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Cricket South Africa’s chief executive Gerald Majola has admitted that the board made a mistake in allotting the Boxing Day Test against West Indies to Port Elizabeth instead of the traditional Kingsmead in Durban, owing to the poor spectator turnout. The board’s decision to switch venues, in a bid to boost crowd numbers, backfired and Majola said the scheduling will be reviewed for the forthcoming seasons.”It was definitely a wrong move,” Majola told the South African-based . “We blundered badly. We wanted to try something new this season by moving the Test matches around. However it did not work as there were hardly any spectators at the Port Elizabeth Test.”The match was attended by roughly 11,000 in total over four days. The first day saw a crowd of around 4000 but the number dipped over the next three and an average of 2500 showed up. The deciding Test in Durban was an improvement with an aggregate of 19,000 over three days, with the home side achieving a series victory after losing the first Test.Matches in Port Elizabeth are traditionally held in mid-January and the board took a gamble to see if the response would be better during the holiday season. He admitted that the board overlooked the fact that Kingsmead would draw better crowds as people flocked to the popular beach destination.”We felt that if the crowd support in mid-January was good then it would be better if we had a Boxing Day Test in that city,” he said. “However people living at the coast love the beaches during the Christmas and Boxing Day period, hence we did not attract the crowd for the West Indies Test. We will have to go back to the drawing board.”South Africa head to Australia later this year so their next home Boxing Day Test will be in the 2009-10 season against England.

The Indian Premier League (IPL) and its place in the world cricket calendar is expected to be a key area of discussion as chief executives [or their equivalent] from all boards under the ICC umbrella meet over two days in Kuala Lumpur, starting tomorrow.Also on the agenda at the meeting, to be chaired by the ICC’s chief executive Malcolm Speed, are: format and number of teams for the 2011 World Cup, feedback on the international schedule post-2012, and a pioneering proposal from the ICC management to start the “trialling of an ‘umpire decision review system’ during the England v South Africa Test series to be played in England in July/August 2008”.The meeting of chief executives follows a scheduling summit, also in Kuala Lumpur, to review the draft international programme post-2012. While the question of how to accommodate the IPL and the proposed Champions League in the schedule will be touched upon, some wrangling is also expected on who will get to play the big teams.Pakistan, for instance, is expected to push for a “fair share” of Tests and one-dayers. “Our cricketers have to play optimum number of matches if we are to realise our target of becoming the world’s best team,” Nasim Ashraf, the Pakistan board chairman, was quoted as saying in The News. “Without putting them at the risk of injury or burnout, we will ensure that their international commitments are at par with other top teams like Australia, India and South Africa.”Ashraf is also expected to seek the help of other members in convincing Australia to go ahead with their tour to Pakistan in March-April, which seems unlikely with Cricket Australia expressing concerns over security. “We have already got a raw deal in the FTP and if Australia don’t come as per schedule, we will just have three Tests this year and that too when India tour later this year in December,” Ashraf told PTI.”We still remain hopeful they will fulfill their obligations of touring Pakistan but the truth is we are in a frustrating situation. Despite repeated assurances that no cricket team has been hit by violence in Pakistan and that it is safe for them to tour and they will be given state-level security, they are still expressing concerns.”Besides scheduling, what will be tracked with keen interest is the umpire decision review system. “According to the proposal, the captain of the fielding team or the batsman, as the case may be, will be entitled to a limited number of occasions to request the on-field umpire to review his decision in consultation with the TV umpire,” said an ICC spokesperson, in a statement. “The chief executive committee will review this proposal and make a recommendation to the ICC board. If the trial is given the go-ahead by the Board, the final playing conditions will be developed in consultation with the ICC cricket committee.”

