ICC issues sanctions warning for government interference

Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh have been given a maximum of two years to reorganise their boards after the International Cricket Council (ICC) ordered its members to free themselves from government interference or face sanctions.

The ICC annual conference upheld a constitutional amendment to provide for the principle of free elections and the independence of member boards, cricket''s governing body said in a statement on Thursday.

"It was agreed that all member boards must implement the provisions before annual conference in June 2012 and a further 12 months (to June 2013) would be allowed before any sanctions would be considered," the statement read.

"It was a well-established principle of modern sporting governance that national federations should be autonomous and free from interference from government in the administration of their affairs."

The decision means administrative reforms will be required in at least three test playing nations.

In Pakistan, the cricket board chief is appointed by the country's president, who is designated chief patron of the board.

Sri Lanka Cricket has an interim body which requires issues such as team selection to be approved by the sports ministry, while the Bangladesh board chief is appointed by the government.

In a separate matter at the meeting, non-test playing nations expressed disappointment at the governing body's decision to maintain the 12-team format for the Twenty20 World Cups in 2012 (Sri Lanka) and 2014 (Bangladesh).

"The ICC acknowledges their disappointment but the decision to have 14 teams in the (50-over) World Cup and 12 teams in the ICC World Twenty20 is a return to the current format for ICC events," chief executive Haroon Lorgat said.

The governing body's initial plan was to restrict the 50-over World Cup to 10 test playing nations for the 2015 tournament and adopt an expanded 16-team format for the Twenty20 event.

However, an Ireland-led protest from the non-test playing associate nations prompted the ICC to retain the 14-team format for the 2015 World Cup.

add add * ICC needs to inject new life in Tests: Shane Warne

Australia spin legend Shane Warne feels Test cricket will soon be history if the ICC and major cricketing boards fail to take proactive steps to promote the five-day game and save it from extinction.

The former leg-spinner said for any player Test cricket would always be the first priority but to save the longer version of the game the ICC needs to take responsibility and inject new life in it.

"Test cricket to me and to a lot of other ex-players and public is a great form of the game, the best. It has to remain the ultimate, we need to promote it, push it and play an attacking style of cricket. It's where you're judged, earn your respect and get to show what makes you tick," Warne wrote in his column in Daily Telegraph.

England escape one-day whitewash

England avoided a 7-0 one-day series whitewash with a four-wicket win over Australia at the Riverside.

Graeme Swann was England's star performer, taking 5-28 as Australia were dismissed for 176 despite an innings of 53 by Ricky Ponting.

Andrew Strauss (46) and Joe Denly (53) gave England a solid platform with a 106-run opening partnership.

A middle-order collapse gave Australia hope but Paul Collingwood and Tim Bresnan saw England home on 177-6.

Although the victory ensured England escaped an unprecedented 7-0 series drubbing, another sub-standard batting performance - Strauss and Denly excepted - gave them little cause for optimism ahead of the ICC Champions Trophy, which starts on Tuesday.

After an impressive bowling display, when Swann became only the fifth England spin bowler to take five wickets in a one-day innings, the hosts almost contrived to throw away a match which was there for the taking.

From 106-0, when an injudicious reverse sweep cost Strauss his wicket, England slumped to 141-5 and although they reached their target with 10 overs to spare, it was somehow fitting that they should finally stumble over the line courtesy of a no-ball.

Despite the disappointment of missing out on a series whitewash, and dropping to third in the one-day rankings as a consequence, Australia will travel to South Africa for the Champions Trophy confident of repeating their 2006 victory.

With the sun belting down on a glorious morning in Chester-le-Street, Ponting once again lost the toss - his sixth from seven - as Strauss opted to utilise the favourable overhead conditions and bowl first.

The hosts welcomed back Collingwood from a three-game hiatus and gave another local favourite, Graham Onions, his one-day debut at the ground where he recently helped Durham win the County Championship for the second successive year.

On a track offering assistance for both seamers and spinners, England bowled with the control and aggression so often missing in their previous six performances in the series.

Anderson reaped instant success as Shane Watson edged a simple catch to Swann at first slip and Tim Paine, fresh from a maiden one-day ton at Trent Bridge in the previous match, followed suit to give Onions his first one-day wicket for England.

With Australia teetering for the first time in the series at 17-2, the experience of Ponting and Clarke steered the tourists away from immediate danger.

Ponting, in particular, was cutting, pulling and driving with consummate ease and a booming front-foot drive saw the Tasmanian surpass Inzamam-ul-Haq and move to third in the all-time leading one-day run scorers, with only Sanath Jayasuriya and Sachin Tendulkar now in front of him.

