Afghanistan and Jersey continue on road to ICC Cricket World Cup 2011

Jersey , 30 May 2008

Fine all-round performance by Nabi Eisakhil; Peter Gough and Steve Carlyon feature in century opening stand; Mathew Hague takes 5-38

Afghanistan and Jersey qualified for the ICC World Cricket League Division 4, the next stage of qualification for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011, when they convincingly won their ICC World Cricket League Division 5 semi-finals in Jersey on Friday.

Afghanistan successfully defended a small total of 142 runs to defeat Nepal by 37 runs at the Grainville while Jersey outsmarted the USA by 84 runs at the FB Fields.

Afghanistan and Jersey not only progressed through to Saturday’s final but will also join Hong Kong, Fiji, Tanzania and Italy in the six-team ICC WCL Div. 4 set for the Tanzanian capital of Dar Es Salaam from 4 to 11 October.

In turn, the top two teams from that tournament will progress to WCL Div. 3 in Argentina next January and hope to finish in the top two to qualify for the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier 2009 in the UAE, which incorporates Divisions 1 and 2.

The top four Associate or Affiliate teams from the ICC World Cup Qualifier will book their places at the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 to be staged in Bangladesh , India , Pakistan and Sri Lanka .

A feature on the USA cricket team will be available to all SNTV subscribers via SNTV’s 1900 or 2100 GMT feed. ICC will provide further video news releases during the tournament via SNTV, the content, date and timing of which will be provided in due course.

The star of Afghanistan ’s victory was Mohammad Nabi Eisakhil who scored a priceless 48 from 64 balls with three fours in his team’s 142 all out in 49.3 overs and then returned figures of 6-0-15-2 as Nepal was bowled out for 105.

Electing to bat first in overcast conditions, Afghanistan made a confident start but collapsed from 26-0 to 40-4 in a space of 10.4 overs before Mohammad Stanikzai (18) and Nabi held the innings together with a 43-run fifth-wicket partnership off 72 balls.

After the departure of Stanikzai with the score at 83, Nabi added another 26 runs for the sixth wicket with Rais Ahmadzai (22). But when Nabi became the sixth batsman out at the score of 119, the last four Afghanistan wickets could add only 23 runs in 37 balls to be dismissed for 142.

For Nepal , Shakti Prasad Gauchan and Besant Regmi bowled well and shared six wickets between them while captain Binod Kumar Das took 2-20.

In turn, Nepal ’s innings never got going after it lost opener Paresh Lohani on the second ball before it slumped to 72-7 in 33 overs. The last three wickets offered some resistance but it was not enough to guide Nepal home and it was bowled out for 105 with 25 balls remaining.

Afghanistan ’s fast bowler Dawlat Ahmadzai was the destroyer of Nepal ’s top order and finished with figures of 10-3-18-3 while Hamid Hassan (2-12), Abed Gul (2-13) and Nabi Eisakhil (2-15) also bowled well in favourable conditions.

Hassan was overjoyed with his side’s win. “It is a huge win for Afghanistan . For four months we have been thinking about ICC WCL Div. 4, so it is like a dream come true.

“The (World Cup) dream is alive and we’ll try our best to get to 2011.”

“The people in Afghanistan will be very happy and there will be huge celebrations. They will all be in the roads dancing and everything,” said Hassan.

At the FB Fields, a brilliant century opening stand between Peter Gough and Steve Carlyon and a five-wicket haul by captain Mathew Hague was the cornerstone of Jersey’s 84-run victory over pre-tournament favourite the USA.

The two openers featured in a 122-run partnership in 31.3 overs, the cornerstone of the home side’s 220-5 after being put into bat. Gough scored 65 from 110 balls with four fours and Carlyon’s 88-ball 45 included three fours.

In the middle-order, Ryan Driver (28 not out) and Hague (25) also batted well and added 37 runs for the third wicket. Driver and Jon Gough (15 not out) put on 33 runs from the last 22 deliveries.

The USA slumped from 25-0 to 32-3 in reply before it recovered to 99-4. But that was its high-water mark as it lost its last six wickets for 37 runs in almost 12 overs to be bowled out for 136 with 11.4 overs to spare.

Fast bowler Hague, later adjudged man of the match, was the wrecker-in-chief of the USA ’s innings and finished with figures of 9.2-1-38-5. Driver also bowled to a teasing line and length to record figures of 10-2-32-3.

Hague hailed his team’s achievement, saying: “It feels absolutely fantastic. I am so proud of everybody today. Posting 220 on the board while batting first when there was a fair bit in the wicket, was a fantastic effort.

“Peter Gough and Steve Carlyon got us off to a great start and the bowling performance was excellent.”

A disappointed USA captain Steve Massiah said: “Obviously I am disappointed because I had believed we would finish in the top one or two and move forward.”

In classification matches, Botswana beat Germany by 10 runs while Singapore defeated Mozambique by 54 runs, Japan outplayed Vanuatu by 99 runs and Norway beat Vanuatu by 52 runs.

Scores in brief:

Semi-finals

At Grainville , Afghanistan beat Nepal by 37 runs
Afghanistan 142 all out, 49.3 overs (Mohammad Nabi Eisakhil 48, Rais Ahmadzai 22; Shakti Prasad Gauchan 3-12, Basant Regmi 3-30, Binod Kumar Das 2-20)
Nepal 105, 45.5 overs (Dawlat Ahmadzai 3-18, Hamid Hassan 2-12, Gul Abed 2-13, Nabi Eisakhil 2-15)

At FB Fields, Jersey beat USA by 84 runs
Jersey 220-5, 50 overs (Peter Gough 65, Steve Carlyon 45, Ryan Driver 28 not out, Mathew Hague 25; Imran Awan 2-37)
USA 136 all out, 38.2 overs (Rashard Marshall 39, Aditya Thyagarajan 25; Hague 5-38, Driver 3-32)

5th-8th place, semi-finals

At Les Quennevais 1, Botswana beat Germany by 10 runsBotswana 127 all out, 45.4 overs (Abdul Patel 46; Farooq Ahmed 4-15)Germany 117 all out, 38.5 overs (Karan Kapoor 4-37)

At Les Quennevais 2, Singapore beat Mozambique by 54 runsSingapore 203-8, 50 overs (Chris Janik 41, Narender Reddy Bonguram 44; Mohmed Aasif Aiyub Koliya 3-26)Mozambique 149 all out, 46.4 overs (Abdul Razak 3-16

9th-12th place, semi-finals

At Victoria College , Japan beat Vanuatu by 99 runsJapan 238-6, 50 overs (Gavin Beath 68, Ahmed Munir 66, Patrick Giles-Jones 38; Pierre Chilia 3-34)Vanuatu 139 all out, 39.3 overs

At Farmers CC, Norway beat Bahamas by 52 runsNorway 202-5, 50 overs (Shahid Ahmed 77 not out, Ehtsham Ul Haq 56 not out)Bahamas 150 all out, 39.5 overs (Ryan Tappin 51, Mario Ford 32 not out; Mubasshar Bhatti 3-20, Zaheer Ashiq 3-33)

Saturday’s fixtures:
Afghanistan v Jersey, final, Grainville; Nepal v USA, 3rd/4th position, Farmers CC; Botswana v Singapore, 5th/6th position, FB Fields; Germany v Mozambqiue, 7th/8th position, Victoria College; Japan v Norway, 9th/10th position, Les Quennevais 1; Vanuatu v Bahamas, 11th/12th position; Les Quennevais 2.

ICC MEDIA RELEASE

Kinghs XI is slightly ahead

Anshuman Gaekwad

Now It's Sudden death time, do or die situation. This is the stage where there are no second option, no scope for a comeback. Good 40 overs and you are through or a bad day and your dream comes to a halt. The battles between Chennai Super Kings and Kings XI Punjab in the second semifinal of the Indian Premier League and to use a cliché, this is really anyone's match. Making predictions will be foolhardy. Only thing we can say is the game likely to go down to the wire.We may see a dramatic end,may be a last ball finishes.

But the final still lies ahead on Sunday. Let's quickly examine what we can expect in the second semifinal. It is tempting to see how the teams have fared against each other at the league stage. The Chennai Super Kings defeated the Kings XI Punjab, both at home and away by margins of 18 runs and 33 runs.Kings XI Punjab were second in the table with a win loss record of 10-4 and 20 points. The Chennai team's record has been more variable - eight wins and six losses for a tally of 16 points.

Except for Stephen Fleming who has gone back to New Zealand, all others will be seen in the semifina. The former New Zealand captain has enjoyed moderate success and will certainly be missed, specially for a solid foundation at the top of the order with Parthiv Patel. But the Chennai team has good middle-order batting line-up in which skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Suresh Raina have been outstanding. Albie Morkel's all- round performance has helped his team on numerous occasions and Chennai Super Kings have been well-ballanced bowling department.Besides Morkel, Laxmipathy Balaji, Manpreet Gony and Makhaya Ntini have been among the wickets while Muthiah Muralitharan's economy rate, if not his wicket-taking ability, has been admirable.Still they must improve their bowling to counter in-form Marsh,Mahela,Sangakara & Yuvi.

But Chennai Super Kings will be up against a team that has won five of its last six matches, including one against top of the table Rajasthan Royals. That will be an encouraging factor for the Mohali outfit even if Chennai will be encouraged by their past record against the same opponents. Kings XI have been well-served in both batting and bowling and in Shaun Marsh, they have the highest run-getter in the competition. A number of hard-hitting batsmens are there like Yuvraj Singh, Kumar Sangakkara, Luke Pomersbach and James Hopes.These are major plus point for them. The bowling has matched the exploits of the batting and Irfan Pathan, Sreesanth, VRV Singh and Piyush Chawla are all high on the leading wicket-taker's list, even if the economy rate of the last three can do with improvement.

Again I like to say that it's a different ball game and everything will depends on the performance in those 40 overs. As per previous performance Kinghs XI is slightly ahead but we can't ignore M.S.Dhoni's team & his leadership.So its anyone's game.

Hawkeye / Chivach Sports

Semi-finals line-up decided in the ICC WCL Div. 5 in Jersey

Jersey , 30 May 2008


Afghanistan, Jersey, Nepal and USA still in contention but only two can continue on road to ICC CWC 2011

Afghanistan cricket team feature available via SNTV

Four teams reached the semi-finals of the ICC World Cricket League Division 5 (WCL Div. 5) in Jersey on Thursday but the quartet all know one thing: only two of them can go forward to Division 4 and the next stage of qualification for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011.

The final four from the 12 teams that started the event are hosts Jersey, the USA , Nepal and Afghanistan with the semi-finals pairings matching up Jersey and the USA with Nepal facing off against Afghanistan .

The winners of Friday’s matches will not only progress through to Saturday’s final but will also join Hong Kong, Fiji, Tanzania and Italy in the six-team ICC WCL Div. 4 set for the Tanzanian capital of Dar Es Salaam from 4 to 11 October.

In turn, the top two teams from that tournament will progress to WCL Div. 3 in Argentina next January and hope to finish in the top two to qualify for the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier 2009 in the UAE, which incorporates Divisions 1 and 2.

The top four Associate or Affiliate teams from the ICC World Cup Qualifier will book their place at the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 to be staged in Bangladesh , India , Pakistan and Sri Lanka .

Out of the four matches rescheduled for Thursday, the games between Nepal and the USA and Mozambique and Vanuatu were abandoned due to persistent rain while in the other two matches, Singapore beat Japan by 52 runs while using the Duckworth-Lewis scoring method and Germany defeated Norway by six wickets.

Singapore, needing to beat Japan by a huge margin to leapfrog Afghanistan on net run-rate, was out of contention for a place in the semi-final after it was restricted to 201 all out in 35.4 overs after being put into bat.

A 52-run victory only earned it third place in Group B behind Jersey and Afghanistan .

Nepal topped Group A after its match against the USA was abandoned due to rain at the Farmers CC. Nepal, batting first, was restricted to 182 all out in 50 overs and before the USA could start its target chase, rain came down to force a no-result.

Nepal captain Binod Kumar Das said his team was confident ahead of its semi-final against Afghanistan . “We are upbeat as we have been playing good cricket. As a team we are very confident of doing well in the semi-final.

“One thing we know about Afghanistan is it is inconsistent. It can be world beaters one day and inconsistent other days, so we hope we can have a good day against it.”

Das added: “We are not very aware of these things right now as our focus is on the cricket but we heard yesterday that the country was declared a republic so we are proud of that. The people of Nepal wanted that to happen and if we win this tournament and come back home with the trophy we are going to dedicate the win to the people.”

Afghanistan captain Norooz Khan Mangal hoped his team would learn from its mistakes and put up an improved performance on Friday. “We are not short of any confidence. The biggest motivation for us ahead of tomorrow’s match is if we win it, we will take a big step forward in our quest to play in the World Cup.

“Every team needs time to adjust to new conditions and after playing four matches here, we know what we need to do tomorrow to swing the match in our favour. If experience is on Nepal ’s side, then talent and potential is on our side and tomorrow we just need to pull together a good team effort.”

The USA captain Steve Massiah said his team was looking ahead at Friday’s semi-final against Jersey with great anticipation. “It is something to look forward to as if we want to move forward from this tournament into the other league and get to the World Cup then we have look to tomorrow’s game with great anticipation.

“It will be a tough test as Jersey was unbeaten in the preliminary rounds. As both the teams are in good form, I am sure we will have a good game of cricket.”

Massiah said he was pleased with the performance of his team so far but warned his side of complacency. “It would be unfair to the guys not to be pleased after getting a perfect four from four.

“We do not fear any opposition and we just try to concentrate on our strengths and realise if we play to our full potential then we will be a hard team to beat. But we have to guard against complacency.”

Jersey captain Mathew Hague said: “It should be a really good game as the USA has been in good form and so have we. There is a lot to play for and to get into the final and go to Tanzania would be something really special so we’ll all look forward to it and it should be great.”

Hague acknowledged home advantage would be useful, but played down the fact that it would be a big advantage. “I suppose it helps a little bit but all the teams have played over here for a few games now so they should know the conditions.

“FB Fields should be a good batting wicket, so as long as the rain stays away it should be good.”

Scores in brief:

Group A
At Farmers CC, Match Abandoned
Nepal 182 all out, 50 overs (Gyanendra Malla 75; Lennox Cush 3-28, Khawaja Shuja 2-30)
USA

At Les Quennevais 2, Germany beat Norway by six wickets
Norway 145 all out, 47.1 overs (Zaheer Ashiq 47, Shahid Ahmed 33; Farroq Ahmed 3-19)
Germany 151-4, 37.5 overs (Asif Khan 47 not out, Farooq Ahmed 32)

At FB Fields, Match Abandoned
Mozambique 88-4, 22 overs
Vanuatu

Group B
At Victoria College , Singapore beat Japan by 52 runs (D/L Method)
Singapore 201 all out, 35.4 overs (Chetan Ramchandra Suryawanshi 57, Chaminda Kumarage 41, Yuta Matsubara 4-53)Japan 67-5, 22 overs

Friday’s schedule
Semi-finals – Nepal v Afghanistan , Grainville; Jersey v USA , FB Fields
Classification matches – Germany v Botswana , Les Quennevais 1; Mozambique v Singapore , Les Quennevais 2; Norway v Bahamas , Farmers CC; Vanuatu v Japan , Victoria College

ICC MEDIA RELEASE

Sports News

May 30, 2008
Football :
TOP STORY
Tripura bowed out from Sontosh Trophy Senior National Football tournament.
In the second group match at Srinagar in Jammu & Kashmir, Delhi defeated Tripura by 2-0 goals. After two matches Tripura bagged only three points and out from this tournament.

Tripura Police will play against Bishramganj Play Center in the final of the domestic Women Knock-out Football tournament here on Sunday next. In the second Semifinal at Umakanta Mini Stadium, Tripura Police defeated Umakanta Coaching Center by 3-1 goals.

Handball :
Tripura moved in to the Quarter final in the National Mini Handball tournament. In the group matches at Imphal, Tripura beat Bihar by 16-13 goals on Friday. Earlier Chhatisgarh defeated the state team by 20-16 goals. Tripura boys finished second position of the tally and moved in to the last eight after nine years in National Handball championship.

All roads will first lead to the Wankhede and then onto to Navi Mumbai

Anil Kumble

The IPL for us is over and I think the best I can say here is that Season I has been a learning process. We haven't really come up to scratch in terms of getting through to the last four, or eveut then again it's been an experience I think everyone will benefit from looking ahead.

It's very difficult to put a finger on what went wrong, but I think where we missed out primarily was on getting a start. In this format, apart from a couple of rare games, batting holds the key. Throughout this event, we've had to invariably defend totals in the region of the 130s to 140s.

It's anyway tough but if you have to do that every time, it becomes a huge problem. It did for us.
Another thing that made a difference was the way teams gelled. I think the best example of a team playing as one unit, irrespective of name or reputation was the Rajasthan Royals, where, in game after game, situation after situation, someone or the other stood up to be counted. Look at how Niraj Patel, sitting out for most of the event, came in and got a couple of good scores, even won a game for them. That ability to perform was a big differentiator to their campaign.

Again, with the Royals, as with Mohali, the top of the order was the key. Graeme Smith did for Jaipur what Shaun Marsh has done so well for Mohali, get them off to a great start. I think other than Chennai, that's been the story with the teams that qualified --- look at how Delhi's top three have performed for them, it's been all the difference.

In Chennai's case, though they've played bits and pieces cricket and done well in patches, they've made it through because of the early impetus, in winning four out of their first four games. And that, if you remember, was because of their great starts early on in the tournament.

Of the teams that didn't qualify, Mumbai — who were unfortunate not to make it after a couple of very close games — came into their own only after Jayasuriya rediscovered his form in scintillating fashion. Kolkata were a different unit when McCullum fired at the start and since then, they've had no consistency at the start, fiddled around with several different combines, and things have not worked except in patches, just like for us throughout the tournament.

The surprise perhaps at the top has been the Deccan Chargers, who on paper should have been the best in terms of opening stands with Gilchrist and Gibbs. But somehow, they just didn't click. For them, like for us, things were off from the start. At their first game in Eden, the lights went off when the momentum was with them, the pitch was a problem, and Kolkata came back. In our case, the way McCullum played was probably the best innings of the tournament.

Even in a 20-over format, partnerships are the key. And in the end those who have struggled to put together stands of 50 plus are the teams that have struggled. In the end, that difference will always tell.

The other thing that's crucial, like in any other format, has been getting wickets at the start. In that way, Sohail Tanvir has been brilliant for the Royals. He's bowled with a good economy rate and also picked up wickets. What's been great for them has been the fact that he's been picking up 3, 4, even a sixer not just a single wicket or something.

Again, people like McGrath, Sreesanth, Gony to a certain extent, Makhaya later on, all these guys have knocked people over early. It was important from a bowling from a bowling perspective that you get the early breakthroughs and the four teams which have managed that consistently have qualified for the knockouts. The four that haven't made the cut just haven't managed that same consistency.

The one memorable thing from this event, for me, is how the people of Bangalore came and supported us throughout in spite of our poor run in this tournament. That goes to show the popularity of the concept and its entertainment value. The same goes for most of the games that have happened elsewhere so far.

I have a feeling that Mumbai will come to a standstill over the next three days. All roads will first lead to the Wankhede and then onto to Navi Mumbai and the JY Patil stadium, that will host the final.

Hawkeye/Chivach Sport

Sports News

May 29, 2008
Football :
TOP STORY
Tripura routed Gujarat by 5-0 goals in Sontosh Trophy National Senior Football Tournament at Srinagar. Star striker Kiran Chhatri score four goals and another netted by Binod Kishor Jamatia.

Bishramgunj Play Center entered in to final of domestic Women Knock-out Football tournament. In the first Semi-final at Umakanta Mini Stadium, Bishramgunj defeated Chalaman Sangha by 2-0 goals.

Handball :
Tripura beat Madhya Pradesh by 13-11 goals in National Mini Handball tournament in Imphal.

Sports News

May 28, 2008
Football :
TOP STORY
Three Police players Judoka Sabita Debbarma, Athlete Rangmala Khatun and Rupali Sarkar were injured in a scoter accident near Dasharath Dev Sports Complex, Badharghat. Sabita was admitted in G. B. Hospital.

Umakanta Coaching Center edged over Jampuijala Eleven by 1-0 goal in the domestic Women Knock-out Football tournament at the Umakanta Mini Stadium.

The match between Tripura and Gujarat was postponed due to technical reason at Srinagar.

Cricket :
Summer coaching camp of selected cricketers will starts from June 03 next.

BI-COLOUR SIDE OF THE RACKET

D. Ajay

Both the sides of a racket were same in colour in the eight decade of the nineteen centaury and the then players were using different types of rubber on both the side. So it was very tough for the opponent player to guess the quality of the coming stroke and return the ball within the very short time. This was ultimately reducing the continuity of play which is not at all the motto of International Table tennis Federation.

Different types of rubbers are producing different types of strokes. When a category of rubber produces spin, other category of rubber absorbs spin. Like this rubbers are available for fast stroke and anti-spin stroke etc.

It was allowed to use one side rubber of a racket for imparting spin with a combination of another side for imparting no spin or one side for absorbing spin & another side for imparting speed during that period. More over players were rotating their racket from fore hand to back hand & vice versa in a rally for scoring a point in a game by tricking the opponent. This was resulted very less number of rallies for a point which ultimately was making the event charm less.

So the event cultivators decided that the receiver should get the chance to think about the coming stroke for making it return. As the result, the ITTF changed the rule regarding the rubbers of a racket like this:

a) Rubbers of both side of a racket must be of different colour.
b) The colour of both the side must be red & black.
c) If one side of a racket is not used by the player, it must be coloured with the other colour of the used colour.
d) All the players will be allowed to check the rackets of the opponent of the match just before the starting of the game of a match.

These are all only for providing the chance to the opponent to recognize the types of coming stroke made by the opponent.

Primid

Media football in Tripura

Football in Tripura

Media football in Tripura

Media Football in Tripura

Football practice in Tripura

Handball in Tripura

Handball in Tripura

Handball in Tripura

Handball in Tripura

Handball in Tripura

Handball in Tripura

Volleyball in Tripura

Volleyball in Tripura

Volleyball in Tripura

Volleyball in Tripura

Volleyball in Tripura

Karate in Tripura

Karate in Tripura

Karate in Tripura

SAI will build some infrastructure in Tripura

Saraju Chakraborty

Sports Authority of India (SAI) will build some infrastructure at the Dasharath Dev State Sports Complex, Badharghat very soon.

In a high level meeting between State Government and SAI officials it was decided that SAI will build up a multipurpose Indoor Hall in the western side of the complex. SAI also extend and renovate the Grand Stand of football stadium.

Besides, SAI will also build a kids swimming pool for beginners and they also set up four hundred meters Synthetic turf for Athletics.

It may be mention that SAI has already built two hostels for boys and girls for searching talents under the category of Special Area Games (SAG) center at Agartala.

On other hand, State Government also decided to improve the infrastructural facility in this complex. It was decided that a mini Gymnasium hall will be built by the State Government. There is a plan to provide land for Hockey, Cricket and Football ground. One Basketball court will also be constructed in the complex with natural gallery.

