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Ramiz Raja and Geoff Boycott have both urged the ICC to legalise the doosra. Their comments came after Saeed Ajmal, the Pakistan offspinner was reported by match officials for a suspect action while bowling the contentious delivery during the second ODI against Australia in Dubai on Friday.The doosra is the offspinner’s equivalent of the leg-break bowler’s googly, in that the delivery turns in the opposite direction to a conventional ball.”Why not legalise the art of doosra, which gives an offspinner variation in an otherwise flat one-sided spin?” Ramiz asked. “I see Saeed Ajmal’s action being questioned as unacceptable. It adds to the repertoire of an offspinner, so I see it as an art.”Boycott – who like Ramiz is commentating on the ODI series – was also severely critical of the decision on Ajmal. “Muralitharan was cleared, so was Harbhajan, so why question a kid who has just come onto the scene?” he asked. “I think Ajmal has an art and he must execute it.”The umpires found enough cause for concern to report Ajmal’s action, making him the second offspinner to be cited for a doosra in a fortnight after Johan Botha, the South African limited overs vice-captain, was reported following the fourth ODI against Australia in Port Elizabeth.Ramiz also sought a relaxation of the ICC’s laws to allow offspinners to bowl a doosra. “Why not relax the rules and give two to three degrees more to offspinners to bowl a doosra?”The ICC rules allow a maximum limit of 15 degrees of flexion, which means no bowler can extend their elbow beyond that level.

England remain optimistic that both Andrew Flintoff and Kevin Pietersen will recover from their respective injuries in time for Friday’s ODI series decider against West Indies, after both men were forced to leave the field during England’s nine-wicket victory in Barbados on Sunday.Flintoff required heavy strapping after being hit on the left thumb by a fierce drive from Dwayne Bravo, but an ultra-sound revealed no break and he now has four days in which to recover. Pietersen, meanwhile, left the field after suffering a back spasm while bowling his offbreaks to Shivnarine Chanderpaul, and did not return for the rest of the innings.The injury had a certain irony about it, seeing as Pietersen had criticised Chanderpaul’s regular absences from the field during a newspaper interview in which he had admitted he was “ready to do a Robinho” and fly home from an increasingly unhappy tour. The England management confirmed that Pietersen had been refused permission to leave the tour for 48 hours between the third and fourth Tests to watch his wife, Jessica Taylor, compete in the celebrity talent show, Dancing on Ice.”The permission wasn’t granted because we’re on a cricket tour and it sets a bad precedent if people can go home during cricket tours,” England’s captain, Andrew Strauss, told reporters in Barbados. “He understood that fully and it wasn’t an issue by any means and he just got on with it. He’s been very supportive all the tour, he’s been very professional in the way he’s prepared himself.Nevertheless, the England management remained concerned about Pietersen’s outspoken comments in the media, not least because, for all that his concerns about homesickness are valid in their own right, he still intends to fly to South Africa after the series to fulfil his lucrative IPL contract with the Bangalore Royal Challengers. On Sunday, Pietersen told his Sunday newspaper column that being a part of the current England squad was a “pretty damn lonely place to be.””Sometimes what he says is put in big headlines so he must be conscious of the attention what he says does receive,” said Strauss. “I’ve had a chat to him about what he said and I think it’s completely dealt with as far as we’re concerned. I don’t think anything he said was in a malicious manner and we move on from there and hopefully lessons have been learned.”

Kevin Hurdle and Delyone Borden are the surprise absentees from Bermuda’s squad to the ICC World Cup Qualifiers in South Africa next month.Borden has been punished for refusing to play after a pay dispute on a recent Caribbean tour, while Hurdle has failed to recover from a groin injury.Irving Romaine, who led the side to the 2007 World Cup, is retained as captain, and the former Glamorgan batsman David Hemp is his vice-captain.Squad Irving Romaine (capt), David Hemp (vice-capt), Chris Douglas, Fiqre Crockwell, Lionel Cann, Stephen Outerbridge, Jekon Edness, Janiero Tucker, Stefan Kelly, Kyle Hodsoll, George O’Brien, Glenn Blakeney, Dwayne Leverock, Rodney Trott, Tamauri Tucker.

