Stuart MacGill has been left out of Australia’s 13-man squad to play Sri Lanka next month and Shaun Tait brought in, with the selectors putting their faith in pace to unsettle Sri Lanka’s classy top order.MacGill had received assurances from Cricket Australia that his decision to stand out of last month’s Zimbabwe tour because of moral concerns would not count against his future selection prospects. But Trevor Hohns, the chairman of selectors, said the nature of the pitches in Darwin and Cairns meant that there was no room for either him or the Victorian legspinner Cameron White, who went to Zimbabwe in MacGill’s stead.”Considering the type of wickets we’re likely to get in Darwin and Cairns it was highly unlikely that we’d play two spinners, which ruled both White and MacGill out of consideration,” Hohns said in an official statement.As expected Glenn McGrath, despite being publicly advised to pull his socks up, is one of an extravagant line-up of five fast bowlers. He is likely to lead Australia’s attack alongside Jason Gillespie, Michael Kasprowicz and Shane Warne, who – depending on whether or not Muttiah Muralitharan makes the trek to Australia’s tropics – might be chasing the all-time Test bowling record.Warne is currently sitting on 517 wickets, behind Muralitharan (527) and the retired West Indian pace great Courtney Walsh (519). Should Muralitharan tour, their encounter shapes as a classic to rival their most recent battle in Sri Lanka three months ago.Tait was selected as cover for Brad Williams, who was included in the squad despite coming home early from Zimbabwe with a sore back. “With Williams under an injury cloud and with McGrath still to play under Test match conditions, Tait’s selection will add significant depth,” said Hohns. “Should he play, he will give our attack that extra edge.”Zippy, raw and only 21, Tait previously filled in for Brett Lee – who is still recovering from ankle surgery – on the tour of Sri Lanka. In 14 first-class matches he has taken 53 wickets at 26.56.The first of the two Tests will begin in Darwin on July 1. The Sri Lankans will play one warm-up match against a Northern Territory Chief Minister’s XI, expected to be named later today. Australia’s squad
Justin Langer, Matthew Hayden, Ricky Ponting (capt), Damien Martyn, Darren Lehmann, Simon Katich, Adam Gilchrist (wk), Shane Warne, Jason Gillespie, Michael Kasprowicz, Glenn McGrath, Brad Williams, Shaun Tait.

Scorecard

The wonder of Jeff Thomson’s twisting, frenetic, slingshot bowling action was never so much how Thommo did it. The wonder was why almost nobody else did. Well, the world need wonder no longer. Lasith Malinga, a 20-year-old debutant fast bowler with a Thommo-like action, today put fear into the minds of Australia’s batsmen for a brief while, before three late Sri Lankan wickets left this first day under cloudless Darwin skies firmly in the balance. At stumps, they were 3 for 43 in response to Australia’s disappointing 207.If it was Malinga who upset the Australians, shooting out Darren Lehmann and Adam Gilchrist in a nasty post-tea spell, it was Chaminda Vaas who finished them off via more conventional means. Curving the ball menacingly away from the left-handers – and there are six of them in this Australian top seven, which is surely unprecedented – Vaas produced a masterful exhibition of old-style swing bowling.Sometimes he swung it big and early, sometimes late and subtly, which is what accounted for the two Matthews – Hayden and Elliott – and most of the tail. By the end Vaas had 5 for 31 and Australia had lost last their seven wickets for 30. It was only the second time in three years that they had been kept to under three runs an over, and the repercussions for Sri Lankan cricket looked significant indeed. Here was proof, at last, that there is more to them than Muttiah Muralitharan.The Malinga-Thommo comparison should not be exaggerated. Thomson’s action had an epic, slow-motion quality to it. At the peak of his run-up he would tail away from the stumps, his back arched and his feet criss-crossing in mid-air, his left leg following through with daredevil have-a-go-yer-mug intent.Malinga’s style is altogether more modest. If Thomson was a human catapult, Malinga is a windmill, a frenzied flurry of arms. He bowls from closer to the stumps, with barely a jump let alone a leap, and clocks in at around 15kph slower than Thommo.Still, that is invariably fast enough. Vaas had warned that his new partner was more dangerous with the old ball than the new, and so it proved. In his nine overs before tea Malinga looked slippery without threatening. Then, just before the break, he cuffed Lehmann on the shoulder with a challenging bouncer. Lehmann appeared not to see it. Just after the break, he fired an even sharper one at his throat, a no-ball, which Lehmann spooned helplessly to gully. Moments later, Lehmann tiptoed extravagantly across his crease – a curious untextbook habit of his, this – only to belatedly square up to the ball and watch it thud incriminatingly into his right pad.Malinga’s third ball to the new man, Adam Gilchrist, was a wild inswinging bouncer on leg stump. Gilchrist – half-evading, half-hooking – paddled it tamely through to Kumar Sangakkara, which is when the Malinga-Thommo comparison broke down statistically too. Thomson was carted for six runs an over on debut against Pakistan, didn’t take a wicket and wasn’t sighted again for two years. Malinga, 32 years later, unnerved the world champions.

