All teams competing in the ICC Under-19 World Cup starting in Christchurch on Saturday next week will be spoken to by representatives of the International Cricket Council’s anti-corruption unit.Sixteen teams, from all 10 Test playing nations, as well as Scotland, Canada, Namibia, Nepal, Papua New Guinea and Kenya will take part in the tournament which has its opening ceremony in Christchurch on Monday and its first official game at Bert Sutcliffe Oval when host team New Zealand meets Sri Lanka.New Zealand Cricket’s tournament director Tim Murdoch said today that he is scheduled to have a meeting with the ACU people next week.Teams are spread through Auckland, Christchurch and Dunedin during the initial phases of the tournament with the top six playing the latter half of the tournament in Christchurch and the next six playing in Auckland.”We’re fully supportive of them being here and taking the chance to talk to these young players,” Murdoch said.”They are the cream of the future Test prospects from around the world and to speak to them about their obligations to the game, and what they should do if they are ever approached will be good educational value for the players,” he said.

Pakistani spinners Saqlain Mushtaq and Danish Kaneria shared ninewickets to leave Bangladesh in the dumps on the opening day of thesecond and final Test here Wednesday.Off-spinner Saqlain captured 5-35 and leg-spinner Kaneria 4-62 asBangladesh were bowled out for 148, failing to last two full sessionsafter electing to bat on a good batting wicket.Pakistan, in reply, were 99-1 at close, with opener Taufiq Umer andYounis Khan batting on 47 apiece.Saqlain, who went wicketless in the first Test at Dhaka, struck in hissecond over and continued to torment the batsmen with turn and bounce.It was Saqlain’s 12th haul of five or more wickets in an innings andmarked the 25-year-old’s return to form after a lean period last year.Saqlain began by surprising opener Javed Omar with steep bounce toclaim his first wicket to a catch at silly-point.Habibul Bashar was caught down the leg side, while Sanwar Hossain wasclaimed leg-before as Saqlain stuck to a tidy line and length.Kaneria pegged away at the other end, having Enamul Hoque, AminulIslam and Fahim Muntasir caught in the close-in field. However hisbest wicket was that of Mehrab Hossain, who failed to read a googlyand was bowled while shaping to cut.The 21-year-old Kaneria now has 25 wickets in three Tests againstBangladesh, having taken nine in the first Test at Dhaka and 12 in theAsian Test Championship tie at Multan last year.Opener Al Sahariar was the only batsman to fall to a seamer, caughtbehind while trying to drive Waqar Younis.Bangladeshi captain Khaled Masud (28) and Aminul Islam (25) were theonly ones to offer some resistance.In reply, Pakistan lost an early wicket of Shadab Kabir for four, butTaufiq and Younis batted through till close, hitting eight boundarieseach.Pakistan included controversial fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar in place ofthe injured Wasim Akram from the side that won the first Test at Dhakaby an innings and 178 runs.Shoaib is under scrutiny from the International Cricket Council afterhis action was questioned for a third time in four years. The 26-yearold faces a one-year ban if he is reported again for throwing.

The WACA ground’s Farley stand is scheduled to be completely demolished later this week, on either Friday or Saturday, when Brajkovich Demolition Contractors bring in the Excavator Machine to take down the remaining walls and roof of the veteran grand stand.The WACA ground’s Farley stand is being demolished as part of the West Australian Cricket Association’s (WACA) refurbishment of the WACA ground.The essence of the refurbishment project is to transform the WACA ground into a stadium that primarily embraces the cricket spectator, and also provides the ability to accommodate other sporting events and a permanent winter tenant.Part of the WACA’s refurbishment plan involves; reducing the size of the ground by 15m on both the east and west sides of the ground, to bring spectators closer to the action; extending the grassed seating and shaded areas, so as to revitalise the ground’s family atmosphere and; raking the perimeter seating around the ground so as to provide better quality spectator viewing from an elevated position.WACA Chief Executive Officer Kath White said, The final demolition of the Farley has taken some time, but finally, the old warhorse will be disappearing. Much of the internal material was salvaged so bits of the Farley stand will find their way into various structures around WA.

