaide three years later. In 2004, when he troubled Australia with his doosra during a Test series in Sri Lanka, he was reported by the match referee Chris Broad.Along the way Muralitharan has undertaken biomechanical tests in Perth, Hong Kong and England, and has been repeatedly cleared to keep bowling. The former Australia batsman Michael Slater took part in the 2004 analysis and he said despite going into the trial with doubts about Muralitharan’s action, by the end he was totally convinced Muralitharan did not throw – even when bowling the doosra.”In Australia, there is an almost universal belief Muralitharan is a chucker,” Slater said in the . “But if they were to see this footage they would be amazed. When people see the video, they say, ‘I’ve changed my mind, he’s not a chucker’.”Muralitharan has a chance to pass Warne’s Test wicket record during the second Test, which starts in Hobart on Friday. Australia and Sri Lanka are competing for a new prize in the two-Test series – the Warne-Muralitharan Trophy.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

South Africa overcame the stout resistance of Marlon Samuels, who made his second Test century, to wrap up a comfortable innings-and-100-run victory on the third day at Durban. In doing so, they came from behind to complete a 2-1 series win after their surprise loss in the first Test at Port Elizabeth. On a flat and true surface, it was the raw pace of Dale Steyn that proved the difference on the day. He took 4 for 0 in 15 deliveries with the second new ball to complete his seventh five-wicket haul in 18 Tests, after a fourth-wicket stand of 144 between Samuels and Dwayne Bravo had threatened to carry the match into a fourth day.Steyn’s success was entirely appropriate on the day that South Africa’s champion seamer, Shaun Pollock, finally handed over the reins after an outstanding 12-year career. Pollock’s final day of Test cricket began with the second-ball wicket of Runako Morton, but thereafter he was comfortably negotiated by a West Indian middle order that put their desperate match situation out of mind, and knuckled down to fight for survival. Thanks to Samuels’s 190-ball innings, and a series-best 75 from the stand-in captain, Bravo, West Indies completed their tour as they had begun it, with pride.Their prognosis at the start of the day had not been encouraging, however. Their series prospects had been in tatters ever since they were bowled out for 139 on the first morning of the match, and when they shed three wickets in an ill-disciplined first session, there was a fear that the match could be all over by tea, especially seeing as their leading batsman, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, was laid low by ‘flu.But Samuels and Bravo displayed the maturity that has been an enduring feature of what has to be recorded as an encouraging tour for West Indies. Despite heavy defeats at both Cape Town and now Durban, each match has been marked by the sort of character in adversity that might not previously have been expected of the side. Both men counterattacked gamely as the true nature of the wicket became apparent, and as a lead that had once stood at 417 was whittled down to less than 200, South Africa’s frustrations were laid bare.Samuels was instrumental in West Indies’ surprise win at Port Elizabeth, where he made twin scores of 94 and 40. This time he went one better, and finally ended a run of five-and-a-half years between Test hundreds. His last three-figure score came against India at Kolkata in October 2002, which explained his undemonstrative celebrations when he drilled Jacques Kallis down the ground for four to end what must have felt like an interminable wait.Samuels’ innings contained distinct changes of tempo. He began with a flourish during that carefree first session, when West Indies seemed to be in a hurry to administer the last rites themselves. But then he eased back in partnership with Bravo to drive the South Africa bowlers – in particular, Andre Nel – to distraction. He offered a clear chance to Kallis at second slip on 41, as he became entrenched in sight of his half-century, but then celebrated the milestone with a flurry of six fours in nine balls, including two streaky edges over and through the slips off Nel.Bravo at the other end produced an extremely classy innings. He has endured a disappointing tour as a batsman, with just 47 runs in the first five innings of the series. But he unfurled his full calypso range from the moment he strode to the crease, slamming 11 fours in bringing up his half-century from 67 balls. He offered one tough return chance to Nel’s right on 8, but showed his flair with a series of crunching back-foot drives and a sumptuous clump down the ground off the soon-to-be-retired Pollock.But, having batted all the way through the afternoon session with scarcely an alarm, the tea break did for Bravo’s concentration. Six balls after the resumption, he played across the line to a Steyn offcutter that wasn’t slipping as far down leg as he had imagined, and was sent on his way for 75. That brought Denesh Ramdin to the crease, and though he produced an attractive 25 from 38 balls, the manner of his departure was disappointing. He wafted flat-footedly at a short wide delivery from Nel, and Boucher took the catch with glee.At 273 for 5, the end was nigh, but Steyn’s coup de grace was spectacular. He is in the midst of a golden season, and proved it with an unplayable delivery to Samuels that pitched on off, held its line and clattered into the top of the stump. His celebration was wild to the point of over-exuberance, although Samuels was rightly given a fine ovation as he left the field. It had taken the ball of the match to dislodge him.There was no stopping Steyn now. In his next over, he squared up Darren Sammy with another 90mph legcutter that took the leading edge and flew straight back to the bowler, and three balls later Daren Powell lost his off stump to a similarly tailender-wrecking delivery. Though Jerome Taylor applied a late gloss with three smeared fours off Ntini, Steyn returned to wrap up the match, rattling the stumps once again with a fast, full and straight delivery to Fidel Edwards. On the day that Pollock stepped down from the team, his successor showed just how ready he is to lead the line.

