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Gwen Herath, the flag bearer of women’s cricket in Sri Lanka for nearly a decade, is no longer running the show but has silently quit following the merger of the Women’s Cricket Association of Sri Lanka (WCASL) with Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC).The merger – an ICC requirement in which all women’s associations will merge with their country’s board – means that Herath will have no big role to play. She is reduced to being the head of a five-member women’s cricket committee of the SLC.”I decided to step down gracefully two weeks ago,” she said. “I will make arrangements to dissolve the women’s association for the full merger to take effect.”Herath admitted that she does not like working with interim bodies. “In other countries the women’s cricket associations have merged with elected bodies. With interim bodies you can’t fight injustice.”With an elected body you can take up matters which are irregular. But with interim bodies whom can you complain to? You have to complain to the Sports Minister who is responsible for appointing the interim body.”However she said she welcomed the merger because it means that, in the long run, female players stand to benefit greatly coming under SLC. She revealed that the women’s association were able to give the girls only US$ 100 for an entire tournament or tour in the past but, by merging with SLC, each member of the Asia Cup side will receive US$ 25 per day as pocket money and the officials US$ 40 per day. Even sponsorships will be the responsibility of SLC.During Herath’s tenure as president of WCASL she was able to raise Rs.2million (US$ 18,400) a year for five years through sponsorship from Singer, the sponsors of the national men’s cricket team when they won the World Cup in 1996.Herath was the life-blood of women’s cricket having inaugurated the women’s association in 1996 and seeing the country participate in three World Cup tournaments in 1997, 2000 and 2005.”Right throughout my presidency we were ranked sixth in the world out of 13 countries,” she said.One of Sri Lanka’s versatile cricket administrators, Herath was responsible for making Sri Lanka a member of the International Women’s Cricket Council in 1997 and for bringing Sri Lanka under the aegis of the ICC in 2005. She was also the first woman to hold the post of president of the male-dominated Puttalam District Cricket Association for 15 years.

Pakistan have lodged a formal written complaint against umpire Darrell Hair with the ICC and have asked for an inquiry into his conduct during the controversial Oval Test in August.”The letter outlines instances where we feel he violated the Code of Conduct,” said board spokesman Saleem Altaf. “We believe that an inquiry is necessary as it will have a bearing on the compensation claim.”The Pakistan board has rejected a claim for compensation totaling £800,000 lodged by its English counterparts. It maintains that the abandonment of the Oval Test resulted from the actions of the umpires and it should fall on the ICC, which employs all match officials, to cover such a claim.

Robert Key has been named as captain of a strong England A side for their four-day match against the Sri Lankans at Worcester, as the preparations for the first Test at Lord’s on May 11 step up another gear.The fixture represents a radical departure from the established pattern for touring sides’ warm-ups. In the past, visiting teams would often face second-string county attacks with key players rested, but the ECB has rightly taken the view that a chance for their reserve players to take on international opposition should not be squandered.”This is the first opportunity an England A side has had to take on a touring side in this country,” said England’s chairman of selectors, David Graveney, “and it allows players who are currently on the fringe of the international arena to press for places in our Test and one-day sides.”The team includes six players who were selected for England’s winter tours: Alastair Cook, Alex Loudon, Sajid Mahmood, Liam Plunkett and Owais Shah, together with Chris Tremlett, who had to withdraw from the Pakistan tour through injury. Key himself might have been called up in India had it not been for shoulder surgery, while Middlesex’s Ed Joyce was mentioned in several dispatches after a successful season in 2005. Surrey’s allrounder Rikki Clarke, meanwhile, played two Tests against Bangladesh in 2003-04.Perhaps the most intriguing selection, however, is that of Chris Read – England’s former wicketkeeper who has already scored two hundreds this season, one for Nottinghamshire v MCC in the season curtain-raiser at Lord’s, and another in the rain-ruined match against Yorkshire at Trent Bridge last week.Read, the best gloveman in the country, was axed from England’s Test side two years ago after Duncan Fletcher voiced concerns about his batting, but another good show here and he could yet find himself pushing for Geraint Jones’s Test place, which remains in jeopardy after another mixed winter.A pace attack of Plunkett, Mahmood and Tremlett represents a three-way shootout between the likely lads of the next generation, and Sri Lanka’s batsmen can expect a hostile reception when the match gets underway. For Tremlett, it will be an important chance to test his problematic