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The decision of the International Cricket Council to freeze $SUS2.5million of the payout due to New Zealand from the World Cup was “not unreasonable”, according to New Zealand Cricket chief executive Martin Snedden.He described the ICC action as prudent in the face of contract disputes.”I am confident that our decision not to play in Nairobi was correct and that our position is sound,” he said of New Zealand’s refusal to play the preliminary round match against Kenya.”Given the extent of the claims the ICC may face from Global Cricket Corporation it is not unreasonable for the ICC to hold monies payable to NZC, India, England and Sri Lanka until those claims have been resolved.”Obviously, if NZC ultimately receives less money than expected from the World Cup, this would have some effect on our cricket programmes, but it will be some time before the financial effects are determined,” he said.

Bottom of the table Essex pulled off a shock win against league leaders Worcestershire by 33-runs at Chelmsford with Graham Napier grabbing the headlines with a magnificent all-round performance.The 21-year-old, whose early career has been affected by a series of injuries, announced his well being with a swashbuckling 73 from only 60 balls as the home side reached 200 in a match reduced to 40 overs per side.The medium-pacer then took over with the ball to collect career-best figures of 6-29 to topple the Royals and inspire his side to only their second win of the season in the National League.Nasser Hussain, returning to first team cricket, opened the batting for Essex who won the toss, but found himself playing the understudy as he and Napier added 51 runs in eight overs for the second wicket after Darren Robinson had been dismissed for a duck.Napier scored 40 out of the first 50 with the England captain no more than an interested onlooker. Hussain had faced 24 balls and scored seven when Australian, Andy Bichel, removed his leg stump but Napier continued unperturbed, blasting 10 boundaries including four sixes before he was caught at mid-wicket.The Essex middle-order added useful contributions before Bichel returned to wrap up the innings with a hat-trick and leave his side a challenging target of 201 for victory.Despite losing Graeme Hick for 19, Worcestershire appeared on course at 122-2 but the loss of Anurag Singh for 61 – the first of Napier’s scalps when the all-rounder clipped his middle stump – sent the innings into rapid freefall.Napier continued his one-man show collecting wickets in each of his next five overs as the visitors folded completely losing their last six wickets for 24 runs to leave Essex celebrating their first victory against a first-class county since 3rd June.

The clatter of three Western Australian wickets shortly before stumps has continued to afford Tasmania the whip hand by stumps on the second day of the sides’ Pura Cup match in Hobart. At the game’s midway point, the Warriors are at a mark of 4/137 in reply to the Tigers’ first innings tally of 9/446.Led by Shaun Young (2/20), the Tasmanian attack took until the final hour of the day to display the penetrative qualities which had hitherto been missing from both teams’ bowling line-ups. It was the medium pace of Young which did the major damage, his clever variety accounting for a spooned return catch from a well-set Simon Katich (38) and the departure of a very scratchy Murray Goodwin (3) to a leg before wicket decision. On his return after a long absence from the first-class arena, Gerard Denton (1/51) also made a crucial strike when he induced opener Mike Hussey (35) to play a mistimed pull and present Dene Hills with the opportunity to complete an excellent running catch behind square leg.But the presence at the crease of the clean-striking Damien Martyn (46*) and the determined mindset of Warriors’ captain Tom Moody might combine to ensure that the encounter yet develops into a tight battle for first innings points. On a placid pitch, Martyn played the most aggressive cameo of the match during the concluding stages to continue a romance with Bellerive that might well reach even more intense heights tomorrow. He could have been caught, either by wicketkeeper Sean Clingeleffer or first slip Daniel Marsh, when he top edged a cut at Denton with his score at a mere eight. But the two appeared to leave the potential chance to one another and, with the miss, went the Tigers’ opportunity to nip in the bud a rapid acceleration of the Western Australian run rate.”There’s a lot more batting left in our line-up and hopefully we can resurrect it tomorrow,” said Moody after play.And despite conceding that Tasmania was definitely in the box seat, the Western Australian skipper remained upbeat about the possibility that his team could still claim at least two points from the match.”There’s nearly two hundred overs left so who knows what can happen? It depends on how well we bat and how it all pans out late tomorrow and early on the fourth day.”Moody also hinted that he was slightly surprised by opposite number Jamie Cox’s decision to delay his declaration until seventy-seven minutes after lunch.”We were out there a bit longer than I expected; maybe they should have pressed on a bit quicker.”The Warriors’ bowlers and fieldsmen could have accepted at least some of the blame, though. The complexion of proceedings certainly might have been very different if they had capitalised on an excellent opening thirty minutes to the day. It was in that period that spinner Brad Oldroyd (4/90) snuck an arm ball through the defences of Young (43) and Brendon Julian (3/94) encouraged Marsh (110) to waft at an outswinger shortly after he had reached the landmark of three figures for the sixth time in his first-class career.The most crucial moment of the day loomed not long afterward when all-rounder Scott Kremerskothen (81) edged another Julian delivery to Moody at second slip with his score at six. The catch was grassed, and the visitors were left to pay a hefty price as Kremerskothen and fellow youngster Clingeleffer (50) set about adding a priceless 122 runs for the seventh Tasmanian wicket.Oldroyd finally removed Kremerskothen with a brilliant low return catch and Clingeleffer, two deliveries after raising an accomplished maiden first-class half-century, spooned a catch to cover off the bowling (the off spin bowling, no less) of Moody (2/82). By then, though, significant damage had been inflicted.”It was terrific, wasn’t it?,” said Cox of the pair’s alliance. “‘Kremer’ fell only one short of a career best and it was ‘Clinger’s first fifty, which was a good milestone … he’s done an excellent job in the first three games and we’re very pleased with the way he has come on.”Following a generally unpleasant nine hours in the field, the Western Australians encountered further annoyance when dashing opener Ryan Campbell (8) was trapped shuffling back and across his crease by David Saker (1/32). Hussey and Katich then added sixty-eight in fine style, and Martyn hit out brilliantly, but Young and Denton countered to leave the Warriors facing a big challenge to restore parity.

