MELBOURNE, Dec 16 AAP – Shane Warne should be available for Australia’s World Cup cricket campaign after undergoing shoulder surgery today.Australian team doctor Trefor James said Warne had undergone arthroscopic surgery this morning after he dislocated his bowling shoulder against England last night.James said Warne would be out of action for up to six weeks, meaning Warne will miss the remaining two Ashes Tests against England and the rest of the triangular one-day cricket series.But James was hopeful of having Warne back by the start of the World Cup in late February.”I don’t think I could be definite, we are hopeful he will be available and we will just have to wait until we’ll be in a better position to see,” he said.James said Warne was likely to make a full recovery despite fears his latest injury might have finished his career.”We expect him to bowl without any dramas and in the short term, we expect him to be out for four to six weeks,” James said.James said Warne was in shock and disappointment last night but in good spirits today.James said Warne faced a low-risk of redislocating his shoulder.But he said any risk would be associated with throwing a ball rather than bowling.James said Warne’s previous shoulder surgery had no bearing on his latest injury.He said Warne had a good track record of recovering from injuries and was diligent in his approach to rehabilitation.Melbourne specialist Greg Hoy performed the surgery, which was exploratory.

At their scheduled meeting last night the Board of YCCC considered a report from Geoff Cope about the disciplinary incident involving Darren Lehmann during the Australia vs Sri Lanka VB series ODI in Brisbane.As you all know Darren Lehmann was found guilty of the offence by the ICC and is serving a 5 match ban from One Day Internationals. Darren has accepted his punishment and is very, very remorseful about the incident. He apologised personally and immediately to the Sri Lankan team, the ACB, YCCC and cricket supporters in general all over the world.YCCC condemns such remarks made by Darren. It finds them totally unacceptable and are not required in the game of cricket, especially in Yorkshire. It condemns Darren Lehmann’s language and behaviour on this occasion, for which there can never be any satisfactory excuse or explanation. There is no place for racist attitudes, behaviour or language in cricket nor in YCCC.As to Darren’s future with the Club, the Board has considered the matter in the context of his service to Yorkshire over the past 3 years, the last as Captain, and also in the context of his excellent record for good conduct and his personal qualities. In these circumstances they have concluded that his position with the club is unaffected by the incident.Can we make it quite clear that YCCC, its Board, its Players and Darren Lehmann are not racist in any way whatsoever and if the recent incident has upset or annoyed anyone concerned to cricket in general or YCCC then we apologise to those people. When some in the national press, in the past week, interpreted both Geoff Cope’s and my support of Darren Lehmann as indication that we are racist ourselves, we protest strongly. This matter was under the jurisdiction of the ICC as Darren was playing for Australia and not YCCC. We waited until our scheduled Board meeting last night to make our personal positions clear to our members and the cricket world in general as well as that of the Club.YCCC welcomes all Asian and black players within the County and works to increase the opportunities for them to to play for YCCC at all levels.We have the following players already within the Club.

• 3 players of Asian origin, in the Academy/Scholarship (Rashid, Ajmal, Saraaz)
• In 11-16 year group, there are 14 of Asian origin
• Tony Bowry – CDO – West Indian origin – involved with Black & Ethnic minorities.
• Pathways to Excellence – 8 centre – 30 in total.

Pace duo Shane Harwood and Michael Lewis have returned to the Bushrangers line-up to take on the Western Warriors in Friday’s ING Cup match at the WACA. Brett Harrop, who debuted in the Bushrangers win over the NSW Blues on Sunday, was the player to make way.Harwood and Lewis missed Sunday’s match at the MCG, after both reported general soreness at the completion of the Pura Cup match against the Blues. David Hookes said there would be no risk taking when it came to selecting players. “Both Shane and Mick reported soreness after the Pura match and we felt it unnecessary to take any risks with them. Our squad depth is very good and it gave young Brett Harrop a taste of cricket at the next level, something he will no doubt benefit from in the future”.Hookes added the match in Perth would be taken very seriously irrespective of the fact the Bushrangers were unable to make the ING Cup final. “You can’t pick and choose which games you take seriously and which you don’t. Every game is very important as we strive to build a successful culture within Victorian cricket”.The match details are as follows:Western Warriors v Victorian Bushrangers
ING Cup
Friday, February 14
Hours of play: 2.30pm – 6.00pm / 6.45pm – 10.15pmBUSHRANGERS
Darren Berry (c), Rob Cassell, Shane Harwood, Brad Hodge, David Hussey, Mathew Inness, Nick Jewell, Brendan Joseland, Michael Klinger, Michael Lewis, Andrew McDonald, Jon Moss, Cameron White (one to be omitted)

