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The Indian board has tied up with Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) in Mumbai to test soil from various centres, with a view to gaining some scientific knowledge about pitch preparation.”There was a lot of criticism regarding pitches for sometime now. So, the BCCI has taken up the issue very seriously. It is our main project for the year,” the Chief Administrative Officer Ratnakar Shetty was quoted as saying in , a Mumbai-based tabloid.”We have approached the Civil Engineering department of the IIT to get the soil tested. That’s just the first phase. They will submit their findings in a few days. We are looking to have a long-term association with them.However, Shetty said that this wouldn’t result in a standardisation of pitches across the country. “As of now, we would like to acquire some scientific knowledge regarding preparation of pitches.”There’s been a similar initiative in Pakistan as well: last month a local engineering university offered to help the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) in its plans to lay fast and bouncy pitches across the country.

ScorecardRunako Morton hit West Indies A’s first century of the tour as they made a strong reply to Durham’s total on the second day at Chester-le-Street. Dwayne Smith unfurled some typically flamboyant shots in a rapid 66 then a ninth-wicket stand of 93 between Patrick Browne and Daren Powell built a lead of 53.Durham were hindered by the absence of Liam Plunkett for most of the after he was forced out of the attack with a suspected side strain in his seventh over. He had removed Sylvester Joseph, the West Indies captain, early in the day before adding a further name to England’s injury list.Morton and Smith added 110 for the fifth wicket – Smith’s 66 coming from 60 balls with nine fours and three sixes. However, at 271 for 8, a lead appeared unlikely for West Indies, especially given the batting ability Powell (Test average 6.03) has shown at international level. But against friendlier bowling he used the long-handle to good effect and launched three sixes in his 61-ball innings.Browne also reached a solid half-century before Graham Onions wrapped up the innings to finish with three wickets. West Indies capped a solid day with the early wicket of Gary Scott as Durham began their second innings.

Let’s face it; on the eve of the second Test between India and the West Indies at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai, few people are expecting an epic clash. A strong Indian team on wickets that suit it to a T, bolstered by a 1-0 lead in the three-Test series, take on a beleaguered West Indies outfit struggling to come to terms with both batting and bowling deficiencies. This Test, simply put, is do-or-die for the West Indies, and for the hosts, the best chance to seal the series and lay the foundations for a rare whitewash.But of course, speaking to either Carl Hooper or Sourav Ganguly would get you statements of how cricket is a funny game, how the game is not over till the last ball is bowled, and several other similar platitudes that fill column-inches but rarely convey anything of import. “We have obviously beaten India before. We have the confidence that we can do it here. We plan to play well over the next five days and take it from there,” said Hooper after a grueling practice session under the blazing Chennai sun. The skipper added, “We came back from the Trinidad loss a few months ago, we hope we can put the Bombay Test behind us this time.”The only problem with that logic is that this is not the West Indies. “The wicket looks good and hard, and it’ll have some bounce early on. But it seems pretty similar to the wicket in Bombay, and I expect it to start turning soon,” said Ganguly.As always, in the lead-up to a Test match, the 22-yard strip that comprises the wicket is the topic of lengthy debate. When Hooper spoke about the wicket, it was obvious that he was not exactly enthused by what he saw. “There’s not a blade of grass on the wicket, and it looks fairly dry, even drier than Bombay. I expect it’ll start turning square pretty soon and the spinners will have a big role to play,” said Hooper.Then again, there is little point in harping about the wicket or the weather. If it is India, the wicket will aid turn from early in the match, the weather is more than likely to be oppressive, and the spinners will come to the fore for a variety of reasons. Ganguly, however, believes that taking wickets is not so much the spinners’ prerogative as a team challenge. “All five bowlers will play a decisive role. It’s how you deliver in different stages of the game that matters. Zaheer Khan’s spell at Bombay, getting four wickets on a very dull pitch, tilted the game in our favour,” explained the Indian skipper.Whether the spinners are in operation or the pacemen, the West Indians must rise to the challenge and bat well – and bat long. That was something they completely failed to do in the first Test at Mumbai, being bowled out for 157 and 188. “We were very disappointed by the batting in the first game. Everyone from number one to 11 was guilty,” said Hooper. There was, to give credit where it is due, one man in that lot who was much less guilty than the others ­- Shivnarine Chanderpaul. The Guyana middle-order batsman, who made 54 and 36 not out in the first Test, spent more than six hours in the middle.Ganguly admitted that Chanderpaul posed a bit of a worry for the Indians. “Chanderpaul has made a lot of runs against India. This is one area we need to look at. A lot of left-handers have made runs against us, from Matthew Hayden to Andy Flower to Shivnarine Chanderpaul.”The forthcoming Test match provides a personal challenge to Rahul Dravid, who has scored four tons in as many matches – and innings – leading up to this game. If he can reach three figures here, Dravid will equal legendary West Indian Everton Weekes in scoring five centuries from consecutive games. Another record beckons to the skipper. With 12 Test wins as captain, Ganguly is just two away from drawing level with India’s most successful leader, Mohammad Azharuddin.Hooper hinted earlier that there was a possibility of a few quick changes in the side that will play on Thursday. The Indians who are unlikely to change a winning combination will be least bothered about the composition of the West Indian team. Instead, they will hope to apply that age old formula for success: bat first, bat long, bat once. Then spin, spin, spin till the fat lady sings.Teams:India: (probable) Sourav Ganguly (captain), Sanjay Bangar, VirenderSehwag, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman, Parthiv Patel, AnilKumble, Harbhajan Singh, Javagal Srinath, Zaheer KhanWest Indies: Carl Hooper (captain), Wavell Hinds, Chris Gayle, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Ryan Hinds, Marlon Samuels, Ridley Jacobs, Gareth Breese, Mahendra Nagamootoo, Mervyn Dillon, Cameron Cuffy, Pedro Collins, Jermaine Lawson, Daren Ganga, Darren PowellUmpires: David Shepherd (England), Asoka de Silva (Sri Lanka)Third umpire: K Hariharan (India)Match Referee: Mike Proctor (South Africa)

