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The launch of the new season of domestic cricket in New Zealand today heralded a new era in the game.While the players were competing in the first State Max tournament by virtue of the new domestic sponsorship, the executives of the six Major cricket associations were behind closed doors at the North Harbour Stadium at Albany knocking around their ideas to maximise New Zealand Cricket’s chief executive Martin Snedden’s desire to have an impact with domestic play.The adoption of a new sponsorship arrangement was well-timed as it backed NZC’s desire to see more emphasis on the home grown content of the game as opposed to the more international outlook of the last five years.Snedden told the assembled players at a function last evening that NZC would be backing them to the hilt and he said that news had been received today that the State Shield final will be broadcast free-to-air by TV3 in January.The Albany tournament will produce the first winner of one of the new prestigious trophies up for grabs in New Zealand and Otago made sure it would have a chance when progressing to the second round by comfortably accounting for Northern Districts in today’s second game.ND was able to get a useful start with its score of 103/3 when batting first, but it needed more runs. Mark Bailey was the pick of the ND batsmen scoring 54 off 29 balls and timing some of his shots sweetly. But the remaining batsmen in the side were unable to kick on.Otago saw Andrew Hore depart to the first ball he faced. Brendon McCullum offered a glimpse of the talent he is about to unleash on the local scene with 31 from 17 balls and while Chris Gaffaney (17) and Craig Cumming (16) provided some useful support, Otago didn’t really make the most of their chances.Joseph Yovich gave the batsmen an especially torried time, bowling his three overs for only 26 runs while picking up three wickets. Scott Styris looked set to have a big role to play in the second innings after taking 2-12 from his first two overs.If ever it could be said that a match possibly turned on an individual piece of brilliance it may have been in this game when Cumming made a superb diving catch at backward point to dismiss Bailey in the first over of ND’s response. It was a lovely piece of cricket which gave Otago a real shot in the arm.Then when Matthew Hart was out with only four runs on the board, Otago had their in. After four overs ND were only able to reflect on 30 runs on the board. They were wedging themselves into a corner. Styris especially seemed unable to take as much control as he would have wanted, although just before his dismissal he added some quick runs, courtesy of the Max zone to end with 35 from 17 balls.Grant Bradburn helped boost the scoring with 27 down the order, but the 93 runs ND finished with were not enough.That was rammed home by Hore when Otago batted a second time. Making up for lost runs from the first innings, he tore into ND’s bowling, being especially severe on Graham Aldridge to hit a Max six off his first ball and an extra cover drive for six from the second. He brought up his 50 off only 15 balls and he went on to 63 from 20 with two boundaries from Bradburn, the second a beautifully-executed reverse sweep.He had given the innings such momentum that an Otago victory was never in doubt and it will now play Canterbury tomorrow morning to see who advances to the next stage, a playoff with whoever loses the game between the top seeds Wellington and Auckland.Otago achieved its victory with 13 balls to spare, a landslide in Max terms. The only ND bowler to bowl two overs in this innings was Styris, at a cost of 12 wicketless runs.An outstanding aspect of the Otago bowling was the performance of James McMillan. In both innings he maintained an accurate line which saw him take one for 14 from his two overs in the first innings and two for 11 in the second innings.Otago generally bowled well and it will have a fascinating contest with the naturally attacking Canterbury players in tomorrow’s game.