knee, which held together successfully in the C&G victory over Ireland on Sunday.Alex Loudon, the forgotten man of England’s winter, gets another chance to push his credentials in a match situation, an especially timely opportunity given that England’s leading spinner, Ashley Giles, is unavailable at least until the arrival of Pakistan.Graveney confirmed that these contests are intended to become an integral part of the English season. “We also look forward to England A hosting Pakistan at Canterbury later in the summer,” he said. “[They] will become an important yardstick for the selectors in measuring how our best young players shape up against top quality opposition.”England A Robert Key (capt), Alastair Cook, Owais Shah, Ed Joyce, Ravi Bopara, Alex Loudon, Rikki Clarke, Chris Read, Liam Plunkett, Chris Tremlett, Sajid Mahmood, Coach: Peter Moores, ECB National Academy Director

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Last week, in a twist that few predicted, Sharad Ghai, the former chairman of the Kenyan Cricket Association who left office in 2005, started on the comeback trail. From almost nowhere he re-emerged as one of the three delegates representing the Nairobi Gymkhana club at the Nairobi Provincial Cricket Association’s Special General Meeting held on Saturday July 7 to discuss, among other matters, the long-overdue overhaul of the NPCA’s constitution.The meeting followed an acrimonious Annual General Meeting of the NPCA held on June 20 at which it transpired that the NPCA executive had, in breach of its existing constitution, failed to convene any general meetings involving its member clubs for over two years. Both the NPCA acting chairman’s report and the treasurer’s report were rejected by the members. Following this meeting, 10 of the 14 member clubs of the NPCA who attended signed a petition of no confidence in the NPCA executive. The three delegates representing Nairobi Gymkhana subscribed to the petition.The Nairobi Gymkhana chairman, Bharat Shah, disapproved of his own club delegates’ stance and promptly replaced them, drafting himself, Ravindra Patel (the club secretary) and Ghai to represent the club in their place at the July 7 meeting.Cricinfo had heard that Ghai had been in contact with several clubs, but given what happened when he was involved in the old Kenyan Cricket Association, few believed the rumours were anything more than that.But it now emerges that he has received backing from two surprising sources.Firstly, the Gymkhana club, who were owed a large sum of money by the old KCA. In 2004 they had a dispute with the board and threatened to prevent any official matches being played at their ground. Only the personal intervention of Ghai staved off a showdown, but, even so, the club was left out of pocket when the KCA was wound up.The second ally is even more eyebrow-raising. Sukhbans Singh, the acting chairman of the NPCA, was one of leading figures in attempts to remove Ghai and the old KCA executive between 2002 and 2005. But it now seems that Singh, under fire from his own clubs, and Ghai have struck up a relationship. It is the most unlikely of alliances.That Ghai has regained a foothold in Kenyan cricket will surprise many. When he left office in 2005 Kenyan cricket was a shambles. The board was broke – Samir Inamdar, who replaced him as board chairman, estimated that he inherited debuts of US$500,000 – and virtually all the High-Performance money from the ICC was gone. The national side was in chaos – it had played only two ODIs in the previous two years and for six months the bulk of the national team had been on strike over non-payment of monies owed. There were no major sponsors willing to be associated with the game, and other international boards gave Kenya the cold shoulder. The KCA executive had fallen out with many stakeholders, and even the minister of sport had had enough and stepped in to dissolve it.In the intervening two years the finances have been put back on an even keel, sponsors are beginning to come back and the board has done a six-year TV and marketing deal. On the field, the side has played 28 ODIs and in February they won the World Cricket League which means they will take part in the Twenty20 World Championship in September. Internally, there has been a period of relative peace and development. There is still a long way to go but things are heading the right way.At this stage, Ghai is only one of three representatives for one of 17 registered Nairobi clubs. But there will be many who remember Kenya cricket’s recent past who will be watching events with interest. Some of them are already expressing the view that the Gymkhana post may the springboard for a tilt at something bigger, perhaps even a challenge to Inamdar in 2008.As things stand, Coast and Rift Valley provinces, who would both strongly oppose Ghai, muster enough votes to be able to prevent him succeeding. But there is talk that Centrals, who were booted out by Cricket Kenya last month after it became apparent that, to all intents and purposes they did not exist as a viable province, may be set to mount a challenge to that decision. Centrals was the creation of the old KCA.It all might be a storm in a teacup. A Ghai comeback would be one of sport’s most remarkable stories but stranger things have happened. It could be an interesting few months.

