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The final draft of the BCCI players’ contracts is likely to be ready as soon as January 13. After it is decided which player is to receive what contract, the board will pass on the draft to the individual players. According to Niranjan Shah, the BCCI secretary, the board has decided to go in for a performance-linked structure.This comes after a couple of rounds of discussions between senior players and board officials. The BCCI had earlier formed a committee comprising Sharad Pawar, the BCCI president, N Srinivasan, the treasurer, Shashank Manohar, a vice-president and Shah, among others, to look into the matter of the players’ contracts.There has been some apprehension that handing out contracts directly linked to individual performance will cause players to worry more about their personal results than that of the team, but the board’s intentions are different. Players are likely to receive a flat fee for each Test and one-day international, and a bonus if the team wins. There will not be rewards for individual performances – runs scored or wickets taken.The amounts will differ for Tests and ODIs and will increase in the case of a series win. The board also proposes to reward away wins more than it does home wins. To show that they are serious the board is willing to fork out cash over and above the allocated 13% of the gross revenue of the board that goes towards payment of the national team’s wages, should India embark on a winning streak.One thing that will remain the same, however, is the gradation for players. An A-grade contract will come with an annual retainer fee of Rs 50 lakh ($100,000 approx), B with 35 lakh ($75,000 approx) and C with 15 lakh ($30,000). The criterion for a C contract is five Tests or fifteen ODIs.

There is not much Brett Lee has failed to achieve this summer. He was a key man in Australia’s record-equalling 16 consecutive Test wins, was Player of the Series against both India and Sri Lanka, and collected his first Allan Border Medal. But to really cap off his outstanding season, Lee is desperate to deliver the Pura Cup to New South Wales.The Blues have won the title twice during Lee’s career but because of his higher commitments this is the first opportunity he has had to take part in a decider. Lee recalls watching his brother Shane play in domestic finals and he said beating Victoria in the match that starts on Saturday at the SCG would be extra special.”I’ve played in one-day internationals and in Tests around the world,” Lee told the . “But to get the chance to play in a Pura Cup final, and the chance to play for the team where it all started, I can’t wait.”The Vics are a team you love to hate. They’re a good bunch of guys, but you hate losing to them. They’ve been in good form and I’m looking forward to the final. They’re a strong side.”Lee is the spearhead in a Test-quality New South Wales pace attack that also features Stuart Clark and Nathan Bracken, while the spin option is provided by Stuart MacGill. Despite expectations the SCG pitch will offer plenty of turn, MacGill played down talk that the final would be a bowl-off between him and Victoria’s Bryce McGain ahead of the Test tour of the West Indies in May.”If Bryce is the right man for the job, he’ll be picked for Australia,” MacGill said. “If I’m the right man, I’ll be going. The current selectors are very matter-of-fact and if they see a role for me or Bryce or Dan Cullen, then they’ll choose me, Bryce or Dan.”

Bangladesh A 208 for 6 (Tushar Imran 96*) beat Zimbabwe A 204 (Mawoyo 61, Masakadza 60, Saqibul Hasan 4-30) by four wickets runs
ScorecardTushar Imran scored a defiant 96 not out to guide Bangladesh to a four-wicket win in the second one-day match played at Queens Sports Club to take a 2-0 lead in the five-match series.Imran batted for 211 minutes, faced 125 balls and stroked nine fours as the visitors scored208 to win the match with four overs to spare. This was after Zimbabwe A had posted 204 in 41.1 overs having won the toss and elected to bat with half centuries from openerTinotenda Mawoyo and Hamilton Masakadza.Zimbabwe A made two changes to the side that lost the first match at the same venue by 26 runs on Thursday, taking out their two opening bowlers Christopher Mpofu and Trevor Garwe, bringing in offspinner turned pace bowler Bradley Staddon and legspinner Ryan Higgins. For the visitors, seamer Hasibul Hossain made way for left-arm spinner Enamul Haque(jnr)Chibhabha and Mawoyo, opening for Zimbabwe A put on 37 for the first wicket before Chibhabha fell to Farhad Reza, caught at mid off by Saqibul Hassan for 9. Mawoyo was joined by Masakadza and the two shared in a second-wicket stand of 84 which was he broken when Mawoyo was deceived by the flight of Hassan for 61 off 63 balls.Masakadza reached his half century after facing 43 deliveries and struck a further two fours to move to 60 runs before he was bowled by Reza with a beauty of a yorkerthat uprooted the batsman’s off stump. The only other meaningful contribution came from Friday Kasteni who scored 26 runs.Bangladesh did not get off to such a fine start with their partnership only yielding 14 runs. Nazmus Sadat, failed to reproduce the form that he found in the first match after Sean Williams produced some brilliant fielding to run him out with a direct hit from backward point.Imran stood tall and built his innings and even though the visitors lost a further three wickets, he was there to score the winning runs, clipping a four through the leg sideto guide them to victory.Many will question the wisdom of the selectors in dropping Mpofu and Garwe, the two most experienced bowlers in the team which, meant that Manyumwa and Staddon, who issurprisingly now bowling pace after spending most of his career as an offspinner. Some of his former team-mates at Christian Brothers College and Bulawayo Athletic Clubwatching in the stands were surprised to a see him taking the new ball.Staddon is the son of Zimbabwe Cricket interim board member Stanley Staddon and the father’s influence is the subject of intense speculation be doubted as his son is based in South Africa and does not play in a professional league in that country.Mpofu and Garwe struggled in the first match but dropping both of them after just one match was a recipe for a loss and the selectors should do the most sensible thing andbring at least one of them back into the starting line-up on Sunday.The two teams meet in the third match at the same venue before the series moves to Kwekwe where the last two matches are set for Kwekwe Sports Club.

