Zimbabwe A’s tour of Kenya next month has been thrown into doubt by continuing squabbles inside Kenya, according to a report in the Zimbabwe Independent.”That tour won’t probably materialize,” Qhubekani Nkala, Zimbabwe Cricket’s operations manager, admitted. “It was an idea that was mooted largely because of the problems in Kenya and we also looked at our domestic cricket and we thought it was not going to be wise to tour there.”Kenya has been rocked by internal disputes, and although a breakthrough was brokered by Peter Chingoka last weekend, it will take some time before the cricketing infrastructure returns to normal.Earlier this week several senior officials of the Kenya Cricket Association were arrested, and on Thursday Sharad Ghai, the chairman, was charged with theft.But Nkala did confirm that the one-day series involving Zimbabwe, New Zealandand India would take place in August. “It’s 95% confirmed,” he said. “At my level everything is set, we are just waiting to confirm the venues. Basically, it’s now left for the board to finalise details of the triangular series.”New Zealand will tour Zimbabwe in August to play in two Test matches and will then be joined by India for the one-day tournament. India will remain to play two Tests.

Bangladesh have arrived for their maiden tour of England. The team landed at Heathrow Airport in the early hours of Saturday morning, and after a stopover in London they have travelled up to Cambridge where, tomorrow, they launch their campaign with a three-day fixture against British Universities.It is the start of one of the most widely overlooked Test tours in history. England’s sole focus is on the first Test against Australia on July 21, but for the Bangladeshis themselves, this is by some distance the biggest moment of their fledging Test careers. Consequently, for their coach, Dav Whatmore, it is the experience on offer, and not the results, that is of greater importance when the playing gets underway.”Success or otherwise is certainly not measured in the scoreline,” Whatmore told journalists at Fenner’s, as his team continued their acclimatisation process. “It is measured in other areas. Essentially we want to show progress and push the opposition as hard as we can, and there will be objectives both for individuals and the team as well.”Bangladesh have played 36 Tests to date, and given that they have won just once, and lost on 31 occasions – 20 by an innings – Whatmore has understandably set his sights low. “Playing on the fifth day of Test matches is very much an objective,” he added. “Being the underdogs is a reality. It is a huge challenge but along the way we have already managed to have some good times. That is probably the best tonic you can get as a coach with a developing team.”The steelier side to Bangladesh’s cricket has been on display since Whatmore came on board in 2003. They performably creditably in Australia, gave Pakistan and England several moments of discomfort, and then finally achieved their maiden Test victory in January this year, when they beat Zimbabwe in Chittagong. Soon afterwards, they came back from 2-0 down to win 3-2 in a tense five-match one-day series against the same opponents.”Our team is just realising the opposition is the same as us, with two arms and two legs,” said Whatmore, who added that they were looking forward to taking on some familiar faces from England’s inaugural series in October 2003. “These conditions are totally different, but it is always nice to play against an opposition you have played before to judge yourselves.””We have three or four players who in time will be stars,” emphasised Whatmore. “That is the big difference between the two teams now. Other teams already have big match-winning stars but we are still in the process of creating those.”With an average age of 22, the chances are that Bangladesh will become a force to be reckoned with within the next five years. For the time being, however, they have a chance to test their skills against a team of a similar age-group. Their opening fixture, against British Universities, ought to be an evenly matched contest, with the Universities side being captained by the young Essex batsman, Mark Pettini.

