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Farveez Maharoof, Sri Lanka’s Under-19 captain and a fast bowling allrounder, leads the Man of the Tournament standings at the end of the first group phase. Maharoof picked up points in all three of his matches for both bowling and batting to lead the standings with seven points. Maharoof, a Wesley College schoolboy who has played for the A team, is tipped to break into the national squad soon.Mahroof was one point ahead of a quartet of challengers including Chamith Kulasekara, a teammate, and Shikhar Dhawan, an Indian batsman who has hit two centuries and is the tournament’s leading run-scorer. The surprise inclusion near the top of the table is Nepal’s Shakti Gauchan whose patient batting displays against South Africa and Uganda have earned him two Man of the Match awards.

Yuvraj Singh has been cleared of serious injury after twisting his left knee during a practice session on the second morning of the Perth Test.Yuvraj, who was left out for the Perth Test after a string of poor scores, sustained the tweak when the team took part in a friendly soccer game.He collapsed holding his left knee and there were immediate fears his tour could be over. It was the same knee which he had injured during the Champions Trophy in October 2006, an injury which ruled him out for close to three months.He was taken to a local hospital for scans and was cleared of any major damage, according to MV Sridhar, India’s assistant manager, and has been advised one week’s rest.

The Pakistan board has decided against allowing Iftikhar Anjum, the medium-fast bowler, to join Glamorgan after the county showed an interest in signing him up as their overseas player for 2008.”We have told them [Glamorgan] that Pakistan have a busy international season coming up and cannot afford to release any of their players from the core squad,” Shafqat Naghmi, PCB’s chief operating officer, told the .Pakistan are due to host Australia in March and April next year for a Test and ODI series before hosting the Asia Cup in June and according to Naghmi, Pakistan will be needing Iftikhar’s services throughout.The PCB is also reluctant to allow a fit fast bowler play for a county with most of the national team’s bowling line-up on the injured list. Mohammad Asif has just undergone an elbow operation, Umar Gul is recovering from back spasm that ruled him out of the Test series against India while Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Sami were both below par due to illness during the tour to India.There are reports, however, that Glamorgan have agreed terms with Iftikhar’s agent and are prepared to wait until March for a final decision by the PCB before following up other potential targets.If the deal goes through, Iftikhar will be the first Pakistan player to sign for the county since Waqar Younis over a decade ago. He has made 39 ODI appearances and taken 42 wickets with an economy-rate of under five an over. Iftikhar last featured for Pakistan in the ODI series against India before being surplus to requirements for the Test series. A spate of injuries and illness, however, prompted the PCB to send Iftikhar back to India as cover for the other fast bowlers ahead of the final Test in Bangalore, which he didn’t play.

The new State League Twenty20 competition, which kicks off the women’s season in New Zealand, will be played on Friday nights. Each team plays five State League Twenty20 matches with players in contention for international honours.”The 20-over matches will act as a taster for the State League programme and give existing White Ferns more Twenty20 experience, while undoubtedly helping more talented young players emerge,” said New Zealand Cricket women’s manager Catherine Campbell.The opening round of both tournaments sees defending State League champions State Canterbury Magicians travel to Blake Park, while Mt Maunganui will play State Northern Spirit.The State League retains last season’s format, with ten matches played in pairs over the course of the season. The top two sides in the table after ten rounds will compete in the State League final on Saturday 9 February, which will be hosted by the first-placed qualifier.

Scorecard

Western Australia moved to the top of the Pura Cup table with an innings and 107-run victory against Victoria at the WACA. Half-centuries to Matthew Elliott and Jon Moss slowed the Warriors, but Brad Williams and Darren Wates each picked up three wickets to lead their side to a comprehensive win.Mike Hussey became the first batsman in Sheffield Shield/Pura Cup history to carry his bat while scoring a double century as Western Australia made 464. Hussey collected his highest score for the state with 223 not out, his second double of the season, and passed 7000 competition runs to move to fourth on Western Australia’s most prolific list.After the match Cameron White, the Victorian captain, admitted that it was an abysmal performance by his side. “It was pretty embarrassing really, I think the scoreboard tells the story doesn’t it. After such a terrific year last year with the batting where we made a ridiculous amount of runs, we just haven’t been able to back it up.”Western Australia now have 24 points in the Pura Cup, followed by Queensland (22) and New South Wales (20), while Victoria are struggling with just 12. White agreed that the chances of Victoria regaining the title they won last year were extremely slim, but insisted that they wouldn’t give up. “It gets tricky but there’s still enough points there left for us probably,” he said. “[But] we’re going to have to play some pretty decent cricket to get somewhere back towards talking about that [the title] again.”Meanwhile, Justin Langer, the Warriors’ opener, was expectedly elated with his side’s performance, but also expressed surprise at the way Victoria capitulated. “It’s a pretty good wicket now, I’m surprised we bowled them out for 200 or so today for sure. They had a lot to play for going into this game, as we did. They’ve got a very experienced side, so I’m surprised how well it went for us today.”