This day never followed a predictable course. Marvan Atapattu elected to field in pristine – if muggy – batting conditions and on a drop-in pitch guaranteed to get lower, slower and ever more alluring to Shane Warne. “It’ll never never leave you,” beckoned the boundary-side advertising boards plugging Darwin as a tourist destination, and you got the same feeling about Hayden in the first session.The 4595 locals in attendance downed warm beer and wore their best thongs, their senses stiffened by the faint smell of frangipani. This is the second time Darwin has staged a Test and, as was the case last year, it has the air of the annual race-day at a dusty country town. Hayden’s batting, grinning and heaving and swinging across the line, is usually in keeping with such a mood. But this was Hayden without the rough edges: upright in defence, purposeful in attack; circumspect one minute, clobbering Thilan Samaraweera over his head the next.Langer was less finely chiselled. He almost fell without a run on the board, making a late decision to leave Vaas and edging a low chance to slip. Mahela Jayawardene seemed to think he’d scooped a finger under it, Langer seemed less than eager to take his word for it, and the TV replays – as always at moments like this – seemed peculiarly unhelpful.Langer was unsettled ever after, frequently mistiming before eventually drilling an implausible sweep to backward square leg (72 for 1). As he trudged off, he may have wondered whether the new old boy Elliott might come back with a bang and put his own position – never entirely rock-solid – under fresh scrutiny.He need not have worried. Elliott, who put the phone down and screamed with excitement when told he was back in the side, calmly re-opened his Test tally with a single. Then he shaped loosely to drive at Vaas, failed to get near the pitch of it, and edged to second slip (73 for 2). The comeback that took five years to arrive was over in seven minutes.When Hayden fell after lunch Australia had lost three wickets for eight runs. Lehmann, dabbing his first ball from Vaas defiantly past gully, responded with a mini-classic. Big, bald and beer-swilling, he described himself recently as the last of the old-style Australian cricketers. This afternoon, he was a throwback of a different kind – a David Gower or Neil Harvey, maybe – as with sure feet and soft hands he alternately nudged and thwacked Sri Lanka’s part-time spinners.His vigour briefly awakened something in Damien Martyn. Marooned in his teens, the Darwin-born Martyn suddenly cut loose with successive boundaries off Samaraweera – one thanks to a bumbling full-toss, the other courtesy of a fumbling misfield on the fence. He had crashed five boundaries in 15 minutes when, on the stroke of tea and with startling recklessness, he crunched Sanath Jayasuriya straight to gully (177 for 4). From there, Australia’s batting wilted fast.This day of surprises had one last twist. Glenn McGrath, playing his first Test in a year and with the vultures hovering, fizzed one back to rap Atapattu’s middle stump. Jason Gillespie trapped a flat-footed Sangakkara lbw for his 200th Test wicket, then McGrath nailed Jayasuriya in similar fashion (33 for 3).At this point, you had to stop yourself jumping to conclusions. All McGrath had done was take two wickets; to say he was back to his best would be premature. But he did look sharp. There was a hint of zip. He landed the ball on the spot, jagged it this way or that, and snarled. It is what McGrath has always done. The wonder is why nobody else has ever done it quite like him.