But soon after reaching his 68th one-day half century, Ponting was beaten in the flight by Swann and looped a catch to Collingwood, who was stationed at mid-on, a dismissal which sparked a seven-wicket collapse for just 80 runs.

The breakthrough provided fresh impetus for England and Clarke followed soon after for 38, run out by a smart piece of fielding from Eoin Morgan.

Sri Lanka cruise to opening win

Tillakaratne Dilshan's 106 inspired Sri Lanka to a 55-run rain-affected win over South Africa in the opening match of the Champions Trophy in Centurion.

The opener put on 158 with captain Kumar Sangakkara (54), while a brutal 77 from Mahela Jaywardene took Sri Lanka to 319-8 in their Group B game.

Graeme Smith's 58 gave the hosts a strong start, but a devastating Ajantha Mendis spell ended their victory hopes.

Mendis' 3-30 left the hosts at 206-7, well behind the Duckworth/Lewis target.

The thumping victory made a mockery of South Africa's ranking as the world's best one-day team as they were dismantled by the match-winning abilities of Mendis and Dilshan.

The result means the hosts will need to win their next match against New Zealand on Thursday to stand any chance of qualifying for the semi-finals of the tournament.

With Sri Lanka in total control at 70-1 after 10 overs, captain Smith must have questioned his decision to bowl first on a good batting wicket as Dilshan launched an astonishing aerial assault in the mandatory powerplay overs.

Despite losing Sanath Jayasuriya, lbw to Steyn in the third over, the opener meted out punishment to South Africa's fast bowlers, including the first "Dilscoop" of the tournament, shovelling the ball high over wicketkeeper Mark Boucher's head for four off Wayne Parnell.

Batting serenely with Sangakkara, Dilshan brought up his 17th one-day half century off just 38 deliveries.

A crunching cover drive and a fine cut allowed Dilshan to record his third one-day century in the 28th over, but he lost Sangakkara almost immediately after when he chipped a return catch to off-spinner JP Duminy.

Dilshan's epic innings was eventually brought to an end in the 30th over when a rank long-hop outside off stump from Steyn was upper cut into the hands of the relieved Albie Morkel at third man.

But an intelligent fourth-wicket partnership of 116 between ex-captain Jayawardene and Thilan Samaraweera gave Sri Lanka the impetus to set a daunting target of 320 under the floodlights.

"We batted very well by doing the basics properly and building partnerships," said Sangakkara.

The hosts' riposte began in the worst possible fashion when a thick inside edge off the bat of Hashim Amla dislodged his leg stump at 9-1.

But Smith and new batsman Jacques Kallis punched boundaries on both sides of the wicket, with the Proteas captain bringing up his 50 in just 40 deliveries with a deft glance for his eighth boundary.

But his innings was brought to a close when a beautiful delivery in Mendis' first over totally bamboozled him.

The spinner quickly dispatched Kallis (41) and Duminy for a golden duck, while the dismissal of AB de Villiers (24), caught top-edging and attempting to pull a Lasith Malinga short delivery, effectively ended the run chase.

"Ajantha is a big challenge for anyone playing him for the first time," Sangakkara added.

"With him, Muttiah Muralitharan and Malinga, we have a lot of unorthodox match-winners in our side."

Late hitting from Johan Botha and Morkel took South Africa beyond 200 but a heavy storm forced the game to be abandoned in the 38th over with South Africa comfortably short of their Duckworth/Lewis target of 261.

"We never got our basics right and we've got to improve very quickly," said Smith, whose side had not played an international match since the World Twenty20 semi-final in June.

"The number of extras we gave away is a problem, and we've got to think better on our feet."

Cricket set for Champions Trophy

Cricket's second biggest 50-over event, the biennial Champions Trophy, begins in South Africa on Tuesday, as the sport's top eight teams vie for glory.

The tournament was to have been held in Pakistan last year but was postponed and moved because of security concerns.

Two teams from two groups of four will form the semi-finals, with the final to be staged in Centurion on 5 October.

England face South Africa, New Zealand and Sri Lanka but are without star men Andrew Flintoff and Kevin Pietersen.

Group A consists of holders Australia, India, Pakistan and the West Indies.

The England team were thrashed in the recent 50-over series against Australia, with only a narrow victory in the final match preventing them from becoming the first team to lose a series 7-0.

Without Flintoff and Pietersen their chances appear remote, and they begin with a daunting day/night contest against the talented Sri Lankans in Johannesburg on Friday.

Kumar Sangakkara's highly-regarded Sri Lanka side begin the competition against the hosts in Centurion (1330 BST start).

South Africa, the world's number one side, have not been in competitive action since the ICC World Twenty20 in England in June but skipper Graeme Smith said his side were ready to make an impact.

He said: "One of our major challenges as a team going into this tournament is our lack of games, but we have really focused hard in the last three weeks to train as well as we can by making it as competitive as possible.

