Afghanistan enter ICC's ODI rankings

Following their landmark win against Bangladesh in the Asia Cup, Afghanistan have qualified for the ICC one-day rankings. They come into the rankings with 32 rating points, which puts them in 12th place behind Ireland and the Test nations. Should they register another win in the Asia Cup, they will leapfrog Ireland on the table.

The win against Bangladesh was Afghanistan's first against a Test-playing nation, and it came less than five months after they had secured their place in World Cup 2015 by finishing second in the World Cricket League Championship - the ICC's top one-day tournament for non-Full Members.

To gain promotion to the main rankings table, an Associate either needs to win two ODIs against Full Members, or register one win against a Full Member and have a winning percentage of over 60% against other Associates in the qualifying period (since August 2010). Afghanistan have met the second criterion.

A team also needs to have played a minimum of eight matches, in the format, in the qualifying period to get a ranking. Afghanistan have played 12 ODIs since August 2010.

Moin named new Pakistan coach, Sohail removed as selector

Amid a slew of changes to Pakistan cricket, Moin Khanhas been named the new head coach of the national side. The decision was taken at an eight-member management committee meeting, a day after PCB chairman Zaka Ashraf was dismissed and the board of governors dissolved.

Moin will replace Dav Whatmore, whose contract expires this month. He had been appointed team manager before the tour to Zimbabwe in August 2013 but had recently been replaced by Zakir Khan.

In other major changes, Aamer Sohail's appointment as chief selector last week was denounced, and former Pakistan cricketer Azhar Khan was put in charge of an interim selection committee.

The committee, headed by newly reappointed PCB chairman Najam Sethi, also endorsed Mohammad Akram's two-year contract as Pakistan's bowling coach. A new fielding coach was also appointed, withShoaib Mohammad put in charge for the Asia Cup and World Twenty20.

When Ashraf was in charge of the PCB, he had appointed Sohail as director game and development national cricket academy and given him an additional charge of chief selector. But the Sethi-led PCB denounced a majority of the decisions taken by Ashraf since Ashraf came to power last month. "The management committee decided in principle that any decision which lacks transparency or due process shall not be ratified," said Sethi while briefing the press in Lahore after a five-hour meeting.

"(Since) PCB service rules were not followed in the decision to appoint him [Sohail] … further, the record reflects that Aamer Sohail was never issued a letter of appointment for any post in PCB, therefore he held no post in PCB.

"The appointments of Mr. Basit Ali (coach of regional cricket academies in Karachi) and Mr. Mohammad Ilyas (chief selector of junior teams and the women's national team) were not in accordance with PCB Services Rules. Their appointments are declared as void abinitio, null and void."

Apart from these major cricketing changes, the committee also took several administrative decisions including the appointment of the advisory Committee on Regional Affairs comprising representatives of Regions, and another committee on Cricketing Affairs comprising former captains and former chairmen of PCB.

Though the PCB advertised three coaching positions including head, batting and fielding coach, the management committee scrapped the batting coach position. It has decided to introduce a new role called chief cricket consultant, filled by former captain Zaheer Abbas - also a managing committee member, has been named to travel with the team to supervise the batting department.

Charges against Gurunath proved - IPL probe report

Gurunath Meiyappan, the son-in-law of BCCI president N Srinivasan, has been found by a court-appointed committee to have indulged in betting and passing on information during IPL 2013, as alleged, and has been proved to be the team official of Chennai Super Kings. The committee, led by Justice Mukul Mudgal, submitted its final report to the Supreme Court on Monday with the proviso that it was for the court to decide on any action to be taken.

The report also said that Raj Kundra, the Rajasthan Royals team owner, had "resorted to betting" through Umesh Goenka in the IPL as was "evident" from the statements of Goenka recorded by the Delhi court. However, it said that "further and serious investigations" on the basis of the Goenka statements were required.

The report noted that the allegations of spot-fixing and match fixing against five players - Sreesanth, Ankeet Chavan, Ajit Chandila, Amit Singh and Siddharth Trivedi - on the basis of evidence provided by Delhi Police were facing criminal trial and "adequate punishment has been imposed upon them by the BCCI."

Along with the report, the court has also been given a sealed envelope - to be opened and read only by the judges - containing the names of persons allegedly involved in sporting fraud. The report said the commission had come across "many allegations of sporting fraud" and had forwarded the allegations in the sealed envelope "in view of the sensitive nature of the information being provided". The committee said it would not be "proper to cast aspersions on the persons named unless investigations are conducted".

The report is now expected to be taken up by the court on March 7, when it resumes hearing the case pertaining to IPL corruption which had led to the formation of the Mudgal committee.

The implications of the report, though serious, are not expected at this point to affect the IPL auction, due to be held on February 12 and 13. Rajiv Shukla, the BCCI vice-president, said the auction would go ahead as scheduled. "The good that Supreme Court has done is that the IPL auction was not stopped," he said. "It will happen as planned for all the teams in Bangalore."

N Srinivasan, the BCCI president, said he would not comment till he had read the full report. The question of whether Gurunath was involved in match-fixing and spot-fixing, the report said, had "not been investigated thoroughly by the anti-corruption units of the ICC and the BCCI or the Crime Branch Criminal Investigation Department of the Chennai police, "even though some information was available for such an investigation to be conducted."

Over the question of Gurunath's role as "owner" of CSK, the committee said that the 'infraction of the rules prohibiting betting by a team official has clearly occoured." It took note of the "stance" of the CSK senior counsel who had said that "CSK should not be punished for actions of Meiyappan." The franchisee owners "(Indian Cements) (sic)" had defended the actions of the franchisee "by contending/ stating that Mr Gurunath Meiyappan was not related in any way with the franchise." The committee's response to this contention was that, "the franchisee appears to be contradicting the factual position as has already been observed by the committee."