BLOEMFONTEIN, South Africa, March 11 AFP – Zimbabwe batsman Andy Flower says he will retire from international cricket as soon as his team’s World Cup campaign comes to an end.And he insisted that he has no regrets about the black armband protest he staged, along with teammate Henry Olonga, to register his anger at the deteriorating conditions in his strife-torn country.”I have no regrets about what I have done at this tournament,” said the 34-year-old batsman.”The only thing I regret is getting run out when I had made 37 in the last match against New Zealand.”That incident contributed to his team’s six-wicket defeat which has meant tonight’s Super Six clash with Kenya at Goodyear Park here has become a must-win situation if Zimbabwe are to have any hope of reaching the semi-finals.Flower, who has come under intense pressure to abandon his anti-Robert Mugabe protest, has been linked with South Australia.But SA Cricket Association (SACA) communications manager Jane Elliott said today no deal had been done and refused to comment further on the possibility of Flower playing for SA.”We can’t talk about any possibilities until it’s actually done,” Elliott told AAP.”As soon as we have any contract news we will announce it.”Flower has said he would once again play for Essex in the English county championship later this yearFurthermore, he revealed that wife Rebecca, children, Jamie, four, Sam, two and one-month-old Danielle had already left for England.”I always find it strange when people say they have no regrets about what they have done in the last 20 years,” said Flower.”I have made mistakes both on and off the field but I have kept learning.”Flower, whose brother Grant also plays in the Zimbabwe World Cup team, had been threatened with being dropped from the squad if he did not give up on his protest which bitterly attacked the Mugabe regime.He refused and his place was secured when other senior players said they would not take the field if their star batsman was axed.Olonga, who hasn’t played since the first match against Namibia, has already been sacked by his domestic club for his part in the protest.Despite his anger with the authorities in Zimbabwe, Flower is adamant that he hasn’t given up hope of his team making it to the semi-finals and is confident of wins in the next two matches – against Kenya and against Sri Lanka in East London on Saturday.”We have been lucky to have got as far as we have but we need to win the next two games,” he said.”We can make the semi-finals. We can beat Kenya and Sri Lanka are not at the top of their game at the moment.”I don’t want to leave the World Cup just yet.”

A week that started in chaos and confusion in West Indies’ cricket ended with another contentious, controversial issue last night.As the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) tried to establish whether Chris Gayle had violated its eligibility rule, the selectors refused to pick the Jamaican opening batsman for the first Cable & Wireless Test against Australia in spite of advice from the board that Gayle was eligible until the matter had been fully investigated.Gayle’s decision not to represent Jamaica in the Carib Beer International Challenge final against Jamaica at Kensington Oval and instead play in the lucrative Double Wicket World Championship in St Lucia, has left the WICB seeking legal advice to ensure that the right procedure was followed in determining whether Gayle was in breach of the eligibility rule.`Not aware’Jamaica Cricket Association (JCA) president Jackie Hendriks, who is serving as tournament referee in the Double Wicket World Championship, submitted a report to the WICB in which he said he was "not aware that any formal permission was given by the JCA for Gayle to miss the [Carib] final".The WICB has also asked Gayle to submit a report on the circumstances that led to his non-participation in the Carib final, before making a decision on whether he was in breach of the eligibility rule.Meanwhile, the WICB advised chief selector Sir Vivian Richards that until such time as a decision has been made to the contrary, Gayle was eligible for selection on the West Indies team.One is left to presume that the 23-year-old Gayle, who had seemingly established himself as the West Indies’ premier opening batsman in the past two years and whose 28 Tests have brought him 1 588 runs (ave. 35.28), has been dropped.In deciding on a review, the WICB considered that, on the face of it, Gayle could be in breach of the eligibility rule which states in part:"A player becomes eligible for selection to the senior West Indies team when he makes himself available for selection to his national side in a competition immediately preceding the selection of a West Indies team for an international series."During the course of yesterday’s third day of the Carib International final, there was the feeling that a dramatic announcement was in store.A Press release was promised early in the day, but it did not come until after 7 p.m.

