His knowledge of the Guaracara Park pitch notwithstanding, Daren Ganga, the Trinidad and Tobago captain, did not bat first when he called right at the toss yesterday.By the end of day one of this Carib Beer Series fixture against Guyana, he had been forced to second guess his risky choice. Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Ramnaresh Sarwan, the appointed leader and deputy leader of both Guyana and West Indies, first spoilt the T&T skipper’s plans with a century fourth wicket stand. And then, Sarwan and Travis Dowlin pressed on with an unbroken stand of 88.To further emphasise the backfiring of Ganga’s plan, Sarwan got himself a good century – 113 not out (237 minutes, 15 fours) – to leave his side with the edge on 257 for four. Exposed by more skilled and ruthless opponents at Test level in Australia, Sarwan returned to the familiar and more accommodating surroundings at Guaracara to get back into the runs. Regional cricket is no longer the proving ground for a veritable Test match veteran, even at age 25. But Sarwan’s fifth regional century was of great value to his side in their quest for Carib Beer points. Ganga won’t need reminding about that.The first session produced two wickets, slightly less perhaps than Ganga might have hoped for at the start. Neither he, nor his bowlers Richard Kelly or Rayad Emrit, would have been pleased to see first Lendl Simmons at second slip, then Denesh Ramdin put down Narsingh Deonarine on zero and ten, respectively.That first escape came in the same over in which Kelly, getting movement through the air and off the pitch, had trapped Krishna Arjune lbw with a full delivery with the total only eight in the seventh over. Deonarine, already with a century and half century this season, never seemed quite likely to capitalise on his escapes. He was somewhat loose and prone to rashness-like when Emrit pinned him down from the southern end, going round the wicket.He was the opposite of Siewnarine Chattergoon, his compact fellow left-hander who found the boundary seven times, mostly with well placed and timed drives through the cover/extra cover region. Chattergoon went to lunch on 43, but not partnered by Deonarine. In the last over before the break, he soured lunch for his team by attempting to slog-sweep Dave Mohammed’s left-arm wrist spinners, against the turn, only to sky a catch to Sanjiv Gooljar at short midwicket. Wasted completely was his stay of practically an hour and a half.Deonarine’s submission rescued the morning somewhat for T&T. But in the second session, Ganga had to deal with the greater problem of separating Sarwan and Chanderpaul. First, though, Chattergoon’s innings of promise ended in more self-destruction in the third over after lunch. Enticed by Dwayne Bravo to chase a ball wide of off-stump, he slashed and edged into Sherwin Ganga’s hands at first slip to leave Guayan at 65 for 3.It was not going to be so easy, though, to remove the West Indian pair on a pitch now free of moisture and typically accommodating to the batsmen. And despite a shaky start, not untypical of Sarwan, the pair began to build the kind of solid first innings platform Ganga would have been gambling against at the toss. While Chanderpaul, square-on as can be, was his usually measured self, Sarwan, like Chattergoon, enjoyed himself with cover drives pleasing to the eye.The encouragingly large crowd, which had assembled at Guaracara even before the first ball, were getting a bit of their money’s worth, even if it was not yet Brian Lara at the crease. By tea, the partnership had risen to 64 and the total to 144 for 3. Sarwan had already collected six of his boundaries in making 51. The T&T spinners- Mohammed, Gooljar, rookie leg-spinner, and Sherwin Ganga – had been disciplined but hardly adventurous with their flight against batsmen against whom some risk needed to be taken to succeed.Gooljar eventually did so. Just 17 minutes after the break, he drew Chanderpaul out of his crease for Ramdin to complete an important stumping on what was not one of his best days. Dismisssed for 44 (128 minutes, seven fours) after adding 104 for the fourth wicket with Sarwan, Chanderpaul left to decent applause, slightly more exuberant perhaps than the reasonably warm ovation which had greeted him on his entry.At 169 for 4, the T&T bowlers had the chance to seize upon the opening surprisingly handed them by Chanderpaul. But Sarwan, fully settled and intent on cashing in much, much more, got more steady support from Dowlin, himself coming off a century against the Leeward Islands in the previous round. He finished on 33 and seems capable of adding significantly to that score. The crowd that arrives on day two could well see much more of him and Sarwan before Lara and company get their belated turn.