Ricky Ponting has dropped out of the first Test against Sri Lanka, which gets underway at Darwin on July 1. Ponting had flown to Launceston to join his ailing aunt and his grandfather, and his aunt’s death ensures that he will not make it back to Darwin in time.Cricket Australia has confirmed that Ponting will stay in Tasmania to be with his family for the funeral. Adam Gilchrist will captain the side in Ponting’s absence, and Darren Lehmann will be the vice-captain.Trevor Hohns, Australia’s chief selector, said: “It is obviously a difficult time for Ricky at this point, and our thoughts go out to him and his family. We feel that Adam Gilchrist is the logical replacement for Ricky. He has done the job before and as vice-captain works closely with Ricky during the course of a match.”With regards to Darren Lehmann,” Hohns continued, “he is already a leader amongst this group and will provide Adam Gilchrist with excellent back-up. He is a fine tactician and an experienced captain in his own right having led South Australia and Yorkshire in recent times.”Gilchrist has captained Australia in two Tests before this, winning one (against West Indies at Adelaide in December 2000), and losing the other (v England, Headingley, August 2001). Out of the six one-day internationals that Australia has played under Gilchrist, they have lost only one.

But for the extra “a”, there might have been a flurry of internationalinterest in the fact that the captain of the South African Under-19 team to tour England next month is one Imraan Khan.Like the great Pakistani, 19-year-old Imraan is an allrounder, albeit an offspinning one. He is no stranger to under-19 international cricket, as he visited New Zealand in 2000-01 and also played in last year’s World Cup there.Imraan, who was born in Durban, captained South African Schools in 2001, and made the leap to senior provincial level in the recently completed 2002-03 season, in which he played five limited-overs matches for KwaZulu-Natal.He told Wisden CricInfo: “Our tour is important, because it’s from ventures like this that you find your next generation of Test cricketers.”Surprisingly, perhaps, he was not named after the other Imran Khan, and he comes from a family that is more at home on the soccer pitch than the cricket field. Imraan is among a handful of cricketers of Asian origin who are making their mark in South African cricket at last. Their most senior member is Goolam Bodi, 24, the chinaman bowler and aggressive batsman who was born in Hathuran, a small village in the Indian state of Gujarat, before his family moved to South Africa.Bodi represented South Africa Under-19s in England in 1997, and played in the 1998 Youth World Cup. His big break seemed to have come when, after impressing for KwaZulu-Natal, he was called up to replace the injured Nicky Boje in the one-day squad on South Africa’s West Indian tour early in 2001. Sadly, before he could join the squad, he broke a finger on his bowling hand in a Lancashire League match. But the selectors have not forgotten him, and he was included in South Africa’s provisional squad of 31 for the 2003 World Cup.Also in that group was Hashim Amla, a top-order batsman of great promise who made his first-class debut for KwaZulu-Natal against England in 1999-2000. He toured New Zealand with the South African Under-19s in 2000-01, and captained South Africa at the last Under-19 World Cup in 2002.The silkily skilled Amla, who’s now 20, has cemented his place in the Natal XI, and in 16 first-class matches he has scored 980 runs at 42.60 with two centuries. Amla’s older brother, Ahmed, made his first-class debut for Natal B two seasons before Hashim. Ahmed, also a batsman, has played 38 first-class matches, but did not have the most productive of campaigns this year. He was in the national under-19 team that toured Pakistan in 1998-99.The other Asian-origin player in the England tour squad, Brendon Reddy, is a big-hitting medium-pacer from Easterns who also played in the 2002Under-19 World Cup.

