Batting giants prepare for final onslaught

Four of India's batsmen have already scored more than 250 runs in the tournament.

Match facts

Sunday, July 6, 2008
Start time 16.00 (local), 10.00 (GMT)

Big Picture
After a frenetic 11-day period that saw 12 matches, Sri Lanka and India have survived the crammed schedule, the heat, and a few wobbles to make their way to yet another Asia Cup final. Historically, these two sides have been the strongest in the tournament, winning seven of the eight editions so far; Sunday's game will be their sixth meeting in Asia Cup finals.

The excellent batting pitches have been a constant throughout the tournament, and the teams to survive have utilised these conditions better than others - India and Sri Lanka have easily been the best batting teams of the competition. Both have settled line-ups, with most of their top order in superb form, which points towards another run-fest on Sunday.

With both teams in such exceptional batting touch, the difference in the final could be a bowling spell or some inspiration in the field. Nine matches have already been played on the same square at the National Stadium, suggesting that spinners might have something to look forward to. Sri Lanka have the clear advantage in that department, with Muttiah Muralitharan and the exciting Ajantha Mendis leading the way.

Sri Lanka also have the edge in the field. India's exceptional batting has masked their generally sloppy fielding throughout the tournament. Catches have been missed, the ground fielding has been erratic and, in a crunch game, these factors could well be critical.

Form guide
(Last five completed ODIs; most recent first)
India WLWWW
Sri Lanka LWWWW

Watch out for ...
Sanath Jayasuriya, who loves the big occasion, and he loves batting against India. If he survives the early overs, the Indian bowlers could be in for more tough times.

Gautam Gambhir. He has been consistency personified in ODIs this year, and his excellence against spin makes him a key batsman for India against an attack featuring Muralitharan and Mendis.

The battle of the openers: Gambhir and Sehwag have added 319 runs for the first wicket in four innings at an average partnership of 79.75 and a rate of 8.14 runs per over; Jayasuriya and Sangakkara have averaged 88.75 per partnership at seven runs per over. The new-ball bowlers from both teams clearly have their work cut out.

Murali v Yuvraj: Yuvraj has often struggled against slow bowlers at the start of his innings, and if he bats at No. 5, there's a good chance that he'll be confronted by Murali as soon as he comes in.

Team news
Sri Lanka had rested Chaminda Vaas and Ajantha Mendis for their last round-robin match, against India, but both are certain to return for the final. Two out of Kaushalya Weeraratne, Thilan Thusahara and Dilhara Fernando will sit out. None of them has had tournaments to remember so far, but Fernando's experience might help him retain his place.

Sri Lanka (probable) 1 Sanath Jayasuriya, 2 Kumar Sangakkara (wk), 3 Mahela Jayawardene (capt), 4 Chamara Kapugedera, 5 Chamara Silva, 6 Tillakaratne Dilshan, 7 Chaminda Vaas, 8 Nuwan Kulasekara, 9 Ajantha Mendis, 10 Muttiah Muralitharan, 11 Dilhara Fernando.

India's batting has been spectacular throughout the tournament, but the bowling is a worry. The biggest concern has been Irfan Pathan, who, after missing the first three games due to a side strain, has leaked 148 runs in 20 overs for just a solitary wicket. His place could be taken by Yusuf Pathan. Pragyan Ojha will keep his place after two tidy performances, which means Piyush Chawla misses out.

India (probable) 1 Gautam Gambhir, 2 Virender Sehwag, 3 Suresh Raina, 4 Mahendra Singh Dhoni (capt & wk), 5 Yuvraj Singh, 6 Rohit Sharma, 7 Yusuf Pathan, 8 Praveen Kumar, 9 Pragyan Ojhan, 10 RP Singh, 11 Ishant Sharma.

Umpires Simon Taufel & Tony Hill. Third umpire Zameer Haider

Stats and trivia
# Sri Lanka haven't lost to India in the last six finals between the two teams - they've won four while two were rained out. The last time India won a final against them was ten years ago, in the Singer-Akai Nidahas Trophy.

# Sanath Jayasuriya averages 51.54 at a strike rate of 100.17 in finals against India. In 11 innings he has scored one hundred and four fifties, including a 99.

# Muttiah Muralitharan has an excellent economy rate of 4.03 in finals against India. In seven innings, he has taken nine wickets at 28.22.

# India's top five (Gambhir, Sehwag, Raina, Dhoni and Yuvraj) all average more than fifty in the tournament, with Dhoni the only one with a strike rate - 97.88 - less than 100.

Quotes
"Mendis is a big-game player and he has the ability to play well in big matches and we will be counting on him in the final."
Mahela Jayawardene names his trump card for the final

"Our openers have given us good starts and if they continue to do so it would keep pressure off the middle order and set the foundation."
Mahendra Singh Dhoni looks forward to another strong start by Sehwag and Gambhir

India v Sri Lanka Asia Cup final Live Streaming And Live Score Board.

Australia seek whitewash

Michael Hussey and Michael Clarke will lead between them once more.

Match facts
Sunday, July 6
Start time 09:30 (local), 13:30 (GMT)

The Big Picture

West Indies will still be kicking themselves for giving up the fourth ODI having been in full control of the run chase and will be fully pumped ready to prove a point to their critics. Australia have been left with a very good chance of a rare ODI series sweep and Michael Clarke will be hoping for a more convincing showing in his second one-dayer as captain in the injured Ricky Ponting's absence. The match is both teams' last chance for some international cricket for nearly two months before they play some warm-up ODIs at the end of August ready for the Champions Trophy in Pakistan in September.

ODI form guide

West Indies - LLLLN (most recent first)
Australia - WWWWL

Team news

West Indies made some quick adjustments after their third straight loss, bringing in an untested trio for the fourth ODI and dropping Patrick Browne, Sulieman Benn and Kieron Pollard. Of the new three, Nikita Miller took a wicket on debut and Shawn Findlay made 9, while Kemar Roach is yet to feature. West Indies captain Chris Gayle has spoken about his displeasure that he's not always sure what's going on selection-wise. "The majority of the time we discuss about selection and sometimes I get something totally different," he told the Trinidad Express. "It's difficult on my side." He and Ramnaresh Sarwan have been struggling with groin complaints, while Shivnarine Chanderpaul has had a calf complaint, so whether they will be risked once more still remains to be seen.

West Indies (possible) 1 Chris Gayle (capt), 2 Xavier Marshall, 3 Ramnaresh Sarwan, 4 Shivnarine Chanderpaul, 5 Dwayne Bravo, 6 Shawn Findlay, 7 Denesh Ramdin (wk), 8 Darren Sammy, 9 Daren Powell, 10 Fidel Edwards, 11 Kemar Roach.

Michael Clarke will captain again after Ponting flew home because of the tendon problem in his right wrist. Clarke avoided defeat in his first ODI as captain but while his team pulled off a last-ball win, he couldn't escape a fine for a slow over-rate, losing 10 per cent of his match fee. His team-mates also lost five per cent each. Stuart Clark is the only remaining member of the squad not to have played in the series and he could be used, giving Brett Lee a rest. David Hussey played his first ODI of the tour in the last match and made 50 so he has a strong chance of being retained.

Australia (possible) 1 Shane Watson, 2 Shaun Marsh, 3 David Hussey, 4 Michael Clarke (capt), 5 Michael Hussey, 6 Andrew Symonds, 7 Luke Ronchi (wk), 8 James Hopes, 9 Mitchell Johnson, 10 Nathan Bracken, 11 Stuart Clark.

Watch out for ...

Kemar Roach The 20-year-old Roach, a right-arm fast bowler, could be in line for his ODI debut. Though he has barely played any first-class cricket, he was called up to West Indies' third Test squad against Australia and has earned a place in the ODI squad, not that his captain Gayle particularly approves of new faces at a time when they are facing the World Champions, Australia. He has played for Barbados and West Indies' Under-19s and last month made his Twenty20 debut for West Indies.

Luke Ronchi Brad Haddin's injury picked up in the first ODI has given Ronchi four bites at the ODI cherry and so far his glovework has drawn much praise. But he will want to show off his explosive batting if he gets the chance. So far he has only been required to bat once, when he got 12 in the last match.

Umpires Asad Rauf, Steve Bucknor.

Weather

It's forecast to be windy with scattered showers in the afternoon in Basseterre on Sunday.

Stats and trivia

Friday's match was the first time in four matches that Australia have failed to surpass 300 runs on the smallish ground of Warner Park. It was also West Indies' first defeat in two ODIs there, having beaten India there in 2006. If Australia win the final game on Sunday it would be a rare whitewash of West Indies in ODI series in the Caribbean: this has happened only twice before when South Africa won 5-0 and Pakistan 3-0, both in 2005.

Quotes

"Do you really want to experiment with a team like Australia? If that is the case, it is going to be more difficult to beat them. I thought it was the wrong time to try these things, to experiment a lot. We should be looking to win the series, but it's already gone."
Chris Gayle has been unhappy with some of the selection decisions

"A victory on Sunday and a 5-0 series sweep will mean a lot to us, since it has been our goal when we arrived in the Caribbean to win every match we play on this tour. It would be important to us because the new guys coming into the side would get to be a part of a winning side, and we would get to show them the level of performance we expect from them. This series is not over for us just yet. We want to win every match."
Michael Clarke goes for the big 5-0

PCB chairman backs captain and coach

Shoaib Malik and Geoff Lawson have been given a vote of confidence by the PCB chairman Nasim Ashraf.

Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Nasim Ashraf has said that both captain Shoaib Malik and coach Geoff Lawson will retain their jobs despite the team failing to reach the finals of the Asia Cup.

"Let me make it clear once again that Shoaib Malik and Geoff Lawson were both appointed for two-year terms and they will at least continue till then," he said. Ashraf had criticised the team last month for a 140-run loss to India in the league phase of the Kitply Cup in Bangladesh.

However, on Friday, he said Pakistan were a young team that was improving. "It will take time to groom the players and we are doing our best in that," he said. "Give me the same players who were part of the team in the 90s such as Imran Khan, Javed Miandad, Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Saeed Anwar, Aamir Sohail and others and see the result. We don't have the same talent that we had in the 80s and 90s and we have to accept that as a reality."

Ashraf said he was happy with players' attitude and their commitment. "I know personally the players are very committed. I can tell you that after we lost to Sri Lanka I went to the Pakistan dressing room and saw Shahid Afridi crying and wanting to be dropped from the team because he had not performed well. I saw Malik on a stretcher on drips and with cold packs on his body yet he went out and played in that match.

"I feel sorry when some people in such circumstances question the commitment of some players. I have told them to give 100% and even if they lose that is alright but they must give 100% effort."

Holding quits ICC cricket committee

Michael Holding: "A lot of things are happening today that I don't want to be involved with, so I've moved on".

Michael Holding, the former West Indian fast bowler, has resigned from the ICC cricket committee because he is unhappy with the ICC's decision to change the result of the 2006 Oval Test between England and Pakistan from a forfeited win for England to a draw.

Holding felt that Pakistan's refusal to play should not go unpunished even though they were not guilty of ball-tampering.

"I have just written my letter of resignation to the ICC cricket committee because I cannot agree with what they've done," Holding said while commentating for Sky Sports during a domestic match in England. "That game should never, ever be a draw. When you take certain actions, you must be quite happy to suffer the consequences.

"A lot of things are happening today that I don't want to be involved with, so I've moved on."

The Oval Test was originally awarded to England by umpire Darrell Hair after Pakistan did not come out to field after tea on the fourth day, following accusations of ball-tampering.

Pakistan had, at the time, been in a strong position in the match, having secured a first-innings lead of 331 and removed four England batsmen in their second innings. There was nothing at stake in the series, with England already leading 2-0 after wins at Headingley and Old Trafford, but the eventual forfeiture was the first in the history of Test cricket. The removal of England's win could affect their standing in the ICC Test Championship - they are currently third on 110 points, one ahead of their next opponents, South Africa, on 109.

The result had huge off-field ramifications as well. Hair went on to be suspended from the ICC elite panel, and though that decision was overturned last year when he took his employers to the High Court in London, the initial decision formed the basis of Pakistan's appeal for a rethink of the result.

World Twenty20 pullout a one-off decision

Giles Clarke: "We have reached a conclusion that is undoubtedly the right one for cricket"

Zimbabwe's decision to pull out of the ICC World Twenty20 in England next year is just a one-off decision, the ICC has said. The decision cleared the roadblock for the competition to be staged in England, but Zimbabwe retained its Full Member status in the ICC, a compromise outgoing ICC president Ray Mali termed as a "win-win solution".

The ICC statement read: "The Zimbabwe delegation have agreed to take this decision in the greater interest of world cricket and the ICC. This recommendation should be viewed as a one-off and will not be taken as a precedent."

The boards of England and South Africa had raised the issue of Zimbabwe's Full Member status going into the ICC board meeting in Dubai, but India is believed to have played a major role in brokering the compromise. Giles Clarke, the ECB chairman, said Norman Arendse, the Cricket South Africa president, highlighted Nelson Mandela's recent comments, in which he mentioned "the tragic failure of leadership in our neighbouring Zimbabwe".

"This statement was quoted during the board meeting by Norman Arendse, the chairman of Cricket South Africa and had a significant impact," Clarke told the Independent. "Nelson Mandela is a legendary figure and, as Mr Arendse said, he is a modern-day saint. His pronouncements carry weight." But it was Sharad Pawar, the BCCI president, who managed to persuade the Zimbabwe delegation, led by Peter Chingoka, to pull out.

"We have reached a conclusion that is undoubtedly the right one for cricket," Clarke told the Times. "Norman [Arendse] was very strong and when Sharad [Pawar] determined what he thought was the right course of action, there was no doubt what would happen. He made a very, very significant decision.

"I am very pleased with the agreement. We made our position absolutely clear all along, that Zimbabwe would not be coming, and that was the right position," Clarke said. "I was determined that it would be settled by us in the boardroom and that our players would never again be put in the situation where they had to make decisions." David Morgan, the new ICC president, had said the issue of Zimbabwe's membership was never discussed at the board meeting.

Meanwhile, Haroon Lorgat, the new ICC chief executive, praised Chingoka's role in effecting a resolution, and said politics must be kept out of cricket. "We cannot as a sports governing body be mixing the issues of politics with sport," Lorgat told the Gulf News. "I was very encouraged by the robustness of the debate around the executive board table but at the end of the day the issues of politics and sport should be kept separate.

"The Zimbabwe Cricket Board president Peter Chingoka helped broker the solution. It would have been extremely difficult if Chingoka was not in favour of the recommendation," he said. "I'm now confident that with the goodwill that has come through in the process of our deliberations, everybody will look at the big picture."

Zimbabwe Cricket will have to ratify the decision made by their delegation. An ICC sub-committee will oversee Zimbabwe's reintegration into mainstream cricket, and possibly the Future Tours Programme. The committee will be headed by Julian Hunte, the president of the West Indies Cricket Board, and will include Arjuna Ranatunga, the president of Sri Lanka Cricket, and an ICC official yet to be confirmed.

Australia snatch win in final-ball thriller

Andrew Symonds top scored with 87 at better than a run a ball.

Australia snatched a victory that should never have been theirs as Shane Watson delivered a superb final over that consigned West Indies to a devastating one-run defeat. Chris Gayle's 92 had set up what appeared certain to be a successful chase as West Indies pursued 283, but a string of late wickets ensured Michael Clarke tasted success in his first ODI as Australia's captain.

