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Lord’s and The Oval have been nominated as two of the main venues to host next year’s ICC World Twenty20, with the ECB also recommending Lord’s to host the final.After being chosen as the hosts of the tournament, England have spent the past few months deciding on the venues to be used. The Oval has been chosen as a “preferred bidder” for the warm-ups, group and Super Eight matches and a semi-final.”I am delighted that Lord’s, a world-class venue with a famous history and tradition, has agreed to be recommended hosts,” Steve Elworthy, the tournament director, said yesterday in Auckland. “I was privileged to be director for [the] ICC World Twenty20 2007 and thrilled at the success of the event which generated record crowds and also made broadcasting history in India with 1.4 billion viewers tuning in for the final.”Now I am looking forward to the challenge of raising the standard of Twenty20 cricket even higher here in England and with Lord’s as a nominated venue and The Oval as a preferred bidder – as well as a third world class ground yet to be chosen – we have already got off to a great start.”Keith Bradshaw, the MCC secretary and chief executive, added: “The MCC committee is extremely pleased, and I am personally delighted, at the ECB’s decision to recommend that the final and other matches in the ICC World Twenty20 in 2009 be staged at Lord’s. It is bound to be an exciting and major global event, and MCC looks forward to contributing to its success.”MCC has supported Twenty20 cricket – a form of the game which virtually every cricketer has played – since the county competition started a few years ago. At Lord’s, these matches have regularly attracted crowds of over 20,000, and I am looking forward to seeing the home of cricket full for the 2009 matches.”

There is no possibility India will pull out of their tour of Australia even if Harbhajan Singh’s three-Test suspension is not lifted, according to the BCCI president Sharad Pawar. The board has given Pawar the sole authority to cancel the rest of the trip and earlier comments attributed to Pawar indicated he may use that power if he was not satisfied with the result of Harbhajan’s appeal.But Pawar now says the tour is not at risk. “There’s no question of a pull-out,” Pawar told the . “The series will not be affected. We are focussed on fighting Harbhajan’s case, but it all should be within the game.”We have decided to give full support to Harbhajan, and we will provide all the legal help to fight it out. If that means we have to seek legal assistance from abroad, we will do that.”Pawar also confirmed that he had asked Sachin Tendulkar, Harbhajan’s batting partner at the time of the incident with Andrew Symonds in the Sydney Test, to explain exactly what had happened between the pair. “Sachin reported there was tension and provocation, but there was no question of racist comment,” Pawar said. “If Sachin or Sourav [Ganguly] or Rahul [Dravid] or Anil [Kumble] say anything, I believe it 100% and accept it.”Pawar’s comments came as Australia’s reported that India were now expected to argue that Harbhajan had not called Symonds a monkey, as was originally alleged, but instead used a similar-sounding Punjabi term that would be regarded as offensive but not racist. There are also questions over Brad Hogg’s alleged use of the word “bastard” as his code-of-conduct case draws nearer.The has reported that both teams submitted a list of racially offensive words prior to the series and “bastard” did not rate a mention. The list was intended to inform ground managers what terms should be prohibited in crowds. However, the paper said that “monkey” was on the list.

