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Four internationals helped themselves to half centuries as India A ended the opening day against Zimbabwe Select at the Harare Sports Club on 331 for 5. Mohammad Kaif won the toss and his batsmen, led by Robin Uthappa’s characteristic 88 off 85 balls, made largely untroubled progress.Uthappa and his opening partner Cheteshwar Pujara got off to a brisk start, adding 56 before Pujara fell for 9, edging to the slips. Parthiv Patel, coming in at No.3, made 67 and was involved in two half century stands. He added 77 and 68 with Uthappa and Kaif respectively, strengthening India’s position. After his departure, Kaif (63) and Rohit Sharma (65) scored patient half centuries but they too failed to convert their scores to three figures. S Badrinath, the Tamil Nadu middle-order batsman, was undefeated on 24 at the close.Chandrakanth Pandit, the coach, said he was satisfied with the number of fruitful partnerships. He also praised Uthappa for his aggressive knock. “They all batted extremely well and dominated the fast bowlers,” Pandit told the . “The only thing I thought could have gone better was that if one or all of them had gone on to get hundreds.”

Min Patel, the former England left-arm spinner, has announced his retirement from first-class cricket after an 19-year career with Kent.Patel made his debut in 1989 and finishes with 630 first-class wickets and 3945 runs alongside 88 one-day scalps. His two England caps came against India in 1996 at Edgbaston and Trent Bridge but he struggled to make an impact and claimed one wicket. He also toured India with England A in 1995 but was troubled by a series of injuries and he played just a single Championship match in 2007.”It has been an honour to represent Kent for the best part of 20 years,” said Patel. “While I feel mentally capable of carrying on, the body has said that ‘enough is enough’.”I would like to thank the whole of the organisation for their support. I wish Rob Key and his team continued success on the field and hope they build on a terrific 2007, and to Graham Johnson and his team on their goal of taking Kent to new heights off the field.”Key paid tribute to Patel’s efforts over the years: “Min has been ever present in the Kent side since I joined the club,” he said. “He has been an inspiration to others throughout his career and there are many cricketers within Kent and beyond who have benefited from his knowledge and advice.”Graham Johnson, Kent’s chairman of cricket, added: “I would like to pay tribute on behalf of everyone who supports Kent cricket to the contribution Min Patel has made over his career. He has been a top-class spinner, very handy batsman and a shrewd tactician who has played at the highest level.”But for some serious injuries I am sure he would have had more opportunities to play for his country. The way he overcame his injuries and his approach to the game are testament to his character and his love of the game.”

This is not an issue worth agonising over. At a time when Caribbean societies are grappling with matters affecting the quality of life in our very small countries, engaging in heated arguments over the captaincy of the West Indies cricket team is both irrelevant, unnecessary and a complete waste of time and energy that should instead be devoted to finding solutions for the real problems of crime, violence, the rising cost of living and entrenched social inequalities.To cut a long story short, Chris Gayle, once fully recovered from his injuries sustained in southern Africa, should be confirmed to lead West Indies in the upcoming home series against Sri Lanka and Australia. Full stop. We don’t even need to have one of those bigging up-type letters of congratulation from the West Indies Cricket Board president.Just send out the press release confirming the appointment and spare us the mamaguile lyrics. Yes, there is a process to be followed, but if the selectors choose not to recommend Gayle after considering the manager’s and coach’s reports from the just-concluded tour, then Gordon Greenidge and his colleagues better just go and find something else to do.Likewise, should the WICB directors or executive or whichever relevant arm of this complicated organisation decide not to ratify that recommendation, it will merely confirm long-held suspicions that horse trading and settling scores are higher on their list of priorities than the best interests of West Indies cricket.None of this should be misconstrued as an attempt to elevate the 28-year-old Jamaican to the status of a Sir Frank Worrell (apologies to Julian Hunte, who, in one of his buttering up specials to Clive Lloyd, described the current team manager as the greatest West Indian captain ever). It’s just that the evidence in South Africa was blindingly obvious that Gayle, for whatever reason, has been capable of uniting the team and getting them to play with a greater level of commitment and consistency than has been seen in recent times.Of course, as with most issues in the public domain, merit and performance don’t count for much. It’s just about like or don’t like, based almost entirely on prejudices and perceived injustices.So the pretentious debate implies that some heinous injustice will be meted out to Ramnaresh Sarwan should he be overlooked for the captaincy in favour of this troublemaking Jamaican with no manners. To claim that race (we just can’t get away from it, can we?) has nothing to do with the issue is a blatant, unadulterated lie. As we see in our politics, we are still some distance away from reaching the level of societal maturity where the majority view is influenced primarily by performance on the job.But then we are not alone in that regard. Just wait until either Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton is confirmed as the Democratic Party’s candidate for the office of President of the United States and watch how all the colour or gender biases will come to the surface in the land of the free and the home of the brave.

