The ICC’s Chief Executives’ Committee has approved the recommendation that a Test match be called off on the final afternoon if there is no chance of a result. The new regulation, which will come into effect immediately, allows the game to be called off once a minimum of 75 overs have been completed in the day’s play.This effectively means that the captains can forego the last hour of play, instead of the 30 minutes the old regulation allowed.Percy Sonn, the new ICC president, unveiled the second edition of the Strategic Plan at the annual conference at Lord’s. The Plan will run for five years, ending 2010, and will chart the ICC’s priorities and areas of functioning.”It has been put together following an extensive consultation process between an ICC project team, our members and stakeholders”, Sonn said. “It is the organisation’s roadmap for the next five years – years that should be great for cricket.”The CEC also adopted the ICC Gender Recognition Policy, enabling cricketers who have undergone gender reassignment surgery to play women’s cricket at international level provided they meet the required criteria. This policy is being followed by other leading sporting organisations.

The Maharashtra Cricket Association (MCA) has plans to invite foreign players to play for the state this season though Ajay Shirke, the MCA president, denied media reports that Australian players like Matthew Hayden and Stuart MacGill had been considered for contracts.”We are definitely considering outside players,” Shirke told Cricinfo. “In fact we planned to hire some last year too but could not because of many constraints. But I would like to say that we have not finalised any names yet.”What they did achieve last year was hiring Darren Holder, a performance analyst who had worked with Australia’s coach John Buchanan, as Maharashtra’s coach and director of cricket. Maharashtra finished sixth in the Ranji Trophy last year with two wins in seven games.”If the county circuit can have foreigners playing for them and making it more competitive, then why not us?” Shirke told . “Money has never been an issue and will never be. What is the point in saving money in the bank? We get a good amount from the BCCI and it is better if we put it to use.”Speaking to Cricinfo, Shirke clarified the amount that would be paid to overseas players. “Maharashtra already has a gradation policy in place since last year. It will be a substantial amount with the BCCI offering one lakh as match fees, apart from the MCA contract.” The amount, though will vary, depending on the “statistics and performance” of different players, Shirke added.Niranjan Shah, the Indian board secretary, was also receptive to the idea. “We want to bring in foreign players to play some of the Ranji Trophy matches,” Shah said in Ahmedabad on Sunday. “We want to generate interest among the masses regarding Ranji Trophy and Duleep Trophy. We wish that more and more people go to watch these matches.”The last time overseas stars adorned the Indian domestic circuit was in the 1940s and ’60s when first Dennis Compton and then the West Indies fast bowlers Roy Gilchrist and Lester King played.

1st one-dayer
A Standard Bank National Academy side completed a 2-0 limited-overs series win over Australia’s Commonwealth Bank Centre of Excellence at the University of Pretoria’s High Performance Centre. In the first match, the South Africans chased down 275 with two wickets to spare while in the second they trumped the tourists by 111 runs.On Sunday, the Australians won the toss and thanks to impressive fifties from Adam Voges (66) and Cullen Bailey (63), finished on 274 for 8 in 50 overs. Voges and Bailey put on 121 for the fourth wicket but following their dismissals the lower order failed to build on the momentum. For the home side, Pepler Sandri was the most successful bowler with 3 for 61. Robert Frylinck and Keegan Africa, both KwaZulu Natal bowlers, finished with two wickets each.In response, the South Africans lost Riel de Kock (7) and Heino Kuhn (4) before Gauteng’s Blake Sniman smashed 60 from 65 balls to wrest the initiative. Farhann Behardien (62) and Corne Linde (54) chipped in to help the hosts over the finish line. For Australia, George Bailey and Ben Edmondson took three wickets a piece.2nd one-dayer
The South Africans chose to bat this time but lost the openers cheaply again to Brett Dorey and Edmondson. Dean Elgar, the East State left-handed batsman, came to the rescue with 77 from 100 balls while Behardien continued his good form with a powerful 112, comprising ten fours and three sixes. South Africa finished on 268 for 8 with Edmondson returning a fine 6 for 32 from his ten overs.In response, Australia could only limp to 157 after Hillroy Paulse’s superb 5 for 28 kept the batsmen in check. Voges (57) was Australia’s top scorer but not even his batting could prevent South Africa from winning the match.The Australians’ next fixture is a four-day match starting on Thursday.