ScorecardSurrey have bounced right back into Division One after riding roughshod over Glamorgan to complete a thumping 218-run victory inside three days and with it secure their return to the top flight after just one season.Centuries from Ally Brown and Mark Butcher helped them to course into a second-innings lead of 473 before declaring on 309 for 5. Brown rattled up a quickfire 107 not out from 88 balls and Butcher was in a similar hurry to start the celebrations, blasting 108 from 139 balls, before he became one of David Harrison’s three victims.Surrey then dismissed the visitors Glamorgan for 245, with David Hemp’s century going in vain. Hemp bludgeoned 155 in 177 balls but that was still far from enough to save the visitors as a triumphant Surrey attack kept up a relentless assault.Chris Schofield led them, taking 3 for 2 in 11 balls, and he was joined in his efforts by fellow spinners Nayan Doshi and Ian Salisbury, who each bagged two. Michael Powell’s was the only other innings of note for Glamorgan – he made 43 – but nothing could stop Surrey today and they will be celebrating at The Oval tonight.”This is obviously a great result for us as this was our main aim at the start of the season,” said Alan Butcher, the Surrey coach. “But we still have one more job to do and that is to make sure we finish on top of the table. It’s been a fantastic allround effort by the squad and to win Division Two would be the icing on the cake.” (Click here to listen to the audio).Click here to listen to Mark Butcher’s conversation with Mark Church after Surrey’s memorable win.

Rod Marsh, the director of the ECB Academy, has begun the process of handing over the reins to his successor, Peter Moores, by stepping down from the selection panel for the remainder of the summer.For the remainder of the summer, a three-man panel of David Graveney, Geoff Miller and Duncan Fletcher will take charge of squad selection – for the NatWest Challenge and the five Ashes Tests – with Moores acting as an advisor until he takes over from Marsh in September.”Given my move back to Australia, I think it is right that David, Geoff and Duncan take the lead with the England Ashes squad this summer,” said Marsh, who has quit his post to spend more time with his family. “I shall always be pleased to fully support the selection panel and provide any input required.”Marsh has not always seen eye-to-eye with his selection-panel colleagues, and the unilateral decision to drop Marsh’s wicketkeeping protégé, Chris Read, in favour of Geraint Jones, caused a notable rift with Fletcher during the Caribbean tour last April.But David Collier, the ECB chief executive, was quick to praise Marsh’s efforts, as well as the timing of his handover. “It is typical of Rod that he has taken the initiative to ensure that we have a perfect handover. Rod has developed the facility and programme at Loughborough to world-class standards. Thanks to Rod we are the envy not only of the cricket world but also of many other sports.”