There are also those who try to mask their true feelings with the disingenuous claim that Sarwan is the incumbent as captain and only missed out on the tour of Zimbabwe and South Africa because of injury.Again, this ignores the reality that the WICB has always made such appointments on a tour-by-tour or series-by-series basis, at least since those bad old days when leadership was based on which territory the Test match was being played.In any case, what is the big hasikara about acknowledging that Gayle, for all of his many failings and occasional brushes with authority, has exceeded expectations as a leader? Is it so unbearable to concede that the hard-hitting left-handed opener, who always seems to be in a world of his own on the field, is actually well respected by his team-mates and therefore able to get his message across very effectively?As for the contention that this is tantamount to rewarding bad behaviour, just keep in mind that the very same was said at certain times during the careers of Worrell, Lloyd, Lara and almost every captain of note we have ever had. One man’s insubordination is another man’s refusal to accept stupidness, and it’s only with the passage of time that the true picture emerges.The point is that no decision is ever made in West Indies cricket with the benefit of universal acceptability. You do this, and one group feels slighted. You do that, and another segment starts to kick brass.So it’s up to the people in the decision-making positions to have the strength of their convictions, whatever the consequences, and be guided by the fundamental principle of seeking the best interests of the regional game.The perpetual state of flux that is the WICB suggests that such people are in critically short supply. Then again, the same can be said of most of our parliaments.Chris Gayle may ultimately prove to be a complete failure as captain, widening already existing divisions within the ranks and maybe even accelerating the decline into irrelevance. Yet all of that is speculation and supposition. What is fact is the noticeably different attitude and determination of the entire team (not just the Jamaicans) when he is at the helm.Just confirm the man as captain and let’s move on to the real issues of the day.

The Sri Lanka Under-19 team will be arriving in Bangladesh on Monday for a five-match ODI series against the Bangladesh U-19s. The 15-man squad, coached by Roger Gerard Wijesuriya, will play the first match at Bogra on December 12 followed by two more matches at the same venue. The teams will then move on to Fatullah for the final two matches on December 18 and 20 before the visitors head back to Sri Lanka the following dayBangladesh U-19 have just returned from a successful tour of Pakistan where, after drawing the one-off Test in Karachi, they staged a remarkable comeback to win the five-match ODI series 3-2 after losing the first two matches.Bangladesh U-19 squad Sohrawardi Shuvo (capt), Dolar Mahmud, Marshall Ayub, Ashraful Aziz, Shubhashis Roy, Rubel Hossain, Syed Gulam Kibriya, Rony Talukder, Mahmudul Hasan Limon, Nasir Hossain, K. M. Shakil, Mohammad Nadimuddin Mintu, Mithun Ali (wk), Hamidul Islam Himel, Ashraful HossainSri Lanka U-19 squad Ashan Priyanjan Subasinghe (capt), Sachith Shanaka Pathirana, Rumesh Lahiru Thirimanna, Imesh Udayanga Rajapaksha, Dinesh Chandimal Lokuge, Roshane Shiwanka Silva, Kusal Janith Perera, Dilshan Yasika Munaweera, Hasitha Nalinda Ekanayaka, Chatura Madusanka Peiris, Kashapa Wimanga Kodikara, Lahiru Shashendra Gunatilaka, Dasun Madumal Dinayadura, Navin Madushan Kavikara, Harsha Denuwan Fernando

