The ICC has confirmed that funding to the USA Cricket Association remains suspended, despite the short-term truce between the USACA and the Council of League Presidents.The two parties have been battling for control inside the USA, and this has ended up in the courts. Earlier this month, an interim deal was announced to enable the USACA to administer the game pending the next court appearance on November 7. Critics of the USACA were quick to point out that this compromise gave all effective power to the current board controlled by Gladstone Dainty.There had been talk that the deal might persuade the ICC to release funding which has been suspended since June when it tired of the endless infighting. But the ICC has made it clear that money will only become available when a clear and undisputed body which can run cricket emerges.The interim executive is set to meet on October 29 – nine days before the court sits – and Cricinfo understands that a number of potentially contentious issues have been tabled. These include: –

The Board of Control for Cricket in India advised the selectors “not to ignore Ganguly” for the Test series against Sri Lanka, in the course of the selection meeting which took place in Chennai on Tuesday morning, it is learned. Rahul Dravid may have been named captain for the three-match Test series against Sri Lanka which starts on December 2 but there is considerable pressure on the selection panel to include Sourav Ganguly in the side as player.Recently Ranbir Singh Mahendra, in a move that can only be termed unusual for a board president, declared emphatically that Ganguly would be back in the team. “At present nobody wants to disturb the winning combination. Otherwise I don’t think there’s any problem for Sourav to return to the international team,” he said. When asked if he believed Ganguly figured in the scheme of things in the long run, he retorted: “Who has ruled him out? Nobody has. This is the handy work of gossip-mongers who believe in sensationalism. He is a great player, he has also been a great captain. We are proud of him and he will definitely make a comeback to the team.”The selectors met on Tuesday morning to pick the captain for the forthcoming home series, and chose Dravid after some discussion, in the light of recent positive results of the team and Dravid’s own performance as captain in the opportunities he has got so far. The selectors will meet again to select the ODI team to play the last two matches against South Africa, but Ganguly’s chances of making it into that squad are extremely slim.It is a poorly-kept secret that three of five selectors have been pushing for Ganguly’s return. The BCCI, however, on paper at least, is not meant to interfere with the selection panel on matters of team selection. This generally means that selection meetings are given direction and guidance by the chairman of selectors, Kiran More, in this case. What stance More adopts, and how aggressively he chooses to promote this with his fellow selectors will hold the key to Ganguly’s return.But it is by no means a foregone conclusion that Ganguly will return. Yuvraj Singh and Mohammad Kaif, largely considered ODI specialists until now, have both caught the eye of the selectors as players who need to be invested in, and given a decent run, in the long form of the game. While Kaif has always been thought of as having the kind of game suited to the longer version, Yuvraj’s flamboyance and inconsistency have been held against him. That Yuvraj has averaged a cracking 48.9 in the last 15 ODIs he has played, has not gone unnoticed, and will make it tough for the selectors to overlook him for the Sri Lanka Tests.And there is the case of VVS Laxman. Although currently not in the limited overs team, Laxman is virtually a certainty for the Test side. His class is unquestioned, and both captain and coach have the highest regard for him. Keeping all these factors in mind, even with the board’s instruction to the selectors, it’s too close to call whether Ganguly will return or not.

