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The ICC has flexed its muscles in the aftermath of John Howard’s offer to pay any fines levied as a result of Australia refusing to tour Zimbabwe.Howard, Australia’s prime minister, said last Friday that the government would pay any fine imposed by the ICC should Cricket Australia decide not to send a side to Zimbabwe later this year.On Monday, the ICC issued a blunt statement pointing out that the only reason for the board to refuse to tour would be “if there are circumstances likely to give rise to a serious risk of death or personal injury to the players and/or officials due to take part in the Tour concerned or in respect of which appropriate insurance is unavailable on reasonable terms, such circumstances constitute acceptable non-compliance.”It added that only a ban by the government on the tour would be acceptable, although that comment is made in the knowledge that outright bans on sides touring abroad is almost unknown in Australia.The ICC added that a fine of at least US$2 million could be imposed. It is possible that Zimbabwe Cricket could claim additional monies from Cricket Australia if it could prove extra losses as a result. Any fine would go straight into the coffers of the Zimbabwe board.The ICC statement only reiterates the position as already stated. Howard’s offer to pay any fine means that financial penalties by the ICC would not directly affect Australia, and it seems highly unlikely that any action such as a suspension could realistically be imposed on the No. 1 Test and ODI side.

Brian Lara has given Ramnaresh Sarwan a vote of confidence ahead of the final Test in Karachi from November 27, but stopped short of saying whether he would be recalled into the playing XI.Sarwan, 26, was replaced for the Multan Test with Runako Morton. Lara insisted that the move wasn’t “designed as a drop,” and that Sarwan still had a key role to play in the future of West Indian cricket. However, it was the first time in his six-year career that Sarwan missed out due to poor form.”First of all, let me say that Sarwan is one of the best talents of his generation, my generation and even the one before,” Lara said. “He is someone we look forward to having in the team. He is a leader, he is the vice-captain of the team and we expect a lot of him. The West Indies did not invest 64 Tests in him for him to be sitting on the side.”He will come back from this and come back stronger. It wasn’t designed as a drop. We just wanted to make him aware of the situation and come back stronger. We need him and we need him to take control.”Lara wasn’t willing, however, to disclose whether Sarwan would return for the final Test. As he’d said before the start at Multan, Lara maintained that the best combination would be selected. “We have to see what the surface in Karachi will be like and then decide,” he said. “Most importantly, we are 1-0 down and we want to level the series. The team out there will be the one that can do that. We want to play good cricket. We have to come out of this game against a team that beat us in four days and put them under pressure throughout.”

The row between Clive Lloyd and Michael Holding over the reasons for Holding’s resignation from the West Indies board’s cricket committee shows no sign of letting up.On Wednesday, Lloyd, who is chairman of the committee, issued at statement in which he said he had no issues with his former team-mate and that he saw “nothing to be gained by continuing this matter”. He added: “I believe we should now focus on what each of us can do individually to take West Indies cricket forward.”Holding, however, told Cricinfo that his resignation had nothing to do with the cancellation of the Stanford Super Star match, as has been implied. “My resignation letter was dated August 26 and it’s on record that the match was cancelled some time after this date. All one has to do is go back and read my resignation letter and they will find the reason.””It’s unfortunate that Mr Lloyd can’t remember my reason. It seems he continues to have memory lapses, since the letter was written to him and he surely must still have a copy.”His statement says he wishes to move on,” Holding continued. “Well, that is easy for him to say, but since he contributed to Ken Gordon and the WICB’s first press release with his erroneous quote that he never resigned from the original cricket committee, as it was never accepted by the WICB directors, and only I resigned, he needs to correct his utterings first. If the committee members were never accepted by the WICB directors, why was it necessary for me to resign?”Those are your words Clive, not mine. Be man enough to admit you were wrong or mistaken or forgot the incident, whichever you choose, and then we can move on. Don’t be afraid to offend anyone with your admission. If anyone is offended by the truth, then we know where they stand.”

Brian Lara, the West Indies captain, feels that Anil Kumble would make a huge difference to the Indian side for the Tests after they got beaten 4-1 in the one-day series.”India are a great opponent and they have two very good spinners in Harbhajan Singh and Anil Kumble and they are not going to be easy,” Lara told the . He urged the authorities not to prepare pitches that favour spin. “I’m expecting hopefully we can get something more sporty for our fast bowlers.”Greg Chappell, India’s coach, also said that Kumble would add value to the attack but emphasised that one good bowler wasn’t enough. “He’s a fine bowler, one of the best going around, very experienced and one of the great competitors. I think he’ll enjoy the conditions here, but obviously he has to bowl well and has to be supported by bowling at the other end – we can’t rely on one bowler.”India’s 1-4 defeat in the one-day series was their worst in recent times. “We’ve got a little bit of work to do mentally, to regroup and get ourselves prepared for the Test series,” said Chappell.Having led West Indies to two successive one-day victories against Zimbabwe and India since taking over as captain from Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Lara said that it was important to stay grounded because Tests were completely different. “The confidence is high but we can’t get carried away,” said Lara. “We’ve got to keep our feet on the ground and we have to focus, or refocus, on the five-day game to ensure we do well.”The first Test begins in Antigua on Friday, followed by Tests in St Lucia from June 10-14, in St Kitts from June 22-26, and in Jamaica from June 30-July 4.

