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It is being reported from the Caribbean that Zimbabwe have been forced out of theCLICO Under 15 International Championship after their team were denied British visas to travel to the region via London.”Attempts at making alternative arrangements also proved futile and in light of the refusal by the British to grant the visas, Zimbabwe was forced to cancel its participation in the tournament,” the tournament organisers said. Zimbabwean umpire Tinaye Matare is also a doubt after being also refused a visa to enter London.However, a Foreign Office source denied that visas had been denied. “The umpire was refused because of incomplete documentation,” he told Cricinfo. “As for the team, an official from ZC did call the Embassy last week to flag up the possibility of the U-15 team travelling to the Caribbean and to seek advice about visas. He was told that applications from anyone who had not traveled to the UK, US or EU in the past two years would expect to be handled by the visa office in Pretoria. At no point were they discouraged from applying. He accepted the timing would be tight. The FCO have checked and there’s no record of any applications having been submitted. It’s therefore not true to say they were refused visas.”Malaysia, who failed to make the original eight teams, will now replace Zimbabwe in competition which runs from April 19 to May 4. They will meet hosts West Indies in the opening match.

Mohammad Asif wins the post of vice-captaincy for the three-ODI series against Sri Lanka © AFP

Mohammad Asif has been recalled to the Pakistan squad for the ODI series against Sri Lanka and has also been named vice-captain for the series. The 16-man squad contains only two new faces for the three-match series in Abu Dhabi, despite Pakistan’s poor showing in the Caribbean. Asif missed the World Cup due to an elbow injury.Nasim Ashraf, chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board, told reporters in Lahore after an ad-hoc committee meeting that Asif was the best choice as vice-captain. Asif’s name, along with that of Shahid Afridi, had cropped up over the last few weeks though with such minimal experience still behind him, the move will surprise many. And with a possible face-off with WADA still in the offing over the doping crisis he was embroiled in last year, the appointment is bound to raise questions and eyebrows.There are few other surprises in the squad. Fawad Alam, the young Karachi allrounder, who had such an outstanding domestic season, has expectedly taken his place in the squad. And Najaf Shah, a left-arm fast medium bowler who plays for PIA and Rawalpindi, has also been called up after an impressive domestic season and some equally impressive performances in the trial matches played between the 39 probables that attended the recent camp at Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore.Shoaib Malik, who will be captaining Pakistan for the first time, stressed that the new players were the best available. “These are all deserving players and it is the best team available to us. The selection committee discussed the names with me and the decision was taken between us.”Salahuddin Ahmed, chairman of the selection committee, agreed, telling Cricinfo that this was the best available squad. “Sri Lanka are missing a few key players and so are we for a number of reasons but we have picked the best available squad. We are confident that this squad can do well.”Kamran Akmal, for the time being, retains his place as the leading wicketkeeper in the land. Without an understudy in sight, the move is seen as a vote of confidence in him by a new, empowered selection committee.Opener Salman Butt has also made a comeback into the squad, having been dropped after a disappointing tour to England last year. Talat Ali, recently appointed manager of the team for two years, will also be the acting coach for the three-match series.Pakistan are without Younis Khan and Shoaib Akhtar. Younis is currently turning out for Yorkshire, while Shoaib is not yet fully fit.Squad
Shoaib Malik (capt), Salman Butt, Imran Nazir, Mohammad Hafeez, Yasir Hameed, Mohammad Yousuf, Shahid Afridi, Fawad Alam, Kamran Akmal (wk), Abdul Razzaq, Abdur Rehman, Mohammad Asif, Mohammad Sami, Umar Gul, Rao Iftikhar, Najaf Shah.

