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The South Africa Cricket Board has announced contracts for 18 players for the period from May 2004 to April 2005. The categories under which the players will be contracted will be announced after the domestic season.Alan Dawson and Mfuneko Ngam, who were contracted for the 2003-04 season, have not been offered new contracts, while Gary Kirsten opted out by announcing his intention to retire after the tour of New Zealand.Contracted players 1 Paul Adams, 2 Nicky Boje, 3 Mark Boucher, 4 Boeta Dippenaar, 5 Herschelle Gibbs, 6 Andrew Hall, 7 Jacques Kallis, 8 Lance Klusener, 9 Neil McKenzie, 10 Andre Nel, 11 Makhaya Ntini, 12 Robin Peterson, 13 Shaun Pollock, 14 Ashwell Prince, 15 Jacques Rudolph, 16 Graeme Smith, 17 Martin van Jaarsveld, 18 Monde Zondeki.Garnett Kruger, Albie Morkel and Justin Ontong were shortlisted for national contracts.

James Sutherland, the chief executive of Cricket Australia, is confident India’s tour will continue as planned and he has called on the captains Anil Kumble and Ricky Ponting to sort out their differences in the next few days. Despite rumblings of discontent from within the Indian team, Sutherland said Sharad Pawar, the BCCI president, had indicated the remaining two Tests would be played and the squad would not be heading home early.”There’s nothing to suggest that it won’t [go ahead],” Sutherland said. “Sharad Pawar, who is the president of cricket in India, has overnight made such commitments, so that’s good enough for me. We’re looking forward to Perth now.”Australia won the second Test on Sunday with barely ten minutes remaining and after the match Kumble questioned whether Australia had played within the spirit of the game. Ponting angrily defended his integrity and Sutherland said following such a tense finish it was understandable that emotions were running high.”It was a classic Test match, it went right down to the wire,” Sutherland said. “Anil Kumble had a fantastic Test match as a captain and as a player, and no doubt he was disappointed in the end.”To some extent it’s not surprising in that emotionally charged environment that he would say what he has. It is only appropriate in that circumstance for Ricky Ponting and Anil Kumble to get together and to talk about exactly what differences of opinion there may be in that regard.”The match was marred by poor umpiring, contentious catches, queries over walking and a report that resulted in Harbhajan Singh being suspended for three Tests for making a racist comment to Andrew Symonds. Brad Hogg might also face the match referee over allegedly using offensive language during the match but Sutherland was unsure when or if a hearing would take place.”I don’t know any of the detail,” he said. “As I understand it a report hasn’t specifically been laid yet but it may well be pending.”The controversies during and after the game have taken the gloss of Australia’s record-equalling 16th consecutive Test victory. Sutherland said it should have been no surprise that Australia would fight tooth and nail to win the match.”It has always been the Australian way to play the game of cricket hard but fair,” he said. “Tough and uncompromising is certainly the way in which all Australian teams have played no matter who has been the captain and this team under Ricky Ponting is no exception.”

The England batsman, Kevin Pietersen, has revealed he turned down the lucrative opportunity to participate in the Indian Cricket League (ICL).The tournament has yet to be sanctioned by any of the world’s cricket boards, prompting India to form another tournament: the Indian Premier League which features the best domestic Twenty20 sides from around the world. Pietersen, though, has rejected them both for the time being.”I was approached with an offer to play in India and it was a very lucrative one – but I kicked it straight into touch,” Pietersen told the . “It would be ridiculous for me to put my England career in jeopardy after all the work I have put in.”There may come a time when tournaments like this sit in with our schedule and if the authorities were happy for us to play we would have another look at it. But at the moment it’s a no-go area.”Pietersen revealed that he has been keeping a close eye on events in Australia, and has even “turned into an Australian fan”.”The Aussies are playing Sri Lanka in a Test series at present and could do us a real favour by knocking the Sri Lankans’ confidence before we play them,” he said. “It would be great if their batsmen came into our three-Test series struggling for form.”After Australia, Sri Lanka is the hardest place in the world to win a Test series and anything Ricky Ponting and co could do to help us out will be appreciated – until we play them again!”