England depart on Saturday for a two-month tour of New Zealand with their coach, Peter Moores, under pressure to reverse a recent run of poor results in Tests which has brought consecutive defeats against India and Sri Lanka. However, the first challenge is in the one-day format where England’s fortunes have taken a significant upturn during the last six months.Paul Collingwood, after an uncertain start to his captaincy tenure against West Indies, has presided over a 4-3 success against India and an even more impressive 3-2 victory in Sri Lanka and is a forming a promising team alongside Moores. The relationship appears to have settled more quickly than the Moores-Michael Vaughan axis in Tests.”I never saw myself having a honeymoon period as such because you are always under pressure to deliver when you are working with England,” Moores said. “To me, you work as hard as you can with the players at your disposal and you will be judged accordingly at the end of whatever time you’re given in the role.”To me the aim is always to try to build towards something that’s sustainable and that you can pass on to the next guy. Every time England plays is a challenge and we have to try to win, build momentum and keep moving forward.”On paper it’s the one-day side who have the tougher task on England’s second winter trip. New Zealand are in an even more uncertain phase than the visitors with doubts surrounding the future of Shane Bond. Despite this they remain a competitive one-day unit and on England’s last visit in 2001-02 took the series 3-2 in the final match.”New Zealand are a very competitive side who get stuck in and generally make the most of what they have,” added Moores. “On their own patch they can be pretty tough to play but if you didn’t expect to win there would be no point in playing and we expect to win both the one-day and Test series.”Although England’s one-day record is improving the team is still not entirely settled and two new faces are making this tour, James Tredwell, the Kent offspinning allrounder, and Tim Ambrose, the Warwickshire wicketkeeper. Tredwell replaces Monty Panesar who has been sent off to India to re-learn the art of flight and guile while Ambrose’s situation is an odd one.When he was named in both the one-day and Test squads, David Graveney – the now former chairman of selectors – said Ambrose was almost certain to start as the Test keeper, but will have to play second fiddle in the one-dayers to Phil Mustard who kept in all five ODIs against Sri Lanka. Graveney then added that if Mustard has an outstanding series he could stake his Test claims, so an unclear situation could be muddied further over the next month.The core of England’s team, though, remains the same and the quick bowlers – James Anderson, Ryan Sidebottom and Stuart Broad – will enjoy the conditions in New Zealand. The batsmen, too, who struggled on the sluggish surfaces of Sri Lanka, should find opportunities to cash in more accessible.England arrive in New Zealand on Monday before two warm-up matches against Canterbury on February 2 and 3. The first Twenty20 international is in Auckland on February 5 with the first ODI is in Wellington on the 9th.

New Zealand fast bowler James Franklin will miss the one-day series against SouthAfrica and Australia because of a knee injury which requires surgery. Franklin has missed the last six months of cricket because of the injury which flared again in a trial match for his state side Wellington, forcing him to pull out of the New Zealand squads.He will have surgery later this month, which will prevent him from taking part in the three-ODI series against South Africa which starts on November 25 and the Chappell-Hadlee series in December. A replacement for the series against South Africa will be named later this week.Franklin could miss even more international cricket, with his rehabilitation expected to take between four and six months. During that period New Zealand host Bangladesh for three one-dayers in December and then England for five ODIs in February.A more realistic target may be the return five-ODI series in England, which kicks off in June.

Eleven first-class players have been named in the Australian Academy squad that is aiming to win the Emerging Players Tournament for the first time. The 17-man outfit, which begins its campaign with two Twenty20 games on the Sunshine Coast on Monday, has been boosted by the inclusion of Mark Cosgrove, the former one-day international, and Luke Ronchi and Brendan Drew, who are in Australia’s 30-man preliminary squad for the Twenty20 World Championships in South Africa.Cullen Bailey, the Cricket Australia-contracted legspinner, has been selected with New South Wales’ opening batsman Ed Cowan and the Western Australians Luke Pomersbach and Aaron Heal. The coaching contingent is also impressive with the national bowling mentor Troy Cooley working alongside the fielding expert Mike Young and assistant Dene Hills to back up the head coach Brian McFadyen.The World Cup winner Darren Lehmann is also part of the squad’s management and he will help prepare the players for the three Twenty20 and seven one-day fixtures against teams from South Africa, New Zealand and Karnataka in India. McFadyen said the tournament would test his men after they completed a 12-week preparation phase at the Centre of Excellence in Brisbane.”Many players have looked to expand their skill sets during the high-density training programme and we are excited about the prospect of improvement,” he said. “There is no doubt that they are all fitter and more advanced in all areas of their games than last year, so they enter this tournament with great confidence.”A side from India won the inaugural Emerging Players Tournament in 2005 while South Africa were successful last year. The event begins on Monday and finishes with the finals in Brisbane on July 28.Australian Academy squad Craig Philipson (Qld), Matthew Wade (Vic), Ben Cutting (Qld), Brendan Drew (Tas), Aaron Finch (Vic), Shawn Gillies (WA), Aaron Heal (WA), Luke Pomersbach (WA), Luke Ronchi (WA), Grant Sullivan (Qld), David Warner (NSW), Ed Cowan (NSW), Moises Henriques (NSW), Cullen Bailey (SA), Mark Cosgrove (SA), Michael Hill (Vic), Phillip Hughes (NSW).