Shane Warne has declared Adil Rashid to be a “wonderful” bowler with a leg-break to rival the best he has ever seen in the game, after imparting his wisdom to the young legspinner in an hour-and-a-half nets session in Sharjah.Warne, who had already worked alongside Pakistan’s own legspinner, Yasir Shah, on Thursday, said that he had witnessed glimpses of “magic” from Rashid, most notably during his second-innings haul of 5 for 64 at Abu Dhabi, when he bounced back from delivering the worst figures by a Test debutant in history to give England a genuine shot at an improbable victory.However, Warne has also warned the England management to be patient with Rashid as he gets to grips with the requirements of Test-class legspin, following an eventful introduction in the first two Tests against Pakistan in the UAE.”The over-riding thing is he’s a wonderful bowler,” said Warne. “When anyone starts their Test career, it takes time to see the best of them. What we’ve seen already is some glimpses of magic. We’ve already seen he can do it at this level.”It’s about being consistent, so that’s going to take time. All of us need to be a bit patient with him. And he needs to be patient too. But there’s not too many people going round with a better leg-break than Rashid’s. He’s as good as anyone I’ve seen, ever.”It was a pleasure to work with him. I think he has all the toys and tools, I think he’s a wonderful bowler, a good kid and he thinks about the  game. A lot of spinners don’t really think like he does. We have to make sure he doesn’t over-think. He needs to keep a clear mind, keep his plans and just go out and deliver.”Warne also said there was no need to always compare the two legspinner in this series. Yasir has a smoother action and bowls significantly quicker than Rashid, whose slower style often allows batsmen to play him off the pitch, but Warne said it was not a one-size-fits-all style.”They are completely different bowlers. Rashid can be just as successful. It’s a different style. It doesn’t mean it is not as effective. They can have the best tools in the trade but you have to think right, how big is his heart? Is he up for the fight? Is he patient? Does he want the ball in his hand when it is tough? All those things you don’t know about a spin bowler no matter how good you think they are. Yasir looks like he’s got it. Rashid, we’ve seen him bowl some magic in the first Test. So he’s got it.”Warne’s offer to assist Rashid was a radical departure from his former life as one of English cricket’s most notorious adversaries. However, the gesture was accepted by the head coach, Trevor Bayliss, who has made a habit of utilising specialist overseas coaches in his short time in charge of England’s fortunes.Mahela Jayawardene, the former Sri Lanka batsman, was recruited ahead of the first Test to help England develop their techniques for Asian conditions, while Daniel Vettori, the former New Zealand spinner, will be helping out at the England Performance Programme in the UAE next month.Warne spent 15 minutes talking to Rashid at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium before a half-hour one-on-one session, with England’s bowling coach, Ottis Gibson also in attendance.The trio was then joined by Alastair Cook, England’s captain, a man whose leadership has previously attracted Warne’s criticism in print and in his TV commentary, but whose more innovative approach to tactics and field placings in recent months has been widely acknowledged.Warne has regularly stated in the past that legspinners need careful management by their captains, both in terms of tactics and the timings of their spells, and after greeting Cook with a warm handshake, the four men all gathered together to talk through the challenges of the art.”No one is the best captain when they first start,” said Warne. “About 18 months ago Cooky and I chatted on phone and had it out. It’s not a personal vendetta or going to affect my friendship. But I need to have an opinion. You can’t sit on the fence.”He also gave Cook a positive endorsement over his tactics with Rashid. “Cooky had it exactly right. give him protection at the start, attack as you get into it. And then work together as you go along. But really it’s up to Rashid to come up with those plans and for Cooky to back them.”On the perception that Cook is a better captain now than at the height of Warne’s criticism in 2014, Warne replied: “One hundred percent. We saw that during the Ashes. He captained very well.”At the conclusion of the session, during which Warne sent down about 30 deliveries himself with Jonny Bairstow acting as keeper and said it “fizzed a bit”, he tweeted: “Thanks again to both Pakistan & England for allowing me to have a bowling session with 2 wonderful young leg spinners. Give it a rip boys !!”

West Ham’s Carlton Cole says he is determined to challenge newly acquired target man Andy Carroll as the main striker at the club, according to The Sun.

The 28-year-old was dropped to the bench in West Ham’s 3-0 victory over Fulham recently, making way for Carroll to deputise for the Hammers. Despite this, Cole will have the opportunity to assert himself as the main striker at the club when West Ham travel to Norwich in Saturday’s early kick-off after Carroll limped off on debut, picking up a hamstring injury which had initially ruled the target man out for six weeks – although he may return more quickly than anticipated.

Cole sees competition for places at the Hammers both good for himself personally and the club, “Every year, you have to have people challenging for places because it is healthy for the club.” The former England international Cole was an integral part of West Ham’s promotion back to the Premier League last season, and admits he is pleased to see Carroll arrive at the Boleyn Ground, “It’s better to always be on your toes and I welcome a challenge like Andy. He is one of the best target men around in the Premier League and it’s just going to reinvigorate me to be a better player.”

Cole also says he is delighted by the return of Yossi Benayoun at the club, who has joined on loan from Chelsea, “I played for a season with him before he went off to Liverpool but he was really influential around the players and the team.”

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India batsman Shikhar Dhawan, who bowls part-time offspin, has been reported for a suspect action after the fourth Test against South Africa in Delhi. Dhawan will have to undergo tests within the next 14 days and can continue to bowl in international cricket until the results of the test are known. The match officials’ report, which was given to the Indian team management, cited concerns about the legality of Dhawan’s off-spin deliveries, an ICC release said.Dhawan bowled three overs and conceded nine runs in South Africa’s second innings at the Feroz Shah Kotla, a match India won by 337 runs to complete a 3-0 series victory.Apart from Dhawan, the international players reported for suspect actions in 2015 include West Indies’ Sunil Narine and Marlon Samuels, Pakistan’s Mohammad Hafeez and Bilal Asif, Sri Lanka’s Tharindu Kaushal and Zimbabwe’s Malcom Waller. Narine and Hafeez were subsequently banned after their actions were found to be illegal.

