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Darrell Hair, the Australian umpire who this month was banned from umpiring in internationals, has been retained on the ECB reserve umpires list for 2007.Hair was standing alongside Billy Doctrove, the West Indian umpire, when the final Test between England and Pakistan was abandoned on the fourth day following Pakistan’s refusal to take the field after they’d been penalised five runs for ball tampering.Reserve umpires are eligable to stand in any first-class match under the ECB and are granted these matches depending on their level of performance. A space had opened up on the full list following the retirement of David Constant and there was a thought that Hair would move up. However, that role went to Tim Robinson, the former England batsman.Chris Kelly, the ECB’s umpires and match operations manager, told Cricinfo Hair was part of their discussions. “All the reserve list umpires were considered as replacements for David Constant. At the time the decision was taken on who to appoint it still wasn’t clear what ICC’s decision would be regarding Darrell and what decisions he would take himself. It has been a reasonably recent development that Darrell has confirmed his availability with us.”As far as next season is concerned, Kelly is hopeful Hair will be about to go about his umpiring without problems. “If any situations arise we will deal with them at the time,” and added, “everyone on the list is available for future promotion.”Meanwhile, umpires in New South Wales have announced they will wear black ribbons in support of Hair during this weekend’s club matches. The NSW Cricket Umpires and Scorers Association (NSWCUSA), of which Hair is a life member and former president, asked all umpires at club matches to wear the ribbons on Saturday.Earlier this month, the NSWCUSA took out a full-page advertisement in newspapers containing an open letter criticising ICC for its decision to demote Hair from the elite panel following what was seen as pressure from the Asian bloc.A statement from the NSWCUSA said the decision to wear black ribbons was aimed at not just showing support, but also “to express concern at a total lack of respect for the role of the umpire by the ICC along with a demise in the idea of playing by the laws”.

Live scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

A lower-order fightback from Gary Brent and Elton Chigumbura wasn’t enough to prevent South Africa from coasting to a five-wicket victory in the first one-dayer at Bulawayo. Zimbabwe recovered from a disastrous 72 for 7 to post 206 but the target was hardly challenging for the South Africans as Gulam Bodi, Graeme Smith and AB de Villiers helped themselves to half-centuries, polishing off the target with nearly three overs to spare.After losing Loots Bosman in the first over to Christopher Mpofu, Bodi and Smith added 72, ensuring Zimbabwe could take no advantage of the early dismissal. To their credit, the Zimbabwean bowlers didn’t allow the batsmen to blitz away to the modest target, and the fielders too impressed with their commitment, plugging the gaps in the infield.Smith, playing his first match since the World Cup semi-final, got into his groove with boundaries on either side of the pitch. He used his feet against the gentle medium-pace of Elton Chigumbura and brought up his fifty with a boundary, an uppish drive off the same bowler. However, Chigumbura won the battle two balls later when he held on to a one-handed return catch. At this stage, the South Africans upped the tempo and pushed the run-rate above four.Bodi had the most to gain, impressing in his debut game. He fetched his first boundary with an innovative flick across the line from off stump and kept the runs coming. He impressed with his range of strokes, caressing half-volleys past mid-off and then took on the spinners, sweeping and stepping down the track. Zimbabwe used as many as six bowlers by the 25th over but none looked like troubling the batsmen as Bodi and de Villiers milked the attack with minimum fuss.Bodi eventually fell just after reaching his fifty, beaten for turn from the Prosper Utseya and edging to Tatenda Taibu, in his first match since 2005. de Villiers then took charge of the chase, stating his intent with three boundaries in an over off Mpofu, and even the loss of two more wickets – that of Jean-Paul Duminy and de Villiers – couldn’t bring the home side back into the game.Earlier, the Zimbabwe top and middle order were exposed in their inept display, after Utseya chose to bat under sunny skies. Vusi Sibanda set the pace with some confident boundaries off the front and back foot but he was unable to convert his breezy start courtesy a brilliant catch at slip by Smith in the fifth over with the score at 21.Reckless running contributed to five of their dismissals and Hamilton Masakadza was the first victim, following a mix-up with Brendan Taylor. The arrival of Taibu spiced things up and his urgency to get off the blocks was evident as he took on the short stuff from the seamers. Taibu, perhaps the only world-class batsman in the line-up, sized up Makhaya Ntini with a fierce pull over square leg and in the company of Taylor, settled into a good rhythm, flicking anything drifting on the pads from Johan van der Wath and Morne Morkel.