Shaharyar Khan, the Pakistan Cricket Board chairman, has said that his board has not ruled out calling on the ICC to investigate Darrell Hair with a view to seeing if he should be charged with bringing the game into disrepute.”What we have done is to already ask the ICC [before the hearing] to investigate Mr Hair’s conduct in the match for bringing the game into disrepute,” he told the media in a press conference at The Oval. “All this we are seeing – the expense, lawyers, coming all the way from Pakistan – who is responsible?”It is for the ICC to say whether or not this is to be investigated and what the outcome will be. We asked the ICC before the hearing and they replied to us saying they would not do it now, implying that would have to wait for hearing, so our request is already well. So for me to say we would not press further is not correct.”Khan made quite clear his board’s feelings about Hair, telling the media at The Oval that they did not want him appointed to officiate in matches involving them, but he repeatedly refused to explain the basis for those objections.”I can tell you that we have already informed the ICC before this hearing that we wouldn’t like to have Darrell Hair umpire out matches,” said Khan. “Not only for the Champions Trophy but also until his contract runs out.”Let me say, we have never raised any objection to any elite or international umpire. We have a problem [with Hair], I’m not saying we will have to live with it forever, but we’ve asked the ICC to please be sensitive with their appointments All I can say is that we objected to him, not just recently, but over a long period of time. “Khan added that it was only Pakistan matches he didn’t believe Hair should stand, in and drew the comparison with Sri Lanka following the Muttiah Muralitharan affair in 1995. “Our demand was that he should not umpire our matches. We can’t speak for other countries. When Sri Lanka had a problem with Hair in 1995 he wasn’t posted to Sri Lanka for eight years. The ICC maintains, as it did then, that no country has the power to say umpire X will stand and umpire Y won’t. This is not for us to say where umpires stand, and we respect that.”But I think when you have a consistent problem with an umpire the ICC must look at it. I think the ICC was right with Hair and Sri Lanka, but with us when we conveyed this view through umpires reports we then had Hair four times in succession. We feel very aggrieved at that.”Here we are. We have a problem with an umpire from his attitudes – not technically – but why post him. In four consecutive series in one year Mr Hair was standing in our matches. It was a time bomb waiting to go off.”

Pakistan cricket, already besieged by multiple controversies, has received another body blow with Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif, their leading new-ball bowlers, testing positive for the banned anabolic steroid Nandrolone during an internal dope test carried out by the Pakistan Cricket Board. They have been recalled to Pakistan and will miss the Champions Trophy.Salim Altaf, Director Operations, PCB, told Cricinfo that the board, as signatories to the ICC’s Anti-Doping Policy (ADP), had carried out a routine test on 19 players at the end of September. The tests were put in place at the behest of Bob Woolmer, the Pakistan coach and are thought to be the first ever held in Pakistan cricket. The results were sent to the nearest World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) laboratory, in Malaysia for analysis. “They told us two samples had come back positive – of Asif and Shoaib – and the chairman was duly informed,” said Altaf.The board had asked for the concerned samples to be tested again though there was some confusion over whether the second results had arrived. The PCB claimed in the morning that the results were due tomorrow, but Dr Nasim Ashraf, newly-installed chairman of the PCB told reporters in Rawalpindi that the second test had also yielded the same results.The decision to call back the players pre-empts the embarrassment of them being found guilty during the tournament, at one of the random drugs tests recently put in place by the ICC for major events. The ICC had, according to the PCB, been informed of the situation and a decision was expected to be taken soon on whether two replacements can be sent. The possible replacements, the PCB says, are Abdul Rehman, the left-arm spinner who toured Sri Lanka with Pakistan earlier this year, and all-rounder Yasir Arafat.The PCB also set up a drugs tribunal to investigate the matter. Altaf said, “We have set up a drugs tribunal, consisting of lawyers, doctors and PCB officials to fully investigate this case. They will look at the lab reports and also hear from the players before deciding on a suitable punishment.” Avoiding any sort of ban appears, for the moment, inconceivable though Ashraf also reiterated that a thorough investigation will be carried out by the committee before any future decision is taken.What the PCB might also want to look at is the collection of rumours and speculation over the last six months regarding this very issue. One doctor, an ex-PCB employee who had worked closely with members of the team, had hinted over the summer about possible steroid use to aid Shoaib’s rehabilitation from injury. At least one other source close to the team has also suggested likewise. None of this was, however, confirmed and at no point was Asif’s name brought up.Ashraf added that the board had acted commendably thus far. “We chose not to cover it up and as soon as we got the results we released it to the public.”There are echoes in this of Shane Warne’s sensational ouster from the 2003 World Cup. Warne, high-profile like Shoaib, was sent home from the tournament on the morning of Australia’s opening game against Pakistan after testing positive for a diuretic. His case was heard under Cricket Australia’s anti-doping policy, which followed a test by the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority.The agency reported that a sample taken on January 22, 2003, showed diuretics and he was sent home almost three weeks later from the World Cup in South Africa hours before the team’s first game against Pakistan. He was banned from all cricket for a year, reduced from two, after a hearing. Pakistan will now have to do without their opening bowling attack, one day before their first game against Sri Lanka.The news comes on the back of an autumn of turbulence for Pakistan cricket, taking in the Oval fiasco, a farcical captaincy saga and the replacement of the head of the board. As prepaprations for major tournaments go, Pakistan’s has hardly been ideal.