Despite recent reports in the New Zealand Press Association that Queenstown could become the latest venue in the country to gain Test status, a local source has claimed this would in fact be highly unlikely.According to the article, the Queenstown Events Centre is in contention to host a Test during Australia’s tour in February-March 2005. The ground has so far hosted two one-dayers, and it only became a first-class venue in 2001-02. It has, however, won plenty of acclaim for its breathtakingly beautiful location, but the likely lack of numbers in attendance, along with its below-par facilities, means that it may have to wait longer to gain Test status."The Australian games are the big attractions for NZC (New Zealand cricket board), and it is highly probable that the games will go to the three main centres, Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch," the local source said. "That is where the best crowds will be. While on the last tour a game was played at Hamilton, it was because Jade Stadium in Christchurch had become a problem and was out of use while the portable pitch technology was developed."He continued, "Also, Queenstown doesn’t yet have the sort of facilities that would allow it to be a host venue for a Test match, and in March it would not have the crowd support. It is at its best during the peak of holiday time, post Christmas-January. Even a Test against Sri Lanka in that time would be a big test for the set-up there."Graeme Elliott, the chief executive of Otago Cricket Association, confirmed that Queenstown was being discussed as a Test venue, but indicated that no final decision had been taken yet. “New Zealand Cricket ultimately make the decisions on where internationals are played.”New Zealand have a mixed record at the ground – they won their first one-dayer there – against India in 2002-03 – by seven wickets, but were thrashed by six wickets in their next game, against Pakistan last season. After that game Javed Miandad, the coach of that Pakistan side, had high praise for the venue, suggesting that it was good enough to host Tests.Meanwhile, New Zealand Cricket is also considering scrapping the Boxing Day Test next season, and replacing it with a one-dayer. The Basin Reserve at Wellington has hosted a Boxing Day Test five times in the last six years, but the NZPA report suggests that Auckland’s Eden Park could get a one-dayer on December 26 instead.

The long-awaited Zimbabwe Cricket Union’s annual general meeting takes place at Harare Sports Club tomorrow, and top of the agenda for the meeting will be the election of a new board of directors to run Zimbabwe cricket for the next two years.The outcome of the elections should have had a huge impact on Zimbabwe cricket, but Wisden Cricinfo learned this week that the entire board, barring Kevin Arnott who has stepped down for personal reasons, will be retained, having been re-elected unopposed by the provincial associations and the integration committee, which is lead by Ozais Bvute. Peter Chingoka and Ahmed Ebrahim, the chairman and vice-chairman, Bvute, Clive Barnes, Nick Chouhan, Macsood Ebrahim, Terrence Nicolle, Mike Moyo and Allan Welsh were all nominated by the provincial associations and the integration committee at their meeting almost two weeks ago, as stipulated by the ZCU constitution.Tavengwa Mukuhlani, the Mashonaland Cricket Association’s chairman, and his Matabeleland counterpart, Ahmet Esat, automatically become ZCU board members. All the names that have been put forward by the provincial associations and the integration committee will be considered by the selection committee, which is headed by Alwyn Pichanick, the ZCU’s life president, but any rejections are highly unlikely.Zimbabwe cricket has been in a major crisis since the board announced that it had accepted Heath Streak’s resignation from all forms of cricket in Zimbabwe on April 2, after Streak had presented the board with an ultimatum containing a number of demands at its quarterly meeting. Fourteen other senior players refused to make themselves available for selection, and Zimbabwe were forced to field a weakened side against Sri Lanka and Australia. The rebel players were subsequently fired by the ZCU for breach of contract.Both the ZCU and the players have since agreed to the ICC’s proposal to set up a three-man tribunal, whose decision will be "final and binding", but the continued presence of Bvute and Ebrahim on the board will make a compromise hard to achieve.

