Surrey v Lancashire: Kevin Pietersen in sensational form

Kevin Pietersen hammered a sensational double hundred as Surrey replied to Lancashire's huge total in fine style.

The visitors, resuming on 425-7, added a further 60 runs before they declared on 485-7 with Steven Croft, 104 not out overnight, reaching an unbeaten 154.

Surrey, struggling at 49-2 when Pietersen arrived, ended the day on 430-5 with Pietersen unbeaten on 234.

He hit eight sixes and 30 fours in his 190-ball innings as a stunning 495 runs were scored on day three at Guildford.

Zander de Bruyn weighed in with 94 and Jason Roy scored 38 as Surrey, seventh in the Division One table, claimed maximum batting points for the first time this season.

The hosts needed to reach 336 to avoid the follow-on and they looked in trouble when Rory Burns was out first ball before Zafar Ansari (21) was also dismissed cheaply.

But Pietersen warmed up for next week's first Test against South Africa with the highest score by any batsman in the 2012 County Championship season.

His next target will be to pass the highest score of his career, the 254 not out he made for Nottinghamshire against Gloucestershire in August 2002

Source BBC

Kevin Pietersen gives backing to skipper Alastair Cook

Kevin Pietersen has said Alastair Cook has his backing despite a shaky start to his time as England one-day skipper.

England trail 2-1 with two to play in their series against Sri Lanka going into Wednesday's match at Trent Bridge.

Pietersen said: "Cooky is in charge [and] it's vital that whatever decisions he makes, we back. That's got to be good for his confidence.

"To become a successful and confident captain, you want to have the backing of your players."

Cook began his tenure as Andrew Strauss's successor with a 110-run Duckworth-Lewis victory over Sri Lanka at The Oval.

But consecutive defeats have followed, by significant margins, at Headingley and Lord's.

Critics have questioned Cook's suitability as an ODI opening batsman - notwithstanding his century at Lord's on Sunday - with some insisting he and Jonathan Trott cannot co-exist in the same 50-over team at one and three in the batting order.

Their measured styles put the onus on the likes of number four Pietersen, Cook's fellow opener Craig Kieswetter and Eoin Morgan to score quickly.

But former England captain Pietersen said: "I have kept well out of it.

"Cook is a new captain, and the last thing you want to be doing is putting yourself out there saying 'this is what we need to do'.

"Decisions have to be made. I don't make any decisions; I'm one of the soldiers.
"I'm just happy to be playing and I want to be doing my own role better."

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.

Anil Kumble to lead Pietersen

Anil Kumble will lead Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the Champions League T20. The RCB have decided not to change their skipper even in the event of Kevin Pietersen's availability for the October 8-23 tournament.

On Tuesday, reports from England suggested that Pietersen will be facing a stand-off with England and Wales Cricket Board over his participation in the CL T20 but a couple of RCB officials told this paper that Pietersen's availability will not have any impact on the captaincy issue. Pietersen, one may recall, was the designated captain of the side.

"We don't know about Kevin but Anil will be our skipper," a top official of the RCB told DNA. Added another official, "We are not sure of the fitness of Kevin. It will be known in a couple of days. But his availability will not change our skipper." RCB are expected to announce the squad on Friday after speaking to team owner Vijay Mallya.
Kumble took over from Pietersen and then led RCB's incredible surge in the IPL II. The team ended up runners-up.

Meanwhile, there are conflicting signals from England over Pietersen's participation. The England batsman, having undergone surgery for Achilles heel four weeks back, should be fit for the tournament which is over 50 days away. One needs six weeks to two months to recover fitness from surgeries on heel and Pietersen would have rested for nearly three months by the time of Champions League.

Sources in England say Pietersen was keen to play in the Champions Trophy from September 22 but the ECB selectors have left him out of the one-day tournament. An ECB official told this paper that it is not known if Pietersen will be fit by October 8.

Meanwhile, the governing council of CL T20 came out with rules for the players qualified to play for two teams in the tournament.