Rod Marsh at what will be the Dubai Sports City © ICC

Rod Marsh, the former Australia wicketkeeper turned coach, has spoken of his excitement in taking up his new post as director of coaching at the ICC Global Cricket Academy in Dubai. Marsh will begin his duties in September at the enormous and purpose-built Dubai Sports City.Marsh, 58, was instrumental in coaching many of Australia’s players in the 1990s, and was a prize coup for English cricket when, in 2000, he was appointed director of the ECB Academy – much to the surprise of his countrymen. Both he and another Australian, Troy Cooley, the bowling coach, have since returned home and now Marsh’s attention turns to the global game.”Imagine a place like China,” Marsh told Queensland’s . “They should be very good. Hand-eye coordination is good. Plenty of little fellas that could bat well and plenty of big blokes that could bowl well, I reckon. Who knows? In 20 or 30 years’ time, Australia might be playing Test matches in Shanghai for the Great Wall Trophy.”Marsh holds such clout as a coach, and director of coaching, that realistically the ICC had only eyes for him. He takes up his post in September at a purpose-built cricket centre, or “global university” of cricket, with such facilities as biomechanics, research and sports medicine. The cricket centre will form part of a purpose-built town, Dubai Sports City, housing some 65,000 people. Given the extreme heat in Dubai – for four months of the year, it is scarcely possible to be outside let alone play cricket – an indoor airconditioned facility will be built, large enough to house two jumbo jets.”I guess I’ve had the most experience of anyone dealing with academies,” he said. “As a consequence I got hired.” Although many countries now have their own academies, or are in the process of establishment, Marsh feels the new global academy has a role to play for senior sides and minnows alike.

Who knows? In 20 or 30 years’ time, Australia might be playing Test matches in Shanghai for the Great Wall Trophy Rod Marsh

“If Australia is going to England for an Ashes tour I’d like to think they might come and prepare for a week at the academy in Dubai on the way,” he said. “We’d try to prepare pitches at the facility that are similar to what they will get in England. It might be difficult but I’d hope it can be done.”If you drew a map and worked out the most central point for the cricketing world, I reckon Dubai would come pretty close. I still like to do hands-on coaching. That’s what I enjoy. The administration side of the game is something I’ve never enjoyed a hell of a lot. But I realise that part of coaching really is doing that nowadays. It’s more than just taking a guy to the nets.”

Dinesh Mongia: Will the current county season fetch him as much success as the previous one? © Getty Images

June 11 – Leicestershire v Australians

ScorecardLeicestershire were never in the hunt as the Australians romped to an emphatic victory on the back of a century from Matthew Hayden (107) and significant contributions from Damien Martyn (85) and Andrew Symonds (92 from just 59 balls). Mongia was as ineffectual as the rest of the attack, conceding 49 from his eight overs. In response, Leicestershire could manage only 226 for 8, with Mongia contributing a rapid 21 before being caught off Brad Hogg’s bowling.June 5 – National League

ScorecardMongia engineered Leicestershire’s thumping win over Somerset at Oakham School Ground with a fantastic allround show. His 72-ball 75, including seven fours and a six, set up a fighting target and Somerset, after a decent opening partnership, capitulated for a mere 146 while chasing. Mongia played a crucial role with the ball too and ended with magical figures of 4 for 12 in his seven overs.June 1-4 – Frizzell County Championship

ScorecardLeicestershire dominated the drawn game, but without a significant contribution from Mongia, who only made 26 in a total of 338.May 30 – National League

ScorecardDerbyshire turned the tables on Leicestershire this time, eking out a four-wicket win at Derby. Mongia fell early, making just 6 as the team slumped to 55 for 6 before limping to 146. With such a total on the board, the result was never in doubt.May 26-29 – Frizzell County Championship

ScorecardMongia got starts in both innings as Leicestershire notched up an impressive win against Derbyshire. In the first innings, he made 51 and offered fine support to Darren Robinson, who made 110. In the second, with Leicestershire needing a challenging 258 to win, Mongia chipped in with a vital 47 after the team had slumped to 48 for 3. With the rest of the middle order contributing as well, Leicestershire won by four wickets.May 17 – C&G Trophy

