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Shoaib Akhtar may face more action from the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for his alleged outburst at the board’s headquarters in Gaddafi Stadium on Friday, following the imposition of a fine of approximately US$5000.On Friday, Shoaib reportedly clashed with several board officials over the fine, and specifically because he felt he wasn’t provided a chance to clear his position. The board announced his punishment on Wednesday, after Shoaib did not turn up on Tuesday to clarify why he was absent from the national training camp in Karachi on August 4.Shoaib has reportedly insisted that he received the letter for the original disciplinary hearing on Friday, and not Tuesday as the board claims. Shafqat Naghmi, the board’s chief operating officer, however, contradicted this, telling that he had been in touch with Shoaib earlier.”Shoaib rang me up and admitted that it was wrong of him not to attend the camp in Karachi and the PCB had rightly imposed a fine on him,” said Naghmi. “He expressed annoyance over the manner in which one of the PCB officials had inquired of his whereabouts from his family.”Naghmi said he will be looking into the matter now personally. “I will be in Lahore on Monday and will inquire from the PCB staff about the actual incident which happened on Friday,” he said. “After that, we will then decide on a course of action.”

New Zealand and Sri Lanka have each won a Test and Twenty20 match and the five-match one-day series beginning on December 28 at Napier will decide who takes the winner’s position.Nathan Astle has been cleared to play the first match after it was confirmed that he had only bruised his hand, and not broken it, during the second Twenty20 match on Boxing Day.Astle was relieved that the injury, which occurred when Marvan Atapattu tried to run him out, wasn’t serious. “It would have been a funny way to break a bone. I didn’t know he was going to throw it – I was two metres past the stumps,” he told AFP.Due to a rotational policy to keep the top players fit for the World Cup in March, Stephen Fleming will miss the first two games and Daniel Vettori, who was himself rested for the Twenty20 matches, has been appointed the stand-in captain. Shane Bond will also miss the first two games while Kyle Mills, Scott Styris and Jacob Oram are out of contention due to injuries.Back-up bowlers Michael Mason and Mark Gillespie are doubtful to play and though Vettori remains hopeful Iain O’Brien, a medium-pace bowler, has been recalled into the squad. “We’ll leave it as long as we can,” Vettori said adding that the two bowlers, along with James Franklin, had troubled the Sri Lankan batsmen with pace and bounce in the Twenty20 game at Auckland. “It’s always been a criticism of subcontinent batsmen when they come to this part of the world – if you get up to them it unsettles them,” he said.New Zealand hosted Sri Lanka for four ODIs last December-January and won the series 3-1. Vettori wants to better the result this time round in preparation for the World Cup. “We’ve talked about the fact that if we want to consider ourselves as one of the favourites for the World Cup, we’ve got to start winning consistently — and if we’re not winning in our own backyard we can’t be put up as favourites.” But Vettori has been criticised for picking an inexperienced side that includes Ross Taylor, who has played only two ODIs, and James Marshall, who has played five.Tom Moody, the Sri Lanka coach, also looked at the five matches as part of Sri Lanka’s build-up to the World Cup. “This is part of the process, another hurdle. We want to look at a couple of combinations,” he said. Having tied the Test series, the Sri Lankan team will be confident about their chances in the ODIs. Sri Lanka play four ODIs in India in February before heading to West Indies in March.New Zealand squad: Daniel Vettori (captain), Andre Adams, Nathan Astle, James Franklin, Peter Fulton, Mark Gillespie, Hamish Marshall, James Marshall, Michael Mason, Brendon McCullum, Iain O’Brien, Jeetan Patel, Ross Taylor.Sri Lanka squad: Mahela Jayawardene (captain), Marvan Atapattu, Malinga Bandara, Tillekaratne Dilshan, Dilhara Fernando, Sanath Jayasuriya, Chamara Kapugedera, Farveez Maharoof, Lasith Malinga, Muttiah Muralitharan, Ruchira Perera, Kumar Sangakkara, Chamara Silva, Upul Tharanga, Chaminda Vaas

