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The Indian cricket board will no longer use the services of IMG, the sports management firm, for conducting the IPL, following a disagreement over payments for the league’s second season in South Africa.N Srinivasan, the BCCI secretary, conveyed the decision to Andrew Wildblood, the IMG vice-president, on Friday through a letter in which he explained that the Indian board’s working committee felt that IMG’s fee was “disproportionate to the service rendered”. Srinivasan did not disclose IMG’s fee for conducting and managing the IPL’s second season but claimed that the BCCI has paid Rs 42.92 crore to the firm for the first edition in 2008.Srinivasan claimed in the letter that he and Shashank Manohar, the BCCI president, had met Wildblood in London in June for negotiations on the issue and had asked IMG to submit a fresh fee proposal before the BCCI’s next working committee on August 13. IMG failed to do so, Srinivasan claimed in the letter and concluded: “Therefore, please note that BCCI has taken a decision not to use IMG service anymore for the IPL tournament.”When contacted, Srinivasan and Wildblood neither confirmed nor denied the development. “I would refrain from making a comment,” Srinivsan said. “I am not able to make any comment at this time,” Wildblood said. Lalit Modi, the IPL chairman, declined to comment too.The IPL franchises were informed about the decision only on Saturday morning through a separate email sent by league officials, a franchise official confirmed.Sources in the IPL governing council said they expected IMG to drag the Indian board to court over the issue, but the latest development is on expected lines as the payment to the sports management firm was a matter of debate within the BCCI last year too. One section of officials claimed that the fee was exorbitant and argued that IMG’s role was over once the tournament was launched. Others have pointed to the crucial role played by the firm in conceptualizing, implementing and managing the league that has been widely acknowledged as a huge success; this is a view that has been backed by many franchise officials, one of whom said his team would always prefer to have independent professionals managing the IPL..

Kyle McCallan, the Ireland offspinner, expects a battle when the defending champions take on Scotland in the ICC Intercontinental Cup at Mannofield in Aberdeen on Monday.McCallan said it was Ireland’s three-run victory against Scotland in Aberdeen in 2005 that sparked off their successful run in the ICC Intercontinental Cup, which they have won on the previous three occasions. “It’s funny but despite winning the trophy three times, we probably want it even more this time,” McCallan said. “We’ve got a real desire to show the world we’re the best Associate team at all levels, and winning this is one of the best ways to do it. We’ve some fantastic memories over the past few years.”Our games with Scotland over the years have always been battles, and I expect the game in Aberdeen to be no different,” McCallan said. “They seem to be in something of a transition period but they got a great result last month against Canada and we would never take them lightly.”McCallan was preparing to lead against Scotland until Gloucestershire released William Porterfield, the regular Ireland captain, at the last minute from his county duties. Porterfield’s availability strengthens a squad which already included Trent Johnston, Jeremy Bray, Andrew White and young talent such as Shane Getkate and Paul Stirling.Scotland will be confident going into the match against Ireland, having begun their campaign by beating Canada outright at the same venue. They made four changes to that successful squad though. Lockhart replaced the injured Simon Smith as the wicketkeeper-batsman. Gordon Goudie returned from shoulder injury and replaced Calum MacLeod, while left-arm spinner Ross Lyons was selected ahead of legspinner Moneeb Iqbal. Stewart Chalmers received his first four-day call-up because of the injury to allrounder Jan Stander.Scotland: Gordon Drummond (capt), Fraser Watts, Dougie Lockhart, Qasim Sheikh, Ryan Watson, Euan Chalmers, Neil McCallum, Richie Berrington, Stewart Chalmers, Majid Haq, Ross Lyons, Gordon Goudie, Mathew Parker, Ally Evans.Ireland: William Porterfield (capt), Andre Botha, Jeremy Bray, Andrew Britton, Alex Cusack, Shane Getkate, Trent Johnston, Kyle McCallan, Kevin O’Brien, Andrew Poynter, Paul Stirling, Regan West, Andrew White, Gary Wilson.

Bangladesh allrounder Shakib Al Hasan and fast bowler Shahadat Hossain have been fined for excessive appealing during the first Test against West Indies in St Vincent which concluded on Monday. Shakib was docked 10% of his match fee while Shahadat was fined 5%. Imrul Kayes, the opening batsman, was let off with a reprimand for the same offence.Andy Pycroft, the ICC match referee, found the players guilty during the final day of the Test as Bangladesh chased their first Test victory away from home.”The effect of prolonging the appeal is just the same as appealing more than once which means pressurising the umpires,” Pycroft said. “I can understand the enthusiasm and excitement on the field as the Bangladesh players were sensing a long-awaited victory and their first in the West Indies but excessive and prolonged appealing on more than one occasion is against the spirit of the game and has no place in the game.”Imrul is relatively new to international cricket as he is playing only his third Test match and I am willing to accept that he didn’t fully appreciate the importance of adhering to the ICC Code of Conduct. But I am sure he has now learnt his lesson and will avoid repeating the same mistake again.”

