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England may have drawn the final Test against Sri Lanka in Galle, but the 1-0 series loss meant they slipped from second to fifth in the LG ICC Test Championship table.Sri Lanka, on the other hand, have jumped up two places from fifth to third; had they won in Galle, they would have replaced England in second position.”Those stats don’t lie,” admitted Michael Vaughan, England’s captain. “We got to No. 2 in the world because we beat most teams in the world. “We’re No. 5 in the world because we lost to Australia and we’ve only got 20 wickets once in our last 14 Tests away from home.”England’s slip results in South Africa becoming the No. 2 team in the rankings for both Tests and ODIs, behind Australia. With upcoming series between South Africa and West Indies and Australia and India beginning on Boxing Day, the rankings could well change before the year ends.There is stiff competition among the teams placed second to fifth, with South Africa, Sri Lanka and fourth-placed India all on 109, only separated by fractions of a ratings point, while England are close on their heels at 107.However, top-ranked Australia remain the runaway leaders, and even a 4-0 loss to India at home won’t see them lose the No. 1 spot.In the players rankings, Kumar Sangakkara, who had displaced Ricky Ponting at the top of the list for Test batsmen after the first Test in Kandy, has fallen to third place. Ponting regains first place, but will have to battle with No. 2 Jacques Kallis to retain the position, with both players involved in series that begin on Boxing Day.Mahela Jayawardene, who won the series prize for his 474 runs against England, is now up to sixth place, ahead of Kevin Pietersen, who has slipped to seventh.Among the bowlers, Muttiah Muralitharan continues his reign at the top, while Matthew Hoggard drops three places to ninth.

LG ICC Test Championship

LG ICC Player Rankings

There will be interesting individual battles within the main battle as both India and Sri Lanka do their homework and try to home in on perceived weaknesses. Here are a few head-to-head contests:Agarkar v JayasuriyaSanath Jayasuriya has tormented bowlers of all kinds for so long now thathe’s always a vital member of the Sri Lankan batting line-up when theteamsheet is finalised. Any team coming up against Sri Lanka will plan to neutralise Jayasuriya’s threat, and India could well turn to AjitAgarkar to do the job. Agarkar, who predominantly bowls outswing toright-handed batsmen, will get the ball to shape back in to theleft-handed Jayasuriya consistently and, if he can hit the right lengths,will be a genuine threat. In the recently concluded series against WestIndies Agarkar repeatedly picked up Chris Gayle, both lbw and bowled, with the ball that came in.Kumble v DilshanSri Lanka’s firepower may be stacked up at the top, but in TillakaratneDilshan they have a batsman capable of explosive innings coming down theorder. With several captains saying that the middle-overs of the inningscould be crucial to the fortunes of teams in the World Cup, Sri Lanka willbe watching carefully how, and how often, Dilshan can come off. The factthat he plays unorthodox strokes, hitting the ball from the stumps on bothsides of the wicket, means that the manner in which he handles Anil Kumblecould be critical. Given Kumble’s metronomic efficiency, if Dilshan misseshe will be out.Malinga v UthappaVirender Sehwag’s run of poor form may have affected him deeply but theIndian team has managed quite alright in his absence, thanks mainly to themarauding Robin Uthappa at the top of the order. While it isearly days in his international career, Uthappa has shown he has theeye and the fast hands, backed by raw power, to hit cleanly through theline in the early part of the innings when the field restrictions are on.Whether he can do the same when the ball is moving around a bit remains tobe seen but he will now be tested against raw pace. Lasith Malingahas blasted out batsmen from the top order with regularity and he will belooking to get Uthappa out of the way in a hurry, for this is one batsmanwho does not believe in simply occupying the crease.

