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Having brought Marlon Samuels’ cricket career to a halt for two years, at least, effective from Friday, May 9, the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) is now offering the player support. WICB chief executive Dr Donald Peters said: “I have written to Mr Samuels and offered him all the help needed to get his life in order.”On Monday, the WICB announced that Samuels, the 27-year-old Jamaica and West Indies middle order batsman, had been found guilty of violating the ICC Rules of Conduct 4 ix, which involves receiving money, benefit or other reward which could bring him or the game of cricket into disrepute. The charge does not refer to match-fixing, which carries a lifetime ban.The judgement by the WICB’s disciplinary committee, headed by Justice Adrian Saunders and including Dr Lloyd Barnett, Prof Aubrey Bishop and former West Indies captain Richie Richardson, came out of an incident on the West Indies tour of India in January 2007, when there were allegations Samuels had passed on match information ahead of the ODI in Nagpur on January 21 and then received payment for a hotel stay in Mumbai at the end of the tour.In handing down their judgement, the disciplinary committee stated that “given the circumstances that attended Mr. Samuels’ commission of the offence and in light of the unchallenged evidence we received as to Mr. Samuels’ character, if we had the power so to recommend, we would have recommended that Mr. Samuels be bound over to be of good behaviour for a period not exceeding two years.”Responding to those comments yesterday, Dr Peters told the Express: “The players know what the penalties are. We are part of the ICC and we gave our word to uphold the code of ethics. Our hands were basically tied.”However, asked whether he felt Samuels had been naive in his actions, Peters replied: “Yes … we in the West Indies have no experience of match-fixing. Players are not exposed to that kind of behaviour. It’s unfortunate that when they travel overseas, they are confronted with the spectre of match-fixing and one out of 15 will most likely get in trouble unless they are trained and counselled.”Peters indicated that he was going to speak last night to the players assembling in Antigua for a training camp ahead of the three-Test series against Australia starting next Thursday, “to remind them of how dangerous it is to be out there”.Commenting further on the banning of one of the region’s most talented batsmen, who was the leading player on last year’s tour of South Africa, Peters was empathetic. “I personally am very moved by it. He is a very young player. He came face to face with very bad people in the match fixing industry, so it’s unfortunate.”In a radio interview with Irie FM in Jamaica, Samuels reportedly said he would still be proceeding to the West Indies training camp. But Peters denied that would be happening. “I have no idea why he would say that,” he said.The ICC also confirmed that Samuels had been banned for two years from May 9. Acting CEO Dave Richardson said: “We are yet to see the whole judgement to put the matter of the punishment into its proper context but we note the WICB disciplinary committee found the player guilty and has imposed an immediate ban. In terms of the punishment handed down, minimum penalties were agreed by the ICC board, including all Full Members, and they reflect the seriousness of the issues at hand.”The ICC also made clear that Samuels’ ban would encompass all forms of cricket, saying it would include official Cricket (Tests, ODIs, T20Is, first-class matches and List A matches organised by or under the auspices of the ICC or its Members) and unofficial cricket (cricket within ICC members not falling into the above categories that is granted approval by either the ICC or the relevant board).The ICC will now take up the matter through an official enquiry by their Code of Conduct Commission headed by Michael Beloff QC and two other ICC Code of Conduct Commissioners. They will review the WICB disciplinary committee findings to ascertain whether the punishment is sufficient and make any recommendation necessary to the ICC board’s July meeting in Dubai.

South Africa’s convincing 4-0 series win against India has pushed them up to within five points of the Australians, while the Indians slid back to sixth place in the latest ICC team rankings for one-day internationals.India were third on the table as recently as April this year, but since then they have fallen after a sharp drop in form which has resulted in just three wins in their last 17 matches. South Africa, on the other hand, have reached their highest rating since January 2003. If they continue their form against Pakistan early next year, and if Australia slip up in the VB Series against England and New Zealand, South Africa could even be the top team going into the 2007 World Cup.India, meanwhile, are in danger of slipping to seventh place – where they were in October 2005 – if West Indies snatch a series win against Pakistan in the five-match series which starts on December 5. West Indies are currently only marginally behind India.Among the individual ratings, Shaun Pollock had plenty of reason to celebrate after his outstanding display against India. Pollock, who won the Man-of-the-Series award with ten wickets at 8.30 apiece, moved up to 910 points in the bowlers’ ratings, an astonishing 111 points ahead of the second-placed Glenn McGrath. In fact, Pollock’s rating is the fourth-highest in the all-time list for ODI bowlers. Only Joel Garner (940 points in April 1985), Richard Hadlee (923 in June 1983) and Muttiah Muralitharan (913 in April 2002) have ever had more points.Click here for more details.