Matthew Hayden, who broke his finger last week, suffered further, if bizarre, misfortune when he was attacked by a dog while out jogging.As a result he now has a gashed ankle though tests have revealed no tendon or ligament damage. Hayden said the wound, about five centimetres long, would remain open for several days to minimise the risk of infection before being stitched.”It was a vicious attack,” Hayden told Brisbane’s . “I was was out for a leisurely run. You are always a bit shocked by that sort of thing but I was more disappointed than anything. It just hasn’t been my week.”Hayden was already out of cricket for a couple of weeks after breaking a finger taking a catch in last weekend’s Sheffield Shield match against Tasmania in Brisbane.”The hand injury would have kept me out for longer than this one (gashed ankle) anyway,” said Hayden, who added there was no doubt surrounding his fitness for the first Test against England at the Gabba on November 23.

West Indies 212 for 3 (Samuels 100*, Chanderpaul 60) beat Pakistan 209 (Hameed 71) by 7 wickets
Scorecard and ball-by-ball commentary
How they were out

Marlon Samuels and Shivnarine Chanderpaul helped West Indies cruise to victory by seven wickets and pull one game back in this series after the bowlers had done their bit in the first half, restricting Pakistan to only 209. There was little a weakened Pakistan team could do to halt West Indies’ march to victory and the scoreline is now 2-1 in Pakistan’s favour with one game to play.Samuels has given glimpse of his destructive ability in the past – especially in one magnificent century against India in Vijayawada that took West Indies to a 4-3 series win. On that day he was at his attacking best; today he had to fight hard to begin with, but once he had mastered the early movement, played with aggression and control to score his second ODI century and take his team to victory.When the innings began Pakistan were naturally pumped up, having ended on 209 after being 47 for 4. And they kept the momentum going when Rana Naved-ul-Hasan bowled a peach of an inswinger to the left-handed Chris Gayle who played an ambitious heave only to lose his off stump. Lendl Simmons, who began his ODI career with a duck picked up another one, this time a first-baller, as he shuffled across his stumps and fell over to a delivery that pitched in line and would have crashed into middle and leg stump had pad not been in the way (11 for 2).Samuels negotiated the hat-trick ball easily enough, and with the experienced Chanderpaul for company, began to dig his heels in. Mohammad Sami, in his return match, showed that little had changes in his approach, giving the batsmen two loose balls for every four good ones. He was guilty of spraying the ball around as well, and the pressure lifted off the shoulders of the batsmen.Chanderpaul didn’t so much score runs as collect them. With a dab here and a nurdle there he coaxed the ball into the gaps and before Pakistan could realise he’d entered the 20s. There was no panic whatsoever in his batting, two wickets in as many balls notwithstanding.Samuels played and missed more than once against Naved-ul-Hasan, who shaped the ball away consistently from the right-handed batsmen. But he settled down once the bowling changed and really moved it up a gear when the part-time spinners came on. Shahid Afridi’s legspin was dismissed with content, while the medium-pace of Rao Iftikhar Anjum disappeared to all parts. Samuels hit through the line beautifully, and the best of all hits was a pull shot off Rao that sailed high, wide and handsome over midwicket for six.

