The Nairobi Jaffery Sports Club has been granted official ODI status by the ICC following the final inspection by Chris Broad on January 7.Cricket Kenya is particularly pleased with the accreditation of this ground as it has a picturesque setting and has the size and facilities to become a high-class spectator venue for international matches. Officials had been worried as torrential rain in recent weeks left the venue underwater less than a week ago.This news means that all three venues for the World Cricket League, which gets underway on January 30, now have ODI status. The other two venues are Nairobi Gymkhana and Ruaraka Sports Clubm which was granted ODI status at the end of last year..

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.

Even given the recent acrimonious history of conflict between the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) and the West Indies Players Association (WIPA), it is utterly unbelievable that their latest, unnecessary dispute should arise during our own World Cup.This is cricket’s premier tournament. It is an opportunity to show off our best qualities. This is the game for which we have established an enviable record of excellence. We have invited the world to come to enjoy our culture as well. Governments that have failed at every attempt at meaningful integration have united as one, and invested millions of dollars they can scarcely afford, to ensure that it is the “best World Cup ever”.It has not been easy. There have been organisational problems, to be sure. But it has all, more or less, come together on the day. We have been uplifted by a stirring opening ceremony and by a nearly flawless performance by the West Indies team that brought a rare victory in the opening match against Pakistan.This is the stuff of our dreams. Even if we were ahead of ourselves, we could even envisage Brian Lara raising the trophy at Kensington Oval come April 28. Then, suddenly, we learn in the media that there has been “tension” between the board and the players because contracts for the tournament had not been issued. It was even reported that “the players might threaten to go on strike” if they did not get them.It was like a blow to the solar plexus. Tension? Strike? Surely not now, not at such a momentous time. Unfortunately, we should know by now, from bitter experience, better than to take anything for granted once it involves the WICB and the WIPA and contracts and money. World Cup? So what.The background to the trouble is well known. Unable to agree on the division of the US$11.5 million that is paid to each participant by the International Cricket Council (ICC), the two sides sought binding arbitration to settle the issue.The panel of Sir David Simmons, Chief Justice of Barbados, Elliott Mottley, former Attorney General of Barbados and Bermuda, and Aubrey Armstrong ruled that 75 per cent of the payout should go to the board, 22 per cent to the 15 members of the World Cup squad and three per cent distributed to the West Indies’ first-class players. It worked out to individual fees of between US$100,000 and US$170,000 per man, exclusive of any prize money won. No West Indian cricketers have ever been paid so handsomely.So why have the players had to wait so long for their contracts and why, even after receiving them yesterday, were they reluctant to sign them? It is difficult to understand why they should chose to make an issue of it, why they should be so keen to again expose the board’s inefficiency. Do they really believe that they won’t receive what is their due?Tony Deyal, the WICB’s communications and marketing head, explained that the delay was because the board “sought clarification on a number of matters in relation to the recent arbitration”. “We accepted the arbitration ruling but needed clarification on some issues,. But at no point was it ever implied [and the arbitrators knew it] that we were questioning the ruling or our being bound to it,” he stated.It is understood that contributions to the provident fund are also part of the issue. Whatever, it has thrown a cloud over the World Cup.Last week, without prior knowledge of the shenanigans in the background, Michael Holding said of the West Indies players in a newspaper interview: “It is all about money, money, money and it is a distraction. I think their focus is in the wrong direction and I don’t think this tournament will change that.”They were prophetic words.

Scorecard
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.

Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammed Asif have been advised futher rest for two weeks to allow time for their injuries respective injuries to heal properly.Shoaib’s knee troubles and Asif’s elbow injury forced their withdrawals from the World Cup and they have been advised to rest for a couple more weeks before they can return to training.”They need at least two more weeks of rest before they are examined again by our medical panel,” Zakir Khan, the board’s director of cricket operations, told .”The medical panel will decide when they can resume training,” he added.The bowlers tested positive for a banned steroid last October in out-of-competition tests conducted by the board. They were initially banned but then cleared by an appeals panel a month later.At the time there was intense speculation that they were pulled out of the tournament because of fears that the may still be carrying traces of the steroid Nandrolone in their bodies and thus may have tested positive in the Caribbean. The PCB has consistently rubbished the speculation.In the absence of the new-ball duo, Pakistan crashed out of the World Cup after successive losses to West Indies and Ireland.