The committee stated that Gurunath had been in violation of several sections of the IPL Operational Rules, the IPL Anti-Corruption Code and Articles of the Code of Conduct for Players and team officials. The report's "conclusions and recommendations" section has said that it can do no more than report a "violation of the rules" to the Court as it does not have a mandate to impose any punishment. "It is for the Hon'ble Supreme Court to decide what action, if any, is to be taken pursuant of the report of the Committee."

There are references made to one specific match in the report, between Rajasthan Royals and Chennai Super Kings on May 12, 2013, the committee stating, "there seems to be enough information available on record to indicate that a further investigation is required in respect of the match."

The report also refers to the issue of conflict of interest - "raised by several persons who are neither in the BCCI hierarchy nor are beneficiaries of the BCCI" - brought about by the ownership of Chennai Super Kings by India Cements, whose managing director is the BCCI president. "It was also pointed out that the conflict of interest was brought about by the amendment to clause 6.2.4 of the BCCI Rules and Regulations, by which an office-bearer of the BCCI was permitted to hold a commercial interest in the IPL and Champions League." The amendment, the report notes, was the subject of a petition in the Supreme Court by former BCCI president AC Muthiah, leading to a split verdict.

The report concedes that, while the issue does not fall directly within the committee's terms of reference, the questions raised were "serious and may have large-scale ramifications on the functioning of cricket." It said it was bringing the matter before the Supreme Court "since several stakeholders repeatedly stressed on this issue."

The three-member committee, headed by former High Court judge Mukul Mudgal and comprising additional solicitor general L Nageswara Rao and Assam Cricket Association member Nilay Dutta, was set up by the Supreme Court in October 2013 to conduct an independent inquiry into the allegations of corruption against Gurunath, Super Kings team owner India Cements, and Rajasthan Royals team owner Jaipur IPL Cricket Private Ltd, as well as with the larger mandate of allegations around betting and spot-fixing in IPL matches and the involvement of players. It interviewed more than 100 people - including ESPNcricinfo's senior editor Sharda Ugra - in connection with its probe.

Kallis replacement could hold key to series

Somewhere between Centurion, Port Elizabeth and Cape Town, Australia will post a big partnership that none of Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel and Vernon Philander will be able to break. They will get frustrated or tired or both. The person whom Graeme Smith hands the ball when that happens could end up playing a defining role in the series.

In the past, that person was Jacques Kallis. Think back to Australia's tour to South Africa in 2008-09. After beating South Africa by 162 runs in Johannesburg, Australia were piling on the pain in the second Test in Durban. Phil Hughes and Simon Katich's opening stand had ballooned to 184.

Kallis was in the midst of his second spell. He pitched one short and wide - an innocuous ball really - and Hughes could not resist. He went for the cut and Neil McKenzie collected the catch at gully.

The rest of that match was forgettable for both Kallis and South Africa. Kallis was struck on the jaw byMitchell Johnson, who also broke Smith's hand for the second time earlier that day. Kallis scored 22 in the first innings and 93 in the second. Still, South Africa lost the match by 175 runs and the series as a result. They are yet to beat Australia in a home series since readmission.

Kallis' Test retirement late last year means he will not be part of a South African side that could change that pattern. But the person who takes his place could be. By implication, that person could be one of the most discussed players in this series and one of the most important for South Africa.

The South African management and players have taken great pains to repeat as often as they can that Kallis is not being replaced because that is impossible. So it helps that the new entrant into the XI will not at No.4. That is Faf du Plessis' job and he has already proved he deserves it.

After his maiden century in Adelaide, he showed his ability to bat time and bat in a bubble, just like Kallis. Despite a lean patch throughout 2013, he cemented his spot with another match-saving century, against India. He will be a man Australia want to remove, especially with memories of November 2012 still fresh, but he may not be their main focus.

Instead, it will either be Wayne Parnell or Ryan McLaren whom Australia identify as a candidate to exploit. Neither has played much Test cricket - Parnell has played three Tests, McLaren one - and neither has played much long-form cricket recently. They only played one first-class match each this summer.

Although they have credentials - Parnell is quick, offers the left-armer variation in angle and is an aggressive bat, while McLaren is more of what you see is what you get, and what you get is reliability - neither would have been expected to play a key role in a series of this magnitude before. The sense of occasion may be the first thing they need to overcome to avoid being overwhelmed and that will be the second major talking point.

Allan Donald said the South African camp last felt this buzz when they played England for the No.1 ranking in July 2012. South Africa have prepared for this series in a similar way too. Then, they spent time in Switzerland bonding over bungee jumping; now they had a bush retreat to help them reconnect and do their bit to save the rhinos.

Hashim Amla called the feeling "no different," to any other series against Australia, and that is the point. Any series against Australia is different by itslef, as almost every other player who has spoken to the media has explained. They call Australia the team they find toughest to tussle with. They describe Australia's players as competitive, as players who play the game hard on the field and whom they enjoy having a drink with off it. There's a sense of camaraderie between the squads but banter is still a given. Both have helped hype this up as a clash of the titans.

When Australia lost the Ashes 3-0 in England, some of the talk in South Africa was that they would be easy picking come this tour. South Africans watched from afar as Australia gained momentum. For once, they had reason to celebrate the Australian rise because it signaled the team would come to South Africa ready for a fight instead of still being in their rebuilding phase.

Now that Australia have actually arrived a fully formed product, there are some nerves too. Johnson is back and more menacing than he was when he sent Smith to the surgeon. Ryan Harris and Peter Siddle complete their trio of quicks. The battle of the bowlers appears a tight one to call in the lead-up, which means the batsmen will have all it all to do. That is where South Africa feel they have the advantage.