Cricket’s leading Associates, supported by the ICC’s own chief executives’ committee, lodged objections to Zimbabwe being allowed to enter an A team into the 2009-10 Intercontinental Cup.Zimbabwe were included in the tournament as part of plans to help them return to the Test arena formulated following a fact-finding mission and report by Julian Hunte, the president of the West Indies board. However, it was generally believed this meant they would field a full team in the competition.But Zimbabwe announced that it would treat the event as a chance to bring on youngsters, a move which left Associates far from impressed.”If the idea is this prepares them for Test cricket, then surely they should be made to field the players who are going to be in that Test side,” one Associate chairman told Cricinfo. “An A team means that if they lose they can shrug and say ‘well, it’s not our main side’ and yet if they win they can boast then even their second-string squad is good enough.”At the ICC’s recent annual get together, both the Associates meeting and the chief executives’ committee separately tabled their concerns about this and pushed for Zimbabwe to be made to enter their best XI.Senior ICC officials refused to force the issue, claiming that Hunte’s report did not compel Zimbabwe to enter a full-strength team. As a compromise, the side is likely to be known as Zimbabwe XI rather than Zimbabwe A.”Call them what you like,” the chairman said. ” Again the ICC has fudged the issue and allowed Zimbabwe off the hook.”However, Roddy Smith, chief executive of Cricket Scotland, told Cricinfo that “even if it is a Zimbabwe XI it is a step in the right direction in terms of more games against Full Members or their A sides … I very much welcome their addition into the Intercontinental Cup.”

In his most recent fortnightly column on English cricket, Lawrence Booth warned that the signs were there that Twenty20 cricket in England might be starting to lose its appeal. After six seasons where crowds flocked to games, early ticket sales, he said, suggested that interest was cooling.The acid test was always going to come on the opening day of this season’s competition. At Lord’s, everything was set for a bumper crowd. The sun was shining, it was a Bank Holiday Monday, and the game featured Middlesex, the defending champions, against cross-London rivals Surrey. Five years ago, this same fixture attracted almost 30,000 people in a game that was a virtual sell-out. Last year, more than 16,000 attended.This time there were only around 10,000 inside Lord’s, with pre-sales only 7000. But the organisers didn’t help themselves. One would-be spectator contacted Cricinfo to report his frustration. “I joined the queue near main gates at 2.10pm,” he said. “The queue didn’t move, and we were told they’d ‘run out of tickets’! The [new] tickets arrived at 2.35pm as players were going out. I got to front of queue after play had started (we could hear inside ground) only to be told it was for ‘members only’.” He gave up and went home.The lower attendance was not a one-off. It was the same story across the country where counties reported sluggish ticket sales – some indicated they were as much as 40% down. Coming so soon after very poor attendances for the Tests at Lord’s and Chester-le-Street, the warning bells ought to be sounding within the ECB.Excuses are already being prepared, ranging from the recession to people keeping their powder dry for the ICC World Twenty20 and the Ashes. Critics counter that the marketing for the earlier-than-usual start has been poor and the scheduling means that there is now a glut of Twenty20 cricket, a situation which will only get worse. Next year the ECB unleashes its second Twenty20 league, meaning a substantial increase in the number of matches.Those running the game would do well to take heed of the crowds and also the views of the players. Speaking to the Independent, Shaun Udal, the veteran Middlesex captain who has been in the game for almost two decades, warned that “there’s a danger we are going to kill it”. He continued. “It’s typical of English cricket, you get something that’s right and it gets overdone. It’s daft, it’s just being greedy. It’s not good for the players and it’s not good for the spectators.”

