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As preparations for a World Cup go, this is one of the more unusual ones – entering an Under-16 boys’ league. But that’s what Bermuda women have done, as they aim to succeed in the qualifying tournament in Pakistan this November.The Bermuda board has entered the side into a men’s evening league alongside the national under-16 boys’ league ahead of the qualifiers for the 2009 World Cup in Australia. There are two spots up for grabs among eight teams, including South Africa and Pakistan.The move comes following a recommendation from Ann Browne-John, the former West Indies women coach, who suggested that the women needed to compete regularly.The Bermuda coach, Allan Douglas, told The Bermuda Sun: “This is just what we have been looking for. Cricket for women is very new to Bermuda and so this will give us the opportunity to show the public that we are serious and play serious cricket.” Douglas co-ordinates two practice sessions a week, as well as one gym visit.One of the rising stars of Bermuda is 15-year-old Reuna Richardson. A spirited allrounder, she had this warning for the boys: “They’d better watch out because I think we can show them up. I think they will be surprised.”But she knows that qualification in Pakistan will not come easily. “I think about it a lot. I’m a bit nervous. I think it’s going to be hard. We are going to have to do a lot of work between now and then to get better.”

Sanath Jayasuriya has been overlooked for Sri Lanka’s four-day warm-up game against Sussex at Hove, starting tomorrow, and is therefore a doubt for the second Test at Edgbaston next week.Jayasuriya, who recently reversed his decision to retire from Test cricket, met up with the squad during the Lord’s Test and had been expected to slot quickly back into the side.But Sri Lanka’s achievement in saving the first Test has changed the management’s strategy. Upul Tharanga, who made a composed half-century, is guaranteed a place in the starting line-up, but both Michael Vandort and Jehan Mubarak are expected to compete for the second opener’s slot.At the age of 26 and 25 respectively, they are a full decade younger than Jayasuriya, and consequently form part of Sri Lanka’s long-term strategy.”We need to be playing the guys who are fronting up tomorrow,” said Sri Lanka’s coach, Tom Moody. “They need the opportunity to find some form and prepare them for the Test match.”Sanath is very much a part of our plans depending on the conditions going into the second and third Tests. You just don’t know what the form, fitness and all those things are going to be.”All we are concentrating on now is working very hard with a young and exciting squad in a transitional period. As long as we are patient and show faith in these young players the future of Sri Lanka cricket is in good shape.”With a ten-day gap between Lord’s and Edgbaston, the game against Sussex is important for Sri Lanka’s top-order batsmen to keep their momentum going. Sri Lanka are therefore likely to play their full batting line up barring Tillakaratne Dilshan who is being rested because of a mild hamstring injury.”It’s a crucial game for us because it is important that we continue the positive momentum we’ve taken from Lord’s into this game,” added Moody. “Hopefully we will get some very good practice ahead of what’s going to be an important second Test.”Moody added that Muttiah Muralitharan and Chaminda Vaas would also be rested because of the heavy workload they will be asked to do for the rest of the tour. Nuwan Zoysa and Lasith Malinga, who missed out at Lord’s, are likely to get an opportunity to impress.”We need to see who the form bowler is,” added Moody, “because we want to win the second Test and we need to take 20 wickets.”Sri Lanka team v Sussex (probable) 1 Upul Tharanga, 2 Jehan Mubarak, 3 Michael Vandort, 4 Kumar Sangakkara, 5 Mahela Jayawardene (capt), 6 Thilan Samaraweera, 7 Prasanna Jayawardene (wk), 8 Lasith Malinga, 9 Nuwan Zoysa, 10 Malinga Bandara, 11 Farveez Maharoof.

