Pakistan have lodged an appeal against the ICC’s one-year ban on Shabbir Ahmed. “We have filed an appeal with the ICC against the ban,” Salim Altaf, the director of operations of the Pakistan board, said.Shabbir became the first bowler to be banned from bowling in international cricket after an assessment by the University of Western Australia confirmed he had an illegal action. The ICC announced the decision on Monday and Shabbir has 14 days to appeal.Altaf said the Pakistan Cricket Board had material from biomechanic experts to support its case, adding that not all of Ahmed’s deliveries were found to be illegal. “We sent Shabbir to Australia for tests in October and a letter from Daryl Foster, the bowling expert, which we have received on Thursday, showed not all of his deliveries were beyond the allowed limits.”Under new ICC rules, a bowler is allowed 15 degrees to straighten his arm, the limit visible to the naked eye. The ICC would now form a review group to hear Ahmed’s appeal, Altaf said. He was first reported and suspended earlier this year but returned to international cricket following remedial work on his action and a full bio-mechanical analysis that showed he had made necessary adjustments to his bowling style.But 29-year-old Shabbir was reported a second time, during the first Test against England at Multan in November. He was reported under the revised ICC bowling regulations by Simon Taufel and Billy Bowden, the on-field umpires, and Asad Rauf, the TV umpire.Under the new ICC process, a bowler reported and assessed as bowling illegally for a second time within two years of the first period of suspension receives a mandatory one-year ban. “I hope to get justice because this whole episode has made me a depression patient,” Shabbir said, who has considered quitting the game after the ban.

Rahul Dravid has hinted that he will open the batting, despite terming it a short-term option, and emphasised the importance of starting well in the second Test at Faisalabad. He added that the bowlers needed to wake up to the challenge of bowling on placid tracks, lowering the bar and trying different strategies.”We already have two specialist openers available,” he said when asked if India were considering using Sourav Ganguly as an opener. “My individual success and the good partnership with Sehwag has given us some short-term options. Instead of looking at it as a difficult situation, I would like to take it as a positive. It has given us the opportunity to try a few things out. We will review it on an ongoing basis, when we go on other tours, when the pitches and the conditions are different. But we are not looking at Sourav opening as an option at this moment.”Approaching the series as a two-Test rubber, Dravid reiterated that every session from now on would be critical, and hoped for some moments of brilliance from his side. “Every hour, every session is very important now,” he continued. “With less sessions and less Tests left, you can’t afford to make many mistakes. Looking at it the other way, it also gives us the opportunity of having a couple of good sessions. A couple of sessions of brilliance from the team can put you in good positions.”Gauging the surface, Dravid termed it as being “slightly different” to Lahore. “It looks a good wicket, good for batting,” he confirmed, “and as the game progresses, maybe it will play a little up and down, helping the bowlers. Crucially, we have to play good cricket on it for five days. Let’s give it a chance, let’s see how it pans out. We are focussing on playing good cricket, and I am sure the curator has done his best in the time he has got.”When confronted with a flat track, he felt the bowlers needed to approach it as a challenge rather than curse their luck. “You throw out a challenge to them,” he noted. “In difficult conditions, it will be unrealistic to expect them to run through the opposition. But you tell them to look to keep the runs down. It’s as challenging for the bowlers to bowl on flat tracks as it is for batsmen to play in a green top or a seaming pitch. Just like a 40 on a green top can be criticial, a couple of wickets at a crucial time can be decisive. In such conditions, you have to lower the bar. Most of the bowlers are experienced, they enjoy the challenges, and they can gain and learn from the experience that will help them in better conditions.”Barring Sachin Tendulkar, none of the current squad has played at Faisalabad before but Dravid revealed that knowledge of the previous Tests provided them with indications of what to expect. “We look at a lot of numbers as part of the build-up,” he added, “and that can give you an indication of how games have gone here. But you can’t form definitive judgements based on those numbers alone, because the kind of wickets and conditions can vary dramatically. You don’t have the same wickets this month as you had the previous month, so you can’t really read too much into what happened five years back.”

