Sean Ervine is among 17 players who have earned a central contract with Western Australia for the 2004-05 season. Ervine, who played for Zimbabwe before retiring from international cricket earlier this season, joins another Zimbabwean, Murray Goodwin, on the list of contracted players.The initial list of 17 names includes two rookies, Justin Coetzee and Aaron Heal. A 20-year-old left-arm swing bowler, Coetzee earned his reward after putting in some superb performances for Scarborough in the WACA’s Vodafone Cup competition. Coetzee’s 42 wickets in grade cricket last season came at just 17.02 apiece and included a hat-trick against South Perth.Commenting on Coetzee’s selection, Wayne Hill, the chairman of the Western Australian selection panel, said: “We’re excited about Justin’s long term prospects and pleased to offer him a Rookie Contract after some consistent efforts playing for Scarborough in recent seasons. We hope to see him develop over the next few seasons and from this encouragement transfer his club performances to the next level.”The contracted players Ryan Campbell, Beau Casson, Michael Clark, Ben Edmondson, Sean Ervine, Murray Goodwin, Kade Harvey, Steve Maggofin, Shaun Marsh, Scott Meuleman, Marcus North, Chris Rogers, Luke Ronchi, Adam Voges, Peter Worthington.Rookie contracts Justin Coetzee, Aaron Heal.

As West Indies gear up to take on England in the four-Test series, their captain Brian Lara said his side had already put their NatWest Series final defeat behind them, and would take some positives into the Tests. West Indies did manage to reach the final of the three-way NatWest Series – eliminating England along the way – but were soundly beaten at Lord’s on Saturday.But Lara is convinced that the way forward is to forget the immediate past – which, in West Indies’ case, does not make for good reading anyway. In seven matches in the series, they were beaten three times, won two games against England, and had two washed out.An AFP report quoted Lara as saying, “We have got to separate this from the rest of the tour. Now the one-day series is over, and there are a lot of positives we can take into the next couple of months, like the fact we were in the final and England, the host country, were not.” However, the last time England and West Indies played a Test series, England won three Tests and drew the fourth earlier this year.”Also, we have had a few weeks of playing cricket in English conditions, whereas normally you arrive two weeks ahead of the first Test,” said Lara. “The guys have become accustomed to the weather, and we are in a better position for an upcoming Test series than if we had just arrived. Hopefully in the warm-up games batters can start thinking of long innings and bowlers getting the ball in the right areas and being more hostile.”West Indies have two three-day games – against MCC at Arundel and Sri Lanka A at Shenley – before the first Test starts at Lord’s on July 22.

Steve Tikolo, who led Kenya in the Champions Trophy, has said that he intends to resign from the captaincy following his side’s seven-wicket defeat against Pakistan at Edgbaston. Tikolo, 33, felt that it was time to move on and hand over the mantle to someone else while he remained in the team as a player.Kenya, a semi-finalist at last year’s World Cup, were bowled out for just 94 before Pakistan cruised to a seven wicket victory. The defeat meant that Kenya lost both their group matches, having succumbed by 98 runs against India last Saturday.Up until the match against India, Kenya had not played a one-dayer for 18 months and after today’s loss Tikolo said that the team was not due to play one of cricket’s leading nations again until the 2006 Champions Trophy.”I spoke to the selectors back at home and they said we’ll let the case rest until I get back home. I think there are other players who are capable of stepping into the captain’s shoes. I’ll be around. I’m not totally retiring from cricket. I’m still around. Immediately we get back home I’ll have another meeting with the selectors again.”Kenya’s next match is in the Inter-Continental Cup, a four-day competition for teams outside the elite Test nations, against Namibia in October. If they win that, they would qualify for the semi-finals in Sharjah.But a downcast Tikolo added, “With the scenario we have in Kenya, with a lack of games, we can’t feel optimistic anymore.”

South African cricket is going through a period of transition, and Gerald Majola, the chief executive of the United Cricket Board, is at the helm of the transformation process. He spoke to the media during the first Test at Kanpur.

