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Geoff Lawson, who was sacked as the Pakistan coach last week, has said he was better off than other officials working with the Pakistan board since he was paid out and got a decent exit.”There are so many other staff who have been sacked or are leaving and I don’t think they got paid an awful lot,” Lawson was quoted as saying in the . Lawson worked out a financial agreement with the PCB after sending back a cheque the board had given him, claiming the payment was far short of what was owed to him as per the terms of his contract.Under Lawson’s charge, Pakistan reached the World Twenty20 final but then lost vital series against South Africa at home and India away. Pakistan’s frontline fast bowlers, expected to prosper under a former fast bowler, were plagued by injuries, and the losses only added to the pressure on the new coach-captain pair of Lawson and Malik. “I am sorry to be leaving these guys,” Lawson said. “I went into this thing full of hope and enthusiasm. I just needed to get a few more pieces of the puzzle together and I won’t get a chance to do that.”Lawson said his sacking had nothing to do with the coaching. “When the government changed everyone knew the [cricket board] chairman would change and when that happens, a lot of things change. So it was always a possibility rather than a probability. That is just how things work over here. I am very philosophical about it. There is no other way to be.”In 2008, Lawson’s first full year in charge, Pakistan have played four ODI series, one Twenty20 tournament and no Tests. Their home series against Australia and the Champions Trophy were postponed because of security fears in the country. But Lawson maintained, as he had through his tenure, that Pakistan was a safe place to play. “It [the terror threat] feels so peripheral when you’re here. What is disappointing is we didn’t get a chance to prove how good we can be. I have seen what talent there is in this team, and it’s enormous. There are 25 players who could eventually be really good players if they are handled properly.”Lawson said as the Pakistan coach he got a chance to experience a different sort of life. “It has been a tremendous experience. It was never going to be just about the cricket but about life, living in a Muslim culture, and that is something very few people get to experience.”

Sri Lanka’s sports minister Gamini Lokuge has ratified a 15-man squad for the Canada Cup Four Nation 20/20. The squad is the same as announced earlier this month and does not include wicketkeeper batsman Indika de Saram, who had complained about his exclusion despite good performances in local competitions.The squad selected for the tournament does not include a specialist wicketkeeper. Tillakaratne Dilshan will stand in for Kumar Sangakkara, who had undergone a finger surgery in Australia.Nishantha Ranatunga, brother of Sri Lanka Cricket chairman Arjuna Ranatunga, has been appointed manager of the team.The tournament, scheduled to run from October 10 to 13, also includes Pakistan, Zimbabwe and hosts Canada.Sri Lanka squad:
Mahela Jayawardene (capt), Tillakaratne Dilshan (wk), Sanath Jayasuriya, Mahela Udawatte, Chamara Kapugedera, Jehan Mubarak, Thilina Kandamby, Farveez Maharoof, Thilina Thushara, Nuwan Kulasekera, Ajantha Mendis, Dilhara Fernando, Jeevantha Kulatunga, Dilhara Lokuhettige, Kaushalya Weeraratne.

ScorecardThe first four-day Test between South Africa A and Sri Lanka A ended in a bat-dominated draw after both sides plundered the bowlers mercilessly at Senwes Park in Potchefstroom. There were four half-centuries and eight centuries in all while the bowlers managed to take only 16 wickets over four days.The final day began with Sri Lanka A on 640 for 5, having overhauled South Africa A’s first-innings total of 459, with Kaushal Silva batting on 53 and Dilruwan Perera on 1. The pair scored at a rapid pace, with the aim of having time to try and bowled out South Africa again, and added 109 runs in 16 overs. Perera scored 59 off 54 balls and Silva ended with 103 off 134 as Sri Lanka declared their innings on 749 for 5 with a lead of 290.Their hopes of shaking South Africa with early wickets vanished as the openers Heino Kuhn and Andrew Puttick got stuck in. Both had failed in the first innings but they made up by scoring hundreds second time around. Kuhn scored 100 off 143 balls before he was caught behind by Silva off Perera after an opening stand of 183. Puttick scored 102 and shared a partnership of 66 with Alviro Peterson before the match came to an end with South Africa A on 249 for 1.

