Welcome back to the C&G Trophy. The premier domestic one-day tournament has reached its final stage with Lancashire and Sussex ready to continue a hard-fought rivalry. However, this was known two months ago when the final group game were played, but thanks to the ECB fixtures department there has been an entire Twenty20 competition and half of the 40-over league before the showpiece final of the summer.Still, if the two team remember which length of game they are playing (it is to their advantage that all one-day cricket is now played in coloured clothing) this final has the potential for some outstanding cricket. Lancashire and Sussex have been the two form teams of the season, not only are they contesting the final but hold the top two positions in the Championship. Whatever the result on Saturday, it won’t be the end of their contest.For Lancashire this final marks a return to a ground that used to be their second home during the 1990s as they made regular appearances in one-day finals. But they haven’t made it since 1998 – when they beat Derbyshire – and have had to endure a raft of semi-final defeats. Sussex’s absence has been even longer, stretching back 13 years to possibly the greatest domestic final when they were beaten by an Asif Din-inspired Warwickshire in the 1993 Natwest final.Already thus season these two sides have played each other on three occasions; twice in the Championship and once in the Pro40. Lancashire took the honours with in the Championship with an impressive win at Liverpool before holding on for a battling draw at Hove, but Sussex claimed the Pro40 match thanks to stunning century from Chris Adams.There is a history of hard-fought contests and Mark Chilton, Lancashire’s captain, is expecting nothing less this time around. “Any team that has Grizzly [Chris] Adams in charge is going to provide a tough challenge. We have had some good contests with them and they are a side fill of talented players.”You can see through our one-day form – in the C&G early in the season – as well as our championship form, we are two teams who deserve to be challenging for two big prizes.”Michael Yardy, one of the new faces in England’s one-day squad, forms part of a powerful Sussex batting order which also includes Adams, Murray Goodwin, Matt Prior and Richard Montgomerie. While Yardy can look forward to his first taste of international cricket, Prior will want to use the final to remind the selectors of his talents after missing out on all England’s squads this summer.Lancashire, too, have players with points to prove. Sajid Mahmood is available before joining up with the England squad and has yet to convince in the limited overs game while Mal Loye, who has been on the verge of national honours this season, has a major stage to show England what they are missing.Murali Kartik, who arrived in Manchester on Tuesday, has been named in Lancashire’s 14-man squad and could be selected in favour of Gary Keedy, who has struggled in recent weeks. Their seam attack is strong with Mahmood, Glen Chapple, Dominic Cork and Tom Smith providing a powerful armoury.If Kartik makes the final XI, it will throw up a head-to-head with Mushtaq Ahmed, who has so often been Sussex’s trump card in major matches. Mushtaq is top of the Championship wicket-taking list despite suffering a variety of injuries and is the vital cog in the Sussex attack. Yasir Arafat, the Pakistan allrounder who replaced Rana Naved-ul-Hasan, is dangerous with the new and old ball so Pakistani cricketers are unlikely to be far from the action for the second weekend running.Lancashire (probable) Mark Chilton (capt), Mal Loye, Stuart Law, Nathan Astle, Luke Sutton (wk), Glen Chapple, Dominic Cork, Kyle Hogg, Tom Smith, Sajid Mahmood, Murali Kartik.Sussex (probable) Richard Montgomerie, Matt Prior (wk), Murray Goodwin, Chris Adams (capt), Michael Yardy, Carl Hopkinson, Robin Martin-Jenkins, Yasir Arafat, Luke Wright, Mushtaq Ahmed, James Kirtley