"Under CL T20 rules, provided a player qualifies for more than one team, all those qualifying teams can nominate that player. If the player then decides to play for an 'away' team rather than his 'home' team (the team from the country he is eligible to represent in international cricket), the 'away' team must pay $200,000 compensation to the 'home' team. 'Away' teams are not eligible for compensation if a player chooses to play for his 'home' team," a release said.

Kevin Pietersen gets huge IPL price tag

Kevin Pietersen has been priced up as the most expensive Englishman in the auction for the Indian Premier League.

The ex-England captain has been valued at a minimum of $1.35m (£944,000), IPL commissioner Lalit Modi has revealed.

The IPL list also includes fellow England stars Andrew Flintoff, Monty Panesar, Steve Harmison, Paul Collingwood, Ian Bell and Matt Prior.

Former England internationals Darren Gough and Dominic Cork have also been included in the player auction.

It set to take place on 6 February in Goa where the eight IPL franchises will bid for players.

The league runs from 10 April to 29 May, although contracted England players are only permitted to go for three weeks.

The England & Wales Cricket Board wants to ensure its centrally-contracted players return in time for the Lord's Test against the West Indies on 6 May.

The IPL auction list includes eight players who are centrally contracted to the ECB - Pietersen, Flintoff, Harmison, Bell, Collingwood, Panesar, James Anderson and Ryan Sidebottom.

Flintoff has been rated at a minimum of $950,000 (£664,000), which means that both he and Pietersen can expect to receive more than £350,000 for three weeks work on a pro rata basis.

One-day specialists Ravi Bopara, Owais Shah, Graeme Swann and Luke Wright, who hold incremental ECB contracts, are also on the list - along with the uncontracted Ed Joyce, Rob Key and Sajid Mahmood, who have all played international cricket.

However, former England captain Michael Vaughan said he opted against putting his name forward, preferring to concentrate on regaining his place in the national side.

"I'm not too sure whether I would have been bought at the auction, but my [aim] is to get back into the Test team and to do that I have to play four-day cricket," said the 34-year-old Yorkshireman.

Shaun Udal was also a surprise inclusion on the IPL auction list, but the 39-year-old off-spinner, who captained Middlesex to victory in last year's domestic Twenty20 Cup, has rejected a lucrative short-term deal.

"I've decided, after some soul searching and advice from people I trust, not to enter myself into the auction," he said.

"One of the main reasons is the Middlesex captaincy, which is something that I really treasure."

Seamer Gough, 38, retired from first-class cricket in September after ending his second spell with Yorkshire.

Lancashire released Cork, 37, last August and Hampshire have since signed the all-rounder on a two-year contract.

Essex wicketkeeper James Foster had been on the initial auction list, but the 28-year-old said he will prioritise his county duties.

"Realistically, I do not think it likely that I will be involved this year given the number of international and highly-regarded local wicketkeepers who are already signed up by the franchises and the restriction on the number of overseas players allowed," he told said.

Centrally-contracted paceman Stuart Broad, England's highest-ranked bowler in one-day cricket, has decided against putting his name forward.

Vaughan, new captain Andrew Strauss and opener Alastair Cook were the other contracted players to opt out, along with wicketkeeper Tim Ambrose, who holds an incremental contract.

Hugh Morris, the managing director of the England team, said: "We've got a very important summer ahead of us with the World Twenty20 and the Ashes and this is a decision Stuart has made and we must respect that.

"Players will prepare in different ways for this summer. Stuart has chosen one way and others have chosen another way."

With a limited amount of franchise places available for overseas players in the IPL auction, it is unlikely all the England players will be picked up.

But Morris is confident that for those who do secure an IPL spot, it will prove to be a positive experience: "It's very much down to the players. It's their choice, the IPL is a fantastic opportunity.

"With the Twenty20 World Championship happening in England at the beginning of the summer, it's nice to have the opportunity for some our players to play Twenty20 cricket.

