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Western Australia will always be Michael Hussey’s first choice, but he will follow the rules in the unlikely event he is forced to play for the Chennai Super Kings in the Twenty20 Champions League. However, Hussey’s availability for the lucrative tournament, which will include two teams from Australia, South Africa, England and India, is in major doubt due to his international commitments in September and October.Australia will spend a month in India for a Test series following the Champions Trophy in Pakistan. “I’m a Western Australia boy through and through, born and bred, so if I’m playing a competition I’d probably prefer to play for Western Australia,” Hussey said in the Sydney Morning Herald. “But if the rules state that I’m playing for Chennai, then I’m very happy to play for them as well.”Hussey originally thought he would be free to represent Western Australia, but Lalit Modi, the IPL chairman, said the Indian franchises would get the first pick on players. “To hear something different seems a bit strange to me,” Hussey said, “but obviously if that’s the rules, that’s the rules.”

India’s team sponsor cancelled their lucrative contract on Saturday evening after the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) was forced to drop their logo during the ICC Champions Trophy.India had been barred from displaying the Sahara India Group logo on the players’ clothing because of a product conflict with South African Airlines (SAA), one of the tournament’s official sponsors.The Sahara group has interests in businesses ranging from financial services to media, including a national airline.The sponsorship deal with the Board of Control of Cricket in India (BCCI) was worth a massive USD $ 13.6 million. The contract was due to run until 2004.The International Cricket Council (ICC) had initially approved a proposed compromise solution under which their sponsor’s logo would have been modified by replacing the name of Sahara with that of its owner, Subrata.But SAA protested, saying green and orange strokes in the logo made it too similar to the Sahara brand, and the ICC changed its decision.Sahara’s decision was conveyed to the media on Saturday evening by PerceptProfile, the companies PR agency.”This is an unreasonable, irrational and offensive condition, which is completely against national pride,” said Sahara chairman Subrata Roy.The BCCI president, Jagmohan Dalmiya, told the media that the decision of the Sahara group to withdraw its sponsorship was “unfortunate”.The ICC sold its exclusive marketing and broadcasting rights to the GlobalCricket Corporation (GCC) for USD $ 550 million in 2000.India is not the first country to face a team sponsorship clash with an official ICC sponsor since the signing of that agreement – Sri Lanka nearly lost a USD $ 3 million deal with Dilmah Tea earlier in the year because of a product clash with Pepsi’s iced tea brand.

COLOMBO – Steve Waugh isn’t a fan of neutral venues for Test cricket.After Australia won the first Test against Pakistan by 41 runs at the”nice” venue of Colombo Oval, Waugh said he’d rather not play at neutralvenues if it could be avoided.”It’s good if you’re watching it on TV,” Waugh said.”But from a player’s point of view you want some atmosphere at theground.”You want crowds … this is a nice place to play but you want to playat a place like Eden Gardens (in Calcutta) where you play in front of85,000 – that’s what you play for in Test cricket.”I’m not having a go at what happened here but playing in front of 500people is not the same as playing in front of 70 or 80,000.”If there’s a reason to play at a neutral venue, fair enough, butotherwise, no.”Crowds of only a few hundred turned up each day to watch what turned outto be an excellent Test match here but Sri Lankans generally don’t watchTest cricket let alone when their own side isn’t involved.The series is being played at neutral venues after Australia refused totour Pakistan for security fears.The next two Tests will be played at Sharjah, which is closer to being ahome venue for Pakistan as it’s an Islamic country with a largeexpatriate Pakistan population.Pakistan has played two Tests there, for wins against the West Indies,as well as a welter of one-dayers.”This was an important win for us here,” Waugh said.”Conditions will suit Pakistan more in Sharjah and they’ve played quitea bit of cricket there and they’ll have big support there.”

