The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) has announced two candidates who will contest the election to replace Wes Hall as president of the board. According to an report, Teddy Griffith, a retired banker from Barbados, and Clarvis Joseph, who has served as vice-president of the WICB, will take part in the election, to be held on September 30. Hall had earlier decided not to offer himself for re-election due to ill health.The announcement of these two candidates follows the controversial withdrawal of Chetram Singh from the race. Chetram, president of the Guyana Cricket Board, pulled out after controversy regarding his bookmaking business. That forced the WICB to issue notices inviting fresh nominees.E Val Banks, an Anguillan banker who was elected vice president in Dominica, is currently filling in as president until the September 30 elections.

Sachin Tendulkar has revealed that 14 years of international cricket have taken a heavy toll on his body, but that he does not let that affect his cricket. His injured toe, he told India Today, will never heal. And his performance at the World Cup this year was achieved through the pain barrier, as he struggled with a finger injury that eventually required surgery."My toe injury is not going to heal," he said. "The bone there is broken into pieces." The bodypart in question is the sesamoid bone in his right toe, which had forced him to skip India’s tour of Sri Lanka in 2001.Tendulkar also revealed that a finger injury he picked up last season had threatened his participation in the World Cup. “I couldn’t straighten my hand,” he said. “While batting, I couldn’t flex my fingers comfortably, couldn’t pick up a cup of tea easily. Injections had not worked earlier. The only option was to live with whatever pain was there and to be on pain killers. It was a matter of only six weeks, so I wore a big plaster."He made 673 runs in the event, the most ever in a single World Cup, and helped India reach the final. Then, he went to the US for surgery. And what kept him playing through all that pain? He hates to lose."The only people I have to lose to are my son and daughter," he said. "When they box me, I have to fall down. Otherwise I don’t like losing against anyone in any sport."On a philosophical note, he added, “I’ve been happy on various occasions, but never completely happy. I think it is a good sign. The moment I start sitting back, saying “well done”, that’s probably the end of things.”Tendulkar spoke of how his batsmanship and his role in the team had changed over the years. "Earlier someone else took the responsibility and I just went after the bowling," he said. "Today, being the seniormost means [I have to play] a different role. It is the youngsters who go after the bowling and play their shots."He also said that he had not started thinging about life after cricket yet. "It is hard to imagine my life away from cricket. From the age of 10, for the last 20 years its been only cricket. It is not easy to keep playing, you have to maintain your fitness level. I … just keep trying, not look at how many years are left in me. I have no target. I just want to play.”He was intent on India winning the forthcoming series against New Zealand, he said. “We have to beat New Zealand for sure. In New Zealand last year, there were some wickets where everything washappening. It gave false confidence to the fast bowlers and demoralised the batsmen, who began to look for technical flaws which didn’t exist. It didn’t disturb me because I knew we were playing on tracks that were not of international standards."And what of the tour to Australia later this winter? "We all know what’s in store for us," said Tendulkar. "It’s going to be a tough series andtough men are going to survive there." Despite his broken toe and the ailments that keep cropping up, there is no doubt that Tendulkar is as tough as they come.