"We have created a lot of scenarios and challenges which will best enhance our abilities.

"The guys are motivated and excited and I think we can use the freshness to our advantage by getting in and playing good cricket up front."

Counterpart Sangakkara was in optimistic mood as his team look to win the trophy for the first time outright, having shared the title in 2002 when the final and the reserve day against India was washed out.

In the last two months they have won a five-match series against Pakistan and won triangular series games with New Zealand and India, before losing in the final to Mahendra Dhoni's side.

"Everyone here is a professional unit and whether they have played recently or not won't matter because you are always in training and up to the challenge of playing," Sangakkara said.

"It is nice to have had a bit of cricket, but the only advantage of that is that we have been competing under pressure.

"Everyone in our team is confident, but our recent wins are not going to count for anything."

The popularity of the 50-over format of the game has waned since the introduction of Twenty20 and speculation about its future is rife, with a general air of apathy surrounding a second world tournament in the space of three months, following the ICC World Twenty20 won by Pakistan.

Lessons have been learned from the torturous 2007 World Cup, which comprised 16 teams and took more than six weeks to complete its 51 matches, with only 15 games over a far more sensible two-week period in this competition.

The loss of crowd-pullers such as Flintoff and Pietersen, plus India's cavalier opening batsman Virender Sehwag, is unfortunate, however, and some big-hitting, action-packed close contests are urgently needed if the event is to continue in the long term.

ECB backs world Test championship

The England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB) says it supports the idea of introducing a world Test championship.

Haroon Lorgat, chief executive of the International Cricket Council (ICC), had claimed that England and India were blocking the initiative.

But the ECB's only reservations are believed to be over the event's format.

"We are fully engaged with the ICC over proposals for a world Test championship and are supportive in principle," an ECB spokesman said.

Cricket's governing body has been looking into ways of increasing the popularity of Test cricket, whose future is threatened by the rise of the Twenty20 game.

In July, the MCC's world cricket committee recommended the introduction of a world Test championship, involving teams playing each other over a four-year cycle, culminating in semi-finals and a final.

The ECB are believed to be concerned about spreading the tournament over such a long period, during which the strength of the teams would vary enormously.

The plans could also lead to lucrative series against the likes of Australia, India and South Africa being shortened to accommodate matches against lesser Test nations like Bangladesh and New Zealand.

The proposed starting date of 2012 could clash with the London Olympics.

But the ICC is determined to push the plan through in order to give greater importance to every Test series.

"I would like to convince people that the way to ensure Test cricket survives is through a championship model," Lorgat told the Guardian.

"The only two countries who do not see the argument are India and England, but debate is growing all the time.

"The MCC seem to have come out in favour but when I met the ECB recently it was the wrong time to tackle them in detail. They were too high on the Ashes."

While Test matches in England regularly attract full houses, attendances in most other Test-playing nations have been falling.

There is also concern about the increasing ambivalence towards Test cricket among players from certain nations.

An MCC survey among professional cricketers around the world revealed players coveted a lucrative Twenty20 deal with an Indian Premier League team above any other achievement.

All-rounder Andrew Flintoff recently retired from Test cricket, and rejected an England central contract in a bid to maximise his earnings from limited-overs cricket around the world.

"There's no doubt a Test championship would be of great benefit," added Lorgat.

"Let's say you and your mate are South African and Australian - and India are about to play Sri Lanka. If the result impacts on your team's championship standing you are bound to be more interested."

Sachin Tendulkar returns to top 10 in ODI rankings

Riding on his fantastic performance in the tri-series in Sri Lanka, veteran Indian batsman Sachin Tendulkar today returned to the top-10 of ICC one-day rankings, rising five places to seventh.

For the first time in 10 months, Tendulkar is among the world’s top 10 after scoring his 44th one-day century for India, earning his team a 46-run victory over Sri Lanka in the final of the tri-series in Colombo on Monday. Tendulkar scored 138 to lay the foundation of India’s winning total of 320.

Tendulkar, also the leading run-scorer in the series with 211 runs, had slipped out of the top-10 after the home series against England in November 2008 and had rested for the first three ODIs of the five-match series which India won 5—0.

India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni leads the batting table from his vice-captain Yuvraj Singh who has achieved his career-best second place in the rankings for ODI all-rounders.

Yuvraj leapfrogged Jacques Kallis of South Africa, Jacob Oram of New Zealand and Andrew Flintoff of England into second place after scoring 80 runs with the bat and taking four wickets with the ball.

Indian openers Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir have dropped two places each after both missed the series due to injuries. A player loses one per cent of his rating for every match he misses.