Mohammad Ashraful has said Bangladesh’s main objective is to qualify for the Super Eights of the World Twenty20 which begins on June 5. They play their first game on June 6 against India, the current champions, whom they famously beat in the 2007 World Cup.”In this form of the game any side can beat the other,” Ashraful told reporters at Lord’s. “We defeated the West Indies in the last World T20 in South Africa and progressed to the Super Eight. Our main goal is to repeat that and if we beat India, who are the world champions, in the first match then we will fancy our chances of doing well against the top sides and making the semi-finals even.”Barring the upset win over West Indies in the last World Twenty20, Bangladesh had a disappointing tournament, losing their other four games by fairly convincing margins. However, Ashraful, who had a poor run himself, averaging 17.40 in five games, was confident of putting up a better show this time. “We have come here one week early, had three games against New Zealand, Holland and Scotland and the boys have done well,” he said. “We are confident and there are two tough games against Australia tomorrow and Sri Lanka the day after. So that’s a nice build-up to the main tournament.”One of the Bangladesh players who has impressed in the warm-ups has been the seamer, Rubel Hossain. He returned figures of 4 for 19 against Holland, and 5 for 16 against Scotland. “He has taken nine wickets in two matches and is bowling really well. He has an awkward action and has bit of extra pace,” Ashraful said of Rubel.He also backed his deputy Mashrafe Mortaza to come good after a disappointing solitary game in the IPL, where he conceded 58 runs in four overs for Kolkata Knight Riders, including 27 in the decisive final over of the contest. “It was only in the last over that he did badly. Otherwise I thought he was okay. But I know he’ll be back. He is that type of a player. He always does well against India.”Ireland is the other team that Bangladesh must face in the group stage, and having lost to them at the 2007 World Cup they might have reason to be cautious. But Ashfraful was confident of averting a repeat. “I think if we play our best cricket then we should not have a problem against Ireland because we have more quality in the side.”Bangladesh take on Australia in their next warm-up game on Monday.

Sri Lanka selectors have dropped the country’s top three top run-getters in the Women’s World Cup in Australia from the 14-member squad for next month’s World Twenty20.The players dropped are team captain Shashikala Siriwardene, opening batsman Dedunu Silva and all-rounder Suwini de Alwis.Siriwardene topped the run-scoring list with 72 runs (at 18.00), and was followed by Dedunu with 68 runs (at 17.00) and Suwini 65 runs (at 16.25). Sri Lanka failed to win any of their three group matches in the World Cup and did not qualify for the Super Six stage.In the absence of Siriwardene, who has been captain for the past three years, Chamari Polgampola will take over the leadership for the Women’s World Twenty20 with Eshani Kaushalya as her deputy.Sri Lanka Cricket sources say they were dropped on grounds of indiscipline, though the specific incident(s) involved have not been made known. Dedunu and Suwini, sources said, were dropped on the basis of the team manager’s report after the World Cup, following which they were suspended by SLC’s interim committee.SLC sources did not want to disclose the reasons behind Siriwardene’s dropping.Sri Lanka are drawn in Pool B with Pakistan, England and India in the tournament that will run from June 5-21 in the UK.Sri Lanka Women’s ICC World Twenty20 team: Chamari Polgampola (captain), Eshani Kaushalya (vice-captain), Hiruka Fernando, Deepika Rasangika, Rose Fernando, Dilini Manodara, Udeshika Probodani, Sripali Weerakkody, Chamari Atapattu, Sadamali Dolawatha, Chamilka Bandara, Sumudu Fernando, Saduni Abeywickrama, Inoka Galagedara.

Zimbabwe A 120 for 3 (Mabuza 46*, Zhuwawo 45) beat Ireland 118 (Wilson 56, Chisoro 3-26) by seven wicketsIreland’s preparations for the ICC World Cup Qualifiers continued to go off the rails as they were convincingly beaten by Zimbabwe A in the second of their warm up games in Benoni.In their previous match their bowlers let them down, and this time it was the batsmen who fell apart as they were bowled out for 118 in 38 overs. Had it not been for 56 off 100 balls from Gary Wilson, the innings would have been even more wretched. Tendai Chisoro (3 for 26), and Tafadzwa Kamungozi (2 for 13) tore through Ireland’s top order, reducing them at one stage to 59 for 7.Cephas Zhuwawo blasted 45 from just 33 balls to remove any slim hopes Ireland had of rescuing the situation, and Mbekezele Mabuza, with an unbeaten 46 from 65 balls, guided Zimbabwe home with seven wickets and 22 overs in hand.Such are Ireland’s concerns that they hastily arranged another game, against Afghanistan on Thursday, to try to give themselves a much-needed win before the tournament begins on April 1.