There are just two matches in Division One and two in Division Two of the Norwich Union League this coming weekend, but quality certainly makes up for quantity when it comes to the top class. It’s a case of first against second and it could well be that the outcome of the title chase could take significant shape this weekend.Expect a big crowd at Worcester on Monday when local rivals Worcestershire Royals and Warwickshire Bears. The match is being played on Monday as opposed to Sunday as scheduled because of Warwickshire’s appearance in the B&H Cup final. But it is not just local rivalry that gives the game its edge. The Bears currently sit proudly atop the table, and their nearest rivals are the Royals from down the road.There are just four points separating the teams, and that is only because the Royals have played a game less. Both are unbeaten – except by the weather this season, so whether it’s a battle royal or more like a bear pit, something has got to give at New Road on Monday.On Sunday, Durham Dynamos have the chance to break their duck this season when they have a match against Yorkshire Pheonix at Chester-le-Street. It is a match that could define the Phoenix season. If they win, they could rise up to one of the top places, but if they lose, they would be sucked into the relegation dogfight.In Division Two, Derbyshire Scorpions are the highest placed team in action this week. They are currently fourth on run rate, but a win against lowly Lancashire Lightening could see them right up in the promotion frame. A win for Surrey Lions at The Oval against Sussex Sharks could see them get a lift in the standings. And the Sharks, having kick-started their season with their first win, will be looking to dash the Lions’ hopes and climb further up the table themselves.

The wet weather has wrecked the first round stage of the Premier League’s Southern Electric Contracting Cup, with only two ties surviving the rain.Old Tauntonians & Romsey and Winchester KS won their matches against New Milton and Flamingo, respectively.With Ian Tulk (64) and Mike Trodd (57 not out) to the fore, OTs put the New Milton attack to the sword at Ashley.OTs totalled 177-4 before restricting New Milton to 135-9 (Jeremy Ord 3-15).Jimmy Taylor cracked 90 as WKS ran up a formidable 175-4 before reducing Flamingo to 87-5.Eight first round ties are still to be played : Alton v St Cross Symondians, BAT Sports v Sparsholt, Burridge v Waterlooville, Calmore Sports v Hursley Park, Paultons v Easton & Martyr Worthy, Portsmouth v United Services, Purbrook v Liphook & Ripsley, South Wilts v Leckford.

Durham’s Paul Collingwood made 59 not out to leave his side 276 in front with four wickets standing going into the final day of their match against Gloucestershire at Chester-le-Street.Whether Durham will consider that enough for a declaration will depend partly on the weather after they were unable to start today until 2.15 because of the lightest of drizzle.Resuming on 104 for two in their second innings, Durham lost three wickets in mid-afternoon and added only 46 runs in 33 overs during the session against some tight bowling.Having reached 63 with the minimum of fuss on Saturday, Queenslander Martin Love repeatedly hit the fielders with well-struck shots and added only four before he was out in the day’s 14th over.He lobbed a catch to extra cover off fellow Australian Ian Harvey, then Jimmy Daley, who shared a third wicket stand of 66, perished without addition, edging Jon Lewis to Mark Alleyne behind the stumps.When Nick Speak steered James Averis straight to second slip it was left to Danny Law to prevent a collapse.Following his first innings duck he played himself in carefully and contributed 24 to a stand of 50 before offering Mike Smith a return catch.Wicketkeeper Andrew Pratt helped Collingwood forge another half-century partnership, with the latter reaching his 50 by driving Harvey through the covers for his fifth four.

