Cricket Kenya has announced a six-year partnership with Nimbus Sport for the management of commercial and television rights. The deal gives Kenyan cricket a massive boost and will be worth a minimum of US$150,000 a year, and could bring in as much as US$1 million over the full term.The news comes after the board had spent months trying to persuade people to invest in the national game. The current Cricket Kenya board, which took office in May 2005, had struggled to cast off the legacy of the old regime, but this deal could open the door to more sponsorships and take Kenyan cricket forward after three or four years in the doldrums.”We are extremely pleased to be associated with the world’s leading sports marketing agency in cricket,” Samir Inamdar, the chairman of Cricket Kenya, said. “Nimbus Sport had earlier managed the commercial rights and television production for the Kenya – Bangladesh series in 2006. We were delighted with the unprecedented visibility and reach that Kenyan cricket got through this association.”Nimbus are the commercial rights partner for the Afro-Asia Cup and has also managed sponsorship sales for Zimbabwe Cricket for the Zimbabwe – Bangladesh series in 2006. This partnership with Kenya will add to their presence in Africa.”We are very excited with our partnership with Cricket Kenya,” Digvijay Singh, the chief executive of Nimbus Sport, said. “We believe that Kenya has the potential for being an ideal and active cricketing destination. The combination of picturesque grounds, relaxed ambience and quality cricket along with extremely attractive tourism destinations presents immense marketing potential and opportunities.”

Prasanna Jayawardene, the Sri Lankan Test wicketkeeper, is in a Wellington hospital after undergoing an emergency appendix operation. Jayawardene was admitted on Tuesday night after complaining of acute stomach pain and had surgery yesterday.The illness is the latest setback for Jayawardene after he was struck on the wrist by Shane Bond, while batting in the second innings of Sri Lanka’s series-leveling win at Wellington. Kumar Sangakkara took over the wicketkeeping duties in New Zealand’s second innings. Jayawardene, a Test specialist, was not chosen in Sri Lanka’s one-day or Twenty20 squads.Meanwhile, Malinga Bandara and Ruchira Perera, who toured with the Sri Lanka A squad in the West Indies, are expected to join the team on Friday. Both are likely to be considered for the second Twenty20 international at Eden Park, Auckland on December 26. The first Twenty20 international begins tomorrow at Wellington’s Westpac Stadium.

Shaun Tait will get a chance to push for World Cup selection after he was added to the CB Series squad for the next two matches. Tait has never played a one-day international but the Australia selectors are desperate to see him operate ahead of the tournament in the Caribbean starting in March.Despite performing well until Sunday night’s eight-run win over New Zealand, the bowling attack of McGrath, Bracken, Lee and Johnson barely managed to defend the 5 for 343 in Perth. Tait will add some extra firepower and keep the pressure on the fast men as they battle for five World Cup spots.Andrew Hilditch, the chairman of selectors, said the panel was pleased with the results during the series, but the next two matches, against England on Friday and New Zealand on Sunday, were the last chances to experiment. “We are taking the opportunity to add Shaun with a view to looking at him ahead of World Cup squad selection,” he said.The decision appears to have ended the short-term hopes of Ben Hilfenhaus, who made his ODI debut at Hobart when Tait was suffering a hamstring problem. “Shaun has made an impressive return from injury,” Hilditch said, “and we want to take a further look at him in the international environment.”Tait was part of Australia’s squad for the opening two Tests of the Ashes series before being released when Mitchell Johnson was preferred as 12th man. Tait, who played two Tests on the 2005 Ashes tour, has 26 Pura Cup wickets at 21.00 this summer and eight at 27.62 in the one-day competition, where his economy rate is 5.11 an over.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

Even though they had their work cut out chasing a huge 472 Bengal batted withpurpose and determination, reaching 98 for 2 at stumps on the third day of the Ranji Trophy final. After Mumbai scored 294 in their second innings they left themselves with two days and a session to take ten Bengal wickets, but they found the going tough. Deep Dasguptaled the resistance as Bengal put their timid first innings effort firmly behind.On a pitch that began to turn appreciably, Mumbai looked for initialbreakthroughs from their star duo of Ajit Agarkar and Zaheer Khan, butneither could replicate the penetrative bowling of the first innings. Itwas only when Amol Muzumdar brought about the first change, bringingWilkin Mota into the attack, that the first breach was made. ArindamDas, who had seen off 44 balls for 10, chased a wide delivery and the edgeflew thick and fast to Wasim Jaffer in the slips cordon. Jaffer reactedsharply, snapping up the difficult offering and Bengal were 39 for 1.Then Dasgupta and Abhishek Jhunjhunwala continued the resistance, seeingoff Mota and Agarkar’s second spell. Dasgupta was in especially god touch,picking boundaries off Agarkar with ease. Once again it was achange in the bowling that brought rewards, as Ramesh Powar floated one into Jhunjhunwala and won the appeal for lbw. Replays suggested thatthere might have been a bit of bat involved, but the umpire ruled in thefavour of the bowler, leaving Bengal at 65 for 2.From there on, though, there was no success for Mumbai as Dasgupta, whobatted almost three hours for his 43, and Manoj Tiwary, took Bengal to 98for 2 at stumps. The target of 472 is miles away, with 374 still needed,but the fight Bengal showed augurs well. With two days to go in the game,Powar could well play a big role, being the lone spinner in the attack.

