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Sri Lanka’s official representation at the ongoing ICC Executive meeting inDelhi has descended into confusion as their Minister of Sports optedto send a ministry representative to the meeting in place of ThilangaSumathipala, Sri Lanka Cricket’s international envoy.Jeevan Kumaratunga, the sports minister, sent Damian Fernando to India onThursday morning. “We have informed the responsible international cricketauthorities through the proper channels that Damian Fernando would berepresenting Sri Lanka,” Kumaratunga told .Sumathipala, who is standing for a fifth term as board president later thismonth, also departed for Delhi to participate in the meeting according tocricket officials. However, the same newspaper’s sources claimed he had notjoined the official discussions on the opening day of talks.An ICC press release confirmed the unusual goings-on. “At the start of the meeting Mr Thilanga Sumathipala represented Sri Lanka Cricket,” read the statement. “At the lunch break of the meeting on the first day, the ICC received correspondence from Sri Lanka Cricket indicating that Mr Sumathipala was, in fact, no longer the representative of the Board. Mr Damian Fernando joined the meeting at the beginning of the second day of the meeting as an observer representing Sri Lanka Cricket.”The key issues that were raised during the two-day summit meeting included the disbandment of Project USA, a reduced status for Kenyan cricket, the awarding of full international status to this autumn’s Super Series, and various governance reforms, including one topic of particular interest for the ambitious Sumathipala: the decision to suspend the automatic rotation of the ICC presidency and award Ehsan Mani an extra year in charge.

The Pakistan Cricket Board is unhappy with the appointment of Mike Procter for the five-match one-day series against Bangladesh, starting on April 8.Nasim Ashraf, the PCB chairman, said the board will talk to the International Cricket Council regarding this issue. “I will have our director (cricket operations) speak to his counterpart in the ICC on this issue,” Ashraf said.PCB’s reluctance to have Procter be the match referee in Pakistan matches has its origins in the infamous 2006 Oval Test where Australian umpire Darrell Hair’s five-run penalty culminated in a forfeiture.Ashraf did not see Pakistan as a weak member of the ICC even though the world governing body reinstated Hair into its Elite Panel. “This is a wrong impression that Pakistan has no voice in the ICC,” he said. “That is not true. Let me tell you in clear words that Hair will not officiate in our matches even though the ICC has reinstated him.”The ICC allowed Hair back because he had completed a six-month rehabilitation process and all the concerned people gave him good reports for his improvement in man management. Hair has been a top umpire as far as his decisions are concerned, but he was sidelined because of his poor management skills.”

Sri Lanka have delayed appointing a new coach because the candidates they have short-listed are also in the running for the Indian coaching job. Greg Chappell and Tom Moody appear to be the front-runners for the Indian job, although they have had talks with Sri Lanka Cricket as well. “We are trying to finalise the coach soon, but it will not be before the Indians finish their interviews this week,” Jayantha Dharmadasa, chairman of the committee running Sri Lanka Cricket currently told AFP.The Board of Control for Cricket in India is conducting its interviews on May 19, and is expected to finalise on a coach soon after. “We have to realise that the Indian board is the richest in the world and coaching the Indian team is a prestigious job,” said Dharmadasa. “Since the Indian board kept things on a hold, our candidates wanted some time as well”Sri Lanka were to announce their choice of coach on May 13, but have been forced to put the date back. Also in the running for the Sri Lankan job is Dean Jones. Sri Lanka are also viewing the candidature of Roy Dias and Rumesh Ratnayake for the job.

Justin Kemp, the South Africa allrounder, has signed a two-year Kolpak deal with Kent after retiring from international cricket.Kemp, 30, played four Tests and 85 ODIs but was dropped following the World Twenty20 last September. He had a previous two-year stint with Kent in 2005 and 2006.”I am really looking forward to playing for Kent again,” he said. “Rob Key and Graham Ford have built a really strong squad. The plans for the ground at Canterbury are very farsighted. These are exciting times and I am keen to make a real contribution to the success of the club over the next two years.”Kent have also received confirmation that Azhar Mahmood, the former Pakistan allrounder who has a two-year deal, has been granted British citizenship so will count as an English-qualified player.