West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) president Ken Gordon has addressed in detail the issues leading to the cancellation of the Stanford 20/20 Super Match and the resignation of Windies great Michael Holding from the WICB’s Cricket Committee.At a news conference at the WICB office on Carlos Street, Woodbrook, yesterday, Gordon provided the media with e-mail documentation between billionaire Allen Stanford and himself, the WICB and the International Cricket Council (ICC), as well as correspondence between himself and the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) that he said “outlines the detailed sequence of events”.Addressing what he termed “the major allegation which has been made”, Gordon disputed the claim that the WICB “did not seriously attempt to facilitate the Stanford 20/20 Super Series”.”What are the facts?” Gordon asked rhetorically, before referring the media to a letter written by ICC cricket operations manager Clive Hitchcock.Hitchcock’s correspondence, dated September 8, was in response to Stanford’s request to the ICC official for an explanation of how the dates of November 10 to 12, given to the Stanford Board as “open” by the ICC, “came to be in direct conflict with” the West Indies tour of Pakistan.Hitchcock detailed 25 points describing the entire process of the sequence of events from October 6, 2005, when Laurie-Ann Holding of Stanford 20/20 tournament organiser Kelly Holding Ltd wrote the ICC advising of the Stanford 20/20 initiative to the announcement of the cancellation of the US$5 million Super Match between a Stanford All Star selection and South Africa.Figuring among Hitchcock’s concerns was the need for ICC approval for the Super Match, which originally was to include ICC full members South Africa and Australia.According to Hitchcock, ICC approval was only granted on March 22, and not on January 22, as indicated by Stanford.”The All Star matches were approved on the basis that they would take place on the weekend of November 8 to 11, 2006,” Hitchcock reminded in his reply to Stanford. “These dates were acceptable on the basis that they did not clash with the ICC Future Tour Programme (FTP).”It went on: “You will note that the ICC Champions Trophy was scheduled to conclude by the first week of November and the West Indies tour to Pakistan was scheduled to commence in the third week of November 2006 after the date of the proposed Stanford 20/20 Super Match.”The ICC official further explained that in June the dates of the WI-Pakistan tour became known and only then did the ICC note the conflict before immediately advising the WICB of the clash in dates. He added that official confirmation of the commencement of the tour only came on July 25.And after discussions between ICC chief executive Malcolm Speed and Gordon, the WICB president decided to take up Speed’s offer made by e-mail on August 21 for the ICC to approach the PCB to resolve the issue.However, the PCB stuck to their original schedule, stating that a scheduled 20/20 tournament of their own, to take place at the end of the West Indies tour, was mandatory for their national players, following which they would need at least a two-week break to recuperate before the Pakistanis left for their next tour of South Africa on January 1.When advised of the PCB’s position on August 22 , Gordon was to then raise the option with PCB chairman Shahryar Khan of them shifting their 20/20 competition to the start of the tour. That became redundant after the cancellation of the Stanford 20/20 Super Match.Dealing with Holding’s allegations of side-stepping the Cricket Committee, Gordon said “there is absolutely no merit to this argument”.

Gordon also reiterated that he had been truthful when he reported that the selectors had decided to defer selection of the West Indies team based on the recommendation of WI skipper Brian Lara.As for Holding’s claims that Gordon had changed the terms of reference of the Cricket Committee, the WICB president said a special advisory committee, which was to involve Holding, was not approved by the WICB. He also said Holding declined membership of the “Win World Cup” and was never part of this committee which is entirely different to the advisory status of the Cricket Committee. “It is therefore a non-issue to suggest that there was some duplicity about changing the terms of reference,” Gordon stated.Gordon expressed disappointment about Holding’s approach. “I regret that one whom I have long admired as one of our cricketing greats should have so readily descended to personal abuse and even defamation without regard to the facts,” he stated.

Malcolm Speed, the ICC’s chief executive, has backed Darrell Hair in the aftermath of the Oval Code of Conduct hearing and said that he wants him to stand again in international matches.In an exclusive column for Cricinfo, Speed emphasised that Hair remained a member of the ICC’s Elite panel. “His decision-making marks him out as one of the ICC’s top officials and I very much hope he will stand again at the highest level. And in that regard it was pleasing to see comments from both Inzamam-ul-Haq and Shaharyar Khan last weekend expressing similar sentiments.”Speed also emphasised that there was “nothing sinister” about the decision to withdraw Hair from the Champions Trophy. “Prior to the hearing we received a letter from the BCCI president Sharad Pawar raising his concerns about a potential negative reaction from some followers of the game there and the security implications this may have.”We listened to this view and sought independent security advice which highlighted a heightened risk and the need for 24 hour protection. In the circumstances we decided it was in the best interests of Darrell and the tournament not to send him to the event.” The BCCI, however, has denied that it raised specific security issues with the ICC.Speed also admitted that ideally the hearing into events at The Oval should have happened sooner but “for a variety of reasons that was not possible this time, not least because the issue confronting everyone involved the real world, was unprecedented and provoked high emotion.” He added: “Cricket must learn from this experience.”Far from undermining the authority of the umpires, as some have claimed, the hearing maintained it. By banning Inzamam-ul-Haq for four matches, Ranjan [Madugalle] confirmed players cannot take the Law into their own hands, no matter how wronged they feel. The fact the Pakistan Cricket Board have not appealed the ban is a clear indication it accepts that.”But he also acknowledged that the issue of ball tampering needed “careful consideration” by both the MCC, who are responsible for the Laws, and the ICC’s own cricket committee.