Stuart Clark, the Australian fast bowler, will not figure in Australia’s campaign for the Champions Trophy. Cricket Australia announced that Clark had sustained a thigh injury while playing club cricket at home.Clark suffered a tear in his left quadriceps and will take at least four to six weeks to recover, according to Alex Kountouris, the Australian team physio. “The decision was made for him to stay in Australia and undergo treatment to maximise his chances of a full recovery before the Ashes series,” said Kountouris. The selection panel is yet to decide on a replacement.Clark was obviously disappointed to miss out on a major one-day tournament involving all the Test-playing countries and said that all he could do was look forward to a full rehabilitation. “I am confident that I will be back playing as soon as is possible and will be doing everything in my power to ensure that I’m fully fit ahead of the Ashes series,” he said.Meanwhile Ricky Ponting, the Australian captain, felt that the team had all the bases covered for the Champions Trophy. “We have been knocked out in the semi-final in the last two Champions Trophies, but we definitely have the squad and the players to challenge seriously this year,” Ponting told AFP. “We’ve played some good cricket in Indian conditions before so we can go there now with confidence.”Australia will have the services of young talent like Shane Watson and Mitchell Johnson for the tournament. In the DLF Cup in Malaysia, Australia’s last one-day tournament, Watson opened the batting in two matches, scoring a 79-ball 74 against India in a match that eventually got washed out. Apart from that he bagged seven wickets from four games at an average of 16.42.Ponting said that the experimentation with the batting-order had been successful. “It’s been a really good exercise. Having had a look at a few extra players in different roles, we have lots of different bases covered.”We’ve got a pretty good structure in place and if each guy looks after themselves and keeps trying to make themselves better day in and day out, then we will go a long way in the Champions Trophy.”Glen McGrath, Australia’s key bowler for many years, coming back from a long lay-off to be with his recuperating wife, had a poor outing in Malaysia, getting one wicket from four games. Yet he felt that he was heading in the right direction. “India is probably the toughest conditions for a fast bowler,” he said. “The wickets are pretty flat over there and the conditions are reasonably pleasant to bowl in.”Australia play their first game of the Champions Trophy on October 18 in Mumbai against one of the two qualifiers from the preliminary round

South Africa have been fined for their slow over-rate in the first Test against India in Chennai. Roshan Mahanama, the match referee, found the side was two overs short of its target after time allowances were taken in to consideration.On day three South Africa managed only 85 overs as India pushed to gain a first-innings lead. It was the day Virender Sehwag raced to the fastest Test triple-hundred, his second in 55 Tests.According to ICC Code of Conduct players are fined 5% of their match fees for every over lost while captain is fined double of that. Consequently South African players lost 10% of their match fees and Graeme Smith lost 20%. The team cannot appeal the fine.After a dull draw in the first Test the two sides now move on to Ahmedabad for the second one starting on April 3.

Bennett King, the West Indies coach, believes the DLF Cup against India and Australia in Malaysia provides ideal preparation for his side as they aim to defend the ICC Champions Trophy crown they won in England in 2004.”This tri-series is a good lead in to the Champions Trophy preliminary round, the quality of opposition is the strongest in the world so it is a good test against the best,” King said shortly before departure from the Caribbean.King, coach since late 2004, is looking forward to the team building on the progress of their suprising, and exhilirating, 4-1 series victory over India in the Caribbean in May. “In the last few games the team played as a team and we need to build on that learning experience to move forward.”The tri-series also marks the beginning of a lengthy three-and-a-half month tour of South Asia and the subcontinent; after Malaysia, West Indies will travel to India for the Champions Trophy before hopping next door to Pakistan for a series of three Tests and five ODIs immediately after. And King is looking forward eagerly to the sojourn.”What this whole combined tour will do is give us extended access to work with the players. It will be a test of the players’ durability and their ability to maintain quality and high levels of performance for a long period of time.”The 14-man squad is scheduled to arrive in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on September 9th and take on Australia in their first game on September 12th.

