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The South Australian Cricket Association (SACA) has formally accepted an offer of resignation from its chief executive, Mike Deare, after he detailed a planned $350 million upgrade of the Adelaide Oval in the .SACA president Ian McLachlan said Deare’s comments made last month had affected the association’s negotiations with the South Australian National Football League (SANFL) aimed at attracting Australian Football League (AFL) and FIFA World Cup fixtures to Adelaide.”In his letter to me dated July 29, Michael Deare acknowledged that his recent interview with the and I quote: ‘has severely damaged SACA’s relations in many areas, accordingly my resignation is offered’,” McLachlan said.”The board and I agree with him. The damage done by a number of Michael’s comments has been serious and consequently, his resignation has been accepted and will take effect at the end of this month. We are extraordinarily disappointed with these indiscretions and do not sanction his comments.”In fact, the opposite is true. After I made, what I thought were obvious remarks on ABC radio about SACA having to give up control of Adelaide Oval if the SANFL and the SACA became 50-50 partners, the SANFL’s sensitivity was noted. Consequently, we at SACA agreed that no further comments would be made on the subject until talks with the SANFL and AFL were completed.”McLachlan said Deare had served as SACA’s chief executive for the past 12 years and during his tenure he made a substantial contribution to the association and the Adelaide Oval itself.”He has overseen significant capital investments in Adelaide Oval, including the Chappell Stands, the light towers, the refurbishment of the heritage scoreboard and the first ever resurfacing, drainage and irrigation of the playing field,” McLachlan said. “During that time he has also guided the Association towards a protracted period of financial stability and profitability.”I thank him for those results and acknowledge the contribution he has made towards the current western grandstand redevelopment.” McLachlan said while the search for a new chief executive could take some months, Terry Davies, general manager commercial, would assume the role of acting chief executive.

Sri Lankan allrounder Farveez Maharoof, one of the finest national cricketers to emerge from Wesley College, has said the Munchee Glucofit Sixes, conducted by the Old Wesleyites Sports Club (OWSC), is the ideal stepping stone for any schoolboy cricketer.During his five years with the college, Maharoof managed to play only one season of the tournament.”The tournament no doubt serves its purpose because it highlights the performance of any schoolboy by the publicity it gets through live television coverage,” Maharoof said.”The tournament, to be frank, didn’t help me personally because I hardly tookpart in it except in 1999 when we lost to Ananda College in the first round. But ithas definitely brought to the limelight several schoolboy cricketers whosometimes don’t get the publicity they deserve at regular school matches.”Maharoof was an outstanding allrounder and his talents were recognisedquickly by the national selectors when they picked him in virtually everyjunior national team, which is why he was hardly in Colombo to participate atthe Wesley Sixes.He went on to play in two Under-19 World Cup tournaments, captaining hiscountry in one.”I believe it’s a great concept organised by the OWSC and it should go fromstrength to strength,” said Maharoof who is recovering from an injurysustained in the one-day practice match, playing for Sri Lanka Cricket XIagainst New Zealand three weeks ago.Maharoof split the webbing of his left hand while attempting areturn catch and the injury required five stitches.Maharoof, a right-hand hard hitting batsman and right-arm fast-medium bowler,made his debut for Sri Lanka at the age of 19 against Zimbabwe in 2004 andhas represented his country in 20 Tests and 91 one-day internationals. Heholds the best bowling record in the ICC Champions trophy with 6for 14 against West Indies in 2006.