The Zimbabwe cricket board has backed Sharad Pawar’s nomination for the post of ICC president. Pawar, the president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India, had filed his nomination on Friday after the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) met in Singapore and agreed on his nomination.Pawar now has the backing of five member boards, including the Asian bloc of India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. The last date for filing nominations is January 1, and the BCCI was hopeful of getting the support of the West Indies board as well. The ICC will send the nominations received from Pawar and David Morgan, Chairman of the England Wales Cricket Board (ECB) to AC Muthiah, Chairman of the ICC Nomination Committee.The ICC will announce its successor to Percy Sonn in its annual meeting in London in July for a term of two years beginning 2008.

The $5 million winner-takes-all Stanford 20/20 SuperStar game between West Indies and South Africa due to be played on November 10 is unlikely to be resurrected despite comments from Shaharyar Khan, chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), that his board would be willing to “bend over backwards” to accommodate the match.The 20/20 game was officially cancelled earlier this week after it emerged that the PCB were unable to shift dates of the West Indies’ tour to Pakistan, which begins with the tourists’ arrival on November 7, two days after the end of the Champions Trophy in India. The first Test is scheduled to begin on November 11.But according to the Barbados-based The Nation, Shaharyar is willing to adjust the schedule by a few days to accommodate the match. Shaharyar revealed that he learned on Monday that the PCB had informed the WICB it was unable to shift the original dates, as requested.The WICB subsequently released a statement announcing their pleasure at the PCB’s stance to accommodate the WICB and shift the dates for the tour. Ken Gordon, the board president, said, “This is very good news to me as we have tried to keep our commitment to do all within our power to shift the tour dates. In fact, I wrote several letters to the PCB and clearly these have finally swayed the Pakistan board in our favour. As soon as I get formal confirmation of the PCB’s decision, I will convey it to Mr. Stanford. I hope it is not too late to reinstate the game against South Africa.”However, Allen Stanford, the businessman who conceived the SuperStar game, released a statement soon making clear his displeasure with the way the matter had been handled by the WICB and stating that the game was definitely off.”The cancellation of the Super Star match was based on a letter written by the president of the WICB, dated August 25, in which it was conveyed that there was absolutely nothing that could be done with the dates for Pakistan and that Ken Gordon, as quoted in his letter, had conveyed his disappointment to the PCB Chairman, Shaharyar Khan.”After receiving this communication from Gordon and realising the level it had gone to with the PCB and much contemplation on the issue, the extremely difficult decision was made to cancel the match. Subsequent to this, South Africa was informed, agreements with suppliers were cancelled and the Super Star squad that were training in Antigua were informed and the camp was discontinued because of the irresolvable issue with the Pakistan tour dates.”At this stage it would be unprofessional to reinstate all of this to accommodate what appears to be a lack of efficiency and miscommunication on the part of the WICB, the very organisation who assured us the dates could be accommodated.”As things stand at this stage, the match is off; a PCB official confirmed to Cricinfo that the tour is scheduled to go ahead as per the original itinerary. But Shaharyar was due to contact Gordon from London to discuss the matter further and we may not have heard the last of this.

Jason Holder, the West Indies captain, said his team would take heart from the efforts of Darren Bravo, Kraigg Brathwaite and also James Pattinson in trying to regather from a humiliating defeat to Australia in the first Test in Hobart.Bravo and Brathwaite excelled with a pair of fine innings that stood in stark contrast to the horrid returns of the rest of the batting order, and Holder said their example had to be the starting point for his side’s preparation for the second Test in Melbourne from Boxing Day.”I think you need to look at inspiring performances, like how Darren Bravo played,” Holder said. “He just showed that once he applied himself and spent some time in the middle that runs could be made out there.””The way Kraigg Brathwaite played in the second innings [was impressive], a real fighting innings. He pushed for a hundred but unfortunately didn’t get it. We just need to look at those inspiring performances, and probably look back to performances where we’ve done well in the past, and just try to relive those moments and bring it into this Test series.”Holder was also disappointed with their work at the start of the Hobart Test, when they conceded 438 runs for only three wickets in 89 overs.”Obviously we weren’t good enough on the first day, plain and simple. We didn’t bowl well, we didn’t string enough good balls in pretty good areas long enough, and as a result they were scoring pretty rapidly from the get go. We obviously need to highlight that area and work on it before the second Test match.”But there are ways to recover from a bad first impression, as Pattinson did. Returning from injury and with a reworked action, he was unable to take any wickets in the first innings. But second time around, he fired out five West Indian batsmen.”Pattinson showed you can come back in the second innings and produce those kinds of spells,” Holder said. “That’s what good bowlers show, the ability to bounce back after not having the best start. We can take a page from his book and start to turn things around.”The results haven’t gone my way and it’s been tough times. But I can think back, that for a number of years West Indies cricket has been like this. I’m not making any excuses for anybody, but at the end of the day it’s a situation most of us have found ourselves in [before].”We need to find a way to pick ourselves up and turn things around. The only way we can turn it around is by performances.”

