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Donald Peters, the chief executive of the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB), has said his board did attempt to do background checks on Allen Stanford before entering into a five-year deal with him along with the ECB.”Both the ECB and the [West Indies] board did due dilligence checks,” he told the . When asked if the WICB did these checks independently of their British counterparts, Peters responded: “The ECB certainly have more resources than us, so they led the checks.”Both boards have been left with cricket projects in limbo as a result of fraud charges being laid against Stanford, who was sponsoring the Stanford Super Series, the first edition of which was held last year when a Stanford Superstars team won a US$20 million winner-takes-all match against England. English counties also received £50,000 each from that game.Stanford also ran the Stanford 20/20 regional series, from which territorial boards received money for cricket development, and was set to bankroll a quadrangular tournament in England later this year. Stanford was also supposed to contribute to the WICB’s Chance to Shine development programme, scheduled to get going later this year.Peters insisted Stanford’s legal problems and frozen assets were not something the WICB could see coming. “They [the Stanford Financial Group] are a legitimately registered business in the Caribbean. There was no reason to believe there was anything fraudulent about the company. We’re not forensic accountants here.”However, even the ICC had decided against doing business with Stanford after a meeting in 2007 before the ICC World Twenty20 final between India and Pakistan. Stanford had proposed an annual triangular tournament involving two full member teams and his All-Star side. But when he suddenly changed the proposal at the last minute to include just the winners of that final, the ICC backed off.”Any thought we might have had of doing business with him was placed on the back burner when he moved the goalposts immediately,” ICC president David Morgan had told the .Stanford had also previously approached cricket authorities in India and South Africa with big money proposals without success.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the India captain, and coach Gary Kirsten believe the team’s balance will ensure it remains competitive on the tour of New Zealand, regardless of the conditions. India’s batsmen failed to adapt to the wet, seamer-friendly conditions on the last tour in 2002-03 and lost the Tests 2-0 and the ODIs 5-2 – the biggest blip on their overseas record since the turn of the century.”We are going there with the mindset that we are going to win. The great thing about this Indian team is that we have the right balance,” Kirsten said in Mumbai before the team’s departure for New Zealand. “We feel we can go and play in any conditions, on any surface, and be a competitive force. It is important to understand the weather there [New Zealand], which is very different to what it is here.”India’s first Test tour to New Zealand was in 1967-68, a series which they won 3-1 – their first overseas series win. They have toured New Zealand six times since then, losing four Test series and drawing two. The current tour comprises three Tests, two Twenty20 internationals and five ODIs.Only five players in India’s ODI squad – Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh, Harbhajan Singh and Zaheer Khan – have prior experience of touring New Zealand and Dhoni wanted to focus on adapting to the conditions as soon as possible. “Every place has its own challenge,” Dhoni said. “The best [we can do] is to create an environment where we execute the plans and give our best during practice without thinking much about the results. It will be tough. It is a big tour for us.”Kirsten said conditions had changed over the years and it would be important to work out a game plan. “I have seen two very different types of conditions in the last two series I watched there [New Zealand]. When India were last there, the pitches were seaming around a lot, but when West Indies toured New Zealand, the pitches looked really good and pretty flat. So it is a question of finding out what we are going to be confronted with. I know this time of year the weather gets a bit colder, there might be some rain, which will assist the seamers in terms of the moisture.”India are a notch above New Zealand at No. 3 in the ICC’s ODI rankings, and several positions above them in the Test standings, but Kirsten said they would not be taking their hosts lightly. “New Zealand have always been competitive,” he said. “They are fighters who always give their best and it is worth being wary of them at home. We certainly won’t be taking them for granted.”Dhoni, for his part, refused to lay claim to being favourites for the tour. “We would rather go as underdogs instead of putting undue pressure on ourselves,” he saidHe also played down Daniel Vettori’s comments on him and Virender Sehwag thriving on the small grounds in New Zealand. “We know there are people in the side for whom any ground is small,” Dhoni said. “It is not the size of the ground, it is about form and the adaptability. We have individuals who can score big shots, rotate strike and change their gameplans as and when needed.”

