Herschelle Gibbs might come under the scanner again© Cricinfo

The South African Cricket Board are understood to have sought an assurance from the BCCI that no police action will be initiated against Herschelle Gibbs and Nicky Boje for their alleged involvement in pending matchfixing cases when they tour India later this year, reports The Khaleej Times. The Delhi police, at the forefront of matchfixing investigations which began in 2000, have maintained all along that they would like to interrogate Gibbs and Boje if they got the chance.The two cricketers in question were frequently cited by investigating officers along with Hansie Cronje, back in 2000. That investigation by the Delhi police eventually led to Cronje’s startling admission of guilt in front of the King Commission in South Africa.The United Cricket Board of South Africa has been in touch with their Indian counterparts regarding this matter. Maobi Litheko, a spokesman for the South African board said that BCCI officials had undertaken to raise the matter with the Indian government. At the moment, no response has been received.South Africa are in India only for a short duration, a total of 18 days, and play seven one-dayers but no Tests. In contrast Australia are scheduled to tour India for a Tests-only series. They play a four-Test series before the South Africans arrive and it is as yet unclear where the Tests will be staged. Delhi and Kanpur are two venues that should get Tests according to the BCCI’s rotation policy, but there is a chance that neither ground will be ready in time, says the report.

Gavaskar: taking a stance for a noble cause© Getty Images

Sunil Gavaskar plans to institute a trust fund for former Test and first-class cricketers who have fallen on hard times. His decision to do so comes soon after the Board of Control for Cricket in India announced a monthly pension of Rs 5000 for all former Test cricketers. That trust that Gavaskar plans to establish will be funded with money donated by the more affluent former players.According to reports, he had been considering the idea for a while, and decided to go ahead once he received a favourable response from several contemporaries. Many former cricketers who have carved out a niche for themselves in various fields after retirement have expressed their desire to contribute to the trust, which will help those who lost their way once they were divorced from the game they contributed to.

Javed Miandad: ‘How can anyone question my commitment and credentials even after all these years?’© Getty Images

Javed Miandad has expressed his fury at the manner in which the Pakistan Cricket Board terminated his contract, describing the board’s actions as “unethical”, and adding that such hasty decisions hadn’t benefited the country or its cricketers in the past.”While my contract was in effect, they settled terms and conditions with someone else,” said Miandad. “This is a clear breach of contract, which I consider unethical. If I was not good enough, why was I brought in as coach last year?”In an earlier interview with The News, Miandad had been in a more conciliatory mood, saying: “I am deeply hurt that they have used the word ‘terminated’ for my stepping down as coach. I stepped down as coach after a mutual understanding with the board.”Miandad revealed that he had asked the PCB to give him more authority and power when it came to selection matters. However, according to him, things didn’t work out the way he wanted. “I felt if I was not getting what I want, to make the team improve its performance, it was no use to carry on like this,” he said. “But we reached a mutual understanding that they will honour my remaining contractual terms and conditions and I will step down myself.”According to Miandad, the performance of the Pakistan team hadn’t been poor enough to warrant a change of coach. “It [the performance] was not disastrous,” he said. “Coaches and teams are only changed if results are disastrous and I think since I took over as coach we have performed creditably. Even our performances against India were not bad.”Miandad also suggested that the foreign coach option might not be the best one for Pakistan, given the manner in which men like Richard Pybus had struggled to establish any sort of authority or put an effective system in place. “In the past also they have taken such decisions and regretted it,” he said. “In the past also, they brought me back. My only grouse is if they are going to treat their own people like this where are we supposed to go? How can anyone question my commitment and credentials even after all these years?”Despite his anger, Miandad wished Woolmer all the best in his new job. “I wish him the best of luck on his assignment,” he said. “It is going to be a tough one.”

The absence of New Zealanders in the side was questioned, and Fleming’s exclusion, in particular, rankled© Getty Images