Maharoof v SehwagFarveez Maharoof was one of the surprise packages for Sri Lanka in theChampions Trophy when he recorded a seven-for against West Indies inMumbai. He has the ability to dart the ball laterally off the surface -especially if the ball grips a bit – which allows him to trouble batsmeneven when the ball is not moving in the air. Virender Sehwag, who islikely to bat in the middle-order, will have to contend with Maharoof. Given Sehwag’s tendency to sometimes play without moving his feet much, the manner in which he counters balls that move off the pitch could well determine how successful he is.Sangakkara v DhoniOnly once in the history of international cricket have wicketkeepers fromeither side scored a century in the same match. That happened at Jaipur,where Mahendra Singh Dhoni played one of the most astonishing knocks ofrecent times, scoring 183. Sangakkara, by no means an inferior batsman but not quite in the same league when it comes to thrashing the ball, hadearlier done his bit, scoring an unbeaten 138 to set up the match. ForIndia, just like Sri Lanka, the runs the wicketkeeper makes is crucial tothe balance of the team. Which of them is the more consistent could have a big say in the outcome of the series.

The ongoing crisis blighting Zimbabwe Cricket has produced another casualty with the news that Matabeleland Cricket Association chairman Ahmet Esat has stepped down from his post and ceased to be a ZC board member.Former Matabeleland medium pace bowler Ethan Dube, who is also on the national and provincial selection panel, has replaced Esat. Dube was unanimously elected by the clubs at a delegates meeting held at Queens Sports Club last Wednesday and also replaces Esat on the ZC board.In his letter of resignation to both ZC chairman Peter Chingoka and the Matabeleland board dated 2 December 2005, Esat made it clear that he did not want to be associated with the controversy bedeviling cricket in Zimbabwe. He said, however, that the main reason for relinquishing his post was because he is undertaking an international pharmaceuticalexamination in the United States which will see him move there for the next six months and he said it was unfair for the game if he was to cling onto his post.Esat became MCA chairman in 2002 when the then incumbent Rob Whiley stepped down, and was formally elected to the post in 2003 and then re-elected last year on a revised two-year term ending in July 2006.Dube is no pushover and is one of the many people advocating the removal of Chingoka and Ozias Bvute from office and that is certainly not good news for pair.In normal circumstances, Stanley Staddon, the MCA vice-chairman who also seats on the ZC board and who is a close ally of Chingoka and Bvute, should have taken control until next year’s AGM but it is understood that he declined to take up the post.

Reunert Bauser, the chief executive of Border Cricket Board (BCB), is being investigated for alleged misappropriation of funds after a raid on the board’s offices last Thursday.According to the South African Press Association, Bauser has been accused of using some of the proceeds from the 2003 World Cup for air tickets to the UK worth R20,000 (£1,800), and a further R400,000 (£36,000) that was earmarked for the Border Bears team.Bauser, who was in the UK at the time of the raid last week, vehemently denied the allegations and, according to his lawyer, earlier financial statements were found to have no irregularities when vetted by auditors. Bauser believes there may be a “vendetta” against him.But Vido Mgadla, the president of the BCB, denied any suggestions of a vendetta on Wednesday, and said, “This is bad for Border cricket and the sooner the matter is sorted out the better.” Asked what might happen if Bauser were to be found guilty, Mgadla joked: “I suppose the wicket will have to be prepared all over again but I hope not.”The BCB has launched its own investigation, which is expected to conclude on Friday.