From then on, the partnership for the third wicket burgeoned to 141, virtually settling the game in West Indies’s favour before Chanderpaul picked one off his hips and found fine-leg. It mattered little, though, as Samuels, in the company of Brian Lara, skipped past the finish line. Lara, in his brief stay, showed his class with a superb drive over cover for six. Samuels only got more confident, thumping the ball merrily along to reach an even 100.If the batting from West Indies was high quality, Pakistan’s was anything but in the first half of the day. Daren Powell, playing in his first match of the series, did the early damage, removing the dangerous Shahid Afridi with a ball that came in with the angle and straightened after pitching to peg back the off stump. Imran Farhat, who has shown signs of promise but often given it away with an expansive shot, was suckered into playing a big cut against a ball that was short and a wide. Unfortunately for him Gayle, at gully, stretched to his full height and plucked the catch out of the air.Mohammad Hafeez, who perhaps had one eye on the scoreboard when he came out to bat, played a defensive prod at an outswinger and was just inside the line of the ball. The edge was taken easily by Gayle at slip; 45 for 3 was bad, but it was about to get worse. Shoaib Malik played completely down the wrong line to Dwayne Smith, and the ball came in to trap him plumb in front of the stumps. At 47 for 4, with not much to come in terms of batting, Pakistan looked like they were heading for disaster.Fortunately for Pakistan Yasir Hameed, who last played an ODI against England almost a year ago, buckled down and sealed his end up. He put away his array of strokes, and concentrated on taking the ones and twos. Faisal Iqbal, perfectly relaxed at the crease, chipped in with 30. But it was Hameed, who moved on to his half-century, off 92 balls – uncannily similar to his last ODI innings where he had top-scored with a patient 57 – who gave the innings backbone.Today he made 71, before he fell trying to give the innings some impetus when he holed out to midwicket off Dave Mohammed. Abdul Razzaq, captaining Pakistan for the first time, clouted a few towards the end to pick up 33, but he could only push the score on to 209, and that proved to be a walk in the park for West Indies.

Kingsmead has few happy memories for India, outside of the 2003 World Cup,but they arrived in Durban on Wednesday afternoon aware that five days ofthe discipline and grit shown at the Wanderers will take them close toperhaps their most celebrated Test series win in recent memory. Less thana month ago, they left Durban with abuse from Indian supporters stillresounding in their ears, having been bowled out for 91 in a 157-runone-day defeat, and the old-timers like Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Gangulyand Rahul Dravid will still grimace when they recall the slide to 100 and66 all out against Allan Donald and company a decade ago.It doesn’t help that India do poor encores. The scarcely believablevictory at Adelaide – Australia had made 400 for 5 on the opening day -was followed by a nine-wicket defeat at the MCG, where they squandered theinitiative given them by Virender Sehwag’s audacious 195. A few monthslater, in Pakistan, they slipped up again. Rahul Dravid led India to theirfirst win on Pakistani turf, a comprehensive triumph by an innings atMultan, but a week later at Lahore, the batting order crashed and burnedagainst Umar Gul, with only Yuvraj Singh and Irfan Pathan saving face.That too was a nine-wicket defeat, and Dravid admitted at the post-matchpress conference in Johannesburg that India needed to be wary of a similarblip in Durban.Luckily for India, South Africa have plenty of problems of their own. DaleSteyn limped out at the Wanderers, and is doubtful for this game. In hisabsence, there was a sameness to the attack that would have worried theteam management, despite a splendid performance from Shaun Pollock, whowent past 400 Test victims in the game. Makhaya Ntini was flat anderratic, while Andre Nel veered between two extremes, bowling someexcellent deliveries interspersed with phases where he let ego andaggression dictate matters.Even before the first-Test debacle, Mickey Arthur, South Africa’s coach,had requested for pitches with plenty of pace and bounce, adding that hedidn’t fancy a grassy surface. After his top order was ruthlessly exposedon a surface that offered bounce without being especially quick, itremains to be seen what instructions will be passed on to the curator atKingsmead. Only Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman made half-centuries forIndia, but several of the others also showed far greater application andawareness of the conditions than their South African counterparts. Withthe exception of Ashwell Prince and Jacques Kallis, the batting was simplywretched, and a reshuffle of sorts is expected, with AB de Villiers movingup to partner Graeme Smith at the top of the order.Smith’s travails epitomise those of his team. He made some boldpronouncements in Australia last summer, and was then taken apart by anAustralian pace line-up that takes considerable joy in exposing shallowtalk. The misery continued in the return series, and with the exception ofthe Centurion one-day game earlier this month, he has barely put bat toball against the Indians. Both Zaheer Khan and Sreesanth have zoomed in onhis tendency to play across his front pad, and Durban will be a real testof his character, with the team also under the pump.From being prohibitive favourites to win the series – Haroon Lorgat,convener of the selection panel, spoke confidently to an Indian newspaperabout a 3-0 whitewash – the South Africans will arrive in Durban on Fridaystaring at the spectre of only a second series defeat to non-Australianopposition since their readmission to the world game in 1991. As for theIndians who left Durban last month as badly beaten as one of Mike Tyson’searly victims, they must resist the urge to pinch themselves and focus onthe task in hand, starting with a two-day game against a KwaZulu NatalInvitation XI on Friday.

