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Long-time advocate of greater use of technology in umpiring decisions, New Zealand Cricket’s umpiring manager Brian Aldridge was delighted with the success of experimentation at the ICC Champions Trophy tournament.Aldridge said the experiment in Colombo had been on a largely “suck it and see” basis but it had proven worthwhile, and the concern that too much time would be consumed in referring to the third umpire had been groundless as no decision took more than a minute.”The two facets of the leg before wicket assistance, based on where the ball pitched, and what it hit, were great, but it was obvious the technology is not good enough yet for some caught behinds or doubtful catches,” he said.Apart from showing how much more refinement is needed in capturing those aspects on video, it also proved just how hard it had been for umpires to make decisions in the past.”It is great to have it. I do hope the International Cricket Council keep experimenting,” he said.Aldridge said the experimentation in Colombo had arisen from technology companies getting interested in what were technical aspects of the game, and he hoped more interest might stir the same, or other, companies to look at less clear areas of filming.He said there was still a concern about whether players still wanted to have the traditions of the game maintained.If that was the case then there would have to be a greater acceptance from players and portions of the media that umpires were capable of making mistakes.But at the same time if the players opted for decisions as correct as possible through use of technology then there was the prospect that even elite panels would still ask for confirmation in decision-making.

Lance Klusener’s poor form with the bat may have continued, but the all-rounder starred with the ball to ensure that South Africa A completed a convincing 65-run victory against the touring Sri Lankans at Potchestroom on Saturday.Klusener, retained in South Africa’s one-day squad for the first two games of a five-match series starting Wednesday at Wanderers, lasted just four balls in the morning before dragging a ball on to his stumps, but then redeemed himself by grabbing three middle-order wickets.The all-rounder completed a fightback started by left-arm spinner Robin Peterson, who made a 69-ball 61 that helped South Africa A recover from a parlous position in the morning when they had crashed to 124 for eight.Peterson added 57 with Charl Langeveldt (33*) and then 40 with last man Monde Zondeki (23), guiding South A to a respectable 221.Darryl Cullinan missed his opportunity to persuade the selectors that he is ready for an international recall when he swung wildly at Pulasthi Gunaratne’s second ball of the day and was caught at mid-on.Earlier, Sri Lanka had been boosted by the news that Sanath Jayasuriya hadrecovered from the ankle injury that had forced him out of the second Test atCenturion.In the event the left-hander failed with the bat as he was trapped lbw by Steve Elworthy, who went on to claim the wickets of Jehan Mubarak (17) and Kumar Sangakkara (21), finishing with three for 34 from seven overs.Sri Lanka’s middle order failed too, including veteran Aravinda de Silva wholingered 44 minutes at the crease for just seven runs in his first outing sincearriving in South Africa on Monday.Cape Province pace bowler Zondeki celebrated his surprise call-up into SouthAfrica’s 14-man squad for the first two one-day internationals with a fieryseven-over burst in which he claimed the crucial wicket of Mahela Jayawardene and conceded just eight runs.The visitors were eventually restricted to 111 for eight after 32 overs inan innings twice interrupted by rain.

Javed Miandad, the former Pakistan captain, has defended the current national coach Geoff Lawson, arguing that the Australian “should be allowed to complete his contract”.”Nowhere in the world are contracts treated with such contempt,” Miandad told . “In our [Pakistan] cricket system there is a proper contract system for coaches and players with relevant clauses. Yet despite repeated breaches no action is taken by the board.”The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is bound to adhere to the contractual terms. Nowhere is a coach or player allowed to give statements with board officials having a say on every issue, except in Pakistan. They should allow Lawson to complete his contract but if he wants out himself that is another issue.”He quoted his own experience as coach of the national side. “What example of discipline can you set by not honouring a valid contract? They (PCB) did the same with me. I had a legal contract with them and yet behind my back they were negotiating with another coach (Woolmer).”Lawson was appointed coach in August last year for a two-year term, but has had a mixed run so far; under him Pakistan have lost series to South Africa and India and failed to qualify for the final of the Asia Cup, held at home.Pakistan did, however, reach the final of the Twenty20 World Cup last year and win the Kitply Cup in Dhaka in June this year. However, speculation has been rife about his fate and though privately board officials are not thought to be impressed by him, officially he has the board’s backing. Nasim Ashraf, the board chairman, said recently, after the Asia Cup, that both captain Shoaib Malik and Lawson would retain their jobs.The team’s next assignment is a likely three-match ODI series against New Zealand at home, ahead of the Champions Trophy to be held in Pakistan in September 2008.