Frizzell County Championship Division OneSurrey 337 and 137 for 8 v Lancashire 341 at Old Trafford (Day 3 of 4)
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Four wickets in 12 balls from Gary Keedy pulled the rug from under Surrey’s second innings and put Lancashire on course for a victory which would keep their title hopes alive. Although 62 overs were lost to bad light and rain, there was no shortage of drama. Peter Martin made the early inroads, dismissing Jon Batty and Ian Ward, and then Glen Chapple trapped Rikki Clarke leg-before. Lancashire thought they had Surrey 26 for 4 when Ali Brown was given out caught behind by umpire Barrie Leadbeater. Brown stood his ground, indicating the ball had hit his helmet rather than his bat and Leadbeater changed his mind.Brown went on to top-score with 61, adding 70 for the fourth wicket with Graham Thorpe, before Keedy struck.Warwickshire 290 and 198 v Middlesex 286 and 115 for 2 at Edgbaston (Day 3 of 4)
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Middlesex were within sight of a win which would almost guarantee their first division status when bad light ended play shortly after tea. Warwickshire resumed on 113 for 6, and Jim Troughton and Keith Piper took their stand to 81 before they were dismissed in consecutive overs, and the last four wickets fell for 18 runs. Bloomfield’s 4 for 57 was his best in the Championship for two years, and Chad Keegan ended with match figures of 7 for 143. Set 202 to win, Middlesex soon lost Robin Weston, but after weathering a difficult opening period Ben Hutton and Andrew Strauss took control. Strauss reached his tenth fifty of the season before he fell leg-before attempting to sweep Mark Wagh.Nottinghamshire 290 v Leicestershire 376 for 4 at Trent Bridge (Day 3 of 4)
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No play Thursday due to rain.Frizzell County Championship Division TwoGlamorgan 466 and 336 for 6 dec drew with Yorkshire 422 and 193 for 7 at Colwyn Bay
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A determined 127 not out from Anthony McGrath earned Yorkshire a draw against Glamorgan after they slumped to 124 for 6 chasing an improbable target of 381. McGrath’s first hundred of the season came of 202 balls, but Yorkshire’s other batsmen did little to impress. India’s Yuvraj Singh completed a thoroughly unremarkable stay when he was out for 6, taking his first class average to a wretched 13.50. Glamorgan added 66 runs in 17 overs at the start of the day, with David Hemp and Michael Powell making 85. Somerset 705 for 9 dec v Hampshire 395 and 4 for 0 at Taunton (Day 3 of 4)
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Ian Blackwell improved his first-class best for the second time in three games as Somerset cut loose to record the highest total in their history. Resuming on 338 for 4, Blackwell smashed 189 including 32 fours and two sixes. He scored 95 runs in the morning session, adding 144 for the fifth wicket with Tom Webley (59), and then 116 for the sixth with Aaron Laraman (52). Even when Blackwell finally holed out at long-off there was no respite as Rob Turner (67*) took Somerset past 700 for the first time. The declaration came at tea, but Hampshire faced only eight balls before bad light ended play.Yesterday’s County Championship Round-up

West Indian preparations may well have been bedeviled by poor weather andinjuries, but that did not hinder the performance of star batsmen BrianLara, who announced his return to Test cricket with a brilliant hundred onthe opening day of this three-Test series against Sri Lanka at Galle onTuesday.Number three batsman Ramnaresh Sarwan and star player Brian Lara frustratedSri Lanka in enervating heat as they added 145 for the third wicket to leaveWest Indies well placed on 316 for three at the close.Sarwan played diligently and well to score 88, particularly in an afternoonsession that saw 125 runs scored. Lara’s innings, though, overshadowed thatof the promising Guyanan, who missed out on a first Test century.Coming to the crease after the fall of opener Daren Ganga, with the inningspoised on 95 for two, Lara sped to a 71 ball fifty full of sublime strokesand tilted the game firmly towards the West Indies.The 32-year-old Trinidadian then marched on, despite the loss of Sarwan andwith a certain sense of inevitability, to his 16th Test century, which hecompleted off just 150 balls, before finishing the day unbeaten on 117.For Lara