"The players who go there are going to be playing with and against some of the best players in the world in what we see as a very high-profile, very important tournament."

The first English player to play in the IPL was Hampshire's Dimitri Mascarenhas, who signed for Rajasthan Royals last year and is set to return for a second campaign.

Pietersen quits as England captain, coach fired

England captain Kevin Pietersen resigned and coach Peter Moores was sacked on Wednesday as English cricket staggered into the new year.

Pietersen issued a statement announcing his decision to stand down as captain, but to continue as a batsman, before flying home from a holiday in South Africa.

Hugh Morris, managing director of England cricket, later announced that Moores had been sacked in the wake of an "irretrievable breakdown" in the relationship between captain and coach.

Andrew Strauss was named as new captain with his first task seemingly to restore unity, with just two weeks before the team depart for a tour of West Indies and with an eagerly-awaited home Ashes series against Australia looming on the horizon.

After a day of media frenzy, Pietersen issued a statement signalling the end of his six-month reign as skipper.

"In light of recent communications with the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), and the unfortunate media stories and speculation that have subsequently appeared, I now consider that it would be extremely difficult for me to continue in my current position with the England cricket team," Pietersen said.

Sachin Tendulkar offers Mumbai tribute

Sachin Tendulkar dedicated his century to the families of those killed in the Mumbai terror attacks following India's six-wicket win over England in Chennai.

"This hundred will give a certain amount of happiness to people but what happened in Mumbai, it's very hard to recover from that," he said.

"Cricket is a lesser thing compared to what has happened.

"Whatever we can contribute, we've been able to do that. We're right with the people who have lost their dear ones."

The two-match series against England was in serious doubt following the attacks in Mumbai, Tendulkar's home city, on 29 November, in which more than 170 people were killed.

The England squad flew home, but agreed to return last weekend after being promised unprecedented levels of security by the Board of Control for Cricket in India.

They were in the driving seat for much of the game in Chennai but Tendulkar scored an unbeaten 103 on the final day as he and Yuvraj Singh guided India to their target of 387.

Tendulkar described it as a "special victory".

He continued: "The gameplan was to wait for opportunities to score runs because you can't afford to get bogged down.

"It was the kind of wicket where the bounce meant you could always play shots, we looked to put the bad balls away."

Despite his magnificent innings, the Man of the Match award went to team-mate Virender Sehwag, who wrested the initiative from England on the fourth evening with a sparkling innings of 83 off 68 balls.

"We weren't brilliant on the field for the first three days, so it was important to play the last two days with a lot of intensity," said captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

"Sehwag was the playmaker. Without his innings we would have been defending this Test match, but Sachin and Yuvraj really performed when it was really needed for the side."

Sehwag struck four sixes and 11 fours and he said: "I always back myself. If the ball pitches in my area, I'll go after it - it doesn't matter whether it's turning or not."

The second Test begins in Mohali on Friday with India looking to complete back-to-back series victories after defeating Australia 2-0 in a four-match series last month.

Tendulkar, Yuvraj Lift India Closer to Record Cricket Target

Sachin Tendulkar scored an unbeaten 65 to lift India to 304-4 at tea against England -- 83 runs short of the highest successful run chase in a Test in India.

Tendulkar and Yuvraj Singh, on 45 not out, boosted the home team in an 80-run stand on the final day of the first cricket Test in Chennai. Graeme Swann had earlier removed VVS Laxman to reduce India to 224-4 chasing 387 to win.

The Indians, who last lost a home Test series to England in 1985, have a minimum 40 overs for what would be the highest fourth-innings total to win a Test in India. The West Indies successfully chased 276 runs at Delhi in 1987.

India started the final day needing another 256 runs after opener Virender Sehwag blasted 83 off 68 balls late yesterday. Centuries by Andrew Strauss -- his second of the match -- and Paul Collingwood had lifted England to 311-9 declared in its second innings.

