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Barry Richards has joined the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) as a consultant for their national academy. The PCB convinced Richards after Greg Chappell agreed to serve in an advisory capacity.According to an AFP report, Rameez Raja, the PCB’s chief executive, said that the hirings were an investment in Pakistani cricket’s future, and that their experience would help develop players. “Richards will come for 30 days in a year as consultant for not only the national academy, but would add to our commitment to secure our future,” Raja said. “Our main problem is batting and through these two great players our players [the trainees at the academy] will get useful guidance.”Both Richards and Chappell are great thinkers [and] have good ideas, so they would have encompassing roles under which they would also prepare coaching manuals which suit our conditions. Due to less movement our batsmen play more towards the on-side. The manuals would teach them how to play these shots correctly under all conditions.”Daryl Foster, who served the Pakistan team as a bowling coach in 2001 and 2003, was expected to arrive at the national academy as a consultant in July. Interestingly, a few days ago Inzamam-ul-Haq had said that he would have liked Foster to return as a bowling coach for the national team.

Carl Hooper is set to join for Lancashire this week and could make his county debut against Middlesex at Lord’s on Friday (May 9).Hooper has been signed as a short-term replacement for the injured Harbhajan Singh and is only expected to remain with Lancashire for five weeks.Lancashire admitted that they have been inundated with calls from players’ agents since it was revealed that Harbhajan had suffered a finger injury. Although they have asked him for clarification of his position, it is not clear when he will be fit to play for the county.Hooper’s arrival would be timely boost as Lancashire have been laid low by a `flu bug which has left them struggling to field a side.

Sri Lanka’s five-man selection committee will select the Test squad for theforthcoming three-match series against India on Thursday night and they lookset to omit veteran batsmen Aravinda de Silva.De Silva, recently cleared by the Sri Lankan board of the match fixingallegations levied against him by Mukesh Gupta in the Central Bureau ofInvestigation (CBI) report, was not awarded a player contract in June, buthad been selected in the 26-man training squad for the India tour.De Silva and Tillakaratne Dilshan, both of whom played against England inMarch, are expected to be dropped, as in form opener Avishka Gunawardene andveteran middle order batsman Hashan Tillakaratne are earmarked for recalls.This is not the first time that the star batsman has been dumped. He hasonly played sporadically in Sri Lanka’s successful one-day squad since the1999 World Cup and he was dropped for the three-Test tour of South Africalast December.Sri Lanka struggled without his experience and he was eventually sent toSouth Africa for the final Test at Centurion, as a replacement for UpulChandana, who suffered a hand injury. He stayed with the team for their fivematch one-day series in New Zealand and was selected for the England series,in which he scored his 19th Test century in the first Test at Galle.Since then, however, he has played little competitive cricket and questionshave been raised by his laissez faire attitude to training. He has been inand out of the country and there is the suspicion that he no longer has theappetite for Test cricket, especially after failing to turn up for athree-day training camp in Dambulla before the Coca-Cola Cup.Unfortunately, it seems that there has been little communicationbetween the selectors and De Silva. He was understandably disappointed tohave not been awarded a player contract and has been left guessing as to hisposition within Sri Lankan cricket.A recall and a proper farewell is not out of the question – it has happenedtoo many times before to rule it out – but that depends on the performanceof the middle order in the first two Test matches. Certainly, if injuriesoccur, he can expect a call.Sri Lanka are likely to play seven batsmen. Sanath Jayasuriya, MarvanAtapattu, Mahela Jayawardene and Russel Arnold are automatic selections, butthe remaining three places will be the subject of some conjecture atThursdays selection meeting.Early indications suggest that Avishka Gunwardene may be rewarded for recentfine form and asked to open the innings, pushing Atapattu down to numberthree. Jayasuriya may prefer, however, to stick with his erstwhile openingpartner in Test cricket.Hashan Tillakaratne looks certain to play after a two-year absence since the1999 World Cup, when he and Roshan Mahanama were summarily dropped as theselectors looked to the future. Unlike Mahanama, however, he never gave uphope of playing again and has impressed with a stack of runs in the domesticseason and a good attitude. Captain of Nondescripts Cricket Club he toppedthe averages having scored 665 runs at 110.83 and made three hundreds.His tenacious batting style has helped to bring him back into recognitiontoo, with Sri Lanka’s middle order failing too often in recent times. The34-year-old used to be one of Sri Lanka’s most consistent Test batsmen,averaging 38.59 after 52 matches, and the selectors will be hoping that hecan add some steel to the batting line up.Kumar Sangakkara’s position is apparently in doubt after some poor form inrecent times, but his omission would be scandalous. He was the third highestSri Lankan run scorer in the last Test series against England and was thehighest run scoring in South Africa. With four half centuries to his name ina relatively short career his name should be penciled in immediately.Whether he keeps wicket or not will depend on whether the selectors arewilling to hand Romesh Kaluwitharana another chance. He was jettisonedbehind the stumps after his inconsistency with the bat, but the selectorsmay look favourably upon him after a more consistent run of form in theone-day game of late. If he plays then Gunawardene would have to make way.The bowling is simpler. Chaminda Vaas, Dilhara Fernando and MuttiahMuralitharan can start marking out their run-ups, but the selection of thethird seamer is harder now with Nuwan Zoysa still on the sidelines. SureshPerera, Ruchira Perera, and Dinusha Fernando are all in the running, withRuchira Perera being the slight favourite. It could though be decided by who bowls best in the current practice game against India.