Michael Slater, the rollicking Test opener who gave happiness to millions, bid farewell to big-time cricket on Wednesday, after having conceded defeat to the reactive arthritis that had played havoc with his career over the past few months. Slater, 34, played just three one-dayers for New South Wales in the last summer before being hospitalised.Addressing the media in Sydney, he said, “The decision has been a painful one. It’s been a very tough one, given that I still have the desire to play and believe I still had a lot to offer New South Wales cricket.” But selfishness was never part of Slater’s cricket psyche, and he added, “But I feel to have signed with the Blues in the hope of being fit for the season would have been irresponsible.”Looking back at his career, Slater said that the one regret centred around his exit from the Australian side, on the Ashes tour of 2001. Personal travails relating to his marriage ensured that there would be no fairytale swansong, and Slater said that harsh media scrutiny hadn’t helped matters. “The nature of me or the basis of me is I’m emotional and very sensitive, and unfortunately with the rumours and innuendo and the media coverage, I really took it to heart and it was a very difficult period to get through,” he said.James Sutherland, chief executive of Cricket Australia, was one of those to pay fulsome tribute to one of cricket’s most intriguing characters. “Michael is one of those rare players whose contribution to the game was even greater than his impressive statistics imply,” he said. “Fourteen Test tons is pretty impressive, and so was his role helping Australia back to the top.”But it was his approach and obvious pride representing his country which inspired countless Australian kids and left fans with our most lasting memories of him as an international player. His practice of kissing the Australian coat-of-arms on his helmet upon reaching a century emphasised the passion and pride with which he represented our country.”Recent newspaper reports had suggested that he was unhappy with his latest contract offer from NSW and was considering permanently trading the cricket field for the commentary box, where his alert and energetic style have made him an engaging TV performer.Slater’s Test record – 5312 runs, 14 hundreds and an average of 42.84 – leaves him just short of the truly great Test openers. But those numbers give little hint of his flamboyance or clean hitting, his determination to take on rather than see off opening bowlers, which made him one of the most thrilling batsmen of the modern era.He adopted the same hyperactive approach off the field, which was thought to be a big part of the reason why he was dumped by Australia for the second and final time after the fourth Ashes Test of 2001. Slater himself was convinced his removal “had nothing to do with form” and vowed to “come back bigger and better”.But it was not be. Matthew Hayden and Justin Langer immediately made themselves indisposable, Slater never quite recaptured his old lustre and a certain amount of melancholic underachievement now accompanies his premature retirement.Nonetheless, his opening partnership with Mark Taylor – by far the stodgier of the two – rates as the second most prolific in Test history, behind the West Indians Gordon Greenidge and Desmond Haynes. Slater’s opening-Test assaults against England at the Gabba in 1994-95, then again at Edgbaston in 2001, effectively dictated the course of two Ashes series by the end of their first day.He suffered from weight fluctuations and swollen ankles in recent times, with doctors unsure precisely what is wrong with him. “Some days he struggles to get out of bed, other days he is pretty good,” his manager Neil Maxwell said back in February.Slater’s most recent first-class appearance was for NSW against South Australia at the Adelaide Oval last November. He made 10 followed by a six-ball duck. He leaves the playing field with vivid memories of exuberant strokeplay, and unforgettable images of the Australian crest – on his helmet – being kissed with unbridled passion.

A day after Bangalore Royal Challengers owner Vijay Mallya indicated he was unhappy with the team composition, he has justified the sacking of chief executive Charu Sharma and demanded better results. Bangalore are at the bottom of the table after losing six of their eight games so far.”When I questioned the team’s performance, poor practice facilities and the lack of infrastructure were given as reasons,” Mallya told NDTV. “It was also said that there was no bonding in the team. I said to myself, things can’t continue like this. So I brought in Brijesh [Patel] and who better than him to provide better practice facilities at the home base in Bangalore?”He also said he had other players in mind but backed the judgement of Sharma and the captain Rahul Dravid.”In fact in the second auction, when Dravid was absent, I wanted my set of players but Charu was very tentative and I was held back. It was I who brought in Misbah-ul-Haq.”People have to understand IPL has a corporate side to it. It is not all cricket in the traditional sense. I just want to tell Rahul Dravid to do the best he can with this team and produce results. Dravid doesn’t enjoy being at the bottom of the league and neither do I.”Sharma, sacked last week, responded to the criticism by distancing himself from the selection of the team. He also said the captain and coach should be given more time to prove themselves. “When there are experienced players like Rahul Dravid and Test captain Anil Kumble around, how do you expect me to play a role in the team selection?” he told the news channel CNN-IBN.”The very purpose for stating earlier that ‘through these strange and difficult times all I wish to do is maintain a dignified silence’ – is because that’s exactly what I intend to do,” Sharma said in a statement. “Let us not forget that the team is still out there – on the road – doing its best, trying to improve match after match.”On the eve of the match against Kings XI Punjab in Mohali, Dravid was asked how it felt to be termed a ‘Test team’. “We have not played good cricket, so such comments will come. It is disappointing for the team, for all who are part of it including the franchisee,” Dravid said. “But we still have six matches to go and will bounce back with a good performance.”On being asked whether the right players had been chosen at the auction, he said, “There were lot of variables at the auction. The players we picked are all quality players, it’s only that their performances have dipped. The big names are not doing well. We have not got the combination right. All this as magnified after we did not start well and lost some close matches.”