Like Sibanda, Taibu too failed to sustain the momentum, edging to the keeper for 22. The introduction of Vernon Philander left the home side in further disarray, as he picked up two wickets off successive balls. An astounding one-handed pluck by Shaun Pollock at slip sent Sean Williams packing and Stuart Matsikenyeri was all at sea to an offcutter that sent his off stump for a mid-morning jog.Two more run-outs followed; that of Taylor and Utseya, adding to the embarrassment for the home side. With all the regular batsmen back in the pavilion, Brent and Chigumbura set about the repair work with nothing to lose. They buckled down and picked up singles and twos. After nearly ten overs of nudging and grafting, Chigumbura broke the shackles with cover drives off Thandi Tshabalala, while Brent used the long handle to good effect each time the bowlers, especially Ntini, erred in length. The confidence in his strokeplay rubbed off on Chigumbura. A six by Brent brought up the 150 in style and soon after, Chigumbura took control, outscoring Brent.A couple of spanking drives through the off side brought up Chigumbura’s seventh half-century in ODIs and following it, he proceeded to cart the bowlers over midwicket. A run-out, courtesy de Villiers, ended Chigumbura’s knock at 59 but Brent stayed on till the end, reaching his maiden international half-century in 78 balls. Zimbabwe posted a more respectable 206 but it was hardly a match-winning one.

Imran Khan, the former Pakistan captain, has blamed the team management’s “atrocious” strategies for the side’s recent slump in one-dayers. He also criticised the decision to appoint Jonty Rhodes as fielding coach and their decision not to play Mohammad Sami in the recently concluded tour of Sri Lanka.Although Pakistan enjoyed a successful ODI season last year – which included away victories in West Indies (3-0) and India (4-2) – they have appeared a little inconsistent since then. Though they beat England at home, they were thumped by India in February 2006. Including the series against England, Pakistan’s success rate has dropped considerably, and they have lost as many matches as they won (seven out of 15 with one winning as one no-result. “In one-day cricket, other teams put their best batsmen at No. 2, 3, 4 and 5. But Pakistan keeps its best batsman at No.6 and 7,” Imran told the Press Trust of India. “Inzamam-ul-Haq ran out of partners in Abu Dhabi because he was batting lower down the order. I don’t know who is behind these atrocious decisions.”While criticising the Pakistan board’s decision to keep Mohammad Sami out of the Sri Lanka tour, Imran said that, Pakistan will need fast bowlers like Sami, Mohammad Asif and Shoaib Akhtar to be fit, to maintain their winning streak against England. Pakistan has not lost a series in England since 1982, when Imran side was beaten 2-1 by David Gower’s men.When asked about the team’s need for a fielding coach, Imran said, “The Pakistan cricket team has a bowling coach. Now they have a fielding coach and the skipper himself is a batsman. I don’t understand what will Bob Woolmer do.” Rhodes is set to spend two weeks with the Pakistan cricket team and work on their fielding skills before their departure for the tour of England in July.”Fielding cannot be improved by appointing coaches”, he continued. “The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has to understand that Australia and South Africa are good fielding sides because their players play [domestic cricket] on good grounds and in near perfect structure.”