Four current Somerset players will be taking part in the Cricket World Cup that gets underway in South Africa next month, whilst another two former players have enjoyed mixed fortunes.As expected Andy Caddick and Marcus Trescothick were named in the England squad of fifteen and they will be joined by all rounder Ian Blackwell.New boy Blackwell has made quite an impression in the VB One Day International triangular tournament that is currently taking place in Australia with a number of valuable contributions with both bat and ball.Whilst `Blackie’s’ inclusion in the squad for the World Cup was not unexpected, it is worth remembering that just twelve months ago he was spending the winter working in the office at the County Ground in Taunton.Just after the Christmas break last year the former Derbyshire all rounder decided to work hard on his fitness levels and change his dietary regime, which he found hard work, so he will be absolutely delighted to have made it into the squad because that was his target.Nixon McLean, one of Somerset’s trio of new signings for 2003 will also be taking part in the Cricket World Cup. The twenty nine year old paceman who played the last of his 44 One Day Internationals in 2001 has been playing cricket for Natal where he has been enjoying some good returns.Roland Lefebvre, who played for Somerset back in the early 1990’s before moving onto Glamorgan will also be out in South Africa. The talented all rounder, who will be forty in early February has just been named as captain of the Dutch team for the tournament.However, Steve Waugh another Somerset old boy was not so fortunate, and will no doubt be disappointed to have missed out on a place in the Australian squad.

Lord’s could stage neutral Test matches and matches in the proposed Twenty20 Champions League to assist the MCC in fund raising as it plans to spend up to £200 million to redevelop the ground ahead of its bicentenary in 2014.A report it the Guardian today says that a number of proposals are being considered by Keith Bradshaw, the MCC’s secretary and chief executive, after a whistlestop visit to India over the weekend.Bradshaw met with Lalit Modi, the IPL’s commissioner, in Mohali and the possibility of bringing the Twenty20 Champions League to London was discussed. The main stumbling block appears to be the timing as the event can only be played after the ICC Champions Trophy which finishes in late September. “The MCC was positive about the idea and are eager to proceed, subject to ECB clearance,” an IPL official told Cricinfo.The Guardian also claimed that the possibility of Pakistan playing Australia at Lord’s had been raised earlier in the year after the Australians’ tour of Pakistan had been scrapped on security grounds.”It is our heartbeat to have major matches, so as well as our England Tests and ODIs we have to look at whether there is the potential to stage other sorts of cricket here such as neutral Test matches,” Bradshaw, who could face some tough questions at the MCC’s annual meeting later today, told the newspaper. “We would be very open to staging neutral Tests and, in terms of embracing what’s been mooted in terms of IPL, the Champions League or the English Premier League, why not? We have a very open mind.”While the ECB, who would need to be consulted before any other matches could be staged at Lord’s, might not object to the Twenty20 Champions League being held in London, it would probably take a dimmer view of neutral Tests for fear of the impact they might have on the traditional summer fixtures.However, Lord’s is under threat as a venue because of the ECB’s new strategy of allocating international matches which has seen traditional venues struggle to get high-profile fixtures with games being switched to new centres such as Cardiff and Southampton. That has led to speculation that Lord’s, which in recent years has hosted two Tests every summer, might only get one as more venues fight for the limited number of matches.”We would prefer to know exactly what our major matches are going to be for the next 10 years, given that we are spending £200m on the ground, but we have moved to a very commercial situation where our fellow grounds are no longer our family but our competitors in a bidding process,” Bradshaw said. “We bid a lot more for those matches than we ever have before. We will take account of what the ECB is trying to achieve and we are conscious of player fixtures and broadcasting contracts, but we have a very open mind and we would be very keen to host a Champions League event.”

