The decision to launch ProCricket in America last year was a bold and commendable move, given that US audiences already have a glut of options: there are World Series in baseball, basketball and football. To say that ProCricket was an instant success would be a bit premature but, on the other hand, it can’t be written off as a total failure. These are early days.The game has had to be modified for American audiences. Innings are 100 balls long (comprising 20 five-ball overs), which makes matches last three hours, in line with the duration for all major American sports. Matches start at 7:00pm, so it is easier to draw audiences after work. Two professionals play in each side, which certainly lifted the standard and encouraged the local players to step up to the plate.The international players who added a lot of excitement in 2004 included six West Indies players: Wavell Hinds, Corey Collymore, Mervyn Dillon, Franklyn Rose, Ricardo Powell, Marlon Samuels. Robin Singh from India, and Colin Miller and Richard Che Que from Australia also participated. The allround capabilities of Marlon Samuels made him stand out among all players, with his hard-hitting batting, he became the first player to score a century in ProCricket.Amongst the locals, Nadeem Younis, a former first-class cricketer from Pakistan, toyed with all bowlers and scored a century in less than 45 deliveries. He was particularly severe on the former Windies pacer, Franklyn Rose: smashing him for one of the longest straight sixes I have ever witnessed. However, it was sad to see former Indian captain Ajay Jadeja and the off-spinner Nikhil Chopra sitting on the sidelines without taking part because of the Indian Cricket Board’s reluctance to grant them permission to play in ProCricket.For me, personally, ProCricket produced both bitter and sweet memories. Bitter, because I was dropped from the USA team that played in the ICC Trophy in England, supposedly because of my participation in ProCricket. Sweet, because I had the privilege of representing and captaining one of the eight teams in the first ever ProCricket competition in America.Under my captaincy, New York Storm did well to win two, lose two and tie one. The New York Storm failed to reach the semi-final in the Eastern Conference because of a misunderstanding between the New York Storm management and ProCricket people. As a result, New York Storm ended up conceding their last game against the Florida Thunder, a victory in which would have given us a berth in the semis.However – more than winning – just participating in the ProCricket competition in 2004 was enough to make me look forward to another exciting and productive season in 2005. It’s a tremendous experience to play in such fast-paced games where results were decided off the last ball in two of the five games I participated in. I also played in the first ever tied game in ProCricket when New York Storm ended DC Forward’s challenge off the last ball; one of the most exciting games in the competition.I invited a few of my co-workers – typical white Americans – to watch the first game between New York Storm and New Jersey Fire in the New York Yankees minor league stadium on Staten Island. They were thrilled, and one said he would come back to see it again in a heart beat. Another remarked that he ‘just loved it’ and that the entire experience was ‘awesome’. I already have requests from several co-workers to invite them to the 2005 games.I believe that the short, sharp 20-over format adopted by ProCricket is the best way to introduce cricket to Americans, who regularly complain about baseball lasting too long. The non-stop excitement in the 20-over format is overwhelming, since there is no consolidation period. Also, the innovative field restrictions – only two fielders can be placed outside the 30-yard circle during the last six overs – creates more opportunities for run scoring.But, having played the game, here are some thoughts I have to make ProCricket more attractive and viable event:Media coverage Media will need to play a very crucial role. According to ProCricket folks, a South Asian channel, American Desi will be launched in the US shortly which will carry ProCricket games live. In addition, other channels (Sony, Zee TV, PTV, Geo, BBC, etc.) will need to step up as well.Playing Facilities One of the main complaints from the players revolved around the pitches and the grounds. Given that the games were played in minor league baseball stadiums, the pitches were definitely not up to standard, with make-shift matting wickets being placed over wooden planks or dirt. To improve standard and to encourage strokeplay, hard and true pitches are a pre-requisite.Professional Player Assignment Some players ended up playing for different sides to bridge the shortfall after certain cricket boards were reluctant to release their players. One day Marlon Samuels would be playing for New York Storm against New Jersey Fire, the next he would turn up for New Jersey Fire against Florida Thunder. I would like to see each professional assigned to a specific team – so that there is a sense of loyalty.Higher Incentives There was a huge disparity between the match fees paid to local players compared with the international players. Local players should receive more money to incentivise them. Handing out Man of the Match awards at the end of each game and an MVP at the end of the tournament will generate higher interest amongst the players and bring out the best in them.Sign-off from USACA/ICC If USACA and/or the ICC embrace ProCricket, they would give a big boost to cricket in America. Not only would it lend legitimacy to the event, but it will also allow bigger stars from leading nations to take part in the competition. Everyone’s goal should be to advance cricket in America and not work to individual agendas.All Star Game Based on individual performances, an All Star US ProCricket XI should be selected to play against, for example, a West Indies `A’ or England `A’ team. This would give global media coverage to the games and enhance the popularity of the game.

