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The MCC hope to send a team to play in Zimbabwe, as long as a fact-finding mission of the country suggests the trip is feasible.

The club's world cricket committee - chaired by Tony Lewis and including ex-Test captains Steve Waugh and Rahul Dravid - have been addressed on the subject of Zimbabwe by Andy Flower, in the course of a two-day meeting.

They announced their ambition to investigate whether Zimbabwe may be ready for a return to the Test cricket fold, at a Lord's press conference this afternoon.

The committee also urged the International Cricket Council immediately to institute day-night cricket, rather than allow another 18 months of further discussion first.

There is a consensus at the MCC that such a delay would amount to mere procrastination when they are sure all elements are already in place for the break with tradition to allow Test cricket under lights - and the move is likely to breathe new life into the format as a spectator sport worldwide.

The MCC's assistant secretary John Stephenson spelled out that, after the successful trial of day-night four-day cricket with a pink ball in the English season curtain-raiser champion county fixture in Abu Dhabi, there is simply no reason not to press on immediately to help Tests become more commercially viable worldwide.

"We should not delay in presenting day-night Test cricket as an option for those Test-playing countries that are struggling to attract an audience.

"We say this form of the game is viable now. We proved it in Abu Dhabi with the four-day game under lights. It was the perfect experiment, and demonstrated this game should go ahead now.

"We don't need another 18 months of research. The world of cricket is ready. It should not wait; the time is now."

Australia great Waugh added his personal endorsement.

"I think it will be great. There is always going to be resistance to change, because it takes people out of their comfort zone," he said.

"But I think as a player I would love it, embrace it - a day-night Test match, and the chance to be part of history.

"Test cricket needs these things to get people back watching it."

The MCC cannot be so unequivocal on Zimbabwe - despite a favourable presentation from that national team's former captain, and current England coach, Flower - hence they are planning to find out for themselves.

To support the notion of the MCC touring Zimbabwe, and then pressing for reinstatement of Test status, the fact-finding mission - to be undertaken by the luminaries of the world committee - will need to ascertain that both the political structure and cricket administration have progressed sufficiently since the darkest days of Robert Mugabe's previous regime.

"The reason for going there is we don't know what we will find, or want to find - the political situation is so fractured, as far as we can believe," said Lewis.

"But the one person urging us to have a look is Andy Flower, and we believe greatly in his judgment - so we will go with open minds.

"We will go through all the correct processes you would expect first; we won't blithely go to Zimbabwe and start playing games again.

"But we felt as if, unless we started to do something now, it would be too easy to let the situation freeze."

The MCC's hope is that they can use their freedom from allegiance to any other administrators to unilaterally highlight the topic of Zimbabwe again - and perhaps ensure the right outcome.

"It's very difficult for the established governing bodies in cricket to make that suggestion and leap," added Lewis.

"With MCC's independence and global reach, it is easier for us to go and look and find out and come back and recommend to the great decision-makers.

"We don't run cricket but we can act as 'Polyfilla', I think, in tricky situations.

"Unless someone says 'let's have a go', nothing will happen - and I would like to think that one day they will be back in the (Test) cricket fold.

"We may come back at the end and say 'we had a really good look, and it's not right'.

"But there is an optimum time to go, and we think it should be shortly."

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Playing in a period that has often been dominated by batsmen, Ricky Ponting is comfortably among the three best willow-wielders of his time.

In the early part of his career, when good fast bowlers were still reasonably prolific, he was overshadowed by the glittering deeds of Brian Lara and Sachin Tendulkar. However, Ponting was able to reel in this mighty pair by becoming such a dominant No. 3 batsman that he was able to dictate terms to almost any attack. Then when Lara retired and Tendulkar's powers waned, Ponting moved to the head of the batting class, and although there are signs age is now catching up with him and the Indian maestro has gathered a second wind, Ponting is still the most influential batsman in the Australian side.

Never has this been more evident than during the five-game ODI series against England. Ponting is no Sir Donald Bradman, but then again nobody else has got within a decent career average of the player who virtually averaged a hundred in Tests.