Mitchell Johnson and Shaun Tait have been called into a bowler-heavy 13-man squad for the first Ashes Test at the Gabba next Thursday. The allrounder Shane Watson has beaten Michael Clarke in the race for the No. 6 spot while Stuart Clark was named alongside Glenn McGrath and Brett Lee.Australia have picked an attack with six fast-bowling options, but there were no spots for Nathan Bracken and Jason Gillespie. If Johnson, a left-arm fast bowler, is picked for the final XI he will make his debut on his home ground while Tait has been recalled for the first time since injuring his right shoulder after playing two Tests last year in England.”The inclusion of extra pacemen in the squad reflects one of the strongest starts to the domestic season of young talent in recent memory,” Andrew Hilditch, the chairman of selectors, said. “It reflects the development of Mitchell in the past 12 months, some eye-catching fast bowling from Shaun and the performances of Stuart in South Africa and since his return from injury [in the domestic competitions].”Hilditch said the panel had showed faith in the players who had contributed to Australia’s recent success. “At the same time we are injecting some youth into the squad with the inclusions of Watson, Johnson and Tait,” he said. “As far as Watson is concerned we see his inclusion to the Test squad as an exciting development for Australian cricket.”Shane has an outstanding first-class record with the bat, averaging over 45, and his bowling ability gives us the flexibility in our attack that we have been looking for.” The final XI will be picked in Brisbane after assessing the pitch, form and weather conditions and all 13 players will stay with the squad until the morning of the match.Hilditch also defended the selection of Matthew Hayden and Justin Langer following the pressure placed on them by Phil Jaques’ twin centuries against England over the past week. “The performance of the opening pair in this series will be crucial against a classy English bowling attack,” he said. “Matthew had a great international season last year and is in fine touch. Justin has started the domestic season strongly, averaging over 70 so far.”Ricky Ponting said now the outfit had been named the players could relax and prepare for the highly anticipated game. “Our last 12 months of Test cricket have been terrific, there’s been huge excitement, anticipation and build-up for this Ashes series,” he said. “We have got an experienced team going into this series but I think historically what you want in any team is a good mix of youth and experience – we’ve certainly got that.”Australia squad Matthew Hayden, Justin Langer, Ricky Ponting (capt), Damien Martyn, Michael Hussey, Shane Watson, Adam Gilchrist (wk), Shane Warne, Brett Lee, Stuart Clark, Mitchell Johnson, Glenn McGrath, Shaun Tait.