South Africa 269 for 6 (Dippenaar 110*, Smith 71, Akhtar 4-49) lost by eight runs to Pakistan 277 for 6 (Malik 82*, Youhana 68, Hameed 56)
ScorecardBoeta Dippenaar did his best, fighting off heat and humidity, testing spells from Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Sami, the wiles of Mushtaq Ahmed and Shoaib Malik, and hundreds of insects swarming under the lights of the Gaddafi stadium, but in the end Pakistan’s total of 277 proved to be just out of the reach of the South Africans. A nerveless final over from Mohammad Sami left them nine runs short of their target, as top-flight cricket returned to Pakistan for the first time since May 2002.Pakistan’s innings was no less riveting, especially the last ten overs. South Africa had kept them under control for most part, but then a spectacular innings by Shoaib Malik, who made 82 off 41 balls and hit five sixes in the last two overs alone, undid all the good work done by South Africa in the first 40 overs of the innings, and took Pakistan to 276 for 6.After Malik’s late charge, Pakistan would have fancied their chances under lights with a full-strength bowling attack, but it turned out to be not so easy after all. Akhtar and Sami beat the bat often in searching first spells, and the first seven overs of the innings yielded just 22. But Smith and Dippenaar, opening the innings in place of the injured Herschelle Gibbs, hung on grimly in difficult conditions, and scrapped it out till the runs began to come a little more easily. Once the opening bowlers were off, the two batsmen took every opportunity to attack the second string. The first 15 overs went for 79, as the two batsmen continued to keep abreast of the asking rate while keeping their wickets intact.But with Smith struggling with cramp, and calling for a runner, it became evident that he would go after the bowling before fatigue overwhelmed him totally, and Inzamam saw his chance and brought Akhtar back for a second spell. Akhtar immediately removed Smith, chipping a catch tamely to mid-on, and then, steaming in at full throttle at the new batsman Jacques Kallis, beat him for pace with a short ball and got him to chop it down onto his stumps (140 for 2).In hindsight, South Africa would consider that they let the game slip away in a little period of play at this juncture of the game. Neil McKenzie came out to join Dippenaar, and with the asking-rate climbing to well over six an over, Inzamam removed Shoaib from the attack and asked the batsmen to force the pace against the spin of Mushtaq and Malik. McKenzie was entirely clueless against the wiles of Mushtaq, and the two batsmen scratched around for several overs. As the overs slipped by, but no increase in the run-rate could be effected, both batsmen acquired an increasingly frantic air.Twice McKenzie skied the ball into the offside in trying to hit down the ground, and both times he was dropped, first by Abdul Razzaq and then by Inzamam. Runs came in fits and starts, although South Africa would have begun to hope again when 16 came off the 43rd over of the innings, bowled by Mushtaq.But with South Africa needing 37 from the last four overs, Akhtar returned again for a third and final spell, and dismissed a tired McKenzie with a clever slower ball (241 for 3). Mark Boucher came out to replace McKenzie, and his wild swipe at Akhtar off his very first ball told observers that this was a contest that could have only one conclusion. Three balls later, Akhtar knocked out his leg-stump with an inswinging yorker. And in the next over, Shaun Pollock hit the ball he received to straight to Inzamam at cover and departed for a first-ball duck.All this while, Dippenaar had kept one end up, and with the match having almost slipped away, he lofted Akhtar for four in the penultimate over to bring up his hundred, and then played an astonishing stroke to bring South Africa back into contention, an effortless flicked six off the same bowler that brought the target down to 14 off seven balls. But that was the closest that South Africa came to scenting victory.Pakistan owed their victory, though, to Malik as much as to Akhtar. Malik came in with Pakistan 167 for 4 in the 39th over, about thirty runs short of what they would have liked to be at that stage after two wasteful run-outs. A natural hitter of the ball, he played with great flair from the very beginning, keeping pace with Inzamam-ul-Haq in a partnership of 74 for the fifth wicket.None of the South African bowlers bowled at a pace that could trouble him, and as he grew in confidence he proceeded to get down on one knee to the bowlers, get his left leg out of the way, and mow the bowling over mid-wicket and mid-on.The last two overs, bowled by Shaun Pollock and Jacques Kallis respectively, were carted for 42 runs. Even