And neither is Andrew Strauss another Douglas Jardine; he bats left-handed, and rather than baiting Australians, he married one.

However, there are parallels with what's happening between this pair and the machinations of the infamous Bodyline series. With his desire to beat Australia aroused, Jardine decided that if you decreased Bradman's influence on the contest, it dramatically increased England's chances of winning. He virtually halved Bradman's average in 1932-33, with the help of Harold Larwood's well-directed missiles, and hey presto, Ashes reclaimed.

Strauss is a shrewd captain and he's figured out that if you keep Ponting relatively quiet, the rest of the Australian batting line-up is easier to subdue. In the first three ODIs, the England bowlers got the better of Ponting and poof, just like magic, a series victory was claimed.

However, in game four Ponting finally broke the shackles and Australia returned to the winner's circle via their favoured route: by posting a big total and then pouncing as a demanding chase proves too much for a side trying to combat a solid bowling attack backed by athletic fielding.

	England currently have a versatile attack but the one thing they lack is a man with the speed, accuracy and aura to shake up good batsmen on bouncy Australian pitches. The one England bowler with those credentials is Flintoff

It's a formula that has often worked for Australia but it's most successful when Ponting has a long stay at the crease to oversee proceedings. There's no doubt Michael Clarke is a class player but he can't dictate terms like Ponting. And Shane Watson can hammer the faster bowlers but too often his dominance is snuffed out shortly after he gets to 50. Strauss will be aware that dealing with Ponting is like a night at the casino: sometimes you're lucky and others you're not.

However, the evidence is irrefutable. In the two Tests England won to claim the 2009 Ashes series, England kept Ponting quiet, particularly in the first innings, and Australia were never able to dominate when batting. If Strauss wants to reach the dizzy heights, he could learn another lesson from Jardine.

Jardine was quick to realise that you need good fast bowling to win in Australia. Jardine not only provided Larwood with a blueprint for unsettling Bradman, he also made sure he had plenty of fast bowling back-up. England currently have a versatile attack but the one thing they lack is a man with the speed, accuracy and aura to shake up good batsmen on bouncy Australian pitches.

The one England bowler with those credentials is Andrew Flintoff. Apparently Flintoff is amenable to returning for one last Ashes series. Just like Jardine courted Larwood with plans to bounce Bradman before the 1932-33 series, Strauss would be wise to advise Flintoff that if he's fit, he'd like him in the touring party, even if it's just for two or three specific Tests.

England already has one small piece of kryptonite to weaken Ponting: throughout his career he's had problems with good offspinners and Graeme Swann is currently the best in the game. However, Swann and every other England bowler will present a stronger challenge to Ponting's authority if a fit Flintoff is lurking in the shadows. Some might say it's a panic move, others would complain on the score of disrupting team unity. Then there are those who might deem the move a practical one in an attempt to win a series in Australia, and never has there been a more pragmatic cricket captain than Douglas Jardine.

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Former Australian Prime Minister John Howard, whose nomination for the post of ICC vice-president was rejected by six countries last week, has questioned the validity of such a move given the rotational policy currently in place to put forward candidates. Also, reacting to the suggestion that the BCCI may have had a considerable influence in his rejection, Howard stressed India's enormous value to world cricket but at the same time emphasised that "no one country should dominate".

According to the ICC's rotational policy, Australia and New Zealand were supposed to nominate a candidate for vice-president this time. New Zealand had initially proposed John Anderson, a former chairman of NZC, as their nomination before Howard was picked over him. "They've got to pay regard to what's happened, given that we had apparently put in place a procedure for choosing by rotation the president and vice-president of the ICC, and that appears to have been pushed to one side in the last week," Howard told Channel Nine. "But equally they've got to look at the future of the game."