Sachin Tendulkar has said he was not yet fully recovered from his groin injury, leaving him a doubtful starter for the Mumbai Indians’ opening IPL match on April 20.With just three days left for Mumbai’s first match, Tendulkar said he was still following a rehabilitation regime and was not 100% fit yet. “I am a little disappointed that I was not able to play in the two important matches against South Africa. I am yet to recover fully from the injury,” he told reporters.”The physiotherapist and the doctor had earlier advised me rest and now they have given me the exercises and I am following their advice,” he said. “There are two more days for the match. No decision has been taken as yet [whether he will play or not]. It will be decided before the 20th.”The Bangalore franchise has also been hit with a few injury concerns, with Anil Kumble set to miss their opening match on April 18. Nathan Bracken, the Australian left-arm seamer, has already been ruled out for at least four weeks and it would make the selection of the final XI a tricky process.Bangalore’s opponents for the first match of the IPL – Kolkata Knight Riders – have announced a 14-member squad for the opening match. The side, led by Sourav Ganguly, includes five foreign players – Ricky Ponting, David Hussey, Brendon McCullum, Chris Gayle and Mohammad Hafeez.The second match of the tournament features Chennai taking on Kings XI Punjab in Mohali. Yuvraj Singh, the captain of the Punjab side, has already spoken of the mini-battle that the contest is likely to throw up between him and Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the captain of the Chennai franchise.”It’s a good way to build the hype (around the competition) by pitching it as Yuvraj versus Dhoni contest,” Yuvraj said. “Maybe, I will share a joke with him after the game.” Dhoni, however, will play in the side as a specialist batsman with Parthiv Patel set to keep wicket. “Dhoni has bruised fingers. We’ll see how things shape up in the next couple of days, but with Parthiv there, we don’t want to put unnecessary pressure on the Indian captain,” said Kepler Wessels, the coach of the Chennai franchise.

