ICC searches for speedy resolution

Haroon Lorgat, the former convenor of Cricket South Africa's selection committee, is a strong candidate for the ICC CEO post...

The ICC is looking at a speedy resolution to the search for its next chief executive officer, with Imtiaz Patel declaring on Sunday that he had withdrawn interest in the position. Its four-man recruitment committee may discuss the issue as early as this week and Cricinfo has learnt that Haroon Lorgat, the former convenor of Cricket South Africa's (CSA) selection committee, has emerged as a strong candidate for the post.

Lorgat has already received a preliminary inquiry for a possible meeting with the ICC this week. "It's very premature to even talk about this subject," Lorgat told Cricinfo. "But obviously if the job is indeed offered to me, I would consider that a great honour."

Incidentally, the other significant candidate in the ICC's shortlist is also a South African - Dave Richardson, the former wicketkeeper, and currently the ICC's general manager, cricket. "In fact, we have been fortunate to have several high-calibre candidates on the shortlist, all of whom bring something slightly different to the table," the ICC president-elect, David Morgan, said.

Lorgat, 47, headed CSA's selection committee for three years till the 2007 World Cup. A qualified chartered accountant - whose roots, like Patel's, are in India - and formerly a senior partner in Ernst & Young, he is currently on the board of Kapela Investments, a private venture he set up last year with five other associates.

The next CEO will be picked by a recruitment committee that includes Morgan, Ray Mali, the ICC president, Sharad Pawar, the BCCI president and Morgan's chosen successor, and Creagh O' Connor, the chairman of Cricket Australia.

"Once the recruitment committee has identified a preferred candidate, it will make a recommendation to the ICC executive board with a view to confirming the appointment at the earliest opportunity," an ICC spokesman said.

The new CEO will take over from Malcolm Speed, who steps down from the position after this year's ICC Annual Conference, which will take place between June 29 and July 4.

Even as the ICC moves to replace Speed, there is also a deep sense of disappointment at Patel's decision - especially after his participation in the recruitment process, which included a detailed interview. Patel is understood to have reiterated his interest in the job, which is believed to have involved an annual salary package in excess of US$500,000, when Morgan spoke to him just before announcing his name as the "preferred choice" during the board meeting in Dubai last month.

"We need to remember that this is not a minor appointment that is being discussed and it was obvious that a fair amount of groundwork was put in before the preferred choice was announced last month. There is a deep sense of disappointment about how things have turned out after that," said a source.

The search for the ICC's next CEO

McKenzie ton rounds off tame draw

Neil McKenzie's patient 155, to complement his first-innings 94, warded off hopes of an Indian victory...

A patient unbeaten 155 from Neil McKenzie, and his solid 157-run partnership with Hashim Amla guided South Africa to safety on the final day at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, with India left to rue the missed chances that put paid to slim hopes of victory. Two catches were put down on a morning of frustration, and though Harbhajan Singh was rewarded for his tenacity and persistence after lunch, McKenzie stood firm to end any hopes of a decisive result.

Unbeaten on 88 at lunch, you might have expected him to be a little nervous after missing a century in the first innings. Instead, he cruised to three figures with two cuts for four off Anil Kumble. His fourth Test hundred took him just 184 balls, and vindicated the faith of the selectors who have left Herschelle Gibbs at home.

With the game heading nowhere, Kumble brought on VVS Laxman to bowl his offspinners, but Jacques Kallis put that into perspective by smashing the first ball past midwicket for four. Harbhajan was getting occasional steep bounce at one end, and Virender Sehwag was turning it sharply at the other, but there were only sporadic alarms for the two batsmen.

Harbhajan had beaten the bat several times with no luck at all, and was finally rewarded when RP Singh took a stunning catch at short square leg to send back Kallis for 19. It was his second failure of the match, and a bad omen for India that South Africa had managed so comfortably without a significant contribution from their batting talisman.

Harbhajan had Ashwell Prince caught at short leg soon after, the ball going off glove and then pad, but thoughts of a collapse had swiftly ended as McKenzie lofted a couple of big shots over the leg side. With Kumble off the field as well, the draw had become a certainty.

The final session was just a case of going through the motions, with Laxman and Sehwag bowling long spells. There was also the farcical sight of Harbhajan taking the second new ball, an indictment both of the pitch and India's pace bowlers. Apart from AB de Villiers being given out wrongly - the ball flew off the pad to short leg - there was nothing for the crowd to cheer about, and when play was called off with 14 overs left in the day, there were few murmurs of disagreement.