India added 10 runs to its overnight total today before Rahul Dravid edged an Andrew Flintoff delivery to wicketkeeper Matt Prior. With the score on 183, Collingwood took a diving catch at gully to dismiss Gautam Gambhir (66) off James Anderson’s bowling.

Laxman fell for 26 shortly after the lunch interval, caught at short leg by Ian Bell, to leave England needing six more wickets. Tendulkar then passed 50 for a world record-extending 92nd time to wrest the initiative. Yuvraj smashed a six and four fours in 68 balls to move within runs five of a half-century.

A series win would lift India above South Africa into second place in the International Cricket Council’s Test Championship. England would move above Sri Lanka into fourth with a 2-0 win.

The best-of-two contest had been in doubt when England cut short its one-day series following the Nov. 26 terrorist attacks in Mumbai. England’s players agreed to return to India at the start of the month after receiving security assurances.

The second Test is scheduled to start Dec. 19 in Mohali.

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.

England call up Khan and Rashid

Kent fast bowler Amjad Khan, 28 has been added to England's squad for the two-Test series in India.

And Yorkshire leg-spinner Adil Rashid, 20, will also travel to Chennai if the tour goes ahead but has not been officially added to the squad.

The two newcomers have been promoted from the Performance group currently with the senior squad in Abu Dhabi.

But the players are still awaiting a security report on India before making a final decision on whether to tour.

Khan has been named as the official replacement for Ryan Sidebottom, who has endured an injury-plagued year and will play no part in India.

"I must have done something right in the last couple of days," said Khan, who was given the nod ahead of Lancashire's Sajid Mahmood.

"Saj and I got picked for the one-dayers and I thought if they were going to then, there was no reason they should not pick me for the Tests.

"I thought I had a chance but I knew it would come down to form on the day - that sort of stuff."

Sidebottom's Nottinghamshire team-mate Stuart Broad is not in the running for the first Test with a hamstring injury

But if the tour is confirmed, he will fly directly from the UK to Chennai in an attempt to force his way into the side for the second match in Mohali.

The other players are spending Sunday in Abu Dhabi, waiting for ECB managing director High Morris to report back to them on the security situation in Chennai.

They are then due to fly onto the southern Indian city on Monday should there be a collective agreement to tour.

However, individual players may still pull out, which would improve Khan's chances of a first Test cap.

Born in Copenhagen and a former member of the Danish national team, Khan's first full season for Kent was in 2002, when he claimed an impressive 63 wickets.

He was awarded British citizenship in December 2006 and earned a place at the Academy. However, a serious knee injury forced him home and reconstructive surgery kept him out of the entire 2007 season.

Rashid's best season in the Championship came last summer, when he took 62 wickets, and he is also a proficient batsman.

He has impressed for England at youth level, with a century and an eight-wicket haul in an under-19 Test against India.

In 2007, he struck his maiden Championship century.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Revised England squad for the two-Test tour of India:

KP Pietersen (capt, Hampshire), TR Ambrose (wkt, Warwickshire), JM Anderson (Lancashire), IR Bell (Warwickshire), SCJ Broad (Nottinghamshire), PD Collingwood (Durham), AN Cook (Essex), A Flintoff (Lancashire), SJ Harmison (Durham), MS Panesar (Northants), MJ Prior (wkt, Sussex), OA Shah (Middlesex), AJ Strauss (Middlesex), GP Swann (Nottinghamshire), A Khan (Kent).

Harry Potter and the bible of cricket

The publishers who made a fortune from JK Rowling have decided to invest some of their money in 'Wisden'

Wisden, the unofficial almanac that every cricket buff has to have, is under new management. The eponymous firm that publishes it, John Wisden, has been bought by Bloomsbury, the London imprint best known for the Harry Potter novels.

Having made a fortune out of JK Rowling, Bloomsbury is keen to expand its list of serious reference books. Its decision to buy Wisden for an undisclosed sum means that four of the nation's favourite sources of instant information – Wisden, Who's Who, Whitaker's Almanac, and Schott's Original Miscellany – are now together at one publishing house.