Ireland have been given a huge boost with the return of Andre Botha, the allrounder, for the Quadrangular series after a tennis elbow kept him out of the ODIs against India and South Africa, their coach Phil Simmons said.”We really missed him at the start of the summer when we gave a lot of younger lads the chance,” Simmons told sportinglife.com. “He always gets through his overs efficiently and his batting gives us options at the top of the order.”In their final match of the series, against Scotland, Botha picked up 3 for 27 in nine overs after adding 46 with Niall O’Brien as Ireland beat Scotland by 23 runs. But Ireland failed to gain the bonus point point needed to share the series title with West Indies. They had to bowl out Scotland for 177 but the visitors managed to make 199.Meanwhile Ryan Watson, the Scotland captain, felt that his side had played well in parts but were not good enough to win matches at the international level. Chasing 223, Scotland were at a comfortable 167 for 3 in the 44th over before they lost their last seven wickets in the space of 39 balls.”We didn’t bowl as well as we can, which is unusual for us, but there were positives,” said Watson, who top-scored with 83. “Neil McCallum showed what a good player he is with his 54 and we’ve got to follow his lead in the Intercontinental Cup matches against Ireland and Netherlands next month.”Scotland play two four-day games against Netherlands and Ireland as part of the ICC Intercontinental Cup between August 2 and 12.

ScorecardKenya won the first one-dayer against Canada at the Toronto Cricket Club by a comfortable 107 runs. Despite this margin, Canada bowled and fielded well in the opinions of both coaches – their own Andy Pick and also Kenya’s coach Roger Harper. But once again the Canadian batting lacked discipline in the one-day format.Yet if the result was routine, the after-match speech provided the most surprise. In a bizarre speech at the conclusion of the game, the Canadian players were clearly stunned by Canadian Cricket Association President, Ben Sennik, saying ‘he was glad Kenya won.’ He commented on his Kenyan heritage and how Canada could learn from the Kenyans, but his remarks neglected an understanding of Canada’s fine win this week over Kenya in the Intercontinental Cup.James Kemande top-scored for Kenya, making 68, and he received solid support from captain Steve Tikolo, who posted 50. Tanmay Mishra added 38 useful runs in the later stages and the opener Kennedy Obuya made 36. But Tikolo said later that he thought his team “were 20 to 30 runs short” of what they should have made.Sanjay Thuraisingham was the pick of the Canadian bowlers, ending with 4 for 35 in 9 overs. He bowled a very tight line in his first spell. He bowled a good line in his first spell, conceding only 2 runs an over, despite there being nothing in the wicket.The Canadian innings never got going and the familiar theme of shot selection proved a problem, as it had in this season’s opening ODI’s in Trinidad. Too many wickets were lost to careless strokes, and the total of 129 all out was a disappointment. George Codrington provided the main resistance, making 40. The slow left-arm bowler Hiren Varaiya took 3-24 for Kenya.It was a frustrating batting performance for Pick. “The batting embarrassed us again,” he said. “It did in Trinidad, and it did again today.” As in Trinidad, where Canada lost to Zimbabwe and Bermuda, he was happy with the bowling and fielding. “Something, somewhere in the top five has to change.”The sides meet again on Sunday at the Toronto Cricket Club. Play begins at 10 am.

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In Durban, KwaZulu-Natal’s pace attack had Gauteng in early trouble, as they slumped to 36 for 5, but Derek Crookes hit them out of trouble with a fiery 77. He was well supported by Shane Burger, who finished with an unbeaten 53, as Gauteng managed to reach 228. Crookes, who has played 32 one-dayers for South Africa, smashed 15 fours and counterattacked when all looked lost. Zahir Abrahim and Ugeshan Govender were the most successful bowlers for Natal and both had the batsmen struggling against the moving ball. Both ended with three wickets apiece. In reply Natal made a solid start with Rivash Gobind (40 not out) and Mark Sanders (36 not out) sharing an unbroken opening partnership of 82.
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At Newlands, a middle-order collapse triggered by Eugene Moleon, the medium-pacer, cost Western Province a few jitters. But they recovered well and declared after reaching 276 for 7 in 85 overs. Renier Munnik was once again among the runs with an undefeated 65 while Doug Worth scored his maiden first-class fifty and notched up 71. North West started off shakily and were reduced to 22 for 3 but they fought back grimly and finished the day at 76 for 4, with Werner Coetsee unbeaten on 43.