Mark Waugh believes Adam Gilchrist must take more time with his batting as Australia search for their third World Cup in a row. Waugh, who opened with Gilchrist during the 1999 success, said if he scaled back his game slightly he could still be a force.”He is that good a player, he can score runs without trying to overhit the ball,” Waugh, who was named with Gilchrist in Australia’s all-time one-day team, said in the Herald Sun. “I think he has been too impatient. He has got to get through that first five or six overs. If he does that, he is one guy who can score heavily without even trying to.”Gilchrist stayed at home during the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy after not posting a half-century in eight innings following his 60 and 61 to start the CB Series. The birth of Gilchrist’s third child will keep him in Australia while his team-mates depart for the Caribbean today, but he will be available for the first game against Scotland on March 14.Matthew Hayden and Gilchrist will be the first-choice pairing, but Hayden is also pushing to be ready for the opening match due to a foot injury. Hayden has worked with a podiatrist to design a big-toe cap that he hopes will stop further pain after being struck by a Mark Gillespie yorker in New Zealand.”My best-case scenario is to be back for the warm-up games and my worst-case scenario is to be back just for the first game,” he said on Channel 7. “When I return the main problem will be the pain. It will take a while for the swelling to go down.”Waugh said it would be important for both Hayden and Gilchrist not to feel like they have to push the pace in the Caribbean. “Both of those guys at the top have got so many good shots in their armoury,” he said, “they just need to be patient and the runs will come.”