Hashim Amla's 81 was instrumental in blunting the Indian spin threat...

The fate of the match was as good as decided on a morning when Kumble was the only successful bowler. Unfortunately for India, it was almost lunch by then. He set up Amla with the googly before pitching a legbreak outside off stump. Amla poked hesitantly at it, and Rahul Dravid held on at slip. By then, Amla had already been reprieved twice, but his 81 was instrumental in blunting the Indian spin threat.

Kumble had opened the proceedings, but strangely took himself off after just an over, leaving Harbhajan to bowl in tandem with Sreesanth. The two batsmen were cagey early on, but then Amla started to assert himself. Harbhajan was cut for four, and when Sreesanth's attempted yorker became a full toss, he clipped it through midwicket to reach 50.

In truth, he shouldn't have gone much further. When on 55, a miscued sweep off Harbhajan went airborne, but Sreesanth made a real hash of the chance running in from the deep. As the ball fell into space to his left, Harbhajan looked incensed and clearly hadn't forgotten the gaffe overs later when he appeared to gesture after making a superb stop himself.

Soon after, Kumble and RP took over, with India sticking to the spin-pace combination. Amla produced a terrific on-drive off RP and then saw the bowler fail to hold on to a return catch when the ball was bunted back at him. On 72 at the time, he was living a charmed life, and a magnificent cover drive off Kumble raised visions of a second century in the match. Kumble though had other ideas.

McKenzie was less aggressive in the morning, and survived a vociferous appeal from Kumble just before the interval, but by then he had eased quietly into the 80s. Circumspection was the name of the game, but that soon gave way to celebration, and satisfaction at a job very well done. A match that began with bat dominating ball ended the same way, with South Africa having more cause for satisfaction after a sterling bowling display on the penultimate day.

India v South Africa, 1st Test, Chennai, 5th day

Gul and Iftikhar included for first two ODIs

Bazid Khan, son of former international Majid, is back after a strong Pentangular Cup...

Umar Gul and Rao Iftikhar Anjum have been recalled for the first two one-day internationals against Bangladesh, but there is no room for Shoaib Akhtar in a near-full-strength Pakistan squad. Three finds from the ODI series against Zimbabwe at home recently - Nasir Jamshed, Sohail Khan and Wahab Riaz - were handed another opportunity to impress, while there was a recall for Bazid Khan after a fine Pentangular Cup.

Gul, who travelled to Australia for a medical check-up on a longstanding back problem that prevented him from taking any part in the Test series against India last year, and Iftikhar - who had a poor series against Zimbabwe - return from injury to boost the bowling. With Mohammad Asif ruled out and Shoaib waiting to be cleared by the PCB's disciplinary committee, Pakistan's bowling attack also included Sohail Tanvir, Sohail Khan and allrounders Fawad Alam and Shahid Afridi, who make up the spin quotient.

Bazid, who played one Test and three ODIs in 2004-05, finished as the Pentangular Cup's second-highest run-scorer with 522 at 74.57, including three hundreds.

In the ODIs against Zimbabwe, Pakistan tried out opener Jamshed and bowlers Sohail Khan - who shot to fame in his debut first-class season by grabbing 65 wickets in his first nine matches - and Riaz, among other young hopefuls. Jamshed impressed with 197 runs at 39.40 as did the two bowlers. Both wicketkeepers from that series, Kamran Akmal and Sarfraz Ahmed, have been retained.

While announcing the 16-man squad Salahuddin Ahmed, head of the selection committee, said that players such as Yasir Hameed, Yasir Arafat, Faisal Iqbal, Naumanullah, Abdur Rauf, Kamran Hussain, Junaid Zia, Yasir Ali, Umair Khan - who have all performed well on the domestic circuit - would be considered for the next three ODIs.

The five-match series runs from April 14 to May 5.

After Australia decided to postpone their tour of Pakistan, the PCB searched for a team to replace them for a five-match ODI series. The PCB was keen on India to play the matches but the BCCI could not fit another series in to an already jam-packed itinerary.

Pakistan squad Shoaib Malik (capt), Salman Butt, Nasir Jamshed, Younis Khan, Mohammad Yousuf, Misbah-ul-Haq, Shahid Afridi, Kamran Akmal (wk), Umar Gul, Sohail Tanvir, Rao Iftikhar Anjum, Sohail Khan, Wahab Riaz, Fawad Alam, Bazid Khan, Sarfraz Ahmed (wk).

Bangladesh in Pakistan 2007-08