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Just months after quitting international cricket, former West Indies captain Brian Lara is set to return to the domestic game and represent Trinidad and Tobago for the 2008 Carib Beer Series.Deryck Murray, the Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board (TTCB) president, confirmed the news at a press conference at the Queens Park Oval, saying his earlier conversation with Lara culminated in his decision to come back and play regional first-class cricket. Lara had earlier participated in the recently-concluded Indian Cricket League (ICL), captaining Mumbai Champs.”Brian can make a great contribution to Trinidad and Tobago cricket in the future, in terms of the development of the game and in administration,” Murray said at the tea interval during the Pizza Hut Gerry Gomez North/South Classic in Port-of-Spain.Murray noted further that Lara’s contribution to the national team is more of a motivating factor for the rest of the team as they begin their defense of the Carib Beer Challenge trophy on January 4 against Guyana at the Queens Park Oval.”Lara’s experience and knowledge will be a great asset to the team,” Murray said. “We are the champions of the Caribbean, the team to beat and every game will be a final.”However, Murray was careful to say that the inclusion of Lara, who last played for the national team in the double-winning 2006 Carib Beer Series, would not affect the future of the youngsters in the team. Lara is set to return over the weekend and will only be available for the four-day games. It was also made clear that he will not assume the role of the captain as Rayad Emrit was already selected in that capacity.Being the highest run-scorer in Test cricket with 11,953 runs and the holder of the world records for the highest individual Test and first-class scores, Murray said the board would use the opportunity to give Lara a proper farewell.”Everyone was taken by surprise when he announced his retirement and I think this is the perfect opportunity for T&T to say thank you for what he has done for local cricket.”

An Australian businessman based in Sri Lanka has called on Australians to help rebuild Galle International Stadium which was devastated by last week’s tsunami.Eight days after the disaster, the ground is almost entirely wrecked, with many of the stands gone and the playing area strewn with debris.”Basically, the cricket ground has largely been destroyed. That was one of the places where the major water hit,” Karl Steinberg, the owner of the Galle Fort Hotel, told AAP. “With the cricket ground, the water came in from both sides. It came around the port and met in the middle of the cricket ground and the bus stand. That’s why there was so much devastation in that area.”So the ground itself is destroyed, the fence is destroyed, parts of the grandstand are destroyed.”While all efforts concentrate on the human disaster – Between 5,000 and 10,000 people are thought to have perished in the gigantic waves which hit Galle – Steinberg said that rejuvenation of the ground could be a vital symbol of hope for the people of the city and Sri Lanka.”If people could actually re-grass that, repaint and restructure the cricket ground, and put the fence up again, that would be a great symbol to Galle that things can be done,” he explained. “What we need is some people who understand cricket pitches and cricket grass.”The really inspiring thing about Australians helping will be that Australians have always played here and the Australians are seen as great contestants and great heroes here, especially the battle between and Warney and Murali, the great international battle. The other thing is that it would be something that would have enormous impact very quickly. It would be a fantastic symbol to the town that people cared and that the cricket community cared as well.”Steinberg added that it would be fitting if the ground could be used for an international fundraiser, along the same lines as the game scheduled for Melbourne on January 10. “If people rebuilt the ground and then had a match, that would be a true symbol to the international community that Sri Lanka was on its way back,” he explained. “It’s exactly what it needs right now.”

ScorecardAs expected, Mashonaland used the third day to recover from a regular first-innings aberration and turn the screws on the hapless Matabeleland team. The feature of the day was a monumental unbeaten 181 from Stuart Carlisle, his fourth century of the year out of seven in his 11 years in first-class cricket. Matabeleland, set 424 to win, struggled to 82 for three at the close.From 134 for one overnight, Mashonaland ground their way to 442 for six, built around Carlisle’s 6½ innings, before declaring. Matabeleland seemed resigned to defeat from the start, bowling a negative line outside off stump from the start and after tea putting nine fielders on the boundary to their spinners.Carlisle’s innings included 15 fours and 7 sixes. Dion Ebrahim made 70 before edging one of Mbangwa’s width balls to the keeper, while there were useful contributions from Tatenda Taibu (31), Elton Chigumbura (32), Andy Blignaut (45) and Ryan Butterworth (29 not out).There was time before the close for Mluleki Nkala to show real class with the bat, finishing unbeaten on 28, but his team faces a virtually hopeless task.Day 2 Bulletin