On the reasoning behind such an inexperienced squad
As far as we are concerned, this is the best team for South Africa, as selected by our standards. We outlined those standards at the beginning of the season, and every player here has been selected on form. If you look at their statistics, they stand out.On the policy of including five or six black players in the squad, and whether that puts pressure on his selectors
I was asked this question in Parliament. A day earlier, at the selectors’ meeting, they had all agreed to pick the team based on form and not by any other qualification. But the selectors know about our transformation policy and they understand it.On the importance of the policy, given the controversies with the rugby team last year
Transformation in South Africa is very important, not only for cricket but for the entire country. We have to transform and know where we are coming from. South Africa suffered under apartheid for decades and transformation is something that doesn’t happen overnight, it’s a process. In 1998, the United Cricket Board started its own transformation chapter without any external pressure, because we understand that we have to transform the sport.Cricket is part of South Africa and we have set ourselves targets that we must achieve, which is why you now see black players being picked on merit. We have recently reduced our provincial teams from 11 to six, and the number of black players playing there is almost 50 percent. They are all coming through on merit and many of those performing well are also black. They are being selected on form and not because they are black. Thami Tsolekile, Alfonso Thomas and Charl Langeveldt, who is not here, are some of those players doing well.Is the emphasis on long-term planning or short-term goals?
It’s a long-term process and not a matter of numbers.Will you be distracted from this path if you lose a couple of series?
No, definitely not.How about the white players who feel they are being ignored?
No one is being ignored because everyone is selected on merit. So, any white player who performs will be selected.On including former players like Barry Richards in the development programme
You can’t force someone to do something they don’t want do. Barry Richards has chosen to be a commentator and that’s his field. You have others like [Ray] Jennings who are still involved in the system and therefore being used by it.Any special plans for the development programme?
Everyone has to have access to the sport. Previously some of us did not have access to the same facilities that our white colleagues did.On Mark Boucher being dropped
He was out of form.

Gideon Haigh
Perhaps because of the home-ground advantage each side enjoys, the history of cricket exchanges between Australia and India features a host of grand performances in the face of defeat. None, however, quite equals Vijay Hazare’s 116 and 145 amid the ruins of the two Indian innings at Adelaide in January 1948. The first Indian to accomplish the feat in Test cricket is still the only man to do so during a follow-on.Australia’s first Test series with India, and India’s first five-Test rubber, was a catchweight contest. The hosts were a constellation of talent seldom equalled; India were shorn of some of their best talent, including their first-choice leader Vijay Merchant, Mushtaq Ali, Rusi Modi and Fazal Mahmood.They accepted their subordinate role in the remarks of their manager Pankaj Gupta, who announced his hopes that Don Bradman would play: the Indians, Gupta said, had come to learn from him. Monstered by an innings and 226 runs at Brisbane then by 233 runs at Melbourne, they gave little appearance of having learned much. Hazare the bowler surprisingly accounted for Bradman at Sydney, but his bat was muted, and there were few expectations of resistance when India subsided to 133 for 5, chasing 674, shortly after lunch on the third day.In a match scheduled for six days, however, Hazare felt no need for haste, and soon found the pitch living up to the Adelaide Oval’s reputation for excellence. He reminded Ian Johnson of Len Hutton – the Indian was, perhaps, even “tighter” and “less inclined to be tempted”. But Hazare was not so much the renunciate that he could not work 14 boundaries. India finished nearly 300 behind, and followed on.When Ray Lindwall began India’s demolition in that follow-on, Hazare found himself taking guard in the first over to prevent a hat-trick, Vinoo Mankad and Lala Amarnath having been upended by the two preceding deliveries. Again, however, Hazare warmed to his task, meeting Keith Miller, Johnson, Ernie Toshack and Colin McCool alike. Though the crowds that turned out for Australia’s batting exhibition on the first two days had dwindled, the 5000 present became rapt in Hazare’s lonely vigil – “a great display of determined batting,” said Adelaide’s . He was 102 by the close, out of 188 for 6. “Two separate centuries in a Test!” exclaims Hazare in his formal, rather stilted autobiography, . “It seemed too good to be true.” Lindwall did eventually york him, breaking a 187-minute stand of 132 with Hemu Adhikari, but not until Hazare had batted six minutes short of 10 hours for the game, and generated 43% of India’s runs from the bat.Bradman later recalled a “lengthy argument with one of my compatriots” about Amarnath and Hazare – The Don preferred Hazare for his “soundness … and the correctness of his stroke production”, qualified only by concern about “a lack of aggression which prevented him taking charge of an attack”. In order to advance, though, Indian cricket had first to rule a line beyond which it discountenanced withdrawal, and Hazare had here engraved a very deep one indeed.
Raj Singh Dungarpur
Keith Miller was bowling with the second new ball – and Hazare considers Miller to be the toughest bowler he faced. Miller was bowling outswingers, but Hazare was so well-set that he flicked him for three boundaries through midwicket in an over. Miller said “Braddles, I want a deep midwicket.” Bradman turned around and said “Nugget, Australia’s new-ball bowler will not have a deep midwicket.”Hazare’s innings was awesome. The beauty was that he made it look easy. His hands moved up and down the handle like a flute player. When he cut, the right hand became dominant; when he drove the left. When he played fully forward, he stretched so much that he had to hop twice to get back.