Although Australia's batsmen between them scored 10 centuries in the 5-0 whitewash of England, they are still seen as over-reliant on Michael Clarke and Brad Haddin. With Shane Watson out of the first Test and a worry for the rest of the series, that leaves them even more vulnerable. On South African pitches, which have considerable sideways movement particularly when compared to Australia's, the home side believes the advantage could be skewed their way.

But Australia insist the absence of Kallis could change that. A 13000-run sized hole would deplete any batting line-up. Somewhere between Centurion, Port Elizabeth and Cape Town in the next month, South Africa may also discover whether and how quickly they can fill that.

Hogg and Hodge in Australia's World T20 squad

Brad Hogg could become the oldest man ever to play a Twenty20 international after being called up along with fellow veteran Brad Hodge for Australia's World Twenty20 campaign in Bangladesh. Australia's selectors opted for experience in their 15-man squad, which also includes Brad Haddin and Cameron White, although the young legspinner James Muirhead was also named after impressing in his first T20 internationals against England this summer.

Hogg earned a surprise recall for the previous World T20 in Sri Lanka in 2012 but he had not played for Australia since that tournament. However, he has continued to take wickets and keep the runs tight for the Perth Scorchers in the Big Bash League and his selection at the age of 43 has shown that the selectors are prepared to bank on experience as Australia push for their first title in the shortest format.

The oldest man ever to play a T20 international was Kenya's Steve Tikolo, who was 42 when he walked out against Canada in Sharjah in November. Hogg turned 43 last week but showed as part of the Scorchers' BBL-winning team that he remains enthusiastic and athletic in the field as well as canny with the ball. He could be a key player in the spinning conditions of Bangladesh.

The same can be said of Hodge, who at 39 was recalled to Australia's team for the T20s against England this season having not played for his country for nearly six years. Although Hodge's BBL form this summer was solid rather than spectacular - he scored 219 runs at 36.50 - he is the highest run scorer of all time in Twenty20 cricket, with 5902 runs, and his experience in Bangladesh with the Barisal Burners could be invaluable.

"We have selected a squad that has plenty of experience playing the Twenty20 format in the sub-continent, which augers well for the challenges of Bangladesh," national selector John Inverarity said. "Brad Hogg comes into the squad . Once again Brad bowled very well for the Perth Scorchers in the Big Bash League and many batsmen found him difficult to read. Despite his age, his enthusiasm and fitness are undiminished.

"Brad Hodge has made a great number of Twenty20 runs on the sub-continent and played many match defining innings there. He will provide the squad with a great deal of calm experience and knowledge. His inclusion is just reward for his outstanding performances in this form of the game over many seasons."

Muirhead, 20, is the least experienced member of the group, and perhaps the most remarkable part of his journey was that he did not even start the BBL season with a contract. Muirhead was only included in the Melbourne Stars squad as an injury replacement before Christmas, but his impressive performances in a number of tour matches earlier in the summer against England encouraged the selectors to take a punt on him in the T20 internationals.

"The national selection panel was pleased with the way the side performed in those Twenty20 matches where they played with great confidence and authority," Inverarity said. "Of those performances we were highly impressed with James Muirhead who displayed a good temperament, excellent control and a legbreak that turns significantly. He is an exciting inclusion."

Although Muirhead took two wickets in the final T20 in Sydney, his most impressive display was arguably in the second match in Melbourne, when he kept the runs tight and claimed 1 for 17 from his four overs. In front of a crowd of nearly 65,000 at the MCG, Muirhead showed his willingness to toss the ball up and risk leaking a few boundaries, and his legbreak turned sharply at times.

"It was definitely really daunting, especially in front of 65,000 at that game," Muirhead told ESPNcricinfo last week. "Bowling legspin you just really have to have confidence and believe in yourself and you know you can perform at that level. You just try and take in the crowd and relish the moment and enjoy yourself. You're going to get hit for a few sixes or a few boundaries bowling legspin in T20, so you can't put yourself down, you've just got to keep fighting against them."

Muirhead's inclusion meant there was no room for Xavier Doherty, with Glenn Maxwell the other slow-bowling option in the group. Shaun Marsh was also overlooked, as was the young Queensland batsman Chris Lynn, who performed well in his initial T20 internationals over the past month, and neither Josh Hazlewood nor Ben Cutting were able to squeeze in to the attack.

Because several key players were already in South Africa preparing for the Test tour while the T20s against England were played recently, the squad looks different from that group. David Warner, Shane Watson, Mitchell Johnson and Brad Haddin will all be part of the World T20 outfit after not taking part in the 3-0 success over England.

The inclusion of Haddin, who has played only two T20 internationals in the past two and a half years and in fact retired from the format in 2011, meant there was no room for Matthew Wade, who has generally been used as Australia's keeper in the short format. James Faulkner was included after missing the Test tour of South Africa due to a knee injury, although it remains to be seen whether he will play in the T20s in South Africa that follow the Tests.

"James Faulkner is recovering well from his knee surgery," Inverarity said. "He is expected to be fully fit for Bangladesh. We will monitor his rehabilitation to see how he is progressing for the matches in South Africa."

White managed to hold his place after performing well against England, although whether he will be able to squeeze into the top order is unclear, with Aaron Finch, Watson and Warner all potential openers. Allrounder Daniel Christian and fast bowlers Nathan Coulter-Nile and Mitchell Starc will also be part of the squad, which will be led by George Bailey.

Australia World T20 squad George Bailey (capt), Daniel Christian, Nathan Coulter-Nile, James Faulkner, Aaron Finch, Brad Haddin, Brad Hodge, Brad Hogg, Glenn Maxwell, James Muirhead, Mitchell Johnson, Mitchell Starc, David Warner, Shane Watson, Cameron White.