it ended a long wait. International runs had not dried up, but hisbig scores had. It was 11 months since he scored a ton – the last being 182he scored against Australia in Adelaide last December – and it was his firstin 16 innings.Lara, included in the squad despite still suffering from a long-standinghamstring injury, showed no signs of not being fully fit and, temporarily atleast, silenced critics who believe he is a spent force, with too much egoand too little heart.It was great innings in very taxing conditions. Modestly, he said afterwardsthat he had “enjoyed the sea breeze” but conditions were tough, withtemperatures in excess of 30 C and 90 per cent humidity levels. He alsohad to contend with master off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan.Unlike in Colombo, when he had scratch out 43 and looked a shadow of hisformer self, he batted fluently, clearly determined to be positive againstthe Sri Lankan spinners.He hit 12 boundaries in all, some of which were simply dazzling, including atrademark one-legged flick through mid-wicket of Vaas, a dancing lofteddrive off Jayasuriya and several vintage cover drives.He was reprieved twice by the Sri Lankans, who had a day to forget in thefield. Wicket-keeper Kumar Sangakkara dropped a difficult chance off SanathJayasuriya when the left-hander had scored 31 and then also failed to gethis glove to an edge (it was an even harder catch) when on 93.Speaking afterwards, he said: “I have been working on a few things in thelast six weeks and I am looking to try and play a bit straighter. It’ isnice to go out there, work on something, and eventually get the results.The only bowler to consistently test Lara was Muralitharan, who toiled awayfor 40 overs, picking only one wicket, but still bowled with plenty ofvariation, guile and control.”Muralitharan is a very good bowler and I enjoyed the competition,” he said.”I think you have to keep him thinking. He is going to keep you underpressure if you just look to stay there, so I think you need to keepscoring.”It’s a very good position but it is very important that the second inningsis not a very important innings. We need to get 500-600 runs and put SriLanka under pressure. We cannot allow them to get back into the game.”Ominously, the man who holds the record for the highest Test and first classscore, also added: “I’m very happy now, but I am going to come back tomorrowand look for something really big.”Sri Lanka had picked three frontline spinners in the team, hoping that theCaribbean batsmen would come unstuck on a biscuit dry pitch tailor made fortheir slow bowlers. Such hopes soon evaporated after they lost an importanttoss and realised just how good a batting pitch it was.Chaminda Vaas bowled well with the new ball, producing a jaffa to dismiss asurprisingly diffident Chris Gayle, and then accounting for Ganga afterlunch. But thereafter only Muralitharan threatened.Earlier in the day the Sri Lankans had picked right-arm seamer CharithaFernando for his first Test match and recalled left-arm spinner NiroshanBandaratillake and middle order batsman Russel Arnold.West Indies played a second frontline spinner, slow left-arm bowler NeilMcGarrell, apparently after deciding the pitch would favour the spinners,but most probably because of Reon Kings suspected hernia.

Legspinner Fawad Ahmed is one of a number of state cricketers to have been axed from Matador Cup squads due to the influx of Australia’s Test squad members following the cancellation of the Bangladesh tour. With the domestic one-day tournament to start on Monday, all seven teams have had to revise their 14-man squads to accommodate the returning Test players.The most notable exclusions include fast bowler Josh Hazlewood, although New South Wales are only resting him and are expected to bring him in later in the tournament, and Ahmed, who was the backup spinner to Nathan Lyon in the recent Ashes campaign. Ahmed struggled in the tour matches in England and was not picked for the Bangladesh series, and now faces an uncertain start to the summer.Glenn Maxwell and Peter Siddle are Victoria’s two returning players, and Ahmed and uncapped allrounder Ian Holland have made way in the 14-man squad. Andrew Lynch, the Victorian chairman of selectors, said there was not room for Ahmed, Maxwell and left-arm spinner Jon Holland in the one-day squad.”We’ve identified Jon Holland as our number one limited-overs spinner and with Maxwell in the side to provide