Somerset go into their penultimate championship match against Leicestershire at Grace Road on Thursday knowing that nothing less than a victory will save them from relegation to the second division.The Cidermen are currently in eighth position in the top flight in the four day game whilst their opponents are sixth , just above the danger zone, with four wins to their credit.In addition to victory at Grace Road, Somerset also have to achieve a result from their final match against Lancashire at Taunton next Wednesday, a tall order for a side who have only achieved one victory from their previous fourteen championship matches.When the sides met earlier this season Somerset were in a strong position, and will feel that they missed out on a victory when rain deprived them of the last day’s play.Over the years Leicester has not been a particularly happy hunting ground for Somerset. Last season the match was drawn and in 2000 it was the hosts who recorded a victory.Despite the daunting prospect ahead of them there was an air of confidence about the Somerset team before they left the County Ground early on Wednesday morning ahead of their NUL day/night game.Coach Kevin Shine was in no doubt about the importance of the championship match and told me: "This is a must win game for us, nothing else will do for us if we are to stay up."The coach has named the following squad for the championship game: Jamie Cox, Peter Bowler, Matt Wood, Mike Burns, Piran Holloway, Keith Parsons, Pete Trego, Rob Turner, Keith Dutch, Richard Johnson, Matt Bulbeck and Simon Francis.Meanwhile the Somerset coach has confirmed that paceman Steffan Jones who has been carrying an injury for much of the season is to undergo an operation on his foot in the next few days which will rule him out for the rest of the season.

Hampshire find themselves with the advantage at the close of the second day of the Frizzell County Championship match at Headingley. Having been bowled out for 354, Yorkshire made heavy progress and are still 180 behind with six wickets in hand.With rain allowing just three minutes play in the opening seventy – play starting 30 minutes late before another heavy shower interrupted Hampshire’s innings – Steve Kirby removed Nic Pothas’ off stump with the fifth of the five balls bowled.After the restart, Yorkshire failed to follow this up and helped the visitors to move their score along at a healthy rate with a precession of no-balls and loose deliveries. Chris Tremlett joined Shaun Udal in a frustrating for the hosts ninth-wicket stand of 45.Tremlett became the sixth man dismissed bowled when Matthew Hoggard beat him for pace but Alan Mullally aided Udal’s advance with a useful 33 run partnership, including two lots of four byes and a pulled six into the incomplete new members stand off the England paceman.Udal was left unbeaten on 43, while the extras joined John Crawley and Will Kendall in recording half-centuries. Hoggard was the pick of the bowlers, taking 4-93 while the fiery Kirby closed with three.Yorkshire opener Matthew Wood continued his dreadful run of late when he fended off a lifter from Mullally’s second delivery of the innings to Crawley at short-leg, being dismissed for his third consecutive duck.A sparkling knock from First Test centurion Michael Vaughan was in contrast to his partner Craig White, who remained stoic but undefeated at the other end.Vaughan, timing the ball with ease helped himself to a 68-ball 54 before Tremlett trapped him leg before and captain Darren Lehmann looked comfortable in reaching 21 before the same fate ended his innings, this time to Mascarenhas.Hampshire ended the day in the ascendancy having prized Anthony McGrath into driving Mascarenhas into the hands of Giles White at short mid-wicket.White remained unbeaten though the 54 overs one short of his half-century, while Michael Lumb kept his head on 14.31 runs are required to save the follow-on but Yorkshire are looking at a sizable first innings deficit if Hampshire can continue the good work of today.