There was further contract confusion inside Zimbabwe with the revelation that Dion Ebrahim, one of the most senior players remaining in the side, had not been offered a new contract by Zimbabwe Cricket.Ebrahim said he was not sure of his position in Zimbabwe cricket after he was told by a member of the government-appointed committee that he was excess to requirements. “I get the impression that my patriotism is being called into question,” he said. “I am very surprised by that because I was one of the players who stood by the board during the rebel saga. I don’t know where this is coming from really.”Ebrahim said he remained optimistic that he would have a future in Zimbabwe cricket, but added: “It’s becoming very hard. If nothing happens then I would have to explore other avenues.”Ebrahim is one of those still waiting to receive his outstanding match fees, although he confirmed being one of the players who received some money in Zimbabwe dollars last week.”They say it’s illegal to pay us in foreign currency, but the Warriors [Zimbabwe’s football team] were paid in US dollars at the Africa Cup. I don’t know why cricket players are being treated the way they are treating us.”

Australia received another blow before their first one-dayer against South Africa as Ricky Ponting, their captain, was ruled out with an abdominal strain on the morning of the clash at Centuron Park. Ponting joined Andrew Symonds and Stuart Clark on the sidelines as Australia, who lost the Twenty20 international, geared up for the opening game.The spate of injuries meant that Australia had just 11 fit players for the game, set to begin at 10am local time. However the chances of a delayed start were imminent with evening and early morning rain playing spoil sport.”Ricky suffered an abdominal strain whilst batting in the nets yesterday,” Errol Alcott, the Australian physio, said. “MRI scans have revealed a low-grade strain. It is a painful condition which is central to all movement so it affects his batting, bowling and running – pretty much everything. He will undergo intensive treatment and will be reassed late next week.”Expectedly, Ponting was crestfallen at having to miss out but looked at the flip side of the coin as well. “As always it is disappointing to miss a game, particularly a tour opener,” he said. “The positive is that it is a good opportunity for some of the guys to move up the batting order and show us what they can do.”

Former Western Province and South Africa fast bowler Garth le Roux appeared briefly before the George Regional Court on Monday, charged with 48 counts of tax fraud involving R1.8 million.The case was postponed to September 4 at the Wynberg Regional Court in Cape Town. Bail of R100 000 was given.Le Roux appeared in court last month and was given bail on condition he surrendered his passport.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the Indian wicketkeeper, said the Indian team was not receiving the kind of support sportspersons needed, especially when they were going through a bad phase.Dhoni refused to elaborate but hinted at the boorish crowd behaviour in the Test match against England at Mumbai last week.”We are not getting the support we want from our fans, particularly when things are not going well for us. I can understand if we are playing abroad, the support is going to be less for us there. When we are playing in India, we expect good support for us. It helps if you back us strongly,” Dhoni said at a function to felicitate him in Delhi.”I don’t want to be specific but you know what happened in Mumbai and here [in the first one-dayer in Delhi],” he added.Dhoni got out to a rash shot in India’s second innings in Mumbai as the hosts capitulated to a 212-run defeat but said he would not change his style of batting, though. “No, I won’t. I would say I should have batted like I did in the first innings,” when he scored a responsible 118-ball 64 that helped India recover from 142 for 5 to post 279.Asked if the team’s collective failure and his shot selection on the last day at Mumbai resulted in his slow batting in the first one-dayer at Feroz Shah Kotla, Dhoni replied in the negative. “It was just that Harbhajan was playing well and I had played only 20-30 balls,” he said. “There should not be an impression that if I am a strokemaker I have to play my strokes. If somebody is playing shots, I can go slow. Even the ball I got out, I was trying to keep it to the ground. That’s why I actually got out.”So, how does one keep playing his shots when the situation demands a bit of caution? “I cannot exactly put it in words. I cannot say what happens when you are under pressure. It cannot be easily explained.”