Justin Kemp, whose obdurate batting helped Jacques Rudolph to save the Perth Test, could miss the Boxing Day game with a niggling shoulder injury. Kemp had not trained for the past two days and was rated as a 50-50 chance despite intensive treatment from the medical staff. He faced a fitness test on Christmas day.Kemp waited 47 Tests for a recall, and his uncharacteristically dogged knock at the WACA included a titanic tussle with Shane Warne, who had quickly dubbed Kemp ‘Darryl’ and adopted him as his new bunny. If Kemp managed to prove his fitness, he was likely to face a two-prong legspin attack, with Stuart MacGill expected to link up with Warne at the MCG.Meanwhile Jacques Kallis, South Africa’s most respected batsman, was confident of recovering for the biggest date on the Australian cricket calendar. Both sides head into the Boxing Day Test predicting changes and the tourists are desperate for Kallis to play after he missed the drawn match in Perth.Kallis has batted in the nets in Melbourne this week and said his injured elbow would have to heal fully for him to be picked. “We’ll see how things go for the next few days but I’m pretty confident that I’ll be 100%,” Kallis said in . “I don’t know if it is an injury you can take in 90% because if you tear it again you’re out again.”After three weeks of being under pressure with poor warm-up results and injuries, the South Africans enter the match in a buoyant mood following the hard-fought draw in Perth on Tuesday. “The momentum seems to be with us and Australia is feeling the pressure,” Kallis said. “They should have knocked us over but we survived. It’s a huge turning stone for a lot of guys’ careers the way they played there.”The MCG drop-in wicket is expected to suit the fast bowlers but MacGill is determined and pleaded his case in the . “Personally, I would expect to play here, particularly seeing as we failed to bowl them out in Perth,” MacGill said. “Conditions may have conspired against the bowlers there but you always wonder whether it would have been the same if I were there.”Whilst it’s a slow transition, I think the public and cricket in general is starting to come around to the fact that you need to bowl your most potent wicket-taking team to win Test matches against sides that are prepared to stick around. Providing your team with wicket-taking opportunities is what I’m about.”MacGill is battling for a place with the left-arm swing of Nathan Bracken and Trevor Hohns, the chairman of selectors, was pleased with his performance at the WACA, where he dismissed Graeme Smith twice. “Regardless of the surface here I’m confident and satisfied in making a claim for a position in this 11,” MacGill said. “I think I can provide Ricky Ponting with extra wicket-taking opportunities, even on a green-top.”

.Virender SehwagOn the conditionsThe pitch was slow, ball wasn’t coming on to the bat, and it was also a little low. Maybe that’s why I played a little early and got out.On how the team prepared through all the delaysThe preparation was good over the last few days. We talked a lot in the team meetings, had some plans for the Sri Lankan batsmen and bowlers. I think it will come in handy in the second Test match.On coping with the delayIt was very hard because we were sitting in the hotel for the last three days. It’s tough, but we are professionals, and have to take it in our stride. We are now back in Test-match mode, which is good for us and for Sri Lanka as well.On his positive approach from ball oneI wasn’t looking at it like a one-day game. The SG Test ball doesn’t swing when it is new, but after 10 overs, it will start to reverse. With that in mind, I started playing my shots with the new ball. I knew that after it gets old and with the track keeping low, it will be hard to score runs.On starting play in the afternoonAll credit and praise to the groundsman. We were not convinced that there would be any game, but he and his staff worked very hard.On how batsmen could play on this pitchIf you are patient, it’s not so tough. It’s not easy to get batsmen out. It may be low, but it’s also very slow. There’s no great turn. Maybe if we had played for two days, there would be some help for the bowlers. But not now.On his dismissalI’m not worried. I’m in good nick. It’s just a matter of one big innings. I am pretty sure it will come in the next two games.Mahela JayawardeneOn how the warm-up match in Bangalore helpedFrom that game, we had a fair idea of how the wicket would behave in these conditions. Our bowlers learnt a lot from that game and they were very diciplined. We were able to set fields accordingly as well.On Chaminda VaasHe’s a classy bowler, who knows the ins and outs of sub-continental wickets. He exploited that. The good thing will be if the other guys can learn from him to bowl the right areas, be patient and get rewarded for patience.On getting an early breakthroughGautam [Gambhir] has been batting well, so it was important for us to start proceedings on the right note. [Virender] Sehwag did play a few shots, but we knew it wouldn’t be that comfortable out there as long as we put the ball in the right place.On batting concerns after the drubbing in the ODI seriesTest match cricket is altogether different. The batting is not questionable; we just didn’t get that much practice in the three-day game. We had practice indoors, prepared ourselves to just go out there and perform. I don’t think the batting is a cause for concern.On expectations for the final dayHopefully, it will stay clear and the sun will come out. We’ll try and get out there and get some cricket. The first objective is to try and get the Indians out. If not, it doesn’t matter, we’ll go to Delhi and continue our preparations.