Billy Bowden has apologised for his horrible lbw decision against Virender Sehwag, despite a clear inside edge, and blamed the noise from the Bangalore crowd for the error.Bowden, officiating in his first Test in India, was surprised by the ear-splitting atmosphere, which made it almost impossible to hear the nicks, and appealed for understanding after he had been criticised in the local press. “Everybody makes a mistake,” Bowden said. “There are ups and downs in everyone’s career. You have to move on. This is the first time I’m umpiring under such circumstances and it’s just too noisy.”After the match Bowden talked with Sehwag and said “sorry”. Sehwag, who was fined 65% of his match fee for showing dissent after the second-innings decision, replied: “It’s ok.”Bowden and Steve Bucknor made at least seven incorrect calls during the Test, most of them going against India, but the captain Sourav Ganguly refused to be critical. “You’ve all seen it on TV,” he said. “We understand that, and move forward.”

John Wright did nothing to clarify the much-debated matter of India’s opening combination for the final Test at Rawalpindi. “It is a good problem to have,” said Wright, talking about the possibility that the inclusion of Yuvraj Singh as opener could alter the set partnership of Virender Sehwag and Aakash Chopra. “We will take a decision on it immediately after the nets tomorrow. The tour selection committee – Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar and myself – will sit down to solve the problem. All I can tell you is that it will be a left-hander or a right-hander.” While some people believe this is an indication that Yuvraj will replace Chopra, it is interesting to note that Wright has earlier indicated that Parthiv Patel was also in the reckoning for an opening slot.Yuvraj’s blistering hundred in the second Test has made it next to impossible for the team to leave him out of the playing XI, especially in the light of Dravid and VVS Laxman struggling for runs in this series. “We had Sourav for the first Test and when Yuvraj came in he did so well. He came up with a quality fifty, followed by a century. The good thing about him is he wants to be out there in the middle. Actually, we might go into this Test match with a non-specialist opener.” Once again this reference to a non-specialist opener could mean either Yuvraj or Parthiv.Wright left things hanging in the air some more when he praised Chopra lavishly for his efforts. “At the same time, Aakash Chopra too has done very well. You cannot condemn a player on the basis of failure in one match alone. He helped give us great starts in Australia and in the first Test, put on what, 160, with Viru. Opening is a specialist position, he has a job to do, but we may consider a non-specialist option this time. Also, don’t forget that in the long run, Viru views himself as essentially a middle-order batsman.”When asked whether it was necessary to even contemplate breaking up such a successful opening partnership, Wright countered, “Yes, that’s true, but given the situation we have, what would you do? It is an interesting problem.”In the bowling department there are less tricky problems. “Balaji and Pathan are pretty certain to play and it’s a toss up between Ajit Agarkar and Ashish Nehra. Also it depends on what is decided [by the team management]. If we want to bat first, we may even go in with two-and-two, two seamers and two spinners. Let’s see.”Pitches and tosses have come in for much discussion in this series, and Wright did not add fuel to the fire. “Everyone has an opinion about the wicket. The openers wouldn’t want to get anywhere near if they see a green top while the bowlers would be itching to have a go. Everyone has an opinion and a captain has to take all those into consideration before making his own. A captain who cannot decide whether to bat or bowl first is in trouble from the start.”Wright also refused to place undue importance on the fact that Mohammad Sami was injured and thereby a doubtful starter for the deciding Test. “It was the same in the last match and they had a bloke [Umar Gul] who just walked in and took five wickets. You’ve got to respect your rivals. The team that they put up is the team that has to do the job. And I am sure they’ll be trying real hard. Sometimes a new bowler can be dangerous – he’s never had a chance and they want to make the best of the opportunity.”

