The International Cricket Council’s decision to modify the Powerplay rule, allowing a third fielder outside the 30-yard circle for a period of ten overs, will give teams more spin options, feels Rahul Dravid, the Indian captain.Leading a side that often relies on spinners, Dravid felt that the new rule, which will take effect from October 1, would help add variety to the crucial phases of games. India’s decision to play two spinners in the second one-dayer at Bristol paid off but Dravid felt such moves would be more effective with the new system in place.”I felt for a long time that the second and third Powerplays are monotonous,” he said when asked about the difficulty of managing his resources in those overs. “Every one is bowling seam-up bowlers and there is no charm to the game. I must admit that it is really difficult to get through 20 overs of Powerplay with your spinners. I heard Daniel Vettori complaining about it and, as a captain, I’ve also felt it.”So far in the series, spinners have been introduced only after the Powerplays. Monty Panesar was called upon in the 21st over at Southampton while Piyush Chawla did not bowl until the 22nd over in both games. India have often introduced their spinners inside the Powerplays but have been wary about taking the risk on good batting pitches and in small grounds.”Now [after the rule change] you are going to have a chance to put an extra fielder outside the circle in the second and third Powerplay,” said Dravid. “It’s going to give captains the courage to bowl the spinners in the Powerplays a lot more.”As a captain I felt that you need to bring a bit of mystery element to it. Maybe we can bring spinners early on; maybe teams can play two spinners. I think that adds a bit more to the game other than having the same cricket. Now everyone is waiting for the 20 overs to get over to bring the spinners on.”There was another rule which Dravid touched upon as well. When asked if India were concerned about the non-striker taking off for a run immediately after the ball had been delivered. “We’ve discussed it,” said Dravid of the England batsmen’s approach, “but the rule now is that you can start the moment the bowler’s back foot lands on the crease. We’ll probably need to do it as well though it might not be that easy because most of us hit a lot of balls straight.”

Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf has approved the amended draft of the Pakistan Cricket Board’s new constitution, according to Nasim Ashraf, the chairman of the PCB.Ashraf told the that Musharraf, PCB’s patron-in-chief, is satisfied with the changes made. “The President has given his approval to the new constitution and we are expecting a notification from his office in the next few days,” Ashraf said. “We are fully committed to implementing the new constitution and I’m confident that it will be a great development for Pakistan cricket.”Seven years have passed since the previous constitution of the PCB was suspended, following which affairs have been managed by different set-ups on an ad-hoc basis.”There were some delays due to unavoidable reasons but now everything has been sorted out,” he said. Ashraf, who took over as PCB chairman last September, had been criticised on his inability to get the new constitution implemented. “The approval of the constitution by the President has proved that the PCB had no plans to delay it,” he said. “I’ve always been a supporter of having a constitution in place and God willing we will put it in place very soon.”Ashraf said that the new constitution will help in the functioning of the board. “There will be a governing board which will have decision-making powers,” he said. “The board will help run the PCB in a more corporate and professional manner.” He indicated that the governing board would involve all stakeholders of Pakistan cricket.

Former England coach Duncan Fletcher has slammed the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) for organising an independent review of England’s 5-0 Ashes defeat in 2006-07. The ECB had commissioned former European golf director Ken Schofield to provide a report on the state of English cricket after the Ashes loss.In the latest extract in the from his autobiography, Behind the Shades, Fletcher defended England’s Test record during his tenure and questioned the need for a review after “one very poor series against one of the best teams in the history”.He was also unhappy about not being informed of the setting up of the review. “But nothing had prepared me for the thunderbolt with which Mike Atherton struck me after we had lost the final Test in Sydney. Doing an interview for Sky Sports he had asked me about an independent review which he had learnt was to be conducted into our defeat.”I knew nothing about it. This was a terrible way to find out. Nobody had the decency to tell me,” he said. “I can honestly say that was the lowest point of my cricketing career. I felt completely isolated.”Fletcher said he first contemplated retiring after a meeting with then ECB chairman David Morgan and ECB chief executive David Collier about the scope of the Schofield Report.”In Australia, a couple of days after the review’s announcement, I even had to phone Morgan and ECB chief executive David Collier for a meeting about it. When I questioned them they allowed me to look through their terms of reference. Some of them did not exactly give me a confidence boost. My mood sank a little lower.”I was a depressed man as I walked away from that meeting in Sydney with Morgan and Collier. For the first time resignation thoughts entered my mind. ‘Hold on, what’s going on here?’ I thought. ‘Is it really worth carrying on?'”Fletcher also said his perceived lack of communication was a result of the lack of confidentiality in his dealings with the ECB. “I would communicate a lot more if there was more confidentiality. I know there is none so I keep things to myself. Why talk if people are going to blab?”