in an age in which a number of batsmen excel in this kind of late-innings hitting, Malik’s strokemaking, his exceptional eye, and immense power and co-ordination all stood out.Malik’s half-century was the third made by a Pakistani batsman on the day, and undoubtedly the most crucial. Earlier, Yasir Hameed and Yousuf Youhana played accomplished innings, but both were out just when they would have been looking to up the scoring-rate.Hameed started confidently, helped by some loose bowling from Makhaya Ntini, and looked as assured as he had against the Bangladeshis. He lost his opening partner Mohammad Hafeez in the fifth over – Hafeez struggled to get Pollock away and after 15 dot-balls he worked him straight to square-leg – but batted sensibly in the company of Youhana, working the ball away for singles and picking up the odd boundary with drives through the off side or his trademark flick over midwicket.The eventual manner of his dismissal would have surprised no one who saw Hameed and Youhana bat together in the one-day internationals against Bangladesh. Hameed punched the left-arm spinner Peterson towards long-off and set off for a run, but Graeme Smith made good ground at cover to cut the ball off, and Hameed was left stranded halfway down the wicket by Youhana, who let his attention be diverted by the fielder. Youhana was run out in a similar mix-up with Hameed in the first one-day international against Bangladesh when one short of a half-century, and now he returned the compliment and sent Hameed on his way for 56 (100 for 2).Younis Khan too ran himself out after playing himself in, and finally Youhana himself failed to carry a good start through to the end, nicking a ball from Andrew Hall and departing for 68 (167 for 4). But as it turned out, he needn’t have worried, for Malik was more than up to the task of carrying Pakistan through to a sizeable total. South Africa’s bowling and fielding was disciplined for the best part of the innings, but Smith would have left the field conscious of the lack of penetration in the bowling, and especially the thinness of his spin bowling resources.Peterson’s eight overs of left-arm spin were no more than adequate, and with Makhaya Ntini having an off-day, too much responsibility was thrust on the shoulders of Kallis, Andrew Hall and Alan Dawson. In the end, not even Pollock could escape the force of the flashing blade of Malik, as he played one of the very best late-order innings ever seen in one-day international cricket.

He was heckled by a spectator, and took a while to start finding the middle of his bat, but Western Australia captain Justin Langer had the last laugh with a determined return to form in the Pura Cup match against New South Wales at the Sydney Cricket Ground today.Brimming with renewed confidence late on day three, Langer hit a succession of boundaries to finish unbeaten on 81 in WA’s second innings of 1-154.NSW claimed first innings points by making 436, a lead of 60, but a draw was the most likely result going into the final day unless the Blues bowlers, headed by spinners Simon Katich and Liam Zammit, are able to take a bundle of quick wickets early tomorrow morning on a turning track.The best players over the first three days have all been from WA – but two of them are playing for NSW.Simon Katich (182 not out) and Matthew Nicholson (42), both formerly of the Warriors, ensured the Blues motored past WA’s first innings of 376 with a brisk 84-run partnership.Katich was superb in his 425-minute, 326-ball stay, punching 23 fours and a six into the Brewongle Stand, while Nicholson offered invaluable support and clubbed medium-pacer Peter Worthington for three fours in an over to earn the Blues the two points.Langer and his opening partner Mike Hussey arrived at the crease just before 3pm and took their time to get going, dead-batting the majority of deliveries against the new ball.Nicholson’s opening salvo of the innings jumped sharply off a good length and caught Langer on the gloves, but the ball fell away from the ring of fieldsmen.A member of the crowd yelled disparaging remarks at the WA skipper straight after tea, but the heckler was silenced when Langer started swinging freely thereafter, with NSW employing no less than eight bowlers.Hussey showed glimpses of his prolific English county form with a carefully crafted 53.He was caught by Phil Jaques attempting to hook NSW captain Steve Waugh just seven overs before stumps, but nightwatchman Beau Casson hung around to make an unbeaten 17.Langer’s previous highest score in six innings this season for Australia and WA had been 26 in the first Test against Zimbabwe. He charged Zammit and hit the 22-year-old back over his head for four and six from successive deliveries to confirm his departure from the mini-slump.