After a delayed start yesterday, the State Championship match between Canterbury and Auckland was underway on time in perfect conditions at the Village Green today.At the ground in the outer suburbs of Christchurch, all signs of rain had been driven away, and the forecast is for three further days of fine weather.Auckland resumed play on 127/5, and the first three overs proved full of drama.Ryan Burson began the day with a double wicket maiden, clinching his third wicket of the match. On the fourth ball of the second over Bradley Nielsen was out lbw for nine.Captain Brooke Walker came to the crease, but was out first ball, when he tried to push a delivery down which kicked up and was caught by Robbie Frew.Then Andre Adams came in to join Rob Nicol, but he denied Burson his hat-trick.Cleighten Cornelius joined the bowling attack in the third over, with brother and strike bowler Wade off the field with a suspected stress fracture.Auckland adopted a more attacking approach when bowlers Paul Wiseman and Peter Fulton came on. Nicol who only debuted this season, knocked up his half century with a drive down the ground for four off 128 deliveries.Burson took the new ball in the 81st over, but this was no challenge for Adams and Nicol who used the pace of the ball to bring up their 100-run partnership in the 89th over.Milestones kept on rolling and Adams brought up his half century off 72 balls, including eight fours.Right-arm medium-paced seamer Fulton was brought into the bowling attack shortly after, to try to get a breakthrough for the red and blacks, but Adams smashed him for 16 off one over.It was Wiseman who came up with the answer though – the spinner had Adams caught by Fulton at long on. He made 72 runs off 93 balls including a dozen fours. This was his highest score in first-class cricket.This ended their 133-run partnership, which was 10 off the record for an eighth-wicket partnership in an Auckland versus Canterbury game.Sanjeewa Silva came to the crease, but was back in the dressing room four balls later without scoring a run.Nicol, now on 99, was probably worried he would be left without a partner to score his century, but made this the following over off 206 balls, over a period of 259 minutes. His innings included ten fours and a six and was his second for Auckland this season.He was out for 104 off 213, which brought the first Auckland innings to a close, and Canterbury 272 to chase.Canterbury opening batsmen Frew and Shanan Stewart, were put in the hands of pace bowlers Adams and Gareth Shaw.When Silva took over from Adams at the northern end, he took the first Canterbury wicket when Frew edged a ball through to wicket-keeper Reece Young for 14.Michael Papps came to the crease, but soon after his partner was clean bowled by Shaw for 26, when he was just establishing his innings.Marcel McKenzie, appearing for the first time this season, was next in due to Chris Harris being called up to the New Zealand Test team. McKenzie was called in himself to field for Chris Cairns in the Test against England last week.Tama Canning and Nielsen continued bowling after tea, with Nielsen having two catches put down.Canterbury began to up their strike rate towards the 50th over, but took nearly three hours to get 100 runs on the board.Shaw was brought into the attack, after St John staff used the groundsman’s drill to release pressure welling up under his toe, with leg-spinner and captain Walker.Soon after Papps brought up his ninth first-class 50, and at stumps Canterbury had a total of 150 with Papps on 64 and McKenzie on 29.Umpires Gary Baxter and Dave Quested, called off play at the close of 96 overs, due to bad light. Both Shaw and Silva finished the day with a wicket apiece.New Zealand selector Brian McKechnie was among the ranks at the game today, possibly looking at future selection prospects.

Pakistani fast man Shoaib Akhtar is becoming as big a problem for New Zealand batsmen as South African lower order batsmen are for New Zealand bowlers.His performance in Karachi yesterday was just another phase of his personal demolition job on New Zealand.When he dismissed captain for the day Craig McMillan, Akhtar secured his 100th One-Day International wicket in only his 60th match.Of his 105 wickets in ODIs 21 of them are against New Zealand.While his overall average and economy rates are 19.63 and 4.49 respectively, against New Zealand the same figures are 13.23 and 4.40.He had a strike rate of a New Zealand wicket every 18 balls he bowls, as opposed to a wicket every 26.2 balls he bowled against other sides.When achieving his career-best figures of six for 16 yesterday, he surpassed his previous best of five for 19, also against New Zealand in Auckland last summer.Fourteen of his 21 New Zealand wickets are bowled and his figures were the 10th best bowling figures in ODI history, and the fourth best by a Pakistani.They also represent the best figures by any bowler against New Zealand, surpassing Waqar Younis’ six for 30 at Auckland in 1993/94.He was the third equal fastest player to reach 100 ODI wickets, only behind team-mates Saqlain Mushtaq (53 matches) and Waqar (59).The back to back wins by more than 150 runs by Pakistan, firstly against Sri Lanka in the Sharjah Cup final then at Karachi, is the first occasion this has happened in ODIs.The margin of 153 runs is New Zealand’s second worst defeat in terms of runs. It is ahead of the loss by 174 runs to India at Hyderabad in 1999/00.Pakistan’s win ended a run of five ODI losses in Karachi. The first of those losses was inflicted by New Zealand on their last visit there.