Kumar Sangakkara
On being dropped
One of the things you look at when you bat is that when you get a second chance you make the other side pay. It is something I haven’t done in the past, but it was good to go on and be not out at the end of the day.On his innings
When you score runs you always enjoy it. That’s one of the key things. It’s hard work at times when you don’t get easy runs, but if you work through that, there comes a time when you hit everything wherever you want to, and you really start enjoying it.On his early arrival at the crease
It was unfortunate to get Marvan [Atappatu] caught behind in the first over as he is a bloke who would probably have got 200 on this wicket if he had got in. Sanath [Jayasuriya] and especially Mahela [Jayawardene] did a fantastic job for us. We were unlucky to have Mahela dismissed before the end of play, but Vaasy is as solid as any batsmen. We will try and work through the first half-hour and see where it gets us.On day two
Hopefully I will get a third double-hundred. It comes to mind when you look at the scoreboard. If we can see Pollock, Ntini and Hayward off early we can get a big first-innings total and put pressure right back on them.On South Africa’s tactics
It was surprising to see a negative approach right from the start. We lost the first wicket in the first over, and the pressure was right on us to get a big score batting first on this track. But there weren’t many catchers behind the wicket and lots of guys were saving boundaries. It allowed us to work through that difficult period, get our singles and rotate the strike, which took the pressure off. They tried to stop us from scoring quickly and to get us to make a few mistakes. But I think we settled down pretty well. We put the bad ball away, and basically that’s what you look for when you have tight fields.On the pitch
It’s a batsman’s dream, the kind you want to roll up, take home and bring back every day. It has more pace than at Galle and hopefully our spinners will be able to get a bit more bite out of this one. It will probably get a bit slower and hopefully Vaasy with his reverse and Malinga with his pace might get us a few early wickets.On the possibility of a first series win against South Africa
We are very hungry to win a series against them. We had a chance in 2000 and we didn’t take it. This time, it is up for grabs and the guys want it.Graeme Smith
On a tough day in the field
It was really hot today and Sri Lanka got the best of the wicket again. They got off to a good start and for us it was a day of missed chances. If we had taken one or two of those chances we could have been through to their middle order, and there was a chance that we could have had them five or six wickets down at the close. But we missed two chances in the middle session that put us on the back foot. There is still an opportunity for us to come back tomorrow and knock a few over to make it interesting again.On the pitch
The wicket is going to play well for most of the Test match. I think it is a better wicket than the one in Galle – so if we put our heads down we can bat well also.On Sangakkara and Jayawardene’s performance
I thought they played well, although I was surprised that they went into their shell a bit against our part-timers, and I think that cost them the wicket at the end of the day. But we could have had both of them and on a wicket this good you can’t miss chances. We let ourselves down and were not ruthless enough, and we are paying for that nowOn Nantie Hayward’s performance
I was a little bit disappointed with Nantie who, despite struggling with a virus and being on the toilet all day, didn’t bowl well enough.On whether the decision to drop a bowler backfired
I don’t think our bowlers bowled enough in the last Test match. There were too many guys who bowled five or six overs. We went in here with a compact attack and added on an extra batter. Tomorrow, when we are batting, it is important that we get the runs on the board.On Murali’s absence
I was disappointed, as you always want to play against the best. It is unfortunate for a world-class performer to get an injury.

15 overs
Live scorecard and ball-by-ball details

The more things change, the more things stay the same so far as Pakistan are concerned. For all the talk of a brave new era under Bob Woolmer’s stewardship, their essential unpredictability is never far from the surface. And so it proved in the opening exchanges of the first one-day international against Zimbabwe at Harare, as Tinashe Panyangara and Doug Hondo obliterated Pakistan’s top-order inside the first 15 overs.The last time Panyangara took the new ball at the start of a series, against England at Edgbaston in the recent Champions Trophy, he very nearly failed to get his first over, which included seven wides. Today, on the other hand, he was right on the spot from the very first delivery, which Yasir Hameed edged straight through to Tatenda Taibu behind the stumps (0 for 1).Hondo didn’t make quite such an instant impact – he required all of four deliveries of his first over to make his first incision, as Shoaib Malik attempted to whip across the line and was adjudged lbw by an inducker for 1. And when Yousuf Youhana, who amassed 405 runs in five matches (average: 405) on Pakistan’s previous trip to Zimbabwe, feathered a good-length ball through to Taibu, Hondo had struck for the second time in two overs to reduce Pakistan to 6 for 3.At least Inzamam-ul-Haq, who had been a doubt because of a back injury, could not be blamed this time for choosing to bat first on winning the toss. But, together with the debutant, Bazid Khan (son of Majid) he faced a delicate rebuilding process. He nearly perished in the process as well, as Taibu dropped a leg-side chance while Inzamam was on 7, but Taibu made no such mistake when Panyangara sent down a wide one, for Bazid to chase and edge for 12.