Hyderabad 177 and 309 (Manohar 57, Khaleel 72*) beat Karnataka 100 (Narender Pal 6-31) and 89 (Faiz 6-29) by 297 runs
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Karnataka’s batting misery continued as they collapsed in a heap for the second time in the match allowing Hyderabad, the hosts, to romp home by 297 runs. Chasing 387 for victory, Karnataka were blown away by Faiz Ahmed, the left-arm medium-pacer, who had magical figures of 6 for 29. Earlier Ibrahim Khaleel, the wicketkeeper, hit a plucky half-century to help set Karnataka a daunting target.Railways 208 and 137 beatUttar Pradesh 71 (Parida 5-18) and 122 (Parida 5-47) by 152 runs
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Kulamani Parida’s offspin proved too hot for UP as Railways recorded a crushing victory at Varanasi. At 100 for 4, chasing 275, UP seemed on course for their first victory of the season, but Parida’s magic resulted in the last six batsmen tumbling for only 22. Earlier Jai Prakash Yadav (37) and Shreyas Khandolkar (30) had put Railways in the driving seat.Andhra162 for 3 (MSK Prasad 68*) trail Mumbai504 for 6 dec by 342 runs
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Andhra made slow progress on the third day at Vijayawada, with MSK Prasad, the former Indian wicketkeeper, anchoring the innings. Prasad has spent close to seven hours in the middle, consumed 262 balls, and exhibited the utmost restraint. He received good support from Amit Pathak, who hit a steady 40, as they put on 87 for the second wicket.Delhi 310 and 72 for 0 trail Punjab385 (Yuvraj 138) by 3 runs
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Delhi fought back through Narender Negi and Sanjay Gill on the third day at Chandigarh. Punjab failed to capitalise on the great platform built by Yuvraj Singh and Pankaj Dharmani, as their last eight batsmen fell for only 161 runs. Gill and Negi, the two Delhi medium-pacers, finished with four wickets apiece, and after dominating proceedings yesterday, Punjab finished up with a slender lead of 75. Rajat Bhatia and Salil Oberoi were undefeated at stumps, hauling Delhi close to parity with their 72-run opening stand.Bengal 246 and 111 for 3 lead Assam 347 (Sukhvinder 115*) by 10 runs
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Assam added another 59 in the morning session, to gain a lead of 101 over Bengal at Kolkata. This was largely down to Sukhvinder Singh, whose fine hundred included 19 fours. Bengal battled hard to erase the deficit, and ended the day 10 runs in front, although they have lost three wickets. AP Chakroborty top-scored with 44.Gujarat 273 for 6 (Christian 112, Parmar 82) trail Tamil Nadu 372 (Sharath 155, Vidyut 50) by 99 runs
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Akash Christian’s valuable hundred and Mukund Parmar’s patient half-century helped Gujarat claw their way back into the match against Tamil Nadu at Ahmedabad. Christian, unbeaten on 50 overnight, hit 17 fours in his 277-ball innings, and continued a rich vein of form this season. R Ramkumar was the most successful bowler for Tamil Nadu, finishing with 4 for 54.Kerala 231 and 95 for 1 (Somasundar 57*) trail Baroda 411 (RA Parab 104, Patel 67) by 85 runs
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Baroda’s strong batting display put Kerala on the back foot on the third day of their match at Vadodara. There were some very useful partnerships in the Baroda middle order, then Rakesh Patel’s 67 was a valuable bonus at the end. He hit seven fours and a six, and was the last man out as Baroda finished with a comfortable 411. Kerala fought back in the last session with Sujit Somasundar, the former Indian opener, compiling a good half-century.Plate Championship Second RoundOrissa 204 and 14 for 0 trail Maharashtra 77 and 439 for 8 dec (Jhadav 200, Aphale 100) by 299 runs
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Maharashtra made up for their batting debacle on the first morning by amassing 439 on the third day at Cuttack. Dheeraj Jhadav smashed 200 and Kaushik Aphale a round hundred to set Orissa a target of 313 in their final innings. Jhadav’s monumental effort spanned ten-and-a-half hours, during which he carted 17 fours and a six. Aphale, who faced 242 balls and hit nine fours himself, helped Jhadav add 204 for the fourth wicket.Tripura 216 for 3 (Roy 105*, Dhand 55) trail Haryana 461 for 6 dec (Ganda 95, Rawat 68) by 245 runs
