West Indies A take series after final day washout

West Indies A 268 (Nash 99*, Rasel 5-59, Shuvo 5-85) and 109 for 3 (Phillips 47*) drew with Bangladesh A 272 (Faisal 100, Nazimuddin 72)
Scorecard

The final day of the second unofficial Test was abandoned without a ball being bowled, due to rain. The match was headed towards a draw at the end of the third day, with West Indies A ahead by 105 with seven second-innings wickets in hand. West Indies took the two-match series 1-0 after winning the first Test by 114 runs in Dhaka. They reached the final of the tri-series but went down by five runs to South Africa A in a high-scoring contest.

Howard nomination hits a roadblock

World cricket is set for a serious political rift over the nomination of John Howard, the former Australian prime minister, as the president-designate of the ICC. The cricket boards of South Africa and Zimbabwe are leading an initiative to block Howard's nomination, while Australia and New Zealand, who jointly nominated him, stand behind their man. Four votes are needed to block Howard's nomination and it is believed that, barring some dramatic late changes, his candidature will not be a formality.

The BCCI's position is expected to play crucial role in the issue. David Morgan, the president of the ICC, is scheduled on Thursday to meet Sharad Pawar, who takes over the presidency next month, over the matter.

Cricket South Africa has taken up the matter in the strongest of manners, accusing David Morgan, the ICC president, of ignoring the sentiments of an "overwhelming number of ICC directors" who were opposed to Howard's candidature. Morgan has also been accused of making the matter a personal cause.

The ICC follows a policy of regional rotation for its presidency and this year was the turn of Australia and New Zealand. Howard, a career politician and self-declared cricket tragic, beat off a strong challenge from New Zealand Cricket, which favoured John Anderson, a former chairman of the board and a long-time cricket administrator, to win the nomination for the term, which starts from 2012. He was due to serve as vice-president to Pawar for the next two years.

As it turns out, though, a section of the ICC board has strong reservations about Howard. Zimbabwe Cricket has made no secret of its opposition to a man who was so critical of it when he was prime minister and is certain to vote against him if the matter reaches that point.

Morgan has strongly defended his position in an email exchange with Mtutuzeli Nyoka, the CSA president. He is believed to made it clear that he had no personal agenda and that he had acted according to the ICC constitution.

For the record, the ICC is playing down the issue. "The board has not yet discussed the matter," its chief executive, Haroon Lorgat, told Cricinfo." What you might be hearing might have happened on the sidelines but it was not discussed at the board meeting. The process is that Australia and New Zealand nominate someone, followed by the board considering the nomination before putting it before the annual conference. It is a three-step process.

"It [the opposition to Howard's nomination] is speculative at this moment. We haven't yet faced such a scenario; it has not been blocked as yet, nor even considered."

Asked what would happen if the nomination was rejected, Lorgat said: "We will probably go back and ask (the same region) for another nomination. But that has never happened and what you are saying is speculative."

Meanwhile, Cricket Australia stood firmly behind its man. "We remain rock solid in our support of the nomination," Peter Young, the CA spokesperson, told Cricinfo. "CA and NZC undertook an exhaustive professional process and have come up with a joint nomination that we are convinced is the best possible nomination we could put forward. We will continue to be welded on in our joint support of that nomination. We have made that clear to the ICC in recent weeks."

Australia's position received unqualified backing from New Zealand cricket. "We certainly haven't heard any notification from ICC that there's a problem with that. We're certainly not contemplating any other scenarios than John Howard being our man," Justin Vaughan, the NZC chief executive, said.

"We believe we went through a very robust and thorough process. We believe ICC should accept that and accept the nomination."

Northamptonshire sign Theron for T20

Northamptonshire have signed Juan Theron, the South Africa seamer, for the first five matches of their Twenty20 campaign.

Theron, known as 'Rusty', is still awaiting visa clearance for his stint at Wantage Road but if he is successful will bring his death-bowling expertise to the county. After an impressive domestic season in South Africa Theron earned an IPL deal with King's XI Punjab where he claimed the Man-of-the-Match award in his first game after sealing a Super Over victory against Chennai Super Kings.