Corey Collymore, Barbados’ new captain, has said his team will be hunting for a big victory against the Windward Islands in their opening match in Arnos Vale on Friday. Collymore was appointed captain after Ryan Hinds was sacked in September last year.”Barbados has a great legacy,” Collymore said. “It is something that we all need to carry on but at the end of the day it is another cricket game. Cricket is always a hard game to play but we are going out there to win and try to win handsomely.”Looking forward to leading Barbados, Collymore said the squad chosen for the match against Windward Islands was the “best we could come up with”. “I do believe it is a great test for anyone captaining for the first time.”Collymore will have the services of former West Indies internationals Hinds, Tino Best and allrounder Dwayne Smith. With Patrick Browne asked to join the West Indies squad in South Africa to share the wicketkeeping workload with Denesh Ramdin, Carlo Morris has been handed gloves for Barbados. Fast-medium bowlers Jonathan Carter and Kemar Roach, picked in the squad, are yet to play any first-class matches.Collymore, 30, who was overlooked for the West Indies’ tour of South Africa, said his immediate goal was achieving more cricketing glory for Barbados.”My focus is to help Barbados cricket go forward and that is my main focus at the moment,” he said. Collymore hoped he would make a comeback in to the national side based on his performances. If being [ranked] No. 11 in the world doesn’t mean anything, well it’s all part of life,” he said.In the five Carib Beer Series games he played last season, Collymore took 14 wickets at 20.21, with a best of 6 for 30.Barbados squad:
Corey Collymore (capt), Sulieman Benn, Tino Best, Sharmarh Brooks, Jonathan Carter, Jason Haynes, Ryan Hinds, Alcindo Holder, Carlo Morris, Dale Richards, Kemar Roach, Dwayne Smith, Kevin Stoute

Stephen Fleming has requested that the umpires standing in the second Test against Sri Lanka, in Wellington, (starting Monday) remove their black trousers because the New Zealand batsmen were finding it almost impossible to pick up the ball from Lasith Malinga, the Sri Lankan swing bowler, who delivers the ball from in front of the umpire.Malinga, 21, was the most impressive Sri Lankan bowler in the drawn first Test at Napier, taking a career-best 5 for 80 in the second innings, and match figures of 9 for 210. Seven of his wickets were either bowled or lbw, as the Kiwi’s continually struggled to pick up his deliveries.Fleming told the news agency: “”We can’t see him. When it’s a bit overcast and late in the evening, you saw last night when Hamish (Marshall) who’s in great form, just couldn’t see the ball. We asked the umpires to change the colour of their trousers, there’s a period there when he’s delivering when it gets lost in the trousers.”One the first day in Napier Steve Bucknor and Darrell Hair were asked to remove their dark ties and on the last day Fleming asked Bucknor to put a white jumper around his waist to act as mini sightscreen. Fleming said: “I’m not sure if the rules are but we’ve asked if they can change (to light coloured trousers). It’s a factor, hence putting the sweater in front of the trousers.”But John Dyson, the Sri Lanka coach, hopes that Malinga continues to cause problems. “He was chosen because he does bowl quickly, he’s a little bit unorthodox and guys have trouble picking him up. We’ve seen it in the middle with Australia, South Africa and now New Zealand, he is very difficult to pick up, hopefully more difficult in Wellington.”

A FLAW IN THE RUN RATE CALCULATIONSThere is lack of clarity in the rules for the current world cup on how `forfeited matches’ will be scored for computing net run rate. There is a serious flaw which could seriously impact Zimbabwe’s chances of qualifying for super six which the Zimbabwe Cricket Association should take up with ICC.Currently the way Net Run Rate is being reported, for the forfeited match both the teams are credited with 0 runs and 0 overs. Hence the Net Run Rate for England (after 6 matches) is 0.82 and the Net Run Rate for Zimbabwe (after 5 matches) is 0.50.However this appears unfair because apart from an opportunity to defeat England (which is remedied by awarding full points to Zimbabwe) the forfeit also deprived Zimbabwe an opportunity to improve its run rate.ICC’s Rule in this regard is very unclear.I believe that the correct solution is to treat that score for the forfeited match as 0 runs in 50 overs for England and 0 runs in 0 overs for Zimbabwe.This is also intuitively appealing because while Zimbabwe was ready to bowl at England there were no England batters to face them and vice versa.If this method is followed then the Net Run Rate for the two teams will be -0.02 for England and +1.56 for Zimbabwe. Pakistan currently has a net run rate of 0.21.If the methodology I have suggested is followed then Zimbabwe’s task for qualification for Super Six becomes very easy, even if they were to lose to Pakistan. e.g., if Pakistan bats first and score 250 runs then Zimbabwe will need to score only 112 runs to qualify. If Zimbabwe bats first and scores 250 in 50 overs, then all Zimbabwe has to do is to