1993-94 in Sri Lanka
The entire tour was wrecked by the weather and the inaugural Test between Sri Lanka and West Indies turned into a damp squib of the wettest proportions. No play was possible on the last two days – although that was due largely to poor covering and drainage – with barely enough time to complete two innings. West Indies’ seamers dismissed Sri Lanka for 190 but they could only manage a slender lead as Muttiah Muralitharan took 4 for 47, including Brian Lara for 18 – the first of many battles the two would have over coming years.
Tests Sri Lanka 0 West Indies 0 Drawn 1
ODIs Sri Lanka 1 West Indies 1 (one no result)1996-97 in West Indies
Sri Lanka’s first visit to the Caribbean may only have been a two-Test series but it did not want for action. Wickets tumbled throughout, with Lara registering the only century – 115 – as the bowlers dominated. Curtly Ambrose took eight in the first Test in Antigua and although West Indies conceded a first-innings lead of 34 Sri Lanka couldn’t capitalise. Sherwin Campbell and Stuart Williams added 160 as West Indies eased to a six-wicket win. In the second Test Ravindra Pushpakumara skittled West Indies for 147 before Lara’s second-innings ton set Sri Lanka 269. At 189 for 3 they were on course, but a combination of rain and Courtney Walsh left them relieved to leave with a draw as they ended eight down.
Tests: West Indies 1 Sri Lanka 0
West Indies 1 Sri Lanka 02001-02 in Sri Lanka
This was Lara’s series – but it wasn’t. He scored 688 runs in the three Tests and yet West Indies were still whitewashed. His contests with Muralitharan will be the abiding memory as he made scores of 178, 40, 74, 45, 221 and 130. Twice West Indies were in a commanding position with the bat – with Lara in full flow – only to hand the advantage back to Sri Lanka. At Galle they were 393 for 3 and at Colombo 347 for 3 only to see the rest of the order subside. However, it wasn’t always Muralitharan doing the damage and he was even overtaken as the leading wicket-taker by Chaminda Vaas with 26. Vaas took 14 for 191 at Colombo,only Muralitharan had taken more in a Test for Sri Lanka, and their batting ensured that even replying to totals over 400 was not a problem. Hashan Tillekeratne filled his boots – and even outshone Lara by averaging 403, albeit with three not outs – although their only other century came from Kumar Sangakkara. West Indies’ bowlers were hapless, unable to take wickets or even maintain a semblance of control.
Tests: Sri Lanka 3 West Indies 0

2003 in West Indies
West Indies gained a measure of revenge for their mauling in Sri Lanka the previous year, with Lara again leading the way. However, this time, he had the support of a more penetrative bowling attack helped by the return to fitness of Corey Collymore and the emergence of Fidel Edwards and his sling-shot action. The first Test in St Vincent petered out into a draw as heavy rain lashed the area. Lara and Muralitharan, though, had enough time for the next installment of their head-to-head battle. Again Lara came out on top in the personal stakes with 209 although Muralitharan did pick up 5 for 138. The series was decided by two fiery bursts of West Indian pace bowling at Jamaica. Edwards shocked the Sri Lankan batsmen with a five-wicket haul on debut before Collymore demolished their second innings with 7 for 57. Sri Lanka unearthed a talent of of their own in Prabath Nissanka, who claimed a maiden five-wicket haul, but Ramnaresh Sarwan and Lara guided West Indies home. Sri Lanka won the one-day series, which preceded the Tests, including a successful chase of 313 in Barbados.
Tests: West Indies 1 Sri Lanka 0
ODIs: West Indies 1 Sri Lanka 22004-05 in Sri Lanka
Shivnarine Chanderpaul’s unhappy tenure as captain continued in Sri Lanka, leading a West Indies side of hasbeens and wannabes due to yet another contractual crisis with the board. Xavier Marshall, Runako Morton and Denesh Ramdin all made their debuts as West Indies were bundled out for 285 in the first innings of the first Test. Surprisingly, they tore through Sri Lanka to dismiss them for 227…but the threat of Muralitharan was never far away and he decimated them for 113 in the second innings, picking up 6 for 36. It was a similar story of dashed hope in the second Test at Kandy. Darren Powell grabbed 5 for 25, bowling Sri Lanka out for just 150 but West Indies could only respond with 148. Kumar Sangakkara then batted West Indies out of the game with a fine 157, before Muralitharan mopped up a hapless West Indies with 8 for 46 in 16.2 overs of mayhem to record a 2-0 series trouncing.
Sri Lanka 2 West Indies 0