Somerset supporters were queueing up at the office at the County Ground this morning to take advantage of the discounted membership prices which expire at the end of the day today.Membership secretary Joanne Betsworth told me “The phone lines are red hot this morning with people who are anxious to take advantage of the reduced membership prices.”All of the members of staff in the office were rushed off their feet in an effort to deal with the flood of personal callers and telephone applications that were being received.Already record numbers of new members for this time of year have joined. From a membership perspective it looks like being a highly successful year for the club, which in turn means that revenue is coming into the club coffers at this early stage in the season.Jo Betsworth concluded, “We have been really busy this week and we are really really pleased with the way that things are going.”Anyone who wants to take adavantage of the reduced prices can telephone Jo Betsworth on 01823 272946, or can click onto the membership section on the site and join on line.

Aggressive top order batsman Chris Gaffaney will lead the Otago A side at next month’s provincial series at Lincoln University.Gaffaney, the veteran of 49 first-class matches, lost his place in the State Otago Volts after poor form in the first two games but has a chance to fight back into contention with a good second XI series.He will be joined by several other players with first-class experience, that number including David Sewell, Nathan McCullum, Jordan Sheed, Simon Beare and Daryll Reddington.The A competition, starting on January 2, comprises six two-day games with the six major association teams being joined by the New Zealand Under-19 selection.The Otago A side is: Chris Gaffaney (captain), Robert King, Simon Beare, Jordan Sheed, Darin Smith, Jarrod Waldron, Grant Bilcliff, Tim Weston, Nathan McCullum, Hayden Finch, David Sewell, Daryl Reddington.

The long hand of justice sometimes gets a bit too short, letting the guilty escape punishment. After Darren Lehmann’s racial attitude came to light, the onus was clearly on the Australian Cricket Board to send out a strong message – zero tolerance to racism.Racism is not merely a mistake. It is a crime, that should not go unpunished. A few weeks ago Matthew Hayden was fined 20% of his match fees for breaking the dressing room door. It remains to be seen what happens to Lehmann after the ICC’s code of conduct charge.The ACB’s chief executive, James Sutherland, said that to emphasise the importance of players and officials complying with the code of conduct, the ACB has arranged for Lehmann to undergo counselling on this matter.”I have expressed to Darren the ACB’s disappointment in the incident and organised immediate counselling for him,” Sutherland said.The question that begs an answer from both the ICC and ACB is whether Lehmann brought the game into disrepute. There is a lot of difference between an erratic character and one who commits a crime. The latter do not deserve counselling – `if you do the crime – do the time’.Racism is a serious social problem. Only last month, Senator Trent Lott was engulfed in a political storm triggered by his racially offensive remarks, and forced to step down as US Senate Republican leader. Robert Mugabe and his administration are under fire from all corners for their violent land reforms, and for the singling out of white farmers in Zimbabwe.No one should try to justify racism. It would be naïve to suggest that there are different degrees, and that Lehmann is a moderate compared to Lott or Mugabe. But can it not be argued that Lehmann has the seeds of a racist in him?Moral hypocrisy is too prevalent in cricket these days. In November 2001, ICC match referee Mike Denness penalised five Indian players – including Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag – for bringing the game into disrepute. Sehwag was punished for `excessive appealing’ – with a fine of 75% of his match fee and a one-Test ban. We are all too aware of the fracas that followed, but the fact of the matter is that Sehwag had to do his time.Denness was quick to punish Sehwag, but missed the excessive appealing by South African skipper Shaun Pollock in the same game. The onus is not just on the ICC; the individual boards also have a responsibility to ensure that their players adhere to the basic values of this game – the gentlemen’s game!Earlier in 2001, West Indies wicket-keeper Ridley Jacobs was banned from playing in the second Test against Zimbabwe at Harare. The match referee, Denis Lindsay, found Jacobs guilty of a breach of the Players’ and Team Officials’ Code C2, namely: “Players and/or Team Officials shall at no time engage in conduct unbecoming to their status which could bring them or the game of cricket into disrepute.” Jacobs brought the game to disrepute by claiming a stumping which was not completed.On the other hand, it was good to see Steve Waugh extend his hand in gratitude to Mark Butcher after Butcher did not claim a catch. But it was the same Waugh who edged the ball to Foster before staring at the pitch as if nothing had happened! Goodwill should be reciprocated. Butcher is a rare class act. And it is that very spirit of honesty and principle that has made cricket a wonderful game to play and follow.The game has had low points, like the Bodyline series and the under-arm ball. It has always suffered from sledging, but these days there is an active effort to get rid of the sledging culture.In the summer of 1986, Ian Botham admitted in his newspaper column that he had smoked marijuana. The then Test and County Cricket Board suspended him for three months, which helped India win the Test series in England. The TCCB was very clear: Botham had set a bad example to young cricket fans.In 2001 five South African players were fined and severely reprimanded for smoking marijuana while celebrating their victory over West Indies. The Commonwealth Cricket Academy in Adelaide teaches its young wards the virtues of good values and how to be a responsible citizen. So do most academies around the world.All reasons why there is this voice I hear, which says: “Darren Lehmann’s crime deserves no sympathy.”

