Shoaib Malik, the Pakistani allrounder who admitted to throwing a domestic Twenty20 game, is likely to be banned for either a Test or two one-day internationals after the Pakistan Cricket Board took a decidedly dim view of his antics. After a hearing on Saturday that lasted about 150 minutes, a three-member commission appointed by the board recommended that Malik, touted by some as a future captain, be punished according to clauses 2.9 and 2.11 of the International Cricket Council’s Code of Conduct.In addition to the ban, Malik is also likely to be docked a full-match fee. Malik, who was due to play his 100th ODI in St Vincent on May 18, admitted to engineering a four-run defeat for his Sialkot Stallions side against the Karachi Zebras, a result that he thought would knock the Lahore Eagles out of the competition.On being shown video footage, Malik owned up to his error of judgement. The inquiry commission was headed by Haroon Rashid, a former Test player and manager of the team, and a board source told Reuters, “He said he was sorry for what had happened and he had reacted in the heat of the moment and would not repeat such a thing again.”Shaharyar Khan, the PCB chairman, was said to be so incensed by the incident that Malik’s participation in the West Indies tour was in doubt, but with the one-match ban likely to come into force during the Barbados Test in late May, he could yet play that 100th ODI in St Vincent. While the squad for the West Indies has already been decided on, it will be rubber-stamped by the board’s ad hoc committee only on Monday.

On how it felt to finally be in India
It feels good. I’m delighted to be here. The last two weeks were spent getting organised to come here. So to come to the stadium [Chinnaswamy] this morning, it felt like the cricket was not far away.On how he viewed the task that lay ahead
I’ve got the opportunity of working with some of the best cricketers in the world. I’ve got some ideas which I talked about in my presentation to the board. The contents have been widely discussed, and you probably know more about it than I do now [laughs].On whether he felt that the coach should have a say in selection
I have an open mind on the subject. At some point, I’d like to sit down with the selection panel and find out what their views are, and discuss some philosophies that I have. Having worked as a selector for Australia, and interacted with the players, I know that what we want is not very different most of the time.On whether the lack of form of certain players worried him
I’m not overly concerned. You don’t lose the talent at this level. And I’ve found that the best learning experiences are when you’re going through tough times.On how he saw the captain’s role, in contrast to the coach
I’ve always maintained that the captain is the most important individual in a cricket team. He’s the one out in the middle with the players, the one who knows what’s going on. The coach needs to have a good working relationship with him. But the coach’s job is about preparation and planning. On game days, the captain’s the main man. Yes, there will be times when you may have to go to the captain with a suggestion or two, but by and large, your role is to support the team.On whether a non-performing captain should be retained
You have to understand that not many players have what it takes to succeed at this level. I’d much rather give someone a game too many or a tour too many than one too few. Such players are not easy to find. And it’s up to the rest of the team to cover for someone who’s out of form. It will happen. No matter how good you are, there will be periods when you’re out of form. My views on captaincy are pretty strong. I believe that you pick the best team, and then pick the best person to captain it. If the man is charge is not the best man, then someone else should get it.On whether the Indians played too much cricket
The busy schedule is part of international cricket now. To deal with that, you need a good squad. There will be injuries, and there will be loss of form, so you have to deal with that. We have to work on mental and physical preparation and the management of injuries.On whether he would ask for a bowling coach
Discussions are going on with the board as far as support staff are concerned. If we need one, I’m happy to have a bowling coach, but it’s not a top priority at the moment. In different times and conditions, we might call upon experts to help us, and not just with the bowling.On how he planned to deal with the media attention
It’s part of the job profile, as it is in most countries. It’s just that this is a bigger country. The scrutiny is quite strong, as is the love of the game. Emotions tend to run high here, and it sometimes seems that the well-being of the country rides on the performance of the cricket team [smiles]. Anyhow, I can’t read what you write [referring to the vernacular media].On whether an Australian approach is needed here
Every culture is different, and so is each individual. I’ll just make sure we focus on executing the basic skills extraordinarily well. You can’t transplant a format that works in one country and expect it to work just as well in another. Sometimes I feel we try to complicate what’s actually very simple. No matter what the culture, the team that performs the basics well most consistently is the team that will win most of the time. And that’s what we’ve got to aim for.On tough love, which characterised his playing days, and whether it was needed with this Indian team
I think you need 15 to 20 guys who are focussed on the job. There are some guys who just aren’t capable of that. We just have to identify those that are.On whether he felt that the players were distracted by too many endorsements
It’s probably not my job to decide that. They’re entitled to their endorsements as long as they deal with them in their own time.On how he planned to deal with “difficult” individuals
I’ve been involved with some fairly strong-willed characters right from my playing days, guys like Dennis Lillee and Jeff Thomson. All they want is to perform well. It’s up to you to create an environment where they can express themselves as individuals while still being part of a team framework.His views on the preparation of pitches in India
I believe that cricket needs a range of conditions to give everyone a chance to shine. My view is that wherever you play, whether it be England, Australia or India, the conditions should be the best possible at that arena.How he defines excellence
It’s a commitment to doing the things that are necessary. One bad session can make a difference. We have to apply ourselves the whole time that we’re on the field. I read years ago that concentration is the ability to focus on what is important at that moment.On whether Sachin Tendulkar’s injury bothered him
I’d imagine that it’s more of a concern for Sachin. But we have to make do with the talent available. It’s an opportunity for someone else, and who knows, you might just unearth the next Indian cricketing champion. In that sense, it could be a blessing in disguise. Now, don’t twist my words because I’m not for a minute suggesting that it suits Indian cricket to have Sachin injured [smile].