The general raison d’etre of any trade union or association is to act in the best interests of its membership. The recent behaviour of Dinanath Ramnarine, the president of the West Indies Players Association, appears to suggest that it does not adhere to that school of thought.Ramnarine’s own playing career ended prematurely when he quit after it was made clear his international future was bleak, and he quit to relaunch WIPA, originally set up in the 1980s, a little more than a year ago. The intention was admirable, and brought West Indies into line with most other countries in having a body representing their players.But fairly soon it became apparent that Ramnarine did not intend to workquietly behind the scenes and that he wanted a far more high-profilerole than that. The current contract crisis thrust him into the limelight,and his increasingly erratic behaviour has raised questions as to whoexactly he is representing.Those who have crossed him speak of him being a fiery and egotistical figure. In the infamous leaked report on the recent Australian tour, Richard Nowell, Digicel’s representative, described WIPA a “a terrorist organisation”. That was clearly over the top, but it highlighted just how much the association was perceived to be interfering and troublemaking.The behaviour of some individuals in Australia – and that relates to their contractual obligations rather than other non-cricketing incidents – made it clear to the board that it could not just ignore the Cable & Wireless situation and that it had to protect its new deal with Digicel. But rather than trying to broker a solution, WIPA just seemed to be out to fan the flames of unrest.It is now fairly obvious that six of the seven personal contracts with C&W – the exception being Lara’s which is a long-standing arrangement – were signed once it became clear that Digicel would replace them as the WICB’s sponsor. It was fairly blatent ambush-marketing in a bitter, pan-Caribbean battle between the two telecommunications giants.And the terms of those deals stipulated that they would be deemed void if the player was dropped from the side for two consecutive matches. C&W did not want the individual so much as a member of the West Indies squad, thus ensuring maximum potential for embarrassment.But WIPA have consistently backed C&W and those six players – often, it would appear, to the detriment of all its other members. WIPA has been instrumental in presenting the dispute as a clear battle: themselves and C&W in one corner, the WICB and Digicel in the other. Caught in the middle have been the very people that Ramnarine should be representing – players – and they have been treated little better than cannon fodder in an increasingly personal battle.It is widely reported that this week’s unrest and talks of strikes inside the West Indies camp have largely been engineered by Ramnarine. With cricket in the Caribbean in a far-from-healthy state, what is to be gained by a strike which would massively dent the game’s profile and cost the WICB millions? And all to supposedly back six players who signed deals to benefit nobody but themselves? One senior figure told me that “WIPA has been looking to lead rather than represent,” adding that Ramnarine had “done the players a great disservice”.And former West Indies fast bowler and now TV commentator Michael Holding was equally outspoken, accusing Ramnarine of “fighting his own private battles and using the WIPA to do so.”Just who Ramnarine represents is further clouded by reports that, last spring, he was acting on behalf of certain players in negotiations with potential sponsors, raising the question of whether he is a representative or an agent?Digicel’s deal with the board appears to be a good one, and will actuallyresult in the players receiving more from their central contracts. Commonsense suggests that a trade union would welcome that. So why haven’t WIPA?Today’s scattergun attack on the board, Digicel and the region’s politicians could be a rant too far from Ramnarine. It has made people sit up and ask what and who exactly is he speaking on behalf of. But an answer is unlikely to be forthcoming. While Ramnarine is willing to spout vitriol, he is less inclined to sit down and face more direct questioning.But his head has now popped too far above the parapet. He is in the sniper’s sights and likely finally to be called to account. People have a right to know just why the C&W contracts are deemed important enough to jeopardise the future of West Indian cricket, why the players were encouraged to strike, and exactlywho WIPA represents.

Tom Moody, Sri Lanka’s coach, refused to be dispirited by the thumping 10-wicket defeat his side suffered at the hands of England A at New Road.”There are two ways of looking at it,” Moody said. “It would have obviously been great to have a few hundreds scored and a few wickets taken, but that wasn’t to be. We didn’t go into this match with any real indication of what our final XI or batting line-up is going to be – we’ll assess that over the next few days, but there are opportunities within the squad to step up to the mark. The batting line-up isn’t settled but that hasn’t changed just because of a poor batting performance.”Moody explained that the players remained upbeat. “This team is a young team and they’re going into any situation bright-eyed and bushy-tailed and looking forward to the challenges. That’s certainly the way I’m trying to express it to them that these conditions and challenges that we face are opportunities for us to learn and opportunities for us to challenge ourselves as individuals and step up to the mark.”He went on to say that the Duke ball, which many of the batsmen have not faced before, was another factor that had to be taken into consideration. “It’s been a good eye-opener because this is the first time we’ve used the 2006 Duke ball in a match. We’ve had a good look at it and we’re going to have to work very hard between now and Thursday as bowlers and batsmen to familiarise ourselves with the differences.”The seam’s a little bit more elevated and it’s bound to help if there is a bit of seam movement. From our point of view that’s not a problem because we’ve got a couple of bowlers that can really exploit that and a spinner that doesn’t mind wrapping his fingers around a big, heavy seam.”

