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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.

With just 36 hours to go until the second Test against West Indies, several of Sri Lanka’s cricketers are battling a flu virus that is hampering preparations. Four players – Muttiah Muralitharan, Chaminda Vaas, Mahela Jayawardene and Thilan Samaraweera – missed afternoon training because of the flu and Sanath Jayasuriya, a serial tonsillitis sufferer, is once again struggling with sore tonsils.Sri Lanka remain hopeful that all the affected players will have recovered sufficiently to play in the second Test in Kandy, the hill-country capital, but the coughing and sniffling condition of key players is a concern. “We don’t think it is too serious but many of us have been struggling with this flu and Muralitharan has been the latest victim,” Atapattu told Reuters. “But we are not too worried and tomorrow we want to have more of a serious training session.”Preparations have also been hampered by unsettled weather. No net sessions were possible in the afternoon because of occasional showers and the healthy players spent two hours fielding and knocking throw-downs against the advertising hoardings at Asgiriya International Stadium. The players then warmed down with a 45-minute walk back to the team hotel.

India A will embark on a two-month-long tour to Zimbabwe and Kenya in July and August.SK Nair, the Indian cricket board secretary, said that the team would play three four-day games against Zimbabwe, before taking part in a tri-nation series in Kenya involving the hosts and Pakistan A.Itinerary for the tri-series in Kenya
August 11 Kenya v Pakistan A
August 12 Kenya v India A
August 13 Pakistan A v India A
August 14 Kenya v India A
August 15 Kenya v Pakistan A
August 16 Pakistan A v India A
August 17 Kenya v India A
August 19 Pakistan A v India A
August 20 Kenya v Pakistan A
August 21 Final
August 22 Reserve day

Take guard again!The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) yesterday opened the way for resumption in negotiations with the West Indies Players’ Association (WIPA) after regional cricketers dramatically boycotted the opening day of the Carib Beer International Challenge semifinals.A full agreement is yet to be reached, but after the embarrassment of yesterday’s unprecedented strike in matches between Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago at Kensington Oval and Guyana and Jamaica in Berbice, the parties agreed the matches would start today and negotiations recommence next Wednesday, with both sides being represented by industrial relations advisors.Veteran trade unionist Evelyn Greaves was instrumental in outlining a way forward that was accepted by both parties.Greaves, a former Barbados Workers’ Union assistant general secretary, was part of a 45-minute meeting that included WICB president Reverend Wes Hall, acting chief executive officer Roger Brathwaite, WIPA president Dinanath Ramnarine, vice-president Phil Simmons and treasurer Wavell Hinds."I think we all should be embarrassed. Everyone who has been involved in this should have found a way of not letting it reach this stage," Brathwaite said."Sometimes, with all the best efforts in the world, some things just happen and you have to pick up the pieces. We have to trust that we’ll all come out of this stronger."WIPA, whose grouses stem from player fees for the Carib Beer Series, compensation for injury and loss of earnings for West Indies players from 1999 onwards and payment for Barbadian all-rounder Ryan Hinds for five matches of the Carib Beer series, expressed satisfaction the WICB had agreed to resume negations."Our goal is to improve our relationship with the board. We are in the process of putting these things in place," Ramnarine said. "Obviously, you don’t like to do things like this, but at some time we need to take a stand. This has been a step backward. With the steps we have put in place here now, it is going help us move forward."Both Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago turned up at Kensington about an hour-and-a-half before the scheduled 10 a.m. start yesterday.It was evident that the planned strike action promised on Thursday night by Ramnarine would materalise when neither team emerged from the pavilion for warm-up sessions.Ramnarine and Hinds held discussions with both teams before Hall, Brathwaite and Greaves arrived at the ground just after 1 p.m.Both Brathwaite and Ramnarine apologised to the sponsors for the turn of events and Carib Beer public relations manager Colin Murray expressed relief that the semifinals would start today. They remain as four-day matches and the final is still scheduled to start next Thursday."At one stage I was worried there would be no cricket," Murray said. "I’m relieved and happy that the board and WIPA are about to come to an agreement and good sense has prevailed."What has transpired has not been good for West Indies cricket. As sponsors, we are bitterly disappointed with what transpired."