Allegations of bungled management, racial divides, and a WesternProvince clique intent on embedding themselves into powerful positions to the detriment of the future have been made about the South African national set-up by a handful of current internationals. They told Durban’s : “We would love to be quoted with our names but fear we will be pushed even further into the background and have no chance of playing for South Africa. It is very sad, but we feel we must speak out.”The un-named players accused a clique of established stars of freezing out new coloured players. Meanwhile suggestions of a Western Province “takeover” seem to be based on the fact that the captain Graeme Smith, the coach Eric Simons, Omar Henry, the convenor of selectors, and Tim Southey, the manager, are all from there.An emergency meeting of the United Cricket Board’s general council was held yesterday to discuss the allegations. The council comprises presidents of provincial unions, and Cricket South Africa, which controls professional cricket in the country. They decided to give the chief executive of the UCB, Gerald Majola, ten days to assess and investigate the claims with due attention to any legal and contractual consequences should anyone involved resign.Majola said: “These are serious allegations and powerful and convincing proof would be needed to back them up.” He added, “None of the players I spoke to within the last week made any mention at all to me of being a victim of a racist incident.”

Matthew Hayden has many points to set straight ahead of the first Ashes Test, which starts on Thursday at Lord’s – particularly the question of his form. In his last 12 Tests he has averaged 33.10, which is much lower than his overall mark of 53.46. Nevertheless, a relaxed Hayden told a media conference that the numbers didn’t matter. When asked if he was in good form, he replied: “Yes – if there is such a word. I’m watching the ball closely, which is always a good start.”And he also rebuffed suggestions that he was looking to exploit any of England’s bowlers. “Look, there’s always lots of talk about targeting players,” he said. “It’s the greatest load of rubbish of all time. The only enemy is really the cricket ball that comes down at you. Whatever is said and whatever is analysed doesn’t matter. What we have to do is bat and everything else will look after itself.”However, he recognised that he could look to score off Steve Harmison, while noting that Andrew Flintoff could be England’s key bowler. “Anyone that comes from a great height always asks the questions,” said Hayden. “Harmison’s got a lot of natural variation as well in his bowling. It’s his greatest strength – and his weakness – that you do get scoring options. He’s not going to be a miserly sort of bowler, but he also gets wickets. Australia have seen that as a potential threat, but we haven’t become a great side by looking over our shoulders too much. Freddie Flintoff was probably the key bowler in the one-day series. He bowled good lines and lengths and at good pace as well. He’s got a lot to offer.”But Hayden said it didn’t matter how well England played because Australia were invincible on their day. “I don’t really care much for all this ‘are they closer?’. I really believe that it’s all about us – if we are executing our skills I don’t believe there’s a side that can get close to us.” Hayden is in rude mental health, and physically his shoulder is faring well, as Australia’s media manager Jonathan Rose told Cricinfo: “He is continuing to have treatment, but he is tracking well. He’s on top of the injury, put it that way.”Hayden said the three-day match against Leicestershire was solid preparation for the first Test. “It was nice to have a good knock out there the other day, even it was the flattest wicket on earth,” he said. “It was good to have that workout because the two games are entirely different. We have to adapt pretty quickly.”But Hayden’s approach is the same for any form. He doesn’t care much for sporting psychology and won’t be breaking down his technique anytime soon. “It’s a really simple game for me – I try to keep it as simple as I can. I love