To say Ross Taylor was not seeing the ball well in Brisbane would be an understatement – he was not seeing it at all.Taylor has revealed that he had to consult an eye specialist after the Gabba Test for treatment of a pterygium in his left eye – an overgrowth of the thin clear membrane on the surface of the eye. This would be no surprise to those who saw him look completely out of sorts in the first innings of the series, and not much better in the second.Having trained his hardest leading into the match, Taylor knew something else had to be wrong, and was relieved to find there was a medical solution. Duly cleansed by eye drops and a less intense preparation for the WACA, he went out and constructed the most prolific innings ever made by a visiting batsman in Australia.”I had to get my eyes tested in between,” Taylor said. “I couldn’t really see the ball so the eye drops obviously worked. I have a pterygium in my left eye and I do that a lot [open eyes]. The optometrist said when it’s dark you’ll probably do this a lot [opens eyes] and I told the boys and they lost it because that’s how they take the mickey out of me.”The eye issue was just one of numerous obstacles Taylor overcame in order to bat so brilliantly at the WACA, a performance that left the Australians in wonderment at his concentration and ability to efficiently take advantage of anything loose. Back in August, Taylor had suffered a serious blow to the testicles in Zimbabwe that required a trip home and surgery – he is still under doctor’s instructions not to get hit amidships for another two months, a difficult assignment when faced with a fired up Mitchell Starc.”Yes, for four months, try to not get hit – it’s an interesting thing to tell a player,” Taylor said of the testicular injury. “I think I’ve got about two months to go so I’m counting down. It’s good to be hitting balls again but there’s no discomfort. It’s a bit nerve wracking when 160kph is coming at you but once you get into the fight the adrenalin kicks in and the instincts take over and you just bat.”Just batting was something Taylor was unable to do for anything like as long as he needed to in the lead-up to this trip. A practice fixture in New Zealand the week before departure for Australia was the first time he had picked up a bat since the Zimbabwe tour, and in the days before the Gabba, he trained hard. Perhaps too hard.”I was out of the game for six weeks, I couldn’t do anything,” he said. “I was anxious, it’s a big tour and we put a lot of pressure on ourselves and I wanted to do well and was a bit underdone and all at sea.”I trained pretty hard leading in but sometimes when you try too hard you don’t get the results. Leading into this I let it all go to see where it took me.I’d put too much pressure on myself so I just relaxed, got on the balls of my feet and played straight. Chalk and cheese from where I was a week ago.”Set in Stone: Ross Taylor’s record-breaking score on the WACA scoreboard•Getty Images

There had been correspondence with Taylor’s longtime friend and mentor Martin Crowe also, a long email correspondence before this match and then the happy contrast of a short congratulatory text message this evening after the day’s play. Along the way to 290, Taylor had also surpassed Crowe’s 188 in Brisbane in 1985 as the highest Test score by a New Zealand batsman in Australia.”I heard from Hogan [Crowe] leading into the Test match,” Taylor said. “He sent me a long email. I heard a little bit from him before Brisbane. I got a text from him last night and he jokingly said he was disappointed because that was his proudest moment having the record here in Australia, 188, He was rapt – I received a text before and he’s very proud.”The other major player in Taylor’s story this week was Kane Williamson, the softly-spoken but quietly commanding young batsman who has led the way for New Zealand on this tour. Taylor looked on approvingly – if not comprehendingly – as Williamson showed Australia’s attack could be thwarted in Brisbane, and emulated him here.”Not only this series but the last 18-24 months every format of the game outstanding, consistent in way he prepares, his process is very meticulous,” Taylor said. “It’s great for the Australian public to see a world-class batter. You don’t often say that in New Zealand, good example for other batters.”Not a lot of words out there but know you’re going to have to work hard to get his wicket. He took a lot of pressure off me at start. For such a young man to achieve what he has achieved, it’s only the start.”Through an innings that occupied near enough to