Beige Brigade co-founder Paul Ford who made such an impact on Australasian cricket grounds last summer will have a new role this summer.Ford has been appointed by the Auckland Cricket Association to its position marketing and communications manager.Sporting the infamous first colours of beige and brown devised by the Australian marketers for New Zealand when they first entered World Series Cricket back in 1980/81, the Beige Brigade became the unofficial supporters group for the TelstraClear Black Caps last year.Ford replaces Jason Cameron, who is leaving the position to pursue his athletics career.Ford has been working in Wellington for professional services firm Ernst & Young since 2000, specialising in the writing and production of various communications materials, as well as industry analysis. He holds university degrees in Law and English, as well as a Graduate Diploma in Journalism.His new role with Auckland Cricket will start on November 4. Cameron will continue in the position until then.

As if his transformation into a national hero wasn’t enough to be getting on with, Andrew Flintoff has been appointed an honorary selector as he prepares to play his 50th Test in front of an adoring home crowd at Old Trafford.Flintoff’s allround heroics set up an excruciatingly tight two-run victory for England in the second Test at Edgbaston on Sunday, and now he is to be called upon to assess the conditions at Old Trafford before England decide on their final XI for tomorrow’s third Test.The temptation to name an unchanged side must be strong, but England are toying with the idea of giving a debut to the tall Hampshire seamer, Chris Tremlett, whose key attributes of bounce could play a part on a rock-hard Old Trafford pitch.”We just want to see the conditions and have a good long chat with Freddie [Flintoff],” Michael Vaughan told reporters on the eve of the match. “It’s his home ground. He knows the conditions better than most, certainly over the last year or so.”We haven’t played that much here so we are going to try to use his experience and see which is the best way to go,” added Vaughan, whose Yorkshire team-mate Matthew Hoggard would appear to be the most likely candidate to make way if Tremlett were to feature in this Test.”We want to have a look at the options of normal swing [Hoggard’s speciality], reverse swing, bounce [Tremlett], all the areas that you cover in a normal game of cricket. “We probably won’t decide until the last minute.”Flintoff’s Man-of-the-Match performance at Edgbaston included bowling figures of 7 for 131 and crucial innings of 68 and 73. “It’s difficult to say if there’s more to come from him,” said Vaughan. “He didn’t get five-for and he didn’t get a hundred. That’s the one area where he could get better, but it was an incredible game for the team and it was certainly a magnificent game for Freddie.”England’s latest victory was their first in a “live” Ashes Test since the opening match of the 1997 series, also at Edgbaston. “I always think momentum’s great but it can be difficult to deal with,” explained Vaughan, whose dream of becoming the first England captain in nine series to win the Ashes is still alive.”Everyone said Australia had the momentum going into Edgbaston, but for the first three days we dominated the game and it was only that last morning where they came back into it. You really do have to wipe the slate clean and make sure we go into this game fresh.”Vaughan’s concerns in the captaincy department are as nothing compared to his batting woes. He has scored just 32 runs in four innings, but was philosophical about his bad trot. “When you are playing well and getting a lot of runs that kind of form has to come to an end,” he said. “When you get a run of low scores that has to come to an end.”You can’t keep getting low scores. You work hard, keep doing the right things, and it will change in the middle, it has too,” added Vaughan who scored three hundreds in the last Ashes series, in Australia in 2002-03. “Sometimes you have to give credit to the bowlers. They’ve put all the batsmen under pressure.”

Shaun Tait, who made his debut at Trent Bridge, has been cleared of serious injury following scans of his right shoulder. Tait was taken to a London clinic yesterday by the team physiotherapist Errol Alcott to investigate some “mild shoulder soreness”.A Cricket Australia spokesman said the tests revealed a minor irritation of a muscle and he will continue to receive treatment for the problem. However, Tait is expected to be available for the two-day match against Essex at Chelmsford starting on Saturday, which is the Australians’ last fixture before the fifth Test at The Oval.”Shaun complained of some minor discomfort in his right shoulder following the fourth Test, and although we weren’t overly concerned about the issue, I felt it was a good opportunity to have it looked at in more detail,” Alcott said. “We will continue to treat the complaint.”Tait, who replaced Jason Gillespie, took 3 for 97 in the first innings at Trent Bridge, but he failed to add to his tally in a brief second-innings spell and England won by three wickets to take a 2-1 lead.

