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The ICC board has surprisingly rejected a recommendation from its own cricket committee to trial a process of allowing players three appeals per innings to the TV umpire if they felt a decision made by an on-field umpire was incorrect during this year’s ICC Champions Trophy.”The reservations expressed by the cricket committee when they recommended the player appeal measure were mirrored to a much greater degree by the ICC board in its rejection of the concept after extensive deliberation,” said ICC president Ehsan Mani. “The board was concerned about the impact of the trial on the Spirit of Cricket and the effect it might have on the integrity of umpiring at all levels.”It was also felt the ICC Champions Trophy was too high profile an event at which to undertake such a trial. As such, further discussions will now take place to see whether the concept can be tested at domestic level.”Duncan Fletcher, England’s coach, had repeatedly spoken in favour of the three-appeal concept. But, for the time being at least, technology will only be used at the discretion of the on-field umpires.Meanwhile, another decision from a week-long series of ICC meetings in London, saw the chief executives’ committee (CEC) also approve a series of recommendations concerning the issue of bad light in international cricket. Research on the subject will be undertaken in Australia, England and Pakistan and pending the completion and review of that research, artificial lights can still be used in Test matches. The CEC also agreed to the increased use of light meters as a guideline for determining whether light is fit or unfit for play.

Brendan Nash, the former Queensland batsman who left Australia to restart his career in the Caribbean, has been named in Jamaica’s 17-man squad for this season’s forthcoming KFC Cup.Nash is eligible to play for Jamaica as his father, Paul, is of Jamaican origin, having represented the country as an Olympic swimmer. Nash is joined by two new faces in the squad: Donovan Sinclair and Krishmar Santokie, the left-arm fast bowler.Chris Gayle leads the strong side which includes Daren Powell, JeromeTaylor and Marlon Samuels.David Bernard, Xavier Marshall and Donovan Pagon, who have all played for the West Indies, have been left out, as has Dwight Washington.

Dolphins offspinning allrounder Khaya Zondo’s bowling action has been cleared after an assessment was conducted at an ICC-accredited centre in Pretoria.Zondo, who was reported for a suspect bowling action in the semi-final of the Ram Slam competition between Dolphins and Cape Cobras in Durban on December 9, was required to submit an independent assessment of his bowling action in accordance with CSA regulations.The assessment which was conducted on December 17, revealed that all his deliveries were within the permitted 15-degree limit and therefore will be allowed to continue to bowl in domestic cricket.Zondo, whose primary role for his domestic franchise is with the bat, has taken 35 first-class wickets at an average of 34.11 with a best of 6 for 52, and also has 12 wickets in 64 T20s.

David Moore, the newly-appointed coach of the West Indies team, has said that preparation would be the key to success. “We have the will to do well but we have to have the will to prepare to do well, we need to prepare ourselves to compete consistently well at the highest level,” he said as he took over the reins from Bennett King, who resigned as head coach of the West Indian team after the World Cup.”We are in a situation where we are coming off the back of playing a lot of one day cricket and moving into Test matches which is a real test of one’s skill,” said Moore. “In our last Test series (against Pakistan) we played some respectable cricket without gaining any wins and it now requires that we spend some quality time in preparing for Test cricket against a tough opposition at home.””We do not have a lot of time, but we do have one warm up game and we have to utilize the time effectively and get into the rhythm of Test cricket again,” said Moore, as the team assembled in Barbados ahead of their departure to England where they will play four Tests, three ODIS and two Twenty20 matches. “Traditionally the wickets in England are a bit more fresh and have more moisture earlier in the season and it means the pitches would do a little bit more but having followed the English first class season so far the wickets appear to be a little flatter with a lot of runs being scored.”Moore, who played one first-class match for New South Wales, hoped that the England tour would afford his team the chance to make a fresh start, under a new captain. “We’ve got a brand new captain, the head coach has resigned so from our point of view as team management it’s a fresh start, it’s a good opportunity to move the team forward and we will be looking to all the players to perform at their best levels and looking for each player to move forward on and off the field, in training and in representing the West Indian people in public.”Moore conceded that losing Brian Lara would have its impact, but hoped that his team could look at the positive side of things. “We’ve lost Brian (Lara) which is a major loss and it leaves a big hole but it is a wonderful opportunity for all the batsmen to stake a claim in replacing him in the side.””We’ve got Daren Ganga, who has scored some quality runs, opening the batting, once we get through the new ball and establish a base for us to score runs we then need the middle order to capitalize on that and for players to go ahead to score Test hundreds and there is a chance for those batters to establish themselves.”Moore also looked for consistent contributions from other players, insisting that both the top- and lower-order had roles to play. “Also I’m looking for players like (Dwayne) Bravo and (Denesh) Ramdin to also score runs in the lower middle order, it’s an important area for us in the past and these guys need to perform,” Moore continued. “(Chris) Gayle, (Shivnarine) Chanderpaul and (Ramnaresh) Sarwan are all quality batsmen but they are probably not happy with the amount of runs they have been scoring recently in Test cricket and we are looking to them to contribute in the batting order.””On the bowling side of things I feel Corey Collymore is a key in our attack, he has been frugal with runs scored against him and can get the ball to swing,” Moore said as he discussed the bowling attack. “Overall we have a very good young team who are still learning about all facets of their cricket and I’m really looking forward to working with them during this tour and if they can get their processes right we can certainly compete with the opposition.”