Indian left arm spinner Sunil Joshi (4 for 38) and seamer Dodda Ganesh(4 for 46) ran through the weak Assam batting line-up to helpKarnataka to a seven wicket win on third day of the five day RanjiTrophy pre-quarterfinal at the Nehru stadium in Guwahati on Monday.Karnataka batsmen then accomplished the task in 35.2 overs whilelosing three wickets in the process.Resuming at 310 for nine, Karnataka added just two more runs as JavedZaman bowled NA Khan off the third ball of the day. With a lead ofnine runs, Assam made a disastrous start in their second inningslosing both openers PK Das (15) and SB Saikia (4) with the scorereading 19 in the seventh over. Das was the first to be dismissedcaught behind by VST Naidu off MA Khan, while Saikia was caught behindoff Ganesh. Assam skipper Zakaria Zuffri (12) and S Ganesh Kumar (50)took the score to 46 before the former became Joshi’s first victimwhen Anil Kumar caught him.The next over, the 18th of the innings bowled by Ganesh, saw Assamsuffer a double setback. Off the third ball of the over Ganesh sentback R Borah (0) and two balls later the former Tamil Nadu left armspinner Sunil Subramaniam joined him in the pavilion. There was notmuch left for Assam after that even as Sukhvinder Singh (26) waged alone battle. It was only a matter of time before the innings folded upand in the 39th over of the innings the inevitable happened.Set to score 144 for a win, Karnataka made a shaky start when theylost opener J Arun Kumar (11), run out in the third over. His partnerMithun Beerala (14) followed in the 12th over with the score at 44.Beerala was caught by Ghosh off Ganesh Kumar. Then the former Indianbatsman Vijay Bharadwaj (41) and B Akhil (51) took the score to 93.Bharadwaj was sent back at this stage, caught by Samant off SukhvinderSingh. With only a handful of runs to get, Akhil and his skipper Joshihit off the required runs with consummate ease.

Sourav Ganguly’s latest consignment of bats arrived from Meerut just after the Indian captain finished his stint out in the ‘open nets’ at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore. A man in love with cricket bats, Ganguly chooses a fresh batch of blades before each tour. The six-week tour to Zimbabwe is no exception. The open nets itself had an atmosphere of great purpose without being overbearing or sombre. John Wright, behind the bowler’s arm watched over every ball as the probables slogged away.The idea is a simple one and not new at all. A simulated match situation out in the middle, with the fast bowlers and spinners operating in turns ensued. The first to enter were Ganguly and VVS Laxman, while the other batsmen waited their turns. In time all batsmen had a stint out in the middle and the bowlers were a tired lot. Perhaps that’s what prompted the local boys to chip in and help with preparations. Anil Kumble was in for a quick session but left early. Sunil Joshi, Venkatesh Prasad and Dodda Ganesh spent a lot of time bowling despite not being in the list of probables selected by the board.In the coaching department, Wright was not alone. Roger Binny moved across from the National Cricket Academy (NCA) and helped the Kiwi conduct the practice sessions. Erapalli Prasanna finished his stint with the NCA boys and he too cast his watchful eye over the Indian seniors for a while. The atmosphere at the camp was as healthy as one could expect. All drills happened in right earnest with no one being exempted for any reason. When not out in the middle, the players were by the sidelines practicing throwing.At first it seemed strange that the players should be spending so much time practicing throwing. Closer inspection however, made it clear that this was yet another of Wright’s moves. Showing a keen attention to detail, Wright is attempting to make sure that all Indian cricketers throw with the right action. Concentrating on position and shift in body weight, Wright is attempting to minimise the shoulder injuries that have laid low more than one Indian bowler in the recent past.With team selection due soon, the selectors have all gathered in Bangalore. And seldom has their job been easier. Although the likes of Yuvraj Singh, Virender Shewag and Ajay Ratra are shaping up well, it is difficult to see them making the trip to Zimbabwe. Five seamers, two spinners, seven batsmen and one stumper seems to be the mantra.

