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Robbie Hart, the former Test wicketkeeper, has been appointed to the board of New Zealand Cricket (NZC) to replace the former chairman Alan Isaac, who is now the vice-president of the ICC.Hart, 35, was elected at NZC’s annual general meeting in Wellington, where he joined the former spin bowler Stephen Boock as the only ex-Test cricketers on the eight-member board.A gloveman who represented New Zealand in 11 Tests and two one-day internationals, Hart also spent 12 years playing for Northern Districts before his retirement in August 2004.Hart also has a background in law and corporate affairs, and until recently served on the board of the New Zealand Cricket Players Association.

The BCCI has convened a special general body meeting (SGM) in Mumbai on Saturday to discuss the reappointment of the board’s disciplinary committee. The tenure of the committee, which is investigating the conduct of former IPL chairman Lalit Modi, expired at September’s annual general body meeting. The board, however, failed to reappoint or reconstitute it, technically stripping it of its existence. The BCCI secretary N Srinivasan told PTI news agency that the reappointment of the committee was “a minor thing” which had been pointed out by Modi’s lawyer, Mehmood Abdi last month.The SGM, ostensibly to tackle a “minor” issue, will be held in the backdrop of several major, unexpected reversals for a board that is usually used to getting its own way. One of the BCCI’s more serious challenges is the stuttering preparation for IPL 2011.The past six months have been dogged by the controversial termination of two franchises (Rajasthan Royals and the Kings XI Punjab), and a protracted ownership-pattern dispute over a third, (the new Kochi franchise). As a result of the controversies, the player auction has been delayed by several months and going by the BCCI’s legal battles, could well be held in the middle of the 2011 World Cup.The confusion over the eventual number of teams that will be involved next season affects every component of the world’s most lucrative domestic league: its teams/ franchises, its players and its very structure. IPL 2011 now faces several scenarios:

• If both expelled teams take part in the player auction, it will become much harder to prevent them at a later date from playing in the IPL, as any players who sign with them would then be left without a team.
• The league is currently slated to have eight teams playing each other home and away, just like in the first three seasons. A ninth team would naturally result in an unbalanced schedule, while 10 teams could increase the overall number of fixtures and once again rake up the issue of player burnout.
• The board is considering delaying the player auction until March, by which time its legal issues are expected to be resolved, and it will know how many teams will be playing. That would, however, result in the player auction clashing with the World Cup and will prevent teams from being able to use their players in promotions and advertising campaigns, potentially causing them to breach their obligations to their sponsors.

Rajasthan are already back in the league less than two months after being ‘terminated’ due to an interim stay order from Justice Srikrishna, the arbitor in the case. While the board has appealed against Srikrishna’s ruling to the Bombay High Court, legal opinion suggests it will be difficult to overturn his order. There is also believed to be a sentiment within the IPL governing council that the cases of Rajasthan and Punjab are “reasonably strong”, and that the BCCI’s leadership is going after too many people at the same time.Srikrishna has restored Rajasthan’s rights under the franchise agreement, including the right to take part in the player auction. Srikrishna also stated that the BCCI could not make any rules that would adversely affect Rajasthan, for example changing any of the league’s rules, hampering the board’s ability to alter its plans as the legal cases unfold. Srikrishna may have stepped down from the Punjab hearing, but it is believed that the stay in favour of Rajasthan could have a bearing on their case when it comes up for hearing.Punjab accused the board of “deliberately” delaying its proceedings so that the December 6 deadline for the retention of select players in each team would expire, leaving Punjab looking in from the outside. The Bombay High Court ruled in Punjab’s favour, and extended the deadline to December 8, handing the BCCI yet another setback, and suggesting Punjab has a case against the board.The longer the cases drag on, the harder it becomes for the board, and the franchises, to plan for the 2011 tournament.