We knew we had it coming. When readers responded to our Rest of the World XI selection, there were practical suggestions, appreciation, anger, accusations of bias, questions regarding the selectors’ sanity and, to top it all, someone queried whether the teams were picked by a bunch of car mechanics. It wasn’t all that bad though because a bulk of the players picked themselves, but as ever, there were a few contentious issues, and none more than the non-inclusion of Stephen Fleming, widely regarded as the best captain in international cricket. The responses are still coming in and it will be a while before we put up a Readers XI. But meanwhile, here are the a few big discussion points.Where’s New Zealand?
Aren’t New Zealand the second-best one-day team in the world? This was a repeated refrain in addition to “where’s Stephen Fleming?”. “New Zealand looks like it may move into second spot in the ODI rankings, but only a brief mention of Cairns. How can that be?” asked Greg Nuthall. Andrew Mason was angry at the disrespect shown to the Kiwis. “Why do people still not rate New Zealand as a cricketing nation? As long as they continue to not give us at least a token amount of respect, we will continue to keep biting them on the ass … when they don’t expect it.”Some suggested that the absence of any New Zealanders probably meant that they played more like a team than the others. But others demanded to know the nationality of the 22 selectors. Ramprasad Sugumaran believed that all the selectors were from England, and Kamal Dorabawila accused the committee of being English “or biased towards the English.”Michael Vaughan’s position as opener and captain came under immediate – and brutal – scrutiny. “Were the selectors opting for a specialist captain? Or were they half English?” asked Kit Boyes. “Nothing more than a one-hit wonder,” said Adrian Nung, explaining that Vaughan had only one good series against Australia. And Jake Berry couldn’t believe Vaughan was captain. “He is probably the most over-rated captain in world cricket, and has been in terrible form lately in both, Tests and one-dayers.”But who, then, should be captain? Who will connect the Rest of the World’s fist with Australia’s upper lip? A man with “rat cunning”, came the prompt reply from John Baldwin. “If you want someone to lead your team, who thinks like an Aussie, plays like an Aussie and is respected by Aussies because of it, then you need a quasi-Aussie. My team would be captained by that quintessential quasi-Aussie, Stephen Fleming.” Pratik Shah bolstered the argument with his spirited defence of Fleming’s batting. “If we look at just the last year and a half, it’s [Fleming’s average] an astonishing 54.73. Meanwhile,” he adds, “Vaughan’s recent performance is hardly anything to write home about. In the last 18 months, Vaughan has averaged a sub-par 35.61.”You get the picture. The general points raised were that Fleming was the best captain in the world, and he has scored more runs than anyone else this year, so why wasn’t he in the team? And why weren’t Chris Cairns, Jacob Oram and Hamish Marshall included in there too? Even our omission of Mark Richardson – left out after a raging fist-fight in the selection room – surprised Tejaswi Aswathanarayana, who believes he’s the best Test opener in the world.

The man scores 281 against Australia, and then terrorises them just about every time they meet. So what do you do? You leave him out© Getty Images

A man in the middle
The middle order of Rahul Dravid, Brian Lara and Sachin Tendulkar was left unscathed, but Jacques Kallis’s inclusion and Inzamam-ul-Haq’s exclusion were criticised. According to Hariharan Sekhar, Kallis gorges on weak attacks and struggles against stronger ones. “He tends to struggle against Australia and can’t handle quality spin bowling.” But who should replace him? “Because of this, VVS Laxman is the obvious choice.” Natarajan Ramamurthy says the same thing and then backs it up with cold numbers. Since January 2000, Kallis’s bowling average in Australia is 66.50, while his batting average is 32.61. “This throws in some doubt the merit of his selection. Laxman, on the other hand, averages more than 63 against the Australians.” But Laxman isn’t the only contender for that spot. Sheik Salim flies the flag for Inzy. “Inzamam’s records place him automatically in both Test and one-day XIs.”Keeping wickets
With Adam Gilchrist the world’s best keeper-batsman by far – and currently employed with Australia – who would wear the gloves for this team? Certainly not Mark Boucher, replied many. If Tanveer Singh Parwar had his way, he’d bring Andy Flower out of the retirement home. Others suggested Kumar Sangakkara. Nigel Harbridge says that he should be selected “ahead of Boucher due to his better batting ability, and also the fact that Murali will be bowling the most overs and should have someone who has experience in reading his deliveries.” And, according to Hiran Leitan and Daran, Sangakkara should keep in the one-dayers as well, as Dravid would be useless at keeping to Murali in this form of the game.The bowling department
What was noticeable here was that people didn’t question the inclusion of three fast bowlers and a spinner. The sole spinner, Muralitharan, had support from Mike O’Dea, who suggested that he should be allowed to bowl the doosra, and “if he has to, make him wear the brace.” For the most controversial man in world cricket, the lack of criticism was telling. The fast bowlers, however, were a different matter.Shaun Pollock has lost it, Shoaib Akhtar is a showoff, and Steve Harmison’s inclusion was due to a dark English lobby at work, according to readers. “Pollock,” says Simon Bradwell, “is a spent force. He’s lost his pace and penetration.” Sameer Tare agrees, and adds that perhaps Irfan Pathan and Makhaya Ntini are more deserving of inclusion.