Three South African players will attempt to play in the inaugural Masters Champions League without signed NOCs from their national body, Cricket South Africa. Richard Levi, Rory Kleinveldt and Robin Peterson have all been denied NOCs because the MCL clashes with South African domestic fixtures. A fourth player, Alviro Petersen, also did not receive an NOC, and will not be traveling to the UAE because he is contractually bound to play for Highveld Lions, his South African franchise.Petersen tweeted his situation on Monday. “Its with regret that I announce that @HighveldLions CEO & Board denied me an NOC to play in @MCL2020UAE . My team mate Mc Kenzie got his NOC.”Petersen retired from international cricket in January 2015 but remains contracted to the Lions franchise, for whom he scored a double-hundred in the most recent round of first-class matches. For any player to receive an NOC, their franchise has to agree and then apply to CSA for a final signature. The Lions’ CEO Greg Fredericks told ESPNcricinfo that they chose not to do this after discussions with the coach and selectors in which they decided the franchise needs Petersen for upcoming fixtures.McKenzie has a different and smaller agreement with Lions, which will expire at the end of the 2015-16 summer. He only played in the List A competition this season after retiring from first-class cricket at the end of last season. Although that tournament is yet to conclude, the Lions have deemed him surplus to requirements, paving way for his NOC.The situation with the Levi, Kleinveldt and Peterson is different. None of them have publicly announced their retirement from international cricket but an insider told ESPNcricinfo that all of them have written to CSA to state that it is not their intention to play international cricket anymore.Their franchise, the Cobras, applied to CSA for their NOCs but CSA has refused to grant them because they felt the players are needed in the domestic competition.Levi is a Kolpak player who has a contract with the Cobras under which he is bound to play for them in the T20 competition and the play-offs of the one-day cup. His contract also contains a clause that he will be released for one T20 league, should an opportunity arise. He chose the MCL ahead of the PSL. While the T20 competition is already over in South Africa, the playoffs for the one-day cup take place at the end of February and do not clash with the MCL.Kleinveldt and Peterson, who last played for South Africa in 2013 and 2014 respectively, are also contracted to the Cobras and have been playing across all formats for the franchise. A source revealed that CSA refused to release them because, “it’s important that the strength of the domestic game is looked after.” While Peterson and Levi are already in the UAE, Kleinveldt is expected to travel on Tuesday.The MCL may still refuse to allow these players to take part in the tournament without a signed NOC from CSA.

Scorecard

South Australia’s season hit rock bottom as they capitulated to the Queensland pace attack and lost within three days at Adelaide Oval. A professional all-round performance from James Hopes and a gutsy half-century from the injured Shane Watson sparked the Bulls but the story of the day was the hosts’ inability to even be competitive, despite a ten-wicket match from Jason Gillespie.After both sides struggled in the first innings, Queensland showed why they are on top of the Pura Cup table, posting a second-innings 363. In reply, the Redbacks were all out for 104. Their top-order batting is a major concern, with Matthew Elliott, Cameron Borgas and Callum Ferguson continuing their poor form. The trio each average less than 30 in 2006-07.Andy Bichel did the damage early, taking 3 for 13, before Hopes rattled the middle order with 4 for 25. South Australia’s best partnership was the 24 added by the last-wicket pair Paul Rofe and Dan Cullen. So dominant were the Queensland fast bowlers that the legspinner Daniel Doran was not required to bowl throughout the match.Hopes had made 77 in the second innings and together with Watson, built a valuable 139-run partnership. Watson batted with a runner and scored 68 a day after sustaining a 5cm tear to his left hamstring. Clinton Perren was out for 80 early in the day, helping Gillespie snare 5 for 69 after taking 5 for 41 in the first innings. His match tally of 10 for 110 was his best in first-class cricket.

Upul Tharanga has been ruled out of the first two Tests against Bangladesh after injuring his foot in a practice session.”Tharanga was hit on his foot by a Lasith Malinga delivery this morning”, Kangadaran Mathivanan, the secretary of the Sri Lankan board told AFP.Tharanga, the left handed opener, is now the second player to drop out of the original 15-man squad for the three-Tests after Marvan Atapattu, the former skipper, dropped out citing personal commitments.Mathivanan added that Sri Lanka A team members Thilan Samaraweera, Michael Vandort and Jehan Mubarak, who are engaged in a three-day warm-up match against Bangladesh; are in line to take Tharanga’s place.Sri Lanka host Bangladesh for three Tests and three ODIs. The first Test begins in Colombo on June 25.