The South African board (UCBSA) has asked for assurances that Herschelle Gibbs and Nicky Boje will not be questioned by police investigation match-fixing if the scheduled tour to India takes place later this year.Gerald Majola, the UCBSA’s chief executive, said that he had spoken to Jagmohan Dalmiya, president of the Indian board (BCCI), earlier today and asked for his assistance. “I realise that the BCCI cannot give any guarantees on behalf of the police authorities, however I have requested that he assist us in finding the right person or persons with whom we can communicate about this matter,” Majola told reporters. “He has given me an undertaking to respond to our request as soon as possible.”We do not, under any circumstances, want to see any of our players putin a position where they have to go through police interrogation when theyare on a cricket tour, we want to sort this issue out quickly.”Majola said that Rev. Makhenkesi Stofile, South Africa’s minister for sport, would be contacted by the UCBSA for any assistance he could provide at an inter-governmental level. He refused to be drawn on whether the players might be left out if no guarantee was forthcoming. “At this stage there is no thought of any of our players being withdrawn from the tour. We will assess thesituation once we have all the relevant information.”However, Ray Mali, the UCBSA president, said at a local meeting in East London that the board would not send Gibbs and Boje to India if there was the slightest chance that the two could be picked up by police. He asserted, “It is very important that there are guarantees in place that the two players will not be arrested.”Meanwhile, in Delhi, the commissioner of police, KK Paul, said that the cases against Gibbs and Boje had not been closed. “The case is obviously open,” he explained. But it’s all too early to give any guarantees that no police action will be taken, especially because no one has bothered to get in touch with us.”

USA 141 for 4 (Johnson 46, Leverock 3-34) and 297 for 9 dec lead Bermuda 201 for 8 dec (Smith 62, Nasir 3-62) by 237 runs
ScorecardThe USA will take a commanding lead of 237 runs with six wickets in hand into the final day’s play of their Intercontinental Cup match against Bermuda. On the second day at the National Sports Centre, they finished at 141 for 4 in their second inningsm after Bermuda had declared their first innings closed on 201 for 8.The home side carefully navigated their innings on a pitch that has occupied the minds of the batsmen for what it might do rather than what it is doing. Bermuda started the day’s play at 18 for 0, having already faced 13 overs. By lunch, the scoring rate had only improved slightly, but four wickets had fallen. It took a brilliant knock from Clay Smith, the captain, to start a recovery.His innings of 62 off 142 balls finally ended when he miscued a hook shot back to Howard Johnson, the bowler. But the eighth wicket partnership with Dwayne Leverock produced 67 runs, and brought the home side close to attaining the maximum bonus points for scoring 200. Once that target was reached, the Bermudans declared, with 3.1 overs remaining and two wickets intact.But any hopes of Bermuda picking up early wickets were firmly quashed by Mark Johnson and Jignesh Desai, the two USA openers. Both took turns in smashing the opening bowlers to the boundary at will. The injured Johnson led the way, stroking 3 fours and 2 sixes in his knock of 46. The scoreboard ticked over rapidly, with the 100 put up in the 21st over.Leverock, the left-arm spinner, continued his fine allround display, though, capturing the wickets of Steve Massiah (12), the first innings centurion, and Richard Staples, the captain. However, Naseer Javed and Aijaz Ali got together and put on an unbeaten 38 as the lead swelled to a commanding 237.With the hard hitting Clayton Lambert and the very capable Charles Reid left to bat, the third morning should be an interesting one. The USA must give themselves enough time to bowl Bermuda out, as only an outright win will give them any chance of advancing to the semi-finals in Dubai, after an earlier defeat to Canada.As for Bermuda, they must hope for a draw here, and victory when they meet the Canadians in Toronto next month.