Showboat Shoaib gets in? Are you crazy?© AFP

But Peter Vincent, in a systematic demolition of Shoaib, questions the logic of selecting him. “Shoaib Akhtar in both teams? Are you crazy?” he warms up. “What about Vaas? Or Bond, Dillon, Ntini, even Streak? Showboat Akhtar is inconsistent and a poor team man and as likely to bowl a dozen no-balls and skive off with an Indian movie maiden as he is to make an impact against the Aussies.” Instead, Shane Bond was recommended for a place in the team. If he’s fit, wrote a reader, he’s the second-best fast bowler in the world.The one-day selection
And that was only the Test team. But there were fewer problems with the one-day side. Only Yuvraj Singh’s inclusion caused a major rift, with calls for Abdul Razzaq to be picked instead. The other omission that readers found odd was that of Gayle, whose century in the crunch one-dayer against England took his team through to the NatWest Series final. Jonathan Ellis was vocal in his support: “I’m surprised that, in the one-day team, nobody mentioned Chris Gayle. He’s a better batsman than Yuvraj Singh, and a far better bowler, and what’s more, he’s an opener.”Then there was an appeal for Andrew Flintoff, whose recent performances have won him many followers. Adrian Nung dissed Vaughan and said, “Flintoff is the only Englishman who can definitely make a World XI.”A matter of bias
The presence of numerous Indians and Englishmen in the Test and one-day sides didn’t sit well with many readers. Of the 22 selections made, 11 came from the two countries. Fahad Fazli sensed “an Indian connection”, while Abid Butt demanded to know the nationality of the 22 selectors. Sonam Tenduf-La asked if it was “right to assume that a lot of the selectors were Indian?”Clueless selectors
And finally, after going through reams of complaints/suggestions/anger, we came across a question posed by Romil Kothari. “What do you do,” he asks, “if your most-voted player, Murali, chooses not to go to Australia?”What you do, Romil, is retire from the selection panel and stick to writing.

Twelve countries have assembled in England to contest the 2004 ICC Champions Trophy. Wisden Cricinfo takes a look at the teams, their prospects, and some of the names to look out for:

Australia

Andrew Symonds and Ricky Ponting: just two reasons why Australia are the favourites© Getty Images

There’s nothing like a challenge to bring out the best in an Aussie. The Champions Trophy is the one major tournament that has so far eluded their grasp, and that fact alone will make them all the more determined this fortnight. They may not be quite the formidable unit that steamrolled all comers at the 2003 World Cup, but how could a side containing Matthew Hayden, Ricky Ponting, Adam Gilchrist and a resurgent Glenn McGrath be anything other than overwhelming favourites?One to watch
It’s the dawn of a new era of allrounders, and right up there with the best is Andrew Symonds. Like that other Andrew – Flintoff – Symonds has always had ability, but only lately has he developed the intense focus to deal with his immense power. He announced his arrival with a century against Pakistan in the 2003 World Cup, but when he repeated the feat at Lord’s last week, from an equally dicey situation, you couldn’t help noticing that he has morphed into a more violent version of Michael Bevan. His offspin’s pretty handy too, and he rockets returns in from the deep as if he’s got something against the keeper.New kid on the block
While we’re on the subject of allrounders, here’s another useful addition to the Aussie squad. Shane Watson isn’t new new – he first played as a 20-year-old in March 2002, but after being kept out of the World Cup with a stress fracture of the back, he’s back to form and fitness, with a remodelled bowling action and a lust for leather-whacking. Andrew Miller

New Zealand

New Zealand disappointed in the Tests in England earlier this summer, but there wasn’t much wrong with their one-day form, as they spoiled England’s party then blitzed West Indies in the final of the NatWest Series in what was, remarkably, their first one-dayer at Lord’s. And the good news is that most of the injury problems that beset them on that tour have been resolved. Daniel Vettori is back in action, and so is Daryl Tuffey. Brendon McCullum is back after paternity leave. Sadly, Shane Bond is still unable to strut his stuff, but Ian Butler, puzzlingly overlooked for the Tests in England, isn’t far behind him for pace. Their match against Australia could well be the clash of the first round.One to watch
Chris Cairns, no longer a Test player, but still a one-day legend. It was his responsible century that clinched the Champions Trophy for New Zealand – their first victory in a multi-nation tournament – in Kenya in 2000. Since then he’s blitzed his way to the top of the Test six-hitters’ list, and remains a ferocious competitor.New kid on the block
Michael Papps, 25, didn’t feature in the one-day series in England after breaking a finger during his only Test of the tour. But his five ODI appearances so far, all against South Africa last winter, includedmatchwinning innings of 67 at Wellington and 92 not out at Napier. He’sshort, but drives well, and acts as a handy foil to the big hitters down the order. Steven Lynch