In his first interview since Zimbabwe’s rebels announced that they were ending their protest against the board (ZC), Heath Streak has said that little has changed inside Zimbabwe despite the ICC’s recommendations which formed part of the findings of the racism hearing.Although the ICC ruled there was no evidence of racism inside Zimbabwe Cricket, it made a number of recommendations as to the way the board should operate. "The irony is that at the end it gave the stamp of approval to the recommendations we had been making all along," Streak told Australia’s Radio Sport 927. "I think that if the ICC wants to be what it is meant to be, it should be policing these because we haven’t seen any changes."Streak said that two of the major issues had not been addressed – "The restructuring of the selection panel, so it has people of knowledge and experience, and outstanding issues concerning some of the board members who have been involved in accusations of racism." He might have to wait. Although the ICC’s recommendations were a key part of the report, it appears that it has no powers to enforce them.And Streak was particularly critical of Peter Chingoka, the board’s chairman. "The irony is that he is a weak character," he explained. "I put a lot of blame on him for allowing this to go as far as it has. If he had cricket at heart then he wouldn’t be accepting gratuities of £50,000 when grass-level cricket is in crisis and clubs are collapsing. He needs to wake up and smell the coffee."Chingoka admitted taking a bonus payment during the last financial year, a revelation that caused anger at the board’s AGM in August. There have been reports, as yet unconfirmed, that he has been paid another bonus in recent weeks.Streak told Radio Sport 927 that he had been offered a new contract by the board, albeit on a lower salary and conditional on him dropping his complaints. "I was offered a contract but the fact that nothing had changed. They wanted me to pull out of the racism enquiry which was just about to happen … since then I have heard nothing."I do see myself playing for Zimbabwe again but there need to be changes. I think those recommendations need to be put in place and then maybe there is a future for not only myself but others to return to the fold in a situation where there is no racism."But Streak’s relationship with the board remains strained. Earlier this month he agreed to coach Mashonaland, his province, free of charge only for the board to angrily intervene and demand that he stand down.As it is, Streak has only one match penciled in before he resumes playing for Warwickshire next April – against England. "I have a game on December 8 playing for Nicky Oppenheimer’s XI in a warm-up match in South Africa," he said. "But who knows?"

A magnificent 162 from Jacques Kallis lifted South Africa from a dicey 116 for 6 at the midpoint of their innings, to give them control of the second Test at Kingsmead and leave England with everything to do if they are to preserve their unbeaten record in 2004. Afterwards, Kallis agreed that hisperformance was one of the finest of his career.”It’s definitely up there with the best,” said a contented Kallis, whostill maintained that his maiden Test century, against Australia in1997-98 was his all-time favourite. “England are right up thereat the moment and it’s good to perform against the best.”Even so, Kallis could not have turned South Africa’s innings around had itnot been for a concerted effort from the tail, and he was quick to sharethe praise, in particular with Shaun Pollock who made 43 in a vital 87-runstand for the seventh wicket. “You can’t buy that sort of experience atthe supermarket,” said Kallis. “But the bowlers did their bit as well.There were a lot of bumpers flying around, but they stayed in line, showeda lot of guts and determination, and we can be proud of ourselves.”Though the conditions eased up as the day progressed, it was tough goingearly on, as England made three quick breakthroughs to put the match backin the balance. “It did do a little this morning,” said Kallis. “Our planwas to come out this morning and not lose too many, but unfortunately thatdidn’t happen. But Shaun was magnificent and tomorrow’s early session willbe crucial.”Kallis acknowledged that England had been badly hampered by the loss ofAshley Giles, who tweaked his back while batting and took no part in theday’s play. “It’s aways hard when you lose a bowler,” he admitted. “It washard on them and they tired towards the end of day, which was why themorning was crucial. But we stuck to our task well.”It was hugely important to bounce back after Port Elizabeth,” addedKallis. “To