Standing in the centre of the picturesque Beausejour Stadium at St Lucia, one’s confronted with numerous shades of green. High up in the surrounding mountain range are okra-tinged tree growth; further down is some dense foliage that’s predominantly bottle-green; and the field is more like a giant circular velveteen emerald green carpet. Yet, what the players will concentrate on is the generous sprinkling of green on the 22-yard strip in the middle, one which Brian Lara and Rahul Dravid have examined closely several times in the last two days.Kent Crafton, the chief curator, has had his share of criticism. The slow nature of pitch resulted in largely attritional contests, reducing the two previous Tests here into high-scoring draws. The fact that three Bangladesh batsmen manage hundreds in the same match must tell you something. “We didn’t leave live grass on the pitch on previous occasions,” said Crafton, “it used to be completely rolled. With better equipment and more training, the grass now stays firm for the entire game. So we leave it on the pitch.”Lara understood Crafton’s predicament: “It’s a situation where maybe the groundsman is looking for a result – he’s never produced one.” In a survey conducted by a newspaper a few months back, where players ranked Test pitches in the Caribbean, the surface at St Lucia was apparently right at the bottom. Local observers are quite baffled by the luxuriant greenery and Lara echoed the sentiment: “It’s certainly different to wickets of the past in St Lucia.”The curious part of the pitch is the bare patches alternating the tufts of grass. Greg Chappell, the Indian coach, said it looks like the SCG pitch of old. “If it’s anything like that it will help both the seamers and the spinners” Sreesanth’s injury has pretty much paved the way for Irfan Pathan’s return to the side. Unless the pitch changes composition overnight, it’s tough to imagine him sitting out.A stiff groin kept Harbhajan Singh out of practice but Chappell hoped that he would be ready for selection tomorrow morning. If not, India might hand Ramesh Powar a Test debut. Powar’s offspin will come in handy in the second innings, with Anil Kumble applying pressure at one end. Also, Powar can chip in with the bat, a factor that could be vital if the top order crumbles.Going purely by the second innings at Antigua, India’s batting looks in fine health. But it’s a poorly kept secret that it takes just the minimum amount of movement to unsettle them. Chappell said that picking five bowlers was an option. Pathan’s imminent return would bolster the batting but whether they will take the risk remains to be seen.Lara has a problem in the bowling department. Edwards is gone, Collymore is a doubt and Dave Mohammed got pasted in the first Test; Pedro Collins and Ian Bradshaw are both left-arm seamers of similar style; Jerome Taylor has speed but is just four Tests old. With the squad reduced to 13, there is nobody else. Lara may want his bowlers wrapped in cotton wool, just in case one of them wakes up with a stiff neck. In the worst-case scenario, there’s 38-year old Ian Bishop, in the commentary box, and 53-year old Colin Croft, in the press box. India beware.At a micro level, the toss will be vital. At the macro level, it may not even matter. Lara, who was wearing a Soca Warriors T-shirt when he addressed the press on the eve of the game, said that he wouldn’t mind losing the toss if he could trade it for a Trinidad & Tobago victory in their first match of the football World Cup. The kick off, in the game against Sweden, is around noon here. The showpiece event of the day will begin when umpires call lunch on the first day. Sadly, only the flies on the dressing-room walls can watch it unfold.TeamsWest Indies (probable) 1 Chris Gayle, 2 Daren Ganga, 3 Ramnaresh Sarwan, 4 Brian Lara (capt), 5 Shivnarine Chanderpaul, 6 Dwayne Bravo, 7 Denesh Ramdin (wk), 8 Ian Bradshaw, 9 Dave Mohammed, 10 Pedro Collins, 11 Corey Collymore.India (probable) 1 Wasim Jaffer, 2 Virender Sehwag, 3 VVS Laxman, 4 Rahul Dravid (capt), 5 Yuvraj Singh, 6 Ramesh Powar, 7 Mahendra Singh Dhoni (wk), 8 Irfan Pathan, 9 Anil Kumble, 10 Munaf Patel, 11 VRV Singh