ScorecardLeicestershire were at the wrong end of a run-chase this time, as they fell well short of their quest for 236. Mongia did well with the ball, taking 1 for 30 from 10 overs, but failed in his main job, scoring just 5 before becoming one of three victims for Dougie Brown.May 15 – National League

ScorecardA superb all-round performance by Mongia gave Leicestershire a convincing win at Grace Road against Surrey. Mongia scored 67 off 86 balls even as his team-mates struggled – no-one managed more than 22. Then, he starred with the ball as well, taking 4 for 15, including the scalp of Mark Ramprakash, Surrey’s top-scorer with 34. In the end, Leicestershire defended a low score with plenty to spare.May 11-14 – Frizzell County Championship

ScorecardMongia shrugged off a first-ball duck in the first innings with a well-compiled 70 in the second, but it wasn’t enough to prevent Leicestershire from suffering yet another defeat. Batting at No. 3, Mongia was trapped in front by Ian Harvey in the first innings, but top-scored with a 115-ball effort in the second. It should have won his team the game, but Yorkshire pulled off a magnificent run-chase, getting 406 in the fourth innings.May 6-9 – Frizzell County Championship

ScorecardMongia’s first match in the four-day county championship ended in disappointment for him and his team. Mongia made 6 and 39 as Leicestershire went down by six wickets against Essex at Chelmsford.May 4 – C&G Trophy

ScorecardA fifth-ball duck for Mongia, but victory for Leicestershire as they scraped through in a tense low-scoring battle at Grace Road. Somerset were bundled out for 94, with Sanath Jayasuriya, Somerset’s overseas player, making a duck as well. Leicestershire were struggling at 53 for 6, but some lower-order resistance pulled them through.May 1 – National League

ScorecardMongia thumped 16 from ten balls with three fours, but then fell as Leicestershire’s batsmen disappointed, scoring only 211 for 8. Somerset overhauled the target without many problems.April 24 – National League

ScorecardMongia got off to a fine start to the season, scoring 62 off 76 balls in the 45-over one-day match against Kent. Mongia was the only batsman from the side to score a half-century as Leicestershire put up 214 for 8, but Martin van Jaarsveld swung the game Kent’s way with an unbeaten 69.

India 280 for 7 (Laxman 131, Darvid 56, Gavaskar 54, Streak 3-53) beat Zimbabwe 277 for 6 (Carlisle 109, Ervine 100, Agarkar 3-39) by 3 runs
Scorecard

VVS Laxman: whenever India needed him, he was there ©Getty Images

VVS Laxman could do no wrong today. Zimbabwe needed seven runs in four balls when Andy Blignaut hit a ball in the air towards midwicket, and Laxman, running in from deep midwicket, seemed just that shade too far way. But the improbable became possible in the space of a second, and Laxman took a magnificent tumbling catch to take the wicket – decisively, as it turned out for India. Laxman had taken another superb diving catch earlier, to dismiss Travis Friend, and there was also the small matter of the 131 runs he made while batting to rescue India from 4 for 3, and take them to 280 for 7 in their 50 overs. India won by three runs at the end, in a thrilling encounter in which Zimbabwe redeemed themselves for all their failures earlier in the series.For much of the last quarter of the match, though, Zimbabwe seemed the side most likely to win. It hadn’t seemed that way at the start of their innings, when they slid to 46 for 3, but Stuart Carlisle and Sean Ervine added 202 glorious runs, the highest partnership in Zimbabwe’s ODI history, to seize the upper hand. None of this was due to any complacency on the part of the Indians but rather, to the grit and intensity of the batsmen, who kept their heads while playing out of their skins.The first phase of their partnership contained many singles and twos, as they eschewed risks and consolidated the innings. But they punished any loose bowling that came their way. Carlisle was especially severe on anything short and slightly wide outside off, cutting with ferocity, while Ervine welcomed any chance to free his arms. They did not panic after the required run-rate climbed past six an over; instead, they kept on accumulating runs, and kept Zimbabwe in the chase. With wickets in hand, Zimbabwe were the favourites as the last phase of the match began.But once Ervine was run out for 100 in the 46th over, sacrificing his wicket after a mix-up, the innings unravelled. Ajit Agarkar, who had bowled excellently at the start as well, and Irfan Pathan bowled a couple of tight overs, though Zimbabwe were still in with a chance until Laxman took that superb catch. Carlisle, who made 109, couldn’t take his team through the last mile – but the fact that they were still running was awesome in itself.Earlier, India had got off to their worst ever start – never before had India lost their first three wickets for as little as four runs. Sanjay Bangar, in the side in place of the injured Yuvraj Singh, and Parthiv Patel were both out for zero, trying to drive Heath Streak and edging him behind. Sourav Ganguly, batting at No. 4, was out again to a short ball, top-edging an attempted pull off Blignaut. The underdogs had taken the first bite.