Ere Sheshiah, the pathologist who conducted the autopsy of the Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer, has told an inquest in Jamaica that he stands by his finding that Woolmer’s death was because of poisoning and strangulation.”In my opinion, Woolmer died from asphyxia due to manual strangulation associated with cypermethrin poisoning,” Sheshiah said, adding the chemical was used widely in many countries where cotton was cultivated such as Sri Lanka, India, Bangladesh and Pakistan. “I stand by my findings that Woolmer was strangled and, based upon additional information which I received, he was also poisoned.”Sheshiah said cypermethrin could cause symptoms including “salivation, vomiting, diarrhea and muscular incoordination”, which might have accounted for the mess that was found in Woolmer’s room. He said police pressed him to offer a conclusion in the case before he received the results of the toxicology report.His procedures in the post mortem were criticised by three other pathologists asked to review the case. All testified Woolmer appeared to have died of natural causes, probably related to heart disease.The inquest is expected to end on November 9.

Mark Ramprakash has turned down an offer to be on standby for England’s upcoming tour of Sri Lanka, reports the .Ramprakash was told he would be called up for the tour in case a senior batsman was injured. “I really don’t understand that,” Ramprakash said at a Surrey educational open day at The Oval. “I said ‘No’ given that wording because there’s so much ambiguity about it. I don’t understand the logic of saying I would only go if a senior batsman was injured. What constitutes a senior batsman? It’s not as if England have an ageing side. I felt it was an unfair offer.”The 38-year-old Ramprakash was overlooked for the tour despite being the leading run-scorer in the Championship in the last two seasons at an average of over 100.However, Ramprakash indicated that he was still eager to play for England. “I hope my opinion is understood, reported back to whoever needs to hear it and is treated fairly,” he said. “If England want to pick me for the New Zealand tour in the New Year or next summer I am available, motivated, committed and ready, but it would not be the be-all and end-all for me.

“I can’t see why we can’t just pick our best seven batsmen and get on with trying to win matches because with that comes momentum, but if in the opinion of the selectors I am not one of the best seven batsmen I can accept that.”Ramprakash said he wasn’t perturbed by not earning an England call-up. “I thought my chances of going would be improved when they decided not to take Andrew Strauss. But it’s fine, it’s not my burning ambition to play for England again.”I am totally committed to Surrey, have two years left on my contract and will continue to enjoy playing for them. I don’t touch alcohol, my fitness tests are as good as ever and I’ve lost no hunger for playing as I approach my testimonial year.”