The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB), along with the rest of the cricket world, is anxiously following developments in Zimbabwe following the government’s take-over of the administration of the game on Saturday.The move and a continuing strike by members of the Zimbabwe Professional Cricketers’ Association (ZPCA) over contracts and governance issues have put Zimbabwe’s scheduled tour of the West Indies from April 15-May 15, for two Tests and five one-day internationals, in considerable doubt.Zoral Barthley, the WICB’s cricket operations officer, said yesterday he was awaiting clarification on the situation from Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC). “We really have only a few weeks to finalise bookings for their travel and accommodation,” he said. “The critical time is the end of January.” He noted that it was too early to make any contingency plans. “We’ll wait until we are further appraised of the situation but time is obviously a consideration,” he added.The Zimbabwe players are angry over what they claim is mismanagement and corruption within the ZC and non-payment of their fees for last year’s series against New Zealand and India and other contract issues. They have already refused to participate in the Afro-Asia A team series in Bangladesh next week and an Under-23 tour of South Africa next month.They reiterated their stand Wednesday that they would not tour the West Indies unless Peter Chingoka, Zimbabwe Cricket chairman and Ozias Bvute, ZC chief executive, are removed from office. But Gibson Mashingaidze, Army Brigadier, also the head of the government’s Sports and Recreation Commission, announced yesterday that Chingoka would be retained in the same position on an interim board. As a paid employee, Bvute is also likely to remain on.Mashingaidze added that all previous white and Asian directors were dismissed because of “their racial connotations and serving their own agendas and not government policy”. He was defiant in the face of the possibility that the ICC would withdraw Zimbabwe’s Test status, as it did for two months in 2004 during another strike by some leading players.Tatenda Taibu, former Zimbabwe captain, quit to take up a contract in Bangladesh last month and other players have gone to Australia and India since the impasse. Others are planning similar moves. One of the senior players, Andy Blignaut said after the players’ meeting Wednesday that they did not wish to damage the ICC tours programme nor “make things difficult for West Indies”.”But we have no option but to carry this through,” he added. “We are hoping all these issues can be resolved but I must say that at present the prospects look bleak. We are all determined about our course of action. It represents our only hope of proper treatment.”Zimbabwe have played 83 Tests since being granted official status in 1992, including six against the West Indies. The ICC had previously declined to intervene in what it described as “an internal matter”. But last night it promised a statement on the issue within 24 hours.

A powerful batting performance gave the New South Wales Breakers a 1-0 lead in the best-of-three finals series against Queensland Fire at North Sydney Oval.Set 175 for victory, NSW started well with a 51-ball 50 to Alex Blackwell before Leah Poulton’s unbeaten 70 and Michelle Goszko’s 48 sealed the eight-wicket win.Kasee Marxson guided Queensland with 72 but only three other batters reached double figures as they were dismissed for 174 in 48 overs.Sarah Andrews was the best of the NSW bowlers with 3 for 35 while Emma Liddell, Julie Hayes and Nicole Goodwin picked up two each. The second match is at the same ground on Saturday with the third final on Sunday if required.

