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Muhammad Ishaq Bhatti of Rizvi Group Thursday swept to victory to become the new president of the Islamabad Cricket Association (ICA) in elections held at the KRL Ground.According to unofficial results, Bhatti polled 20 votes to beat his presidential rival Khawaja Muhammad Mustafa by five votes.Irfan Manzur, also of Rizvi Group, was elected the secretary after a 19-14 win against Muhammad Yousuf while Hasan Asghar claimed the treasurer’s slot with a 21-14 victory against Hanif Sajid.The results of the elections, which were fair and peaceful, were not officially declared after the Lahore High Court (Rawalpindi Bench) on a writ filed by Muhammad Yousuf had directed the Pakistan Cricket Board to withhold the results.Yousuf in his writ had prayed that the elections should not be allowed to go ahead and that the Ministry of Sports be directed to hold the polls.The elections were conducted by the PCB election committee comprising Brig (Retd) Khawaja Muhammad Nasir, Brig (Retd) Iqbal Awan and the Board’s legal consultant Shahzad Farooq.The committee had earlier conducted scrutiny of the clubs following which 36 clubs were granted the right to vote and in Thursday’s elections only National club abstained from voting.The clubs that exercised their right to vote were I-9, King’s Gymkhana, Federal Gymkhana, Nurpur, Imran Memorial, Diamond, Asif Memorial, Muslim, Classic, Azam, All-Youngsters, Mehran, Al- Muslim, Young Capital, Youngsters, Majid Memorial, Hasan Memorial, Al-Fateh, Millat, XI Star, Punjab, Rawal Town, Evan, Islamabad Hawks, Essco, Prince, Najam Memorial, CRA (Community Centre), Shalimar, Shaheen, Ismail, Islamabad Gymkhana, Potohar Gymkhana, Services and Lucky Star.Meanwhile, a beaming Bhatti said that his first priority would be to establish a stadium of international standard in Islamabad. “I’ll leave no stone unturned to raise money for the project,” the new president told Dawn.He said that victimisation of players would now end and everyone would be given a fair chance to prove himself. “To promote cricket here, we have to move ahead hand-in-hand with our rivals.”Cricket in Islamabad is currently being run by an ad hoc committee headed by Mansoor Ahmed. The body will continue to look after the affairs in the region until the matter is settled by the court.

The rescheduling of the Champions Trophy will contribute to player burnout and more cricketers considering early retirement to take up lucrative Twenty20 deals, according to the Federation of International Cricketers’ Associations (FICA). Tim May, the FICA chief executive, said players faced a “ridiculous” workload over the next two years.Australia will be one of the teams most affected as they face 18 months of nearly non-stop cricket beginning with the current tour of India. The IPL and Champions League Twenty20 have added to the hectic calendar for some individuals, which now includes the addition of the Champions Trophy next September and October.”The Australian Cricketers’ Association and Cricket Australia must try and resolve how they are going to manage the players’ workload because anyone can see it’s reasonably ridiculous,” May told the . “FICA knows of a number of players who are considering premature retirement to play in the IPL, Champions League, and other similar tournaments.”The Champions Trophy will now be held in what was a narrow vacant period for Australia after their Ashes tour and before their one-day series in India. It raises some issues for Cricket Australia, which had lobbied for the event to be relocated from Pakistan and staged in the existing window in September this year.”This outcome illustrates the importance of what we were arguing early this year when we sought to find different venues for Champions Trophy but retain the dates,” Cricket Australia’s spokesman Peter Young said. “We wanted it moved to a safe venue but unfortunately our argument didn’t prosper.”Player burnout had slipped off the radar after international stars from all over the world signed up for extra duties when the IPL began earlier this year. But May said even though the players had contributed to the schedule becoming fuller, the ICC needed to recognise that it risked losing players from Test and one-day cricket if workloads were not eased.”They can’t squeeze any more time away from home out of themselves,” he said. “This is a growing issue and FICA acknowledges that the players have added to the problem by playing in the IPL, but the problem already existed.”We are in danger of losing a considerable number of good players, which means there will be second-rate teams and international cricket will no longer be the best versus the best. The attractiveness of the IPL is that it can free up time for players while increasing their earning capacity.”