The deeply divisive dispute which at times has threatened the future of cricket in Kenya is almost over after lengthy meetings over the weekend ended in an agreement to implement a new constitution and hold fresh elections on May 21.The deal was thrashed out by Peter Chingoka, the Zimbabwe Cricket Union chairman, and Percy Sonn, the ICC’s vice-president, who had been sent to Kenya as part of an Africa Cricket Association delegation. The pair arrived on Friday and from the off made it clear that this was the last chance for Kenyan cricket.At 8.30am on Saturday they sat down with representatives from the Kenya Cricket Association and Cricket Kenya, the new government-backed body, and 18 hours later finally reached a deal.Sharad Ghai and the remainder of the KCA executive had, so it is reported, continued in their bid to retain control, but Chingoka and Sonn were adamant that things had to change. The turning point came when two regions which had backed Ghai’s regime – Nairobi and Central – switched sides, leaving the KCA executive in an untenable position.”We can now walk away with dignity,” said Ghai. “We only wanted to be heard. If the stakeholders do not want you, you leave. This is not a private business.” While the sentiments will be welcomed by almost all of Kenyan cricket, the words themselves will cause more than a few wry smiles. Dignity was surrendered a long time ago, and the stakeholders have not wanted the existing board for some time.The elections will be for a 20-man council. The Nairobi Provincial Cricket Association, which has now merged with the KCA’s Nairobi district, will have eight representatives; Coast will have six, and Central and Rift three each.The timetable for change is as follows:-April 11 A group, made up of three representatives from the KCA and three from Cricket Kenya will deliver the draft for a new constitution to Sonn.April 13 Sonn replies with any amendments.April 15 Amended agreement for the fresh constitution agreed by executive.April 16 Notices sent out for a Special General Meeting, to be held on May 7, to approve the new constitution, and also for elections to be held on May 21.It is reported that none of the existing KCA executive intend to fight the new elections.Meanwhile, the ACA will remain in Nairobi and carry out investigations as to what has happened to the monies given to the KCA by the ICC.One of the people present at the weekend’s meeting praised the role of Sonn and Chingoka, saying that they had dealt with an extremely complex situation sensibly and firmly.

