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Shaharyar Khan, the chairman of the Pakistan board, believes Bob Woolmershould not be giving out unnecessary statements to themedia. There were reports in some sections of thelocal press in Pakistan on Tuesday that Shaharyar had called Woolmer toask him to avoid making comments to the press. TheNews quoted sources within the board: “Basically thePCB chief told Woolmer he should only speak when it isabsolutely necessary to the press and only give issue-related statements.”The source added, “Shaharyar told him that too many statements didn’t help the team or thePCB and only made things more complicated foreveryone.” Apparently, Khan also discussed theincreasingly contentious issue of Woolmer’s website,which he has used often to answer criticism from thelocal media, and also his ongoing verbal battle withex-coach Javed Miandad.Abbas Zaidi, the PCB’s media director, toldCricinfo: “I cannot say exactly whether or not thechairman has spoken to Woolmer about it. But I cantell you that he does believe Woolmer shouldn’t bemaking all these comments, at least not to the extentthat he has been. The reasoning behind it is that itthen becomes a slanging match – he said this and hesaid that – and he should keep a distance from thesethings.”Zaidi did reveal that Shaharyar had spoken to the teamin Australia. “He believes there is no point incriticising the team further. They are already shakenand embarrassed, so hitting them while they are downwill further damage their morale. But he has conveyedto them some words of encouragement, as a chairman, totry and forget what has happened and move on toMelbourne [the venue of the second Test, which starts on December 26].”Shaharyar’s words of encouragement come in the faceof increasingly hysterical and trenchant criticism inPakistan at the nature of the team’s capitulation atPerth. Some journalists and ex-players have reignitedthe issue of Woolmer’s passport, questioning whether aforeign coach can work successfully with Pakistan.Even the Federal Minister of Sports, Ajmal Khan,weighed in with his views, claiming he didn’t think aforeign coach would communicate effectively withPakistani players.Most vocal has been Javed Miandad, who has repeatedlyquestioned Woolmer’s aptitude for the job as well ascasting doubt over his commitment. Miandad had reactedangrily to statements that Woolmer was seeking theservices of a sports psychologist for his “mentallyawed” team after the defeat. He told Dawn newspaper:”Criticising one’s own team with such remarks is aninsult of not only the players but of the entirenation, and it would be better if the coach handles thesituation by motivating the players. To me by usingthe word mental confusion, the coach is labelling hisplayers as mentally disturbed people and that is alsothe insult of the nation.”Zaidi responded to the barrage of criticism: “We runthe game, so we take the blame. The media arebasically relying on people for quotes who have beensacked by us. So it isn’t surprising that they aremaking these sort of comments.” There have been someex-players, however, like Imran Khan and Rameez Raja,who have cited poor technique, an outcome of poordomestic playing standards, as the cause of thedebacle.There were isolated outbreaks of public outrage too. InKarachi, for example, protestors burnt effigiesof the captain and coach in front of the Press Club.Around 150 protestors also smashed up a public television onTuesday.Zaidi said of the public reaction, “I think there is amisperception among the public that we are a verytalented and good side. The fact is that we are yet tobecome a good side and people should realise this.They have beaten India four times since the series athome, but that shouldn’t instill false optimism in thepublic.”

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Michael Vaughan gave England a timely boost by returning to form with an unbeaten 116 for Yorkshire in the National League. In his only innings before the second Test, Vaughan reached his hundred from 120 balls to show that his one-on-one sessions with Duncan Fletcher may well have been the answer to his poor form.However, with no disrespect to the Kent attack, Simon Cook, Martin Saggers and James Tredwell are not quite Glenn McGrath, Brett Lee and Shane Warne – but then not many are. The important factor is that Vaughan has spent time in the middle and has got used to the ball hitting the middle of the bat. Net sessions have their benefits but there is no substitute to actually getting time in the middle and runs in the bank.Vaughan wasn’t finished with his century, he proceeded to take 2 for 42 from eight overs – to again suggest that his bowling is worthy of more consideration on the international stage. However, despite Vaughan’s allround performance, Yorkshire still finished on the losing side as Matthew Walker guided Kent home, making 56 from 51 balls, with four balls to spare. Vaughan will be hoping that isn’t an omen for Edgbaston.