Andrew Strauss’s decision to recall Angelo Mathews after he had been runout at the Wanderers was, according to the England captain, influenced inpart by a similar incident under Paul Collingwood’s leadership last year.Mathews was run out in the 40th over of Sri Lanka’s innings after pushingGraham Onions to leg and taking off for two. But as he turned for thesecond run, he collided with Onions and stopped as Matt Prior took off the bails.Mathews hung around for a while, unhappy with the decision andgesticulated to no one in particular, as sections of the crowd booed. TheEngland team got into a huddle and after Mathews was more than halfwayback to the pavilion, Strauss spoke to the umpires and called him back, amove applauded immediately by a small crowd.Mathews was dismissed a few balls later in any case, but the incident boreresemblance to when Grant Elliot of New Zealand collided with RyanSidebottom in an ODI at The Oval last year. Collingwood was captain thenand didn’t recall Elliott – though he regretted not doing so – and wassubsequently lambasted in sections of the press.And Strauss admitted that memories of the criticism prompted him make hisdecision tonight. “I didn’t see it because I was watching the ball at thetime,” Strauss said. “I then had a chance to look at the replay and theumpires said: ‘Well, it’s upto you if you want to call him back.’ Myfeelings on it were that it just didn’t look right. I also thought he wasgoing to get back for the two quite comfortably if he hadn’t collided. Iwould certainly say that I don’t think Graham Onions did anything wrong.There was no malice there at all. Other captains would be quite withintheir rights to not call him back. But I just felt…possibly having seenColly castigated for doing it a couple of years ago, it probably wasn’tthe right thing to do.”Collingwood, who was the Man of the Match tonight, said he didn’t get involvedin the decision. “I tried to keep out of it, to be honest. I just left himto make his own decision. But Straussy was straight in there, had a lookat the replay and said: ‘We’ll bring him back’,” he said before adding, injest, “I couldn’t believe it!”Kumar Sangakkara, the Sri Lanka captain, also supported the notion thatOnions’ collision was unintentional. “It was an excellent gesture ofsportsmanship and in the spirit of the game. It’s all a matter ofinterpretation and it depends. It might’ve been an accident but at the endof the day the right thing was done.”

ScorecardWest Indies crumbled under pressure and squandered a huge opportunity to draw the ODI series against South Africa. The game ended in a tie to give South Africa the series 2-1, after West Indies needed just two to win off the final over, which they failed to score.West Indies, chasing 181, were 179 for 7 at the end of the 49th over. Britney Cooper and Anisa Mohammed were the batsmen in the middle and managed just one run off a brilliant over from fast bowler Alicia Smith, who finished with figures of 2 for 13 from six overs. The first delivery was pushed back to the bowler, Cooper scrambled a single off the second while Mohammed ruined the end, playing out three dot balls before being bowled off the final delivery.”I basically kept a disciplined line and length, I knew that she just wanted to tap and run so I kept it tight outside off,” Smith said. “We got ourselves into a bit of trouble during the middle of the innings and the West Indies were walking away with it. We knew that getting wickets was the only way to win. None of us expected this fairytale ending but I’m proud of the girls for sticking together and keeping their heads.”West Indies had got themselves into a strong position, with eight needed off the last three overs, and seven off the last two but South Africa turned the tables at the death. Chasing a competitive total, West Indies were dominating at 100 for 2 in the 23rd over. But the dismissal of opener Deandra Dottin (34) resulted in a mini collapse as well as a drastic decline in the run rate. Three wickets fell for 19 in seven overs, and it was left to captain Merissa Aguilleira to guide her team through. She chipped in with 36 amid contributions from the lower order and though West Indies limped towards their target, they were will within reach of a win in the last three overs. Cooper and Mohammed, however, failed to get them past the finish line.Mignon du Preez’s unbeaten 70 had formed the backbone of South Africa’s batting effort, and she received good support from Shandre Fritz (31) and Smith (20). Smith, in the end, proved the match-winner with her miserly spell, as South Africa celebrated a major series victory.