India’s selectors have picked their squads for the tour of New Zealand, with Dhawal Kulkarni, the Mumbai seamer, the surprise inclusion in the Test side. It caps an astonishing season for Kulkarni, who made his first-class debut six months ago and ended up the highest wicket-taker in the Ranji Trophy. L Balaji makes a return to the Test squad less than two weeks after being recalled to the one-day side.Harbhajan Singh, who missed the one-day series in Sri Lanka, and Munaf Patel, who had to leave midway with an injury, also return to the squad. Dinesh Karthik has been named reserve keeper for the tour and features in the Test, one-day and Twenty20 squads. He was dropped after a poor Test series in Sri Lanka last year but has fought his way back via a strong domestic season with the bat.The selection of the quicks for the Tests was always going to be the major issue for the selectors, and Kulkarni’s selection was the only surprise. Less than two months ago, Kulkarni was not among the 36 players handed BCCI contracts; RP Singh and Sreesanth were on that list but aren’t in the tour party.Sreesanth was not fit when the contracts were handed out and RP ran into fitness problems later. While Sreesanth played three domestic first-class matches, taking 15 wickets, to prove his fitness, RP’s fitness status remains unknown.There’s a clear indication the selectors have gone for bowlers who have turned out long, consistent spells over the last year, and not those whose potential hasn’t translated into wickets. On that count, the selection of Balaji and Kulkarni selection – with 78 Ranji wickets between them – doesn’t seem surprising.Kulkarni said the call-up was not entirely unexpected. “Given my Ranji performance, where I was the highest wicket-taker (42 wickets), I did feel I could get picked,” Kulkarni told Cricinfo. “Now I am up for whatever role offered to me.” He will be valued both for his knowledge of New Zealand conditions – he toured with the India Under-19s in 2007 – as well as their personnel, having played the ‘A’ side last year.M Vijay stays in the Test squad, the reward for an impressive Test debut against Australia on a day’s notice. Apart from being the reserve opener, he might need to bat in the middle order if the need arises: neither Rohit Sharma nor S Badrinath have been picked. Which also raises the question, why such a hurry in naming the Test squad? What if Rohit finds form in the ODIs? Will India let go of a player who has acclimatised himself to alien conditions? If not, will they swell the squad to 17?It remains to be seen whether Karthik has improved his wicketkeeping after two poor Tests in Sri Lanka last year, but his batting form is not in doubt. He scored 1026 runs at 64.12 in the just-concluded first-class season, none better than the 113-ball 153 against Central Zone, when his team was down at 86 for 6. If he does get to play, it could well be his last chance to prove he can hold a place on the strength of his keeping.The one-day and Twenty20 sides are as expected, with Munaf taking back his place. It is heartening to see that Ravindra Jadeja, who impressed in his ODI debut, will get a taste of New Zealand conditions in the two Twenty20 internationals before flying back. Sachin Tendulkar, who has pulled out of the Twenty20s, will replace him for the ODIs.Test squad: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (capt/wk), Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman, Yuvraj Singh, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Ishant Sharma, Munaf Patel, M Vijay, Amit Mishra, L Balaji, Dhawal Kulkarni, Dinesh Karthik (wk)ODI squad: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (capt/wk), Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Rohit Sharma, Yusuf Pathan, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Ishant Sharma, Praveen Kumar, Irfan Pathan, Munaf Patel, Pragyan Ojha, Dinesh Karthik (wk)Twenty20 squad: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (capt/wk), Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Rohit Sharma, Yusuf Pathan, Harbhajan Singh, Irfan Pathan, Ravindra Jadeja, Zaheer Khan, Ishant Sharma, Praveen Kumar, Munaf Patel, Pragyan Ojha, Dinesh Karthik (wk)