playing shots – there’s no question of that. You can crack your game apart to the point where you’re paralysed with it. I like playing the hook shot. It gets me out, but it gets me a lot of runs as well. I like playing down the ground. Obviously when you look to play down the ground you can nick the ball, but it’s the last thing on our minds.”However, some psychological matters concerning Hayden have interested the media recently, not least confrontation with Simon Jones. “At no stage was it ever taken off the paddock. Everyone wants to know what actually gets said but there’s often not much said – it tends to be more of a body language thing and a general banter around the group.”He still believes sledging has its place within the game, and even adds to it. “When Warney ‘Oohs’ and ‘Aahs’ every ball when he beats a high-position batter, it’s great for the game. It’s the spirit of the contest. I will be really surprised if there’s anything that’s over the mark.” It seems Hayden is raring to go.

Scorecard

Somerset have already caused one or two upsets this summer – just ask Australia – and today was no different when they defeated the favourites Lancashire to lift the Twenty20 trophy for the first time. And, again, it was the imperious Graeme Smith who led from the front to mastermind victory in a rain-reduced, relatively low-scoring chase under the lights.Smith was in control from the outset, mixing up his bowlers, setting fields with aplomb and then striking 64 not out to take them home after Lancashire made just 114 for 8 from their 16 overs. James Hildreth, who hit the winning runs, joined Smith in a matchwinning fourth-wicket stand of 53 from 36 deliveries.Earlier, the pace bowlers Richard Johnson and Andrew Caddick had taken five wickets between them to put Somerset in a dominant position. Stuart Law topscored for Lancashire with a battling, brave 59 after some injudicious batting had left his side reeling at 40 for 5, with Mal Loye and a brace of Andrews – Symonds and Flintoff – all back in the pavilion. Another Andrew, Crook, added 15 but there was little else to cheer about for Lancashire’s batsmen.Somerset made steady progress in their reply, until Flintoff struck two vital blows, removing Marcus Trescothick and Matthew Wood. But by this time, Somerset had more than half of the runs they needed, and they knew that from there on in it would be a case of hanging around, playing a patient game. Ian Blackwell showed no such patience, holing out for 3, but no matter, for this was the last wicket to fall, and Smith seized control of the match from there.Showing shades of the former Somerset bighitters Viv Richards and Ian Botham, Smith casually swatted boundaries like flies. Lancashire’s captain Mark Chilton threw Symonds and Flintoff at the latest incarnation of Somerset brawn, but neither of these experienced campaigners could make a dent in Smith’s well-fashioned armour. Smith stood firm and did the job, but admitted later such efforts had taken their toll. “I’m going to go and put my feet up for a bit,” he said. He deserves it.Lancashire’s total, though, had never seemed enough after their middle order was dismantled by Johnson. He followed up from where he had left off in the semi-final, with nagging, wicket-taking form. He took two wickets in successive balls to continue the slide started by Andrew Caddick, who had decided that he, too, was coming to this Twenty20 party. Johnson brought his own bottle – having dropped a sitter from Loye in the first over off Caddick, he stayed calm to hang on to an identical chance three balls later. That was the first of Caddick’s two big wickets, and his second was even bigger: Flintoff, for 2, caught by Blackwell (15 for 2).Symonds was next to fall, run out for 12. Just one run later, Dominic Cork (a skier to Marcus Trescothick) and Glen Chapple (golden duck, bowled) joined him, both cleaned up by Johnson. Chilton followed soon afterwards. At 69 for 6, a dire Lancashire were in the mire and, although Crook followed the long handle of the Law – they shared a stand of 32 – it was too little, too late.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

