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Star West Indian batsman, Brian Lara, has been given the all-clear to playin the forthcoming tour of Sri Lanka according to a BBC Online reportMonday, but doubts still linger over his fitness.Doubts over Lara’s participation in the tour had surfaced during the teamstraining camp in Jamaica this week when the 32-year-old left-hander revealedhe was still suffering from a long-standing hamstring injury.Lara went for a MRI scan on Wednesday and a fitness report was then handedover to the team management later in the week.They had been speculation during the weekend that the report showed thatthere had been “no improvement” in the injury and the Trinadad Guardian evenquoted “reliable sources” who said the team management was divided overwhether Lara should tour if not fully fit.However, team manager, Ricky Skerritt, said Sunday: “Having looked at theresults, the doctors are satisfied. The last three days Brian has beentraining rather actively without any side effects.”But, according to Trinadad Guardian sources: “When the report came back fromthe doctor, it showed that there was no improvement on Lara’s hamstringinjury.”The newspaper then reports that an emergency meeting was then held onThursday night, that included all team officials – manager, coach, captain,physiotherapist, the doctor in Jamaica and a West Indies Cricket Boardrepresentative – Lara’s participation was apparently put to the vote and onhealth reasons, it was voted 4 -2 to leave him home.This tough stance mellowed over the weekend when chairman of the selectors,Michael Findlay, said: “In the end though it will come down to how Brianfeels about his own fitness and whether or not he can handle such a tour aslies ahead.”Lara has played before with the injury, which he first strained when WestIndies toured England. He then played against Australia and South Africawith the injury before finally withdrawing from the recent tour to Zimbabweand Kenya.The West Indies are scheduled to play three Tests against Sri Lanka followedby a triangular series involving Zimbabwe in the eight week tour

The BCB’s anti-corruption unit has cleared the 2014-15 National Cricket League match between Rangpur Division and Dhaka Metropolis of match-fixing allegations, according to the tournament committee chairman Akram Khan. Khulna Division had laid these allegations in March.”BCB’s anti-corruption unit couldn’t ascertain match-fixing in the Dhaka Metro-Rangpur match,” Akram said. “I have been told this verbally. We will issue letters to this effect in a day or two.”Khulna, Rangpur and Dhaka Division were all tied on 96 points ahead of the NCL’s final round of matches. On the third day, Khulna completed an innings-and-24-run win over Chittagong Division which helped them move to 120 points.Rangpur then needed 25 points to move ahead of Khulna and to achieve that, Rangpur had to bowl out Dhaka Metropolis on the fourth and final day after setting them a 361-run target with a minimum of 80 overs left in the day. Dhaka Metropolis were bowled out in the 80th over for 258.While this match was still going on, Khulna captain Abdur Razzak posted a status on Facebook alleging match-fixing in the NCL but didn’t specify any team or player. He later deleted the post.The BCB formed a committee to probe the matter in May, with the board’s new anti-corruption head Abu Mohammad Humayun Morshed doing the investigation. It followed a complaint on March 19 by Khulna officials to the BCB tournament committee. A recorded conversation between a Khulna official and a Dhaka Metropolis coach was also submitted. But Akram said that the contents of the audio clip couldn’t be connected to the match in question, and hoped to move past the issue quickly, now that the allegations were found unproven.”The audio clip couldn’t really prove anything linked to the match. The match referee’s report also didn’t mention anything suspicious,” he said. “I shouldn’t make a comment about the investigation’s outcome. I am pleased that we can put this issue to bed now that another National Cricket League is ahead of us.”

Steve Harmison admitted to being rusty even though he took 6 for 91 from 23 overs on his debut for the Lions against the Cobras in South Africa’s SuperSport Series.”It was difficult, to be honest,” Harmison admitted at the end of the day. “This is sort of my pre-season. It’s the first real sort of cricket I’ve bowled since the middle of July, and even then it was only sort of eight overs, so probably since the fourth Test match in England at the end of June.”I’ve not really played that much outside and I must admit I did spray it a little bit. But I’ve got six wickets and I’m happy with that. The wickets weren’t everything to be honest. I was disappointed with the way it came out.”Harmison, who is playing in South Africa in a bid to get match fit ahead of England’s Test series in Sri Lanka, struggled early on for control and bowled nine no-balls and 14 wides. “I bowled a lot of wides,” he shrugged. “In the last two or three years I bowled six no-balls and I bowled nine in this game, so that tells its own story. I’m a bit rusty and I’m not fully with it. So there were good things and bad things.”The positives were I got 28 overs under my belt, I fielded for 102 overs in decent heat in very, very good competitive cricket and got six wickets. The downside was my action wasn’t as good as I would like to, but we’re a month away from the first Test and there’s still a lot to work on.”I’m over the injuries and I’m fit, but the one thing I’m not is bowling fit … that’s a big difference that any bowler will understand.”Meanwhile, Harmison’s Durham and England team-mate Liam Plunkett took 1 for 62 for the Dolphins against the Warriors in East London.