Just as one Ashes series victory did not make England the best side in the world, neither did one poor tour of Pakistan signal a crisis. However, as the final ticks and crosses are put to the squad to tour India, to be announced at 11.30 on Friday morning, there are some familiar questions for the selectors to answer.The news that Michael Vaughan and Ashley Giles are making promising progress with their rehabilitation, following knee and hip surgery respectively, will ease some of the concerns, although David Graveney remains wary. “The players themselves are making some positive statements but you’ve always got to be cautious,” he told . “Let’s remember we were pretty positive about Simon Jones playing in the last [Ashes] Test and that didn’t work out.”Jones is on course to be fit for this tour after missing the whole of Pakistan. His comeback means that England are set to return to their tried and tested formula of four quicks and one spinner, when the Test series begins at Nagpur on March 1. But with Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh pencilled in for India they may be forced to consider two spinners if they encounter a raging turner.Shaun Udal was treated with brutal disdain during the final Test against Pakistan, at Lahore, but had done a fair job in the first two matches. With the second spinner needing to be ready for action at short notice, Udal’s experience and level head is a better bet than one of England’s youngsters. Monty Panesar, the left-armer from Northamptonshire, who has received support from all corners in the last week, is the most attacking option if the selectors want to consider a long-term bet.However, there are just two warm-up matches before the first Test. So for the development of Panesar it would be better for him to be part of the A tour in West Indies than kicking his heels in India. Alex Loudon, who now has the experience of a full England trip behind him, can get back to actually playing on the A tour as he continues to work on his doosra.The same policy can be taken with England’s back-up quick bowlers. If there is full confidence in Jones’s ability to handle three Tests in three weeks, then one reserve fast bowler is sufficient. Liam Plunkett showed ample promise in Pakistan to edge out James Anderson, who can continue to re-groove his outswinger in West Indies with an eye to him taking the new ball there in the World Cup.Despite the batting imploding twice in Pakistan – in the second innings at Multan and Lahore – there will be no changes to the top-order personnel. When the final cut is made for the Tests, Paul Collingwood will again be the fall-guy as Vaughan returns to No. 3. One headache for England will be the likely loss of Andrew Flintoff, for the final Test at Mumbai, when he returns home for the birth of his second child. There is certainly no like-for-like replacement so Robert Key, Owais Shah and Alastair Cook can join the A tour with the incentive of a possible call-up to act as a reinforcement.With the one-day series consisting of seven matches, and the need to cover for Flintoff, that squad could be heavier as England continue to try and work out what their best side is ahead of the World Cup.England Test squad (probable) Michael Vaughan (capt), Marcus Trescothick, Andrew Strauss, Ian Bell, Kevin Pietersen, Andrew Flintoff, Paul Collingwood, Geraint Jones, Matt Prior, Ashley Giles, Shaun Udal, Liam Plunkett, Matthew Hoggard, Simon Jones, Steve Harmison.One-day squad (probable) Michael Vaughan (capt), Marcus Trescothick, Andrew Strauss, Kevin Pietersen, Andrew Flintoff, Paul Collingwood, Ian Bell, Vikram Solanki, Geraint Jones, Matt Prior, Ashley Giles, Ian Blackwell, Liam Plunkett, Simon Jones, Steve Harmison, James Anderson.

Reports that Zimbabwe’s cricketers had signed contracts offered to them by the board have turned out to be false.Yesterday, unknown sources said that Zimbabwe Cricket had bypassed group negotiations and had approached players on a one-on-one basis to offer them new contracts. It was claimed that 16 had signed after meeting board officials during the day.But a source representing the players told Cricinfo that nothing had been signed, and in fact the players had not only refused to do so, but had also again withdrawn from all cricket in frustration at the board’s handling of the dispute. That means that tomorrow’s final round of matches in the Faithwear one-day tournament is likely to go ahead without any of those involved in the negotiations.”We decided to pull back and not sign the contracts,” the source told Cricinfo. “And further, we’re not going to play cricket until this thing is sorted out.”The players remain concerned about the way that their outstanding backpay is being addressed, and most are also not happy with the new contracts they are being offered, which they feel are inferior to what they were presented with before.They are also very unhappy that Zimbabwe Cricket has refused to allow Clive Field, the players’ association representative, to act on their behalf and is forcing them to deal individually with the board. “It’s a further step back,” the source explained, “because now we have the player rep issue as well as the contract one.”Hamilton Masakadza endorsed that view, telling Cricinfo: “Anything to do with us, you can still speak to Clive. He still represents us and its not right for anyone but us to do away with him.”Zimbabwe Cricket is unlikely to improve the contract and it is possible that offers could be made to the next tier of players. However, this week’s Faithwear matches have shown that those players are nowhere near being good enough to play international cricket.

