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Walsh and Holding named among Jamaica's best

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Michael Holding: named as one of Jamaica’s best© Getty Images

George Headley and Michael Holding have been named among Jamaica’s five greatest cricketers of all time. The five players – Courtney Walsh, Lawrence Rowe and Jeff Dujon were the other three – were all honoured in the Scotiabank West Indian Cricket Jubilee function in Kingston.Headley, dubbed the Black Bradman because of his batting exploits, averaged 60.83 in the 22 Tests he played, with ten centuries. He was the first batsman to score a hundred in each innings of a Test at Lord’s, making 106 and 107 in 1939. Rowe, the only other batsman in the five-man list, finished with a modest average of just over 43, but began his Test career in sensational style, scoring 214 and 100 not out on debut against New Zealand at Kingston.Of the three others in the list, two are fast bowlers – Michael Holding, whose 60-Test career fetched him 249 wickets at less than 24 apiece, and Courtney Walsh, whose tally of 519 Test wickets was a record till Muttiah Muralitharan recently went past it. Dujon, who was the wicketkeeper in West Indies’ formidable line-up of the 1980s, scalped 272 victims from 81 matches, but made equally vital contributions in front of the wicket as well. He ended up with a batting average of less than 32, but in the early part of his career he was a huge asset at No. 7 – his highest score of 139 came at Perth against an Australian attack which included Geoff Lawson, Rodney Hogg, Terry Alderman and Carl Rackemann.Awards for best batting and bowling in a match were also handed out – Rowe’s 302 against England in Barbados in 1974 was adjudged the best batting performance, while Holding’s 14 for 149 against England at The Oval in 1976 won the corresponding award for bowling. Pattrick Patterson’s 6 for 29 against India at Nagpur in 1988 was named the best performance in a one-day international.Each West Indian territory will put forward a list of five players from the region, and the 30 players named will travel to Birmingham, where a special function will be held in July – when West Indies would be involved in a Test series in England – to name the five greatest West Indian cricketers.

Sri Lanka A make it five in a row

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ScorecardSri Lanka A trounced a strong Glamorgan outfit by 141 runs to record their fifth consecutive win of the tour. After winning the toss and opting to bat at Cardiff, Sri Lanka amassed 309 for 3, with Saman Jayantha following up his 147 against Worcestershire with an 83-ball 97. The middle order contributed handily too – Ian Daniel made 57 while Jehan Mubarak contributed an unbeaten 88. Glamorgan were never in the hunt, and folded up for just 168.The match also marked the returned of Simon Jones, who hadn’t played a first-class game since injuring his foot in the first Test against New Zealand in May. Despite returning modest figures – none for 67 from 10 overs – he bowled with good rhythm, and was unlucky to concede a number of runs by way of edges through the slips.The Sri Lankans have two more one-day matches scheduled – against Sussex and Kent – before playing a three-day match against the West Indians and two four-day games, against Glamorgan and Somerset.

Pakistan's progress … and lack of it

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Inzamam-ul-Haq: still defending his decision to bat© Getty Images

In our globalised world we are not divided by international boundaries, but we are separated by language, which leads you to wonder just how Bob Woolmer and Inzamam-ul-Haq manage? At press conferences Woolmer fields the questions in English, followed by Inzamam who tackles the ones in Urdu.After Pakistan’s defeat of India I asked Woolmer why Pakistan were now more focused than a few months earlier against India. Woolmer diplomatically replied that he hadn’t been involved with the India series, so was unable to specify what had changed, but was satisfied with the commitment of his team. My attempts to subvert the process by asking Inzamam the same question in Urdu met a rather grumpy response. I was wrong, he suggested, to imply that Pakistan had found it hard to beat India in the home series and his team was as focused as ever.Inzamam, I’ve come to learn, is a man who defends his decisions and his behaviour as stoutly as he defends his wicket. This is an admirable trait in a captain – but so is a touch of contrition, and after the incredible decision to bat first at the Rose Bowl perhaps a spoonful of contrition would not have gone amiss.First, let’s be clear, there are certain signs that the team of Bob and Inzy is heading on an upward trajectory. Pakistan’s bowlers perform with a dash of discipline, the fielders have a swagger of professionalism, and the batsmen appear to have a plan. These developments are a miracle. But Pakistan cricket, and Bob and Inzy in particular, have much to consider, and the main points are these:

  • All teams make mistakes, and take silly decisions, but this seems to happen to Pakistan at an alarming rate. With due respect to the acumen of Pakistan’s think-tank, batting first on a cloudy morning, before 11am at the end of September in England, on a difficult track, is hard to explain. The explanation that the pitch might have favoured the spinners later on might have made sense if the spinners in question were not Shahid Afridi and Shoaib Malik, and the fast bowlers were not Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Sami, backed up by two reasonable seamers — and if the match were being played at Karachi.
  • Woolmer has done a great job of talking up Inzamam as captain, and certainly he is a better captain and a more responsible batsman now than a year ago, but you still have to worry about him as a tactician. The decision to bat first is one thing, but the subsequent decision not to use Afridi, after claiming that the track would suit spinners, was bordering on the ridiculous. This is not to say that Afridi would have won Pakistan the game, but in a desperate situation a sentient captain would try anything and gamble on success. Inzamam can certainly lead in the middle, bat in hand, yet a question-mark remains over the rest of the time.
  • A more fundamental problem still is the inability of Pakistan’s players to play the moving ball. At home against India they were undone by the gentle swing of Lakshmipathi Balaji and the more extravagant movement of Irfan Pathan. At the Rose Bowl, West Indies’ gentle swingers did for Pakistan’s top order. Correcting this immense deficiency against the moving ball must be a real worry for Woolmer, and has to be a priority. Top-order batsmen at the highest level should not be surrendering so easily. There is a deeper problem here, one that questions the way Pakistan’s cricketers develop in their early years: much talent but little technique.
  • A final worry is that Woolmer has promised consistency in selection — and delivered, which is commendable, yet this has been coupled with a surprising rigidity in batting order and approach. Might a little unpredictability help here? Shahid Afridi, Abdul Razzaq, or even Shoaib Akhtar thrown up the order for a quick fling is a tactic not to be forgotten.Pakistan’s approach has changed in many ways since Woolmer became coach — in many ways that inspire confidence for the future — but one aspect that remains bewildering is the extreme variability in performance. Unless Woolmer finds a solution for this unpredictability his time with Pakistan will remain bitter-sweet.Kamran Abbasi is a London-based cricket writer and acting editor of the British Medical Journal.

    • Carve it like Cairns

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    Jacob Oram showed touches of Lance and Chris Cairns in his century© Getty Images

    Handing someone an identity based on that of a predecessor is unfair, but Jacob Oram could easily belong to the Cairns clan. A rugged physique, wavy on top and an ability to muscle sixes were characteristics of both Lance and Chris Cairns, and Oram showed off the same qualities as he rescued New Zealand with a mature century.Chris Cairns walked out of Test cricket in England during the winter after 62 matches, leaving large openings with bat and ball. Oram is a gigantic 26-year-old allrounder with a still-growing reputation. Chosen to captain the touring side against New South Wales, he is someone to get excited about.Three sixes iced his innings as he celebrated his second hundred in his 16th Test. Two came off consecutive Michael Kasprowicz deliveries, while his pull over midwicket from Jason Gillespie was pure power. While they were blows that either Cairns could have claimed, Oram’s innings was more important for its poise than its power. “Circumstances dictated [the hitting],” he said. “Chris Cairns would have hit from ball one. Cairns is just an explosive player and can blow a game open in a session: as you saw with me it took about three sessions. I don’t see myself as a natural hitter.”Like his first century against South Africa last summer, Oram arrived at 5 for 138 with New Zealand in need of a push. Although they fulfilled their promise to take time over their runs, the batsmen’s inability to convert starts threatened to result in a small total. With Oram in charge he started steadily and steered them to a dreamy position with the help of an obliging tail.Twice before he had been stuck in the nineties, and the same was expected as the rabbit Chris Martin strolled out. “I’ve got to be honest, I got a little bit nervous then,” he said. Touch and placement were responsible for him moving to three figures as Ricky Ponting scattered his fielders around the boundary.”This century means a lot more to me that my first,” he said. “Today there were a lot of factors: Australia are the best team in the world, it was the first Test of the series, the first innings of the series for me, and when I went in we were in a spot of bother.” Oram’s parents were in the stands, and he celebrated with a look to the sky to remember his grandfather, who died of cancer three months ago.As his innings progressed, Oram was unmoved by numerous disruptive tactics, including two short balls from Shane Warne. It was easy to see why he has been mooted as an eventual replacement for Stephen Fleming. “I have seen Warne on TV bowling bouncers so I knew it was in his repertoire,” said Oram, “but I didn’t see the first one and it nearly hit me on the head.”One aspect where Oram is unlikely to match Cairns is with his bowling, which is more stock than strike. A batsman who added medium-pace to his resume four years ago, he took at least one wicket in his first 12 Test innings, and claimed Sachin Tendulkar on debut in 2002. He will do hours of unfashionable work at around 130kph, but he can make the ball rise sharply, and surprised both Ponting and Damien Martyn.Oram doesn’t like or believe the comparisons with Cairns, but they are inevitable. More performances like today’s will help forge an identity away from the father and son.Peter English is Australasian editor of Wisden Cricinfo.