go 2-0 down was not an option – it would have been the seriesover. Maybe we let ourselves down a bit this evening by not quite landingenough balls in the right area, but it could be the wake-up call weneeded. If we get a few wickets tomorrow, we could make our lives easier.”It has been a stellar year for Kallis’s batting. He has made 1278 runs at85.20 in 11 Tests, a South African record, including five centuries. “I’veworked hard on the technical side of my game, and mentally off the fieldas well, because I don’t premeditate so much now, and play all balls ontheir merits.”And also, following a traumatic 2003 in which he suffered the death of hisfather, Kallis admitted the enjoyment of the game had returned as well.”Last year was tough, but I learned a lot and matured a lot as well, whichwas maybe what I needed.”Matthew Hoggard, by contrast, was a drained man at the close, after beinggiven a long hard day in the field. “That wasn’t a 139 wicket, or a 116for 6 wicket,” Hoggard admitted, “but Kallis was tremendous. He’s aworld-class player at the top of his game.The England bowlers came in for some criticism for their consistentshort-pitched approach, but Hoggard insisted that it was a deliberatetactic. “The short balls were difficult to play, because you didn’t knowif they were going to come through or stick in the wicket, so that make itdifficult to duck and difficult to hook. Obviously, we didn’t get anywickets that way until the last one, but I thought with a spinner down, westuck to our task well.”Giles’s absence was crucial, seeing as he would have bowled a good 20overs, but Hoggard was hopeful he might yet play a part in the secondinnings. “Ashley’s standing up straight again which is an improvement.He’s been on the physio’s table all day, so with a good night’s rest,he’ll have a chance of bowling in the second innings.”

Who would want to be part of the Pakistan CricketBoard? Already in the dock over any number of issues -the Senate Standing Committee inquiry, a stalledconstitution, allegations of financialunaccountability and a lack of transparency – theyalso have to deal with increasingly shrill andhysterical criticism for the 3-0 series loss againstAustralia. And last week, as if somehow all thisweren’t enough, the PCB unveiled a brand new look fordomestic cricket. Nothing aggravates traditionalists,particularly those of a cricketing kind, quite likeattempts to modernise, jazz-up or market their game.Pakistani traditionalists are no different.First, a little background. When ABN-AMRO agreed tosponsor domestic cricket recently, they were the firstto do so in nearly eight years. Furthermore, it was inline with the restructuring that Rameez Raja, the former chief executive of the Pakistan board, had initiated last season in a bid to revamp amuch-criticised domestic set-up. Raja’s vision, onepursued by Shaharyar Khan, the chairman of the board, and espousedrelentlessly (and tediously) by Imran Khan amongothers, was to shift the emphasis from departments andcorporations, such as PIA and Habib Bank, to regionalteams which could harness and nurture talent more effectively and re-ignite dormantpublic interest. The obstacle, until then, had beenthe lack of financial resources; banks offeredlittle-educated cricketers a job and a career afterthey retired from the game, regional sides offeredthem measly match fees and little else.Earlier this season, players in the regionalQuaid-e-Azam Trophy, the showcase of the domesticroster, were paid monthly salaries and employed onsix-month contracts. The money came mainly from thewindfall of the India series earlier last year andwasn’t endless. But with ABN-AMRO secured as sponsors,TV rights having been sold to broadcast domesticmatches and regional sponsors also being sought, thePCB’s pockets are deeper. Last week, then, it seemedappropriate for the PCB to unveil ‘National CricketPakistan’.The vision is lofty – to make domestic cricket apopular spectator sport in Pakistan. Plenty of right noises were made at the press conference: mission statements, re-branding, and consumer-reaction models werebandied about with the same liberal abandon Pakistanibowlers display towards no-balls. Regional teams have beenrenamed – Peshawar become the Panthers, Hyderabad theHawks and so on. Furthermore, ABN-AMRO, led byfull-time cricket fanatic and part-time consumer bankhead (and suitably monikered), Salman Butt, have plansto spice up contests, providing entertainment duringgames, improving stadium facilities and also promotingmatches heavily beforehand.The last week has seen a fairly intense ad campaign inmost main dailies advertising the schedule of matchesin