The 2008-09 domestic season will commence on September 15 with the Mohammad Nissar Trophy. Delhi, the current Ranji Trophy champions, will clash with Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited, winners of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, Pakistan’s premier domestic competition, at home.The Ranji season will take off on November 3, with the knockouts beginning on December 23 and the final slated for January 7.This season sees a new format for the Ranji Trophy with a quarter-final stage where the top two teams from the Plate division join the top three teams from the Elite A and B groups. The change, aimed at a more level playing field, is based on the recommendation of the BCCI’s technical committee, chaired by Sunil Gavaskar.”[The move] was created to allow more chances to deserving players and teams from the Plate division and in effect make the Ranji Trophy a more open tournament”, BCCI secretary Niranjan Shah told Cricinfo. He added that the existing system of relegating the bottom two teams from the Elite groups and the promotion of the top two from the Plate division remains in place.The Irani Trophy will be played in Baroda from October 1-5 between Delhi and the Rest of India followed by the NKP Salve Challenger Trophy, from October 23 to 26, in Cuttack.Meanwhile, women’s cricket is set to get a boost with the inaugural Challenger Trophy scheduled from September 21-24. In a move to boost preparations for the Twenty20 World Cup next summer, the board has decided to start a women’s Twenty20 league, which will be played from April 11-17 followed by the knockout from April 21-27. The men’s inter-state Twenty20 is back on the domestic calendar after being omitted last season.Domestic Calendar ready reckonerSeptember 15-18 Mohammad Nissar Trophy in New DelhiOctober 1-5 Irani Trophy in VadodaraOctober 23-26 NKP Salve Challenger Trophy in CuttackNovember 3 Ranji Trophy Round One beginsDecember 23-26 Ranji Trophy quarter-finalsDecember 30-January 2, 2009 Ranji Trophy semi-finalsJanuary 7-11 Ranji Trophy finalsJanuary 16-February 10 Duleep TrophyFebruary 15-22 Ranji Trophy ODI zonal leagueFebruary 28-March 9 Vijay Hazare Trophy (Ranji Trophy ODI knockout)March 14-18 Deodhar TrophyMarch 23-28 Zonal Twenty20April 2-8 Twenty20 Super LeagueApril 10-May 24 IPLJunior tournamentsOctober 1 onwards CK Nayudu Trophy (Under-22 level)October 1 onwards Vijay Merchant Trophy & Polly Umiragar Trophy (Under-16 level)October 20 onwards Cooch Behar & Vinoo Mankad Trophy (Under-19 level)Women’s tournamentsSeptember 21-24 Challenger Trophy (venue undecided)November 20 One-day leagueJanuary 2, 2009 Two-day leagueApril 11-17 Twenty20 LeagueApril 21-27 Twenty20 knockoutOctober 10 Under-19 ODIs

The six major associations in New Zealand’s domestic circuit have announced their list of contracted players for the 2008-09 season. The names exclude players who have been centrally contracted with New Zealand Cricket.Ian Butler, the right-arm seamer who played eight Tests and 15 ODIs for New Zealand, has moved to Otago after losing his contract with Northern Districts. Harry Boam, the promising 17-year-old batsman and medium-pacer, becomes the first schoolboy cricketer to bag a contract with Wellington. The Birmingham-born Boam also featured in the Under-19 World Cup in Malaysia earlier this year.Auckland: Michael Bates, Andrew De Boorder, Colin De Grandhomme, Martin Guptill, Roneel Hira, Paul Hitchcock, Richard Jones, Tim McIntosh, Andrew McKay, Rob Nicol, Lance Shaw, Reece YoungWellington: Matthew Bell, Harry Boam, Dewayne Bowden, Josh Brodie, Michael Burns, BJ Crook, Grant Elliott, Kevin Forde, Mark Houghton, Chris Nevin, Neal Parlane, Luke WoodcockNorthern Districts: Graeme Aldridge, Simon Andrews, Brent Arnel, Trent Boult, Bruce Martin, Peter McGlashan, Cameron Merchant, Michael Parlane, Bradley Scott, BJ Watling, Kane Williamson, Joseph YovichCanterbury: Corey Anderson, Todd Astle, Hamish Bennett, Leighton Burtt, Andrew Ellis, Brandon Hiini, Johann Myburgh, Michael Papps, Iain Robertson, Shanan Stewart, Kruger Van WykCentral Districts: Brendon Diamanti, Bevan Griggs, Greg Hay, Brent Hefford, Peter Ingram, Tim Lythe, Mitchell McClenaghan, Robbie Schaw, Richard Sherlock, Mathew Sinclair, Ewen Thompson, Tim WestonOtago: Derek de Border, Neil Broom, Ian Butler, Craig Cumming, Mathew Harvie, Nathan McCullum, James McMillan, Warren McSkimming, Leighton Morgan, Craig Smith, Greg Todd, Neil Wagner

