The Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) at Lord’s has given Cricket Australia permission to print its official Laws of Cricket (2000 Code – 2nd Edition – 2003) locally in Australia in a deal which will enable a far wider distribution than in previous years.It also means the resource has been produced in a more cost-efficient way by engaging local printers rather than having to import copies from the United Kingdom.Cricket Australia has printed 20,000 copies of the Laws of Cricket to be distributed as part of its National Umpiring Accreditation Scheme, through normal orders by states and territories, and also as part of the spirit of cricket initiative which sees the bulk of copies provided for the first time to coaches, umpires and captains.Cricket Australia Chief Executive Officer James Sutherland said it was important for everyone in Australian cricket to be familiar with the laws of the game, and with the responsibilities that these placed on participants."Umpires, captains and players have specific responsibilities which are spelled out in the laws, particularly for setting the tone for conduct of games," he said."The Laws of Cricket are the foundation on which the game has been built and we are grateful to the MCC for helping us to increase local circulation of this valuable resource."Local printing has allowed Cricket Australia to print a spirit of cricket message from Mr Sutherland on the inside cover of the booklets, reminding coaches, umpires, captains and players that while the laws of cricket are important, the way the game is played is just as significant.The MCC owns the global copyright to the Laws of Cricket and they are available from the MCC’s website, www.lords.org/cricket/laws.asp.

Daryll Cullinan, the new Easterns captain, made the national selectors sit up and take notice when he became the first local player to score a century in the 2003-04 domestic season.Elsewhere, the batsmen held the upper hand over the bowlers. Arno Jacobs (Eastern Province), Duncan Brown (KwaZulu-Natal), Stephen Cook (Gauteng) and Adam Bacher (Gauteng) all scored hundreds, while six others made it into the 90’s: Benjamin Hector (Griqualand West), Alviro Petersen (Northerns), Martin van Jaarsveld (Northerns), Justin Kreusch (Eastern Province), Sven Koenig (Easterns) and Mark Bruyns (Border).For the bowlers, Charl Willoughby, Lance Klusener and Nantie Hayward also raised the selectors’ eyebrows. Willoughby took 11 for 123, Klusener 9 for 92 and Hayward 7 for 131. However, it will need more than just promising performances to get Klusener and Hayward a recall.Other bowling performances of note included: Garnett Kruger (Gauteng) 6 for 112, Deon Kruis (Griqualand West) 4 for 17, Charl Pietersen (Griqualand West) 4 for 24, Ethy Mbhalati (Northerns) 4 for 37, Steven Pope (Border) 4 for 45, Monde Zondeki (Border) 4 for 73 and Johan Botha (Eastern Province).SuperSport Series – Pool AGriqualand West beat Eastern Province by five wickets
Griqualand West 411 (Hector 98, Bosman 85, Hayward 4-99, Botha 4-85)
Eastern Province 70 (Kruis 4-17, Pietersen 4-24)
Eastern Province 404 (f/o) (Jacobs 102, Bryant 56, Louw 56*, Shahid Afridi 3-78)
Griqualand West 67 for 5 (Hayward 3-32).KwaZulu-Natal (17.62) beat Boland (5.88) by ten wickets
Boland 244 (Ontong 66, Klusener 5-52)
KwaZulu-Natal 403 (Brown 152*)
Boland 182 (Strydom 78, Klusener 4-40)
KwaZulu-Natal 24 for 0Easterns drew with Free State
Easterns 498-9 decl. (Koenig 98, de Bruyn 63, Cullinan 161, Hall 70)
Free State 273 (Venter 51, van der Wath 66)
Free State 84 for 2 (f/o)SuperSport Series – Pool BBorder beat Gauteng by seven wickets
Gauteng 290 (Conrad 60, Zondeki 4 for 73)
Border 380 (Pope 84, Kreusch 91, Gamiet 61, Kruger 6 for 112
Gauteng 309 for 8 decl. (Cook 109, Bacher 138, Pope 4 for 45)
Border 223 for 3 (Bruyns 96)Northerns drew with Western Province
Northerns 198 (Petersen 95, de Villiers 58, Willoughby 7-56)
Western Province 173 (Mbhalati 4-37)
Northerns 259-7decl. (de Villiers 61, van Jaarsveld 90, Willoughby 4-67)
Western Province 11 for 0.

Javagal Srinath said he would quit all forms of cricket if his knee injury rules him out of the tour of Australia, which starts in three weeks. “If I don’t go to Australia, I will retire from cricket,” Srinath said on Thursday.The 33-year-old retired from Test cricket after the West Indies tour last year. He did play in the World Cup, where his incisive spells helped India reach the final.Srinath said that he would play in a local game next week to assess his knee. “I am keen to go if my knee is completely healed. But I am not 23 or 24. The healing is slow, but there is improvement,” he was reported as saying on the BBC’s website.India’s tour of Australia, which begins on November 25, will include four Tests and a one-day tri-series also featuring Zimbabwe. The first Test in Brisbane starts on December 4.