Clarke found out just how tough it is juggling bowlers at the end of a tense match as he used up his main men Brett Lee and Nathan Bracken in the 48th and 49th, leaving Watson as the only realistic option to send down the 50th. But crucially the final overs of Bracken and Lee contained a wicket each and when Shivnarine Chanderpaul (53) was bowled trying to turn Bracken through leg it left eight required from six balls.

Darren Sammy and Denesh Ramdin could only manage six singles as Watson pitched the ball up magnificently. Three were needed from the final delivery, which Sammy drove to mid off, where Clarke collected it cleanly to keep them to one and give himself a perfect, if stressful start to his one-day captaincy career.

He probably could not believe the result after West Indies were cruising through most of the innings. With eight overs remaining, they had seven wickets in hand and needed just 41 with Dwayne Bravo and Chanderpaul at the crease. Bravo was bowled by James Hopes for 31 but the momentum didn't really start to shift until a cracking late spell from Brett Lee, who tied down the debutant Shawn Findlay and took 1 for 10 from his final three overs.

Lee picked up Findlay through a stunning catch from Michael Hussey, who dived at full stretch to his left at midwicket. Four dot balls to Ramdin followed and West Indies could sense something was going wrong. Disappointment is a feeling that has been common for them in this series, but to throw away such a promising start would have been heartbreaking.

Gayle and Ramnaresh Sarwan had set them off to a terrific start with a 137-run second-wicket stand that was a welcome change in a series where they have cried out for contributions from their senior batsmen. After battling a groin injury and a dip in form, Gayle was back to his best in an innings that featured some powerful strikes, including a ferocious six over long on from a Lee half-volley.

Gayle also took a particular liking to Hopes, whom he clubbed flat and straight for six before clipping him for four through the leg side in an over that cost 14. His half-century came in 45 deliveries but his frustrating exit just short of triple-figures - he skied Watson to point, where Hopes took a terrific catch - turned out to be a key moment.

Already Sarwan had departed for a well made 63, edging behind off Lee having just dispatched him for a pair of fours. Sarwan pounded the part-time offspinner David Hussey straight over his head for six having started superbly with his first two deliveries driven straight and through cover for boundaries off Lee.

The Gayle-Sarwan union seemed to confirm what most observers thought: Australia's 282 for 8 was unlikely to be enough on a ground with a lightning fast outfield and tiny boundaries. In their three previous one-day internationals at Warner Park, all at last year's World Cup, the lowest total Australia had reached was 334. On this occasion, despite an excellent 87 from Andrew Symonds and a promising 50 from the debutant David Hussey, it was a string of unfulfilled starts from the top-order players that limited the team's score.

Daren Powell nipped the new ball around dangerously and removed both Shaun Marsh and Watson after they made starts, and when Clarke and Michael Hussey fell in the 30s, Australia were 129 for 4 and in a bit of a hole. But Symonds, the Man of the Match, paced his innings well, starting with singles and twos before launching a late attack that featured a massive six straight down the ground off Powell. It was Symonds' 101st six in ODIs after he brought up his 100th with a controlled drive over long on against the first-gamer Nikita Miller.

Symonds also showed off his version of the reverse sweep, an unconventional take on an already unusual stroke. When Miller pitched the ball on his pads, Symonds shaped as if to play a normal sweep, then ran the ball off the back of his bat down to the third-man boundary. It was nowhere near as gobsmacking as Kevin Pietersen's switch-hitting but it was innovative all the same.

When his 78-ball 87 ended with a drive caught at mid off, it was the finish of a 127-run partnership with Hussey, whose 50 from 51 deliveries included a six slogged over midwicket off Bravo and another driven viciously over long off against Powell. To their credit, West Indies' bowlers pegged back the rate in the dying overs when they picked up 4 for 23.

It was enough to limit Australia to a gettable total. As West Indies know only too well, they should have got it. Instead they will return to the same venue on Sunday for the final match, desperate to prove a point to their critics, including their own disgruntled board president.

Pakistan thrash sorry Bangladesh

Abdur Rauf's picked up three top-order wickets as Bangladesh were bowled out for 115.

A clinical performance from Pakistan saw them coast to a ten-wicket win over Bangladesh in the inconsequential final Super Four match of the Asia Cup. In a refreshing change at the National Stadium in Karachi, the bowlers dominated the proceedings in the first session but for Bangladesh it was the same old story as their innings folded at 115 all out - the tournament's lowest total.

On a pitch offering sideways movement and extra bounce, Abdur Rauf sliced through the top order with three wickets and Iftikhar Anjum bowled an astonishing six maidens - equalling the record for a Pakistani - to put the hosts on course. Half-centuries from openers Nasir Jamshed and Salman Butt helped complete the formalities with more than 30 overs to spare.

The plethora of big scores that have been easily chased down hasn't dissuaded captains from choosing to bat first, and Mohammad Ashraful continued the trend. While Sohail Tanvir extracted significant lateral movement from the pitch initially, it was Rauf who got the early wickets.

On one of the cooler days of the tournament, on a difficult pitch, Bangladesh's batsmen compounded their troubles with some ill-advised shots. Opener Nazimuddin attempted to pull a short delivery in the second over from outside off and only managed to top-edge it to Shoaib Malik at cover.

Ashraful and Tamim Iqbal didn't bring out their strokes except when the bowlers erred, but their steady approach lifted Bangladesh to 41 for 2. Ashraful hadn't connected with an attempted hook in the ninth over but got hold of a short one from Rauf in the next to launch it over the midwicket boundary. Rauf's next ball was a fast bowler's classic reply: a snorter aimed at the body which forced Ashraful to give Misbah-ul-Haq a catch at point.

Raqibul Hasan has shown a heartening and - for a Bangladesh batsman - rare ability to stick it out in the middle but this time he went for an ambitious hook first ball off Tanvir to hole out at short fine leg.

With Bangladesh at a dicey 49 for 3, Rauf came up with the best over of the match. The first ball was a sharp bouncer which Tamim fended to slip, and Alok Kapali barely survived the next five torrid deliveries - a couple of well-directed bouncers, and a mixture of incoming and away-going deliveries.

Iftikhar Anjum followed the Rauf formula of throwing in a surprise bouncer while also testing the batsmen against the deliveries which seamed off a length. Kapali struck three boundaries in Anjum's first over but he was undone by the extra lift in the pitch as well. It was a superb comeback by Anjum, conceding only seven runs in his last nine overs and beating the bat on umpteen occasions. He finished with figures of 10-6-20-2 and was unlucky to not get more wickets.

Saeed Ajmal backed up the good work of the fast bowlers, picking up two late-order wickets off his doosra, which the batsmen struggled to pick as Bangladesh folded in the 39th over.

The flimsy total wasn't going to be much of a challenge for a Pakistan batting line-up that convincingly chased down 309 against India on Wednesday. Jamshed provided the early momentum, repeatedly carting the bowlers in the arc between long-on and midwicket as Pakistan went into the dinner break at 23 for no loss.

Shahadat Hossain extracted the same bounce which aided the Pakistan bowlers, and troubled both openers in the first over after the resumption but there were few alarms after that. Pakistan scored a boundary in virtually every over with a series of off drives off Mashrafe Mortaza and Shahadat.

There was a brief lull after spin was introduced at both ends before Butt carved Abdur Razzak through extra cover in the eighteenth over. That opened the floodgates as Jamshed pummelled Mahmudullah over long-on for six and brought up his fifty with a swept four to midwicket. Butt also completed his fifty with three sweeps to the boundary off Razzak before an authoritative cut put Bangladesh out of their misery.

Bangladesh are still without a win against challenging opposition since last year's World Cup and the poor showing at the Asia Cup isn't the sort of preparation they'd want ahead of a tough tour of Australia.

Zimbabwe pull out of World Twenty20

Presenting a united front: Peter Chingoka smiles for the camera after a fraught ICC annual conference.

After weeks of backroom manoeuvring and two days of boardroom negotiations, the Zimbabwe issue was resolved with a compromise that sees them pulling out of the 2009 World Twenty20 in England yet retaining their Full Member status with access to full funding from the ICC.

Zimbabwe, whose decision to pull out from the World Twenty20 cleared the roadblock for the competition to be staged in England, will receive its full participation fee for the tournament. The scenario prompted Ray Mali, whose term as ICC president ended today, to call it a "win-win solution".

"We have decided to pull out in the larger interests of the game," Peter Chingoka, the chairman of Zimbabwe Cricket, told Cricinfo. "We have been informed that the British government may not grant visas to our players, and that situation may prevail during the Twenty20 World Cup. We don't want to be gatecrashers; we will attend only those weddings to which we are invited."

Friday morning's meeting of the ICC executive board, which spilled over into an unscheduled third day, lasted barely 20 minutes and wound up with sighs of relief, smiles all around and a group photo session that featured Mali's successor David Morgan shaking hands warmly with Sharad Pawar, head of the Indian board and the ICC's president-elect.

The morning's session was brief only because the principal players had been working through the night on an agreement that would avert a feared split within the ICC with England and South Africa ranged against India and other Asian countries over the propriety of Zimbabwe's status as Full Member.

In the end, India is believed to have played a key role in the compromise, especially in convincing Zimbabwe that the issue was not about membership of the ICC but about getting back into world cricket.

"We have consulted and exchanged notes with everybody, including our Indian friends, last night," Chingoka said. "We are now looking forward to more tours and international cricket with our Asian friends, especially India."

2009 World Twenty20 Zimbabwe's place in the World Twenty20 may now be given to an Associate, thus bringing up the number of Associates who will take part in the tournament to three, a senior ICC official confirmed. Colin Gibson, the ECB spokesperson, told Cricinfo that tickets for the tournament "have almost entirely been sold out". "We are looking at an approximate revenue of somewhere between US$ 20-25 million already. The only matches for which tickets are still left are the two double-headers involving Zimbabwe," Gibson said. Samir Inamdar, the chairman of the ICC's Affiliates and Associates, said that it has been agreed upon that an extra associate would be invited for the tournament, instead of Zimbabwe. "The third associate will come through the qualifiers in August this year. I have had a conversation with Giles Clarke, the ECB chairman, who has agreed that it is logical to replace Zimbabwe with an associate," Inamdar told Cricinfo.

Mali, it is learnt, also played his part last night in allaying Zimbabwean fears over their future. "Ray Mali, Dave Richardson, Haroon Lorgat and I decided on an adjournment yesterday to take the discussions forward. Mali took the lead (in resolving the issue)," Morgan said, before admitting "there were a number of private meetings after the adjournment."

Morgan said the issue of Zimbabwe's membership was never discussed at the board meeting, which "unanimously" accepted the country's "voluntary proposal" to pull out of the World Twenty20. There were different views on the issue during the hectic discussions, he acknowledged, but dismissed talk of the ICC being divided as a "mistake".

"It was a collective decision and I was a part of that decision," Sharad Pawar, the BCCI president, confirmed to Cricinfo.

Zimbabwe's re-integration into mainstream cricket, and possibly the FTP, will be overseen by a three-member ICC sub-committee headed by Julian Hunte, the president of the West Indies Cricket Board, and including Arjuna Ranatunga, the president of Sri Lanka Cricket, and an ICC official yet to be confirmed. Hunte and Ranatunga are ICC board members and were part of the official discussions over Zimbabwe here in Dubai.

The sub-committee will advise the ICC board on all matters relating to Zimbabwe cricket; specific terms of reference for its operation have not yet been finalised but it's believed that it will report back to the ICC board in November.

The only window of uncertainty now is the one month that Chingoka has been given to get his board's approval for the arrangement, including the pullout from the World Twenty20. Chingoka calls the shots in ZC so this effectively gives him time to reassess his position, especially if he develops any second thoughts over the compromise.

Australia spells out tough stand on ICL

James Sutherland: "We know that playing India in India is always going to be very tough and I am sure our players will want to ensure the best possible Test series"

The Champions League is still in the planning stages but one clear strand that has emerged is a hardening of positions vis-à-vis the unofficial Indian Cricket League. Cricket Australia has joined the BCCI and Cricket South Africa in adopting a strong position against allowing players associated with the ICL to participate in the proposed Champions League.

"We have made clear our position in respect to the ICL from the start," James Sutherland, CA's chief executive, told Cricinfo. "We don't support competitions that are not properly authorised by the home body and we wouldn't support that in our country. But we understand the problems for some other countries which are in a predicament."

It appears now that England, with around 25 ICL cricketers playing for 15 of its 18 counties, will have to take a tough decision on the Champions League though there have been attempts to break the deadlock with a suggestion that players who took part only in the inaugural ICL tournament, possibly unaware of the consequences, be considered for the event. "It's too early to really comment on that. It's not something I feel comfortable talking about right now," said Sutherland, who was part of the negotiations that took place here on Thursday between the boards of Australia, England, India and South Africa.

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) is also understood to be already exploring other options, including accepting an offer to take part in another, similar tournament.

The Champions League is proposed to be held in the 10-day window between the ICC Champions Trophy and Australia's first Test in India starting October 9. That will most likely clash with a scheduled practice match on Australia's tour and raises the possibility of a conflict of interest for the two Australians - Michael Hussey and Matthew Hayden - who are part of the Chennai Super Kings, which qualified for the Champions League.

Sutherland, though, said Cricket Australia will speak to its players on the issue. "One of the things that is really critical for us is to ensure the best possible preparation for what will be a really big Test series. We know that playing India in India is always going to be very tough and I am sure our players will want to ensure the best possible Test series. So we will have to talk to the players and the coach about what the best preparations are going to be.

"The purpose of discussions during the course of last few days was to just progress those a little bit, put them on the table, and have a bit of a debate on some of the more contentious issues and try to smooth that through," he said.

Sutherland said a final picture on the Champions League would become clear only after further discussions, though another official who attended Thursday's meeting told Cricinfo that the competition would be held at three venues in India, with Jaipur and Delhi "on the confirmed list" and a decision pending between Mohali and Bangalore as the third venue.

Asia Cup success proves Pakistan is safe - Ashraf

Nasim Ashraf: "We are very proud the Asia Cup is organised in such a nice and peaceful manner. It proves that Pakistan is a country where cricket can be played safely"

The successful organisation of the Asia Cup will boost Pakistan's chances of hosting the ICC Champions Trophy in September this year, the board chairman Nasim Ashraf said.

"All kinds of security arrangements will be made for the Champions Trophy," Ashraf said after returning Thursday from the ICC's executive board meeting in Dubai. Sri Lanka is the alternate host for the Champions Trophy in September if a final security report within 10 days of the Asia Cup finishing on July 6 demonstrates that Pakistan is unsafe.

"It's a standard process of the ICC to have a backup venue," Ashraf said. "I was assured in the ICC's meeting by all the members that they intend to participate in the Champions Trophy in Pakistan.

"We are very proud the Asia Cup is organised in such a nice and peaceful manner," Ashraf said. "It proves that Pakistan is a country where cricket can be played safely."

New Zealand are also set to tour Pakistan for a short three-match ODI series in August, further enhancing Pakistan's chances. Ashraf met with Justin Vaughan, CEO New Zealand Cricket, in Dubai where the PCB chief was assured the tour would go ahead.