It may be amusing to some, but to me its quite amazing that the fateof the world’s premier cricket tournament may be decided by theweather. I am used to seeing rain and cricket go hand in hand duringEnglish summers, but the World Cup could certainly have done withoutthe stormy weather. One team that will not be complaining too muchabout the weather is host nation South Africa, for whom the rain -which denied the West Indies valuable points against Bangladesh – wasa shot in the arm after some shock losses.

But the cricket itself, in all fairness, has been exciting, and therehave already been some interesting results through the inclusion ofteams like Bangladesh, Holland, Namibia and Kenya. Their inclusion hasnot only made things difficult by stretching the World Cup into a longdrawn-out affair but also by wrecking a few teams’ plans by collectingtwo points from rained-out games and almost pulling off an upset ortwo. One must give these spirited “minnows” a lot of credit. Many maythink that the one-sided games involving lesser teams drag down WorldCup standards to the level of farce, but the new blood, in my opinion,has made the tournament more interesting on a global basis and willcertainly help in the growth of cricket.Apart from the rain and the odd one-sided game, this Cup saw moredrama when England and New Zealand forfeited their games againstZimbabwe and Kenya respectively. Highly charged global politics andsecurity concerns have, I feel, driven some people paranoid. I don’tthink sport and politics should ever mix, for politics of any kind hasonly been detrimental to the game. If the International CricketCouncil classifies a venue as safe, the teams should be willing toplay there – simple as that. If some teams are going to opt out of agame or two, why play in the World Cup at all? The individual boards,moreover, are going against ICC rulings, so if there is talk ofpenalties imposed on the countries, the ICC would only have mysupport.

Pakistan, in its World Cup foray so far, has had a different set ofproblems. Their approach in the first game against Australia was muchtoo casual. Where has the famous fighting spirit gone? Where is thepride of playing for Pakistan? I thought Wasim Akram bowled a superbfirst spell and exposed the Australian weakness – the middle order -but once Wasim was taken off, the weaker aspects of Pakistan cricketallowed Andrew Symonds to take the game away. Given the opportunity,Pakistan should have been able to finish Australia off, for that iswhat wins matches in top-class cricket.Controversy dogged this match too, and I was surprised to see WaqarYounis lose his cool and bowl two beamers at Symonds, consequentlybeing barred from bowling further in that match. Waqar is a verysenior cricketer and an experienced one. Surely he should have knownthat such adverse publicity can only harm team morale.But bygones are bygones, and there is yet a World Cup to be won. Tobring it home to Pakistan, their batting will have to play a moreresponsible role. After all, if Rashid Latif down the order can scoreruns, why cannot Inzamam ul-Haq and Yousuf Youhana? These two batsmenhave the responsibility of holding the middle order together and scorethe majority of their team’s runs. Failing to do so against Namibiawill be something that Pakistan would have discussed after the game.One must also remember that during Pakistan’s sole World Cup win, in1992, Inzamam was the key batsman for the side, and here too in SouthAfrica, a decade later, he must start firing immediately.Pakistan’s fixture against Namibia ended predictably, with theirbatting hardly able to withstand the Pakistani pace attack. I was gladto see Wasim Akram and Shoaib Akhtar have an extended bowling stint inthat game, for their next match – against England – has the potentialto be a deciding one as far as Pakistan’s campaign is concerned. A winat Cape Town will help them breathe a little easier before theircrucial encounter against India.England too will be out of sorts after going through the wringerduring the Zimbabwe controversy, and their win against Namibia wasnone too convincing. There is thus a big chance for Pakistan to beatthem, but it will take a good game-plan and an excellent execution ofit in the middle.Strategy, indeed, seems to be the buzzword in this tournament.Watching this World Cup from the armchair, I can closely follow eventson the field, watch replays over and over again, and this is exactlywhat Pakistan must also do – observe. If they learn from watchingtheir opposition closely, it will help them formulate precisestrategies that will go a long way in helping them win the Cup.

BEWARE, BARBADOS!Stung by a shocking defeat against lightweights Windward Islands last weekend, reigning regional Cup holders Jamaica plan to set the record straight when they meet Courtney Browne’s red-hot men in the third round of the Carib Beer Series, starting today."Our priority is to win. We must try and get 12 points in this game," Jamaica coach Robert Haynes said yesterday.After that narrow defeat to the Windwards in Kingston, there was a serious post-mortem.The players have been told what is expected of them."We had a strong meeting after the game. The captain and I spoke to them," Haynes said."We let them know the youngsters have to pull their weight."Veterans Nehemiah Perry and captain Robert Samuels gave Jamaica a chance of victory on the last day, but the only youngster who made an impression in the match against Windwards was Dave Bernard Jr."The youngsters are the future of Jamaica and West Indies cricket," Haynes said."They need to come and keep their head down. Having said that, they are pretty keen."They realised they blundered in that game. We’ve just got to set the record straight by going out there and playing some good cricket against Barbados."The Jamaica team that will take the field over the next four days will be more formidable than the one that played at Sabina Park last weekend.The recuperating Gareth Breese is set for his first match of the tournament following knee surgery, while Leon Garrick and Franklyn Rose return after missing the last match for varying reasons.Rose, Jamaica’s most experienced fast bowler, was surprisingly dropped after the opening match, while Garrick served a one-match suspension for a breach of discipline.Haynes confirmed both would be in the line-up for the match that will be played at Barbados’ newest first-class venue – the North Stars Cultural and Social Club in Crab Hill in the northern parish of St Lucy."Franklyn didn’t bowl well in Anguilla and the selectors dropped him," Haynes said."But Franklyn is a professional. He realised that he wasn’t bowling well. He’s looking a lot better. We know we can depend on him. It is just for him to get his confidence."Opener Garrick hit a half-century in the opening match before he landed himself in trouble with Jamaican cricket authorities."He paid his price. He is a class player. Once he is focused, he is going to get a lot of runs," Haynes said."I think all Jamaica are glad to see him back in the team. We want to see him go out there and perform to the best of his ability."

