England have not had much good news on the injury front of late, but a glimmer of light has emerged with James Anderson making a significant stride in his recovery from a stress fracture of the back.Anderson has been wearing a back brace for the last six weeks to aid his rehabilitation and has now progress significantly enough for it to be removed. Dave Roberts, the physiotherapist coordinating Anderson’s recovery, told the Lancashire website: “He has had another scan and it showed that the injury has healed enough for him to take off the brace and to start the next stage.”He is into his first week of rehab, and while he needs to take things slowly, there is hope that he will be able to start bowling again in three or four weeks.”Anderson has been out of action all summer after he returned from England’s tour of India where he began to feel discomfort during the one-day series. It was a bitter blow for Anderson who had shown a return to something near his best form when he played a key role in England’s victory at Mumbai to level the Test series. He is still unlikely to play any international cricket this summer but his Ashes prospects are now looking brighter.His Lancashire team-mates Andrew Flintoff and Glen Chapple are also on the injury list and missing the current one-day series against Sri Lanka. Chapple was selected in the original squad but picked up an abdominal strain against Ireland and returned to Old Trafford for treatment.

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.”

Northamptonshire have awarded David Sales a benefit for next season. He is the captain and the club’s longest-serving player of the current staff. Sales, 28, joined in 1994 and has been captain since 2004.”I am very grateful to the club for offering me a benefit next year,” said Sales. “2006 has been a year of change and I am sure together we can help the club build on the foundations currently being laid”.So far in his first-class career he has amassed 8640 runs, at 39.81, with a highest score of 303 not out.

Following the death of Clyde Walcott, the former legendary West Indies batsman, tributes have been pouring in

“Clyde had a powerful physique and his batting was based on power and strength. I first met him when we were about 11-years-old. We lived pretty close to each other and played together for many years. He hit the ball harder than any of us. Whenever I batted with him I enjoyed it and we had some great times together on and off the field. He was a pretty quiet person but would always find time to talk to you and find out what was going on. He was a great man, a great friend, and a great cricketer. We have lost a great man . . . I have lost a great friend.”
Everton Weekes, the sole survivor of the three Ws“On my first tour to England in 1976 he was my manager and he helped me a lot early in my career. I can give you one example of what Clyde was like. On that tour we’d played against Hampshire and I wasn’t very happy. I didn’t have the best equipment for English conditions, my studs were too short, and I was feeling sorry for myself. Clyde could see this because I sat at the back of the coach on my own and he just came up and sat down next to me – just to have a chat.After I’d told him the problem he suggested a talk to some the county pros and find out about how to get some new equipment. That was Clyde, he wouldn’t wait for you to ask him, he would approach you and try to help.”
Former West Indies fast bowler Michael Holding“He has been one of our greatest ambassadors. Clyde has always been a dominant individual as far as West Indies cricket is concerned. He will be a great loss indeed.”
Former West Indies offspinner Lance Gibbs“Sir Clyde was one of my closest personal friends and he will be remembered for his unique contribution as a player, coach, commentator and administrator.””Sir Clyde’s achievements as a selector, manager, board member, president of the West Indies cricket Board and the top administrator of cricket at the International Cricket Council (ICC) were outstanding – accomplishments that have brought great joy and pride to the hearts of most West Indians. No other West Indies player can come close to Sir Clyde in that regard.””We are greatly saddened by the news of the death of Sir Clyde. As well as remembering his contribution in 1950 to developing our passion for the game as schoolboys, we are particularly indebted to him as it was he who was the chairman of the ICC when we made our first presentations on the Duckworth/Lewis method ten years ago and his belief that revised targets should be fair to both sides was undoubtedly an important factor in our method becoming established. Since then we had the pleasure of meeting him on a number of occasions and got to know him as a kind and gentle man who would never miss an opportunity to be involved in the game. We especially remember how he honoured us with his presence at a lunch following a presentation we made to West Indian umpires and scorers in Barbados in 2004.”
“This news has saddened me greatly as cricket has not only lost a legend but also someone who devoted his life to the betterment of our great game. I never saw him play but people whose opinions I value have confirmed his greatness to me and his figures, with a Test average of more than 56 runs per innings, mean he will rightly be remembered as a giant on the field. As an administrator Sir Clyde was thoughtful and conciliatory and cricket in my homeland of South Africa owes him an enormous debt because he was instrumental in ensuring our return to the international fold in 1991.
“He was not only one of the greatest-ever post-War cricketers but also one of the finest people I have ever had the opportunity of working with. He took over as ICC Chairman at a critical time in the history of the organisation [the ICC’s first chief executive, David Richards, was appointed in the same year, 1993] and he succeeded in not only keeping it together but also enhancing it. Sir Clyde played a crucial role in shaping the ICC and for that, together with his lifetime of service to cricket, he has earned the unending thanks of a grateful game.”
“Sir Clyde Walcott was a good friend and a great Chairman of ICC. He was a true gentleman who was highly adept at calming troubled waters. He was a gentle but decisive man for whom cricket always came first and his own ego last. Throughout his impressive career he received tremendous support from his wife Muriel and my thoughts are with Muriel and the family at this sad time.”
“I don’t think he ever shied away from helping some young cricketer. I think that his presence would have inspired a lot of these players. I never really played with Sir Clyde per se. I was involved in some trials in 1957 in Trinidad and I think that Clyde captained one of the sides that I was playing in but that’s the nearest that I got to him on the cricket field. But afterwards, some of my fondest memories were sitting in selection meetings with him and probably afterwards when we had done the job, sitting with him and Lady Muriel (Sir Clyde’s wife), having a drink or two and discussing cricket. We sometimes incurred the wrath of Lady Muriel with some selections we might have made that she didn’t agree with.”
“Sir Clyde was an inspiration to many South African cricketers as a magnificent batsman, fierce opponent of apartheid in sport, and latterly as a most valued ally of unified cricket in South Africa.As a player, he was instrumental in changing the face of West Indies cricket and helped revolutionise world cricket which had then been very much a colonial sport. As president of West Indies Cricket and later as ICC president, Sir Clyde was particularly helpful in assisting the United Cricket Board of South Africa forge a new future for South African cricket after its formation in 1991. Cricket South Africa will always be grateful for the role he played in this regard, and our history will certainly record this.”