Charges against Gurunath proved - IPL probe report

Gurunath Meiyappan, the son-in-law of BCCI president N Srinivasan, has been found by a court-appointed committee to have indulged in betting and passing on information during IPL 2013, as alleged, and has been proved to be the team official of Chennai Super Kings. The committee, led by Justice Mukul Mudgal, submitted its final report to the Supreme Court on Monday with the proviso that it was for the court to decide on any action to be taken.

The report also said that Raj Kundra, the Rajasthan Royals team owner, had "resorted to betting" through Umesh Goenka in the IPL as was "evident" from the statements of Goenka recorded by the Delhi court. However, it said that "further and serious investigations" on the basis of the Goenka statements were required.

The report noted that the allegations of spot-fixing and match fixing against five players - Sreesanth, Ankeet Chavan, Ajit Chandila, Amit Singh and Siddharth Trivedi - on the basis of evidence provided by Delhi Police were facing criminal trial and "adequate punishment has been imposed upon them by the BCCI."

Along with the report, the court has also been given a sealed envelope - to be opened and read only by the judges - containing the names of persons allegedly involved in sporting fraud. The report said the commission had come across "many allegations of sporting fraud" and had forwarded the allegations in the sealed envelope "in view of the sensitive nature of the information being provided". The committee said it would not be "proper to cast aspersions on the persons named unless investigations are conducted".

The report is now expected to be taken up by the court on March 7, when it resumes hearing the case pertaining to IPL corruption which had led to the formation of the Mudgal committee.

The implications of the report, though serious, are not expected at this point to affect the IPL auction, due to be held on February 12 and 13. Rajiv Shukla, the BCCI vice-president, said the auction would go ahead as scheduled. "The good that Supreme Court has done is that the IPL auction was not stopped," he said. "It will happen as planned for all the teams in Bangalore."

N Srinivasan, the BCCI president, said he would not comment till he had read the full report. The question of whether Gurunath was involved in match-fixing and spot-fixing, the report said, had "not been investigated thoroughly by the anti-corruption units of the ICC and the BCCI or the Crime Branch Criminal Investigation Department of the Chennai police, "even though some information was available for such an investigation to be conducted."

Over the question of Gurunath's role as "owner" of CSK, the committee said that the 'infraction of the rules prohibiting betting by a team official has clearly occoured." It took note of the "stance" of the CSK senior counsel who had said that "CSK should not be punished for actions of Meiyappan." The franchisee owners "(Indian Cements) (sic)" had defended the actions of the franchisee "by contending/ stating that Mr Gurunath Meiyappan was not related in any way with the franchise." The committee's response to this contention was that, "the franchisee appears to be contradicting the factual position as has already been observed by the committee."

The committee stated that Gurunath had been in violation of several sections of the IPL Operational Rules, the IPL Anti-Corruption Code and Articles of the Code of Conduct for Players and team officials. The report's "conclusions and recommendations" section has said that it can do no more than report a "violation of the rules" to the Court as it does not have a mandate to impose any punishment. "It is for the Hon'ble Supreme Court to decide what action, if any, is to be taken pursuant of the report of the Committee."

There are references made to one specific match in the report, between Rajasthan Royals and Chennai Super Kings on May 12, 2013, the committee stating, "there seems to be enough information available on record to indicate that a further investigation is required in respect of the match."

The report also refers to the issue of conflict of interest - "raised by several persons who are neither in the BCCI hierarchy nor are beneficiaries of the BCCI" - brought about by the ownership of Chennai Super Kings by India Cements, whose managing director is the BCCI president. "It was also pointed out that the conflict of interest was brought about by the amendment to clause 6.2.4 of the BCCI Rules and Regulations, by which an office-bearer of the BCCI was permitted to hold a commercial interest in the IPL and Champions League." The amendment, the report notes, was the subject of a petition in the Supreme Court by former BCCI president AC Muthiah, leading to a split verdict.

The report concedes that, while the issue does not fall directly within the committee's terms of reference, the questions raised were "serious and may have large-scale ramifications on the functioning of cricket." It said it was bringing the matter before the Supreme Court "since several stakeholders repeatedly stressed on this issue."

The three-member committee, headed by former High Court judge Mukul Mudgal and comprising additional solicitor general L Nageswara Rao and Assam Cricket Association member Nilay Dutta, was set up by the Supreme Court in October 2013 to conduct an independent inquiry into the allegations of corruption against Gurunath, Super Kings team owner India Cements, and Rajasthan Royals team owner Jaipur IPL Cricket Private Ltd, as well as with the larger mandate of allegations around betting and spot-fixing in IPL matches and the involvement of players. It interviewed more than 100 people - including ESPNcricinfo's senior editor Sharda Ugra - in connection with its probe.

Zaka Ashraf out, Najam Sethi returns as PCB chairman

The turmoil within the top management of the PCB took two new, and yet familiar, twists on Monday with the Patron of the Board, Pakistan's Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, dismissing the chairman Zaka Ashraf once again and dissolving the board of governors. Sharif directed a management committee to pick a PCB chairman from among its eight members and it chose Najam Sethi, who acted as interim chairman while Ashraf was suspended.

The management committee included Shahriyar Khan (former PCB chairman), Najam Sethi (former interim PCB chairman), Zaheer Abbas (former Pakistan captain), Naveed Akram Cheema (chief secretary, Punjab), Shakeel Sheikh (former member of PCB board of governors), Yousaf Naseem Khokhar (former member of PCB board of governors), Iqbal Qasim (former cricketer), Ijaz Chaudary (IPC secretary). It will meet for the first time on February 11.