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A volatile Sikh with a fast bowler’s temperament, and a willowy legspinner whose polio-crippled arm became a deadly weapon. Bishan Bedi and Bhagwat Chandrasekhar were the two most famous members of India’s all-conquering spin quartet of the 1970s, and a partnership of opposites whose very diversity made their union stronger.Bedi was a master of deception. He finished with a vast haul of 1560 first-class wickets, more than any other Indian bowler, and all of them were garnered with his stealthy array of flighted, loopy, spinning deliveries – some quick, some slow, all potent and beautifully delivered from the purest of bowling actions. His passion for the game was plain for all to see, and he made a bristling and bold captain as well.Chandrasekhar’s style could hardly have been more different. With a big bounding run-up and a whippy seam-bowler’s action, he would fizz topspinners, legbreaks and googlies at his bewildered prey, many of whom would be beaten for pace as much as guile. He was the master of the unplayable delivery, and as such, he became India’s greatest overseas matchwinner, with 42 wickets in five famous victories.Together, Chandrasekhar and Bedi gave India’s bowling a much needed cutting edge, and they are destined to be remembered as one of the finest partnerships to have graced the game.

Although most of the Test world is preparing for slaughter when Australia and Bangladesh meet in two Tests starting next week, Bangladesh’s coach Dav Whatmore is optimistic, saying that the series was the start of “something wonderful”.As Bangladesh prepare for their last tour match – against a Northern Territory Chief Minister’s XI in Darwin – before the first Test, Whatmore said that Bangladesh would use this series to better themselves rather than seek an impressive final outcome.”It’s no secret that performances with the team haven’t been as good aswhat anybody would like. We are here to make sure that we get on the righttrack and play the sort of cricket that world cricket demands Bangladeshplay,” he said. “We see this series as hard, as it’s going to be against a team ranked number one … the commencement of something really wonderful for our cricket and the region in the subcontinent area and world cricket as well.”Michael Clarke, Cthe captain of the Northern Territory XI, said that he had “seen a little bit of Bangladesh” but could not really launch into preparation based on his knowledge. “I think all the boys have prepared as well as they possibly can. I just hope they get out there and give their best.”

Independent match venues are ok as far as the International Cricket Council is concerned.At its meeting in Kuala Lumpur last week, the ICC noted that the war on terrorism had resulted in global uncertainty and Afghanistan neighbour Pakistan was in the front line of world events.That made touring there uncertain, a situation New Zealand has already opted out of.ICC president Malcolm Gray said after the situation was discussed at the Malaysian meeting.”We need to adopt creative solutions to support those affected and to overcome these problems. In agreeing to use independent venues, the Board was totally supportive of countries affected by recent horrific events and unanimous that every effort should be made to assist them,” he said.In the event of a match or series being unable to be played at the original home venue, it would be permissible to reschedule the games in the opposing team’s country, or a neutral venue.Whatever the situation, the games would be a home series for the original host nation.On the other hand, boards guilty of failing to meet their requirements under the ICC Future Tours programme would face substantial fines.These would be at least $US2million, which would be payable to the affected country. That country would also receive the two ICC Test Championship points on offer from the series. The offending country would be deducted two points, effectively a four point penalty.If there are differences of opinion over the nature of the cancellation an ICC Disputes Resolution Committee would adjudicate. Reasons for cancellations being exempt from penalties would be: force majeure, natural disaster, war or where the safety of players and officials was proven to be at risk.Gray commented: “This decision reflects the priority that world cricket has to give to protecting its calendar of fixtures. We have to be tough in protecting the integrity of the Future Tours programme from wilful disruption.”Other decisions included:A three or four stage disciplinary system, with set penalties for each stage to combat the deteriorating standards of player behaviour.Adoption of a One-Day International championship. Formats and structures will be considered for presentation to the March board meeting.A decision on the venue of the next ICC KnockOut will be made by the end of February. India is the preferred venue, followed by Sri Lanka, Australia and the United Arab Emirates.Prizemoney at the World Cup in 2003 will be $US5million with the winning team receiving about $US2.2million. The tournament will be played at 15 venues, 12 in South Africa, two in Zimbabwe and one in Kenya.The ICC is to employ five regional security managers to assist in the anti-corruption battle.Ethics committees will be created within all national teams.Sports corruption legislation being drafted will be available to the governments of member countries for possible consideration as part of each country’s legislation.An anti-corruption manager will be appointed by the ICC to co-ordinate implementation and management of recommendationsAppointments to the umpires’ and referees’ panels will be made by the end of January and managers for both are being recruited at the moment.ICC chief executive Malcolm Speed’s strategic plan was approved as a blueprint for a fast track development of the ICC into a modern, powerful world governing body.Kenya’s application for Test status will be assessed by Zaheer Abbas, Andy Pycroft and Allan Border.