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Daryl Tuffey claimed three wickets and Andrew Hall two, apart from bowlinga tight final over to kick off the Indian Cricket League in Panchkula. Ina match where Indian cricketers matched their skills with internationalones, the ‘home team’, Chandigarh Lions prevailed over Delhi Jets by eightruns.It was a day for both sport and entertainment but the intensity was hard to miss. The fielding was of higher standard, compared to what’s generally on display in domestic cricket, and Abhishek Sharma running out Imran Farhat was one of the plays of the day.Chris Cairns and Marvan Atapattu sparkled, apart from Tuffey and Hall, butthey had to slug it out against local talent trying to make a name. AliMortaza, a left-arm spinner from Uttar Pradesh who was an India Under-19star till recently, impressed with 3 for 16, including a wicket off hisfirst ball. Abhishek, the legspinner from Delhi, bagged three wickets tooand JP Yadav, the former Indian allrounder, contributed with both bat andball.Abbas Ali, the grandson of the legendary Mushtaq and a mainstay of theMadhya Pradesh middle order, cracked three sixes towards the end to openthe game up. Backing away from the stumps, he lofted the medium-pacerseffortlessly to bring the Delhi Jets to within striking distance.Hall, standing at midwicket, dropped a clanger off the first ball of the19th over – when Rajesh Sharma swung wildly – but he made amends byconceding just five in the final over, when 14 were needed.”I think he just wanted to be a hero and win it with the ball in the lastover,” joked the Lions captain Cairns when asked about the drop. “But Ithought it was a great way to kick the tournament off. Good game, goodcrowd, good entertainment . That’s all you ask for when you walk in for amatch.”

Group AAustria beat Gibraltar by six runs in Port Soif, on the first day of the European Championship Division One Twenty20. Having been asked to bat, Austria put up n 141 in 19.1 overs, mainly due to handy cameos from the lower order. Gibraltar fell just short of the target, finishing on 135 for 8, despite an unbeaten knock of 66 from 60 balls by Mark Bacarese.Italy chased down 90 in a tight game against Croatia in St Peter Port, winning by one wicket. Choosing to bat, Croatia’s innings lacked momentum, as they limped to 89 despite having four wickets in hand at the end of their 20 overs. Italy were not convincing in the chase, but sneaked home on the back of a knock of 26 not out from middle-order batsman Damian Crowley. Croatia’s fast bowlers John Vujnovich and Vivek Sharma were impressive, claiming three wickets each in tidy spells.Guernsey registered a comprehensive 10-wicket win against Norway at Castel. Choosing to bowl they shot out Norway for 57, before openers Tim Ravenscroft and Ross Kneller chased down the target in 7.1 overs. James Nussbaumer was the pick of their bowlers, knocking over three top-order Norway batsmen and conceding only seven runs in a 3.2-over spell.In their second game of the day Italy turned out an improved performance, easing past Austria by seven wickets in Castel. Batting first, Austria were bowled out for 105 in 19th over, as none of their top order were able to build on double-digit starts. Peter Petricola did most of the damage with the ball, claiming 4 for 20. Steady batting from Italy in the chase saw them through without much drama.Norway recovered well from their one-sided defeat against Guernsey to beat Gibraltar by a comfortable eight-wicket margin in Port Soif. Batting first, Gibraltar managed only 77 for 8 in their 20. Legspinner Muhammad Butt produced the best figures of the game, 3 for 13, before Norway’s batsmen clicked. Driven by an innings of 35 from 20 balls by Zaheer Ashiq, they knocked off the runs 62 balls to spare.Guernsey remained unbeaten on day one, beating Croatia by three wickets with an over to spare in St Peter Port. Chasing 98, the Guernsey top order was shaky and wickets fell at regular intervals, but a steady 34 from Stuart Le Prevost and a couple of timely lower-order cameos saw them home.Group BBelgium beat France by five wickets with two balls to spare in St Clement. Choosing to bat, France’s innings was hampered as both openers were run out. There were no sizeable contributions from the rest of the order, as they folded for 114 in exactly 20 overs. In the chase, four of Belgium’s top five batsmen got into double figures, ensuring their side began with a win.Denmark eased past Israel by eight wickets in St Martin, chasing down a target of 95 with five overs to spare. Denmark’s ploy of bowling first worked, as their bowlers shared the wickets around in tidy spells to restrict Israel to 94 for 9. The chase was steered by a fluent, unbeaten 44 from opener Freddie Klokker.A solid all-round performance helped Jersey beat Germany by six wickets in St Brelade. Choosing to field, Jersey kept Germany to 99 for 7. Only middle-order batsman Imran Chaudhry was able to launch an attack, scoring 36 off 25, before being bowled by Anthony Hawkins-Kay who claimed 3 for 13. Jersey were solid in the chase. Their top order produced steady cameos, which carried them to a win in the 17th over.Belgium won a nail-biter against Denmark by one run when last man Sair Anjum was caught off the bowling of Faisal Khaliq with two to get and three balls remaining in St Clement. Having chosen to bat, Belgium were bowled out for a modest 104. Bobby Chawla was the pick of the bowlers, taking 3 for 13. Denmark got off to horrendous start, losing half their side with only 19 runs on the board. However, a lower-order resurgence saw them fight back to within touching distance of victory, but Belgium, and Khaliq, eventually had the final say to remain unbeaten after two games.Tony Carlyon starred with the ball and Dean Martin with the bat as Jersey routed Israel by eight wickets in St. Martin. Put in to bat by Jersey, Israel crawled to 87 all out from their 20 overs, with Carlyon taking 4 for 9 in four overs. He was ably backed up Anthony Hawkins-Kay, who took 3 for 16. Martin then made sure there would be no jitters chasing the small total with a brutal, unbeaten 64 from 44 balls, laced with three fours and five sixes, to see Jersey home with eight overs to spare.An allround bowling performance helped France beat Germany by 34 runs in St Brelade. Put into bat, France managed 126 for 7, with Usman Khan top scoring with 36. Germany struggled from the start, losing wickets at regular intervals, and were bundled out for 92 in 18.3 overs. Zika Ali picked up 3 for 17, while Usman chipped in with the ball as well, taking 2 for 22.