The annual one-day international tri-series in Australia, traditionally following the summer’s Test series, is set to get a new sponsor.The Commonwealth Bank is expected to take over from Foster’s Australia, which sponsored the series for five seasons through its brand VB, for this summer’s series, also featuring England and New Zealand. In the past, Benson & Hedges and Carlton & United have also been successful sponsors.According to a report in , Commonwealth Bank – one of the largest financial institutions in Australia – is likely to sign a deal with Cricket Australia (CA) worth upto Aus$7 million a year. The bank has been one of the long-time sponsors of Cricket Australia’s Centre of Excellence in Brisbane and junior men’s and women’s national teams. The report added that Mastercard will also be a minor sponsor of the tri-series.The domestic one-day tournament is also set to get a new sponsor starting this season, with ING, the main sponsor for 14 years, reportedly pulling out. Peter Young, Cricket Australia’s public affairs manager, confirmed that the deals would be finalised sometime in October. Foster’s Australia will remain a major financial partner with Cricket Australia.

The ICC was satisfied by the judgement of the drug tribunal which banned Shoaib Akhtar for two years and Mohammad Asif for one year after they tested positive for banned substance anabolic nandrolone, according to Percy Sonn, the ICC President.Sonn issued a statement after the Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) Anti-Doping Commission released its report on the charges against Shoaib and Asif.”It is a tragedy that the careers of two cricketers have been tarnished in this way but, at the same time, the judgement emphasises that cricket has a zero tolerance of drug use”, said Sonn. “It is a good judgement, well written, very professionally done and they have made constant reference to the guidelines laid down in the PCB’s anti-doping code.”Sonn said that the idea behind the ICC adopting the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) code in July this year and enforcing drug-tests on players at all ICC events since 2002 was to make cricket a sport with zero tolerance for use of drugs.”The PCB has done extremely well in handling this matter in such an efficient manner and its strong stand against doping is a fine precedent,” he said, urging those Full Members of the ICC who haven’t already initiated it to adopt a regular policy of testing their players.But Imran Khan, the former captain of Pakistan, felt that though an example needed to be set for future generations to stay away from drugs, the ban itself was very harsh and would severely reduce Pakistan’s chances in World Cup in March next year.”Both Akhtar and Asif are experienced, wicket-taking bowlers and their absence means Pakistan will be without key strike bowlers,” said Wasim Bari, Pakistan’s chief selector, echoing Imran’s views. Javed Miandad, the former captain and coach of Pakistan, said that it was important now to have an emergency plan for the World Cup while Rashid Latif, former wicketkeeper, felt that the different sentences passed on Shoaib and Asif were passed as an attempt to end Shoaib’s career.Jalal-ud-din, the former Pakistan fast bowler, was among the few who defended the tribunal’s decision. “The PCB was under pressure to take a strict decision or else the outside world would have criticised. I think players should appeal and get some relaxation,” he said.

