Muttiah Muralitharan recently wore a specially designed elbow brace to demonstrate to a crowd at the Shenley Cricket Centre in Hertforshire that he does not throw while bowling. The demonstration was filmed by Channel 4, and will be made into a documentary. and have reported that the brace was administered by Dr Mandeep Dhillon, who Muralitharan got in touch with in Colombo at the suggestion of Mahinda Wijasinghe, a local reporter. Dhillon said that the brace would not allow a bending of the elbow. “Murali wanted to prove a point that he could spin with his wrists and shoulder and does not need his elbow as support,” said Dhillon. “I designed a brace for Murali and asked him to bowl with it. The brace weighs 2.5 kg and has three steel rods covered in nylon. I strapped it to his elbow to make it immoveable.”He compared Murali’s predicament to CB Fry’s “who faced a problem similar to Murali’s. Fry, accused of chucking, apparently bowled with a brace for a couple of Tests and cleared his name.”Murali’s reaction indicated he was satisfied with the exercise, and though he denied he was making a point to the ICC, he took a pot shot at people who he believed were ignorant about his action. “It is to educate certain people and cricketers in England and Australia,” he said, “who think they know a lot about the game but actually don’t.”Some of the most vocal disapproval of Murali’s action has come from Australia, with even the prime minister, John Howard, getting in on the act. But Murali’s manager was confident that he would get back to his job soon, as Channel 4’s coverage would be conclusive. “He will soon be allowed to bowl the doosra and get back to doing what he knows best,” said Kushil Gunasekera. “Taking wickets.”

Australia’s players will be given extra rest days to cope with the rigours of a tight schedule during this year’s Test series in India. They play four Tests in 33 days in the familiar venues of Bangalore, Chennai and Mumbai and in the relatively unknown Nagpur.Given all four Tests against India last summer went to a fifth day and with hot weather expected, Australia’s coaching staff plan to give Ricky Ponting and his team as many rest days as possible between matches. That means key players may not even train between Tests to help them stay fresh in a country where coping with crowds, food and heat can be a challenge.”It’s something we’re conscious of,” assistant coach Tim Nielsen said yesterday. “We’ve got to be careful how we keep the guys physically and mentally fresh for the whole tour.”Staff will plan between-match routines days in advance. There may also be a back-up for wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist, as the schedule makes it tough to fly in reserves if injury strikes. “That will be the key criteria for selection – that you are 100 per cent fit,” Nielsen said.Ideally, Australia will arrive in India soon after reaching the September 25 final of the Champions Trophy in England.Nielsen said recent visits to India – in 2001 [Tests] and last year (ODIs) – would also aid Australia in their quest to win a series there for the first time since 1969-70. “A lot of the guys who make up the core part of the team have been there before, so they know what to expect,” he said.The Australians rate Bangalore, in India’s south, as one of their favourite venues – they are undefeated there in two Tests. The second Test will be played in the south-east city of Chennai, formerly Madras. It is where Allan Border’s side played cricket’s second tied Test, in 1986. The most recent time Chennai hosted Australia was in the 2001 series.While the second Test in Calcutta, where VVS Laxman and Rahul Dravid steered India to a remarkable win, was unforgettable, the Chennai decider was also memorable. Matthew Hayden scored 203, but had his thunder stolen by Harbhajan Singh, who took 15 wickets and was at the crease as the home side won by two wickets to clinch the series 2-1.Mumbai, where Australia won by 10 wickets in 2001, will host the fourth Test this time around. Australia have never played a Test in Nagpur and only one ODI, beating Zimbabwe during the 1996 World Cup.The India tour starts with a three-day match against the Indian board president’s XI, from September 30.

It is not only Australia who are threatening to cancel their tour to India – South Africa, who are scheduled to hop over for two Tests after the Australian tour is over, have also threatened to pull out. Their reasons are different, though. They are demanding an assurance that Herschelle Gibbs and Nicky Boje will not be prosecuted during the series.The Indian police once expressed their desire to question Gibbs and Boje about events during South Africa’s series there in 2000, which was the fulcrum of the match-fixing scandal that broke shortly after. It is now being rumoured that the South Africans have decided to present a united front by boycotting the tour if their players are not guaranteed indemnity.Boje confirmed that he would not make the trip if there was any chance that he might be prosecuted or questioned while he was there. “I don’t really want to go to India if I’m not 100% convinced that nothing will happen to me,” he said. “I want to be guaranteed indemnity from prosecution before I go.”Boje said that while he was not aware of any specific proposal of a boycott, “I believe the guys will stand together. I believe that the United Cricket Board of South Africa will resolve the matter.”Meanwhile, a spokesperson from the South African board said that it had requested a clarification from KK Paul, who is leading the commission of enquiry into match-fixing in India, but that no reply had yet been received. The spokesperson said, “We want to know where we stand and if the safety of our players will be guaranteed.”Thus, instead of playing two Test series this winter before taking on Bangladesh, there is a slight possibility that India may play none.