The drain of experienced players from Zimbabwean cricket has continued with the retirement of the former left-hand opener, Gavin Rennie. Though he is only 27 years old, Rennie has chosen not to renew his contract with the Zimbabwe Cricket Union, and has instead opted to venture into business.Rennie started his career brightly by scoring a fifty in each of his first four Tests in 1997-98 but, like Craig Wishart and Stuart Carlisle, he had been in and out of the side ever since. For the recent tour of England, he was overlooked despite the serious shortage of experienced batsmen, and he has admitted he was losing his enjoyment of the game."I certainly didn’t expect my international career to end this prematurely," said Rennie at the start of the new season. "I think that the management of my career by the Zimbabwe Cricket Union and the poor timing of selection forced me into this decision. I understand that the ZCU and the selectors have a tough task in trying to fulfil the policies they have, but I believe that in the best interests of Zimbabwe cricket the ZCU have lacked forward planning and player management."Rennie insisted that he is not departing in bitterness or under pressure, but that it was entirely a personal decision. "I also had to consider my personal life and my marriage," he said. "And I have certainly been under a lot of strain during the past 18 months with the way cricket has gone in this country and with my non-selection, even though my performances have justified my selection for some tours."The recent tour of England failed to vindicate the selectors’ policy ofplaying a young, inexperienced side, and often the team went into the field with only four specialist batsmen. Dion Ebrahim battled manfully, but lacked a reliable opening partner, while the only two experienced players in Carlisle and Grant Flower generally struggled for runs in the international matches. Even when Carlisle was injured, the selectors failed to call on either Rennie or Wishart, and it was clear to all that more experience was vital."It’s unfortunate that I was not selected for the tour, because the position I find myself in now might have been a little different," he said. "But the ZCU and selectors had their reasons for not selecting me, and perhaps they have realised their error in preferring so many young players on such an important tour. A lot of the senior players and a large portion of the cricketing community felt I should have been on that tour."Had he struck good early-season form, Rennie may well have found himself in the frame for national selection again, but by now he had lost his passion and enjoyment of the game. "There’s only so much disappointment a cricketer can take, and I’ve found I have reached that level," he said. "With selection there are no guarantees and I’m not asking for any, but I feel I have done my years as a Zimbabwe A cricketer and toured with the national team many times, successfully and otherwise."He did not make his decision without a great deal of thought, as he spoke to ZCU managing director Vince Hogg, and then to Heath Streak and Geoff Marsh as well as two of the selectors. They understood the reasons for his decision and asked him to reconsider but, as Rennie said, "it had got to the stage where it was no longer a financial issue but an enjoyment issue. I found that the passion I had for playing cricket had been eroded."Most batsmen tend to reach their peak in their late twenties and earlythirties, so Rennie has wisely not burnt his boats. He does not plan to play any cricket this season at any level, but has not ruled out thepossibility of a return to the game in the future. "I need a completebreak, but perhaps the passion I had will be rekindled in the years tocome," he said. "At my stage of life I’m looking for financial security and stability, which is obviously not evident at present with the Zimbabwe Cricket Union for various reasons. Maybe in the future when I have regained my passion for the game, maybe I will be ready to come back into cricket."He has moved into business as a transport broker, on a consultancy basis, and as he realises, once his business is established, it should be possible for him to become financially secure and take time off to play cricket again should he wish. He has a great deal to offer to Zimbabwe cricket, not just with the bat and ball, but as a senior player capable of nurturing the youngsters when there are so few father figures to turn to at present. He has also been respected as a quiet, capable captain who handles his team well on the field but, apart from a short spell in charge of Zimbabwe A, this ability has been recognised less than it should.His first four Tests he names as the most memorable time of his career,although since then he made his highest scores of 84 against India and 93 against New Zealand, both as opener. Yet after that 93 he was dropped for a year. He scored 1023 Test runs, with seven fifties, at an average of 22, which would surely have been higher given a good run in the side. He played 40 one-day matches, averaging almost 20, and was one of the most skilful players at keeping the score bubbling over at the death. Many believe that increasing political pressure to fast-track young black players into the national side has worked against players like him.Team highlights for him were his involvement in Zimbabwe’s first Test series win away from home, against Pakistan in 1998-99, and their first one-day series away, in New Zealand in 2000-01. Both are `fantastic memories’, and he concludes by saying, "I would like to thank the Zimbabwe Cricket Union for the memories I have had, and I wish them the very best in the future as they continue to manage cricket in this country. I would also like to thank the supporters I’ve had, who have gone a long way to inspiring me to reach greater heights." No doubt they too are hoping Gavin Rennie’s retirement will be a brief one.