Morne Morkel, Yorkshire’s overseas player, will return home to South Africa after sustaining a hamstring injury.Morkel, who was signed until June 1 as a short-term fill-in for Rana Naved-ul-Hasan, broke down during last week’s Championship match against Nottinghamshire. He was diagnosed as having a grade 2 hamstring tear which usually takes between three and six weeks to heal.”I am really upset that an injury is forcing me to return home,” Morkel said. “Everyone at Yorkshire has made me very welcome and I was desperate to take some wickets and get Yorkshire off to the best possible start.””We are all sad to see Morne depart so soon after his arrival,” Martyn Moxon, the county’s director of cricket, said. “He was fitting in well, provided our bowling attack with some variety as he is a genuinely quick bowler.”We have a strong squad and as Rana Naved will be unable to be registered as a Yorkshire player before May 19, there is now a chance for one of our other seamers to grab an unexpected first-team opportunity.”Morkel will travel with the squad for their Friends Provident Trophy match against Lancashire on Sunday before flying back home. He should be fit again in time to return to England with the South African squad at the end of June.

Scorecard

Netherlands sneaked past Canada by one wicket in the rain-affected fifth one-dayer at Benoni to take the ICC Tri-Series on Thursday.Set a revised 205 from 42 overs, Netherlands made good progress thanks to a counterattacking partnership between Ryan ten Doeschate (38) and Luuk van Troost (34). And when Daan van Bunge passed fifty from 52 balls, Netherlands appeared to be cruising home before they stumbled from from 142 for 6 to 178 for 9, with Billy Stelling the last of the recognised batsmen. However, he held his nerve – crashing two fours and lofting two sixes – in his 34-ball 39 as Netherlands crept home with just two balls to spare.Earlier Canada’s innings was a stuttering affair with Ashish Bagai (23) and Abdool Samad (44) sharing a promising second-wicket stand of 52. But the innings foundered somewhat, with Tim de Leede picking up two cheap wickets, before a huge thunderstorm during the lunch interval delayed the start of Netherlands’ innings, causing the intervention of Duckworth and Lewis.The final game of the series between Canada and Bermuda will be played on Saturday.

Click here for a list of all events awarded by the ICCEngland have been awarded the rights to host the 2019 World Cup as well as the 2009 Twenty20 World Championships. The announcement was made after the ICC board meeting in Dubai this weekend.”The ECB should be very pleased with the outcome of these negotiations,” said Ehsan Mani, the ICC president. “It produced an excellent submission to host both the World Cup and the Twenty20 World Championship and have earned the right to host both events.”A lot of credit must go to David Morgan for the astute manner in which he handled some very complex discussions. England will be a fitting venue for the Twenty20 World Championships at the climax of our centenary year in 2009.”Morgan, the ECB chairman, was clearly delighted: “We entered into this process with the goal of being awarded a Twenty20 event and a World Cup,” he said. “It’s great news for cricket in England and Wales that these two major events have been secured and we have a wonderful opportunity to build our international calendar around these showpiece occasions.”The full support of the ICC board for the staging of these two important events in England is a clear indication of the prominent role that the ECB continues to hold in international cricket.”England hosted the first three World Cups in 1975, 1979 and 1983 (when Wales also hosted games) as well as the 1999 tournament when matches were also played in Wales, Scotland and Ireland.

