Yorkshire have confirmed that Younis Khan will be available for their opening Championship match, against Surrey at The Oval, despite speculation that his county stint would be prevented by the Pakistan board.Younis will join up with his team-mates on April 16 ahead of his debut for Yorkshire two days later and he said: “I am aware the PCB have expressed concerns about the fitness levels of some of our players and are unhappy about their involvement in county cricket.”However, I have played a lot of domestic cricket in Pakistan and am very fit right now. I will definitely be playing for Yorkshire next week.”Pakistan are scheduled to play in Abu Dhabi against Sri Lanka in a three-match ODI series in May, but Younis has told Yorkshire that he has discussed the situation with the PCB and is unlikely to be involved.Yorkshire chief executive Stewart Regan added: “We have had clearance from the PCB that Younis can play for the Club and are unsure as to why concerns have been expressed about his availability. Flights are booked and he joins us on Saturday.”The PCB have already prevented Younis’s team-mate, Umar Gul, from taking up his contract with Gloucestershire after concerns over his fitness.

Andrew Strauss will captain England in the first Test against West Indies at Lord’s next week after Michael Vaughan failed to recover from a broken finger.The in-form Owais Shah, whose one cap came against India 14 months ago, was recalled in place of the sidelined Vaughan, but there was no place for James Anderson or Sajid Mahmood as Liam Plunkett secured the remaining seamer’s slot.The influence of new coach Peter Moores was immediately apparent with the call-up of Matt Prior, who he coached at Sussex, as wicketkeeper. It was expected that Paul Nixon, who kept for England throughout the CB Series and the World Cup, would retain his place. Prior’s form for Sussex has also been patchy this season – averaging 22 from four first-class matches – although he gained good reports from the A tour of Bangladesh.”Matt averages nearly forty with the bat in first-class cricket and this was an important factor in reaching our decision,” David Graveney, England’s chairman of selectors, said. “He performed well for England A in the winter, has experienced the international environment before and will, I am sure, be very excited about the prospect of making his Test debut at Lord’s.”Vaughan has made progress with his recovery from injury but his chances of being fully fit for this Test are extremely doubtful and we feel the best course of action is to avoid any uncertainty and for Strauss to deputise for him. Michael will continue his rehabilitation with the squad at Lord’s next week and we will reassess his fitness when we sit down to pick the side for Headingley.”I have spoken to both Andrew Flintoff and Strauss about the captaincy position. Our view is that the team’s best interests will be served if Strauss leads the team as this will allow Flintoff to concentrate on his batting and bowling.”Graveney said that Shah was included primarily as cover for Kevin Pietersen should he fail to recover from a calf strain. “We’re very optimistic that he’ll be fit and we do not have any other injury concerns leading into this Test. Shah [gives] us the option of playing a stronger batting line-up if required.”Asked about the situation regarding Marcus Trescothick, who scored a double hundred for Somerset in the week, Graveney said that there was no consideration being given to him being recalled. “We have no intention of picking him in the foreseeable future. We have to take it slowly. We tend to talk about Bristol City and Bristol Rovers rather than cricket.”England squad Andrew Strauss (capt), Alastair Cook, Owais Shah, Ian Bell, Kevin Pietersen, Paul Collingwood, Andrew Flintoff, Matt Prior (wk), Liam Plunkett, Monty Panesar, Steve Harmison, Matthew Hoggard.

Shoaib Malik, the Pakistan captain, expressed understandable frustration on return from a short tour to Scotland which saw his side play no matches and put in no outdoor practice either.Pakistan were scheduled to play two ODIs, against Scotland and India in Edinburgh and Glasgow respectively, but both were washed out without a ball being bowled as the UK experienced one of its wettest recent summers.”In Pakistan, a match against India is above everything else and the players were also looking forward to it although it was for a charitable cause. If we had performed well, itwould have been good for our morale and boosted the confidence of the people in us,” Malik told reporters on the team’s return.”It was very frustrating but there was nothing we could do. I was very keen for the match against India because Shoaib Akhtar was making a comeback after a while and was fired up for the game,” Malik said.Abdul Razzaq also expressed disappointment at missing out on the match against India. “The rain ruined everything. We were all looking forward to playing India. But now we must just look ahead and start preparing for other things.”These things happen and one can’t do anything about it. But playing India at such neutral venues is not a bad idea,” Razzaq said.Pakistan will now resume training at camps in Quetta and Karachi before playing in the inaugural Twenty20 World Championship in South Africa in September. “We have around two months without any international cricket and it is an ideal time for us to train hard and work on our fitness and also get acclimatised with our new coachwhoever he is,” Malik said.”After the Twenty20 World Championship, we face three very tough series against South Africa, India and Australia and we must start preparing for them seriously. For me as a captain it is a big challenge leading the side in such big series,” he said.