"New Zealand will arrive on August 20 and the series begins from August 24," Ashraf said. "Two matches will be played in Faisalabad and the third in Multan.

Australia postponed a tour of Pakistan in March after several bomb attacks in the wake of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto's assassination in December 2007, and several Australian and New Zealand players have already indicated they may pull out of the tournament rather than play in Pakistan.

Ashraf also appreciated the ICC's decision to change the 2006 Oval Test result from a forfeit win for England to a draw. "The ICC and especially the ECB showed tremendous generosity in reversing a bad decision," Ashraf said. "The decision shows that if humans can make mistakes it can be corrected by humans."

Darrell Hair, the umpire at the centre of the storm, was later banned from the ICC elite umpire's panel and only returned after completing a rehabilitation program last September, when he also dropped a claim of racial discrimination against the ICC in the British High Court. Ashraf said that he was not sure whether Hair would officiate in the Champions Trophy. "I leave it to the wisdom of the ICC to do the right thing," he said.

Shoaib's ban suspended till final judgment

Shoaib Akhtar's ban has been suspended pending a final judgement but the fine still remains.

Shoaib Akhtar's ban on playing for Pakistan has been temporarily suspended by the Lahore High Court pending a full and final judgement, which technically means the fast bowler is eligible to play for Pakistan. The fine imposed on him by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) in the original punishment remains however.

Shoaib was banned on April 1 from playing cricket for Pakistan for five years by the board's disciplinary committee, for comments he made to the media about the board earlier in the year. He had criticised the board's policy on central contracts, as well as playing conditions in a domestic tournament.

After the ban was announced, Shoaib went on to level serious allegations against Nasim Ashraf, the board chairman, in a series of TV interviews. The charges led to a defamation lawsuit being slapped against him by Ashraf and the board though the lawsuit was eventually dropped.

A subsequent appellate tribunal reduced his sentence to 18 months but imposed a hefty financial fine on him of Rs 7 million ($105,000 approximately). Unhappy with the judgement of the three-man tribunal, headed by a retired chief justice, Shoaib then filed a writ petition in the Lahore High Court last month.

"Akhtar's appeal of stay against the ban was upheld," Tafazzul Rizvi, the PCB lawyer said. "This means he is temporarily allowed to play until the writ petition is fully heard."

According to a source close to Shoaib's legal team, the judgement is only an interim one until the court hears out the whole case. It is unlikely that the case will proceed at any pace until at least September, after the summer break. "He is technically allowed to play for Pakistan now," said the source.

Understandably, Shoaib was pleased with the decision. "I am relieved. I want to play for my country and my fitness is up to the level," Shoaib said. "I might go to England to play a few county or league games to gain match fitness.

"I want to play in the Champions Trophy and win it for my people. I am thankful to the PCB chairman for his support in the last two months."

Whether or not he will have an opportunity to play is another question. It is unlikely that the selection committee will pick him, despite the paucity of pace resources in the current side, given his recent run-ins with the board. "We respect the court's decision," Salahuddin Ahmed, chief selector, told Cricinfo. "Shoaib's selection in the future will be based on his fitness and his match fitness." The future of Mohammad Asif, Pakistan's other leading fast bowler, is also unclear: he is the subject of an internal three-man board inquiry after he was detained in Dubai for 20 days for allegedly being caught in possession with a drug at Dubai airport.

In any case, Pakistan have no international assignments until late August, when New Zealand are scheduled to visit for three ODIs, though even that is yet to be confirmed. In September, Pakistan is scheduled to host the ICC Champions Trophy.

Three hundred 300s

India's successful run-chase, overhauling Sri Lanka's 308, was the 300th instance of a team scoring 300 or more in one-day internationals. Here are some quick numbers on 300s

# The first score in excess of 300 was England's 334 against India in the first match of the 1975 World Cup. It was a 60-over game. England, however, have gone past 300 only 21 times so far.

# Australia have scored more than 300 the most times - 53 - and they've won 48 of those games. Pakistan and India have scored 300 or more in 49 and 47 matches respectively.

# The National Stadium in Karachi, the venue of the 300th three-hundred, has also had the most innings of above 300 - 18 in 42 ODIs.

# Teams have scored 300 or more in 51 innings in India which is the most in any country. There have been 35 in Pakistan, 33 in Australia, and 31 each in England and South Africa.

# India have scored 300 on 12 occasions while batting second , the most by any country.

# The year 2007 had the most scores in excess of 300 - 51 innings. There were 27 in 2005 while 2006 had 24.

# The 2008 Asia Cup has already had 10 scores of above 300 which is the second highest for any tournament. The highest is the 2007 World Cup when teams reached 300 sixteen times.

West Indies aim to restore pride

Ricky Ponting is in doubt for the fourth ODI due to a minor wrist injury.

Match facts
Friday, July 4
Start time 09:30 (local), 13:30 (GMT)

The Big Picture

The spark has rather disappeared from a tour that during the Test portion delivered a few non-fatal shocks to Australia. If the 2-0 Test result did not fully reflect the closeness of the series, the 3-0 scoreline in the ODIs has been totally justified. It means Australia have already won the five-match contest, although they will be keen to avoid a repeat of their 2003 tour of West Indies when they secured the series by claiming the first four matches, then went down in the remaining three. For the home team, the main aim is to regain some lost pride.

ODI form guide

West Indies - LLLNW (most recent first)
Australia - WWWLL

Team news

It was not surprising that West Indies dropped three players from the squad for the final two games. Patrick Browne, Sulieman Benn and Kieron Pollard were axed, while Jerome Taylor was also unavailable due to a shoulder injury. Three uncapped men have been included, though it is not clear how many will play. Nikita Miller is a strong chance to make his debut in a straight swap for Benn, while it would also be a good time to test the fast bowler Kemar Roach. Shawn Findlay's chances of a top-order spot could hinge on whether any of Chris Gayle, Ramnaresh Sarwan and Shivnarine Chanderpaul are rested with their injury niggles.

West Indies (possible) 1 Chris Gayle (capt), 2 Xavier Marshall, 3 Ramnaresh Sarwan, 4 Shivnarine Chanderpaul, 5 Dwayne Bravo, 6 Andre Fletcher, 7 Denesh Ramdin (wk), 8 Darren Sammy, 9 Nikita Miller, 10 Kemar Roach, 11 Daren Powell.

The main question in the Australian camp is whether the captain Ricky Ponting will be rested after he battled a slight wrist injury in the previous match. The problem is not considered serious but he trained very lightly on Wednesday and could potentially hand the captaincy reins to Michael Clarke, who has only led his country in Twenty20 internationals. With the series already decided there will likely be places for David Hussey and Stuart Clark, the only two members of the squad who have not yet been used, while Brett Lee might be rested.

Australia (possible) 1 Shane Watson, 2 Shaun Marsh, 3 Ricky Ponting/David Hussey, 4 Michael Clarke, 5 Michael Hussey, 6 Andrew Symonds, 7 Luke Ronchi (wk), 8 James Hopes, 9 Mitchell Johnson, 10 Nathan Bracken, 11 Stuart Clark.

Watch out for ...

Nikita Miller The third specialist spinner used by West Indies during Australia's tour, after Amit Jaggernauth in the first Test and Sulieman Benn in the third Test and opening one-dayers. Some West Indies observers were surprised Miller was overlooked earlier in the series after topping the domestic first-class wicket list for the season. A left-arm orthodox bowler, he will be hoping for a more promising start to his international career than most West Indies slow men.

Andrew Symonds After missing the first two games with a back injury, Symonds was not required to do much with the bat in his return as the top order drove Australia most of the way home. He did pick up a couple of wickets with his offspin and further bowling success might make Australia rethink whether they need a specialist spinner in the short formats following Brad Hogg's retirement. There's also the small matter of his batting, which could provide the St Kitts crowd with some entertainment.

Umpires Asad Rauf, Steve Bucknor.

Weather

Scattered showers are forecast in Basseterre on Friday.

Stats and trivia

Australia have happy memories of Warner Park, where they played three games during last year's World Cup and posted 300-plus scores every time. Two of the outings were against minnows but the defeat of South Africa was especially memorable, with Ponting and Clarke both falling just short of triple figures as the team made 377 for 6.

West Indies have only played one ODI at the venue, when Sarwan and Chanderpaul guided them to victory over India in 2006.

Gayle's 53 in the previous match in Grenada is West Indies' only half-century of the series; Australia have had six men pass fifty once each.

Quotes

"They are the best team, and you can look to see where your cricket is. It would be really disappointing to lose 5-0."
Chris Gayle, West Indies' captain

"At the start of the series we said we wanted to win 5-0. We've got two games to go and I think we're playing good enough cricket to do that."
Michael Clarke, Australia's vice-captain

Batting might sees India into final

Despite keeping in back-to-back games, and playing a long innings against Pakistan, Mahendra Singh Dhoni managed two catches, two run-outs and 67 runs against Sri Lanka.

For the second day in succession, a target of 309 was overhauled without much trouble. Each of India's batsmen played their part as India reached the final with a convincing six-wicket win over Sri Lanka. Muttiah Muralitharan was the only bowler to unsettle the batsmen but, with little support from the rest, India triumphed with 19 balls to spare.

In contrast to their bowling effort, four of Sri Lanka's top six made significant contributions to help them post an imposing total. However, having already qualified for the final, they rested the experienced Chaminda Vaas as well as their new spin sensation Ajantha Mendis, a decision that worked in India's favour.

Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag provided their now-familiar blazing start as India started their chase in earnest. It wasn't an all-out assault from them. Runs were scored with a combination of well-timed boundaries and a host of sharp singles - even Sehwag's six over midwicket was an effortless pick-up off his pads. In fact, the only shot in the first Powerplay, based on brute force, was an on-drive from Gambhir off Nuwan Kulasekara in the 10th over.

With little in the pitch for the fast bowlers, the openers were only troubled when taking some ill-judged singles. Gambhir demonstrated his confidence level by repeatedly charging the fast bowlers while Sehwag nonchalantly pulled even length deliveries to midwicket. Though India had raced to 71 in the first 10 overs, Jayawardene decided to take the second Powerplay. The decision seemed to backfire as 21 runs came off the next nine balls but the breakthrough came when Sehwag tapped a slower ball down leg side to Dilhara Fernando at short fine leg.

Suresh Raina started off with a confident pull to midwicket but was fortunate to see a lofted drive dropped by substitute Jehan Mubarak at cover. He and Gambhir took India to 135 before Gambhir was trapped lbw for 68, failing to pick a straighter one from Murali. Dhoni promoted himself ahead of Yuvraj Singh probably to ensure two left-handers didn't have to deal with the wiles of Murali.

Dhoni hardly showed any effects of having kept in back-to-back matches and playing a long innings yesterday as he and Raina scampered quick singles and twos. He started out cautiously before opening out after the 30th over - four fours (including a powerful, fine paddle-sweep off Murali) and a six came in the next four overs as the required-rate dipped to manageable levels.

Six stats Sanath Jayasuriya scored 20 in seven balls off Irfan Pathan but only 23 in 30 balls against the other bowlers Mahendra Singh Dhoni made 48 runs on the off side and only 19 on the leg side India were 55 for no loss after eight overs while Sri Lanka were 39 for 1 - an indication of how the Indian new-ball bowlers outperformed their Sri Lankan counterparts Chamara Kapugedera was tied down by left-arm-spinner Pragyan Ojha (19 off 28 balls) but scored freely off part-timer Virender Sehwag (16 off 8) Irfan Pathan leaked 80 runs in his 10 overs - the most he has conceded in an ODI so far India's 310 for 4 was the 300th time a team has scored 300 or more in an ODI innings

Raina was run out soon after when going for a tight third and Dhoni was foxed by a quicker one from Murali to leave with two new batsmen at the crease, and 56 runs in the arrears. Yuvraj and Rohit Sharma, though, settled India's nerves with a composed partnership and set up a rematch in Sunday's final.

Unlike the Sri Lankan bowlers, India started off well as the new-ball bowlers turned in a much-improved performance, so much so that the first convincing boundary came only in the seventh over.

Ishant Sharma was the pick of the bowlers, exploiting the variable bounce in the pitch and effectively using the slower ball to trouble the batsmen. In one of cricket's typical quirks, amid an excellent spell, Ishant got his wickets off two of the worst deliveries he sent down - both short and down the leg side.

His opening partner RP Singh was also economical and Sri Lanka were limited to 39 for 1 after eight. The introduction of Irfan Pathan, though, let them off the hook as 26 came off his two overs. Sanath Jayasuriya had just switched to fifth gear before gloving one to Dhoni off Ishant. With the pitch easing up, Jayawardene and Kapugedera collected the singles against the spinners while punishing the loose deliveries from the faster bowlers to put on 78. Kapugedera, in particular, was impressive with a series of classical off-driven boundaries early on.

Risk-free batting took Jayawardene on to his half-century but he perished soon after as he stepped out and chipped Pragyan Ojha straight to long-off. Kapugedera was next to go, trapped lbw by Praveen, but not before he added 68 with Chamara Silva. Silva used the cut and sweep shots well against the spinners to make a well-deserved fifty and cameos from Kaushalya Weeraratne and Thilan Thushara pushed Sri Lanka beyond 300.

India's cause wasn't helped by their fielding, which has been below par right through the Asia Cup - catches were misjudged, dives at the boundary rarely saved the fours and several run-out opportunities were spurned. Ultimately, though, their batting covered up the deficiencies in the other departments to take them to the final at the expense of Pakistan.

New Zealand thrash out-of-depth Scotland

Jacob Oram picked up three wickets.

The gap between the major cricket-playing countries of the world and the associate members remains large, despite occasional freak results, as New Zealand showed when they outclassed Scotland by eight wickets at Aberdeen today. First their pace attack tore apart the home side's batting, and then their batsmen hammered Scotland's main strength, their seamers, as the match was over in not much more than three hours' play.

New Zealand won the toss and put the home side in to bat under a grey overcast sky. Within an hour a steady and prolonged drizzle had started, but to their credit they opted to continue playing in the cold and rain - after all, they do play cricket at Dunedin. In any case, by then they were already well on top as the ball moved around considerably - Daniel Vettori said after the game the toss was major factor in the outcome - and Scotland's new batting confidence in recent months was crumbling rapidly.

Scotland's woes began in the first over. After a single by Gavin Hamilton, still wearing Fraser Watts' kit after his own had been stolen, the captain Ryan Watson again failed to score, playing a hesitant defensive stroke to a ball from Mark Gillespie and playing on to his stumps. Shortly afterwards Hamilton played over a low full toss from the same bowler, to be bowled for 6; the score was 12 for 2.

New Zealand moved in for the kill, resisted gallantly by the 'boys from the Hebrides', Qasim Sheikh and Navdeep Poonia. Sheikh dug in so firmly that he took 21 balls to score, while Pooniah, up from Warwickshire, was more aggressive before being caught down the leg side off Jacob Oram for 15. Colin Smith made 11 in positive mode, but his dismissal at 54 for 4 began a steady slide from which the team never recovered.

As the rain eased, John Blain and George Goudie, coming together at 75 for 8, finally brought a temporary halt to New Zealand's inexorable advance. But they only added 12 laborious runs before Blain went for 6. Goudie roused the crowd of about 200 from their depression when he lofted Vettori for six over long-on, and next over off-drove Michael Mason to the boundary to bring up the hundred.