Andrew Symonds earns eight-place rankings boost

Dubai, 27 May 2008

Following Jamaica Test Ponting closes the gap on Hussey as Clark reaches new high and Bravo moves into top five all-rounders

Andrew Symonds’ unbeaten 70 in the first innings of Australia’s 95-run victory over the West Indies in Jamaica slipped under most people’s radars in the light of Ricky Ponting magnificent 158 but his 79 in the second dig, as his team-mates fell around him, was perhaps one of the most important knocks of his career so far.

And those two contributions have lifted the Queenslander up eight places to 12th position in the Reliance Mobile ICC Player Rankings for Test batsmen.

Given the rankings are weighted to favour individual performances that are important in the context of the match in question, the fact Symonds scored nearly half his side’s runs and gave his bowlers something to defend, counted in his favour when the latest rankings were calculated.

Symonds, who will celebrate his 33rd birthday on 9 June, is currently enjoying the highest rating of his career to date and will be looking to make further progress up the ladder during the rest of Australia ’s tour in the Caribbean .

However, he still has work to do before he catches team-mates Michael Hussey in first place, Ricky Ponting in second, Matthew Hayden in sixth and Michael Clarke in 11th.

Meanwhile, West Indies’ Shivnarine Chanderpaul has put a gap between himself and Sri Lanka ’s Mahela Jayawardena in seventh position in the batting rankings thanks to his gutsy 118 in the first innings at Sabina Park . The man from Guyana now has his sights set on Hayden in sixth spot with the Australian reportedly set to be available for selection for the second Test in Antigua after previously being sidelined with a heel injury.

Man of the match Stuart Clark is another player on the rise and if he continues the way he is going he could catch South Africa ’s Dale Steyn before the end of the current tour.

His eight wickets in this match, including 5-32 in the second innings, have widened the gap between him and Brett Lee in the Reliance Mobile ICC Player Rankings for Test bowlers and given him the best rating of his career to date in third position.

Although the West Indies team was defeated at Sabina Park , the match was not without its positives for John Dyson’s men. For one thing, they managed to take all 20 Australian wickets and, as a result, the West Indies front-line attack is making steady progress up the Reliance Mobile ICC Rankings.

With eight of those wickets going to Fidel Edwards, the 26-year-old from Barbados has broken into the top 30 for the first time while Dwayne Bravo, in 33rd spot, is on the verge of doing the same. Daren Powell has moved up three places to 41st position.

Bravo has managed to break into the top five of the Reliance Mobile ICC Player Rankings for Test all-rounders at the expense of New Zealand ’s Jacob Oram. That list is still headed by South Africa ’s Jacques Kallis, followed by Black Caps’ skipper Daniel Vettori in second place.

Reliance Mobile ICC Test Rankings (as of 27 May)

Batsmen

Rank (+/-) Player Team Points Ave HS Rating

1 ( - ) Mike Hussey Aus 921*! 74.83 921 v WI at Kingston 2008
2 ( - ) Ricky Ponting Aus 905 58.81 942 v Eng at Adelaide 2006
3 ( - ) K.C.Sangakkara SL 893 55.19 938 v Eng at Kandy 2007
4 ( - ) Mhd Yousuf Pak 880 55.49 933 v WI at Karachi 2006
5 ( - ) Jacques Kallis SA 877 57.14 935 v NZ at Centurion 2007
6 ( - ) Matthew Hayden Aus 851 53.51 935 v Eng at Brisbane 2002
7 ( - ) S.Chanderpaul WI 832 47.45 838 v SA at Cape Town 2008
8 (-1) M.Jayawardena SL 810 51.93 844 v WI at Guyana 2008
9 ( - ) Yunus Khan Pak 799 49.14 856 v Eng at Headingley 2006
10 ( - ) Kevin Pietersen Eng 750 48.60 909 v WI at Headingley 2007
11 ( - ) Michael Clarke Aus 737 46.45 761 v Ind at Melbourne 2007
12 (+8) Andrew Symonds Aus 714*! 45.38 714 v WI at Kingston 2008
13 (-1) Graeme Smith SA 712 48.57 756 v NZ at Wellington 2004
14 (-1) S.R.Tendulkar Ind 704 55.31 898 v Zim at Nagpur 2002
15 (-1) Rahul Dravid Ind 701 54.88 892 v Pak at Kolkata 2005
16 (+7) Andrew Strauss Eng 687 42.34 769 v SA at Johannesburg 2005
17 (-1) Virender Sehwag Ind 681 51.75 854 v SA at Kolkata 2004
18 (-1) Sourav Ganguly Ind 674 42.71 713 v Aus at Adelaide 1999
19 (-1) VVS Laxman Ind 672 43.82 753 v Aus at Sydney 2004
20 (-5) Alastair Cook Eng 669 43.03 711 v SL at Galle 2007

Bowlers

Rank (+/-) Player Team Points Ave Econ HS Rating

1 ( - ) M.Muralidaran SL 897 21.95 920 v Ban at Kandy 2007
2 ( - ) Dale Steyn SA 892 21.60 897 v Ind at Ahmedabad 2008
3 ( - ) Stuart Clark Aus 856*! 20.77 856 v WI at Kingston 2008
4 ( - ) Brett Lee Aus 787 29.95 795 v Ind at Adelaide 2008
5 ( - ) Makhaya Ntini SA 777 27.85 863 v Ind at Durban 2006
6 ( - ) Ryan Sidebottom Eng 719* 26.06 724 v NZ at Lord's 2008
7 ( - ) Chaminda Vaas SL 709 29.09 800 v Ind at Chennai 2005
8 ( - ) Anil Kumble Ind 708 29.06 859 v SL at Bangalore 1994
9 ( - ) Shoaib Akhtar Pak 684 25.69 855 v NZ at Wellington 2003
10 ( - ) Shane Bond NZ 675* 22.39 778 v WI at Auckland 2006
11 (+5) Monty Panesar Eng 662 31.78 721 v WI at Chester-le-St 2007
12 (-1) Corey Collymore WI 634* 32.30 700 v Eng at Lord's 2007
13 (-1) M’thew Hoggard Eng 624 30.50 795 v SL at Edgbaston 2006
14= (-1) Zaheer Khan Ind 619 33.60 689 v Pak at Delhi 2007
(-1) Mohammad Asif Pak 619* 23.13 710 v SA at Cape Town 2007
16 ( - ) Danish Kaneria Pak 614 33.90 723 v Eng at Multan 2005
17 (-2) Andrew Flintoff Eng 609 32.02 810 v Pak at Multan 2005
18 (+1) Harbhajan Singh Ind 608 31.03 765 v NZ at Wellington 2002
19 (+1) Daniel Vettori NZ 606 34.27 681 v Aus at Auckland 2000
20 (-2) Chris Martin NZ 599 33.05 643 v Eng at Lord's 2004

All-rounders

Rank (+/-) Player Team Points HS Rating

1 ( - ) Jacques Kallis SA 495 616 v Pak at Durban 2002
2 ( - ) Daniel Vettori NZ 348 360 v Eng at Lord's 2008
3 ( - ) Andrew Flintoff Eng 308 501 v Pak at Multan 2005
4 ( - ) Chaminda Vaas SL 294 300 v WI at Guyana 2008
5 (+2) Dwayne Bravo WI 282 /*! 282 v Aus at Kingston 2008

ICC MEDIA RELEASE

Inaugural ICC Medical Committee meeting makes recommendations on anti-doping and bowling review

Dubai , 25 May 2008

Committee considers a range of issues related to participant health including extreme heat and clinical issues

The ICC Medical Committee held its first-ever meeting in Dubai over the weekend.

The Committee, whose terms of reference were approved by the ICC Board last year in October, was chaired by renowned sports medicine expert Dr Peter Harcourt and also included Dr Nick Peirce, Dr Akshai Mansingh, Craig Ranson (physiotherapist) and Dr Anant Joshi as members.

The ICC Medical Committee is empowered to make recommendations which then go forward to the Chief Executives’ Committee (CEC) and, if required, to the ICC Board. Both CEC and the ICC Board are scheduled to meet in Dubai from 29 June.

Dr Harcourt said: “It was a highly productive first meeting with all of the delegates contributing fully to the debates.

“There are some challenging issues on the table but it was encouraging to see that the ICC is serious about tackling some important topics that impact on the health of athletes and the integrity of the sport.

“As well as agreeing to provide leadership in several important areas, the members of the committee were very keen to promote information-sharing and greater collaboration across the sport in the areas of sports medicine and science and I look forward to helping my fellow committee members develop a strong network for the benefit of the global game.”

The following were among the issues covered by the ICC Medical Committee:

Anti-doping

The committee discussed the revisions the ICC and its Members will need to make to their anti-doping codes in light of the new WADA Code which comes into effect from 1 January 2009. In noting the ICC Full Members’ commitment to have in place WADA-compliant Codes by the middle of 2009, the committee recommended that further consideration should be given to cricket’s current testing strategies outside of major ICC events.

The committee will also review the medical aspects of the ICC’s Anti-Doping education programme to ensure the full programme is available for delivery by Members to their stakeholders before the ICC Champions Trophy 2008.

Biomechanics and illegal bowling actions

The committee debated the ICC Standard Analysis Protocols that support the ICC’s process for the review of bowlers reported with suspected illegal actions and set a timetable for the review of these protocols. No changes will be made to the current protocols pending the outcome of this review.

Extreme-heat regulations

The committee had an extensive discussion on the impact of climatic conditions, including extreme heat. The members of the committee agreed that cricket should have a better understanding of the impact of extreme-heat conditions on players and officials and they will review the matter further before making a recommendation later this year.

Age determination

The committee members expressed strong reservations about the use of medical science in the determination of a player’s age at junior ICC events. The ICC will review its regulations in light of this.

The committee will meet annually.

ICC MEDIA RELEASE

Sports News

May 25, 2008
TOP STORY
Football :
Tripura Police bagged the title of domestic Women League Football tournament. In the last match of Super League at the Umakanta Mini Stadium, Tripura Police drubbed Chalaman Sangha by 5-0 goals. With is win Police team bagged nine points from their three matches and finished top of the tally. Umakanta Coaching Center finished second position with four points.

Domestic Women Knock Out Football Tournament starts from May 28 next.
Five teams – Tripura Police, Umakanta Coaching Center, Chalaman Sangha, Jampuijala Eleven and Bishramgunj Play Center – will takes part in this tourney. Final will be held on June 01 next.

Athletics :
The executive meeting of Tripura Athletics Association will be held on June 04 at NSRCC.

BCCI's duty to improve our domestic cricket standard

Anshuman Gaekwad

Fifty Nine Matches over Fort Five days, the tricky Twenty20 Format, Blame Games- We got everything in the first edition of IPL Cricket.Six of the eight participating teams in the IPL have experienced the inevitable ups and downs, but its really that two teams Royal Challengers from Bangalore and Deccan Chargers from Hyderabad have flopped so badly. From very early stage, it was obvious that both these teams would not make it to the semis and all they can do towards the end is to go through the formalities.It clearly proves that big names and iconic stars do not guarantee success. Even in Twenty20, the traditional values of cricket – leadership, team work, dedication and determination & fitness – are important.

In the eve of the tournament Deccan Chargers were listed among the favourites to win the title. When a team has names such as VVS Laxman, Adam Gilchrist, Andrew Symonds, Shahid Afridi, Herschelle Gibbs, Rohit Sharma, Scott Styris, Chaminda Vaas, Chamara Silva, Nuwan Zoysa, Sanjay Bangar and Rudra Pratap Singh, it is taken for granted that it will go a long way – and perhaps all the way. In addition, they have promising youngsters in Venugopal Rao and Pragyan Ojha and Robin Singh as coach.But they failed.How can a side with such credentials flop so badly? Bangalore outfit has fared badly because they are widely branded as a Test team, the same cannot be said about Deccan Chargers. Main reason is they failed to play as a team.Couple of Good Performance by individuals are not enough to win T20 matches.

The Bangalore team's problems started with the tournament opener when they were skittled out for 82 on their way to a 140-run defeat at the hands of Kolkata and, from that moment, they have just kept sliding. The woeful record of both these teams will remain the big mystery of the tournament.Both the teams have quality cricketers to win the tournament but they failed to perfom when needed.Secondly, Rahul Dravid & Laxman failed to inspire their teams even after loosing couple of matches which Dhoni ,Warne did nicely.

On the other hand Kolkata team failed to reach in last four because of their faulty team composition.During bidding they never thought about reserve bench specialy when they knew that Couple of plyers will be missing after few games.

Anything can happen in Twenty20. It is unpredictable and can be anybody's game any day, though at present, based on performance, Rajasthan stand a better chance at winning. According to the performance of teams in the IPL at the moment, the Royals look stronger.They have perfect combination in both batting & bowling.We shouldn't ignore Punjab & Mumbai ( if they reach in semis ) Specially Punjab's strong batting line-up can help them to win this tournament.

IPL T20 Cricket helped young cricketers to prove themselves in front of the national selectors.Young players like Yo Mahesh, Wriddhimann Saha, Laxmiratan Sukla,Pradeep Sangwan,Asnodkar,Haladar Das,Yusuf Patahan,Ravindra Jadeja, MS Goni and few others shown great improvement like never before. Simultaneously, Uday Kaul of Kings XI Punjab has been doing better and is soon going to be a trouble for the selectors. There are quite a few new players in Indian Premier League who are taking tips and suggestions from the senior Indian and foreign players and improving their game.Now its BCCI's duty to improve our domestic cricket standard, not only T20 but also other verson of the game.

Hawkeye Communications

Sports News

May 24, 2008
Sports :
Sports Authority of India (SAI) will build some infrastructure at The Dasharath Dev State Sports Complex very soon. SAI build up one kids swimming pool, Synthetic 400 meters track of Athletics in football ground, two hostels for boys and girls trainees, one multipurpose Indoor hall and expend the existing Grand Stand also. It was decided in a meeting between SAI officials and Tripura Government.

Vince van der Bijl appointed ICC Umpires’ and Referees’ Manager as part of move to strengthen department

Dubai , 23 May 2008

Another idea of task force implemented as ICC increases it support of top officials; five regional umpires’ managers to be appointed shortly

Former Natal and Middlesex fast bowler Vintcent van der Bijl has been appointed ICC Umpires’ and Referees’ Manager as part of a major initiative designed to bolster the department and improve the overall standard of officiating at the elite level.

Mr van der Bijl will work as part of the ICC Cricket Operations Department under David Richardson , ICC General Manager – Cricket, and will have overall responsibility for the management and smooth running of the umpires and referees section.

Current ICC Umpires’ Manager Doug Cowie will report to Mr van der Bijl and oversee the direct development, mentoring and coaching of the umpires as well as feeding back performance-related information.

In order to increase the level of support to umpires, five regional umpires’ managers, soon to be appointed, will be responsible for working with umpires on the Emirates Elite and International Panels from those regions as well as all visiting umpires. They will report back to Mr Cowie as part of his overall umpiring strategy.

These appointments are being made in line with recommendations of the ICC Umpires’ Task Force which met in London last September. At its meeting in Dubai at the end of October 2007, the ICC Board approved those recommendations and the recruitment process got underway.

The task force also recommended that the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Umpires be expanded from 10 to 12, a measure that was implemented earlier this year with the addition of Australia ’s Steve Davis and Sri Lanka ’s Asoka de Silva to the list.

The task force consisted of ICC President-Elect David Morgan (chairman), ICC Chief Match Referee Ranjan Madugalle , Cricket Australia Umpires’ Manager Geoff Allardice and Mr Richardson.

“The task force conducted a survey of top umpires and the results showed us that we needed to provide speedier feedback and ongoing mentoring to them,” said Mr Richardson.

“So one of the key recommendations was that five regional coaches be brought on board to provide support to our umpires and that is what we are doing now.

“I am delighted with Vince’s appointment. He was a fine player who later became a successful businessman. More recently he has been working with Cricket South Africa helping to develop the next generation of players. He is hugely respected and very well liked.

“The five Regional Umpires’ Managers all have first-hand experience with the trials, challenges and rewards of umpiring at a high level. They all have credibility and respect in the cricket world and they know the issues that face umpires these days. I have no doubt these appointments will be good for the umpires and the game.

“These appointments are part of the ICC’s commitment to ensuring that the standard of international cricket umpiring remains high and that we get the most out of our best officials,” he said.

ICC MEDIA RELEASE

Sports News

May 23, 2008

Sports Council :

TOP STORY

Tripura will host NORTH EASTERN SPORTS FESTIVAL on February 4-7, 2009 next.
Annual General Meeting of Tripura Sports Council will be held on first weak of July.
Amitabh Datta was nominated as Vice-president of Sports Council.
Rs. 91 lacks 66 thousand budget was excepted for Tripura Sports Council for the 2008-09.

Football :
Niladrajoy Jamatia a boy of Tripura Sports School was selected for Indian Sub Junior Football team for Under-14 boys.

It feels really nice to win again

Anil Kumble

It feels really nice to win again. We've had some really tough times in the tournament and it's always nice to have the smiles back on the faces of everyone in the team.

To win a game like this, after the batters (except for Rahul who's been really consistent) struggled and we had only about 125 to defend, is really special. To defend that score on a good wicket when the opposition is cruising on 60 for no loss is a wonderful feeling.

We've done well in patches but consistency and momentum's been an issue. In Wednesday's game though, we probably got the best collective bowling performance we've had and the fielding too was really good, other than the one catch I dropped. And the general collective effort came through.

I've figured that it's all about the mindset and it makes for an interesting comparison. In a 50-over game, for instance, when the required run rate is over 6, you always back yourself as a fielding team. But in a T20 game, you suddenly feel it's not much and at least 8.5 per over is needed to be relatively safe.

I think the increase in Twenty20 cricket and the mindset changes it is producing more consistently is definitely going to affect one-day cricket, especially the run chases. From time to time, we've had 300-plus chases, even a successful 400-plus one, but that's going to become more common now.

Otherwise, in one-day cricket, because you have a lot more overs to play out, batsmen tend to think, 'if I get out now, the pressure will be on the team and the batsmen to follow'. Here, if you have wickets in hand, you can afford to bat a lot more freely and more often than not, you also seem to ride the luck — maybe fortune does favour the brave!

And the converse is equally true. When you're in the dumps and have 126 to defend — if say, after 30 overs, a team requires six runs an over — you still back yourself, say, we can do this. That's the kind of mindset you'll have to adapt to in a T20 game.

The main difference I think is in things happening at a crazy pace in Twenty20 cricket. You don't have time to think. When Chennai were cruising at 60-0, I'm sure the batters waiting in the dugout weren't thinking about how they'd have to bat, weren't preparing for it. But three quick wickets and two overs changed the game in a flash.

You know, I've actually batted more in the last eight IPL matches than in eight 50-over games on the trot. When I realise that, it's really strange. You would think that a No. 10 bat in a T20 game has no chance of batting but that's not true. Weirdly, I can't remember when I last batted so much in a one-day series.

Then again, the teams that do well in T20 have to have their top order firing. If anyone has time to prepare, it's those guys. Which is why Mohali is riding high on Shaun Marsh, Sanath's been fantastic for Mumbai, Chennai were on a roll when Hayden and Hussey were there, Fleming also has given Chennai some good starts. And of course, in whatever Delhi wins, the top three get the runs. In fact, when you bowl to Delhi, most opposition bowlers would figure, get Gautam and Viru and you'll put them under pressure.

For the rest who follow, it's tough to come out and whack the ball all over the place as many of them haven't had decent hits in the middle. Yusuf Pathan's innings against Kolkata was an exception, a blinder.

Anyway, our win — and Mumbai's narrow loss to Mohali — has probably upset a few people and encouraged others. Maybe Kolkata has a chance now and Delhi has to really win their games to keep themselves safe.

The Rajasthan Royals meanwhile are obviously up there. The big difference in them is that they've really come together as a team, where everyone's contributing both together and at different times. Like Kaif, who hadn't got much of a look in otherwise, came good when it mattered in the last game. He played really well. Warne not only has won them games with his leadership and bowling but also won a game with his bat. Shane Watson has been in great form. Yusuf has been brilliant, as has Graeme Smith. Asnodkar has done very well.

It's clear that the best-drilled teams are the ones that will do well in this format. Only Jaipur, plus Mumbai to a certain extent, is a unit where everyone's had the opportunity to take their team to the finish line.

Hawkeye/Chivach Sport

Sports News

May 22, 2008

Footbal :

Tripura Police defeated Umakanta Coaching Center by 4-0 goals in the Super League of domestic Women Football Tournament today.

Five Teams will play in the domestic Women Knock Out Football Tournament from May 28 next.

Sandip Das of Tripura Police will lead Tripura team for Sontosh Trophy National Football Tournament this year.

ICC World Cricket League Division 5 gets underway in Jersey on Friday

Dubai , 21 May 2008

As the 12 squads are named, the ICC announces details of its in-depth coverage of this exciting event

Twelve hopeful teams have been assembling on the Channel Island of Jersey this week all consumed by the knowledge that this could be the start of a long and winding path eventually leading them to the Asian sub-continent for the ICC Cricket World Cup in 2011.

As teams will be representing such diverse places as Afghanistan, Japan, Vanuatu, USA, Mozambique, Bahamas and Germany the ICC World Cricket League Division 5, which runs from 23-31 May, is an example of how cricket can bring nations together in a spirit of sportsmanship and give opportunities for players to pit their talents against rivals from all over the globe.

As part of the ICC’s commitment to growing and promoting the game around the world, it will be providing comprehensive coverage of this event direct from the green fields of Jersey .

Ball-by-ball scores as they happen, match reports, photographs, broadcast-quality audio clips and interviews with players and coaches will be made available for free use by media via the tournament website at http://www.iccworldcricketleague.com/. For television, there will also be video news releases and colour features issued for subscribers by SNTV.

The 12-team event will be staged across six venues and will take the format of two groups of six with the top two from each section progressing to the knock-out stage.

The finalists from this tournament will be promoted to the ICC World Cricket League Division 4 thus joining Hong Kong , Fiji , Tanzania and Italy in a six-team event that will take place in the Tanzanian capital of Dar Es Salaam from 4 to 11 October.

In turn, the top two teams from that tournament will progress to WCL Div. 3 in Argentina next January and then the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier 2009 in the UAE, which incorporates Divisions 1 and 2.

At the end of that tournament, the top four Associate or Affiliate teams in the world will be booking their places at the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 to be staged in Bangladesh , India , Pakistan and Sri Lanka . Those four will join the 10 Full Members to decide the top one-day side in the world.

“Such a high profile event is very important for the development of the game in our country,” said Bahamas captain Narendra Ekanayake.

“The game is rapidly becoming more and more popular, and a successful tournament will mean even more cricket coverage in the media and also give something for our prospering youth to aspire to.

“The team has been in training for around four months now. This training has involved a big fitness regime at the beginning and then moving on to working hard on the technical and tactical side of the game. We have also been lucky enough to have a strong Americas tournament in the middle of the training schedule, resulting in exactly the right preparation for a tournament such as this,” he added.

Cricket in Japan will get a huge boost if the national team does well in Jersey , according to team manager Jarrad Shearer.