Scorecard

One match into his rehabilitation at the Ranji Trophy level, things haven’t changed much for Irfan Pathan junior. He failed to get into rhythm with the ball but his batting, when Baroda were in danger of losing the match, would have done a specialist Ranji batsman proud. His aggressive 82 – off 100 balls, with six sixes and three fours – took Baroda from 52 for 4 to a successful chase of 172 and a spot in the semi-finals.Starting the day at 17 for 1, Baroda faced sensible bowling from Uttar Pradesh, whose plan was to make Baroda graft for every run. Helped by their superior fielding, UP gave away only 35 runs in the first 15.4 overs, as three Baroda batsmen panicked and gave their wickets away. In walked Pathan, to shouts of ‘get him, he’s under pressure’, from the UP bench, two of them being former India team-mates. He had four overs to negotiate before lunch, and he looked good in those four overs.After lunch Pathan first picked on the most successful and threatening UP bowler, Praveen Kumar. He walked down the wicket, much like Matthew Hayden does, made room and lofted Kumar over extra-cover for his first six. In the next over, he stepped out to Piyush Chawla and lofted him for another six, this time into the sightscreen.These were followed by singles, revealing a plan to the onslaught. In the next over Pathan hit perhaps the shot of the match: Just a punch from the back foot, no follow-through of the bat involved. It sped through the covers for four, and announced the presence of a good batsman at the crease. That was not the end of the onslaught; he took a four to extra-cover, and a six over wide long-on from Chawla’s next over.In a matter of four overs the game had turned on its head, but then Jacob Martin played an irresponsible shot – a loopy square cut straight to point. This is when Pathan’s experience of having played in tight situations at international level came in handy. He started taking most of the strike, either running a single on the fifth or sixth ball, or clearing the field that had come up for the last two deliveries of the over.Himanshu Jadhav did not score off the first 25 balls he faced, yet the scoring rate did not fall; the tension in the dressing-room did not resurface. Pathan slowed down as he moved beyond his fifty and once he had brought Baroda close enough, he shifted gears again. He hit Kumar for back-to-back sixes over extra-cover, the second one of which was caught superbly by Umang Patel, former Baroda offspinner, sitting in the stands. Chawla was hit for another huge one over cow corner. Winning runs, though, quite fittingly, came from Jadhav’s square cut. Jadhav had been given out obstructing the field in the first innings and Baroda were not pleased that UP had gone for the appeal.Baroda defended their lead in the points table of Super League Group A and UP moved one step closer to relegation. With Tamil Nadu tied with UP at four points, the final league match – against different opponents – will be a close fight for the bottom-of-the-table.Today, though, was largely about Pathan, the best batsman on either side. Yet he will know that there’s more to his return from South Africa. At the end of the day he told Neo Sports that just bowling in the nets had not been helping him and he needed longer spells in match conditions. He was not happy with his bowling in the first innings, but said he had improved through the match. At times he was pleased with the swing he got, especially in the three-over spell before lunch on day three. But happy as he is with his batting, he knows it will take some time to regain the bowling form.Six-hitters Inc.If going for sixes were an objectionable addiction, Atul Bedade would have been an important member of Six-hitters’ Anonymous. Twelve years after having played his last ODI and three years after retiring from all cricket, Bedade is now a Baroda selector and, watching his side play here, he remembers how he hit 12 sixes in his 91-ball 150 against Punjab in 1993-94; six-hitting, it can be safely said, fascinates him as a topic. He chats about Amol Muzumdar’s batting and moves on to Sachin Tendulkar’s captaincy and how he expected everyone to perform at his standards. These expectations were the main reason he did not do as well as a captain as he could have. Brian Lara had a similar attitude in his first stint but he has matured and now understand his players better. Put it to him that he handles players like Chris Gayle much better now and Bedade’s eyes light up. Pointing towards the pitch, he says, “Only two people have hit the ball out of the ground from there, Gayle and I. He had ruined L Balaji’s debut. I loved that innings. What a guy he (Gayle) is… I remember their team coming here, they visited my office. And Gayle came and sat with his feet on my granite table. I have never let anybody else do that…”Wanted: Bride for PathanBeing dropped from the side means different things for different people. For Irfan Pathan it apparently means an opportunity for his mother to get him married. According to a local newspaper, Bapor Samachar (meaning Afternoon News), Pathan’s mother has in the past tried to meet two prospective brides but Pathan has managed to talk her out of it. Now, though, she seems quite determined, the paper reports in a news item that’s accompanied by a picture which has Pathan’s face superimposed on the body of a man sitting on a horse.This reporter showed the paper to Yusuf Pathan, who believes that, by virtue of being two years older and still unmarried, he should get the first go. Yusuf sees the paper and, laughing, says, “They write anything.” If Yusuf’s reaction is anything to go by, the BCCI need not worry about making travel arrangements for Pathan and Mrs Pathan on the next tour. If Mr Pathan makes it back to the team, that is.Baroda, the city-state
Vadodara, home to the Baroda Ranji team, is one of three city teams in the Ranji Trophy, the others being Hyderabad and Mumbai – and with an area of 148.22 square kilometers, the smallest of the lot. Yet it boasts a proud Ranji history, having won it five times – the last in 2000-01 – and three times being runners-up. That’s a better record from some full-fledged states, with bigger catchment areas, and attracts cricketers from pretty far afield. Players such as Abhimanyu Chauhan, the former Baroda Under-19 captain who moved here from Chattisgarh to further his cricket ambitions. Chauhan explains how, despite being a single-city team, Baroda do consistently well. They have six grounds which, he says, are all very good. The infrastructure is even better. The club rivalry here is intense too. Alembic, run by Kiran More, and Hindu Gymkhana have a history of intense rivalry. The corporate cricket here is strong too, with Alembic, IPCL (Indian Petrochemicals Corporation Limited), and GSFC (Gujarat State Fertilizers and Chemicals Ltd) being the three major teams. The corporate cricket, according to Chauhan, provides the contests and also the finances. And you just wonder what if Baroda, Gujarat, and Saurashtra played as one state team.