Then another lbw decision, the fourth of the innings, from umpires who had been so conservative during the previous two days, brought it all to an end for 101, Dewald Nel being the victim to Vettori for 4. Goudie was left unbeaten on 17. Oram and Grant Elliott took three wickets each, Mason and Vettori two, and none of them conceded more than 20 runs. All that remained for Scotland was for their seamers to salvage some respect for their team as New Zealand faced an easy target.

Even this proved beyond their ability as they had the worst of the conditions, with the movement diminishing since the morning. New Zealand were out to waste no time in wrapping up the tournament and went for their strokes from the start, although they did get away with a few mistimed shots. Scotland had just one real feel-good moment when the opener Peter Fulton, after hitting a handsome four through midwicket, was trapped lbw by John Blain in the first over.

After that, though, it was more carnage. Ross Taylor was in murderous mood, although his fifty on this occasion dragged on for 34 balls, compared with the 19 he needed against Ireland, and included a six over third man off Nel. Brendon McCullum also hit Nel for an off-side six, over extra cover, but then his bat, with a strange cracking noise, lofted a catch to mid-on when he had made 22. He held it up with a chagrined look as he walked off, no doubt at the end of its useful life.

It took New Zealand two balls short of 15 overs to complete another overwhelming victory, with Taylor finishing unbeaten on 61 off 41 balls, and Scott Styris 14. Scotland had chance to use only their three frontline seamers, all of whom took a hammering. New Zealand came to Aberdeen, they saw, and they could scarcely have conquered more convincingly.

Siddons sues Cricket Australia over shoulder injury

Jamie Siddons runs a training exercise with Glenn McGrath during the 2005 Ashes tour.

Jamie Siddons, the Bangladesh coach, is suing Cricket Australia, claiming he injured his shoulder throwing cricket balls during his time as Australia's assistant coach. The Herald Sun reported a writ had been lodged in the Victorian Supreme Court in which Siddons says he has suffered injury, loss and damage, although no monetary figure is quoted.

Siddons claims he has ongoing problems with his right shoulder as a result of hours of throw-downs on a "constant, repetitive and forceful basis" during the 2005 Ashes tour of England. John Buchanan, the Australia coach during that trip, confirmed Siddons had suffered shoulder troubles.

"I can verify he threw a lot of cricket balls on the tour," Buchanan told the paper. "We knew he was injured when he returned from the tour. We knew he had an injury sustained from throwing. There's no doubt about that."

A Cricket Australia spokesman said it was unaware of the court action. "We can't talk about Jamie Siddons, but it is common for a batsman to have a member of the coaching staff involved at the training session to stand relatively close and to throw the cricket ball at a pace," he said. "It's a throw-down, and is common in club cricket and elite cricket."

Siddons' Bangladesh side will be in Australia in late August for a three-match ODI series. The Herald Sun reported the case was due for pre-trial discussions in October.

Top officials meet for 'basic discussions'

The Champions League, a proposed multi-nation tournament featuring top domestic Twenty20 teams, took a short step forward on Thursday with officials from India, South Africa, Australia and England wrapping up a "basic discussion" on the governing structure, prize money and regulations. With the league looming - it is slated to take place later this year - the officials will meet again next week for further talks, Cricinfo has learnt.

"There are still a lot of issues to be sorted out and we are meeting again next week to discuss that," an official who was part of the meeting told Cricinfo. "We are hopeful that we can hold the tournament this year but we will have to discuss this further."

Those who attended the meeting, held on the sidelines of the ICC annual conference here, are believed to include Lalit Modi, the BCCI vice-president and IPL chairman, Gerald Majola, the chief executive of Cricket South Africa (CSA), James Sutherland, the chief executive of Cricket Australia, and David Collier, the chief executive of the ECB, all representing their boards.

They did not discuss the issue of barring cricketers associated with the unofficial Indian Cricket League (ICL) from playing in the tournament but the BCCI - a prime mover of the Champions League - and Cricket South Africa are adamant about excluding such players.

The ECB, meanwhile, will continue to abide by the trade laws in England that have seen 15 of their 18 counties employing around 25 ICL cricketers this season - and which puts the ECB at risk of missing out on the Champions League.

Yet it does not appear unduly worried over that possibility because, according to a source, the ECB has been approached by "other parties" to take part in similar tournaments. The source revealed that Giles Clarke, the ECB chairman, has received an "offer" with prize money that is "clearly more than what is being offered for the Champions League" from an UAE businessman to take part in a similar tournament "with other teams".

Significantly, Pakistani officials were not part of the meeting, though the BCCI had stated last month that Pakistan would be one of the participating teams. "All I confirm is that teams from India, Australia and South Africa are taking part. We will finalise the fourth nation or even a fifth in due course," the official said.

He did not mention England but the very fact that the four national boards who discussed the issue formally today included the ECB, following an agreement in principle among them in June, indicates that England is still very much in the frame.

Zimbabwe issue spills over to third day

"Offline discussions" involve Zimbabwe Cricket coming up with a plan to prove its cricketing credentials.

The debate over the future of Zimbabwe cricket has come down to the wire - and spilled over to an unscheduled third day - with England, determined not to host them for the Twenty20 World Cup, and India, their staunch defenders, refusing to blink right through an entire afternoon of intense boardroom jostling. The ICC executive board's discussion on Zimbabwe was finally "put on hold overnight to enable offline discussions" and will resume at 9 am on Friday.

However, the ball has been put in Zimbabwe's court; the "offline discussions" involve Zimbabwe Cricket coming up with a plan to prove its cricketing credentials. "Zimbabwe have been asked to prepare a plan in consultation with ICC officials on how best they can fulfil their obligations to world cricket, the FTP and ICC events, including the Twenty20 World Cup," an official involved in the discussions told Cricinfo. "The board will agree on a statement based on that framework."

What has become clear over the last two days is that the issue has shifted from Zimbabwe's membership of the ICC to its participation in next year's Twenty20 World Cup in England. The hitch in the latter is the UK government's threat of refusing entry to Zimbabwe's cricketers - which, if acted on, will see the tournament taken out of England.

Officials from the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) were very clear at the meeting on pushing ahead with the World Cup, though they did take care not to mention anything about not inviting Zimbabwe for the event. The ECB rolled out their ticket sales figures for the 2009 event and the fact that tickets for most of the matches have already been sold out. "Nobody spoke of a vote because, with India standing firm, the ECB knew they couldn't push it through," the official said.

The pressure was mounted on Zimbabwe by England, represented by Giles Clarke, the ECB chairman, and Norman Arendse - president of Cricket South Africa, which last week suspended ties with Zimbabwe - to pull out of the Twenty20 World Cup on their own.

However, sources suggested Zimbabwe, who were backed in the discussion by India, represented by Sharad Pawar, the BCCI president, and West Indies, represented by Julian Hunte, president of WICB - too would stand their ground. In fact, as soon as the day's session got over, Peter Chingoka and his associates emerged for a quick smoke, with the president of Zimbabwe Cricket apparently angry at the position Zimbabwe has been placed in vis-à-vis framing a plan overnight. "Nobody has told us officially to come up with any plan. This is all happening behind our backs," a Zimbabwe Cricket official told Cricinfo.

Later, a grim-looking David Morgan, the president-elect of the ICC, faced the cameras to answer questions on the day's proceedings, but ended up blocking almost all queries on Zimbabwe. "Some progress has been made and we will return to the subject tomorrow morning," he said, adding that "a considerable amount of time was spent in discussing Zimbabwe."

Under-pressure India face stern test

There's no respite yet for Mahendra Singh Dhoni, and he will have to find a way to beat Sri Lanka to seal a place in the final.

Match facts

Thursday, July 3, 2008
Start time 16.00 (local), 10.00 (GMT)

Big Picture
Younis Khan's whirlwind 123 changes the nature of Thursday's clash. Pakistan managed to chase a target of 309, and instead of a dress rehearsal for the final, the contest against Sri Lanka becomes India's chance to seal outright a place in the final without waiting for the outcome of the last Super Four match between Pakistan and Bangladesh - a win then will be enough for Pakistan to go through.

The batting has clicked for both India and Sri Lanka so far in the tournament but Pakistan's performance against the two teams highlighted how undercooked India's bowlers are. They have failed to come to grips with the flat decks in Karachi and it's their batsmen who bailed them out in the wins against Bangladesh and Pakistan. Mahendra Singh Dhoni had complained about the gruelling schedule for his team after playing three games in four days, and they will have to bounce back less than 24 hours after the loss to Pakistan.

Sri Lanka have sealed their spot in the final, and have the luxury to rest key players, something Pakistan won't want them to do. However, they will look back to the loss to Australia in an inconsequential game last year, when they rested key bowlers for tactical reasons after having sealed their spot in the semi-finals of the World Cup - the same bowlers proved ineffective in the one-sided final.

Form guide
(Last five completed ODIs; most recent first)
India LWWWL
Sri Lanka WWWWL

Watch out for ...
# Ajantha Mendis, who's had a terrific start to his international career with 14 wickets in seven ODIs at an average of 13.71 and economy-rate of 4.00. However, tomorrow's battle against an in-form Indian batting line-up is likely to be his toughest test yet, unless Sri Lanka rest him in order to spring a surprise if they play India in the final.

# Yuvraj Singh hasn't had much to do in the Asia Cup because of the top order's consistent performances. However, he's showed excellent touch in all three innings, scoring 48, 36 not out and 37 at over a run a ball. His form will be tested though by Sri Lanka's strong spin attack, if both Muttiah Muralitharan and Mendis play that is.

Ajantha Mendis will look to increase on his tally of 11 wickets if he does play Sri Lanka's final Super Four match.

Team news

India would have ideally rested some players but their inability to beat Pakistan makes the Sri Lanka game significant. Dhoni suffered from cramps during his 76 and even Gary Kirsten, India's coach, has admitted the ODI captain needs a break. Dhoni, however, kept wickets during Pakistan's chase, and with no reserve wicketkeeper, he is unlikely to switch fielding positions as he did in the Indian Premier League.

India might also change their bowling combination. Remove his four-wicket haul against Hong Kong, and Piyush Chawla has been listless in the tournament. He could make way for left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha, who impressed in the game against Bangladesh. RP Singh could also get a look in, while Yusuf Pathan's role will be under scrutiny after his failure with both bat and ball against Pakistan.

India (probable): 1 Gautam Gambhir, 2 Virender Sehwag, 3 Suresh Raina, 4 Yuvraj Singh, 5 Mahendra Singh Dhoni (capt & wk), 6 Rohit Sharma, 7 Yusuf Pathan, 8 Irfan Pathan, 9 Praveen Kumar, 10 Pragyan Ojha, 11 RP Singh.

Sri Lanka, on the other hand, have already qualified for the final and are likely to rest Sanath Jayasuriya, Chaminda Vaas and Muttiah Muralitharan as they did against UAE.

Sri Lanka (probable): 1 Kumar Sangakkara (wk), 2 Mahela Udawatte, 3 Mahela Jayawardene (capt), 4 Chamara Kapugedera, 5 Chamara Silva, 6 Tillakaratne Dilshan, 7 Kaushalya Weeraratne, 8 Thilan Thushara, 9 Nuwan Kulasekara, 10 Ajantha Mendis, 11 Dilhara Fernando.

Stats and trivia

The head-to-head record in the last five ODIs between India and Sri Lanka is an even split, with both teams winning two each with one no result. Gambhir averages 86.50 against Sri Lanka. He's scored 346 runs in six innings with two hundreds and a fifty against them. India's openers - Gambhir and Sehwag - average 75.66 for the first wicket during the 2008 Asia Cup. Their effort, however, pales in comparison to that of Sri Lanka's openers - in three innings, Jayasuriya and Kumar Sangakkara average 113. Quotes "It is good we have a chance to play them [India] before the final. It gives the opportunity to carry on our good form in the tournament and extract more from the players ... Thursday's game would be crucial, for it will set the mood for the final." Trevor Bayliss, the Sri Lanka coach, feels India were be their opponents on July 6 as well. "They tried everything, whatever they had in the armoury they tried." Mahendra Singh Dhoni tries to defend his less-than-impressive bowlers

Younis special overpowers India

Younis Khan made his fifth ODI century - and his third against India - to guide Pakistan's chase.

Pakistan - courtesy Younis Khan's scintillating hundred - showed plenty of character to make easy work of a target of 309 against India and push their case for a berth in the final on Sunday. Pakistan's openers set the platform with attacking cricket against India's battle-weary seam attack, before masterful middle-order batting from Younis and Misbah-ul-Haq helped them gallop home with 27 balls to spare. The victory not only saved the home side from an early elimination, but also brought the lukewarm tournament to life as the hunt for Sri Lanka's opposition in the final extended to another day, at least.

Pakistan's ruthless approach was similar to the defeat India inflicted on them last week. Mahendra Singh Dhoni's decision at the toss was a no-brainer as, on a typically benign pitch, Virender Sehwag began the run-glut with imperious hitting before Dhoni and Rohit Sharma crafted workmanlike half-centuries to arrest a sudden top-order jolt. India's bowlers however wilted in unforgiving conditions and Pakistan - backed by a boisterous crowd - never let the initiative slip once the openers set the launch pad.

The intimidation began with Salman Butt's treatment of Praveen Kumar - he cut, drove and whipped anything either too short or wide and Nasir Jamshed found the bowler's gentle swing and pace to his liking as well, stepping down the track to crash one back down the ground. The early hitting started to tell on the fielders as well - Ishant Sharma fumbled to concede a boundary at deep square leg and Praveen failed to sight a skier towards third man. Irfan Pathan, playing his first game of the tournament, then came under the hammer as Jamshed slammed one over his head. Irfan responded with two head-high bouncers but was duly dispatched with controlled hooks.

The only blip in the opening stand was the running. Shortly after a shy at the striker's end nearly claimed Jamshed, poor calling ended Butt's innings. Butt took off for a second run but found himself yards short of his ground.

Jamshed marched on to his fifty - in his first match against a world-class opposition - before cramps cut short his innings at 53. Younis began in his typically breezy fashion, flashing an upper cut, extra-cover drive and a reverse-sweep off Piyush Chawla to bring up his fifty and 5000 ODI runs. And though Chawla bowled Mohammad Yousuf round his legs to leave Pakistan at 168 for 2 in the 26th over, they were still on course for a win.

Younis was particularly harsh on the spinners, making good use of the sweep. Chawla and Sehwag came in for some rough treatment as Younis opened his stance and peppered the on side with several singles, twos and the odd boundary. Misbah's batting showed no signs of the pressures of captaincy as he complemented his partner's urgency by scoring at over a run a ball. Misbah slog-swept Sehwag for the first six of the match; Younis took on Chawla and carted him over the roof, hitting against the turn.

Dhoni brought the seamers back once the ball got older but there was hardly any reverse-swing to work with. Misbah had the audacity to walk across the stumps and fetch a boundary off Irfan with a delicate flick of the wrists, something Sehwag did with equal efficiency earlier. Younis punished anything short and wide outside the off stump as he brought up his fifth ODI century - also his third against India. Misbah continued his on-side bashing with swivelled pulls and aptly finished the game with a flick past wide mid-on.