India's possible role in blocking his nomination has come in for much criticism in the media. Howard, while urging caution in singling out India, called for greater parity among the members of the ICC. "We have to be careful of making India some kind of target of disdain in world cricket," he said. "There is one part of the world where a sport at the present time remains transcendent over soccer and that is the Indian subcontinent. The fanaticism for cricket among the 1.5 billion people in the entire region ... is unbelievable and we've got to see that in a positive light.

"I think it is very important we understand there's got to be a fair sharing of responsibilities and no one part of the world, no one country, should dominate.

"People in the past criticised the fact it was dominated by England and Australia and now we don't want to replace one perceived domination with another.

"That in a way is why the ICC put in place this rotation system and that's one of the issues CA have got to take into account when it responds to what has happened."

Howard said he was still interested in the job, but left it to CA to decide the next course of action. "I'd like the job but at this stage it's hit a roadblock, and what happens from now on is really CA's call, it's not about me, it's about the future of the game," he said. "I went into this because I love cricket very much and I had the time to devote to it and the energy and the commitment, but what happens from now on CA and New Zealand Cricket have been asked to re-nominate and they obviously separately and together will meet and talk about the situation."

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The BCCI has voted unanimously to ratify the charges against suspended IPL commissioner Lalit Modi at its special general body meeting in Mumbai today, and forwarded the case to its disciplinary committee. The committee will now investigate the allegations against Modi to determine whether civil or criminal charges should be filed against him. It has until October 26 to complete its inquiry.

"The house after a deliberation and debate in the matter, resolved that the president of the board should be authorised to take all legal actions including civil and criminal for the wrongful loss caused to the board against Mr. Modi and any other person," BCCI president Shashank Manohar, said. "Whether it is a civil or criminal matter, we can only decide after we have probed the legality of the issue."

Modi's lawyer Mehmood Abdi responded to the BCCI's decision to look into civil and criminal charges against his client by calling it a "legal absurdity."

"The decision taken is a legal absurdity," Abdi told PTI. "On the one hand the special general meeting of the BCCI decided to ratify referring of charges against Mr Lalit Modi to the disciplinary committee for further investigation. On the other hand the BCCI decides also to file criminal charges against Mr Modi on the same ground. That means the BCCI has already formed an opinion about the commitment of offence by Mr Modi."

Earlier at the same meeting, Union Minister of State and Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association president Jyotiraditya Scindia was appointed to the disciplinary committee to replace Manohar, who had recused himself from all proceedings concerning Modi. Jyotiraditya is the son of the late Madhavrao Scindia, who was the BCCI president from 1990 to 1993.

The meeting was convened by BCCI secretary N Srinivasan, who had rejected Modi's replies to the board's three show-case notices and passed the initial order to refer the case to the disciplinary committee. Under the board's constitution, a three-fourths majority was needed to ratify Srinivasan's decision.

Modi was suspended immediately following the conclusion of IPL 3 and charged with financial irregularities relating to the bidding process for IPL franchises, the mid-over ad sales and the sale of theatrical rights. He was also charged with colluding to set up a rebel league in England. Modi had repeatedly accused Manohar and Srinivasan of harbouring personal grudges against him, and insisted neither of them should be involved in deciding his case.

The other two members of the committee who will take up Modi's case are board vice-presidents Arun Jaitley and Chirayu Amin.

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ustralia 277 for 7 (Hussey 79, Marsh 59, Broad 4-64, Swann 3-32) beat England 235 (Collingwood 95, Tait 4-48) by 42 runs

	England's top order had trouble against Shaun Tait's pace © Getty Images
Related Links Preview : Teams aim to finish strongly Players/Officials: Stuart Broad | Paul Collingwood | Michael Hussey | Shaun Marsh | Graeme Swann | Shaun Tait Matches: England v Australia at Lord's Series/Tournaments: Australia tour of England and Ireland Teams: Australia | England

Shaun Tait broke the 100mph mark for the first time and shattered England's batting line-up to ensure Australia ended their lost series on a positive note, with a 42-run win at Lord's. Paul Collingwood's 95 raised English hopes as they recovered from a shaky start in their chase of 278, but when Tait rattled Collingwood's stumps England's 3-2 series scoreline was all but settled.