In our new series, My Australia tour, Indian cricketers of the past describe their experiences while touring Australia. In our first instalment, Karsan Ghavri speaks to Samanth Subramanian about the 1977-78 and the 1980-81 tours.

There’s so much to see in Australia, so many places to visit, that thetourism alone makes playing cricket there a unique experience. The wildlife was a big draw for me; to go to their well-maintained national parks and wildlife sanctuaries was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. It’s also interesting for the way the Australians play the game on their own turf. They’re always very aggressive and in-your-face, although, as is well known, they never hesitate to be chummy off the field.In 1980-81, we were all – the Indians and the Australians – invited by Sir Don Bradman to his house for dinner. We sat at a huge oval table for dinner, and Dennis Lillee and Kapil Dev happened to be sitting next to each other. So Kapil just asked Lillee: “Dennis, why, every time you bowl, do you swear at the batsmen?”Lillee said: “Kapil, I’m steaming when I bowl express, and I look for a wicket with every delivery.”Kapil: “But I don’t swear at the batsmen, and I look for a wicket with every delivery too.”Lillee: “You’re not an express bowler. You’re just a medium-fast bowler. With express bowlers, the frustration comes out more. When you become an express bowler, you will do the same thing as I do now.”Ironically, Kapil went on to win the match for India at Melbourne. On the fourth day, he did not come on the field because he was injured. But in the last innings, Australia were three down, and I’d picked up two wickets in consecutive deliveries. So on the next day, Kapil came in on painkillers and ran through the side on a pitch of uneven bounce.The 1977-78 series was a very interesting one, because they won the first two Tests and we won the next two, and the fifth one involved us chasing a big target, which we lost by 40-odd runs.During that tour, Ashok Mankad was a member of the Indian team. He and Jeff Thomson were very good friends, always having a glass of beer after the game. Thomson used to give Ashok quite a few gifts, because Ashok was very fond of western music, and Thommo used to provide him with all the latest songs in the evening.On the field, however, the first thing he bowled to Ashok was a bouncer, followed by some colourful swearing. Ashok went down the wicket, tapping the pitch and meeting Thommo on his follow-through. He asked him: “Thommo, we’re friends, man!”Thommo said: “We are friends … but not on the field.”The Australians are aggressive cricketers, and they play hard and fight it out. But off the field, they’re nice guys, friendly and easy-going.

Brett Lee has enlisted the help of Dennis Lillee as he attempts to overcome a “tough little period” in his career.In the absence of Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne, Lee had been expected to spearhead Australia’s bowling in the recent Test series against India. But he managed just eight wickets in two matches, and suffered the humiliation of being hit for 201 runs in a single innings at Sydney.He was subsequently overlooked for the VB Series, and watched from the sidelines as his replacement Brad Williams bowled Australia to victory over Zimbabwe on Sunday.”People are asking questions about my pace, about no-balls and the fact that I’ve been hit for a lot of runs in these past two Tests,” said Lee, who bowled 37 no-balls in Melbourne and Sydney. “Bowling 18 no-balls in an innings is unacceptable, there is no excuse. I hope Dennis can help me solve the problem.”Lillee, whose fast-bowling academy in Chennai has helped to transform India’s fortunes, believes Lee’s problems may stem from the fact Australia does not have a bowling coach, unlike both its rivals in the current one-day series. Australia’s former left-arm seamer Bruce Reid is working with both India and Zimbabwe.Lee flew Lillee from Perth to Sydney after last week’s fourth Test to work with him at a training session. Apart from injuries and the occasional spell on the sidelines, Lee has been a regular in the Australia side since his debut against India four years ago. He has since developed into an intimidating, if unreliable, back-up to McGrath and Jason Gillespie, but is finding the next step up a hard one to take.