Zimbabwe’s place in South Africa’s domestic one-day tournaments has been confirmed after meetings in Johannesburg. They will take part in the 50-over MTN domestic championship and the Pro20 series on a home and away basis.Cricket South Africa, the six franchises and the South Africa Cricketers’ Association agreed that Zimbabwe would play as a seventh franchise, but would not take part in the SuperSport series which has already begun. The initial proposal had included the first-class tournament in the plans, but it was opposed because it was felt their late inclusion would devalue the competition.However, Zimbabwe will play three first-class matches against a South Africa Composite XI, called the SuperSport Challenge, made up of six successful franchise players and the leading amateurs from the level below. The team will be chosen by the national selection panel.The first match begins at Sedgars Park in Potchefstroom on Thursday and the other fixtures and venues will be announced shortly, but all three matches will take place in South Africa. The fixtures involving Zimbabwe for the limited overs competitions will also be announced shortly, but will not affect existing fixtures announced by CSA.Gerald Majola, the Cricket South Africa CEO, said: “Following a series of meetings between the CEOs of CSA’s Affiliates and the South African Cricketers’ Association, agreement was reached at assisting Zimbabwe players to participate in a more competitive level of cricket.”This is in terms of a request by the ICC to provide Zimbabwe players with an opportunity to play more competitive cricket in their bid to play Test cricket again,” he said. “The South African players, through SACA, also wish to assist Zimbabwe players in this regard and also for the participation to be beneficial to South African cricket.”The Zimbabwe Cricket Union has welcomed this initiative, and has agreed to field Zimbabwe’s strongest team for every match. This new set-up will be reviewed at the end of the 2007-8 season”.South African Composite XI Benji Hector (capt), Stephen Cook, Cliffie Deacon, Athenkosi Dyili (wk), Petrus Koortzen, Dumisa Makalima, Sinethemba Mjekula, Pepler Sandri, Blake Snijman, Jean Symes, Stiaan van Zyl, Timmy Gamade (12th man)

Shoaib Akhtar, the Pakistan fast bowler, has refused to respond to the notice sent by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), asking him to explain his recent critical statements in the media. Shoaib said the board had no right to question him as he was not a centrally contracted player.”I am not contracted to them,” Shoaib told reporters after the Pentangular Cup match between Federal Areas and Punjab at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. “So I am not bound to respond to their notice. How can they seek any explanation from me?”They can send me as many notices as they want but I know my rights and when I am not contracted to them I am not going to answer them.”Shoaib was overlooked for a central contract and instead offered a retainership, which he refused, insisting he didn’t need money to play for Pakistan. He then criticised the board’s policy on handing out contracts, accusing them of double standards after an unnamed inexperienced player who had played little cricket in the last six months was retained in the top category of contracts. He still has until February 18 to respond to the notice.A failure to respond, or a conclusion that he has criticized the board could result in a life ban, as Shoaib is currently serving two-year probation periof after his altercation with Mohammad Asif during the ICC World Twenty20 in August in South Africa. Aside from a 13-match ban and a massive monetary fine, Shoaib was warned by the board that any further indiscretions could end his playing career.He also dismissed the PCB’s statement that he needed to sign the retainership to get a No Objection Certificate (NOC) in order to take part in the Indian Premier League starting in April. “Why do I need an NOC from them,” he asked. “I have no contract with them. So why this NOC condition and secondly this is a matter between me and the IPL and not the board.”As a result of this, there has also been increased speculation linking Shoaib to the Indian Cricket League (ICL), one not recognised by cricket boards across the world. He was said to be one of the Pakistan players approached last year, though he turned it down at the time. If he does join the ICL, he will subsequently be barred from representing Pakistan again, as per board policy.

Vijay Mallya, the owner of the Bangalore Royal Challengers, has responded to the widespread criticism he received for his remark that his biggest mistake was to trust Rahul Dravid with team selection, by expressing support for his team.”I have read all the reports in the media over [the last] few days with considerable dismay. Matters are not only being blown extravagantly out of proportion but my initial comments in response to Charu Sharma have been twisted and turned in a bizarre manner,” Mallya said. “The Royal Challengers is my team and I have full confidence in them. Admittedly, there are issues on team composition and non-performance but I hope that I can enjoy the legitimate privacy of sorting out issues within my own squad.”He was confident the team would get over its performance in this IPL season and come back stronger in subsequent editions. “I continue to believe that I made the right choice in acquiring an IPL franchise which will create great value going forward,” Mallya said. “I like winning but losing round one doesn’t mean that I have lost the fight.”Mallya’s public statement came a day after Anil Kumble, India’s Test captain and a member of the Bangalore team, said it was time the “people who matter” understood what sport was all about. Mallya had publicly criticised the team leadership – Charu Sharma, the sacked chief executive, and captain, Dravid – for the selection of the squad, which has performed poorly in the IPL.