Jason Gillespie was supposedly out-of-form and leaving Brett Lee out looked to be a mistake. Both myths were quickly dispelled as New Zealand’s new-look top order flopped today in the toughest of acid tests.Only the retired Waugh brothers and the 12th man Brett Lee were missing from the side that met New Zealand in the last Test series in 2001. The result for New Zealand was an opposition with the same old faces presenting the tightest of on-field units and forcing the sudden reappearance of pressures unique to past battles with the world’s best bowling attack.Such is the unrelenting consistency of this attack that New Zealand’s first-innings ability to absorb the opening burst was quickly replaced by technical inadequacies hastened by Australia’s extreme mental pressure. Of the top seven batsmen, only Craig Cumming was genuinely undone by a good ball.A slow but steady start of 30 for 1 after 15 overs soon became a precarious 34 for 3 in 18 overs. From Shane Warne’s standard “oohing” and “aahing” post delivery, to Gillespie’s pounding of a perfect line and length, to Adam Gilchrist’s laughter at a struggling Craig McMillan, it was a blitzkrieg only the Australians are capable of.During the one-day series New Zealand turned to its sports psychologist for answers. If there is to be a repeat visit, McMillan should be first in the queue. After a heated verbal spar with Gilchrist at Brisbane in November, McMillan fell to the next ball. Gilchrist was at it again today as Warne claimed McMillan in comical circumstances.After a decent warm-up bowling around the wicket to Hamish Marshall, Warne chose the same approach from the first ball to McMillan. In the space of five leg-breaks into the footmarks, McMillan, the right-hander, went from confident to confused to incompetent.On his Test debut at the Gabba in 1997, McMillan went to 50 by lofting Warne back over his head for six: today he inexplicably padded off two full tosses. The second one had Gilchrist and others around the bat in hysterics and it proved too much for McMillan when he unnecessarily prodded the outrageously wide next ball to short leg.McMillan was not the only one to get in a tangle. Stephen Fleming and Lou Vincent both got pads in the way of bats and Nathan Astle blew a solid start with indecisiveness around off stump. Marshall did not have the confident air of a first-innings centurion. Gillespie and Michael Kasprowicz unsettled him with short-pitched deliveries and after a gusty 77-ball stay, Marshall lost his concentration and was bowled behind his legs by Warne.New Zealand’s collapse to 87 for 6 was a direct result of the bowlers devising a plan and executing it with precision. Gillespie was a standout, claiming Cumming with the perfect three-ball over. After seaming two away from the right-hander, Cumming was deceived when Gillespie cut one back. Vincent’s dismissal was a virtual replica. A Gillespie leg-cutter found Vincent’s edge but also Matthew Hayden’s butter fingers at slip. Two balls later Gillespie beat Vincent’s defensive lunge for a second lbw.Cricket fundamentals rather than complicated science underlie the Australian approach to bowling. The magic comes from the quick men putting the ball on the spot and hitting the seam with regularity. There is nothing stopping New Zealand from trying to emulate this. The other critical basic central to Australia’s performance today – a quick bowler in tandem with a quality legspinner – is something New Zealand can only dream of.