Graeme Smith, the Rajasthan Royals opener, has been ruled out of the final of the Indian Premier League because of a hamstring injury he sustained during the semi-final against Delhi Daredevils on Friday.Smith was rested for Rajasthan’s last two league games because he injured his hamstring against Chennai but returned to open the innings in the semi-final. However, he pulled up while running a single in the second over and continued batting with a runner, Mohammad Kaif. He was eventually dismissed for 25 off 21 balls as Rajasthan crushed Delhi by 105 runs.”Smith has played a huge part in the team’s success and we had gave him a couple of games off to recover from his hamstring injury [against Chennai],” Shane Warne, the Rajasthan captain, said. “Yesterday he was running around like an 18-year-old and said he had no problem at all. However, during the game [against Delhi] he tore his hamstring in different spot.”Unfortunately, he [Smith] is out for tomorrow’s game [final]. We have to make the big decision on who will open the innings with Swapnil [Asnodkar]. Younis Khan and Kamran Akmal come to my mind as being likely to open in the final.”Smith’s injury is a blow to Rajasthan for he is their second-highest run-scorer with 441 at an average of 49. He also forged an attacking opening partnership with Swapnil Asnodkar – the pair average 59.71 at 8.96 per over, with two century stands.Rajasthan are likely to pick Akmal, who has scored 122 runs in five innings at a strike-rate of 171.83, over Younis who has played just one game in the IPL so far. If Akmal does get the nod, he is likely to keep wicket instead of Mahesh Rawat, which could also open the door for Niraj Patel’s return.Rajasthan will take on the winner of the second semi-final between Chennai and Kings XI Punjab, which will take place on Saturday at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. The final will be held on Sunday at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai.

The second ICC World Twenty20 will begin on June 5 next year at Lord’s when England take on one of the Associate qualifiers. The ICC and ECB have taken a lead from South Africa, who hosted the inaugural event last year, and tried to make the event as accessible as possible with attractive ticket prices.The tournament will be staged at Lord’s, The Oval and Trent Bridge while the first women’s World Twenty20 will run alongside the men’s event at Taunton. There will be 14 double-headers with two matches in a day, where tickets will be valid for both games and they will go on sale from June 30 with the following pricing structure.

• Adult tickets for the final start at £50 and group matches can be watched from £30 in London and £20 at Trent Bridge
• Under-16 ticket prices in the family stands at Lord’s and The Oval, including all group, Super Eight and semi-final and final match days will be £10
• An under-16 ticket in the family stand at Trent Bridge for all group, Super Eight and semi-final stage match days will cost £8
• Group matches for the women’s event at Taunton will be £6 for adults, £1 for under-16s and free entry for Somerset members and school and youth groups

Both semi-finals – at Trent Bridge on June 18 and The Oval on June 19 – and the final, at Lord’s on June 21, will feature double-headers with women’s and men’s matches.”We believe these ticket prices represent great value for money – especially with the double header format,” said ICC president David Morgan. “They give people the chance to watch a top-class men’s and women’s international event and most importantly of all the prices for under-16s have been set as low as possible.”It is all part of our desire to ensure this event truly is the people’s game. We want it to be fan-focused, accessible to as many people as possible and to excite the next generation of players and supporters in the host country by giving them a chance to get close to their heroes.”There will be huge amounts of excitement and enjoyment in fan and family-friendly environments – this is in keeping with the last event in South Africa in 2007 and we want a repeat of that success here in the UK.”India are the defending champions following their five-run victory in Johannesburg last September.

N Srinivasan, the newly appointed secretary of the BCCI, has said the recent move to have a paid selection panel – the first time in the board’s history – will ensure complete accountability to the board. Srinivasan, formerly the board’s treasurer, was also appointed the convener of selectors and attended the meeting in Mumbai on Wednesday to pick the Indian squad for the first two Tests against Australia.”You now have a professional selection committee that is paid and therefore, completely accountable to the board,” Srinivasan told the . “There is a view that the BCCI will therefore, now have a greater hold over the selectors.”The idea behind this was that the selectors spend so much time for the board, that they should be reimbursed.”The members of the new panel, headed by the former Indian opener Kris Srikkanth, will be paid Rs 25 lakh (US$53,625) per year.Srinivasan also said the board will stress on improving cricket facilities across the country and that the state associations were being encouraged to spend more on improving infrastructure.”An opportunity, perhaps, is to make facilities more user-friendly,” he said. “We would like to improve facilities, increase the number of academies and take the game to the rural parts of the country in a more complete fashion. There are new stadia coming up in Hyderabad, Nagpur, Orissa. We will see the creation of more and more facilities for cricket.”When asked whether the BCCI would consider going public, he said: “This is not a corporate entity. We are an organisation for the development of the game. That’s the way we see ourselves.”