    Northern Districts triumph in astonishing run-chase

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    ScorecardNorthern Districts triumphed in an astounding run-chase with a 48-run last-wicket partnership helping them hunt down 400 against Central Districts. That it came with the rain getting heavier and light fading made it all the more memorable.The target of 400 looked beyond ND’s reach when they lost their fourth and fifth wickets on 85. But Matt Hart and Hamish Marshall responded in outstanding fashion and put them back on track with a 216-run stand, an ND record for the sixth-wicket. Marshall, who has a one-day international century, scored his first first-class hundred with 128, in 238 minutes, and notched up his 2000th first-class run along the way when he was on 46.Hart’s hundred, 107 runs in 209 minutes, was his fourth. But he fell when 99 were still required, and Marshall followed when 62 were needed. Matters took an even sharper turn when Michael Mason, who earlier removed Marshall, took two wickets off successive balls to leave ND at 352 for 9.However, ND were not finished yet. Joseph Yovich and Ian Butler kept their calm even though the players were briefly forced from the field due to rain. Having come this close, with Yovish at the crease, there was always hope for ND. Though he bats at No. 8, he has a highest first-class score of 99, and 10 half-centuries to his credit.He added to that today by finishing on 54 not out, while Butler revealed his batting ability by scoring 14, including the match-winning boundary off Lance Hamilton – a hit back over the bowler’s head.Match abandoned due to rain
    ScorecardRain in Wellington meant no play was possible, and this left Otago to claim first-innings points from the match, and Wellington with some work to do to keep in touch with the competition’s front-runners.

    Wasim Akram slams ICC

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    Wasim Akram continues to hit hard even after retiring from cricket© Getty Images

    Wasim Akram, the former Pakistan captain, has slammed the ICC for their policy in dealing with bowlers’ illegal actions. “The ICC has just gone mad,” he was quoted as saying in , a Kolkata based daily. “They are just there and come out and create problems for cricketers. They are more concerned with identifying the angles of chucking.”While on the offensive Akram had a go at the ICC’s Anti Corruption Unit as well. “They [ACU] get a quarter of a million pounds every year and just sit there and send two guys all over the world who just attend matches everywhere. No reports, nothing.”Akram, who was speaking to reporters in Dubai during a promotional event, also bagged Shoaib Akhtar for his recent performances. “He [Shoaib] is just not a matchwinner anymore,” said Akram. “He just comes and talks and plays one game, and then gets injured. He just thinks he is too good.””He’s the only one who praises himself all the time, which means there is something seriously wrong with him,” said Akram. “He should let the ball talk. He talks before and then doesn’t perform.”

    Bangladesh A ease to the whitewash

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    ScorecardBangladesh A recorded their third consecutive victory over their Zimbabwean counterparts at Kwekwe, to complete a 3-0 whitewash in the series.After bowling Zimbabwe out for 217 in their second innings, Bangladesh were left needing a testing target of 236 on the final day, but cruised to victory in 51.1 overs thanks to a second-wicket stand of 162 between the captain Shahriar Nafees and Tushar Imran.That broke the back of the run-chase, and though both fell in the space of seven runs with centuries beckoning, Sanwar Hossain’s 29 guided them to the brink of victory.