Darren Gough believes there is no way back for Australia in the Ashes and can’t see them winning a Test regardless of who makes up their bowling attack. The situation has become so desperate for the hosts that there are growing calls for Shane Warne to make a comeback but, while Gough thinks the legspinner would seriously consider it, he says Cricket Australia can’t be seen to be making such a backward step.As England completed their crushing innings-and-71-run victory in Adelaide, a campaign was launched to encourage Warne – who last played Tests four years ago – out of retirement to help salvage the series. Bookmakers have cut their odds on such a move, and a website has been launched to raise money, while Warne himself called the talk “flattering”.”It’s not going happen. If someone rang Shane and said ‘we really need you’ I think he’d probably say yes, but Cricket Australia just aren’t going to do that,” Gough, who struck up a close friendship with Warne during their playing days, told ESPNcricinfo. “They would never ask him because it would be going back on their own statement to back youth. It just won’t happen.”I can’t see how they are going to win a game,” Gough added. “Their best chance is at Perth where their record is very good, but England have got players who all play well off the back foot so they won’t be worried about extra bounce – they’ll actually enjoy it. I just can’t see that they have the bowlers, whoever they pick, to bowl England out twice.”Gough is bemused by the decision to dump Mitchell Johnson for the second Test despite his wicketless display at Brisbane and thinks the selectors will have to immediately backtrack on that call for Perth. Johnson is currently working with Troy Cooley at the WACA, rather than playing for Western Australia in the Sheffield Shield, and could be one of three players recalled alongside Ben Hilfenhaus and Nathan Hauritz.”The reason they are struggling is because they can’t take 20 wickets,” Gough, speaking at the Red Tractor beef and lamb launch ‘Give the Bird a Break’, said. “They left out their best strike bowler in Mitchell Johnson which was a total surprise to me. He’s the one guy who can bowl a team out and Ricky Ponting knows that and that’s why he has backed him in the media. It will be interesting to see which way they go. They’ll have to bring Johnson back to partner Ryan Harris so they have two strike bowlers.”England will also need to make a change to their attack for Perth after Stuart Broad was ruled out for the rest of the tour with a stomach injury. The three reserve quicks – Chris Tremlett, Tim Bresnan and Ajmal Shahzad – will play against Victoria in a three-day match starting on Friday and despite his strong Yorkshire connection, Gough would go with Tremlett for the Test match.”If it had been any other pitch over there I’d have gone for Tim Bresnan but I just think we need that bit of extra firepower at Perth where there’s a touch more bounce,” he said. “You look at history and the guys that have done well there are the tall bowlers – Curtly Ambrose, Courtney Walsh, Glenn McGrath – the guys who can hit back-of-a-length to make the most of the extra bounce and carry. That’s the only reason I’d favour Tremlett. Bresnan is a fine bowler and in any other conditions I think he’d be the man.”I think Tremlett has developed a lot over the last few years and his move to Surrey has clearly helped him. The key for England is to continue to be positive and I think Tremlett is the man who can help them do that in Perth,” Gough added. “He would send out a positive message that England aren’t going to sit back on their 1-0 lead. However, if they come across some flatter pitches later in the series I’d play Bresnan because he bowls good reverse swing and accurately. For this Test, though, they need to replace Broad’s wicket-taking ability.”Gough has huge sympathy for Broad having twice experienced the major disappointment of leaving an Ashes tour. In 1994-95 Gough had produced a fine all-round performance in Sydney with 51 and 6 for 49 but then suffered a stress fracture of his foot, and eight years later returned home without playing a game. “He’ll be distraught,” Gough said. “An Ashes tour is the one you want to play on. I came home from my first Ashes tour and my last – without bowling a ball in 2002 – so I know exactly how he’ll be feeling right now.”Darren Gough is launching the ‘Give the Bird a Break’ virtual Christmas cooking school for men together with Red Tractor beef and lamb. For his recipe videos and top tips visit www.simplybeefandlamb.co.uk/birdabreak

Canterbury beat Wellington in a close game by five runs at the Aorangi Oval in Timaru to nudge ahead of them in the points table in the HRV Cup and keep their hopes of making the finals.Wellington won the toss and elected to field but it was Canterbury who got off to a good start with openers Rob Nicol and Peter Fulton (25) putting on 65 in the first six overs before Fulton was dismissed. Nicol celebrated his inclusion in New Zealand’s preliminary 30-man squad for the 2011 World Cup by top-scoring with a blistering 85 off 48 balls. Handy contributions from Dean Brownlie (22) and Michael Papps (33), together with Johan van der Wath’s cameo of 22 off just 9 balls at the end carried Canterbury to a competitive 207 for 6 off their allotted overs.Wellington started their chase in positive fashion with Jesse Ryder and England import Luke Wright putting on 115 in the first 9 overs. van der Wath struck to pick up the crucial wicket of Wright and Canterbury were soon back in the game as Carl Frauenstein dismissed Ryder and had Grant Elliot run out in quick succession. James Franklin and Stewart Rhodes tried to get Canterbury’s chase back on track with a 49-run fourth-wicket partnership. However Canterbury lost the momentum when Frauenstein picked up the crucial wicket of Franklin. They needed 26 runs off 15 balls but failed to get over the line as they only managed to reach 202 for 4.