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T Roy led the Tripura riposte after they had chased leather on the first two days at Rohtak. Sohale Dhand complemented Roy’s fine unbeaten century, and they put on 127 for the fourth wicket. Tripura are still 245 in arrears and will need another good batting performance tomorrow.Vidharbha 387 and 29 for 0 lead Madhya Pradesh 327 (Ojha 79, Bundela 85) by 89 runs
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Madhusudhan Acharya’s 4 for 84 played a vital role in gaining Vidharbha a 60-run lead on the third day of the Plate A match at Indore. Devendra Bundela compiled a dour 85 for MP, but that was not enough to overhaul Vidharba’s total. Nikhil Ojha’s 79 and Syed Abbas Ali’s 44 were the other highlights of the MP innings.Goa 142 and 16 for 0 trail Services 212 and 179 (Reddy 55, Jakati 6-42) by 234 runs
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Shadab Jakati, the left-arm spinner, gave Goa the upper hand by bowling out Services for 179 at Panjim. Madhusudhan Reddy hit a sedate 55, and his 94-run with Jasvir Singh (44) for Services’ second wicket raised hopes of a big total. Goa will have to chase down a target of 250 on the final day, in a match where the momentum has swung with regularity.Jammu & Kashmir 115 and 217 for 5 (Gupta 51*, Vijay Sharma 61*) beat Bihar 159 and 172 (Dhoni 64) by 5 wickets
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Ashwani Gupta and Vijay Sharma put on an unbroken stand of 83 as J&K cruised home by five wickets at Jammu. Sharma turned on the heat as he blasted 61 runs in 65 balls, with nine fours and a six. Shahid Khan – the first-innings hero – was the pick of the bowlers with 4 for 42, but he couldn’t prevent J&K’s first win of the season.

A report in India Today magazine claims that India’s players are seeking assurances from the Indian board (BCCI) about their personal safety before agreeing to travel to Pakistan for March’s ground-breaking series.The article adds that several players believe that the BCCI has spent more time focusing on the financial windfall likely to accrue from the games than it has on the welfare of the team.”Is anyone in the BCCI going to do a recce before the tour and see what the arrangements are for the team?” the magazine quotes an unnamed player as saying. “We get a feeling they are happy to just have the tour and send us off. There seems to be more talk of television revenues rather than security which is disturbing.”Recent reports have indicated that the tour could generate huge sums of money, with the cash-strapped Pakistan Cricket Board alone set to earn around $30 million in broadcast and sponsorship rights.Jagmohan Dalmiya, the BCCI president, dismissed the concerns, insisting that he had been in regular touch with the Pakistan board to discuss all aspects of the tour, including player security.

New Zealand Cricket (NZC) officials have given Westpac Stadium the thumbs-up for the third New Zealand – South Africa ODI after an inspection of the weather-affected ground.Martin Snedden, the chief executive, said that the ground was in good condition, barring dampness in the field, which was expected to dry out in time for the game on Friday.”NZC high performance manager John Reid inspected the ground today and he was pleasantly surprised at the condition of the ground given the recent high levels of rain in Wellington,” Snedden said. “The wicket looks good and Trevor Jackson [the groundsman] is comfortable that the dampness in the outfield will dry out over the next couple of days. He is confident everything will be ready for this Friday provided the weather is reasonable.”

Kent today announced a pre-tax profit of £51,725 for the year ending October 31, 2003. This compares with a profit of £20,927 in 2002, and a loss of £22,083 in 2001.Carl Openshaw, the chairman, said, "It is encouraging to be able to report an increased profit for the year and a continuation of the improving trend in recent years."Openshaw added that the major factors which contributed to the increased turnover were the weather, which helped a record number of match receipts, the success of the Twenty20 Cup, and the launch of the new ground at Beckenham."Although we enjoyed a successful year both on and off the field, we are aware that finances in cricket remain precarious, and we continue to be grateful for the excellent support we receive from our sponsors, members and commercial partners."