England prepare for the first match of their one-day series in Zimbabwe tomorrowbuoyed up by the impressive return of Graham Thorpe after he was out of action for most of the summer.Added late to the 16-man squad after the withdrawal of Craig White with a knee injury, Thorpe was expected gently to ease his way back into cricket on this tour, in preparation for the sterner Test series in India next month.But in his first competitive innings since July, Thorpe responded to another England batting collapse with a superb 95 in yesterday’s 138-run victory over Zimbabwe A.After England’s depressing run of 11 successive one-day defeats, Thorpe’s innings was exactly what they needed as they begin their build-up for the World Cup in South Africa in 2003.Tomorrow they meet a Zimbabwe side which has suffered seven successive defeats, and not won a game since last February.”I really enjoyed it out there,” Thorpe said.”It was just what I needed. It was a really hard work-out for me and I’m gladI’ve come through it. I’ve got a few aches and pains, but nothing you wouldn’texpect from my first game of cricket in quite a few months.”Thorpe rescued England from a parlous 61 for five, in a 158-run stand with Ben Hollioake which lasted 29 overs, enabling them reach 262 for eight before Zimbabwe A slumped to 124 all out in reply.Hollioake’s knock will also have pleased England’s management, after he impressed during England’s wretched triangular series against Pakistan and Australia. He contributed 61, along with a tidy bowling performance.”Ben played very well and without that contribution we’d have really struggled to put a competitive score on the board, so all in all it’s been a pretty good work-out for us,” said Thorpe.”We had a bit of a fright early on and then Ben and myself were able to rebuild it. To bat for 45 overs in a competitive nature has been really pleasing.”It was pleasing more than anything that I didn’t try and do anything tooextravagant and my normal one-day game plans were all there.”The mind was working well and it was good to see Ben playing so well in thepartnership because he’s a big part of our one-day plans.”

Stuart Law has said that his love for influencing a young player’s technique has brought him to Bangladesh for a second time. On this occasion he will work as the technical advisor to the Bangladesh Under-19 team who are preparing for the World Cup in early next year.Appointed earlier this month, Law will be with the programme for a total of 16 weeks, which he will complete in three phases. He arrived in Dhaka on Monday evening and will accompany the team for the first phase of training from August 29 to September 10 and will stay on for a duration of four weeks. The team will play some practice matches but the focus will be more on training at the Sheikh Abu Naser Stadium.Law was the head coach of Bangladesh’s senior side for nine months from June 2011 to the end of March 2012. He also worked with Sri Lanka and Australia, and also had stints with Australia’s Under-19 side after leaving the Bangladesh job.”I loved working with Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Australia national teams,” Law said. “It is a different challenge to get a player who is around 16 to 19, offer them advice, see them take it on board and put it into practice. It gives me more of a buzz than I used to get hundreds. Bangladesh Under-19 is my team. I don’t like losing, so I want to see them be the best I can be. If by chance, with good hard work and some luck, we can lift the trophy at the end of February, I will be very happy.”Since leaving Bangladesh, I worked with Australia’s burgeoning young players. They aren’t as physically matured. You have to take a different approach. You need to be having fun to play the best cricket. It seems some of these young guys have worked that out already. I am not here to change anything. I am here to help the system the way it is at the moment. They have got the plan in place. I am just here to add value to the plan.”The age-group side has been doing well since the last World Cup that was held in January 2014 in the UAE. Under the coaching of Mizanur Rahman Babul, the Bangladesh Under-19s have won three one-day series against Sri Lanka and South Africa. They recently beat South Africa 5-2 in South Africa. The results prompted the BCB into appointing Law as the technical advisor, but he believes that the pressure of playing the World Cup at home can be contained by doing the basics well.”There is always pressure when you are playing at home,” Law said. “They have to learn to deal with the pressure if they choose to play cricket as their profession. It is nothing compared to the pressure they have to face in international cricket. It is nice that the Bangladesh public expect the Bangladeshi teams to do really well. It is a credit to the team that they have done well in the recent past. We have to forget about winning the thing and worry about the basics.”Bangladesh have won the Plate championship in the Under-19 World Cup in 1998, 2004, 2010 and 2014 but have never reached the semifinals of the Cup phase. Expectations this time around, especially playing at home, will be of them to lift the main title for the first time.Law said that it can’t be done overnight but the progress of the current team has been encouraging enough for him to not change anything. “To make a champion team is a difficult challenge. It is not all down to one person either. As long as the players continue to work hard and coaches continue to nurture the talent and not try to make it too difficult and try not to change too many things.”There’s no magic formula that can be used to make a world champion team. It all comes down to good, honest hard work and performing well on each day. The game is not about winning. It is about turning up and doing your best every day.”