After an unusual beginning – the Test being delayed by a couple of hours by dew, and Sourav Ganguly winning the toss – the first day followed the expected script. Bangladesh folded within two sessions, a familiar late-order resistance following a familiar early collapse; a record was claimed; a personal best was achieved; and an early finish loomed.Anil Kumble will claim the headlines in tomorrow’s papers, but the day belonged to two young men. Irfan Pathan made Sourav Ganguly’s decision to bowl first – a 50-50 one considering India’s batting strength – pay off, and Mohammad Ashraful displayed composure and a straight bat to show his team-mates that despite the early moisture and skilful bowling by the Indian pace bowlers, batting wasn’t as hazardous as most of the top order made it appear.Batting has been the bigger worry for Bangladesh in Test cricket, and their performance today made it apparent why. Five of their batsmen fell to leg-before decisions, four of them to one bowler in almost identical fashion, planting the front foot forward and groping around with the bat. Javed Omar, the first to fall, refused to learn from a mistake committed only four balls earlier, by offering no shot for the second time to Irfan Pathan, who was swinging the ball only one way – back in to the right-handers.Ashraful, who scored a century on his debut and shared the Man-of-the-Match award with Muttiah Muralitharan, has tended to be a hot-and-cold player, mixing occasional brilliance with baffling mediocrity. But today he gave full demonstration of his talent, playing in a calm, unhurried way as all else collapsed around him. Till Mohammad Rafique came to join him and scored freely with some characteristic lusty hits, Ashraful seemed to be batting on a different plane from his team-mates. He countered the swing by playing late and decisively. His first four, an off-drive against Zaheer Khan, was executed to perfection: head straight and over the ball, bat coming down straight and meeting the ball on the up but in the middle. Later, he stayed back to guide Kumble delicately off his stumps to third man for another four. But as has so often been the case with Bangladesh, he was their lone success in the top order.Pathan is the same age as Ashraful. He has the face of a chocolate-box hero, but the mind of a cool assassin. He plays his cricket with the passion of a youth, but the nous of a seasoned pro. His Test figures are misleading, because he has bowled better than the numbers suggest. He will bowl better than he did today for poorer returns because, barring Ashraful, the Bangladesh batsmen played him like novices, but he will relish this day because the first five-for, like the first hundred, is always special. It marks the breaking of a barrier.Pathan is a rare talent, because he is the purveyor of a dying art. Pace bowlers these days are taught to pitch the ball on a length rather than try to swing it. Swing bowling takes skill and courage, for it demands the bowler to pitch the ball up and risk punishment. Pathan was fortunate to have got his break early, because toiling on barren domestic pitches could have sapped his spirit and changed his aspirations. He was fortunate also to have encountered Wasim Akram on his maiden international tour. Akram shared his knowledge willingly and generously, and Pathan fed on him like a hungry child. Every time Pathan claimed a wicket with his swing today, there was a gleam in Akram’s voice in the commentary box. Left-arm swing bowling is alive and well.

An England cricket fan has been sentenced for scrawling racist graffiti on the seats at the Newlands ground in Cape Town.Matthew Weller, 33, from Wolverhampton, will either spent six months in jail, or pay £356 to compensate the Western Province Cricket Association, who maintain the ground. He had pleaded guilty to malicious damage to property. The magistrates’ court in Cape Town heard that he had used black felt-pen to scribble racist slogans and swastikas on 17 seats in the presidential pavilion at Newlands on Monday, the second day of the third Test between South Africa and England.The prosecutor, Catherine Putter, had told the court that the floodlights were turned on at the end of the day – costing the Newlands ground authorities £1000 – so that police could take photographs of the damage. A further £365 was spent on cleaning and staff costs relating to the graffiti.Putter said that the Newlands authorities had banned Weller from the rest of the Cape Town Test, and she had been instructed by them to seek a compensation order against him for the full £1365.At Weller’s first appearance earlier this week, JD Kotze, the presiding magistrate, had ordered that he make a public apology at Newlands while the Test was in progress, but this was rejected by the cricket authorities, as they felt it could “sour the game”.In a letter to them instead, Weller indicated his regret: “I am extremely sorry for any offence caused to the staff and patrons of the ground who may have witnessed the act, or those involved in the cleaning operation,” it read. “I wholly regret my actions, which were totally out of character and promise that I shall never again act in this manner.”Weller was an independent traveller, and not part of the Barmy Army.