Wisden and Whitaker's have been linked in the past. Between 1938 and 1943 Wisden was published by Whitaker and Sons and a member of the Whitaker family was its chairman. Its history goes back to the Victorian obsession with cricket when a fast bowler named John Wisden, whose delivery was so lethal that in one match he clean-bowled all the opposing team except the eleventh man, went into business selling cricket gear.

He branched into publishing in 1864, and Wisden's Cricketers Almanack has appeared every year since. Not even a direct hit by the Luftwaffe on the print works in Mortlake, which destroyed all the company's financial records, was allowed to interrupt publication.

The trademark yellow cover was introduced in 1938, along with the woodcut of two gentlemen playing cricket in top hats. It graced the cover for 65 years. Since 2003, the cover has featured a player. This year it was the England captain, Kevin Pietersen.

The almanac enjoyed its best sales in 2006, when more than 50,000 copies were bought. The 2008 edition runs to 1,680 pages of close print. Next year's edition is due out in April.

The Wisden imprint has belonged to the Getty family since the oil billionaire Sir Paul Getty bought it in 1993 and took over chairmanship of the company. Since his death in 2000, it has been owned by his son, Mark. Bloomsbury has been associated with the business since it became Wisden's sales partner four years ago.

Another former owner is the crooked publishing tycoon, Robert Maxwell, whose empire took over Wisden in the 1970s.

Maxwell shocked guests at the annual launch by saying the almanac's pages were too small and would have to change. They didn't, although a special large-format edition was published for the first time in 2006.

Nigel Newton, the chief executive of Bloomsbury Publishing, described the purchase as a "landmark event" in the company's history.

"Acquiring Wisden is an important step in our strategy to increase our presence in reference and sports publishing," he said. "It's an honour to be the new custodians of such an institution. We look forward to working with the current staff to make the 2009 Wisden a success."

Collectors have spent thousands of pounds on rare back-numbers of Wisden. One full set fetched £140,000, and a library in Philadelphia bought an 1875 edition for £25,000. An 1875 Wisden is particularly valuable because a fire in the Mortlake factory destroyed most of that year's print run.

The single most famous copy of the almanac, however, is the one that the cricket writer E W Swanton bought in 1939 and had with him when he was taken prisoner by the Japanese.

There was such a demand for it from other prisoners of war that it had to be treated like a library book and loaned out for no more than 12 hours at a time. The guards stamped it "not subversive". It became so heavily thumbed that two prisoners used rice as a form of glue to keep it together. Swanton died, aged 92, in 2000. The book is in the museum at Lord's.

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.

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

England players' kits left at the Taj

England's cricketers will have to bring along new kits if they return to India for next month's Test series as they had left them at Mumbai's terror-hit Taj Mahal Hotel before the abandoned ODI series.

The players left their kits for the two-match Test series, scheduled to start in Ahmedabad on December 11, at the Taj and planned to to pick the gear after the one-day series.

But the terrorist attack, which has killed nearly 200 people and left the Taj hotel shattered, meant that England were forced to return without both their kit and the Hugo Boss suits they are given for formal occasions on tour.

"If we're looking what's going on at the moment, all our cricket stuff is in storage at the Taj hotel so we'll be the first team to play a Test match in blues (one-day kit) that's for sure. So I don't know. If we do come back, we'll have to get all the logistic stuff sorted out first," captain Kevin Pietersen was quoted as saying by 'Daily Telegraph'.

"The decision to go back to London will buy us some time and if we need to fly back to India on Monday or Tuesday or Wednesday next week then so be it," he added.

The English team left Bangalore early on Saturday morning for London after abandoning the remaining two matches of the ODI series. Their board had assured the BCCI that they would come back to play the Test series unless the security scenario in India does not worsen dramatically.