A blistering half-century from Mahendra Singh Dhoni and a well-paced effort from Yuvraj Singh gave a pallid Indian batting display some colour, but that was rendered irrelevant by a truly abysmal Zimbabwean batting effort as India romped to a 161-run victory. Irfan Pathan scalped five, and Ajit Agarkar four, with only Heath Streak and Prosper Utseya getting to double-figures as Zimbabwe were skittled for 65 in just 24.3 overs. Streak had bowled a superb spell earlier in the day to inspire a disciplined session in the field, spoilt only by late pyrotechnics from Dhoni and Yuvraj, but all the good work was undone by clueless batting that would have shamed a school team.Brendan Taylor started the slide, bizarrely shouldering arms to a Pathan delivery that darted back, and after Zimbabwe had kept out three overs from Ashish Nehra, Ajit Agarkar was given an opportunity to demonstrate his new-ball credentials. Vusi Sibanda patted back the tamest of catches to give him the perfect start, and when Hamilton Masakadza followed, trapped in front, a rout appeared possible.Those suspicions were duly confirmed as Pathan reaped the rewards for an incisive spell of swing bowling by cleaning up Stuart Carlisle, Tatenda Taibu and Charles Coventry in successive overs. In between Agarkar accounting for Andy Blignaut and Blessing Mahwire, Pathan had time to complete his first five-wicket haul in ODIs, bowling Gavin Ewing with one that nipped back off the seam. Utseya and Streak then staved off the humiliation of a sub-50 total before Harbhajan Singh mercifully put an end to a hideous mismatch.It had been anything but in the morning session with Streak showing the way for a side that had been carted for 397 runs in 44 overs by New Zealand. When Dhoni arrived at the crease, the run-rate was still languishing below four-an-over, but a 103-run partnership with Yuvraj from just 87 balls utterly transformed the game. Dhoni set the stage with a clubbed six and a straight four off Utseya, who had rocked India earlier by bowling Rahul Dravid through the gate. And with the gaps suddenly opening up in the field, he added to Taibu’s woes with two meaty hoicks off Blignaut, the second of which sailed over mid-on and out of the stadium to bring him a 39-ball half-century.Emboldened by Dhoni’s example, Yuvraj, who had laboured to 17 from 42 balls and struggled against the spin of Utseya and Ewing, also cut loose, smashing Anthony Ireland for two fours in an over before effortlessly lofting one over long-off to bring up 50 in 68 balls. Though Streak continued to bowl with impeccable control, finishing with 1 for 32 from his 10 overs, runs were pummelled from the other end as India set about making amends for not once finding the boundary rope for 20 overs in the middle of the innings.The lackadaisical pace had been set by Sourav Ganguly and Mohammad Kaif after Taibu’s decision to bowl first was vindicated by the first-over dismissal of Venugopal Rao. India’s gamble to open with him was shown up by a beautiful outswinger from Streak as Zimbabwe bowled with far greater control in conditions that aided the swing bowlers.Ganguly tried to break the shackles with two pulls for fours when Mahwire dropped short, but though Kaif revealed glimpses of his ability with two sweetly struck off-drives, runs were eked out in the face of some limited but tidy bowling. Worse still, there was no urgency in the running, with only 14 singles in the first 15 overs.After a dour passage of play, Ganguly’s patience finally gave, and a ludicrous attempt to pull Ireland lobbed straight to the man stationed for that very mistake. A couple of pulls from Kaif indicated greater urgency, but there was no dramatic acceleration as Zimbabwe conceded just 93 from the first 25 overs. Utseya then accounted for Dravid, and when Kaif’s one-paced innings of 65 (122 balls) was ended by a splendid return catch by Ewing, a total of 200 appeared to be in the realms of fantasy.Dhoni, however, clubbed 56 from 46 balls before mistiming one to long-off, and Yuvraj buttressed the salvage operation with aplomb as Zimbabwe’s challenge started to splutter. By the time Pathan got into the swing of things, splutter had become seizure, and another inglorious chapter was written in Zimbabwe cricket’s annals.How they were outIndiaVenugopal Rao c Taibu b Streak 0 (3 for 1)
Sourav Ganguly c Coventry b Blignaut 20 (55 for 2)
Rahul Dravid b Utseya 14 (95 for 3)
Mohammad Kaif c and b Ewing 65 (121 for 4)
Mahendra Singh Dhoni c Mahwire b Ireland 56 (224 for 5)
Ajit Agarkar c Streak b Ireland 0 (225 for 6)
ZimbabweBrendan Taylor b Pathan 3 (7 for 1)
Vusi Sibanda c and b Agarkar 7 (17 for 2)
Hamilton Masakadza lbw Agarkar 0 (17 for 3)
Stuart Carlisle lbw Pathan 9 (29 for 4)
Tatenda Taibu c Ganguly b Pathan 4 (30 for 5)
Charles Coventry b Pathan 0 (30 for 6)
Andy Blignaut lbw Agarkar 0 (35 for 7)
Gavin Ewing b Pathan 0 (36 for 8)
Blessing Mahwire b Agarkar 4 (43 for 9)
Played on after trying to leave the ball.Prosper Utseya c Dravid b Harbhajan 11 (65 all out)