Glamorgan beat Cardiff UCCE by 140 runs on the final afternoon of their three-day friendly at Sophia Gardens.The students were set 308 to win in four and a half hours but weredismissed for 167 with 19 overs left.However, Glamorgan had to work for their wickets and it was left toSimon Jones to break the back of the innings.Despite bowling off a shortened run up after jarring his left ankle inthe first innings Jones still generated enough pace to hurry theyoungsters.And it was Jones who helped reduce UCCE from 72-3 to 151-7 – still 106short of the winning line.After a long spell from the Cathedral End trialist Ali Bukhari wasrewarded with two wickets bowling Chris Yates and Ed Brown in the spaceof two overs.Jones deservedly wrapped up the innings to finish with figures of 5-35.Only Gareth Hopkins offered any real resistance at the top of theinnings until he was well caught by wicket-keeper Mark Wallace off DavidHarrison.Harrison followed up his 4-62 in the students first innings with anunbeaten 61 to help guide Glamorgan to what looked like aninsurmountable lead.Glamorgan had resumed their second innings this morning on 87-4, a leadof 224, with Alun Evans and Harrison looking for quick runs.The only setback was when Evans, who had scored 137 in the firstinnings, was well caught at square leg off the bowling of Nick Creed toleave the county 101-5.

A deep breath, a soft touch, a shrill sound: sometimes the most powerful things are the simplest, and that’s the strategy South Africa’s attack has stuck to in India. They have stuck to their natural strength of speed, which has proven successful in various circumstances.”The major thing about our quick bowlers is that all three bowl over 140,” Dale Steyn said. “When the guys are steaming in and bowling quickly at 145 plus, pace on the ball makes it really tough especially in these conditions. As soon as it gets to the 25th-30th over where the ball gets really soft and the wicket starts to crumble a bit, it’s really difficult to get the quicker bowlers away. Pace is the main weapon.”It’s no surprise then that South Africa’s quickest bowler, Morne Morkel, who regularly reaches speeds above 150, leads the wicket-takers’ charts. After his four-for in Rajkot, Morkel sits with seven scalps at 18.85 and has demonstrated how generating awkward bounce at pace can be successful, especially towards the end of an innings when batsmen are looking to go big.MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane all fell to the Morkel short ball as they sought to slog him over deep midwicket but only managed to find a fielder, which has been the other component of the bowler’s success. This series is the first one taking place in India under the new playing conditions, which allow for five fielders outside the circle, one more than previously. That has given teams the scope to station an extra man on the boundary and cover a wider area just behind square or straight down the ground.”With the extra man out, you can cover that midwicket area,” Steyn said. “In the World Cup, you couldn’t have that man out, so you had to bring either fine leg or third man up and guys were able to cut or paddle but now you are left with only one shot: you have to slog over midwicket and if there is a guy out there, its either six or it’s out.”The 2015 World Cup threatened to redefine the last 10 overs of innings as a free-for-all in batting terms, with teams regularly plundering in excess of 100 runs in that period. Now, according to Steyn, the balance has been restored and it is allowing teams to defend scores in those end exchanges, as South Africa have done twice in the series so far. “It makes a more even contest between bat and ball so teams cant just run away with it from the 40th to the 50th over. You really have to think and you have to play extraordinary shots,” Steyn said.But you also have to think and bowl extraordinarily because the yorker is not the only delivery teams are turning to at the end. “If you run in and bowl yorkers and you miss your length, especially to a guy like MS [Dhoni], he is going to hit you out of the park. There is no easier delivery to face than a half volley,” Steyn said. “On these wickets here, where it really slows down, you can use your bounce and slower cutter and hard length delivery.”The best exponent of that kind of variation has been Kagiso Rabada, South Africa’s 20-year-old tearaway who is proving a handful at the death. Rabada has taken to responsibility with ease and is challenging Steyn as the man to watch in the South African attack, which Steyn does not seem to mind at all.”I think he is great, he has got a great attitude and he has everything that a fast bowler needs. He has got pace, he has got a good build, he is tall, quite an intimidating kind of guy and he asks a lot of questions in the nets. He is asking the right questions and he’ll just improve all the time,” Steyn said. “Every time he takes the ball, it’s exciting to watch him bowl, every one just sits up in their seats when he comes to bowl so he has got that attention around him already. He is going to have a wonderful career.” Especially if he keeps bowling quickly.