a second-spin option, Fawad was unfortunately the man to miss out,” Lynch said. “We still see Fawad as a key wicket taker for the Bushrangers in first-class cricket, as evidenced by his record tally last season, and he will now return to Melbourne to get ready for the Sheffield Shield season.”New South Wales had the largest influx of Test players with Steven Smith, Mitchell Starc, Peter Nevill, Nathan Lyon and Steve O’Keefe all joining the one-day squad. Ryan Gibson, Chris Green, Josh Lalor and Ben Rohrer were cut to make way, while Hazlewood was also left out as he continues to build up his bowling loads after a busy few months, and Cricket NSW said he was “expected to be available for selection mid-tournament”.Joe Burns and Usman Khawaja will rejoin the Queensland squad, although Khawaja will miss the start of the tournament after injuring his hamstring while playing club cricket two weeks ago. Marnus Labuschagne remains in the squad as the temporary injury replacement for Khawaja, while Jimmy Peirson has been dropped.Western Australia have made four changes with Adam Voges taking the captaincy back from stand-in Michael Klinger, and Cameron Bancroft, Shaun Marsh and Mitchell Marsh also rejoining the squad. Will Bosisto, Marcus Harris, Tom Beaton and Jon Wells have been dropped from the 14-man group to make way. Mitchell Johnson is resting during the Matador Cup.Tasmania will welcome back James Faulkner and Andrew Fekete, with young fast bowler Ryan Lees set to make way. The Tigers had not yet named a 14th squad member to replace Faulkner, who was a late addition to Australia’s Test squad, so Lees is the only player to be axed.South Australia did not have any player in the Test squad and their Matador Cup group therefore remains the same. The changes have also had a flow-on effect for the seventh team in this year’s tournament, the Cricket Australia XI, made up of fringe players who did not make their state squads.Joining the CA XI squad will be Harris and Bosisto from Western Australia, Peirson from Queensland and Lees from Tasmania. They will replace Queensland’s Sam Heazlett, Western Australia’s Josh Inglis and Tasmania’s Ben McDermott, while fast bowler Jhye Richardson also leaves the squad to join Western Australia as an injury replacement for Nathan Rimmington.New South Wales squad Steven Smith (capt), Sean Abbott, Doug Bollinger, Ryan Carters, Moises Henriques, Nathan Lyon, Nic Maddinson, Peter Nevill, Steve O’Keefe, Kurtis Patterson, Gurinder Sandhu, Mitchell Starc, Shane Watson. In: Smith, Starc, Nevill, Lyon, O’Keefe. Out: Josh Hazlewood, Ben Rohrer, Ryan Gibson, Chris Green, Josh Lalor.Queensland squad Peter Forrest (capt), Cameron Boyce, Joe Burns, Ben Cutting, Luke Feldman, Chris Hartley, Charlie Hemphrey, James Hopes, Usman Khawaja*, Simon Milenko, Michael Neser, Nathan Reardon, Billy Stanlake, Mark Steketee. In: Khawaja, Burns. Out: Marnus Labuschagne, Jimmy Peirson.* Labuschagne is a temporary injury replacement for KhawajaSouth Australia squad Travis Head (capt), Tom Andrews, Tom Cooper, Callum Ferguson, Jake Lehmann, Tim Ludeman, Joe Mennie, Gary Putland, Kane Richardson, Sam Raphael, Alex Ross, Daniel Worrall, Nick Winter, Adam Zampa. No changeTasmania squad George Bailey (capt), Jackson Bird, Xavier Doherty, Alex Doolan, Jake Doran, Ben Dunk, James Faulkner, Andrew Fekete, Evan Gulbis, Hamish Kingston, Dominic Michael, Tim Paine, Sam Rainbird, Clive Rose. In: Faulkner, Fekete. Out: Ryan Lees.Victoria squad Matthew Wade (capt), Scott Boland, Daniel Christian, Aaron Finch, Peter Handscomb, John Hastings, Jon Holland, Glenn Maxwell, Clint McKay, James Pattinson, Rob Quiney, Peter Siddle, Marcus Stoinis, Cameron White. In: Maxwell, Siddle. Out: Fawad Ahmed, Ian Holland.Western Australia squad Adam Voges (capt), Ashton Agar, Cameron Bancroft, Jason Behrendorff, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Michael Klinger, Simon Mackin, Mitchell Marsh, Shaun Marsh, Joel Paris, Jhye Richardson, Ashton Turner, Andrew Tye, Sam Whiteman. In: Voges, Bancroft, M Marsh, S Marsh. Out: Will Bosisto, Marcus Harris, Tom Beaton, Jonathan Wells.Cricket Australia XI squad Will Bosisto (capt), Alex Gregory (vice-capt), Jimmy Peirson, Ryan Lees, Marcus Harris, Seb Gotch, Matthew Short, Jack Wildermuth, James Bazley, Liam Hatcher, Mitch Swepson, Hilton Cartwright, Riley Ayre, Matthew Dixon. In: Harris, Bosisto, Peirson, Lees. Out: Sam Heazlett, Josh Inglis, Ben McDermott, Jhye Richardson.