The story could have been different had Sehwag carried on. He looked set to tear Pakistan apart for the second time in as many matches with a breathtaking assault, upsetting the bowlers with his improvisation. Misbah bravely persisted with the Powerplays after India had blazed 86 in ten, and Pakistan turned the tide thanks to a double-strike by Abdur Rauf which pegged back at India 91 for 3. Yuvraj Singh's brief stint at the crease was punctuated by elegant drives, before Iftikhar Anjum ended his cameo. At 129 for 4, the home side felt a surge of optimism and the crowd played along as well.

However, Dhoni and Rohit ensured the run-rate never dipped below five an over throughout their 112-run stand. Both batsmen took their time to settle in, but neither played second fiddle. Rohit, who has been struggling for form since the IPL, grafted it out at the start, but displayed sound application and urgency to score at a faster rate than his captain. As the partnership mounted, so did the anxiety for Pakistan as the prospect of a challenging chase loomed. Both brought up their half-centuries off successive balls, in the process completing their century stand, which included 68 singles. The pair set up a seemingly defendable total, but ultimately India found themselves at least 30 runs short.

A loss against Sri Lanka on Thursday will mean India will have to wait on the result of the Pakistan-Bangladesh match on Friday to know whether they progress to the final.

Younis' century push-ups and Malik's no-show

Leave it, captain: Sarfraz Ahmed gets his hands first to the ball after Mahendra Singh Dhoni hit one high up in the air.

No-show of the day
After Shoaib Malik missed Pakistan's training session on Tuesday, vice-captain Misbah-ul-Haq was asked about captaincy at the pre-match press-conference. But in a short while, Salahuddin Ahmed, Pakistan's chief selector, announced Malik would play, and named the XI about 20 hours before the match, a policy of clarity one usually doesn't associate Pakistan with. As it turned out, Malik, who had suffered from severe dehydration and had been on a drip, had to pull out just before the start of the match. So much for certainty.

Here today, gone tomorrow
Sohail Tanvir had had, despite a mauling of the other bowlers by Sri Lanka, an impressive last game. Starting off with a maiden over, he had taken 5 for 48. On Wednesday, though, Gautam Gambhir was in no mood to let him settle down, and he took ten runs off Tanvir's first over. Similar treatment followed throughout: by the fourth over he had given away 43, and by the time he was done he had rid Wahab Riaz of the honour of having conceded the most runs in a match against India. Figures of 10-0-87-1 straight after a five-for, welcome back to earth Mr Tanvir.

Somebody call, please
When Mahendra Dhoni mishit Sohail Tanvir in the 49th over, the ball went miles in the air towards square leg. Sarfraz Ahmed, the wicketkeeper, and Misbah, from midwicket, ran in to catch the ball, and as they ran towards each other it seemed the square-leg umpire Tony Hill would be crushed between the two. Eventually Hill survived, but Sarfraz and Misbah collided, not nastily, though. Dhoni was the only casualty as Sarfraz held on to the catch.

He's pumped
When he crashed Praveen Kumar to reach his fifth century - his third against India - and the second in less than a month, Younis Khan looked towards the dressing room and did a couple of push-ups. Possibly that was his tribute to David Dwyer, Pakistan's trainer, who pushes him hard in training. It could, on an evil note, be a message to recent Pakistani centurions who have been cramping on the way to the landmark.

Nearly man arrives
Misbah has brought Pakistan back from improbable situations a few times, and then in a sudden brain-freeze thrown the good work away too. In his first match as captain, in a match they needed to win to avoid elimination, Misbah made sure he was there at the end of a brilliant turnaround; he scored 70 not out in 62 balls. In fact he hit the winning boundary, and pointed straight to the dressing room with his bat. Here's to the hitherto nearly man of Pakistan cricket.

ICC agrees to change Oval forfeiture to draw

Darrell Hair awarded England five penalty runs in their second innings for ball tampering.

An agreement in principle is believed to have been reached to change the result of the controversial Oval Test between England and Pakistan in 2006 from an English victory to a draw, following pressure from the Pakistan Cricket Board during the annual ICC meeting in Dubai. The decision will be deemed official and final only after the board meeting concludes on Thursday and if the issue is not revisited before that.

"England and Pakistan have agreed to declare the Oval Test as a draw to maintain the dignity of Pakistan in world cricket, especially after the ball-tampering charges were dropped," a source who attended the meeting said. The topic took up a considerable chunk of the morning's proceedings.

The Test was originally awarded to England by umpire Darrell Hair after Pakistan did not come out to field after tea on the fourth day, following accusations of ball-tampering.

Pakistan had, at the time, been in a strong position in the match, having secured a first-innings lead of 331 and removed four England batsmen second-time around. There was nothing at stake in the series, with England already leading 2-0 after wins at Headingley and Old Trafford, but the eventual forfeiture was the first in the history of Test cricket. The removal of England's win could affect their standing in the ICC Test Championship - they are currently third on 110 points, one ahead of their next opponents, South Africa, on 109.

The result had huge off-field ramifications as well. Hair went on to be suspended from the ICC elite panel, and though that decision was overturned last year when he took his employers to the High Court in London, the initial decision formed the basis of Pakistan's appeal for a rethink of the result.

A PCB source told PTI: "Members of other boards supported us in our stand that the result should be officially changed to a draw as an ICC adjudicator later found Hair guilty of transgressing his authority and not behaving properly during the entire episode. The board agreed the result should be a draw not a forfeited win for England."

Flintoff recall unlikely for first Test

Andrew Flintoff is likely to be given more time with Lancashire before an England recall.

Geoff Miller, England's national selector, has given the strongest hint yet that Andrew Flintoff won't be included in the squad for the first Test against South Africa at Lord's on July 10.

Flintoff has made his first-class comeback from a side strain in the current Championship match against Sussex, at Hove, bowling 34 impressive overs without taking a wicket. After failing with the bat in the first innings he guided Lancashire to an eight-wicket victory in the second with 62 not out, his first first-class fifty since May last year. But regardless of that performance, it still appears he will be given more time with Lancashire, who play their next Championship match against Hampshire during the first Test.

"It's plain for everybody to see where he's at: the work he has put in has been absolutely fantastic but there is bat form to consider, he will want some runs, and a few more miles in his legs as well," Miller told the Press Association.

"We have just picked for this first Test match because obviously Fred [Flintoff] is in a situation and there is a chance for us to have another look at that. We are not sure where we are beyond that first Test match."

The likely omission of Flintoff marks a more cautious approach from the selectors, who were ready to bring him back against New Zealand in May before he picked up his side strain against Durham. But with four high-pressure Tests in five weeks, followed by a Twenty20 and five ODIs, it makes sense not to rush Flintoff back into the international arena.

It therefore means an unchanged 12-man squad is due to be named on Thursday at Lord's, paving the way for the same final eleven for the sixth consecutive Test which would be a new record. Ian Bell, with a double century, and Alastair Cook, with 95, have found some timely form in the current round of Championship matches, while Chris Tremlett, the extra player for the final two Tests against New Zealand, has been in consistent form for Hampshire recently.

Michael Vaughan has provided England with an injury scare after feeling a twinge in his knee during the match against Durham. He was seen flexing his knee during his 72 in the second innings and then received ice treatment instead of taking the field. However, Miller said it won't lead to any batting cover being named tomorrow.

"I was with Michael yesterday and I think everything is under control with him," he said. "There was a kind of minor thing but we have got on top of it. Even so, if anything crops up, we don't need to pick players as cover because we know the people that would come in and we know where those people are."

Along with the Test squad, Miller will also name a provisional 30-man party for the Champions Trophy, which is due to be held in Pakistan during September. It will be an opportunity to see who the selectors are keeping an eye on around the county circuit, and a squad of 30 often throws up the odd interesting name.

Graham Napier's 152 off 58 balls in the Twenty20 got tongues wagging, but he hasn't produced consistent form for Essex. The likes of Sajid Mahmood, Matt Prior, Adil Rashid and Graham Onions will be in the shake-up, while Simon Jones' form could earn him his first squad call-up since the India tour in 2006.

Test squad (probable) Michael Vaughan (capt), Alastair Cook, Andrew Strauss, Kevin Pietersen, Ian Bell, Paul Collingwood, Tim Ambrose (wk), Stuart Broad, Ryan Sidebottom, James Anderson, Monty Panesar, Chris Tremlett

England v South Africa Live Score

Malik unfit for must-win match

Shoaib Malik initially from dehydration following his hundred against India.

Shoaib Malik has pulled out of Pakistan's critical encounter with India in the Asia Cup after failing to recover from dehydration. Speculation had surrounded Malik's place in the side yesterday, after he failed to turn up for practice because he was receiving treatment. He eventually arrived, drip on his arm, had a discussion with selectors and announced himself fit to play.

In a surprise move, selectors publicly announced the playing XI a day before the game, choosing to name Malik in the side. Misbah-ul-Haq, the vice-captain not even in the team this time last year, will now take over as captain, while Nasir Jamshed will take his place in the side, as opener.

Malik suffered initially from dehydration following his hundred against India, but he played in Pakistan's next match against Sri Lanka, scoring a fifty but taking 30 overs to do it. But there has been little improvement in his condition, despite a few days' rest. He took a fitness test at the National Stadium just before the toss, but was visibly suffering.

"I am ready for the captaincy," Misbah told reporters yesterday, at which point Malik's place was unclear. "When you are vice-captain you always are ready for nearly everything, so I am ready for it. I will take along the team with me and win the match."

Pakistan have also called up Saeed Ajmal, the offspinner, for his debut as well as giving Abdur Rauf his second ODI.

Unsure Pakistan gear for must-win battle

Irfan Pathan has recovered from a side strain, and is expected to play against Pakistan.

Match facts

Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Start time 16.00 (local), 10.00 (GMT

Big Picture
Pakistan's floundering Asia Cup campaign wasn't made any better by Geoff Lawson's heated press conference after Sunday's defeat to Sri Lanka. However, on the eve of the match, the focus was on Shoaib Malik, the captain. Malik, who is suffering from dehydration, looked a doubtful starter but has declared himself fit for the match. The hosts, already without a strike bowler in Umar Gul, need to win both the remaining games to stay in contention for a spot in the final.

India, on the other hand, need just one point from their two games to secure their place in the final and are boosted by the return of allrounder Irfan Pathan from injury. A listless bowling performance against Bangladesh was attributed by Mahendra Singh Dhoni to playing three matches in four days and they should be back to their best after three days' rest.

Form guide
(Last five ODIs; most recent first)
Pakistan LLWWL
India WWWLW

Watch out for ...
# Gautam Gambhir's dazzling form has made him the leading run-scorer in ODIs this year but his average against Pakistan is a pedestrian 28.45. Expect him to improve that against a weakened attack on Wednesday.

# Less than a year since his international debut, Sohail Tanvir finds himself as Pakistan's spearhead, a role he handled with aplomb in the game against Sri Lanka. He needs to fire again if Pakistan are to tame the rampant Indian batting.
Another failure with the bat might result in the axe falling on Shahid Afridi.

Team news

Pakistan are losing patience with Shahid Afridi's miserable batting form - he's made just three half-centuries in his previous 45 innings. Lawson said he would be dropped but a late change of mind means he will get another chance tomorrow . Pakistan have confirmed two changes to the XI that played Sri Lanka: Abdur Rauf replaces left-arm fast bowler Wahab Riaz and offspinner Saeed Ajmal will make his debut, legspinner Mansoor Amjad making way.

Pakistan: 1 Salman Butt, 2 Shoaib Malik (capt), 3 Younis Khan, 4 Mohammad Yousuf, 5 Misbah-ul-Haq, 6 Shahid Afridi, 7 Sohail Tanvir, 8 Sarfraz Ahmed (wk), 9 Abdur Rauf, 10 Iftikhar Anjum, 11 Saeed Ajmal.

India are likely to bring back Virender Sehwag and Praveen Kumar while Irfan could find a place ahead of elder brother Yusuf Pathan, who has a minor viral infection. Either Robin Uthappa or Rohit Sharma might miss out and fast bowlers Manpreet Gony and Ishant Sharma could also find themselves on the sidelines.

India (probable) 1 Virender Sehwag, 2 Gautam Gambhir, 3 Suresh Raina, 4 Yuvraj Singh, 5 Mahendra Singh Dhoni (capt & wk), 6 Rohit Sharma/Robin Uthappa, 7 Irfan Pathan, 8 Piyush Chawla, 9 RP Singh, 10 Praveen Kumar, 11 Pragyan Ojha.

Stats and trivia

With two hundreds and a fifty, Suresh Raina's career batting average has shot up by more than nine runs in this tournament - from 26.48 to 35.66. India's spinners have fared far better than their fast bowlers, taking 11 wickets at 26.64 against the quicker bowlers' haul of six wickets at 66.33 Quotes "His hotel room is like a hospital ward and when he came off the field against Sri Lanka he was very ill. Only the doctors will decide whether he can play against India or not." Geoff Lawson confirms Malik is struggling to be fit in time for the match. "He is a star of the future. We will continue to work on his game and give him options in terms of what he can do on a cricket field." Gary Kirsten gives Rohit Sharma a vote of confidence.

Pakistan in need of another bounce-back

Another loss, and Pakistan could well see a new captain and coach.

For Pakistan, this is not so much do-or-die as do-or-don't be around. The equation is now simple: beat India, hope Sri Lanka beat India, beat Bangladesh, all the while with an eye on a better net run-rate. It will not solve the ills currently plaguing Pakistan cricket, but it will provide temporary, valuable respite. Fail this and change, significant change, is a fait accompli.

Geoff Lawson's tiff with the media has done nothing to help his position and even Shoaib Malik's most ardent supporters are said to be running out of patience. The Asia Cup needs this intensity and pressure, this bigness and uncertainty. At stake, when Pakistan step on to the field, is everything.

Traditionally, near enough this juncture after two thumping defeats, it is said of Pakistan teams that they are at their most dangerous; that form means nothing. The team is unbound, unsettled and lacks coherence. Stars are not performing; the captain is under pressure, the coach more so.

Circumstances are ideal really for another of Pakistan's inexplicable bounce-backs. The only question is whether this side can do it as have so many Pakistan sides in the past. The recent Kitply Cup final provides hope, as does the Champions Trophy opener against Sri Lanka in 2006, even though only five from that XI are here.

But that is all you can cling on to, for on paper and form India are a stronger side. They bat almost till they are out and have a strong attack, even if they are missing Harbhajan Singh's economy in the middle overs and have been shoddy with their catching.

Unusually, Pakistan have already named a XI, perhaps to clear the doubt over captain Shoaib Malik. Early speculation today was that he wasn't in, fuelled by vice-captain Misbah-ul-Haq's appearance in front of the press at practice. Dehydration has been the problem but Malik eventually arrived, drip attached, and after a short discussion with selectors, it was announced he is fit to play.

Into this cauldron Pakistan hand a debut to Saeed Ajmal, the offspinner, and a second ODI to Abdur Rauf, that persevering domestic champion forever on the fringes of selection. Unlike Mansoor Amjad and Wahab Riaz, Shahid Afridi, on the verge of being dropped after the Sri Lanka game, retains his place. The decision to keep Afridi is one last punt, part-hope, part-hunch, after selectors had decided to drop him. "I have a feeling, nothing technical, that he just might do something tomorrow," admitted one.