Children are taught to walk before they run, but it’s a lesson Australia’s cricketers quickly forgot. A couple of extra runs were always more important than truth when it came to taking the thick edge with the thin.Until Adam Gilchrist, the country’s most famous walker was Jane Saville, an athlete disqualified at the Sydney Olympics within a Brett Lee run-up of a gold medal. There will now be more uproar after Gilchrist took the decision into his own index finger for the second time in two Tests. Jason Gillespie also joined his stand-in captain, Michael Kasprowicz volunteered himself at 8 for 228, and then Yuvraj Singh burst off without a glimpse towards the umpire. Australia’s delicate tummies expect 24-hour bugs in India, but this dead-man walking is becoming an epidemic.English gentlemen will insist it’s always been the right thing to do, but uncouth Australian club cricketers will sit in their pubs yelling them down. The international game has become breathlessly entertaining but ethically unconscious. Helped by the television cameras, Steve Waugh recognised the problem, started the repairs by instilling a good-behaviour bond with his team and downscaled the sledging. Gilchrist is continuing the crusade. He started the charity walk in the World Cup semi-final against Sri Lanka in 2003 and brought the same boots to India.For Gilchrist it is clearly not a fad. Anil Kumble was the beneficiary both times today, and he didn’t look half as confused as the poor umpire David Shepherd when Kasprowicz, a genuinely honest man, drifted off to the dressing-room despite a “not out”. Shepherd is getting close to the pension, but he’s got a few sound judgments left and was still shaking his head – in disbelief rather than decision – as Kasprowicz neared the boundary. He was not the only one asking ethical and trivial questions.Would they walk if the first series win in India since 1969-70 rested on it? Imagine the text messages from Waugh, Ricky Ponting and Ian Chappell then.Is it disrespectful to ignore the umpire in the same way a bowler does when running down the pitch appealing to the wicketkeeper? Will a batsman be allowed to stay if he swears he didn’t touch it? And could a walking coach one day sit next to the team’s physio and security officer?Honesty has a place in the game, and it should be applauded. Nobody thought it possible to score consistently at four runs an over, win 16 Tests in a row or have a wicketkeeper belting 11 centuries either. Gilchrist has helped bring many fine habits to the game. This one might take the longest to get used to.Peter English is Australasian editor of Wisden Cricinfo.

Hampshire continued their preparations for the start of the 2004 season with the visit of Warwickshire to the Rose Bowl today.In between the showers, Hampshire batted first in a 50 overs match, played under championship conditions.The heroes of the truncated match the previous day at Hove, Derek Kenway and Michael Brown both made starts, but fell in quick succession. James Hamblin was then bowled without scoring.Will Kendall and Lawrence Prittipaul restored the innings as both achieved half centuries. Kendall finished on 57 not out, hitting 10 fours, and Prittipaul 7 fours in his 59 not out. Hampshire’s innings closed on 158 for 3 after their allotted 50 overs.Alan Mullally dismissed Mark Wagh with the score on 10, but Nick Knight and Ian Bell held on till the close. Knight a patient innings of 29, and Bell a more belligerent 63 not out. At the close Warwickshire were 106 for 1 after 33 overs.The practise continues on Thursday with Warwickshire, with the captains deciding the format of the contest in the morning.