After three months of wall-to-wall one-dayers, it might have been expected that Test cricket would return to centre stage with relative calm and order. But the first day of the first Test at Georgetown provided enough thrills and spills for even the most impatient spectator. Shivnarine Chanderpaul’s magnificent 69-ball hundred took the plaudits, but when the dust settled it was Australia who ended the day with a firm grip on the match.That Australia took such a stranglehold was largely thanks to their assured batting in the final session, coupled with some indifferent batting from West Indies and three poor decisions from the umpires – the most crucial of which was that dished out to Brian Lara.But it was Chanderpaul who won the hearts of his home crowd with the third fastest Test hundred (in terms of balls faced) at a time when West Indies appeared to be down and out. He came in to join Lara, who had looked at his imperious best during his brief stay, at 53 for 4, and within an over was the last recognised batsman as Lara departed.Whereas Chanderpaul is renowned for dogged – some would say downright dull – rearguard actions, this time he attacked, and in style, unleashing a string of quite exquisite cuts, pulls and drives. None of the bowlers were spared, and so wayward were they that for an hour after lunch Australia were rendered impotent. Catches were dropped, overthrows given away and brows grew more furrowed as Chanderpaul and a hobbling Ridley Jacobs added 131 for the sixth wicket at six an over.The support given by Jacobs was invaluable. He pulled a thigh muscle early on attempting an ambitious sweep off Stuart MacGill, and played almost all his innings on one leg and with severely limited mobility. And yet he kept his end up, and even produced the shot of the day, a towering drive off MacGill which cleared the triple-decker stand at long-on. If Chanderpaul’s innings was savage dissection, Jacobs’s was courageous determination.The problem for West Indies was what happened either side of that stand as ten wickets fell for just 106 runs. The rot started as early as the fifth over when Devon Smith (3) was on the sharp end of the first dubious decision of the day (9 for 1), and an over later Daren Ganga was bowled for 0 by a ball which kept a little low (10 for 2). Lara, briefly threatening to unveil a masterpiece, needed someone to stay with him. Instead, Wavell Hinds holed out to Justin Langer at mid-off courtesy of an infuriatingly loose drive off Brad Hogg (47 for 3), and next ball Marlon Samuels edged to Matthew Hayden at first slip. But the hammer blow came in the next over when Lara was given leg-before for 26 (53 for 5). It was a dubious decision from Asoka de Silva, and it seemed set to usher in another humiliating capitulation.But Chanderpaul and Jacobs fought back, and it took the afternoon drinks interval to end their resistance. Two balls after the break Chanderpaul fell leg-before to Andy Bichel trying to pull a ball which wasn’t short enough (184 for 5). The blow to his knee was sickening and he hobbled off to add to West Indies’ injury worries. Four balls later Vasbert Drakes sparred at Bichel and was excellently caught by wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist low down to his right for 0 (184 for 6).Merv Dillion’s spirited assault was cut short by the inconsitent MacGill – aided by another poor lbw decision from de Silva. He made 20 in a breezy eighth-wicket stand of 38 with Jacobs, and the last rites were completed after tea with the increasingly distressed Jacobs left high and dry.Australia’s customary aggressive response was briefly checked when Hayden (10) paid for his own calling error, failing by inches to beat Drakes’s sharp pick-up and throw (37 for 1). But Langer and Ricky Ponting relentlessly ate into the deficit, and as the day drifted towards a close it was increasingly hard to see where a wicket was going to come from. The forecast of intermittent rain over the next four days already appeared to give West Indies their only hope of salvation.

South Africa’s provincial administrators have rejected a radical restructuring of domestic cricket, opting for the implementation of a promotion-relegation system rather than a provincial competition, which would have meant at least four smaller unions having to merge.The idea of two divisions has been doing the rounds for five years, but financial worries have forced the issue to the top of the agenda. Several of the provinces are facing serious shortfalls, and Percy Sonn, the president of the United Cricket Board, warned that provinces were “facing financial ruin and in the meantime our standard of play is deteriorating. We cannot go forward if we don’t change.”But the provinces were unable to agree of a definite format for the tournament, and they demanded that the new system not be introduced until 2004-05 at the earliest. That left Gerald Majola, chief executive of the UCB, unimpressed, and he accused the provinces of “wasting time”.Even when these matters are resolved, the issue will not be at an end. Cricket South Africa (CSA), which runs professional cricketin the country, have yet to agree to the changes, and it is quite possible that it will reject the recommendations on the grounds that they don’t do enough to address the dire financial situation. The CSA are due to meet with the UCB in mid-July.