He was then part of South Africa's World Twenty20 squad but didn't play a match as the team went out in the Super Eights stage.

"I am absolutely delighted to announce the signing of a world class talent such as Rusty, this will give us a great boost," said head coach David Capel. "Rusty will be an excellent addition for our campaign and will be a vital part of our death bowling attack."

Northamptonshire had signed Virender Sehwag for the Twenty20, but his move was ended when the BCCI removed the No Objection Certificates for all their county-bound players. Elton Chigumbura, the Zimbabwe captain, is their other overseas player.

Jadeja apologises for St Lucia pub incident

Indian allrounder Ravindra Jadeja has apologised to the BCCI for his involvement in the incident at a St Lucia pub shortly after India's exit from the ICC World Twenty20, but insisted that he along with six other Indian players did not instigate any trouble or retaliate against the Indian fans who abused them at the pub.

In a letter addressed to the BCCI secretary N Srinivasan, a copy of which is with Cricinfo, Jadeja said the cricketers were taunted by the fans, who refused to back down even after a request from the players. He said the players were not involved in a 'brawl', as it was believed to be earlier, but nevertheless was apologetic that the incident even took place. After the incident was made public, the BCCI responded by issuing show-cause notices to seven of the eight players in the pub.

"I regret that the board has sent me a notice for the incident in the West Indies, and please accept my apology," Jadeja wrote. "I had gone to the restaurant (pub) along with other Indian team members. Some other guests, which I presume were Indian origins of the USA, also came to the restaurant and on seeing us they started abusing us, this may be because they were unhappy with our poor performance. We requested them not to abuse us but they did not stop inspite of our repeated request. No way was I involved in any ugly brawl and I went to the pub only to have dinner with my team-mates."

Jadeja had a poor tournament, where he failed in all departments.

The other players issued notices were Yuvraj Singh, Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra, Rohit Sharma, Piyush Chawla, and M Vijay. The BCCI bosses, including its president Shashank Manohar, were said to be highly critical of the incident after hearing the report of team manager Ranjib Biswal in person. However, Biswal denied reports of a brawl, and said it was just a creation of the media.

Srinivasan, when contacted, did not want to discuss the matter and refused to comment.

Robin Martin-Jenkins quits first-class cricket

"Yes, there were some tough times when I first broke into the team but that made guys like me stronger cricketers" © Getty Images


Related LinksPlayers/Officials: Robin Martin-Jenkins
Teams: England | Sussex


Robin Martin-Jenkins, the Sussex allrounder, has announced that he will retire from first-class cricket this summer. The current County Championship match against Worcestershire will be his last four-day match at Hove, his home ground.

Robin, 35, is set to embark on a new career as a Geography and RS teacher at Hurstpierpoint College, when the new term begins this September. He won't be available for selection after July 19, when Sussex and Worcestershire meet at a Pro 40 match at Hove.

The son of leading cricket journalist, author, and Times cricket correspondent Christopher Martin-Jenkins, Robin made his first-class debut in 1995 and has scored 7174 runs and taken 378 wickets. He had a better career as a bowler in limited-overs games, taking 234 wickets and scoring 1996 runs in 228 matches.

"I could have carried on, but I didn't want to get to the stage where I was holding on too long and not performing," Robin said. "I'm still enjoying it and I'm going out in a period when I'm still playing well, but I've been given a fantastic opportunity outside of cricket now and I intend to grab it with both hands. It's a good time for the club too as there are some excellent young players coming through.

"It's been amazing to play for the club in what has been probably their greatest decade ever, it's been a great honour. Yes, there were some tough times when I first broke into the team but that made guys like me stronger cricketers, and we reaped the rewards with the countless trophies we went on to win".

Robin was talked of as a potential allrounder for England, but never made the grade. "I have no regrets. I have always given my all throughout my career and I've been very proud to play for Sussex," Robin added.