Sean Ervine engineered Zimbabwe’s tremendous fightback with run-a-ball 100 © AFP

But India had the last laugh. First, Laxman and Rahul Dravid, who made 56, added 131 crucial runs. Laxman was a revelation in the first 15 overs, confounding Zimbabwe by whipping balls from outside off to the leg side, and punishing anything remotely short or full or wide. His cutting and cover-driving was characteristically elegant, but it was his pull shots that left one gasping, both for their audacity – just short, outside off, midwicket boundary -and the effortlessness with which he seemed to execute them.Dravid, meanwhile, was a picture of classical grace and beauty, especially when driving through cover. The two took the score to 83 at the end of the 15th over, after which, with the field restrictions off, the momentum slowed. Laxman, who had reached his 50 off just 44 balls, concentrated on milking the bowling as his strike-rate dipped, and Dravid did the same.Ray Price was the pick of the bowlers, not afraid to flight the ball and varying his pace well. He eventually got rid of Dravid, drawing Dravid into a pull, holding the ball back just a bit, and inducing a mishit to Blignaut at short midwicket (137 for 4). Dravid had made 56, and the new man in was Rohan Gavaskar, who would finally have enough overs left in the game to play himself in.As indeed he did. Gavaskar, running adroitly between wickets, kept the scoreboard ticking along, as Laxman eased towards his century. Price and Grant Flower bowled well in the middle overs, and did not allow the batsmen too many boundaries. Price took 1 for 43 in his 10 overs, while Flower had figures of 0 for 48 in nine, which would have looked much better had he not been hit for two sixes towards the end of his spell – one, an inside-out shot over cover from Laxman; the other, a hoick over midwicket from Gavaskar.Gavaskar’s fluent innings of 54 came to an end in the 47th over, when he mishit Douglas Hondo to Blignaut at midwicket (255 for 5), and wickets fell regularly after that, as India bumbled their way to 280 for 7 – only 33 runs had come off the last five overs, and in the end, it was left to Laxman to make sure that it was enough.