Kiran More, the selection committee chairman, today refused to confirm whether Sourav Ganguly would be considered for the first Test against England starting in Nagpur on March 1. The squad for that match will be announced in Baroda on February 23.More, however, denied that Ganguly’s career was over saying “if Sourav continues to perform, no one can stop him from playing for India. But it is still early to comment on the team for the first Test and we will see how things go,” More told PTI. “It would be unjustified to say that only Sourav has a challenge on his hands in the presence of the youngsters who have excelled on this tour. I think it is a challenge for everyone. The best thing about this team is that there is a lot of competition which is a healthy sign.”More said that the door had not been shut on any player. “In one-day cricket, even VVS Laxman and Anil Kumble, besides Sourav, remain in contention. The important thing is that they are playing cricket and can be called if and when required.”The three players were excluded for the one-day series against Pakistan. More took a swipe at some former cricketers who have accused him of being a “rubber stamp” and a “toothless” chief selector. “They are sitting on various television channels and need to speak something different. They have no clue what they are talking and what damage they are causing to the team,” fumed More. “Besides, they are highly paid and need to speak things that are controversial, have spice and can glue the viewers on the television screens.”Prior to the start of the series, they were questioning the credentials of Rahul Dravid as captain, the form of Sachin Tendulkar and emphasising on the negative effects Ganguly’s presence would have on the team,” More continued. “These proved to be nothing but rubbish. I agree that when the team is winning, the job of the selectors becomes easy. But we take decisions which we think are in the best interests of the country and the team.”Turning to the performance of the team on the Pakistan tour, More expressed satisfaction but added that India needed more quality fast bowlers and safer fielders. “Generally, fielding has been good and there has been a marked improvement. But still, we did not field well in the Tests and need to certainly improve in that area. We have a few good fast bowlers but we need more as today teams require quality fast bowlers to pressurise the opponents. Of course, when we talk of quality, there are several things included and pace is certainly very high on that list.”

Netherlands 326 for 7 (ten Doeschate 158) v Kenya
Scorecard

Netherlands took a firm grip on the first day of their Intercontinental Cup match against Kenya at Nairobi Gymkhana. At the close they had scored 326 for 7, with a superb 158 from Ryan ten Doeschate forming the foundation of their innings on an easy-paced pitch.Netherlands, who won the toss, suffered an early loss when Rajesh Bhudia bowled Tom de Grooth offering no stroke, but ten Doeschate immediately signaled his intent by cracking three fours off Thomas Odoyo.Odoyo got his revenge when Bas Zuiderent was caught by Rahul Bhudia off a skied hook, but that brought in Tim de Leede, who had made a good hundred against Kenya A on Sunday, and he attacked from the off. A savage pull early in his innings was dropped by Hitesh Modi, who immediately left the field with a broken finger which is likely to rule him out of the remainder of the game.ten Doeschate completed a chanceless century in an afternoon session dominated by Netherlands, bring up his maiden first-class hundred with a four and a straight six off Steve Tikolo. The only setback came when de Leede gave a straightforward return catch to Brijal Patel.Daan van Bunge (32) helped ten Doeschate add 130 for the fourth wicket either side of tea, but he never looked at all settled and was finally caught behind by Maurice Ouma of the bowling of Ashish Karia. At 261 for 3, Netherlands were in the driving seat, but in the final 90 minutes the Kenyans fought their back into the game.Karia eventually snared ten Doeschate when he drove tiredly to Tikolo at extra cover. He had batted for almost five hours and hit four sixes and 15 fours. Alexei Kervezee was unfortunately run out when Luuk van Troost’s straight drive was deflected into the stumps by Tikolo at the non-striker’s end. Kenya’s final success came when Peter Ongondo removed Darron Reekers with the new ball shortly before the close.

Lancashire have put a brave face on the decision to award an Ashes Test in 2009 to Cardiff rather than Old Trafford, vowing to bounce back from the disappointment. But it is sure to reignite the debate about the future of Old Trafford and a potential move to a new ground at Wigan.Jim Cumbes, the Lancashire president, told PA that the announcement did not signal the beginning of the end. “We still have Test matches in 2007 and 2008 and it’s not the first time we have missed out on an Ashes Test. We bounced back after 2001 and we can do it again.”But he pointed out that some venues – Manchester and Southampton in particular – were operating on an uneven playing field, in that Cardiff was able to rely on backing from the Welsh Assembly and tourist board. “This is a different landscape altogether,” he explained. “It’s not down to the money the ground can generate, it’s what you can generate from the region. It has been clear the decision has been a commercial one.”It’s not that we were a few thousand quid short, apparently we were a long, long way short. The ECB told us we ticked all the right boxes except the one that returned monies to the board and, to be fair to the board, they are under pressure to get the highest amount of money possible.”We were likening it last night to football and Roman Abramovich and you can’t compete financially. We stretched ourselves to the limit to make the best possible bid we could, but Cardiff were into figures we could not possibly match.”To say we are disappointed is an understatement. It’s a massive kick in the teeth for the north west, which is a hotbed of cricket, and of course for the public of the north west.”