For nearly a quarter-of-a-century since Sri Lanka’s ill-fated tour to South Africa, Bernard Perera had kept a low profile of himself shunning the limelight as he had even during his halcyon days as an outstanding cricketer for St. Anthony’s College, Katugastota and Kandy CC, which earned him recognition as a member of the national squad in the early eighties.Perera was destined for higher things with his batting and fielding talents but after a tour of Pakistan where he failed to find a place in the national side he fell victim to a well-devised plan to tour South Africa in late 1982 and paid the penalty by being banned for 25 years from all forms of cricket. Although the ban was lifted after eight years Perera, by then, was lost to the game.Today the former rebel cricketer holds the rather envious position of coach of Sri Lanka women’s team who leave on Monday for Jaipur, India to take part in the third Asia Cup.Perera (50) has been on the job since taking over from Nihal Kodituwakku in December last year and saw Sri Lanka finish runner-up to India in the second Asia Cup tournament held in Pakistan.”Last year we beat Pakistan and gave a good fight against India in the final. I think we can do better this year,” said Perera. “India is the main obstacle. They have been in this game for about 30 years and have the experience compared to our 10 years.”We are doing batting and fielding drills and physical training with a physio. I am happy with my girls the way they have prepared for the tournament. They have lot of potential. They are very disciplined and talented. I am sure they will do something good.”At the moment we are getting all the facilities from Sri Lanka Cricket [SLC]. Women’s cricket coming under the wing of the SLC has given us more opportunities to widen our scope. In the near future you can see a big improvement in our cricketing standards.”Perera said that to raise the standard of women’s cricket in this country they needed to play a lot of practice games at home and participate in local tournaments. What they lack is match practice.”Some school have started tennis-ball cricket. Only a few schools play leather-ball cricket. If we are to start improving our cricket standards it must come from school level. With SLC coming in, I am sure those grey areas will be identified and addressed.”Before taking over the national women’s team, Perera, an SLC-qualified Level I and II coach was a district coach handling Kandy CC and running a private coaching school in his hometown Kandy.”Gwen Herath [president of the Women’s Cricket Association of Sri Lanka] asked me whether I could come and help the girls and become coach of their national team. I took over in December last year.”Perera follows a long list of ex-Sri Lankan cricketers who have coached the women’s national team since 1997. The former wicket-keeper/batsman Guy de Alwis did the job till 2002. Priyantha Munasinghe had a short stint in 2003 before another former Sri Lanka cricketer, Nihal Kodituwakku, was in charge from 2003 till 2005.Herath has a high opinion of Perera. “The good thing about Bernard is that he handles the girls individually which most of the past coaches didn’t do. He has got the team together and if he continues as coach I am certain we have a very good chance of qualifying for a semi-final place at the next World Cup.”

Brett Lee believes he is prepared to take Glenn McGrath’s place as the leader of Australia’s fast-bowling attack and he said Stuart Clark was the perfect man to help him fill the hole left by McGrath.”From my point of view it is time to take over with the leadership role,” Lee told the . “I am never going to be the same type of bowler Glenn is. It is very hard to replace Glenn, period.”Lee, who took 3 for 75 in England’s first innings at Sydney and was on a hat-trick at one stage, said his form had improved markedly since the start of the series. “I have felt good the last couple of games,” Lee said. “I felt my rhythm and run-up were not great in the first three Tests, but it feels better now.”He said he had been working on his run-up with the Australia bowling coach Troy Cooley and had developed a shorter approach to the crease. Lee said with McGrath and Shane Warne bowing out at the same time, Clark’s emergence as a consistent wicket-taker would help his own bowling.”I am enjoying working in a partnership with Stuey because I feel when we bowl together from different ends we have fed off each other,” Lee said. “We played junior cricket together so we have been playing together for more than a decade and I’m hoping we can fill the void.”

Rajesh Sharma, the young Punjab offspinner, has been reported to the Board of Control for Cricket in India for having a suspect bowling action, Cricinfo has learned. This follows recent proactive measures taken by the BCCI to empower match officials on this issue, including a two-day workshop conducted by S Venkataraghavan and Javagal Srinath, one a former ICC umpire and match referee and another a current ICC match referee.Sharma, it is understood, has been mentioned in separate despatches from match officials, including the match referee and the on-field umpires, to the BCCI expressing their concerns about his bowling action.Sharma has 76 wickets from 25 matches, including a career-best 6 for 143 in the last Ranji Trophy match he played, against Maharashtra. In that match, played at Kolhapur, he bowled a mammoth 61 overs, giving umpires VN Kulkarni and Subroto Porel plenty of opportunity to closely watch his action.So far Sharma has played a modest role in Punjab’s Ranji campaign, picking up 13 wickets from five matches. He’s had much more success in the Duleep Trophy earlier this season, where he topped the wicket-takers’ chart, picking up 17 wickets from three matches and was a crucial factor in North Zone winning the Duleep Trophy. North Zone beat Sri Lanka A in the final, with Sharma picking up nine wickets in the match. The umpires standing in that match were Amish Saheba and Suresh Shastri.Cricinfo has learned that one umpire initially believed that Sharma had a suspect action but was reluctant to call the bowler in a game. He expressed his concern to BCCI officials, who assured the umpire that he would have the backing of the board if he honestly believed a bowler had a problem and needed work.