Careers might be made, some might end and the heat is on. "As a professional cricketer, no game is easy," Misbah said. "You are up against the toughest sides, but if you perform in these games, then you can really make a name for yourself. The team's focus is solely on comprehensively winning both games. We are not worried about other results. We have to, we must, win tomorrow's match."

Not that Pakistan are the only ones under the cosh. An Indian loss, with a game the very next day against Sri Lanka, means tomorrow is also important for them, even if you can't see Mahendra Singh Dhoni fretting about it as much as Malik. "India will be under some pressure as well," Misbah said. "They have two very important matches against tough sides too. Comparatively you can say our team is under less pressure."

Cute kidology it may be, but even Misbah knows that a loss on Wednesday could conceivably push him in to the hot seat currently occupied by Malik. He's not even been back in the side for a year but such is the way it works in Pakistan. At least he recognises the dangers of writing Pakistan off. "Winning or losing is part of game," he ended. "We have lost our last two games, but remember we won the Kitply final before that." All of Pakistan will be clinging on to that memory come the game.

New Zealand crush hapless Irish

Brendon McCullum made up for a few quiet one-dayers against England with his first ODI ton.

It was a day of records and near-records at Mannofield Park in Aberdeen, as a rampant New Zealand team totally outclassed a threadbare Ireland by a record ODI margin of 290 runs. New Zealand, put in to bat, did much as they pleased with the weakened Irish attack. The star performers were Brendon McCullum with 166 and James Marshall on 161, both hitting their maiden ODI hundreds. The opening partnership of 266 was only 20 runs short of the world record, achieved by Upul Tharanga and Sanath Jayasuriya of Sri Lanka against England, two years ago to the day.

Ireland, already depleted by players opting to stay with their counties and a host of others unavailable, were struck by another late injury blow. Allrounder Alex Cusack, who won the Man-of-the-Match award on his debut against South Africa last year, had to pull out with a broken finger. Captain Kyle McCallan, Andre Botha and Reinhardt Strydom were the only players remaining from Ireland's last ODI, against Bangladesh, in Dhaka.

With the home side not involved, fewer than 100 spectators were present to watch the slaughter. The weather was dry, with the sun showing through the light cloud cover occasionally, but blustery, and the wind worsened during the day. If Ireland thought it might help their bowlers, they were sadly deceived.

New Zealand, after ending a stressful tour of England with one-day success, were relaxed in their approach but not careless or over-confident. Peter Connell beat the bat a couple of times early on, but otherwise the batsmen were never in trouble. In the seventh over McCullum decided it was time to take charge. Lashing out, he hit two skiers off Connell over the covers, beyond the reach of the fielders, taking two runs apiece. The next two went for four, and he was set. Philip Eagleston went for successive sixes over long leg and midwicket, and McCullum raced to his fifty off 37 balls.

Perhaps his colleagues slipped a tranquillizer into his morning drink, because he slowed down for a while after that, even allowing balls faced to exceed runs scored. Then he lofted McCallan for two successive sixes, and was away again. His hundred came off 107 balls, and his onslaught then became so fierce that his next fifty took only 20 more deliveries. Finally, though, with the world record ODI opening partnership record seemingly within their grasp - and the first ODI double century on offer - McCullum was out to a fine boundary catch as he aimed for yet another six over cover. His figures: 166 runs off 135 balls, with 11 fours and 10 sixes.

Marshall had been overshadowed, but when McCullum left he took over his mantle and began to hit out; in fact, the hectic scoring rate actually increased, with Ross Taylor also cashing in. Marshall's century came up off 120 balls and a further fifty came in the next 14, even exceeding McCullum's rate. In the final over he skied a catch, well held by the bowler, and departed for 161 off 141 deliveries. Taylor finished with an unbeaten 59 off 24. New Zealand's 402 for 2 beat their 397 for 5 against a decimated Zimbabwe team two years ago.

If this had been a boxing match, the referee would have stepped in long before, but Ireland had to keep going to the bitter end. They never gave up trying and even at the end fielders were still diving for the ball, usually in vain, and backing up with vigour. Their only realistic hope was to put up a good enough batting display to allow themselves to finish with dignity and to score more than 146, which would enable them to avoid the heaviest defeat in ODI history - India's World Cup victory over Bermuda by 257 runs in 2007.

This they were unable to do, though it cannot be said that they gave it away early on. Strydom began defiantly by driving Tim Southee through the covers for four second ball. But the approach was perhaps a little too aggressive, given the hopelessness of the situation. The batsmen went for their strokes and there was a steady slide of wickets, rather than a collapse. A more measured approach would surely have resulted in a better total. Opener Gary Wilson (21), for example, was their one recognised batsman to reach 20, but it came off only 17 balls. Southee and Michael Mason took three wickets each, but the innings did not even last 29 overs.

After the match, McCallan confessed it had been a humiliating experience for his team, that they had set themselves batting targets but totally failed to meet them. He was not willing to make excuses, but added his team needed to come out fighting in their match against Scotland on Tuesday. Daniel Vettori for his part was very pleased with the professional performance of his team, and paid tribute to his openers: "The way they set their innings out was amazing."

Moores looks forward to new opponents

Peter Moores: 'You don't build great teams overnight, because if you could everyone would be doing it'.

England's players may have to take a second look when they step out at Lord's on July 10 because, for the first time in 19 matches, spread over nearly half a year, their opposition won't be New Zealand. The arrival of South Africa, who are beginning their tour with a convincing display in Taunton, marks the start of whole new challenge for England in every sense.

"It's a good time to play somebody else and see some different faces," England coach Peter Moores joked. "Everyone is really looking forward to it. We know South Africa have played really good cricket for the last 18 months, they are maturing as a team, and they have gone up the rankings. It's a great challenge for the second half of the summer and it should be a great contest for our side."

The recent one-day series defeat confirms that in the limited overs game England are still struggling to develop a successful strategy. However, in the Test arena the signs are there that the team is starting to find its identity after the shock of losing in Hamilton during March. Against a better team than New Zealand they would have lost at Old Trafford, but it was a show of character to turn around a 179-run deficit. Then at Trent Bridge, from a tough position of 86 for 5, they controlled the match and won by an innings.

Now it's time to see what the team is really made of. The tasks ahead of them are getting tougher; South Africa is followed by a tour of India, then a series against West Indies who are improving in the Test arena before, of course, the Ashes next summer.

"For us to lose the one-day series is disappointing because we have been moving forward as a team. I don't think that will stop because of the defeat," said Moores, during a coaching clinic at Lord's. "You don't build great teams overnight, because if you could everyone would be doing it. It tends to go through a journey. We went hell for leather to try and win the series, it didn't happen, so we now have to go away and focus on the Tests against South Africa. When we regroup for the next one-dayers it's about taking the lessons we have learnt and have another go."

The squad will be named on Thursday and there will be short odds on England setting a new record for consecutive unchanged elevens, having equalled the 120-year-old mark of five at Trent Bridge. The misfiring top order will be given another vote of confidence - Ian Bell did just enough in the one-dayers while Paul Collingwood was finding form before a tough match at The Oval - Tim Ambrose has looked a better Test than one-day player, and the bowling attack is settled.

There has been criticism that it's too cosy in the England team, but Moores says that if changes need to be made they will be. "To give the selectors their due we have seen consistent selection, but when the time as come for changes we have seen them too, recently in the bowling department," he said. "But there has to be this balance so that players aren't worried if they fail once, but conversely don't feel undroppable.

"International cricket is a tough business and often very good players are competing with other very good players and they've just got to make sure they are doing everything they can to be selected. I think people understand that if they get there opportunity they are going to want to be given a fair amount of time to prove themselves.

"Part of the thing about playing the same team five times is partly selection but also injury," he added. "Not to have an injury is good and I give some credit there to the work the lads are doing, as it is based around injury prevention, which helps keep them on the park. Of course you want consistency because you get to know the team, but it's the balance between that and keeping it fresh enough for people to get in."

For the second time this season, though, the key decision rests around one man who has caused hours to deliberation. Andrew Flintoff is back in action after recovering from his side strain, but one first-class match is hardly the preparation for a tough Test series. England would have recalled him against New Zealand if it hadn't been for his latest injury and Moores has been in regular contact with him. The two had a long chat at Old Trafford before the Twenty20 against New Zealand and Flintoff has done some work with Andy Flower and Ottis Gibson, the batting and bowling coaches.

"In the time out, his hunger to play for England has only grown," said Moores. "The key for him is getting fit and strong and ready to bowl. His introduction back into Test cricket will be at the right time for him and England."

The temptation to bring Flintoff back will be great, especially as he has the quality that England will face in abundance over the next two months: pace. Dale Steyn is one of the hottest properties in international cricket and the South Africans are bullish that he will be a key difference.

"Everyone talks about their pace attack, but it will be a good series because the England pace attack is developing," said Moores. "Ryan Sidebottom is sixth in the world, James Anderson is full of confidence and Stuart Broad is emerging. Then there are those outside pushing for a place. For either side to win it won't just be down to one facet, it will be that they have done all three things well."

Peter Moores is an ambassador for the Sky Sports ECB Coach Education Programme which reached over 5500 coaches during its first year as grassroots participation grew by 27%

West Indies call up Miller and Findlay

Sulieman Benn has been cut from the squad.

Nikita Miller has been rewarded for a strong domestic season with a belated call-up to the West Indies squad for the remaining two one-day internationals against Australia. Miller was one of three uncapped players to be promoted to the 13-man group after the team made a disappointing start to the series, which they have already lost.

The left-arm spinner Miller was the leading wicket-taker during the first-class season with 42 victims and he has replaced Sulieman Benn, who struggled to have any impact in the opening ODIs. Kemar Roach, the fast bowler who made his Twenty20 international debut last month, has also been included along with the Jamaica batsman Shawn Findlay.

Patrick Browne was left out of the squad after failing to impress during his solitary outing in Grenada, while Kieron Pollard lost his position following a terrible shot selection that brought his dismissal in the second game. Jerome Taylor was unavailable for selection as he continues to battle a shoulder injury.

Australia have already secured a 3-0 lead and will probably make changes to their side to give unused players opportunities before the tour winds up. The final two games are to be played on Friday and Sunday in St Kitts.

Squad Chris Gayle (capt), Xavier Marshall, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Andre Fletcher, Dwayne Bravo, Shawn Findlay, Denesh Ramdin (wk), Darren Sammy, Nikita Miller, Kemar Roach, Daren Powell, Fidel Edwards.

Issue is cricket, not politics - Mali

Also on the agenda Hectic negotiations will take place between the the boards of Australia, England and India on the Champions League, particularly the issue of ICL players and the BCCI bar on English counties. A new cricket committee chairman will be chosen to replace Sunil Gavaskar. Clive Lloyd is tipped as the favourite, with fellow contender Majid Khan apparently having lost favour within the PCB. The ICC will consider a proposal that more serious offences under the ICC Code of Conduct should be heard by a suitably qualified lawyer rather than the match referee. The proposal for a Test Championship might also be discussed, and how to fit it in with the Future Tours Programme, whose future post-May 2012 (when the existing one ends) will also be part of the talks A final decision on Marlon Samuels's two-year ban imposed by the West Indies Cricket Board is expected. Samuels was banned for providing information to a bookie, but the ICC had set up an inquiry commission to look into the ban. Another issue that might crop up is the Oval Test of 2006, with the Pakistan board indicating it will press for the ICC to change the result from a Pakistan forfeit to draw or abandoned game.

The Zimbabwe issue is not about politics in the country or their ICC membership but concerns the development of cricket there, Ray Mali, the ICC president, told Cricinfo on Tuesday. This marks a major shift in stance for Mali who had, last week, placed the Zimbabwe issue at the top of the agenda for Wednesday's ICC board meeting, pointing to the"worsening situation within the country".

"It's not a political issue, it's a cricket issue," Mali, who later this week will hand over the presidency to David Morgan, said. "We are not the ones to debate on politics. It's not about Zimbabwe's membership in the ICC, either. Not at all. What we are concerned about is how to strengthen the game in Zimbabwe, how to encourage more cricketing interaction with them at any level."

That view was echoed by a senior official of the BCCI currently in Dubai for the meeting. There will be a "serious effort" to understand the situation in Zimbabwe, the official said, and there might finally be an "understanding".

What this indicates is that the Zimbabwe issue, which was expected to be the subject of heated discussion within a divided ICC, may revolve around the status of the game in that country, rather than the status of Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) within the governing body. In any case, any resolution on Zimbabwe requires seven out of ten votes in the ICC board and the influential Indian board, which has consistently backed ZC in the past, has made it clear it will stand against any move to revoke Zimbabwe's status as a Full Member of the ICC.

As various 'team camps' work the phone lines ahead of the meeting, there's the whiff of compromise in the air. The deal could involve Zimbabwe remaining a Full Member of the ICC but skipping next year's World Twenty20 so that the ECB can host the tournament. Perhaps even snip ZC's annual funding from the ICC; anything, really, short of shutting the door.

On Tuesday afternoon, the scene at The Westin Hotel told its own story - near the giant glass doors of the sparkling new building, Mali was laughing and shaking hands with Peter Chingoka, the ZC president, and two associates. The two, old comrades, shared a joke on the international media frenzy surrounding the game in that country and walked away together.

Chingoka had, in fact, appealed to Mali in a letter last week. "The rules of natural justice, equity and good conscience demand that a fair hearing would need to be given to Zimbabwe Cricket and that would entail the ICC sending a fact-finding mission to Zimbabwe if at all it is warranted from a cricket point of view," he wrote.

Surely, though, even as Chingoka presented an unusually relaxed front and BCCI officials, led by their president Sharad Pawar, assembled here to "go through the papers", some tough talking can be expected on Zimbabwe, at least from the ECB and Cricket South Africa. Both have suspended all bilateral cricket ties with Zimbabwe, and have pointed to a worsening "general situation" that has prevented any meaningful cricket in that country.

The views of players - especially from South Africa, who are clear that they will have nothing to do with Zimbabwe cricket - may be presented. And there could be a significant contribution to the debate from David Morgan, who has already declared that he will back action against Zimbabwe.

Privately, officials within the ICC and the ECB establishment have also pointed to Chingoka's 'close ties' with the political set-up in Zimbabwe and sought to link that with the climate of uncertainty surrounding their cricket.

"Will India take a pragmatic view on this and go with England and South Africa, whose voice, also, may be crucial?" asked an official who is closely involved with the situation. "After all, if Zimbabwe sticks around then everyone will know it will be because of India. India will then take a hit because of that but more importantly the ICC would take a hit and its credibility would, perhaps, be fatally holed below the waterline."

But in the end, the BCCI and its traditional backers - Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh - may weigh all opposition to Zimbabwe against the precious vote that Chingoka brings to the table, year after year. And that will mean Chingoka's sunny smile this afternoon will be on show again, same time tomorrow.

Clinical Sri Lanka storm into final

Sanath Jayasuriya helped himself to a century on his 39th birthday.

As birthday bashes go, this was pretty special, with Sanath Jayasuriya bludgeoning Bangladesh into submission as Sri Lanka sauntered into the Asia Cup final. Kumar Sangakkara's elegant 121, just 24 hours after a century against Pakistan, was the supporting act, and with Muttiah Muralitharan at his supple-wristed best with the ball, Bangladesh were brushed aside by a massive 158 runs. Nazimuddin and Raqibul Hasan showed some defiance, but even against an attack missing Lasith Malinga and Farveez Maharoof, 333 was never on.

