Cricket Updates

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Duo likely to miss Afro-Asia
Smith and Pollock to have surgery

Graeme Smith and Shaun Pollock are likely to miss the Afro-Asia Cup with both due to undergo surgery next week. Smith will have work done on the cartilage damage to his knee, which troubled him during the World Cup, while Pollock is having a minor operation on a small growth on his left foot.
"It's something quite minor, like a corn or something," Pollock, who has been named South Africa's Cricketer of the Year, told the Sapa
news agency. "It has been giving me some discomfort, so I will have it removed. If I go to the Afro-Asia Cup in India, I will go as a batsman, but I should be fit to play against Ireland and India in Belfast at the end of next month."


Bob Woolmer murder
Champagne was passed on to Woolmer
The two champagne bottles found in Bob Woolmer's room were passed on to him by Mushtaq Ahmed, Pakistan's assistant coach, who had left them in his hotel room, according to Pervez Mir, Pakistan's media manager during the World Cup.
The possible significance of the champagne emerged earlier in the week with a report in The Sunday Times suggesting that Woolmer may have been poisoned by weedkiller after traces were found in his stomach and on a champagne glass.
Mir told the Pakistani TV channel ARY, with whom he is employed, that Talat Ali, the Pakistan manager, was a witness to the bottles being passed on to Woolmer in the team hotel in Jamaica.
Mushtaq, currently in England, later explained that people of Pakistani origin based in England had left the two bottles in his hotel room though, since he does not drink, Woolmer had picked them up four days before he was found dead on March 18.
Mushtaq said he knew the people who had given him the bottles but would not go public with their names because they had families and would be unnecessarily tarnished. "I am not worried" by the disclosure, Mushtaq added, describing Woolmer as part of the family.
Mir, who had been questioned by the Jamaican police along with members of the Pakistani team before they were allowed to fly back home, said that he had not spoken to the police about the bottles. He maintained that Mushtaq would have given the bottles to Woolmer in "the best of spirit and as a matter of goodwill".
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) refused to comment on Mir's statement, saying that it had no official communication from the Jamaican authorities. When contacted, Talat Ali said that he could not understand all the speculation surrounding the case. "All I can say is that this is a police case and we all recorded our statements with the police in Jamaica. Saying anything on this issue will only add fuel to [the] fire."
Mir said he did not know who the guests of Pakistani origin were and was not sure whether Mushtaq knew them. He added that journalists were stretching the issue too far and reiterated that the police had not questioned him on this issue.

Majola attacks mental weaknesses, appoints team manager
Smith and Arthur stay for two more years
Mickey Arthur and Graeme Smith, the South Africa coach and captain, have had their contracts renewed by the South Africa board today for a further two years.
Since returning from the World Cup in the Caribbean, following their disappointing semi-final against Australia, the criticism aimed at the coach has been unrelenting, but the board have put their faith in him.
"The board wants to keep building morale so that we can get the Proteas where we want them to be - the best in the world," Gerald Majola, Cricket South Africa's chief executive, said. "We believe that Graeme and Mickey can do the job at hand. Mickey presented his World Cup report to the board today, and we all agreed that the reasons behind the inconsistent performances of the Proteas needed to be addressed."



Board stresses commitment to global development
Australia government assess Zimbabwe options
Cricket Australia (CA) will send a security delegation to assess the situation in Zimbabwe ahead of the team's proposed tour in September, but they may yet be given a get-out clause with the Australian government considering what action it could take to call off the trip.
CA officials and representatives from the Australian Cricketers' Association (ACA) met with foreign minister Alexander Downer on Thursday with increasing unease surrounding the prospect of the tour.
Downer said the government were exploring a range of legal options. "If, legally, the Government can stop it, then clearly that's an option," he told The Australian. "I don't think it's practical for the parliament to legislate to stop it in a one-off situation like this but if there is [an] existing legal basis, then that's an option for us that we would stop it ourselves." He reiterated his view that the tour would be seen as a propaganda victory for President Mugabe
James Sutherland, the board's CEO, said: "After tonight's meeting, we understand very clearly the Government's concerns and preference for us not to tour Zimbabwe. In conjunction with the ACA, we will continue to work through these issues in the coming weeks and fully brief the players and CA's board of directors so they are as informed as possible before a decision is finalised.
"CA is also conscious of world cricket's requirements that each country visit all other nations regularly as part of the ICC's Future Tours Program. Cricket Australia is strongly committed to the global development of cricket. As with all planned international tours, a joint Cricket Australia-Australia Cricketers' Association security delegation would travel to Zimbabwe to assess the safety issues closer to the date of the planned tour."
Paul Marsh, the chief executive of the ACA, said the meeting had enabled discussions to take place on what was a very complex issue. He added that the ACA would continue to "work with Cricket Australia, the Australian Government and international cricket authorities in the hope of reaching an acceptable outcome".
John Howard, the Prime Minister, has already said that the government would pay any ICC fine levied on Australia for not touring, which would amount to around $2m. If the final decision is that the tour goes ahead it will be down to individuals to decide whether they are willing to take part.
"There are some issues there and every individual player will be asked what their own views on that are, and they'll have a chance to make up their own mind what they want to do," Ricky Ponting told The Australian earlier this week. "I'm sure every individual player will be asking themselves 'should I or shouldn't I be touring Zimbabwe?'"