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Phil Jaques capped a memorable match by adding a damaging century to his first-innings 240 as Australia A set India A an imposing 482 for victory at Cairns. The visiting openers made a positive reply, cutting the deficit by 117 at stumps, as Robin Uthappa, who survived three missed catches, posted a boundary-filled 67 and Gautam Gambhir collected 40.In the first innings Jaques showed his fine application and today he unleashed, crashing an intimidating 117 that included seven fours and five sixes from 103 deliveries. Australia A held a lead of 207 after dismissing their opponents early in the first session, but Brad Haddin refused to enforce the follow-on and his batsmen dashed for quick runs, scoring at almost a run a ball before the declaration at 7 for 274.The openers were again the most impressive and Jaques showed his powers of destruction in the 167-run stand while Rogers raised his second fifty of the match. Rogers departed first for 64, but Jaques continued to flex and brought up his hundred with a six that hit the grandstand.Jaques launched two more sixes before finding Subramaniam Badrinath at cover from Venugopal Rao’s offspin, and Travis Birt (10), Shaun Marsh (1) and Mark Cosgrove (18) soon followed. Rao benefited from the home team’s aggressive attitude with four wickets, but he also gave up 79 runs in 12 overs. Piyush Chawla grabbed two victims before the declaration came at tea, Mitchell Johnson ending the onslaught with another shot that struck the grandstand.Johnson and Shaun Tait cleaned up the India A innings within seven overs this morning as Johnson claimed 4 for 45 and Tait picked up 3 for 67. Parthiv Patel, the former Test wicketkeeper, opened with a couple of fours and a six in his 43, but the visitors were all out for 254.

The Australian batsman Brad Hodge, who is currently on tour in India, has signed a two-year contract with Lancashire. He and Muttiah Muralitharan will be Lancashire’s overseas players in 2005 as they bid to reclaim their Division One status.”When I recently became aware of Lancashire’s offer, despite interest from other counties, it didn’t take long to make up my mind,” said Hodge. “Lancashire is a big club, and I have always enjoyed Old Trafford, along with having good experiences of the county from my league cricket days.”Obviously the priority is a return to Division One of the Championship,” he added, “and I look forward to teaming up with Murali to hopefully achieve this goal.”Hodge, 29, was the leading scorer in the 2004 Championship with 1528 runs at just under 62, and helped Leicestershire win the Twenty20 Cup with a superb 77 in the final. But last month he rejected a two-year extension to stay at Grace Road, which means that Lancashire will be his third county in four years – he also played for Durham in 2002 before moving to Leicestershire the following season.Mike Watkinson, Lancashire’s cricket manager, commented: “I am delighted thatBrad will be joining us. He is a proven runscorer who will be a great asset to the squad.”

Sri Lanka’s captain, Marvan Atapattu, expressed his pride at witnessing Muttiah Muralitharan break the world Test bowling record, adding that his team was so keen to help him achieve the feat, that they never felt as though they were playing a second-string Zimbabwe team."I am sure the boys still haven’t felt that we have played a second-string side," said Atapattu, after Sri Lanka had beaten Zimbabwe by an innings and 240 runs in the first Test at Harare. "That was basically overshadowed by Murali’s efforts. It really lifted us."It was a memorable match," he added, "not only because Murali broke the world record, but for this being my first Test match as official captain. We deserved to win the way we played right from the beginning. All in all it was a fantastic Test match for us."In terms of Sri Lanka’s history, Atapattu believes that the day ranks alongside the World Cup victory in 1996. "It was one of those memorable days," he said. "It ranks next to winning the World Cup. To have captained on the occasion where Murali went past theMilestone, I can’t ask for anything more."Murali’s heroics aside, Atapattu expressed his concerns about Sri Lanka’s middle order, hoping that they would click in the next Test at Bulawayo. "It is not always easy to bat with the new ball," he said. "But we got through the initial period and it was easy to make runs after that, as it was a perfect batting wicket. Zimbabwe bowled well with the second new ball, but they couldn’t do the same with the old ball. It was one of those days the middle order failedI hope things will get better as we go along."Atapattu also praised the bowling of Nuwan Zoysa and Chaminda Vaas. "We’ll have to handle Zoysa carefully so that he will serve Sri Lanka cricket for a long time. Just because he got five wickets doesn’t mean that he is going to play right throughout the series. We’ve got to manage him properly to get the maximum out of him."It was a hint that Zoysa, whose career has been dogged by injuries, may be replaced by Dilhara Fernando for Friday’s second Test at Bulawayo. "We like to see Dilhara getting some match practice bowling in a Test match. Murali also deserves a break but I don’t know whether he thinks it that way."