Some of the Bangladesh players were still in diapers when Jayasuriya made his debut, and they must have felt as helpless as babies when he celebrated his 39th birthday with the fluent shot-making and power-hitting that typified his halcyon years. He raced to a century off only 55 balls, and though it turned out to be a two-man show, Sri Lanka still had enough to pull off their fourth successive win of the tournament.

Having added 201 with Sangakkara in only 27.5 overs, Jayasuriya finally ran out of puff in the Karachi heat. A poor delivery from Alok Kapali was lofted to deep cover where Tamim Iqbal took the catch. There was scarcely any joy from the fielders, because by then Jayasuriya had pounded 130 off only 88 balls, with a heady rhythm of cuts, pulls and drives.

Sangakkara carried on though, having been reprieved by Kapali off his own bowling on 51. He drove beautifully down the ground and made good use of both the orthodox sweep and the slogged version. Occasionally, he would also come down the track and loft the ball over the infield, and Bangladesh appeared bereft of options.

When Jayasuriya lashed Mashrafe Mortaza's opening delivery past point for four, it appeared to be a sign of things to come, but with Shahadat Hossain bowling a maiden first-up, Bangladesh conceded only 20 in the first five overs. The trouble started after that, with Jayasuriya dusting off his pull stroke and driving over the infield with immense power.

Sangakkara wasn't to be left behind, piercing the packed off-side field cleverly occasionally, but after a while he gave up trying to keep pace. Jayasuriya was unstoppable. When the bowlers dropped short, he would pull over midwicket. If they were too full, the disdainful flick was unveiled. Too much width and the hoardings behind the point boundary were battered with short-arm cuts. And if all that wasn't punishment enough, he would also jump down the pitch before lashing the ball over the covers.

The half-century took only 31 balls, and when Abdur Razzak came on, he was taken for 19 runs in his second over. Two crisp fours off Farhad Reza and a single to long leg later, he had a century, the 26th of an illustrious career. Sangakkara, who had caressed some lovely drives himself, was the perfect foil, and Bangladesh's cause wasn't helped when Mushfiqur Rahim fluffed a catch behind the stumps off Razzak right after Jayasuriya had got his hundred.

His eventual departure, after slamming 16 fours and a mere six sixes, did stem the tide though, with the other batsmen unable to support Sangakkara. Mahela Jayawardene eased to 20 before pulling a long hop from Kapali to midwicket and neither Chamara, Kapugedera or Silva, could get going. Tillakaratne Dilshan was run out by a direct hit from Raqibul, and when Razzak finally sneaked one under Sangakkara's defence, Bangladesh had managed a comeback of sorts. But thanks to their openers becoming only the 18th pair to score centuries in the same game, Sri Lanka were nearly out of sight by then.

Bangladesh were notionally in the contest till the halfway stage of their innings, with Nazimuddin and Raqibul playing some fine strokes in the face of an imposing asking-rate. Nazimuddin took his time to settle, but then launched into some delightful cuts and drives. Ajantha Mendis, who had bamboozled the Pakistanis, was thumped for a four and a six, and only a miscommunication with Raqibul saw him run out when in sight of a half-century.

By then, he had already seen Tamim and Mohammad Ashraful, the side's leading lights, depart. With Chaminda Vaas and Nuwan Kulasekara giving nothing away early on, Tamim quickly became restless, and a tame nibble at a Vaas delivery was easily taken by Dilshan, deputising for Sangakkara behind the stumps.

Ashraful came in and took three fours off a Vaas over, but then had one of those brain-fades that he's become prone to. He was in no sort of position to try and pull Thilan Thushara, and the top-edge came down into Dilshan's hands.

But with Raqibul starting in strokeful fashion and Nazimuddin determined to tilt at windmills, the run-rate quickly soared, with Thushara coming in for harsh treatment. Nazimuddin's dismissal, halted the charge though, and after that it was all about Murali.

Mushfiqur edged one to slip and Kapali was trapped in front by a doosra. Raqibul's brave innings was curtailed by another that went the wrong way, and Razzaq cleaned up going for the sweep. When Mortaza top-edged a sweep, he had five wickets for the ninth time in ODIs. It may sometimes be a young man's game, but it was the old hands that blew the candles out on Bangladesh.

Records don't awe ageless Jayasuriya

Sanath Jayasuriya shows no signs of slowing down.

The beauty about Sanath Jayasuriya, Virender Sehwag and Adam Gilchrist is that there are certain records they are the most likely to set - and they don't give a damn about it. For them the journey is the thing. They can't bear to take the joy out of their batting just because they are close to a record - in that sense, they derive a Keith Miller-like sense of pleasure from their cricket.

For some reason, in our consciousness, the difference between 200 and 190 is more than just the 10 runs. For these batsmen, though, nearing a landmark is not reason enough for them to not hit a ball that is there to be hit. Scoring, and not records, is their primal emotion. It could have been the ease with which Jayasuriya was playing, it could have been the pace of his devastating hitting, it could have been the flatness of the track, or it could have been how he suddenly exploded in the 10th over, but one sensed a special innings in the making and a threat to Saeed Anwar's record for the highest score in ODIs.

From 29 off 23 balls, he reached his century in 55 balls - in the 18th over. The wicket was placid, so was the bowling, the fielders demoralised and Jayasuriya going strong. Kumar Sangakkara, his opening partner, gave him most of the strike, and 200 no longer seemed a fantasy. Off went the helmet and, after a brief calm Jayasuriya cut loose again. The journalists in the press box rummaged for Anwar's contacts. Two fours and a six later, Jayasuriya had reached 130 off 87 balls, with 22 overs still to go. Then came a short one outside off, and Jayasuriya, perhaps going for a four and slightly misplacing, or going for a six but not getting the power, was caught at sweeper-cover. Had there been a crowd here, a loud sigh would have been followed by generous applause.

"I think it's more natural about instincts than milestones," Mahela Jayawardene, Sri Lanka's captain, said of Jayasuriya's batting. "He just looks to contribute to the team. If he is in his groove, he can score 250 on his day. But that's how he plays. If he changed his game, he probably would get out anyway. He knows exactly how he has been playing for 18-odd years. It's amazing to watch him bat." Jayasuriya has himself said previously that his batting is all natural; he doesn't even think about hitting fours or sixes, they come instinctively to him.

In the past, against India in Sharjah in 2000-01 (189 off 161 balls, out stepping out in 49th over), against Pakistan in Singapore in 1995-96 (134 off 65), against Netherlands in Amstelveen in 2006 (157 off 104), he has looked he would get to the record, but the approach didn't change with the record in sight.

Not long ago, though, Jayasuriya was too old and too out of form to be playing the young man's game of limited-overs cricket. When he was dropped for the West Indies ODIs earlier this year, he had gone 20 innings without having scored a half-century. "Due respect to selectors too, because when they dropped him he wasn't in form; he wasn't scoring runs," Jayawardene said. "They had to look at the future too."

Despite his replacements not doing well, Sri Lanka chose to persist with them. The selectors had picked a squad - excluding Jayasuriya - for the Asia Cup as well, but a not-so-happy sports minister delayed in ratifying it, in which time Jayasuriya made his case with a sizzling century for the Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League. The result: he won back his place.

He chose the perfect day to score his first century on return to the national side - the day he turned 39. Some of his team-mates hadn't even made it to primary school when Jayasuriya had made his debut. "He doesn't surprise me. I have been lucky to have him; his attitude is the same, he hasn't changed." It's just as well that Jayasuriya doesn't change, as 52 days from now he can have a go at another record: become the oldest man to score an ODI century. Are we being greedy if we ask the oldest centurion to score one that challenges the fastest one too?

Chingoka slams ICC decision as unethical

Ray Mali and Peter Chingoka: the latest developments have tested their friendship.

Peter Chingoka, the chairman of Zimbabwe Cricket, has criticised Ray Mali, the ICC's outgoing president, for tabling a motion to discuss the future of Zimbabwe when the ICC meets in Dubai this week.

In two letters which followed Mali's announcement, Chingoka forcibly reminded him that the ICC had already discussed the matter. "You will recall that last year in London, a decision was taken and well-supported by you and other members that sport and politics, like oil and water, do not mix."

Quoting the ICC's own rules, Chingoka insisted that Zimbabwe's status could only be discussed at next year's annual conference as such a motion needed to be tabled by December 31 in the preceding year. Ironically, a change to the rules was proposed two years ago to allow more immediate action to be taken. Chingoka opposed that at the time and the move was defeated after India indicated they would not support it.

The letters also highlighted a breakdown in relations between Chingoka and Mali, hitherto seen as close allies. Less than a year ago, Mali was effusive in his praise for the ZC administration following a six-day fact-finding visit. But last week he told Chingoka that he had acted because he "owed it to the cricket community to feel all is normal

Chingoka, playing the race card, warned Mali of "setting double standards and discriminatory levels that go against the ICC anti-racism code".

He went on to accuse Mali of making Zimbabwe "a scapegoat" for the decision to stand down Malcolm Speed as the ICC's chief executive in April and called the latest announcement of the discussion on Zimbabwe "unethical", adding it was an "agenda item infested with political connotations". He concluded by asking: "Whose political gallery these antics are being supposed to appease?"

"There are over 100 ICC member countries with differing political environments," he continued. "Without venturing to mention names as it is apparent, it is clear that certain worse conditions exist in those other member countries. It has not warranted the ICC putting them on its agenda as it is doing with Zimbabwe right now."

Lawson apologises for media outburst

Geoff Lawson's apology is an attempt to calm strained relations with the media in Pakistan.

Geoff Lawson, Pakistan's coach, has apologised to the media a day after the heated press conference following the defeat to Sri Lanka on Sunday, which left them on the brink of elimination from the Asia Cup.

Media persons had walked out after Lawson asked a senior journalist to "improve his English" and told another reporter "if you are rude I'll have to leave." The remarks came right after Lawson laid down a few rules for reporters before fielding questions. "Don't make statements, ask questions," he said. "If someone asks a question twice, I won't answer it. Make questions sensible, otherwise I won't answer it."

Lawson apologised through a statement issued by the PCB. "I would like to clarify that the incident that took place at the press conference after the Pakistan and Sri Lanka match is most unfortunate," he said. "What happened was regrettable and I would like to apologise for the events that led to the incident.

"I assure everyone that as coach of the Pakistan team, I look forward to having healthy, cordial and good relations with the media as has been the case in the past," he said. "I appreciate that the media has a job on hand to do and at the end of the day our collective efforts should be focused on getting good performances from the team."

The journalists who attended the conference, though, categorically refused to accept the apology. They demanded an apology from Lawson in person, and not through a press release. They wore black armbands and protested for 15 minutes outside the National Stadium in the break between the innings of the Sri Lanka-Bangladesh match.

It took a handwritten letter from Lawson apologising "unconditionally" to appease the journalists. While they are satisfied for the time being, they are expecting an apology from Lawson in person on Tuesday, after Pakistan's training session at the DHA Ground.

Lawson hasn't had the best relations with the media since an irritable post-match press conference after Pakistan lost to South Africa in Karachi last August, his first Test as coach.

Journalists storm out of Lawson conference

Geoff Lawson's conduct in the post-match press conference led to a media boycott.

Journalists stormed out of Geoff Lawson's press conference as tempers frayed after Pakistan's 64-run loss to Sri Lanka, which pushed the hosts to the brink of elimination.

A visibly irate Lawson, Pakistan's coach, attended in place of captain Shoaib Malik and immediately set down some ground rules. "Couple of rules before we start. Don't make statements, ask questions. If someone asks a question twice, I won't answer it. Make questions sensible, otherwise I won't answer it."

A senior journalist then asked him whether he was dictating to the media several times, prompting Lawson to tell him to "improve his English." Lawson then pointed his finger at another reporter's face and told him, "If you are rude I'll have to leave."

He then made to walk off, decided against it and walked back in. At this point, another senior local journalist led a boycott and the entire multinational media contingent walked out, an indicator of the poor relationship Lawson has had with the local media.

Lawson, who was appointed in August 2007, has had a troubled time in Pakistan. After Pakistan lost to South Africa in Karachi, in his first Test as coach, he attended a fractious post-match conference. Since then, his interactions with the media have been mostly cool, often tense.

To add to his troubles, Pakistan's on-field performances since he took over have been poor. The Pakistan board, and a number of players privately have been unimpressed by his contributions. A couple of officials told Cricinfo during the Kitply Cup that Lawson's position, as well as that of the captain, were under the scanner and performances in the Asia Cup would be instrumental in deciding his future.

He has also had a difficult time with the selection committee since his arrival, with several documented run-ins over selection. In an interview to an Australian radio station, he criticised the ad-hoc manner in which selectors operate in Pakistan. The committee, in turn, is less than impressed with his contributions till now.

With Pakistan almost out of the tournament - they need to beat India and Bangladesh and hope for other results to go their way - it is almost certain Lawson's position will come under review after the tournament, if not over the next few days.

Shoaib files petition against ban

Shoaib Akhtar: "I want to play for Pakistan as soon as possible".

Shoaib Akhtar has filed a writ petition in the Lahore High Court seeking to overturn the original five-year ban imposed on him by the Pakistan board that was later reduced to 18 months by an appellate tribunal.

Even though Shoaib's ban was reduced after an appeal, he wasn't happy with the tribunal's decision. "I want to play for Pakistan as soon as possible," Shoaib told PTI. "I was disappointed with the tribunal's decision on my appeal."

"We feel the decision of the PCB in the first place to ban him for five years was illegal and unjustified," Abid Hasan Minto, Shoaib's legal counsel, said. "We believe he is being prevented from playing cricket for his country by an illegal decision of the board. The ban itself is very harsh. We are contesting the entire ban."

Nasim Ashraf, the Pakistan board chairman, had said Shoaib was free to appeal in court. "That is his decision to make," Ashraf had said. "The tribunal's verdict has nothing to do with the PCB. I can't overturn the reduced ban on him. The decision made by Justice Aftab Farrukh is final and it can only be challenged in the court."

Shoaib was banned for five years in April by a disciplinary committee of the PCB for violating the players' code of conduct after he was charged with publicly criticising the board for offering him a retainership instead of a contract. The ban prevented him from playing in the IPL until it was suspended for one month which facilitated Shoaib's participation in the Twenty20 tournament.

Shoaib appealed against the five-year ban and it was reduced to 18 months along with a fine of Rs 7 million (approximately $105,000) by a PCB-appointed appellate tribunal, headed by Justice (retd) Aftab Farrukh, on June 14.

Bangladesh under pressure to stay afloat

Kumar Sangakkara, fresh from his second hundred in a week, will be Bangladesh's main threat.

Match facts

Monday, June 30, 2008
Start time 16.00 (local), 10.00 (GMT)

Big Picture
Bangladesh have their backs to the wall after losing their previous encounter to India, and are now in a must-win situation against Sri Lanka to have a shot at qualifying for the finals. An encouraging batting display against Indian - setting a target of 284 - proved that they were not pushovers in the Super Four but their bowlers and fielders failed back the efforts of the batsmen. India sailed to an easy victory and Bangladesh's inability to push the opposition to the brink reflects negatively on their net run-rate which stands at - 0.894. Against an in-form Sri Lanka, they'll be well aware that nothing less than 300 is a safe score, especially on surfaces which offer little respite to the bowlers.