“The sight of Andrew Strauss delivering the penultimate over of this mismatch said more about the state of Zimbabwe cricket than any number of words,” wrote Richard Hobson in . “There is something seriously wrong when a full one-day international match meanders to its inevitable conclusion with the spotlight on a declaration bowler.”Writing in , Angus Fraser was all praise for at least one man in the whole affair. “[Michael] Vaughan’s manner during the crisis talks in Johannesburg, and his handling of the difficult situation in Zimbabwe, have been exemplary. He has remained calm, strong and in control. The players know he has been representing their views and this has allowed them to concentrate on their cricket.”But cricket was never really the only thing on the menu. “Cricket has a rich tradition of politicisation,” wrote Paul Kelso in . “It was possible to see the past fortnight as little more than a sporting non-event, a curiosity in an apparently tranquil corner of Africa. But to do so is to ignore the reality of life in Zimbabwe. It was always impossible for the tour to remain free of politics.”Judged on the narrow terms by which he defined the affair, [David] Morgan at least can look back on the past fortnight with some satisfaction,” Kelso added. “With moral considerations discarded and financial imperatives the prime motor, he delivered on his promise to make the tour happen and gained credit within the ICC.”Derek Pringle pointed out in the that despite the squeaky-clean tranquillity there was at least one material loser in the England party: “Of the sanitised view afforded players, press and the handful of travelling supporters, the only incidents around the cricket were when three teenage protesters in Harare waved placards at the team and when the England masseuse Vikki Byrne had her sunglasses pinched.”But Pringle also sounded a worryingly familiar warning note: “With England set to play a minimum of two Tests here within the next four years, the muddle could be raised all over again. The moral argument for not touring Zimbabwe, cited by England fast bowler Stephen Harmison – but unacceptable for entire teams under current ICC directives – holds good, at least while diplomatic relations between the two countries remain in tatters.”

There were no surprises in the New Zealand squad for the first three games of the one-day international series against Sri Lanka, which starts at Eden Park on Boxing Day.Daryl Tuffey completed an intensive rehabilitation with a team from the New Zealand Cricket High Performance Centre and haproved his fitness with 11 wickets in two first-class matches. Tuffey returned in place of the injured Chris Harris while Andre Adams and Craig McMillan were left out from the side that toured Australia.”Daryl has been watched and monitored very closely by one of the selectors and the High Performance Centre staff, and they should be congratulated for the work they have done to get him back to match fitness,” John Bracewell, the coach, said. “When he’s got it, he’s been Mr Consistent in our side.”A series of injuries frustrated Tuffey for the past nine months, but Bracewell said his recovery included a “vast improvement to his technique”. He has recovered his ball presentation at the crease, which suffered as a result of injured knees.Bracewell cleared up Ian Butler’s role, saying that he provided cover and had developed “some pretty special skills when bowling at the death, especially his slower ball”. The death-bowling situation has been helped with Chris Cairns volunteering to be included in the end-of-innings mix.Bracewell said he was looking forward to the series, which has added interest after John Dyson, the Sri Lanka coach, said his team was the mentally toughest only behind Australia. A decision on who will open with Stephen Fleming will depend on the conditions, with Mathew Sinclair expected to be preferred to Nathan Astle if the pitch favours swing and seam.Ross Dykes, the selector, will continue as team manager.New Zealand squad Stephen Fleming (capt), Nathan Astle, Ian Butler, Chris Cairns, Brendon McCullum (wk), Hamish Marshall, Kyle Mills, Jacob Oram, Mathew Sinclair, Scott Styris, Daryl Tuffey, Daniel Vettori.