The Colts Cricket Club batsmen came up with a record-breaking performance against Ragama CC at Braybrooke Place, to help their team close the gap with Sinhalese SC (SSC) at the top of the Premier League Tournament Tier A.Jeevantha Kulatunga and Roshen Silva starred in a fifth-wicket partnership of 353 for Colts, to establish a new first-class record for Sri Lanka, beating the 12-year-old record of the unbeaten 317-run stand set by the SSC pair of Arjuna Ranatunga and Hemantha Wickremaratne against Sebastianites at Maitland Place. Wickremaratne was on this occasion representing Ragama CC and could only helplessly watch his record being wiped out.Kulatunga went on to score his maiden double century in an 18-year first-class career, dominating the stand with a stroke-filled innings of 234 off 194 balls. The innings, which which included 28 fours and 12 sixes, was also the first double hundred for the current season.His junior partner Silva supported him well with his maiden first-class century (147) as they rescued Colts from a perilous 32 for 4 to an imposing 448. In the high-scoring drawn game, the Ragama batsmen also went on a leather hunt and fell short by 49 runs of overhauling the Colts total.Skipper Duminda Perera (135) and Sameera Soysa (104) put on 204 for the fifth wicket but could not prevent their team from surrendering a first-innings lead, which enabled Colts to move within six points of table leaders SSC with a game in hand.Captain Tharanga Paranavitana’s well-paced century ensured SSC retained their top position on the points table, as they took a 47-run first innings lead over Colombo CC at Maitland Place. CCC were saved from defeat by former under-19 World Cup cricketer Sachith Pathirana who followed his five-wicket haul in the first innings with a career-best 83 to force a draw.Badureliya CC secured their second win of the season in nine matches when they beat Army SC by four wickets at the Premadasa to keep their hopes of staying up in Tier A alive. In a low-scoring game, Badureliya were seen home by 33-year-old Rasika Priyadarshana who scored a valuable 66 to help his team reach the moderate target of 135 after they had fumbled at the start of their run-chase, losing three wickets for 11. Former Sri Lanka left-arm spinner Niroshan Bandaratillake led from the front for Badureliya, capturing ten wickets in the match. Badureliya’s victory left winless Nondescripts CC and Army to fight it out to avoid relegation to Tier B at the end of the season.Saracens SC took first-innings points in a crucial Tier B game against Panadura SC in a top-of-the-table clash at Panadura. After dismissing the hosts for 184 in the first innings, Saracens piled on the runs and picked up important batting bonus points as they declared on 437 for 6. Kasun Bodisha struck a fluent 179 and Chamara Soysa an unbeaten 121 in Saracens’ final game of the season.Saracens hold a 15.89 point lead and must await the outcome of Panadura’s final league match against Sebastianites to know the outcome of their fate. The Tier B winner will be making the step up to Tier A the following season.In the other matches that will not have any great bearing on the Tier B championship, Burgher RC beat Lankan Cricket Club at the Burgher Recreation Club, Seeduwa Raddoluwa thrashed Police Sports Club at the Police Park Ground, while Singha SC defeated Air Force Sports Club at the Colombo Cricket Club Ground.Player of the Week – Jeevantha KulatungaJeevantha Kulatunga is a batsman who wants to dominate the bowling from the time he takes guard. Circumstances have on occasions made him circumspect before he unleashed his full repertoire of strokes and as on most occasions Kulatunga finished on top of the pile. For the past 18 years the exciting right-hander has been a dominant force in domestic cricket for Colombo Colts, even though, for the majority of his 7,000 first-class runs he had to sacrifice his wicket going for big shots because he ran short of partners.”I was very unfortunate that for the first ten years of my career with Colts I could not bat any higher than six or seven because of the batting depth the club possessed,” said Kulatunga. That proved to be a big disadvantage to Kulatunga, who was capable of putting up big scores at a healthy rate, but was deprived of the opportunity because of his batting position.He missed out on several golden opportunities of making an impression and getting selected to the national team. At the age of 25, he was in the 30-member squad for the 1999 World Cup, but the next opportunity for national recognition did not come until he was 34 when he was picked for the T20 Canada in October last year. He was also picked to play for Sri Lanka in the Hong Kong Sixes. At his age Kulatunga, who is also captain-cum-coach of Burnley in the Lancashire League, says he is supremely fit and has two to three years of cricket ahead of him.”Getting that double hundred was very satisfying. It proved that I could bat for long periods and still dominate the bowling,” said Kulatunga. His hopes of making it to Sri Lanka’s Twenty20 World Cup squad will no doubt have been strengthened now.

Mervyn Westfield, the 20-year-old fast bowler, has extended his contract with Essex until 2010.”Meryvn is a promising young cricketer. His strong performances in the second XI in 2008 have led to us offering him an extension to his contract,” said Paul Grayson, the Essex coach. “We can see the potential there and Meryvn now has to stake his claim with the first XI.”Westfield made his first-class debut in 2005 and has a top-score of 32. He represented England Under-19s in the Malaysia tri-series in February, 2007, starring with 54 against the hosts.