The mandate given by the prime minister to the committee is to form a new PCB constitution and restore stability to cricket administration in Pakistan. The committee said they will let the decisions made by Ashraf stand only if they are legitimate, and will scrap the ones that are not.

How the Patron dismissed Zaka Ashraf According to the old constitution, the Patron could only supersede the PCB in case of "grave financial irregularities". That clause was amended to be less specific and include more general mismanagement. Paragraph 41 (before amendment): The patron, in the presence of sufficient evidence and being satisfied that grave financial irregularities exists in the Board and that the Board is dysfunctional, may by order in writing reasons, supersede the Board and appoint an interim committee consisting of an administrator and as many members as deemed necessary for carrying out the functions of the Board … Paragraph 41 (after amendment): "When the patron is of the opinion that the Board is unable to perform its function properly in accordance with this constitution he may; by order in writing, supersede the board and constitute a management committee comprising up to elven members, for performance of the functions of the board; Provided that upon an order of suspension the board of governance shall stand dissolved and chairman shall stand removed."

Ashraf was critical of the decsion. "The decision clearly shows that there is government interference (in the PCB)," he said. "It's an undemocratic decision by a democratic government."

It was the second time that Ashraf had been removed as PCB chairman in the last eight months. Ashraf had been suspended in May 2013 by the Islamabad High Court after it ruled he had been elected via a "dubious" and "polluted" process. However, after a complicated legal process, he was reinstated by the same court on January 15 this year.

The Ministry of Inter-Provincial Co-ordination (IPC) had challenged the verdict of the Islamabad High Court, which re-instated Ashraf as chairman. The Supreme Court had accepted the petition but had refrained from taking the case ahead, suggesting that the government exercise its authority to initiate changes within the PCB. On January 31, the government withdrew its petition against Ashraf's return as chairman from the Supreme Court.

" … There are serious issues in the management of PCB, repugnant to the aim and object of PCB and that there is an immediate and emergent need to take necessary measures to improve the management of PCB as well as to streamline the game of cricket at all levels in Pakistan," an IPC ministry statement said. "Now therefore, under the power conferred upon the Patron under para graphs 41 of the PCB constitution as amended, the Prime Minister of Pakistan being Patron PCB has been pleased to constitute the following management committee to performance of the function with immediate effects …

"The above committee shall elect one of its member as chairman, who shall be the Chairman PCB. It shall supersede the Board of Governers, including the Chairman PCB, who shall cease to exit/hold office with immediate effect."

In May last year, Ashraf became the first elected PCB chairman for a period of four years under a new constitution. He was then suspended a few weeks later following questions over the legality of his appointment. Under the amended constitution the Patron of the PCB could remove the chairman only on the basis of financial irregularities. The constitution did not allow no-confidence motions to be raised against the PCB chairman.

In Ashraf's case, the problem with election was at two levels. One, it was done secretively and in a hurry, ahead of the country's general elections in which the party Ashraf derived his power from - the Pakistan People's Party - was eventually voted out. Two, the composition of the board of governors was questionable, with no representation on it of the entire province of Punjab, Pakistan's most populous and arguably its most dominant in terms of cricket players.

Subsequently, Sethi was appointed as interim chairman in June by the prime minister - the new patron of the board - Nawaz Sharif. However, Sethi was not appointed as per the specifications of the IHC, and so in July the court overturned all the major decisions taken by him and restricted his powers to the overseeing of the day-to-day administration of the board. At that point, the court also ordered fresh elections by October 18.

However, with it being evident the elections would not take place by the stipulated deadline, the board's patron, Sharif, dissolved the PCB's governing board on October 15 and created an interim management committee (IMC), the members of which unanimously chose Sethi as its head. The PCB had been run by the IMC until the court reinstated Ashraf on January 15.

PCB shortlists applicants in coach hunt

The PCB's coach committee, comprising former captains Javed Miandad, Intikhab Alam and Wasim Akram, has made recommendations for the positions of head, batting and fielding coaches for the national side. There were no overseas applicants among the 25 that were received for the three posts. The committee has made two recommendations for each position as the board looks to find replacements for Dav Whatmore and fielding coach Julien Fountain in time for the forthcoming Asia Cup in Bangladesh. In November 2013, the PCB had decided not to extend Whatmore's contract as coach.

Mohammad Akram's contract as Pakistan's bowling coach has been extended by two years, beginning February 2014. His previous contract, with a one-year tenure, had ended in August 2013 and Akram has been working on a monthly basis since then, due to uncertainty in the PCB leadership.

The PCB had advertised for the positions last month and constituted the coach committee to recommend names after evaluating the applications. The committee met at the Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore to select the probables and suggested the PCB take a final call on the selection.

"I am happy that no foreigner has applied for the job and it's not surprising at all," Akram said after the meeting. "We have been favouring foreign coaches in the past but it's time to promote our own coaches who have been working for long. Our recommendations are merely on the basis of merit and according to cricket sense, which eventually will prove beneficial for the country in the longer run."

ESPNcricinfo has learnt that Mohsin Khan and Waqar Younis are among the contenders for head coach.

Mohsin served as the interim coach for five months in 2011-12 and in this period Pakistan beat England 3-0 in the UAE. He was replaced by Whatmore in March 2012. Waqar was appointed coach of the national team in March 2010. Under his guidance, Pakistan reached the semi-finals of the World Twenty20 in West Indies and won the Test and ODI series in New Zealand. Waqar's time as coach was checkered by the spot-fixing controversy and Zulqarnain Haider's move to England after receiving death threats.

In the past, Pakistan was coached by former players until Richard Pybus took over as the first foreign coach in 1999. Since then, Bob Woolmer, Geoff Lawson, Whatmore and Fountain have served coaching roles.