In an interview with London’s Daily Telegraph, Clive Rice, the former South African captain, has slammed the “inverted racism” he claims is threatening to turn South Africa into another Zimbabwe.Speaking on the day England start their tour with a game at Randjesfontein, Rice said that the blame for South Africa’s decline lay with the United Cricket Board (UCBSA). “It’s apartheid in reverse,” he explained. “White players are being driven out of our country in droves. Good luck to them. There’s no future here.” Rice was instrumental in persuading Nottinghamshire, his old county, to sign Kevin Pietersen, the Pietermaritzberg-born batsman who recently made his debut for England after deciding his opportunities were too limited in South Africa.Rice was especially critical of what he claimed was an overreaction in the desire to redress the racism of the apartheid era. “The board have got it into their heads that there’s a generation of black and coloured players straining at the leash to play Test cricket and that holding back whites is the only way they’ll ever get a chance to shine. Wrong. Tiger Woods isn’t a great golfer because he’s black. It’s because he’s a great golfer. Nobody would welcome an influx of top-quality black cricketers more than me. We desperately need them. Unfortunately, few black South Africans regard cricket as their national game. They are more interested in football. They talk about players from Soweto but most of them have been Kenyans imported to make it look good.”Although the UCBSA claims that the quota system was jettisoned in 2002, Rice dismissed that as “absolute bullshit” and added that the bias against whites was driving them away from cricket as well as rugby. “Why do you think South Africa are slipping down the rankings? We aren’t much better than Zimbabwe or Bangladesh, who are, frankly, pathetic. They call it Test cricket when it’s no better than a series of charity matches. The public aren’t stupid. Mediocrity chases crowds away. That’s why our grounds are half-empty.”And he said that the UCBSA stifled free speech in a bid to paper over the cracks. “No one in the press is allowed to criticise the regime,” he told the Daily Telegraph’s Tony Francis. “Television commentators have to present a sugar-coated view of South African cricket when it’s crumbling before their eyes. Once Shaun Pollock, Jacques Kallis and Herschelle Gibbs have retired, it’s Old Mother Hubbard time.”

Close of 3rd day Auckland 198 and 126 (Canning 66; McSkimming 5-56) lead Otago 154 (Cumming 39; Barnes 5-24) by 170 runs
ScorecardAaron Barnes set the panic in motion at the University Oval in Dunedin after Tama Canning had dismissed the overnight batsmen Craig Cumming (39) and Chris Gaffaney (6) at which point Otago were 90 for 3. But then Barnes, who in 66 previous first-class matches had never taken more than 4 for 60 in an innings, swept through the middle and lower-order in 11.1 overs to take 5 for 24 as Otago could score only 154, 44 short of Auckland on the first innings.Not to be outdone, Warren McSkimming picked up the cudgels after Brad Scott and Jeff Wilson undid Auckland’s top-order to have them 33 for 5, before Tama Canning hit out for a rapid 66 scored off 52 balls. McSkimming repeated Barnes’ feat and blasted through the middle and lower-order to take 5 for 56 in 10.4 overs. Auckland were all out for 126, and Otago could be excused for pinching themselves when they found that victory lay only 171 runs away.However, their chance of getting there had to wait as bad light interrupted play causing an early end to the day.Close of 3rd day Canterbury 303 and 3 for 2 lead Central Districts 178 (Taylor 66, Sinclair 54; Wisneski 5-35) by 128 runs
ScorecardWith Mathew Sinclair on 54 and Ross Taylor having scored 66 off 67 balls, and the total on 160 for 3, Central Districts could have been excused for thinking first innings points beckoned against Canterbury.But then the tea break interrupted, and whatever was in the water either caused severe problems for the CD batsmen or enlivened Wisneski considerably, because before another 18 runs had been scored, the CD innings was over.Wisneski had 5 for 35, and Canterbury were in front by 125 runs. However, all was not lost for CD. By the time Canterbury had scored three runs, they had lost two of the most prolific batsmen of the summer, Shanan Stewart and Peter Fulton.Like the New Zealand weather, the batsmen on the final day of the games will be looking for settled fortunes.Wellington, which bore the brunt of the storms, had no play for the second successive day in their game against Northern Districts. Prospects are not bright for the final day.

A report in The Daily Telegraph says thatan umpire walked out of a Minor Counties match between Dorset and Berkshire at Bournemouth after allegedly being verbally abused by a player.Guy Randall-Johnson left the ground during the lunch interval on Sunday after an incident following his decision to give Julian Wood, Berkshire’s captain, out lbw for 0. The Dorset Echo said that Randall-Johnson felt he was owed an apology but when it became clear there would not be one, he went home.Cliff Pocock, the other umpire, had to stand at both ends for the rest of the day, and Peter Kingston-Davey came out of retirement to officiate on the second day.”It seems that Guy left the ground because he felt he had lost the confidence of the players,” MCCA competitions secretary Philip August told The Daily Telegraph. “We cannot have players behaving unacceptably towards umpires and we cannot have umpires walking out of games at lunchtime.”Wood, who played for Hampshire, declined to comment.Dorset went on to win the match by an innings and 91 runs inside two days.