As was widely predicted, Dilip Vengsarkar, the former Test cricketer, wasappointed chairman of the national selection committee. The other new faceon the panel is SL Venkatapathy Raju, the former left-arm spinner, whileSanjay Jagdale, Bhupinder Singh Sr and Ranjib Biswal continue on thepanel.In a separate development Kapil Dev, the former Indian allrounder, hasbeen appointed director of the National Cricket Academy. He replaced SunilGavaskar, whose term ended with the Annual General Meeting, which was heldat the Cricket Club of India in Mumbai. The AGM of the board, normally atwo-day affair, where the main item on the agenda is the election of theprincipal office bearers of the board, ended in less than a day this time.Sharad Pawar (president), Niranjan Shah (secretary), N Srinivasan(treasurer) and MP Pandove (joint secretary) were all re-electedunopposed, and under the revised constitution will serve a term of twoyears. Professor Ratnakar Shetty, who has served as the executivesecretary in-charge, has been appointed the Administrative Head of theBCCI – for five years, which will carry him through to the 2011 World Cupwhich will be held in India – and on a full-time, paid basis.”There will be no elections next year for these posts and the selectorscan get an extension of an extra year after the completion of their twoyear term,” said Srinivasan. Of the five vice-presidents of the board,four – Lalit Modi (North), Dayanand Narvekar (South), Chirayu Amin (West)and Shashank Manohar (Central) – were re-elected, while the incumbent fromthe east zone, KP Kajariya, who did not seek re-election, was replaced byRajeev Shukla.Srinivas Venkataraghavan was appointed the director of the UmpiresDevelopment Programme. “He will have five retired Test umpires, one fromeach zone, to assist him in raising the standard of umpiring, and tofacilitate the standardisation of umpiring in India,” said Srinivasan. Atthe moment India is unrepresented in the ICC’s elite panel, and the BCCIis keen to change this.In the course of the AGM the BCCI also heard petitions from thePondicherry Cricket Association and the Cricket Association of Pondicherryseeking associate membership to the BCCI. “The members decided tounanimously regret the application for associate membership of thePondicherry Cricket Association and the Cricket Association ofPondicherry,” said Srinivasan. The BCCI constituted a committee to lookinto similar applications from other states comprising Shashank Manohar,Sanjay Jagdale, Arun Jaitley, Shivlal Yadav and Ratnakar Shetty.It was also decided that the CK Nayudu Awards function will take place onNovember 4, the same day on which an executive board meeting of the ICCtakes place in India. It was also proposed that the BCCI headquarters, inthe Mumbai Cricket Association premises at the Wankhede Stadium, would beinaugurated on the same day.In another initiative the BCCI will host a South Asian Universitiestournament, to be conducted from February 4 to 8, with university teamsfrom India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh taking part.

Fast bowler Kagiso Rabada has been named Newcomer of the Year at the 10th annual SA Sports Awards in Bloemfontein on Sunday.Rabada holds the record for the best figures on debut – 6 for 16 against Bangladesh, including a hat-trick – and is widely believed as the next big thing in South African cricket. He has played all forms of the game and has been particularly impressive with his ability to bowl quick, full and accurate. Dale Steyn has said the 20-year old Rabada had more talent at that age than he did, and now CSA chairman Haroon Lorgat has chimed in with: “Kagiso Rabada is a standout talent and destined for greatness.”The nominees for the SA Sports Awards had been chosen subject to a time frame from September 1 2014 to September 30 2015 and included AB de Villiers for the SA Sports Star of the Year award. Medium-pacer Shabnim Ismail was in the running for the corresponding award in the women’s category as well. All of which were a sign that South African cricket was in good hands, according to Lorgat.”The success of our programmes is also reflected in the fact that we had several other finalist nominees including our World No. 1 Proteas Test team, the world’s best batsman, AB de Villiers, for the SA Sports Star of the Year, Shabnim Ismail in the SA Women’s Sports Star of the Year award, and Geoffrey Toyana as SA Coach of the Year.”While Kagiso deservedly won his award the other nominees make us equally proud and deserve our congratulations for being recognised among the best in their respective categories.”Former first-class cricketer Rushdie Magiet, who played 37 matches in a decade-long career, was one of four recipients of the inaugural Steve Tshwete Lifetime Achiever award. Magiet, 72, represented Western Province from 1971-72 to 1980-81 and took 109 wickets at an average of 13.63 and an economy of 1.83.”I know Rushdi Magiet personally and he has indeed given a lifetime of service not only to cricket but also to social responsibility,” Lorgat said. “We are delighted that he has received this well merited award.”