“The biggest problem cricket in Japan faces is lack of exposure. The average person just doesn’t know what cricket is,” said Shearer.

“That’s why tournaments like this are so important. By being successful in Jersey , hopefully we’ll get more exposure domestically. Our goal for this tournament is, first and foremost, to win it and progress to Division 4 – we’re not here just to make up the numbers. At the very least we aim to finish in the top six at this tournament to stay in Division 5,” he added.

“Preparation has been difficult as our season doesn’t start here until April so very few of the players have had any club matches. To make matters worse, it has been a very wet season so far and few games have been able to be played. Nonetheless, we started pre-season in January and slowly built up both skills and fitness work. As winters here are quite cold, much of our training has been indoors at a tennis centre.

“We have played some practice games against a few local clubs, and we also played two games at the beginning of May against Melbourne Cricket Club, whose players included an ex-Test cricketer and a current New South Wales representative. Those games were excellent practice and we gained a tremendous amount from them. Both were close affairs and we won the second game.

“Our number three batsman Masaomi Kobayashi is definitely a player to watch. He hits the ball hard and has a tremendous eye, which gives him a lot of time to play his shots. We expect he will score a lot of runs and give most teams grief.

“Our wicketkeeper and opening batsman Tatsuro Chino is also a tremendous prospect. He has great hands behind the wicket – he didn’t drop a catch nor let a single bye through at the ICC East Asia-Pacific tournament in Auckland last year,” said Shearer.

Squads

Group A
Germany: Graham Sommer (captain), Abdul Bhatti, Ayoub Pasha, Anees Butt, Farooq Ahmed, Javed Iqbal, Rajeev Vohra, Asif Khan, Milan Fernando, Surya Narayanan, Eksan Latif, James Eggleston, Srinivas Satyanarayana, Barkatullah Masaud. Keith Thompson (coach) and Dhushyanta Ekanayake (manager)

Mozambique : Muhammad Shoaib Younus (captain), Jayesh Mohanlal Khorova, Bineesh Vadavathi, Imtiyaz Shafikbhai Lili, Mohmed Aasif Aiyub Koliya, Imran Ismail, Muhammad Ikheriya, Zainulbidin Gulam Patel, Giovanni Florentino, Chandra Shekhar, C Puspussen, Nadir Gafar Karim, Mohammed Zulficar Sidat, Muhammad Kamran Qadir, Syed Kaleem Raza Shah, Wayne P Smith. Ismail Hassan (coach) and Carlos Jaime Mandlate (manager)

Nepal : Binod Kumar Das (captain), Paras Khadka, Paresh Prasad Lohani, Shakti Prasad Gauchan, Mahaboob Alam, Sanjam Regmi, Sharad Vesawkar, Dipendra Chaudhary, Gyanendra Malla, Mahesh Kumar Chhetri, Raj Kumar Pradhan, Amrit Bhattarai, Basant Regmi, Dhirendra Bahadur. Roy Dias (coach) and Tanka Prasad Paneru (manager)

Norway: Shahid Ahmed (captain), Aamir Waheed, Abdul Hadi, Adeel Ibrar, Ehtsham Ul Haq, Majid Zia Butt, Mubasshar Ahmed Bhatti, Muhammad Shahbaz Butt, Muhammad Zeeshan Ali, Sameer Sachdev, Shahid Ahmed, Syed Munawar Ahmed, Waseem Gill, Zaheer Ashiq, Saqib Qayyum. R alp h Dellor (coach) and Shahbaz Tariq (manager)

USA: Steve Massiah (captain), Gowkaran Roopnarine, Niraj Shah, Lennox Cush, Imran Awan, Khawaja Shuja, Steve Pitter, Sushil Nadkarni, Orlando Baker, Mohamed Masood, Rashard Marshall, Rahul Kukreti,Wahab Syed, Aditya Thyagarajan. Clayton Lambert (coach) and Sohail Bari (manager)

Vanuatu : Patrick Haines (captain), Andrew Mansale, Pierre Chilia, Kenneth Natapei, Richard Tatwin, Simpson Obed, Selwyn Garae, Manu Nimoho, Lenica Natapei, Trevor Langa, Michael Avok, Aby John, Eddie Mansale, Patrick Matautaava, Lazaro Carlot. Timothy Curran (coach) and Garry Blake (manager)

Group B
Afghanistan: Norooz Khan Mangal (captain), Karim Khan Sedeq, Rais Ahamdzai, Dawlat Ahamdzai, Ahamd Shah Ahmadi, Noor Ali Noori, Mohmmad Asghar Stanikzai, Hasti Gul Abed, Mohd.Nabi Eisakhil, Samiullah Shenwari, Hamid Hassan, Jalat Khan Naseri, Abdul Rashid Zadran, Gulbadin Naid. Taj Mailk Alam (coach) and Rais Jaji (manager)

Bahamas: Narendra Ekanayake (captain), Andrew Ford, Gregory Taylor, Whitcliff Atkinson, Jonathan Barry, Mario Ford, Garfield Armstrong, Wayne Patrick, Dannavan Morrison, Dwight Weakley, Roderick Mitchell, Lee Melville, Himchan Rampersaud, Ryan Tappin. John Welch (coach) and Irvin Taylor (manager)
Botswana: Tshepo Mhozya (captain), Akrum Chand, Abdul Patel, Omar Ali, Mosa Gaolekwe, Karabo Modise, Denzil Sequiera, Saad Mohiyuddin, Karan Kapoor, Manon Barot, Shah Zaib Khan, Nadeem Tajbhay, Dave Buchanan, James Moses. Solly Chotia (coach) and Ahmed Fazal Sheriff (manager)

Japan : Ko Irie (captain), Gavin Bruce Beath, Kenji Murata, Masaomi Kobayashi, Ahmad Munir, Naoki Miyaji, Patrick Jamieson Giles-Jones, Naoki Kamatani, Tatsuro Chino, Courtney Jones, Takuro Hagihara, Kensuke Kobayashi, Yuta Matsubara, Satoshi Nakano. Richard Laidler (coach) and Jarrad Shearer (manager)

Jersey: Mathew Hague (captain), Tony Carlyon, Steve Carlyon, Jonathan Gough, Peter Gough, Christopher Jones, Thomas Minty, Andrew Dewhurst, Robert Minty, James Brewster, Sachin Patidar, Bradley Vowden, Ryan Driver, James Caunt. Peter Kirsten (coach) and Chris Minty (manager)

Singapore: Chaminda R Kumarage (captain), Zeng Renchun, Syed Ali Muhammad, James Kailash Muruthi, Narender Reddy Bonguram, Anish Edward Param, Chongwei Low, Chetan Ramchandra Suryawanshi, Arun Vijayan, Mohamed Shoib, Abdul Razak, Mohd Rizwan Nasir Madakia, Christopher Janik, Buddhika Mendis Yange Oshanka, Dharmichand Mulewa. Venkataramana Margasahayam (coach) and Mahmood Gaznavi (manager)

ICC MEDIA RELEASE

Sports News

May 21, 2008
Football:
Chalaman Sangha holds Bishramgunj Play Center by 0-0 in the Super League of domestic Women Football tournament.
Chess:
State Level Chess Championship started at Kalyanpur on Tuesday last. Altogether seventy four chess player from eight subdivisions were took part in this tourney. Tribal Welfare Minister Aghor Debbarma was opened this five days tournament.
Sports Council:
A meeting of Tripura Sports Council will be held on May 23 next.

Sidebottom’s fairytale progress lifts him to career-high sixth position

Dubai, 20 May 2008

Hussey and Ponting resume battle for number one batting spot as Australia prepares to go head to head with the West Indies in three-Test series from Thursday

England fast bowler Ryan Sidebottom continued his fairytale progress in the Reliance Mobile ICC Player Rankings when he achieved his career-best position after another outstanding performance in the drawn first Test against New Zealand at Lord’s.

The 30-year-old Yorkshireman took 6-120 in a weather-marred Test and as a result jumped four places to sixth in the Reliance Mobile ICC Player Rankings for Test bowlers.

Sidebottom leapfrogged Chaminda Vaas of Sri Lanka , India captain Anil Kumble, Pakistan ’s Shoaib Akhtar and Shane Bond of New Zealand . He now has fifth-placed Makhaya Ntini of South Africa firmly in his sights just 53 ratings points ahead.

As Sidebottom is still qualifying for a full rating (a bowler is eligible for a full rating once he reaches 100 Test wickets), he has a good chance of breaking in the top five if he puts up another strong performance in the remaining two Tests against the Black Caps. If he achieves that, he will become the first England bowler in the top five since Matthew Hoggard who slipped from those lofty heights last December while on tour in Sri Lanka .

In the last seven months, Sidebottom has maintained an incredible run of consistent performance in which he jumped from 115th position in October 2007 to sixth spot in the latest rankings. Since October, Sidebottom has taken 35 wickets in seven Tests and only six other bowlers, headed by South Africa ’s Dale Steyn (71 wickets in 11 Tests), have taken more wickets than him in that time.

Sidebottom was not the only England bowler to make progress in the right direction. James Anderson, who took 5-130 in the Test, climbed four places to 33rd spot while Stuart Broad was rewarded for his match effort of 3-139 by rising three places to 62nd position.

While England spinner Monty Panesar had a quiet Test by his high standards when he took 2-86, his opposite number and New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori had a productive Test.

The 29-year-old from Auckland took 5-69 in England ’s only innings and returned to the top 20 after leapfrogging team-mate James Franklin, Pakistan’s Umar Gul and Irfan Pathan of India .

In the Reliance Mobile Player Rankings for Test batsmen, England captain Michael Vaughan climbed three places to 32nd position after scoring his 18th Test century.

England openers Alastair Cook and Andrew Strauss, who stroked half-centuries while putting on 121 runs for the first wicket, also improved their rankings by one place each and are now ranked 15th and 23rd respectively.

Kevin Pietersen, however, is in danger of losing his place in the top 10 for the first time since 2006 after another disappointing performance. Pietersen scored three and consequently conceded 22 ratings points to see his lead over 11th placed Australia vice-captain Michael Clarke trimmed to only 18 ratings points.

New Zealand wicketkeeper-batsman Brendon McCullum has returned to the top 40 after hitting a run-a-ball 97 that included 13 fours and two sixes. McCullum, who was briefly in the top 40 back in 2006, has jumped four places to 38th position.

New Zealand ’s all-rounder Jacob Oram achieved his career-best fifth ranking in the Reliance Mobile ICC Player Rankings for Test all-rounders after leaping two places. Oram scored 28 and 101 with the bat and also took 2-45 at Lord’s. He can rise to as high as third if he claims a five-wicket haul or hits a century in the forthcoming Tests in Old Trafford and Trent Bridge .

Meanwhile, Ricky Ponting and Michael Hussey will resume their battle for the coveted number one spot in Reliance Mobile ICC Rankings for Test batsmen as Australia prepares to go head to head with the West Indies in the three-Test series in Kingston , Jamaica from Thursday.

Hussey benefited from Ponting’s, Jacques Kallis’ and Kumar Sangakkara’s slump in form to claim the top position following South Africa ’s tour to Bangladesh earlier this year.

Hussey had entered the home series against India late last year in fifth place while Ponting had started in first place. However, by the time the series ended, Hussey had risen to third place while Ponting had dropped to fourth.

Hussey leads Ponting by 13 ratings points but as Mr Cricket is still qualifying for a full rating (a batsman is eligible for a full rating after playing 40 Test innings), his points tally at the top is likely to continue to rise if his willow continues to yield runs.

In a sharp contrast, Ponting can drop to as low as sixth if he fails to end his run of indifferent form as only 39 ratings points separate the Tasmanian from sixth-placed Matthew Hayden who is one of the five Australians in the top 20 batting list.

Shivnarine Chanderpaul is the West Indies ’ highest-ranked batsman in seventh place while Ramnaresh Sarwan is ranked 22nd and Chris Gayle, who will miss the first Test due to injury, is in 27th position.

Australia’s best bowlers in action in the series will be Stuart Clark and Brett Lee who are in third and fourth respectively in the Reliance Mobile ICC Rankings for Test bowlers while in Corey Collymore’s absence Jerome Taylor in 25th place is the highest-ranked West Indies bowler. Dwayne Bravo (34th), Fidel Edwards (36th) and Daren Powell (44th) are the other home team bowlers in the top 50.

If Australia sweeps the series, it will earn one ratings point in the Reliance Mobile ICC Test Championship while West Indies will drop to 76 ratings points. However, if Australia lost all three Tests, it would concede 10 ratings points while the West Indies would go up by the same amount.

West Indies v Australia Test Series

22-26 May – First Test, Kingston , Jamaica
30 May-3 June – Second Test, Antigua
12-16 June – Third Test, Bridgetown , Barbados

Reliance Mobile ICC Test Championship (as of 13 May, prior to the start of England – New Zealand and West Indies – Australia Test series)

Rank Teams Rating

1 Australia 141
2 India 111
3 South Africa 109
4 England 108
5 Sri Lanka 106
6 Pakistan 94
7 New Zealand 91
8 West Indies 77
9 Bangladesh 1

Note: Zimbabwe has a rating of 12 but has not played sufficient number of Test matches over the new rating period to be included on the main table.

Reliance Mobile ICC Test Rankings (as of 20 May, after Lord’s Test and before the start of West Indies – Australia Test series)

Batsmen

Rank (+/-) Player Team Points Ave HS Rating

1 ( - ) Mike Hussey Aus 912*! 78.14 912 v Ind at Adelaide 2008
2 ( - ) Ricky Ponting Aus 899 58.53 942 v Eng at Adelaide 2006
3 ( - ) K.C.Sangakkara SL 893 55.19 938 v Eng at Kandy 2007
4 ( - ) Mohd Yousuf Pak 880 55.49 933 v WI at Karachi 2006
5 ( - ) Jacques Kallis SA 877 57.14 935 v NZ at Centurion 2007
6 ( - ) Matthew Hayden Aus 860 53.51 935 v Eng at Brisbane 2002
7= ( - ) S.Chanderpaul WI 810 47.24 838 v SA at Cape Town 2008
( - ) M.Jayawardena SL 810 51.93 844 v WI at Guyana 2008
9 ( - ) Yunus Khan Pak 799 49.14 856 v Eng at Leeds 2006
10 ( - ) Kevin Pietersen Eng 762 49.04 909 v WI at Leeds 2007
11 ( - ) Michael Clarke Aus 744 46.45 761 v Ind at Melbourne 2007
12 ( - ) Graeme Smith SA 712 48.57 756 v NZ at Wellington 2004
13 ( - ) S.R.Tendulkar Ind 704 55.31 898 v Zim at Nagpur 2002
14 ( - ) Rahul Dravid Ind 701 54.88 892 v Pak at Kolkata 2005
15 (+1) Alastair Cook Eng 688 43.82 711 v SL at Galle 2007
16 (-1) Virender Sehwag Ind 681 51.75 854 v SA at Kolkata 2004
17 ( - ) Sourav Ganguly Ind 674 42.71 713 v Aus at Adelaide 1999
18 (+1) VVS Laxman Ind 672 43.82 753 v Aus at Sydney 2004
19 (-2) Ian Bell Eng 661 42.70 684 v SL at Kandy 2007
20 (+1) Andrew Symonds Aus 656* 41.24 666 v Ind at Perth 2008

Bowlers

Rank (+/-) Player Team Points Ave HS Rating

1 ( - ) M.Muralidaran SL 897 21.95 920 v Ban at Kandy 2007
2 ( - ) Dale Steyn SA 892 21.60 897 v Ind at Ahmedabad 2008
3 ( - ) Stuart Clark Aus 829* 21.88 843 v Ind at Perth 2008
4 ( - ) Brett Lee Aus 795! 29.97 795 v Ind at Adelaide 2008
5 ( - ) Makhaya Ntini SA 777 27.85 863 v Ind at Durban 2006
6 (+4) Ryan Sidebottom Eng 724*! 25.93 724 v NZ at Lord's 2008
7 (-1) Chaminda Vaas SL 709 29.09 800 v Ind at Chennai 2005
8 (-1) Anil Kumble Ind 708 29.06 859 v SL at Bangalore 1994
9 ( - ) Shoaib Akhtar Pak 684 25.69 855 v NZ at Wellington 2003
10 (-2) Shane Bond NZ 681* 22.39 778 v WI at Auckland 2006
11 ( - ) Corey Collymore WI 640* 32.30 700 v Eng at Lord's 2007
12 ( - ) Matthew Hoggard Eng 631 30.50 795 v SL at Birmingham 2006
13= (+1) Zaheer Khan Ind 619 33.60 689 v Pak at Delhi 2007
(+1) Mohammad Asif Pak 619* 23.13 710 v SA at Cape Town 2007
15 (-2) Andrew Flintoff Eng 615 32.02 810 v Pak at Multan 2005
16= (+1) Danish Kaneria Pak 614 33.90 723 v Eng at Multan 2005
( - ) Monty Panesar Eng 614* 32.68 721 v WI at Chester-le-St 2007
18 ( - ) Chris Martin NZ 610 32.74 643 v Eng at Lord's 2004
19 ( - ) Harbhajan Singh Ind 608 31.03 765 v NZ at Wellington 2002
20 (+3) Daniel Vettori NZ 596 34.38 681 v Aus at Auckland 2000

All-rounders

Rank (+/-) Player Team Points HS Rating

1 ( - ) Jacques Kallis SA 495 616 v Pak at Durban 2002
2 ( - ) Daniel Vettori NZ 360! 360 v Eng at Lord's 2008
3 ( - ) Andrew Flintoff Eng 314 501 v Pak at Multan 2005
4 ( - ) Chaminda Vaas SL 294 300 v WI at Guyana 2008
5 (+2) Jacob Oram NZ 289 /*! 289 v Eng at Lord's 2008


ICC MEDIA RELEASE

ICC confirms start of process to secure replacements for two senior staff members

Dubai, 20 May 2008

ICC President-Elect David Morgan thanks departing senior managers Faisal Hasnain and Urvasi Naidoo for outstanding contributions

The ICC today confirmed it has begun the process to secure replacements for Chief Financial Officer Faisal Hasnain and Ms Urvasi Naidoo, Senior Counsel and Company Secretary.

Mr Hasnain has accepted a position at the Dubai Event Management Corporation as its Chief Operating Officer while Ms Naidoo will take up the position of Chief Executive Officer of the International Federation of Netball Associations.

Commenting on their departures ICC President-Elect David Morgan said: “It is always disappointing to lose quality staff like Faisal and Urvasi.

“Both have secured excellent opportunities away from the ICC, we wish them well for the future and thank them for their outstanding contributions to the organization.

“Their departures represent an excellent opportunity for two people to join the ICC and we look forward to welcoming their replacements at a hugely exciting time for our great sport.”

Both Mr Hasnain and Ms Naidoo will leave the ICC in July.

ICC MEDIA RELEASE

Sports News

May 19, 2008
Football :
Umakanta Coaching Center registered first win in Super League of domestic Women Football tournament here today. At the Umakanta Mini Stadium, Umakanta edged over Chalaman Sangha by 2-1 goals.
Table Tennis :
Summer Table Tennis competition finished on Sunday last. Altogether sixty competitors from 15 units and sub-divisions were took part in this tourney.
Results : Men Single – Champion Chirantan Saha, Runners Tamesh Chakraborty, Women Single – Champion Moumita Saha, Runners Tamanna Paul, Boys Single – Champion Rameez Raja Khan, Runners Subham Dey, Girls Single – Champion Tamanna Paul, Runners Tamalika Dey, Sub Junior Boys Single – Champion Sanjoy Das, Runners Sumit Datta, Sub Junior Girls Single – Champion Tamanna Paul, Runners Tamalika Dey, Cadet Boys Single – Champion Jishan Chowdhury, Runners Jaydeep Saha, Cadet Girls Single – Champion Ditsa Saha, Runners Wikita Bhowmik, Beginners Boys Single – Champion Akash Shil, Runners Abhranil Pal.
Power Lifting :
Ratanmani Roy Chowdhury bagged four Gold Medals in the Asian Power Lifting Championship.
Cricket :
Fifteen days cricket coaching program starts in four different places in the state from today. Three district camps held at Melagarh, Dharmanagar and Belonia. Central camp was started at Agartala. For searching new talents through out the state Tripura Cricket Association were organized these camps.
Sports Council :
North District Gymnastic coaching center will be starts on July next. Five coaching centers for Football, Karate, Judo, Athletics and Swimming were already functioning from last one month.

ICC World Cricket League will mark the dawn of a new era for Afghan sport

Dubai , 19 May 2008

Group B preview

Captain Mangal says the event can show the war-torn country in a fresh light

A few years ago, any talk of Afghanistan playing in the ICC Cricket World Cup would have been laughable. But not any more.

Thanks to the World Cricket League, which is part of the ICC Development Program, Afghanistan has a chance of appearing alongside the 10 Full Members and three other qualifiers when the Asian subcontinent stages the event in 2011.

The Division 5 event starts in Jersey on 23 May with 12 teams battling it out to qualify for the May 31 final which will guarantee them a place in the next stage of qualification.

It’s still unlikely but far from impossible Afghanistan will reach the 2011 event and the way cricket is taking off, there is perhaps only a matter of time before we see it taking part in a major ICC event. But even more than that, the WCL Div. 5 is an opportunity for this war-torn country to show the world a different side.

“After all the turbulent times after the invasion of Russia , I consider it as the dawn of a new era in which our sportsmen will taste international exposure and introduce the new and moderate Afghanistan to the world,” said captain Norooz Khan Mangal, a 23-year-old top order batsman.

“Like any other team, we are traveling to Jersey with the objective to win the tournament and take the first step in the right direction. But at the same time, we would like to make more friends and try to learn good things from the other participants,” he said.

“We consider ourselves good and ready for not only the WCL Div. 5 but also for the tough season ahead because we have the conviction that we can progress in this tournament.

“We have to respect the game and our opponents. We will go match by match and event by event.”

Afghanistan is one of six teams in Group B, along with the Bahamas , Botswana , Japan , Singapore and hosts Jersey . Group A is made up of Germany , Mozambique , Nepal , Norway , the USA and Vanuatu

Afghanistan was admitted as an ICC Affiliate Member in 2001. After playing its early cricket in Pakistan with the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) funding its tours, Afghanistan started showing signs of improvements in 2006 when it beat a MCC team, led by former England captain Mike Gatting, by 171 runs in a 40-over-a-side match.

In 2007, Afghanistan qualified for the ICC WCL Div. 5 after finishing third behind the UAE and Hong Kong in the ACC Trophy. In the same year, it came close to qualifying for the ICC U/19 Cricket World Cup 2008 in Malaysia when it lost in the final of the ACC U/19 Elite Cup final to Nepal in Kuala Lumpur .

In November 2007, Afghanistan shared the ACC Twenty20 Cup with Oman in Kuwait after both the teams tied on 157 runs and a pitch invasion prevented a bowl-out to decide the winner.

Afghanistan , as part of its preparations for the WCL Div. 5, played 14 warm-up matches in Peshawar , Pakistan last month before attending a training camp at the National Cricket Academy in Kabul which has two turf pitches and a bowling machine.