PCB on the look out for Woolmer's successor
Pakistan express interest in Whatmore
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is interested in snapping up Dav Whatmore as the next coach for their national team and is involved in discussions with him.
Nasim Ashraf, the PCB chairman, told reporters in Islamabad that the board had been in contact with Whatmore for the post but that nothing had been finalised as of now. "The PCB is in contact with Whatmore. Our negotiations are continuing and whenever something is finalised, it will promptly be made public."
Ashraf added that Whatmore had talked to Pakistan officials and expressed interest in the post. Whatmore, who is due to end his tenure with Bangladesh after the current series against India, also acknowledged recently that the PCB had been in touch, though he stressed that it was a very preliminary contact.
Speaking to BBC, before the start of the India series, Whatmore said, "I have not been formally approached by the Pakistan Cricket Board. Somebody spoke to me on their behalf during the World Cup asking for my contact details but I have not heard from them since."
Pakistan have been looking for a new coach since the death of Bob Woolmer during the World Cup in March. They recently posted an ad on their site asking for applications for the coaching position to be sent in and are keen to have the new man in place by July 1st.
Pakistan were in contact with John Wright, the former India coach, last year though that situation has not developed any further at this point. Among local candidates, Aaqib Javed, the former Test fast bowler, is seen as a serious contender.



South Africa's annual cricket awards
Pollock named South African Cricketer of the Year

Shaun Pollock can afford to smile after an indifferent World Cup - he has been named the Cricketer of the Year at the fourth Cricket South Africa awards held in Johannesburg on Wednesday.
Pollock beat Makhaya Ntini, Mark Boucher, Jacques Kallis, and Ashwell Prince to the award. Ntini, who won the honour last year, had to settle for the Fans' Cricketer of the Year. Kallis was named the ODI Cricketer of the Year. Kallis had an impressive World Cup, scoring 485 runs at an average of 80.83.
Prince was rewarded for some fine performances against India and Pakistan last year, winning the Test Cricketer of the Year award. Boucher was selected the South African Players' Player of the Year. Paul Harris, the 28-year old left-arm spinner, got the Newcomer of the Year award. Harris had an impressive Boxing Day debut against India in 2006, with [Only registered and activated users can see links. ] figures of 4 for 129, including the wicket of Sachin Tendulkar. He has so far played four Tests for South Africa, taking 11 wickets at 28.54 apiece.
On the domestic front, Morne van Wyk of the Diamond Eagles won three awards: Domestic Championships Cricketer of the Year, the Pro20 Cricketer of the Year and the Domestic Players' Player of the Year. Team-mate Ryan McLaren, currently with Kent, won the SuperSport Series Cricketer of the Year while Lonwabo Tsotsobe won the Domestic Newcomer of the Year.



Former fast bowler says trip would send the wrong message
Olonga urges boycott of Zimbabwe tour
Henry Olonga, the former Zimbabwe fast bowler, said Australia should not go ahead with their tour of Zimbabwe later this year. Olonga, who wore a black armband at the 2003 World Cup to mourn the "death of democracy" in Zimbabwe, said Australia's players had a chance to make "a real difference" by refusing to play.
Olonga, who now lives in England, said if Australia visited Zimbabwe it would send the wrong message about Robert Mugabe's violent regime. "The picture they've tried to paint to the rest of the world is that if the reigning world champions are willing to tour Zimbabwe, then there can't be too much amiss," Olonga told the ABC.
"I think that's probably one of the real dangers of the tour going ahead." Olonga, who was unable to return to Zimbabwe after his 2003 protest, said the Australian players needed to realise there was far more at stake than just some cricket matches.