India A 556 for 7 (Gavaskar 173, Gambhir 131, Ratra 68, Powar 64*) lead Sri Lanka A 340 (Daniel 111) by 216 runs
Scorecard
Rohan Gavaskar blasted 173 as India A amassed 353 runs on the third day of the second Test against Sri Lanka A at Pune. Ajay Ratra and Ramesh Powar also joined in the run-feast as the bowling was smeared all over the park.Gavaskar spent a little over five hours in the middle and hit only 12 fours in an innings predominantly dominated by precise placements. He put on 143 runs with Ratra and 90 valuable runs with Powar. The latter was in an aggressive mood and hit four fours and two sixes in his half-century. Rangana Herath toiled all day for only two wickets and none of the bowlers made any impression.

Day One report: Weston hundred highlights Zimbabwe’s inadequaciesClose Middlesex 516 for 6 dec. (Weston 129, Weekes 102*, Brown 98) lead Zimbabwe 176 for 2 (Vermeulen 59, Carlisle 39*) by 340 runsMark Vermeulen and Stuart Carlisle went some way to restoring a bit of national pride – not that there’s been much of it on this tour – as Zimbabwe finished the second day’s play at Shenley on 176 for 2, 340 runs behind Middlesex. Paul Weekes and Michael Brown had earlier subjected Zimbabwe – whose bowling looked as bankrupt as their country’s economy – to long and fruitless day-and-a-half in the field.At a sun-baked Denis Compton Oval, Zimbabwe failed to take a wicket throughout the morning session, in which Weekes and Brown tucked in to some wayward bowling. Brown started the morning with no score to his name, and it surprisingly took him a further 15 minutes to get off the mark – to the 35th ball he received. This was more through nerves than good bowling, though, as the Zimbabwean seamers again produced their regular assortment of the good, the bad and the ugly. Brown soon started to gain in confidence to the extent that he began to outscore Weekes, and set the tone of his innings by smashing all of his first 36 runs in boundaries.Brown, aged 23 and making a rare appearance in place of the rested David Alleyne, smashed 18 fours and one six in all during a partnership of 184 with Weekes before, aiming for his century with another boundary, swung at Grant Flower and was caught on the long-leg boundary by Sean Ervine for 98. He quite rightly deserved a standing ovation from the 1000-strong crowd, and he also received a smattering of applause from the Zimbabwe bowlers, who were relieved at finally taking a wicket. The total was exactly 500 when Brown departed – the first time Zimbabwe had conceded a total that high in England.And after Weekes brought up his century – off 209 balls with 16 fours – halfway through the afternoon session, Middlesex declared on 516 for 6 – their highest ever total against a touring team. None of the Zimbabwean bowlers returned figures they would want to remember, with Ervine, Travis Friend and Raymond Price all conceding unwanted centuries.However, in the Zimbabwe reply, the Middlesex bowlers were none too clever at finding their line either, and openers Dion Ebrahim and Mark Vermeulen got things under way with a series of easy singles mixed with an occasional powerful cover-drive. Vermeulen, in particular, then stepped up the pace in the evening session to reach his fifty off 65 balls, while Ebrahim, though, was a little too impatient in trying to keep up, and he paid the price when he chipped a catch to Chris Peploe at mid wicket off the bowling of Weekes. Ebrahim departed for 30, ending a promising opening stand of 96.And Vermeulen did not last much longer either, playing all over a yorker from Thos Hunt to be bowled for 59. Stuart Carlisle then maintained his reputation for taking an age to get off the mark before finally pulling a boundary, and with the help of another grafter, Flower, the pair saw Zimbabwe to the close. They did, however, have a little good fortune as both snicked balls over the slips to the boundary, but they and the rest of the batsmen are going to need some more fortune tomorrow to keep in touch with Middlesex’s huge first innings.