Ochilo Ayacko, the sports minister who last week dissolved the Kenyan Cricket Association, returned to the country from an overseas trip and defiantly insisted that the normalisation committee he appointed was still running the game there. His comments came after the existing KCA executive went to court to get a stay on the order suspending them from office.And Ayacko slammed Joshua Okuthe, the chairman of the Kenya National Sports Council, who publicly came out in support of the old executive and criticised the minister’s action, accusing him of “misleading the public on matters relating to cricket”.Okuthe held a press conference with Sharad Ghai, the suspended KCA chairman, last weekend, and was highly critical of the minister. Okuthe has been widely scorned for his comments, with many opponents of the board accusing him of being too closely allied to Ghai to be able to make any impartial remarks. “He knows what it means to embarrass your boss,” warned Ayacko. “I am his boss.”Ayacko also scorned the KCA’s move in reverting to the courts to try to regain control. “Some people in the KCA asked the court to restrain the ministry from taking action,” he fumed. “What they did not tell the court is that at the time they lodged their plaint, KCA had no officials, and a Normalisation Committee had been registered.”He went on to insist that the government had a strong case against the KCA whose officials would, he said, soon be taken to court to face corruption charges. “This is serious,” he explained. “The kind of monies that were intended for benefit of cricket that have been lost are huge.”You can be assured that our hands are free, our government and my ministry is committed to fighting corruption,” he added. “I cannot disclose the evidence I have since I may prejudice investigations.”Cricinfo has learned that documents have come to hand in the last few days which could prove to be extremely embarrassing for some of the old KCA executive. Investigations are believed to centre on allegations that millions of dollars have gone missing from various events, especially the 1999 LG Trophy which was held in Nairobi. Although income from the tournament exceeded $4million, it is thought that less than $200,000 ended up going to the KCA. But so muddled are the board’s accounts, that the whole story will take some unravelling.

Keith Fletcher, the former England captain, admits he’s surprised with the progress made by Alastair Cook, England’s opening batsman, and predicts he could end up as one of the “all-time greats”. Having played a vital role in Cook’s formative years in Essex, Fletcher sent out a clear warning to India’s bowlers ahead of the forthcoming Test series.”He’s done better than what I thought,” Fletcher told Cricinfo on the sidelines of the Indians’ tour game against England Lions at Chelmsford. “I always thought he’ll be a good Test player but he’s got there quicker than I thought he would. He began playing for England at the right time but I didn’t think he’d have quite the success that he’d have.”It’s a phenomenal start – six hundreds – and he’s just 21. So if he keeps on getting better, which he should do, there’s not reason why he shouldn’t be one of the all-time greats. He’s good between the ears.”Fletcher was instrumental in Cook’s development as a cricketer, calling him “just about the best young batsman I have ever seen”, and recalled watching him smash club bowlers in Essex. “I used to go and watch him play club cricket. I just saw the way he moved and the way he could destroy club bowling and was so impressed. And he was 16 then.”I saw him score 170 against quite a good attack with overseas players playing. He doesn’t seem like a batsman who can destroy but he used to really get after them. And that’s when I thought he could be an absolute crackerjack.”Fletcher reckoned that the forthcoming Test series, starting on Thursday at Lord’s, could end up being a high-scoring one. “I’ll be very surprised if [Rahul] Dravid doesn’t get a couple of hundreds in the Tests, [Sachin] Tendulkar too. The bat might dominate the ball, which will be nice. I think it will be a hard-fought close series.”I think it depends on the wickets – Lord’s we’ve had a lot of rain, but is usually a good batting wicket. England may have a slight advantage at The Oval – it has pace. It may come down to our seamers against India’s batters.”