Graeme Smith, the South African captain, believes the squad touring Australia, a blend of experienced players and fearless youngsters, will challenge the world’s No. 1 side during the upcoming Test series, which starts on Wednesday at the WACA.South Africa have never won a Test series in Australia, or against them since readmission, but the present team has been unbeaten in their last nine series, including wins in England and Pakistan and a drawn contest in India. “Generally we know what it will take to perform well and we are focused on that,” Smith told . “We’ve got rid of the other issues that irritated us in the past and we’ve focused on being physically and mentally ready. We are giving ourselves the best chance of performing well.”The guys that have been here [in Australia] have learned a lot of lessons and have a good thought on how to go about it, and the young guys have a non-fear approach in the way they’ve come in as the new generation of thinkers in South African cricket.”Just over half of the 15-man squad have been part of previous South African trips to Australia, and among those yet to play a Test in the country are batsman Hashim Amla as well as Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel and Paul Harris – likely to form the bowling attack with the experienced Makhaya Ntini.”They are positive cricketers, forward thinking and there’s a nice mix in our team environment,” Smith said. “Everyone is pushing each other for better results and we’ve proven that with our results over the last year and a half. Nobody can argue with that and this is another challenge where we have to play good cricket.”

Although the WACA is expected to assist fast bowlers, Smith said his team would play a spinner – Harris – in their line-up and felt Australia would do the same as well. “I would tend to say no [about leaving out Harris] if I’m being honest and that we will probably stick with our usual XI,” Smith said, “but we will have to see what the wicket looks like.”Over-rates have plagued Australia of late, with fines being imposed on them in consecutive Tests – against India in Nagpur and New Zealand in Brisbane. “They went with four pacemen against India last time and it didn’t really work, so I wouldn’t think they’d do that again,” Smith said. “Over-rates are the banes of captain’s lives at the moment but I won’t select a team on over-rates, but it is nice to have a spinner when things get tight. We will think about tactics first and take it from there.”The media in Australia have focused on spearhead Steyn, who comes in the series as the leading wicket-taker in Tests this year. However, the likes of Matthew Hayden and Glenn McGrath feel he has to prove himself against Australia, a team he’s yet to play a Test against. “Matty [Hayden] is a class player and will be up against Dale [Steyn], so the proof will be in the pudding,” Smith said. “Dale’s recent stats speak for themselves and he’s not the type of guy who will shy away, and Matty isn’t either. I’m excited to watch that battle also.”He’s a key batter in their line-up and gives the rest of their order a lot of impetus and has a good aura about him. He’s quite an imposing figure and adds a lot of value, so if we can keep him under pressure and not allow him to score runs it’s a bonus for us.”

