Gun Lankan quick on ice
THE AGE
SRI LANKA Record-breaking fast bowler Lasith Malinga is in doubt for Sri Lanka's super eights clash against New Zealand with an ankle injury. Malinga was not at Sri Lanka's practice session at Sagesse Park yesterday and skipper Mahela Jayawardene later said: " Lasith has an ankle problem and we'll assess it over the next couple of days." He said one of Malinga's fellow quicks , such as Farveez Maharoof or Nuwan Kulasekara , was most likely to come in if the 23-year-old strike bowler doesn't overcome his left ankle problem in time to face the Black Caps tonight (Melbourne time).
Moody talks on hold
COACHING Negotiations over Tom Moody coaching Western Australia after the World Cup will not continue until Sri Lanka has ended its campaign in the Caribbean, the WA Cricket Association said yesterday. With numerous reports saying Moody was poised to return to WA — and Sri Lankan cricket bosses saying they had heard nothing — the WACA moved to end speculation while the World Cup continued. "Since Wayne Clark announced his retirement at the beginning of this year the WACA has made it clear Tom is the preferred candidate to take over as state coach," it said. Former Test opener Justin Langer said at the weekend he had decided to stand down as WA captain based on a conversation with Moody.
Trescothick keen to play
ENGLAND England opener Marcus Trescothick admits he is "desperate" to resume his international career but will not rush back before he is ready. He told the Somerset website: "I wouldn't have gone to Australia if I hadn't felt convinced in my own mind that I could handle an Ashes series there. Now I know that feeling was wrong." Michael Vaughan's side has been fined for a slow over rate during its seven-wicket defeat by Australia on Sunday.
Younis Khan wants power
PAKISTAN There has been a delay in choosing a new captain for the national team, following Inzamam-ul-Haq's departure, with prime candidate Younis Khan demanding the full powers of his powerful predecessor if he is to accept the job. However, the Pakistan Cricket Board says it wants to establish strong checks and balances on the captain to curtail his role in selecting players and dictating terms to the coach.
Australia to help Banglas
BANGLADESH Cricket chiefs have signed a two-year deal with world champions
Australia to help them raise the standard of the game in the south-Asian nation, an official said yesterday. Cricket Australia will train Bangladeshi coaches, prepare a coaching manual, set up an umpires' management system and train young players at Australian academies, Bangladesh Cricket Board chief executive Mahmudur Rahman said.
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All over for Lara's men
BRIDGETOWN , Barbados (AP)
South Africa all but ended the Caribbean cricket carnival yesterday with a 67-run World Cup victory over the West Indies that effectively left the locals with no one to support. By amassing 356 for four in the first match to be played at the newly built Grenada National Stadium, the South Africans silenced home fans knowing their team almost certainly won't be headed for the semi-finals , let alone the final in Barbados on April 28.
A fourth heavy loss means that, although
captain Brian Lara's team isn't mathematically eliminated, victories over Bangladesh and England probably won't be enough. Now those US$100 tickets selling for US$25 probably won't be used at all.
"It's a huge blow. In the dressing room the guys aren't in a very good mood at all. A lot of sad faces," Lara said. "But we've got to pick ourselves. As a people, we're hosting the World Cup. "We're going to be out there trying our best in the last two games and I am sure that the supporters, the West Indians in the crowd are going, I suppose to pick their teams for the finals and support them . " We are disappointed and we're very sorry the way we have performed over this World Cup. All we can do is say sorry to our people."
Caribbean fans are left to wonder who will win the title they hoped would go to Lara's team.
Top four South Africa's A.B. de Villiers hitting out against the West Indies during his 146 at the Grenada National Stadium yesterday. - Dellmar
New Zealand and defending champions Australia are tied on eight points at the top of the Super Eights standings. Sri
Lanka and South Africa, each with six, are also likely to finish in the top four, which would mean semi-final spots. ? With two points each, England and Bangladesh are also just about in contention, however, and they meet at Kensington Oval tomorrow when the championship arrives at Barbados.