The Ashes are looming once again for Ian Bell, but this time he is ready to look his opponents in the eye, as he continues his remarkable resurgence as an international batsman. As the final Test of the English summer approaches, and thoughts begin to drift towards the rematch in Australia in three months’ time, Bell, it would seem, is one big innings away from guaranteeing himself a place in the line-up for the first Test at Brisbane in November.It’s quite a turnaround from the situation he faced on his last visit to The Oval, the Ashes decider last September, when an overawed Bell recorded a pair to complete a traumatic personal series. “Looking back now,” he recalled, “it’s something I wouldn’t change. Obviously I’d have loved a hundred or some runs personally, but I’d still rather have won the Ashes and got a pair. To be involved at such a young age was something special.”One year on and Bell has got no such worries now. He in in the midst of a golden run of form that has earned him three centuries in as many Tests, and the subtle but unmistakeable change of approach has forced even those who doubted his mental fortitude to reassess their man. Among the doubters, it seems, was Bell himself.”I’ve always enjoyed my cricket, but I don’t know whether I believed I was good enough at this level,” he explained. “Now I believe I am. [In the past] I was a young player in the presence of world-class players and I wasn’t looking them in the eye. Now I’ve worked on my body language, and I’ve got a bit more presence out there. It’s about walking out there with your chest out and believing in yourself.””I’m feeling more positive and I’m feeling as if I belong,” Bell added, as he sized up the prospect of scoring a hundred in four consecutive matches – a feat that has only ever been achieved by ten other batsmen, and only one other Englishman, Ken Barrington (who managed it twice, in 1961-62 and 1967-68).”In the past my consistency has been lacking,” he said. “I’ve scored some runs and then made some low scores, but this series I’ve backed that up with real consistency. I’m very pleased with what I’ve achieved in three Tests, but if I start changing the way I’ve been preparing and start thinking of another hundred, it’s not going to happen. I’ll just prepare like I have been all along and not expect it. If it happens, then great.”The turning point of Bell’s summer – and maybe even his career – came at Lord’s in May, when he was omitted from the starting line-up for the first Test against Sri Lanka. “Being left out and driving away that morning was quite hard,” he admitted. “I don’t want to be doing that again, but it was a real chance to look at things and work out areas that I could do better. I definitely think that set-back has helped me.”If the experience really has made him stronger ahead of the winter’s campaigns, then so much the better for England’s prospects. “I just need to keep scoring the runs,” he said. “It’s a big match for us all, our last before Australia, and so it’s an important one personally for everyone. There is competition for places, which is good, but I believe I’m a lot more experienced now. I’ve had a winter in the subcontinent, and I’ll have 18-19 Test matches under my belt [when we get to Australia], instead of three.”As for being back at The Oval, Bell admitted that the memories were still fresh from last September. “That series was something we’ll never forget,” he said. “It was great to be involved and when you walk into the dressing-room, you do remember. Given the highs we were on that time, if we can finish this series 3-0, that would complete a great 12 months.”