The decision to suspend Michael Smith, Border’s opening batsman, has triggered a row which threatens to have serious repercussions .Smith was suspended for talking to the press and left out of the match against Western Province as a result of the decision by Simpiwe Ndzundzu, Border’s convenor of selectors.Smith was punished for allegedly speaking to the Daily Dispatch after being dropped two weeks ago. He admitted that he was approached by the paper and asked if he was injured or unavailable, but added that he had no contract with Border and so was not bound by any conditions as long as he did not bring the side into disrepute. It also is claimed that Ndzundzu took the decision without consulting other selectors or giving Smith the chance to defend himself.Smith issued a press release in which he said that Ndzundzu had told him that he “wasn’t good enough to make the team this time,” and that he “did not fit into the make-up of the team.After being left out, Smith said he showed Ndzundzu a letter from the journalist concerned stating that he had approached him first for comment. “The convenor then said that by then it was too late to do anything and I was still to be disciplined for answering the questions,” Smith added. “It is amazing that one man who supposedly has cricket at heart, can manipulate matters to suit himself. It is not surprising that a number of the Border amateur players are looking to play their cricket in other provinces next season.”The row has opened up a debate over the role of Ndzundzu, with reports suggesting that some of the side are unhappy with the way he operates, accusing him of arbitrarily making decisions and of favouring players from Good Hope where he is chairman.Ndzundzu would only say that he had drafted a letter to the Border Cricket Board outlining what had happened, adding: “In the meantime I can confirm that Smith has been suspended for one match for ill-discipline.”Mark Taljard, the coach at Old Selbornians, Smith’s club side, was livid at the decision and slammed Ndzundzu. “They (Border selectors) are cutting short Michael’s career and are sending out a clear signal that it doesn’t matter how good you are. If you have a white skin you stand no chance of getting selected for Border. Nine out of the 12 players in the Border squad are players of colour. All I want to see is the best players on the Border in the team. Why do they pick players from the bottom eight clubs and ignore the players who play for and against the top six clubs?”

Daniel Vettori was named The National Bank Player of the Year for the second consecutive time at the New Zealand Cricket Awards Dinner in Auckland on Thusday.”Daniel is a deserving winner having consistently delivered outstanding performances in both forms of the game throughout the 12-month period under review,” said Martin Snedden, NZC’s chief executive. “Daniel has been a dominant force in all facets of the game. He scored New Zealand’s fastest-ever Test century against Zimbabwe, and claimed 19 first-class wickets at an average of 17.47. His Test batting average was 51.2. In ODIs he maintained an ODI economy rate of 3.87 and took 23 wickets at an average of 30.17.”He also captained in this season’s Chappell-Hadlee Trophy series and was the only New Zealand player selected for the World XI which played Australia in last year’s inaugural Super Series. He also fitted in four State Shield wickets and four innings as an opener, averaging 53.25.”The other awards were:Redpath Cup
Awarded to the batsman whose performances in men’s First-Class cricket have been the most meritorious: Mathew Sinclair who scored 848 runs at an average 53 with four centuries and four half-centuriesWinsor Cup
Awarded to the bowler whose performances in men’s First-Class cricket have been the most meritorious: Chris Martin who took 50 wickets at an average of 23.98Walter Hadlee Trophy
Awarded for the most meritorious batting by a New Zealand player in one-day internationals: Nathan Astle who averaged 45 including two centuries and four half centuries.Walter Hadlee Trophy
Awarded for the most meritorious bowling by a New Zealand player in One-Day internationals: Shane Bond who took 36 wickets at an average of 18.11.State Medal
Awarded to the most outstanding player in men’s domestic cricket: Jonathan Trott, who scored 275 runs and took eight wickets in the State Championship for Otago, and made 455 runs and took 14 wickets in the State Shield.State Plate