For most of Australia's innings, England were in a strong position but Michael Hussey and Shaun Marsh exploded with 115 runs in the final ten overs to set a challenging target. By the time Tait bowled Andrew Strauss and Michael Yardy in a furiously quick four-over opening spell, England's chase was wobbling, and when they crashed to 73 for 5 they looked to be finished.

Steadily, Collingwood guided them back into the match with help from Luke Wright and Tim Bresnan, and they needed 85 from the last ten overs with four wickets in hand. A direct-hit from Ricky Ponting sent Bresnan on his way for 34 and two balls later Collingwood advanced to Tait and was bowled, and despite some power hitting from Graeme Swann England couldn't recover from their early setbacks.

Fittingly, Tait (4 for 48) finished the job when he had Swann caught at mid-off. When he struck twice in his third over, England were 19 for 2, and as impressive as his speed was the outswing he generated. Strauss's off stump went cartwheeling towards the keeper and Yardy, promoted to No. 3 due to Kevin Pietersen's thigh strain, had two sighters from Tait before one that he appeared to barely see at all. The ball pitched on line and straightened, Yardy inexplicably left it alone and felt it ricochet off his pad onto the stumps.

Tait's first over set the tone, when he sent down a 161.kph (100.1mph) delivery to Craig Kieswetter. It was the quickest on record by an Australian, beating Brett Lee's 160.8kph effort in Napier in 2005, and marginally short of the all-time record holder Shoaib Akhtar, who hit 161.3kph during the 2003 World Cup. When Tait rested, wickets kept falling. Ryan Harris, Steven Smith and James Hopes all chipped in and of the top six, only Collingwood and Kieswetter (11) reached double figures.

Australia's top order found it just as hard to score runs and laboured to 74 for 2 from 20 overs. The turnaround came from Hussey and Marsh, who was only called up because Michael Clarke was suffering a sore back. Marsh launched Stuart Broad straight back over his head for a six and runs suddenly started to flow at the 39-over mark.

It was Marsh's first ODI since February and he thrived in the unfamiliar No. 5 position until he holed out to deep extra cover for 59 from 50 balls. But while a confident Hussey remained at the crease, England could not relax. Hussey's 79 was his first major contribution of the series and it was a typical Hussey one-day innings. There were a couple of sixes over midwicket and square leg but generally he picked the gaps and hared through for quick singles and twos if he couldn't find the boundary.

The tempo change was necessary after Tim Paine ground his way to his first half-century of the series. He took 90 balls for his 54 before he tried to reverse sweep against the spin of Swann and it was an ill-judged stroke; the ball turned too sharply, clipped his gloves and rebounded onto the stumps.

Swann also tempted Cameron White, who was caught in the deep for 20, and finished with 3 for 32. While he enjoyed the spoils in the middle overs, it was the fast men who restricted Australia in the early stages. James Anderson and Bresnan repeatedly whizzed the ball past the outside edge of Paine and Shane Watson with quality swing bowling before the first-change man Broad made inroads.

Broad (4 for 64) delivered an aggressive spell with plenty of bouncers that rattled several of Australia's batsmen. Shane Watson (14) mistimed a pull and was caught at mid-on, Paine was lucky to survive a sharp bouncer that he lobbed towards gully and Ponting fell to an ugly attempted hook that he gloved through to the wicketkeeper.

Fortunately for Australia, they had Tait to fall back on, and his speeds have set up an interesting showdown with Akhtar in this week's Twenty20s at Edgbaston. England's next challenge is a one-day series against Bangladesh, and while they would have preferred a sharper performance at Lord's, a 3-2 result is still a fine way to begin their summer.

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MANCHESTER: Bangladesh coach Jamie Siddons warned England’s bowlers “it doesn’t swing, it doesn’t seam in Australia” ahead of their Ashes defence ‘Down Under’ later this year.