IPC withdraws petition against Zaka Ashraf

ISLAMABAD: Ministry of inter provincial co-ordination (IPC) has withdrawn its petition against chairman PCB Zaka Ashraf.

Justice Saqib Nisar in his observation mentioned that the government is permitted by law to take any action necessary.

Justice Saqib also said that if any executive has the authority to remove the PCB chairman, it can do so, the court will not interfere in the matter

ICC set to go back to the future

LONDON: For much of its history the International Cricket Council (ICC) was unable to do anything without the approval of England and Australia, the two original Test nations.

So the announcement from the ICC´s headquarters in Dubai on Wednesday that it had agreed in principle to be effectively run by India, England and Australia had a familiar ring to it.

Plans to bolster the position of the ´Big Three´ within the ICC include the formation of a new five-man executive committee, with three seats reserved for the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and Cricket Australia (CA).

The BCCI now generates 80 percent of world cricket´s wealth and the only way most other boards remain financially afloat is from the colossal television rights they receive from a tour by India.

Given that, greater BCCI influence in the running of the ICC was all but inevitable.

Almost as understandable was the BCCI´s decision to form links with CA and the ECB, the only other major boards to consistently turn a profit.

Prior to this week´s two-day ICC board meeting in Dubai, a leaked ´position paper´ from the ´Big Three´ suggested they be spared relegation in any new two-division Test set-up because of their commercial importance. But come a statement released after the first day of talks on Tuesday, there was no mention of promotion and relegation, with the ICC declaring there would be "participation based on meritocracy; no immunity to any country, and no change to membership status".

That promotion and relegation was conceded by the ´Big Three´ suggests it was always something to be given away in return for acceptance of more fundamental points. That appears to be what has happened with strugglers Bangladesh, whose Test status has been repeatedly called into question on the back of a string of defeats.

With major constitutional changes to the running of the ICC requiring a three-fourths majority -- ie eight of the 10 leading nations -- it now seems the ´Big Three´ are one vote away from getting support for their revamp plan.

West Indies, who forecast they would receive a hundred percent increase in revenue as a result of the changes, and New Zealand, both appear to be onside. That leaves the ´Big Three´ needing to win over just one of South Africa, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, the three most vocal opponents of the leaked plan, when the ICC reconvenes for another meeting next month.

On Tuesday, the ICC trumpeted "unanimous support" for the principles behind the revamp, only for a Sri Lankan source to tell AFP: "As far as Sri Lanka is concerned, there was no unanimity on this."

The end of the Future Tours programme announced on Tuesday and a return to ´bilateral tours´ has raised concerns that weaker nations could suffer from a lack of competitive cricket. But New Zealand Cricket´s Martin Snedden told the country´s Radio LiveSport: "There was a lot of speculation that we would get some crumbs from the big guys and just end up playing mainly the small guys.

"That´s not going to happen. We´ve locked in good commitments from Australia, England and India through that 10-year period (to 2023)."

ICC unveils new women´s championship

LONDON: A new international championship, which will determine qualification for the next Women´s World Cup, was announced by the International Cricket Council on Wednesday.

 

The bilateral competition will involve the top eight ranked women´s teams in the world -- including England, Australia, West Indies, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, South Africa, India and Pakistan.

 

They will all play the others in a series of matches between mid-2014 to the end of 2016, with the top six qualifying automatically for the 2017 Women´s World Cup in England.

 

Unlike changes to the men´s international programme announced on Tuesday, there will be promotion and relegation at the end of the first cycle.

 

"This is a very positive step for the profile and competitiveness of women´s cricket," said ICC chief executive David Richardson, in a statement issued from the governing body´s Dubai headquarters on the second and final day of its board meeting on Wednesday.

 

"The ICC Women´s World Cup last year set a new benchmark in terms of quality and public interest and with this added context the pathway to the 2017 event in England looks really exciting," former South Africa wicket-keeper Richardson added.

 

The bottom countries at the end of the International Women´s Championship will be joined by a number of teams from the ICC´s regional qualification structures to play in a Women´s World Cup qualifier which will determine the final participants.

Aussies continue their mastery over England

HOBART: Australia continued their mastery over England as they are also leading the Twenty20 series 1-0 winning the first T20 of the three-match series by 13 runs here at the Bellerive Oval on Wednesday.

 

Cameron White, for his powerful hitting at the top of the order earned him the Man of the Match.

 

Australia chipped at the wickets as Coulter-Nile bagged a four-fer. He was well backed up by some brilliant fielding as the Aussies held on to their catches, unlike England. They go 1-0 up with two games to go.

 

England have once again got off to a losing start, something of a habit for them on this tour.

 

Some massive hitting in a very high scoring game but Australia once again, have emerged victorious. England showed great spirit to attempt such a massive chase with Bopara almost taking them through but in the end, it was just way too much.

 

The batting never got going as they lost wickets at regular intervals. Bopara showed tremendous heart to keep England in the hunt but the task at hand was a bit too much for him.

 

The second T20I will be played at the MCG, Melbourne on Friday.

McLaren, Parnell in S Africa Test squad for Australia series

JOHANNESBURG: Seam bowling all-rounders Ryan McLaren and Wayne Parnell were both named on Wednesday in a 15-man South African Test squad to play three matches against Australia next month.

 

The pair are expected to contest the all-rounder berth left vacant by the retirement of Jacques Kallis, South Africa´s all-time leading Test run-scorer.

 

The right-armed McLaren and left-armer Parnell both made their Test debuts in an innings win against England in Johannesburg in 2009/10 but quickly dropped out of favour.

 

McLaren, who turns 31 three days before the first Test against Australia starts in Centurion on February 12, has not played in another Test but has become a regular member of South Africa´s one-day team.