Anna Dodd, who was unavailable for New Zealand’s tour to India, has been appointed captain for New Zealand A’s matches against New Zealand and the Australia Youth team.New Zealand international Katey Martin is the vice-captain, while two other internationals, Beth McNeill and Ros Kember, are also part of the A squad. While McNeill, a right-arm medium bowler for Canterbury, has taken 10 wickets in her 10 ODIs, Kember, an Auckland batsman, has only played two ODIs.Rachel Priest, the Central Districts wicketkeeper, and Lucy Doolan, the Wellington batsman, will be playing their first A team matches.The team is scheduled to play two 50-over matches and a Twenty20 game against New Zealand between February 6 and 9 at Lincoln before New Zealand travel to India for a four-nation series on February 14. The A team will then play three matches against the Australian Youth side between February 13 and 16 at the same venue.Gary Stead, who played five Tests for New Zealand in 1999, will coach the side assisted by former New Zealand player Katrina Keenan and Canterbury coach Kirsty Bond.Squad Anna Dodd (capt), Katey Martin, Rachel Candy, Amanda Cooper, Lucy Doolan, Ros Kember, Victoria Lind, Beth McNeill, Zara McWilliams, Elizabeth Perry, Rachel Priest, Amy Satterthwaite, Megan Wakefield

ScorecardA solid and grafting 128 from Tushar Imran, Bangladesh A’s captain, ended England A’s hopes of forcing victory on the final day of the 2nd Test at Bogra.Declaring overnight, with a lead of 99, England were soon in business with Graham Onions removing Jahurul Islam with his first ball and, five balls later, Mehrab Hossain, both for ducks. But Bangladesh fought back valiantly, if stodgily; Nasiruddin Faruque made a grey 31 from 130 balls and, together with Tushar, put on 127 for the third wicket as Bangladesh played for time.Tim Bresnan picked up a couple of wickets to give England brief hope of a win, but Tushar was resolute in defence, ending unbeaten as the game petered to a draw.

Peter Fulton is likely to open and Hamish Marshall will slot in at No. 3 in New Zealand’s first Super Eights match against West Indies on Thursday. Marshall should slip straight into the side when he arrives in the Caribbean as New Zealand’s top-order injury worries continue.Marshall replaced Lou Vincent in the squad after Vincent suffered a broken wrist during a practice session, while a hamstring strain should keep Ross Taylor out of Thursday’s game. Stephen Fleming said the enforced changes were not ideal but Fulton and Marshall had the ability to help New Zealand progress.”Pete is a different type of player [to Vincent] and if anything his form is outstanding,” Fleming told . “To leave him out of the first couple of games was incredibly difficult.”The positive is he gets a chance, and a consistent chance, to bat in one spot for a while. Pete’s played up and down the order knowing he was going to be a utility batter.”Fulton has only opened once in an ODI, on debut in 2004. He was in strong form in the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy series in February but has only had one opportunity at the World Cup, making 47 against Canada.Fleming said coming to the West Indies and being asked to play immediately would be tough for Marshall, who made 80 in New Zealand’s domestic State Championship on Monday. “It’s going to be a big challenge for Hamish and certainly the team realises that,” he said.”We’ll do everything possible to make sure he’s ready to go. It’s a pretty important 36 hours but I guess knowing he’s going to play, coming off some runs at home and being back in the team will give him some energy and adrenalin.”Fleming said New Zealand hoped to put their eventful few days behind them and move on to the important business of trying to win Super Eights matches. “It’s been a dramatic week with Lou going and Rosco [Taylor] working hard on getting back, it has changed the balance of the side,” Fleming said.”But the core is still there and the bonus has been we’ve had six days to adjust – it hasn’t been thrown on us the day before a game so we’ve been able to prepare mentally for it. The best thing is the [first-choice] bowlers are still intact, they’ve been the usual suspects.”New Zealand’s match against West Indies is at Antigua and the hosts will have to play three days in a row after their game against Australia on Tuesday was interrupted by rain. West Indies would have to bat on Wednesday, the reserve day, before facing up to New Zealand barely 24 hours later.