Former Test opener Michael Slater today vowed to return to the highest level of cricket after his recall to captain New South Wales.Seven weeks after being dumped from the side, Slater will lead the Blues for the first time in their final Pura Cup match of the season against Tasmania in Hobart starting on Wednesday.Slater said he had benefitted from the on and off field dramas that had plagued him this season.”I’m a much stronger person for everything I’ve gone through,” Slater said.”It’s a case of getting back to the basics. I’ve known all along that I’m a good person.”I’ve played cricket with passion and a sheer love of the game and going through these tough periods, I’ve realised that I’m certainly not finished with playing cricket at the top level.”I’m going to do everything I possibly can to get back there and get back there smartly so I can fulfil the remainder of my goals in this game.”Slater was brought back to lead the NSW side in the absence of regular captain Shane Lee who was ruled out with a knee injury.The other obvious captaincy candidate, Michael Bevan, was unavailable as he’s preparing to join the Australian one-day side in South Africa.The other changes to the Blues from the team which drew with Queensland at the SCG last week saw batsmen Phil Jaques and Vaughan Williams come in andbatting allrounder Mark Higgs dropped.The Blues are in last place in the Pura Cup competition.

Sri Lanka’s confidence ahead of the final npower Test against England will hardly have been boosted by their performance in the rain-affected match against an MCC side full of England hopefuls, which ended today in a draw.Sri Lanka were bowled out for just 127 in reply to the MCC’s first innings 326 for seven declared. MCC captain David Fulton and Middlesex’s Andrew Strauss then batted out 17 overs, declaring at 93 for no wicket to end the game early.MCC resumed this morning on 270 for six, and batted for a further 15 oversbefore Fulton declared. Usman Afzaal, 25 tomorrow, completed a celebratory hundred, finishing on 111 not out with 11 fours and three sixes. The one wicket to fall was that of Richard Dawson, caught by Russel Arnold for 15 off Ruchira Perera, who finished with four for 66 off 20 overs.James Kirtley and Kevin Dean then reduced the tourists to an embarassing 30 for five. Skipper Sanath Jayasuriya tried to hook Kirtley and top-edged a catch to wicket-keeper Chris Read. Kumar Sangakkara, in need of runs, was lbw padding up to Kirtley. Hashan Tillekeratne got a perfect Dean yorker before he had scored, and Arnold edged Dean to Afzaal at second slip. Upul Chandana was run out by a direct hit from Strauss attempting to get off the mark. Dean then accounted for Prasanna Jayawardene, who edged a straightforward catch to Read.Simon Jones, included in England’s 13-man squad for the Old Trafford Test, struck in his third over when Thilan Samaraweera was caught at short leg by Dawson. The tourists slipped to 57 for eight when Eric Upashantha, on eight, was caught behind cutting at Jones.Only Aravinda de Silva, with an unbeaten 54 (49 balls, three sixes, five fours), provided real resistance. He put on 59 with Dilhara Fernando before the latter was caught behind, and off-spinner Dawson finished the innings by having last man Perera caught by Jones at deep backward point.On the upside for the tourists, Sri Lanka manager Chandra Schaffter says their star bowler, Muttiah Muralitharan, is continuing to recover from his shoulder injury.”He’s much better than he was, but he’s a long way from being 100% fit, and the final decision depends on him,” Schaffter said. “I cannot say he will definitely play. If the Test was tomorrow he’d certainly be very keen to play.”Asked whether Sri Lanka would raise their game at Manchester, Schaffter said: “I think it will be difficult to perform much worse than we did atEdgbaston. I’m very confident we can do much better and I’m looking to contain England a little bit more than we did at Edgbaston.”Players sometimes relax and don’t take these matches too seriously. We didnot do too well in any of the county games, by and large, and we can’t take theresults of these matches as a serious indication as to how we will perform.”

