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PJ Mir, Pakistan’s media manager during the World Cup, has blamed the influence of religion in the dressing room for Pakistan’s disastrous performance in the Caribbean.Speaking to reporters after his appearance at the performance evaluation committee looking into Pakistan’s shambolic display, Mir said, “I could not disclose this fact before, but today I inform the media that most of the members had no focus on cricket. Their fixation was on preaching, affecting the team’s preparations.”Mir complained that the players devoted more time to praying and preaching than to the game itself. “The boys were up against the most challenging task of proving their skills in the prestigious tournament, but I am sorry to say they had no drive for the game and were much more active in preaching and praying.”Mir argued that the religious influence had gone “beyond limits. I told the committee that Pakistani players, rather than pray privately, tried to make it a public spectacle.”Mir added that he told the committee of incidents to highlight his point, highlighting instances where some players, led by former captain Inzamam-ul-Haq, even made it a point to pray in the galley of aircrafts on flights rather than privately in their seats. He said that there is video evidence to prove his point and is offering to pass it onto the PCB to assess the situation further.Since the England tour last summer, criticism over what is perceived as the team’s overt religiosity has steadily grown. In one of his first public statements after taking over as chairman of the board, Nasim Ashraf called on the team to dampen down ‘public displays of religiosity’ in a TV interview. The remark led to a sharp retort from Inzamam, since when the issue has simmered away under the public radar, a number of PCB officials privately echoing Ashraf’s stance.In a tense press conference last week, Inzamam dismissed speculation of religion taking priority within the team but Mir’s comments have dragged the issue out into the open once again.The evaluation committee began its work last week and has interviewed a number of players and officials, including Inzamam and Mushtaq Ahmed, Pakistan’s assistant coach. They are due to meet former chairmen Tauqir Zia and Shaharyar Khan as well and are expected to hand in their report on Pakistan’s debacle within a month.

Rahul Dravid has declared himself ready to open in the Boxing Day Test against Australia and he believes India’s promising middle-order prospects can no longer be ignored. While Dravid would not confirm if the plan was set in stone, India gave a strong indication of their strategy by sending him in with Wasim Jaffer to begin their rain-affected tour match against Victoria.Dravid survived the 158 minutes of play that were possible, reaching 33 not out, and a move to the top of the order in the Test might open the door for Yuvraj Singh to retain his place after he made 169 in the final Test against Pakistan earlier this month. Sachin Tendulkar did not play in that match and will need to slot back in, leaving the selectors to ponder the make-up of their batting order.”We’ve had a very strong middle order over these years, a lot of the same people have played in the middle order a lot,” Dravid said. “We’ve got a lot of good young middle-order batsmen coming in who can’t really be ignored.”Three of his top-order colleagues fell around him and the Junction Oval but Dravid was typically careful, happy just to spend some time at the crease after his disappointing Test series against England and Pakistan. In the three Pakistan Tests he felt he didn’t have “the rub of the green”, and scored 38, 34, 50, 8 not out, 19 and 42.”It’s been a strange series in the sense I got a few starts, maybe played a couple of average shots as well,” Dravid said. “I’ve spent a bit of time in the middle so I feel like I’m playing well, I’m moving my feet and batting well.”But he will have to take that confidence into the unfamiliar role of opener in the first Test, and if Melbourne’s thundery weather continues as expected on Friday and Saturday his preparation might be very limited. Dravid has opened 13 times in Tests, averaging 33.54, and he has not filled the role since February 2006.”I’ve batted all my career in different positions,” he said. “Batting at three you probably come in early a few times as well, but it is a little different. It’s a little bit with the mindset, you’re used to batting in a particular position.”Right from the time I was in school I played in the middle order so you get used to something like that. But as a professional cricketer and as a professional sportsman you’re adaptability is important. The critical thing for me is the changeover – you have just ten minutes [between innings].”India’s impressive results last time they toured Australia – the 2003-04 series was drawn 1-1 – came largely through strong batting and Dravid conceded he would be under pressure to maintain that standard if he opens in the Tests. “As we showed last time if we can get through the early part with the new ball without the loss of too many wickets, we’ve got the kind of batting and people who can make it count later on,” he said.The three-day warm-up match in Melbourne was reduced to only the post-lunch session as heavy rain bookended the day’s play. A torrential downpour came right on tea and the Junction Oval was almost completely under water, but within an hour and a half the rain had stopped and the grass was again visible.Dravid said it would be disappointing if India’s only practice match was washed out ahead of the first Test in what he called the most challenging tour of all. Last time they visited Australia India had good weather for their two tour matches before the series began, and Dravid said that preparation was ideal.”We would definitely have liked more than one warm-up game,” he said. “[But] international cricket is cramped nowadays. We’ll just have to do the best with what we’ve got.”

