Getting into a stadium to watch any match during next year’s World Cup “will be like boarding an airline”, according to a senior official.That’s the word from senior legal counsel with the tournament’s organising committee, Derek Jones,who warned that security was of absolute importance to the International Cricket Council. According to Jones, patrons must understand that security was paramount at global events such as the World Cup, and they must ensure they “provide themselves with ample time” to get ready for the matches. “You must start thinking of getting into the ground as if you were getting into an airplane,” Jones told The Nation in an interview over the weekend.”We must see security as a major area and like the airline industry, safety and security is paramount. Patrons will be allowed to carry certain personal items, but they must be able to fit under your seat.”Over 800,000 tickets are being made available for the tournament, which runs from March 11 to April 28, and patrons will have two major checkpoints. The first will be on entering the venue, and the second on entering the stand.The Jamaican lawyer, with over 30 years in the field, said mechanisms were in place to make sure that all areas of security were established and working.Chris Dehring, chief executive of the tournament, has been attending meetings at the football World Cup in Germany, to get a clearer idea of how to implement and manage the massive security effort. He attended pre-match and post-match meetings in Berlin.

James Anderson is unlikely to play any meaningful cricket for Lancashire this season as he continues his recovery from the stress fracture of his back. Mike Watkinson, Lancashire’s manager, has said that he is hopeful of Anderson begin back to full fitness but not up the standards for first-class action.”I don’t think we’ve got any sights on him playing competitive cricket this season,” Watkinson said. “He should be bowling at 100 per cent before the end of the season, but I don’t see him doing it in a first-class game.”Anderson has been out of action since the end of England’s tour of India when he started to feel discomfort after returning from the one-day series. He underwent scans and was found to have a stress fracture in his lower back, which required him to spend six weeks in a corset-style splint during the daytime.On Thursday, Anderson was named in England’s preliminary Champions Trophy 30 but if he was to make the final cut it would be his first serious action since March.

Lasith Malinga and Upul Tharanga did an invaluable favour to their respective former schools by providing them with cricket gear. The gear itself was donated by former Sri Lanka Under-19 captain Asitha Jayaweera and was distributed through the Foundation of Goodness.This was part of the ongoing effort in the south of the country to rehabilitate the victims of the December 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.Devapathiraja School in Rathgama (where Malinga studied) and Dharmasoka College, Ambalangoda (where Tharanga was educated) were picked as the recipients because they were in close proximity to Seenigama where the main work on tsunami victims is taking place.”Malinga and Tharanga emerged on the international cricket scene from virtual obscurity. It is amazing that cricketers of their calibre had come to the level of performing at the Mecca of cricket at Lord’s and achieved success without having had the training facilities that cricketers in affluent countries enjoyed,” said Kushil Gunasekera, founder of the Foundation of Goodness.”In that context it was absolutely admirable that talent which is so great in these areas is given the proper infrastructure so that the Malingas and the Tharangas of the future could emerge.”Around 80 boys in the under 13, 15 and 19 age group categories benefited from Jayaweera’s gesture, who is resident in the UK and a member of the UK-Sri Lanka Cricket representative committee.Malinga nicknamed ‘Malinga the slinger’ by the English press because of his unusual bowling action gave some useful advice to the young hopefuls. He said: “One thing I want to tell all you promising cricketers from both schools is never to look at what you don’t have, but look at the positive of what you have and then work on them rather than complain about not having anything. Work on your strengths to get to where you want to go, don’t look at the negative side of things.”Malinga (23) and Tharanga (21) sparkled for Sri Lanka in their 5-0 whitewash of England in the recent one-day international series. Malinga picked up the most wickets by any bowler from either side – 13 at 17.53, and Tharanga was the leading run-getter in the series with 347 runs (avg. 69.40).Meanwhile, things are certainly looking up for the tsunami victims in the south. The Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), the Surrey County Cricket Club and world-renowned pop star Bryan Adams are all part of the reconstruction work there.