An Englishman is set to try his hand at saving the West Indies’ fledgling cricket fortunes.Bob Woolmer, the former England allrounder, believes he could be the man selected as new West Indies coach at the end of the ongoing World Cup.He confirmed yesterday he was interviewed by highly-placed West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) officials in Kimberley, South Africa, last week."I had been told by good friend Dr Rudi Webster [former West Indies team performance enhancer and current director of the West Indies Academy] the job would soon be vacant and he asked whether I wanted to submit my CV, which I did," Woolmer was quoted by BBC Online.The BBC also quoted a source as saying: "The WICB has progressed to the point of talking dollars with Woolmer, so it’s a safe bet he is the man they want."Along with Woolmer, three other candidates – Australian academy coach Bennett King, former Leeward Islands West Indies allrounder Eldine Baptiste, and former West Indies batsman Gus Logie, who coached Canada at the World Cup – were interviewed.The interviewers will report to the WICB and a board meeting is expected to to be held a few days after the March 23 World Cup final. The key item on the agenda will be to discuss and ratify the nominations of the interviwers."It is a case of sooner rather than later," a source close to the matter told the DAILY NATION yesterday. "Time is of the essence as we have the Australian (Tests and One-Day) series upcoming and we want to be well prepared."Woolmer was the man behind South Africa’s return to prominence after their readmission to international cricket. At present he is the International Cricket Council’s high performance manager with responsibility for non-Test playing teams.He also told the BBC: "I had a two-and-a-half-hour meeting with the West Indies selection panel in Kimberley early last week. I am not sure what will come of it. It is up to them to call me now. But it goes without saying, for the meeting to last as long as it did means it was encouraging on both sides."He added: "The one thing I did make clear was if I was going to coach a national side again, I would expect to be able to implement the various techniques that I have developed over the years."But I am interested in the job. Otherwise I would not have expressed my interest."Guyanese Roger Harper has not re-applied for the position which expires after the World Cup.When contacted yesterday, WICB president Wes Hall had little comment, only saying it was being dealt with by interviewers in South Africa who would then send their report to be considered at the upcoming board meeting.

• It was the 1735th ODI in cricket history.
• It was New Zealand’s 380th and Sri Lanka’s 356th match- 48th betweenthese two sides. The record now reads : Sri Lanka 19, New Zealand26,tied one and abandoned 2.
• It was the 100th match on Sri Lankan soil. Sri Lanka became countryafter Australia (386), India (219) ,England (202), United ArabEmirates (174), New Zealand (161), Pakistan (132) and South Africa(105) to host 100 or more ODI matches.
• Umpires LV Jayasundra and DN Pathirana were officiating in their fifthand 10th match respectively.
• Sanath Jayasuriya, leading Sri Lanka for the 54th time in his career,completed his 2000 runs as captain. He became second Sri Lankan afterArjuna Ranatunga and 13th captain in ODIs to achieve this landmark.The accompanying table has details :

• Craig McMillan , on 5,completed his 2000 runs in ODIs. He was playinghis 89th match and 83rd innings. He became 12th New Zealander and 94thbatsman in all to do so.
• The wicket of Vincent was 50th for Muttiah Muralitharan on Sri Lankansoil. He became second Sri Lankan after Sanath Jayasuriya (74 wicketsin 60 matches) to do so.
• Adam Parare was scoring a fifty after 61 matches. His last fifty hadalso come against Sri Lanka (54 at Dhaka on October 26,1998). It wasthe fourth fifty by a New Zealander wicketkeeper against Sri Lanka.All four have been scored by Parore !
• During his innings, Parore also completed his 2000 runs in `away’matches for New Zealand. He became fourth New Zealander to do so afterMartin Crowe (2820 runs in 86 matches), John Wright (2752 runs in 106matches) and Stephen Fleming (2344 runs in 90 matches).
• The two wickets in this match has taken Muralitharan’s tally to 32 inthe year 2001 which makes him the bowler with most wickets in onedayers along with Pakistan’s Waqar Younis (32 in 16) and Australia’sShane Warne (32 in 18). This was Murali’s 18th match in year 2001.
• The defeat was New Zealand’s 50th under Stephen Fleming’s captaincy.Fleming became first New Zealander and fifth captain in ODIs toachieve this dubious distinction. Others to do so are Sri LankanArjuna Ranatunga (95 losses in 193 matches), Indian MohammadAzharuddin (76 losses in 174 matches),Australian Allan Border (67losses in 178 matches) and Pakistani Imran Khan (59 losses in 139matches). However all other four captains had won more matches thanthe matches they lost.
• Sanath Jayasuriya was winning his 26th Man of the Match award. Withthis he equalled West Indian Desmond Haynes’ tally of awards. Now onlyIndia’s Sachin Tendukar (41),West Indian Viv Richards (31), PakistaniSaeed Anwar (27) and former teammate Aravinda de Silva (27) are aheadof Jayasuriya in this form of cricket.