Cricket Australia has apologised for the delays in its ticketing scheme that left thousands of dedicated supporters without seats. The race for spots in the Australian Cricket Family allocation has sold out the first three days in every Test venue except Melbourne, which at 4pm still had about 1000 spaces for Boxing Day.Sydney, Adelaide and Perth will be full houses for the opening four days as more than 280,000 tickets have been snapped up. About 3500 day-four tickets are available for the first Test at the Gabba, and another 2100 for each day are due to go on general release from June 19. The initial sale has been swamped by users who have complained of problems accessing the ticket companies’ websites and telephone operators that were set up to cater for the 128,500 members of the priority system.Scalpers have also cashed in by immediately placing their buys on eBay for prices thousands of dollars more than their retail value. “Scalpers using eBay are a disgraceful insult to normal, loyal cricket fans who should have access to these tickets at face value,” James Sutherland, Cricket Australia’s CEO, said. Organisers have told people purchasing black market tickets to beware and say they have asked experts about tracking the passes.Cricket Australia has been criticised by members of its “family” for not ensuring easy acess for buyers. A Cricket Australia spokesman said ticket agencies had been working at full capacity to cope with the high demand. “There have been delays during the ticket sales process for which we apologise,” he said, “and Cricket Australia thanks Australian Cricket Family members for their patience and perseverance.” The spokesman said tickets were available for most ODIs, including the game at the SCG between Australia and New Zealand, and there were large vacancies for days two to four at the MCG.Emma McCracken, the Ticketmaster spokeswoman in Sydney, said the company expected the demand and despite repeated busy messages – the company one and server error notices – she was convinced the system never crashed. “Both the Ticketmaster website and phones performed exceptionally,” she said. Thousands of cricket fans disagree.

Scorecard
Bengal’s disciplined bowling attack defended a relatively low total of 156 to bowl Tripura out for 133 at Bhubaneshwar. The three-pronged pace attack of Ranadeb Bose, Shib Paul and Laxmi Ratan Shukla left Tripura reeling at 39 for 6, and only Timir Chanda (43) managed any decent score as Bengal affected three run outs. Choosing to bat first, Bengal had been in similar trouble after Chanda (4 for 28) and Manoj Singh (3 for 27) bowled excellent spells, but Kamal Mondal (69) helped them to what would prove a winning total.
Scorecard
Orissa opener Bikas Pati’s 84-ball 80 made most of the difference as his side clinched a four-wicket win over Jharkhand at Cuttack. Set 195 to win, Pati forged small yet crucial partnerships for the first and second wickets, and though he departed with 56 to get, Orissa managed to get home with 32 deliveries remaining. Batting first, Jharkhand slumped to 30 for 3 before Rajiv Kumar (49) and Keshav Kumar (56) chipped in. Preetamjit Das, the left-arm medium-pacer, had the best figures of 32.

The Titans are considering taking action over comments made by their former players Pierre de Bruyn and Alfonso Thomas about the Titans coach Richard Pybus last week. The two players were released from their Titans contracts in January and signed with the Dolphins, and on Friday they came up against their old team in the Pro20 final.Before the decider, which the Titans won, de Bruyn and Thomas slammed their former team and coach in the Afrikaans newspaper . “We owe the Dolphins a win in the final after they gave us a lifeline after being chased away from the Titans like dogs,” de Bruyn said.Their attacks on Pybus included describing him as “one-dimensional” and “a very boring coach”. de Bruyn was critical of what he called “yoga and other nonsense” that Pybus included in the team’s preparations. “The players get so drained from this that on completion one does not know where you are,” de Bruyn said.Pybus had the last laugh when the Titans secured an 18-run win in the final but his employers said in a statement they took extreme exception to the comments of de Bruyn and Thomas and the issue might not be closed. “The franchise will be taking the matter further through the channels available to it,” the statement said.”Pybus’ track record as a coach who has won four trophies in three years as well as the number of national players that he has produced is exceptional. This, together with his grooming of the next crop of Titans stars, must place him as a top contender for the domestic coach of the year award.”