ICC mulling on Tendulkar's ODI-splitting idea

When Sachin Tendulkar speaks, the world listens and International Cricket Council is now planning to split one-day matches into two innings of 25 overs each, an idea mooted by the Indian batting great earlier this month.

In order to spice up the one-day format, Tendulkar had proposed that every team should play two innings of 25 overs each and ICC Cricket Manager Dave Richardson said the governing body might soon conduct a trial.

"I quite like that idea. I believe South Africa may try something along those lines," Richardson told BBC Sport.

"This might work in day/night cricket where one team has to bat in the day and the other at night. It provides something different and reduces the effects on the team who loses the toss and has to bat first on a damp wicket, for example," he said.

Even though Tendulkar aired his views earlier this month, Richardson said the idea had popped up in the past as well and came up for discussion at the annual ICC Cricket Committee meeting in May.

One-day cricket is already facing a tough challenge from Twenty20 and the England and Wales Cricket Board scrapped Friends Provident trophy, the only 50-over domestic tournament, in favour of a Twenty20 event.

Richardson, however, is concerned that splitting a match into two innings would mean less centuries, as batsmen would have less overs to bat.

"I don't necessarily like the idea of playing two matches of 25 overs each with the openers batting again. The charm of one-day cricket is seeing someone batting at four and scoring a good hundred," Richardson said.

"If you bat in the middle order of a Twenty20 or a new 25-over innings, you're not going to get much of an opportunity to hit three figures, one downside of the Twenty20 game," he said.

He, however, made it clear that such an experiment should be conducted at the domestic level before pushing it into international cricket.

"If it has been tried successfully at domestic level, it may be possible to give it a go-ahead at international level," he said.

"The ICC has been proactive with ideas and innovations, like the powerplays. The idea of the 'super-sub' wasn't as successful and got rid of quite quickly. One of the criticisms was that we trialled things at international as opposed to domestic level.

"Our tactics going forward are member countries trial changes first domestically and if they are successful, then we can take them on board at the international level," Richardson said.

The ICC Cricket Committee will discuss the result of the experiment when it meets next year.

North sees changes to one-day cricket

West Australian skipper and Ashes star Marcus North says changes to 50-over international cricket are almost inevitable - while suggesting free admission to domestic matches could be the way to attract fans back to the WACA.

As North prepares to start the season in charge of the Warriors, Australia is preparing to take on England in the third of seven ODIs being played in an extended Ashes summer.

But with Twenty20 cricket attracting more interest, and corporate dollars, the future of the original limited-over format is coming under increasing scrutiny.

North has now become the latest big name cricketer to question the long-term viability of the 50-over format.

"I think Test cricket will always be Test cricket. I am (a) purist, it is my favourite game and I feel if it looked after well enough by the ICC and the governing bodies that will still be quite strong," North said.

"And T20 is here to stay and an exciting format, and has brought a new audience to cricket because it can only be good to bring families and kids to get involved in the game

"But 50 over cricket - the jury is still out.

"Just watching it the other night, going from playing and watching Test match cricket at such a high level, and the excitement of T20 cricket, 50-over cricket does seem to drag on.

"There is lot of talk about it at the moment, in England the domestic scene the ECB have binned the 50-over competition for the following few years and brought in a 40-over competition.

"There are a number of changes and I think you will see that coming into the international level once the ICC has trialled a few different formants to see what works best.

"Anything we can do to enhance and improve this game, to make it more attractive to people."

Despite WA pulling off a marketing coup in attracting Chris Gayle for their T20 team, attracting decent crowds to Ford Ranger and particularly Sheffield Shield matches this season will again be a major challenge.

Ex-South Africa captain Shaun Pollock believes one-day international cricket is still the best limited-overs form of the game.

Looking ahead to next month's ICC Champions Trophy to be played at The Wanderers and Centurion, Pollock said: "Having played a lot (of 50-over cricket), maybe I'm a bit more of a sucker when it comes to appreciating the game.

"The fast 20-over game has caught the imagination of many but if you get off to a bad start then you can cost yourself the game.

"There is a lot of skill involved in the 50-over game and it's over a much longer period, so that allows teams to have a bit of a mishap and recover from it and you've got time to implement tactics.

"I think ODIs are still the best format of limited-overs cricket, especially with regard to making sure the best team comes out on top," he said.

Pollock knows all about that. He was part of the South Africa squad that came out on top in the first staging of the ICC Champions Trophy, when it was known as the ICC Knock-Out, in Bangladesh in 1998.

The tournament has had several facelifts since then but now, with just the top eight-ranked international sides involved in a short, sharp contest of 15 matches in two weeks starting on 22 September, Pollock believes it is set up perfectly for a great spectacle.

"A lot of sports have gone that way (involving just those sides at the top end of the rankings)," he said. "Tennis and golf are just two that have done it.