Scorecard

Needing only 104 for victory when the final day began, New South Wales crushed New Zealand on their way to a nine-wicket victory. It was a tough start for a team that had publicly admitted that the Australian campaign would be tougher than the last time they toured. Phil Jaques remained unbeaten on 70, and Matthew Phelps was not out on 39 when the winning runs were scored.Jacob Oram had Greg Mail caught in the day’s third over for 13, but from then on Jaques and Phelps added runs at an easy pace. New Zealand’s bowlers were economical, but could not get breakthroughs, adding to the feeling in Australia that their attack is ineffective.This heavy defeat will not go down well with Stephen Fleming, rested for this game, who acknowledged that his team would have to play “out of their skin” to give Australia a run in the Test series.

The spat between Sourav Ganguly and Greg Chappell has held Indian cricket captive over the last few days. Both sides will finally get an opportunity to present their side of the story when they put forward their cases before the review committee of the BCCI, which will meet in Mumbaitomorrow (September 27). There was some doubt about the participation of Ganguly, who lost his grandfather in Kolkata today, but media reports suggested that he would reach Mumbai tomorrow morning to defend himself against the charges levelled by Chappell.The committee, comprising Sunil Gavaskar, Ravi Shastri, Srinivas Venkataraghavan, along with Ranbir Singh Mahendra, the board president, SK Nair, the secretary, and Jagmohan Dalmiya, had originally been set up to review the performances of the Indian team on the tours of Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe, but in the light of the current controversy, the captain-coach issue will surely form the chunk of the discussions.Chappell has clearly not been enamoured of Ganguly and some of the other members of the Indian team in his short stint as coach of the team. However, the spat came out in the public following Ganguly’s suggestion that he was asked to step down before the Test in Bulawayo. An uneasy truce followed, but just in its aftermath came the email from Chappell to the board, the entire contents of which was leaked to the media.The details of the letter show the extent to which relations have soured between the two. Chappell has accused Ganguly of desperately hanging on his captaincy, even at the cost of harming the team’s harmony. Question-marks have been raised about Ganguly’s mental and physical fitness, and his ability to stay afloat in international cricket. Ganguly hasn’t put forward his defence before the media yet, but the Bengali daily did quote sources claiming one abrasive remark: “You can imagine the the character of a person who within hours of a truce goes and writes such an e-mail.”These are extremely serious allegations, and the six-man committee will have its hands full in trying to resolve the matter. The credentials of Gavaskar, Shastri and Venkataraghavan, all former national captains, are impeccable, but the pitch has been queered by the presence of Dalmiya, known to be a Ganguly supporter. Raj Singh Dungarpur, a former BCCI president, even accused Dalmiya of being responsible for leaking the email to save Ganguly. “Ganguly knows he has the license to kill as long as Dalmiya is there,” Dungarpur thundered, and then went on to accuse Harbhajan Singh, who came out in open support of his captain. If Dalmiya is a Ganguly supporter, then Shastri, it seems, is in the other camp, and is among those who favours a change in captaincy.Increasingly, it seems, both Chappell and Ganguly cannot work together. The review committee can only offer its recommendation to the board, and not make a final decision, but the direction in which they veer could well decide the direction the Indian team takes over the next few years.