Phil Edmonds, the former England spinner turned entrepreneur, has taken the biggest gamble of his business career to date by striking a controversial oil-exploration deal in war-torn Southern Sudan, a region to which the French oil giant, Total, claims to have exclusive rights.Edmonds is the frontman of White Nile, a small oil venture that has forged a partnership with the Sudan’s People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM), whose leadership has dismissed Total’s advances and has been won over by the promise of immediate investment into a region that has been decimated by civil war.”We have controlled this area for the last 20 years, we have fought for it," Costello Garang Ring Lual, a member of the SPLM’s national executive committee told The Guardian. "For someone to think they can come in and take it is just wrong. The government in the north [Khartoum] knows we are right. The agreement is very clear.”White Nile’s shares were frozen last month after rising 13-fold in less than a week – a remarkable rise that was reminiscent of the days of the dotcom boom. Their deal with the SPLM covers a 67,500km region which is believed could contain five billion barrels of oil, but though trading is set to resume next week, Total are breathing down White Nile’s necks and the City remains skeptical about their credentials."Any oil leaving Sudan will subsequently have a freezing order placed on it by lawyers acting for Total," Simon Cawkwell, a city trader told The London Evening Standard. "The South Sudanese may claim to have authority to give out contracts but very probably haven’t. Also, the place can’t be regarded as peaceful yet."

The standard of university first-class cricket is often derided, with the counties often fielding what amounts to a 2nd XI, and using the fixtures as a glorified net session. But Worcestershire were given a shock on Monday, when they became the first first-class victims of Loughborough UCCE.Loughborough dominated all three days at Kidderminster, winning by eight wickets in the end, after forcing Worcestershire to follow on. Richard Clinton struck a first-innings century – and was rapidly recalled to the Surrey squad for the injured Graham Thorpe – and added 197 for the first wicket with Edward Foster.After Loughborough had declared they then reduced Worcestershire to 0 for 3, as Stephen Peters, Stephen Moore and Ben Smith all failed to score. This was a weakened Worcestershire team – no Graeme Hick, Vikram Solanki, Chaminda Vaas or Kabir Ali – but they still included two Test cricketers in Zander de Bruyn, the South African allrounder, and Ray Price, the former Zimbabwe spinner.de Bruyn blasted 81 but Worcestershire subsided for just 133, with Steven Clark, a 22-year-old right-arm seamer, claiming a career-best 5 for 29. They fared only marginally better second time around as David Wainwright, a highly promising left-arm spinner who is on the Yorkshire staff, also took a career-best 4 for 48.Loughborough have been the strongest University Cricket Centre of Excellence – certainly in terms of their batting strength – for the last three years. They were not originally given first-class status, but this changed following a 2002 season in which they were not bowled out once in their three matches and passed 300 at least once against each county they played.Jimmy Adams, now opening the batting for Hampshire, is a Loughborough graduate, and Vikram Atri is on the Nottinghamshire staff. The university has also produced John Francis, who is now shoring up the Somerset top-order, and the seamer David Wigley at Worcestershire. The students have the advantage of being based at the home of the England Academy, and Loughborough is rapidly overtaking Cambridge and Oxford as the main source of university cricketers.Loughborough’s victory comes hot on the heels of Surrey’s defeat against Bradford/Leeds UCCE, and though that was not a first-class fixture, it shows they should not be taken lightly. Such a packed county fixture list means the big boys will continue to rest their main players in these games, but if they do they should be prepared for a shock.