“The tour to Peshawar was a good one in which we won 13 out of 14 40-overs-a-side matches. In our domestic cricket, we have mostly 20-overs-a-side matches so the tour to Peshawar was a huge learning experience.

“We learnt how to pace and calculate our innings and also how to bowl in certain situations and conditions.

“But while doing this we didn’t change our attacking style of batting except bringing in more method and purpose. I am happy to say that we adapted to the new format pretty quickly and scored more than 250 runs in most of the matches,” said Mangal.

Talking about the lack of experience of his team, Mangal added: “We are new at this level but so are many of the other teams taking part in Jersey . All the teams start on even terms and I think the sides that stick to the basics will qualify for the final which will be enough to earn it promotion to WCL Div. 4.

“The beauty of the WCL format is that you learn with every tournament and by the time you qualify for the ICC Cricket World Cup, you have some sort of experience under your belt. But it’s an ongoing process with no short-cuts and we are happy to follow the same path which the top teams have followed.”

According to Mangal, Afghan men are naturally strong and athletic which means fast bowling is their forte.

“Hamid Hassan regularly bowls at 140kph while Dawlat Ahamdzai, Hasti Gul Abed and Ahamd Shah Ahmadi are the other pacers with lots of potential and promise.

“Amongst the batsmen, Karim Khan Sedeq and Nabi Eisakhil stand out. They like to play aggressively and if they fire in the tournament, we will have an excellent chance to return from Jersey with flying colours.

“While saying this, I am aware that it’s a team game and we have to gel together like a unit and back each other.”

Mangal says it is common knowledge in Afghanistan that the national team is going to Jersey to play in an ICC tournament. “People are talking about it, the media is writing about it and it’s an atmosphere we have never experienced before.

“While it is raising the bar of expectations, it also shows that our people like sports and closely follow cricket. India and Pakistan remain the most favourite teams in our part of the world while Shahid Afridi is an immensely popular player.”

Other teams in Group B include the Bahamas , Bostwana , Japan , Singapore and hosts Jersey .

The Bahamas qualified for WCL Div.5 after finishing the top Affiliate in the Americas region. The team has been participating in the American Affiliate Tournament for the last seven years. It has also played in the Americas Senior Associate Tournament several times and has previously beaten Argentina , an Associate country.

Coached by Solly Chotia, a Level 3 coach from South Africa who just retired as Director of Development at Easterns Cricket Academy , Botswana qualified for the WCL Div.2 after finishing second in the ICC WCL Tournament Africa Region Division Two in Tanzania in 2006.

Japan is captained by Koh Irie and the team also includes chief executive of Japan Cricket Association Naoki Alex Miyaji. Coached by Richard Laidler, Japan qualified after winning the ICC-EAP Cricket Trophy 2007.

Singapore qualified for the WCL Div. 5 after a good performance in the ACC Trophy. Captained by all-rounder Chaminda Ruwan , Singapore ’s other key players include Chetan Suryawanshi and 18-year-old Anish Param who is touted as a future star.

Coached by former South Africa batsman Peter Kirsten, host Jersey beat Italy twice in March 2007 to fulfill the Associate Membership Playing Criteria before being elected as an Associate Member in June. A year earlier, Jersey finished second in the European Championships Division 2 Tournament in Glasgow .

Immediately after being admitted as an Associate Member, Jersey hosted and won the ECC U/19 Division Two and the ECC U/23 Division Two Tournament in Guernsey .

The road to ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 may be difficult but now there is a distinct pathway for developing teams like Afghanistan and the 11 other sides on their way to Jersey .

The first target of the teams gathering in Jersey from 23-31 May will be to finish in the top two which will earn them promotion to the ICC World Cricket League Division 4 thus joining Hong Kong, Fiji, Tanzania and Italy in a six-team event that will take place in the Tanzanian capital Dar Es Salaam from 4 to 11 October.

In turn, the top two teams from the Tanzania tournament will progress to WCL Div. 3 to be staged in Buenos Aires , Argentina from 24-31 January 2009. The finalists from the Buenos Aires tournament will join the top four teams from WCL Div. 2 (the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Namibia and Denmark) and six teams from WCL Div. 1 (Kenya, Scotland, Ireland, Netherlands, Bermuda and Canada) in the ICC World Cup Qualifier which will be staged in the UAE in April 2009.

The top four Associate or Affiliate teams from the ICC World Cup Qualifier will book their place at the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 to be staged in Bangladesh , India , Pakistan and Sri Lanka .

Group B
Afghanistan
Bahamas
Botswana
Japan
Jersey
Singapore

ICC MEDIA RELEASE

Massiah predicts USA ’s second coming

Dubai , 18 May 2008

Group A preview

Captain Steve says his team is ready to start from the bottom and aim for the top; other five teams get ready for Group A of the ICC World Cricket League Division 5

USA captain Steve Massiah is confident his side can get back to the top of the Associate cricket world after spending most of the past three years in the wilderness. And that road to redemption begins with the ICC World Cricket League Division 5 (WCL Div. 5), which takes place in Jersey from 23 to 31 May.

Massiah (28) says the US will be taking it one stage at a time in its bid to qualify for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011, starting with trying to emerge top of Group A in Jersey, where it will face the challenge of Germany , Mozambique , Nepal , Norway and Vanuatu .

Group B, the other half of the tournament, features teams representing Afghanistan , Bahamas , Botswana , Japan , Jersey and Singapore .

“I believe we have a very, very good chance of going all the way and getting back to the top,” said the top-order batsman and occasional off-break bowler.

“But we are not taking any of the other teams lightly. We’re going to go there and take it very seriously, play positive cricket and hopefully get through to the next level,” he told the ICC.

“At the time we were excluded from international cricket (in 2005 and again in 2007) we were playing with the top Associates and now we are down near the bottom. But as I told the guys, I think it could be a blessing in disguise as it gives us a chance to generate a bit of team spirit and will hopefully allow us to assess the players and figure out what our best combinations are.”

In April, the United States of America Cricket Association (USACA) was re-recognised as an Associate Member of the ICC. USACA had been suspended for a second time by the ICC Executive Board in March 2007 after failing to meet conditions imposed.

Those conditions, imposed after a previous suspension that ran from June 2005 to March 2006, included a new constitution, the holding of elections for a Board of Directors under that constitution and the appointment of all USACA executive positions.

All of the above has now happened following a process overseen by the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) and, following a report presented to the ICC Board, the suspension was lifted. Now it faces its first major test and Massiah is chomping at the bit to get back into it.

“I am happy with the preparations so far. It has been easier for the guys in the warmer parts of the country,” said the New Yorker, who has just emerged into springtime after the harsh east coast winter.

“We had a really productive training camp down in Florida and I think we have put together a well-balanced side with some experienced players and some exciting young talent.

“I really don’t know anything about the other teams in the tournament but I am looking forward to getting over there and back into international cricket. It has been a long wait and everybody is really excited waiting for the first game.”

Of course cricket is not a new phenomenon in the United States . In 1844, the USA and Canada played out what is generally accepted to be the first game of international cricket in history.

This tournament will match some far more unlikely pairings, however, with Massiah’s men set to face teams from as diverse places as the heartland of central Europe to the foothills of the Himalayas and the remote Pacific islands.

Coached by Keith Thompson, this is Germany ’s first opportunity to pit its skills against opposition from outside Europe since the ICC Trophy 2001. The team secured its spot after being ranked third in the European Championships Division 2 event last year.

Mozambique qualified for this event at the ICC World Cricket League Africa Region Division 2 tournament and will be captained by middle-order batsman Muhammed Shoaib Younus. Other key players include vice-captain Chandra Puspussen, Zainul Patel and Mohammad Sidat.

Nepal is an up-and-coming side in world cricket and, having done well in the past two ICC U/19 Cricket World Cup tournaments in Sri Lanka (2006) and Malaysia (2008), the future looks bright. Of the side that got to the Plate Championship final in Kuala Lumpur earlier this year, Paras Khadka, Gyanendra Malla, Mahesh Chhetri and Amrit Bhattarai have all graduated to the senior squad for the WCL Div. 5.

Norway only became an Affiliate Member of the ICC in June 2000 and since then it has played 47 international matches, losing just four of them. Players to watch include skipper Shahid Ahmad, Zaheer Ashiq and Waseem Gill.

The sixth side that makes up Group A is Vanuatu , which qualified for this event after finishing second in the round-robin section of the East Asia-Pacific Trophy in Auckland in December 2007.

The Vanuatu junior development programme is very highly regarded having won several regional awards and one of the strengths of this squad is that every player was born and bred in the country.

The 12-team event will be staged across six venues and will take the format of two groups of six with the top two from each section progressing to the knock-out stage.

The finalists from this tournament will be promoted to the ICC World Cricket League Division 4 thus joining Hong Kong , Fiji , Tanzania and Italy in a six-team event that will take place in the Tanzanian capital Dar Es Salaam from 4 to 11 October.

In turn, the top two teams from that tournament will progress to WCL Div. 3 in Argentina next January and then the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier 2009 in the UAE, which incorporates Divisions 1 and 2.

At the end of that tournament, the top four Associate or Affiliate teams in the world will be booking their places at the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 to be staged in Bangladesh , India , Pakistan and Sri Lanka . Those four will join the 10 Full Members to decide the top one-day side in the world.

Group A
Germany
Mozambique
Nepal
Norway
USA
Vanuatu

ICC MEDIA RELEASE

Sports News

May 18, 2008
Chess:
Tripura Chess Association felicitated Saini Das for her outstanding contribution to state Chess. Saini secured third position in the National Chess Championship for Under-9 groups this year and also qualify for the World Chess Championship for Under-10 groups next year. Speaking in the function on Saturday last, Finance Minister Badal Chowdhury said Saini’s performance will encourage all the budding chess players of the state. He also said state government has a plan to promote the game throughout the state.He hoped that many Saini would come out in near feature. Sports Director Samarjit Bhowmik was also present in this programme. Saini also was felicitated by Birendra Club in the same function.
Football:
Tripura Police beat Bishramgunj Play Center by 2-1 golas in the Super League of domestic Women Football Tournament.
Domestic Women Knock out Football Tournament will starts on May 28 next.

Deccan Chargers now playing for pride

V V S Laxman

The Deccan Chargers are now playing for pride. We know we cannot qualify for the IPL semi-finals but each of us wants to redeem our pride, both individual and collective, as we go into the match versus the Mumbai Indians tomorrow. I thought we did well against Delhi in our last game and were unfortunate to lose chasing a big score, by a very narrow margin. What we would also dearly love to do tomorrow is win a match on our home ground in front of our loyal fans, something which we have not been able to do so far. As a team, we know we owe them that.

Mumbai is on something of a roll at the moment. Ever since they defeated the Knight Riders in Kolkata, Mumbai have been a force transformed. They had a bad start to the tournament even as some of their younger Indians like Abhishek Nayar were putting up good performances. But the moment their seasoned pros came to the party, Mumbai turned their fortunes around and have given themselves a chance – even if it's a tough one – of entering the semi-finals. But we are determined to put up a winning fight and have the personnel to beat them.

Watching Shaun Pollock bowl that terrific spell that destroyed Kolkata last night and seeing Sanath Jayasuriya dart around in the field plotting and planning with Sachin Tendulkar, I thought was a statement in itself. Age is a big issue here in Indian cricket and many seem to think that T20 is only for the twentysomethings.

But I feel that age is not the most accurate criteria to judge the worth of a cricketer, fitness and performance is. As long as a player has that going for him and the intensity of his performances do not dip, he should have a place on the park. Jayasuriya is one of the quickest men around in the circle, we know what Sachin can do and in my own team, there's the example of Adam Gilchrist. Gilly is one of our fittest members and can put younger men in the shade.

We're quite disappointed by the fact that we're not in the reckoning for the final four because we can see there are no favourites in the IPL going into its last fortnight. Everyone has a chance of the big prize. It's difficult to predict how games are going to go: results have been topsy turvy and teams doing well have had the tables turned by those who have been struggling. This game is about momentum and it can work either way – you can go on a roll with victories or keep sliding with defeats.

The Delhi Daredevils and King's XI also meet tomorrow night and that will be a good contest too. King's XI are a very well balanced teams and the Daredevils have some daredevil match winners. But again, don't read anything into their previous results or performances – it's all about who can put it together on the day.

HAWKEYE COMMUNICATIONS / CHIVACH SPORTS

Sports News

May 17, 2008
TOP STORY
National Games :
Tripura will strongly demand for hosting the prestigious National Games in the days come. There is an urgent need to host the National Games here to promote sports as well as sports related infrastructure, said Sports Director Samarjit Bhowmik at AD Nagar Police ground here on Friday. In fact Manipur made a remarkable achievement in the field of sports only after hosting National Games in 1998 and Tripura wants to follow the path of the Manipur, he said adding the state government has already taken initiatives to bid for the National Games. “The government has decided to revive the defunct Tripura Olympic Association (TOA) very soon. After revival of the highest sport body, the government will formally bid for hosting the National Games”, he said.The Sports Director also said that steps were taken to develop infrastructure in the Tripura Sports School. The DONER has already sanctioned a sum of Rs.16 core, he said adding that the state government will build new school building and hostel for seven hundred sports talents.
Sports Council :
Seven days Table Tennis and Badminton coaching starts at Belonia from May 16 under the guidance of Tripura Sports Council (TSC). After this camp council will starts same coaching camp of this two events at Sabroom on May 26 next. Udaipur will host another camp for Weight lifting, Swimming, Table Tennis and Badminton.

Sports News

May 16, 2008

Hockey :

TOP STORY

Teliamura lifted the title of State Level Under-16 Hockey Tournament here today. In the final match at Arundhutinagar Police Hockey ground, Teliamura beat Sonamura by 4-2 goals. Both the teams were locked 1-1 after 70 minutes of play. Then the match was decided by penalty shoot out. Paltu Das of Teliamura selected top scorer and Indrajit Debnath of Udaipur named best player of this tournament. In senior section, Khagendra Kaloi of Bishalgarh selected top scorer and Dulal Debnath of Teliamura named best player of this tournament.After the final match the trophies were handed over by Sports Minister Tapan Chakraborty. Director of Sports Samarjit Bhowmik and IGP Amitabh Kar were present in this function.

Football :

Umakanta Coaching Center moved in to Super League in the domestic Women League Football tournament today. in group match at the Umakanta Mini Stadium, Umakanta Coaching Center beat Bishramganj Play Center by 2-0 goals. Bishramganj also enterd in to last four. The other two teams were Tripura Police and Chlaman Sangha.

We'll be giving our best

Anil Kumble

OVER THIS past week, there've been lots of things happening from the team's perspective and it's not been a particularly happy time.

What is far more important to say, on behalf of so many other players too, is that we are shocked and saddened by what has happened in Jaipur. Terror attacks are always senseless and cruel. They can never be justified by any logic and my heart goes out to all the victims who have suffered and the families they have left behind. Life will obviously never be the same again.

Coming back to the Royal Challengers and the happenings of the past few days, while I totally understand that everyone's upset about the results so far, as players and professional cricketers, we are all very upset too.

We all want to go out and win every game that we play. The problem? We haven't really got any kind of momentum and something or the other has happened when we have managed to get something going. In the last game too, Misbah started brilliantly and then got out in unusual fashion.

What's important though, is that at this time, you need all the support and backing you can get. You need the people around you, the people who matter, to understand what sport is all about, to realise that no one goes out there to lose.
What's unfortunate is that, invariably, everyone starts pointing fingers at the captain. So it stands all the more to reason that people within the camp then stand up and say 'we believe in you and your team'. That's what's most important in this kind of situation.

I do understand that the IPL is different and there is a corporate look and feel to the whole concept. But having said that, at the end of the day, it is a cricket match — one that a cricketer does not want to lose.

As players, we go through various ups and downs in our careers, there are phases when nothing one does is wrong and there are others where the same things that come so naturally to you seem like alien concepts. But as cricketers, we also know the bad times will pass, that we will pick ourselves up and bounce back. There's nothing new in that and I expect we will here too. It might be somewhat late for this tournament and that's unfortunate, but we have a bunch of proven quality players and nothing can take that away.

People have to understand that the most important aspect of becoming a sportsman is the joy of winning and the successes you have, the successes you taste. The whole aim of playing sport is in the challenge, in competing, in giving your all to do better than the guy who's facing you. At the same time, most of us will have our fair share of failures but there's another sweet joy in coming back from those defeats, almost always much stronger.

T20 cricket is a totally different format and as an international cricketer who has played this game for so long, I clearly understand (as most of us who play the game do) that Test cricket is the ultimate joy, the absolute challenge. If you are a Test cricketer, you can adapt to any form of the game, but the other way around, it doesn't always work out.

If you look at the successes that teams playing in the IPL have had, it's mostly been about the top three batters going on to bat the team to a big score. That will clearly be the focus of our discussion ahead of the game scheduled for Saturday.

The Rajasthan Royals have had a fantastic run so far, they have gelled really well as a team, although at the start, not many gave them any chance of going the distance. At this point, they're right up there. They've never lost a match at their home ground and depending on prevailing circumstances allowing us to play there, it's important for us to change that. We'll be giving it our best.

(Hawkeye/Chivach Sport)

Sports News

May 15, 2008

Football :

Tripura Police entered in to Super League in the domestic Women League Football tournament. In the group match at the Umakanta Mini Stadium, Tripura Police beat Jampuijala Eleven by 2-0 goals.

Hockey :

TOP STORY

Bishalgarh lifted the title of Senior State Level Hockey Tournament. In the final match Bishalgarh beat Sonamura by 2-0 goals. Earlier, in a crucial group match at Arundhutinagar Police Hockey ground, Bishalgarh beat Belonia by 3-1 goals. In another match, Teliamura defeated Udaipur by 6-1 goals.
On other side, Sub Junior State Level Hockey Tournament starts here today. In opening day at Arundhutinagar Police Hockey ground, Ambasha beat Bishalgarh by 1-0 goals, Teliamura defeated Bishalgarh by 6-0 goals and Belonia beat Sadar by 1-0 goal. In other two matches, Belonia holds Udaipur by 0-0 and Sonamura upset Sadar by 0-0.

Chess : Altogether 32 chess players were took part in the State Level Under-13 Chess tournament this year. Championship starts at Agartala today.

I will not play any more part in this inaugural Indian Premier League

V.V.S Laxman

It's a crushing disappointment to realise that I will not play any more part in this inaugural Indian Premier League. After a week of sitting out, I was hoping to recover from my wrist injury in time for tomorrow's game against Delhi but an MRI has revealed a hairline fracture which will take two more weeks to recover from. I cannot grip the bat at this stage and it is extremely frustrating to not be involved at a time when I felt I should have been in the thick of things and trying my best to get our squad back into some winning form. I wanted to contribute both as a batsman and as a captain but now I can only support the team from off the field and I will be with them in Delhi.

Our points tally may not show it but we are a team that can beat anyone provided we play to potential. The disappointing aspect is that we have not been able to win two games in a row and this format of the game is so much about momentum. One stumble and the best and most confident of teams suddenly find that they've lost three or four games in a row.

Despite the frustrations of our results and now my injury, I will take away tremendous learnings from the IPL. The first two games were almost like a crash course in T20 for me: this is not conventional cricket and you certainly need to be unconventional in your thinking particularly as a captain. There is no mould for strategies like there may be for Tests or even one-days and you have just back your hunches at some times. For example, despite his inexperience we just had a sense that Vijay Kumar might just do the job for us. So we picked him for the game against Bangalore and he did superbly well; so sometimes the trick is to just listen to your instincts. Also you've got to be aware that as a captain, if you bowler has one good over the batsmen are bound to go after them in their second over. So the idea is to keep the batsmen unsettled by being quick and smart with the bowling changes and prevent the batsmen from getting into a groove.

Our next match promises to be a good contest because the Daredevils are a dangerous side despite their recent run of five straight losses. They tend to depend heavily on Veeru and Gautam to give them an explosive start; if that happens then the other Delhi batsmen come in and chip in around them. So getting Veeru and Gautam early is something that can give us a good foothold in the game.

I'm going to be telling all the lads to just think about their best performances and take confidence from them. It's important for a team in a position like ours not to be too down on itself and luckily we've got a lot of positive characters in the side. We shouldn't be thinking about the semi-final equations, just about going out there and playing good cricket. I'm just hoping that the Deccan Chargers streak of bad fortune will end right here.

Hawkeye Communications

Sports News

May 14, 2008
Football:

Umakanta Coaching Center drubbed Teliamura Eleven by 4-0 goals in the domestic Women League Football tournament. With this defeat Teliamura were out from tournament this year.
Hockey:
Bishalgarh drubbed Udaipur by 10-0 goals in the State Level Hockey Tournament. In other group matches at the Arundhutinagar Police Hockey ground, Belonia beat Udaipur by 4-3 goals, Sadar defeated Ambassa by 1-0 goals, Teliamura beat Belonia by 4-1 goals. Sonamura holds Sadar by 1-1 goals.

Chess :

Supratim Chanda clinched the title in the State Level Under-11 Chess tournament with four points in five rounds. Sagnika Joyti Roy, Shinchan Saha and Kunal Das finished next three positions with four points. Saini Das secured fifth position with three and half points.

Effect of training break on physical fitness and technical skills of football players

Bimal Kumar Roychoudhury

Football Coach # Veteran footballer # Master of Sports # Former Deputy Director of Government of Tripura

Football is a game of continuous movement. All players’ execute explosive sports, sprints, sudden stops, twist a runs. They jump, bend dive, run, stretch and play the ball with various parts of their bodies, except hands and arms wick are use for balance and centre movements only. Football is team game, a body contact contest, which demands a high level of endurance, speed, ability etc. these abilities can only be acquired through a programme of regular conscientious training. The training of football players has become more and more scientific and systematic on the past few decades.

Methods should be adopted to set the time and facilities available. What ever a player may be required to do in training he must be considered as a whole person. A football player reacts mentally and physically in each and every situation. Certain requirement of training however makes specialised considerations necessary. This consideration arises from the development of our knowledge concerning strength, power and endurance. A soccer player is expected to produce peak performance once or twice a weak for eight or nine months and the effects of sustained competitions are difficult is calculated objectively.

Training in football as in any other sports and games is carried out to achieve high performance. Method and means of training are selected, taking into consideration and physical, technical and tactical demand placed on the players during a competitive match. The development of the game both in offence and defense and the performance demands are to be understood foe proper formulation of specific training.

ULATOWSKI (1973) has emphasized that every training programme must be realistic and related to the specificity of the activity.

HEDDERGOTT (1976) stated that a football player must be aware of the performance requirements and the principles governing performance for a high standard of play.

Training causes a reduction of fatty tissue within a muscle and this result in grater efficiency and fasted construction. The mire miter units are involved the better is the strength and more quickly the resistance can be overcome.

A year round conditioning programme is always advocated in football. These makes possible the achievement of high performance level through out entire sports season and enable further increase from year to year (Harre 1979, Matwe Jew 1981, Singh 1981).

The training programme is prepared to increase strength, endurance, speed, flexibility, technical skills, ability and acclimatization and maintain optimum weight level, psychological readiness and to form desirable health habits.