Glamorgan 56 for 2 v Gloucestershire
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Only 24.3 overs were possible at Bristol where there was a delayed start and then a complete washout soon after lunch. Jon Lewis and Steve Kirby both took 1 for 13 in niggardly opening spells when the ball moved around off the seam. Lewis accounted for Gareth Rees, who was caught behind for 2, while Kirby removed Matthew Wood, well held low down at third slip by Grant Hodnett for 4. Glamorgan were then 15 for 2 but David Hemp and Mike Powell guided them through to the interval, and the rain returned for good three overs after the resumption.Warwickshire 128 for 4 (Bell 42) v Leicestershire
Scorecard
There was a little more play at Edgbaston where Warwickshire made 128 for 4 in 50 overs against Leicestershire. Conditions were far from friendly for the batsmen, and they found the going hard under leaden skies and between three interruptions for showers. Dillon du Preez, signed as a Kolpak yesterday, got his Leicestershire career off to a flier, removing Darren Maddy’s off stump with his second ball as the batsman shouldered arms, and then having Ian Bell dropped at third slip off his seventh. Bell and Ian Westwood added 70 for the second wicket before Bell was trapped leg before half forward, and then Westwood became du Preez’s second victim – he finished with tight figures of 13-5-21-2 – care of a good catch at third slip soon after he had been struck on the jaw by a lifter. Michael Powell quickly followed, caught behind off James Allenby’s third ball, and Warwickshire were wobbling on 102 for 4. But Jonathan Trott and Tim Ambrose held firm until bad light ended play. Geoff Miller, England’s head selector, watched the day but with no fewer than ten South Africans on show, he cannot have learned too much.

Chennai is set to get a new state-of-the-art cricket stadium before the 2011 World Cup, the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA) announced. The Tamil Nadu state government has allotted 50 acres of land in Karunkuzhi Pallam, a village in the outskirts of the city for the construction of the new stadium.”Tthe TNCA president N Srinivasan had requested the State Government for such a facility and the government has responded positively,” K Vishwanathan, the TNCA president, was quoted in the Hindu. “It will be an ultra-modern stadium with plenty of parking space. The president and the executive committee will decide on the features in the stadium.”Once approved by the ICC, it will be the third international venue in Chennai. The MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chepauk which houses the Madras Cricket Club (MCC) currently hosts international games. The Nehru Stadium, formerly known as the Corporation Stadium, hosted nine Tests between 1956 and 1965.

Tawanda Mupariwa, who twisted his ankle as he and Brendan Taylor guided Zimbabwe to dramatic victory in the third ODI on Wednesday, will now miss the remaining matches on Friday and Sunday.Mupariwa fell and was run-out as he turned after being sent back by Brendan Taylor while going for a run in the thrilling last over of the match. He was yaken to hospital and it is reported that he fractured his foot.Waddington Mwayenga, who trained with the squad in the Harare Sports Club nets on Thursday afternoon, may now be given a chance even though he was not expected to play any part in the series.Zimbabwe did receive a boost with news that Ed Rainsford, who with Mupariwa began the five-match series as Zimbabwe’s opening attack, was passed fit to play in the remaining matches after missing Wednesday’s game.

Stephen Fleming will not be playing for Surrey next season, after the club pulled out of talks with New Zealand cricket when it was decided that his availability would not be sufficient to fulfil the job that would have been desired of him.”It is obviously disappointing for us that Steve will not be involved next year,” said Steve Rixon, the club’s coach. “Unfortunately, due to his availability, he will not be able to do the job that I wanted him to do here. Consequently, we are now pursuing other options.”Fleming, who already has some experience of county cricket after stints with Middlesex in 2001 and Yorkshire last summer, would have been free to play almost all the summer, with New Zealand playing in a home Test and one-day series against Australia in March, followed by a five-month break before their trip to Zimbabwe in September, although the exact dates for that tour are yet to be confirmed.The possible problem could have been Fleming’s troublesome abdominal injury. Although it appears to have been better of late, he has been told that he might require surgery at some point, and the break between the two series next year would provide a perfect opportunity for that.