Cape Cobras consolidated their position at the top of the standings with a comfortable six-wicket win over Lions in Paarl.Lions, who were sent in to bat, were shot out for 133. Save Dominic Hendrick’s unbeaten 44, there was little of note in the innings that lasted 40.3 overs. Beuran Hendricks, the left-arm seamer, returned figures of 3 for 18 off eight overs, while Dane Paterson, Wayne Parnell and Dane Piedt had two scalps apiece.The Cobras stuttered at the start by losing Parnell and Omphile Ramela early, but Andrew Puttick ate into the target with an unbeaten 63. He was helped by Stiaan van Zyl, who made 35, as Cobras won with 16.5 overs to spare.An unbeaten century from opener Rudi Second, followed by three-wicket hauls from Mbulelo Budaza and Michael Erlank, sent Knights to a 74-run win over Warriors in East London.The bonus point win meant that Knights were dragged from the bottom of the table, with 13 points, five behind the Warriors in the final play-off spot with two rounds to play.Having elected to bat, Knights lost Reeza Hendricks and Michael Erlank early, but Second and Botha drove them forward with a brisk 100-run partnership. Botha was aggressive, striking 63 off 54 balls, including seven fours and a six. Second’s century,which contained only four fours, was a measured effort. Werner Coetsee strengthened Knights’ advantage with a cameo lower down the order, as they finished with 258.JJ Smuts was the pick of the bowlers for Warriors, claiming figures of 2 for 49. He then gave the chase early thurst with his 21st List A fifty, but the rest of the batsmen fell away. Budaza, playing only his 10th List A game accounted for Smuts,Jerry Nqolo, and Yaseen Vallie to finish with career-best figures. Erlank then wrapped up the tail to dismiss Warriors for 184 in 43.3 overs and seal Knights’ third win of the tournament.

Zimbabwe cricket’s latest bombshell exploded today when the Mashonaland Cricket Association announced that it was not recognising Zimbabwe Cricket, the reincarnation of the Zimbabwe Cricket Union. The province has also withdrawn its teams from domestic competitions, including the Logan Cup, Zimbabwe’s first-class tournament.The MCA’s actions came after months of brewing discontent over the costly relaunch of Zimbabwean cricket. Sources say the national body failed to obtain the permission of its clubs and provincial associations before spending Zim$600 million (about £60,000) on the design of a new logo for the organisation and the name change.One reason the board acted unilaterally might be because the logo was allegedly designed by the wife of Peter Chingoka, ZC’s chairman. Chingoka himself is reported to have negotiated a deal in which he is to be paid Zim$60 million (£6000) as a consultant to the board he already heads, although this has not been confirmed.Ozias Bvute, meanwhile, is apparently on the verge of being appointed as ZC’s managing director, a post he currently fills in an acting capacity. As MD, Bvute will reportedly earn Zim$75 million (£7500) a month. As a comparison, Brendan Taylor, one of Zimbabwe’s less experienced players, is thought to earn Zim$3.5 million (£350) a month.Bvute, a ZC director, was at the centre of the storm that broke in April when Heath Streak lost the Zimbabwe captaincy after questioning the behaviour of certain powerful figures in the ZCU.The MCA’s chairman, Tavengwa Mukhlani, who is also a member of the Zimbabwe Cricket board, was forced to step down after 19 of the province’s 20 clubs called for his head. The clubs blamed him for not doing anything to prevent the rebranding.”Under the constitution the change of name should have been debated at all levels, club and provincial, and the provincial chairmen should have been able to meet so as to ratify it,” the clubs said. “This did not happen”.