Rahul Dravid has been appointed captain of the Indian team for the forthcoming three-match Test series against Sri Lanka. The five-man selection panel met in Chennai on Tuesday ahead of India’s third ODI against South Africa and made the decision.”It’s time for us to look ahead,” Kiran More, chairman of the selection panel, told reporters after the meeting. “Rahul [Dravid] has done wonderfully well for us whenever given the opportunity including in Pakistan last year. Given how well he has done recently [as captain in the ODIs] it is important that he be given the opportunity [in Tests].”This announcement follows widespread speculation on whether Sourav Ganguly, who has been missing from the Indian ODI team, would retain his position as Test captain. In the last Test series India played, against Zimbabwe in Zimbabwe, Ganguly was captain and led the team to a 2-0 win over a depleted opposition. Dravid, a long-time deputy to Ganguly, has led India in five Tests in the captain’s absence, with mixed results. Under Dravid, India won and lost a Test each against Australia and Pakistan last season, while the fifth against New Zealand was drawn.The selectors would have given Dravid a longer term but left the decision to the new committee that will be in place after the Indian cricket board’s elections on November 29. The gruelling season till July includes home Tests against Sri Lanka and England and tours of Pakistan and the West Indies.The selectors will now meet on Wednesday, in consultation with the newly-appointed Test captain, and coach, and pick the team for the Test series which begins on December 2. They also picked the Board President’s XI team that will play a warm-up match against the Sri Lankans. Y Venugopal Rao was named captain of that team. Parthiv Patel was included in the squad as wicketkeeper and vice-captain. There were also opportunities for the likes of Dheeraj Jadhav, Robin Uthappa and Gagandeep Singh to push hard for a place in the Indian team.Board President’s XI squad Y Venugopal Rao (capt), Dheeraj Jadhav, Shikhar Dhawan,Robin Uthappa, Munaf Patel, Niraj Patel, Sreedharan Sriram, Parthiv Patel (vice-capt, wk), Kulamani Parida, Amit Mishra, Ranadeb Bose, Gagandeep Singh.

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An exhilarating display of power hitting from Virender Sehwag and a stylish century from Yuvraj Singh propelled India Seniors to a convincing five-wicket victory over India A in a warm-up match in which they had been comprehensively outplayed for the first three days.Needing a further 352 to overhaul an imposing target of 387 when they resumed in the morning, Sehwag and Yuvraj played with such flair and assurance that the A team couldn’t even entertain daydreams of success. The highlight of the day was undoubtedly an unforgettable over in which Sehwag – who had reached his century with a straight six – smashed Murali Kartik for 35 runs, including five sixes in an arc between midwicket and extra-cover.It was devastating stuff, and was just the tonic that Sehwag needed after his ten previous knocks in all forms of the game had realised a paltry 60 runs. At the other end, Yuvraj – who had himself been going through a fallow run – was a touch more circumspect, but drove and pulled with panache whenever the opportunity presented itself.John Wright, India’s coach, spoke afterwards of how chuffed he was that both Sehwag and Yuvraj had spent such quality time in the middle ahead of the searching examination that awaits in less than a week’s time. The opening partnership of 279 came at more than five an over, against an attack that was nothing like as potent as it had been in the first innings. Amit Bhandari and Shib Sankar Paul bowled only 11 overs between them in the day, while Kartik – his blonde-highlighted hair perhaps turned grey by the intensity of Sehwag’s blitz – was savaged to the tune of 129 from his 26 overs.Sehwag (146) was dropped once, on 103, but that was a minor quibble about a gloriously entertaining innings that featured 13 fours and nine sixes. Yuvraj’s 115 was no tortoise-like effort either, with 15 fours and a six in a chanceless 170-ball effort.With victory inevitable, the Seniors could even allow themselves a mid-afternoon wobble, with Dinesh Mongia’s innocuous left-arm spin accounting for three of the wickets to fall. Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman both failed, and Aakash Chopra – retained to face the Aussies – made just 25, but a brisk unbeaten 44 from Parthiv Patel ensured that the target would be overhauled with 13.1 overs still left to be bowled in the day.

With Sourav Ganguly away consulting with the selectors on the composition of the national squad, it was Dravid who had consoling handshakes for the A team players as they trooped back in, a touch deflated. For men like Sridharan Sriram and Dheeraj Jadhav, both so assured against the acme of India’s bowling talent, it’s surely a case of when, not if, while for Mohammad Kaif and Kartik, it’s time to make the most of the chance that has come their way.Both Dravid and Ganguly had kept enquiring about the Mumbai-Australians match yesterday, and the Amol Mazumdar-led defiance at the Brabourne Stadium this afternoon would undoubtedly have put a smile on a few faces that have become more accustomed to frowns in the past two months. After a poor lead-up to the first Test at Brisbane last December, India were reckoned to be fair-weather batting aristocrats sent to the Australian bowling guillotine. Instead, Ganguly’s magnificent century set the tone for a series in which the Indians more than held their own.It will take something similarly inspirational to tackle a much-improved Australian side, but with Sehwag once again belting the ball with free-spirited abandon, there’ll be a spring in the step on Wednesday morning. Of course, a certain Mumbai gentleman’s inclusion in the 15-man squad doesn’t hurt morale either.