The MCC is planning to develop a Centre of Excellence in partnership with the Foundation of Goodness at Seenigama, a village that was badly hit by the tsunami. The idea is to provide a first-class learning institution for the village with the focus on youth development.For this purpose Gunasekera, from the Foundation of Goodness, has gifted his former villa and an acre of land surrounding it which was damaged extensively by the tsunami.Roger Knight, the secretary and CE of MCC, and his wife visited Seenigama recently to get a first hand impression of the work done there before deciding to fund it. Once complete the Centre will for the first time provide village youth the opportunity to interact with top instructors, professionals and athletes from across the globe. State-of-the-art equipment will aid them in their learning. Seenigama is home to more than 350 families including 300 children.Surrey County CC, is funding the construction of a cricket ground with a state-of the-art artificial, all-weather pitch at Seenigama called The Oval. It will also include indoor pitches, a 25-meter swimming pool (a first for the area and one of few in the entire region), a gymnasium, change rooms, a club house and offices.”We intend to complete construction of the entire Cricket and Sports Centre by October 2006 with a view to having a grand opening in early November 2006,” said Gunasekera.Singing sensation Bryan Adams has pledged the foundation 75,000 pounds sterling to construct a new swimming pool at the Sports Complex. Once completed, a total of seven schools in the region will benefit and will train potential young swimmers who would otherwise practice in the ocean.

For Ivan Lendl, it was Wimbledon; for Boris Becker and Pete Sampras it wasthe red clay at the French Open; for the current Australian side it’s beenthe Champions Trophy. Ricky Ponting can’t zero in on why Australia hasfailed to capture the mini World Cup, but he insists his side is suitably prepared to tackle this one.Just like Andrew Flintoff yesterday, Ponting summed up the value of thisevent by saying thoughts of the Ashes had, for a while at least, beenput on the backburner. “It’s a very important tournament for us, thesecond biggest that we play as an ODI team,” he said in Delhi. “It’s something that’seluded us in the recent years – we’ve made it to the semi-finals in thelast two Champions Trophies – and we’re hoping for more this time. We’vecome here pretty well prepared and there’s still time before it starts.We’ve got a good record in India while playing one-day cricket over theyears, hopefully that will come through early on.”In the 12 games they’ve played in India since the start of the decade,Australia have won nine and lost only three. The last of those games wasthe finalof the TVS Cup in Kolkata, when a second-string Australian sidetriumphed by 37 runs. This time Ponting will be looking to put out his “best side” from the word go. “We have14 players here and you’d think that when the first game comes around,we’ll have our best XI and maintain that team throughout, injuriespermitting.”Question marks hang over Glenn McGrath’s fitness and he is someone whoPonting would dare not risk ahead of the Ashes campaign.”Glenn came back really well in Malaysia,” Ponting said. “He was never going to come back and be at his absolute beststraight away, but I thought he improved game by game in Kuala Lumpur. In the final game he bowled six oversfor six runs. Then he went back and played club cricket and got about26-28 overs under his belt. We’re going to monitor his progress throughthe course of the Champions Trophy, with an eye on the Ashes, and keep himas ready as possible for that.”Australia kick off their campaign on October 18 against one of thequalifiers, but their next two games are the big ones. On October 21 -which also happens to be the festive day of – they take onEngland at Jaipur before locking horns with India a week later atMohali.Ponting said the England game was a chance to make the earlyrunning ahead of the Ashes. “There’sstill a while before the first Test [at Brisbane on November 23] butcertainly it will be our first chance to play them before the Ashes,” he said. “We’dlike to think we can provide some sort of statement in that game.”The early part of that early message will need to come from the opening batsmen.As the latest NumbersGame column points out, Australia have tried 12 opening pairssince the start of 2005, a figure that places them behind only West Indiesand India in the juggling stakes.”We had a look at [Shane] Watson in KualaLumpur,” Ponting said. “He was prettyimpressive there. [Simon] Katich has done well for close to 18 months or so sincehe’s had the opportunity to open. It’s not an area of concern for us. Welooked at a few things in Kuala Lumpur and thought of a better way of doing it, andhopefully we can get it right during the practice matches here.”

Scorecard

Chris Rogers and Marcus North posted double-centuries in a remarkable partnership that slipped five short of the Waugh brothers’ all-time domestic record of 464. The pair of Western Australian left-handers demoralised a Victoria attack including Shane Warne and was on track to eclipse the target set on the same ground by Steve and Mark Waugh 16 years ago when Rogers hit a Cameron White full-toss to Lloyd Mash at midwicket.While Rogers, who collected a double- and triple-century during the past English county season, was dismissed for 279, North remained unbeaten on 239, his highest score for the state. Their stand of 459 was the third-highest partnership for any wicket in Australian domestic history behind the Waughs’ effort and the unbroken 462 of David Hookes and Wayne Phillips for South Australia against Tasmania in 1986-87. It was also the biggest for the third wicket in domestic history, the largest overall for Western Australia and the first time two of the state’s batsmen registered double-centuries in the same innings.North struck 31 fours and two sixes from 302 balls while Rogers, who was at the crease for almost nine hours, accumulated 36 boundaries. The pair joined forces at 2 for 128 in the second session on day one and enjoyed a lifeless surface that did not help Victoria’s fast or slow bowlers. Warne managed only one wicket and delivered three consecutive bouncers in the first session to earn an immediate break from the captain White, while Shane Harwood left the field with a side problem.Justin Langer finally ended the damage at 608 and Victoria were quickly in trouble, losing Mash, who became Sean Ervine’s maiden first-class victim for the Warriors, and David Hussey before tea. The Bushrangers lost a further two wickets in the final session, Nick Jewell and Brad Hodge, to reach the close 462 runs adrift, with Cameron White on 51 not out.