The BCCI has already moved the second Test from Mumbai to Chennai, besides fixing up a three-day warm-up game at Baroda from December 5-7.

England decision likely in 24 hours

Will they be back? The suspense will not last too long. England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB) will get back to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) soon. In fact, if one were to believe a top English Board official, in about 24 hours.

An emergency meeting of the England team management comprising players, representatives of the professional cricketers association, security experts and every concerned party, will be held some time on Sunday. If not, surely on Monday morning. “We want to hold the meeting as soon as possible,” an ECB official told DNA.

Any delay in the meeting could only be because of the timing of the team’s arrival in England. The players were not scheduled to land at the Heathrow before 7.30 pm GMT on Saturday, which is past midnight in India. “We want to call them for the meeting on Sunday itself,” the English Board official said.

The ECB has been maintaining silence over the claims of the BCCI that it has got the go-ahead from them over the tour. It has also not stated anything that is contrary to the BCCI’s assertions on the status of the two-Test series. The ECB’s silence is being deemed as approval of the Indian Board’s proposal.

When asked if that is the case, the ECB again chose to stay silent. “We have seen the comments of the BCCI. We will not say anything till our meeting is over. We will make our stand clear only after that,” Colin Gibson, communications manager of the ECB, told this paper on Saturday night.

Don't force players to return to India:Nasser Hussain

Kevin Pietersen and his men should not be forced into returning to India for next month's Test series if their security fears don't subside, said former England captain Nasser Hussain as he urged the ECB to take a call on the matter without delay.

England abandoned the one-day series which it was trailing 0-5, by cancelling the remaining two matches in the wake of the terror strike in Mumbai.

But both the BCCI and the ECB say they are confident of the two-match Test series going ahead as scheduled next month.

But Hussain felt the ECB should first ask the players whether they want to return to India.

"If the rumours are true and they are not intending to return, it is imperative they (the ECB officials) make an announcement to that effect as soon as they arrive back.

"If they have decided to abandon the tour for safety reasons, that shows they are taking their duty of care for the players seriously," he added.

Hussain praised the ECB for the way it has handled the situation so far and called on the administrators to continue being decisive in their decisions.

"This is exactly what the ECB needed to do -- take decisive action straightaway so the players weren't left stewing in their hotel. They have shown strong leadership but must carry on being strong when they get home," he was quoted as saying by 'Daily Mail'.

British media lambast Modi for "insensitivity"

BCCI vice-President Lalit Modi was chastised on Friday by the British media for suggesting that England's cricketers should return to India for next month's Test series despite their heightened security fears in the wake of Mumbai terror attacks.

England abandoned the one-dayers, calling off the last two games of the seven-match series, due to the deadly terror strikes in Mumbai which left over 100 dead.

Modi, who is also the commissioner of the cash-rich Indian Premier League, had stated on Thursday that he was confident about Kevin Pietersen and Co returning for next month's two Test matches, one of which is scheduled in Mumbai.

The comments were denounced by the media here with wide-selling tabloid 'The Daily Mail' describing him as "crass and insensitive".

"It is highly unlikely England will return whatever the cost to the ECB's relationship with the Indian board and, specifically, Lalit Modi, the Indian administrator who pulls the strings here. He had earlier shown crass insensitivity by announcing that the series would go ahead as new explosions were taking place in Mumbai.

"It was as if the Indian administrator who is taking over the game was determined to make it as difficult as possible for England to make their escape, as if his insensitivity in proclaiming to Sky and the BBC that the tour must go ahead was intended to cause maximum disruption to England and the man he has very much under his thumb, ECB chairman Giles Clarke," the 'Daily Mail' said.

The 'Daily Telegraph' was equally scathing in its criticism of Modi calling him a "single-minded character".

Brian Lara's career in Photos

Brian Lara's career in Photos


After making his Test debut against India in 1990, Brian Lara did not have to wait long for the world to sit up and take notice, scoring a magnificent 277 in Sydney 1993 to turn the series in the West Indies favour.