England, in overcast conditions and with the ball swinging spitefully, skittled out Bangladesh, following on, for just 123 inside 35 overs as they won the second Test by an innings and 80 runs inside three days at Old Trafford here on Sunday.

That gave England a 2-0 series win after they beat Bangladesh by eight wickets in the first Test at Lord’s.

But no-one, least of all England, are kidding themselves that a series win over Bangladesh represents any kind of guide to their Ashes chances.

England may hold the Ashes after a 2-1 win at home last year but it is 23 years since they last won a Test series in Australia.

Even against Bangladesh, there were times when England struggled to take wickets with the old ball on a flat pitch when the sun was out.

Siddons, a prolific run-scorer in the Sheffield Shield but uncapped by his native Australia at Test level, said England’s attack would need to find a way of coping with local conditions.

“They are obviously good enough to win, they have just beaten Australia,” Siddons told reporters at Old Trafford.

“But I made a throwaway comment that it ‘doesn’t swing, it doesn’t seam in Australia’ and it certainly won’t swing like that.”

Steven Finn, already being touted as an Ashes prospect, marked only his second Test in England with a return of five wickets for 42 runs here on Sunday and Siddons said the lanky paceman – Finn is 6ft 8in tall – had what it took to succeed in Australia.

“Maybe the new ball will swing for four or five overs, so you need to be like Finn and put it in good areas and maybe get it up a bit fuller because short stuff isn’t going to worry Australia.

“They (England) are good enough definitely, they have the batsmen to make enough runs and a good off-spinner (Graeme Swann) for days four and five.”

Former England captain Michael Vaughan wants current skipper Andrew Strauss to deploy a five-man attack in Australia, even though the side’s present preference is for six batsmen and four bowlers.

But Siddons said: “I’m not sure about the composition of their team, you have to make enough runs to give your bowlers a chance. It’s a balancing act, like in Test cricket here (in England).

“Each wicket in Australia is different; Adelaide will spin a lot more and take it earlier, Brisbane probably won’t take any (spin) at all until the last day or two.”

England now face oldest foes Australia in a five-match one-day series at home starting in Southampton on June 22, having beaten them in last month’s World Twenty20 final in Barbados.

“It will be a hard series for both teams to play,” Strauss said of England’s upcoming clash with the world champions.

“The subtext to it is both the Ashes coming up and the World Cup (in Asia next year) and these will be five important games for both sides in their preparations towards that.

“We see it as a chance to test ourselves against the top one-day side in the world and less than 12 months before the World Cup that is a good thing to do,” the opening batsman added.

England, who have a packed home season, face Pakistan in a four-Test series in July and August.

It looks as if Pakistan will be near full strength after several players, including former captain Younis Khan who was given an indefinite ban, won appeals against a variety of disciplinary punishments handed down by the Pakistan Cricket Board.

“We want to play the best quality Pakistan side possible,” Strauss insisted. “It is going to be a good test for us prior to the Ashes series.”

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From termite to terminator

The return of Shoaib Malik is perhaps the greatest humiliation that can be thrown in the faces of Ijaz Butt, Wasim Bari, Intikhab Alam, Aaqib Javed, Yawar Saeed, Shahid Afridi & Co.

The man one of them called a “termite,” whom they all agreed was the “intriguer” in the team, who, according to Alam, refused to bat at no.3 in New Zealand after agreeing to do so, and who was reported to have feigned an injury to sit out the Sydney Test, has now had his ban lifted and fine reduced to one million rupees. That I think he can easily pay by selling the gold crown he got from the government minister on his marriage.

Butt taketh away and Butt giveth back. And the so-called termite has been transformed into a terminator, complete with his infamous quip “I’ll be back.”

We all started out laughing at Butt’s antics before having more serious disagreements with his decisions. Eventually we became annoyed at his constant and unrepentant U-turns and propensity for handing lucrative assignments to cronies. The time has now come to pity the man. He has moved from being an indecisive dilly dallier, to an arrogant power-wielder, and now seems more like a senile man who does not know what has become of him.