Sachin Tendulkar may miss his final scheduled appearance for the Lashings World XI after picking up a flu virus. While his fitness against the Leigh Technology Academy at Dartford in Kent on Friday is in some doubt he remains optimistic of appearing.”It’s just a virus, but we’ll just have to see how quickly I recover to see if I have a chance of playing on Friday,” said Tendulkar. “Dropping out of my final game certainly isn’t what I want to do as I want to get as much match practice as I can before going back to international cricket.”India’s next commitment is a three-Test series in Sri Lanka, with the first Test beginning in three weeks, on July 23 in Colombo. Tendulkar has not played international cricket since the first Test against South Africa in April after picking up a groin injury which forced him out of the rest of the series. He also missed the subsequent tri-series in Bangladesh and the Asia Cup.But he has played two Lashings games this summer, both of those coming in the last fortnight. He scored 32 at Eastbourne College before being caught at deep cover and following that up with 98, before falling to a return catch, at St Bede’s School in Sussex.

Beau Casson says he is ready to become Australia’s latest Test debutant if the opportunity arises when the third Test against West Indies begins in Barbados next week. Casson is the only backup slow bowler in the touring squad and the unexpected retirement of Stuart MacGill has suddenly thrust him into contention for an international call-up.Timing has been on Casson’s side. After a couple of lean state seasons, including 2006-07 when he moved from Western Australia to New South Wales and carried a shoulder injury through the summer, Casson came good in 2007-08 when a Test spin position finally became available. He said preparing against Australia’s top order during the West Indies trip had given him extra confidence.”We’ve got some of the most exceptional players of all time, not just of a certain era, and if you think if you’re going okay against them, you think you’re going to be pretty comfortable playing Test cricket,” Casson told the . “The way they go about their work, I’m learning a hell of a lot every day.”I would be kidding myself if I said I pictured it exactly like this. But it has always been a goal to play at the highest level and develop. After hurting my shoulder, that really set me back a bit and it was a bit of a long path to get it stronger and be able to bowl the overs I need to.”While Casson is thinking about a possible Test debut, there is no guarantee he will be the No. 1 spinner for New South Wales next season if MacGill continues to play state cricket. MacGill believes he still has plenty to offer the Blues but his plans were not received well by Terry Jenner, the spin coach who has worked with some of Australia’s young slow bowlers.”I hear he is going to play for New South Wales and I say why? It’s over,” Jenner told AAP. “He would be better now to move on, do some more wine shows and things like that and pass a few bottles of red around to us. The ideal thing would be for him now to make way, he’s had his moment and it didn’t quite work I think probably because his wrist never really recovered.”If MacGill does not return to the New South Wales setup it might open a door for Nathan Hauritz, who fell off the radar after playing his sole Test in India in 2004-05, to force his way back into first-class cricket. Hauritz, 26, has become a one-day specialist in state cricket but Jenner wants Australia to ensure the younger generation, including Dan Cullen and Cullen Bailey, get plenty of experience at first-class level.”These guys have got to learn to be four-day bowlers,” Jenner said. “Dot-ball bowlers aren’t four-day bowlers. It is difficult when you lose Warne who was the best ever, MacGill who is the best understudy ever and of course Brad Hogg who is the best one day spinner that was going around in world cricket. A year or so down the track … we will have people I think knocking on the door.”But none of those younger spinners are guaranteed to take over MacGill’s Cricket Australia contract for 2008-09. The chief executive James Sutherland and the operations manager Michael Brown discussed the issue on Friday and decided there was no rush to replace MacGill in the 25-man squad and instead they may wait and see if any players put their hands up with strong performances later in the year.