Against England the following year, Brian Lara surpasses Sir Garfield Sobers' long standing individual Test record, making 375 against Mike Atherton's England.




Two months later, Brian Lara clocks the highest ever first class score, smashing an amazing 501 against the hapless Durham.




A third century in as many Tests earns Brian Lara the man-of-the-series award against England in 1995.




Brian Lara enjoys a purple patch of form on home soil against Australia later in the year.




Brian Lara's crowning moment came back in Antigua in 2004 as he scored 400 against England to re-claim the record of the highest individual Test knock.




Brian Lara's team-mates give the little maestro a cricketing 'guard of honour' as he leaves the field.




Brian Lara also captained the West Indies to the ICC Champions Trophy at the Oval in 2004.




Shane Warne acknowledges a fellow great after Brian Lara surpasses Allan Border's record of 11,174 Test runs in Adelaide.




Brian Lara approached the 2007 World Cup with high hopes of success on home soil but the West Indies slumped to defeats against New Zealand, Australia, Sri Lanka and South Africa.





After leading the West Indies to victory against Bangladesh, Brian Lara announces that his final international match will be against England in the final Super 8 game.





Brian Lara walks back after being run out by Kevin Pietersen in his final innings.





Brian Lara salutes the crowd after his final international innings.




Brian Lara walks a lap of honour.


Sachin Tendulkar's Career in Photos

Michael Vaughan eager to play against India

Former England captain Michael Vaughan is eager to make a comeback to the national side in the Test series against India and feels he is prepared to hold the bat again.

Vaughan stepped down from the captaincy after England's humiliating Test series loss to South Africa in August. He then opted to take a break and pulled himself out from ongoing the India tour.

Vaughan began his comeback this week, with the England Performance squad in Bangalore ahead of the two Tests.

"I feel very refreshed in my mind," Vaughan was quoted as saying in The Times.

"At the time of selection for India, I did not think I'd want to play before Christmas. Then, three or four weeks ago, sitting on a sun lounger, I said to Nicola (his wife), 'I've got to get out and play.'"

Watching the one-dayer at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Vaughan said: "You just get that buzz. The feeling of wanting to go out and raise my bat has arrived again. There are some good players in the England squad, but if I get my game going, I feel I can force my way back."

Despite England's disastrous showing in India, Vaughan believes new skipper Kevin Pietersen is going nicely.

"He has been asked at an early stage to go to the hardest place in the world, India. I am impressed by the team's good spirits. The captain's job is to keep the side high when it is getting bashed. He is doing a good job there."

England's one-day series called off, decision on Tests later

England's remaining two matches of the one-day cricket series against India were today abruptly called off following the terror attacks in Mumbai but a final decision on the fate of the Test series will be taken later.

After a prolonged meeting with top ECB officials and the England team management, BCCI secretary N Srinivasan told a press conference in Bhubaneswar that the Guwahati and New Delhi one-dayers have been called off in view of the security apprehensions expressed by the visiting team.

"BCCI has accepted ECB's request to postpone the Guwahati and Delhi one-dayers, said Srinivasan who held a lengthy discussion with ECB Managing Director Hugh Morris, visiting skipper Kevin Pietersen, coach Peter Moores and team manager Reg Dickason.

Regarding the fate of the two-match Test series scheduled to start in Ahmedabad from December 11, the BCCI secretary said, "We hope they will come to play the Test matches." Morris, on his part said they would be holding discussions with Indian Cricket Board officials on the Test series.

Apart from Ahmedabad, Mumbai, where terrorist attacks left over 100 people dead since last night, is one of the venues for the two-match Test series.

"This morning I held initial discussions with the BCCI Secretary N Srinivasan, as well as representatives from the Indian team management at the team hotel in Bhubaneswar. I have also briefed the England players and management on the situation as well as liaising closely with the ECB Chairman and chief executive and the players' representatives," said Morris in a statement released on the ECB website.