Saeed Anwar’s announcement of retirement, when it came, did not surprise many. He had been, through either injury or otherwise, relegated to the fringes of selection for almost two years, and being dropped after the World Cup seemed to be the final straw.In an interview with , Anwar said that the main reason for confirming his retirement was that he was not selected. “I thought it was no use hanging around. For someone closing in on 35, it was pointless waiting for six to eight months,” he said. “I have already lost two, three years due to injury. I thought the team did not want me.”The selectors, Anwar said, had only informed him that they were resting him and giving youngsters a chance in a one-day tournament in Sharjah. “I said fair enough. But rest is for one series, not for one year. You don’t rest a player for one year,” said Anwar. “And anyway, since the World Cup, what have I been doing but resting? Why do they want me to rest so much?”Anwar also stated that he had no regrets, although his dream of scoring a Test triple hundred remained unrealised. He also mentioned that his turning to Islam late in his career had helped him to focus on his game and fitness. “Sometimes you can be in your worst form and yet get a century and other days when you are playing well, one single edge ends your innings,” he said. “It used to be very frustrating. Now it isn’t. I have understood that the result is with that man upstairs.”

John Howard and Mahinda Rajapakse, the respective prime ministers of Australia and Sri Lanka, have been asked to exercise restraint when making statements about controversial issues in cricket. Ehsan Mani, the ICC president, feels that the controversy over Muttiah Muralitharan’s doosra was blown out of proportion by their remarks.Speaking to reporters in London, Mani said, “it’s not helpful when high-profile people make these sort of comments. I wish they’d talk to us first rather than making statements in the public arena.”Murali had threatened to boycott Sri Lanka’s forthcoming tour of Australia after the Howard, told a radio station that he believed Murali chucked. However, Howard immediately went on the defensive and asserted that his own comments were blown out of proportion.The Advertiser quoted Howards as saying, “I was simply reflecting on the scientific research in Perth in relation to one of his deliveries. Muralitharan is very welcome to come to Australia when Sri Lanka tours later this year.”Howard was referring to the recent tests conducted at the University of Western Australia, which found that the straightening of Murali’s his arm while bowling the doosra were more than the permissible limit for a spinner.Kevin Maher, who is the president of Cricket Far-North, the body responsible for Tests in Darwin and Cairns, said that he wished Howard hadn’t made the statements in public. “Is Johnny qualified to speak on this matter?” Maher asked, “He might be a cricket lover but I don’t know that it’s his place to call him [Murali] a chucker. It’s disappointing. The whole city of Cairns was looking forward to him coming. The clash between Muralitharan and Warne was a big thing for us.”

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has named four match referees and ten umpires to officiate the group matches during the ICC Champions Trophy in England. They will also be part of technology trials aimed at improving decision-making.Chris Broad, Clive Lloyd, Ranjan Madugalle and Mike Procter are those chosen from the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Referees, while Billy Doctrove and Jeremy Lloyds from the Emirates International Panel join their elite panel counterparts – Simon Taufel, Steve Bucknor, Daryl Harper, Rudy Koertzen, David Shepher, Aleem Dar, Billy Bowden and Darrell Hair – on the umpiring list for the 12 preliminary games.The technological experiments will include umpires being wired to stump microphones – useful to detect faint nicks, and also coarse sledging? – and adjudication of no-balls by the third umpire.

Tillakaratne Dilshan has been dropped from the Sri Lankan Test squad for the series against Pakistan, starting at Faisalabad on October 20. Dilshan is one of the five players who have been replaced from the one-day team, which is currently taking part in the tri-nation PakTel series.The others who will return after the tri-series final are Avishka Gunawardena, Saman Jayantha, Nuwan Zoysa and Kaushal Lokuarachchi. Dilshan was having a tough time with the bat in Sri Lanka’s recent series against Australia and South Africa. After his 104 against Australia at Galle in March this year, Dilshan has crossed 40 just once in 14 innings.As exclusively reported in the on Wednesday, the five players who were chosen as replacements were: Thilan Samaraweera, Jehan Mubarak and Ian Daniel, Lasith Malinga, and Romesh Kaluwitharana, the wicketkeeper.Sri Lanka will take on Pakistan in a day-night encounter on Thursday before the same two teams clash for the title on October 16 at Lahore.