While the rest of the world focuses on The Oval and the final day of a riveting Ashes contest in South London, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh will begin a two-Test series that promises to be one-sided, swift and unmemorable. Bangladesh – battling injuries to key bowlers, internal discord within their ranks and bruised confidence after the 3-0 ODI whitewash – should be brushed aside easily by a full-strength Sri Lanka team.Sri Lanka, for the second Test series in a row, fear complacency more than the potency of their opponents. Once again, they have everything to lose and very little to gain. Their preparation has focused on their own game, particularly their top-order batting which faltered during a two-Test series against West Indies in July.”We cannot afford to take Bangladesh lightly,” said Mahela Jayawardene. “We are concentrating on the basics and improving our game. We want to build big partnerships and ensure that we put together a large first-innings score in both games.”Sri Lanka’s batsman should be licking their lips. The West Indies brought with them a fiery trio of pacemen and ruffled the Sri Lankans on occasions, but Bangladesh have been shorn of their two most experienced fast bowlers – Mashrafe Mortaza (back injury) and Tapash Baisya (ankle injury) – and will now be forced to blood two youngsters.Dav Whatmore, Bangladesh’s ever-optimistic coach, refuses to be downbeat ahead of the game. “The loss of Mashrafe and Tapash is a blow and we will now have a very inexperienced pace attack, but the youngsters now have a chance to shine.”Syed Rasel, a steady left-arm medium-pacer, is likely to make his debut with either Shahdat Hossain, a pace bowler who was plundered for 101 runs in 12 overs on debut against England earlier this year, or Talha Jubair, who has been whisked over from Dhaka to bolster the bowling attack.The responsibility for taking wickets will therefore fall on the shoulders of the two left-arm spinners – bad boy Mohammad Rafique, who has been wrapped on the knuckles this week after an outburst on the training field, and Emanul Haque jnr. On a Premadasa International pitch that traditionally favours the slower bowlers, they can look forward to a heavy workload.But even greater responsibility falls upon the shoulders of their batsmen, who have overcome the twin-threat posed by Chaminda Vaas and Muttiah Muralitharan, both of whom are at the top of their form and will be eager to reap cheap wickets. At least Habibul Bashar, the skipper, has returned from a quick trip home to see his ailing mother.”We know their attack revolves around Vaasy and Murali and will have to play them well because its vital that we put good runs on the board,” said Whatmore. “I was, though, encouraged by the way we played them at times during the ODI series. We are being honest, as it is going to be tough, but we’ll be taking it session by session and will be trying to make life as hard as possible for the Sri Lankans.”Sri Lanka must decide whether to play six batsmen and an allrounder or a fifth specialist bowler. Both Russel Arnold and Shantha Kalavitigoda are in the squad and could bat at No.7. But with Sanath Jayasuriya, who will become the first Sri Lankan to pay 100 Tests in the second game, possibly not available for a full stint with the ball they may be inclined to opt for Gayan Wijekoon, the left-arm seamer, or even the added firepower of Dilhara Fernando.Teams
Sri Lanka (probable) 1 Marvan Atapattu (capt), 2 Sanath Jayasuriya, 3 Kumar Sangakkara (wk), 4 Mahela Jayawardene, 5 Thilan Samaraweera, 6 Tillakaratne Dilshan, 7 Chaminda Vaas, 8 Rangana Herath, 9 Muttiah Muralitharan, 10 Dilhara Fernando, 11 Lasith MalingaBangladesh (probable) 1 Javed Omar, 2 Nafees Iqbal, 3 Habibul Bashar (capt), 4 Mohammad Ashraful, 5 Aftab Ahmed, 6 Shariar Nafees, 7 Khaled Mashud (wk), 8 Mohammad Rafique, 9 Enamul Haque jnr, 10 Syed Rasel, 11 Shahadat Hossain

Ken Gordon, the president of the West Indies Cricket Board, has been appointed chairman of the ICC board that will handle arrangements for the 2007 World Cup, to be staged in the West Indies.The appointment follows the resignation of Rawle Brancker as chairman. The other board members who were present when Brancker quit also offered their resignations to allow the new president of the WICB an opportunity to reconstitute the board.Gordon recently visited the head offices of the 2007 World Cup organisers, meeting the team responsible for the planning and execution of the tournament, which is to be staged in the West Indies. According to a press release, Gordon met Chris Dehring, the managing director and CEO, Don Lockerbie, the chief operating officer and venue development director, and ICC host liaison Chris Tetley last week.Saying that the meeting was arranged in order to familiarise the new president with the preparations for the event, Dehring said the visit also provided him with a first-hand look at the “engine room” responsible for the delivery of the tournament. Dehring also introduced Gordon to the “cosmopolitan and enthusiastic CWC team” drawn from the region, who will work in tandem with the talents and resources at the Local Organising Committees (LOCs) in each host venue.