Central Districts left-arm spinners George Worker and English import Ian Blackwell led them to a comfortable win over Northern Districts at Pukekura Park in New Plymouth. CD needed only 17.3 overs to chase ND’s 110 and pick up a six-wicket win. The win means CD are level with their opponents on points at second in the table, with just one more round of games to be played before the final.Worker and Blackwell took five wickets between them for 35 runs in eight overs, and stalled a Northern Districts innings that was motoring on till the last ball of the eighth over when Herschelle Gibbs was trapped lbw by Blackwell for 7. That left Northern Districts at 67 for 2. Another left-arm spinner, England’s Michael Yardy, then picked up the big wicket of Brad Wilson (37) in the next over. Worker got into the act in the tenth over, taking the wickets of Anton Devcich and James Marshall to leave ND in trouble at 71 for 5.Scott Styris tried to lead a recovery with his 19, but failed to receive any support as none of the remaining six batsmen reached double figures as ND were all out in 18.5 overs. Worker finished with 3 for 18. A large chunk of the early runs came off fast bowler Adam Milne, who was named in New Zealand’s Twenty20 squad for their series against Pakistan. He went at 11.50 in his two overs.Central Districts’ chase suffered two early setbacks after fast bowler Graeme Aldridge dismissed Peter Ingram and Worker to leave them at 13 for 2. Captain Jamie How steadied the ship with his 35, and Ross Taylor, who will captain New Zealand in the Twenty20s against Pakistan, took his team home with 35 off 29.

South Zone have taken a stranglehold of their semi-final against Central Zone at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad, after their seamers helped bowl Central out for 178 on the second day. South didn’t enforce the follow-on and were 397 ahead with eight wickets in hand by the end of the day.After the first day had been dominated by South’s batsmen, the first session of the second day saw five wickets fall. Central got South’s last two wickets cheaply, fast bowler Umesh Yadav dismissing overnight double-centurion Manish Pandey for 218 to end the innings. But Central were in trouble by lunch, with each of the three Karnataka seamers in South’s team – Sreenath Aravind, Vinay Kumar and Abhimanyu Mithun – taking a wicket each, to leave them 61 for 3 at the break. Aravind set the tone, bowling a very tight line and getting Central opener Aakash Chopra for four. Vinay Kumar and Mithun picked it up from there, as Central’s top order struggled.The seamers continued to dominate after the break, with Vinay Kumar testing the batsmen with some short balls. He got Naman Ojha to fend one to forward short leg and Abhinav Mukund held on to a sharp catch. Devendra Bundela never looked comfortable. His first runs were an edge off Mithun that fell short of Manish Pandey at second slip and ran away to the third-man fence. He looked uneasy against Vinay Kumar’s short stuff. Vinay Kumar tried a slower bouncer and it ended up reaching Bundela at under 80kph, but Bundela still almost ducked under it and hooked it for a single to deep square leg as an afterthought. Rajasthan’s Ashok Menaria looked the best of Central’s batsman, and raced to a boundary-filled 79 off 63 balls. But the rest of Central’s batting didn’t support him and they conceded a 265-run first-innings lead.South decided to bat again and both their openers – Mukund and Robin Uthappa – got half-centuries as South reached 132 for 2 at the close of play, with Mukund still batting on 60.

North Zone have the advantage in their match against West Zone at the Moti Bagh Stadium in Vadodara. West trail by 284 runs with five wickets in hand at the end of the second day, but it could have been worse for them. After North had amassed 460 in the first innings, West slumped to 63 for 4 before a 107-run partnership between Mumbai’s Wasim Jaffer and Saurashtra’s Ravindra Jadeja gave their score some respectability. Legspinner Amit Mishra dismissed Jaffer four overs before stumps, leaving West staring at a stiff task.North started the day on 315 for 5 and their lower order added some useful runs to take them to a strong total. Overnight batsman Uday Kaul took his score from 55 to 89 and then seamer Sumit Narwal scored 59 off 53 balls, as West struggled to wipe out the tail. Narwal then did the job with the ball, taking three early wickets to leave West in all sorts of trouble.