If only Heath Streak, the reliable and dependable allrounder, wasaround. If only Andy Blignaut, the medium-pacer with a knack fortaking priceless wickets, was around. Then Wednesday’s showdown betweenZimbabwe and South Africa would have illuminated Harare Sports Club asthe one-day series gathers momentum.But gone are the days when fans used to gleefully watch real menpulling fours and sixes off venerated pace bowlers and offspinners.Zimbabwe’s national cricket team has been reduced to a bunch ofamateurish school-boy cricketers and suddenly all the interest andzeal which accompanies the visit of a powerhouse such as South Africahas died down.Cries for Kevin Curran’s dismissal as national coach have developedinto howls. His critics maintain he has been ineffective since takingover from Phil Simmons as he has presided over Zimbabwe’s continueddescent into the abyss of international cricket.Curran knows, by now, that the nation’s confidence in him has hit rockbottom; that it is time to salvage his battered pride by snatching arespectable result out of the series against South Africa.He knows that the nation is now fed up of his perennial excuse thatthe team is still on a learning curve. Curran said this when losinghis first Test in charge against India in August 2005. He repeatedhimself after another comprehensive Test loss to New Zealand thefollowing month. And when drawing 2-2 against lowly Kenya, Curran hadalready proved himself as the devil rather than the messiah forZimbabwe cricket.Only last week Curran, the former Zimbabwe international, was stillsinging from the same hymn sheet. “The encouraging thing is that wehave managed to come through and in the last four days of the matches,and in the shorter version of the game, the idea is to bat through ourovers… and hope to translate the 100s into 200s and then maybe 300runs.”There were some positives that came through against India A and theSouth Africans in that Tatenda Taibu, played admirably well on hisreturn to international cricket after a two-year absence. We hope tocontinue improving- and who knows, we could pull a surprise or two inSouth Africa when we go there for the Twenty20 tournament,” Curransaid following another comprehensive defeat by a visiting South AfricaA side.His view of the national game, although sounding like that of anamateur coach, has become a reflection of how the once-reveredinternational has lost confidence in himself as national team coachand in the team he leads. Charles Mhlauri’s stubbornness would havedone better to drum up the fans’ support and faith in the team.Yet, with all odds staked against Zimbabwe, the team might just beinspired to do well against the Proteas in the remaining two, if onlyto boost morale and confidence ahead of next month’s Twenty20championships.Curran’s batting line-up seems better coordinated since the return ofVusimuzi Sibanda from Australia and the maturity that has beenexhibited by Christopher Mpofu over the past few years. But Zimbabwe’s prospects of upstaging South Africa are far-fetched despite Taibu’s satisfactory performances against South Africa A.Taibu is a bit subdued and his response is measured. “Anything canhappen in a cricket match,” he said. “Hopefully, my being around againfor Zimbabwe can add value to the team.”

The Sri Lanka team was named as the recipient of the Spirit of Cricket Award at the ICC Awards celebration in Johannesburg on Monday.The Spirit of Cricket Award was presented to the team which, in the opinion of the elite panel of umpires and referees and the captains of the ten Test teams, has best conducted themselves on the field within the spirit of the game. The award was presented to Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene by former South Africa batsman Jonty Rhodes.Upon receiving the award on behalf of his team Jayawardene said: “I think it’s important to remember the spirit of cricket. We try to enjoy what we do, playing against other countries. That was shown in the World Cup with Ireland – they really enjoyed themselves there and it was great to play against that team too.”We are there to win a match but we are also entertainers as well. The most important thing we can do is enjoy the game. We are very lucky to do what we do and it is vital that we remember that. We play a different brand of cricket and we all enjoy playing. There is so much pride to wear the cap for our country. Spirit of cricket can be explained in many different ways.”This Spirit is described in the preamble to the Laws of Cricket: “Cricket is a game that owes much of its unique appeal to the fact that it should be played not only within its Laws but also within the Spirit of the Game. Any action which is seen to abuse this spirit causes injury to the game itself.”This is the first time Sri Lanka has won the award, after England collected the last two and New Zealand took the honour at the inaugural ICC Awards in 2004. Sri Lanka was one of several teams that demonstrated the Spirit of Cricket to great effect over the past 12 months and they narrowly defeated Ireland and New Zealand for the prize.