United States of America

Their first appearance in the big time, and they couldn’t have landed amore brutal group if they tried. Australians have long had a penchant for annihilating teams with “America” in their title – in 2001, the “Socceroos” football team beat American Samoa 31-0 in a World Cup qualifier, while South Australia’s favourite Canadian, John Davison, recently grabbed 17 wickets in the ICC Intercontinental Cup fixture aganst the USA in Florida. So quite what vengeance the world champions en masse intend to wreak is anyone’s guess. Mind you, America can’t expect the Kiwis to go easy on them either – because if rain happens to wash out the third and decisive match between the big guns, it’ll all come down to net run rate …One to watch
Clayton Lambert may be a venerable 42-year-old, but in his days as a West Indian batsman, he played five Tests and 11 one-day internationals, with a century in each format. A left-hand batsman with a forthright, if crabby, style, he was never one to bother with the orthodox – as an exasperated Angus Fraser would readily testify – so if he can last long enough to get his eye in, we could yet see a reprise of his former glory days.New kid on the block
The entire team … this is a whole new ball game for Team America. They may have taken part in the original cricket international, against Canada in 1844, but it has been a struggle to get the game re-established since. A boardroom dispute has undermined the fledgling professional 20-overs league, and the side has been treading water ever since qualifying for this Champions Trophy at the Six Nations Tournament at Sharjah. Still, there’s nothing like exposure on the big stage for getting a country kick-started. Andrew Miller

Other Pool previews

Pool B – Down on their luck
Pool C – Pakistan in the ascendancy
Pool D – Clash of the resurgents

Ashley Noffke: consistent bowling and reliable batting made him an attractive signing for Durham© Getty Images

Durham have signed Ashley Noffke for the English season in 2005, making him the second overseas player in the team, after Mike Hussey. Noffke is no stranger to the rigours of county cricket, as he took 45 wickets in eight games for Middlesex in 2003. His consistency with the ball and reliability with the bat in the lower order – averaging 25.86 – made him a target when Durham were recruiting.Noffke was keyed up about the appointment, and spoke of performing well enough to help earn Durham promotion: “I am really excited about joining Durham. Their performance in the Totesport League this year indicates that there is huge potential in this squad and promotion should be in our sights for both forms of cricket next season. I am looking forward to playing a major role in helping the squad to achieve this.”Durham, for their part, were happy to have signed Noffke. “We are delighted that Ashley will be joining the squad next season,” said Martyn Moxon, their coach. “As well as being a superb bowler he is an enthusiastic fielder who will contribute immensely to our team in the field and to next year`s assault on the leagues. Ashley is an experienced cricketer who will bring an element of leadership to the squad that will help our local talent flourish.”David Harker, Durham’s chief executive, felt the same way: “Ashley and Mike’s commitment to Durham certainly brings us a step closer to becoming a strong force in domestic cricket. Between them they bring a great deal of talent and a wealth of knowledge to the squad which will undoubtedly help us to progress in a positive direction.”

The ICC and the Irish Cricket Union have named 25 venues for matches in the 2005 ICC Trophy scheduled in Ireland for July next summer. Five of the twelve sides participating will qualify for the World Cup in 2007.The tournament will be the eighth of its kind, and the 25 venues are spread around Ireland. The final will take place at Castle Avenue, Clontarf, where Ireland defeated Surrey by five wickets in the 2004 C&G Trophy. Forty-two matches are scheduled overall: the ones in the group phase are scheduled to take place in the north, the ones in the knockout stages in the south. No side will be eliminated from the competition at the group stage, but the rest of the matches will help decide an overall ranking of the teams participating.Group A is made up of Bermuda, Denmark, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, United States and the host nation, Ireland. In group B, five of the six places have been decided: Canada, Holland, Namibia, Scotland and Oman. The last spot will go to the winner of the ICC World Cup Qualifying Series (WCQS) that will take place in Malaysia next February. Oman, an affiliate member of ICC, had some strong performances in the Asia Cricket Council Cup and have qualifed for the ICC Trophy for the first time. They did so ahead of Hong Kong and Fiji, both Associate Members which will now hope to be progress from the WCQS.Ehsan Mani, the president of ICC, was pleased at the announcement: “The ICC is delighted that the games will be played at such a variety of venues as it means that no ground will be played on too frequently and that will augur well for the state of the pitches.”It is obviously a hugely important aspect of the tournament,” he added, “not least because five of the 12 countries will qualify for the ICC World Cup in the West Indies in 2007.”However, John Wright, the secretary of the Irish Cricket Union and the tournament director, sounded a warning: “We received more acceptances [for acceptable-standard grounds] than were required so, inevitably, some clubs will be disappointed. However, such is the enthusiasm for the tournament that some of these clubs have offered their facilities for ‘warm-up’ games.”Three previous winners of the ICC Trophy have gone on to win Test status. Sri Lanka, who won in 1979, became a Test country in 1981-82. Zimbabwe played their first Test against India in 1992-93 after triumphing in 1982, 1986 and 1990, while Bangladesh, who won in 1997 after a last-ball victory against Kenya in the final, became a Test nation in 2000-01.The 25 venues are: Armagh, Bangor, Carrick, Civil Service (Stormont, Belfast), Cliftonville, Clontarf, Cooke Collegians (Belfast), Downpatrick, Drummond, Eglinton, Instonians, Leinster, Limavady, Lisburn, Lurgan, Malahide, Merrion, Muckamore, Newforge, North County, North Down, RBAI (Osborne Park, Belfast), The Hills (Dublin), Waringstown, and Woodvale.