Sussex chairman Jim May said Robin was a fantastic servant to the county over 15 seasons. "He has played a vital role in our sustained success and has certainly been an unsung hero of our three County Championship winning sides," May said. "Not only is he an excellent allrounder, but he is also one of the genuinely nicest guys in the game. All of us here at Sussex are disappointed that Robin is leaving us whilst he is in the form of his life, but at the same time we are delighted that he has planned the next phase of his career, and we wish him well".

'Angus Fraser has been a very big help' - Steven Finn

Steven Finn has the height, pace and bounce to step into Steve Harmison's shoes in the England set-up © Getty Images


Related LinksPlayers/Officials: Steven Finn
Series/Tournaments: Bangladesh tour of England, Ireland and Scotland
Teams: England


Steven Finn has drawn a lot of attention with his prodigious pace and bounce, but the 21 year-old seamer idolises bowlers of a different ilk, who made their mark with accuracy and persistence.

"I have my idols, people like Glenn McGrath who was a fantastic bowler, best bowler in my opinion who has ever played the game," Finn told reporters at Lord's. "It would be nice to play in the sort of environment he was playing in a few years ago and see how I can do."

While he watched McGrath from afar, he learnt the ropes from another equally worthy proponent of seam and swing. Finn is filled with gratitude for the role Angus Fraser has played in his development.

"Angus Fraser who has been a very big help, is a great believer in just bowling, bowling and bowling. That will get you fit and that will teach you how to bowl. I believe in that too. "At the moment I am still learning about my game. I've spoken a lot to to Gus about this. I don't want to be like anyone else, I want to be Steven Finn," he said.

The 6' 7" fast bowler, who made a surprise debut during the Bangladesh tour earlier this year, is already developing the sort of miserliness that defined his heroes in their pomp.

"Gus has brought discipline, an analytical approach to the way I bowl. There's a lot more thought process that goes in to what I do, the working out of batsmen, the way it really hurts me when I give away runs.

"I hate it, just as much as Gus did. He would stand there swearing, punching himself. He's helped bring in to my game a lot more discipline and I think that's important I carry that into any sort of cricket I play," Finn said.

While early signs suggest that Finn has the pace to hustle top-notch batsmen, the bowler himself is not getting carried away. "It would be nice to have a lot of pace and be able to control it. That's the ideal fast bowler. At the moment, I am somewhere in between the two. By no means am I the finished article," he said.

Despite the prospects of featuring in the Ashes defence later in the year, Finn is firmly grounded in the present and wants to enjoy the moment. "I wasn't expecting this 18 months ago or even six months ago. I wasn't expecting an international debut in 2010, I just take each game as it comes. That's all I can do and I think it will stand me in good stead," he said.

Shahid Afridi to lead in Asia Cup and England tour

Shahid Afridi's decision to play Tests comes as a shot in the arm for a side seriously lacking in experience © Associated Press


Related LinksNews : Afridi says he is 'ready' for Tests
Players/Officials: Shahid Afridi | Shoaib Malik | Younis Khan
Teams: Pakistan


Shahid Afridi has been named Pakistan's Test and ODI captain ahead of a busy summer which takes in the Asia Cup in Sri Lanka and then six Tests, five ODIs, as well as four T20Is, in England against Australia and the hosts. Pakistan's board and selectors also opened the door on a possible return for Younis Khan and Shoaib Malik, two men only recently banned by the board for indiscipline. Another old hand at the indiscipline game, Shoaib Akhtar, has been called up in a 35-man list of probables, which will be culled down before the two events.

The squad announcements were among the most eagerly-awaited in some time, given the chaos that followed since the tour to Australia. Pakistan effectively have been without a Test and ODI captain since then and had punished seven leading players - including four former captains - over disciplinary issues. But in recent days, speculation had grown that Afridi, already the Twenty20 captain, would be appointed.