In the first of two back to back one day interstate Women’s National Cricket League matches, the Victorian Spirit triumphed over the Western Fury by 94 runs at Abbett Park in Perth today.This was a match of contrasts. The Fury in the field were sharp and accurate. A feather in the cap of coach Murray Robbins. By comparison, the Spirit could not emulate their hosts high standard but had the better share of the luck. The run out of the Fury captain Zoe Goss is the only high point of their fielding.On the other hand, the Spirit ran well between the wickets, they took few risks in doing so and really set the standard for that aspect of the game. Whereas the Fury could well have run an extra 30 runs in running halfway down the track before agreeing not to run and heading back to safety. When they did pierce the field they often only ran two where a three was certainly possible.Player of the match for this game was Melanie Jones who, as you will see, well deserved the accolade with a score of 95 runs and a display of exceptional fielding from the deep which removed the Fury captain.Victoria won the toss and elected to bat on a humid, partly overcast morning.Openers Belinda Clark and Louise Broadfoot took the score to 35 beforeBroadfoot 13 (from 23 balls), with the last ball of the ninth over playedaround a delivery from Fury captain Zoe Goss and was bowled. The ball shaved the pad on the way through and the bowler looked to have half turned in appeal before the death rattle of scattered stumps alerted her to her triumph.The second wicket was worth one hundred runs when Spirit Belinda Clark swept at a leg side ball from Avril Fahey and played the ball into the stumps behind her after scoring 58 (92 balls). Victoria Spirit 135 at the fall of the second wicket at the end of the 32nd over.Right hander Kelly Applebee fell to English import Dawn Holden in the following over. Without a score, she spooned a soft catch to Angelle Gray at gully.Within sight of a century, big hitting Melanie Jones 95 (102) lofted KellyTyrrell to Dawn Holden in the deep at long off and was caught. She played avariety of orthodox strokes either side of the wicket including twelve boundaries and became top scorer and the fourth wicket to fall with the score now at 216.Brooke McFarlane 36 (55) was unfortunately run out when her partner CathrynFitzpatrick pushed a ball from Tyrrell at the covers which was leapt upon by Gray whose quick thinking and sharp throw to the bowler at the non strikers end found McFarlane short of her ground. Spirit now 227 with the loss of the fifth wicket.Fitzpatrick 16 (12) and Jane Franklin 3 (2) were not out after fifty overs had been bowled when the Victorian Spirit had accrued 241 runs for the loss of only five wickets.There were no multiple wicket takers amongst seven Western Fury bowlers. Sarah Collyer went wicket less from her ten overs but was the most economical of the bowlers conceding 26 runs. The wicket takers were Goss (1-22) who took her wicket in her first over, Holden (1-45), Tyrrell (1-49) and Fahey (1-59).The Western Fury were needing to score at 4.84 runs per over to surpass theSpirit score.Elwyn Campbell was out for a second ball duck when Spirit fire brand CathrynFitzpatrick sped through the defense and knocked down the stumps. Already one wicket down without a score on the board and a stiff sea breeze assisting the bowler from the southern end.In the initial stages of the Fury reply, the frequency of runs from sundries were neck and neck and at times ahead of runs scored from the bat.Zoe Goss 5 (26) was run out looking for a third run when batting partnerHeather Taylor lofted the ball into the deep extra covers and Melanie Jones made a direct hit from the boundary line at the non strikers end – to whichGoss was returning. Western Fury now with 19 runs on the board and two wickets gone in the ninth over.Another run out at the non strikers end occurred when Taylor drove straight back at bowler Shannon Young who tipped the ball into the stumps effecting the run out of Angelle Gray 8 (17) who was backing up two meters out of her ground. Three wickets for 55.Pulling at a leg side ball from Shannon Young, Heather Taylor 19 (60) top edged into the mid wicket and was caught there by Belinda Clark. The fourth wicket had fallen with 55 still the score.Attempting to glance a leg side ball from Young, Sarah Collyer 13 (42) popped the ball up off the shoulder of the bat into the backward square leg where it was taken on the circle by Clea Smith. Western Fury five wickets for 88 in the 29th over.Avril Fahey 12 (26) lofted a straight drive off the bowling of Louise Broadfootdown the throat of Jane Franklin who was at mid off. The wicket of Fahey wasthe sixth to fall with 106 the score at that stage.Making her debut for WA at number eight, Lauren Stammers 8 (15) issued up a soft catch to a short leg fielder Jodi Dean off the bowling of Clea Smith. The seventh wicket fell at 137.Dawn Holden lofted a drive off Cathryn Fitzpatrick into the covers and was caught brilliantly by Shannon Young. The fielder had to reach high above her head to pull down the catch. A good catch to remove a quality player who had posted 43 (68) before the eighth wicket fell with the Fury score on 139.The ninth wicket fell on 145 when Kelly Tyrrell 5 (4) was bowled by Fitzpatrick. When Rennee Chappell 3 (16) was bowled by Jane Franklin, theWestern Fury were all out 147 in the 48th over.The Spirit’s best bowling was from the pace bowling from Cathryn Fitzpatrick which brought the reward of three wickets for thirty two runs from her nine overs. With two wickets for 25 runs from ten overs, Shannon Young was economical. One wicket each to Smith, Franklin and Broadfoot round out the wicket takers.The Abbett park track is the same one which the host club Scarborough scored 300 runs in one day a week earlier in the mens grade competition. Conditions which suit the pace of Fitzpatrick and the Spirit.