The Pakistan Cricket Board wants to hear Bob Woolmer’s comments, in their original form, on the umpiring decisions in Australia, according to . Woolmer had alleged that his team were at the brunt of an overwhelming number of bad decisions – a statement that angered the ICC and sparked off a global discussion over the effect of appeals designed to influence umpires.Woolmer was reported under the ICC Code of Conduct for making a “public critisicm of, or inappropriate comment on a match-related incident or match official”. Since it was a Level 2 breach, Woolmer could lose at least 50% of his match fee or, in the event of a maximum penalty imposed, could even be banned for one Test or two ODIs. Considering that Pakistan play India next, the board will be keen to avoid the maximum penalty.Shaharyar Khan acknowledged that Woolmer’s comments, in their original form, were required by the board. “Yes, we have sought Woolmer’s comments after the International Cricket Council (ICC) drew our attention over the matter,” he said. “Apparently his comments are not severe, but we would see it once we get his comments.””It went 29-5 against us,” were the words that started a debate over umpires in Australia after Woolmer’s side returned from a tour there with few positives. More recently, a statistical point on this website noted that, since 2002, fewer Australians have been dismissed leg-before than players from any other side in Australia.

Matthew Hayden’s slow-healing right shoulder has forced Australia to extend Mike Hussey’s stay to provide cover for the first Test against New Zealand starting on Thursday. Hussey was due to depart with the one-day specialists but will remain until at least Tuesday.The progress of Hayden, who strained his right AC-joint in the second ODI, is becoming a concern and he will continue to be monitored daily. “There’s no doubt that I’m getting better each day, and I’ve made plenty of progress since I first damaged the shoulder,” Hayden said. “I’m working as hard as possible to get the injury right and believe that I will be fit in time.”Trevor Hohns, the chairman of selectors, said the move was to “cover all our bases”. “Hussey has the advantage of already being on tour with the squad, so he is familiar with the conditions and the opposition,” he said. “He is a quality top-order batsman in first-class cricket and we believe that he can fill a role in the Test side if required.”Hussey, who has played in the last four ODIs, was thrilled to stay on and if Hayden is passed fit he will re-join Western Australia for the crucial Pura Cup match against Queensland that will help decide the finalists. “Given there are plenty of top batsmen playing at home, it’s a nice feeling knowing that the selectors have picked me when, potentially, there is a gap to fill,” he said. “I guess I’ll have a better idea as to where I stand early in the week.”

New Zealand’s hopes of tying the Test series rested on a counter attack from the lower-order batsmen on the second morning. Had that occurred, yesterday’s snail-pace scoring by the top order may have been overshadowed but New Zealand’s tail, so often a key strength, was again easy pickings for the Australians.On a fine Auckland day Nathan Astle and Brendon McCullum resumed at 199 for 5 and of those to come, only Chris Martin is without claims with the willow in hand. However the moment was again missed through a combination of indecisiveness, bad shots and poor umpiring.The final five wickets yielded just 93 runs, a figure inflated by Daniel Vettori’s unbeaten 41. While Vettori rockets towards the coveted No. 1 position for the next round of New Zealand player contracts, McCullum, especially, is treading water in defiance of his real ability.Shots of authority such as McCullum’s brilliant pull for four off Glenn McGrath were mixed with plays-and-misses and no-mans-land prods against a consistent rather than relentless Australian opening burst.Astle’s soft dismissal to a ball in no danger of hitting his stumps belied his Test-veteran status and while McCullum needed to play at McGrath, he did so with bat away from pad. If Vettori, at the non-strikers end, had been annoyed to see McCullum depart, he would have been justifiably irate when James Franklin was genuinely unlucky to be given out.So with two bad shots and one regrettable decision it was another session to Australia. One session soon became two as Ricky Ponting dismantled the New Zealand attack.When Stephen Fleming opted for Astle’s medium pace after nine overs, Matthew Hayden never let him settle. On the two occasions Chris Martin erred in length in his opening spell, Ponting dispatched him over the fence and the scene for the afternoon was set.On the first day New Zealand had totalled 142 runs at tea: today Australia rattled on 143 between lunch and tea. When Ponting went past 100 in a scarcely believable 104 balls those that blinked would have been forgiven for thinking they’d missed something, such was the skill of Ponting’s accumulation.There were the big shots – Franklin and Vettori were both sent over the ropes – but, just as much as Australia’s bowling was a routine effort, Ponting’s breathtaking century was a blinder. Perhaps it was not as destructive as the mayhem fans have come to associate with Adam Gilchrist, but it certainly appeared as though Ponting was on a mission to bat New Zealand out of the game. That is something he may well have achieved.