Twenty-two years ago when the last great player exodus occurred Australia began five years of despair. Not until the 1989 Ashes could Australia prove they had left behind the suffering that followed the retirements of Greg Chappell, Dennis Lillee and Rod Marsh, who left a 253-Test gap when they exited the SCG on January 6, 1984.Two months later in Guyana Greg Ritchie’s bulky frame slotted into the top order, Wayne Phillips was mistakenly turned into a makeshift wicketkeeper and Terry Alderman tried to fill Lillee’s space. By the fifth Test Queensland’s John Maguire had replaced Alderman and Australia were on the way to using 24 players in 46 matches until the 1989 tour, when stability and success was finally found. It took a further eight years and 77 games to introduce the same number of new personnel and by then Australia were world champions.The Test crown has retained the same shine ever since and Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne were two of its most significant polishers. Justin Langer also had a large part in the success and the trio leaves from the same gate as the previous triumvirate. Australia now enter another period of uncertainty, but the prospects of the trough being as deep as last time are remote.Allan Border was a reluctant successor to Kim Hughes, who resigned in tears against West Indies in 1984, and he won only three of his first 25 Tests in charge. The low points were home-and-away series losses to New Zealand in 1985-86 and giving up the Ashes a season later to an England team dubbed the worst ever to tour. The recovery was slow, painful and, ultimately, massively rewarding.Ricky Ponting does not have instant replacements for the big three, but he is fortunate to have a string of contenders who are capable of plugging holes. Australia’s ranking as world No. 1 may be in jeopardy over the next couple of years but the superpower status will remain. The planning through the Academy should stop a repeat of the 1980s horror.

In the past two years the focus of the Centre of Excellence in Brisbane has altered from developing emerging players for the first-class arena to preparing contenders for international action. A core group of bowlers including Ben Hilfenhaus, the Tasmania swing bowler, and Brett Dorey, the tall Western Australia fast man, was compiled as the Australian selectors prepared for life without McGrath. Shaun Tait also spent time in the set-up and with Mitchell Johnson’s re-emergence and the rapid development of Stuart Clark a batch of next-generation bowlers is on call.The opening spot created by Langer’s decision can be filled confidently by either Phil Jaques, who stepped into the Test side twice in 2006, or Chris Rogers, who has learned under Langer at Western Australia. A return to the top of the order for Michael Hussey, another batsman raised in Perth, should not be ruled out as it is his preferred position.While the batting and fast-bowling back-up is solid, the spin ranks are Australia’s major worry. In 15 years of trying no Australian has been able to emulate Warne – only Stuart MacGill has got close – and Daniel Cullen, Cullen Bailey, Beau Casson and Nathan Hauritz have the toughest assignments of all.Cullen and MacGill are the frontrunners to step in for Warne but Australia’s expectations of what a slow man should achieve must quickly be lowered. The 1980s showed that attempting to fill the shoes of legends takes decades rather than days.

Scorecard

New South Wales took complete command of their Pura Cup match against Tasmania at Sydney. After piling up a mammoth 9 for 522 in their first innings, they reduced Tasmania to 6 for 189. Despite Sean Clingeleffer’s valiant unbeaten 83, Tasmania were in danger of being forced to follow on.Matthew Nicholson struck the early blows, dismissing the openers Michael Di Venuto, caught at gully for a duck in the first over, and Jamie Cox, edging to slips. Nathan Bracken, the left-arm swing bowler who was left out of the Test side, then got into the act trapping David Dawson for 9 and having George Bailey caught at short leg for a duck. Four for 23 soon turned 5 for 37 when Shannon Tubb edged behind off Stuart Clark for 8.At this point it seemed Tasmania would fold without a fight but Travis Birt and Clingeleffer put up a defiant act. The duo stitched together a fighting 126-run partnership in 116 minutes from 179 balls to take the score to 163 before Birt fell to Steve O’Keefe. He had faced 112 balls and hit four sixes and four fours in his 62.Earlier Brad Haddin, the NSW wicketkeeper, hit a breezy 65 off 77 balls, while Nicholson and Clark added a quick 32 off 5.3 overs for the last wicket to take them to 522, allowing Simon Katich, the captain, to declare soon after lunch. Adam Griffith removed the centurion Dominic Thornely (123) to finish with the figures of 4 for 124.