two days, Taylor witnessed numerous passages. The most thrilling was Starc’s second new-ball spell on the second afternoon, when Taylor got his bat behind a ball clocked at 160.4kph. The most amusing was his rollicking last-wicket stand with Trent Boult; it ended when it was Taylor who got out short of 300 rather than his nervous partner.”It’s not easy when you come out to bat after a partnership,” Taylor said of Brendon McCullum’s meeting with Starc. “Brendon had to wait a long time and Starc had his tail up. Fortunately we had a little bit of luck. It was very fast and hostile and both survived seven overs straight with the new ball in those conditions, it’s not easy. I’m sure that would have taken a lot out of him.”I was disappointed not to get 300, but if you’d said at the start of the day I would have been close, I would have taken it. I feel a bit happier that Boulty didn’t get out because he was so nervous out there, if he’d got out and I was close that could have broken him for a few years.”The final word on Taylor’s innings can go to Adam Voges, who watched a visitor show plenty of sense in how he handled the WACA, and grew in admiration for him with each passing hour. “I wish that nick carried early yesterday,” he said of an early Taylor edge. “I thought the innings he played was outstanding.”He pounced on any width that we gave him throughout the whole innings and I think he just grew into his innings wonderfully well. He didn’t really give us a sniff. I thought it was an exceptional innings. After we put on [almost] 560 in the first innings it actually gave them a bit of ascendancy back in the game. He batted really, really well.”Eyesight to the blind, and a record that will take some beating.

Peshawar, March 6: Speed merchant Shoaib Akhtar bowled with fire,hostility and venom to place Pakistan in a position of strengthagainst Sri Lanka at stumps on the second day of the second cricketTest at the Arbab Niaz Stadium here on Monday.The 25-year-old from Rawalpindi fired on all cylinders after WaqarYounis was ruled out of action because of a back problem. He finishedwith impressive figures of five for 75 on a track which had nothingmuch for the fast bowlers.Shoaib’s superlative performance saw Sri Lanka being bowled out for268 after having taken lunch at 179 for three. Pakistan consolidatedtheir position by reaching 67 for the loss of one wicket when stumpswere drawn for the day.Pakistan captain Saeed Anwar survived a very confident caught behindappeal off Muttiah Muralitharan to remain unbeaten on 37. His inningsis spiced with seven excellent boundaries. With him was YousufYouhana who was promoted to the No 3 slot to allow Aamir Sohail revertback to his original opening spot.Aamir, who was looking good, fell victim to the part-time off-spin ofMahela Jayawardena after scoring 22 off 62 balls.ShoaibAkhtar, who took his second five-wicket haul in 14 Tests,ripped the heart out of the Sri Lanka middle-order by claiming threewickets in a fiery third spell of 6-0-23-3.Sri Lankan top scorer Marvan Atapattu was also amongst Shoaib’svictims when the 30-year-old from Kalutara failed to keep ashort-pitched delivery away from the stumps and dragged it on afterscoring a cautious 75.The express fast bowler also accounted for Romesh Kaluwitharana,brilliantly caught by debutant wicket-keeper Atiq-uz-Zaman down theleg side, Pramodya Wickremasinghe, who fell for his third successiveduck in the series, and Muttiah Muralitharan.But Muralitharan celebrated his 50th Test in style by smashing threeboundaries and a pulled six off Abdur Razzaq in his enterprising13-ball 22 as Sri Lanka garnered an invaluable 45 runs for the lasttwo wickets.Interestingly, four out of five Shoaib’s victims found their stumpscastled which speaks volumes of the fast bowler’s controlled accuracyalong with some real quick stuff.It was chiefly because of Shoaib Akhtar’s brilliant performance thatPakistan came back strongly in the Test by claiming the last seven SriLankan wickets for 82 runs after the tourists had resumed this morningat 88 for two.The Pakistan captain, anticipating moisture in the wicket and deceivedby green patches on the centre of the pitch, had decided to field onSunday evening after the match had started four hours late because ofovernight rain. However, the wicket turned out to be batsmen’sfriendly.Shoaib was also playing his first match after recovering from a groininjury which had sidelined him from the Lahore one-dayer andRawalpindi Test which Sri Lanka won by two wickets to go 1-0 up in thethree-Test rubber. But barring a foot nail problem on