MELBOURNE, Jan 28 AAP – Adam Gilchrist says the Australian team will re-assess their attitude to playing its World Cup match in Zimbabwe in light of an appeal made by England players to have their match moved from Harare to South Africa.After receiving the Australian international one-day player of the year award tonight, Gilchrist said there’s “definitely” concerns over playing in Zimbabwe next month.”We haven’t really learnt too much more about the scenario since hearing what the English team have come out and said …we’ll assess that over the next few days,” he said.”It’s really hard to comment because we’re trying to learn and be informed about what the scenario is …”We’ll learn a bit more about it but I think it’s fair to say that there’s enough interest in it and enough concern from the player group to warrant assessing it again.”But Gilchrist denied that the team didn’t want to travel to Zimbabwe.”That doesn’t mean the players are standing up and saying ‘we’re not going’ and it doesn’t mean that everyone is totally happy with it,” he said.”We’ll assess it over the next few days and learn a bit more about it.”I don’t know of anyone who’s stood up and said ‘I’m definitely not going’ but, as I say, there’s definitely concerns there, and enough concerns to warrant investigating the scenario a little bit further.”Gilchrist’s comments came after England’s Professional Cricketers’ Association made an “urgent request” on behalf of the England players in London for their match against Zimbabwe on February 13 to be shifted from Harare to South Africa.It followed warnings received from Zimbabwean activists to the England team in Australia and reports that opposition groups would use the England match to demonstrate against President Robert Mugabe’s regime.However, Australian Cricket Board (ACB) chief executive James Sutherland said he’d learned of no new security risk which would prevent the Australian team playing its match against Zimbabwe in Bulawayo on February 24.”As far as we can gather in the reports that we’ve had, there’s no material change in the conditions that we found when we had the security delegation there in late November,” Sutherland told ABC Radio today.”I was a part of that with (Australian Cricketers’ Association chief) Tim May, but at the same time we continue to monitor that.”The Australian Cricketers’ Association was in talks today and was expected to comment further on the issue tomorrow.Meanwhile, the International Cricket Council (ICC) remained adamant that the six World Cup matches scheduled for Zimbabwe next month would proceed.The England team statement in London today came amid reports of escalating political violence and food shortages across Zimbabwe.The England players stopped short of threatening to boycott their match but said proceeding with it in Harare could have serious consequences.”We are all greatly concerned about the moral, political and safety issues that the fixture in Zimbabwe has raised. We strongly feel a fresh review should take place immediately,” the players said.”There are many difficult decisions to be made in life, and in this case the consequences could be very severe for all concerned, including players, the ECB, the game of cricket in the UK, the rest of the cricket playing world, and, perhaps more significantly, for Zimbabwe cricket and the people of Zimbabwe.”Professional Cricketers Association (PCA) managing director Richard Bevan said British government officials last week warned the England and Wales Cricket Board and PCA representatives that the situation in Zimbabwe was highly volatile.A government office had been firebombed, the mayor of Harare had warned that he could not guarantee security and Zimbabwean police had reportedly found an opposition arms cache allegedly for use against England cricketers, he said.The ICC’s Australian chief executive Malcolm Speed insisted there was no security-based reason to move the games and that it was not the ICC’s role to take a moral stand.He insisted that calls for the ICC to pull out of Zimbabwe in protest at the human rights abuses of President Robert Mugabe were misplaced.”The ICC is an international sporting organisation with 84 members with a variety of cultures, beliefs and political systems,” said Speed.”Its members are in place to make judgments on cricket administration and not to take a political stance on foreign policy issues.”This is the role and responsibility of governments.”Speed will meet Bevan and ECB chief executive Tim Lamb on Thursday to discuss the players’ request.Meanwhile, the situation could change at late notice, with World Cup organisers saying there was no logistical impediment to moving the games at short notice.

Jimmy Maher’s maiden century for Glamorgan counted for nought as their CricInfo Championship clash with Kent petered out into a rain-affected draw.After three evenly contested days Glamorgan were set to chase 377 for victory on an excellent pitch at The Mote in Maidstone, but heavy rain throughout the morning limited play to just 32 afternoon overs.At least the Welsh could take pride in an unbroken opening stand of 203 between Maher (123) and his skipper Steve James (76), even though it had been against some particularly friendly Kentish bowling.Maher, who until this match boasted a modest top score of 38 against Essex, reached his first three-figure milestone from 108 balls and with 13 fours and a brace of sixes.The left-hander from Innisfail went on the counter-attack once play did start at 3.30pm and scored his 82 runs in the shortened session from just 74 balls.At the other end James took a more measured approach, scoring his runs from 133 balls and was happy to shake hands on a draw with his Kent counterpart Matthew Fleming come 5.30pm.Kent took ten points and Glamorgan nine from a game that both sides had aspirations to win going into the final day, but rain had the final say.