The Australian batsman, Martin Love, has signed a one-year contract to play for Northamptonshire in 2005.Love, 30, enjoyed a successful month-long stay at Wantage Road earlier this season, scoring 394 runs in two Frizzell County Championship Division One matches – including a century in each innings against Worcestershire at New Road – after replacing the South African, Martin van Jaarsveld.Mark Tagg, Northamptonshire’s chief executive, said: “It was a pleasure to have Martin Love here. He showed tremendous professionalism in his short stay with us and was a firm favourite both on and off the field.”His decision to sign for next year so early reflects his belief in theoutline plans we have for the future, and shows confidence that Northants are determined to make progress in the years to come.”Love, who plays for Queensland during the Australian season, said: “I enjoyed my brief spell working with Kepler Wessels and can see great potential in the squad.”

Steve Waugh reckons that Australia have become so dominant in internationalcricket that administrators might want to think about changing the rules to make rival countries more competitive.”Our job is to do the best we can for Australia. The West Indies teams of the 1980s almost made administrators change the rules so other nations couldcompete,” said Waugh, as quoted in the . “That’s been one of our goals – for us to make rules change so others can compete.”Speaking at a state Chamber of Commerce luncheon, Waugh revealed that he took his own brutal outlook on international cricket from that very West Indian team.”A lot of our players were almost scared of West Indies,” he said. “I remember at one point thinking this game is too hard. It took me 13 Tests just to bepart of a winning side.”I remember sitting in the dressing room at Eden Park in New Zealand,” continued Waugh. “We had just lost, and I looked around at everyone with their heads bowed. And I was thinking, ‘This is too tough. Do I really want to do this?’ That was an important moment”Waugh talked about his first first-class match for New South Wales, and rooming with Imran Khan. “I became very good at answering the phone,” Waugh joked. “I was pretty shy in those days. [Imran] had a big reputation for a lot of things. I was that intimidated by him I just kept quiet and answered the phone.”Waugh also hinted at a muted support of Australia’s sledging tactics, and although he said that he was against “saying something directly against someone,” he was happy to “put doubt in the batsman’s mind. I’m all for that.””For example, if Shane Warne’s bowling into the rough outside the batsman’s legs and he’s trying to sweep, the guy at short leg might say ‘Can you believe this guy’s trying to sweep Warney out of the rough?’ and the player on the other side at bat-pad might say ‘Obviously these guys don’t have a TV in their rooms – they’ve got no idea what’s going on’,” said Waugh. “If we can get the batsman in some doubt, that’s fair enough.”

Durham County Cricket Club today announced that 25 year-old all-rounder Paul Collingwood has signed a new contract extending his stay at the club for another two years. Collingwood made his one-day international debut for England this season and will go with the squad to Zimbabwe in October, hoping to establish his credentials as a genuine World Cup prospect.He says: “I am delighted to have signed a new contract and to be part of an exciting team at Durham. We have won promotion to the Norwich Union League Division One with a young team which can only get better and which will also develop as a four-day side.”I hope to play a big part in Durham’s promotion bid in the CricInfoChampionship and I would love to be part of a successful cup run.”Club Chairman Bill Midgley says; “Paul is an outstanding talent who hasimpressed even the Australians. He is a fine example of what we have set out to achieve here by giving young local talent a chance, and we are all delighted that Paul has committed himself to us for the next two years.”Durham secured promotion to the Norwich Union League Division One ina thrilling nine run victory over Worcestershire at the Riverside onthe final Sunday of a season during which Collingwood, a local lad from Shotley Bridge, has played a significant part.

The Lord’s one-day international ended with boos ringing around the ground, a frosty handshake and a terse exchange of views between Eoin Morgan and Steven Smith following the controversial dismissal of Ben Stokes who was given out obstructing the field.Morgan said he was told by the on-field umpires, Kumar Dharmasena and Tim Robinson, that they thought Stokes was not out – and gave a ‘soft signal’ to the third umpire Joel Wilson – but Wilson felt there was conclusive evidence to uphold the Australian appeal.Morgan added he would have withdrawn any appeal if he had been put in such a situation, a reaction Smith called “disappointing”, and there was certainly tension between the captains at the conclusion.