Monday, heappeared fully recovered and is in top physical shape.Atapattu, who had two poor innings in the Rawalpindi Test after afantastic one-day series, was a model of concentration andapplication. He occupied the crease for 348 minutes. He faced 254balls and converted seven of them into sweetly-timed boundaries.He showed excellent footwork and played the ball on its merit. Heconcentrated more in nudging and pushing the ball around but didn’tspare an opportunity to punish anything lose.Atapattu was associated in two useful partnerships.For the third wicket with Aravinda de Silva, he added 64 runs. DeSilva, who started the day at 18, was adjudged leg before byEnglishman John Hampshire off Aamir Sohail when he failed to read anarm ball.For the fourth wicket, Atapattu put on 65 runs with Mahela Jayawardenawho threw away his wicket by playing an irresponsible shot. He triedto hit Aamir Sohail’s flighted delivery over Shahid Afridi’s head whowas fielding at cover. But he failed to get the required elevation asthe crowd favourite jumped in the air to take a good catch but not adifficult one.Aamir Sohail bowled to a teasing line and length to finish with twofor 24. Abdur Razzaq, whose figures were spoiled by Muralitharan endedup with two for 39 while Arshad Khan was not truly rewarded for his 45overs in which he conceded 70 runs and picked up the wicket ofTillekeratne Dilshan by beating the newcomer in the air.

The last day of the Group C Ranji Trophy Super League match betweenTamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh at Kanpur on Thursday assumed farcicalproportions. The match ended in a tame draw. Tamil Nadu picked upfive points to finish with 26 while Uttar Pradesh got three to endwith 22.After scoring close to 700 runs in their first innings, Tamil Nadumade a meal of their second stint at the crease. The match was all butover before they came out to bat. With nothing to play for, Tamil Naduwere all out for 264 in the second innings. Hemang Badani who made 62in the first innings helped himself to a hundred while wickets fellaround him. Trailing by 733 with just 14 overs to play, Uttar Pradeshrightly saw no point in sending their openers out to bat. Instead,tailenders Mrithyunjay Tripathi and Musi Raza came out and made 28runs without being troubled.Sridharan Sriram, who was not out on zero at the end of the third day,was called away on national duty and could not take the crease on thefinal day. Sriram has been drafted into the Indian one-daysquad. Sadagoppan Ramesh batted at No 8, instead of opening theinnings.Reuben Paul, the Tamil Nadu wicketkeeper bowling an over just aboutsummed up the farcical nature of the last day’s play.

Indian Airlines face an extremely difficult task on the morrow afterclosing out the second day of their MRF-Buchi Babu pre-quarterfinal at23/1 in reply to MAC-TNCA’s imposing 459/7 declared. India ‘A’ openerJ Arun Kumar survived 51 minutes before being dismissed by legspinnerBalaji Rao for 14 in what turned out to be the penultimate over of theday.Play was suspended at 4.34 PM due to bad light and called off at 5.00pm since the light had not improved. Manish Sharma and VVS Laxman heldout until close but Airlines are still 436 runs adrift. If they do batout the whole day tomorrow, it is unlikely they would have overhauledMAC-TNCA’s first innings total.In that eventuality the winner will be decided on run quotient (numberof runs scored divided by number of wickets lost). MAC-TNCA’s runquotient presently stands at 65.57. For Airlines the responsibilityrests heavily on the shoulders of Laxman, Sharma, Ravneet Ricky andVijay Dahiya.In the morning play started 105 minutes behind schedule due toovernight rains having dampened the outfield. Indeed only 69 overswere bowled during the whole day. Resuming at 314/4 at the CPT-IndiaPistons ground here in Chennai, MAC-TNCA lost Sharath for 124 (191balls, 16 fours, 1 six) when he edged Dodda Ganesh into the waitinggloves of wicketkeeper captain Dahiya.The fifth wicket partnership between Sharath and Robin Singh hadswelled to 89 when the mishap occurred. Robin merrily proceeded to 73(127 balls, 6 fours), adding another 64 with Gokulakrishna before hefell to Haryana off spinner Ishan Ganda. Gokulakrishna, brother ofyesterday’s centurion Madanagopal finished on an unbeaten 46 as MAC-TNCA called it quits in the 139th over.Incidentally there were another pair of brothers on the field – thetwo umpires K Srinivasan and K Bharathan. For Airlines Murali Kartiktoiled long and hard to collect returns of 2/141 from 46 overs whileGanesh, Ganda and Chaudhury took a wicket apiece.