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Victoria moved within striking distance of winning the Pura Cup, taking six Queensland wickets late on the third day at the MCG. Almost guaranteed of their first domestic title since 1990-91 after posting a mammoth 710, Victoria took a giant stride towards victory after legspinner Cameron White’s three wickets sparked a Queensland collapse just before tea.Queensland finished the day at 6 for 177, with Martin Love unbeaten on 22, but still trailed by a daunting 533 runs. Love, Queensland’s usual No. 3, came in at No. 6 after spending most of the day at the team hotel with a sinus infection.Jimmy Maher, the Queensland captain, was leg-before in Jonathan Moss’s first over for 72 shortly before the close, ending almost four hours of resistance. Moss then had Chris Hartley for a duck in his next over. White finished with 3 for 36, and Moss had 2 for 2.Although facing a almost impossible ask to get within sight of Victoria’s total, Queensland were on course when Maher and Clinton Perren negotiated the initial onslaught. But with the score on 85, Perren (40) edged Michael Lewis and Darren Berry held a diving one-handed catch.White then took two wickets in 10 balls. Stuart Law (18) spooned a wide ball to David Hussey at cover and then Chris Simpson was trapped in front. White later grabbed his third wicket when James Hopes was adjudged leg-before for 5, sweeping across the line.Victoria continued to bat in the morning, eventually posting the highest score in a Sheffield Shield/Pura Cup final. It was also the highest score in Australian domestic cricket in over 60 years. Their total overtook the 664 that Queensland scored in the 1994-95 final against South Australia at the Gabba, and was the highest score in a state match since South Australia made 7 for 821 against Queensland at Adelaide in 1939-40.

Thirteen members of the Zimbabwe cricket team, including Heath Streak, the captain, and Grant Flower, their most-capped player, have released an open statement outlining their grievances with the Zimbabwe Cricket Union.The statement runs to six pages, and contains nine main points. The players detail their concerns over political interference in selection, claiming that “deserving players of all races have been excluded from both the national team and the Zimbabwe A team solely because of their race or region from which they come”. This, the players say, goes against the ZCU’s stated mission statement that it “will develop cricket for the benefit of all Zimbabweans without discrimination of any kind”.The players’ statement also details specific instances of interference in selection, claiming that Mark Vermeulen, a white batsman, was offered “a double match fee, not to play” in a one-day international for which he’d already been selected, so that Stuart Matsikenyeri could play instead. The statement also names a black journalist, Mehluli Sibanda, who the players claim received telephone threats [not to side with Streak] from a member of the board.The players have called for a new selection committee for the national team. They say it should not include anyone with a conflict of interest – ZCU board directors or employees, commentators, coach and captain – and that members should either be experienced coaches or former Test or first-class players. To emphasise that their concerns are not racist, the players suggest that the minimum qualifications are not discriminatory – indeed “it would in our view be easy for a selection panel to be established with a majority of qualified black Zimbabweans”. They suggest that Ethan Dube and Mpumelelo “Pommie” Mbangwa might be ideal for the post, provided that Mbangwa is prepared to abandon his fledgling career as a TV pundit.Concern is also raised about the way in which Streak was sacked as captain without a proper hearing. The players say they have been reliably informed that the decision to terminate Streak’s contract “was made by three board members”, and was “motivated by a personal and non-sporting agenda”.The players claim that a clear-the-air meeting on April 9 was conducted “in an extremely hostile environment, with insinuations made by some individuals within the Board that our negotiating committee had a hidden agenda”. The statement continues: “One member of the Board stormed out of this meeting, and others were very animated and aggressive during proceedings. The ZCU lawyer excused himself from the proceedings early, even though our meeting was premised on the basis that the ZCU lawyer would be present throughout all negotiations”.”We believe that politics should play no part in sport,” say the players, who conclude by regretting the need for the statement: “In all the circumstances we believe that we have no option but to collectively stand up for our principles,” adding that “unless we take action the cancer that is eroding the game in Zimbabwe will not be dealt with”. Finally they appeal: “To the chairman of the ZCU, the reasonable remainder of the board, and members of the ICC to act against those on the ZCU board who have been responsible, in our view, for these very distressing developments.”The 13 signatories, who are all white, are Heath Streak, Stuart Carlisle, Grant Flower, Craig Wishart, Andy Blignaut, Raymond Price, Gary Brent, Sean Ervine, Travis Friend, Barney Rogers, Trevor Gripper, Richard Sims and Neil Ferreira. Time will tell whether this was their last act in Zimbabwean cricket.