A team led by former Sri Lankan captain Sanath Jayasuriya and managed by former West Indian batsman Alvin Kallicharan has arrived in Karachi on Thursday afternoon. The international XI team will play two exhibition Twenty20 matches against a Pakistan Stars XI at National Stadium in Karachi this weekend, ending a near four-year drought of international cricket in the country.Several other players including batsman Ricardo Powell, fast bowlers Jermaine Lawson and Adam Sanford from West Indies, and Andre Nel and Nantie Hayward from South Africa landed earlier in the morning. South Africa allrounder Justin Kemp has withdrawn due to his domestic cricket commitments while two Afghanistan players – Shapoor Zadran and Mohammad Shahzad – will reach Karachi tomorrow from Kabul.”I am happy to be part of these matches,” Jayasuriya said on his arrival. “It depends on country to country [whether teams tour Pakistan] but in my opinion Pakistan is a safe country. The incidents of Lahore [attacks on the Sri Lanka team in 2009] were not the best thing to have happened and the suspension of cricket in Pakistan is very unfortunate because the people love the game here.”The games are unofficial and are arranged by the Sindh sports minister Dr Mohammad Ali Shah. The PCB has issued No Objection Certificates to the contracted players due to participate and has allowed the use of the National Stadium, but all the logistic arrangements, broadcasting deals and security arrangements were made by Shah with the support of the local government in Karachi.Since the terror attack on the Sri Lanka team bus during a Test match in Lahore in March 2009, Pakistan have been forced to hold its international matches away from home and also lost hosting rights of the 2009 Champions Trophy and 2011 World Cup. A move to stage a tournament with international faces might prove a small stepping stone for the revival of international cricket in the country.Kallicharan was enthusiastic about cricket returning to Pakistan. “I came here way back in 1972 to raise funds for flood victims and this time it’s another noble cause: promotion of cricket in Pakistan,” he said. “I think they [other countries] will have to have a look. With the success of these matches a good message will go out. Pakistan is a part of world cricket and we are here to show that Pakistan is a place to play cricket.”The plan isn’t entirely sanctioned by the PCB and the ICC ,and the organiser was forced to change the name of the teams to remove any association with the two boards as the matches hold no official status.Powell, who has played 109 ODIs, hoped the series would change perceptions about Pakistan. “Its feel good [to be here in Pakistan],” he said. “Its a great opportunity for the players to come here and really exhibit their skills, I think its about time that world cricket returns to Pakistan.”Twenty20 is the most exciting form of the game that you have right now and the teams are here to really enjoy themselves. Lots of good players are here, lots of guys from South Africa as well and lots of other players from other parts of the world, and I’m sure it will be a great weekend and we will see some good cricket.”The teams are staying at the Sheraton hotel, with extensive security of around 5000 policemen, claimed the provisional sports minister. The team will have a practice session on Friday at Karachi Gymkhana Ground.

The expected keen tussle for the all important first innings fizzled out and North Zone ultimately took the Vijay Hazare Trophy (under-16) title with a degree of comfort on the third and final day at the RSI ground in Bangalore on Saturday.When East Zone resumed their first innings on 219 for three in reply to North Zone’s 491, the stage seemed set for a battle royal for the first innings lead which would almost certainly decide the fate of the trophy. Much of course depended on Ajay Garai who was batting on 66. He and the other overnight batsman A Iqbal took the score to 286 and things were hotting up. But then Iqbal was out for 47. He faced 106 balls and hit five of them to the ropes.The fourth wicket partnership between Garai and Iqbal was worth 97 runs off33.4 overs.Iqbal’s dismissal triggered a collapse as A Sharma and A Juno brought the innings to a swift end. Garai was fifth out for 89. He faced 252 balls and hit 12 fours. Thereafter Ajith Kumar Singh scored a valuable 30 off 71 balls with four hits to the fence. But Sharma and Judo cut through the tail. East Zone lost their last five wickets for the addition of only five runs as theyslid dramatically from 324 for five to 329 all out. Sharma finished with four for 87 overs while Juno took three for 46.With the trophy in their pocket, North Zone stretched their lead of 90 runs to an overall 356 by scoring 266 for four wickets off just 47.1 overs in the second innings. Openers V Bhalla (67) and R Arora (71) put on 129 runs off 22.5 overs and D Soni (54) and P Dogra (45) also batted with gay abandon before the match was called off after 9.1 mandatory overs had been bowled.