They’re not the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders. This is Dino’s Troupe’s first gig here, and they love it. They like the crowd. The crowd loves them back. Both celebrate the moment with passion, especially when the moment includes a felled Australian. In quieter times they prance about, arms and legs flailing as they rouse the crowd into action. The response has been good.The crowds have fed off their relentless energy, and from the beginning till the end of the day their belief that India will win has not faltered. It is a minor victory for these college students moonlighting as cheerleaders. India winning would be a bigger victory, but they’re nearly a hundred runs behind, so that can wait.These students who form Dino’s Troupe can also dance. They know western and jive. They’ve danced at big shows before, and this one’s no different, except it’s on a larger scale. They were contacted by a company and asked if they’d like to spread cheer at a Test. Sure, they said, and were put up at a top hotel overlooking the sea. Besides cheering, they can’t do much else on matchdays. They travel from the hotel to the stadium in the morning, and then right back into the clutches of five-star luxury in the evening.It’s not bad, one says. She’s sitting by herself, wiping her eyes dry. It’s mild asthma, caused by the dust and the heat and the shouting. She says the organisers keep the troupe busy with quizzes and other things. Why they can’t leave the hotel, she doesn’t know, but she likes it. She might not be with the troupe much longer because of her parents’ wishes.Meanwhile, the others have their minds on more immediate things. They run the length of the stand in train formation, and spectators in the first row keep their legs well under their seats as the express whizzes by. Then the train stops, and they turn to face the seats. “C’mon c’mon everybody say I-N-D-I-A,” someone yells. It’s Dino – short for Dinesh Chauhan. He and Swati began this operation a few years ago. Most of the dancers didn’t know each other, but knew how to dance. They networked, got together, and practised regularly. Right now Dinesh is getting the crowd together with his arms raised. They catch on gradually. Then comes a religious chant. Followed by another one that’s more generic, and a darn sight more classy than the “Aussies suck” that reverberated round the stadium yesterday. That didn’t even rhyme.Swati walks over and says hello. She’s doing her masters in mathematics. Right now she’s talking, but is clearly making an effort to do so because her throat is almost hoarse. How’s she going to do this for the whole Test? Just then, another wicket falls. At this rate, it might not last more than one more day. She shrugs and says it’s OK. She likes inciting the crowds and waving the pom-poms.Swati can’t stay for long because she has a paid job to do. She runs down the steps and rejoins her group, who are in the middle of another catchy chant. They jump around, waving whatever’s in their hands, and whistle, and scream, and laugh, and get everyone involved. It’s so natural, it’s catchy. These aren’t paid professionals. They’re having fun and getting paid for it. It’s cool. It’s rather like being a sports writer.Rahul Bhatia is on the staff of Wisden Cricinfo in India.

Scorecard

Namibia finished their tour of Zimbabwe with a good match against Matabeleland, although they lost in the end by 23 runs with 13 balls unbowled. The decisive performance was a century from Mark Vermeulen, who should have played his way into the national team for the upcoming one-day series against England. He made a rapid century, although the most notable incident was the unusual manner of his dismissal.Namibia were required to field first for the only time on their tour. Matabeleland’s openers battled through some very good early bowling, with Tinashe Hove going on to make an impressive 80. This laid the foundation for Vermeulen’s 105 off 96 balls, with ten fours. He was finally dismissed when he went for a hasty second run to his partner’s hit into the deep. He was probably not in real danger of being run out, but as the throw passed him, with the bowler preparing to receive it, he thrust his bat at it and deflected it to the boundary. On appeal he was given out obstructing the field.Matabeleland totalled 272 – exactly the same score as in their previous game, in which Vermeulen made 91 – but Jan-Berrie Burger gave Namibia a rollicking start with 71 off 58 balls. The rest put up a good effort right to the end, but did not have quite enough batting depth to pull off an unlikely victory. Chris Mpofu was the best of the bowlers with 3 for 45.
Scorecard
In a good match at Kwekwe Sports Club, Midlands beat Manicaland by 65 runs. It was a good allround performance, with the most encouraging individual effort being a disciplined 64 from the often-prodigal prodigy, Vusi Sibanda.Midlands, batting first, scored 254. Besides Sibanda, Conan Brewer made 46, and Prosper Utseya contributed an aggressive 41 from just 24 balls. Manicaland looked in the hunt at 135 for 3 at the halfway stage, with Stuart Matsikenyeri going strong. But Matsikenyeri was then dismissed for 59, and the rest of the batting failed sadly, with the offspinner Hilary Matanga returning the best figures of 3 for 27.

Virender Sehwag, the Man of the Match in the deciding game of the series, admitted that the Indian team were very upset with their shock loss in the second game, and wanted to make certain there was no repeat of the fiasco. “Of course we were very upset because we lost against Bangladesh,” said Sehwag. “We don’t deserve to lose against Bangladesh. We came here with a very positive mindset and were ready to give them a good total if we batted first. We decided we won’t give them any chance to come back in this game.”Sehwag himself has had a poor run in the three-week tour of Bangladesh, but made amends with a brisk 70. “I was a little bit upset with my performance because I didn’t get runs in the last three innings against Bangladesh,” he said. “I was pretty confident. I wanted to bat the first five overs easily and then may be I would get a good, big score.”Mohammad Kaif, who won the Man-of-the-Series award for his consistent performances, explained that he has been in good nick in the last few months. “I think I have been hitting the ball well, not only in Bangladesh but it started from England I guess. I got promoted and batted at No.3 and 4. I’ve been very lucky, I’ve kept my rhythm going in the nets.”Meanwhile there was plenty to be happy about in the other camp as well. “I’m happy with the progression both with individuals and with the team, since the New Zealand series,” said Dav Whatmore, the Bangladesh coach. “Mashrafe Mortaza has made a strong comeback and Khaled Mahmud has found some form as well.”Buoyed by Bangladesh’s strong showing against India, Whatmore and his team were eagerly looking forward to the forthcoming home series against Zimbabwe. “The series can’t come quick enough,” he said. “We want to play tomorrow.”When asked whether yesterday’s surprise win against India had proved some of the points Whatmore had been making over the past few months, he said: “It did. I know it was not a full strength Indian team but still it was a strong opposition. This match was a great effort, it was a sort of strong effort that will win you matches even against other teams. The way we fought when we bowled and fielded made me very proud.”