Five months have now passed since a BCCI-appointed committee announced, after two-and-a-half hours of deliberation, that Greg Chappell was India’s new coach. The announcement ended the most farcical of recruitment processes and heralded the beginning of Sri Lanka’s World Cup planning. Sri Lanka, forced to take second picks after their wealthier neighbour, were able to secure their first-choice selection: Tom Moody. Everyone was happy.Since then, though, the two Australian coaches have faced starkly contrasting fortunes. Moody settled in swiftly, immediately winning the respect and confidence of the captain and players. As coaching honeymoons go, it could hardly have been more blissful: 13 wins in 14 matches and hardly a murmur of discontent (apart from the normal grumbling about the hiring of foreign coaches from certain jingoistic sections of the media). Sri Lanka are settled, happy and riding a wave of confidence.Chappell, meanwhile, was plunged into controversy. During his first tour, the Indian Oil Cup, the first murmurs of dissatisfaction leaked out as some players privately indicated unease with his love of theory. Then a damaging rift opened up with Sourav Ganguly during the Zimbabwe tour that followed. The Ganguly Issue, a spat played out in the full glare of the Indian and world media, openly divided the team and uncertainly now lingers over both Ganguly’s and Chappell’s futures. Ganguly’s timely tennis elbow created a convenient opportunity for the selectors to appoint Rahul Dravid as captain, easing the tension, but the road ahead still looks rocky.Chappell’s troublesome start has highlighted just how fortunate Moody was to inherit a united team with a strong leader. Marvan Atapattu’s selection as the captain of a fantasy World ODI XI was just recognition for a man who has drawn the team closer together and laid solid foundations for the future. Moody took over a team that was already sailing in the right direction. While there remain serious problems in Sri Lankan cricket – a bloated first-class structure, declining standards of school cricket, and a frequently short-sighted and unprofessional administration – the national team is in good health.Moody’s tenure has already brought visible improvements with some of the younger brigade – Dilhara Fernando, Farveez Maharoof and Upul Tharanga, in particular – progressing quickly. John Dyson, the previous coach, was strong on match preparation and opposition analysis but lacked the hands-on approach in the nets that Sri Lanka’s players are used to. Moody, in contrast, who has the advantage a close connection and deep understanding of the modern game, has an imposing aura at the training ground, controlling proceedings tightly and ramping up the intensity with his own participation.

Unlike Chappell, Moody’s approach is not cluttered with complex theories and philosophies. His ability to simplify the game, clearly pinpointing areas where technical changes will bring the greatest results, has greatly impressed the players. His communication skills, with the players and the media, are excellent. He appears laidback and relaxed, but he’s also firm, prepared to speak his mind, and is very professional.To the credit of the cricket board – notwithstanding recent confusion surrounding the future of physiotherapist CJ Clarke, who was first led to believe he would be taking over fitness training, his professional strength, before the board changed their minds out-of-the-blue without prior consultation with Moody or Clarke – Moody has also been allowed to build a strong team management set-up that has great expertise.For the first time an assistant coach, Warwickshire’s Trevor Penney, has been employed. The appointment has created a stir because the board was expected to employ a Sri Lankan coach – Rumesh Ratanayake and Roy Dias were the frontrunners – to gain experience. But Penney’s farsighted willingness to take a pay-cut from a position within the ECB Academy to join an international team made him the ideal candidate for the job.In addition, a new physiotherapist, another Australian called Tommy Simsek who was recommended by Alex Kontouri, Sri Lanka’s physiotherapist for seven years, has been drafted in and a mental-skills expert was available from Moody’s first training camp with the team. Just over a decade ago Sri Lanka didn’t even have a full-time coach but they now have a first-rate backroom team.But despite a successful start, Moody is well aware that the real journey starts now. Recent series wins against second-rate West Indies and Bangladesh sides merely provided a gentle introduction to an exhausting and tough year ahead. Sri Lanka’s performance in the Indian Oil Cup was superb, but everyone knows that they are a very powerful force at home. Overseas success is the Shangri-La that Moody is looking for.Sri Lanka’s record in India is poor, although this is partly because there have been so few visits since 1996, when they graduated as a global cricketing power. They have not won a single Test in 11 matches spread over five tours, the last of which was a drawn series in 1997-98, and they have won only six of the 19 ODIs they have played on Indian soil – two of which were in the 1996 World Cup. So while India appear there for the taking, Sri Lanka are under no illusions as to how difficult a tour like this could be.However, this new Sri Lankan team do now have the talent and resources to improve their record in India. Not only are the internal dynamics healthy and the team management strong, but new players have strengthened the line-up, especially Maharoof, who adds valuable batting depth to the one-day team as a fast-bowling allrounder, and Tharanga, who has slotted in impressively at the top of the order.The continuing rise of Kumar Sangakkara, the rediscovered confidence of Mahela Jayawardene, the growing maturity of Tillakaratne Dilshan, the continued consistency of Chaminda Vaas and the return of a revitalised Muttiah Muralitharan, all provide further reasons for confidence. The only slight concern has been the inconsistent form of Atapattu and Sanath Jayasuriya in recent months, but their class is uncontested and it just a question of when they rediscover their best touch.Moody is wise enough to realise that honeymoons can’t last forever, but there is every chance it might last a little longer. Sri Lanka are in fine shape.