The Pakistan Cricket Board has renewed the central contracts of all 17 national players for another year.Pakistan’s top 17 cricketers were given a monthly salary of around $1,200 to $3500 under the first-ever national contracts introduced last year which expired after the team’s West Indies tour earlier this month. But contracts of all unfit players or those under scrutiny for illegal bowling actions would be reviewed after six months.Shoaib Akhtar, who missed both West Indies and Indian tours due to fitness problems also got a renewed contract, ending speculation he could be dropped from the list of contracted players. Akhtar was the last player to sign the contract after he raised certain objections over personal sponsorship.Inzamam-ul Haq, Yousuf Youhana, Abdul Razzaq, and Akhtar were offered A-category contracts and received a monthly salary of 200,000 rupees (around $3,500). Players in the B category got 125,000 rupees (around $2,100 dollars) while players in the C category received 75,000 rupees (around $1,200) a month.The contracted players were judged by points scored on their performance in international matches. “The committee has also decided to add some more points, like five points will be given on scoring a century in a Test or one-day match,” said a spokesman.A bowler will get five points on getting five wickets in a Test or four wickets in a one-day match while a fielder will get the same number of points on taking four or more catches in a match, he added. “Achieving a world record in any form will give a player ten points while five points will be given on achieving national record in any form.”The renewed contracts start from July 10. The Pakistan team now has a lay off until late October when they host England for three Tests and five one-day games.

Dumped Test batsman Michael Slater could yet figure in NSW’s opening Pura Cup match against Queensland when he arrives at the Gabba tomorrow morning on standby for rising star Michael Clarke.Slater was called to Brisbane tonight and he could be joined in the NSW team by rookie paceman Doug Bollinger – a park cricketer just 18 months ago – as the Blues sweat on last-minute injury concerns before they meet the three-time champions.The 21-year-old Clarke has a back problem which hampered him during the Blues’ impressive one-day victory over the Bulls in Sydney last Sunday, while paceman Stuart Clark is battling an ankle injury.Clark bowled in the nets this morning and the Blues will give the injured players until the last hours before tomorrow’s game to prove their fitness.Otherwise, it’s a golden chance for Slater to end the wretched run which began when he was dropped from Test cricket in August 2001 during an erratic Ashes series.He then slid out of the NSW team, leaving very little hope that the 32-year-old would add to his 74 Tests.Bollinger’s fortunes have risen as quickly as Slater’s have plummeted, leaving the 21-year-old left-armer on the verge of his first-class debut less than a year after he played lower grades for Fairfield-Liverpool.But the Blues will be desperate for Stuart Clark to play after the ACB-contracted paceman took match figures of 6-90 in his last visit to the Gabba.He will be a key man for new captain Simon Katich, who is stepping into one of Australian cricket’s most intense rivalries.Katich said the Blues were about to learn where they stood in interstate cricket after wearing the wooden spoon during a dismal last season, which included an eight-wicket loss to the Bulls at the Gabba.Katich will also learn about the rivalry between NSW and Queensland after quitting Western Australia during the off-season for a new start in Sydney.”I’ve sensed it already from speaking to the guys and we’ve approached this week thinking that it’s a good chance to see where we’re at,” Katich said.Katich has crossed the country trying to revive the promising career which netted him a sole Test appearance at Headingley during last year’s Ashes tour.He is much admired in Queensland after scoring heavily against the Bulls during their recent stoushes with Western Australia, often taming the Bulls on a Gabba wicket which promises its usual spice tomorrow.The match will be significant for veteran Queenslander Stuart Law, who was a shock axing from the one-day team last week.The former Test batsman, who turns 34 on Friday, will become Queensland’s most capped interstate first-class player when he plays his 124th match, surpassing Sam Trimble.It also marks Law’s first match since handing over the Queensland captaincy to Jimmy Maher after eight years at the helm.”I’m not really into statistics but to knock off a guy like Sam Trimble, who is a living legend in Queensland cricket, makes it a special day,” Law said.The Blues will play leg-spinner Stuart MacGill, who is a genuine threat at the Gabba, while the Bulls are expected to overlook left-arm spinner Matthew Anderson for pacemen Michael Kasprowicz, Ashley Noffke, Joe Dawes and Damien MacKenzie.