Shoaib Akhtar has been reprimanded by the Pakistan Cricket Board and fined US$500 for displaying “erratic behaviour”, after appearing before a disciplinary committee to answer charges that he had violated his PCB contract.”We have heard Mr Shoaib Akhtar at length and have gone through the record placed before us,” said the PCB in a statement. “We are of the considered opinion that this is a case, at the most, of indiscipline. It seems that [Shoaib] has taken the Code of Conduct very lightly and has displayed erratic behaviour.”The statement added that the PCB hoped Shoaib would abide by the Code of Conduct in future, and “behave in the best interest of cricket and Pakistan”.The committee was chaired by Justice Amir Alam Khan and included Abdul Salam Khawar, Maqbool Elahi Malik and Syed Asghar Haider, the PCB’s legal adviser. This hearing took place a day before the Pakistani selectors sit down to pick the team that will tour India.Wasim Bari, Pakistan’s chief selector, told the media on Monday that Shoaib was still carrying a niggling injury and needed all the rest he could get in order to be fully fit for the series against India. “Akhtar has informed me that he still carries a niggle and needs time to recover,” AFP quoted Bari as saying.”I have conveyed to him that Pakistan needs a fully fit Akhtar for the important India tour,” added Bari. “We have requested the Pakistan Cricket Board to provide us a full fitness report on each player so that we can decide on the team when we meet on Friday.”However, Bari said that he hoped Shoaib knew what he was doing. “It’s his own decision not to play [in a domestic match to prove fitness], it’s for his own good that he attains full fitness through a match, because his reputation as the spearhead is at stake.”But Pakistan have more fitness worries than just Shoaib. Mohammad Sami and Mohammad Khalil, two other fast bowlers, both picked up injuries during Pakistan’s recent tour of Australia and are in the process of recovering. Shabbir Ahmed, who is recuperating from a knee surgery, and Umar Gul, who is suffering with a stress fracture, have been ruled out of taking any part in the Indian tour.

The West Zone and South Zone team gathered in Hyderabad have expressed their satisfaction with the facilities at the brand-new Uppal Cricket Stadium. There were three practice wickets for the teams to use, as the Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA) pulled out all the stops in a bid to convince those present that India’s newest venue was ready to stage international cricket.Speaking to , Shivlal Yadav, the HCA secretary, said, “We have taken every precaution to ensure that there are no complaints. Floodlighting project is different and it should cost about Rs 6 crore [60 million].” The HCA has already spent Rs 22 crore on the stadium so far and another Rs 13 crore needs to be spent to finish off the clubhouse, swimming pool, and other recreational facilities.The pitch is ready for Sachin Tendulkar’s first match back after a tennis elbow problem, and even the commentary boxes are in mint condition even though there will be no telecast of the Duleep Trophy match. Nearly 30,000 spectatos are expected fo a match between the Pakistanis and India A at the end of March.

The ICC has revealed that Namibia will host the semi-finals and final of the ICC Intercontinental Cup in October.The semi-finals will take place between October 23 and 25 with the final taking place from October 27 to 30. All matches will be staged in the capital Windhoek with the final scheduled to take place at the Wanderers Club.Namibia Cricket Board President, Laurie Pieters, said that the preparations for the finals were already underway. “The awarding of the finals of this prestigious ICC event to our country is a major boost for cricket and those that love the sport in Namibia. We already have the grounds and facilities required and preparations have now begun to ensure that we are ready to welcome the regional winners.”The second season of the Intercontinental Cup will begin later this month. The reigning champions, Scotland, will begin their title defence with a difficult away tie against Holland on July 29. Scotland won the inaugural competition last year without losing a match, but Holland ran the winners closer than any other side in a keenly-contested draw at Aberdeen. With home advantage in 2005, Holland will be looking to inflict a first defeat on the holders.Hong Kong are the only new side in the 12-team tournament. They replace Malaysia in the Asia regional qualifiers and will begin their campaign in Nepal on 24 April.The Americas region looks set to produce an intense contest with the three qualifying matches scheduled for Toronto in Canada between August 23 and September 2.The competition format remains unchanged. The top team from each of the four regions will progress to the semi-finals and final in Namibia.There have been minor changes to the points structure with more rewards available for first innings runs. Full details of the tournament rules and playing conditions can be found at www.icc-intercontinentalcup.com.