On a day dominated by the announcement of Australia’s new coach, another coaching decision almost slipped under the radar. Greg Shipperd has benefited from Victoria’s outstanding 2006-07 season with a two-year reappointment as the Bushrangers’ coach.Victoria sit on top of the Pura Cup table and second in the Ford Ranger Cup, having last month claimed their second successive Twenty20 title. Shipperd said Victoria were well-placed heading into the last few rounds in each competition, despite the likely continued loss of their captain and vice-captain to the Australia side.Shipperd said Cameron White and Brad Hodge were key players but Victoria’s depth would mean the Bushrangers could get by without them. “There are a couple of good prospects there,” Shipperd told the .”Robert Quiney and Aiden Blizzard are probably the two we’ve looked at closely throughout this season with their second XI and Premier Cup form.” Quiney struggled in his few limited-overs outings for Victoria this season but an unbeaten 215 in Melbourne’s grade cricket on the weekend could make him the frontrunner to replace Hodge.Shipperd, who in 2003-04, his first season as coach, took Victoria to their first Pura Cup win in more than a decade, said hosting and winning the final this year was the team’s focus. “It would be foolish not to be positive about that possibility,” he said.

The England & Wales Cricket Board could be asked to help revive cricket in the Caribbean after moving ever closer to a lucrative tie-in with the Texan billionaire, Allen Stanford, following a further round of talks at Lord’s on Monday.Stanford, whose multimillion-dollar Twenty20 tournament has reinvigorated interest in cricket in the West Indies, has reportedly offered up to $100 million for a series of five 20-over matches between England and a West Indies All-star XI, the first of which could be played as early as November this year.In a press release, the ECB said that the latest meeting between Stanford and David Collier, the CEO, “further developed the constructive and positive discussions” of the previous week. “I would be happy to make a five-year commitment,” Stanford told The Times on Saturday. “I said it could be an annual event, maybe we could come to Lord’s in 2009 and then alternate. The money is real and I think we will get a game.”Also present at Lord’s were the president and chief executive of the West Indies Cricket Board, Dr Julian Hunte and Donald Peters, as proposals were discussed to help provide a legacy to the development and infrastructure of cricket in the Caribbean, in addition to a series of international matches.It was the second meeting in the space of three days between representatives of the English and West Indian boards. On Friday, Hunte, Peters and Collier all met with the chairman of the ECB, Giles Clarke, in Bangalore during the opening match of the IPL.During his trip to Lord’s, Stanford also attended the pre-season lunch of the Lord’s Taverners, which provides support for community cricket – in particular for children with disabilities. During the luncheon Stanford made a donation of £50,000 to the work of the charity which was received by the President of the Lord’s Taverners, Mr Bill Tidy.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out
Short Cuts

The first of five days of Australian celebrations were interrupted by asolid England batting performance as they tried to upstage the hosts. Thetourists’ main plan at the SCG is to avoid becoming only the second team tofall to a 5-0 Ashes defeat and they made a strong opening attempt. A fourthhalf-century of the series to Ian Bell and useful contributions from therest of the top order drove England to a healthy 4 for 234 at stumps.However, anything England do in the game will be overshadowed by the exitsof Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath and Justin Langer. If they feel unloved by thetime the match is over something will have gone seriously wrong.The teams walked out this morning to see the three players’ namesspray-painted on the ground in a mixture so thick the rain that delayed thestart for 70 minutes could not wash it away. Each time McGrath or Warnetouched the ball or walked to grab their caps they were cheered likereturning heroes and at tea the trio stood at the balcony of the dressingroom listening to Time to Say Goodbye. Only the title words are sungin English and the players were unable to mouth the lyrics of the Italianoperatic rendition like they did for the national anthem in the morning.On the field McGrath had the most impact with two important wickets thatupset England’s move from trouble to safety. In Stuart Clark’s second overafter lunch he removed Alastair Cook to an inside edge, leaving England at 2for 58, and Bell and Kevin Pietersen did a sensible job in directing themfrom danger with a 108-run partnership.However, just as Bell seemed set to break his century drought in the seriesand Pietersen was ready to muscle his way out of Australia’s restrictivefields, McGrath stepped in to dismiss both of them in two overs. The hometeam’s bowlers delivered tight, testing lines and the ball moved off theseam throughout the day, making Pietersen step down the wicket regularly inan attempt to push them off their lines.The tactic didn’t work very often and when he was starved of the strikeafter tea he made a terminal error by walking at McGrath and miscuing a pullto Michael Hussey, who took a back-tracking catch at midwicket. Until thatover Pietersen had stayed largely in control with his hot-stepping, but hedeparted with 41 and Bell followed quickly.Bell, who has played with purpose throughout the summer, was again lookingcomfortable and countered much of the movement before being undone by aMcGrath delivery that angled in and caught the edge on the way to thestumps. Had it missed the bat it would have cleared the wickets, but Bell’stentative push away from his body created a crucial deflection.