Zimbabwe Cricket’s belief that it had nipped the festering domestic rebellion in the bud was dealt a blow with the news that the Midlands Cricket Association chairman Hemat Patel has resigned from the ZC board in support of the newly elected Mashonaland Cricket Association executive.Patel, who was elected to the ZC board as a replacement for Mike Moyo last month, said that there was a general agreement that he could not continue on the ZC board at the same time as being chairman of Midlands, given that he could not carry the mandate of his province.In an interview, Patel confirmed that he had handed in his resignation letter last Thursday: “Following a recent Midlands CA baord meeting and numerous reports circulated in various sectors of media, Hemat Patel categorically refutes claims that Midlands had or have withdrawn support for Mashonaland. The MCA will not be drawn into any conflict between ZC and any other province. The MCA will recognise any provincial board that has been elected constitutionally. In the likely event of the recent Mashonaland general meeting deemed legitimate, the MCA will work hand in hand with the new Mashonaland board.”Patel said that Midlands would not be part of any playing boycott at this stage, but agreed with Mashonaland that there were a number of outstanding issues that needed to be addressed, including the general state of cricket within Zimbabwe.”In a further development, Patel has resigned as a director of ZC with immediate effect as it was felt that as chairman of Midlands he would find it difficult to carry out the mandate of his board and remain as a director of ZC,” Patel’s statement continued. “The Midlands CA is committed to the development of cricket, and will work tirelessly to improve every facet of the game.”Midlands CA and ZC have their own outstanding issues which have not been resolved,” Patel said. “I think getting me on the ZC board might have been a way to soften my province, and by resigning from the ZC board, I am sending a clear message to them that I do not agree with their policies.”

Scorecard
Abdul Razzak’s quickfire 58 delayed the inevitable but Bangladesh crashed to a massive defeat, by an innings and 149 runs, in their opening game of the Duleep Trophy at Nagpur. Resuming on 123 for 8, Bangladesh lasted 7.3 overs this morning with Razzak’s strokeplay being the main highlight. He smashed 11 fours and a six in his 61-ball knock and was the only Bangladesh batsman to score a half-century in the whole game.Shib Shankar Paul, who finished with match figures of 9 for 75, and Ranedeb Bose, his fellow medium pacer and Bengal team-mate, cleaned up the last two wickets. However, East will still struggle to make the final after being jolted in the opening game against Central. Bangladesh now turn their attention to Jaipur, where they will meet Central from March 1.

Damien Martyn is the favourite to receive the prestigious Allan Border Medal at a gala ceremony in Melbourne tonight. As a Test and one-day player, Martyn’s superb performances through the voting year, from February 11 until yesterday, are expected to earn him Australia’s highest individual award ahead of Justin Langer and Shane Warne.Warne’s return from a one-year drugs suspension was superb, netting 75 wickets, and Langer scored 1481 runs for 2004, but Martyn’s consistent brilliance after a lean 2003-04 stood above both of his Test-only team-mates. Martyn registered six Test hundreds – two each in Sri Lanka, India and Australia – and 1373 runs during the polling period, and played in 21 one-day matches, including making 24 in yesterday’s three-wicket VB Series loss to Pakistan.Martyn is also a contender for the Test Player of the Year along with Langer and Warne, while Michael Clarke, who will be judged on 731 runs, including two hundreds and three fifties, is tipped for the one-day award.

Mohammad Khalil relates his story to that of another left-arm quick bowler of his generation: Irfan Pathan. Khalil, one of the new breed of fast bowlers in the Pakistan team, feels that he is following the same path that the Indian took before becoming Indian’s new-ball sensation.Emerging from a net session under the eyes of his coach Bob Woolmer, he says, “He (Pathan) had toured Australia where he did well, and then he cememted his place on the Pakistan tour last year. This time I did well in Australia and am now touring India. So, I too will perform well.” His demeanour suggests plentiful confidence, and he goes on to add: “Inshallah, I will do it much better.”Pathan gave notice of his talent in Australia in 2003-04. Though he took only four wickets, he showed that he had the heart of the fast bowler. He took the next step, and gave further evidence of that heart, in Pakistan, where he was the pick of the pace bowlers on either side, with 12 wickets.Khalil, then, has a job on his hands if he wants to outperform his Indian counterpart. So far the results have been good, without raising too many eyebrows. Khalil played one Test, on the fast WACA pitch at Perth, but went wicketless in his 25 overs. If his debut was subdued, he stoked a few fires in the subsequent one-day VB Series, playing three games and accounting for five victims.Interestingly, all five of his wickets were left-handers. If he gets picked for the Tests against India, he can think of at least two batsmen to aim at: Sourav Ganguly, the captain, and either Gautam Gambhir or Yuvraj Singh.Unlike his pace-bowling compatriots, this left-armer isn’t enthused by speed. He hails from the state of Punjab, and is happy to visit Mohali, whose people he feels are similar to back home. “Khoon to ek he hai [the blood is the same],” he says, as he signs autographs.