An MCA official said there had already been an official backlash following the decision. “People have been threatened. They tell us we are fighting the paymaster.”The MCA accurately described itself as “the largest stakeholder in the ZCU” in Thursday’s release, and its contention that the changes have “taken them completely by surprise” will alarm many.”The manner in which ZCU directors have changed the name and logo demonstrates indifference and even contempt for the provincial cricket associations which are stakeholders in Zimbabwean cricket and ultimately give the union its existence,” the MCA said. The provincial body clearly believed the money had been wasted: “The MCA are unable to countenance the large sums of money spent by the ZCU on their name and logo change and on the launch of the new ZC image. This comes hard on the heels of persistent refusals and delays by the ZCU to approve applications by clubs within the MCA for funding assistance, the reason given by the ZCU for declining is that it is suffering financial constraints. The same reasons have been given for the poor welfare of first-class players where players’ and umpires’ allowances have been drastically reduced and players are being made to sleep in brothels and lodges.”The whiff of corruption surrounding the affair was strong enough for the MCA to lose all faith in ZC’s ability and suitability to lead and control cricket in Zimbabwe. “Because the MCA believes ZC to have been established unconstitutionally and ultra vires, it wishes to call for an immediate resolution of the position, pending which the MCA cannot recognise the new ZC. It therefore follows that the MCA will disassociate itself with the day-to-day running of the new ZC and with any competitions operated under the auspices of that body, such as the National League, the Faithwear competition and the Logan Cup.”The manner in which the ZCU board has operated in this instance calls into question their commitment to their stakeholders, the provinces, and has resulted in the MCA losing confidence in the ability of the board to lead cricket in Zimbabwe.”The MCA therefore wishes to move a vote of no-confidence in the board of directors of ZC. If upheld, the board would need to be dissolved and the associations would then convene to appoint an interim board of directors operating with limited powers until such a time as fresh elections could be held in terms of the ZCU constitution.”The MCA also took aim at the section of the ZCU constitution that effectively allows directors of the board to keep their seats whatever the wishes of provinces they are meant to serve. “The MCA also believes that clause 18 of the present ZCU constitution is unlawful and must be removed with immediate effect,” the statement continued. “This clause has taken away cricket from its stakeholders [provinces] and we need to get it back. We need a democratically elected board which is accountable to its stakeholders.”Zimbabwe Cricket issued a strongly worded press release denying the allegations. Part of it read: “An MCA board meeting was held yesterday (8 December 2004) and the majority voted against the statement that was released today. It must be stated that the individuals who addressed today’s news conference were acting outside their mandate, and one has to question their motive. We are suspicious that some of the individuals who called this conference have reacted in this way to cloud the issues in an attempt to deflect the serious allegations of misconduct which have been brought to our attention.”The statement continued: “Certain information came to our notice during the course of last week, which is partly consistent with a report that appeared in one of the newspapers. Investigations are underway and, on the basis of information received to date, consideration is being given on whether or not to suspend some of the individuals in terms of the country’s labour laws.”

Brian Lara and a host of West Indies players will participate in two limited-overs invitational matches early next month at Brooklyn, New York. The matches are scheduled for July 8 and 9 at the Floyd Bennett Field, just days after West Indies wrap up their home series against India.The side is expected to feature most of the current Test players including Wavell Hinds, Dwayne Smith and Rawl Lewis, and will face two United States teams which comprise a few former West Indies national and regional players.For the first match, Steve Massiah will lead a side comprising Richard Staple, an ex-Jamaica national player, along with Lennox Crush and Kevin Darlington, both Guyanese national players and former Windward Islands batsman, Kester Sylvester.The second will be led by Staple and includes the West Indies opening batsman, Devon Smith, former West Indies B cricketer, Sudesh Dhaniram, and the Guyanese duo of Vishal Nagamootoo & Darlington.Orin Davidson, editor of Cricket International, a Brooklyn-based newspaper, was hopeful the organisers can set a good precedent for future such events in the United States. West Indies are due to play a three-match ODI series against India in the North America this September, but it is uncertain whether the venues at Florida, New York and New Jersey will be ready in time to host the event. The West Indies board are keen to hold the matches in America as they find the market more lucrative as opposed to playing in Asia, one of the alternatives.”The success of the two games will set the standard for future visits here of international teams and provide a splendid opportunity for cricket to fast-track its development,” Davidson told . “Apart from igniting an exposition of interest among the fans, the two games should provide a litmus test in our ability to host top-class international teams.”