The Securities and Exchange Commission today [Tuesday] charged Robert Allen Stanford and three of his companies for orchestrating a fraudulent, multi-billion dollar investment scheme centering on an $8 billion CD program.Stanford’s companies include Antiguan-based Stanford International Bank (SIB), Houston-based broker-dealer and investment adviser Stanford Group Company (SGC), and investment adviser Stanford Capital Management. The SEC also charged SIB chief financial officer James Davis as well as Laura Pendergest-Holt, chief investment officer of Stanford Financial Group (SFG), in the enforcement action.Pursuant to the SEC’s request for emergency relief for the benefit of defrauded investors, U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor entered a temporary restraining order, froze the defendants’ assets, and appointed a receiver to marshal those assets.”As we allege in our complaint, Stanford and the close circle of family and friends with whom he runs his businesses perpetrated a massive fraud based on false promises and fabricated historical return data to prey on investors,” said Linda Chatman Thomsen, Director of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement. “We are moving quickly and decisively in this enforcement action to stop this fraudulent conduct and preserve assets for investors.”Rose Romero, Regional Director of the SEC’s Fort Worth Regional Office, added, “We are alleging a fraud of shocking magnitude that has spread its tentacles throughout the world.”The SEC’s complaint, filed in federal court in Dallas, alleges that acting through a network of SGC financial advisers, SIB has sold approximately $8 billion of so-called “certificates of deposit” to investors by promising improbable and unsubstantiated high interest rates. These rates were supposedly earned through SIB’s unique investment strategy, which purportedly allowed the bank to achieve double-digit returns on its investments for the past 15 years.According to the SEC’s complaint, the defendants have misrepresented to CD purchasers that their deposits are safe, falsely claiming that the bank re-invests client funds primarily in “liquid” financial instruments (the portfolio); monitors the portfolio through a team of 20-plus analysts; and is subject to yearly audits by Antiguan regulators. Recently, as the market absorbed the news of Bernard Madoff’s massive Ponzi scheme, SIB attempted to calm its own investors by falsely claiming the bank has no “direct or indirect” exposure to the Madoff scheme.According to the SEC’s complaint, SIB is operated by a close circle of Stanford’s family and friends. SIB’s investment committee, responsible for the management of the bank’s multi-billion dollar portfolio of assets, is comprised of Stanford; Stanford’s father who resides in Mexia, Texas; another Mexia resident with business experience in cattle ranching and car sales; Pendergest-Holt, who prior to joining SFG had no financial services or securities industry experience; and Davis, who was Stanford’s college roommate.The SEC’s complaint also alleges an additional scheme relating to $1.2 billion in sales by SGC advisers of a proprietary mutual fund wrap program, called Stanford Allocation Strategy (SAS), by using materially false historical performance data. According to the complaint, the false data helped SGC grow the SAS program from less than $10 million in 2004 to more than $1 billion, generating fees for SGC (and ultimately Stanford) of approximately $25 million in 2007 and 2008. The fraudulent SAS performance was used to recruit registered investment advisers with significant books of business, who were then heavily incentivized to reallocate their clients’ assets to SIB’s CD program.The SEC’s complaint charges violations of the anti-fraud provisions of the Securities Act of 1933, the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Investment Advisers Act, and registration provisions of the Investment Company Act. In addition to emergency and interim relief that has been obtained, the SEC seeks a final judgment permanently enjoining the defendants from future violations of the relevant provisions of the federal securities laws and ordering them to pay financial penalties and disgorgement of ill-gotten gains with prejudgment interest.The Commission acknowledges the assistance and cooperation of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) in connection with this matter.The SEC’s investigation is continuing. FINRA independently developed information through its examination and investigative processes that contributed significantly to the filing of this enforcement action.