He is like a robot who gets programmed and then reprogrammed and sent out to speak nonsense. It has come to a moment where he would better off as a spokesman for the Wall Street Association of Ethical Bankers or something equally absurd.

Every time he comes forward to speak, you tell yourself, “He’s not going to do it… He’s not going to say it….” Then he does and you ask yourself why you had doubted your instinct. His last stupidity was to reveal that there was political pressure on him to lift the ban, but that he would not succumb to it. Two days later the Arbitrator, or whatever he claims he is, informed the media that the PCB had given a “good behaviour” report on the termite/terminator (which one depends on whether you love or hate Malik).

As a result, Malik is now a free man. Remember how the media was termed as crazy when they encroached on the privacy of Malik when he was to be married to Sania Mirza, to the extent that one TV channel even showed the bed on which they were to sleep in a Lahore hotel? The real question now is, what has the PCB been watching given that the ghar daamaad has been living in Hyderabad Deccan since his rukhsati. Who gave the affidavit declaring that Malik has been on good behaviour? Sania? The peace-making Islamic leadership of that city? Or could it be that it was our gatecrasher aunt who put her weight on Butt’s shoulders to bend him into freeing her ambassador of family planning: “Get him to out of harm’s way, Butt ji.”

So who’s likely to be the scapegoat for Butt this time? Most likely Wasim Bari, who did the job for his boss – but then the videos weren’t supposed to be public. So much for the foresight of the legal advisor Tafazzul Rizvi, who should have advised the PCB that if they record it and allow for appeals then these will have to be submitted. Or that the Senate and NA sports committees could ask for it, which is the end of the Official Secrets Act.

Now Bari must be shown to be wrong when as chairman he okayed the bans when there was no proof. Or permitted Alam’s infamous summing up of the situation – “It seemed our players are mentally retarded” – to come into print in the official report. But it is unfair to Bari who may have risen to higher places even though his management calibre is well known.

This is probably the day for which Bari was made COO for. He is neither a friend nor a relative. Knowing that any delay might lead to some MNA or Senator being taken seriously, Butt announced the entire team management for coming tours before the team itself. Included are Yawar Saeed who has been revealed as the instigator of player’s disenchantment with each other through the leaked videos of the inquiry committee meetings (but has close relations with Butt sahib) and Aaqib Javed, who all but used the F word – fixer – about Kamran Akmal’s missed run-out at Sydney.

Perhaps Kamran Akmal will make peace after threatening to take Aaqib to court to get his fine reduced or removed. “Listen, we both need the money. Let’s just get this tour over with. This nation with no bread, clothes, shelter, will just curse us and then, the next day, be too busy looking for electricity, water, justice, law and order, hope, etc. to think about our actions.”

Afridi is fully aware of the disciplinary impotence and has taken upon himself to issue warnings to players about maintaining a code of conduct. No words there from Yawar Saeed or others among the top management to Afridi to stop stepping into the manager’s boots. Even when he announces that he wants four new faces and Younis Khan as his deputy. No words from the selectors and the chairman about the fact that Afridi is violating the code of conduct by making these statements, which are not the domain of the captain. Maybe that’s why Afridi felt emboldened to lambast former manager Alam for being a demoralising force. No punishment for breaking the code of conduct for commenting critically on a board official and issuing public statements after a tour. With apologies to Simon and Garfunkel, we should we be singing, “Where have you gone, Mr. Bari & Co.?”

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KARACHI: Former Pakistan Test cricketer Zaheer Abbas said on Saturday the Pakistan Cricket Board was encouraging player-power by lifting the ban on players.

He feared the players would not fear any ban in future if the board continued its present attitude.

“Taking a U-turn in only a few months, as in case of lifting the ban on players, reveals that the board banned players without assessing the situation properly,” Zaheer said.

The PCB appeal judge Irfan Qadir had last week removed a one-year ban on Shoaib Malik and also waived off Rs3 million fine on Shahid Afridi. He also reduced the fine of Kamran Akmal and Umar Akmal. Finally, the judge on Saturday lifted an indefinite ban on Younis Khan.