Shaharyar Khan, the chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board, has condemned Wasim Bari’s statements against the umpiring in the Videocon Cup final, saying that no board official should make such public comments. quoted Shaharyar as saying, “I think the media and the people are the ones who can make public comments about an umpire or his decisions. But as far as the board and team-management is concerned it must strictly abide by the ICC procedures. The ICC has a laid down procedure for such things and the captain and manager are encouraged to send their reports and give their grading about the umpires to the ICC after every match and that has been done after the Holland final.”Bari, the chief selector, had strongly criticised Shepherd and two decisions that went against Inzamam-ul-Haq and Yousuf Youhana. He had also described Shepherd as ‘too old’.Shaharyar also confirmed that neither the PCB nor the team management had lodged any official protest against Shepherd. He added that the board had not made any request that Shepherd should not be appointed for any future Pakistan match.

From end of the very first over, it looked like this game was going to live up to the hype. Or rather, the anti-hype. The crowd was as sparse as the gloom was thick. Tinashe Panyangara, an 18-year-old playing in his seventh one-day international, ran in to bowl the first ball of the Zimbabwe innings, and sprayed it so wide that it barely touched the cut strip.Thirteen balls later, England were licking their lips. Panyangara’s firstnine deliveries had included seven wides; he’d even had to change to round the wicket in an attempt to bowl a legal ball. He bore it well, and his team-mates gathered round to lend support, but the crowd were already crowing. Oh yes, this was the Zimbabwe we’d heard all about.So you can only imagine the brooding in the England dressing-room when play was finally called off for the day, with five of their top order out to ordinary shots and, meaning no disrespect, ordinary bowlers. Sure, England are still in a decent enough position to win the game tidily, if Steve Harmison is anything like on form. But in those quiet moments of introspection, you wonder who’s going to feel the most annoyed with themselves.Will it be Marcus Trescothick, who hit 10 off 15 balls, only to bring hisfun to an abrupt end with an unwise cut? Michael Vaughan, caught at secondslip, having just pulled two consecutive balls for six? Perhaps it’s Andrew Flintoff, whose cameo was like a haunting by that other Freddie, the one he has so happily left behind. He hit one of his trademark drives over cover, the field dropped back, and a few balls later he spooned his next attempt to Douglas Hondo – now even better placed to take the catch as he ran back from mid-off.England seemed well enough equipped to deal with the damp in the air and onthe pitch, and to put away the worst of the Zimbabwean deliveries with complete comfort. What they couldn’t seem to do was control their own ambition. Andrew Strauss was a case in point, trying to be a shade too clever as he attempted an edge to third man, only for Tatenda Taibu to give a nice demonstration of his springiness as he took it far to his left.By the halfway stage England were 142 for 4; they had scored with deceptive ease, but only one batsman, Vikram Solanki, had made the most of the situation and he too was out before the early close. Zimbabwe – especially Edward Rainsford and Vusi Sibanda who both claimed their first international wickets – can be pleased with today’s efforts. They have given this particular script a re-write.Emma John is features editor of The Wisden Cricketer.