Sports News

May 13, 2008
Football :
TOP STORY
Udaipur lifted the title of State Level Senior Football tournament this year. In the Final match at Shantirbazar ground, Udaipur drubbed host Shantirbazar by 6-1 goals. Ajit Jamatia selected Man of the Final.
Tripura Police defeated Chalaman Sangha by 3-1 goals in the domestic Women League Football tournament.
Shantirbazar beat Teliamura by 1-0 goal in the second Semi-final of State Level Senior Football tournament on Monday last.
Hockey :
State Level Hockey Tournament starts today. Altogether seven teams were took part in this four days tourney. Member of Agartala Municipal Council Ratan Das was opened this tournament. In the opening match at Arundhutinagar Police Hockey ground, Teliamura holds Bishalgarh by 1-1 goals.
Chess :
Saini Das bagged three points after third round in the Under-11 State Level Chess championship.
Karate :
State Level School Karate Championship starts today. Hundred Karate players from four districts were took part in this tow day’s tourney. Sports Secretary of Government of Tripura B. K. Roy was opened this tournament.

ICC confirms notification from WICB of penalty imposed on Marlon Samuels

Dubai , 13 May 2008

ICC acting CEO David Richardson said: “Illustrates threat of corruption has not gone away; cricket must remain vigilant”

The International Cricket Council (ICC) today confirmed notification of the decision of the West Indies Cricket Board’s (WICB) Disciplinary Committee concerning an investigation into its player Marlon Samuels.

The player was found guilty of offence C 4 (ix) of the ICC Code of Conduct, namely that he “Received any money, benefit or other reward (whether financial or otherwise) which could bring him or the game of cricket into disrepute.”

The penalty for being found guilty of this offence is a minimum two-year ban. In this instance the judgment handed down by the WICB Disciplinary Committee is that the ban is effective from 9 May, the date of the hearing which took place in St Lucia.

Any ban would include Official Cricket (Tests, ODIs, T20Is, first-class matches and List A matches organized by or under the auspices of the ICC or its Members) and Unofficial Cricket (cricket within an ICC Member not falling into the above categories that is granted approval by either the ICC or the relevant Board).

Reacting to the decision, ICC acting Chief Executive Officer David Richardson said: “We thank the WICB for completing its enquiry into the matter culminating with the Disciplinary Committee meeting on 9 May.

“We are yet to see the whole judgment to put the matter of the punishment into its proper context but we note the WICB Disciplinary Committee found the player guilty and has imposed an immediate ban.

“In terms of the punishment handed down, minimum penalties were agreed by the ICC Board, including all Full Members, and they reflect the seriousness of the issues at hand.

“Corruption is a serious matter, dealing with it effectively is fundamental to the integrity of our sport and this matter is a demonstration that its threat has not gone away.

“It is never pleasant when a player is banned but the process in arriving at this point has been an extremely thorough one and we hope the case serves as a reminder to players and officials to remain vigilant,” he added.

The matter investigated took place during the West Indies’ tour of India in January 2007 and the process to arrive at this point began with an ACSU investigation and report following allegations the player had passed on match information ahead of the ODI in Nagpur on 21 January and then received payment for a hotel stay in Mumbai at the end of the tour.

That report was reviewed by Chairman of the ICC Code of Conduct Commission Hon. Michael Beloff QC, his review went before the ICC Board at its October 2007 meeting and the Board instructed the WICB to carry out its own investigation and convene a Disciplinary Committee to ascertain the player’s guilt or otherwise.

An Official Enquiry made up of Mr Beloff and two other ICC Code of Conduct Commissioners will review the WICB Disciplinary Committee finding to ascertain whether the punishment is sufficient and make any recommendation necessary to the ICC Board’s July meeting in Dubai .

ICC MEDIA RELEASE

England eyes second place in the Reliance Mobile ICC Test Championship

Dubai, 13 May 2008

3-0 victory over New Zealand will see Vaughan’s side jump two places past India and SA; opportunities for Sidebottom, Pietersen, Martin and Vettori in player rankings

England can move to second place in the Reliance Mobile ICC Test Championship table if it beats New Zealand 3-0 in the upcoming series that gets underway at Lord’s on Thursday.

Currently in fourth position, Michael Vaughan’s team can overtake South Africa and India if it sweeps past the Black Caps in the three-match series. England , which fell from second place following its 1-0 series defeat to Sri Lanka late last year, now has the opportunity to make amends.

With just five ratings points separating India in second position and Sri Lanka in fifth, the table is very congested but with England being the only team of that foursome in action before July, the opportunity is there for it to make its mark.

With seven Test matches scheduled for England during this Northern Hemisphere summer the home side could in theory move to within 15 ratings points of leader Australia from the current gap of 33 points if results go its way.

However, New Zealand has opportunities of its own in the Reliance Mobile ICC Test Championship. Currently in seventh position, Daniel Vettori’s men will move ahead of Pakistan into sixth place if it wins the series. And if it manages to win all three Tests, it will break the 100-point mark and move it to within three of England , which in turn would drop to fifth.

As ever, the England v New Zealand series presents opportunities for individuals to progress up the Reliance Mobile ICC Player Rankings. England has four squad members in the top 20 of the batting rankings so Kevin Pietersen (10th place), Alistair Cook (16th), Ian Bell (joint-17th) and Paul Collingwood (20th) are all nicely placed to make further moves up the ladder.

On the bowling front, if Ryan Sidebottom can continue his remarkable run of form he should be able to get up as high as eighth position from his current spot in 10th place. Matthew Hoggard (12th) and Monty Panesar (16th) can also improve while New Zealand ’s Chris Martin in 18th place will be doing his best to thwart the England batsmen.

The Kiwi captain Vettori is sitting just outside the top 20 bowlers in 23rd position and is also New Zealand ’s highest ranked batsman in 30th place. He can also close the gap on South Africa ’s Jacques Kallis at the top of the Reliance Mobile ICC Player Rankings for Test all-rounders.

England v New Zealand Test series

15-19 May – First Test, Lord’s, London
23-27 May – Second Test, Manchester
5-9 Jun – Third Test, Nottingham

Reliance Mobile ICC Test Championship (as of 13 May)

Rank Teams Rating

1 Australia 141
2 India 111
3 South Africa 109
4 England 108
5 Sri Lanka 106
6 Pakistan 94
7 New Zealand 91
8 West Indies 77
9 Bangladesh 1

Note: Zimbabwe has a rating of 12 but has not played sufficient number of Test matches over the new rating period to be included on the main table.

Reliance Mobile ICC Test Rankings (as of 13 May)

Batsmen

Rank Player Team Points Ave HS Rating

1 Mike Hussey Aus 912*! 78.14 912 v Ind at Adelaide 2008
2 Ricky Ponting Aus 899 58.53 942 v Eng at Adelaide 2006
3 K.C.Sangakkara SL 893 55.19 938 v Eng at Kandy 2007
4 Mohd Yousuf Pak 880 55.49 933 v WI at Karachi 2006
5 Jacques Kallis SA 877 57.14 935 v NZ at Centurion 2007
6 Matthew Hayden Aus 860 53.51 935 v Eng at Brisbane 2002
7= S.Chanderpaul WI 810 47.24 838 v SA at Cape Town 2008
M.Jayawardena SL 810 51.93 844 v WI at Guyana 2008
9 Yunus Khan Pak 799 49.14 856 v Eng at Leeds 2006
10 Kevin Pietersen Eng 784 49.74 909 v WI at Leeds 2007
11 Michael Clarke Aus 744 46.45 761 v Ind at Melbourne 2007
12 Graeme Smith SA 712 48.57 756 v NZ at Wellington 2004
13 S.R.Tendulkar Ind 704 55.31 898 v Zim at Nagpur 2002
14 Rahul Dravid Ind 701 54.88 892 v Pak at Kolkata 2005
15 Virender Sehwag Ind 681 51.75 854 v SA at Kolkata 2004
16 Alastair Cook Eng 679 43.46 711 v SL at Galle 2007
17= Sourav Ganguly Ind 674 42.71 713 v Aus at Adelaide 1999
Ian Bell Eng 674 43.15 684 v SL at Kandy 2007
19 VVS Laxman Ind 672 43.82 753 v Aus at Sydney 2004
20 P.D.Collingwood Eng 668 42.54 730 v Aus at Adelaide 2006

Bowlers

Rank Player Team Points Ave HS Rating

1 M.Muralidaran SL 897 21.95 920 v Ban at Kandy 2007
2 Dale Steyn SA 892 21.60 897 v Ind at Ahmedabad 2008
3 Stuart Clark Aus 829* 21.88 843 v Ind at Perth 2008
4 Brett Lee Aus 795 ! 29.97 795 v Ind at Adelaide 2008
5 Makhaya Ntini SA 777 27.85 863 v Ind at Durban 2006
6 Chaminda Vaas SL 709 29.09 800 v Ind at Chennai 2005
7 Anil Kumble Ind 708 29.06 859 v SL at Bangalore 1994
8 Shane Bond NZ 688* 22.39 778 v WI at Auckland 2006
9 Shoaib Akhtar Pak 684 25.69 855 v NZ at Wellington 2003
10 Ryan Sidebottom Eng 665*! 26.60 665 v NZ at Napier 2008
11 Corey Collymore WI 640* 32.30 700 v Eng at Lord's 2007
12 Matthew Hoggard Eng 637 30.50 795 v SL at Birmingham 2006
13 Andrew Flintoff Eng 621 32.02 810 v Pak at Multan 2005
14= Zaheer Khan Ind 619 33.60 689 v Pak at Delhi 2007
Mohammad Asif Pak 619* 23.13 710 v SA at Cape Town 2007
16 Monty Panesar Eng 617* 32.45 721 v WI at Chester-le-St 2007
17 Danish Kaneria Pak 614 33.90 723 v Eng at Multan 2005
18 Chris Martin NZ 609 32.66 643 v Eng at Lord's 2004
19 Harbhajan Singh Ind 608 31.03 765 v NZ at Wellington 2002
20 James Franklin NZ 594* 28.19 679 v SL at Christchurch 2006

All-rounders

Rank Player Team Points HS Rating

1 Jacques Kallis SA 495 616 v Pak at Durban 2002
2 Daniel Vettori NZ 340 359 v Eng at Hamilton 2008
3 Andrew Flintoff Eng 320 501 v Pak at Multan 2005
4 Chaminda Vaas SL 294 300 v WI at Guyana 2008
5 Irfan Pathan Ind 262 317 v Eng at Mohali 2006

ICC MEDIA RELEASE

The IPL fever certainly gripp the country

ANSHUMAN GAEKWAD

The IPL fever has certainly gripped the country,the crowds have come in good numbers at all venues to cheer their home teams. It is still a long way to go and a lot of things can change as far as the points table is concerned.


It has been a tournament of some surprising results, disappointments and gains. The extraordinary results have come from Rajasthan Royals, who were the underdogs before the start of the IPL. Their performance in first match failed to provide any confidence but what revived and rejuvenated that side was the magical spell from the legendary Shane Warne.Royals are the only side who are playing as a team and all credit goes to experienced Shane Warne for his excellent captaincy.



Clearly, the world's top players have dominated in the first part of the tournament, with the Aussies shining for virtually every team. Whether it is Michael Hussey or Adam Gilchrist or the two Shanes in the Jaipur team, they have outperformed everybody else.The departure of the Aussies forced to make changes in some teams who were sailing smoothly and they will need to rediscover the winning combination. It is not easy for a team to seamlessly adjust to different playing combinations and it becomes even more difficult when adjustments have to be made halfway through the tournament when the pressure starts to mount.In this regard I will praise Sourav Ganguly who made that adjustment quickly after the departure of Ponting & others.
IPL provides greater opportunities to players from lesser states.Like Swapnil Asnodkar, ignored before this because he plays for Goa, showing good performance for the Rajasthan Royals. Asnodkar may not get a chance to play for India but his performance should inspire other players from smaller states.



Everyone thought that the Chennai Super Kings' will dominate the tournament with their most expensive player,like MS Dhoni,Muralitharan,Hayden.Instead, it's MS Gony who has impressed.Gony plays in the Ranji Trophy for Punjab, but wasn't picked by Kings XI Punjab for the IPL. Chennai picked him instead, and, got the result.Gony has pace and accuracy, he generates good bounce, and he seems to put a bit of thought into his bowling.Also played a good role with his bat. He is a big find from the IPL.Gony will have competition from other new faces. Vijaykumar,Yo Mahesh has been a revelation for the Delhi Daredevils, coming on to bowl after Glenn McGrath.Ashok Dinda, Laxmiratan Shukla,Wriddhiman Saha of the Kolkata Knight Riders has elicited words of praise from experts.Among the spinners, Piyush Chawla, for long on the fringes of the national side, has been a revelation with both bat and ball, and Pragyan Ojha has shown immense promise and Balji made a good come back. Other players who have seized their moment in the spotlight include Shikhar Dhawan, Abhishek Nayar and Ravindra Jadeja, while Prasanta Saha, Mahesh Rawat and Uday Kaul have been impressive behind the stumps. Before the IPL I assumed that if MS Dhoni had a bad run, Dinesh Karthik was the only option.But that is no longer the case - Saha, especially, seems to be a hell of a batsman as well.



The competition between the IPL franchises will definitely help to find new talent, which improves the prospects of men like Asnodkar. The profit motive of the IPL teams has a far better shot at unearthing new talent than the best intentions of the BCCI selectors. So hurray for the IPL, because of which we now greedily eye an abundance of riches from which future Indian teams will be chosen.



CHIVACH SPORTS

Sports News

May 12, 2008
Football :
Bishramgunj Paly Center defeated Teliamura Eleven By 1-0 goal Domestic Women League Football tournament.
Trial camp for Tripura team of Sontosh Trophy National Senior Football tournament will be starts on May 14 next.
Governing body meeting of Tripura Football association will be held on May 15 next.

Sports Council :
A meeting of Tripura Sports Council will be held on May 23.

Chess :
Saini Das registered first win in the Unader-11 State Chess Tournament at Agartala. Altogether 26 players were took part in this tourney.

India launches ICC Women’s World Cup 2009 campaign in style

Dubai , 12 May 2008

Mithali Raj delighted with team’s performance in Asia Cup and hopes her side will be ready to challenge Australia next year

India launched its preparations for ICC Women’s World Cup 2009 in style by winning the Women’s Asia Cup for the fourth successive time in Sri Lanka on Sunday.

India defeated Sri Lanka by 177 runs in the final in Kurunegala which meant it extended its winning streak in the history of the tournament to 22 matches.

Such was the dominance of the second-ranked team in the world that during the competition it won most of its matches without even breaking sweat. In the lead-up to the final of the tournament that was played on a double league format, it defeated Bangladesh by 182 runs and five wickets, Pakistan by 182 runs and 207 runs and Sri Lanka by 29 runs and eight wickets.

India’s supreme performance in Sri Lanka highlights it as one of the teams to watch at the ICC Women’s World Cup that will be staged in Sydney, Australia in March next year. Besides India, defending champion Australia, New Zealand, England, West Indies, South Africa, Pakistan and Sri Lanka will take part in the event that will be the first to be played under the auspices of the ICC since its merger with the International Women’s Cricket Council (IWCC) in 2005.

Captain Mithali Raj said: “I am delighted with my team’s performance in the tournament. It was a nice start to what is going to be a tough season for us.

“We tried new players and experimented with different combinations during the competition. I am glad that everything worked well for us and we maintained a high level of consistency which was the perfect icing on the cake.”

India unleashed four newcomers in the tournament – top-order batter Priyanka Roy, fast bowler Snehal Pradhan, left-arm spinner Gouher Sultana and wicketkeeper-bater Anagha Deshpande. It also included left-arm spinner Neetu David, who took 11 wickets in the tournament, and batter Asha Rawat who was declared player of the final for her knock of 97.

Explaining the reasons for including new faces while also recalling two experienced players, Mithali said the tour was planned keeping in mind Australian conditions.

“We wanted to provide the right platform for the youngsters to show their talent and Sri Lanka was the best place because of the similarities in the Asian sub-continent conditions which made it relatively easy for the new players to show their skills.

“I am happy to say that we have a good pool of players with whom we will work over the next nine months not only to give them the required experience but also to find the combination which will help us in Australia .

“We know that the World Cup will be staged in conditions that will be friendlier to the fast bowlers, and that’s precisely why we gave more opportunities to the fast bowlers without relying heavily on the spinners.”

The 25-year-old, who was also the captain of the India team that lost the 2005 World Cup final to Australia by 98 runs at the Centurion, believed her team was capable of pushing Australia . “I think we are a good enough team to challenge Australia and give a tough time to the world champion.

“The World Cup is still nine months away and every team will try to improve its performance. As I see things, our chances in the tournament will depend on how good we prepare according to Australian conditions and how quickly we adapt to those conditions.

“We will have to be careful in our preparations as they will vary from tour to tour. Our next assignment is in England and the conditions in England are different as compared to Sri Lanka or Australia .

“But the basics remain unchanged and the bottom line is that we have to train and work hard in every single match we play in the lead-up to the World Cup. We have a talented pool of players and over the next nine months I would like to see improvement in fielding and match planning,” she added.

During the course of the Asia Cup, Mithali and fast bowler Jhulan Goswami achieved personal milestones.

When Mithali reached 62 during her knock of 66 in the final, she became the first Indian and fifth overall in the history of women’s cricket to complete 3,000 ODI runs. She joined the Australian duo of Belinda Clark (4,844) and Karen Rolton (4,261), New Zealand ’s Debbie Hockley (4,064) and England ’s Charlotte Edwards (3,304)

Jhulan, who won the ICC Women’s Player of the Year Award at the ICC Awards in Johannesburg last year, became the second India bowler and fourth after Australia’s Cathryn Fitzpatrick (180), team-mate Neetu David (141) and Clare Taylor of England (102) to take 100 ODI wickets.

Commenting on her own achievement, a humble Mithali said: “I consider it as a great honour and privilege to be bracketed with some of the biggest and most respected names in women’s cricket.

“I didn’t give it a thought while I was batting in the final as my focus was on collecting as many runs as possible in the final overs until I got a message from the dressing room that I was close to the 3,000-mark. To be in the top five leading run-getters’ list is a big honour and I hope to score many more runs for India ,” said Mithali.

Bangladesh may not have reached the final but it secured its first victory against a Full Member when it defeated Pakistan by four wickets. Captain Salma Khatun was the star performer of the match when she scored an unbeaten 53 as Bangladesh achieved the 135-run target with little over five overs to spare.

Pakistan won the return match against Bangladesh by 38 runs to end its 12-match losing streak in the history of the tournament. Javeria Khan stole the limelight with figures of 8.1-4-8-6.

Sri Lanka won all its matches against Pakistan and Bangladesh but failed to break India ’s stranglehold in the three clashes.

ICC MEDIA RELEASE

ICC welcomes Cricket Australia’s decision to play ODIs against Scotland and Ireland

Dubai , 12 May 2008

The International Cricket Council has welcomed the news that Australia is to play ODIs against Scotland and Ireland in 2009 and 2010.

Australia will visit Scotland on 28 August 2009 between the conclusion of the Ashes Test series and the start of its ODI series with England . The ICC Cricket World Cup (CWC) champion will return to Europe and play Ireland in June 2010 before taking on England in another ODI series. The ODI against Scotland will be the first time Australia has ever played an ODI against an Associate team outside of ICC events.

Australia has played ODIs against Scotland twice before, during the CWC 1999 and 2007, and once against Ireland (CWC 2007). These matches will mean that all ICC Full Members will have played bilateral ODIs against at least one leading Associate.

ICC High Performance Manager Richard Done said: “This is further good news for the development of cricket. One of the ways for the best Associates to close the gap at the top is to play meaningful matches against the likes of Australia .

“It’s great that Australia is showing its support for the ICC’s High Performance Programme with the confirmation of these matches. Apart from giving the Scottish and Irish players the chance to perform against some of the best cricketers in the world, it will also help to raise the profile of cricket in those countries.

“Cricket fans in Scotland and Ireland will also get the opportunity to see the world champions in action and hopefully that will ensure big crowds at the matches,” said Mr Done.

The next few years promise to be very busy for the top Associate teams as they prepare for the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier 2009 in the UAE and, if they come in the top four of that tournament, the CWC 2011 in Bangladesh , India , Pakistan and Sri Lanka .

Upcoming ODIs for top six Associate teams:

28, 29 June and 1 July – Canada v Bermuda ( King City )
1 July – Ireland v New Zealand ( Aberdeen )
2 July – Ireland v Scotland ( Aberdeen )
3 July – Scotland v New Zealand ( Aberdeen )
28 July – Netherlands v Ireland (Clontarf)
29 July – Scotland v Netherlands (Clontarf)
31 July – Scotland v Ireland (Clontarf)
7 and 8 August – Netherlands v Bermuda (VRA, Amsterdam )
12 August – Ireland v Canada (Clontarf)
12 and 13 August – Scotland v Kenya ( Ayr )
18 August – Scotland v England (Grange)
21 August – Netherlands v Kenya (VOC, Rotterdam )
22 August – Canada v Bermuda ( Toronto )
24 August – Canada v West Indies ( Toronto )
24, 25 and 27 August – Ireland v Kenya (Stormont)
26 August – Bermuda v West Indies ( Toronto )
28 August – tri-series final – two of Bermuda , Canada , the West Indies ( Toronto )
TBC October – Ireland , Kenya , Zimbabwe ODI tri-series ( Kenya )
TBC November – Kenya v South Africa ( South Africa )

ICC MEDIA RELEASE

Sports News

May 11, 2008
Football :
Women League Football Tournament started at Umakanta Mini Stadium today. Chalaman Sangha hold Jampuijala Eleven by 1-1 in the opening match. Member of Tripura Women Council Shiuli Debbarma was open this tournament. Six teams were took part in this tournament.
Udaipur moved in to Final in the State Level Senior Football tournament at Shaintirbazar. In the frist Semi-final Udaipur upset hot favorite Sadar by 1-0 goal.

Deccan Chargers team to visit the famous Ajmer Sharif dargah

VVS Laxman

A day after our disappointing loss to the Rajasthan Royals, a group of us from the Deccan Chargers team went to visit the famous Ajmer Sharif dargah near Jaipur. People in the shrine came up to us to ask us about our bad results and wish us luck. Just halfway into the tournament, it is astonishing where you will find the IPL and where it will find you.

I'm terribly frustrated to be sitting out right now due to a wrist injury just when I'd begun to get some rhythm into my batting in my last three innings. As a batsman, you have to remember to play your own game in the IPL, not try to change your style. In the first few matches, I'd unconsciously found myself trying to hit the ball too hard. Just when I thought I was settling into some kind of flow, I got injured. We have tried to get the batting group clicking together, with at least two or three people performing at the same time. We've tended to have a big batting performance from one player with no support acts. It's cost us.

From now on, we certainly want to win every match we play and we have the team to do that. But you have to remember to keep your attention on smaller targets, to break the play up into smaller goals and then make sure you get those first. It's not rocket science to know that you need to keep wickets in hand in the first ten overs, but if you can do that as a batting team over and over again, you will win more than you lose.