After four rounds of two-day games in the Christchurch senior men’s competition it is the experienced players who are once again coming to the fore.Generally speaking ball has dominated bat, which is the norm at this time of year when outfields are traditionally slow and pitches favouring the seam bowlers.There have, however, been a few exceptions to this rule, which is not surprising given the fact that TelstraClear Black Caps have had their most extended run playing club cricket for quite a number of years.With the bat, East Shirley’s Craig McMillan is the top two-day run scorer, amassing 222 runs at an average of 76. He also tops the averages. Shanan Stewart of Riccarton is the only other batsman to score over 200 runs. He has 202 at a 40.40 average.Other leading two-day run scorers include Michael Papps of East Shirley (188 runs at 47), Andy McDowell (188 at 37.60), Paul Wiseman of HSOB (180 at 45), Steven Knox of St Albans (166 at 27.67) and Gary Stead of Riccarton (147 at 73.50).With the ball, Stephen Cunis of St Albans tops the two-day aggregates with 22 wickets at 7.82. His team-mate Chris Harris is second on the list and also heads the averages with 20 wickets at a traditionally miserly 4.85 per wicket. Wade Cornelius of Lancaster Park/Woolston is close behind Cunis and Harris with 19 wickets at 9.37.Other leading players include: Chris Martin of St Albans (16 wickets at 11.63), Bobby Chilton of Marist (15 at 12.47), Ryan Burson of East Shirley (14 at 13.07) and Shane Bond of HSOB (12 at 8.37).With the gloves it is Aaron Johnstone of St Albans who leads the way. He has a total of 17 dismissals, made up of 15 catches and two stumpings. Carl Solomons of Lancaster Park/Woolston, who has moved to Christchurch from Blenheim, has 14 dismissals, all of which have been catches.

The Jodhpur one-day international was different from the previous fivegames for one reason – the nature of the pitch. It was not an idealtrack for one-day cricket, with the ball not coming on to the bat.Stand-in skipper Rahul Dravid’s decision to bat second, then, musthave been based on the inferior spin bowling attack of the opposition.Against the likes of Sri Lanka and Pakistan, chasing a total on atrack that was keeping low and getting slow would have provedsuicidal.

That said, even against the West Indies, India almost stumbled atJodhpur, making heavy weather of a modest run chase. What was requiredwas for somebody to play through the innings. But sadly none emerged.In the end, it was left to Sanjay Bangar to steer India home with abrilliant cameo.I feel all young players must look to emulate Bangar’s example. Hereis the most unassuming cricketer of recent times, one who has provedhimself to be the ultimate team man. In Test cricket, he plays therole of the sheet anchor to perfection, while his attacking brand ofbatting in one-day cricket is the result of a lot of hard work.The team management must feel proud for having found a player like himjust ahead of the World Cup. I also thought that Bangar bowled verywell in the Jodhpur one-dayer, claiming the valuable wicket of CarlHooper. But it was with the bat that he proved what a champion playerhe is.When all the players around him threw away their wickets, Bangarcalled upon his tremendous powers of concentration to make sure thathe stayed on to score the winning runs. He is not a flamboyant player,but his utility value is immense. Bangar was my Man of the Match atJodhpur.But some of the other players, who had been given an opportunity bythe selectors to prove themselves failed.Dinesh Mongia, for one, made a mess of a great opportunity. I am surethat he would have come across similar tracks on numerous occasions indomestic cricket. But that did not seem to help him. With the level ofcompetition for the batting places being high, his failure could costhim dearly. As for Reetinder Singh Sodhi, I just do not know what wasgoing through his mind; he seemed to have forgotten that there was ajob to be done.Probably what these players need to do now is to spend some timeplaying in Ranji trophy matches. Over the last few years theimportance of the tournament has diminished somewhat with therelentless amount of international games. But what needs to beremembered is that it still can play a vital role in moulding aplayer’s career. Ask Ajit Agarkar.After he was dropped from the Indian team, Agarkar took eight wicketsin the Ranji Trophy game against Delhi and forced his way back. Theresults were there to be seen; at Jodhpur, Agarkar bowled with a greatdeal of confidence, and importantly he picked up crucial wickets totake the Man of the Match award.