Go to any country, town, or one-horse pit-stop in the world, and the chances are that there’ll be an Australian somewhere in the vicinity. Maybe it’s something to do the tyranny of distance, but whatever the motivation, the fact remains that Aussies love to throw on the old backpack and travel the globe.Here in Guyana, it’s the same old story. The cricket’s in town, and the Australians have come to support the team, soak up the local flavour and savour the spectacle. They’ve come from Melbourne via South Africa. They’ve come from Sydney via Caracas. They’ve come with blow-up kangaroos, Aboriginal flags and vital supplies of Vegemite. And they’ve come with the expectation of great cricket and an experience that will last a lifetime. So far, they haven’t been disappointed.”Everyone warned me not to come, but I’m glad I didn’t pay attention,” says Dean from Melbourne. “So many people told me Guyana was too dangerous, but I’m having a fabulous time. There are dodgy spots in town, but aren’t there places like that everywhere?”He’s not alone in this thinking. Official sources, including the Australian Foreign Affairs Department, emphasise the high crime rate and political instability of the region. But according to those who have made the trip, the fiction of this South American section of the Caribbean is very different from the fact.”The people here are fantastic,” says Luke, from Point Lonsdale in Victoria. “We’ve had nothing but hospitality and friendliness.” Luke runs Waving The Flag, an outfit specialising in cricket tourism. In two years of operation, the WTF crew have made the trek to India, Sri Lanka and Sharjah. This year alone they’ve taken groups to the Ashes and the World Cup. But the West Indies tour is the most popular. There are 35 in the group in Georgetown, but they’re expecting a further 80 to join the ranks by the time the circus reaches Barbados. “Cricket in the Caribbean has such a different atmosphere,” says Luke. “It’s the game, the music, the crowds, the noise … the whole shebang that makes that bloody long trip worthwhile.”For many from a land down under, coming to this neck of the woods is a sporting dream come true. “This is my first trip outside the country,” says Bern from Melbourne. “I’ve thought about this my whole life and now I’m here. The weather’s warm, the beer’s cold and there’s wonderful cricket in the centre. Does life get any better than this?” Bern’s brought along his green-and-gold wig for the occasion. “It’s a beauty isn’t it?” he says, patting it proudly. “I’ve been offered a lot of money for it, but it’s not coming off my head. It’s a kind of cultural-exchange gesture.”Mat from Sydney is on his first trip to the Caribbean, and is impressed with what he’s encountered so far. “It’s brilliant,” he says. “The people make it so easy to like the place. We played a game against a local team yesterday, and they couldn’t do enough for us. We’re as far away from Australia as we can get and yet there’s this bond between us.”Diplomatic missions aside, however, there is ample evidence of that other well-known aspect of Australians abroad. They do like a drink. Belinda from Sydney has momentarily lost interest in the game, and is sipping vodka mixed with something suspiciously green. “I have no idea what’s in here, but it doesn’t taste too bad,” she says, sharing around a concoction that has the consistency of soup and the smell of cough medicine.They haven’t all come on organised tours. Anton from Brisbane is going solo at Bourda, but hasn’t let that spoil his fun. He’s joined forces with a sombrero-wearing local called Rupert, who’s brandishing maracas, a feather duster and an unbelievably large bottle of rum. “I think I’ve been invited home to meet the family,” says the boy from Brissie. “Or maybe I’ve promised to marry his daughter. I’m not sure which, but who cares? I’m having a great day.”Dave from Canberra has become best mates with Vishnu, a Georgetown resident. Apparently they share a common interest in unusual statistics. “Vishnu reckons Shane Warne is the only bowler with a fat arse to average under 30,” says Dave, who is on his fifth beer and waved goodbye to logic (and the Wisden Wizard) hours ago. Vishnu nods, before the new bosom buddies return to their discussions of other anatomically related sports trivia. As the sound system pumps out the unofficial Aussie anthem; Cold Chisel’s Working Class Man, the cheer goes up and the Southern Cross flags wave. It seems that even in Guyana, there is a little corner that is forever Australia.Christine Davey is a freelance writer based in Melbourne, Australia.