The England batsman Jonathan Trott has denied allegations from Michael Vaughan that he partied with South Africa after they won a Test in 2008. In his new autobiography, , Vaughan has accused the Cape Town-born Trott of celebrating with South Africa’s players after England lost at Edgbaston last summer.”It was a sad day for English cricket that on my last day against South Africa I saw Jonathan Trott celebrating with South Africa, when the week before he had been our 12th man at Headingley,” wrote Vaughan. “I was going into the press conference and I saw him patting them on the back. It hit home what English cricket has become like.”In response, Trott has said that he was talking to the spinner and his old friend Paul Harris shortly after the Test. “Warwickshire finished a game at Leicester and myself, Neil Carter and Allan Donald raced back to Edgbaston because the Test looked like being a close finish,” he said. “We were standing between the changing rooms when both teams were on the field at the end. I’ve known Paul Harris since I was 16 and we played together at Warwickshire. I just said something like, ‘Cheers, well done on your victory.'”That was it. There was no high-fives or anything like that. I knew I wouldn’t be seeing Paul again that summer because he wasn’t in the one-day squad so I wanted to wish him well. In fact, I’ve not seen him since.”But Michael Vaughan walked past at the same time to go to his press conference. It was a misunderstanding, an unfortunate situation. I was in the wrong place at the wrong time.”I respect Michael. I would never behave like that against the team I was trying to play for at the time – and now have the chance to play for. Allan Donald went into the South African changing room but I didn’t go anywhere near. In the previous match, I was on 12th-man duty at Headingley and was upset when England lost that match. I was also upset they lost at Edgbaston.”Back in August, Trott was the toast of English cricket after securing the Ashes with a brilliant debut century, at the culmination of a crazy week in which his credentials as an international cricketer were questioned before they had even been tested. Though he triumphed over the critics in unequivocal fashion, Trott has again become the victim of criticism ahead of England’s tour to South Africa, one on which he will be under the spotlight given his roots.Trott, who made his name playing for Warwickshire, has insisted that his commitment to the England cause is complete. “My commitment to England is 100%. I’ve spent seven years working hard to be able to wear the Three Lions and in that time my allegiance has never wavered. It’s unfortunate this has come out a few days before we leave on tour.”

Mountaineers made light work of the target set by Matabeleland Tuskers at Mutare Sports Club. Choosing to bat first Matabeleland could not last the 50 overs as they were bowled out for under 200. It could have been worse for the visiting side, who were struggling at 71 for 6 at the half-way stage of their innings. But a run-a-ball 53 from captain Greg Strydom and contributions Mbekezeli Mabuza (24) and Chris Mpofu (29 not out) lifted the total to 197. Though the wickets were shared around the bowlers,18 year-old legspinner Natsai Mushangwe was the star, collecting a career best 4 for 40 from his 10 overs.With plenty of time to reach their target, unbeaten fifties from Tino Mawoyo and captain Hamilton Masakadza alongside 47 from Timycen Maruma ensured no problems for the Mountaineers as they widened their lead over second-placed Mid West Rhinos to 16 points.Rain meant only 4.1 overs of play was possible in Southern Rocks game against Mashonaland Eagles at Masvingo Sports Club.

Kenya 329 for 6 (Ouma 72, Patel 71, Obanda 57, Waters 55) beat Uganda 130 (Varaiya 3-18, J Otieno 3-27) by 199 runs
ScorecardKenya finished a mixed 2009 with a resounding 199-run victory over neighbours Uganda, a result which made all the sweeter as it came on the back of some good performances from their younger players. It also rounded off a 3-0 series whitewash over the Ugandans, consolation for their losses in the two Twenty20 games which preceded the series.Maurice Ouma (72) and Seren Waters (55), briefly back in the country from university in England, set the innings off with a stand of 118, but the headlines were made by the in-form Rakep Patel who smashed 71 off 29 balls, including eight sixes. The tail all chipped in, and a total of 329 for 6 was never seriously in doubt from a Ugandan side whose confidence had visibly wilted.Roger Mukasa fell to the first delivery, but a second-wicket stand of 75 between Akbar Baig and top scorer Frank Nsubuga (43) briefly raised hopes, but a double strike from James Ngoche (3 for 27) all but ended them. Thereafter, the innings fell away and the the last nine wickets added only 55.While the one-day games went as expected, the concern remains Kenya’s Twenty20 form ahead of the ICC World Twenty20 Qualifiers early next year. One source close to the team admitted that “we just don’t know how to play the game”. Their new coach Eldine Baptise has little time to teach them.