Law 37 – Obstructing the field

“Either batsman is out Obstructing the field if he wilfully attempts to obstruct or distract the fielding side by word or action. In particular, but not solely, it shall be regarded as obstruction and either batsman will be out Obstructing the field if while the ball is in play and after the striker has completed the act of playing the ball, as defined in Law 33.1, he willfully strikes the ball with (i) a hand not holding the bat, unless this is in order to avoid injury, (ii) any other part of his person or with his bat.”

“It would have been a lot different if we were fielding,” Morgan said. “The guy throws the ball in your direction from five yards, and all you can do is flinch. He was given out. It would have been a lot different if we were fielding – I think it was a natural reaction to protect himself as much as anything else.”My interpretation of it was that his reaction wasn’t deliberate. Kumar told me that they didn’t think it was out … and the third umpire has disagreed. I feel the ball was thrown so fast you can only react in a way that defends yourself. I think he put his hand up to protect himself, and followed the ball a little bit. How you can interpret that is open. But certainly, I didn’t think it was deliberate.”Morgan, however, said he did not suggest to Smith that the appeal should be withdrawn. “He’s entitled to appeal. If he thinks it’s out, he’s going to appeal.”And Smith was in no doubts over his actions, an early tester in his young captaincy career, although the appeal was instigated by Matthew Wade behind the stumps.”Wadey had a good view and said straightaway that he thought the ball was missing Stokes and hitting the stumps, so we appealed and it went upstairs and the umpire gave it out. The way I saw it was that he was out of his ground and he willfully put the hand out – which is rule I’ve been told – and he got given out by the umpire.””The umpires are there to do a job, to make a decision. It went upstairs to the third umpire, and he saw it the same way we saw it – and it was given out. If you willfully put your hand out in front of the ball then you’re given out, and that’s the way it went.”With a short turnaround between matches in this series – the sides meet again in two days at Old Trafford – there could be some residual animosity from England, although Morgan suggested the end-of-match exchange had laid all the views out there.”I gave my thoughts, and he gave me his. It’s nothing big. I don’t think it was the winning and losing of the game. So it’s not a big deal, just his view against mine.”Smith said: “I was just saying he was out of his ground and he put his hand in the way of the stumps. I put it into perspective and said it was the same as me coming back for a two and turning around and putting my hand out. It just looked worse because it went back to the bowler and it all happened so quickly.”If you look at it, from what I saw, the ball was going towards the stumps and wasn’t going to hit him. He’s put his hand out to stop the ball.”For Stokes, it was the second time this summer that he has walked off Lord’s after a curious dismissal against Australia. In the Test match he was run out in the second innings when he jumped to avoid a throw from Mitchell Johnson instead of grounding himself over the crease.This incident made him just the sixth batsman to be out obstructing the field in a one-day international and only the second England player in any format after Len Hutton in a Test against South Africa, at The Oval, in 1951. That remains the only such occurrence in a Test.

Duncan Fletcher has told the BBC that he has no regrets about the revelations regarding Andrew Flintoff’s drinking in his autobiography which was published yesterday.Fletcher has come under considerable fire for his reveal-all book, especially in his criticism of Flintoff’s behaviour in Australia last winter. “I have concerns about the level of debate that’s been reached,” he told the BBC’s Inside Sport. “I wanted to be loyal to him [Flintoff] but loyalty should be two-way traffic.”The secret was not revealed by me, the secret was revealed by Flintoff following the [pedalo] incident in the West Indies. From my point of view, I was really upset at the time. At that time his actions could have led to me losing my job. That’s quite important; the pressures that I was under because of areas he was in control of.”I wanted to be loyal to him but loyalty should be two-way traffic. I felt let down by the pedalo affair, I just think that I linked it directly to what happened in Sydney. If the pedalo affair hadn’t taken place there’s a very good chance we would have carried on managing Andrew.”Fletcher insisted that he didn’t regret making Flintoff captain, and said he may well lead his country again. “I see no reason [why not],” he said. “If that foot lets him bowl as well as he can there’s no reason he shouldn’t captain down the line.”Fletcher was also asked about perceptions that he was too reluctant to include players such as Monty Panesar and Chris Read. “People have interpreted a personal thing,” he said. “All I am trying to do is be very specific. I’ve always felt a finger spinner should be able to bat and field and I would rather pick a batter-wicketkeeper than a keeper-batter and he must be the pulse of the side.”Fletcher said he remained hopeful of another international coaching job after seven years “of real enjoyment” while in charge of England.