Scorecard
Essex ground Yorkshire into the dirt and then reaped late dividends as they gained complete control at Headingley. Essex’s dominance was highlighted as Darren Gough, sent in as a nightwatchman, came within seven runs of registering a century against his former team. His 93 took 104 balls and contained 11 fours and three sixes and he was the dominated partner in a stand of 140 with Andy Flower. Not that Flower was a slouch, he just went about scoring in his own fashion, and eventually fell to Tim Bresnan after facing 426 balls. The torture didn’t end their for the Yorkshire attack as James Foster piled in with 92 before his dismissal signalled the declaration from Ronnie Irani. Yorkshire’s weary openers – Matthew Wood and Phil Jaques – having chased leather for over five sessions, then fell to Andre Adams in quick succession before Yorkshire could finally retreat to the dressing-room to lick their wounds.
Scorecard
Jason Brown gave Northants a potentially vital first-innings lead of 52 as he finally got among the wickets after a barren start to the season. Brown, who toured Sri Lanka with England in 2001 and was touted as a contender for a Test spot earlier in his career, had picked up just six wickets this summer until today’s haul. He continually chipped away at the Somerset batting and each time a partnership threatened to develop he struck. His key strike was removing Sanath Jayasuriya, who was dangerously poised on 55 and is starting to find his feet in county cricket. Ian Blackwell’s big-hitting 59 was also nipped in the bud by Brown before he mopped up the tail. However, some lusty blows from Richard Johnson kept the deficit down to manageable proportions. Gareth Andrew’s late removal of Bilal Shafayat means Somerset are not without hope entering the third day.1st day

Leicestershire took the honours on a turgid opening day at Derby as runs came at less than two and a half an over. All the Leicestershire attack was frugal and the wickets were shared around. Michael Di Venuto – normally a very aggressive batsman – took 196 balls over 76, but the flimsy Derbyshire batting would have completely folded without his contribution. After choosing to bat they subsided to 61 for 4 with David Masters claiming a brace. There were useful contributions from the lower order, especially Graeme Welch who made 42, but they could never break the shackles. The situation could have been better for Leicestershire if Paul Nixon hadn’t missed two chances – one off Di Venuto and one off Welch – but neither batsman really cashed in. On a pitch already showing signs of variable bounce Derbyshire took a rare attacking option, late in the day, when they declared to give Leicestershire a couple of overs to face. They survived and Derbyshire’s attack will have to be as thrifty as Leicestershire’s on the second day.

After what feels like the longest phoney war in history, England’s summer finally gets underway for real tomorrow, when two confident and competitive teams come head to head in a must-win clash in Nottingham. Trent Bridge is the venue for the first of three floodlit matches in the NatWest Series, and the stakes could not be higher for England and … err … Bangladesh …?It’s been a surreal and eye-catching week for cricket. Australia’s astonishing run of defeats, which reached its nadir at Cardiff on Saturday, has been compulsive viewing, with incessant exposure on both the front and back pages of every newspaper in England. It is a measure of how badly they have stumbled that Sunday’s loss to the Poms was widely regarded as a hugely improved performance.Nobody truly doubts that the Aussies will rise again before the series, let alone the Ashes, are out, but for the moment their wobble has turned a disgracefully mismatched tournament into the most enthralling one-day jamboree in years. Call it schadenfreude if you will, but until this tour, the so-called lottery version of the game might as well have been sponsored by Camelot – because the odds of an Australian defeat, like the jackpot, were roughly 14 million-to-1.Consequently, Bangladesh’s rollover at Cardiff has provided an improbable spice to tomorrow’s encounter at Trent Bridge. During the Test series, Michael Vaughan was fond of referring to “potential banana skins” when trying to be polite