Ken Gordon, the president of the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB), has said his organisation could no longer be identified as “anti-player” or opposed to the interests of West Indies cricketers in light of the recent involvement of many former players in the administration and conduct of the regional Board’s affairs.Gordon was speaking to the West Indies cricket team in the VIP Lounge at Piarco International Airport on Thursday after they arrived for this weekend’s two one-day Internationals against Zimbabwe at the Queen’s Park Oval.The WICB president said the board was doing a lot to bring the players and the board closer together. “The board has traditionally been accused of being opposed to the interest of players and even being ‘anti-player’ by some,” he said, before citing the numerous positions held by former players, including chairman of the WICB’s Cricket Committee, Clive Lloyd, and chairman of the Board’s negotiating team, Deryck Murray.”Former West Indies players are now at the heart of all the decisions that guide West Indies cricket,” Gordon pointed out. “Whatever further refinements may be ahead, no one in his or her right mind can persist with the longstanding accusation of indifference by the WICB to the interests of players. For so many of them who guide WICB decisions were once players like you are. And let us remember that this transformation did not come about because it was forced on us. They were all freely made by a forward thinking West Indies Cricket Board in preparing for the future.”Gordon noted that a lot of the misunderstanding in the past that led to prolonged and bitter contract negotiations and fall-outs was because of faulty communication. “So often difficulties can be cleared up when the misunderstandings which must inevitably occur are addressed promptly and before they become big misunderstandings. Then we have to understand that we are really part of one team.”Along with the multi-million dollar windfall from the 2007 World Cup, Gordon also spoke of plans to boost the regional game’s financial status with the recent signing of an agreement between the WICB and the Indian Cricket Board. But it would only be beneficial if the West Indies return to their winning ways.”There is, as some of you may be aware, tremendous potential for developing cricket in North America, where the diaspora is large, vibrant and only too anxious to embrace the game,” Gordon explained. “We expect this to open many opportunities, but we must go there as winners, not as the supporting act in a two-part series with India.”Let us therefore set our sights and our targets one at a time, first Zimbabwe, next India, next Champions Trophy and then the World Cup.”He said Brian Lara, the newly appointed captain, had emphasised the benefits of goal-setting, a path also being followed by the WICB that is “well on the way to accomplishing them”.”Now we are at the threshold of the big one, but only you can deliver that, for the big one is getting the right results on the field. We need to see the spark of a new era in everything you do,” Gordon emphasised. “Let us comprehensively bury the complaints and baggage of the past. We need to think positive. Become positive and by your performance, send an unmistakable message to the cricketing world – ‘things are different now, for the new West Indies team is on the move’.”

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

A cavalier 62 from Dwayno Bravo propelled West Indies past 250, and threewickets apiece for the inexperienced duo of Jerome Taylor and DaveMohammed then stymied India’s run chase to ensure that Brian Lara’sone-day farewell from the Queen’s Park Oval would be a triumphant one.Virender Sehwag struck a magnificent, measured 95, but the inability ofanyone else to go past 30 cost India dear as the West Indian bowlersovercame a mid-innings wobble to inflict another embarrassing defeat on ateam that came here ranked No.3 in the world.Having set India 256 for victory, West Indies found the unlikeliest ofnew-ball heroes in Wavell Hinds. Corey Collymore tweaked his ankle in thevery first over, but by then India were already one down, with RobinUthappa having played an awful shot. Hinds, who had contributed 32 withthe bat earlier, then had Mahendra Singh Dhoni playing on, as hispromotion to No.3 failed to make the impact that India were hoping for.Sehwag started with a couple of flicks through midwicket for four, andthough he was initially troubled by Mohammed – brought on as early as the11th over – there were easy pickings to be had off the radar-less Taylor.A loft over cover, an exquisite square-drive and a delicate glance came inone over that fetched 19 runs, and when Mohammed was finally worked out,there was one huge six over long-off.Rahul Dravid had already gone by then, painfully slow to respond to aSehwag call, but Yuvraj Singh made light of a crisis situation with somegorgeously timed drives. When Bravo, West Indies’ go-to man in the series,came on, Sehwag responded with a superb stroke down to the sightscreen,and he celebrated a 53-ball half-century with a meaty biff throughmidwicket off Dwayne Smith.Yuvraj made effortless progress until his movement became laboured, and abeautifully disguised googly from Mohammed did him in, leaving Sehwag toshepherd the middle and lower order. The slide started with the return ofTaylor, as effective in his second spell as he had been hapless in thefirst.Mohammad Kaif was too early into the shot, Suresh Raina replicated his Friday dismissal,and then, most crucially, Sehwag failed to read a slower ball. After goingfor 40 in his first six overs, Taylor’s second burst of 3 for 7effectively settled the game. Harbhajan Singh and Ajit Agarkar took Indiawithin reach but ultimately, like the entire team in this series, theyfell well short.India had been insipid in the field as well, dropping two catches andconceding 13 wides and three no-balls in a listless display after Dravidwon the toss. Both lapses turned out to be incredibly costly – Chris Gayle offthe second ball of the match, and Bravo when he had made just 24. SSreesanth was the bowler to suffer the first time, with Dhoni tipping theoutside edge down to the boundary, goalkeeper style, while Agarkar was theone left shaking his head later in the innings, after Uthappa put down arelatively straightforward chance at deep square leg.Gayle made the most of the reprieve, and Sreesanth was left fuming afterbeing crashed through cover, lashed over midwicket and then lofted overextra-cover and mid-on. Sewnarine Chattergoon had lasted just one ballfrom Agarkar, but with Gayle in insouciant mood, runs came at a rapidclip. Sarwan, by contrast, started hesitantly, and was fortunate when anoutside edge just evaded Raina at second slip.Munaf Patel was initially economical without being especially penetrative,and with Gayle showing no signs of throttling back, Dravid had littleoption but to delay the Powerplays till the 17th over, by which time bothHarbhajan and Sehwag had come on to bowl. Gayle didn’t temper hisapproach, and a meaty swipe to midwicket and a well-executed reverse sweepfrom successive Sehwag deliveries took him past 50.