Match fixing, One naming the other, Impotent administrators, Delhipolice and transcripts, Cronje disgraced, King Commission, CBI report,Five Indians suspended, Good guys chasing bad guys… Sounds like pulpfiction, the prime time soap opera or the script of a Bollywood boxoffice hit, ‘Blame it on greed’! Actually it is the cricket fan whohas been hit on the box!Wise man says, “I either want less corruption, or more chance toparticipate in it” It holds true to this mortal life on earth. TheDemocrats feel that the elections in Florida were fixed by the use ofthe butterfly ballots, and the holes being punched were draining theGore votes. This is the world we live in; A shameless world, wherecorruption has been entrenched into our psyche. Wise old Confuciussays, “I have not seen one who loves virtue as he loves beauty”This is a world bereft of values, like it or not the truth is, this isa ‘dog eat dog’ world. The winner takes it all. We have become a meanpeople. This is the land of the Buddha, Mahatma and the Pokhran. Thisis the land where hundreds get killed in communal/election violenceand bomb blasts… A land where young girls are burned to death in thename of dowry, this the land of monuments and scams. We have forgottenBofors, The Bombay bomb blasts, The Harshad Mehta and the securityscam, The lost fodder worth 900 crores in Bihar that would have fedthe helpless cattle… the list is too long. We had a government thatfixed the results of a ‘no confidence’ motion in Parliament and howdare we vilify the five cricketers who are accused of fixing theresults of cricket matches which doesn’t have a thing to do with thelives of the ordinary people of India? We have an IPS officer who wasaccused of molesting another civil servant becoming the chief of theIndian Hockey Federation. Virtue! Mark Antony talks of Brutus, “Heonly, in a general honest thought; And common good to all, made one ofthem; His life was gentle, and the elements; So mix’d in him thatNature might stand up; And say to all the world ‘This was a man!”.Gone are those days. There is a subtle effort to put all the blame onthe in(famous) five cricketers for all the sins in the Indian life.The media has pounced upon this as the vultures gorge on carcass. Whatis good for the gander is good for the goose too. If these cricketerswho were lauded by the nation till the other day (the whole nationloved Jadeja when he hit Waqar and Pakistan out of the World Cup in1996) are to be sent to the gallows, let us get the act together andsend each one of those corrupt administrators and politicians to thedungeons. These five men do not represent the ills of our society,there are bigger and dangerous demons amongst us who make our livesmiserable. If the politician has the proverbial ‘nine lives of a cat’,the cricketers seem to have one. Wise old Confucius says,”when youpoint a finger at another, there are three more fingers in the samehand that points towards the self”. The whole case has been made outon the basis of the testimonies of the bookies. How many bookies havebeen arrested? Will they be produced in a court of justice (not aswitnesses)? Or like the JMM MP’s will they be made honourableapprovers?!Cricket will be better off without the rotten apples in the basket.This story will go on for a while till we find an even worse episodespread all over the media. We could all shove the previous eventsunder the carpet and live in a ‘make believe’ world as if nothinghappened (as the cat drinks the milk with its eyes closed). Willlessons be taught and learned? I heard someone say, “If you see thelight at the end of the tunnel, certainly you missed the train”.