The man who endorsed Bennett King as coach of the West Indies team four years ago has regrets today.Dr Rudi Webster, who suggested to the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) that King would be a good choice after observing him at the Shell Cricket Academy in 2000, also feels that King should be given his walking papers if his record doesn’t improve.”I’m seeing a side of him now that I didn’t recognise,” Webster said. “His motivation when he was at the academy was very different from what it is now. I think he saw the academy as a stepping stone to a higher level, so he was really excellent.”Webster was speaking during a conference for senior Caribbean sports journalists at which he said King sent his application and his CV to him before it was forwarded to the WICB.”I’m sorry to say that I’m the person who recommended him to the WICB,” Webster said, also expressing his displeasure over certain comments made by King. “Having achieved his goal, and having been given the enormous power he has, and being an academic coach who describes people like some of our great players, and some of the great Australian players as dinosaurs.”Dinosaurs. I think that is the greatest insult from someone who has not had any achievement in international cricket, just two or three titles with Queensland. We have a fellow in Barbados, Hendy Springer, who has six or seven wins.”I think it is dreadful that someone like that could say such things about these great players and his great cricketers from Australia when he himself has achieved nothing in international cricket.”

Dave Richardson, the ICC general manager of cricket operations, has said that Indian umpires are not up to world standards and it is a challenge for the Indian Board (BCCI) to improve on their performance.No Indian was included in the ICC Elite Umpires panel announced in April and Richardson said it wasn’t due to a flaw in the appointment process. “We do it [appointment] as professionally as we can,” said Richardson. “Who ever does well is going to move forward. And if you are not up to the mark and there are other international umpires who are better, then you will be left out. It is a challenge for the BCCI to see that Indian umpires make it to the Elite Panel.”Richardson said that the proposal to allow players to appeal against the on-field umpires’ decisions had received mixed response. “I should say the reaction has been pretty mixed. It is split 50-50 among the players, umpires, officials and even the media. Mark Benson, an ICC umpire from England, felt that he would be better off getting decisions verified by the third umpire and be not crucified later. There are others who feel they are better qualified to make the decisions on their own.”If the proposal is passed at the ICC Chief Executives’ meeting in July, the system of appeals could be trialled at the Champions Trophy in October.

Latest tables

Midlands/Wales/West

Somerset’s hopes of defending their title are now slimmer than a catwalk model following a five-wicket defeat at the hands of Northamptonshire at Taunton. David Sales struck 62 not out from 42 balls to take his side home with three balls remaining. Justin Langer made 97 off 60 balls to lift Somerset to 188 for 6 and set Northants a stiff ask. But, despite Charl Willoughby’s restrictive 3 for 30, the visitors responded in style.Glamorgan and Warwickshire had to make do with a point each when rain washed out their match at Cardiff after just three overs. Preparations were made to have a six-over-a-side thrash but another deluge put paid to those ambitions. The match was finally abandoned at 9pm.

North

No change at the top as Nottinghamshire maintained their winning ways, beating Yorkshire by seven wickets in the final over at Headingley. In truth, the result was hardly in doubt with Stephen Fleming and Graeme Swann at the helm, giving them a decent start. Yorkshire were then in trouble at 22 for 3 – and had reached only 50 for 3 by the ten-over mark – but some powerful hitting lifted them to 160. Yet it wasn’t enough.Leicestershire dispatched Derbyshire for the second time in a fortnight to give themselves a chance of making the quarter-finals. HD Ackerman’s 41-ball fifty boosted Leicestershire to a par 161 for 6, and then some tight bowling at the death helped them to an 18-run victory at Leicester. Steve Stubbings gave Derbyshire their best chance with a fifty but when he holed out to long-on the momentum seeped away from the innings and Leicestershire grabbed the points.