about the challenge posed by Bangladesh, but on Saturday night, “no comment” was the best, and wisest, words he could come up with. With rain in the air (and the capricious prospect of batting under lights, should his form at the toss fail him), Vaughan will be unexpectedly wary of the side whom England trounced by ten wickets at The Oval last week.Nothing is unthinkable anymore, but it is not merely stating the obvious to suggest that a repeat performance is improbable. Bangladesh have thrived on their diminished expectations in this tournament – and when the sun shone at Sophia Gardens they soared – but it has taken twenty years for their victories tally to reach double-figures. Two in four days would be stretching fantasy to its limits.What is more, they are up against the team that has been giving them short shrift all season. Vaughan’s men have been careful to maintain a professional ruthlessness without veering towards complacency, but the weekend’s events will have been a timely reminder that nothing in this game can ever be taken for granted.The only error England made in their first match against Bangladesh was to lose their focus at 76 for 6, and allow the tail to recover to a competitive total of 190. It was a similar mindset to the one that led Ricky Ponting to bat first in juicy conditions at Cardiff, but it didn’t prove nearly so ruinous. Should Vaughan win the toss tomorrow, he would be ill-advised to field first in a bid to wrap things up nice and quickly.England do, nevertheless, have a few issues to resolve, not least the lack of time in the middle that Andrew Flintoff and Geraint Jones have enjoyed so far this summer. Neither lasted long on Sunday, nor at the Rose Bowl during the Twenty20, so there may be some temptation to tinker with the order and allow them a hit from Nos. 3 and 4 respectively. With Pietersen and his 162-run average lurking in the middle of the innings, England do have the most enviable of failsafes.The return of Ashley Giles is a boon as well. His pivotal presence at No. 8 hasn’t yet been missed, but his restrictive bowling spells certainly have – it has been more through luck than judgment that the part-timers, Paul Collingwood and Michael Vaughan, have not been better exploited. Assuming his dodgy hip doesn’t suffer a late relapse, he should return to the side in place of Vikram Solanki.But for Bangladesh, the afterglow of the Australia triumph will live on long, regardless of what happens tomorrow. “There will be no mental block in the next game,” promised Habibul Bashar, one of the architects of their victory. “We are really confident now.” England have been forewarned. The momentum of their summer demands that there can be no slip-up.England (probable) 1 Marcus Trescothick, 2 Andrew Strauss, 3 Michael Vaughan (capt), 4 Paul Collingwood, 5 Andrew Flintoff, 6 Kevin Pietersen, 7 Geraint Jones (wk), 8 Ashley Giles, 9 Jon Lewis, 10 Darren Gough, 11 Steve Harmison.Bangladesh (probable) 1 Nafees Iqbal, 2 Javed Omar, 3 Tushar Imran, 4 Mohammad Ashraful, 5 Habibul Bashar (capt), 6 Aftab Ahmed, 7 Mohammad Rafique, 8 Khaled Mashud (wk), 9 Mashrafe Mortaza, 10 Tapash Baisya, 11 Nazmul Hossain.

Kabir Ali has been assured by David Graveney, England’s chairman of selectors, that he does have an England future, despite being overlooked for the winter tours to Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.Kabir was in the victorious NatWest Series squad this summer, and made his Test debut later against South Africa at Headingley, taking five wickets in the match. However, he was dropped for the final Test at The Oval and didn’t make either the Test or one-day international squad to the sub-continent.”I’ve spoken to Kabir a lot and there are areas of his game that he needs to work on,” said Graveney. “I’m sure the taste he has had with England will be the first of many, many times where he is involved.”Instead of a long hot slog in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka this winter, Kabir will have the colder comforts of Loughborough and the national academy. “I’ve spoken to Tom Moody [Worcestershire’s director of cricket] about things and we feel that is the best course of action for him this winter,” Graveney explained. “He will be involved with the academy part-time to work on those things.”