It's been demoralizing to lose as much as we have but leaving that aside, a few things that have come out of the IPL are hugely encouraging. The quality exposure that India's
young players have got is invaluable. The IPL matches actually feel like international cricket: not just because of the crowds and the entire atmosphere, but because the standard and quality of the cricket has been very high.

What I've particularly enjoyed is the interaction between the young Indians and the internationals. It's been great to talk to the younger guys, learn a little them; we have an amazing story in our dressing room. Our medium pacer P Vijaykumar used to be a daily wage labourer who lived a really hard life not so long ago. He was spotted, given an opportunity in cricket with Andhra and three years later he's keeping the company of THE WORLD'S LEADING CRICKETERS.

It is great exposure for the lads to spend time with world-class pros, to see how they prepare and how they approach the game. All the senior guys have made it a point to take the initiative with them, to go up and talk to them, make them feel comfortable interacting with us. After initial hesitation, we haven't been able to stop the questions. We have a young keeper from Orissa Halhadar Das, who's been learning drills from Gilly; Pragjyan Ojha is cross questioning Scott Styris about how Danny Vettori goes about his business and I've answered the odd question or two about my mindset when playing the Australians.

After our narrow three-run loss to in Bangalore, the franchise owners came in and commiserated with us. They understood that we'd had some narrow losses and that
cricket could be cruel. Of course we know they are not happy with the results, no one likes losing. It is gratifying to know that Deccan Chargers has the management's support but it also means that the personal responsibility on every player to live up to that support and the expectations from our city Hyderabad - is so much greater.

HAWKEYE COMMUNICATIONS / CHIVACH SPORTS

Sports News

May 10, 2008
TOP STORY
Football :
Sadar will play against Udaipur and host Shantirbazar to takes on Teliamura in the Semi-final in the State Level Senior Football Tournament tomorrow. In the four Querter-final matches at Jolaibari ground, Shintirbazar, South Tripura, Sadar beat Amarpur by 6-2 goals. In another match at the Bagafa ground, Udaipur beat Bishalgarh by 4-2 goals. At Bikhora ground, Teliamura defeated Belonia by 3-0 goals. Host Shantirbazar got walkover against Subrom.

ICC approves Bermuda’s National Sports Centre for Intercontinental Cup

Dubai , 9 May 2008

The National Sports Centre in Bermuda has been approved to host the ICC Intercontinental Cup match between Bermuda and Scotland scheduled to take place from 10 to 13 July.

It will be the first time since 2004 that a senior international cricket match has taken place in Bermuda and the approval has come following a long process of consultation between the ICC and the Bermuda Cricket Board.

“This is great news for Bermuda cricket,” said ICC High Performance Manager Richard Done.

“I am delighted for the cricket fans of Bermuda , who will finally get the chance to see their team in action and it’s great for the players, too, because every team likes to play with home advantage,” said Mr Done.

In 2005, Bermuda qualified for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2007 which put Gus Logie’s side in the top six Associate teams in the world and also meant its home ground was subject to stricter accreditation guidelines for hosting international matches.

Although the National Sports Centre is now free to host ICC Intercontinental Cup matches it has not yet received accreditation for One-Day Internationals (ODIs). That involves a more in-depth and rigorous assessment of the facilities.

President of the BCB Reginald Pearman said: “This is a good day for Bermuda and a positive outcome as we work towards our venue securing full ODI status. This is a crucial element of continuing success at the higher levels.

“We recognise the importance of being able to showcase the Bermuda team to play its fixtures at home and we are all looking forward to this match. Scotland continues to be one of the top Associate teams and we are pleased to be able to host them,” added Mr Pearman.

“We are delighted that we will be the first opponents for Bermuda at the newly approved stadium,” said Cricket Scotland ’s chief executive Roddy Smith.

“The team have had experience of playing against all our major opponents away from home apart from Bermuda so they are looking forward enormously to Scotland’s first visit to the island. It promises to be a great occasion and is another step forward for Associate cricket,” he said.

The ICC Intercontinental Cup has quickly grown in stature and profile since its inception three years ago and now the ICC’s premier first-class tournament is an integral part of the Associate Members’ cricket schedule.

Having previously been designed around a two-group, three-day format, the event has evolved into an eight-team, round-robin and truly global tournament featuring four-day cricket which gives those teams who do not play Test cricket the chance to experience the longer form of the game.

The last match to be played at the National Sports Centre, Bermuda was the ICC Intercontinental Cup clash between Bermuda and the United States of America, which the visitor won by 114 runs.

Scotland won the first ICC Intercontinental Cup in 2004, beating Canada in the final, while Ireland has been victorious in both events since then, beating Kenya in the 2005 decider and Canada in the 2006-07 event.

The final of the ICC Intercontinental Cup 2007-08 will take place in November 2008 at a venue yet to be confirmed.

ICC MEDIA RELEASE

ICC warns BCCI over sub-standard pitch at Kanpur

Dubai , 9 May 2008

BCCI accepts decision and promises to take steps to avoid a repeat

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has given the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) an official warning for preparing a poor quality pitch for the Test match between India and South Africa at Kanpur in April.

It has also recommended that the BCCI takes remedial action to ensure it does not happen again at that venue. To that end, the BCCI’s pitch consultant Daljit Singh will be asked to assist the process.

In response, the BCCI has accepted the warning and undertaken to carry out the necessary action to ensure the pitch at Kanpur is improved for future international matches.

“I thank the ICC for its input and decision in relation to this and I can assure everyone that we will take all steps necessary to ensure this does not happen in the future,” said Niranjan Shah, honorary secretary of the BCCI.

The decision is the completion of the ICC Pitch and Outfield Monitoring Process, which was introduced in 2006 to ensure international cricket is played in conditions of a suitably high standard.

The first stage of that process followed the match in question, which saw 32 wickets fall in three days’ play.

At that point Roshan Mahanama of the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Match Referees submitted a report to the ICC expressing his concern over the quality of the playing surface.

“My considered view is that the pitch was poor as it was too dry and had considerable turn and variable bounce from the first day... The pitch was not up to Test match standards,” said Mr Mahanama in his report.

Under clause 3.3 of the regulations governing the process, and following receipt of the match referee’s report which rated the pitch as substandard, the ICC wrote to the BCCI enclosing a copy of Mr Mahanama’s report and asked for a written report on the condition of the surface including any extenuating circumstances which may have existed.

In accordance with clause 3.4 of the regulation the BCCI provided that detailed reply.

Also in accordance with the process, the ICC’s General Manager – Cricket David Richardson and the ICC’s chief match referee Ranjan Madugalle then considered all the evidence, including studying video footage of the match, before passing judgment.

Detailing the decision, Mr Richardson said: “We have come to a decision that the pitch prepared for the match should be rated as ‘poor’.

“We have taken into consideration the explanations offered by the BCCI as to the reasons for the dryness of the pitch and we have noted that there is no previous record of a sub-standard pitch being prepared in Kanpur .

“However, taking all the evidence into account and, in accordance with clause 4.2 of the regulation, we have decided to impose an official warning as the sanction.

“It would appear that the poor quality of the pitch prepared for this Test was due to inadequate preparation procedures. We have recommended that the BCCI pitch consultant, Daljit Singh, be requested to investigate and to ensure that in future the manner of preparation is in line with what is required to ensure that a better balance between bat and ball is achieved,” added Mr Richardson.

In his report, Mr Mahanama noted several disappointing aspects of the pitch’s performances including dryness, uneven bounce and signs of breaking up, even before lunch on the first day. He also noted that the inconsistency of bounce became steadily worse as the game progressed.

The ICC had the power to impose a sanction ranging from a warning or a fine up to a suspension of international status for the venue in question in the case of repeated offences.

ICC MEDIA RELEASE

Sports News,

May 09, 2008
Football :
Belonia drubbed Khowai by 10-0 goals in the State Level Senior Football Tournament at Jolaibari ground, Shintirbazar, South Tripura. In another match at the Bagafa ground, hot favorite Sadar edge over Sonamura by 3-2 goals. At Shantirbazar ground, Udaipur beat Kailashahar by 6-1 goals.
In another match at Bikhora ground, Bishalgarh defeated Ambasa by 4-0 goals.
Domestic First Division League football tournament will be starts from third weak of August. Entry for First Division League from July 21 to July 31.
Second Division League football tournament will be starts from third weak of June. Entry for Second Division League from May 27 to June 05.
Third Division League football tournament will be starts from second weak of June. Entry for Second Division League from May 22 to May 31.
Domestic Women League Football tournament will starts at Agartala on May 11. Altogether six teams will take part in this league cum Super league tournament.
Cricket :
Talent hunt program of Tripura Cricket Association will be starts at Agartala from today.

May 08, 2008
Football :
Host Shantirbazar defeated Kamalpur by 4-0 goals in the opening match of State Level Senior Football Tournament at Shantirbazar, South Tripura. Jail Minister Manindra Reang was inaugurated this knockout tourney.
State Level Subrata Mukharjee Cup School Football tournament will be held at Boxanagar, West Tripura on August 11-12 next.
Chess :
State Level Chess tournament will be held at Kalyanpur, West Tripura from May 20 next.

Getty Images named as ICC’s official photo agency until 2012

Dubai , 8 May 2008

The International Cricket Council (ICC) today announced Getty Images, the digital media company, as its official photographic agency for the next four years.
The deal, which will run up to April 2012, means that Getty Images will cover all ICC events in that time including the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011, which will be held in Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

Other events included as part of the deal are the ICC World Twenty20, ICC Champions Trophy, ICC Women’s World Cup, ICC U/19 Cricket World Cup, ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier and the ICC World Cricket League.

Getty Images will also be responsible for providing coverage of the annual ICC Awards ceremonies for the duration of the contract as well as various ICC corporate social responsibility activities and important ICC meetings and media conferences.

The ICC will also have access to Getty Images’ extensive library of cricket images during the term agreed. There will also be a provision whereby ICC sponsors can use certain images shot by Getty Images during tournaments to promote their support of ICC events.

By the terms of the agreement, Getty Images has also undertaken to provide a dedicated ICC-branded media manager support site enabling 24-hour access to images by the ICC and its commercial partners.

Marc Webbon, Director of Sports Sales, EMEA, Getty Images, commented: “We’re looking forward to strengthening our relationship with the ICC over the next four years. It’s a great opportunity for us to showcase our bespoke photo assignment service and some of our new digital products and services such as the digital asset management system we have built specifically for the ICC and its partners.

“We plan to deliver a high quality and efficient digital image service to the ICC and all its commercial partners.”

Campbell Jamieson, ICC General Manager – Commercial said: “Getty Images is a world-class sports photo agency with which we have enjoyed a very good working relationship for more than 15 years.

“Through Getty Images we have been able to promote the game of cricket and our events all over the world. This deal will bring that promotion to a new level.

“The commercial initiatives contained in this agreement have been introduced to assist the ICC to deliver an enhanced and effective sponsorship servicing function and will save valuable time and effort for all parties concerned.

“Through this deal the ICC and our Members will benefit from the expertise and artistry of Getty’s talented team of photographers,” said Mr Jamieson.

ICC MEDIA RELEASE

Annual General Meeting of Tripura School Sports Board

Resolution adopted from the Annual General Meeting of Tripura School Sports Board (TSSB) held on 26th April 2008.

# There will be organized Inter School competition at Block level with the following
Games likely Football (Boys) U-17, Athletics (Boys & Girls) U-14, 17 &19, Yoga, (Boys & Girls) U-14, 17 &19, (Six identified games) and Kabaddi & Kho-Kho(Boys & Girls) U-17 Yrs( Other Games)

# There will be organized 10days duration of Residential coaching camp in the summer vacation with the following identified games likely Football (Boys) U-17, Athletics (Boys & Girls) U-14,17 &19, Yoga (Boys & Girls) U-14,17 &19, Judo (Boys & Girls) U-14,17 & 19, Swimming (Boys & Girls) U-14,17 &19 ( Six identified games) and Kabaddi & Kho-Kho(Boys & Girls) U-17 Yrs.(Other Games)

# There will be organized Block to State level competition with the following disciplines during the year 2008-09 likely S.M Cup Football, Football (Boys) U-17 & 19, Athletics
(Boys & Girls) U-14, 17 &19, Yoga (Boys & Girls) U-14, 17 &19 (Six identified games), Kabaddi & Kho-Kho(Boys & Girls) U-17 Yrs. & Volleyball(Boys & Girls) U-17 Yrs. (Other Games)

# There will be organized Sub-division to State level competition with the following disciplines during the year 2008-09 likely Judo (Boys & Girls) U-14, 17 & 19, Swimming (Boys & Girls) U-14, 17 &19, Football (Girls) U-17 Yrs (Six identified games), Handball (Boys & Girls) U-17 Yrs & Chess (Boys & Girls) U-14, 17 &19 (Other Games)

# There will be organized District to State level competition with the following disciplines. During the year 2008-09 likely Badminton (Boys & Girls) U-14, 17, Basketball (Boys & Girls) U-14, 17, Table Tennis (Boys & Girls) U-14, 17 & Hockey (Boys) (Other Games)

# There will be organized direct State level competition in the discipline of Gymnastics (Boys & Girls) U-14, 17 & 19 Yrs.

# There will be organized selection trial in the discipline of Karate (Boys & Girls) U-19 & Weightlifting (Boys & Girls) U-17 at State level prior to participation in the 54th National school games, 2008-09.

# There will be organized 15 days duration of Coaching camp for 6 (Six) identified games before participation in National likely Football (Boys) U-17 & 19, Football (Girls) U-17, S.M.Cup Football, Athletics (Boys & Girls) U-14, 17 &19, Yoga (Boys & Girls) U-14, 17 &19, Judo (Boys & Girls) U-14, 17 & 19, Swimming (Boys & Girls) U-14, 17 &19 & Gymnastics (Boys & Girls) U-14, 17 &19 (Six identified games) and 10 days duration of Coaching for other games likely Handball (Boys & Girls) U-17, Chess (Boys & Girls) U-14,17 &19, Kabaddi & Kho- Kho(Boys & Girls) U-17, Volleyball(Boys & Girls) U-17, Badminton (Boys & Girls) U-14,17, Basketball(Boys & Girls) U-14,17, Table Tennis (Boys & Girls) U-14,17 & Hockey (Boys), Karate (Boys & Girls) U-19 & Weightlifting (Boys & Girls) U-17.

# Participation of National School games 2008-09 with the following events likely Football (Boys) U- 17 & 19, Football (Girls) U-17, S.M.Cup Football, Athletics (Boys & Girls) U-14, 17 &19, Yoga (Boys & Girls) U-14, 17&19, Judo (Boys & Girls) U-14,17 & 19, Swimming (Boys & Girls) U-14,17 &19 & Gymnastics(Boys & Girls) U-14,17&19 (Six identified games) Handball (Boys & Girls) U-17, Chess (Boys & Girls) U-14,17 &19, Kabaddi & Kho-Kho(Boys & Girls) U-17, Volleyball (Boys & Girls) U-17, Badminton (Boys & Girls) U-14,17, Basketball(Boys & Girls) U-14,17, Table Tennis (Boys & Girls) U-14,17 & Hockey (Boys), Karate(Boys & Girls) U-19 & Weightlifting (Boys & Girls) U-17( Other Games)

# The refresher Course for Physical Instructor & Coaches will be organizes this year with the following events likely Football, Athletics, Yoga, Judo, Swimming, & Gymnastics (Six identified games) Kho-Kho and Kabaddi (Other Games)

# The pattern of organization of Primary Stage competition has been changed in compare to preceding year. There will be introduced physical fitness test at block & sub-division level. Thereafter the competition will be organized with the selected talents at District & State level.

# 15 days duration of coaching camp will be organized with the selected talents after completion of State level Primary stage competition.

# Track Suits will be provided for players along with Sports dress & also track suits for officials.

# Resolved to increase the Incentive to the prizewinners of 53rd National School games, 2007-08.

# Publication of Booklets containing the activities of Tripura School Sports Board & performance of the School teams during, 2007-08.

# The matter of selection of Boys & Girls for National participation was discussed in detailed. After examining all aspects, it was resolved that the existing procedure of tentative selection in the state level meet followed by the final selection during the Coaching camp would continue subject to condition that the same set of selectors would function at State level meet and final selection in coaching camp.

# The Chairman, TSSB, suggested that comprehensive guidelines for selection of Players for each discipline at all stages of competition might be formulated. At the same time, a code of conduct for the players / Officials / guardians may be framed & necessary steps taken for wide publication of both the guidelines & code of conduct (i.e Do’s and Don’ts) as a measure of bringing about transparency in the system.
# It has been observed that some of the Assistant teachers of Govt. Schools and Physical Instructors (working in the Govt. aided Schools) are being utilized by the organizer in the School sports activities due to shortage of P.Is in DYAS Department. But they are not getting T.A & D.A for the purpose. It is necessary to provide T.A & D.A for them as like as SAI Coaches. Proposal would be submitted to DYAS to take up with finance Department, if needed.

# Resolved that until and unless declared by the DYAS as Sports Sub-divisions, Santir Bazar & Teliamura will play under the Belonia and Khowai Sub-division respectively. The Director assured that shortly the Office would be established in both sub-divisions.

# Resolved that Tripura Sports School will participate in the State level School meet directly as a separate unit in the discipline of Football, Athletics, Judo & swimming during the Year 2008-09.

# The chairman of TSSB observed that the detail evaluation reports from the implementing officers of different games should be submitted through proper channel.

Sunil Gavaskar relinquishes chairmanship of ICC Cricket Committee

Dubai , 8 May 2008

The ICC today confirmed that Sunil Gavaskar had relinquished his role as Chairman of the ICC Cricket Committee.

Mr Gavaskar confirmed his decision to the ICC on Wednesday, the day after chairing this year’s meeting, in Dubai .

Commenting on the issue, the ICC’s acting Chief Executive Officer David Richards on said: “We are indebted to the work Sunil has put into his role as Chairman of the ICC Cricket Committee.

“He has brought his vast experience of the game to bear, not only over the eight years of his chairmanship but also the six years prior to that, when he was a delegate on the same committee.

“Having someone of Sunil’s stature involved has to be of benefit to the game and given the ICC’s lengthy relationship with him we hope we can still utilize his knowledge in some other capacity in the future.”

Sunil Gavaskar said: “I have thoroughly enjoyed the eight years I have held the role (of ICC Cricket Committee Chairman), which is an honorary position, and it has been extremely fulfilling to be able to give back to the game through that role.

“However, with more and more cricket being played it has become clear that it is not possible for me to do justice to two jobs, the chairmanship of the ICC Cricket Committee and my media commitments.

“As an example of that, I had to leave my professional commitments as a commentator on the Indian Premier League matches in order to come and chair this year’s meeting in Dubai .

“I envisaged the potential for this sort of issue two years ago and intimated then that I was not able to continue in the role but when I was asked to do so I was honoured to be re-elected.

“Now, however, it is clear I cannot combine both roles and therefore I am relinquishing the chair of the ICC Cricket Committee.”

The former India captain, the first player in history to top 10,000 Test runs and an ICC Cricket World Cup winner in 1983, arrived at his decision in the wake of a meeting of the ICC Board in March in Dubai .

At that meeting the Board discussed the potential for a conflict of interest for a person chairing the ICC Cricket Committee while, at the same time, working for a media outlet.

That was conveyed to Mr Gavaskar when he met with ICC Chief Executive Officer Malcolm Speed in Dubai later that same month.

It was agreed Mr Gavaskar would chair this year’s ICC Cricket Committee and would then convey his views to the ICC, something he has now done.

A decision on the details surrounding the selection of Mr Gavaskar’s successor will be made in due course.

ICC MEDIA RELEASE

Sports News

May 07, 2008 :
Football :
State Level Senior Football will starts at Shantirbazar, South Tripura District on tomorrow. 15 Subdivisions will takes part in this tournament.

May 06, 2008 :
TOP STORY
Chess :
Saini Das of Tripura confirmed her entry in to World Chess Championship for under-10 age group next year. She got entry in the Asian Championship also.
The budding chess talent of the state Saini finished third position of National Under-9 Chess tournament in New Delhi on Tuesday last. She took eight points from eleven round. Forth standard student of Shisu Bihar School Saini is the first girl and second chess player of Tripura who took the entry in to World Championship. Earlier, Prasenjit Datta represented India in the World Chess Championship in 1995.
Football :
Umakanta Academy lifted the champion trophy of under-13 school football title on Tuesday last In the final match at the Stable ground, Umakanta defeated Bodjung Boys Higher Secondary School by 3-0 goals.

May 05, 2008 :
Football :
Sudhanya Debbarma Memorial School of Jampuijala beat Bodjung Boys Higher Secondary School by 1-0 goal in the final match of Kajal Chakraborty Memorial School Football Tournament.
Domestic Women Football League tournament will starts from May 11 next. Altogether six teams will takes part in this league cum Super league format. The team are – Tripura Police, Jampuijala Play Center, Bisharmgunj Play Center, Chalaman Sangha, Umakanta Coaching Center and Teliamura Eleven.
School Meet : State level School Level Karata Championship will be held at Agartala on May 12-13 next.

McCullum's blistering innings just totally took the game away

Anil Kumble

Again, it's that type of a situation where we have no choice but to win all the matches we have left. They are must win situations. Kolkata hasn't had much success recently, so it's important to ensure that we get a win here. Plus we really want to --- after all, the last time we played them, McCullum's blistering innings just totally took the game away.

Our problem really is that we haven't been batting consistently well, so it's important that we try and change that around. And with Jaffer ruled out, there is a clear opportunity for somebody else to step in and step up, it could be Arunkumar or Chipli in the top order.

I think against Mohali, if we'd managed another 25 runs, we could've won the game. We need to start well and haven't done that at all. At the end of the day, T20 cricket is a batsman's game.

Of the 25-26 games so far, in only one game has a bowler really dominated to the extent that he's won the game straight off --- Sohail Tanvir getting his six-wicket haul. Otherwise, while we've seen a couple of bowlers do well, pick up vital wickets here and there, at the end of the day, it's been about the batting.

So we'd like to bat first and get a good score, without that, it'll be incredibly tough on the bowlers because it's really hard to keep defending the type of score we're getting, 150s, 140s, 125-130 etc.

We're looking at the next game as the beginning of a three match away tour, as all our next three games now are away from home. The importance of the Kolkata game lies in the fact that they too will be somewhat tentative and desperate to win because while they are a good side, they haven't done too well recently. From their perspective, like ours, any chance we have of climbing up the ladder needs to begin now.
What I think we also need to do now is to look at this as a seven-match tournament, a winner takes all kind of event to get into the semifinals. It's quite late already --- we're halfway through the event --- but hopefully, it's not too late and we'll pull I off from hereon.

In addition to the batting coming good of course, our bowling needs to keep up the momentum. Personally, it's also important I get going. I haven't been able to get into a rhythm and contribute, it's obvious maybe that the groin is not a 100 per cent, but that's something I have to deal with.