"It's always good when you've got the best teams competing against each other and that's exactly what you'll have here.

"All those teams will be based in one place, it will all take place around Johannesburg and so it will be easy to go and view and it will give you some fantastic cricket.

"It's a great format, I'm glad the tournament's come here and I'm glad they're continuing with the (ICC Champions) Trophy," he added.

Pollock is also excited by the added touches at this year's event, including a total of four million USD prize money, match of the match prizes of a watch worth 8,500 USD, a special Champions Trophy jacket for each member of the winning team and value-for-money ticket prices starting from just ZAR35 with the highest price for a ticket to the final only ZAR 140.

"It's good for the game. There need to be incentives for the players and spectators and for everyone involved so that all forms of the game are looked after from Test matches, to the 50-over game to the 20-over game. The better we market them, the better we make everyone with regard to their mindset to play in them (and) then it's obviously going to be a better spectacle and that's what you want," Pollock said. (ANI)

Flip-flop on ACSU at IPL

After all the hue and cry surrounding the deployment of the Anti-Corruption and Security Unit (ACSU) personnel at the Indian Premier League, the Board of Control for Cricket in India and the International Cricket Council have diametrically altered their positions. The BCCI, which initially declined the offer of the ACSU's services, has relented on engaging Sir Paul Condon's men but now the ICC says it is not in a position to provide the service.

"We cannot do something that cannot be the best," said an ICC spokesman. "It is too late for the ACSU to provide the service because work at a tournament of IPL's scale and length requires at least a month's preparation besides a heavy work force. They would have needed people and time for reconnaissance and surveillance."

The BCCI admitted that it has reconsidered the stand. "We wanted to invite the ACSU but we understand it is too late. There is no point inviting them at this stage," a top BCCI official said. The issue was also discussed at the Working Committee meeting on Wednesday.

It is learnt that the BCCI initially refused because the ICC was demanding a hefty fee to put in place its protocols. They wanted a whopping $1.5 million which, a Board official said, was much more than the budget allocated for the purpose by the IPL.

The change in the BCCI's position came about after its meeting with ICC CEO Haroon Lorgat. Lorgat, who was in Mumbai in connection with the 2011 World Cup Organising Committee meeting on Monday, is believed to have agreed to reduce the fees but the offer came too late. It may be recalled that Condon had once told the ICC that the potential for betting and match-fixing is high in a tournament like the IPL.

ICC to bring BCCI and ICL on table

In a step aimed at ending the tussle between the Indian Cricket Board and the Indian Cricket League, the International Cricket Council has invited both the parties to a meeting in Johannesburg on Monday.

ICC president David Morgan and the chief executive Haroon Lorgat would meet with representatives of the BCCI and the ICL. The representative of the BCCI and the ICL had met in October last year but the talks had failed.

Morgan said he had arranged the meeting to try and bring bout a settlement to the long-running dispute between the two parties.

"I've long regarded it as a priority to bring together the BCCI and the owners of the ICL and I'm pleased to say we have fixed a meeting to take place in Johannesburg on Monday," Morgan said in a statement.

The ICC president cautiously said they were hoping to see an end the dispute but nothing can be promised.

"I hope we might be successful in coming to a mutually acceptable conclusion. I can't be certain that will be the case but I hope we can at least make a start in bringing about
a settlement.

"I think this is significant because experience tells me that the best opportunity to solve a dispute is to have the parties face-to-face," he said.

Australia mourns end of era, claims chief selector's head

"Australian cricket dead and buried".

The headline in the "The Daily Telegraph" perfectly summed up the mood as Australia plunged into depression following the cricket team's first home series defeat in 16 years and chief selector Andrew Hilditch finds himself at the receiving end of the media wrath after the debacle against South Africa.

"The echo of the ball flying off the confident bat of South Africa's Hashim Amla yesterday was the death rattle of Australia's record 16 years without a series loss at home.

"Analysts investigating Australia's dramatic Test cricket demise say there are no suspicious circumstances," the writer said.

The daily also ran a mock obituary of Australian cricket which read "R.I.P. Australian cricket slaughtered by South Africa December 30 at the MCG. Aided and abetted by: Incompetent selectors, Inept batting, Impotent Bowling Dreadful Catching, Poor Captaincy."

Explaining what ails Australian cricket, the writer said, "It simply followed a short illness complicated by player arrogance, chronic selection short-sightedness, poor captaincy decisions, unreliable batting, indecisive bowling and fielding clumsiness.

"Any obituary will say the few spasms of competitiveness Australia mustered in both Tests were brutally amputated by a cohesive South Africa, who recorded their first series victory in Australia," he said.