Queensland have the chance to avenge their Pura Cup final loss when they host New South Wales in the opening ING Cup match of the season at the Gabba in October. Cricket Australia launched the domestic fixture list today with a move towards more night matches and the introduction of twilight games.While capital city spectators will benefit from the more accessible times, regional supporters in New South Wales and Victoria have received a boost as matches will be staged away from the main grounds. The Blues will play an ING Cup fixture at Coffs Harbour and a Pura Cup game at Lismore while Drummoyne Oval, North Sydney Oval and the SCG will also be used.Victoria return to Wangaratta for the first time since they played West Indies in 1996, and the Bushrangers will set up camp at St Kilda as the MCG prepares for the Commonwealth Games. The Wangaratta match against New South Wales will start at midday and four more twilight matches are scheduled for Tasmania’s home one-day clashes.South Australia will need to be owls as they are due to play six ING Cup games under lights while Western Australia and Queensland have four of their limited-overs home affairs as day-nighters. The Bulls, who suffered a one-wicket loss in last season’s Pura Cup final, will open the first-class season against Tasmania at the Gabba on October 17.James Sutherland, the Cricket Australia chief executive, said the domestic competition and its scheduling continued to provide value and interest for all cricket followers. However, details of the Twenty20 domestic tournament, which will be a much-hyped event and is set down for January, are still being finalised.Fixtures at a glance
New South Wales
Country double-header against Victoria with an ING Cup match at Coffs Harbour on January 14 and a Pura Cup game starting at Lismore on January 16.
Drummoyne Oval to host Western Australia in the final ING Cup group match on February 19.Queensland
Four day-night ING Cup fixtures at the Gabba.
Home games at the newly-completed Gabba, which holds 40,000.South Australia
Four home ING Cup matches under lights at the Adelaide Oval.
Six of ten ING Cup matches are day-night fixtures.Tasmania
Home Pura Cup matches at Bellerive Oval.
Four home ING Cup fixtures are twilight games starting at 11.30am.Western Australia
Four home ING Cup matches under lights at the WACA.
Victoria
Home matches at the St Kilda Cricket Ground.
An ING Cup twilight fixture beginning at midday at Wangaratta.

Tasmania, the ING Cup leaders, have named an unchanged line-up for the match against Victoria at Bellerive Oval on Saturday.With two away wins already in the bag, including a narrow victory over New South Wales, Tasmania will play their first home game of the season. Daniel Marsh will lead the side and the impressive new wicketkeeper-batsman David Dawson retains his place.Tasmania Daniel Marsh (c), Michael DiVenuto, George Bailey, Michael Bevan, Luke Butterworth, David Dawson, Michael Dighton, Xavier Doherty, Brett Geeves, Adam Griffith, Scott Kremerskothen, Damien Wright.Three Tasmanian selections will also play the ACT in one-day Cricket Australia Cup matches from tomorrow until Thursday.

Tatenda Taibu will lead a 16-member squad in the upcoming tri-series, also involving New Zealand and India. The selectors named Heath Streak as the vice-captain and also included other former dissidents – Andy Blignaut, Craig Wishart and Stuart Carlisle.Zimbabwe will hope for an improved performance in the one-dayers after a thrashing at the hands of New Zealand in the two-Test series. The Zimbabwe Board XI for the warm-up match against New Zealand at Bulawayo on August 22 will be chosen from the same set – minus Taibu and Streak who will be returning after taking part in the Afro-Asian Cup in South Africa.Kevin Curran, the former Zimbabwe allrounder who recently replaced Phil Simmons as the coach, said he aimed to transform Zimbabwe into one of the top teams in one-day cricket. “I want all the team to rapidly improve by 5%,” he told AFP, “because that will impact on the team as a whole. I am a team man but also a really competitive person, and always have been. I want that to rub off and I’m sure it will.”The one-day series gets underway on August 24 with Zimbabwe taking on New Zealand in the opener at Bulawayo.Zimbabwe squad
1 Tatenda Taibu (capt), 2 Heath Streak (vice-capt), 3 Stuart Carlisle, 4 Chamunorwa Chibhabha, 5 Charles Coventry, 6 Keith Dabengwa, 7 Brendan Taylor, 8 Craig Wishart, 9 Andy Blignaut, 10 Gavin Ewing, 11 Blessing Mahwire, 12 Hamilton Masakadza, 13 Waddington Mwayenga, 14 Edward Rainsford, 15 Vusumuzi Sibanda, 16 Prosper Utseya.