When it was Bengal’s turn to bowl, earlier in the day, it was onceagain Ranadeb Bose who did the job, picking up 5 for 71 as he took hisseason’s tally to 57 wickets. A decent Sunday crowd – probably the best ofthe game – gathered at the Wankhede Stadium when the day began, inanticipation of Tendulkar’s arrival at the crease. They did not have towait all that long, for Jaffer popped a return catch to Ranadeb Boseearly in the day. Jaffer had made 53.A huge roar greeted Tendulkar as he walked out to the middle, but he wasdefinitely not at his best. In the first innings he had stamped hisauthority on the game in dramatic fashion, but in the second dig he wasdecidedly less assured. More than once he was surprised by a bit of extrapace or bounce and took blows on the body, most noticeably when he waslate on a pull shot against Ashok Dinda and was struck flush on thehelmet. Saurav Sarkar even managed to draw out an error when Tendulkar hitone uppishly back at the bowler, but Sarkar juggled the offering and couldnot latch on to it.Still, interspersed between some less than perfect shots, were the gems.The whip through the on side consistently beat the field, and back-footpunches through cover sped away with ease. In the end, it was a change inthe bowling that brought relief for Bengal. Dinda, who had bowled a longspell, gave way to Sourashish Lahiri, and Tendulkar took a bit of achance, attempting to hit a short ball wide of the man at cover, but onlymanaged to find Tiwary. It wasn’t the best ball of the day, but Lahiri hadTendulkar’s wicket for the second time in the game, this time for only 43runs.Muzumdar and Abhishek Nair ensured that there was no further damage, andtook Mumbai to lunch on 220 for 5. The post-lunch session proved to bemore entertaining than the first, with Nair batting more freely as thelead burgeoned past 400. He struck five boundaries and a six in his 34,while Muzumdar was more conventional, getting to 37. But the man to watchwas Ranadeb Bose, who bowled with impressive stamina and purpose even with histeam’s chances fast fading as Mumbai ended on 294. Bengal have begun well but it will be uphill all along as they battle a mammoth total.

Steven Price reports on the problems facing the average Zimbabwean wanting to watch his team play in the World CupIn the midst of growing civil unrest, now even watching our team in the World Cup is now considered luxurious for hard-pressed Zimbabweans who are suffering under an appalling economic environment and rigorous government oppression.On Thursday, as Zimbabwe fought out an enthralling tie with Ireland,thousands of Zimbabwean cricket fans and players here had to come to termswith the dismal reality of a World Cup blackout on the sole, state-runtelevision channel operating in the country.You don’t have to go further than this to search how Zimbabwe cricket hastumbled since the late 1990s when the committed and energetic administratorsat the time took a once “minority” sport to a higher level and a wave ofbroader participation and public interest. The only way to see the cricket was by subscription to the South African Supersports channel, something affordable to precious few, and even then the almost non-stop powercuts meant that only the handful of sports bars with their own generators – and who had enough cash for the fuel to run them – offered ball-by-ball coverage.Some of the main clubs – Harare Sports Club and Old Hararians are two – did show the games but one member reported that most people stayed away as they expected ZBC to show the matches. Anyway, given the times the matches are being played, only those with cars and a bit of cash to spare can afford to go to these bars. But even for most of them, its getting more difficult. Fuel prices are rising by the day.It is such a contrast with what has happened in the past. Zimbabweans were able to watch the World Cup in England in 1999 on the local channel, chiefly thanks to the efforts of the then capable and international-respected ZCU board andmanagement. Boosted by their team’s laudable performances in the tournament,cricket recorded unprecedented growth in Zimbabwe. In a country where signsof cracks were already appearing on the surface, it seemed then thateveryone wanted to be associated with cricket as the only positive facet ofZimbabwean life that was left.Then in 2003, Zimbabwe got five home games when South Africa hosted theWorld Cup. Those who were not privileged to watch the matches at the groundsin Harare and Bulawayo followed the action on local television. Again thanksto the old administrators, cricket has amassed a considerable following,many of them ordinary citizens struggling to afford a decent single meal aday, and living in fear of arbitrary arrest and torture by an insecure regime. Now there is barely anything worth watching on the propaganda-filled state channel.This leaves Zimbabweans depending on reports filed by two editors from thegovernment-controlled Herald newspaper, who are on a ZC-sponsoredvoyage in the Caribbean. The board has gone down this route before, and by paying for them to travel, criticism of the team can be minimised.As our team stuttered thousands of kilometers away at Sabina Park in Kingston, diehard Zimbabwean cricket fans slept the night pondering the future. They woke up Friday morning thinking how the match would have gone their way if they were afforded the privilege of watching their team’s opening World Cup match. They can be forgiven.One last thought. The two men running the game in Zimbabwe will have had no such problems. Peter Chingoka and Ozias Bvute reportedly flew to the Caribbean last weekend where they can relax in comfort with those within the ICC hierarchy who support them through thin and even thinner. It’s tough at the top.