A pile of prizes went to Ashley Noffke on Saturday night as he gained more rewards for his outstanding domestic season with Queensland. Noffke, the third Australian to collect the 50-wicket, 500-run first-class double, claimed his second consecutive Ian Healy Trophy for the state’s Player of the Year.There was not much competition for Noffke after the Bulls finished last in the Pura Cup and missed the finals of the one-day and Twenty20 competitions. Noffke led the first-class batting with 741 runs at 46.31 – Ryan Broad was second on 566 – and the bowling with 51 wickets, 36 ahead of the second-placed Michael Kasprowicz. It was the first time a player had topped both Queensland lists since Ron Oxenham in 1936.The returns pushed Noffke to international Twenty20 and one-day debuts and he should be a certainty to tour the West Indies with Australia in May. “I’m really happy I was able to put it all together this season,” Noffke said.”It’s disappointing we didn’t get the results we were after, but cricket is a game of roundabouts. It can be a long year when things don’t go according to plan, but everyone stuck together really well and that’s the true test of a side.”Noffke also picked up the state’s award for the Pura Cup and the players’ player prize while James Hopes won the FR Cup gong and Shane Watson was recognised for his belligerent Twenty20 batting. The Australian representative Jodie Purves collected the women’s trophy for scoring 214 runs at 30.57 and claiming 16 dismissals in the national league.

After being thwarted in their attempts to stage Twenty20 matches at Lord’s last summer, the MCC has launched another bid to convince the local council that music and early-evening games in north-west London wouldn’t be the end of civilisation as we know it.Last summer Westminster City Council turned down permission for an entertainment licence following complaints from local residents that three evening matches, floodlights, and, heaven forbid, a concert by Atomic Kitten, would be too much to cope with.In recent months representatives of the MCC have met with local residents to try and allay their fears, and now a scaled-down proposal has been submitted. The aim is for one match – the London derby between Middlesex and Surrey – to be staged on June 15.”We are very keen to play Twenty20 cricket at Lord’s,” said Iain Wilton, the MCC’s head of communications. “This year’s proposal has the support of the Local to Lord’s group and is different from last year. It’s one match, no floodlights or pop concert, and the event will be over by 8.15pm.” But Wilton added that "amplified musical jingles at key moments of play" are still planned.Whether such a threat to the calm of St John’s Wood should be allowed is in the hands of the council.