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Haryana enjoyed their opening day against Jharkhand at Rohtak, where maiden century from Nitin Saini and a fourth from Sunny Singh piled up an imposing 331 for 3 by stumps. Saini and Rahul Dewan (45) put on 87 for the first wicket before Kuldeep Sharma struck twice. Then it was over to the two centurions, who put on 201. Saini, 20, had a previous best of 35 but went past that significantly, in just his fourth match, making 125. Sunny was unbeaten on 126 from 156 balls, with 13 fours and three sixes.
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Goa’s captain, Swapnil Asnodkar, carried on his early-season Ranji form with 93 on day one at Margao, but it was primarily a one-man show against Jammu & Kashmir. Asnodkar’s 179-ball effort, with the help of 13 boundaries, was the top score in an innings of 260 for 8 by stumps. Goa’s middle order failed to fire and if not for Saurabh Bandekar (30), Robin D’Souza (30*) and Ryan Ninan (21*) it would have been an even more disappointing outing. Runs came at a trickle, and Pranav Mahajan’s 3 for 48 were the best figures for J&K.
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Himachal Pradesh made good progress on the opening day of their match against Kerala at Dharamsala, reaching 317 for 7 by stumps. There were no centuries, but innings of 78 not out from Mukesh Sharma, 72 from opener Sangram Singh, and two scores in the forties from Paras Dogra and Ajay Mannu ensured a good day’s play. As many as eight bowlers were used by Kerala, with Tinu Yohannan, the former India fast bowler, taking the first and last two wickets to fall.
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Eleven wickets fell at Indore. The hosts, Madhya Pradesh, fielded first and did well to dismiss Bengal for 210 in 80.4 overs, but then lost Himalaya Sagar for a second-ball duck by stumps. Sanjay Pandey and Shantanu Pitre did early damage with the new ball, restricting Bengal to 80 for 5. Contributions from wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha (38) and Ritam Kundu (66) added a semblance of respectability to Bengal’s score, before legspinner Yogesh Golwalkar – who has played for Middlesex – cut them off en route to 3 for 29. Ashok Dinda gave Bengal some hope with the wicket of Sagar in his only over. Bengal fielded four debutants: Iaresh Saxena, Arindam Ghosh, Avik Chowdhury and Srivats Goswami, the Under-19 wicketkeeper.
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The trend of wickets taking precedent over runs continued at Palam, where Vidarbha overcame a poor batting performance by leaving Services floundering at 43 for 5. Services, who chose to field first, knocked over Vidarbha for 151 in 58.4 overs. Left-arm medium opening bowler Rakesh Kumar, in his fourth first-class game, picked up a career-best 5 for 45. Rakesh took five of the first six wickets to fall with the score 86 and was ably supported by Pankaj Kumar (2 for 36) and Shuvra Karmakar (3 for 38). Shalabh Shrivastava’s unbeaten 42 was the best score. In reply, Services batted as poorly, losing two wickets with the score at 4. It went downhill from there, with Yashpal Singh’s 24 the only double-digit score so far.
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Assam, having dismissed Tripura for 215, lost to wickets for 45 by stumps at Agartala. R Malli started well with the new ball, taking two quick wickets, but it was offspinner Arnald Konwar’s 5 for 59 which did the real damage. Konwar took two in the middle order and three down the way, helping Tripura justify their decision to field. Only Rajesh Banik (48) and wicketkeeper Rajib Dutta (54) made anything substantial. Vineet Jain nipped out Assam’s openers to finish the first day with 2 for 25.

The PCB has denied appointing Saleem Malik, the former Pakistan captain, as head coach of its National Cricket Academy, contradicting a statement to the contrary made by him.Zakir Khan, PCB’s director of cricket operations, claimed no such appointment had been made. “Salim Malik has not been appointed to any position with the board or the NCA,” he told Cricinfo.He said the matter had been resolved with the ICC. “We have been in touch with Haroon Lorgat, the ICC CEO, and clarified to him the same that Malik has not been appointed.”.The denial comes a day after Malik said he had “accepted” the post of head coach of the Academy after a life ban on him from any involvement with cricket was lifted by a civil court in Lahore.”I have been offered the post of head coach at the National Cricket Academy by the board and I have accepted it,” he told reporters in Lahore on Tuesday. “I hope after the court’s decision of lifting the ban, the ICC will have no objection, and, if needed, we can also apply for ICC’s endorsement of the court’s decision.”The repercussions were immediate: the ICC said it would ask the PCB to explain Malik’s appointment to a post of responsibility, something expressly prohibited by the inquiry. Rashid Latif, one of the first whistleblowers of matchfixing, resigned as wicketkeeping coach at the academy, protesting the appointment.The cause of the confusion, however, remains to be clarified. Board sources confirmed that Malik had met Ijaz Butt, the chairman, before he made the statements. However, Butt is believed to have made no such offer to Malik during the meeting, sources said.