Mohammad Asif, the Pakistani fast bowler currently being investigated on doping charges, is still eligible for the Emerging Player of the Year award at next month’s ICC awards. Malcolm Speed, the ICC chief executive, confirmed this with Cricinfo while announcing the short-lists for the awards presentation on November 3 in Mumbai.”Under the anti-doping policy he is not ruled ineligible for awards for performance prior to his doping offence,” Speed said. Asif, who along with Shoaib Akhtar tested positive for nandrolone, a banned steroid, will submit his written statement at a second hearing of the tribunal investigating the case on October 26.Ricky Ponting has been short-listed in four categories for the ceremony. After averaging 58.22 and 48.42 in Tests and ODIs, Ponting, 31, picked up nominations in the Player, Captain and separate Test and ODI Player of the Year sections. Shane Warne, Muttiah Muralitharan and Mohammad Yousuf were also short-listed for Test Player of the Year. In the ODI category, Ponting is up against his team-mate Michael Hussey, Yuvraj Singh and Mahela Jayawardene.In addition to the individual awards and the Spirit of Cricket prize, this year’s ceremony will also feature the Test and ODI Teams of the Year. And for the first time there is an award for Women’s Cricketer of the Year.”The past year has been another exciting one for cricket fans around the world and these players have contributed hugely to our enjoyment,” Speed said.”This is the third annual ICC Awards night and it promises to be a fantastic evening with some very tough decisions to be announced. It is also a pleasure that for the first time we will be presenting the award for the Women’s Player of the Year. Now that the women’s game is under the auspices of ICC it is important that we acknowledge the marvellous contribution that female players are making.”The short-lists were announced after the votes were submitted by members of the voting academy. The 50 Academy members were asked to pick players nominated by a selection panel chaired by Sunil Gavaskar. The period of contention was between August 1, 2005 to August 8, 2006

Stuart Clark was surprisingly under-used by RickyPonting after he had England limping in the firstsession with two early blows. Having taken sevenwickets in the first Test, Clark followed up withanother strong performance that began with himremoving the openers Andrew Strauss and Alastair Cook.While Brett Lee struggled for penetration and GlennMcGrath battled with his left-heel injury, Clarkprovided some zip on a slow Adelaide pitch and wasrewarded during an opening spell of 2 for 15 off eightovers. Clark forced Strauss to pop to Damien Martyn,who took a sharp catch at mid-on, and then capturedCook’s edge as he tried a push to cover.Despite Clark’s early dominance, he was sent to theoutfield for much of the rest of the day as ShaneWarne was heavily relied on and Lee and McGrath werepreferred. Clark came back for a 12-ball spell tofinish the day and ended with 2 for 25 from 15.”You’re very disappointed when you’re not bowling,” hesaid. “You can’t bowl them out when you’re standing atfine leg and it does get a bit boring down there attimes. Ricky went down a different path and he had afew ideas in mind and I’m sure I’ll get anotherchance.”McGrath passed a fitness test this morning and trottedout one of his favourite lines to Clark. “He said hewas 100% and never felt better, so you can only takehis word and go for it,” he said. After watching histeam-mate return 0 for 51, Clark said McGrath’s footwas fine and his fitness was not an issue.Australia eased off after lunch as Ian Bell, KevinPietersen and Paul Collingwood added half-centuriesthat squeezed England to 3 for 266. “If they got 350we would have had a bad day,” Clark said. “We kept itnice and tight but they probably got away from us abit in the last session. If you stick two wicketsearly on that score and bowl them out for 250 or 270we’re right back in the game and almost on top.”Collingwood can expect some extra attention when heresumes on 98. Clark said the batsman would”definitely” be targeted, especially after his nearmiss at the Gabba. “Batters get tense around thatfigure,” he said. “He got a bit tense in Brisbane.Hopefully we’ll go there in the morning and keep himout there for a couple of overs and get him out.”