Despite a year in which they lost the Ashes, Australia have ended 2005 with the top-ranked batsman and bowler in the world. Ricky Ponting took the No. 1 spot in the batting, following his 117 in the Boxing Day Test, while Shane Warne is secure at the top of the bowling rankings following 96 wickets in the year.Ponting also topped the table of Test run-scorers for 2005, finishing with 1544 – the closest a player as been to Viv Richards’ record of 1710 runs in 1976. He takes over from Jacques Kallis who has slipped to fifth following his double failure in Melbourne.Matthew Hayden also leapfrogs Kallis into third after his 65 and 137, completing a stunning recovery which began with his century in the final Ashes Test at The Oval. Since that match he has made 855 runs in six Tests with four centuries to regain a firm grip on one of the opening positions in the Australian side.Warne and Glenn McGrath head the bowling table after Warne broke Dennis Lillee’s calendar record at Perth against South Africa and finished just four short of a 100 wickets after the Melbourne Test. South Africa’s highest ranked bowler is Makhaya Ntini at No. 5, although Shaun Pollock and Andre Nel are also in the top 10.For the complete rankings click here

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As expected, Queensland beat Tasmania by seven wickets at Brisbane, wrapping up the win before lunch on the final day.But they had to overcome a nervous first half-hour as Damien Wright and Adam Griffith reduced them to 3 for 30 with blistering opening spells. Chasing only 86 to win, Queensland were still not in any serious trouble, and Shane Watson and Craig Philipson then combined to knock off the runs without any further alarms.Queensland, who took maximum points from the game, are now on 22 points, 10 clear of nearest rivals New South Wales, with the rest of the states level on six points.Andy Bichel was named Man of the Match for his first-innings 69 and seven wickets, including five in Tasmania’s second innings.

The chief executive of the Irish Cricket Union, Peter Thompson, has resigned after three years in the role. He will return to England to take up the post of commercial manager of the League One rugby union outfit Pertemps Bees.Thompson leaves Irish cricket in good shape having overseen the biggest commercial deal in Irish cricket, the Bank of Ireland Sponsorship of the seniors, and been in charge while Ireland qualified for the World Cup.The board paid tribute to Thompson’s efforts in a statement. “His three years in charge saw unparalleled growth and success both on and off the field and he leaves the union in a very strong position.”No decision has yet been made as to who will take over from Thompson, who leaves on March 3.

Powered by Rob Nicol’s 134 Auckland ran away to a 149-run lead before restricting Central Districts to 114 for 4 at the end of the second day’s play at McLean Park. Nicol added 36 runs with his overnight partner Colin de Grandhomme, who moved from 65 to 87, but three quick wickets left Auckland struggling at 182 for 6. Nicol, then, stitched together a valuable 103-run partnership with Andre Adams to lift Auckland and was the last man to be dismissed, when he became the fourth victim of Gregory Hegglun. Chris Martin, who took a five-for in the first innings, caused a dent in the top order with a double strike but Jamie How revived Central Districts with a fluent 84-ball 72. Central Districts still trail by 35 runs, with only six wickets left.On a turgid day’s of cricket Northern Districts reached 181 for 3, in response to Otago‘s 404, at the end of the second day’s play at Dunedin. Bradley-John Watling shared a patient 122-run opening stand in 62.3 overs with Alun Evans but Bradley Scott struck twice to push Northern Districts on the backfoot at 142 for 3. Watling, however, carried on with his immensely patient knock and ended the day 15 runs short of what would be his maiden ton.Michael Papps starred with a fine 98 but three quick wickets in the last session saw Canterbury slide from a healthy 171 for 1 to 204 for 4 at the end of the second day’s play at Wellington. Jesse Ryder cleaned up Papps to start the mini-collapse and 22 runs late Shanan Stewart fell as Wellington came back into the game. Earlier, Wellington’s tail wagged to lift the score from the overnight 314 for 8 to 365.