As Australia neared victory on the final afternoon at the Wanderers,Ricky Ponting stood at second slip and surveyed the men closest to him. The cordon was made up of Ponting, the debutants Marcus North and Phillip Hughes, and also Andrew McDonald, who was playing his second Test. Even the wicketkeeper Brad Haddin was less than a year into hisTest career.For anyone who hadn’t fully comprehended the magnitude of change inAustralian cricket over the past few months, it was a telling image.Barely a year ago, the same positions would have been occupied by AdamGilchrist and Matthew Hayden, and going back a further 12 months,Shane Warne and Justin Langer.Also scattered around the field were the debutant fast bowler BenHilfenhaus and Peter Siddle, who was in his fifth Test. When MitchellJohnson fired in a full one that bowled Dale Steyn, Ponting collectedthe stumps and distributed them among his new colleagues. Each of themdeserved a reward. Whereas Ponting spoke of the team’s “passengers”during the series in Australia, every player contributed inJohannesburg.Of the debutants, North’s 117 in the first innings was the standout.Hughes’ fighting 75 in the second innings was also important andHilfenhaus did what he was asked to do – he ran in hard all day, swungthe ball and collected three wickets for the game, including the keybreakthroughs of Graeme Smith and Mark Boucher in the second innings.Each of their efforts pleased Ponting but none shocked him.”I’m not surprised that Hilfenhaus came in and bowled well because Iknow what he’s capable of,” Ponting said. “I’m not surprised thatHughes came in and made runs because he’s been making runs for thelast couple of years in domestic cricket in Australia. I’m notsurprised that North did because he’s an experienced player that hasfaced his own challenges in a very high domestic competition inAustralia.”I’m not surprised by what they’ve achieved. Now it’s a matter ofthose guys being able to do it again next week. That’s what Testcricket is all about. You don’t get the luxury of having a couple ofweeks between games to get yourself prepared again. It’s aboutbouncing back in a couple of days.”There are several men back in Australia who will be watching withinterest to see how the fresh faces respond after their opening win.Stuart Clark, Brett Lee, Andrew Symonds and Shane Watson would allhave been in the starting line-up in Johannesburg had they been fit.If the new boys can continue to thrive at the highest level, there isno guarantee that there will be places for the more experienced menlater this year.

Clark is a must-pick but Australia will learn more over the next fewweeks about how much they really need the out-of-form Lee, theill-disciplined Symonds and the injury-prone Watson. With an Ashestour coming up during the Australian winter, now is the perfect timefor the likes of North, Hughes, Hilfenhaus and McDonald to completeirresistible auditions.But for all the hype the Ashes will bring, the past four Tests haveshown just how highly South Africa-Australia contests deserve to berated. For the second time in successive Tests these sides have takenthe match into the final session of the fifth day and ended with aresult. The Perth and Melbourne Tests that came before weren’t overbefore lunch on the last day.The battles have been so tight and unpredictable that with a day toplay in Johannesburg, few onlookers were prepared to confidently tip awinner. At a time when Tests in the West Indies and Pakistan havefeatured such high totals that draws appear inevitable, the SouthAfrica-Australia bouts have been immeasurably valuable for a five-dayformat that is trying to hold its place as the game’s pre-eminentstyle.One of the reasons Test cricket may have lost some popularity over thepast decade was the fact that Australia dominated so comprehensively.Since the days of Mark Taylor’s captaincy they have been underdogs asoften as the Harlem Globetrotters. That they flew into South Africa afortnight ago without being favourites was a major shift in the game’sfoundations.That they won the opening Test with one of their least experiencedteams in 20 years is good for cricket. Fierce and even competitionbetween the world’s top teams can only be positive for the game. Thechallenge for Australia’s young squad now is to prove that theirdisplay was not a one-off.

Manoj Tiwary, the Bengal batsman, has been named captain of the East Zone side for next month’s Deodhar Trophy with Saurabh Tiwary, the 19-year-old Jharkhand batsman, vice-captain. Laxmi Ratan Shukla, the former India allrounder, found a place in the 15-man squad but Shiv Sundar Das, who captained East in the Duleep Trophy, was left out.Tiwary doesn’t lead Bengal in the Ranji Trophy but he didn’t think captaincy would adversely affect his batting. “I’ve always enjoyed captaincy. I have led Under-19 sides and won’t be under any pressure,” he told Kolkata-based daily the . “In fact, if you check the statistics you will find that I have performed better whenever I have been the captain of the side.” The only captaincy experience Tiwary has with senior sides is when he led Bengal in the 2007 inter-state Twenty20 tournament.”I have been playing in the zonal side for the past few years and have observed a few things that I think should be addressed properly to enhance the team’s performance,” he said. “There are some aspects in which the East Zone sides have been found wanting in the past.”The squad will be coached by former Indian wicketkeeper Sameer Dighe, and have a conditioning camp in Cuttack from March 11.East are in Group B of the Deodhar Trophy, which is scheduled to start on March 13, and are clubbed with North and Central. After a round of league matches, the teams topping the two groups will face off in the final on March 18.Squad: Manoj Tiwary (capt), Saurabh Tiwary (vice-capt), Laxmi Ratan Shukla, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Ranadeb Bose, Ashok Dinda, Natraj Behara, Halhadar Das, Rakesh Mohanty, Preetamjit Das, Ishank Jaggi, Deepak Sharma, Dhiraj Goswami, Tushar Saha, and Rana Dutta