Doubting Australia's number one status in ICC rankings, the report said, "Australia, propped up by statistics, are still No. 1 in world rankings. But after dismal series losses to India and South Africa, this Australian team is so lifeless it could come to the next Test in a hearse."

In the same daily, Ben Dorries asked a blunt question -- "Who on earth selected the selectors?"

"The head of Australian selection boss Andrew Hilditch should be on the chopping block after his shambolic handling of the side's casualty ward and the extension of Matthew Hayden's career," he said.

"Hilditch said last night it was not time for "chopping and changing" the side. If now isn't the time, after one of the most demoralising efforts ever by an Australian side, then when is it?" he asked.

"Former selection chairman Trevor Hohns, an uncompromising man who made the tough decisions, would have had none of it. He was the man who famously denied Ian Healy a farewell Gabba Test, telling the wicketkeeping great he had played three more Tests than he deserved," he recalled.

"The whole saga around Australian selections has become a disgrace," added the writer.

Insisting that Hilditch and fellow selectors should be made to pay for selection blunders, the report said, "Our cricketers are accountable for their actions and their million-dollar paypackets are scrutinised with their performances every day.

"It is time for Hilditch and fellow selectors Merv Hughes, David Boon and Jamie Cox to also be accountable."

Not sparing Cricket Australia either, the writer said, "If it is good enough for the Reserve Bank to explain why it raised or slashed interest rates then it is good enough for the bosses of Australia's favourite sporting team to explain theirs on a much more regular basis."

Robert Craddock of 'Courier Mail' echoed the same view and turned the heat on the selectors for their handling of injured all-rounders Andrew Symonds and Shane Watson.

Dhoni stays atop ODI batting chart, Yuvraj at six

Team India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni extended his stay at the top of the ICC ODI Rankings for the batsmen, which has his flamboyant teammate Yuvraj Singh at the number six position.

According to the latest chart issued on Monday, Dhoni has 779 points and is closely followed by Australian Mike Hussey, who is just three points adrift of the The Jharkhand marauder.

Yuvraj has 744 rating points for his sixth place and the next best Indian in the ranking chart is Sachin Tendulkar, who stands 12th with 708 points.

Among the Indian bowlers, paceman Zaheer Khan (660) and spin spearhead Harbhajan Singh (617) feature in top 20 at 11th and 20th positions respectively.

India (119) remains third in the ODI ranking for the teams, behind table-toppers Australia (131) and South Africa (119).

Meanwhile, New Zealand can now rise to the fourth place but could slip to as low as eighth as well, depending on the outcome of their five-match series against West Indies.

Daniel Vettori's side currently sits in fifth place on 113 ratings points and a 5-0 series win will put it ahead of Pakistan in fourth place on 118 points.

However, a reversal would mean Kiwis conceding 11 ratings points to the West Indies. This will put both the teams level on 102 ratings points but Chris Gayle's side will be placed higher than the Black Caps in seventh place when ratings are calculated beyond the decimal point.

India will retake second place with win over England

India will go second in the Reliance Mobile ICC Test Championship table if it beats England in the upcoming two-Test series that gets underway in Chennai on Thursday.

By winning the series 1-0 or 2-0, Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s team will overtake South Africa and recapture second, a position it had briefly enjoyed after its 2-0 home series victory over Australia recently.

South Africa will have an immediate opportunity to take back that place with a three-match series in Australia on the horizon. The first match of that series begins in Perth on 17 December.

England will also be eyeing a good opportunity while in India. A 2-0 series win will see it move up one place to fourth in the standings, ahead of Sri Lanka. That result would also bring it to within three ratings points of India in third position.

A drawn series or a 1-0 win for England would leave the teams in their current positions although in both instances, India would lose ground on South Africa while Kevin Pietersen’s team would close the gap on Sri Lanka.

Meanwhile, close rivals the West Indies and New Zealand do battle over the next couple of weeks in a two-Test series in the Land of the Long White Cloud. The first Test takes place in Dunedin beginning on Thursday with the second one scheduled for Napier from 19 December.

At present, New Zealand is placed in eighth position, just a fraction of a ratings point behind the West Indies. A drawn series would leave that state of affairs unchanged but a 1-0 or 2-0 win for the Black Caps would see them leap-frog over Chris Gayle and his men.

India fans urged to back England series

The International Cricket Council (ICC) wants India fans to turn out in large numbers for the home test series against England to show they are not intimidated by the recent militant attacks in Mumbai.

England will resume their aborted India tour if a final security briefing by their board later on Sunday allays safety fears following the attacks that killed at least 171 people.

The first test is scheduled in Chennai from Thursday and the second in Mohali from December 19 after the Indian board changed the original venues to ease England's safety concerns.