South Africa has been given a lifeline after the West Indies match was washed out in Benoni as a no-result. With West Indies only securing two points from the match, South Africa has been given a further option of squeezing their way into the Super Six stage.South Africa has to win all their remaining games with a further loss sure to see them exit the tournament in round one. The scenario is also based on no further games being washed out by rain. By winning the remaining games South Africa will end on 16 points. Any loss will see 15 players and a nation into further rain dances.New Zealand, who have completed their matches against the "stronger" teams in the group are going to lose four points for their decision not to go to Kenya and should, on present form, also end on 16 points.West Indies, by winning all their remaining games will end on 18 points, which makes the game against Sri Lanka vital for them to progress to the second round. A loss against Sri Lanka will see them end on 14 points.Sri Lanka holds the key to the group. By beating West Indies and South Africa they will top the group unbeaten on 24 points. Losses to both the teams will see them also finish on 16 points. Net run-rate will then decide the two teams to progress to the second round with West Indies.The following points position are possible accepting that New Zealand will win all their remaining games.Sri Lanka wins all their games the points will be:
Sri Lanka 24, New Zealand 16, West Indies 14, South Africa 12.Sri Lanka beats West Indies, loses to South Africa:
Sri Lanka 20, New Zealand 16, South Africa 16, West Indies 14.Sri Lanka beats South Africa, loses to West Indies:
Sri Lanka 20, West Indies 18, New Zealand 16, South Africa 12.Sri Lanka loses to South Africa and West Indies:
West Indies 18, Sri Lanka 16, New Zealand 16, South Africa 16.
With two of the three teams on equal points qualifying on net run-rates.For South Africa then it is imperative that they win all their remaining games well (to up their net run-rate) and that Sri Lanka beats West Indies on the 28th February at Newlands.