A Southern League record partnership of 96 for the tenth wicket between James Manning and Giles White was sadly in vain for the young Hawks as they failed to capitalize by holding onto their catches; letting an unnerved Bashley off the hook.For the first time this season the Academy lost the toss and Bashley captain Matt King had no hesitation in inserting Hampshire on a pitch that looked greener than usual thanks perhaps to rain on the previous day.A mixture of poor shot selection and good accurate bowling saw the Academy sink to 26-4 early on. A battling 14 from Kevin Latouf showed the necessary application, but when his resistance ended at 44-5 a procession ensued. 56-7 was a sorry state of affairs, but Matt Metcalfe hit 20 in 22 balls (3 fours) to ensure the relative respectability of 83-9.Academy captain Giles White (68 not out in 84 balls, 12 fours) joined young seam bowler James Manning in a stand which not only took Hampshire to lunch but almost an hour beyond. Manning (25 in 91 balls, 1 four) batted sensibly while his senior partner blazed away at the other end with some quality strokes before the former was bowled by Hampshire 2nd XI old boy Chris Sketchley. Opening bowler John Whiting bowled admirably to return figures of 5-68, well supported by his opening partner Kevin Nash (3-57).Having been somewhat put onto the back foot, Bashley were soon rocking at 5-2 thanks to the pace of David Griffiths; again bowling a full length. Crucially, eventual match winner Neil Thurgood was put down behind the wicket off the unlucky Matt Metcalfe when on 3; the score would then have been a sorry-looking 11-3.Wicket-keeper Tom Burrows took a sensational catch to have Bashley 38-4 just before tea. Yet again this interesting match had another twist immediately after tea as a Griffiths over saw Neal (39) almost play on off the first ball after the resumption and Thurgood again dropped behind the wicket, this time on 18. These two Bashley batsmen made the most of their good fortune, putting on a match-winning 79 for the fifth wicket. The writing was on the wall by now as Neil Sexton (37 not out in 39 balls, 6 fours) then joined Thurgood (69 in 167 balls, 2 sixes, 6 fours) in a quick-fire sixth wicket partnership of 65 to steer Bashley home.Three further half-chances went down during this partnership, leaving the Academy to reflect on what might have been had some of these earlier chances been taken.

Surrey defeated Glamorgan by 58 runs at Whitgift School to move to the top ofDivision One of the National League.The home team were indebted to a graceful 101 from Mark Ramprakash and a violent 41by captain Adam Hollioake from just 16 balls as they compiled a formidable 298-5,with no less than 63 runs coming in the last 5 overs. A stand of 120 in 19 oversbetween Ramprakash and Graham Thorpe, who hit an unbeaten 77, laid the foundationsfor Surrey`s impressive total, and as a result of their efforts, there were already 213runs on the scoreboard when Hollioake arrived at the crease.Ramprakash, who hit a double-century on this ground in the Championship, proved his likingfor the school ground with a 91 ball century, striking 11 fours and three huge sixes -one of which cleared the row of houses in the adjacent Nottingham Road. Remarkably, itwas Jimmy Maher who proved to be Glamorgan`s most successful bowler, as Robert Croftturned to the Australian`s medium pace after the spin of Croft and Dean Cosker had beenstruck for 54 in 7 overs. Maher dismissed Ramprakash, Hollioake and Azhar Mahmood inhis three overs, but it still meant that Glamorgan needed to score at 6.6 an over.After Maher had departed in the third over, Robert Croft and Michael Powell launchedsome powerful drives before Croft was caught behind off Jimmy Ormond. Matthew Maynardcame in to play some sublime strokes and in the space of 12 overs he added 87 withPowell before the latter was bowled by Saqlain Mushtaq for 61.Glamorgan suffered another blow when Maynard on 37 had a severe bout of cramp in hiscalf. Fortunately, he was able to continue batting with a runner, but after adding onlya further four runs he was caught and bowled by Ormond.David Hemp then added a further 30 runs with Adrian Dale, but both weredismissed in successive overs, as Surrey tightened the screw. Despite some lusty blowsby the lower order, the task of scoring at nine an over proved too much, and Surreywon with 32 balls in hand to move four points clear of Gloucestershire at the top of the table.

Glamorgan have announced the following 12 man squad from which the team toplay India A will be chosen for the three day match starting at Swansea tomorrow:

J HughesIJ ThomasDD CherryMJ PowellMA Wallace +AD ShawRDB Croft *SD ThomasDS HarrisonDA CoskerOT ParkinRE Watkins