"I would urge as many supporters as possible to join us during the series, not only because they will see two excellent sides playing test cricket .... but also because by doing so we will demonstrate that we will not be dictated to by terrorists," ICC President David Morgan said in a statement.

"I believe the test series will be a clear demonstration of the resilience of the Indian people and the game of cricket and an illustration that the game has the ability to bring people together."

England are training in Abu Dhabi as they wait for the word on security, having called off the last two games of a one-day series and returned home in the wake of the Mumbai attacks that began on November 26.

ICC Chief Executive Haroon Lorgat and Morgan will take turns to be present at the tests.

"Safety and security of the players, officials and spectators must be the key consideration at all times," Morgan said.

"But if security assessments indicate that the measures put in place are appropriate then we -- players, officials and all stakeholders -- have a duty to ensure cricket takes place."

Mumbai will be off limit for cricket teams for sometime: Malcolm Speed

Former ICC chief Malcolm Speed fears Mumbai would not be a favourite venue for foreign teams after the recent terror attacks, which could also have a "large impact" on India staging cricket series and revenues earned from them.

"It would be very disappointing if the tragedy in Mumbai caused teams not to visit India, and India's passionate fans were deprived of great contests. Pakistan faces the same problem... Clearly, Mumbai will be off limits for some time," Speed said.

"Cricket is played in countries that are increasingly dangerous... If India is off limits for some teams for some time, it will impact on the revenues of the BCCI," he was quoted as saying by the 'Sydney Morning Herald'.

The former ICC CEO, however, said he would like cricket to be a part of the healing process in India after the attacks in Mumbai.

"It is clear these dreadful attacks will have a large impact on cricket in India. It would be great if cricket could be part of the healing process.

"At a time of such tragedy, it is difficult to focus on sport. Several cricket people were caught up in the attacks, and it's a relief that they escaped largely unharmed.

But "Sport has the power to bring nations together. Some of the discussions between the Indian prime minister and Pakistan's president over peace in Kashmir took place at cricket matches," he said.

Speed, who had once criticised the BCCI for just being a financial power without much result on the field, change his stance as India was "emerging as a world leader".

England may practice in UAE

As the England ODI and Performance teams arrived back home in London after suspending the tour of India due to the terrorist attacks, the ECB expressed confidence and commitment to the commencement of the Test tour after it received a security report in the next 48 hours. This was revealed by Hugh Morris, the ECB’s managing director in a press conference on Saturday.

“The only reason why we decided to suspend the tour and return home was to assess the safety situation in India in a comfortable environment,” Morris said. He added the ECB was waiting for a security report of the situation in India within the next 24 to 48 hours and a decision would be taken on Monday.

He also said if England could not reach India in time for the practice match, they might opt for a neutral venue if the ‘tour is on’. “We have to keep our options open and training in Abu Dhabi is definitely an option,” he said. But the ECB had no discussion on whether they would want to play the Tests in a neutral venue. “These are just speculations. We have had no discussions on this,” he said.

Flintoff, Harmison unsure

Agencies add: England will return to India to play their two-match Test series as per schedule, but without several senior players including talismanic all-rounder Andrew Flintoff and Steve Harmison.

Meanwhile, the ICC has urged England on Sunday to play the Test series in India if player safety concerns are addressed. “If safety and security allow then I would urge the England Test tour of India to go ahead and if it does so then representatives of the ICC will be there to show solidarity with the competing teams,” chief executive Haroon Lorgat said in a statement.

Zaheer Abbas fears for Pakistan cricket

Cricket great Zaheer Abbas fears his country will be left in the international sporting wilderness if India refuses to tour in January for security reasons.

"We will be like orphans in international cricketing community," Abbas told the AP on Monday. "Already most of the test playing countries are not touring Pakistan and if India does not come it will be worst for us."

India is scheduled to play three test matches, five limited-overs internationals and a Twenty20 international during its Jan. 4-Feb. 19 tour to Pakistan.

However, there are doubts over the tour after terrorist attacks killed at least 172 in Mumbai last Wednesday. The Indian government had earlier refused permission to its junior hockey team to play five matches in Pakistan last month due to security concerns.

Australia postponed its tour to Pakistan last March, citing security concerns, and the Champions Trophy in September was also deferred for a year after four more teams — New Zealand, South Africa, England and the West Indies — expressed reservations over traveling to Pakistan.

"I think the Asian countries which are part of the International Cricket Council (ICC) should stand united in this hour of need and should continue playing the bilateral series," Abbas said.

The Pakistan Cricket Board is also considering an option of shifting the January series against India to a neutral venue in case.

"It will set a wrong precedent and moreover it will be a huge financial loss for the PCB," Abbas said.