Shane Warne’s successful return from a one-year drugs ban and England’s 2004 unbeaten streak have earned nominations for the 2005 Laureus World Comeback of the Year Award. The Laureus Awards are dubbed the “Oscars of Sport”, and the cricket representatives will line up alongside a cast including the golfer John Daly, England’s long-distance runner Paula Radcliffe, and the Italian Alessandro Zanardi, who returned to motor racing after losing both legs in a crash.Ian Botham, a Laureus World Sports Academy member, said Warne and England deserved the recognition. “Shane is simply the best legspinner in the world, he is an exceptional talent, a genuine matchwinner,” he said. “England were the only side in Test cricket to be unbeaten for the whole calendar year. That was a remarkable performance.”Warne was banned in February 2003 for taking a diuretic he claimed was given to him by his mother, but immediately made an impact once the suspension ended. Warne passed Muttiah Muralitharan’s world record in India, and finished 2004 with 75 wickets in 13 Tests.England, whose past results were a regular source of jokes for the rest of the cricket world, produced a stunning run of 11 wins in 12 Tests, including eight in a row, and registered series victories over West Indies (twice), New Zealand and South Africa. The winner of the 2005 award, which is voted for by sports journalists, will be announced in Portugal on May 16.

Andre Nel says he is very pleased to be away from international cricket and loves the opportunity he’s got to play the English county game. Back for two months with Essex, for whom he played in 2005, Nel – by his own admission a little ‘like a schoolboy’ – felt he had more than just his bowling services to offer the club.”I haven’t played domestically for almost two years in South Africa,” he told the ECB’s website. “But it’s very different to international cricket. The nice thing is that it’s not as intense. You can be more relaxed and you can have a bit more enjoyment rather than being positive and focused all the time. You can have a little bit more fun and you don’t have as much pressure on your game. It’s not as stressful as it is in international cricket.”Apart from bowling, Nel said he was keen on passing on tips to some of the youngsters in the side.”When I came over here two years ago the people were really friendly and welcoming. Ronnie Irani likes the way I play, being competitive. There’s a lot of excitement at Essex that there are several youngsters coming through who could take the club quite far.”The nice thing is that there are a lot of all-rounders and they’ve got a lot of skill,” he added. “They are a young bunch and that’s where you get your enjoyment. That is why I want to come back here as much as possible if they want me. I’m pretty lucky because I’m like a little schoolboy – quite naughty – in the changing rooms, so I fit in quite well. I get along with a lot of the youngsters because I’m quite young at heart. I hope I teach them something in a good way. If not, I’m doing something wrong.”Nel, 29, said that injuries to Essex had been tough on the other bowlers. “It’s been quite hard. The wickets have been flat,” he said. “I’m trying to give the guys energy when I bowl and help some of the younger guys, but on the flat wickets there isn’t a lot of back-up – although Danish [Kaneria] is unbelievable. But I’m certainly enjoying it and trying to take as many wickets as I can.”As for the opposition and Essex’s shot at the Division Two championship, Nel was, unsurprisingly, not lost for words. “When you play against the top sides, I think Essex will be up for it. We should do well because we’ve played good four-day cricket and we are keen to do well in the four-day competition,” he said. “I just go on the field and give it my all every time I play,” he added. “I think the biggest thing is that you can’t worry about it. You have got to do the basics and get them right first.”

Zander de Bruyn is set to play his first match for Worcestershire when they face Middlesex at Lord’s next week.De Bruyn, the South African allrounder, will fly to England this week after competing for Titans in the final of the South African domestic 20-over competition. Titans’ match against the Warriors is on April 27, and de Bruyn will link up with Worcestershire two days later in time for their National League match on May 1 (Sunday).He has played three Tests for South Africa after earning his call-up at the age of 28 against India last year, where he stroked 83, his highest Test score to date. de Bruyn heads to New Road with a healthy first-class batting average of 44.18, while his medium-pacers are often effective in breaking partnerships or constricting batsmen.