News – Martyn announces retirement
Peter English – Remember the artist
Reaction – ‘A damn good player’
Glenn McGrath – ‘There was no inkling of it’
Feature – Five of the best
Ian Chappell – Going out on his own terms
Archive – Saving Grace
Almanack – Cricketer of the Year 2002
Stats – An all-weather operator
Timeline – A career of highs and lows

ScorecardJacob Martin, Baroda’s captain, crafted a responsible 69 and steered them to a fine four-wicket win against Haryana at Vadodara. Resuming on 129 for 5, Baroda lost the wicket of Ajit Bhoite early but Martin and Pinal Shah, the wicketkeeper, added 79 for the unbroken seventh-wicket stand to take Baroda home. With 13 points from five games, Baroda now stand a great chance of qualifying for the knockout stage.
Scorecard
On course for a win Uttar Pradesh came calamitously close to defeat, eventually forcing a draw and earning just two points against Tamil Nadu at Chennai. Chasing 129 for victory, in 25 overs, UP were motoring along at 72 for 2 in 13.1 overs when Ravichandran Ashwin, the offspinner, triggered a collapse. UP lost five wickets for the addition of just 17 – all to Ashwin who finished with 5 for 23 – and ended up battling for a draw in the final moments. Earlier Praveen Kumar, the medium-pacer, snared five wickets and restricted Tamil Nadu to 223 in the second dig. Anirudha Srikkanth top-scored with 86 but it was the crucial 33-run partnership between Vijayakumar Yo Mahesh and Ashwin that ate up valuable time. Eventually it proved to be the difference between a UP win and draw and the two teams may now have to battle relegation in the final rounds.
Scorecard
Saurashtra wrapped up a thumping ten-wicket win, with a bonus point to boot, in their encounter against Delhi at Rajkot. Delhi, following on in the second innings, didn’t fare much better with the bat, with only captain Mithun Manhas’s 86 helping them to avert an innings defeat. Rakesh Dhruv, the left-arm spinner, ended with impressive figures of 5 for 67. Saurashtra were left with a meager target of 10 and their openers duly knocked it off without the loss of any wickets.
Scorecard
Uday Kaul’s maiden first-class hundred ensured that Punjab gained two points from a drawn encounter against Rajasthan at Jaipur. Kaul, on 71 overnight, ground his way to his century, in an innings that spanned close to eight hours and included seven fours and a six. His captain Pankaj Dharmani, on 151 last evening, added another 16 to his score before Rajesh Sharma and Luv Ablish provided Kaul with valuable support. Rajasthan pottered around for 42 overs in the second innings as the game meandered to a draw.
Scorecard
Hrishikesh Kanitkar managed an unbeaten 151 but Maharashtra had already conceded two first-innings points to Bengal at Kolkata. With the fate of the match decided, Maharashtra gained some batting practice on the final day with Kanitkar leading the way with a 266-ball knock. Yogesh Takawale supported him with a dogged 75 as the game petered out to a tame draw.
Scorecard
Half-centuries from Robin Uthappa and Thilak Naidu, complemented by a plucky 42 from captain Yere Goud, helped Karnataka stave off defeat on the final day against Andhra at Anantpur. Karnataka were struggling at 94 for 5 before Naidu led the repair operation. His 49-run stand with Goud started the fightback before his obdurate stands with Stuart Binny and Sunil Joshi sealed the issue. Joshi spent 104 minutes in the middle for his 11 as Karnataka kept their semi-final chances alive.