 

Parnell was 20 when he earned his first Test cap. He played twice more on a tour of India in the same season but subsequently struggled with form and injuries. He has shown good form recently, however, and his extra pace may give him an advantage over McLaren, although the latter is regarded as a better batsman.

 

Selection convener Andrew Hudson said he believed the squad "covers all possible options."

 

McLaren and Parnell are the only additions to the squad selected for a recent winning home series against India, replacing Kallis and leg-spinner Imran Tahir.

 

The dropping of Tahir leaves left-armer Robin Peterson as the only specialist spin bowler. Batsman Dean Elgar, fast bowler Rory Kleinveldt and wicketkeeper Thami Tsolekile are likely once again to have back-up roles.

 

Batsman-wicketkeeper AB de Villiers underwent surgery on his left hand earlier this month but according to Cricket South Africa is recovering well. Captain Graeme Smith and fast bowler Morne Morkel were both said to have recovered from ankle injuries.

 

The bulk of the Australian squad were due to arrive in Johannesburg later on Wednesday. They would go straight to Potchefstroom, about 145km away, to prepare for a four-day warm-up match against a South African Invitation XI starting next Wednesday.

 

South African squad: Graeme Smith (captain), Hashim Amla, AB de Villiers (wkt), JP Duminy, Faf du Plessis, Dean Elgar, Rory Kleinveldt, Ryan McLaren, Morne Morkel, Wayne Parnell, Alviro Petersen, Robin Peterson, Vernon Philander, Dale Steyn, Thami Tsolekile (wkt).

Rules the Cricket World

Atherton slams troika as 'arrogant'

LONDON: Michael Atherton, the former England captain, has condemned proposals to put power to run international cricket in the hands of India, England and Australia as the end of an idealistic notion that the game can be run for the benefit of all nations.

 

Atherton writes in the Times that the plan represents “the end of the notion that a fair and principled and just body can govern cricket in the interests of all.“It is an ideal, of course, that has never been grounded in any kind of reality under the guise of the ICC, but if you cannot be idealistic about sport, what can you be idealistic about?”

 

Atherton gives some credence, if reluctantly, to the view that England and Australia feel they have no choice but to grant India power in a way that will encourage them to run the world game responsibly - and even suggests India has now been affected with the arrogance of old colonialism.“The tone of the proposal is so arrogant and high-handed as to recall an earlier age when the organisation began as the Imperial Cricket Conference,” he writes.

 

Atherton is scathing about governance in world cricket. “No one doubts that the status quo, as far as the ICC is concerned, is unacceptable: two full-member countries are thought to be corrupt; four are essentially broke; most rely on India’s largesse to keep going, while the BCCI is disgruntled that the distribution of revenues does not reflect its provenance.

 

“Politics, race and personalities interfere with decision-making at every turn. Incompetence is a given; at a recent ICC meeting, I was told of one director who took to snoring through an anti-corruption presentation.”

 

Atherton said that the recommendations of the Woolf report to place power in the hands of an independent executive - a solution championed by the former ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat, who was soon removed from office - would have been the most idealistic solution.

 

“The best that can be said for this deal, indeed the only thing that can be said for this deal, is that India become a fully engaged and interested party to world cricket. Inside the tent and happy for the moment, rather than prowling outside and angry.”

Silva ton deflates Bangladesh

Tea Sri Lanka 237 for 1 (Silva 111*, Sangakkara 59*) lead Bangladesh 232 by five runs
Live scorecard and ball-by-ball details

	Kaushal Silva was let off thrice on his way to a maiden Test hundred © AFP  Enlarge
Related Links Players/Officials: Kaushal Silva Matches: Bangladesh v Sri Lanka at Dhaka Series/Tournaments: Sri Lanka tour of Bangladesh Teams: Bangladesh | Sri Lanka

If three let-offs were hard enough for Bangladesh to take, watching the beneficiary of those lapses, Kaushal Silva, go on to score a century must have been utterly deflating. Sri Lanka tightened their hold over the hosts for yet another session, though they looked more in control after lunch compared to the relatively wobbly morning session. Silva reached his first Test ton and Kumar Sangakkara built on his commanding record against Bangladesh with a steady fifty.

Bangladesh picked up only one wicket over two sessions, that of Dimuth Karunaratne, but they ought to have seen the back of the other opener as well. To Bangladesh's credit though, they created opportunities in an overcast morning session that assisted their seamers. As the sun came out in the afternoon, there wasn't as much seam movement and there was little their spinners could do.

The unluckiest bowler of the morning was the seamer Al-Amin Hossain, who was let down by a combination of poor catching - his captain one of the culprits - and the misfortune of his back foot hitting the stump on his delivery stride. Silva had his first life on 39 when he was squared up by Al-Amin's probing line outside off and edged to the keeper Mushfiqur Rahim who grassed a straightforward take. Silva added one more to his score when he edged Al-Amin again to Rahim, who took it cleanly. The batsman, who had started walking, was asked to wait by the umpires who referred the verdict to the third umpire. Al-Amin's front foot was behind the popping crease but unfortunately, his back foot knocked the bail down before delivery and as per the recent amendment to the laws, it was declared a no-ball.

Silva escaped again, on 42, when he drove Al-Amin away from the body and edged low to Shamsur Rehman, who failed to catch it to his right at gully. Aside from those let-offs, Silva played some attractive shots, like when he lofted the offspinner Sohag Gazi down the ground and brought up his fifty with a boundary off a paddle sweep in the same over.

Sri Lanka consolidated their position in the morning session with periods of watchful play, but after lunch, they added 98 without any further loss of wickets. Sangakkara warmed up with two boundaries through the off side off Rubel Hossain. There were more overs of spin post lunch, but Gazi and Shakib were, at times, guilty of dropping the ball too short. Shakib got away with one when Karunaratne punched a short one straight to cover, against the run of play, but Sangakkara ensured he found the gaps at cover.