Talking of momentum, this is a very different situation from having your backs to the wall in a longer version competition or series. In a Twenty20 game, it's just a matter of one over, things can change dramatically, that one over can give you match-changing momentum or conversely, take it all away. So it's essential to keep up that intensity from Ball One. To strike early, be positive throughout and show that intent from the start. We have no choice here either.

We've also been watching the other games with interest. It's really been an unpredictable event. The Deccan Chargers beating Chennai was something. Chennai, who began really well, seem to have had some skids put on them and will be looking to come back. The Royals seem to be in good nick, very consistent and looking tough and ready at the moment. We'll be coming up against them later in the week and that should be a good fight.

Happily for us, the mood in the camp is still pretty good. What I'm hoping will help now is that we're away from the home environment for 10 days at a stretch. I'm sure there'll now be a lot more time to mix around with each other, discuss stuff, and ensure that we pull this off together.

Hawkeye/Chivach Sport

Results of ICC Cricket Committee meeting

Dubai , 7 May 2008

Two-day meeting concludes; recommendations made on issues including the overall cricket landscape, details of the umpire review system to be trialed in a Test series later this year and proposed changes to playing conditions in all cricket

The ICC Cricket Committee concluded its two-day meeting in Dubai on Tuesday evening.

The group was chaired by former India captain and ICC Cricket World Cup winner Sunil Gavaskar and included former Australia captain Mark Taylor, South Africa coach Mickey Arthur and Michael Holding, the ex-West Indies fast bowler.

It also featured Umpire of the Year Simon Taufel, chief ICC match referee and former Sri Lanka captain Ranjan Madugalle , Kenya skipper Steve Tikolo, Pakistan great Majid Khan and Tim May, former Australia off-spinner and the Chief Executive Officer of the Federation of International Cricketers’ Associations.

The ICC Cricket Committee is empowered to make recommendations which then go forward to the Chief Executives’ Committee (CEC) for approval. If that approval is forthcoming then the decisions can be ratified at the ICC Board.

As such, any recommendations made by the ICC Cricket Committee will not take effect unless they are ratified and/or approved by CEC and the Board.

Both CEC and the ICC Board are scheduled to meet in Dubai from 29 June.

The following were among the issues covered by the ICC Cricket Committee:

The cricket landscape

The ICC Cricket Committee held an in-depth and lengthy debate about the current cricket landscape in light of the fact that there are now three viable forms of the game at international level (Tests, ODIs and Twenty20 Internationals). The committee agreed that there was a strong need to identify and maintain a balance between the three formats so that all of them could continue to thrive.

It identified Test cricket as the pinnacle of the sport and expressed the need for the best available participants (players, umpires, referees etc) to be involved in international cricket.

While accepting the need for a minimum requirement in terms of numbers of ODIs, Twenty20 Internationals and Tests between all teams, the committee stressed the need to protect icon series.

The committee also recommended that further thought be given to the introduction of a Test league or periodic play-off for the top two sides in the Reliance Mobile Test Championship table.

Umpire review system

In March, the ICC Board approved the trialing of an umpire review system during a Test series to take place this year. Following a lengthy discussion on this subject, the ICC Cricket Committee agreed a proposed set of playing conditions for the trial. The main elements of the playing conditions should include:

Umpires should still be permitted to refer line decisions or boundaries to the third umpire as normal without a player requesting him to refer that decision

The players should be permitted to ask the on-field umpire to review any aspect of any other decision in consultation with the third umpire

Each team should be limited to a maximum of three unsuccessful referrals per innings

The process should take the form and order of: on-field umpire gives his decision; affected batsman or fielding side’s captain asks the umpire to review that decision; the on-field umpire(s) and third umpire consult; the on-field umpire gives his final decision

The committee recommended that Hawk Eye technology could be used by the third umpire but only for the purposes of determining the actual path of the ball up until the point that it struck the batsman and not the predictor function of the technology

The Test series that will be used for the trial will be announced in due course.

Changes to playing conditions

The ICC Cricket Committee has recommended:

Substitute fielders should only be permitted in cases of injury, illness or other wholly acceptable reasons. It was the opinion of the committee that “wholly acceptable reasons” should be limited to extreme circumstances and should not include what is commonly referred to as a “comfort break”

In ODIs, the timing of one Powerplay should be decided by the batting side and three fielders should be permitted outside the fielding restriction circles for both the second and third Powerplays

The on-field umpires should be permitted to consult the third umpire as to whether a catch has been taken cleanly before making the final decision themselves

The bowl-out in the event of a tie in the ICC World Twenty20 or ICC Champions Trophy should be replaced by a one-over-per-team play-off

These proposed amendments to the playing conditions, if approved, will come into effect at the ICC Champions Trophy 2008, which will be held in Pakistan from 11 to 28 September.

Research

The committee noted current over-rates in international cricket and commissioned research into the reasons behind current levels in both Tests and ODIs. It also noted the research provided in respect of the volume of cricket being played by international players as compared to players from years gone by.

It also noted the progress made on the joint-research being carried out by the ICC and the MCC in relation to bad light. It confirmed the objectives of such research to be to provide umpires with an effective means of measuring light, together with guidelines of what would be considered appropriate light for play at international level and to determine appropriate artificial lighting conditions for play with red, white or pink balls.

Note: The remit of the ICC Cricket Committee is to discuss and consult on any cricket-playing matters and to formulate recommendations to the CEC which relate to cricket-playing matters.

MEDIA NOTE – Photos of the meeting are available from official ICC photographer Getty Images. Television set-up shots and short interviews with some of the delegates are available from SNTV. Please contact your usual contacts in Getty or SNTV for access details. Audio interviews are also available for free download from the ICC website, http://www.icc-cricket.com/.

The ICC Cricket Committee (and the interests from which its members are drawn) is made up of the following people:

Chairman – Sunil Gavaskar (former India captain)

Past players (two) – Majid Khan (the former Pakistan captain is standing in for Ian Bishop, the former West Indies fast bowler, who is not available) and Mark Taylor (ex-Australia captain)

Representatives of current players (two) – Kumar Sangakkara (who provided written comments which were read out and taken into consideration. Kumar was unable to attend the meeting due to his playing commitments) and Tim May (ex-Australia off-spinner, ICC Cricket World Cup winner in 1987 and now Chief Executive Officer of the Federation of International Cricketers’ Associations)

Full Member team coach representative (one) – Mickey Arthur ( South Africa coach)

Member Board representative (one) – Duleep Mendis (former Sri Lanka captain and now SLC Chief Executive)

Associate representative (one) – Steve Tikolo ( Kenya captain)

Media representative (one) – Michael Holding (former West Indies fast bowler and now commentator for British TV station Sky Sports)

Umpires’ representative (one) – Simon Taufel (member of the Emirates Elite Panel and named Umpire of the Year four times in a row at the ICC Awards)

Referees’ representative (one) – Ranjan Madugalle (ICC chief match referee and former Sri Lanka captain)

Marylebone Cricket Club representative (one) – Keith Bradshaw (MCC Secretary and Chief Executive; former first-class cricketer for Tasmania in Australia . MCC is the custodian of the Laws of Cricket)

Statistician (one) – David Kendix (a statistician/scorer and the man responsible for the creation and development of the Reliance Mobile ICC Rankings)

ICC MEDIA RELEASE

Sports News

May 04, 2008 :
Football :
First Division football league Champion Ageya Cholo Sangha will play Durand Cup Football Tournament this year.
Bodjung Boys Higher Secondary school will play against Umakanta Academy in the final match of Under-13 School Football Tournament on May 06.
Cricket :
Tripura Cricket Association will appoint new Ranji coach for upcoming year.
State Meet :
State level Weightlifting, Body Building and Power Lifting will be held at Agartala on June 26-28 next.
Chess :
Shubham Das lifted the Champion title of KBC Chess tournament. Arunabha Bhattacharjee second and Debotpal De finished third position.

May 03, 2008 :
Football :
Bodjung Boys Higher Secondary school will play against Sudhanya Debbarma Memorial School of Jampuijala in the final match of Kajal Chakraborty Memorial School Football Tournament on May 05.
Sahina Begam and Mampi Das were selected for trial camp for National Undr-13 girl football in Bhupal from May 10, 2008 .
Cricket :
Altogether 26 trainer including 12 from Agartala were took part in the seven days special training at Maharaja Bir Bickram Stadium, Agartala by Laxmibai Center, New Delhi.
Table Tennis :
Tripura clinched the title of First Invitation Table Tennis Tournament in both men and women section at Agartala. Bangladesh team were took part in this two days championship.

May 02, 2008 :
Football :
Tripura will play against Gujarat on May 28 and against Delhi on May 30 next in the Sontosh Trophy National Senior Football tournament this year. The tournament will be held at Jammu and Kashmir .
State Level Football tournament will starts from May 08 at Santirbazar, South Tripura . Altogether15 Sub-divisions will take part in this tourney. Final will be held on May 13 next.
Cricket :
Sadar lifted the title of State Level 95 points cricket tournament this year. Sadar beat Teliamura by seven wickets.
Summer coaching camp of Tripura Cricket Association will be starts from May 19 next. Besides three district camps one central camp will be held for 15 days.
Basketball :
Chatrabandhu Club clinched the Champion trophy of Sadar Club Basketball Tournament this year. Chatrabandhu beat Forward Club by 59-53 points in the final at the Netaji Subhas Regional Coaching Center, Agartala.
Hockey :
President of Tripura Hockey Association Director General of Tripura Police Mr. K. T. D. Sing were passes away.

ICC Broadcast and Sponsor Forum this week in Dubai

Dubai , 6 May 2008

The three-day ICC Broadcast and Sponsor Forum, involving ICC’s broadcast partners, licensees, sponsors and service providers, is taking place this week in Dubai .

During the meeting, which began on Monday, the delegates are receiving presentations on broadcasting and sponsorship and are discussing a range of topics, including the marketing of ICC Events and developing and delivering world-class ICC events.

ICC General Manager – Commercial, Campbell Jamieson , said the forum is helping the relationship building between ICC’s commercial partners.

“The inaugural forum provides an excellent opportunity for the ICC and its valued commercial partners to assemble in one place to discuss and devise event-specific marketing plans for the next 12 months,” said Mr Jamieson.

Anurag Dahiya, Vice President, Programming, ESPN-STAR Sports, said: "This is a unique and very welcome opportunity for various broadcast licensees and the ICC sponsors to come together and become sensitive to each other’s operations and needs.

“We are glad to have been provided this opportunity to brainstorm with the various commercial stakeholders of the ICC and to discuss various ideas for developing the ICC events further, while, at the same time, integrating the ICC's sponsorship and broadcast licensing programmes in a meaningful manner.

“We are sure these discussions will be a huge benefit to ESPN-STAR Sports in our efforts to continually improve broadcast coverage of the ICC events, something that will also contribute to their greater financial success.”

Sandeep Singh Arora, Executive Vice President Marketing, PepsiCo India , said: “We are conscious of the changes that are happening in the world of cricket and are excited about the opportunity to partner with the ICC in the marketing and development of the game.”

Arpana Pujar, Director, Media and Entertainment, Yahoo!, said: “It gives us an understanding of the needs of ICC’s other commercial partners, especially as we are delivering a cricket product and a platform essential to others.

“It helps us to understand their needs to drive audiences to the official site and build advertising opportunities which will benefit all the commercial partners.”

Spokesman for Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group said: “It is a good strategic move to get all the commercial partners together to have a better understanding of the ICC and its events.

“It is also an excellent opportunity for all the stakeholders to interact with each other and develop a better understanding which, in a larger scale, will benefit the sport.”

ICC MEDIA RELEASE

Respected figures to discuss impact of Twenty20 format on game

Dubai , 5 May 2008

Two-day meeting in Dubai will tackle the big issues, including the greater use of technology for umpires, research on the volume of cricket and bad light; group includes Michael Holding, Mark Taylor, Ranjan Madugalle and Simon Taufel

The impact that the Twenty20 format is having on the game and how best to protect and promote Test cricket will form one of the key discussions at the two-day ICC Cricket Committee, which meets in Dubai from today.

The trialing of an umpires’ decision review system, the formulation of playing conditions for the ICC Champions Trophy 2008 and ICC World Twenty20 2009 and the results of ICC-commissioned research into such issues as volume of cricket and bad light will also be on the radar for this important meeting.

The committee is chaired by former India captain and ICC Cricket World Cup winner Sunil Gavaskar and packed with highly respected figures within the world of cricket, including David Richardson , ICC General Manager – Cricket, former Australia captain Mark Taylor, ex-Pakistan captain Majid Khan and Michael Holding, the former West Indies fast bowler.

It also features Umpire of the Year Simon Taufel, chief ICC match referee and former Sri Lanka captain Ranjan Madugalle , Kenya captain Steve Tikolo, South Africa coach Mickey Arthur and Tim May, former Australia off-spinner and now the Chief Executive Officer of the Federation of International Cricketers’ Associations.

The committee is representative of all stakeholders in the modern game, including players, umpires and the media.

Cricket landscape – impact of Twenty20 format and domestic leagues

Following the changing cricket landscape after the explosion of Twenty20 cricket, the committee will discuss international cricket as the pinnacle of the game, the protection and promotion of Test cricket, the impact of Twenty20 cricket on other formats of the game and the impact of domestic leagues on the international game.

Television technology in umpire decision-making – trial

The committee will finalize the playing conditions to be adopted for the proposed trial of an umpire decision review system. Broadly speaking, in the trial, players will be permitted to request the on-field umpire to review his own decision in consultation with the television umpire.

Playing conditions

The committee will consider the specific playing conditions for the ICC Champions Trophy 2008 and ICC World Twenty20 2009. As part of that discussion, it will consider the idea of allowing the batting team to choose when to take one of the three Powerplays.

Research results

The committee will consider progress that has been made in research relating to volume of cricket and bad light.

The remit of the ICC Cricket Committee is to discuss and consult on any cricket-playing matters and to formulate recommendations to the Chief Executives’ Committee (CEC) and the ICC Board for approval. The next meetings of those committees are set for Dubai from June 29 to July 4.

The ICC Cricket Committee is made up of the following people:

Chairman – Sunil Gavaskar (former India captain)

Past players (two) – Majid Khan (the former Pakistan captain is standing in for Ian Bishop, the former West Indies fast bowler, who is not available) and Mark Taylor (ex-Australia captain)

Representatives of current players (two) – Kumar Sangakkara (to send written comments due to his playing commitments) and Tim May (ex-Australia off-spinner, ICC Cricket World Cup winner in 1987 and now Chief Executive Officer of the Federation of International Cricketers’ Associations)

Full Member team coach representative (one) – Mickey Arthur ( South Africa coach)

Member Board representative (one) – Duleep Mendis (former Sri Lanka captain and now SLC Chief Executive)

Associate representative (one) – Steve Tikolo ( Kenya captain)

Media representative (one) – Michael Holding (former West Indies fast bowler and now commentator for British TV station Sky Sports)

Umpires’ representative (one) – Simon Taufel (member of the Emirates Elite Panel and named Umpire of the Year four times in a row at the ICC Awards)

Referees’ representative (one) – Ranjan Madugalle (ICC chief match referee and former Sri Lanka captain)

Marylebone Cricket Club representative (one) – Keith Bradshaw (MCC Secretary and Chief Executive; former first-class cricketer for Tasmania in Australia . MCC is the custodian of the Laws of Cricket)

Statistician (one) – David Kendix (a statistician/scorer and the man responsible for the creation and development of the Reliance Mobile ICC Rankings)

ICC MEDIA RELEASE

We are still not in a position to say who are the best

Anshuman Gaekwad

It's a fortnight since the Indian Premier League (IPL) began and still we are not in a position to say whether new venture of cricket become successful or not. But there is little doubt that the IPL has caught the imagination of the public at large , atlesat various opinion polls saying that.If we look at the future of World Cricket , Twenty-20 definitely take a position specially in other countries.Initially Indian Cricket Board opposed Twenty-20 Cricket Format in ICC meeting but they later realised that this new format of the game is the future of Cricket.Also Rival ICL forced BCCI to take this step immediately.

Cricket is an un-predictable game , full of surprise.We can see the same excitement & uncertinity in this format of the game.Surprise results and this is shown in the points table, where the lesser fancied Rajasthan Royals, no doubt inspired by Shane Warne's presence and leadership qualities, are in the running for a place in the semis, while Deccan Chargers, Mumbai Indians and Bangalore's Royal Challengers, who were all highly rated on the eve of the tournament, are all languishing in the bottom half.Kolkata Knight Riders, In presence of Film Star Sharukh khan , initially made a deep impression in the mind of people and won first two game fanciedly but later struggling.

Experts says Modern Day's Cricket is a batsman's game.Similarly Twenty-20 may still be a batsman's game but there is a place for the bowlers also. For example, we were given to understand that a total of around 200 would be par for the course in an innings going by what we saw in the World Cup in South Africa last year. But in a format supposed to be devised of, by and for batsmen, this hasn't been the case. In the first 19 matches, 200-plus totals have been notched up only seven times.

We must realise that in this version it is not just the bowlers who are under tremendous pressure of being hit for fours and sixes every time, batsmans too is under the intense weight of expectations. There is just no time to get your eye in with the result that the slog starts virtually with the first ball.

Twenty20 said to be young man's game.It needs full fitness, energy and fighting mentality. I agree with this. But if you look at Glenn McGrath, Shane Warne and Muthiah Muralitharan & oher aged players ,will find there is no truth in this theory. Older cricketers who are able to adapt certainly have a place in this format and this is evident also from the fact that three of the four batsmen who have run up centuries at the moment of writing are over 30 as are five of the top nine run getters. Perhaps the most positive aspect of the IPL has been the sight of players of different nations turning out for the same team. It's helping cricket world by bringing them together.The latest war of words between Warne and Ganguly was the part of the gamre and I am sure it will never kill the spirit of the game.Also I hope Bhajji & Shreeshant will concentrate on their game forgetting that bitter incident.

Its now clear that to get a score near 200 , top order will have to fire.Same theory applicable to the opponent teams when they are tergetting a 200 plus score.But in this tournament it has been seen that chasing nearly 200 runs become too tough.In that case team have to keep up the scoring rate as well as wickets in hand.At this stage pitches here are totally unpredictable and also dew factor playing a big role.

The IPL certainly created an excitement , all teams off the mark with points and no team unbeatable it is leading up to a terrific battle for a place in the semi-finals.Lots of matches to go and we are still not in a position to say who are the best , which teams will enter in to semis.

Hawkeye Communications / Chivach Sports

ARJUNA OF TABLE TENNIS

D. Ajay

Here ARJUNA means award which is the most prestigious, glorious and honorable award in Indian sports. Department Sports & Youth Affairs, Govt. of India are awarding this extra ordinary honor to the extra ordinary players of our country for their fabulous and unexpected performances in the international level competition during the period of last three years including that particular year on which year they are being selected. Of course the players are being considered for their qualities of leadership, sportsmanship and sense of discipline along with their performances.

It is probably the second highest award after RAJIB GHANDI KHEL RATNA in Indian sports offered by Govt. of India

Generally one player from one sports event is being selected by the department for one year. But it is not obvious that all the events will be considered in every year. The category of events has been declared in 2002 by the Ministry as either:

a) Cricket or
b) An event of Olympic Games or
c) An event of Asian Games or
d) An event of Commonwealth Games or
e) An event of World Championship or
f) Indigenous Games or
g) An event of sports for the physically challenge.

The award carries:

a) A statuette
b) A scroll of honor or citation
c) A set of ceremonial uniform.
d) Cash award of Rs. 3,00,000/-( earlier Rs.1,00,000/-)The event Table tennis was included in the category since it was started i.e. 1961 & the following 22 nos. of table tennis were bestowed by this award till today:

1) MR. J.C. VOHRA IN 1961
2) MR. G.R. DEEWAN IN 1965
3) MRS. U. SUNDARARAJ IN 1966
4) MR. F.R. KHODAIJI IN 1967
5) MD. MIR KASIM ALI IN 1969
6) MR. G. JAGANNATH IN 1970
7) MRS. K.F. KHODAIJI IN 1971
8) MR. N.R.BAJAJ IN 1973
9) MRS. S. SHAILJA IN 1976
10) MRS. INDU PURI IN 1980
11) MR. MANJIT DUA IN 1981
12) MR.V. CHANDRA SHEKHAR IN 1982
13) MR KAMALESH MEHETA IN 1985
14) MRS MONALISA BARUA IN 1987
15) MRS NIYATI SHAH IN 1989
16) MR. M.S. WALIA IN 1990
17) MR. CHETAN P. BABOOR IN 1997
18) MR. SUBRAMANIAM RAMAN IN 1998
19) MRS MANTU GHOSH IN 2002
20) MR ARCHANTA SARATH KAMAL IN 2004
21) MR.SOUMYADEEP ROY IN 2005
22) MR. SUBHAJIT SAHA IN 2007

It is clear from the above that the overall performances of the players of the event TABLE TENNIS in India are very much remarkable with respect to the other event for about last 50 years. Although the table tennis players were unable to be selected by the authority for the lack of extra ordinary performances for certain period but it is hopeful that a player from Table Tennis event will be able to be selected for the award on every year from now by the current enthusiasm, true spirit of sports & action of Table Tennis Federation of India.

T20's a batsman's game

Anil Kumble

There's no question, this next one on Saturday against the Deccan Chargers and the King's XI Punjab at home are must-win games for us. It'll be quite a challenge coming into a situation like this — from hereon, we have to try and win everything to creep up the ladder and be the fourth team in the semis.

I'm playing tomorrow, I'm much better, the groin is holding up, so I'm hoping to get a good game. Obviously, I haven't done much bowling but am confident of doing well. What will also hopefully make a difference for us is Misbah coming in. He's played a lot of Twenty20, so he brings in a lot of experience in these conditions.

As for our opponents on the morrow, Hyderabad has explosive batsmen, so it's important to strike early and get wickets. Gilchrist, Gibbs and Afridi, these three guys are obviously the key. Rohit Sharma's batting really well but I think if we get that explosive trio early, have Dale Steyn strike with the new ball, it'll be great. It's an early start as well and there won't be much seam movement, I think it'll be a good contest.

In a must win game, especially one of 20 overs, you need to go out there and play as freely as you can, you can't be half-hearted in your approach. Our strength is that all our guys are experienced, not in T20, but in must-win games. We have the quality, it's really just a matter of that one game which will give us the confidence to feel good about ourselves as a team. In the last two games, maybe the opposition got 20 extra runs. That's something we will be aware of when we bowl. Those extra runs from the fifth bowler cost us the game. With me being fit, we'll hopefully be able to sustain that pressure right through, with five bowlers. It's important we get back to back wins at home and pay back the faith the home fans and the people backing us so strongly have put in us. We're determined to do that.

What we need to do is get the momentum, something that hasn't happened so far. Either we have not got the momentum at all or broken it while batting. We were cruising against Chennai when Taylor and Kallis both got out in the same over.

Even against Delhi, they just got off to a great start and the two lefties (Gambhir and Dhawan) took it away. Then we came back and lost momentum. We've done well in patches but as a batting unit, it's also important for us to get some big overs and we haven't done that. Again, as bowlers, we need to keep on the pressure. Look at the Chennai game, Dhoni got some 45 runs off the last two overs, even if we had given away 25 or 30, we would've won. We lost by 10 runs.