The BCCI Working Committee has not discussed Dilip Vengsarkar’s request for compensation after being barred from writing his column as per the seven-point diktat sent to all selectors recently.”The BCCI officials had laid down the guidelines. The board felt if there are any issues, the office-bearers should deal with it,” N Srinivasan, the BCCI treasurer, said. “No decision was taken about any compensation. At present the guidelines stand.”Vengsarkar, the chairman of the national selection committee, had claimed a loss of earning of approximately Rs 40 lakh annually, and demanded to be compensated.The Working Committee, which met in Mumbai on Sunday, also ratified the appointments of Gary Kirsten as national coach and Dav Whatmore as the director of operations at the National Cricket Academy. However, Whatmore will be a consultant for the moment and will only take over as director of the National Cricket Academy, based in Bangalore, in early 2008.One of Whatmore’s first assignments as consultant will be to coach the Indian under-19 team in the forthcoming junior World Cup. After that WV Raman, the former Indian Test opener, will take over as coach of the under-19 team for the series against the South Africa under-19s, starting on December 28.In another significant development, the Working Committee decided to increase the infrastructure subvention handed out annually to individual states from Rs 25 crore to Rs 50 crore. This decision was taken keeping in mind the fact that several state associations do not own the stadia in which they play cricket and will be encouraged to buy land and build their own infrastructure.Meanwhile, the Working Committee replaced Delhi’s Abhinav Bali with Bengal’s Manoj Tiwary as the recipient of the MA Chidambaram Trophy – given to the best under-22 cricketer in the 2006-07 season – along with a cash prize of Rs 50,000. The BCCI had initially named Bali in its list of awardees for its annual awards, though he had signed with the Indian Cricket League, an unofficial tournament not recognised by the board.

A stunning turnaround in form earned Victoria Spirit the right to host this year’s Women’s National Cricket League finals but to make the most of their chance the Spirit will need to defy history. In the ten years of the WNCL’s current format, the New South Wales Breakers have won the title eight times and it is the Breakers that Victoria face in the best of three finals series starting on Friday.But this season New South Wales have not been the powerhouse they have been in past seasons and almost missed out on a place in the playoffs after finishing two bonus points ahead of Queensland Fire. The Breakers have played in every finals series since 1996-97 and have only lost twice, both times to Victoria. They are also the defending champions but Lisa Sthalekar, the captain, said winning at Melbourne’s Central Reserve at Glen Waverley would be a challenge.”At the start of our season we weren’t playing that well but we’ve come into some form,” Sthalekar said. “Our top order seems to be firing and our bowlers have got back their line and length. Because of our experience in finals and winning some close ones, if it comes down to the wire I’m hoping our experience from previous finals will get us over the line.”The Breakers are on a roll, having won their last four games. Victoria won five straight but dropped their final match against Queensland. New South Wales’ batting has been their strength this year and with eight former or current Australia players in their line-up – Victoria have five – they will pose a threat to the Spirit’s outstanding attack.Cathryn Fitzpatrick, the veteran Victoria fast bowler, said hosting the final was a big bonus after the Spirit finished fourth with only two wins last season. “We’re just a bit smarter with how we’ve approached it this year,” Fitzpatrick said. “We had an open and honest review process because we were very disappointed with last year.”She said although the focus for all players would be winning the title, with a four-nation tournament in India starting next month the finals could “make or break” a place in the national squad for some players. The finals series continues with games on Saturday and, if required, on Sunday.Victoria Spirit squad Sarah Edwards (capt), Kelly Applebee, Jess Cameron, Jodie Dean, Cathryn Fitzpatrick, Jane Franklin, Rachel Haynes, Julie Hunter, Emma Inglis, Melanie Jones, Megan Pauwels, Clea Smith.New South Wales Breakers squad Lisa Sthalekar (capt), Sarah Aley, Sarah Andrews, Charlotte Anneveld, Alex Blackwell, Kate Blackwell, Leonie Coleman, Rene Farrell, Nicole Goodwin, Michelle Goszko, Julie Hayes, Leah Poulton, Jenny Wallace.