Three new additions have been made by the Tasmanian selectors to their Tigers squad for next season.They are, Kelby Pickering, David Dawson and Travis Birt.Pickering is a 27-year-old fast bowler, who has had first-class experience with the Southern Redbacks in 1997-98 before moving to Tasmania. He has been an excellent performer in recent seasons with the Glenorchy Cricket Club.David Dawson is a 21-year-old wicket-keeper/batsman from the ACT. In club cricket last season he amassed a creditable 800 runs at an average in excess of 50. He also topped the then ACB Cup aggregate with 552 runs at an average of 50.18. Dawson was a full-time scholar at the AIS Cricket Academy in 2002 and has been offered a Rookie contract for the first time.Travis Birt at 21 years of age is a powerful left-handed batsman who dominated club cricket last season with Glenorchy and has previously held a Rookie contract with Victoria in 2001-02. He also attended the AIS Cricket Academy in 2001 and is a former Australian Under-19 opening batsman. Birt began his cricket career with Sale in Victoria before moving to Tasmania last season with the sole objective of forcing his way into the Tasmanian team.Tasmanian coach Brian McFadyen said: “I am very pleased with the addition of all three players to our squad. Both Pickering and Dawson are well known for their determination, work ethic and attitudes. Kelby deserves this opportunity due to superb club and solid ACB Cup performances. David Dawson is well regarded for his all-round skills and he provides excellent balance to our squad along with the other two additions.””Birt could not have done any more in club cricket last season. He has a powerful game based around his back-foot play and we believe he has a bright future for Tasmania.”The State selection panel have selected a squad of 27 players, comprising both contracted and non-contracted players. The panel has the ability to revise the squad wherever appropriate.Sixteen senior contracts, and the maximum of five rookie contracts have been offered.The Tasmanian Cricket Association has the option of offering a further two senior contracts by September 29.ACB Contracts – Ricky Ponting, Shane Watson.Senior contracts squad – George Bailey, Sean Clingeleffer, Jamie Cox, Graeme Cunningham, Gerard Denton, Michael Dighton, Michael Di Venuto, Xavier Doherty, Andrew Downton, Brett Geeves, Adam Griffith, Scott Kremerskothen, Daniel Marsh, Scott Mason, Shannon Tubb, Damien Wright.Rookie contracts – Travis Birt, Luke Butterworth, David Dawson, Ben Hilfenhaus, Tim Paine.Uncontracted – Chris Bassano, Adam Polkinghorne, Kelby Pickering, Brad Thomas.

When India’s most destructive batsman and their most elegant strokeplayer add 191 runs, it is bound to be treat for the eyes. So it was when Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman made centuries in their first one-day international against Australia since the World Cup final. There was nothing indiscriminate about their batting – it was a measured performance, with neither batsman taking too many risks.One of the most common strokes in one-day cricket is the dab down to third man for a single. But opening the face of the bat carries its attendant dangers, and Tendulkar and Laxman were wary of getting out that way. The statistics tell that story well: only six of Tendulkar’s 100 runs came in that region, as opposed to four of Laxman’s 102. And the first time Tendulkar tried that shot, he was out.

The cover region was the most productive one for both players – Laxman got 32 runs there, while Tendulkar got 24. Laxman, during his innings, also took a lot of balls from outside off and on off and turned them wristily on the leg side. He hit 17 runs in the midwicket region and 16 square on the leg side. He got 22 runs in the V between mid-on and mid-off.

Tendulkar favoured the region square on the leg side, and the area behind square – 37 of his runs came in those two areas. He also got 13 in the long-on region, on-driving impressively when the ball was in the slot.Laxman played a lot more on the front foot than Tendulkar. Laxman played on the front foot for 70% of his innings (94 out of 134 balls), going on the back foot only 30 times. Tendulkar, in contrast, stepped forward 73 times in his 119 balls (61%) and went back 43 times. Tendulkar’s strike-rate on the back foot was 90, as opposed to an overall rate strike-rate of 84. Laxman’s strike-rate, whether stepping back or moving forward, was in the late 70s.Part of this was perhaps because the Australian bowlers, for some strange reason, bowled fuller to Laxman than to Tendulkar. As many as 26 of the balls Laxman received were either full, yorkers or half-volleys, as opposed to nine for Tendulkar. Tendulkar got 47 balls which were just short of a good length, or shorter, while Laxman got just 40, despite playing 15 balls more. The strategy was befuddling: Tendulkar’s strike-rate against those short balls was 87, while Laxman’s was 78.Amit Varma is managing editor of Wisden Cricinfo in India. Chandrahas Choudhury is staff writer of Wisden Asia Cricket

Indian left-arm pace bowler Zaheer Khan, who has been such a success in the World Cup, has received an approach from Warwickshire to be the replacement overseas player for New Zealander Shane Bond during the first six weeks of the forthcoming English county season.There is quite a bit of activity as overseas players are taken by their national sides for tours and tournaments. While Essex have benefited from Andy Flower’s decision to quite international cricket, all the top Australians contracted to counties will be missing for the early part of the season as they are heading for the Caribbean on tour.Middlesex have signed 32 year-old pace bowler Joe Dawes in place of fellow Queenslander Ashley Noffke . Dawes will also fill in should Abdur Razzaq receive a call-up to the Pakistan squad for the one-day internationals in England in June.Meanwhile Northamptonshire’s pace bowler Darren Cousins is facing the grim prospect of an end to his first-class career. Cousins made quite an impact when arriving at Wantage Road from Essex, where injuries had hampered his progress. However, he has now been told that he cannot continue with stress fractures in both feet. Cousins is to seek further medical advice before making a final decision.