Sangakkara brought up the fifty stand with Rubel with a glorious cover drive off Rubel but perhaps his most effortless shot of the day was a defensive push off Robiul Islam that sneaked past the stumps at the other end and beat two fielders chasing.

Silva's knock post lunch was relatively chanceless, though he had a close call on 98 when a ripper from Shakib turned, bounced and beat the edge and the stumps. He pulled a couple of freebies from Shakib down the leg side to head into the 90s and he reached the landmark with a similar pull off Shakib to the fine leg boundary. Silva punched the air as soon as he found the gap and the relief was palpable, considering he failed to achieve three-figures after making 95 and 81 recently against Pakistan. Take away the let-offs, it was a knock that displayed one of his biggest strengths - patience.

Sangakkara reached his 45th Test fifty with a single and the pair helped Sri Lanka take the lead. Another testing session loomed for the hosts.

India win toss, bat first against New Zealand

HAMILTON: India won the toss and opted to bat first in a change of strategy in the fourth one-day international against New Zealand in Hamilton on Tuesday.

 

The tourists, who trail 2-0 in the five-match series, chose to bowl in the first three matches, resulting in two defeats and a dramatic tie in Auckland.

 

Captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni said he believed his side had only been playing at "60 percent of potential" and needed a lift in the crucial fourth match. They have made two changes, with Ambati Rayudu and Stuart Binny coming in for Suresh Raina and Shikhar Dhawan. It will be Binny´s one-day international debut.

 

New Zealand have also made two changes, with Kyle Mills and Jimmy Neesham replacing frontline bowler Mitchell McClenaghan and all-rounder Corey Anderson.

 

Teams:

 

New Zealand: Martin Guptill, Jesse Ryder, Kane Williamson, Ross Taylor, Brendon McCullum (captain), James Neeshan, Luke Ronchi, Nathan McCullum, Tim Southee, Kyle Mills, Hamish Bennett.

 

India: Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, MS Dhoni (captain), Ravindra Jadeja, Ravi Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Varun Aaron, Mohammed Shami, Stuart Binny, Ambati Rayudu. 

Perry, Osborne shatter England's hopes in women series

HOBART: An incredible display of batting by Ellyse Perry and Erin Osborne saw England's hopes of an early victory in the Ashes series denied here on Sunday.

 

With the seventh-wicket pair coming to the crease in the 43rd over, as the required run rate rose to above eight, their quickfire partnership of 70 off 45 balls won the game for Australia with three balls to spare, as they clobbered the shocked English bowlers all around the park.

 

On a pitch that looked an excellent batting deck, Australia had got off to a flying start in pursuit of 269. Meg Lanning looked in beautiful touch, punishing the short, loose deliveries in Kate Cross' opening over, which went for 10, and hitting Jenny Gunn for a glorious six over backward square leg. Australia raced their way to 50 in just 58 balls.

Sri Lanka 60-0 in reply to Bangladesh´s 232

DHAKA: Seamers Shaminda Eranga and Suranga Lakmal shared seven Bangladesh wickets as Sri Lanka dominated the opening day of the first Test in Dhaka on Monday.

 

Eranga finished with 4-49 and Lakmal claimed 3-66 to help bowl out Bangladesh for 232 after the tourists won the toss and chose to field at the Sher-e-Bangla stadium.

Skipper Mushfiqur Rahim (61) and Shakib Al Hasan (55) were the only batsmen to resist the accurate Sri Lankan attack on an even-paced pitch.

Sri Lanka made 60 for no loss in reply by stumps, with Dimuth Karunaratne unbeaten on 28 and Kaushal Silva on 30. They are now 172 runs behind with all 10 wickets in hand.

 

Eranga, who had taken 33 wickets in 10 previous Tests, said the plan to bounce out Bangladesh worked well.

 

The tourists justified skipper Angelo Mathews´ decision to bowl first by grabbing four wickets with just 59 runs on the board.

 

Shakib and Rahim joined hands at that stage to stitch together a fifth-wicket stand of 86, before the hosts suffered two quick blows to slip to 150-6 midway through the afternoon session.

 

Shakib fell leg-before to veteran left-arm spinner Rangana Herath, before Eranga had new batsman Nasir Hossain caught behind in the next over to claim his third wicket in the innings.

 

Rahim then added 53 for the seventh wicket with all-rounder Sohag Gazi before he fell leg-before to Lakmal soon after the tea break.

 

Gazi boosted the total with 42 off 56 balls that contained six boundaries and a six, but found little support at the other end.

 

Debutant opening batsman Shamsur Rahman smashed 33 of the first 59 runs with the help of seven boundaries, but failed to build on the fluent start in the morning session.

 

Bangladesh lost three wickets in successive overs to slide from 35-0 to 40-3 as Eranga removed Tamim Iqbal and Rahman, and Mathews trapped Marshall Ayub leg-before.

 

Lakmal dismissed Mominul Haque before Shakib and Rahim settled in to retrieve the situation.Bangladesh left out Imrul Kayes, Mohammad Mahmudullah and Abdur Razzak from their initial squad, and went in with three quick bowlers in Rubel Hossain, Robiul Islam and Al-Amin Hossain.

 

Sri Lanka took the field without Test wicket-keeper Prasanna Jayawardene, who flew home early on Friday for family reasons. A Sri Lanka Cricket statement later in the day announced the death of his father. Dinesh Chandimal donned the gloves in Prasanna´s absence.

 

The tourists omitted unorthodox spinner Ajantha Mendis and preferred all-rounder Dilruwan Perera in the first of two Test matches.

 

Sri Lanka will also play three one-day internationals and two Twenty20 games during the tour that ends on February 22.