Heath Streak, the former Zimbabwe captain, has hit back at Andy Flower’s accusation, made in May’s edition of The Wisden Cricketer, that he ended his year-long protest against the Zimbabwe Cricket Union (ZCU) too soon, and returned to international cricket before any relevant changes had been implemented. Streak and several others withdrew from the team early last year in protest at what they termed the racist selection policies that the ZCU had adopted.”At no stage did I force the other players into not playing international cricket,” Streak was quoted as saying on the cricket365.com website. “I made it clear to them the risks they were taking, and the decision taken was a collective one. I feel that Andy is not fully up to speed with what has been going on in Zimbabwe cricket recently.”Streak, who is currently playing county cricket with Warwickshire, returned to the international scene last month against South Africa, along with Andy Blignaut. Streak also mentioned that the ZCU had agreed to act on the recommendations put forward by the rebels.”The ICC commission that investigated Zimbabwe cricket made recommendations to the ZCU about selection issues,” said Streak. “The ZCU have agreed to act on the report, and the situation is now much better than it was.”I regret that the matter took the course it did and went on as long as it did,” he continued. “But we have settled our differences and now the aim is to make sure that we perform well on the international stage.”Zimbabwe were thrashed by South Africa 2-0 in Tests and 3-0 in one-day internationals last month. New Zealand are scheduled to visit them in August, although that series is currently in some doubt, with political pressure being applied by the New Zealand government.

John Gloster, India’s new physiotherapist, had a high-profile case early in his tenure: Sachin Tendulkar. Nagraj Gollapudi asked him for the latest medical bulletin on the most famous elbow in India:

When you took over the Indian team you must have had a look at the elbow then. Did you fear that something like this would happen?
With a problem like this you can never really say for certain what is going to happen. But he got through the Pakistan series really well. He was very good with the protocol we set for him, but before that series we had told him we couldn’t guarantee that he would be pain-free or would not have discomfort from it. But he battled through, and surprisingly for the majority of the time he was pretty good.Did Sachin complain about any pain during the Pakistan series?
Overall he was pretty good. He had off days but they were certainly not as bad as they had been in the past.So was surgery the only option?
During the break he was going to London and while he was there we felt that he should consult the specialists who had carried out the operation last September. We compared the sets of scans they had then along with the latest ones, and there were changes in the scans. The surgeon reviewed the scans along with myself and Sachin together, and felt that there were some degenerative changes occurring in the extensor tendons of the elbow, and these changes looked to be progressive. So with that mind he basically put the situation to Sachin, and said that once he started playing again they couldn’t guarantee that he wouldn’t require treatment. The option was given to him to have surgery.How safe is this surgery?
The outcomes from this type of surgery are generally very good. I know the surgeon Dr Andrew Wallace, who is originally from Sydney and has been regarded as one of the top specialists in the United Kingdom for a long while. So after having had a couple of meetings with him and weighing up the entire situation – worst-case scenario, Sachin’s level of activity, etc – we came to the conclusion that surgery was an option. Obviously, Sachin was made aware of all this and he gave the go-ahead. If he was going to play for only one more year then surgery might not have been indicated but we all agree that he has got a number of years ahead, and with those long-term prospects we felt that surgery would help that.What do you mean by “degenerative tissue”?
It’s a worn tissue. Because it doesn’t have a good blood supply it becomes poor, and there is micro-tearing. By doing the surgery then you are artificially healing it – you are making it stronger and more durable.But there is no guarantee that the problem won’t recur?
There is no guarantee. But with the results that Wallace has had, he reports that he has never had a case that has come back – the worst-case scenario was that the condition was still the same as what it was pre-operatively. But the percentage of success rate is extremely high.Does Sachin feel better now after the surgery?
He’ll not be able to tell that for a while. It will be very uncomfortable for the initial week or ten days, because he has had an open surgery. He was in good spirits and very confident, though a bit drowsy.The doctors have said it may take about 16 weeks for a full recovery. Is that right?
Yes, that’s about right. We will give it the best possible chance of full recovery, and then start a graded return to strength training and then a graded return to batting.So you are confident that this surgery will, more or less, put an end to Sachin’s tennis-elbow problem?
Certainly. There are other things [we could have done], like we could just keep going and hope that day by day we would get him past each match. But Sachin is a perfectionist and an elite athlete, and for the players that belong to this category it only needs very, very minor change to upset them – to upset their rhythm, to upset their technique, to upset their concentration … and a 1 or 2% change in the pain-level for Sachin might perhaps be enough to distract him to the point where it is upsetting his game. So we are trying to give him every opportunity to not get distracted.Does he now need to rest completely?
For the intial four to six weeks, yes, as the tendon tissue requires that minimum period to heal. Then it’s a gradual recovery to get back. Unfortunately he is left-handed, but he is confident.