Scorecard

Clinton Perren and Chris Simpson upset New South Wales’ victory plans by avoiding the follow-on as Queensland posted 8 for 464 at Sydney. The Bulls, who need a win to stay alive in the competition, immediately declared and the Blues were 0 for 25 at the close.The home side’s first-innings 613 looked adequate when the Bulls fell to 7 for 309, still 155 runs short of making New South Wales bat in order. Lacklustre fielding cost the Blues, as Simon Katich dropped Ashley Noffke on 0 before he and Simpson compiled a 99-run stand to edge Queensland within reach.Simpson and Daniel Doran (30 not out) passed the required mark despite some great bowling from Grant Lambert. He took 3 for 0 from eight balls – it would have been 4 for 0 had Noffke been caught – with the second new ball and finished with 4 for 77.Lambert had little assistance as Simpson (85 not out) recorded his best first-class score and Perren continued his late-season form spike. Perren’s 110 was his first Pura Cup century in 2006-07 and featured 17 fours before he became Lambert’s initial victim.Katich, the New South Wales captain, left the field with an injured hand after his missed chance. He will now have to decide whether to set the Bulls a chase – the Blues lead by 174 runs – or accept first-innings points and focus on beating Tasmania in a top-of-the-table clash next week.

Bob Woolmer had planned to write about his experiences as coach of Pakistan as part of a book based on his coaching experiences around the world. He had asked several writers to collaborate, including Ivo Tennant, co-author of Woolmer’s original autobiography, and Osman Samiuddin, Pakistan editor, cricinfo.com.Woolmer made Samiuddin the offer in an email on September 18 last yearand revealed that he only planned to write it after the World Cup. “I amgoing to write a book on my tenure as Pakistan coach,” Woolmer wrote toSamiuddin, “and wanted [a Pakistan collaborator – hopefully yourself] also an SA and English one as well so that I can cover probably one ofthe more interesting periods of my cricket career.”I shall only start after the World Cup but I need to show a lot of different perspectives and the culture correctly which is where I had hoped you would come in. I have not approached a publisher yet so not sure what is in it for anyone at the moment but I believe regardless of the money the story is worth telling [and] has to be told and in the correct way. I am not a name and shame guy just the honest facts. Let the puntermake up his mind etc. No hurry, but hoped you might be interested.”There has been fierce speculation surrounding the book, in particular that it was to reveal details of match-fixing. Tennant, who had already started working on the book, has denied the possibility, whereas Samiuddin had not discussed details. “We never discussed any specifics or details really,” Samiuddin said. “Pakistan was going through some controversies at the time with the Oval Test and the doping crisis and he always joked it was great material for the book.”Tennant, writing in , also rubbished the speculation. “Rumours that Bob Woolmer was murdered because he was harbouring information on match-fixing or an association with corrupt bookmakers can be dismissed unequivocally,” Tennant wrote.”As the co-author of his autobiography and its planned sequel, for which a publisher had still to be found, I can state that he had no intention of writing or publicising any such detail in either this or his book on coaching and sports science, which will be published in June.””He had no knowledge of Hansie Cronje’s involvement in match-fixing during his time as coach of South Africa, and, if there had been any such approach to his Pakistan players, he would have told them to report it immediately to the manager or the Board of Control”, Tennant wrote. “Doubtless he would then have informed the police himself. Above all, Woolmer was an honest man. He did not mix with dodgy individuals.”Woolmer also has another book, soon to be published and co-authored with Professor Tim Noakes, a sports scientist, on coaching titled, .According to a statement released by his family, the book pulls together all the years of experience Bob gained coaching around the world as well as his own unique cricketing philosophies. Noakes and the family have denied that the book has any details on match-fixing in it.Tragically, the final manuscript reached the West Indies the day after Bob died, the statement said.