The Eastern Province Jumbos went to the top ofthe Standard Bank Cup log with a thrilling six-run win over the Border Bearsat Buffalo Park on Wednesday night.It was a victory which looked for muchof the game as though it would go the other way, as Border appeared to havejudged their tough run-chase perfectly. Once again, though, their frailtyunder pressure eventually told.Chasing a daunting target of 261, Border appeared to have laid thefoundations for vicotory as they reached 228 for four, with less than arun-a-ball required over the closing overs. But a couple of dubious shots,an unlucky run out and Mornantau Hayward’s slower ball proved decisive forEP, as Border lost their last six wickets for just 22 runs.Three timesHayward picked up wickets with his well-disguised slower ball, although hesaved himself some acute embarrassment after putting down two caught andbowled chances in the same over.It was a waste of some fine batting higher up the order from openersLaden Gamiet and Ian Mitchell who saw off the impressive Mfuneko Ngam andMeyrick Pringle before taking apart the rest of the EP attack in a stand of85.Gamiet’s demise for 57 only cleared the stage for Craig Sugden whose 84looked to have put Border on the brink of victory. But when he was part of amiddle-order collapse which featured a duck for Mark Boucher, the gameturned decisively in EP’s favour.With seven runs needed off eight balls,Makhaya Ntini skied Hayward to bring down the curtain on a compelling game.Earlier, man-of-the-match Carl Bradfield struck a fine 91 as EP builtwhat turned out to be a winning total after being put into bat by theirhosts. That the score was eventually as imposing as it was was also theresponsibility of the veteran Dave Callaghan, who struck an unbeaten 37 offjust 17 balls as the overs ran out.Callaghan and Justin Kemp combined totake 19 off the penultimate over from the otherwise impeccable West Indianpaceman Vasbert Drakes.

Ajit Agarkar, India’s most successful bowler in the one-day series against West Indies, is returning home even as the bowlers in the Test squad had a torrid time in the warm-up match in Antigua, conceding as many as 20 extras on the first day.India lost the series 1-4, but Agarkar finished on top of the Indian bowling averages with nine wickets at 18.11 a piece. Only Ian Bradshaw, the West Indies left-arm seamer, bettered his average, conceding 17.11 runs for each of the nine wickets that he got from the four matches he played.”That I got into rhythm straightaway made a big difference. My confidence, perhaps, would have been dented had I gone for runs in the first ODI [Kingston],” Agarkar told , the Kolkata-based daily.India will next play a one-day tournament only in August-September when they travel to Sri Lanka for a tri-series and Agarkar plans to spend the time in between playing some form of professional cricket, possibly in England, where he had played for Middlesex in 2004.”I will take a complete break for about a week and, then, explore possibilities of either playing for a county or in one of the leagues. Obviously, I’ve got to establish contact with an agent… I’m definitely going to play some form of cricket,” he said.During the series, Agarkar became the seventh allrounder and the second Indian after Kapil Dev, to score 1000 runs and take 250 wickets. He is the only fast bowler in the current one-day squad to have played previously in West Indies when India won the series 2-1 in 2001-02. He took six wickets in three matches, three for 33 being his best bowling figures.Agarkar felt the reason why other Indian bowlers were not as successful as him was because they couldn’t hit the right length – which is vital on the slow West Indies pitches. Experience, he added, also counted in overseas tours.To somebody who arrived on the international scene with such gusto, Agarkar seemed resigned to the seesaw nature of his career. “The past eight years have seen me in and out a number of times… I’m disappointed, but my selection or otherwise rests with others.”