DURBAN, South Africa, March 18 AFP – Kenya may have won just two matches against India, their opponents in Thursday’s World Cup semi-final here, but the entire fifteen-man squad knows what the experience is like.Ten of the 11 players who took part in Kenya’s first-ever win over India at the Roop Singh stadium in Gwalior on May 28, 1998 are still representing their country at the World Cup.The remaining five were on hand when Kenya won a second time against India at St George’s Park at Port Elizabeth on October 17, 2001.That India have won nine of the 11 matches between the two will matter little when the semi-final is played under the Kingsmead lights on Thursday.In fact, Kenya’s both wins came under floodlights when they batted first, put up a substantial score and bowled out India for less than 200.Sachin Tendulkar, India’s man of the moment, knows what it feels to lose against a non-Test playing nation. He, vice-captain Rahul Dravid and senior pro Anil Kumble were the only ones to feature in both defeats.Veteran left-arm spinner Aasif Karim was the Kenyan captain who won the toss in Gwalior five years back and saw his side score 265-5 with Ravindu Shah making 70, Maurice Odumbe 83 and Hitesh Modi 51.India managed only 196 in reply as Odumbe completed a fine all-round display with 3-14 in 25 balls and current captain Steve Tikolo chipped in with 3-29.Dravid was the main scorer for India with 33 while Tendulkar made 18 before he was dismissed by Martin Suji.Three years later, Tikolo was the captain who elected to bat at Port Elizabeth and Kenya hammered 6-246 following an opening stand of 121 between Shah and Kennedy Otieno.Thomas Odoyo followed the openers with the third half-century of the innings, a blazing 51 off 52 balls with six boundaries and a six.India were shot out under the lights for a meagre 176 after Tendulkar was bowled for three by seamer Joseph Angara, who finished with 3-30 and Odoyo ran through the tail with 3-41.No wonder, Kenya’s current coach and former India player, Sandeep Patil, believes Sourav Ganguly’s India will be foolish to take victory for granted on Thursday.If the Super Sixes clash between the two sides earlier this month is any indication, a close match is in the offing.India, chasing Kenya’s modest 6-225, were reduced to 3-24 under the Newlands lights at Cape Town before Ganguly hit a match-winning 107 and Yuvraj Singh made 58 to steer their team home.It was at Kingsmead on Saturday night that 39-year-old Karim gave the mighty Australians a scare with figures at one stage reading an incredible 8-6-2-3.Entire Kenya will be hoping for an encore on Thursday.

It was bad news for the youngsters at the National Cricket Academy(NCA) as they capitulated to a massive 164-run loss to BPL Sports Clubon the third day of the first match in the Coromandel Cement Cuptournament at the RSI ground in Bangalore on Monday.After conceding a first innings lead of 55 runs to BPL Sports Club,the NCA side allowed their opponents to make a very healthy 247/5 offtheir allotted 40 overs. Set a stiff target of 303 off 40 overs, theNCA team slumped to a meagre 138 all out in 27.5 overs.For the BPL Sports Club team it was Adithya Mishra who provided theimpetus. Scoring at more than a run a ball, Mishra managed 84 at thetop of the innings. Striking six boundaries and clearing the ropesthrice, Mishra spent a little over two hours at the crease beforefalling to mediumpacer Uday Karkera. When Mishra was dismissed, theBPL Sports Club score was 155/3 in 27.3 overs.Following Mishra’s dismissal, N Mulki (56 in 58 balls) and firstinnings top scorer C Raghu (40 in 30 balls) took BPL Sports Club to247/5 in 40 overs, leaving NCA the daunting target of 303 in 40 overs.In the face of the huge total, the NCA batting line up fell to bits.Vinayak Mane with 32 top scored while GI Singh and leggie Amit Mishrawith 22 apiece notched up the only significant scores of the innings.Wickets tumbled at regular intervals and Karnataka Ranji fast bowlerMansur Ali Khan was too good for the NCA finishing with figures of5/56 from 10 overs.

A gallant 95 from RVC Prasad helped Andhra settle at 243/8 on thefirst day of their opening Ranji Trophy South Zone clash againstKerala at Vijayawada today. Home team captain Amit Pathak won the tossand chose to take first strike against Kerala’s three pronged seamattack of Renjith Menon, Tinu Yohanan and Sunil Oasis.Oasis struck a double blow in the 11th over of the day, taking outopener LNP Reddy and then two balls later removing the baby of theteam, 16-year-old Y Gnaneswara Rao, who was making his first classdebut. Another teenager, Y Venugopala Rao fell shortly afterwards toleave Andhra at 48/3.Pathak and Prasad added 87 for the fourth wicket in just over 35 oversbefore the former fell to the wiles of his opposite number, legspinner KN Ananthapadmanabhan for 58. Prasad was involved in anotheruseful association of 68 with KST Sai but from 203/4, Andhra lost fourwickets for 28. The hosts suffered a major blow just before stumpswhen Prasad gave a return catch to Ananthapadmanabhan for 95 (209balls, 9 fours). Yohanan, yet to take a first class wicket prior tothis game, was the most successful bowler with 3/78.