The dust had barely settled on Kenya’s win over Bangladesh before the almost inevitable calls came for them to be awarded Test status.Maurice Odumbe, Man of the Match against Bangladesh, said that the Kenyans "don’t mind being with the big boys". He went on: "Kenya have been lobbying very hard for Test status. I don’t know how far along it has gone but I definitely believe we belong there."If the sole criteria was the relative merits of Kenya and Bangladesh then their elevation to full status would be a formality. Bangladesh’s performances have gone from mediocre to downright embarrassing in the last few months, with repeated drubbings at Test level being compounded by a failure to beat either Kenya or Canada at the World Cup. They are currently so feeble that they would probably struggle against Holland and Namibia. Kenya, meanwhile, have a place in the Super Sixes.But things are not that straightforward. Bangladesh’s elevation to Test status came about largely as a result of non-field factors. Firstly, Bangladesh was seen, not unreasonably, as a vast, untapped market for the International Cricket Council (ICC) to exploit. Secondly, at the 1999 World Cup they beat Pakistan. At the time it was seen as their coming of age, but the result has since been tarnished by persistent allegations that it was the target of match-fixing. Thirdly, and perhaps most importantly, Jagmohan Dalmiya, at the time president of the ICC, saw their becoming a full member as a way of strengthening the Asian bloc on the ICC.For a few months all went well, but it soon became clear that Bangladesh simply weren’t up to it. The relatively new ICC Test Championship, which necessitated them playing two-Test series against the other countries, left all their weaknesses cruelly exposed and the cumulative effect of incessant hammerings culminated in their inept performances in South Africa. Quite simply, they are shell-shocked.The recent criticism heaped on the ICC for fast-tracking Bangladesh will have made it sensitive to making the same mistake again, and that will count against Kenya. Furthermore, while Bangladesh has a massive population which is fanatical about the game, Kenya, outside the relatively small Asian and European community, has until very recently remained oblivious to the game. The number of Africans taking up cricket is growing, but it is a slow change.Kenya also has no first-class structure, something which has seriously undermined Bangladesh’s progress. While Bangladesh now do play a few first-class games, their inexperience has left them all at sea in Test cricket. Kenya would suffer a similar fate.The mistake the ICC made with Bangladesh was to confuse one-day success with the ability to play Tests. Saying that, apart from their win over Pakistan, Bangladesh have only beaten Scotland (also in 1999) and Kenya (in 1997-98) in 67 ODIs. Since 1999 they have lost 30 ODIs on the trot, a world record beating their own pre-1999 sequence. Their abject performances in Test cricket – not the results, but more the manner of their defeats – have highlighted that the gulf between the two forms of the game is too great to be bridged overnight.Kenya need to play more threeand four-day games against first-class sides, get more experience of playing in other countries, and develop their own first-class structure before they should be seriously considered for Test status. The other new members to the elite, Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe, were made to wait and to build a structure that would support their position at the top table. It might have been frustrating, but they benefited from not being rushed into something for which they weren’t prepared.To expose Kenya to the likes of Australia and South Africa on the strength of a win over Sri Lanka and Bangladesh would be to repeat the mistakes of the past, and risk snuffing out the considerable progress that they have made.Martin Williamson is managing editor of Wisden.com.

There is no rest for the wicked or the all-conquering Australian cricketteam.Less than 48 hours after retaining the World Cup, the majority of theAustralian players were already counting down the hours at home beforedeparting for the Caribbean.A weary, hungover but still jubilant national team touched down in Perthfor its only public celebration in front of about 7,000 people atForrest Place.Such is the shortage of time it was decided to hold the one-offreception in Perth so players could spend more time off with familiesand friends.The players depart for the West Indies on Monday and will have hadalmost 37 of 40 weeks on tour at the conclusion of the two-month tour.The hero of Sunday’s World Cup final and newly-appointed Test vicecaptain Ricky Ponting said the grinding workload was tough on theplayers after the two-month African journey.”But saying that we’ve been there and done it all before – we’ve beenused to this sort of programming now for the last three or four years,so it’s not too much of a shock to us,” he said.”But there is no doubt that everyone here would like to have a few moredays at least at home to see their families and friends.”Ponting said Test warhorses in captain Steve Waugh and opener JustinLanger would add spark to the side having spent their energies in statecricket over the past couple of months and not the World Cup.The Australians will have plenty to play for in the Caribbean afterBrian Lara’s heroics ensured the four Test series was locked at 2-2 in1999, in Waugh’s first outing as national captain.”We probably went over there expecting to win pretty comfortably lasttime and we were really tested in a couple of games by Lara,” he said.”He really changed the course of the whole series last time.”So I’m sure Steve is looking forward to playing again and Justin(Langer) has had a few weeks off as well, so those guys coming back intothe side will drag all the rest of us along with them I’m sure.””We’re all looking forward to putting the white clothes back on.”Meanwhile John Buchanan, who will be making his first tour of the WestIndies as national coach, said he didn’t think he would have anytroubles getting the players up for the West Indies despite thegruelling set of fixtures.”I think the bottom line is that’s the essence of this team, and theseplayers, that they are able to confront whatever the situation andperform exceptionally well so I don’t see that being any different oncewe get there.”Unlucky paceman Jason Gillespie, who had to pull out of the Australianteam midway through the World Cup, said he was recovering well from afoot injury.The South Australian expected to be fit in time for the opening Test ofthe four-match series starting April 10 in Georgetown.