The very next ball, however, impetuosity got the better of him, givingIndia a glimmer of hope. That was the cue for delirium as Lara walked outto rapturous acclaim, and a magnificent square-drive off Harbhajan furtherenlivened the mood. But Sehwag’s excellent spell, and Sarwan being strucka painful blow on the hand by a throw from midwicket, put the brakes onthe scoring, as both batsmen found it an ordeal to time the balleffectively on a stop-start pitch. Sreesanth, who had gone for 25 in hisfirst three overs, came back much improved, bowling two types of slowerballs to confound even Lara.Sarwan went for 52, trying to force the pace, and though Lara struck a sublimestraight six off Harbhajan, Agarkar’s throwing arm was to prove too muchfor him. He walked off with 36 to his name, waving his bat in everydirection, but there was to be no respite for India as Wavell Hinds and Bravothrilled the crowd in the final overs.Bravo’s running between the wickets was exceptional, with 10 twosscampered in his 50, and he thumped both Sreesanth and Munaf repeatedlyover cover as the shackles were emphatically broken. Hinds also joined in,smashing two fours over midwicket before getting under a low full toss.Bravo was undaunted, playing with the confidence of a man who has turnedmore than one game in the space of the past 10 days. His unbeaten 61 onFriday was instrumental in West Indies clinching the series. Today, hewent one better, and despite a heroic innings from Sehwag, it was enoughto seal an emphatic 4-1 triumph for a resurgent side.

How they were out

Sewnarine Chattergoon b Agarkar 0 (8 for 1)
Chris Gayle b Sehwag 51 (90 for 2)
Ramnaresh Sarwan b Sreesanth 52 (137 for 3)
Brian Lara run out (Agarkar) 36 (165 for 4)
Wavell Hinds c Sehwag b Agarkar 32 (243 for 5)
Dwayne Smith b Munaf 1 (251 for 6)
India
Robin Uthappa c Ramdin b Hinds 0 (0 for 1)
Mahendra Singh Dhoni b Hinds 14 (26 for 2)
Rahul Dravid run out (Mohammed) 18 (73 for 3)
Yuvraj Singh b Mohammed 26 (130 for 4)
Mohammad Kaif c Gayle b Taylor 12 (170 for 5)
Suresh Raina c Ramdin b Taylor 2 (180 for 6)
Virender Sehwag c Gayle b Taylor 95 (189 for 7)
Harbhajan Singh c Bradshaw (sub) b Mohammed 26 (230 for 8)
Munaf Patel c Chattergoon b Mohammed 0 (231 for 9)
Ajit Agarkar c Smith b Gayle 21 (236 all out)