ensure that Pakistan does not get to this score in less than 18 overs.Wishing Zimbabwe the very best.Sidhir Variyar (India)THOSE LUCKY BOYS IN RED!Now that’s something: Zim in the Super Sixes – again!Maybe they haven’t really earned their place, beating no other Test nation. But neither did Pakistan. And as for England . . .In contrast to the last World Cup they have no pressure now. They start from the bottom of the group. Nobody expects them to go to the semi-finals. First of all, they should beat Kenya. Realistically, Sri Lanka and New Zealand are much stronger sides, but in this World Cup you should take nothing for granted.I hope the players have learned enough about the inswinging yorker (Vaas) and Murali’s magic on the last tour to Sri Lanka. And if they can survive against a certain Mr. Bond, they might just make it.The Flowers in reasonable form, Blignaut clubbing another couple of quick fifties, the bowlers hopefully getting their radar right, and then anything is possible!It’s sad the World Cup has been influenced so much by the weather and the forfeited games. But in a way it’s great to see the rain gods haven’t forgotten Zim after all. And maybe someone up there has take a liking to players who have taken such a brave stand. How about the selectors following suit?Finally, some questions:Is Travis Friend injured? Otherwise I’d be mildly surprised the selectors picked Ervine ahead of him against Pakistan. Also, Blignaut didn’t bowl against Pak; is he injured too? On the BBC website they keep going on about Andy Flower retiring from international cricket after he allegedly signed to play in Australia. Do you have any news on that?Good luck in the Super Sixes Zim!Henrik Halbleib, Frankfurt (Germany)Reply: Travis Friend was fit, but the selectors preferred Sean Ervine, who has plenty of potential but hasn’t yet lived up to it. Andy Flower refuses to comment on his future plans.THE SUPER SIXESWell, Zim are through to the Super Sixes and unfortunately I cannot feel sorry for England for missing out. They had numerous chances to play in Harare and in the end it has come back to bite them. I was cheering every drop of rain that came down in Bulawayo on Tuesday.Although it is a very very slim chance of Zim progressing any further, the pressure should be off the boys now and they should be able to play the entertaining and attacking cricket which we all know they are capable of. It is a great effort for Zimbabwe to make the Super Sixes of the last two World Cups and they have definitely showed up a few of the other so-called better nations.Go, Zim and Andy Flower during his last few games for Zim, hopefully his international career will end in a fairytale.Michael Shepherd (Australia)

Exactly a week after the cricket got under way in this World Cup, England will at last take the field. They were due to make a late entry anyway with the much discussed match against Zimbabwe in Harare last Thursday, but the cancellation of that one means that the encounter with the Netherlands at Buffalo Park, East London takes on an even greater magnitude.From an English point of view, it is unthinkable that there should be an upset in this one, but the possibilities cannot be totally overlooked. To say that England’s preparation has been less than perfect is something of an understatement.Just when they looked to have a settled side and knew what their best eleven was, so Craig White went down with a recurrence of his side injury. That represents a serious blow, even if not so much now certainly it will be against stronger opposition.Then there has been all the uncertainty of the build-up. Convincing wins in the warm-up matches did the team a lot of good. The uncertainty over the Zimbabwe question will have undone all that beneficial work – and then some.The Dutch will be well aware of that and would like nothing more than to heap further problems on the English camp. They remember the times when they beat strong English county sides and they recall the time in the 1996 World Cup when they lost by 49 runs. They reckon that in a similar situation they now have the experience to exploit it.These are brave words, but their performance against India will have been noted by England. The Dutch bowled out the might of India’s batting for 204, although their batsmen let them down by getting bowled out for 136. Even so, it was useful experience and they have now been on the World Cup stage.Having planted the tiniest seeds of doubt, the Dutch should not be able to nurture them to the stage where they burst into flower. If this England side has been able to put aside the distractions that must have had an effect, they believe they have the quality to make an impression in this tournament.With a full strength team, they can boast a batting order to match almost any. That should be able to score enough runs to make up for the lack of an out and out match-winner in the attack. There are not many of those around, so England’s prospects look better than they have done for many a World Cup. The match against the Netherlands is not one that should cause too many problems and, indeed, the team now knows that it cannot afford any mistakes following the Zimbabwe decision.