ScorecardNeil McCallum’s excellent 109, his maiden first-class hundred, helped Scotland take a useful 25-run first-innings lead on the third day of their Intercontinental Cup match against UAE at Sharjah. The home side batted aggressively in response, however, and go into the fourth day leading by 132 runs.McCallum and Gavin Hamilton’s steady fourth-wicket partnership of 83 ended when Hamilton edged Ali Asad behind. And though Dougie Brown (30) and Craig Wright (31) helped form useful stands, the impetus was with McCallum. He didn’t disappoint, scampering well-placed singles and crashing three fours and a six in his 76-ball 109. He fell to Ahmed Nadeem, who ended with impressive figures of 5 for 84, but Scotland took a narrow lead.UAE soon put the scores level, though, with Mohammad Iqbal smashing a quickfire 43 from 36 balls, putting on 63 with his captain, Arshad Ali, who ended the day unbeaten on 61. Gayan Silva, the wicketkeeper, again batted with care in his second half-century of the match and Scotland will need early wickets tomorrow morning if they are to force a victory.

Scheduled at a time when all other international tours have come to an end – ahead of the World Cup in the West Indies – the women’s Quadrangular tournament has India, New Zealand, Australia and England competing for what could be a psychological edge in the run-up to the women’s World Cup in 2009.Admittedly the attention of most cricket lovers is diverted towards injury exits and possible replacements in the men’s World Cup squads, but if you are craving live cricket – rather than speculative – the Quadrangular in Chennai is something to look forward to.Below is an update on what the four teams have been doing since the previous World Cup in South Africa in March-April 2005 and the players to watch out for.India
Of the four sides, the hosts have played the highest number of one-day matches in the period between April 2005 and January 2007. Apart from the 2005-06 Asia Cup in Pakistan, India toured Australia, New Zealand, England and Ireland, playing only ten matches at home and 20 away, including three at neutral venues. Nine wins out of 10 at home give them an obvious edge in the Quadrangular even though one-day cricket doesn’t always favour those familiar with the conditions. India come into the tournament having comprehensively won their second successive Asia Cup in Jaipur this December. They not only went unbeaten in the tournament but won by huge margins and restricted the opposition to a total below 175 in each of their five games. Nine out of the 14 picked for the Quadrangular were part of the World Cup squad two years ago in which India finished as runner-up.Players to watch
Mithali Raj: India’s captain and star batsman, Raj has played in all 30 one-dayers that India have played since the World Cup final. She’s scored a hundred and six half-centuries during this period at an average of 43.61.Anjum Chopra: The left-handed batsman has played 100 ODIs – the highest by an Indian woman. In the period between the World Cup and the Asia Cup, Chopra played 10 matches at home, the same number as the captain, but averaged a lot higher with 59 compared to Raj’s 47.75. Also a reliable fielder, her place in the side is unquestionable.Jhulan Goswami: Despite her slight frame, Goswami is the fastest bowler in women’s cricket and apart from generating movement off the pitch she worries batsmen by getting the ball to bounce that extra bit. Her best ODI figures came against England at Silchar where India won by 10 wickets after Goswami had taken 5 for 16. Since the World Cup she has taken 34 wickets at 20.64, a figure that dips to 13.13 in her nine matches at home.Nooshin Al Khadeer: An offbreak bowler, Al Khadeer is ten short of reaching 100 wickets in one-day cricket.MD Kamini Picked for five Asia Cup games at home, 16-year old Kamini has got eight wickets at 10.87 with her legspinners.