T20's a batsman's game like I said, but there's no reason we can't back it with our bowling, which, on paper, is very strong and has lots of variety. Zak is left arm, Praveen swings the ball, Steyn is very quick, Kallis pretty good and I'm there too. Basically, we need to back ourselves to win. I hope we'll pull this off today.

(Hawkeye/Chivach)

Countdown to ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 begins this month in Jersey

Dubai , 1 May 2008

Germany, Mozambique, Nepal, Norway, USA, Vanuatu, Afghanistan, Botswana, Japan, Jersey, Bahamas and Singapore shape up for World Cricket League Div. 5

The countdown to the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 begins later this month with the staging of the ICC World Cricket League Division 5 (WCL Div. 5) in the Channel Island of Jersey from 23-31 May.

There are not many sports where the national team from the United States of America will take on the small Pacific island nation of Vanuatu in a competitive fixture or where Afghanistan faces off against the Bahamas . But such is the global nature of cricket these days that is exactly what is in store for cricket fans in Jersey as the island prepares to host an ICC global event for the first time.

The 12-team event will be staged across six venues and will take the format of two groups of six with the top two from each section progressing to the knock-out stage.

The finalists from this tournament will be promoted to the ICC World Cricket League Division 4 thus joining Hong Kong , Fiji , Tanzania and Italy in a six-team event that will take place in the Tanzanian capital Dar Es Salaam from 4 to 11 October.

In turn, the top two teams from that tournament will progress to Division 3 and so on until the top four Associate or Affiliate teams in the world will book their place at the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 to be staged in Bangladesh , India , Pakistan and Sri Lanka . Those four will join the 10 Full Members to decide the top one-day side in the world.

“This gives every side a clear pathway for progression and the chance to compete at the very highest level,” said ICC Global Development Manager Matthew Kennedy.

“So even though a team might be competing in the WCL Div. 5 tournament this month, there is the chance it could make it all the way to the next World Cup. More realistically, though, it gives those teams a structure and a long-term goal to aim at so that even if they don’t get there this time, they could target 2015, 2019 or 2023,” he said.

“On another level, WCL Div. 5 also gives these sides the opportunity to play against similarly ranked sides from around the world in conditions that perhaps they are not used to. It is very much part of the development process to give players the chance to perform outside their home environment.

“This is a fantastic tournament and shows how the ICC is determined to continue the process of making cricket even stronger around the world.”

The opening day of the WCL Div. 5 on 23 May will see the USA take on Mozambique in Group A at the picturesque Farmer’s Field ground. In the same group Nepal plays Germany at Les Quennevais and Norway faces Vanuatu at FB Fields while in Group B Afghanistan gets its campaign underway with a match against Japan at Victoria College .

Meanwhile, host team Jersey plays Singapore at Grainville and the Bahamas will line out against Botswana on the second pitch at Les Quennevais.

Group A: Germany , Mozambique , Nepal , Norway , USA , Vanuatu
Group B: Afghanistan , Botswana , Japan , Jersey , Bahamas , Singapore

Match officials: Paul Baldwin, Mark Hawthorne, Sanjeev Kad, Trevor Magee, Charlie McElwee, Brian Papworth, Steve Tovey, Louis Fourie, Lee Goldsmith, Bart Hartong, Connie McAllister, Mike Carpenter, Martin Gray, John Mountford, Erno Ruchtie.

Match schedule:
Friday 23 May
Group A: USA v Mozambique , Farmer’s Field; Nepal v Germany , Les Quennevais 1; Norway v Vanuatu , FB Fields
Group B: Afghanistan v Japan , Victoria College ; Jersey v Singapore , Grainville; Bahamas v Botswana , Les Quennevais 2

Saturday 24 May
Group A: USA v Norway , Victoria College ; Nepal v Mozambique , Grainville; Germany v Vanuatu , Farmer’s Field
Group B: Afghanistan v Bahamas , Les Quennevais 1; Jersey v Japan , Les Quennevais 2; Singapore v Botswana , FB Fields

Sunday 25 May
Rest/reserve day

Monday 26 May
Group A: USA v Vanuatu , Grainville; Nepal v Norway , Farmer’s Field; Germany v Mozambique , Victoria College
Group B: Afghanistan v Botswana , Les Quennevais 2; Jersey v Bahamas , FB Fields; Singapore v Japan , Les Quennevais 1

Tuesday 27 May
Group A: USA v Germany , Grainville; Nepal v Vanuatu , Victoria College ; Norway v Mozambique , Les Quennevais 1
Group B: Afghanistan v Singapore , FB Fields; Jersey v Botswana , Farmer’s Field; Bahamas v Japan , Les Quennevais 2

Wednesday 28 May
Group A: USA v Nepal, Les Quennevais 1; Norway v Germany, Les Quennevais 2; Vanuatu v Mozambique, FB Fields
Group B: Afghanistan v Jersey, Grainville; Bahamas v Singapore , Victoria College ; Botswana v Japan , Farmer’s Field

Thursday 29 May
Rest/reserve day

Friday 30 May
Winner Group A v Runner-up Group B, Grainville (Match U)
Runner-up Group A v Winner Group B, FB Fields (Match V)
A3 v B4, Les Quennevais 1 (Match W)
A4 v B3, Les Quennevais 2 (Match X)
A5 v B6, Farmer’s Field (Match Y)
A6 v B5, Victoria College (Match Z)

Saturday 31 May
Winner U v Winner V, Grainville (final)
Loser U v Loser V, Farmer’s Field (third/fourth place)
Winner W v Winner X, FB Fields (fifth/sixth place)
Loser W v Loser X, Victoria College (seventh/eighth place)
Winner Y v Winner Z, Les Quennevais 1 (ninth/10th place)
Loser Y v Loser Z, Les Quennevais 2 (11th/12th place)

ICC MEDIA RELEASE

ICC announces requests for proposals in fixed media rights area

Dubai , 1 May 2008

Seeks tie-up to 2011 for production of official ICC event films for distribution on DVD, video and other fixed media

The International Cricket Council has announced it is seeking requests for proposals (RFP) from media companies interested in becoming the exclusive worldwide licensee of the ICC for the fixed media category.

The successful company will work closely with ICC to produce, market and distribute films incorporating footage from various ICC cricket events, including the ICC Cricket World Cup, the ICC Champions Trophy and the ICC World Twenty20.

This is the first time the ICC has looked for agreements of this length in these areas. In the past deals have been made on an event-by-event basis. The rights to use this intellectual property will be licensed for the period up to 2012 in order to ensure that both ICC and its media company have a real incentive to invest in effective product and brand development.

“The real value of buying the official documentary or highlights video of an ICC event is in the behind-the-scenes footage that only the ICC licensed filmmaker can access and share with the viewer to tell those stories that sit behind the match action,” said Campbell Jamieson, ICC General Manager – Commercial.

“While video-on-demand and other new media technologies are growing, video cassettes, DVDs and related forms of fixed media are still the preferred way for many cricket consumers to watch documentary and highlights films about the game of cricket. Therefore, it is essential for the ICC to have a foot in both camps,” he said.

In April, the game’s global governing body announced an internet video streaming trial with media technology company Vividas. The request for proposals in relation to fixed media is aimed at attracting media companies experienced in the production, marketing and distribution of sport films internationally.

ICC MEDIA RELEASE

ICC to bring memories of ICC World Twenty20 direct to the fans

Dubai , 30 April 2008

Cricket fans will be able to view full match highlights of their favourite teams in action at the inaugural ICC World Twenty20 tournament direct from the International Cricket Council website thanks to an initiative that will make archive footage available in all regions around the world.

In association with internet streaming company Vividas, the ICC is set to conduct a product trial aimed at distributing the footage direct to the sports fan. The product will be an ICC-branded, pay-per-view video portal linked to its website from which internet users can stream ICC match highlights.

The trial will be offered to the general public from 14 May to 31 July with high-definition footage from last year’s ICC World Twenty20 in South Africa being packaged and streamed through the website. A 60-minute highlights package will cost up to a maximum of US$4 and will be even cheaper in some regions – as low as US$2 for an hour of top-class cricketing action.

“This is going to be a great way for people to view their favourite players or teams whenever they like,” said ICC General Manager – Commercial, Campbell Jamieson.

“This is about making this unique and spectacular event more accessible to people, particularly those who live in regions where cricket does not receive much coverage on television. We want to get closer to the fans so that viewers in, say, Malaysia , Germany or Argentina, will be able to watch cricket whenever they like even though broadcasters in their countries might not show it very often,” said Mr Jamieson.

“The inaugural ICC World Twenty20 was an exciting event. People remember Yuvraj Singh’s six sixes in one over, Chris Gayle’s century in the opening match, Brett Lee’s hat-trick and the thrilling final at the Wanderers. And they want to see those moments again and again.

“Vividas was chosen because its streamed image can deliver video content via the internet in previously unachievable quality – without the need for downloads, without firewall issues and in high-definition quality,” he said.

According to Paul Neville, CEO of Vividas Group plc, the technology will help to continue the globalisation of cricket and take it to a wider audience. He said: “The business community has embraced this technology for corporate communications and it’s great to see it now being used for streaming this major sporting event.

“Because of the unlimited scalability of Vividas’s technology, the stream is unaffected by the number of viewers, contrasting with traditional streaming technologies and making it perfect for a major sports event with a virtually unlimited number of viewers.

Vividas Group plc is a developer and provider of video technologies, which enable full-screen, high-quality video via the internet or corporate networks without requiring previously installed software. Vividas proprietary technology overcomes the disadvantages of competing solutions that typically offer only partial-screen or poor quality full-screen viewing and generally require the user to install specialist player software.

ICC MEDIA RELEASE

Countdown to ICC Women’s World Cup 2009 begins later this week

Dubai , 30 April 2008

India bids to make it four in a row in Asia Cup while Bangladesh ready for debut; Mithali Raj and Jhulan Goswami eye personal milestones

The countdown to next year’s ICC Women’s World Cup in Australia begins later this week in Sri Lanka when all three of the Asian teams taking part in the event Down Under go head-to-head in the Women’s Asia Cup in Kurunegala and Dambulla from 2 to 11 May.

India will attempt to win the Asia Cup for an unprecedented fourth time and leads a field that also includes fifth-ranked Sri Lanka and eighth-ranked Pakistan .

The three Asian powerhouses are joined by Bangladesh , which will make its debut at this level after qualifying for the tournament following its triumph in the ACC Women’s Tournament in Malaysia last year in July.

The tournament will be played on a double-league format with the top two teams qualifying for the final. It will also serve as a launch for the three teams to start their preparations for women cricket’s ultimate tournament which will be held in 10 months’ time.

India captain Mithali Raj says the Asia Cup will be the start of a tough season for her team in the run-up to the World Cup. “It’s definitely part of our preparations for the World Cup and is the start of the season for us.

“We have a tour to England and Australia before the World Cup. If we have to work on combinations for our best team, then the Asia Cup is one tournament where we can try this out.”

India won the Asia Cup in Sri Lanka in April 2004, in Pakistan in 2005-06 and in India in 2006/07. It has shown incredible consistency while winning all its 15 matches whereas Sri Lanka has won four of the 15 matches and Pakistan is winless from eight games.

India ’s opponent in the previous two finals was Sri Lanka while the inaugural event in Sri Lanka was a bilateral, best-of-five series as Pakistan did not take part in the tournament.

However, things might be different this time as Pakistan is coming into the tournament with its confidence sky-high after finishing second behind South Africa in the ICC Women’s World Cup Qualifier held in Stellenbosch , South Africa . That achievement earned it a place among the top teams at next year’s World Cup.

Pakistan has made three changes to the team which reached the final of the qualifying tournament earlier this February and captain Urooj Mumtaz believes the Asia Cup will be a good learning experience for her young team: “It’s good for the confidence of the players and the team to come into this tournament after achieving something substantial in the previous event.

“But we know it’s a huge task ahead of us in the Asia Cup with India ranked number two and Sri Lanka ranked in the top six.

“We’ve been analysing our performances from the World Cup Qualifier, our strengths and weaknesses, and if we play to our potential here we can pull off some great wins.

“The Asia Cup will be a great learning experience for us,” added the 22-year-old batsman from Karachi .

In contrast, India ’s last international assignment was 14 months ago when it hosted a quadrangular tournament that also involved Australia , New Zealand and England .

Looking ahead to the Asia Cup, Mithali said: “It’s good we have five girls who are making their debuts at this event. It’s a good platform for them before they play against top sides like Australia , New Zealand and England .

“Every team tries to improve every time it plays. I think Sri Lanka is a very good fielding side as they are very agile in the field and Pakistan has a good set of spinners and some depth in its batting,” said the 25-year-old batsman from Jodhpur , Rajisthan.

Sri Lanka ’s last international appearance was in the Asia Cup in India in December 2006. However, most of the Sri Lanka players attended the High Performance Programme in Colombo in September 2007 which was conducted by ICC’s High Performance Manager Richard Done .

Shashikala Siriwardene, who has been retained as Sri Lanka captain, hopes her team will do one better this time. “We’ve taken part in the last three Asia Cups and come in the final each time. We are (now) hoping to do one better this time.

“It’s a good tournament with India and Pakistan , who have also qualified for the World Cup. It’s like a practice tournament for the World Cup for us and I am hopeful we can win.”

Bangladesh had maintained a high level of consistency in its performance over five matches in the ACC Women’s Tournament in Malaysia last year and had remained unbeaten throughout the tournament.

Panna Ghosh, the lanky all-rounder, was Bangladesh ’s star performer and was rewarded for valuable contributions by winning the player of the tournament award. Her final tally at the event was nine wickets and 71 runs.

A couple of individual milestones are also up for grabs for India players.

Mithali will be hoping to put up some good batting displays which will help her rise in the all-time leading ODI run-scorers’ list. Mithali currently lies seventh with 2,776 runs with England ’s Claire Taylor (2,995) and New Zealand ’s Emily Drumm (2,844) above her in fifth and sixth places respectively.

Australia ’s Belinda Clark with 4,844 runs is the all-time leading run-scorer, followed by compatriot Karen Rolton (4,261), Debbie Hockley (4,064) of New Zealand and England ’s Charlotte Edwards (3,304).

Mithali’s team-mate Jhulan Goswami, who won the Women’s Player of the Year at the ICC Awards in 2007 in South Africa , is set to become the second Indian after Neetu David and fourth overall in the history of the game to take 100 ODI wickets.

The 24-year-old fast bowler from Bengal sits on 96 wickets from 79 ODIs while the list is headed by Australia ’s Cathryn Fitzpatrick (180). David, who returns to the team after coming out of retirement, has 130 wickets and Clare Taylor of England has 102 wickets.

Jhulan’s compatriot Nooshin Al Khadeer also has 96 wickets but she will have to wait a little longer to join the elite group as she is not part of the squad for the Asia Cup.

The matches between India , Sri Lanka and Pakistan will have ODI status.

ICC Women’s World Cup:

The ICC Women’s World Cup to be staged in Australia in 2009 will be the first to be played under the auspices of the ICC since its merger with the International Women’s Cricket Council (IWCC) in 2005.

Defending champion Australia is joined by India, New Zealand, England, Sri Lanka and West Indies which earned automatic qualification for the 2009 tournament after their top six finish in the Women’s World Cup 2005 in South Africa while South Africa and Pakistan complete the line-up after qualifying for the final of the ICC Women’s World Cup Qualifier held in Stellenbosch, South Africa in February.

The Women’s World Cup has been running for longer than the men’s version and was first staged in England in 1973, when it was won by the hosts, which beat Australia by 118 runs in the final at Edgbaston, Birmingham .

Since then there have been a further seven tournaments with Australia winning five of them (1978, 1982, 1988, 1997 and 2005), England winning once more (in 1993) and New Zealand triumphing in 2000.

The tournament has been staged twice each in England (1973 and 1993), India (1978 and 1997) and New Zealand (1982 and 2000) as well as Australia (1988) and South Africa (2005).

Women’s cricket came under the auspices of the ICC and ACC in 2005 when the ICC merged with the International Women’s Cricket Council (IWCC). Before the merger, the IWCC had 15 members and since integration the women's game has grown fast and there were now 59 members with formal girls' and/or women's teams playing in structured cricket competitions.

A further 30 do not have competition teams yet but do have girls in junior development initiatives. That makes 89 of ICC's 101 members with some women's cricket and it is growing all the time.

Teams
Bangladesh: Salma Khatun (captain), Sathira Zakir Jessy, Shukhtara, Ayesha Akhter, Irin Sultana, Chamily Khatun, Rumana Akhter, Panna Ghosh, Shamima Akhter Pinky, Jahanara Alam, Lily Rani, Tithi Rani, Papiya Haque Babu, Mina Khatun

India: Mithali Raj (captain), Jhulan Goswami, Jaya Sharma, Karuna Jain, Amita Sharma, Devika Palshikar, Rumeli Dhar, Thirush Kamini, Neetu David, Seema Pujare, Snehal Pradhan, Gouher Sultana, Anagha Deshpande, Asha Rawat, Priyanka Roy.

Pakistan: Urooj Mumtaz (captain), Tasqeen Qadeer, Sajjida Shah, Bismah Maroof, Nain Abidi, Sana Javed, Sana Mir, Qanita Jalil, Asmavia Iqbal, Batool Fatima, Sadia Yousuf, Shumaila Mushtaq, Almas Akram, Javeria Khan.

Sri Lanka: Sri Lanka: Shashikala Siriwardene (captain), Chamari Polgampola, Dedunu Silva, Chamika Bandara, Suwini de Alwis, Eshani Lokusooriya, Chamani Seneviratne, Sandamali Dolawatta , Inoka Galagedara, Dilani Manadora, Janakanthimala, Deepika Rasangalie, Sumudu Fernando, Sripali Weerakkodi.

Schedule:
2 May – Sri Lanka Women v Pakistan Women, Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium; India Women v Bangladesh Women, Welagedara Stadium, Kurunegala
3 May – Sri Lanka Women v India Women, Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium; Pakistan Women v Bangladesh Women, Welagedara Stadium, Kurunegala
5 May – India Women v Pakistan Women, Welagedara Stadium, Kurunegala; Sri Lanka Women v Bangladesh, Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium
6 May – Sri Lanka Women v Pakistan Women, Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium; Bangladesh Women v India Women, Welagedara Stadium, Kurunegala
8 May – Sri Lanka Women v India Women, Welagedara Stadium, Kurunegala; Bangladesh Women v Pakistan Women, Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium
9 May – India Women v Pakistan Women, Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium; Sri Lanka Women v Bangladesh Women, Welagedara Stadium, Kurunegala
11 May – Final, Welagedara Stadium, Kurunegala

ICC MEDIA RELEASE

There's no question of that

By Anil Kumble

We need to start winning matches to think of making the semifinals.There's no question of that. Why are we losing? Well, we should have bowled better towards the end of the last game but it's very difficultin this format to point fingers at one part or one area.

One thing that's not helped us is that the Bangalore wicket has notbeen a flat batting wicket, so it's been tough for the batsmen to getinto form. Still, Ross Taylor and Wasim came good in the last game.

But it's still a simple game and there's no point complicating matters— you just need to be a lot more flexible than you are even inone-dayers, but other than that you should just bowl like you do inthe slog overs. Bowl yorkers, keep the ball in the right spots, keepthe batsmen guessing…

Now for what happened last week. I did speak to Bhajji after theincident and he's both remorseful and apologetic and agreed that itshouldn't have happened, no matter what the provocation.

But moving forward, it's important that given the immense pressure andthe media attention, that players realise what they can do and whatthey can't. Education is essential here and should be made part of thesystem.

There's so much money in the game now, especially with the IPL.Instead of people blaming whatever happens on 'too much money', orjustifying incidents by saying things happen in the heat of themoment, it's important someone ensures that players are given theright kind of advice, that there are professionals around to help themcope with fame and handle the money it brings. At no cost should thegame be disrespected nor the people who are part of it. Cricket isabove everything else.

Players need to learn to respect the opposition and most importantly,to gain the respect of everyone. It's very important to understandwhat you should not say instead of what you would naturally say.

At the same time, just because you're a cricketer, it doesn't mean youhold back constantly and suppress your normal character. But becausepeople watch, learn, imitate you, it's vital to find a balance. Whichis why perhaps, we need to be educated on how to handle success andfailure…

Coming back to what happened — physical abuse is definitely not partof any sport. It's a definite no-no. But equally, it's important forIndian cricket that both these guys get back on track. In terms oftalent, in terms of what they've achieved as cricketers, they're avital part of the team.

Especially Harbhajan, who has a proven track record as a match-winner— it's very important for the Indian team that he comes back andperforms.

On a final, personal note, it was probably a bit early for me to playbut we were short a bowler, so I did. But it all happens so quickly. Ihope to be completely ready for the game after Wednesday's though.

It's very important for us to start winning. With the team we have,the Royal Challengers definitely want to be part of the knockoutround. The good part is that come May, many foreign players from otherteams will be missing. Kolkata will miss Ponting and McCullum. Chennaiwill definitely miss Hayden and Hussey. Lee will be missed by Mohaliand Symonds by Hyderabad. Except for Ross, who's been key though,we'll be fine. A good win tomorrow will set us up. It's a pretty longtournament, we can always come back. But it has to start now.

Hawkeye/Chivach Sport

Licensing in Motion named as merchandise partner for all ICC events

Dubai , 29 April 2008

The ICC has confirmed that it has appointed Licensing in Motion (LIM) as its official licensing and merchandising partner to manage, develop and produce merchandise and memorabilia for the ICC.

LIM, which has been granted this contract for eight years, is a joint venture between Velocity Brand Management (VBM) and Sports & Entertainment Limited (SEL). The contract will cover all ICC’s merchandising and memorabilia needs, including those related to ICC events.

LIM has an impressive track record of providing high quality merchandise at such events as the ICC Cricket World Cup 2007 in the West Indies, the ICC World Twenty20 2007 in South Africa and the ICC Johnnie Walker Super Series 2005 in Australia .

It is also the official licensing agent for Cricket Australia and the Indian Premier League team the Delhi Daredevils and it also has partnerships with other sports bodies such as the Australian Rugby Union, National Rugby League ( Australia ), the New Zealand All Blacks rugby team and the Sydney Opera House.

LIM will be the worldwide exclusive agent for the ICC with respect to all of its events and brands for the period up until the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015. It will oversee the production of a formal range of products including supporter apparel and leisurewear, memorabilia and headwear.

“This is a good deal for cricket fans,” said Campbell Jamieson, ICC General Manager – Commercial.

“It will enable a comprehensive licensing programme to be developed providing consistency of product and quality throughout the term of the deal,” he added.

James Ashworth, managing director of VBM, said: “We are really excited to become the ICC’s partner and we’re looking forward to establishing with the ICC and its stakeholders a world-class global merchandising and licensing programme.

“This is a great opportunity to establish a long-term programme that will supplement and enhance all of the ICC’s tournaments.

“We are excited about building that global merchandising and licensing program and creating a long-term licensing legacy for the ICC and its stakeholders,” said Basil Scaffidi, director of SEL.

ICC MEDIA RELEASE