The $5 million winner-takes-all Stanford 20/20 SuperStar game between West Indies and South Africa due to be played on November 10 has been cancelled.The decision was made almost inevitable once the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) refused to amend the itinerary for the forthcoming West Indies tour to allow leading players to take part in the Stanford match.”To say I am disappointed is an understatement,” admitted Allen Stanford, the Texas-based millionaire who is the main organiser behind Stanford 20/20. “We are frustrated at the turn of events, especially in light of the fact that the date for the Stanford Super Star Match was approved by both the WICB and the ICC from January 2006. However, we have always said that we would not do anything which conflicts with, or compromises West Indies cricket and so we have decided that it is in the best interest of everyone involved, especially the players, that we cancel the Super Star Match.”Perhaps the most disappointing fact about the cancellation is that the West Indies tour to Pakistan was not finalised until August, more than two months after the agreement with South Africa for the November match was confirmed. The West Indies board informed Stanford that an application had been submitted to the PCB to delay the start of the tour so that the conflict could be resolved. The PCB was unable to accommodate the request.In a last ditch effort to salvage the match, Stanford asked if the WICB could provide the names of those players that would be on the team to Pakistan so that a side could be selected out of those not going on the tour, but a spokesman for Stanford said this was also “not accommodated by the WICB leaving no alternative but cancellation”.Some of the players training at the Super Star team camp would be a natural choice for the Pakistan tour. “We did not want to put these players in a position where they would have to choose between our event and playing for the West Indies,” explained Stanford. “This would be unfair to them, and one of our goals has always been to foster the positive and successful development of our athletes.”The Super Star camp began in Antigua on August 23 and yesterday Stanford himself gave the news to the players via teleconference. “I am very, very hurt and disappointed,” said Pedro Collins. “I wish that things like this could be resolved amicably in future. Playing against South Africa would have been a great opportunity for the young players to establish themselves in world cricket.”The Stanford 20/20 board will meet on Monday in Antigua where the future of the Stanford 20/20 programme will be discussed.

Beau Casson will enter the big time when he joins his new Australia team-mates at the national camp in Brisbane from Sunday. Casson, the left-arm wrist-spinner from New South Wales, was a surprise choice for the West Indies tour and will be trying to impress when the squad gets together.”I’m feeling a little anxious now, but I’m also excited about meeting the guys in camp and I’m probably lucky that I’ll have plenty of other New South Wales guys there to make me feel comfortable,” Casson told the Daily Telegraph. “I had a bit of a break, but the last few weeks have been good and I’ve upped the ante in terms of training and making sure everything is right.”Casson has been working with the opener Phil Jaques while some of their team-mates have been operating in the Indian Premier League. In a strong finish to the season, Casson scored 89 and took four wickets in the Pura Cup final victory on the way to earning a national spot next to Stuart MacGill.Following Brad Hogg’s retirement, MacGill will return for Australia after wrist and knee injuries cut short his 2007-08 campaign. He will be the No. 1 slow-bowling option in the three-Test series against West Indies, which starts in Jamaica on May 22. The team leaves Australia on May 9.

Saurabh Bandekar

Bandekar, a handy medium-pace bowler and batsman for Goa, has played 13 matches for India Under-19, including the 2006 World Cup in Sri Lanka. This speaks a lot for a player coming from Goa, hardly a feeder of talent for the national side. He started off as an opener for Goa U-14s, but has since slipped down the batting order. During his transition through the age groups to the senior Goa side, Bandekar improved on his bowling and now opens the bowling for his state. During the U-19 World Cup, his spell of 3 for 36 helped knock England out of the tournament.Last season, List A
Runs: 51, Ave: 17
Wickets: 6, Ave: 35.83Last season, Twenty20
Runs: 56, S/R: 71.79<br20-0-133-5

Swapnil Asnodkar

Battling amid the ruins that Goa normally find themselves in, the 23-year-old Asnodkar, Goa’s No. 3, has always been up against the odds. While analysing his stats – 1850 first-class runs at 37 – one must keep in mind the burden he has needed to shoulder in his six first-class seasons. He cracked 104 and 83 not out in last season’s Ranji one-day tournament, but it was his fiery run-a-ball 107, while opening for South Zone against East in the Deodhar Trophy, that made people take notice.Last season, List A
Runs: 470, Ave: 58.75Last season, Twenty20
Runs: 69, S/R: 116.94

Ajinkya Rahane

Rahane, an aggressive opener, is yet to play a Ranji Trophy match for Mumbai, but has already struck two centuries in his first two first-class games – against Karachi Urban in the Mohammad Nissar Trophy and against Rest of India in the Irani Trophy. In 2007, he had an impressive Under-19 tour to New Zealand, where he scored 358 at 71.6 in Tests and 144 at 48 in ODIs. He is rated highly in the Mumbai circles, and looks like one for the future for the state, if not higher.Last season, List A
Runs: 162, Ave: 54Last season, Twenty20
Runs: 120, S/R: 93.02

Arjun Yadav

Yadav first came across as a promising batsman coming through the age groups, but eight years since his first-class debut, the promise is yet to transform. Strong performances in age-group cricket had earned him a place in the Indian Under-19 team for the World Cup in 1999-2000, but he did not play a single match in India’s victory there. Since then he has been a fairly regular fixture in the Hyderabad team, and has been picked for zonal and India A squads. Over seven seasons of first-class cricket, he has managed an average of 28.51.Last season, List A
Runs: 210, Ave: 26.25Last season, Twenty20
Runs: 17, S/R: 77.27