It was an unnecessary end to another brave innings from a batsman who is oneinnings of unbroken concentration away from his first Test century againstAustralia. He worked the ball strongly through midwicket and was happy toplay and miss – many of the balls were so good he had no choice – in a153-ball stay, which included eight fours. His loss for 71 left England at 4for 167 and more irritation was averted by Flintoff and Paul Collingwood.Knowing his name would forever be linked with a 5-0 defeat, Flintoff, whowon the toss, produced his smoothest batting of the series with 42 not outas England finished in a mood that was much brighter than the gloomy lightthat ended play seven overs early. Flintoff lifted Clark for a hefty sixover mid-on to signal he would not be tamed and was also comfortable leavingthe ball in a way he had not discovered over the first four Tests. WithCollingwood he combined in an important stand of 67 that England must buildon in the morning if they are to threaten Australia’s dominance.The hosts will not be too bothered by their opponents’ efforts and willconsider themselves unlucky not to have found more nicks. In the secondsession Clark, McGrath and Brett Lee were superb but were unable to makeregular breakthroughs. McGrath finished with 2 for 57 while Clark and Lee,who collected Andrew Strauss’ edge, each picked up a wicket.Warne delivered 19 overs without success and Langer spilled an early chanceoff Strauss at third slip as the retirees were led by McGrath. The other twohave four more opportunities to shine before they sign off.

Short CutsFarewell of the day
Steve Waugh went out to working-class choruses of John Williamson’s in 2004, but the farewells of Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath and Justin Langer took a step up in class with an operatic rendition of at tea.Dead ball of the day
In his final Test McGrath found a way to do something new. Kevin Pietersen was walking down the pitch at him and the unfamiliar tactic caused McGrath to misfire when the ball stuck in his hand at delivery, ending up near the non-striker. It didn’t happen again.Shock of the day
Alastair Cook barely had to time to acclimatise to the fresh sunshine that had replaced the morning rain when Brett Lee’s first delivery of the day struck him a nasty knock in the groin. Lee’s response appeared to be something like “Happy New Year”.Crowd contest
Australia’s Fantatics are in a bay under the scoreboard and they started to flex their vocal muscles with a 4-0 chant after lunch, but their shouts quickly became whispers as the Barmy Army roared into action.

The PCB has made a plan B of holding the Pentangular T20 Cup in case the proposed India-Pakistan series does not go ahead.Although the Pakistan government has given the nod to play India in Sri Lanka, the PCB has been fretting over the continuous delay from their Indian counterparts. While there were ideas to engage an international team, PCB believes it is not feasible to arrange an international tour in such a short notice.”We are concerned and given the short time we have to have a back-up plan,” a senior PCB board official told ESPNcricinfo. “We were expecting them [BCCI] to respond by this week, but unfortunately news coming from India is extremely discouraging. We, in the meantime, are planning a five-team T20 tournament for next month in case BCCI pulls out of their commitment.”The tournament, which is a new addition to the domestic calendar, will be a one-off and feature provisional sides – Punjab, Sindh, Baluchistan, Khyber Pukhtoonkhwa and Federal Areas. The format is in-line with the already planned Pakistan Super League, with the top 75 players distributed among the five teams. Should it materialise, it would be the third T20 tournament organised by the PCB this year.According to the Future Tours Programme, a series of two Tests, three ODI and two T20 was originally scheduled between India and Pakistan in the UAE in December 2015.With the BCCI insisting they would play Pakistan only at home, which the PCB categorically rejected, a compromise formula appeared to have been reached when Sri Lanka was proposed as an alternate venue for a short limited-overs series following meetings between Shaharyar Khan and Shashank Manohar in Dubai, with Giles Clarke, the ECB chief, playing the role of a mediator.While the Pakistan government has responded positively, there has not been much said by India yet. On their part, the BCCI confirmed earlier that they had written to their government asking for a clearance for the tour. But the delay in granting permission has put a cloud over the revival of the series.