A superb hundred from Gareth von Hoesslin gave Border the edge over Boland at East London. They closed the day on 248 for 8, a lead of 68, but with much of the first day lost to rain, a draw still looks the likely outcome. Murray Ranger took another three wickets, finishing with 6 for 30 as Boland slumped to 180 after resuming on 149 for 4. Border then suffered an even more dramatic collapse, but from 44 for 6, Gareth von Hoesslin blasted a brilliant 101 not out to turn the match around. He found an ally in debutant Darryl Brown (77), who helped him add 141 for the ninth wicket before Boland declared at stumps.Griqualand West were within sight of victory over Free State thanks to a career-best 6 for 37 by Alan Kruger. Griqualand West had failed to build on a strong overnight position, losing their last seven first-innings wickets for 60, a lead of 47. Free State overcome an uncertain start to reach 108 for 3 before Kruger took six of the last seven wickets to fall. Set a target of 127, Griqualand West need just 54 runs with 7 wickets remaining.A green Newlands pitch was to largely to blame as the match between Eastern and Western Province barely lasted four sessions, Western winning by six wickets before tea on the second day. After 24 wickets fell yesterday, things returned to normality, but the damage had already been done as far as Eastern Province were concerned. Resuming on 115 for 5, they crept to 168, but had no answer to Rory Kleinveldt, who took the last four wickets to fall and finished with 6 for 57, the first five-wicket haul of his career. Set 107 to win, Western Province started cautiously, and although Grant Howell took two wickets, Myles Williamson (35) and Warren Wyngaard (37) ensured their were no further alarms.

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How they were out

The West Indies shrugged off any early-tournament nerves with a convincing 54-run win over Pakistan in the opening match of the World Cup at Kingston in Jamaica, with a notable allround performance from Dwayne Smith.It was an impressive win, not least for their ability to absorb the expectation of hosting their first World Cup. Furthermore, the total they were defending was by no means out of Pakistan’s reach. Yet their bowlers – who admittedly are all much of a muchness – hunted in a pack and, unlike Pakistan’s, never let the batsmen dismantle their confidence, or their lines.That they took a wicket with the third ball of Pakistan’s reply probably helped, too. Their pack leader for the day, Daren Powell – having been hit for a brazen six the ball before – induced a thick outside edge from Imran Nazir, destabilising Pakistan’s fickle confidence. Younis Khan puffed out his chest, but only briefly, and Mohammad Hafeez spooned a catch to Brian Lara. At 39 for 3, Pakistan were throttled by Powell and Jerome Taylor, as Inzamam-ul-Haq and Mohammad Yousuf chose survival over attack: in one particularly asphyxiating period, a nine-over trough yielded just 13 runs.The moment the bowlers’ control waned Inzamam pounced, bashing three fours of the highest quality and injecting essential pace into an innings which was going nowhere. Enter Smith. His medium-pace infuriated Yousuf who was troubled with consecutive deliveries, before he fell to the sucker-punch in the third, edging him behind.Inzamam fell soon after trapped lbw and Smith was on a hat-trick when he removed Kamran Akmal. Pakistan’s hopes rested on Shoaib Malik, undoubtedly a gifted player but the task – 126 from 18 overs – required rather more than one man’s hopeful slogging. Smith’s partner in crime was his namesake, the uber-energetic Bravo who added a mouth-watering display of medium-pace, fielding and catching. After removing Iftikhar Anjum, he nonchalantly stuck out his left hand to catch Umar Gul in his follow-through to end Pakistan’s hopes, and raise his side’s own tournament aspirations.If anything, their disciplined bowling performance masked a staccato effort with the bat. There were plenty of nerves from their top three – particularly Ramnaresh Sarwan, but if anything he thrives in adversity and deserved a fifty. Without Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif, Pakistan’s potent duet, Gul and Rana Naved-ul-Hasan were Inzamam’s strike bowlers but only Gul rose to the occasion, removing Chris Gayle and troubling the top five with a consistently good line.Rana, whose death-bowling in previous seasons has been irresistibly cruel, was limp and inaccurate and Pakistan had to rely on Iftikhar who didn’t disappoint. In fact, the West Indies were constricted to such an extent that even Brian Lara’s 37 appeared pedestrian; it was Marlon Samuels who took on the bowlers, launching three magnificent sixes in his swift 63. But with his wicket came the feeling of inevitability, a feeling which morphed into dread when they slipped to 186 for 6.But this was Smith’s day and, with little care for the orthodox, he smashed 32 from 15 balls to the crowd’s delight, edging the hosts’ total to something resembling a challenge. Fortunately, their bowlers outdid themselves and Smith, in particular, ensured Pakistan didn’t have a sniff of a chance. If they play like this for the next six weeks – regardless of how far it takes them – it will be a sight.