    ICC refuses to allow postponement

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    Despite the chaos inside Kenyan cricket, the International Cricket Council has refused an application from the Kenyan Cricket Association to postpone the country’s ICC Intercontinental Cup tie against Namibia schedule to take place at Windhoek between February 25 and 27.Sharad Ghai, the embattled chairman of the KCA, made the approach to the ICC against a backdrop of total confusion inside Kenya. Out of the squad of 31 named for the match, 14 remain on strike, others have yet to be officially told of their selection, and training has ground to a halt as there is no money to pay coaches or for facilities to enable the few players that are around to train. Despite claims from the KCA that the squad is training, Cricinfo knows that the remaining players have yet to all assemble.”We feel that we need to field our strongest team for this championship and that is why we sought to have the game postponed,” Ghai told The Nation. “The ICC has said no and even the Namibians are not willing to consider it.”The newspaper report adds that a senior KCA offical described the ICC as “an organisation which preaches water and drinks wine … the leaders of world cricket prescribe for others medicine that they themselves find too bitter to swallow.”Ghai, who has been indirectly criticised by the ICC, hit back in the light of the publication of a letter from Malcolm Speed which appeared to encourage Ochillo Ayacko, the sports minister, to take action against the KCA.”It is convenient for the ICC to have Kenya in crisis so that they don’t have to worry about what to do with our attempts to gain Test status,” Ghai said. “The issues which the minister is reported to have raised with the ICC in those letters last year have been raised so many times in the past and we have always responded to them and asked anyone with evidence of wrongdoing, including the ICC, to produce it.”When one looks at FIFA’s governance, it is based on the system of one country one vote. It could be argued that the ICC structure is not democratic. However, as that is what the constitution states, all members are bound by the terms thereof.”

    Grenada Prime Minister terms the statement 'unfortunate'

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    Teddy Griffith raised a storm with his statement as West Indian cricket plunged into further crisis© Getty Images

    Keith Mitchell, the Prime Minister of Grenada, has reacted to Teddy Griffith’s statement and feels it’s “premature and unnecessary”. Griffith announced that seven of the West Indian players – including Brian Lara, Ramnaresh Sarwan and Chris Gayle – who have contracts with Cable & Wireless, rivals of Digicel, the team sponsor, would not be considered for further selection, unless they presented the non-financial provisions in their contracts for review by the WICB.”It’s unfortunate that Teddy chose to go to the airwaves and raise the temperature,” he was quoted as saying in the . “There were compromises being put forward that would be seriously considered, and we alerted him and all persons involved as to what was taking place. He assured me he would do nothing to do injury to the negotiating process. I’m not sure he achieved that by his announcement.”However, Mitchell, who is also the head of the CARICOM sub-committee on cricket, was optimistic of reaching a solution and said “all was not lost” in the long-running dispute between the WICB and the West Indies Players Association (WIPA). He added: “I think there have been some reasonable proposals put forward that will lead to some kind of compromise solution.”He also revealed that he would chair a meeting in St.George’s tomorrow, attended by all the parties, aimed at reaching an “amicable solution” and allow the West Indies team enough time to gear up for the home series against South Africa, starting on March 31.Dinanath Ramnarine, the WIPA president, Denis O’Brien, the chairman Digicel, and an unnamed “top executive” of Cable & Wireless will also be present at the meeting. “I’m very hopeful that we should have some solution on Monday,” Mitchell told Caribbean Media Corporation radio. “I’m heartened by the fact that all the parties are committed to coming at the highest possible level. [It would] allow West Indies Cricket to put forward its best players on the field and, of course, do no damage to our prospects of hosting a successful World Cup and all the aspects that go with it.”Mitchell was also intent that the West Indian board inform both South Africa and Pakistan, by March 14 ,whether their tours were still on saying that there was still a possibility of WIPA instructing the players not to sign any contracts if the various issues were not settled. Mitchell had succeeded in coming to a last-minute deal between the WICB and WIPA a few months earlier which allowed West Indies to send a full-strength side to Australia for the VB Series. But several points, including the introduction of annual retainer for 16-20 leading players, remained unresolved.”I don’t see Digicel investing a lot of money in a weak West Indies Team for any considerable time,” he continued, “or benefiting from its sponsorship, and Cable & Wireless can’t benefit from sponsoring players who are not members of the West Indies Team. The WICB is not going to achieve everything it wants to achieve. Neither party can afford to do that.”