There were times during the second day of this Test match that illustrated exactly why cricket at this level is known as Test cricket.This was a day played hard and tough, by 22 men trying desperately to effect some advantages for their respective team.Mark Waugh, with his elegance and true grit, changed things fully to ensure Australia had the advantage. What a comeback after the pressure he was under recently. Perhaps, only perhaps, Brian Lara could follow suit, since he too was under the same pressure.At least no-one, not even me, could complain about the efforts and the cricket overall, even if the West Indies, as they did at Brisbane, lost the plot somewhat after tea, the fast bowlers tiring badly and being punished for it by Brett Lee.With the Australians starting at 72-2 in reply to the West Indies 196, both teams would have been looking for the immediate advantage. While Australia managed to go to lunch at 151-4, the West Indies looked to have made every effort to take quick, necessary wickets.Jimmy Adams however showed a lack of imagination when it looked as if he could just get that break through. Someone will have to wake him up sometime this series. His field placings were strange, and the situation with the 2nd new ball, not taking it immediately after tea, confused all.Australia scored a daunting 396-8 before captain, Steve Waugh, surprisingly, declared late in the afternoon, giving his bowlers seven overs at the West Indies late in the evening.Darren Ganga is not out nine, just surviving to the end, while losing opening partner Sherwin Campbell, easily caught by the first of two gullies, Jason Gillespie, from the bowling of Brett Lee. When Campbell went for four, the West Indies were 7-1. Night-watchman Merve Dillon was also out, caught at the wicket by wicket-keeper Adam Gilchrist, for three, the final act of the day.Sunday could be a very long day for the West Indies batsmen.Earlier, Mark Waugh, with his 18th Test hundred; was eventually dismissedfor 119, including 12 boundaries. It was his first Test century sincemaking exactly 100 against Pakistan in the 1999/2000 series 19 innings ago, and represented a perfect psychological comeback. He also helped put his team in a very strong position to effect that record-breaking 12th win.Waugh Junior came to the crease when his team was in some bother at 111-3, after overnight batsman Matthew Hayden had been bowled, from an inside edge, by Marlon Black, for a very well-made 69. He had survived a chance on 58, in the 11th over of the day, when he top edged a Dillon delivery to fine-leg, but Marlon Black spilled a dolly catch, the score 100-2.Courtney Walsh, in the meantime, was soon presented with a straight but fiercely hit caught and bowled chance from Hayden. The return catch was missed, but Walsh had to quickly go for an x-ray, as the ring finger of his bowling finger was dislocated. The x-ray suggested only severe bruising.At 104-2, Gillespie, then on 12, received another poor decision, this time by Umpire Peter Parker. There was a clear deviation from the glove of the Black delivery on its way to wicket-keeper Jacobs which was confirmed by television replays. The dismay and disappointment of the West Indies was evident.But nightwatchman Gillespie did not last for much longer. He was caught by Brian Lara at 1st slip, from the bowling of Nixon McLean, for a bothersome 23.Waugh Junior was also dropped at cover point by Darren Ganga, when he had madeonly 21 and the score 159-4. That miss cost the West Indies dearly. He also survived a fearful hit from a delivery from Courtney Walsh, using the second new ball, directly on the helmet, when he was 93, and Australia 296-6.After that, he blossomed, playing some imperious shots in his innings, driving, glancing and guiding the fast bowlers everywhere in the outfield. The straight drives, especially off Dillon and Nixon McLean, then a pull and a cover drive, after he had made his century, from Courtney Walsh’s bowling, were sights to behold. Incidentally, when he had gotten to his century, after only 151 balls, he had hit ten four’s.He established useful partnerships with his brother Steve, putting on 65 for the fifth wicket, in 107 balls and then with Adam Gilchrist, who also played well for his sixth Test half century; including seven boundaries; Waugh added a quick-fire 95 runs in 134 balls for the seventh wicket. Both partners fell to Walsh to edge him close to the 500 landmark.Said Mark Waugh afterwards: “To make runs on a bouncy Perth pitch, against the West Indies, was very satisfying. I was very pleased with the way I played. No, I was not under any real pressure except that this is a Test match. Simply, I wanted to enjoy the day, hopefully make a few runs, as this is a very important game for us. I was obviously pretty focussed out there and was happy with the way my form went.””Perth could be a difficult place to bat, as obviously there are pace and bounce there. It takes a bit of adjusting to. If you happen to meet a couple of good fast bowlers, it can be pretty awkward, but once you get in, the pace of the wicket allows you to score quickly. At least it’s a nice and even surface out there. You can get yourself in trouble if you are not diligent and watch the ball constantly.””Perth is a lot harder, with much more pace and bounce than Brisbane. Brisbane was a little bit slower and a bit more uneven. While Perth was much more even, if you wanted to bend the back, the bowlers could get some help too”The third day is shaping up to be a truly great day. Either Australia will win the game, and secure that record of 12 consecutive Test wins in a row, or the West Indies could flash themselves to glory, slashing and bashing the Australians to a full stop.Somehow, the former seems more likely than the latter, but you never know.