Papua New Guinea (PNG) are the favourites to qualify for next year’s Under-19 World Cup in Malaysia, when the East Asia-Pacific qualifier begins in Vanuatu on Wednesday. Just one place is available.It will be the first of five regional qualifying tournaments to be played up to the end of August – with one qualifying place up for grabs from each. Europe’s will be held in Belfast from 23-26 July, the Americas in Toronto from 13-18 August, Asia’s in Malaysia from 20-29 August and Africa’s in Benoni from 25-30 August.In all, 31 teams will take part, with the five winners joining the ten Full Members and Malaysia for the main event which starts on 17 February where Pakistan will aim to complete a hat-trick of titles. They beat West Indies in the 2004 final, and India last year. PNG failed to qualify for the 2006 World Cups, but played in the two previous competitions.The other three teams are Japan, Vanuatu and Fiji. Vanuatu is one of the six Affiliates taking part in the tournaments with the others being Qatar, Afghanistan, Oman, the Bahamas and Ghana.It will be Japan’s debut appearance at this level after becoming an Associate in 2005, while Fiji was the host of the previous EAP Qualifier when it was staged in 2001.The president of Vanuatu Cricket Association, Mark Stafford, said the tournament will provide a valuable boost for the growth of the sport in Vanuatu. He said: “We have focused on developing our junior cricket programs and structures, and hosting the EAP U/19 Qualifier complements our ambitions to cultivate a strong junior base.”The tournament also has the backing of the Vanuatu Government, with the Minister for Youth Development and Training, the Honourable Dunstan Hilton offering his support. “We have been a long time supporter of cricket in Vanuatu. We realise how important this tournament is to continuing the development of the sport.”On the opening day, Japan will take on PNG at the Kazaa Field while the Independence Park will host Fiji and Vanuatu. The top two teams will play for the title with the winner earning a ticket to Malaysia.Vanuatu Andrew Mansale, Trevor Langa, Frederick Timakata, Simpson Hopeman Obed, Lazaro Carlot, Johnathan Dunn, Brendan Gabriel Francis Piau-Lynch, Steven Mark Piau-Lynch, Trevor Rambay, Patrick Kaltaneaki Matautaava, Henry Chilia, Silou Delarue, Selwyn Garae, Victor Aru.Fiji Josefa Rika (capt), Maciu Babiau (vice-captain), Viliame Yabaki, Peni Dakainivanua, Sekope Biauniceva, Makutu Seru, Viliame Manakiwai, Coqabula Waqabaca, Tukana Tavo, Patrick Tuidraki, Vilikesa Nailolo, Joni Dauveipapitaiso, Gaurang Patel, Enoch Tamani.Japan Kodai Hirano, Takumi Nomura, Naoki Kamatani, Naotsune Miyaji, Masahiro Azuma, Ryo Ikeba, Hideyo Ishida, Taketeru Yoshida, Shohei Okuma, Yosuke Higashimoto, Naoki Toyoda, Naoki Hayashi, Jiro Takenaka, Raheel Kano.Papua New Guinea Tony Pala Ura, Heni Siaka, Tanti Heni, Joel Tom, Miller Rabura, Alfred Amini, Colin Terian Amini, Arua Vagi Dikana, Jonathan Diho, Jason Kila, Loa Nou, Jacob Morea Mado, Harry Eua, Willie Toua Gavera.

Mushtaq Ahmed, the former Pakistan legspinner, has been named as assistant coach of Pakistan for the Champions Trophy according to the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).Abbas Zaidi, a PCB director, confirmed to Cricinfo that Mushtaq had been appointed. “Yes, we have hired him for the Champions Trophy as assistant coach. For the moment the appointment is only for that assignment.”Despite playing his last international for Pakistan nearly three years ago, Mushtaq’s high-profile successes with Sussex have ensured that he has never remained far from the Pakistan set-up, or the selectors’ thoughts. Last winter, he was recalled as one of five spinners for the squad against England; he wasn’t eventually used and by the end of the tour he was helping Pakistan out as an unofficial bowling coach. Eventually, Waqar Younis was hired as a full-time bowling coach later in the winter.And though Mushtaq wasn’t selected for the squad to tour England in the summer, speculation was rife that he would be picked once Pakistan arrived, especially after the spate of crippling injuries their bowlers suffered. To many people’s surprise, he wasn’t chosen for any of the Tests, even though Danish Kaneria struggled throughout the summer. Instead, Mushtaq continued in his attempts to land Sussex a second County Championship title.For now, Mushtaq is back in the set-up, if only for the solitary assignment. The PCB is not yet ruling out involvement beyond that and Zaidi added that the decision will be reviewed again after the tournament. “The appointment will be reviewed on a tour-by-tour basis after that.”