Cricket Australia will let players involved in the IPL make their own decisions about whether to take part in the tournament following threats on their safety from India. The Shiv Sena political party has said they would not allow Australians to play in Maharashtra following attacks on Indian students in Melbourne.”At the end of the day those players make their own decision about whether or not they go,” Peter Young, the Cricket Australia spokesman, told AAP. “But we want them to be able to make informed decisions and we’d like to work with the ACA [Australian Cricketers’ Association] to ensure they can make informed decisions.” The IPL is due to begin in March and Australian players feature heavily in the franchise line-ups.The Foreign Affairs Minister Stephen Smith said the final decision on whether players go to the country would rest with Cricket Australia. “They [Shiv Sena] are known to make colourful remarks, and they have engaged in conduct which both India and Australia have been disapproving of in the past, so far as disrupting cricket games are concerned,” he said in the Courier Mail. “But we take any threat to Australian sportsmen and sportswomen … playing sport overseas very seriously.”Player security has been an issue for Australia whenever they are scheduled to travel to the subcontinent. Australia has not toured Pakistan since 1998 due to the safety situation and sends independent security personnel to review arrangements before each trip.”Our policy, as demonstrated over the years, is to only travel if dispassionate, expert, independent advice suggests that it is safe,” Young said. “On those occasions when advice has suggested otherwise, we have not travelled, including when the ICC said Pakistan was safe and our advice was that it was not.”In 2008 there were a series of bombs that went off in India before the Test visit, which went ahead without any problems. However, teams are much more sensitive following the attack on Sri Lanka’s team bus in Lahore, and this week three of the Togo football team were killed by gunmen who targeted their vehicle in Angola.Tim May, the international players’ association chief executive, claimed in the Australian the security situation in India was now as worrying as a year ago, when Mumbai terrorist attacks and a national election forced the tournament to be moved to South Africa at the last minute.”We don’t have to go too far back to the attack on the bus carrying the Togo soccer team in Africa,” May said. “It underlines the fact that sporting teams are very palatable targets for terrorist organisations who want to make a lot of noise and lift their international profile.”May said a franchise had written to a player saying “if you’re scared, don’t come” to the IPL. “That doesn’t do the player any good and it doesn’t do the IPL any good,” May said. “You’d like to think the IPL would realise that it is a reasonable request by players wanting to know about security arrangements.” Australia are also due in India for another seven-match one-day series at the end of the year.

The Indian board (BCCI) has confirmed it will extend the contract of Gary Kirsten, India’s coach, after his term runs out next month. Rumours have been circulating that Kirsten – who signed a two-year deal in March 2008 – was a frontrunner to take over as South Africa’s coach but he has denied being approached by his home country’s board.”He [Kirsten] will continue his stint with the Indian team,” the BCCI president Shashank Manohard told . “We will renew his contract.”Kirsten told the paper he had not been contacted by Cricket South Africa.Under Kirsten, India moved to No. 1 in the ICC’s Test rankings and they have won six of their last seven bilateral ODI series.

Warwickshire have announced that a proposed £30m ground redevelopment due to be completed in summer 2011 will now be able progress as planned after objections were raised by local residents.It will be relief for Warwickshire after the ECB threatened to remove the ground’s Test status after the redevelopment plans, proposed first in May 2009 were stalled by the Birmingham city council’s planning committee.At the time Gordon Hollins, the ECB’s head of venue partnership, said: “Edgbaston falls some way short of ECB’s facilities criteria in a number of areas which is clearly not a sustainable position if Edgbaston is to retain the right to host major matches.”However, with the plans now agreed there will be the construction of a major new stand on the south side of the ground, increasing capacity to 25,000 and a 500-plus cover banqueting suite and exclusive members’ areas will be erected. Alongside this the players’ and media area will be revamped.Demolition of the old facilities commenced in mid-January and Warwickshire have been waiting for news, following an objection from a small residents group which took its case to the Court of Appeal, at the end of December. The application to appeal was rejected.Colin Povey, the Warwickshire chief executive said: “The redevelopment of the ground is critical to ensure Edgbaston keeps its competitive edge and remains a worthy contender in the race to secure international matches.”This result is not only fantastic news for us, our players, members and cricket fans, but also for the economy of the West Midlands. There is great excitement at the club about the proposed changes and I hope we can now look forward to starting the building work without further delay.”The next 18 months will be an important chapter in the history of Edgbaston and Warwickshire county cricket club. Our plans have received strong support from the city council, Advantage West Midlands and the majority of local residents.”