Geoff Marsh, the former coach of Zimbabwe, said cancelling Australia’s tour later this year would have little effect on Robert Mugabe’s regime and action should be taken in areas besides sport. Marsh said Zimbabweans were passionate about cricket but their country had been turned into “a living hell”.”The feeling I get – and it’s the opinion of some of my Zimbabwean mates as well – is what difference will stopping a cricket tour make?” Marsh said in the . “Whether it’s the right or wrong thing to do is another matter, but, in real terms, I just wonder what it will achieve.”I generally don’t like to see sport and politics mix. I think strong action definitely needs to be taken but I think it has to happen in areas broader than just sport. It is a beautiful country that has become a living hell for a lot of people.”Marsh, who was in charge of the side from 2001 to 2004, said the exodus of Zimbabwe’s top players was unfortunate for cricket in the country. “It’s a sad situation,” he said. “People there love the game. We filled the grounds there quite a few times, and you have to think that had they kept their key players, they would probably be a pretty competitive team.”Marsh’s comments came as Cricket Australia met with Australia’s foreign minister, Alexander Downer, to discuss whether to cancel or go ahead with the tour. The government has repeatedly said it does not want the trip to proceed and will pay any ICC fine imposed on CA.

Adam Gilchrist has hinted at his possible retirement from one-day cricket to extend his Test career, although he is not ready for such a move yet. Gilchrist had always believed in playing all forms of the game but the birth of his third child, together with the busier international cricket schedule has forced him to reconsider.”Up until the last 12 months, I had never been a guy to consider phasing out one form of the game and just focusing on one,” Gilchrist told . “But I am open to thinking about that now. I have been quite firm on playing both forms in the past, but I guess that things have changed a little.”When a few of the guys started retiring last year, it made me stop and reflect on where I was at personally. And, while the appetite is still very strong to keep playing, I’ve just noticed the hunger and the drive for Test cricket that guys like Warney and Justin Langer had when they didn’t have one-day cricket to consider.”Gilchrist, 35, indicated he would resist the temptation to bow out of the limited-overs game after one of his most masterful displays – his blistering 149 that led Australia to victory in the World Cup final. “That’s not to say that I am announcing right now that I am retiring from one-day cricket, but it’s just that I am more open-minded about the issue these days,” Gilchrist said.Australia are expected to play a record-breaking 20 Tests in 2008. Combined with various ODI series, including the Champions Trophy in Pakistan in September-October, that could mean unprecedented fitness challenges for an Australia squad that could still feature more than ten players aged over 30.

A groin injury has sidelined Ian Bell ahead of England’s upcoming Twenty20 internationals against West Indies starting Thursday. Bell picked up the injury during fielding practice on Monday and will continue to be assessed.”Ian Bell underwent an ultrasound scan today [Tuesday] and has a minor grade one tear to his left groin following fielding practice,” the England Cricket Board (ECB) announced. “He’ll continue to be assessed.”Meanwhile batsman Jonathan Trott, one of the new faces in the squad, too suffered an injury scare when he hurt his left hand while batting in the nets. The ECB added that the results of the X-ray would be announced on Wednesday.England play two back-to-back Twenty20 games at the Oval starting Thursday, followed by three one-day internationals against West Indies beginning July 1 at Lord’s.