Pakistan will tour India to play three Tests and five one-day internationals in February 2005, just days after completing a gruelling three-month stint in Australia. According to Shaharyar Khan, the Pakistan Cricket Board chairman, final dates and venues will be decided after consulting with the Board of Control for Cricket in India.The reported Shaharyar, a former diplomat, as saying: “People from both the countries came together when India toured us and now people from Pakistan will go to India and a lot of friendship will develop.”Pakistan revised their international programme recently, asking Sri Lanka to tour in October as opposed to February-March next year so that they could accommodate the Indian tour. According to sources, the three Tests are likely to be played first, starting on February 25. Pakistan will go into the five-day games just a fortnight after completing their engagements in the VB Series in Australia.The PCB has also agreed in principle to play India in a one-off one-dayer on November 13, as part of the 75th anniversary celebrations of the BCCI. Pakistan last toured India for a Test series in early 1999, drawing the two-Test series 1-1, but also winning a match at Eden Gardens which formed part of the Asian Test Championship.

Australia have studied Stephen Fleming’s technique in an attempt to counter the threat posed by the Sri Lankan spinners, especially Muttiah Muralitharan. The two teams play a five-match one-day series from February 20, and will then contest three Tests in March.John Buchanan, Australia’s coach, said the team would pool together scraps of information so that the batsmen could come to terms with Sri Lanka’s spinners. He made it clear that though Muttiah Muralitharan was a danger, they would not ignore the other bowlers.”As I understand it, they’ve got six or eight spinners in their squad so Muralitharan is not the only one,” Buchanan said. Obviously [Muralitharan] is a key player for them, but I think we’d be silly if we just believed that if we negated Murali, we’ve got Sri Lanka beaten."Muralitharan has picked up 22 Australian wickets in seven games, but 15 of those have come in the last three Tests at an average of 23.3. And there’s good reason for Australia to handle him with caution at home – since January 2000, Muralitharan has snapped up 188 wickets in 25 home Tests at an average of less then 18.However, Fleming scored 376 runs in four innings the last time New Zealand toured Sri Lanka, and handled the spinners with a degree of comfort. It’s this tour that has Buchanan interested.”It was probably [New Zealand], and Fleming in particular,” Buchanan said. “We’ve got some information there that we’ll share with everybody. But also I think probably the experience of the likes of Matthew Hayden playing spin in India will be of benefit.”

Imran Khan has joined the chorus of voices criticising the dustbowl at the Wankhede Stadium which produced a two-day Test between India and Australia. Speaking to Press Trust of India in Jaipur, Imran urged home associations to desist the urge to produce tailor-made tracks.”Every country has a right to prepare the kind of wickets which suit their own bowlers. But there has to be a limit. If something is not done soon to curb this trend, cricket is sure to suffer,” Imran said. “In order to gain victory in front of their own countrymen, every team is going too far to prepare pitches favouring their own bowlers. This will ruin interest of the spectators.”India achieved a consolation win at Mumbai, but the pitch for the game came in for widespread flak, with Ricky Ponting calling it “nowhere near being close to Test standard”. Forty wickets fell in 202 overs, 13 of them in a frenetic final session of play on the third day.

Former South Africa opener Gary Kirsten has been appointed as a batting consultant for the Warriors for the upcoming season. Kirsten will aid coach Russell Domingo and his assistant, Piet Botha.The Warriors batting was very weak last season and they went down to heavy defeats in their last three matches.”I’ve worked a lot with Gary at batting camps and we’ve got a good rapport,” said Domingo. “It says much for the faith he has in our franchise that a player of Kirsten’s stature is prepared to come on board.”Kirsten is expected in Port Elizabeth for pre-season training in September. He said: “I am delighted to be part of the Warriors and hope that I can play a role in ensuring that the players are prepared for the season ahead.””Gary brings with him an enormous amount of experience and wisdom,” Dave Emslie, the CEO of Cricket Eastern Cape, added. “In retaining his services we are providing our cricketers with a unique opportunity to learn from somebody who has achieved the highest success through hard work and determination. Gary’s experience, expertise and personality will be something that we hope will give the Warriors a competitive edge in their quest to provide the region with a team of which they can be proud.”