New Zealand
In the given period, New Zealand have played the least number of matches with five at home and five away and none in the subcontinent. Seven out of the 14 are touring India for the first time though nine of them were part of World Cup campaign. Their four wins since then have all been at home. With so many players unfamiliar with the conditions in India and their overall lack of match practice, New Zealand are unlikely to make it to the final on March 5. However, if the current performance and morale of their male counterparts rubs off on them, some hats and predictions will have to be swallowed whole.Players to watch:To get a better picture we take into account domestic performances of the New Zealand women in the State League this season.Maria Fahey Fahey topped the State League with 380 runs from 10 games for Canterbury at 42.22. Incidentally, Fahey began her ODI career in India where she scored three centuries in four games in December 2003.Rebecca Rolls: Rolls, a wicketkeeper, has played 98 matches and is 17 runs short of the 2000-run mark in ODIs. She is certain to reach the landmark during the Quadrangular – going by her 372 runs at 46.50 for Auckland this season – and will become the fourth New Zealand woman and 12th overall.

Australia
Though Australia have only played two more matches than New Zealand and, like their neighbours, have seven players yet to play in India, the course that the two teams have taken since the World Cup is different. Australia have an impressive win-loss ratio of 12:2. The seven members of the squad who have toured India before were part of the victorious World Cup 2005 squad.Players to watch:
Karen Rolton: Australia have won all seven matches in which she has led between 2001 and 2007. In February 2006 she replaced Belinda Clark as captain and took Australia to a 3-0 home series win against India. With her left-arm medium-pace bowling she has taken 85 wickets and is currently tied with Jhulan Goswami as the fifth highest wicket-taker. Rolton’s batting average of 56.66 for 11 matches since the World Cup is at par with her overall average and her second-highest score of 151 was also made during this period against Ireland at Dublin.Lisa Sthalekar: Australia’s Women’s Cricketer of the Year, Sthalekar was born in India in 1979 but emigrated to Australia in 1983. She was appointed vice-captain to Rolton in 2006 and the selectors should have no hesitation in handing over the reins to Sthalekar when the time comes. Appearing in all 14 matches that Australia have played since the World Cup, Sthalekar has scored a hundred and three half-centuries at 43.72 and taken 12 wickets with her part-time offspin.Leah Poulton: Leah Poulton, 22, has played only five one-day games – all in Australia – but with a domestic season average of 32.5 in 10 innings was impressive enough to win her a place in the Australian side. Though she began her one-day career with a duck, Poulton made sure the selectors did not regret picking her by scoring a hundred in her third match and helped Australia clinch the Rose Bowl series against New Zealand with two games to spare.

England:
England are the only team in the Quadrangular to have toured India after the World Cup though they lost the series 4-1. And when India visited England in 2006, the scoreline was similar though 4-0 in England’s favour. In the 17 matches that they have played in the given period they have won nine and lost seven.Charlotte Edwards She had the highest aggregate in the World Cup with 280 runs at 46.66 and carried on her form in India where she scored two half-centuries in five matches. But between that she has a string of low scores and no centuries in 17 matches. Appointed captain just ahead of the tour to India, Edwards has led the side to seven wins from 12 matches.Claire Taylor: A poor performance in India – her highest score was 17 – does not reflect Taylor’s true talent, especially since she holds the record for the highest one-day score at Lord’s (156 not out).Sarah Taylor: Seventeen-year old Taylor will play her first international match outside England in the Quadrangular tournament. Out of the five matches she’s played, she kept wicket in two and scored 101 runs at 50.50. Taylor is being groomed as the next wicketkeeper in the England side and playing alongside Jane Smit, the regular keeper, at the Quadrangular will only help her reach that position faster.