Mumbai 15 for 0 trail Delhi 199 (Gambhir 96, Bahutule 5-45, Kulkarni 4-62) by 184 runs
With the return of Ashish Nehra and Akash Chopra, Delhi began their match against Mumbai in an upbeat mood. But they frittered away the advantage of batting first by crumbling to a modest 199 all out. Gautam Gambhir’s sparkling 96 off just 115 balls was the lone star on a day when Sairaj Bahutule and Nilesh Kulkarni snared nine wickets between them. Gambhir’s knock included 11 fours and one six, but Ajay Jadeja and Akash Chopra were disappointments. Mumbai’s other hero of the day was Vinayak Samant, the wicketkeeper, who collected five dismissals on a turning track. On a wearing pitch the spinners may dictate terms for the rest of the match and Sarandeep Singh will be called upon to restrict the much vaunted Mumbai batting lineup.
Scorecard Uttar Pradesh 233 for 3 (Prakash 134*, Yadav 72) v Punjab
The Uttar Pradesh openers sent Punjab on a leather hunt with R.Prakash stroking an unbeaten century and Jyoti Yadav, the captain, supporting him with a fine 72. Prakash smashed 13 fours and one six and the 197 runs opening stand ensured a solid base which UP could build on. The Punjab bowlers were given some rough treatment and if not for the spinners’ economical spells, UP would have rattled up a bigger total. Three wickets fell towards the close of play and the Punjab spinners ensured that the game did not run away.
ScorecardTamil Nadu 115 for 5 lead Rajasthan 97 (Ramkumar 4-41) by 18 runs
For Somasetty Suresh – captain of Tamil Nadu – it was a day of extremes. He won the toss and gave his bowlers first use of a hard pitch that had a smattering of green and was later out for a first-ball duck. But his bowlers put Tamil Nadu in a commanding position when Rajasthan were skittled out for a meagre 97. L. Balaji had a splendid day (3 for 26) and Ramkumar (4 for 41) continued where he had left off against Karnataka – 10 for 104 in the match. The runs were completely dried up by some accurate bowling and Rajasthan may have to play catch-up cricket from now on. The Tamil Nadu batsmen also found the going tough with only S.Badrinath leading the way with a gritty 43. On a bowler-friendly pitch where a fifty will be priceless, Tamil Nadu finished the first day with the loss of only five wickets.
Scorecard Railways 243 for 8 (Ananthapadmanabhan 4-34) v Kerala
After winning the toss and electing to bat, the top three Railways batsmen failed to capitalise on good starts. All three gave it away in the forties and Ananthapadmanabhan’s wiles were too hot for the middle order to handle. Sanjay Bangar spent nearly four hours in the middle for his 45 while Tejindar Pal Singh lightened up the proceedings with a quickfire 40. Shreyas Khandolkar remained unbeaten with a patient 42 and Railways will hope the tail wags as long as it can tomorrow. After the flogging they received against the Punjab batsmen, the Kerala bowlers had a very good day and will hope their batsmen take the advantage.
ScorecardKarnataka 126 for 0 (Rowland 57*, Arunkumar 50*) v Bengal
Heavy overnight rain delayed the start of play and only 46 overs were bowled on the first day of the second round match at Mandya. Both the Karnataka openers, J. Arunkumar and Barrington Rowland, notched up half-centuries and set the platform for a big first-innings total. Bengal, who had lost their previous match against Rajasthan, found the going very tough and none of the six bowlers that were used tasted any success. Karnataka too suffered a loss in their first match, but the bright start augurs well for a fruitful campaign.