Awarded to the most outstanding player in women’s domestic cricket: Aimee Mason, who took 16 wickets and scored 280 runs as she captained State Central Hinds to the State League title and played for the White Ferns in their series win over India.The Phyl Blackler Cup
Awarded to the bowler whose performances in women’s cricket have been the most meritorious: Louise Milliken, who took six wickets in the White Ferns’ series win over India and took 16 wickets for the Northern Spirit in State League play.The Ruth Martin Cup
Awarded to the batsman whose performances in women’s cricket have been the most meritorious: Emily Drumm, who made her 100th One-Day international appearance for the White Ferns this year, taking eight wickets and scoring 274 runs in the series against India, with a high score of 94*. She also scored 478 runs at an average of 53.11 for the State Northern Spirit in the State League.Sutcliffe Medal
For outstanding services to cricket: Peter Sharp“Peter Sharp is a deserving recipient of the Sutcliffe Medal, having made an extremely valuable lifetime contribution to cricket in New Zealand,” Snedden told the audience. “Peter represented Canterbury eight times during the mid 1960s before moving into the media where, for the past 40 years, he has been broadcasting cricket on radio and, at times, on television. He has held a number of important voluntary positions within cricket where he has made a valuable contribution to the game regionally and nationally.”Peter became a Level 3 coach in 1984 and has maintained a close involvement in cricket coaching since then, including spending three years as a Kiwi Cricket co-ordinator.As well as his involvement in cricket, Peter has served as a trustee of the Murray Halberg Trust and on the Assembly of Sport, The Hillary Commission, and the New Zealand Secondary Schools Sports Council.”

Mashonaland’s disaffiliated clubs met last week to map the way forward for a new breakaway national league that will lead to a cricket association opposed to Zimbabwe Cricket. Five clubs attended the meeting, with a sixth, Takashinga, whose position on the league was not clear earlier this week, reported to have come out in support of the independent league.The club members who attended the meeting said the league was aiming to introduce three or four-day first-class competition, backed with a Twenty-20 competition. “The league will not be about officials, it will be about players,” he said. “The league will do everything to sustain the standards of Zimbabwean cricket. Basically we need to improve cricket from a players’ point view.”This leaves ZC in a difficult position as it now has little support among the country’s major clubs, who provide the bulk of players in the domestic leagues. The hemorrhaging of cricketers in recent years has led to a major reduction in standards in the first-class competitions, and it seems unlikely that without the support of these clubs ZC could run either the Logan Cup or the Faithwear Cup.Local sources claim that Zimbabwe Cricket’s interim board called for a meeting to try to persuade the clubs to rejoin the Mashonaland Cricket Association, but the talks stumbled when they were asked to reapply in writing and confirm their recognition of the MCA. Only two clubs – Takashinga and Old Hararians – are believed to have attended the meeting. One club official described the request as “desperation by the ZC interim board to seek legitimacy.”One member of the technical committee was subsequently reported to have asked a Takashinga official to accept the “olive branch” without the other clubs. One observer claimed that such a move by Takashinga would have enabled the authorities to claim that this was a racially-motivated split by the other five.Cricinfo asked Zimbabwe Cricket to comment but no response has been received.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

India levelled the series 1-1 through a solid batting performance backedup by a fine bowling effort by a team that understood the need of the hourand sent down a mixture of diligent pace and crafty spin, supported wellby the field, to notch up a 51-run win. It was Virender Sehwag’s timely73, and Rahul Dravid’s meaty 92 that took India to 269, a sizeable score,and then Irfan Pathan checked in with early breakthroughs and Ramesh Powarweighed in with a crafty spell to take the game away from Pakistan.When Dravid won the toss and quickly chose to bat it was obvious that theIndian team had learnt quickly from the first match. They decided early onthat there was no point in going for the big hits even with the powerplayson, and instead