Though he doesn’t plan to break any speed barriers, Khalil can generate enough pace with his height (5ft 10ins) and physique. Watching him bowl from a short run-up in the practice nets, he has enough to keep batsmen on their toes. “I have bowled in the 140s [kph], but I would like to stick to about 136,” he says. Though he took advice from Wasim Akram, a legend and the last left-arm quick to play for Pakistan, Khalil would like to emulate the discipline of Glenn McGrath.”Look at McGrath,” he says. “He keeps on bowling around 132kph, hitting the right line and length, and look at the number of wickets that process has earned him.” Line and length appear to be imprinted on Khalil’s state of mind.He bowls off a 28-yard run, but so far, the Pakistan think-tank has only allowed him to come on as first change to the new-ball pair. But that decision could be based on the fact that he is more adept at moving the ball both ways, and reverse-swinging the old ball. Khalil also feels that the Indian wickets will suit his bowling, since they are similar to the ones he has played on in Pakistan.He injured his shoulder at the end of the Australian tour, but now reckons he is perfectly fit. “I played a two-day game for my company Pakistan Telecom and then attended the two-day camp organised by the Pakistan Cricket Board before this tour. And I felt good.” The Pakistan trainers have looked at him, and the signs are good that he would be declared fit.Pakistan will almost certainly play Naved-ul-Hasan, Mohammad Sami and Abdul Razzaq as their three main fast bowlers. As for the fourth quick, that will depend on the pitches the Indians serve up. Khalil stands a good chance at Mohali, which in the past has thrown up green surfaces.Khalil is unperturbed about his chances, but keeps polishing his strategy. He is also something of a technology buff. “My brother and another friend have an internet café and they feed me the required technical data that I require to get my wickets,” he says. When asked if he knows that some of the Indian batsmen have been susceptible to left-arm pace – Sachin Tendulkar against Pedro Collins, and Virender Sehwag against Nathan Bracken – Khalil has a wry smile on his face. “Yes, I know,” he says. “I have done my study on them.”He has his strategy organised for the Indian batsmen, and says, “Rahul Dravid, who is a matchwinner, will be a prized wicket in the Tests, and both Sehwag and Tendulkar in the one-dayers.”In the absence of Shoaib Akhtar, who is likely to return for the ODIs, Khalil knows that sizable contributions are needed. In this evolving age where fast bowlers, normally considered rabbits with the bat, are scoring gritty half-centuries, he knows that he has to do more than just bowl. Woolmer has already set him a benchmark: “Considering that he is a bowler, I would like him to bowl first and then come in handy with the bat. If he can hit sixes like Shahid Afridi, I wouldn’t mind.”So now Khalil has two roles to aspire to – the fast man who can swing it like Pathan, and a six-hitting cavalier like Afridi.

Sourav Ganguly is hoping luck will favour him as he attempts to get out of his run of poor form. Ganguly managed just 48 runs in the recent Test series against Pakistan, and was bowled for a first-ball zero in the first one-day international, followed by 9 runs in the second match.”It looks a long way off,” Ganguly was quoted as saying by AFP. “I need to get some runs. That is what I am trying to do for the last one month. I am concentrating hard on it and I am practicing. I am hitting the ball well. Unfortunately I am not spending enough time at the wicket. I think I need a bit of luck. A bit of luck here and there where I am able to get some 30-40 runs. Then I can carry on from there.”Ganguly, who has been the most successful Indian captain, has failed to score a Test century since his innings of 144 against Australia in Brisbane in November 2003. His dip in form has extended to one-dayers as well, with his last hundred coming against Kenya in the 2003 World Cup in South Africa.Ganguly has been severely criticised by many former cricketers, some of whom have called head. However, Ganguly is undeterred. “Criticism is going to happen because I have not scored runs for the last five to six innings,” he said. “People are going to criticise, but these things remind you that you have been good enough in the past.”Ganguly is just 55 runs away from becoming only the third batsman after Sachin Tendulkar and Inzamam-ul-Haq to secure 10,000 one-day runs. Ganguly has another four one-dayers against Pakistan to reach the milestone. India hold a 2-0 lead in the one-dayers with the third match on April 9 in Jamshedpur.