Michael Vaughan has underlined that England will be leaving nothing to chance as they attempt to inflict a 24th defeat in 25 Tests on Bangladesh, at the Bangabandhu Stadium in Dhaka on Tuesday.Speaking during a press conference at the team hotel today, Vaughan confirmed his side’s readiness for the task in hand, adding that the fitness levels of his squad were at an all-time high. “Over the years we probably haven’t been as fit as we probably could be,” he admitted, “but this winter, it is something we have all bought into. We’ve trained harder for this Test match than any other on tour. We made a pact to give it a good go, and we intend to carry our fitness for the whole winter.”When England arrived on Oct 8, Bangladesh was being battered by torrential rainstorms, so there can be no complaints about the amount of practice the team has managed to fit in. “We’ve had enough preparation,” Vaughan confirmed, after two drawn warm-up matches in the past week. “A few of us would have liked longer in the middle – myself included – so I guess we are going in a little undercooked. But Test matches are a totally different game mentally. We will be fully ready to go on Tuesday.”England did enjoy the better of both those games, but the balance of the side is still causing the selectors one or two headaches. “When Freddie [Flintoff] was coming out here, the team picked itself,” said Vaughan: “Two spinners, two quicks and the allrounder at No. 6.” Ashley Giles and Gareth Batty have both staked eloquent claims for the primary spinner’s role, but it remains to be seen whether Martin Saggers or Richard Johnson will edge one or the other out of the starting XI.In Flintoff’s absence, the allrounder’s duties have passed to Rikki Clarke, who – barring a late change of heart – will be taking over from his Surrey team-mate, Alec Stewart, as England’s new No. 6. “Clarke has been picked because we feel he’s ready,” said Vaughan. “He is an immense talent with the bat, and he’s outstanding in the field.”Vaughan admitted that there were still one or two reservations about Clarke’s bowling at Test level, but added that he was precisely the type of player England need to persevere with. “He’s only 21. The more opportunities we give him, and the more he comes to places like this, it will hold us in good stead for the future.”England have been finalising their preparations by studying videos of the Bangladeshis in action, especially during their recent series in Australia where they earned the hard-won respect of their opponents. There is no complacency in this squad, which makes a stark contrast to the last time England played an inaugural series – against Zimbabwe in 1996-97, where they drew the Tests 0-0, and were whitewashed in the three-match one-day series.But Vaughan is unequivocal about England’s aims in the next few weeks. “We have come out here expecting to win,” he said bullishly. “But we won’t win anything without hard work. You’ve seen the heat and humidity out here. We’ve got to be prepared to spend a long time in the middle, whether batting or bowling.” As England discovered in both warm-ups, the weather in these parts can fluctuate at the drop of a thundercloud. “That’s an aspect we can’t control,” said Vaughan. “First and foremost, we have to assume the match will go five days, and put them under some pressure.”Steve Harmison seems a certain starter, despite the tendency for the pitches to be slow and low. “A guy with that type of pace and height always has a good chance,” confirmed Vaughan. “But it takes a lot of effort, being a tall bowler in these parts. Whoever plays, will be tough going out there.”There won’t be many that bounce and fly past the nostril. More often they hit you on the shin or the middle of the pad,” he added wryly, after being trapped lbw for 1 by a low-bouncing delivery in his final warm-up match. It was a dismissal that meant Vaughan had managed just one fifty in 19 innings since assuming the Test captaincy, and he knows only too well that the spotlight will be on his form come Tuesday.”I’m only four games into the job,” he pointed out. &”Of course I’d like a few more runs, but come Tuesday, I’m only one innings away from a big hundred. I’m sure that when I get that big score, a lot of the opinions will quieten down. Runs are hard enough to come by when you’re in good nick, it’s even more difficult when you’ve had a run of low scores. I’m sure it’ll be a battling innings, but I’m hoping for a bit of the rub of the green.”Meanwhile, Mark Butcher has recovered from a throat infection and been passed fit for the Test. Butcher missed the warm-up match against Bangladesh A, but he played a full part in a training session on Monday, and will definitely make the starting XI.”One of the things about this side and the players coming through is that you don’t want to miss a game,” Butcher said. “Regardless of how many runs you have scored over the last year there are people waiting their turn to get in.”England team (probable) 1 Marcus Trescothick, 2 Michael Vaughan (capt), 3 Mark Butcher, 4 Nasser Hussain, 5 Graham Thorpe, 6 Rikki Clarke, 7 Chris Read (wk), 8 Gareth Batty, 9 Ashley Giles, 10 Steve Harmison, 11 Matthew Hoggard.