    Railways' fairytale reaches fruition

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    Railways 355 (Ali 80, Bangar 79) and 471 (Goud 138*, Yadav 97) drew with Punjab 309 (Dharmani 115) and 137 for 4 – Railways won the Ranji Trophy because they took the first-innings lead.
    Scorecard
    How they were out

    Railways celebrate victory in the final of the Ranji Trophy© Getty Images

    A game that twisted and turned on the first four days meandered to an anti-climactic, inevitable, end as Railways strolled to their second Ranji Trophy triumph by virtue of gaining the first-innings lead. After grinding their way to a massive lead of 517, Railways enjoyed a cheerful afternoon picnic at Mohali as Punjab stuttered to 137 for 4 before the game was finally called off.Within the first two hours of the day, Yere Goud had continued his resolute methods and reached a memorable hundred, his 12th in first-class cricket, the tail wagged with some unexpected restraint, and made sure that the title was completely secure. The lack of intent to go for an outright victory was a shade disappointing, but as every Railways player will tell you, too much is at stake and they couldn’t afford even the slightest of risks.The rest of the day was spent waiting for the celebrations to begin.After a solid start, Punjab lost three wickets in quick succession, two to Sanjay Bangar, and thoughts of a collapse crept in. But Ravneet Ricky’s fluent 64 prevented any such crumbling as part-timers tried their luck with the ball.The end came at 3.37pm after seven mandatory overs. Jai Prakash Yadav, the architect of the triumph, was the first to grab a stump as the Railways players converged for a raucous celebration. Every single member of the side contributed to the triumph with Yadav, Goud and Sanjay Bangar leading the way. Through the season, they unearthed Madan Yadav, a left-arm spinner with promise, while Amit Pagnis and Harvinder Singh changed from occasional contributors to genuinematchwinners.The young Punjab side – this was the first season for many players – walked off completely flat but they will look back at the several positives from the season. Intikhab Alam instilled a cladding of steel in them and their triumph at the Wankhede, something sides very rarely achieve, was a massive achievement in itself. There were initial signs that Ravneet Ricky and Reetinder Singh Sodhi might finally translate potential into performance, Dharmani soldiered on, while Gaurav Gupta, a pugnacious middle-order batsman, and VRV Singh, the fast bowler, had impressive starts to their careers. They rode on team effort rather than individuals and reached the finals for the first time in 10 years. They are probably at the same stage that Railways were in around 2001 and if they build on their gains, they could be a dominant force in the years to come.Strains of bhangra filled the air as the Railways players danced off the ground into the dressing-room. Apart from the Ranji Trophy, there was much more to look forward to – promotions, increments, a better gymnasium, improved infrastructure, renovation of their dormitory at Delhi and the like. The champagne was uncorked soon after and the fairy-tale turnaround from relegation contenders to national champions was just beginning to sink in.How they were outRailwaysHarvinder c Gupta b Rajesh 26 (396 for 9) Beaten by onethat went away and nicked to Gaurav Gupta at first slip.Madan c Dharmani b Vineet 38 (471 all out) Flashed at awide one and nicked to the wicketkeeper.PunjabSodhi c Wankhede b Bangar 15 (32 for 1) Edged one whileattempting to drive through the covers.Kakkar c Wankhede b Bangar 1 (34 for 2) Almost identicalto Sodhi’s dismissal.Muneesh c Pagnis b Madan 7 (52 for 3) Pushed forward toone that turned away and was caught at silly mid-on.Ricky b Parida 64 (110 for 4) Tried to pull a short onebut was bowled after the ball kept low.Siddhartha Vaidyanathan is on the staff of Cricinfo.