Stephen Fleming, who stepped down as one-day captain after New Zealand’s semi-final defeat in the World Cup, is now aiming at consistent form with the bat.”By declaring the one-day captaincy, I’ve put all my eggs in the one basket because I just want to test myself to see how good I can be without the pressure of captaincy,” Fleming told New Zealand Press Association.Fleming now wants to compete for a place in the one-day side as a specialist batsman while still continuing as captain of the Test side. But he confesses that he is not in a position to write his own script regarding his one-day career. “I certainly believe there’s more runs for me to come,” he said. “I just have to prove myself.”Set to join Nottinghamshire in the English county circuit in another two weeks, Fleming said he had got things to work on. “I felt my batting at the World Cup was pretty close to as good as I can be. I’m not sure I got the rub of the green throughout the tournament, but that’s cricket.”On being asked who he thought would succeed him as one-day captain, Fleming felt that Daniel Vettori, the current vice-captain, was a fine leader though there were others in the side too who could lead well. “I’m confident that leadership is not going to be an issue in both forms of the game going forward,” he added.Fleming also batted for coach John Bracewell whose contract expires in August. “I think what he has done in the past few years has been very good, especially in past 12 to 18 months. It’s only my opinion and I’ve read a lot of opinions to the contrary, so it’s going to be an interesting time for New Zealand cricket.” Martin Crowe, the former New Zealand captain, recently called for Bracewell’s resignation.

The former South African fast bowler, Allan Donald, is being lined up as the England team’s new bowling coach, after it was confirmed by the ECB that the current incumbent, Kevin Shine, would be reverting to an administrative role at the national academy in Loughborough.Responding to an article in The Daily Telegraph, John Carr, the ECB’s director of cricket, said: “When the board recruited Kevin in early 2006 it was always intended to be largely a Loughborough-based role leading the ECB fast bowling programme, which involves overseeing and managing the development of elite fast bowlers at senior and age group levels. It was on this basis that Kevin and his family relocated to the Loughborough area.”Shine was a full-time member of Duncan Fletcher’s management team during the Ashes and World Cup, but he was significantly outshone by his predecessor in the role, Troy Cooley, who returned to his native Australia to help marshal a 5-0 Ashes whitewash and an unbeaten defence of the World Cup. The manner in which Nathan Bracken and Shaun Tait came of age for their country was a testament to Cooley’s achievements, and magnified the extent of Shine’s failings.”The board was grateful that Kevin agreed to serve in this role through to the end of the World Cup,” said Carr. “Kevin had indicated at the start of the winter that at the end of the World Cup he wished to revert to the important role that he was originally recruited to perform. The ECB fast bowling programme cannot be delivered by any one person and involves working closely with the ECB fast bowling group and all county coaches.” Shine has already enlisted the help of the former West Indian paceman Ottis Gibson and the Gloucestershire bowling coach, Stuart Barnes.”Peter Moores and ECB have every confidence in Kevin Shine to lead the ECB fast bowling programme and to coach England’s elite fast bowlers,” added Carr. “Kevin will continue to be involved in the preparation of England fast bowlers around international matches as well as being involved in any decisions to utilise the services of other fast bowling coaches with England teams or in other parts of the fast bowling programme.”Donald, 40, was among the big names who applied for Shine’s role when the job was advertised at the end of 2005. He has not been through the four-level ECB coaching qualification programme, but he has supervised Warwickshire’s second XI, and is also involved with South Africa’s high performance programme. With 330 wickets from 72 Tests and a further 272 in ODIs, he would bring a wealth of experience to Moores’s new England set-up. Earlier this month, the former Zimbabwe captain, Andy Flower, was named as England’s new batting coach, in place of Fletcher’s former Glamorgan colleague, Matthew Maynard.

Worcestershire’s Twenty20 Cup fixture against Warwickshire at New Road has had to be cancelled after unseasonal rains caused the Severn and Teme rivers to break their banks and flood the county ground at New Road.”Around half of the ground is flooded at a depth of at least a couple of feet,” explained David Leatherdale, the commercial manager. “It is up to the engines of cars parked on the ground.” Games against Northamptonshire on Friday and Gloucestershire on Sunday are also in doubt.Although county officials immediately sought an alternative venue to stage the game, the Twenty20 regulations as they stand require all matches to be played within the county boundaries. Worcestershire had hoped to play at either Kidderminster, Ombersley or Barnt Green, but were forced to admit defeat.”Regrettably no other venue within the county with the facilities to stage the Twenty20 match could be identified in spite of the very best efforts of the home club,” said an ECB statement. “ECB has indicated that it wishes to consider changes to regulations which could provide increased options for the 2008 season but recognises that the weather conditions experienced in June have been exceptional.While the ground, which is on a flood plain, is often submerged in the winter, it is rare that it suffers during the season. In June 1931 Worcestershire had to move their match against Kent to Stourbridge because New Road was underwater. On that occasion the local fire brigade were called in to help mop up. In August of the same year heavy rain meant that a small lake formed in front of the ladies stand and the boundary had to be brought in by 25 yards midway a game against Warwickshire. It also flooded in August 1957.