Geoff Boycott has called Duncan Fletcher “a hypocrite” for his comments about Andrew Flintoff’s drinking habits on tour. Flintoff’s father has also complained about Fletcher’s new book and says his son is “not a happy man” after the revelations surrounding his behaviour in Australia and the Caribbean over the past year.Fletcher wrote Flintoff attended a fielding session while drunk and the former coach also had doubts before naming him as captain for the Ashes. Boycott, who was also targeted in Behind the Shades, was unimpressed with Fletcher.”After the stuff he has come out with in the last couple of days, I find it ironic that he spent his eight years with England spouting on about loyalty and keeping everything within the team,” Boycott told the . “There he was, taking the moral high ground at every opportunity. And as soon as he finishes, what does he do? He gets stuck into Flintoff.”I have no problem with cricket people writing books, telling the truth, and making some money. I have done it myself. Fine. But it seems a bit rich coming from someone who has made such a big deal about not “talking out of school”. Fletcher is a hypocrite and he should be ashamed of himself.”Colin Flintoff said his son felt betrayed and was upset with Fletcher for speaking out. “The golden rule is that what goes on in the dressing room stays in the dressing room,” he told the Guardian. “Fletcher has betrayed Andrew’s confidence. I am upset that he has done this for the sake of his book.”There is no bigger team player than Andrew. These comments have really upset him. I have spoken to Andrew about this and he is not a happy man.”Paul Nixon, who was part of Flintoff’s one-day squad in Australia and at the World Cup, supported his former captain by saying he did not have a drinking problem. “Freddie’s such a competitive guy and a passionate guy, he wants to win every game ferociously for England,” he told BBC Radio 5 Live. “I think that the hiding they got in the Ashes really affected him more than people realise.”Alastair Cook also added his support for Flintoff. “All I know is when I was playing under Freddie for England, he was my leader,” he told . “He gave everything for England and I just wish him successful rehab on that ankle.”It’s his third time, which must be tough, but we hope he gets back as soon as possible because a fully-fit, firing Freddie Flintoff is what we need for English cricket.”He said he had not read the book. “It is just a book isn’t it? We are not bothered about what people are writing. We have moved on. Everyone is entitled to their opinions but personally I am not bothered what he has written now because we are under Peter Moores.”It doesn’t affect the squad as a whole and we are more worried about how we are going to play against Sri Lanka in two weeks’ time.”

India have agreed to tour Bangladesh for a tri-series in 2008 or 2009 with Pakistan as the third side, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced in Chittagong today.”We have agreed to play the tri-series in Bangladesh. I think it can be played in 2008 or 2009,” Niranjan Shah, the BCCI secretary, told PTI. “We have to make some adjustments to the ICC calendar. The BCB (Bangladesh Cricket Board) has readily agreed to all the conditions put before them.”Shah is among six BCCI officials currently in Bangladesh for the tour on invitation of the BCB and the officials held a meeting last night to discuss prospects of further tours between the two countries in the near future. Curiously, Bangladesh are yet to play a Test in India since gaining Test status in 2000, while India are already into their second Test tour. Shah said that a reciprocal tour of India is in the pipeline.”We are very willing to call them,” he added. “We want to help them. That’s the reason we have agreed to play the tri-series. Bangladesh is welcome to India.”

Simon Helmot has been named the Victorian Cricket Academy coach, a newly-created position as part of the state’s revamped high-performance structure. Helmot, a former club cricketer in Melbourne and coach of the ACT Comets, will be in charge of Victoria’s male and female elite pathway squads and will coach the men’s Under-19 team.Helmot’s coaching career began when he led two Melbourne grade sides, Hawthorn-Waverley and Fitzroy Doncaster, to premierships before moving to Canberra. He was handed the reins of the Prime Minister’s XI, which crushed England by 166 runs in the lead-up to the Ashes last November.Tony Dodemaide, Cricket Victoria’s chief executive, said Helmot was the ideal candidate for the new role despite not having first-class playing experience. “Simon has an excellent record as a coach and leader,” Dodemaide said. “He has proved to be extremely talented, innovative and enthusiastic.”Helmot said he was indebted to ACT Cricket for giving him the chance to develop his coaching skills but was keen to return to Victoria.