New South Wales have secured a major coup with Brendon McCullum, the big-hitting New Zealand wicketkeeper, drafted in to the state’s squad for the Australian domestic Twenty20 final in Sydney on Saturday. McCullum owns the most famous century in the format for his 158 off 73 balls in the opening match of the inaugural Indian Premier League and by playing for the Blues he will immediately qualify for the lucrative Champions League Twenty20 in October.McCullum, who can also reach the tournament through his Kolkata Knight Riders franchise, will open the batting for New South Wales against Victoria at the Olympic Stadium. Australia rarely call on overseas talent to boost their squads, but David Gilbert, the Cricket New South Wales chief executive, said the move was an important one in preparation for the US$6 million tournament in India.”With the potential losses the New South Wales squad may suffer depending on which two IPL teams qualify for the Champions League, it is vital that we strengthen our squad ahead of that tournament,” Gilbert said. “Brendon is one of the most dangerous limited-overs batsmen in world cricket and will be a tremendous asset in terms of his considerable international experience and the match-winning ability he brings.”Nathan Bracken (Bangalore Royal Challengers), Brett Lee (Mohali), Simon Katich (Kings XI Punjab) and Dominic Thornely (Mumbai Indians) were New South Wales players who were part of the opening season of the IPL while Michael Clarke remains a target for the franchises. David Warner, the boom limited-overs opener, has signed with Delhi Daredevils for the second tournament and Moises Henriques has agreed to join McCullum’s team.The McCullum news is another blow for Victoria, who are likely to lose Brad Hodge with a leg injury sustained during their victory over Queensland in the preliminary final on Wednesday. The Bushrangers, who gained a place in the Champions League with the win, will also be without the big-name players David Hussey and Cameron White, who are on Australian one-day duty.Queensland’s Andrew Symonds said the signing was against the spirit of the game. “That’s not Australian to me,” Symonds said in the Courier-Mail. “Is that what New South Wales cricket is having to do? I am trying to understand the modern world.”Greg Shipperd, the Victoria coach, said the rules on overseas players “don’t seem to be particularly clear”. “Our view was not to play them domestically at this point in time but today’s decision obviously might reopen that door,” he told AAP. “These rules are emerging and they’re flipping and flopping at different times so we’ll just go with the flow and roll with the regulations as they are unfolded to us.”New Zealand Cricket officials cleared McCullum’s move and he will miss Otago’s last group game of the State Shield one-day competition. However, the squad members for the Chappell-Hadlee Series will not be available for the finals of that tournament. McCullum, who has played 143 ODIs and 18 Twenty20 Internationals, will be able to use the Sydney match to fine tune for the five one-dayers against Australia starting on February 1.

Prosper Utseya, the Zimbabwe captain, has said his side will be under pressure to perform on the tour of Bangladesh in order to prove their place among the top teams.During their 16-day stay in Bangladesh, Zimbabwe will play a triangular series, also involving Sri Lanka, followed by a three-match ODI contest against the hosts. They begin their tour with a three-day game against Bangladesh’s Academy team, which starts on January 6.”We are currently out of the Test arena and, as we speak, I hear some people are saying we mustn’t even be playing ODIs,” Utseya told the . “This is distressing. We need to go there and show that we still belong here. Our aim is to reach the tri-series final and win the series against Bangladesh.”Zimbabwe have not played a Test since 2005, and lost 11 of their 12 ODIs – three were abandoned – in 2008. They recently lost a home series against Sri Lanka 5-0, although they did challenge a below-par opposition, and also suffered a defeat against Kenya. Their only win of the year was a 156-run victory over Ireland.”The pressure is on us against Bangladesh because we should be beating them,” Utseya said. “Previous Zimbabwe teams used to beat them quite easily. We recently lost 5-0 to Sri Lanka but against Bangladesh the pressure is different. We are sort of in the same league, Nos 9 and 10 on the ODI rankings, and when you play another lowly team there is always pressure to win.”Besides hosting Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe’s only other high-profile engagements last year were the Twenty20 tournament in Canada, a five-ODI series in Pakistan and a tri-nation tournament in Kenya. “The guys are excited to be touring again,” Utseya said. “We had a good Christmas break and satisfying training afterwards. We are all positive going into the tour.”During their last visit to Bangladesh, in 2006, Zimbabwe lost all five ODIs and a Twenty20 international. Bangladesh defeated them 3-1 in the ODIs on their return visit in 2007.