Zaheer added that lifting the ban would prompt and encourage player-power and bring the board on its knees and the board would never be able to take action against the players even for some major offences.

“The board has shown its weakness to the players and they would never bother to follow the code of conduct,” Zaheer explained.

He added the board had always remained under pressure and failed to discipline the players.

“Moreover, it sends a negative message to the world that the PCB has no administration and consistency. The board has made itself a laughing-stock by first penalising players and then by waiving off their penalties,” he said.—PPI

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LONDON: Australia great Adam Gilchrist will captain Middlesex in their next six matches after Shaun Udal announced his resignation as skipper of the Lord's-based county with immediate effect on Friday.

Gilchrist, captain until batsman Neil Dexter takes permanent charge, is now set to lead Middlesex in their upcoming five domestic Twenty20 matches, starting with Friday's game against Kent at Canterbury.

And the wicketkeeper/batsman -- elevated to the captaincy a day after being dismissed for nought -- will also lead Middlesex in their 50-over tour match against Australia at Lord's on June 19.

Commenting on Gilchrist's appointment, Middlesex's director of cricket, Angus Fraser, said in a statement on Friday: “It would be foolish for Middlesex not to make use of one of the most experienced and respected cricketers the game has produced whilst he is at the club.

“He captained the Deccan Chargers to success in the 2009 Indian Premier League and led Australia in all forms of the game with distinction on numerous occasions. In his short time in England he has already had an influential role in the T20 cricket we are playing.” Former Middlesex and England pace bowler Fraser added: “Everything about Adam is world class and since his arrival he has had an extremely positive effect on the dressing room.

“Our players love having him around and playing in the same side as Adam shows our young cricketers what is required to be a great player.

“Adam's presence gives Neil a wonderful opportunity to watch and learn from one of the finest and most respected players to play the game.”

The 38-year-old Gilchrist was out for nought against Somerset in Thursday's six-wicket Twenty20 loss at Lord's, having managed just two in his first game for Middlesex.

Former England off-spinner Udal joined Middlesex from Hampshire, where the 41-year-old has spent the bulk of his career, in 2008 and was handed the captaincy in September that year.

But Fraser said the county's “indifferent” cricket -- they are second from bottom in the second division of the two-tier first-class County Championship -- had worn down Udal, who remains available as a player, and had adversely affected his bowling too.

“Shaun cares passionately about how Middlesex CCC performs and has worked extremely hard to turn the team in to a winning outfit but the indifferent cricket we continue to play has worn him down,” Fraser said.

“It has affected his bowling too. Shaun is an intelligent and articulate man and he feels the team needs a change in leadership.

Udal added: “Captaining Middlesex has been a huge honour for me. There can be few better feelings than leading a team out at Lord's.

“Letting go of something like that is extremely difficult but Angus Fraser and I have agreed that this is the best way forward for the club.”

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KARACHI: Pakistan's cricket squad left for Sri Lanka Saturday to compete in the Asia Cup, optimistic that the event will not be upstaged by the football World Cup now under way in South Africa.

“Football is huge, but I hope after the 90 minutes of excitement (of a World Cup game) fans will give cricket its due attention and follow the Asia Cup,” Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi told AFP before his team left for Colombo.

The tenth Asia Cup will be played from June 15-24 in Dambulla, in central Sri Lanka, about 150 kilometres northeast of Colombo, coinciding with the month-long football tournament that opened in South Africa Friday.

Besides Pakistan, the Asia Cup will also include India, Bangladesh and hosts and defending champions Sri Lanka.

Afridi said that his team will follow the football World Cup while in Sri Lanka, but mostly on rest days.

“Like millions of Asians I also follow football and my favorite team is Brazil, so like my teammates I will follow World Cup matches as and when we have time, but the focus remains the Asia Cup,” said Afridi.