Each team has won one game in the Super Eights, England beating last-place Ireland and Bangladesh upsetting South Africa. Although the England team is favoured to win, they know Bangladesh also upset India in the group stage. ? South Africa gave the West Indies plenty of chances in Grenada. It was just that Lara's team didn't take them.
With Herschelle Gibbs already playing through the discomfort of a calf muscle problem that forced him to bat with a runner against Bangladesh, Kallis picked up an injury to his left foot. And A.B. De Villiers also needed team captain Graeme Smith as his runner when he went down with cramp , dehydration and heat exhaustion .
But Lara's team didn't take advantage. The West Indies even handed South Africa four of their first seven runs with wides although they captured the wicket of Smith for seven with 21 on the board.
? The South Africans didn't slow down, however. Kallis and De Villiers scored 34 runs off 30 balls to race past 50 before Lara's team threw away at least four chances to break the stand.
Risky single Wicketkeeper Denesh Ramdin , surprisingly standing up to the medium-fast Dwayne Bravo, failed to hold a catch off Kallis who was on 40. De Villiers went for a risky single while on 34 and was well short of his ground when Chris Gayle swooped for the run-out attempt but failed to pick up the ball.
Then the opener darted for another single only for Devon Smith to miss the stumps from 10 metres . Bravo also failed to hit the target with Kallis well short while on 49. After those letoffs , De Villiers hit Bravo for four and six to bring up his ninth one-day international 50.
The pace never slowed and the two batsmen took the total to 191 when Kallis was bowled by Chris Gayle for 81. The stand of 170 came off 28.2 overs . ? De Villiers pushed a single to reach his first century in 38 one-day games and soon after went down with cramp. He needed Smith to act as his runner but that didn't slow his aggressive hitting as he struck sixes off spinners Gayle and Ramnaresh Sarwan . By the time he was out for 146, South Africa was 261 for three after 43.1 overs .
The agony for Lara didn't end there. ? The West Indies captain still had a powerplay to use and that meant only two fielders out near the boundary. With every six launched into the stands by Gibbs and Mark Boucher, Lara could see West Indies' title chances disappearing into the distance.
The West Indies never even got close to the target, especially after Lara played on to Kallis for 21 to leave his team on 119-4 in the 20th over. Ramnaresh Sarwan stayed solid to score 92 and
tailender Daren Powell hit out for an unbeaten 48 with three sixes.
It was no more than consolation for the West Indies fans, who must find someone else to support at the remaining World Cup game , if they want to go at all.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Woolmer's case: Police rubbish Inzy's allegation
Press Trust Of India Kingston (Jamaica), April 11, 2007
Jamaican Police have rubbished Pakistan World Cup captain Inzamam-ul-Haq's allegation that security lapse resulted in coach Bob Woolmer's murder in his hotel room in Kingston on March 18.
"He ( Inzamam ) is not a security specialist. ICC has endorsed our security arrangements before and after (the murder of
Woolmer )," Assistant Commissioner of Police Owen Ellington said.
Inzamam recently alleged in an interview that security was not up to the mark in the West Indies and went on to say that had it been in another place, the World Cup would have been suspended after the murder.
The 58-year-old Woolmer was found unconscious in his room at the Jamaica Pegasus hotel hours after Pakistan lost to Ireland to crash out of the tournament. The Englishman was subsequently declared dead at the nearby University Hospital of the West Indies.
Ellington, also the chairman of the Local Security Committee for ICC Cricket World Cup (CWC), said the security arrangements at the hotel were very much part of the murder investigation.
"I think it is out of order for anybody to be making any remarks as it relates to the procedure," he told The Gleaner .
The daily also said that footage of the closed circuit television (CCTV) on the 12th floor of the Jamaica Pegasus hotel, where Woolmer's body was found, had been sent to England by the Scotland Yard detectives who are assisting with the probe.
Meanwhile, back in Pakistan, cricket authorities are hoping that
Woolmer's body would be released for transportation to his adopted home in Cape Town by April 23.
Assistant manager of the Pakistan team Asad Mustafa, who is stationed here until the coroner releases the body, said the authorities have indicated about a final decision by April 23.
Mustafa said two Pakistani investigators, Mir Zubair and Kaleem Imam, had met Shields and were briefed about the case.
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