On Sunday the World T20, an event that lasted three and a half weeks, will end. On Tuesday the Champions League T20, a tournament that will go on for two and half weeks, will start. The 48 hours in between may offer a chance for some perspective.If Sundar Raman, IPL chief executive who is also a member of the CLT20 technical committee, is correct, that time enough will create a “continuum,” of the format. Many fear the opposite: that it will be a time when overload is reached.Since September 8, the only international cricket that has been played is T20 cricket. South Africa and England played three matches, India and New Zealand played two (one was abandoned), teams warmed up for the World T20, played a group stage, a Super Eight round and a knockout stage. A total of 43 T20 matches will have been played by Sunday and by the end of October, that number will sit at 72 over seven weeks.But Raman does not fear spectator fatigue and is confident the tournament has a place in the calendar despite the challenges it faces. “This was the window of time that was available currently. All the countries have their international seasons after this and there was an opportunity that was available here,” he said in Johannesburg. “We hope the World T20 has created enough of an appetite. The timing of the broadcasts are also pretty good and the schedules are done in a manner that will provide the opportunity for every country to watch their teams.”Reaching out to fans in different countries is what the CLT20 claims to be about. They hope that process will start in South Africa, which is the reason Raman gave for moving the event here from India. “We thought it is only fair to come back to South Africa; to reach out to new markets,” he said. The tournament was last previously hosted in South Africa in 2010 and crowd turnout was better than at both events held in India.More of the same is expected by Jacques Faul, CSA acting CEO. He said even though the CLT20 clashes with South Africa’s domestic rugby competition, the Currie Cup, he expects seats to be occupied. “Rugby is a serious contender when it comes to crowds,” Faul said. “We did take it into account but we did as much as we could to make sure we will have crowds.”The thinking may well be that the cricket and rugby market are different and in some ways, they are. The CLT20 has also brought in spectators who may not attend other forms of the game, or sport at all, and Faul hopes those types of people will grow in number. So far, it does not look like it. There are a maximum of 380,000 tickets available for sale and only 18% have been bought – around 70,000.Nassei Appiah, the tournament director who is also CSA CFO, said the numbers should pick up this week. “We know that most of the tickets will be sold a few days before the event or when people know the actual teams playing,” he said, referring to the three-day qualifying event which will take place before the tournament proper. “But 30% of tickets for the final have already been sold.”The sales figures did not dampen Raman’s confidence in South Africa delivering an event that meets expectations. “It’s a great country with a sport loving public,” he said. “All the infrastructure is here, 14 teams can be put up in a city like Johannesburg and the stadium atmosphere is also good. The stadium sizes are also smaller than places like India or Australia.”Australia are the third shareholders of the CLT20 and have not yet hosted the competition. Raman said it is unlikely they will be do so in the near future, primarily because their time-zone is unsuitable. “Obviously that is a problem,” he said. He did leave the door open to other countries to host the event, saying anyone from England to Sri Lanka to Bangladesh could come into contention in the future.”As a tournament we are evolving,” Raman said. “In 2008, we had an eight-team format. We’ve evolved from there to be able to accommodate more teams and now we have 14 teams from around the world.”Despite that, the 2012 edition will take place without representatives from either Zimbabwe or Bangladesh, both of whom hold their own domestic twenty-over tournaments. That too, could be revised looked at in future. “As we go forward to future editions, we will try and be as inclusive as we can,” Raman said.It may mean an even longer qualifying phase since only the shareholders’ teams gain automatic entry. India, as the largest shareholder, has four teams while South Africa and Australia have two each. This unbalanced nature of the tournament has also caused it to be criticised. England have indicated they will not take part in next year’s event because of the large impact CLT20 has on their domestic season which is cut three weeks short even though the teams that qualify for the qualifiers could end up playing only two matches.Raman is bullish that issues like those do not detract from the CLT20’s success and the standing it has among participating countries. “There is a significant interest because people are looking forward to playing in another tournament because of their domestic success,” Raman said. “CLT20 has re-energised domestic twenty-over cricket. Players like Sunil Narine have come through CLT20. It gives players the confidence and the ability to believe in themselves and that for me is very heartening. “