Everton are reportedly now eyeing up a move to sign Joe Worrall from Nottingham Forest.

The Lowdown: Standout season

Worrall is having a standout season at Forest, where he has been a mainstay in the team that are pushing for a play-off place in the Championship.

It is not just in the league that he has impressed either, recently putting in a ‘magnificent’ Man of the Match performance in the FA Cup against Liverpool, as he won three-quarters of his duels and made a team-high four clearances and five interceptions, while also contributing four tackles and five accurate long balls (SofaScore).

The Latest: Everton lurking

As per The Daily Mirror, the Goodison Park faithful have now joined the race to try and sign Worrall along with West Ham United, from whom former Toffees manager David Moyes is a ‘long-term admirer’.

Brentford and Burnley also thought to be interested in his signature.

Forest may struggle to hold onto the six-foot-four colossus if they fail to gain promotion, and if the Merseyside club were to survive, then he is certainly a player that they will be looking at.

The Verdict: Sign

Given how poor the Blues have been this campaign, especially defensively, Worrall is a player that would certainly strengthen their XI.

The Englishman is currently averaging more interceptions per game than Ben Godfrey, Mason Holgate and Yerry Mina in their respective domestic leagues this term, with Michael Keane the only EFC centre-back able to match him, while no Everton centre-half is matching him in terms of passes and long balls per match (WhoScored).

It shows that Worrall can do both sides of the game very well; he is comfortable in playing out from the back, while he also possesses a no-nonsense attitude to defending.

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Nonetheless, the Toffees could do no wrong by signing the 25-year-old.

In other news, find out what other Blues injury update has now been dropped after Andros Townsend here!

	Niranjan Shah said the Indian board didn’t complain after Matthew Hayden’s “obnoxious weed” comment about Harbhajan Singh © Getty Images

BCCI secretary Niranjan Shah has questioned the need for the ICC to get involved in the controversy over Indian offspinner Harbhajan Singh’s alleged remarks about Australian players Matthew Hayden and Adam Gilchrist. The Australian media have reported that the ICC is investigating Harbhajan’s comments.”I’m surprised that with the correspondence between two boards, how the ICC has interfered in this?” Shah told the . “How is the ICC involved without knowing anything? There is nothing to investigate and we maintain that we totally support ICC on zero tolerance of abusive language or any sledging on the ground.”Shah also told the paper that he considered the issue of Harbhajan’s alleged outburst closed. Cricket Australia had written a letter to the BCCI expressing its discontent after it was reported that Harbhajan had called the Australian team “arrogant”, labelled Hayden a “big liar” and said that Gilchrist was “no saint”.”The whole thing has been settled and I don’t want to get into it any more,” Shah said. “Harbhajan Singh has totally denied what he has (been alleged to have) said.” This comes a day after the Indian board gagged Harbhajan from talking to the media in a bid to avoid any more controversies after an ill-tempered series between India and Australia.Shah also denied that the BCCI had asked CA to take action against Hayden after he called Harbhajan an “obnoxious weed”. CA had reprimanded Hayden for breaching its Code of Conduct after that incident. “I never complained about what Hayden said. I just took what appeared in the newspapers and forwarded it to James [Sutherland, Cricket Australia’s CEO],” Shah said. “I had always maintained that it was up to CA to do anything with Hayden.”

Craig Wright tosses in his final match in charge © Getty Images

Ryan Watson is set to be named as Scotland’s new captain after Craig Wright resigned following the team’s disappointing performance in the World Cup.”I can’t see anyone other than Ryan Watson becoming captain,” Roddy Smith, the chief executive, old The Scotsman. “I think Ryan will be at the forefront of the selectors’ thoughts.”Watson stood in when Wright flew home after a family bereavement, leading the team against South Africa. Although Wright returned for the final match yesterday, he immediately stood down. “I felt it was the right time to give someone else an opportunity to make their mark,” he explained.