Alex Tudor has been ruled out of next week’s first Test between England and India at Lord’s. Tudor, who was Man of the Match in the last Test against SriLanka a month ago, was reassessed today and it was revealed that he will be out for at least two more weeks with tendonitis.The squad for Lord’s will be announced tomorrow morning, after postponement from yesterday because of numerous injury concerns. Marcus Trescothick (fractured thumb) and Andrew Caddick (side strain) have already been ruled out.Doubts remain as to whether Darren Gough can stand up to the rigours of a five-day Test, given that he has yet to play anything more than one-day cricket this summer. He is in the Yorkshire side for the Roses match which started at Headingley this morning, his first Championship appearance for Yorkshire this season.Surrey’s Mark Butcher is also involved in Championship action, for the first time since he underwent surgery on his knee a month ago.

India began steadily but with little urgency against tight bowling from Andrew Caddick and Matthew Hoggard with a near-new ball on the fourth morning of the final npower Test at The AMP Oval. 37 runs were added in the first hour as Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman dealt a further blow to England’s already dented victory hopes.When Dravid reached 139 he became the first batsman to reach 1,000 for the 2002 calendar year in his 17th innings. A firm cover drive for three by Laxman brought up the 50 partnership (172 balls), and when Cork replaced Hoggard he was immediately dispatched to the rope at long leg by Dravid. A single into the same zone raised his first 150 against England (360 balls, 19 fours).Ashley Giles replaced Caddick for the fifteenth over of the morning, as Nasser Hussain shuffled his pack in search of the all-important but elusive first breakthrough of the day.

Anthony Ireland, the former Zimbabwe quick bowler who is now at Gloucestershire, has been handed three penalty points under the ECB’s discipline code.He was removed from the attack for sending down an accidental high fill toss against Somerset in the Friends Provident Trophy on May 11. The incident happened at the start of Ireland’s seventh over, which was then completed by Thomas Stayt.Ireland was reported by umpires Nigel Llong and Barrie Leadbeater for a level two breach and the penalty points will remain on his record for two years.

The Indian selectors announced a 15-man squad for the five-match one-day series against the West Indies, with one-day specialists such as Yuvraj Singh and Ajit Agarkar coming in as expected.Yuvraj Singh and Mohammad Kaif, the two batting stars of the India ‘A’ tour to South Africa, were not included in the ‘A’ side’s tour to Sri Lanka because they were expected to be selected for the one-day series in the Caribbean.Their India ‘A’ teammate, Murali Kartik, also earns a recall to the squad. Kartik replaces Anil Kumble, who flew out of Antigua after having his lower jaw broken by a Mervyn Dillon bouncer. Kartik is currently in Sri Lanka with the India ‘A’ side, and his place in that tour will be taken by Sarandeep Singh.Agarkar replaces Javagal Srinath, the Indian pace spearhead requesting to be rested for the one-day series following the hectic five-Test schedule. Along with Srinath, Test inclusions Shiv Sunder Das, Deep Dasgupta, Sanjay Bangar and Wasim Jaffer will also be taking the flight back to India.Squad: Sourav Ganguly (captain), Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman, Ajit Agarkar, Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra, Tinu Yohannan, Ajay Ratra (wicket-keeper), Harbhajan Singh, Murali Kartik, Dinesh Mongia, Yuvraj Singh, Mohammad Kaif, Virender Sehwag