Once he had publicly announced that he would be available to play Tests, a format he had left four years ago, the decision was all but sealed to once again unite the leadership of all three formats under one man: "We requested Afridi to take on the Test captaincy and he very graciously accepted," Ijaz Butt, chairman PCB, told reporters, flanked by Afridi and Mohsin Khan, chief selector. Today Afridi spent in meetings with Butt and the selectors to finalise a probables list.

Afridi now becomes the 27th man to lead Pakistan in Tests and the fourth captain since the start of 2009.The decision remains a risky one, given that Afridi played the last of his 26 Tests almost exactly four years ago on Pakistan's last tour to England. Until recently he has appeared unsure about a return to the format, but it is believed the appointment was part of an agreement to become the Twenty20 captain before the World Twenty20.

Afridi asked for patience in what he accepted will be a challenging role. "As a challenge I have accepted this," Afridi said. "Pakistan needs a senior player right now to lead them and that is why I accepted this. I don't think we should have too many expectations for Test cricket right now but I will try to get our ranking up to where it should be."

The other big decisions were recalling the two former captains Younis and Malik back into the squad. Their return is dependent on their appeals against the ban being overturned by an independent arbitrator, but having been selected it seems unlikely their bans will now stay. In any case the PCB has thawed in recent days, Butt telling reporters yesterday that he will review the punishments and praising Younis in particular. Younis was handed an indefinite ban by an inquiry committee after the Australia tour earlier this year and Malik was given a one-year ban; neither's indiscretions were specified, only a vague reference made to acts of indiscipline and unsettling the team.

But their potential return and that of Shoaib [Akhtar] was insisted upon by Afridi, who said the summer would require experienced heads at the helm. Shoaib last played an international for Pakistan in May 2009 and his last Test back in December 2007, but has this season turned out in domestic cricket in a bid to prove his fitness; he was particularly impressive in the Pentangular ODI cup in Karachi recently.

"It will be good if we can get back Younis and Shoaib because the team will be stronger with them in it," Afridi said. "England is always a difficult challenge as a tour and you need experienced players on it. The mix has to be right between juniors and seniors."

Afridi revealed that he had also spoken to Mohammad Yousuf in a bid to get him to take back his retirement and return to international cricket. Yousuf had walked away from the game earlier this year after also being handed an indefinite ban by the board and he is the only one of the seven players punished not to have appealed against his punishment. But Afridi said Yousuf was unwilling to change his mind.

Misbah-ul-Haq has been dropped once again, following disappointing results on his recall for the tours to New Zealand and Australia. Though he was picked for the World Twenty20 also, he didn't make any significant contribution towards Pakistan's semi-final run. The bigger surprise is perhaps the retention of Kamran Akmal; though he did well enough in the Caribbean with the bat, he remains as a result of this probables announcement, the likely first-choice wicketkeeper for the Test side. That is some achievement in itself given his performance in the last Test he played at Sydney (where he dropped four catches and fluffed a run-out), his behaviour in the aftermath of his subsequent axing and his generally shaky form with the gloves in Tests for a number of seasons now.

The 15-man squad for the Asia Cup will be decided in the first week of June after a short, five to six-day training camp in Karachi. The squad for England will be decided soon after that.

Probables: Salman Butt, Imran Farhat, Yasir Hameed, Khurram Manzoor, Shahzaib Hassan, Azhar Ali, Azeem Ghumman, Younis Khan, Shoaib Malik, Umar Akmal, Faisal Iqbal, Fawad Alam, Hasan Raza, Asad Shafiq, Umar Amin, Aamer Sajjad, Mohammad Hafeez, Shahid Afridi (capt), Abdul Razzaq, Yasir Arafat, Umar Gul, Shoaib Akhtar, Mohammad Asif, Mohammad Aamer, Mohammad Sami, Wahab Riaz, Mohammad Irfan, Tanvir Ahmed, Aizaz Cheema, Danish Kaneria, Abdur Rehman, Saeed Ajmal, Zulfiqar Babar, Kamran Akmal (wk), Zulqarnain Haider (wk)