The London County Cricket Club has embarked on its third year of looking for the next generation of England bowlers, with the aim of giving disadvantaged youngsters the opportunity to realise their potential as cricketers. For a small entry fee of £10, the contenders have just twelve balls to prove to a panel of first-class coaches that they have what it takes.So far, so Pop Idol, but the project has far greater historical depth than a vacuous venture fronted by Simon Cowell. The club was launched in 1899 by WG Grace to give “invaluable first-class match experience to many cricketers who could not otherwise get it”. The club lay dormant for a century before Neil Burns, the former Leicestershire wicketkeeper, forged its renaissance in 2004 to launch Search 4 A Star.”I believe that there are many young cricketers aged between 16 and 24 who have the ability and the desire to be nurtured as cricketers who can succeed at the highest level,” Burns said. “If for any reason they feel overlooked, rejected or unaware of the ECB county system, we at London County Cricket Club want to play our part in identifying, developing and bridging them into the system where they can ultimatelybecome successful cricketers.”And that is Burns’ chief concern, that too many talented teenagers fall through the ECB’s net – or worse, aren’t aware the net exists in the first place. The club provides a vital bridge from obscurity (and often hopelessness) to possible recognition and success. And all for a tenner.The inaugural winner was Tim Linley, a fast-medium bowler from a large Leeds family who had had little opportunity in cricket. He was subsequently offered a contract with Sussex, but found it difficult to break into the first team and was released in 2006. It was as disappointing for the club as it was for Linley.But then there was Sachin Vaja. “His is an exceptional story,” Paul Carter, LCCC’s spokesman told Cricinfo. “We discovered him in our trials in Ilford in 2005. He had played very littlestructured cricket before [apart from] a lot of tape-ball cricket. A friend of his hadread in the local newspaper that we were holding these trials and phoned himto say he should go.”He was in the car running an errand for his father andat a junction it was essentially turn left for the cricket club or right torun the errand. At the last minute he decided to turn left and attend, inthe clothes he was wearing. He turned the ball with his off-breaksunbelievably.”So impressed were the coaches – especially Jack Birkenshaw – that he was invited into the finals and joined the ECB’s spin academy last September. Vaja was awarded the inaugural Jim Laker Scholarship last September before Essex swooped to offer him a Development Contract. His story encompasses LCCC’s primary aims: spotting talent; nurturing potential.This year there is an added twist, or incentive, to the event: six youngsters will join LCCC, alongside first-class and former international players, to tour West Indies in September and October, at the invitation of Sir Viv Richards, the club’s honorary captain. From there, Burns will pick two of the six to join him at his academy in Cape Town this winter, and one of those will receive a full county contract for 2008.The chances might be slim but the rewards are plentiful. As Vaja has demonstrated, talent can take people a long way – but not without a catalyst such as Burns and Grace.To register, visit

Uganda’s women will host their counterparts from Rwanda between October 12 and 14 in a series of warm-up games at Lugogo Cricket Oval.The matches are aimed at preparing the sides for the ICC Eastern Africa Regional women’s tournament which takes place in Nairobi this December. Four countries will participate – Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda.Uganda and Rwanda were due to meet this weekend but the games were postponed. “Most of the Rwandese players are doing exams and their coach Eric Mbanga has requested us to postpone the series to next weekend,” a Uganda Cricket Association official told The Monitor.Uganda are the defending champions of the ICC Eastern Africa women’s regional tournament.