New Zealand have ensured there will be extra focus on Shaun Tait if he plays on his home ground on Friday after refusing to clear his action. The coach John Bracewell would not comment on Tait, who stunned New Zealand in the Twenty20 on Tuesday, after Daniel Vettori said there would be speculation over the validity of his deliveries because of their extreme paceTait’s shoulder-strong technique, low delivery position and flexible wrist are behind the power that has pushed him to 160kph, but when asked whether he was happy with Tait’s action Vettori said: “You ask Braces (John Bracewell) that one.”I haven’t looked at it in-depthly enough. I think people are going to speculate on it whenever someone bowls fast, it’s always the first thing people look at. It’s up to people that are on a position to comment on it to comment on it.”Bracewell, the New Zealand coach, has made a regular habit of stirring the Australians in previous series and was not talking. A team spokesman said it was a matter for Roshan Mahanama, the ICC match referee.Mahanama said New Zealand had not approached him. “It has not come up for discussion at all,” he said, “so there is no special comment on that.”Cricket Australia’s chief executive, James Sutherland, was not alarmed. “This is the first time I’ve heard Shaun’s action called into question and don’t regard it as an issue that he needs to worry about,” he told . “I’ve always subscribed to the theory that you shouldn’t make a fast bowler angrier than he already is.”If Vettori was tight-lipped on Tait, he did admit that New Zealand had carried over their problem of dealing with pace from South Africa, where they recently lost both Test and one-day series, but suggested it was merely a dip in form. “We have had some problems with it, how we played Dale Steyn,” he said. “I can also cite times when we’ve played pace very well so we’ve got to find a balance between the two.”It’s almost the case of now we know how Australia are going to attack us, although we did before that first game, we’ve got a clear vision of what they’re going to do. It’s up to the guys to counter that.”Vettori said his side was out to prove a point, as well as retain the trophy which they won with a thumping 3-0 result last time. “We have to show them that we can play,” he said. “There are some guys in the team that feel they can.”Jacob Oram is one in particular, the batsman taking the attack back to Australia in the Twenty20, although it was too late to affect the result. “It’s a nice confident boost for the rest of the team,” Vettori said. “Now we’ve got to make sure we give a guy like him a chance when we’re 200 for 3 or 4, where we can come in the last ten overs and make the most of his hitting ability.”He’s set at seven because we fit the extra batsman, in Mathew Sinclair, in there. If we’re going really well, he can bat as high as three. If we’re going well he could easily go up the order.”Vettori denied the players were losing interest in either one-dayers or the Chappell-Hadlee Series. “In the team we still enjoy the game and in spots around the world you still get very good crowds.”

Technology is not the answer to improving umpiring standards because the science behind several innovations is not 100% accurate, according to a senior sports executive with Australia’s . Poor decisions from the on-field officials in the Sydney Test between Australia and India have led to suggestions that the third umpire should have access to extra assistance on top of straight replays. uses its snickometer to demonstrate the sound of edges behind, Hawk-Eye and the strike-zone to judge lbw decisions and the infra-red Hot Spot camera to display whether the ball has hit the bat. However, Steve Crawley, an executive sports producer with the network, said some of the innovations could not be entirely relied upon.”I’d hate us to be involved in the judicial system of cricket,” Crawley told the . “We’ve only got one thing 100% backed up by science and that’s Hot Spot; the others aren’t 100%.”Snicko is very well informed but it’s not 100%, and Hawk-Eye’s not 100%. And also there’s the time-frame. Yesterday, with one of the decisions, Snicko, like all computer systems, went down and it had to be rebooted and it was four minutes before we got it up. Mostly, it’s only a couple of deliveries but those sorts of things can happen.”Crawley said assisting umpires with side-on angles for run-outs was one thing but the lengthy process of using extra devices would provide too many interruptions to the game. “It’s a long, dour game as it is but, from our point of view, we don’t want that power,” Crawley said. “But, if the ICC decides to go down that path, we’ll co-operate.”Crawley’s comments came as Sunil Gavaskar, the chairman of the ICC’s Cricket Committee, said there was little chance the neutral-umpire rule would be removed any time soon. Steve Waugh wrote in his newspaper column that there was no reason the world’s top official, Simon Taufel, should not stand in matches involving his own country, Australia.”The reason the ICC and the world cricket community accepted third-country umpires was to eliminate the element of bias, or any suspicion that might have been pointed at umpires,” Gavaskar told the . “That will be there for a while.”I know there is some talk about having only the best umpires come in, but rather than have any controversy regarding decisions I think that [the current system] is probably a lot better. If a third-country umpire makes a [questionable] decision, it won’t be as acrimonious as if a home umpire made that decision.”

Anil Kumble believes Australia’s behaviour will play a big role in the continuation of the catching agreement he had with Ricky Ponting. Before the series the two captains said they would take the word of the fielder in relation to low takes, but after Sydney Kumble felt it would have to be reviewed.”At this point, a few days before the big Test at Perth, I can tell you that that behaviour will play a big role in my decision on the continuation of the agreement,” he wrote in his column. “We had decided that in the case of a disputed catch, we would take the word of the fielder concerned, if he was certain.”But that agreement was based on the premise that come what may, whatever the situation, the fielder concerned would be completely straight on what happened. Now, there will obviously be a big question mark moving forward on that.”The Test was filled with on- and off-field incidents over umpiring, race, sportsmanship, catching and walking. “I’d like to point out that someone [Michael Clarke] edged the ball to slips in the second innings of the Sydney Test, and stood there even when there was not an iota of doubt over the dismissal,” Kumble wrote. “He then claimed a catch that showed more than reasonable doubt and said he was 100% certain it was clean.”Kumble said he hadn’t spoken to Ponting about the agreement and would discuss the issue once he reached Perth. The third Test starts there on January 16.