Michael Papps will replace Jamie How at the top of New Zealand’s order for their Test tour of South Africa in November. Kyle Mills has been named after recovering from his knee injury and Ross Taylor is in line for his Test debut but there was no space for Lou Vincent or Craig McMillan in the 15-man squad.Mathew Sinclair was also overlooked despite playing New Zealand’s last two Tests, against Sri Lanka in December. Combined with the retirement of Nathan Astle, the changes mean the line-up that faces South Africa will be a very different one to that which drew the Sri Lanka series.James Franklin, the left-arm fast-medium bowler, was left out as he continues to recover from a knee injury, although the selectors hope he will be available for the one-day series that follows the two Tests. Mills has not played since the CB Series in Australia in January and will be thrilled with the call-up after resigning himself to a comeback through Auckland this coming season. Mark Gillespie has been recognised for his strong first year of ODI cricket and could make his Test debut.Craig Cumming has retained his spot despite not earning a national contract this season, while Papps pushed in front of How after an outstanding domestic campaign for Canterbury in 2006-07 when he led the State Championship run tally with 1005 at 91.36.”The selectors are looking to form a quality opening partnership,” New Zealand’s coach John Bracewell said. “Cumming is the incumbent and is acknowledged as a quality player of pace, while Papps is being rewarded after an excellent domestic season.”Daniel Vettori will be leading the side for the first time in Tests, while Stephen Fleming has been included in the unfamiliar role of batsman only.The players depart on October 18 and have two warm-up matches before the two Tests at Johannesburg and Centurion, the first of which starts on November 8. A Twenty20 international and three ODIs follow but the limited-overs squad will not be announced until after New Zealand A’s practice matches against Australian state sides in Queensland next week.Squad Craig Cumming, Michael Papps, Stephen Fleming, Scott Styris, Ross Taylor, Peter Fulton, Jacob Oram, Brendon McCullum (wk), Daniel Vettori (capt), Kyle Mills, Shane Bond, Mark Gillespie, Jeetan Patel, Michael Mason, Chris Martin.

Mark Boucher felt a bit sad breaking Ian Healy’s Test dismissals mark this week, but the former record holder is now excited to see how far South Africa’s wicketkeeper can take it. Healy, who held the prize until Wednesday with 395, said Boucher could add another 200 and achieve a tally that might never be passed.”He has been a great, solid performer who is held in the utmost respect by his team-mates,” Healy said in the Courier-Mail. “He has been a great competitor and now it will be interesting to see how far he can take it. That record may never be surpassed if they decrease the amount of Test cricket played.”Healy, who appeared in 119 Tests, had a bottle of champagne ready to give to Boucher, but the record “snuck up on me a bit”. Instead he sent a note of congratulations via the umpire Simon Taufel, who is standing in the match in Karachi.Boucher moved ahead of Healy when he stumped Umar Gul in Pakistan’s first innings and had mixed emotions about the achievement. “In a way it’s a great feeling, but it is also sad to break such a good keeper’s record,” he said.”Ian Healy is someone I used to watch on television as a schoolboy and I used to love the way he kept.” While Boucher is only 30, Adam Gilchrist, who is the closest current gloveman with 381 dismissals, is 35 and nearing the end of his wonderful career.

The ICC has asked the West Indies board (WICB) to investigate the alleged bookie connections against allrounder Marlon Samuels, which were raised by the police on West Indies’ tour of India in February 2007.After receiving a report from its anti-corruption and security unit, the ICC asked the WICB to submit the results of its investigations by January 31, 2008. The ICC said that the report contained allegations that Samuels indulged in “inappropriate activity” and behaved in a manner that was “prejudicial to the interests of the game of cricket”.On February 7, the Nagpur police had charged Samuels with sending team information to Mukesh Kochar, an alleged bookie, on the eve of the first one-dayer in Nagpur on January 21. At the time, Samuels defended himself and said he had known the man for many years and he was a family friend. The ICC allowed Samuels to take part in the World Cup and beyond, pending a final assessment.Julian Hunte, the WICB president, told the that the board would have to look at the matter very closely, as it was a delicate issue. The WICB will submit its report to an official enquiry, comprising Code Of Conduct commission Michael Beloff, QC, and two other Code Of Conduct panel members not connected with West Indies cricket.