With talks between the BCCI and ICL on officially accommodating the Twenty20 league having failed, the spotlight now is on the next move by the parties concerned. The ball appears to be in the ICC’s court; it will be briefed – before November 4, under its own stipulation – by the Indian board on Thursday’s meeting in New Delhi, and has been asked by the ICL to convene a board meeting by November 7 and decide on the issue.At Mohali, on the sidelines of the India-Australia Test match, ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat said it would wait for the BCCI’s official report before considering the ICL application for recognition. In the meantime David Morgan, the ICC president, is expected to hold behind-the-scenes discussions with officials of member boards on how to resolve the issue.While the BCCI has clearly stated that there are no plans for a further meeting with ICL, Subhash Chandra, the league’s owner, has written to Morgan asking him convene a board meeting by November 7 “and communicate to us the decision taken”. “Alternatively, we will have no option but to initiate legal proceedings in the appropriate court of law,” the letter says.ICL officials say the letter was sent to Morgan on Thursday, after the meeting with the BCCI, but no confirmation was available from the ICC.The letter claims Chandra was informed by Morgan, after the ICC board meeting, that Manohar had undertaken “to sit with ICL officials and resolve the matter.””I am told that Manohar also mentioned in the board meeting that the ICL has not so far made any formal request to the BCCI for recognition,” the letter says. It adds that when such a request was presented to Manohar during Thursday’s meeting, the BCCI president, who is also a well-known lawyer, “refused” to see it. Chandra also claimed that Manohar said the Indian board would deal with him only if he disassociated himself from the ICL, a proposal Chandra says he rejected.”We strongly feel and are of the view that such an attitude and behaviour of your member board in India is against the very essence of natural justice and infringes the very basic right of preventing an individual from earning his livelihood,” the letter says.Asking the ICC to take the initiative in granting the league approval, the letter says the issue “needs to be resolved by ICC as the conflict is affecting many cricket-playing countries and not only India”.Since its inception, the ICL has seen strong opposition from the BCCI, which has banned players associated with the league from all forms of official cricket and barred them from using any of its facilities. The ICL has, meanwhile, been pressing the ICC unsuccessfully for official recognition of their venture for several months. Subsequently they requested the ICC for a meeting, and Subhash Chandra, who owns the league, met David Morgan, the ICC president, in London last week to present its case.The ICL believes that it has a strong case for recognition under Rule 32 of the ICC operating manual that deals with authorised unofficial cricket such as the Hong Kong Sixes event and the Stanford 20/20 in the West Indies. However, two senior BCCI officials – Manohar and Lalit Modi, the IPL chairman – are on a five-man ICC sub-committee that has worked on modifying the rules for official and unofficial cricket.

Lancashire have revealed plans for a massive four-year redevelopment of Old Trafford which will turn England’s second-oldest Test venue into a state-of-the-art 25,000 capacity stadium. The project is part of a £200 million investment into a site surrounding the ground.Trafford Council has welcomed the proposals, part of an innovative sports-led regeneration strategy for a 50-acre mixed use neighbourhood in Old Trafford. A planning application for the first phase of the new stadium development will be lodged imminently with works potentially starting in early 2009, and phased over consecutive years until completion in late 2012.The proposals include new player and media facilities, as well as conferencing, banqueting and hotel facilities. There will be two new grandstands which will give a permanent capacity of 15,000, but up to 10,000 more will be able to be accommodated by means of temporary seating. There will also be floodlights and permanent replay screens.The first phase includes a new outfield, based on the system in place at Lord’s, and this is being laid during the close season.The new designs also include the re-orientation of the wicket, to see the square run from north to south for the first time in 150 years. Changing the original east to west orientation will resolve sunlight issues which have affected players. The new square, which will take 18 months to bed in, will also be larger in size, allowing for five new wickets to be constructed, giving Lancashire the ability to bid for more high profile matches, including internationals. To allow the wicket to be ready in time for The Ashes in 2013, play would need to begin on the new square in 2011.

“The proposals come at a time of fierce competition for the rights to stage Test matches which has recently seen the ground, and the region, fail to secure any for the foreseeable future,” a statement issued by the county said. “The significant investment being made in the new facilities will ensure that Old Trafford regains its rightful place on the Test circuit in time for the 2013 Ashes Test.””The Old Trafford brand has a massive standing in world cricket. The club has been on the same site since 1857,” Jim Cumbes, Lancashire’s chief executive, said. “Our membership and cricket lovers everywhere recognise the contribution that the club makes locally to the economy through visitor attraction, image, marketing and employment in the borough.”Together with our local partners, the Northwest Development Agency and Sport England, we will work towards delivering a scheme which will have at its heart a new stadium fit for the next 150 years, and which will be recognised as world-class standard, fit for the UK’s greatest sporting city region and serving the huge cricketing fan base in the north west.

ScorecardA strong bowling performance by Namibia gave them the advantage in their Intercontinental Cup match against Bermuda. After taking a first-innings lead of 145, Namibia declared their second innings at 153 for 9 and then took an early wicket in Bermuda’s chase of 299.Nineteen wickets fell on day two, with Bermuda adding just 84 to their overnight total of 91 for 1. Offspinner Deon Kotze picked up 4 for 31, while Jekon Edness top scored for Bermuda with 39 in a disappointing batting display in which only the top three batsmen scored more than 20.Fast bowler Stefan Kelly gave Bermuda some hope early in Namibia’s second innings, taking three of the first four wickets, which fell with just 44 on the board. But Gerrie Snyman’s 52-ball 57 gave his side a boost, even as wickets fell around him. Kelly ended with six wickets for the match.At stumps Edness was batting with Kelly after Bermuda lost Oronde Bascombe with 18 on the board.