Michael Kasprowicz has been drafted into the Australian squad in place of Andy Bichel for the best-of-three finals of the VB Series. Michael Hussey, who played in Australia’s last match, against India at Perth, has been left out of the 13-man squad.Commenting on the decision to drop Bichel, Trevor Hohns, the chairman of selectors, said: “It is fair to say that Andy Bichel has not been bowling as well as we would like, and we feel that a spell at state level might help him recapture his form. Michael Kasprowicz deserves this opportunity. We were impressed with his work on the recent one-day tour of India, and his performances for Queensland over a long period of time have been first-class. The decision to leave Andy out of the side was a judgement call that we had to make.”Kasprowicz has taken 11 wickets in the ING Cup – the domestic one-day competition – this season at an average of 15.81. Bichel, on the other hand, has struggled with the Australian team all season. After less-than-impressive performances in the Tests, he has only managed three wickets in six matches in the VB Series at an average of over 65 and an economy rate of nearly five-and-a-half.The first of the three finals – for which Australia and India have already qualified – will be held on February 6 at Melbourne.Squad
Ricky Ponting (capt), Matthew Hayden, Adam Gilchrist (wk), Damien Martyn, Michael Clarke, Simon Katich, Andrew Symonds, Ian Harvey, Brad Hogg, Brett Lee, Michael Kasprowicz, Jason Gillespie, Brad Williams.

The first test match between Pakistan and Australia came to a thrilling conclusion on Monday, and though it may have been a bitter disappointment for all Pakistani fans, the Pakistan team can certainly hold its head high for their spirited effort in this test match.It was a case of so close, yet so far, for Waqar’s men as the Australians held their nerve in a tension filled last day. Steve Waugh once again showed why he is regarded as the “ice-man” and kept calm throughout, marshalling his troops to victory in the end. His decision to take the new ball at the crucial juncture on the last day proved to be the killer blow.However disappointing the defeat may have been for Pakistanis, they have certainly no reason to be ashamed. They fought hard and nearly pulled off victory in a match where it seemed they did not stand a chance.It was a team full of youngsters with all the big guns missing due to injury or personal reasons, and it was this young brigade that really lead the charge for Pakistan. Taufeeq Umar showed tremendous resilience in his second knock, showing exactly what an opener needs to do, wear out the new ball and then play strokes. He showed the patience other Pakistani openers have not shown in recent times, leaving everything outside off stump and cashing in on every loose ball. One hopes Pakistan may have finally found one answer at least for their dual opening combination.Faisal Iqbal, appeared to be a dramatically improved cricketer from the time he was last picked to play for Pakistan. A very competent player of spin, he took to Shane Warne with a confidence that one does not normally see and did not hold back against the fast men either. He seems to be oozing with confidence and not the least bit disturbed by the sledging that has become a part of the modern game. An excellent prospect for the Pakistan side, one hopes that the selectors will persist with him for quite a while.The best part of this test match for Pakistan has firstly been the discovery of talented youngsters who can cover for the likes of Inzamam and Youhana and secondly, the team has rediscovered the inspiration they lacked in recent tournaments.No praise is enough for the efforts of Shoaib Akhtar and Saqlain Mushtaq. Shoaib was right back at his fiery best, and proved once again that he is single handedly capable of destroying any opposition if he is in the right frame of mind. Praise too is due to PCB for showing faith in Shoaib during his injury period earlier in the year and the effort in getting him back to full fitness. Saqlain came back with a point to prove, as he had been discarded after the tournament in Morocco, and answered all his critics in style. He bowled with tremendous accuracy and variety, and was not afraid to flight the ball, something his bowling had lacked in recent times.Though the team played brilliantly, a few tactical errors may have been the only negative to come out of the game for Pakistan.Firstly, the promotion of Razzaq to number three backfired completely, and might just be the mistake that cost Pakistan the game. Razzaq was all at sea against Warne, and too defensive, which is totally unlike his normal self. His groping around allowed a fillip to the dimmed hopes of the Aussies after Imran and Taufeeq had put on a good opening partnership. Razzaq would be a far better prospect at number six, where he can afford to play some strokes against an older ball. The best batsman in the side must occupy this position in any side. Amongst the current options, there is no one better than Younis Khan who is in great touch and should really be fitted in once and for all. The Pakistanis have experimented for too long with this position, and besides Younis or Youhana there appears to be no other option.Secondly, the selection of Mohammed Sami also proved to be an error as the game wore on. The pitch was turning square and Danish Kaneria would have been a very useful bowler under the conditions. Moreover, the Pakistani batting order seems hampered by an excessively long tail with Saqlain coming in at number eight. The management might also consider picking an extra batsman instead of Sami to strengthen the batting line up, and go into the match with four bowlers.All in all, apart from a few adjustments there is nothing to complain of, and even the biggest critics of the Pakistan team will have to put up their hands and applaud the team’s efforts. Waqar and Richard Pybus deserve a lot of praise for turning the team’s attitude around and the youngsters are a major reason for that. One can only hope that they continue to show this fighting spirit in the games to come.