The ICC has responded to Martin Crowe’s comments in his recent Spirit of Cricket Lecture at Lord’s by saying that it is dealing with the issue of suspect bowling actions more effectively than ever. In his address, Crowe criticised the new 15-degree law and said that all bent arms should be banned.However, the ICC says the current regulations, in place since March 2005, provide a scientific basis for judging a player’s action while at the same time recognising the reality that almost all bowlers are likely to straighten their arm to some extent during delivery.”The regulations are based on the views of an expert panel of former players including Angus Fraser, Michael Holding and Tony Lewis – the current Chairman of the MCC’s Cricket Committee,” said David Richardson, the ICC’s General Manager – Cricket. “This group studied the research of prominent bio-mechanists Professor Bruce Elliot, Dr Paul Hurrion and Mr Marc Portus and the scientific evidence they were presented with was overwhelming.”The facts are that some bowlers, even those never suspected of having flawed actions, were found likely to be straightening their arms by 11 or 12 degrees. And at the same time, some bowlers that may appear to be throwing may be hyper-extending or bowl with permanently bent elbows.”Under a strict interpretation of the Law they were breaking the rules but if we ruled out every bowler that did that then there would be no bowlers left. The game needed to deal with that reality and the current regulations do just that.Richardson added that the new laws have made the umpires’ job easier and provide a scientific base for testing actons. “What they do is take the pressure off umpires because it is now no longer one person’s view of whether or not a bowler has an illegal action. It is something that can be proved scientifically and the assessment is independent and not partisan.”At the same time the umpire retains the right to call a bowler for throwing and the first judgment he makes is still based on his instincts after viewing an action with the naked eye,” he added.The regulations include a 15 degree level of tolerance in elbow extension for all bowlers during delivery, which was identified by the panel of experts as the point after which the bend is likely to become visible to the naked eye.Five senior international bowlers have been reported under the new process – Harbhajan Singh of India, Pakistan’s Shabbir Ahmed and Shoaib Malik, Jermaine Lawson of the West Indies and Johan Botha of South Africa.Richardson also responded to Crowe’s comments about the value of Zimbabwe and Bangladesh in Test cricket. “Bangladesh has taken time to adjust to the demands of Test cricket but that mirrors the experience of every side that has stepped up to the top level.”Bangladesh is a cricket-crazy country and has shown encouraging signs of development and, given time, we fully expect it to become more and more competitive at Test level. Zimbabwe has already stepped back from its Test commitments to allow itself time to regroup and we are keen to help it in that process in any way we can.”

ScorecardTrinidad and Tobago beat Nevis by 74 runs in the second semifinal of the Stanford 20/20 competition and will now play Guyana in the final on Sunday for the big prize. Kieron Pollard played a blistering hand, scoring 83 off just 38 balls, and was well supported by Daren Ganga, the captain, as T & T put a big score on the board and defended it with some ease.Stuart Williams, the former West Indian batsman and currently captain of Nevis, won the toss and chose to put T & T in, a decision that was to backfire spectacularly. Although Nevis managed to get rid of both openers with only 57 on the board, a third-wicket partnership of 114 between Pollard and Ganga (62*) ensured that T & T posted 210 from their 20 overs. Pollard with as many 7 sixes and surprisingly only 4 fours, scored at a strike-rate of over 200 and set up his team’s innings.When it was the turn of Nevis to bat they badly needed a solid, if not desperately quick, start, but they ended up with the opposite. Mervyn Dillon and Samuel Badree knocked the stuffing out of the top order, reducing Nevis first to 8 for 3 and then 37 for 5. This virtually ended the match as a contest, and only a fighting 65 from Joel Simmons, the wicketkeeper, pushed the score towards respectability.In the end Nevis were restricted to 136, 75 short of the target, and Dillon (3 for 30), Badree (2 for 14) and Pollard (2 for 19) shared the spoils. For Pollard, who earlier scored 83, this was a match to remember.

Bob Woolmer, Pakistan’s coach, has defended his misfiring top-order batsmen after their continued failure in the three-day fixture against Northamptonshire. Salman Butt and Imran Farhat, who struggled in the drawn first Test at Lord’s last week, were dismissed for single figures but Woolmer has come to their defence.”There is not a problem with the top order batsmen,” Woolmer told Sporting Life. “Lots of people are talking about it after their failure against England but I have faith in my players and I know they will come good.”The bright part of Pakistan’s outing at Northampton was Younis Khan, who returned from a knee injury to captain the side in place of Inzamam-ul-Haq and scored an unbeaten 50. “I am really pleased to see Younis get a 50 and be in such good form after he missed the first Test,” said Woolmer. “These types of games are great because we can bring in players, like Younis, who have not had much time in the middle. It’s good to get some match practice and much better than batting and bowling in the nets. It helps to get the guys scoring some runs and improves their form and confidence.”Stephen Peters, whose 142 took the hosts to 269 for three declared, cut a relieved figure after his effort. “It was very pleasing to get my 100,” he said. “I have had a tough season so far which made it even more enjoyable. I have played well in quite a few one-day games lately and I’ve made a few technical changes to my game which I think have made all the difference. Hopefully this will get me back in the hat for the first team next week.”The second Test against England gets underway at Old Trafford on July 27.