A win for Sri Lanka, on the other hand, will seal their place in the final. They have already beaten Bangladesh in the group stage - their batsmen piled on 357 for 9 to set up an emphatic 131-run win. This will be Sri Lanka's second match in as many days, but Mahela Jayawardene wasn't perturbed, stating tough schedules were the norm in international cricket.

Form guide
(Last 5 completed ODIs; most recent first)
Sri Lanka WWWLL
Bangladesh LLWLL

Watch out for ...
Alok Kapali's whirlwind 115 off 97 balls at No. 6 against the Indians was easily his most convincing performance with the bat since breaking into the team in 2002. His power hitting in the slog overs made India sweat it out and for a change, gave Bangladesh a big cushion of runs to work with.

Kumar Sangakkara has two centuries already in the tournament, including one in the last meeting against Bangladesh. However, he got a duck in the match following that hundred and Bangladesh will hope to dismiss him early after his match-winning 112 against Pakistan on Sunday.

Ajantha Mendis didn't pick up any wickets in the last meeting with Bangladesh, but he has gone on to scalp nine in the next two matches. It will take some doing to prevent him from bagging a wicket.

Team news
Sri Lanka will face a tough choice. They might rest a few players given it's the second of back-to-back games and that they face weaker opponent, but Jayawardene would also want to seal their berth in the final as soon as possible. Veterans Sanath Jayasuriya and Muttiah Muralitharan were given a break against UAE, but Sri Lanka may avoid resting them tomorrow.

Sri Lanka (probable) 1 Sanath Jayasuriya, 2 Kumar Sangakkara (wk), 3 Mahela Jayawardene (capt), 4 Chamara Kapugedera, 5 Chamara Silva, 6 Tillakaratne Dilshan, 7 Chaminda Vaas, 8 Nuwan Kulasekara, 9 Thilan Thushara 10 Ajantha Mendis, 11 Muttiah Muralitharan.

Bangladesh have retained the same XI that played India on Saturday. However, they will need to pick up on their fielding - both Suresh Raina and Gautam Gambhir earned a reprieve each during their seven-wicket loss to India.

Bangladesh 1 Tamim Iqbal, 2 Nazimuddin, 3 Mohammad Ashraful, 4 Raqibul Hasan, 5 Alok Kapali, 6 Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), 7 Mahmudullah, 8 Farhad Reza, 9 Shahadat Hossain, 10 Abdur Razzak, 11 Mashrafe Mortaza

Stats and trivia
# The year 2007 had just two instances of Bangladesh batsmen making centuries, but since March this year, four have already been scored. Tamim Iqbal's 129 against Ireland broke the drought, followed by hundreds by Shakib Al Hasan, Mohammad Ashraful and Kapali.

# In the last three years, Bangladesh have managed to bat out the full 50 overs only six times while chasing a target. They lost all matches.

# Bangladesh have beaten Sri Lanka just once in 23 meetings.

Quotes
"All the while I was thinking of the team score and did not for once look at my runs on the scoreboard."
Another dazzling hundred for Alok Kapali will surely aid his team.

"I think in international cricket one has to be used to play such a tough schedule. Our players are fit and have been working hard and preparing for this tournament. In fact it was much tougher conditions in Lahore, it is much better in Karachi."
Mahela Jayawardene had no gripes about the itinerary, and in fact looked at the positives

Watson ton drives easy Australia win

Chris Gayle made an entertaining 53 but West Indies could not capitalise on the strong start.

Shane Watson made his first ODI century and Ricky Ponting bounced back to form as Australia completed yet another one-sided victory over West Indies to take an unbeatable 3-0 lead in the five-match series. Chasing 224 on a decent batting pitch, Australia ruthlessly took advantage of a lacklustre bowling effort from West Indies to cruise to one of their easiest wins in recent memory, reaching the target with seven wickets in hand and 57 balls to spare.

Watson is competing with Shaun Marsh to become the permanent limited-overs opening partner for Matthew Hayden and his 126 will do his cause significant good. He fell late in the chase, paddle-sweeping to short fine-leg, but Andrew Symonds and Michael Clarke had no trouble getting Australia over the line. As well as Watson played, he will rarely enjoy an innings at international level where he is under less pressure.

West Indies' total was never likely to be enough but when Fidel Edwards removed Marsh in the first over there should have been some spark. Instead there was nothing. Just as their woeful batting display on Friday led to a couple of omissions for this match, their ordinary effort with the ball on this occasion must raise questions over the attack, while their fielding was also distinctly sub-par.

Watson's innings ticked over at around a run a ball but he hardly needed to take any risks, instead pouncing on short and wide offerings and clipping confidently through leg when the fast men strayed onto his pads. He cut an out-of-sorts Sulieman Benn for thee fours in one over when the spinner repeatedly pitched too short and wide and the third of the boundaries gave Watson his half-century from 48 deliveries.

However, his innings should not be regarded lightly and there were moments of pure Watson perfection, as when he clubbed Dwayne Bravo back over his head for a huge six, and a couple of straight drives highlighted a sound batting technique. His century came up from 106 balls with a pulled four when Chris Gayle dropped short and a double-arm-raised cheer showed how important the milestone was after 68 matches and six on-and-off years in the team.

Ponting was equally happy to make the most of the insipid bowling display. Early in his innings he dispatched four boundaries in three overs when Daren Powell and Edwards constantly overpitched - the ultimate gift for a man who started the series with a pair of failures - and he rarely looked threatened until slog-sweeping a catch to Xavier Marshall at long-on when he had 69.

That ended the innings of "R Pointin", according to the National Cricket Stadium's scoreboard, which for most of the day didn't even work and left the fans with no idea of the progress as there was no manual scoreboard as a backup. It hardly improved Grenada's reputation after Friday's unacceptable and repeated sightscreen glitches, but really the off-field embarrassments were trivial compared to West Indies' regular malfunctions on the park over the past three days.

The batting looked like it might finally gel when Gayle and Marshall put on an 86-run opening stand after being sent in by Ponting but another string of unfulfilled starts left the fans disappointed. Even allowing for the frailty of the West Indies middle order, it was impossible to believe they would fail to bat out their overs after the openers lasted until the 18th over.

But it all fell apart for them again and Australia were all smiles as Brett Lee became the fastest man to reach 300 ODI wickets with a skied caught-and-bowled that removed Darren Sammy, and then soccered the ball onto the stumps in a comedic run-out as Powell dropped the ball at his feet, started, stopped, started again, slipped, and was caught short trying to crawl back to his crease. That dismissal told the story of West Indies' day.

It could have been so different but Marshall, Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Ramnaresh Sarwan were all caught after making solid starts and reaching the 30s. Sarwan and Chanderpaul guided them to 160 for 2 before Chanderpaul edged behind off Symonds and was snared by some sharp work from Luke Ronchi, who knocked the ball up on his first attempt and pouched it second grab. Four overs later, when Sarwan had 31, he impatiently drove Mitchell Johnson straight to Symonds at cover after being tied down for four consecutive dot balls.

Wickets just kept falling. Andre Fletcher had 12 when he came out of his crease to Nathan Bracken, apparently forgetting that Ronchi was keeping up close, and was brilliantly stumped when he missed an attempted pull. It was the third outstanding piece of glovework from Ronchi, playing only his second ODI. He also sent Marshall back for 35 when he hurled himself to his right, toward where a first slip might have been, to grasp a thick edge.

Marshall had taken a backseat to Gayle, who looked so ominous that shots he appeared to mistime even flew to the boundary. He hammered three sixes on his way to 53 from 54 balls and recorded his 100th six in one-day internationals when he picked up an outswinger on a driveable length off Bracken and slammed it back over the bowler's head. But the only bright point of West Indies' day was extinguished when Marshall's straight drive clipped the bowler Johnson's fingers and rebounded onto the stumps to have Gayle unluckily run out.

It was all a downhill slide from there. After a Test series that, while won 2-0 by Australia, was fiercely competitive, the one-day portion of the tour has been awfully one-sided. And there are still two games to go.

Sangakkara ton sets up 64-run win

Kumar Sangakkara was in sublime touch on his way to the ninth ODI hundred of his career.

Kumar Sangakkara's flawless century was backed by a disciplined bowling performance as Sri Lanka took a giant stride towards the final with a comfortable 64-run win over Pakistan at the National Stadium in Karachi. Sohail Tanvir's five-wicket haul couldn't prevent Sri Lanka from piling 302 for 7, and a lacklustre batting performance all but ended Pakistan's hopes by the halfway mark of their chase. For the hosts, a win here was crucial and the result severely dents their chances of progressing to the final.

Shoaib Malik, the Pakistan captain, opted to field today, perhaps wary after India had chased 300 in their previous game. However, once again his bowlers failed to make an impact barring Tanvir, who varied his pace and angle of attack intelligently. He got precious little support from the other bowlers, and the batsmen picked easy runs on a docile pitch. In contrast, each of Sri Lanka's bowlers played their part on a slowing track to limit Pakistan to 238 for 9. After the fast bowlers had throttled the runs, Ajantha Mendis sliced through the middle order with his bag of tricks to completely derail the chase.

Sangakkara's ninth ODI century - his second of the tournament - was the fulcrum of Sri Lanka innings, and the three sizeable partnerships he was in involved in boosted Sri Lanka to a 300-plus total. Sanath Jayasuriya was trapped lbw by the impressive Tanvir early, but the old firm of Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene set about steadying the innings with a 40-run stand.

The pair rarely had to take any risks, watchful against the good deliveries and putting away the loose ones on offer. As Sri Lanka progressed smoothly, Tanvir was brought back in the 14th over and he made an immediate impact, getting Jayawardene to cut one to Misbah-ul-Haq at point. That brought in Chamara Kapugedera, who gave Sangakkara solid support, sensibly working the singles while using his feet to unleash a couple of huge sixes.

Sangakkara was his usual classy self, compiling his runs in an assured manner, with an impeccably-timed push down the ground for four off Tanvir being the highlight of his knock. He was initially content playing from the crease against the spinners but danced down the track to them as the innings progressed.

Kapugedera had moved to 43, and added 88 for the third wicket, when he perished attempting to sweep a ball from outside off, only to top-edge it to midwicket, handing debutant legspinner Mansoor Amjad his first ODI wicket. Chamara Silva didn't learn from Kapugedera's dismissal and was lucky to see a sweep fly to the third-man boundary.

With Malik sending down some hit-me deliveries and the other spinners ineffective as well, Sangakkara and Silva kept the runs flowing. Yet again Malik turned to Tanvir to limit the damage, and the bowler responded by removing Silva with a delivery that angled in. After bringing up his hundred, Sangakkara threw his bat around before being bowled by Tanvir for 112. Thilan Thushara justified the decision to send him ahead of Tillakaratne Dilshan by crashing a 20-ball 28.

In quest of what would have been their most successful chase against Sri Lanka, Pakistan got off to the worst possible start when Salman Butt inside-edged Chaminda Vaas' first delivery on to his stumps. Only three runs had come off the first three overs before Malik and Younis Khan peppered the off side with boundaries to plunder 26 runs off the next two.

Just as the hosts thought the floodgates had been opened, Sri Lanka hit back with a bunch of miserly overs to maintain the stranglehold. Vaas and Nuwan Kulasekara bowled a tight line and length, and once Thilan Thushara recovered from a poor start to curb the runs, the pressure began to tell.

After Younis fell miscuing a pull to midwicket, Mohammad Yousuf and Malik consolidated, picking up the singles, but struggled to keep up with the asking-rate. With the pitch assisting spinners as the match wore on, Mendis added to his growing reputation by deceiving Yousuf (19) with a straighter one and Malik (52) with a legcutter.

By the time Shahid Afridi got out to a customary ill-advised swipe, the asking-rate had ballooned to nearly ten and there was no way back for Pakistan. All Misbah's 70-ball 76, during which he repeatedly carted the spinners over midwicket, could do was make the margin of defeat a little more respectable.

India and Sri Lanka are now both on four points, and Pakistan will have to win both their remaining Super Four matches to keep alive their thin hopes of qualifying for the title clash.

Dhoni unhappy with back-to-back games

Mahendra Singh Dhoni: "You are playing cricket throughout the year, and then you play back-to-back matches. You could make out from the start the intensity was not there".

Mahendra Singh Dhoni doesn't usually complain at press conferences so his statements on Saturday night, after a match where India were visibly tired against a spirited Bangladesh, should make the game's administrators sit up and take notice. "We were a bit disappointing, but one of the reasons for it is that we have played cricket for 36 of the last 84 hours," Dhoni said. He didn't mention the travel, the training sessions, the warm-ups, the cool-downs, the post-match presentations and the press conferences.

"Back-to-back games make it really tough for the players. I am not really happy with the schedule: two teams are playing back-to-back games, and two teams are not. Under these conditions it is really tough, you are playing cricket throughout the year, and then you play back-to-back matches. You could make out from the start the intensity was not there."

India's display in the field was characterised by Gautam Gambhir's dropping of Tamim Iqbal early in the innings, and India's pace bowlers, who have been their strength recently, performing below par. In the last 10 overs fielders and bowlers combined to allow Bangladesh to score 97 runs.

It couldn't have been India underestimating Bangladesh - at his pre-tournament press conference, when asked about the weak teams in the fray, Dhoni had specifically said Bangladesh shouldn't be taken lightly.

Dhoni's statements beg the question of why a team must play on consecutive days - especially in the heat of June, the least natural time to play cricket on the subcontinent, when people won't bother to come to the stadiums to watch anything less grand than India v Pakistan.

Luckily for India, their chase of 283 saw two batsmen in superb form come together and Bangladesh, too, after an energetic fielding display for a few overs, showed they were just as tired by dropping two crucial catches. Suresh Raina and Gautam Gambhir matched each other shot for shot, including the chances they gave to the fielders.

Gambhir, it seemed, had been waiting impatiently for his Bangladeshi friends. His last three innings against them now read 101, 107 not out, and 90. The first of these was only his second ODI century and came to be a turning point in a four-year career that hadn't taken off till then. He latched on to them right from the start today and must have been disappointed not to get a third hundred against Bangladesh.

Meanwhile it is getting increasingly difficult to get Raina off the National Stadium pitch, where he aggregates 301 from three innings. However it was not always like that; Raina has just made a comeback to the side after a not-so-impressive first stint.

"Previously he was batting at No. 6 and No. 7," Dhoni said of Raina. "You hardly get any chance there - especially in the subcontinent. If you are making your debut and batting at Nos. 6 and 7, on a good day you score 30 not out and on a bad day you get out for 10. Your average hardly ever crosses 25 then. And when you suddenly get to bat at the top and you fail once or twice, people say you have been around for a long time and give you some time at the domestic level. But what's good is that he has come back very confident, he is playing in the "v". And with the form and confidence he is in, he should continue with it."

Continuity is one thing India will be yearning for after the misadventure in the final of the Kitply Cup. And who knows it better than Dhoni, who has been playing almost non-stop for several years now. If he were to get injured, India don't have any other back-up, except for Robin Uthappa who is hardly a regular. "I was tired on the field," Dhoni said. "Not only me, every individual was tired." But who's listening?