The Asian Test Championship final at the Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore starting 6 March is an occasion to celebrate for Pakistani cricket lovers more so, because they have starved long for a chance to enjoy international cricket on their own soil. The drought started when India backed out of a regular tour on political grounds two years back. Then came the fateful 11 September 2001 disaster that struck a further blow to hosting international cricket in Pakistan.Pakistan, which happens to be Afghanistan’s next door neighbour had to bear the brunt of the security concerns expressed by scheduled touring sides. The foreign teams cancelled their tours, not only causing the PCB a colossal loss of funds but also depriving the cricket loving public of the fun of watching international cricket live. Another fall out from the crisis boiled down to the Pakistan Cricket Team losing vital match practice.While New Zealand cancelled their tour, a compromise was struck with the West Indies Team to play the scheduled series at Sharjah instead of in Pakistan. Despite being out of practice, it was fortunate for Pakistan team to win both tests as well as the one-day encounters.The situation having eased up considerably, it is nice to see Sri Lanka coming over to play final of the Asian Test Championship at Lahore. This match is in fact the unfinished agenda of the championship that commenced last year. India having declined to participate, only three teams Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka were left in the contest. Both Pakistan and Sri Lanka having thrashed Bangladesh by an inning’s margin, the two teams jumped into the finals. It may be recalled that Pakistan won the first Asian Championship in 1999 also participated by India. Pakistan shall thus be defending their honour. Let us see who becomes the new Asian Champs?The two sides have not only been announced but have had also net practice sessions at Gaddafi. The Pakistan team has two major omissions. The prolific opener Saeed Anwar is either not recovered from his injury or is away on personal business. Former skipper Wasim Akram has been sidelined for doubtful physical fitness, an assessment of the selectors that he has refuted in the press. Out of those selected, Inzamam remains pathetically out of his elements. Surprisingly, a batsman of a very high caliber, the Pakistan vice-captain was seen struggling with the bat against Bangladesh, a rare phenomena for the big man who had never faced such a crisis in his career. He is, however, quite capable of striking back at any time or can even be a match winner on his own.Two youngsters who gave remarkable performances against the West Indies at Sharjah could not possibly be ignored. The budding all-rounder Shoaib Malik who played a match winning innings in the second one-day game at Sharjah fully justified his inclusion in the side. Same was the case with Mohammad Sami, who not only bowled Pakistan to victory but also joined the ranks of bowlers to perform a hat trick in one-day games.Sri Lanka also has a very balanced side. Giving Pakistan due credit, skipper Jayasuriya visualizes a tough battle between the two teams. He is of the view that his team is now on the right track and direction and with some excellent performance in the recent past, he expects his boys to do well in the final. With Marvan Atapattu, Mahela Jayawardene, Russel Arnold, Tillekeratne and Jayasuriya himself, the Sri Lanka team has quite a depth in its batting line up. They, however, feel the pinch of not having played any cricket in the last 10 weeks compared to Pakistan who recently won the two Test series against the West Indies at Sharjah. One should not, however, lose sight of trump card Muttiah Muralitharan who can take Sri Lanka to the vistory stand single-handedly on his day. Both sides look determined to win which indicates that it will be an excitingly tough battle to watch.The teams were given a joint reception by PCB and the match sponsors at a local hotel last evening in which brief speeches were made. In a battle of wits, the two managers expressed their desire ‘to turn the tables on the other’, the whole thing ending up in good humour.The nature of the pitch would only be known just before the match starts but it is expected to be sporting. The weather is clear with excellent daylight required for good cricket. Athar Zaidi and Darrel Harper will be the field umpires while Saleem Badar will act as TV umpire and the ICC match referee will be AM Ebrahim (Zim).