Dennis Lillee, the former Australian fast bowler who was present at the recently concluded fast bowlers’ training camp in Bangalore, has said that the top Indian medium-pacers are in fine fettle ahead of the new season.This will come as welcome news to the Indian team after a season when many of their frontline bowlers- Zaheer Khan, Lakshmipathy Balaji, Irfan Pathan and Ashish Nehra – were rendered ineffective through fatigue and varied injuries.Lillee, who interacted with Greg Chappell and the players, said that both he and TA Sekhar, the chief coach of the MRF Pace Foundation, had analysed video footage of all the 15 bowlers. Chappell had also been told of the adjustments that each bowler had to make. “Remember they have come out of the off season,” said Lillee. “So they are just trying to bowl a line and length. It is good that I had the chance to see them just before they start a new season.”Lillee felt that the players were doing the right things and said he had made corrections wherever necessary. “After all, all of them had been with me earlier at different times. I only needed to make slight adjustments,” he said after analysing the video footage that was sent to him by Chappell. Sekhar also added that there would be frequent sessions analysing the bowlers’ progress and that the players were happy with the opportunity to be monitored under Lillee at the start of a new season.Lillee felt that today’s budding fast bowlers understood the rigours of the trade and were genuinely interested in developing their fast-bowling skills. Lillee said that in 1987, he had trouble finding fast bowlers in the 14-17 age group and attributed this to a lack of fast-bowling role models in India. Lillee was optimistic about the current batch of young fast bowlers and added that “some ‘Sikh boys’ and a few others are really good and look to be long-term future prospects”.He agreed with Javagal Srinath’s view that fast bowlers could win matches for India and cited instances in the past when fast-bowling combinations had proved to be matchwinning in most conditions. “History also proves that Australian and West Indian fast bowlers have won matches for their teams during their visits to India.” Lillee also added that a pitch that assisted quick bowling would provide for more entertainment as a spinning track might hinder fluent strokeplay. “Wickets in Australia and the West Indies do help fast bowlers and the batsmen,” he said. “A fast wicket will be interesting for the paying public as solid stroke makers could keep fast bowlers at bay.”

Scorecard

Trinidad and Tobago secured a berth in the semi-finals of the Stanford 20/20 tournament with a comprehensive 46-run win against Barbados. In a match postponed by a day because of rain, T&T eased to victory as Barbados folded up for 96 chasing a target of 143. The Trinidad duo of Nicholas Ramjass, the left-arm spinner, and Keiron Pollard, the medium pacer, shared six wickets between them and skittled out the last five Barbados wickets for only 17 runs.Earlier, Barbados sent Trinidad in to bat and the openers William Perkins and Mario Belcon got off to a good start, adding 69. However, they were pegged back by a double strike by West Indies fast bowler Ian Bradshaw, who got the important wickets of Perkins and Daren Ganga. With the score at 79 for 4, Shazam Babwah resurrected the innings with 25, taking his side to 142 for 9. Bradshaw was the pick of the bowlers with three wickets while Fidel Edwards chipped in with two.Barbados stumbled early, losing both openers by the fourth over, before Jason Haynes and Floyd Reifer got things going with a 28-run stand for the third wicket. However, they succumbed to some tight bowling and fielding, with Haynes edging a wide delivery to the wicketkeeper. Ramjass and Pollard then took over to dismiss Barbados cheaply, with the last seven batsmen failing to get into double figures.Trinidad will meet Nevis in the semi-final on August 11.
Scorecard