Australia Women 3 for 241 (Clark 120, Rolton 80*) beat New Zealand Women 8 for 158 by 83 runs
ScorecardAustralia took an unbeatable 3-0 lead over New Zealand in the Rose Bowl series with an 83-run win at Westpac Park.Australia racked up a formidable 3 for 241 in 50 overs – one of the best scores at the Park this summer – then restricted New Zealand to 8 for 158.Australian captain Belinda Clark scored a stylish century after New Zealand had won the toss. It was a confident, aggressive knock by Clark, who was finally caught at deep square-leg in the second to last over for 120. She faced just 148 balls and hit 13 fours in her fifth one-day international hundred.Clark received great support from Karen Rolton, with whom she established a new Australian second-wicket record partnership of 194 as they scored at will against a soft New Zealand attack. Rolton finished unbeaten on 80 off 100 balls. Beth McNeill, who had earlier secured her first international wicket with a caught-and-bowled dismissal of Lisa Keightley also picked up the scalp of Melanie Jones in the final over as Australia flung the bat. It was only the ninth Australian wicket to fall in the three matches to date.In reply New Zealand made a wretched start when opener Maria Fahey played on in the first over. Emily Drumm looked solid early on, but was bowled by Rolton for 28 – including three fours – when she was forced to adapt her approach to address New Zealand’s flagging run rate.Haidee Tiffen made her second successive duck of the series when she was bowled by Rolton in the 20th over and New Zealand were down and out at 6 for 86 by the 30th over.The next match in the six-game series is at Sydney on Saturday.

Canterbury 309 for 8 beat Wellington 308 for 9 by two wickets
ScorecardStephen Fleming, the New Zealand captain, marked a rare appearance in New Zealand’s State Shield competition by scoring 131 for Wellington against Canterbury at Hagley Oval. In fact, so seldom does Fleming turn out, it was only his 59th domestic one-day game.But even the lustre of his innings, which was the foundation of a record-breaking score of 308 for 9 for Wellington, could not dull Canterbury. Michael Papps continued his magnificent form with 96, before giving way to Chris Cairns, who scored 47, and Craig McMillan, 31, as the team prepared to launch itself at the target.But wickets kept falling. Though the runs came for Canterbury, one batsman after another succumbed to Wellington. It seemed lost for Canterbury, but Chris Harris and Stephen Cunis held their nerve to get their side home, with Cunis hitting a six with one ball to go. Warren Wisneski was one of few bowlers to make an impact. He took 4 for 55 for Canterbury, while Mayu Pasupati took three for Wellington, but at a cost of 66 runs.Otago 199 for 9 beat Northern Districts 198 by one wicket
ScorecardOtago haven’t been happy campers in Invercargill, the world’s southern-most first-class cricket venue. And today, faced with Northern Districts’ total of 198, they did all they could to keep their depressing record in shape … and failed.Half-way into Otago’s innings, the score was 121 for 1. Mohammad Wasim (52) and Chris Gaffaney (61) were going strong with a 119-run second wicket partnership, before a collapse that claimed five batsmen for 17 runs. Just a little while ago, they were actually thinking of getting home with a bonus point to gain.A couple of wickets fell soon after, unfairly leaving the last pair at the crease with six balls and nine runs to win a game. Matt Harvie took on the first ball and sent it into the stands, and from there, a victory was in the bag.But before Otago’s convulsions, Joseph Yovich scored 64 off 88 balls to drag Northern Districts to 198, and Nathan Morland did his best to pull them the other way, with career-best figures of 4 for 28.Central Districts 245 for 7 beat Auckland 236 by 9 runs
ScorecardWhen Jacob Oram and Mathew Sinclair walked in to bat, Central Districts’ innings was a mess; three wickets down, fourteen runs on the board. Oram picked up the pieces and glued together an innings of 125, while Sinclair scored 54, in a partnership worth 132. They took the team to a challenging total of 246. Auckland’s bowlers, Kyle Mills and Paul Hitchcock shared five wickets.In response, Auckland gave new meaning to collapses, with four wickets falling for three runs. Matt Horne then scored 89, and Kyle Mills provided him with support. Their partnership of 91 was terminated by Michael Mason, who returned to bowl a destructive second spell, and ended with 6 for 25, the best figures for a Central Districts bowler in one-dayers.Then, Kerry Walmsley flailed valiantly for 26, but his dismissal brought an end to Auckland’s innings, just 10 runs short of the target.Points table (two rounds remaining) Canterbury 26, Central Districts 23, Auckland 17, Otago 16, Wellington 14, Northern Districts 4.

Sri Lanka have called up Kaushal Lokuarachchi, Nuwan Zoysa, AvishkaGunawardene and Nuwan Kulasekera into a 15-man squad for the first Testmatch against Australia, which starts in the south coast town of Galle onMonday.The selectors, who picked the side on Thursday night after the completionof a three-day warm-up match between Australia and a President’s XI,included four specialist spinners in a match that should be dominated by theslow bowlers.Rangana Herath, a left-arm spinner, is the surprise omission afterimpressive performances for Sri Lanka A in South Africa and India. Hisomission from the A squad for a tour of New Zealand had suggested apromotion to the national team.Zoysa, now 25 years old, returns to the fold for the first time since June2002 after his match-winning performance against Australia in the finalone-dayer, when he grabbed three wickets and then stroked 47 from 42 balls.Zoysa is expected to open the bowling with Chaminda Vaas. The seamers willbe backed up by two frontline spinners and seven batsmen. But there is anoutside chance that the final XI will include three specialist slow bowlers.The squad needs to to be ratified by the Minister of Sports.Sri Lanka squad Hashan Tillakaratne (capt), Marvan Atapattu, Sanath Jayasuriya, Kumar Sangakkara (wk), Mahela Jayawardene, Thilan Samaraweera, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Avishka Gunawardene, Chaminda Vaas, Nuwan Zoysa, Nuwan Kulasekara, Muttiah Muralitharan, Kumar Dharmasena, Upul Chandana, Kaushal Lokuarachchi