Imran Khan: ‘How can a captain make a team fight if the base is weak?’© AFP

Imran Khan, the former Pakistan captain, termed Pakistan’s latest defeat “deplorable”, and said that the entire system was in need of an urgent shake-up. Imran’s comments came in the wake of Pakistan’s humiliating 491-run defeat in the first Test at Perth.”We will continue to blame coaches and captains for each defeat and sack them,” Imran told AAP, “but the real remedy is to develop batsmen technically by overhauling our faulty system. Until and unless we correct our faulty system, and that I have been saying for the last 25 years, our batsmen will not be technically and temperamentally equipped to face a quality bowling side like Australia.”Imran said that there were only two ways approach the problem. “Either correct it by improving the system or send the batsmen to play in county cricket,” he said. “Batting has always been Pakistan’s bane on tours of Australia – our batsmen thrive against lack-of-quality bowling, but when they come up against the world-class bowling of Australia they are exposed.”He added that the captain was solely responsible for the team’s fortunes, but sympathised with Inzamam-ul-Haq’s predicament. “I think the coach can make a marginal difference and it’s the captain who makes the team fight, but how can he make a team fight whose base is weak?”Imran said that Australia did brilliantly to fight back from a perilous position on the first day. “The hallmark of a champion team is that they hung in during bad times and when they got an opportunity showed the killer instinct,” he said. “Pakistan should have been a pack of wolves once they caught Australia, but they weren’t.”

Leipus will hand over his responsibilities as physiotherapist within the next week© Cricinfo

Andrew Leipus has announced that he will be replaced by John Gloster as physiotherapist for the Indian team within a week’s time, but the BCCI denied this, saying that a couple of names were up for discussion, reported.”Yes,” said Leipus, “my replacement is ready. I will be handing over the charge to John within the next week and then go back to Australia to start my post-graduation studies.” Gloster was formerly the Bangladesh physiotherapist. He was one of two choices for the board, Leipus said. “Alex Kontouri and John were the people in mind. But since Alex was unavailable, John was the logical choice.”But SK Nair, the BCCI’s secretary, said he didn’t know why Leipus took names. “He is going and must have said something on the basis of the discussion we had with him.”The office-bearers will be meeting in Kolkata over the next couple of days. We have a couple of names in mind, but we will make a decision only after discussions.”

Rahul Dravid acknowledges the applause at Rawalpindi© AFP

Rahul Dravid has urged Indian fans to treat the Pakistan side well when they tour India soon, in order to reciprocate the warmth Pakistani fans had given Indian players and fans last year. Writing in his column in the , Dravid wrote: “[I] hope we will watch, cheer and support the teams in the spirit in which the game must be [played]. The home team will appreciate and be inspired by your support, but we would also hope that our opponents and their fans are respected.”Remembering past encounters between India and Pakistan, Dravid wrote that India’s “most cherished memories” were “outside the field of play. The standing ovation of the Chennai crowd. The spontaneous applause of the people at Karachi airport. Watching Indians fans with Indian flags and facepaint walking along with Pakistani supporters on the streets of Lahore. The people have made these series as memorable as the players.”India-Pakistan matches also played a big role in the evolution of all the players who took part in them, he said. “No-one who has played in any of these contests can claim to come away from them unaffected. They help you grow as a player and as a man. They have inspired the players to produce some magical moments.”