Dear Ian,Thank you for your very frank, though concerned, email to me.I will be equally frank with you, and as concerned. I have known you for many years and you know that I will call it as I see it, which is something you also do exceptionally well in your present profession. In fact, this is what makes you one of the best commentators in the world.Essentially, cricket is the core function of the Board On that basis, the Cricket Committee is our most important committee. This very simple view has not been adhered to and the Board previously spent most of its time on ancillary matters instead of addressing its core issues.We now start our Board meetings by focusing first of all on cricket. Our Strategic Plan, now being drafted, is based on our goal, our determination really, to re-establish the West Indies at the pinnacle of world cricket. Whatever is in harmony with that goal will be kept. Anything in our strategic plan that does not contribute to the development of West Indies cricket will not be considered.Given that approach, the Cricket Committee has to be at the centre of our plans, policies and programmes for cricket, not just the playing and player aspects, but in terms of our development.We need the Committee to meet face-to-face frequently to deal with the many issues confronting us now and to develop the blueprint for the future. The core of the Committee must be available and accessible and ready to meet in the Caribbean at short notice. Teleconferences are fine but right now they do not serve our best interests.This is why we rethought what we wanted from the Committee and how it should operate. We kept Clive (Lloyd) although at this period he is in South Africa but he will have other options later. Deryck (Murray) as deputy chairman is in Trinidad and the other core members are in Barbados, Jamaica, St Vincent and the Grenadines, and Nevis.As a special advisor you and the other special advisors will get copies of agendas and minutes and if you could be physically present you would be welcome at all meetings. Efforts will be made to have teleconferences but these will be a desperate last resort for emergency use only.We value your experience, expertise and, more recently, your exposure. You have a major contribution to make to our planning and our strategy. However, it is very difficult to do this from distance or to coincide with your schedule and working hours. I will ask Clive and Deryck to make a special effort to keep our advisors informed, to seek your views individually or collectively, and to ensure that your perspectives enlighten our decision-making. You have my commitment on that.If you felt slighted, overlooked or insulted, you were not. Perhaps I should have explained better, but we cannot change the past. We can only move on and make the best use of the resources we have available. You are one.If this episode has served any purpose it has demonstrated to me the depth of your commitment which is as broad as your expanding knowledge of the game and your impact on it. You will always be one of us and your views will always be welcome. Feel free at any time to talk to me or write.I hope this helps to explain what I intended and that we can now agree to move ahead together in the interests of West Indies cricket.All the best,Julian R. Hunte

Glamorgan are in talks to sign Shahid Afridi, the Pakistan allrounder, for their Twenty20 campaign this summer.”We want a top-class player who will win us matches and also drag people through the gate and Afridi is someone who fits the bill,” Matthew Maynard, Glamorgan’s cricket manager, said. “It’s up to the Pakistan board to agree to release him for that period of his contract.”There were rumours last week that Glamorgan were trying to sign Brian Lara, but the club denied the suggestion vehemently. Whether they sign Afridi or another big name from overseas, Glamorgan desperately need to improve on a poor performance last year in which they finished bottom of their division, with just one win in eight matches.”Afridi is one of only half a dozen players in the world who would help the team progress in the competition but also benefit us commercially by filling our magnificent new stadium. That’s the purpose,” said Maynard. “I’m keen to sign a big name player for the Twenty 20 window and there are only a small pool of big names still available.”Virander Sehwag and Yurvaj Singh are also possibilities. Sachin Tendulkar was another option. But he’s not been a great Twenty 20 player. We need a player who contributes in all aspects.”The PCB, however, have yet to release Afridi or Danish Kaneria who is due to play for Essex. A executive board meeting will be held on March 8, when more strict guidelines on the use of Pakistan players in country cricket are expected to be unveiled.