The ICC tribunal announced a sanction of ten years’ ineligibility for Salman Butt (with five years suspended); seven years for Mohammad Asif (with two years suspended) and five years’ ineligibility for Mohammad Amir. The sanctions follow investigations of their role in spot-fixing, along with Mazhar Majeed, a players’ agent, during Pakistan’s tour of England in 2010.The tribunal released a statement after announcing the decision. The full text is reproduced below:’The independent Anti-Corruption Tribunal which has been hearing the cases of Salman Butt, Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif under the ICC’s Anti-Corruption Code for Players and Player Support Personnel had adjourned on Tuesday 11th January 2011 after a six day hearing. ‘The Tribunal reconvened today for further submissions and thereafter announced the following decisions.’The Tribunal found that the charge under Article 2.1.1 of the Code that Mr Butt agreed to bat out a maiden over in the Oval Test match played between Pakistan and England from 18 to 21 August 2010 was dismissed, whereas the charge under Article 2.4.2 that Mr Butt failed to disclose to the ICC’s ACSU the approach by Mr Majeed that Mr Butt should bat a maiden over in the Oval Test was proved.’The Tribunal found that the charges under Article 2.1.1 of the Code that (respectively) Mr Asif agreed to bowl and did bowl a deliberate no ball in the Lord’s Test match played between Pakistan and England from 26 to 29 August 2010, Mr Amir agreed to bowl and did bowl two deliberate no balls in the same Test, and Mr Butt was party to the bowling of those deliberate no balls, were proved.’We impose the following sanctions:’On Mr Butt a sanction of ten years ineligibility, five years of which are suspended on condition that he commits no further breach of the code and that he participates under the auspices of the Pakistan Cricket Board in a programme of Anti-Corruption education.’On Mr Asif a sanction of seven years ineligibility two years of which are suspended on condition that he commits no further breach of the code and that he participates under the auspices of the Pakistan Cricket Board in a programme of Anti-Corruption education.’On Mr Amir sanction of five years of ineligibility.’No further sanctions are imposed on any player and no orders are made as to costs. ‘The Tribunal has recommended to the ICC certain changes to the Code with a view to providing flexibility in relation to minimum sentences in exceptional circumstances.’The Tribunal note that it is for the ICC, whether and if so when, the fully reasoned decision in respect of the breaches of the Code and of the sanctions imposed in consequence should be published.’It is our strong and unanimous view that it is in the interests of all concerned in the world of cricket that publication should take place as soon as possible.’

ScorecardA 101-run partnership for the eighth wicket between Rizwan Haider and Abdur Rauf helped Baluchistan recover from 180 for 7 to finish with 299 in their first innings in the Pentangular Cup final. Sind’s fast bowlers Mohammad Sami and Sohail Khan had rocked Baluchistan’s top order, taking three wickets each. But Haider managed to get 81 off 133 balls and Rauf got 45 to stop the flow of wickets.Sind had 13 overs to negotiate at the end of the day and lost their captain Khalid Latif for 14 to Mohammad Irfan. Khurram Manzoor hit six boundaries and reached 38 off 41 balls.

The West Indies Players’ Association (WIPA) has questioned the decision to exclude Chris Gayle, Ramnaresh Sarwan and Shivnarine Chanderpaul from the West Indies squad for the first two one-day internationals against Pakistan. The association suggested there were factors other than “performance, potential, playing conditions and preparedness” that were behind the decision, and that these reasons were not explained to the players.WIPA filed a notice of dispute, claiming that the selection process was not “fair and transparent”, and was in breach of the memorandum of understanding between WIPA and the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB)The WICB’s explanation for axing the three experienced players was that it was in keeping with their policy to expose young players to international cricket. The WICB chief executive Ernest Hilaire also added that none of the senior players had been axed permanently, and that the selectors would explain to every player how they fit into the long-term plan.The exclusion of Gayle, Sarwan and Chanderpaul comes after a disappointing World Cup campaign for West Indies in which none of the three batsmen scored a half-century against a Test-playing nation.WIPA and the WICB have been at loggerheads over several issues in the past, the most significant stand-off between the two bodies being the one over player contracts that resulted in WIPA boycotting the Bangladesh home series in 2009. The player association had also slammed WICB’s decision not to give Sarwan a central retainer in 2010.In its press release issued on Saturday, WIPA said that after their exclusion from the national squad, Gayle, Sarwan and Chanderpaul should not be stopped from trying to earn money by playing cricket outside the Caribbean.

Match Facts

April 13, Dhaka
Start time 2pm (0800 GMT)Mushfiqur Rahim has been one of the few shining lights for Bangladesh during this series•Associated Press

The Big Picture

The series has been decided, and with one match remaining before Australia enter hibernation mode for the winter, they have one last opportunity to experiment. James Pattinson, the Victorian fast bowler and brother of England’s one-Test wonder Darren, is with the squad and this would be the perfect time to hand him his debut. Cameron White was dropped for the second match and given that Callum Ferguson didn’t get to bat on Monday, there is no reason to expect that White will regain his position on Wednesday. And Tim Paine is on the sidelines as well; he could come in as a specialist batsman, having spent the whole World Cup and the first two games of this tour watching from the dressing rooms.Bangladesh simply need to regain some pride after being assaulted with a deadly weapon – Shane Watson’s bat. His unbeaten 185 featured 15 sixes and 15 fours, and broke all sorts of records, and the hosts must hope it hasn’t done irreparable damage to the confidence of the Bangladesh bowlers. Suhrawadi Shuvo, the left-arm spinner, won’t want to see Watson again after he was smashed for four consecutive sixes, and finished with 0 for 46 from three overs. Bangladesh might not win this third match, but even a competitive performance after being soundly beaten in the first two games would be an achievement.