New Zealand coach John Bracewell has said that wicketkeeper-batsman Gareth Hopkins could play as a specialist batsman in the middle order in the one-day team, following the early retirement of Craig McMillan. With New Zealand set to tour South Africa later this month, Bracewell said that Brendon McCullum would continue as the team’s first-choice wicketkeeper.”We’ve got better resources to cover death batting and finishers than we have to cover openers,” Bracewell told the . “There is the opportunity for a finisher like Gareth Hopkins to come in as a specialist there.”McCullum was promoted as an opener after former captain and regular opener Stephen Fleming quit one-dayers after the World Cup. McCullum partnered Lou Vincent during the ICC World Twenty20 in South Africa and earned praise from Bracewell for his abilities as a wicketkeeper. Hopkins, who has played five ODIs for New Zealand, was part of the squad in South Africa but didn’t get a game.”Brendon will keep the gloves as he is far and away our best keeper,” Bracewell said. “Technically I think he is the best keeper in the world – he now needs to become the best keeper-batsman in the world.”Commenting on McMillian’s sudden retirement, Bracwell said it was unfortunate he chose to quit, though at the same time respected the decision.”He was batting so well. He was hitting the ball hard down the ground, rotating the strike and had a good attitude to where he was going with his cricket. He had found quite a good balance. He’s made the choice for the right reason and we will miss him.”

Rubies and Emeralds, the top two sides, brushed aside the rain to storm to victory and maintain their status in the Super 4s table. Rubies are still undefeated in the tournament.The Emeralds, playing bottom-placed Sapphires, won by 27 runs at Loughborough. . Danielle Wyatt took for 5 for 23 to roll Sapphires for 120, who were chasing just 148 for victory.Beth Morgan made an impressive 65 to lift Emeralds, while Laura Spragg took 3 for 18 and Rochelle Petty took 3 for 29. For the Sapphires, only Laura Spragg (40) and Helen Wardlow (23*) put up any resistance.At Taunton, Rubies once again showed their all-round talent by beating a Diamonds side still missing England captain Charlotte Edwards. The Rubies were put in on an overcast day and made 98 for 6 from 35 overs, before rain delayed the match by two hours.Upon the resumption, the Diamonds were set a revised target of 96 from 27 overs. They fell to 84 for 9 as England spinner Holly Colvin took another five-wicket haul, with 5 for 27. Jenny Gunn top-scored with 22 for the Diamonds.

The former South African fast bowler, Allan Donald, has been appointed by the England & Wales Cricket Board as a consultant to the England team, and will link up with the squad ahead of the third Test at Old Trafford on a short-term contract that will take him through to the end of the NatWest Series against West Indies.Donald, 40, had been linked with an England role ever since the start of the summer, and went public with his interest during last week’s Lord’s Test. Peter Moores, the new head coach, confirmed after the conclusion of that match that the board intended to sit down for discussions.”It’s a big positive that someone of Allan’s stature wants to come along,” said Moores. “I want to make sure that whoever we bring in fits our set-up and it’s the right person and we don’t just think that because it’s a great name we should just pull them in.”In a statement, the ECB said that Donald, who has over 200 Test and one-day caps to his name, will work with the England squad and with other elite England-qualified fast bowlers, and will fall under the direction of Moores and the ECB fast bowling coach, Kevin Shine.The performance of England’s pacemen has come under severe scrutiny since the team was drubbed 5-0 by Australia in last winter’s Ashes, but Moores was keen to ensure that the blame for the failings did not fall on the shoulders of Shine, who succeeded Troy Cooley at the beginning of 2006 and has now reverted to an administrative role at the National Academy in Loughborough.”Peter Moores and ECB have every confidence in Kevin Shine to lead the ECB fast bowling programme and to coach England’s elite fast bowlers,” said John Carr, the director of operations. “Kevin will continue to be involved in the preparation of England fast bowlers around international matches as well as being involved in any decisions to utilise the services of other fast bowling coaches with England teams or in other parts of the fast bowling programme.”