Rakesh Dhurv

Dhurv has been one of the most consistent performers for Saurashtra over the years, and played a key role in his teams’ capturing of the Ranji Plate title two years ago. A steady left-arm spinner to begin with, Dhurv has worked hard on his batting and has become a useful No. 6. On a few occasions, he has narrowly missed making it to the West Zone side for the Duleep Trophy.Last season, List A
Wickets: 4, Ave: 35
Last season, Twenty20
15-0-94-3

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details1:21

Ninety-seven balls, 10 wickets

Corey Anderson limped off the field with 15 overs of the third T20 still remaining, but by then he had done enough to tilt the match, and the series, decisively New Zealand’s way. He had smashed an unbeaten 42-ball 82 to power New Zealand to a total of 196, and by the end of his second over, when he pulled up with cramps, had picked up two wickets to help reduce Pakistan to 36 for 4.A good start is critical in a chase of such magnitude, and Pakistan did not make one. Failing to get on top of a short ball from Trent Boult, Mohammad Hafeez sliced a high catch into the point region. In the next over, Ahmed Shehzad picked out deep square leg while looking to pull Anderson, before Mohammad Rizwan ran himself out hurtling needlessly from his crease. Shoaib Malik struck three sweetly-timed fours off Boult, but the required rate brought out a miscued slog in the next over; Anderson had his second, and New Zealand were firmly on the road to victory.In the end, Anderson was not required to come back onto the field as New Zealand wrapped up the match with close to four overs still remaining. Only two Pakistan batsmen reached double figures as they only just scraped past the 100 mark.This was surely not the finish Pakistan had envisioned when Shahid Afridi chose to bowl after winning the toss. But the portents were clear right from the first ball of the match, which Martin Guptill flat-batted to the cover boundary. Carrying on from where he left off in Hamilton, Guptill tore into Anwar Ali, who replaced Umar Gul in Pakistan’s seam attack, spanking him for another four and a six off the last two balls of the first over.With Guptill in an equally punishing mood against Imad Wasim’s hitherto unhittable left-arm spin, New Zealand reached the half-century mark as early as the start of the fifth over. They could have gotten there earlier, had more if not for Mohammad Amir’s efforts to tie up Kane Williamson at the other end, bowling with pace and giving him no room.Guptill was looking unstoppable until Afridi brought himself on and pulled things back with his skiddy topspinners from just back of a length. He forced Guptill to miscue a slog-sweep and hole out, and gave away only seven runs from his first two overs. In between, a brilliant piece of fielding from Rizwan at midwicket ran out Colin Munro at the non-striker’s end.Not long after, Williamson had holed out off Wahab Riaz, and Ross Taylor had retired hurt with a side strain. But New Zealand still had the momentum, with Anderson already underway with two fours and a six off his first twelve balls.Anderson was not at his most fluent, but his method of clearing his front leg to make swinging room brought him rich dividends whenever anything was pitched in his hitting zone. All four of his sixes flew over the arc between deep midwicket and long-on, with those two fielders made to look like spectators.With the leg-side boundary packed and a sweeper square on the off-side, third man was usually inside the circle. This gave Pakistan’s seamers little margin for error when they tried to fire in the yorker, as Anderson made room, freed his arms, and carved the ball over or wide of that fielder for four of his six fours, with Wahab, who went for 43 in his four overs, receiving special attention for this form of punishment.

David Moore, the West Indies coach, has asked his players to keep up their hard work for the second Test against England at Headingley after a solid finish to the first Test at Lord’s. Moore wants better consistency from his side but said there were plenty of positives to take into the match starting on Friday.However, he was keen to dispel the theory that the draw at Lord’s could be viewed as a win for West Indies. “It’s not a victory, it is a draw,” Moore said. “We have done some great work which is good for the boys’ confidence but we are aware that every game is a different game and we have to start again.”We have to take the good things out of the first Test and work on the other things. Headingley is a different kettle of fish to Lord’s, we all know that and we’re going to be very focused on our task here.”Moore said it was a credit to his players that in the first innings they took the score from 187 for 5 to 437. “That’s something that we can take heart from,” he said. “All the batters contributed and down below we got 25-run partnerships from number nine and ten. I was very pleased with our batters particularly during that second innings when Chris Gayle and Daren Ganga got through unscathed.”He was also impressed with the bowling in the second innings, when only two England players passed fifty, compared to four making centuries in the first. West Indies had only one three-day warm-up game before the Test series began – and that match was severely rain-affected – and Moore was confident the squad now had more idea of what to expect from English conditions.”We’ve got a little bit [of practice] under the belt but we still need a lot more and the boys are getting used to every ground that we play on,” he said. “Only a few of them have played over here before, particularly the bowlers so every ground that we go to is a new experience for them.”