The 13-man team first flew to Dubai from where they will reach Colombo later Saturday. Fast bowler Mohammad Asif will fly via Doha, Qatar because of a ban on visiting the United Arab Emirates (UAE) over a drug offence.

Asif was deported from the UAE in June 2008 after a 19-day detention for possession of a banned drug while returning home from league cricket in India.

Pakistan all-rounder Abdul Razzaq will travel to Colombo from England, where he is playing county cricket.

Afridi said he hoped his team will be in form after a turbulent three months for Pakistan cricket which saw senior players banned and fined for disciplinary violations and poor performance.

“What happened in the past is behind us,” said Afridi, who was made captain for all three forms of the game last month. “We have a blend of seniors and juniors who all know their duty well.”In March the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) banned and fined seven players, including Afridi, following their December-January tour of Australia.

They lost all three Tests, five one-day internationals and the only Twenty20 match of the tour, which was also marred by discipline violations.

However, the board later lifted the bans on former captain Younus Khan and Shoaib Malik and reduced the fines on appeals. Afridi's three-million-rupee (35,000-US-dollar) fine for ball-tampering was revoked.

Another former captain, Mohammad Yousuf, did not appeal and instead retired in protest. All-rounder Rana Naved-ul-Hasan's appeal against a one-year ban and fine is pending.

Malik was recalled for the Asia Cup squad, while Younus is favourite to return for the tour of England which follows the Asia Cup.

Afridi said both the Asia Cup and England tour would be important for the revival of the Pakistani team.

“It is a good chance for the players to turn the fortunes of the team, so this is very important phase for our cricket,” said Afridi.

Express paceman Shoaib Akhtar is also back in the team after being sidelined since May last year because of a knee injury.— AFP

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ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Skipper Shahid Afridi has asked the Pakistan selectors to use the approaching Asia Cup to give exposure to younger players of international cricket.

“I think the time is right to start grooming and giving exposure to some of our young lot because we also have to keep the 2011 World Cup in mind.” Cricket365 quoted Afridi as saying.

“We should have three to four new players along with the seniors so that we can strike the right balance in the one-day side,” he said.

Pakistan’s selectors opted to take an experienced squad to the recently concluded World Twenty20 in the Caribbean, but Afridi says he, along with Coach Waqar Younis, wants to take a different route this time.

“The selectors had picked that squad but as a matter of policy the coach and I want to give exposure to the young players so that they can provide stable support and back up the seniors in future,” he said.

Several players have been included in Pakistan’s prolonged 35-man squad for this month’s Asia Cup in Sri Lanka.

The squad will be reduced to 15 players this week before they head to Karachi for a training camp. – APP

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KARACHI: Pakistan team manager Yawar Saeed believes the return of former captains Younis Khan and Shoaib Malik in the squad for Asia Cup and England tour will not affect the dressing-room environment.

Both the former captains Younis and Malik faced disciplinary action from the PCB with the former still waiting to get his indefinite ban overturned.

Malik had his one-year ban lifted last week and was already selected in the 35-man preliminary squad for the two tours starting June 15 with the Asia Cup. The manager played down suggestions that presence of former skippers would fuel controversies among the players.

“I don’t foresee any issues due to presence of Younis and Malik in the upcoming tours and I am confident the assignments would be free of controversies,” said the manager.

Yawar, also a former first class cricketer said all the players showed great discipline during the Caribbean tour including captain Shahid Afridi, Umar Akmal and Kamran Akmal who also faced PCB action after the troublesome tour of Australia.

“There were no scandals during the World Twenty20 despite presence of the punished trio and I am confident inclusion of Younis and Shoaib will also not disturb environment in the dressing room,” he said.

The manager felt that decision to include banned players in the squad was taken in the best interest of team, saying Pakistan will need seasoned players in the assignments especially on tour of England.

However, the 75-year old said he would keep a vigilant eye on the players during the tours and would not tolerate any discipline breach.

“Rule and regulations are equal for all the players and I would not let any player break them and deal strictly with any discipline-related offence,” he said.—PPI

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