Another man who covered himself in glory was Murali Kartik. A left-armspinner in Indian cricket these days is a forgotten breed. I rememberthe days when I had the legendary Bishen Singh Bedi as my fellowspinner. >From my experience with Bedi, I am sure that Harbhajan Singhwould be a far better bowler, if he were bowling in tandem withsomeone who can turn the ball the other way.It is in this context that the success of Kartik was particularlyheartening, The young left-arm spinner has worked hard over the lastfew years in Indian domestic cricket and has been one of the mainstars behind Railways’ success in Ranji Trophy in recent times. I amglad to see him succeed at the highest level of the game, and thecraft he showed in the Jodhpur one-dayer should make any spin bowlerproud.I was also delighted to see Dravid leading the side so well. Hiscaptaincy was excellent – his bowling changes, in particular, alwaysspot on. Dravid’s success only underlines the key role he has playedas a deputy to Sourav Ganguly in India’s recent successful campaigns.Moving on to the final one-day international, I think India are thefavourites to win it and take the one-day series. Having said that,they should not take their opposition lightly, for the West Indieswith their rejuvenated batting line up could seize even the slightestof opportunities.

Wasim Khan, the PCB chief executive, has claimed a “clean bill of health from a security perspective”, adding that he expects England – the men, for two T20Is, and the women, for two T20Is and three ODIs – to reach Pakistan on schedule in October and play their games on the due dates.”England are meeting today to make a decision on whether they will tour Pakistan or not,” Wasim said in a virtual press conference today. “We know what the guidance is, we know from a security perspective there’s a clean bill of health. We certainly hope England tour. We certainly believe they should be coming and hope they will be coming, based on what the competent authority in Islamabad and the security expert (ESI Security) is saying.Related

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“The same security expert who provided the guidance for the ECB to go to Bangladesh, six weeks after the bomb blast that killed 12 people [in 2016] – so there’s a lot of trust put into this security expert who is understood and respected around the world. We certainly hope when the board meets, the ECB will decide to send their team to Pakistan for this short tour.”Wasim was critical of New Zealand’s “disrespectful” decision to leave Pakistan because of security concerns, saying that they had left “at the drop of a hat and leaving us to pick up the pieces”, but struck a more measured tone when speaking about England.He pointed out that neither England, nor any of Australia, Canada or the USA – the countries alongside New Zealand that make up the Five Eyes intelligence network that Wasim said had tipped off New Zealand about a perceived threat – had changed their travel advisories to Pakistan in the previous few days. Besides, there was no indication of any dissatisfaction with the security arrangements Pakistan plans to have in place for the visiting England sides.”The travel advisory is an indicator of threat levels. Most of the Western embassies across the world use the travel advisory as an indicator of where the threat levels are,” Wasim said. “The advisory has not changed from the UK government, nor from Australia, Canada and the US. There was no security breach [with the New Zealand tour]; the tour was abandoned because of a perceived threat.”In terms of what is in place, ultimately the ECB board will make a decision. There are two elements any board looks at. One is the advisory a government has for citizens of their nation going to any country. Secondly, it’s around the security provision that is put in place directly for the team. Both of those angles we’ve been told there’s a clean bill of health and there’s confidence on both sides. But ultimately, the decision is the ECB board’s, and we’ll have to wait and see.”The hole New Zealand’s withdrawal has left in the schedule for Pakistan has also led the PCB to reach out to other boards, but it’s unlikely to lead to anything concrete. “The PCB contacted Sri Lanka and Bangladesh to tour Pakistan, and there was a strong willingness from both to come and play,” Wasim said. “Unfortunately, there’s very short notice, and the Bangladesh players are dispersed around the country. The Sri Lanka squad are going to Oman fairly soon. So it’s not possible in this timeframe to put anything in place for us.”