Form guide

(most recent first)
Bangladesh LLLWW
Australia WWLLW

Watch out for…

While Bangladesh have struggled to compete with Australia, Mushfiqur Rahim has quietly gone about his business and only Shane Watson has scored more runs in the series than his 125. Add to that the fact that Rahim has not yet been dismissed, and he is one Bangladesh player who can hold his head very high after the opening two games. If only he could get a little support.His fellow wicketkeeper Brad Haddin hasn’t enjoyed the same results this series. He made 10 in the first match and 8 in the second, and worryingly for Australia on both occasions he was out walking down the pitch. Perhaps he is losing concentration at the end of a long summer, but Haddin would certainly like to finish the series on a high, personally.

Team news

The time is right for James Pattinson to make his debut, and with the series decided it could be any number of men who sit out to allow the young Victorian to play. Perhaps Mitchell Johnson could be rested, or if the selectors want to attack Bangladesh with pace, Xavier Doherty may make way. Tim Paine could be given a chance as well, although whether he would keep wickets or be included as a specialist batsman remains to be seen.Australia (possible) 1 Shane Watson, 2 Brad Haddin (wk), 3 Ricky Ponting, 4 Michael Clarke (capt), 5 Callum Ferguson, 6 Michael Hussey, 7 Steve Smith, 8 Mitchell Johnson, 9 John Hastings, 10 Brett Lee, 11 Xavier Doherty/James Pattinson.It seems pointless for Bangladesh to take in the same XI after the thrashing on Monday, but who makes way is anyone’s guess. Raqibul Hasan has offered little during this series, and Alok Kapali would be the logical swap for him, unless they want to blood the young uncapped batsman Shuvagoto Hom. Including Rubel Hossain didn’t work on Monday, so Mashrafe Mortaza could be back in the mix.Bangladesh (possible) 1 Tamim Iqbal, 2 Imrul Kayes, 3 Shahriar Nafees, 4 Alok Kapali/Shuvagoto Hom, 5 Shakib Al Hasan (capt), 6 Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), 7 Mahmudullah, 8 Suhrawadi Shuvo, 9 Shafiul Islam, 10 Abdur Razzak, 11 Mashrafe Mortaza.

Pitch and conditions

Both teams know the conditions well after playing two matches at the venue within three days. However, the third match is the only day-night contest in the series, which could make dew a factor as the evening goes on. The forecast for Wednesday is sunny with a top of 35C.

Stats and trivia

• Shane Watson broke all kinds of records on Monday, including the greatest strike-rate among all 150-plus innings in ODI history.
• Suhrawadi Shuvo’s figures of 3-0-46-0 on Monday gave him the third-worst economy rate of all time in an ODI, among bowlers who have sent down at least three overs in an innings. Dolar Mahmud holds the record with 3-0-49-0 against Sri Lanka in 2008, and Sreesanth is second with 3-0-48-0, also against Sri Lanka in 2008.
• If Bangladesh happen to win the final match, they will jump above West Indies on the ODI rankings

Quotes

“It would be best if we don’t think about this Watson innings and instead think about continuing our batting positives.”

Warwickshire’s appeal to overturn the ECB Pitch Panel’s decision to dock them eight points for a ‘poor’ track has failed.An Appeal Panel comprising Ricky Needham (chairman), Cliff Pocock and David Acfield was convened to hear the appeal which relates to Warwickshire’s home Championship match against Worcestershire on 11-14 May 2011.Warwickshire won the match easily but the pitch was widely felt to be unsuitable for first-class cricket. Though the club didn’t deny that charge they felt the procedure, where the ECB was not alerted to concerns about the pitch by the match umpires, but by a member of the media, could offer ground for appeal. Moreover there felt there were extenuating circumstances relating to the new stands, outfield and drainage at Edgbaston.The Appeal Panel, however, heard submissions from both Warwickshire and ECB and decided on both counts not to uphold the appeal. Consequently the eight-point deduction remains and Warwickshire were ordered to pay £3000 costs.