As well as looking to wrap up the series 2-0, India will look to regain the No. 2 spot in the ICC Test rankings with a win in the second Test against England in Mohali starting Friday. Having briefly secured the second spot with a 2-0 win against Australia in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in October-November, they were toppled by South Africa who beat Bangladesh 2-0 in the two-Test series at home, towards the end of last month.The three points gained will put India above South Africa, who will then have to ensure a series win against Australia, the No. 1 team, in their contest starting Wednesday in Perth, to hold on to second spot. However, South Africa have the chance to go top if they whitewash Australia 3-0.Australia have held on to the top spot despite the defeat in India, followed swiftly by a 2-0 series win in the Trans-Tasman Trophy at home to New Zealand. They are currently 13 points clear of South Africa, and 14 of India.A 3-0 series win at home against South Africa will give them four points and stretch the gap ahead of no. 2 to 21 points. Any series win, in fact, will strengthen their position.The Australia-South Africa series holds a number of incentives for the players as well. The South African pace duo of Dale Steyn (No. 2) and Makhaya Ntini (No. 4) will look to improve their positions among the top five Test bowlers, given that Australia’s Stuart Clark (No. 3) has been ruled out of the first Test. Jacques Kallis will also look to widen the gap between him and Daniel Vettori at No. 2 in the Test allrounder rankings.Michael Hussey, currently No. 4 in the Test batsmen rankings, will also look to move up the charts, and narrow the gap at the top. But he will hope that both, West Indies’ Shivnarine Chanderpaul (No. 1) and Sri Lanka’s Kumar Sangakkara (No. 2) falter this December, in the series away to New Zealand and Bangladesh respectively.

Greg Chappell has been named as the coach of the Australian Cricketers’ Association All-Stars team that will take on an Australian XI in a Twenty20 game on November 14. The All-Stars players were selected by their peers at the end of last season and the side will be boosted by the addition of returning icon players including Adam Gilchrist and Justin Langer.The Gabba match will pit the All-Stars against a full-strength Australian team. Chappell, who is now the head coach at the Centre of Excellence and recently toured with the Test side in India, said the game would be a terrific spectacle for fans.”I am looking forward to working with some of Australia’s up-and-coming players in addition to coaching some of the greatest players Australia has ever produced in Adam Gilchrist and Justin Langer,” Chappell said. “Cricket fans already know that Twenty20 is an exciting game, but this is their first opportunity to see perhaps the best two teams in Australia compete.”Chappell will be supported by Darren Berry, the former Victoria captain, who recently resigned as an assistant coach with the Bushrangers. The game will take place in the week before Australia’s first home Test of the summer, which begins in Brisbane on November 20 against New Zealand.

ScorecardTim Macdonald’s career-best best figures of 6 for 40 helped Tasmania claim the opening day honours at the Bellerive Oval. South Australia, after a poor start, were revived by half-centuries by Michael Klinger and Callum Ferguson before crashing to 232. The Tigers, however, couldn’t come out to bat as rain forced an early finish to the day.Sent in on a lively pitch, the Redbacks were in trouble at 3 for 31, with Macdonald accounting for two of those victims. Younis Khan failed to make an impact as he was bowled by the same bowler for 4. Klinger and Ferguson then steadied the innings with a stand of 118. Both scored 65s and hit 11 fours but Klinger was the more cautious of the pair, facing 146 balls compared to Ferguson’s 86.Just when the Redbacks appeared to be in control, Macdonald removed the pair in quick succession. Ferguson edged to slip before Klinger nicked one to the wicketkeeper five overs later, and it sparked a collapse as they lost seven wickets for 83 runs.Aaron O’Brien resisted with 41 but the lower order failed to build substantial partnerships with him to revive the innings. Daniel Marsh and Luke Butterworth chipped in with a wicket each before Macdonald trapped Allan Wise lbw to wrap up the innings. Rain intervened and the umpires abandoned play at 5.45pm. If the weather permits, play will start early on the second day, at 10.00am.