ScorecardGujarat 32 for 2 trail Assam 180 (Saravanan 58, Majumdar 5-47) by 148 runs
Bowling his right-arm medium-pace with great control, Hitesh Majumdar ripped through Assam’s middle and lower order to help bowl them out for just 180 in 65.5 overs on the first day at Guwahati. Assam’s batsmen just could not get a partnership going, and the only two batsmen to cross 50 – Subhrajit Saikia with 56 and Vasant Saravanan with 58 – stayed together for just 39 runs. After Saikia’s dismissal – the fourth wicket with the score on 103 – batsmen proceeded regularly to and from the pavilion. Their bowlers, however, succeeded to some extent to getting their side back into the game. As many as six of them turned their arm over before stumps, and Gautam Dutta snapped up two of them. What Assam really needed on the day, however, was the type of batting resilience that Gujarat’s Akash Christian, who made an unbeaten 15 off 83 balls, displayed.
ScorecardAndhra 13 for 1 trail Baroda 216 (Gaekwad 68, Verma 3-38) by 203 runs
The Baroda batsmen enacted a script similar to the first day against Mumbai last week. They were dismissed for 216 with only S.Gaekwad sticking around for a patient 68. Nayan Mongia too contributed but gave it away once he had made 31. Andhra were rewarded for some disciplined bowling with Kalyan Krishna and Vikram Verma picking up three wickets each. Baroda can ill afford losing two matches on the trot, but their batsmen surendered the initiative on the very first day.Siddhartha Vaidyanathan is on the staff of Wisden Cricinfo.

Cricket Scotland will have its funding from the England & Wales Cricket Board phased out over the next two years as the ECB desperately looks to cut costs. The grant, which was £105,000 in 2003, will reduce to £70,000 this year, £35,000 in 2005 and nothing thereafter."The situation is unfortunate," said Euan McIntyre, operations director of Cricket Scotland. “We will simply have to identify alternative funding sources to address this shortfall.”It has been a bad month for Cricket Scotland. At the end of January it lost its chief executive when Gwynne Jones suddenly resigned for "personal reasons". He has yet to be replaced.The news signals the start of some serious belt tightening within the ECB. Already penalised for refusing to play in Harare during last year’s World Cup, it is thought that if it refuses to tour Zimbabwe in October it faces further financial penalties. There is also the possibility that the ICC Champions Trophy, due to be played in September, could be moved elsewhere.

Papua New Guinea (PNG) beat Nepal by 72 runs on the opening day of the ICC World Cup Qualifying Series Division 2 tournament in Malaysia, an event that will determine the final qualifying spot for July’s ICC Trophy 2005.Inspired by the destructive batting of Jamie Brazier who hit 97 from 83 balls, PNG rattled up 240 runs for the loss of eight wickets in their 50 overs after winning the toss. Brazier, whose innings included three huge sixes hit over the fence into the adjacent residential area, was ably supported by fellow right hander Arua Uda in a crucial stand of 133.Nepal have performed impressively at junior level over recent seasons, including beating South Africa in the ICC U-19 World Cup 2004, and were one of the higher-fancied teams going into the event. But PNG’s total at the Kelab Aman ground proved too good for the senior Nepal players who completed their 50 overs on 168 for 9. The win puts PNG joint top of Group A after the first round of games along with Kuwait who beat Italy by four wickets.In Group B, Qatar beat Zambia by nine wickets and, in the tightest game of the day, Fiji beat Cayman Islands by nine runs. Group B’s most impressive individual performance came from Qatar off-spinner Saleem Aktar who picked up five wickets for two runs in 4.1 miserly overs of offspin.Tuesday’s FixturesGroup AItaly v PNG
Kuwait v NepalGroup BCayman Islands v Qatar
Fiji v Zambia