*Trent Bridge to host Twenty20 Cup Final*The pop world and cricket joined forces today when the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) announced the music line-up for county cricket’s revolutionary Twenty20 Cup competition.Established bands ‘Atomic Kitten’ and ‘Mis-Teeq’, as well as emerging Irish boy band ‘D’Side’, will play in front of live audiences at Twenty20 Cup matches while a re-mix of 10CC’s ‘Dreadlock Holiday’ has been selected as the theme tune for the tournament.Atomic Kitten, the all-girl band with a string of top 20 hits, will play at the Finals Day to be held at Trent Bridge on Saturday 19 July – the first time that a pop band has ever played at a major domestic cricket final in the UK. Supporting Atomic Kitten will be ‘United Colours of Sound’, who have re-mixed the old 10CC song ‘Dreadlock Holiday’ to become the signature tune of the competition.Mis-Teeq, meanwhile, will entertain spectators on the opening day of the competition, Friday 13 June, at the Hampshire v Sussex match at the Rose Bowl. They will be supported by D’Side and United Colours of Sound. A capacity 9,000 sell-out is anticipated for the match, which will be televised live by Sky Sports.Stuart Robertson, ECB Marketing Manager, said, “We fully expect capacity crowds at both the Hampshire v Sussex match and the Finals Day, not to mention many of the 45 group matches.”Ticket information

• Tickets are now available for all Twenty20 Cup matches and details can be found at www.ecb.co.uk/twenty20
• Tickets for the opening game at the Rose Bowl can be bought today. Tel. 0870 243 0291. Ticket prices are £15 for adults and £10 for under sixteens.

Band information
Mis-Teeq – made up of three girls Alesha 23, Sabrina 23 and Su – Elise 20 – are a UK garage / R’n’B band who have had four top ten singles to date. Their debut album Eye Candy, reached number five in the album charts earlier this month. The band won the ‘Best Artist’ award at last year’s UK Garage Awards.Atomic Kitten – the Liverpool trio have had 11 hit singles to date including one of the biggest hits of 2001 ‘Whole Again’ taken from their number one debut double platinum album ‘Right Now’. The girls became the UK’s biggest female act of recent years when they simultaneously held number one spot on both the singles and album charts, a feat only ever achieved by a female artist before by the Spice Girls. Their current album ‘Feels So Good’ has sold in excess of 600,000 copies.D’Side – are already following in the footsteps of two other famous Irish five-piece boybands (Westlife and Boyzone) by launching their career by winning ‘Best New Act’ at the Smash Hits Awards. Their debut song, ‘Speachless’, went into the top 10 last Sunday.Twenty20 Cup – background information
The Twenty20 Cup, the first brand new competition for county cricket since 1973, replaces the old Benson and Hedges Cup. It is cricket on fast-forward – 20 overs-a-side bouts contested over just two hours 45 mins and staged during the longest summer evenings in June. (Opening matches are on Friday 13 June). With games generally starting at 5.30pm, the action is conveniently timed for the post-school and office audiences.The 18 First Class Counties are split into three regional groups of six teams each, with the three group winners and the best runner-up progressing to a Finals Day at Trent Bridge on Saturday 19 July. Aside from the on-pitch action, off-the-field entertainment will include live bands, replay screens, BBQ zones and karaoke machines, with musical instruments and fancy dress codes encouraged to help create the perfect evening out.A new prize money structure will be implemented to encourage both team victories and individual performances. The Twenty20 champions will receive £42,000, the runners-up will get £21,000 and the losing-semi-finalists £10,000. Extra incentives will also be made to the best performing individuals with cash prizes of up to £1,500 going to the best performing batsmen, bowlers and all-rounders.npower is the first official partner of the Twenty20 Cup. More official partners are anticipated.Match details and ticket information can be found at www.ecb.co.uk/twenty20