James Kirtley, the former England seamer, has been suspended from bowling by the England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB) after an independent assessment of his action at the National Cricket Centre.The assessment was undertaken at the beginning of the month by Dr Mark King, an expert from Loughborough University, after Kirtley was reported to the ECB twice during the 2005 season. King concluded that Kirtley’s action was outside ICC limits. The finding means that he cannot bowl until further tests show that he had rectified the faults.”It is disappointing and frustrating to be in this position again,” said Kirtley, “but from the experiences of last time I know the processes involved and am confident of clearing my name.”Kirtley is no stranger to such problems. In 2001-02 his England one-day debut was overshadowed by his being reported by the match referee in Zimbabwe, although he underwent remedial work and was subsequently allowed to continue. He has since played four Tests. He will now work on his action with Troy Cooley, England’s bowling coach, and will be re-examined when the problems have been ironed out.”We are obviously disappointed for both James and Sussex,” Mark Robinson, the Sussex manager, told the BBC. “The club is looking to digest and analyse the information in order to formulate the right plan for the way ahead.”

The crisis in Zimbabwe cricket plunged to new depths with an escalation in the damaging stand-off between the national executive body and their provincial chairmen.The increasing bitterness was apparent in the tone of Peter Chingoka’s response to a letter from the provincial chairmen which contained demands for explanations of what they described as “unusual financial dealings” by executives and staff.But Chingoka, the Zimbabwe Cricket chairman, dismissed the bulk of the queries, insisting the answers could be found in already published documents. Almost all the others matters raised were, he claimed, routine.In a clear swipe at the chairmen’s involvement in the game, Chingoka said: “I am surprised that responses to most of the questions raised in your document have not been furnished to you and your colleagues who do not sit on the board by those of you who do and some of whom are, in fact, chairmen of various ZC committees. I am sure you will agree with me that those who are chairmen of their respective committees are actually closer than the writer to several issues you raise.”The exposure given to Chingoka’s response in the state-controlled Herald newspaper was in stark contrast to the scant coverage it gave the original meeting of the chairmen on October 21. There was also every indication that this latest incident in an increasingly bitter row between the board and stakeholders was being flagged as a racial battle.The chairmen’s letter probed the board’s finances, asking why ZC made a $2.4 billion loss, why there were no explanations on debts and staff loans, no explanation on income, no breakdown on sponsors and grants of $1.4 billion, and why there was no explanation on secretarial costs that chewed up $3.8 billion. The dossier also accused the board of constantly breaching its own constitution and demanded answers about the package of Ozias Bvute, the ZC managing director.The board’s critics have also accused it of attempting to sidestep any attempted coup by the provincial chairman by creating new provinces and disrupting exiting ones. Max Ebrahim, the chairman of Masvingo and the head of national selection, made clear that there was no racial divide. “It’s a case of six provinces and the players being together,” he said. “It’s a case of stakeholders versus two or three individuals bent on holding on to power.”The deepening crisis is being monitored by the ICC, although as this is a domestic matter, it is unlikely to become directly involved.