John Buchanan believes Shane Warne’s Test retirement will leave a huge void in his side, but he insists plans are in place to cope with a changing of the guard. Glenn McGrath is also tipped to be the next Australian to retire, and Buchanan said it was only a matter of time before Matthew Hayden, Justin Langer and Adam Gilchrist stepped down.Buchanan said Australia had the infrastructure in place to handle the strain of a mass exodus, unlike the 1980s when Dennis Lillee, Greg Chappell and Rod Marsh’s departure crippled the national side. “One of the significant differences that has occurred is that there are things like the Centre of Excellence program, Australia A, and we have seen the emergence of young talent,” he said. “The transition from moving the older, great players out [for] newer, younger players should be a bit easier than in the past.Damien Martyn and Warne have started the team change by deciding to walk away. “[Retirements] will occur, whether that be within two, three, six or 12 months, but it heralds an exciting time in Australian cricket,” Buchanan said.Buchanan, who will depart in April after the World Cup, hinted that Warne’s departure may force Australia to rethink the positive, attacking game plans that have allowed it to dominate world cricket in recent decades. “Certainly from a selection point of view and looking into the future that will now be a huge void that will take maybe generations to fill,” he said. “When you lose one of your great players it does mean you have to re-think and re-look at your team, its balance and the way you want to play your game.”

Brad Hodge’s faith in the national selectors has been restored after he was chosen to replace Ricky Ponting for the CB Series match against England in Brisbane on Friday. Hodge has experienced a number of confusing calls over the past two years, including being dropped from the Test side two games after posting a double-century, and he knows he must make the most of his chance.Hodge will probably be with the squad for only one game as the resting Ricky Ponting is expected back for the match against New Zealand in Sydney on Sunday. “Sometimes in cricket and especially representing Australia it might be the one chance that you get,” he said in the Sydney Morning Herald. “It’s such a great side. This is a window of opportunity for me.”Australia have cruised through their opening two games of the series and Hodge said it was a “great reward” to be part of the squad. “To get selected and to find out exactly where you are, it’s something you don’t really understand from time to time,” he said. “But this selection really gives me good faith and good hope to know that the selectors are still watching.”Hodge did not want to worry about his chances of being part of the World Cup squad, but he has been a regular tourist with Australia over the past three years. He was the back-up batsman in India, New Zealand and England before getting a five-Test run and averaging 58.42 in 2005-06. However, he was dropped for the tour of South Africa when Damien Martyn was preferred and has been in the domestic game ever since.

Hampshire County Cricket Club intends to return to play first-class cricket in Basingstoke in 2008, as part of a wider plan to take the game back to the county’s outgrounds.Although the Hampshire 2nd XI played one match at the Basingstoke ground in 2006, the last Championship fixture at May’s Bounty was in the summer of 2000, the season before the club moved to The Rose Bowl near Southampton.Second XI matches will be played at May’s Bounty and Bournemouth Sports Club during the forthcoming season, and subject to conditional improvements at the ground, including pitch improvement which has been monitored during recent seasons, Hampshire Cricket intends to schedule 1st XI matches in 2008. The final decision will be made in the autumn during the fixture planning process.”Hampshire’s association with Basingstoke goes back many years,” said Tim Tremlett, the director of cricket. “The team’s track record allied to the tremendous support that they have always received from the local community bodes well for the future when this partnership resumes.”Keith Harris, chairman of Basingstoke and North Hants Cricket Club, added: “The club has always been keen to have Hampshire play at May’s Bounty. We were disappointed when Hampshire stopped playing at the ground six years ago, but fully understood the reasons behind the decision.”We are now very pleased that we have been considered as an out-ground to host Hampshire matches in the future. We have endeavoured to maintain our links with Hampshire Cricket and the main county side and we look forward to watching 1st XI cricket in Basingstoke once again. It is a positive benefit for the north of the county.””We must now continue the hard work to deliver a spectacular international sports and entertainment resort with Test match cricket at its heart. Our plans take cricket at the Rose Bowl ‘beyond first class’ and will provide fans with the exciting prospect of seeing the world’s best in action at an outstanding world-class international cricket ground.”David Collier, the ECB chief executive added: “The Rose Bowl is an exciting new venue with international quality floodlights and impressive development plans which seek to create a truly world class cricket facility.”