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has welcomed the resumption of cricketing ties between India and Pakistan at the the under-19 and A levels. Ehsan Mani, the ICC president, hoped that this would lead to the revival of full-fledged international cricket between the two teams.”India and Pakistan on the cricket field is one of the world’s greatsporting rivalries,” said Mani. “The announcement that these two powerful cricketing nations will again meet on the field, albeit at a level below full international status, is a welcome step along the path to the resumption of full cricketing ties between the countries.”When these two teams met in the 2003 World Cup the passion that the match generated and its ability to have a positive impact on people in both nations was apparent.”Cricket, like all sport, has the capacity to promote understanding and generate goodwill and I would urge the political leaders in both countries to allow the game of cricket to assist in building relations between these two nations rather than being used for a political purpose.”Earlier, Pakistan had requested the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) to reschedule the four-nation under-19 tournament so that it won’t clash with other major matches to be played in Pakistan later this year. “We welcome India’s participation in the event as the first step towards resuming cricketing ties but want the event to be rescheduled from September to November this year,” said Lt Gen Tauqir Zia, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman.Pakistan, who have rarely been able to play home series since the attacks on the World Trade Center led to a war in Afghanistan, are slated to host Bangladesh, South Africa and New Zealand from August to November. “The Under-19 event will be overshadowed during this period. That’s why we have asked the ACC to reschedule it.”The Indian government has refused to allow the senior side to tour Pakistan, but its decision to send the U-19s for the four-nation event indicates a thaw in relations. “With the junior-level events, we hope there are bright chances of revival of bilateral series between the two countries next year,” said Zia, alluding to a rivalry that has been in cold storage since India hosted a series in 1999.

In yet another spin of the merry-go-round, the Pune district and sessions court has reimposed the BCCI’s suspension of Abhijit Kale from first-class cricket, after the Indian board filed an appeal against a Pune civil-court order.The civil court had ruled, a couple of days earlier, that the ban on Kale could not go into effect without an inquiry. At the time, Milind Hartalkar, the BCCI’s counsel in Pune, had told NDTV: “We are studying the judgments and if necessary we shall move a higher court by filing the appeal in the proper court.”The BCCI had suspended Kale after receiving written complaints from two national selectors – Kiran More and Pranob Roy – alleging that Kale had offered them Rs 10 lakhs each for a place in the Indian team.

Rajin Saleh
On playing South Africa
In a one-dayer, anything can happen, so we want to play good cricket.On being a young team
We have some young cricketers who have come through and they’ve done welland I hope they do well tomorrow.On being made captain
It was a suprise and it brings pressure. But I don’t feel the pressure because of the players around me.Dav Whatmore
On Saleh being made captain
He’s been vice-captain in our last three series and it was probably the logical step-up for him. In the past three series, there have been matches when he’s stepped up and captained the team. The support he’s got from the other senior players has been wonderful. He’s fully attacking and leads by example. This kid would run through a brick wall for you. It’s another game for him. It may be his first as captain and the youngest captain of Bangladesh. But we have a job to do tomorrow and he has to work at it.On South Africa
Their confidence can’t be good. It’s not often they’ve played in a five match one-day series and lost all five, so it can’t be that good. But they’re probably pretty happy that they’re playing Bangladesh and no matter what we say, we’re still ranked down the bottom.On their own tactics
We have our little reasons for playing and trying to perform as well as we can and to be as totally relaxed as possible. A lot depends on what we do first, batting or bowling. But in many ways it doesn’t matter, you just have to be up for the game and we’ve had five full matches, which was a pretty good competition lead-up, and lost the one against Scotland. But our boys are in competition-mode in pretty similar conditions. I want to win. There’re always positives to come out of any game, but we go out in every match to win. We feel if we totally relax, let our natural ability take over and enjoy the contest, we will be in good competitive frame of mind to push the opposition as much as possible.On the team spirit
The spirit is good and the morale high. We exposed three youngsters through the under-19s and that’s been a wonderful knock-one effect for the whole team.