settled down to build partnerships and conserve wicketsfor a late charge. It was a throwback to the times when wickets were at apremium in ODIs and runscoring took care of itself.Mohammad Asif was at his usual accurate best, landing the ball on a lengthand allowing it to seam one way or the other if it did. But, with Dravidand Sehwag taking no chances, he had little joy, and was merelyeconomical. Sehwag, struggling for form to the extent that he had only twohalf-centuries in 21 ODI knocks leading up to this game, was lucky not tobe bowled off the inside edge early on, and settled down. Dravid, in hislatest avatar as limited-overs opener, kept things under control.Although both batsmen struggled to beat the infield early on, soon supplewrists and confident on-the-rise drives came into play. Dravid was severeon anything that was straight – drifting down leg or just plain straight -flicking both in front of and behind square for boundaries, while Sehwagshowed that even in bad form he is no blocker.Before Pakistan knew it, both Dravid and Sehwag had fifties, and theopening partnership had gone past the century-mark. Eventually, on 138,Pakistan struck, as a quick, skidding delivery from Shahid Afridi beat theoutside edge of Sehwag’s bat and hit the top of off stump. Sehwag, who hadrested for the last game and come into the side for this one in place ofRobin Uthappa, had scored 73, and put India well on the way to a bigscore.Mahendra Singh Dhoni ran out to the middle as is his wont at No. 3 andensured that Sehwag was not missed. Although not teeing off from thecrease like he is famous for, Dhoni kept the run rate up with a successionof cheeky strokes. A dab here, a push there, a whip through midwicket, afine sweep past the keeper with an almost-straight bat, and suddenly Indiawere clipping along.When Dravid fell, eight short of a century, his powers of concentrationnot being equal to keeping out an Asif yorker, India were still well placed.Soon after Dhoni played all over a Naved-ul-Hasan slower ball, and wasgone for 59. India were not quite in trouble, but there was a chance thatbatsmen fresh to the crease would not score as quickly as desired. Butno-one told Yuvraj Singh that the pitch was low and slow. He walked out tothump three consecutive boundaries and a nonchalantly flicked six, rackingup 24 from just 10 balls to push the Indian score to 269 for 5 from 50overs.Pakistan needed a good start and they did not get it. Irfan Pathan, withsome help from Rudi Koertzen, had his 100th ODI wicket, when Imran Farhatwas adjudged lbw as he fell over and missed a scrambled-seam straight one.Soon after Shahid Afridi, sent in at No. 3, played all over a classicindipper from Pathan and was cleaned up. When Younis Khan, one of the realdangermen, tickled Ajit Agarkar to the keeper, Pakistan were 45 for 3 andin deep trouble. Then Yuvraj plucked a stunner out of the air as Malikswept Powar on 45, and trouble became distress.Inzamam-ul-Haq, calm as ever, cool and calculating, batted safely yetconfidently, and kept one end up. Mohammad Yousuf was the first tounderestimate Powar, and was caught at midwicket trying to heave over theleg side. Abdul Razzaq forgot to reckon with Powar’s dip and only managedto find Kaif at long-on. Naved-ul-Hassan clattered the ball here andthere, taking the pressure of his captain, but his innings of 27, off only17 balls, was always fraught with danger, and it ended when Venugopala Raotook a well-judged catch on the roped at long-on.If Pakistani hopes were still afloat they were properly snuffed out whenInzamam was, yes, run out, as he jogged across for a non-existant singlewhen Iftikhar Anjum played the ball to midwicket and Dravid collected theball, ran to the stumps at the bowler’s end and took off the bails. Soonafter Pakistan folded for 218 and India had levelled the series 1-1.How they were out
India
Virender Sehwag b Afridi 73 (138 for 1)
Rahul Dravid b Asif 92 (228 for 2)
Mahendra Singh Dhoni b Naved-ul-Hasan 59 (234 for 3)
Yuvraj Singh c Asif b Naved-ul-Hasan 24 (255 for 4)
Suresh Raina run out (Akmal/Razzaq) 6 (269 for 5)
Pakistan
Imran Farhat lbw b Pathan 8 (22 for 1)
Shahid Afridi b Pathan 0 (23 for 2)
Younis Khan c Dhoni b Agarkar 5 (45 for 3)
Shoaib Malik c Yuvraj b Powar 45 (91 for 4)
Mohammad Yousuf c Raina b Powar 5 (108 for 5)
Kamran Akmal c Dravid b Harbhajan 18 (167 for 6)
Abdul Razzaq c Kaif b Powar 1 (148 for 7)
Rana Naved-ul-Hasan c Rao b Pathan 27 (198 for 8)
Inzamam-ul-Haq run out (Dravid) 79 (209 for 9)
Iftikhar Anjum b Sreesanth 11 (218 for 10)