The man who cleared Muttiah Muralitharan’s bowling action five years ago has reopened the debate by questioning the legality of Murali’s new doosra.Bruce Elliott, a professor at the University of Western Australia, and a member of the International Cricket Council’s committee which investigates suspect actions, said that Murali’s new ball, which behaves very much as a legbreak would, is questionable.”With the doosra, what I’m suggesting is that when a finger-spinner wants to rotate the wrist to come over the top of the ball it seems difficult not to straighten the arm – but I won’t say it’s impossible,” Elliott told the Sydney Morning Herald. “The doosra fits into the category that says ‘danger’.”And Elliott warned that any illegal actions have to be stamped out immediately, otherwise they are quickly copied by youngsters. “There’s no doubt that children on the subcontinent are trying to emulate Murali. On the subcontinent they learn more by watching. If kids are trying to bowl like Murali then, yes, there’s danger. The million-dollar question is whether they are straightening the arm. If you keep it bent or even flex it, it’s still illegal.”If you extend up with the arm you’ll get more over-rotation on the ball. For a spinner, that’s a huge advantage. That, by definition, is illegal. If you keep your arm bent, you can use the big rotator muscles in the shoulder, which are geared for throwing.”Elliott’s comments are sure to arouse anger in Sri Lanka, but they come in the light of recent remarks by ICC officials that spinners will be more under the spotlight whereas in the past it was fast bowlers who attracted attention. The desire to clamp down was reinforced when it emerged that six players in the recent Under-19 World Cup had been reported as having suspicious actions.”I’m sure the ICC is becoming more concerned,” Elliott explained. “And I don’t think it’s unfair to say that it is in direct response to that concern [young players mimicking established stars]. Because most people don’t have his physical characteristics, and they will revert to actually extending the arm.”

As the ECB lurches ever deeper into the Zimbabwe crisis, their chief executive for the past eight years, Tim Lamb, is facing a vote of no-confidence from the chairmen of the 18 first-class counties. According to a report in today’s Sunday Times, the first significant steps towards Lamb’s removal may take place at the next meeting of the First Class Forum on May 11.”His position is very precarious and may become untenable over the next few weeks,” one senior source was reported to have said. “There have simply been too many mistakes on too many issues. We have been wrong-footed on Zimbabwe the whole way along.” David Morgan, the ECB’s chairman, was also singled out for criticism, with another source telling the paper: “I’m disappointed at the poor communication and the obvious mistakes made.”Although the government has made clear its position on the issue, Britain’s sporting interests remain detached from its politics, and so there is no prospect of the all-important ban that would enable the ECB to escape penalty from the International Cricket Council. But, much of the blame for the ECB’s situation is levelled at Lamb, who has been accused of “sleepwalking” into a crucial meeting in Auckland back in March, at which the prospect of suspension from international competition was first raised if England pulled out of the tour.Lamb has since referred to “11th-hour manoeuvring” by other ICC delegates, but he is understood to have backed a hardening of policy in earlier meetings. In addition, his position has been further undermined by the resignation of Des Wilson, whose consultation paper on Zimbabwe had suggested that the ECB would be moving towards a new moral stance on touring. Lamb and Morgan, however, have been retreating from that position ever since the threat of financial sanctions was raised.One of Britain’s leading lawyers, however, believes that the ICC threat could be illegal, and has called on Lamb to challenge the ruling. Robert Griffiths QC, who resigned from the MCC committee last week after it reversed a vote against England’s tour, said: “If you don’t put pressure on the other side, you don’t get to the negotiating table, and they’ve won. The ECB have got to tell the ICC that they have grave reservations whether the ICC can legitimately impose these heavy financial sanctions.”As if that was not enough reason for Lamb to fear for his position, he is also under fire on the domestic front as well. “What is the ECB for?” asked one county chief executive, after a proposal to merge the County Championship and the National League was rejected last week. “Why does it take six months to ask other people? [The ECB] works through committees and goes round in circles. The executive should stand or fall by its decision-making. A lot of people are frustrated. If most businesses were run like this, they would not be around.”