Paul Collingwood, England’s new one-day captain, says he wants his new-look squad to “attack the opposition” during the upcoming series against the West Indies.Collingwood was among the favourites to replace Michael Vaughan, who stepped aside to concentrate on his Test role, more so after Kevin Pietersen – the only other real contender – said he did not feel ready for the responsibility of captaincy.”We have played our best one-day cricket when we have been aggressive and tried to take the attack to the opposition,” Collingwood said. “I’m not talking about going out there from ball one and trying to whack the ball all over the place. Hopefully we will approach it a bit more positively than in the past.”Collingwood has little experience of captaincy at any level but reasoned that his time at the top level will help him cope. By the end of the summer, if he remains fit, he will become England’s third-most capped ODI player.”I have got more than 100 caps experience in the one-day game and hopefully that will put me in good stead for what is going to come ahead,” he said. “We’ll have to wait and see what kind of a style I develop, but I’ll be allowing the players to go out there and express themselves. That’s when you play your best cricket.”England will hope dearly for any kind of upturn in fortunes. Since the 1992 World Cup final, when they were one of the most efficient ODI sides in the world, they have steadily regressed. Despite the odd shock triumphs – a 1997 tournament win in Sharjah and the CB series at the beginning of this year – as Collingwood acknowledged, “We haven’t been a great one-day side for some time now, so it is a great opportunity to take our game to the next level.”Collingwood’s role in the batting order and in the field has been vital to whatever England success there has been and he admitted he had yet to finalise with coach Peter Moores where he will bat. “I might bat high up or I might be more of a finisher” And whether he remains at backward point will also be looked at.”We’ll have to have a look at the fielding position as well. Backward point is quite a hard position to captain a side from because of the angles and things like that. I’ve had a little bit of a think about whether I go to extra cover and have people around the ground to help me out a little bit.”Collingwood’s appointment also means that England will split the captaincy of their Test and ODI sides again, following the Nasser Hussain-Vaughan arrangement after the 2003 World Cup and the Adam Holliaoke-Michael Atherton experiment in 1997-98.Collingwood was confident there would be no problems. “The Test captaincy is obviously a completely separate thing. Michael will go about that in his own way and I will go about the one-day captaincy in my own way. We will give advice to each other but we want to develop the sides as best we can in our own individual styles.”Michael is a close friend and we will support each other 100% and want each other to do well in each job. It won’t be a problem. It has worked for Australia in the past. We are both heading in the same direction. We want as good an England team as we can possibly get.”

New Zealand A continued their excellent form at the Emerging Players Tournament in Brisbane, finishing on top of the table after their 32-run victory over Karnataka State Cricket Association XI. Neil Broom again starred for New Zealand with 62 and he had good support from his captain James Marshall, who scored a brisk 51 from 47 deliveries.Grant Elliott chipped in with a 38-ball 40 as New Zealand made the most of Marshall’s decision to bat first at Sandgate Redcliffe. S Dhananjaya tried to keep Karnataka in the game with 4 for 44 but when New Zealand were dismissed for 278 in the 50th over, the chase was always going to be difficult.Bharat Chipli was promising with 76 from 68 balls and there were contributions from Raju Bhatkal (46) and KB Pawan (44) but Karnataka fell for 245. New Zealand will play South Africa Emerging Players in Saturday’s final.
South Africa Emerging Players cruised past the Australian Academy and into the final, finishing the preliminary games with a convincing seven-wicket win over the hosts at Redlands. The series ended on a low for Australia, who suspended three players on Thursday for poor behaviour at their Brisbane accommodation, as South Africa overhauled the target with nine overs to spare.Johan Botha’s decision to field first paid off when Australia wobbled to 9 for 189. Luke Ronchi made 65 and Phillip Hughes scored 58 but they had little help trying to get on top of Botha (3 for 27) and Yusuf Abdullah, who collected 3 for 43.Gulam Bodi made batting look easy and compiled 86, while Francois du Plessis was also in control with 62. South Africa reached 3 for 190 in the 41st over and settled in second spot on the tournament table, ahead of Australia in third and the last-placed Karnataka.