Admission to the three-day friendly against UWIC/Cardiff/Glamorgan University at Sophia Gardens on June 20th, 21st and 22nd will be free to all-comers.This will be the first game against county opposition played by the Cardiff-based University Cricket Centre of Excellence following the washout of their friendlies with Somerset and Gloucestershire, and the pre-season warm-up game with Glamorgan.The first day of Glamorgan`s Championship match with Northamptonshire on June 29th will also be a courtesy day, sponsored by Innogy PLC, with free admission for all-comers.Play on June 29th will begin at 10.45am with lunch from 1.00pm until 1.55pm in order to accommodate the official unveiling of the Wilfred Wooller Memorial Gates. Many former Glamorgan players will also be in attendance as the club`s Former Players Association is holding its annual re-union on the same day.Two other dates for the diary are firstly the C&G Trophy game at Cardiff on Wednesday, 27th June against Derbyshire. Admission for everyone will be £5.Secondly, the National League match against Worcestershire at Cardiff on Sunday, 24th June is the Short Legs Fun Day. There will be a chance to meet the players before the start of play, with other events throughout the day. Further details will follow.

Andrew Caddick sustained a hairline fracture to the knuckle on his left handwhen hit by Brett Lee whilst batting during the NatWest Series match at TheOval on Thursday 21 June.Dean Conway, England team physiotherapist, said: “Andrew has had an X-raywhich revealed a hairline fracture on his left knuckle.”He bowled after sustaining the injury yesterday and we do not expect the injury to stop him bowling in future.”At this stage, he is not being considered a doubt for the first npower Test Match against Australia but we will revise the situation after he has seen a specialist on Monday.”

Nothing depicts the bankruptcy of the PCB more than Ehsan Mani’s elevation to the highest global office in cricket – the position of ICC’s Chairman, on rotation in 2003 on Pakistan’s turn. It reflects that either the Pakistani cricketing establishment is totally devoid of credible faces back home or it lacks in ideas to promote genuine articles.First some background. In the ’90s, such cricketing icons with management background as Colin Cowdrey and Clyde Walcott have remained the ICC Chairmen, followed by cricket management gurus Jagmohan Dalmiya and the current incumbent Malcolm Gray. This quartet had for long years been part of the cricketing establishment in the nations they represented. In case of Dalmiya, he still remains a very powerful member of the Board and head of the prestigious Bengal Cricket Association.Let us look at it from another angle. Dalmiya, Madhavrao Scindia, IS Bindra and Raj Singh Dungarpur have all been presidents of the Board of Cricket Control in India in recent times – and hence represented their country in the ICC. None of them is president now, but they retain positions as members of the Board. This continuity factor is something that helps the Indians establish their credibility in the ICC.Mani, little known even in the Pakistani cricket circles, on the other hand, has never been associated with the PCB directly. A chartered accountant by profession, Mani is a London-based businessman, said to be involved, among other things, first in shipping and afterwards in telecommunications. He was nominated to represent Pakistan as the third member in mid ’80s. A situation, which has continued to this day, especially because of the high turnover factor in the PCB. Not only has it made continuity impossible, but made other permanent members of the ICC very much wary of the representatives from Pakistan (a malaise which has of late afflicted Sri Lanka as well).In the case of PCB, it merely is not a case of continuity but also the quality of individuals that it keeps sending over to represent it – people with little idea of the game or its management.Look at it this way. Since the late Abdul Hafeez Kardar in mid ’70s, we have only sent very few really capable people to represent