the ongoing national one-day tournament. Tickets forthe recent Quaid-e-Azam Trophy final, held inFaisalabad, were sold on a float that moved throughthe city centre. Crowds of up to 700 on a couple ofdays might seem low, but given that last year therewere less than even that (not including dogs), it isan improvement.But there are concerns, some ludicrous, others less so,and most of these were raised at the launch itself.Local journalists, never shy in prompting verbaljousts with the PCB, immediately raised doubts. Onequestioned bluntly why ABN-AMRO should be given anysupport, given their minimal involvement andassociation with the game in the past. Another coupleasked why the format, and in particular the choice ofanimal names, was copied from South Africa andEngland, going as far as to suggest that renaming theWhites of Karachi to Dolphins and the Blues to Zebraswas somehow a cultural insult to the people of thecity. They are not alone: a couple of letters in anEnglish daily raised the same issue. It was left,finally, to that most level-headed of journalists, GulHameed Bhatti, to voice the most serious and credibleconcern.Bhatti warned that for the sponsorship to be trulysuccessful and for domestic cricket to startattracting viewership, involvement would have to gobeyond hollow marketing plans. For starters, althoughone-day matches are being broadcast live on televisioncurrently, the quality of coverage is abysmal. It is,Bhatti argued, more likely to turn people off cricketthan onto it and if either the PCB or ABN-AMRO areserious about what they want to achieve, then theyhave to ensure that the channel which broadcasts thematches does so with an acceptable level of quality.They cannot, as another reporter whispered, “justthrow money at the game and hope it will develop”.Shahid Hashmi, AFP’s veteran sports reporter, alsorecalled how involved past sponsors had been with thegame, and how it would require more than re-branding andmarketing gimmickry for any long-termsuccess.Both Hashmi and Bhatti are witness to times whensponsorship was more than just money. Former sponsorsPakistan Tobacco Company (PTC) used to publish anannual and comprehensive statistical review of eachseason. They were staffed by people who, in the wordsof Hashmi, had a deep affection for the game, and it issomething ABN-AMRO should look to now. Certainly,watching games currently on TV is a deeply shatteringexperience; commentators don’t know the names ofplayers, some don’t even know how many teams areparticipating in a tournament. Urdu commentary is justabout bearable, the English version makes you yearnfor the screech of chalk on blackboard.Ultimately, given that sponsorship has been asforthcoming as restrained knocks from Shahid Afridi,both parties should be applauded for negotiating athree-year deal. Furthermore, if it is a given thatthe PCB will act in the best interests of the game(not as easy an assumption as you may think), thenadded to the energy, drive and passion that SalmanButt the banker reportedly possesses for the game, itshould in theory prove a fruitful association. Threeyears is a lifetime in Pakistan cricket and to infertoo much now is to tempt fate. One thing, though, iscertain: sports headlines (sample: ‘Lions devourZebras’) have surely never been this colourful.

The Pakistan Cricket Board has suggested that its forthcoming tour of India could be in doubt unless the Indian board sorted out issues of scheduling within the next two days. Two ad-hoc committee meetings of the Pakistan board have been cancelled: Abbas Zaidi, a PCB director, explained that “both meetings have been cancelled as the next two days are critical for us and should decide if we tour India or not.”Zaidi told , a Mumbai-based newspaper, “I think Thursday is going to be a crucial day for both boards. It should decide the outcome of this long-awaited tour.” In the meantime the Indian board is likely to announce the venues and dates for the Pakistan tour on Thursday, after a working-committee meeting. Pakistan have refused to play in Ahmedabad on security grounds.The presence of Natwar Singh, the Indian foreign minister, in Islamabad, was expected to help resolve various issues. Shaharyar Khan, the president of the Pakistan board, was likely to meet the Indian foreign minister and raise various concerns he had. The report quotes a Pakistan board source as saying, “basically the Pakistan board has to go by the advice of its foreign ministry, which so far has not given clearance to play in Ahmedabad. But that situation could change in the next 24 hours, with the Indian foreign minister in Islamabad and some important meetings scheduled.”