QAS 304 and 208 (Carseldine 109*) drew with Indians 208 for 9 dec and 121 for 4 (Ramesh 37*, Ganguly 35)
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After three days of searching cricket, the Indians played out a drawagainst the Queensland Academy of Sport (QAS). Set 305 to win, theIndians suffered yet another top-order collapse, but reached 121 for 4thanks to sensible batting by Saurav Ganguly (35), SadagoppanRamesh (37 not out), and Rahul Dravid (20 not out).Earlier, riding on Lee Carseldine’s second hundred of the match, QASdeclared at 208, galloping at four runs an over. Interestingly, India had taken 20 overs more to make an identical score in their first innings.The third day threw up more questions than answers, as India’s horrorrun with both bat and ball continued. At one point, the Indians were at32 for 3. What’s worrisome was that the three dismissed batsmen were Deep Dasgupta, Virender Sehwag, and Akash Chopra – all prospective openers. Ganguly and Ramesh then put on 56, before the former perished for an aggressive 35.Unlike the Indians, Carseldine found the pitch and the attack tohis liking. His unbeaten knock of 109 came of 155 balls, and was lacedwith 18 boundaries. And following the first innings script, the otherbatsmen played around his century to put the game beyond the Indians’ reach.Irfan Pathan and Anil Kumble picked up two wickets each, to complete a reasonably successful tour match. Kumble ended with match figures of 6 for 102, and has been the one Indian bowler to impress on tour sofar. Ajit Agarkar, though wicketless, bowled economically. With Balaji’snon-performance, the fast bowlers for the first Test will most likely be three out of Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra, Agarkar and Pathan.

New Zealand’s opening batsman, Mark Richardson, has laid into the standardof opposition provided by Bangladesh during their recent tour, and warns that a “slap in the face” awaits his team when they arrive in Australia for a two-Test series later this month.As befits one of the most attritional openers in the game, Richardson hasspent most of the tour advocating a patient approach to the Bangladeshichallenge, but in his latest column for the New Zealand Herald, he finally let rip. “It’s time to get the hell out of Bangladesh,” he declared, after watching his side squeak to a nervy three-wicket win in the second one-day international. “You can only maintain your standards for so long … [we have slipped] right back to club level.”It was a measure of the New Zealanders’ lack of enthusiasm at the end ofthe series that Richardson – a notoriously sluggish runner – couldn’t evenbring himself to compete in his now-traditional sprint-off against theslowest member of the opposition. “I could have won,” he reflected, “givenmy length-of-stride advantage.” Somewhat tongue-in-cheek, he added that the only positive he could take out of the four-week visit was the chance to stock up on pirated DVDs from the local markets.The first Test against Australia starts at Brisbane on November 18, andRichardson is genuinely concerned for the competitiveness of his team,after their recent uninspired efforts. “Your time in the middle againsttwo dribbly seamers and three left-arm spinners will mean spit againstfour quicks and a leggy,” he stressed. “And average bowling will not bagyou four wickets for bugger all.”Richardson, who did not play in the one-day series, endured a lean time with the bat in the Tests, scoring just 43 runs in two innings. “The only way you can view this Bangladesh series is as the launching pad into a challenging summer of cricket,” he added. “[But it’s been] made only more challenging by the lack of quality of the launching pad.”It is not only New Zealand whose performances have suffered after a tripto Bangladesh. This time last year, England were the visitors, but afterfive trouble-free victories out of five, they flew across the Bay ofBengal to Sri Lanka … where they were bundled out for 88 in the firstone-day game at Dambulla.”For those who have scored runs or taken wickets there will be the satisfying feeling of having boosted the averages, but I doubt how many will feel they have gained much as a cricketer,” added Richardson. “You can bet your bottom dollar that the boys are itching to get on the plane to Oz.”