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Death threats haunt South Africans after WC semis loss

DURBAN: The South African team, which made it to the semifinal of the World Cup, has been receiving death threats since they returned here from the West Indies, skipper Graeme Smith has disclosed.

“We are still recovering from our semifinal defeat to Australia and the threats are hard to deal with,” Smith said, adding that they have been forced to be cautious.

In an interview to the local 702 Radio Talk Show station, Smith said his team was disappointed and were concerned about the reception.

He said he did not want to experience the same treatment that India had received when they returned home after being beaten in the preliminary stage.

Smith’s statement about the reception led to widespread protest, forcing the South African skipper to issue a clarification.

“I hope these remarks were not misconstrued when I was referring to the reception India got when they returned home from the tournament and reports of incidence of violence that occurred in that country,” Smith said in the statement.

He, however, admitted that the team’s semifinal defeat had upset the supporters.

“CSA had received calls and e-mails from upset fans about the Proteas performance at the International Cricket Council (ICC) Cricket World Cup (CWC) in the West Indies,” he revealed.

“You can imagine how we felt coming back home. It was a disappointing period for all of us and our fans.

Right now we can only work on improving on the lessons and challenges learnt from our experience,” he said.

Smith still thanked the supporters for “supporting us throughout the season, which was one of the most successful yet in the Proteas’ history.”

McGrath to visit India for coaching

KOLKATA: Glenn McGrath isn’t ready yet to take up a full-time job as a bowling coach but an occasional foray in his area of expertise seems to be fine.

The legendary Australian pacer is coming to India for a coaching assignment later this month.

McGrath, who retired from international cricket after the World Cup, capped a glorious career winning the man-of-the-tournament award at the tournament and guiding Australia to their third straight crown.

Can’t compare Greg and Shastri: Dravid

DHAKA: Indian skipper Rahul Dravid praised new cricket manager Ravi Shastri but said it was not proper to compare him with Greg Chappell and expect tangible differences from the new coaching staff in a short span.

“You can’t go around comparing. People expect that in one-two days there will be tangible differences and we will be able to do a markedly different thing. I don’t think it changes,” Dravid told reporters here on Wednesday.

“At the end of the day it is preparing people to play well. Earlier, Greg and his staff also tried to prepare us to play the game to the best of our ability. They tried to prepare us to play good cricket. That’s what this coaching staff is also doing,” he added.

[NoToRi0uS]

opz emotional peeps in ko bee dhamkiam, han its true shastri acha commentry kerta hey lekin coach utna acha nahee ho sakta .. McGrath , Inida waley be kuch seekh lein fast Bowling mein

ICC pressed for Zimbabwe action
Australian prime minister John Howard has stepped up his campaign to persuade the International Cricket Council to take action against Zimbabwe. Cricket Australia is facing a US $2m fine if it pulls out of a one-day series in Zimbabwe later this year.
But Howard said: "Our over-riding objective is the tour not take place.
"How long can the international cricket community go on doing things that give aid and comfort to someone who has been totally impervious to any entreaties?"
The prime minister described Zimbabwe president Robert Mugabe as a "grubby dictator" who had sanctioned violence to try and silence his political opponents.
"I am jammed between my distaste for the government getting involved in something like this and my even greater distaste for giving a propaganda victory to Robert Mugabe," he added.
The Australian team is due to play three one-day internationals in Zimbabwe in September and the only way their governing body could escape a financial penalty for cancelling the tour would be if the decision was taken because of security concerns.
The government is, however, investigating whether there would be a legal basis for it to intervene and prohibit the tour.
Foreign minister Alexander Downer met officials from Cricket Australia and the players' union, the ACA, in Melbourne on Thursday.
Afterwards, Cricket Australia chief James Sutherland said they understood "very clearly" the government's preference for the team not to undertake the tour.
But he added: "Cricket Australia is also conscious of world cricket's requirements that each country visit all other nations regularly as part of the ICC's Future Tours Program. Cricket Australia is strongly committed to the global development of cricket."
Australia last played in Zimbabwe in 2004, a tour which was boycotted by spin bowler Stuart MacGill, and he has already spoken out about this year's proposed series.
The ICC, meanwhile, issued a statement earlier this week in which it claimed it was "not a party" to the Future Tours Program Agreement between the 10 full member countries.
"A member that does not comply with its obligation to tour another member is subject to a penalty of a minimum of US $2m or such greater amount that the host member can prove to have lost as a result of the failure to tour.
"This is not an ICC fine. It is a contractual obligation between the respective members and if a member fails to fulfil that obligation, then it would have to pay the member against which it is defaulting," the statement continued.