us. The honourable exceptions being Air Marshal (Retd) Nur Khan and Majid Khan, and perhaps Arif Abbasi (the general opinion about him being that he was too clever by half). Khalid Mahmood too came from a cricket management background, and right from the grassroots level, but his period at the helm was too short to make a real impact.The enduring problem with the PCB has been that mostly either three-star generals wangle their way in or political cronies land up as Chairmen. They have a whale of a time at the swing, but Pakistan cricket is poorer because they end up contributing little or next to nothing. Actually, they are not equipped to do the job and their knowledge of the game, and sports management – which are highly specialised fields these days – is less than elementary. To Pakistan’s immense discredit, when they rub shoulders with the elite of the elite in the world at the ICC level, they stand badly exposed. Hence, they require props like Mani to bail them out.And, apart from being a slick operator, since Mani has been there for too long and obviously understands the intricacies and the machinations far better, he has ingratiated himself with everybody who is anybody in the game. That said, he has to his credit some genuine service to the game as well. Since 1996, when the ICC was reformed, he has been its Director Finance and Marketing. In this position he has done some pioneering work, like devising a formula by which the World Cups are now allotted and organised, which is indeed known as the ‘Mani Papers’.Mani, however, should have remained there as the ICC’s Director, Marketing and Finance. But he finds himself elevated, because the PCB Chairman, never inviting any debate or discussion in the media, decided in his wisdom to nominate Mani. Wouldn’t it have been better, that like Cowdrey and Walcott, had the PCB too nominated someone of impeccable credentials? Someone like Majid Khan, who was highly respected as a player and then as CEO of the PCB. Or maybe Imran Khan. Someone like Majid or Imran would have lent his stature to the ICC and earned credit for Pakistan. Let us see what India did when it was time to nominate someone to the ICC’s Cricket Committee. They put forward Sunil Gavaskar’s name, and he has done, quite predictably, such a great job that it has enhanced the credibility of ICC and Indian cricket.The question is why can’t the PCB emulate other front-line nations while making such decisions? Perhaps, it is a case of a financially rich Board’s unimaginative, bankrupt decision-making, which is contributing not only in a nosedive in the Pakistan team’s fortunes and credibility but also stunting development in other avenues.

Richard Hindley hit his first senior competitive century as Havant stormed into the last 32 of the ECB Club Championship with a crushing 183-run victory over Farnham Royal in yesterday’s group final.They now face Western League champions Bath at the Somerset club’s delightful Northern Parade ground in two weeks time, on Sunday July 15.Bath, who reached the Lord’s final several years ago, won the south-west group after beating Bovey Tracey in Devon yesterday.Hindley, who cracked 11 fours in an undefeated 108, shared in successive century partnerships with Andrew Perry and Paul Gover has Havant piled up a massive 300-2 in 45 overs.His stand with Perry (93) yielded 109 runs and an unbroken third wicket stand with Paul Gover (49 not out) a further 127.Current leaders of the Thames Valley League, Farnham Royal knocked out Basingstoke & North Hants in the last round.But Havant varied spin and seam atach proved all too much as they collapsed from 78-3 to 117 all out.Hindley completed a fine individual performance by taking 3-14 with his off-breaks.Left-arm spinner Phil Loat cleaned up the tail with 3-14.In the Wadworth 6X Village Championship, Hampshire county champions Easton & Martyr Worthy have been drawn away to Blackheath, near Guildford.Easton bowled Hambledon out for 131 in the county final before a half-century by Shawn Green took the Winchester club into the national stages of the competition.