Simon Katich has used Matthew Hayden, Damien Martyn and Justin Langer as role models during his record-breaking campaign to regain a Test spot. Finishing the season as a Pura Cup-winning captain, Katich also set a record for the most runs in the competition, with his 86 and 92 in the decider pushing his tally to 1506 at 94.12.During the final, which New South Wales sealed by 258 runs, Katich insisted the trophy was all that mattered, but after the game he spoke about the possibility of a return to the international scene. “My whole philosophy was to try to improve as a player and I have looked at guys who got back into the Test team later in their careers and have become better players,” Katich said in the Australian. “There are quite a few examples of that whether it’s Matty Hayden, Justin Langer or Damien Martyn.”The tour of the West Indies starts in May and Katich is a strong chance of joining the squad, although it will be hard initially to break into a settled top six. Steve Waugh told Fox Sports Katich “should be playing for Australia”.”He is too good to be playing just domestically,” Waugh said. “He is a class player and he gets runs in all situations, particularly when it’s tough. The last couple of years have been very successful, they [Australia] have dominated teams. But now with a bit of a changing of the guard, I think they will need Simon Katich in the side at some stage.”Allan Border, a former selector, said Katich had responded well to being dropped from Australia’s contract list last year. “He can do no more,” Border said. “David Hussey and Brad Hodge are playing in [the Pura Cup final]. They haven’t done themselves any harm, Hodge in particular. But Katich, it’s hard to go past that sort of stuff.”

Ireland have signed Jesse Ryder, a 22-year-old New Zealand allrounder, as their second overseas player. Ryder, who plays for Wellington, has been with New Brighton in the Liverpool League.He has a solid first-class record with 2344 runs at 44.88, which has been enough to earn him a New Zealand A place, and bowls brisk medium pace. He is seen as an ideal replacement for Andre Botha, who picked up a finger injury against Somerset on Sunday.”Jesse is a quality player, and one that I’ve heard glowing reports about,” said coach Phil Simmons. “He is a fine striker of the ball, and will bat at number three in our line up. He’s an exciting talent, who just missed out on selection for the New Zealand World Cup squad.”Ryder joins South African paceman Nantie Hayward in the Ireland side for the Friends Provident Trophy. Roger Whelan, a right-handed batsman and seam bowler, replaces John Mooney, who is unavailable due to work commitments.Ireland squad for Gloucestershire and Essex Trent Johnston (capt), Jeremy Bray, Kenny Carroll, Peter Gillespie, Nantie Hayward, David Langford-Smith, Kyle McCallan, Kevin O’ Brien, William Porterfield, Jesse Ryder, Andrew White, Roger Whelan, Gary Wilson

Zimbabweans 181 for 6 beat Antigua & Barbuda 180 by four wickets
Zimbabwe opened their tour with a four-wicket win in a low-scoring match against Antigua & Barbuda at the Jolly Beach ground.Zimbabwe performed well given that they barely had time to recover from a gruelling 33-hour journey at the weekend. Antigua & Barbuda won the toss but struggled for runs, and only a sixth-wicket stand of 44 between Daniel Thomas (33) and Gavin Williams (31) enabled them to post 180. Ryan Higgins and Blessing Mahwire took 2 for 19, while Prosper Utseya finished with 2 for 29.Opener Piet Rinke led the Zimbabweans chase with a quickfire 42, but an unbroken seventh-wicket stand of 40 between Gregory Strydom (23 not out) and Keith Dabengwa (15 not out) guided them home with 21 balls to spare.