Danish Zaheer, an expert on the panel that overturned the drugs ban on Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif, has spoken out saying that the decision to lift the ban went against world doping guidelines. But he added that the original tests on the two bowlers were flawed as there was confusion over a urine sample and forms were not dated properly.Zaheer was the lone dissenting voice on the three-man panel that included Justice Fakhruddin Ebrahim and Haseeb Ahsan, a former Test cricketer. “I differed on the verdict simply because… those [reasons] given by the appellate may not be acceptable to the World Anti-Doping Agency [WADA],” said Zaheer “There were numerous major evidence-based departures from international standards while conducting tests on the Pakistani cricketers and due to these the whole procedure becomes null and void.”The forms had no names on them, said Zaheer, who is also the vice-president of the Asian Federation of Sports Medicine. “It could not be established whose urine sample it was, whether of Inzamam-ul-Haq or of Akhtar.”The panel had overturned the ban on the ground that the players were never warned or cautioned against taking supplements. “There was no proper notification to the players for the tests, as you need to give players written notifications before testing, but instead players were informed on the telephone,” he said. “The two bowlers did not know much about doping and that was why they refused to have their ‘B’ samples tested, which was very important.”The WADA filed an appeal against the panel’s decision in the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) based in Lausanne, Switzerland on December 22.

Inzamam-ul-Haq, the Pakistan captain, acknowledged that the 2-1 series loss to South Africa was one of the more disappointing of his career and that his side’s top-order batting simply hadn’t been good enough.Imran Farhat and Mohammad Hafeez struggled through the series, making only one fifty between them, while Yasir Hameed, at one-down, also failed to make a real impact. “I believe in the theory that if you keep giving your batsmen enough opportunities, they would perform but there are times when you cannot be patient enough,” Inzamam said.”I was really disappointed by the way some of our batsmen played in the final Test, especially in the second innings when we could have easily achieved a 250-run lead. It was a difficult wicket but I still believe we could have scored 250 to 300 runs in the second innings, something that would have helped us win an important series.” Farhat has already paid the price and becomes the fifth member of the squad to be sent home as he will play no part in the ODI series.Despite a valiant fight, Pakistan couldn’t stop South Africa from reaching the target of 161, thus losing the series. Given the surfaces they played on and what should’ve been a strong bowling attack, but one eventually ravaged by injury, Inzamam recognized this as a golden opportunity lost.”We have lost a golden opportunity to win a series overseas against a top side. It is one of the biggest disappointments of my career. We have won many Tests at home, but to be ranked among the best you have to win overseas,” he said.”The fitness problems with the bowlers didn’t help, but it also showed that the team had grown together and learned to compete well.”Mohammad Asif (19 wickets) and leg-spinner, Danish Kaneria (15) carried much of the bowling for Pakistan, bowling over 300 overs between them. “Asif has immaculate length control and a natural ability to swing the ball both ways. He is also quick to spot a weakness in a batsman and work on it. Kaneria has improved his bowling and has the ability to take 500 Test wickets.”Inzamam himself left the field on the final day of the Test with a return of the back pain that has troubled him intermittently over the last two years. He has been advised rest for four to five days and said only that, “Hopefully I will be available for the one-day series.”Meanwhile, Imran Khan added his voice to those expressing disappointment at the series result, arguing that dropping Shoaib Akhtar for the series was Pakistan’s first big mistake.Shoaib was flown to South Africa after injury to Umar Gul, and destroyed the South African top order on the opening day of the second Test match, which Pakistan won. He then pulled a hamstring after bowling just 11 overs and was later sent back home for treatment and rehabilitation.”Pakistan committed the blunder of not taking Shoaib from the start of the tour and his injury at Port Elizabeth could have been because he wasn’t match fit,” Imran told AFP. “Some good things have also come out and now the team management realise Tests can only be won through matchwinners.”For Pakistan’s other matchwinner, Asif, there was further praise. “Asif is well on his way to become one of the greats. If he gains a little bit of pace through weight training he can be more lethal.”Imran was also critical of Inzamam’s decision to bat at six and Mohammad Yousuf at five. “Yousuf is the best batsman alongside Australian Ricky Ponting at the moment but how many times Ponting has batted below three? And Ponting always leads from the front,” Imran pointed out.