Guyana held their nerve in a tense encounter against Jamaica to reach the semi-finals of the Stanford 20/20 tournament with a three-wicket win. Requiring 38 with three wickets in hand, Imran Khan and Andre Percival guided Guyana home with an over to spare.Jamaica opted to bat first in a match postponed from Friday due to rain, and posted a challenging 163 for 6, with contributions by Chris Gayle, Marlon Samuels and Wavell Hinds. Esuan Crandon led the reply with 71, an innings which contained 12 fours and a six. Guyana were going along well before Jermaine Lawson pegged them back with three quick wickets. Crandon kept his side in the game but Jamaica sensed an opportunity after his dismissal, with the score at 126 for 7. However, Khan and Percival played positively to take their side homeGuyana will meet Grenada in their semi-final on August 10.

Less than 48 hours have passed since the final of the Challenger Trophy at Mohali, and the Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) finds itself embroiled in a new controversy over television rights with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).The first volley was fired by SK Nair, BCCI secretary, as he accused the PCA of not releasing the full financial details of the television deal with Zee Sports, which broadcast all four games. “We have sent them letters asking them to give us the financial details of the deal but PCA refuses to divulge information,” Nair has been quoted as saying by . “We would like to know how much money PCA has made because it affects the gross earnings of the board from which subsidies are given to affiliated units.”The BCCI claims that it is the PCA’s responsibility to maintain transparency regarding any financial dealing, such as who determined a final amount for the TV rights and on what basis, given that the PCA is an affiliate of the BCCI.IS Bindra, PCA president, disapproved Nair’s statements and has dashed off his own letter to the board, dated October 13 and delivered to Nair, by hand, on October 14. Bindra has cited that the PCA went ahead and found sponsors for the Challenger Trophy and arranged for its telecast at the request of the Annual General Meeting, and that he does intend to submit a detailed financial report.Nair’s comments and Bindra’s response are sure to raise the tempo of discussions at the board’s marketing committee meeting to be held in Mumbai on October 16, where the technical bids for TV rights for coverage of all matches till 2009 will be discussed.

The rain affected South Zone Cooch Behar Trophy match between Kerala andGoa, predictably enough, ended in a disappointing draw at the MedicalCollege ground in Trivandrum today. Play was possible only for 133 minuteson the first day during which Goa made 71 for eight wickets. The second andthird days were completely washed out and the teams got three points each.This was the second successive no result for Kerala.

Andy Roberts, the former West Indies fast bowler, has expressed concern over the criteria for selecting teams as well the power entrusted to Bennett King, the West Indies coach. Wary not only of West Indies confusing themselves with the roles of chairman and convenor of selectors, Roberts felt that the system was shifting to unfamiliar terrain.”I do not know how we choose teams. I don’t know what criteria we use,” Roberts told the . “I don’t know whether we just look for players who are currently playing or players who have played a couple months ago but for one reason or another, they are not actually involved in one form of cricket or another.”Roberts, who has also served as a regional team selector, coach and manager, felt that King, who has served as coach for 19 months, had too much say on selection matters. “Being a former coach we never had a quarter or one tenth of the amount of power Bennett has,” he said. “He negotiated that, so be it. But if he wants that and I know what I want for my cricketers, I am not going to go along with that. I think that the coach needs to have the power to drop a player but he mustn’t have absolute power over the chairman of selectors.”Critical of West Indies heading towards an Australian method of handling selection – Joey Carew has been referred to as convenor of selectors instead of chairman, which has been handed over to King – Roberts felt that the method would prove counterproductive.”I don’t know who arrived at that [the system]. To be honest I don’t. A system may work well in Australia but not necessarily work in the West Indies,” he said. “We have our own culture. We did not get to the top of world cricket by not knowing what we were doing. But it seems to me that our administrators believe that we do not know what we are doing.”If I have a chairman [now convenor] of selectors, the chairman of selectors must be involved in picking one to 11, not 14, and he must be chairman. Otherwise why do we have him? What is he there for – just to convene meetings?”