Luke Ronchi, the big-hitting wicketkeeper-batsman, will join Mumbai for next month’s Indian Premier League after signing a three-year deal with the franchise. Ronchi owns a 56-ball century with Western Australia, a domestic one-day record, and his all-round skills are perfectly suited to the Twenty20 format.Mumbai have Sachin Tendulkar, Sanath Jayasuriya, Harbhajan Singh and Shaun Pollock in their squad and Ronchi, who has a strike-rate of 176.97 in his 12 abbreviated matches, is looking forward to joining them. “I can’t wait to get over there and start training with the likes of Tendulkar and Jayasuriya and try to gain as much as I can from the wealth of experience they possess,” Ronchi said.”It will be a tremendous learning experience for me, not just in how to play Twenty20, but in all aspects of my game because I will be surrounded by so many champions. And there may be an opportunity to open the batting with Sachin in front of his home crowd in Mumbai – that would be the stuff dreams are made of.”While Ronchi has joined the IPL’s playing ranks, Matthew Mott, the New South Wales coach, has accepted an offer from John Buchanan to be an assistant with Kolkata. Mott guided New South Wales’ Pura Cup final victory last week and he will be in India for Kolkata’s first game against Bangalore on April 18.”It’s going to be a great experience for him,” Dave Gilbert, the New South Wales chief executive, told the Sydney Morning Herald. “They have a terrific side, and the opportunity to work with Buchanan will be beneficial for him.”To be honest, our limited-overs form has been pretty ordinary in the last couple of seasons, and this is a great chance for Matt to go there and observe first-hand some of the game’s innovations. There will obviously be some pretty interesting cricket being played, and he will be able to take note of it all and plan for our assault on the title next season.”

18.1 Broad to Yuvraj Singh, SIX, that’s out the ground, super shot over cow corner and it just kept going up.18.2 Broad to Yuvraj Singh, SIX, now that really is sweet, no more than a dismissive flick off his legs, swatting a fly, and the ball arcs deep into the crowd beyond backward square leg. The dodgy TV measurement says that’s 111 yards but as it landed outside the ground how do they know? They guess that’s how.18.3 Broad to Yuvraj Singh, SIX, he’s hitting them everywhere, he steps to leg and smashes the ball over extra cover and it keeps on traveling. The fireworks start on top of the scoreboard and they’ve been going off in the middle for some time.18.4 Broad to Yuvraj Singh, SIX, Shiver me timbers! Broad goes round the wicket, bowls a filthy wide full toss and Yuvraj steers it over backward point and it clears the rope again.18.5 Broad to Yuvraj Singh, SIX, down on one knee and larruped over midwicket, that one was more nine iron, it went into the night sky and dropped with a thud in the jubilant crowd. England have a team meeting.Broad looks quizzical and miserable. Can he, can Yuvraj do it. Broad looks like a man who knows he is about to be mauled again.18.6 Broad to Yuvraj Singh, SIX, and he has, Yuvraj leans back and smacks that over wide mid-on. It was the maximum from the moment it left that bat and the crowd was roaring as it flew.

Mark Ramprakash has said he has sympathy for the player who picked the seam during a match against Nottinghamshire in the early stages of last season.The player, who refused to own up and whose identity has yet to be revealed despite an internal enquiry, cost Surrey eight points – ultimately sending the county down to the second division.”I have a lot of sympathy for the person who did it because it was naivety,” Ramprakash told the BBC. “Whoever it was did it for the right reasons.”During the game at The Oval, Nottinghamshire had amassed an enormous total of 692 for 7 declared, with the captain Stephen Fleming making 238. Ramprakash, captaining Surrey in Mark Butcher’s absence, takes up the story:”We were bowling, Notts were about 200-0, the umpires came over and said: ‘Look we feel this ball doesn’t look right and we feel something is wrong with the quarter-seam.'”This time they said we are not happy with this, somebody has obviously tampered with the ball. I had never come across someone picking the quarter-seam before.”Obviously somebody was trying to gain an advantage for Surrey and quite rightly we were penalised and punished. To this day we don’t know who did it, and of course people say those were the eight points that cost us and ensured we were relegated.”