Pakistan had earlier played test matches against Australia and the West Indies at Colombo and Sharjah in 2002, but PCB chairman Ejaz Butt said last week the home board incurred financial losses at that time.

"How could we inspire youngsters in our country if we play at a neutral venue?" Abbas, who scored 108 first-class centuries, said. "We are placed at No. 6 in the ICC test rankings and the only way to improve is if we play more test matches."

Pakistan is the only one of the nine active test playing nations which did not play a test match in 2008.

Abbas, who scored 12 centuries and 5,062 runs in 78 tests, said it was high time that Pakistan started taking its own decisions.

"Look, we have banned all the players who are competing in the Indian Cricket League and our cricket is almost stuck with this security scenario," he said. Pakistan has suspended all 19 players including present cricketers — Rana Naved, Imran Farhat, Imran Nazir and Abdul Razzaq — for joining the unsanctioned, rebel ICL in India.

"We should start taking our own decisions and lift suspension on ICL players," Abbas said. "By doing so we will make our team more strong in international cricket."

The Board of Control for Cricket in India has sought its government clearance over sending its team to neighboring Pakistan and is still waiting for the response.

Cricket & terror: the security challenges

The Mumbai tragedy has cast its shadow on international cricket.

The mandarins of Indian cricket were smug in the belief that terrorism was purely a problem of the Pakistani Cricket Board. Now, ‘26/11’ has changed it all.

Shedding its ego and pride, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has given up two One Day Internationals against the Englishmen, and opted for a change in the venue of the second Test match with England from Mumbai to Chennai. This may be a windfall for cricket-starved Chennai.

But, then, there is speculation that Pietersen and his men, after going back in the next few days at the end of their ODI commitments, may not come back for the two-Test series because of the fear generated. There is confusion about the immediate future.

Situation not normal


A group within the BCCI is pretending that everything is normal and that the cricket calendar need not be greatly altered. They are being insensitive to a national calamity. Obviously, they are swayed by the losses the International Cricket Council (ICC) and the Board might suffer in giving up the two Tests and the Champions League Twenty20 tournament.

I hope that wiser counsel will prevail and that the BCCI will not stage any of these matches until the situation returns to normal. Otherwise it could be accused of venality. The Ranji Trophy matches alone can be allowed to go on: they are low-profile events.

In the aftermath of Mumbai, the chief concern is to protect international cricket from the uncertainties arising from terrorism. The terrorist is unpredictable, and does not respect geography or nationality. You will have to factor this into your planning.

Except Australia, New Zealand, the West Indies and South Africa, the other six cricketing nations are vulnerable to terrorism or similar disorder. England is of the lowest cause for concern, although it has had its share of terrorism. Zimbabwe’s law and order scene is fragile.

Security standards


In view of their contiguity, cricket officials of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka need to meet to arrive at acceptable standards of security at cricket venues and at hotels where players are put up. Without such cooperation, security arrangements can be suspect. The ICC has a few experts in its ranks who can play a vital role in this.

The worry is how Pakistani and Indian cricket officials are going to sit at the same table in the context of Mumbai. Cricket is not played in a vacuum but in an ambience of politics and trends in international relations.

Certain Bangladesh-based fundamentalist groups also have Al-Qaeda links, and these have come to adverse notice vis-À-vis India. These political undercurrents militate against the ICC and the BCCI arriving at a consensus with regard to protection to players.

The need of the hour is not only tight security at the grounds but careful choice of venues. The BCCI has been playing populist politics. On paper it seems to be a good idea to take cricket to unconventional places. However, such a strategy exposes cricketers to risks because of divergent standards of arrangement and quality of law enforcement. In some States, the police forces are not exactly known for their professional skills.

Expensive but essential


Security does not come cheap. It is becoming more and more sophisticated and therefore more and more expensive. Fortunately, the BCCI has enough money to spend. We expect it to not to compromise on the scale of arrangements on considerations of cost. Employing full-time security professionals and extending adequate cover to players like Sachin Tendulkar even at their homes should receive care.

Fundamental, of course, is strict access control to dressing rooms and hotel rooms. The Oval has a permanent space for a control room for the Met. Can the BCCI make a similar provision at least in the major venues? It will help infuse confidence in foreign teams. A full-time chief security officer could guide the BCCI in what has become a specialised discipline.

There is nothing like 100 per cent security. When foreign cricket organisations demand an assurance, we can only tell them we have done all that is possible in terms of access control at hotels and stadiums and players’ travel. Beyond this there can be no guarantee even in the best of times. In saying so, I concede that there cannot be a permanent freeze of international cricket. Only a suspension for a short period like the present one in India is feasible and warranted.

R.K. Raghavan
(The writer is a former Director of the Central Bureau of Investigation and a former umpire of the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association.)

Source : http://www.hindu.com