The ICC’s Winter Training Camp (WTC) has been about more than simply improving players from the six Associate countries to have qualified for the 2007 World Cup.The concept, driven by Richard Done, the ICC’s high-performance manager, and Scotland and WTC head coach Andy Moles, has also been about coaching in every sense of the word. The 11-week camp at the University of Pretoria’s High Performance Centre has educated Associate coaches, given current senior players a chance to advance their coaching skills and offered all 23 players attending an opportunity to obtain coaching qualifications.After all, the ICC’s Development Program, in place since 1997, is about more than simply improving the on-field performances of those countries below Full Member status. “The future continued development of Associate and Affiliate countries depends not just on the improvement of playing standards but also on the continued improvement of all parts of the cricket support network,” said Done. “Coaching is a key element of this process.”That wholistic approach was behind getting two current players, Bermuda captain Clay Smith and John Davison of Canada, involved in the coaching process in South Africa. Smith was unable to stay for the whole duration of the WTC but Davison has remained and benefited from the experience.”Both John and Clay have expressed a desire to stay involved with the game through coaching after they finish playing and the chance to work with experienced coaches like Andy Moles and [bowling coach] Bob Cottam has been ideal for them,” said Done. “John, in particular, has had an invaluable opportunity to work side by side with high quality and experienced coaches for the full 11 weeks and it will stand him in good stead for his coaching future.”Ahead of the WTC Davison had been studying for his Level 3 coaching award in Australia and he added: “The WTC has really helped me in my coaching outlook. It has been a big help to see the coaches here, how they work with players in a group and one-to-one and how they structure sessions. I am looking to get some coaching experience at club level so my time spent here should help when it comes to working with players when I get back to Sydney. My plan is to play until the World Cup in 2007 but the experience I have gained here means that I am also in a position to give something back to Canadian cricket, something I am very keen to do.”The original plan at the start of the WTC was for the coach of each Associate represented – Bermuda, Canada, Ireland, Kenya, the Netherlands and Scotland – to attend for two weeks. The idea was that they could see the technical, physical, tactical, mental and personal work put in by the players in Pretoria and take that as a benchmark for their future work.Scotland’s coach Moles has helped run the course but the plan was diluted by Kenya and Canada’s current lack of a coach while Gus Logie, the coach of Bermuda, and Peter Cantrell, his equivalent in the Netherlands, have been unable to attend.However Adrian Birrell, Ireland’s coach, was able to spend two weeks at the WTC towards the start of the program and commented: “I was hugely impressed by what I saw. What I did see was the way the players and coaches covered all bases from the physical to the technical and even the psychological aspects of the game. On that basis it has now been a case of me going back to Ireland and spreading the news about the way things are being done by our three players at the camp and how they will definitely be better players when they get home because of it.”All the players attending the camp have studied for a Level 2 coaching award and Done said that, too, was a crucial aspect of the work done at the WTC. “Understanding your own game is a vital part of any cricketer’s development and completing a coaching course is one way to help gain that knowledge,” he said. “The course will provide players with a much better grasp of their own strengths and weaknesses and it means they should be better able to evaluate the advice they are bound to get during their careers.”On top of that there is the added bonus that each of the WTC players will now be in a position to return home and put something back into developing other players and that drip-down effect is a long-term key to developing talent in Associate countries.”The players completed the written part of their Level 2 course on Monday and they will get the chance to put their newly-acquired skills into action almost immediately as they will head to Soweto to coach some local children later this week.Tom de Grooth, the Netherlands batsman at the WTC, endorsed the coaching program when he said: “It has definitely helped my game. It means I am able to understand what I am doing and the mistakes I have made a lot better and also know how to put those mistakes right. That also means that when I see others making those mistakes I will also know how to help correct them too.”Done concluded: “The most positive aspect of our emphasis on coaching is that it has helped encourage an environment of excellence. There is little doubt the players have run with that and enjoyed it.”Players attending the WTCBermuda – Jekon Edness, Jim West, Stephen Outerbridge & Azeem PitcherCanada Qaiser Ali, Umar Bhatti, Kenneth Carto & Henry Osinde (plus John Davison, who is filling a coaching role)Ireland Trevor Britton, Kenneth Carroll & Eoin MorganKenya Nehemiah Ngoche, Alfred Luseno & Kalpesh PatelNetherlands Tom de GroothScotland Richard Berrington, Kasim Farid, Gordon Goudie, Ross Lyons, Dewald Nel, Qasim Sheikh, Fraser Watts & Sean Weeraratna