Somerset are hoping to speak to Ricky Ponting and Graeme Smith in a bid to get one of them to play next summer.Ponting’s brief spell at Taunton in 2004 coincided with a marked upturn in Somerset’s performances, while Smith led the county for part of 2005, guiding them to victory in the Twenty20 Cup.”We will be talking to the connections of both players,” Brian Rose, Somerset’s director of cricket, Was quoted as saying by the official website. “But we won’t commit ourselves unless either can play for a meaningful period. It could all come down to how long their respective cricket boards are willing to let them play county cricket for next season.”Ponting is due to lead Australia in Bangladesh at the start of the 2006 season and Zimbabwe at the end of the summer, while Smith and South Africa should be in Zimbabwe in August.

Trevor Hohns, the chairman of selectors, expects Australia will face more “changing of the guard” over the next couple of years as the current core ages. The panel has dropped five regulars in the past five Tests as Australia recovers from the Ashes loss and plans for the future.”We’ve always judged people on performance,” Hohns said in . “That’s the way it’s been for a long, long time and that’s the way it shall remain. We’re probably going to see more of it in the next couple of years as well. Who knows how long some of the current players will go on for? It’s really a changing of the guard.”The start of the new era has provided opportunities for Brad Hodge and Michael Hussey, but the dropping of Simon Katich and Michael Clarke has pushed the average age of the side for the third Test into the low 30s. reported that seven players had made their debut in Ricky Ponting’s two years in charge, the same number as had started their Test careers under Steve Waugh.Hohns said the age of the team was “irrelevant, particularly in Test cricket,” and was more concerned about the back-up batsmen putting pressure on the incumbents. “If we can get Damien Martyn, Simon Katich and Michael Clarke all scoring runs in domestic cricket we’ve still got a lot of depth,” Hohns told the paper. “That’s what it’s all about: creating depth to cover for when some of the other players eventually finish up.”Australia will pick their one-day squad for the Chappell-Hadlee Series this week and Damien Martyn is unlikely to tour after his broken ring finger has failed to heal. Hohns said in Matthew Hayden’s limited-overs career was not over, “but for the moment someone else is there and doing a reasonable job”.

Andrew Symonds grabbed more wickets in one session today than he had in his previous five Tests. Australia’s struggling and nominal allrounder – he has 101 runs in his preferred role as a batsman – breathed some life into his career with 3 for 16 in a seven-over spell of nagging off-cut and inswing to exploit the pitch’s variable bounce.The dismissal of Mark Boucher, a slightly high lbw decision, was Symonds’ first since Adelaide last month and his team-mates were so excited they threatened to grind off his dreadlocks with their furious head-rubbing. It is a celebration Symonds helped invent and he borrowed one from Jason Gillespie when he whipped himself like a jockey after bowling Herschelle Gibbs. “I don’t know what I was doing there,” he said.When Shaun Pollock fell three overs after his opening scalp Symonds air-punched so hard he threw himself off balance. Finally his Test resume contained something memorable and it was a “great relief”. “It’s a tricky game to be good at all the time,” he said. “To contribute in an important session like that felt really good.” South Africa were closing on Australia’s total of 355 but with the boost from Symonds they collected a 44-run lead and extended it to 154 at stumps.Symonds has experienced a difficult time since returning to the Test side against West Indies in Hobart, and he will try to use his bowling confidence to kick-start his main discipline. “I’m a batting allrounder, we all know that,” he said. “It really helps when you start any career, whether it’s in one-dayers or a Test, to get a good score in your first or second matches. That hasn’t happened to me so I’ve been searching for it. I’ve been nervous before I batted and when I’ve batted I’ve been the most nervous I can remember.”Supported by the children at the ground who have been besotted by his one-day performances, Symonds said he might try a more natural approach in the second innings. “As a sportsman you try to draw on anything to take positive feedback or advice,” he said. “Hopefully there will be no nerves and I can step into my first half-volley and hit it down the ground for four. Maybe I’ve got to push things back on the bowler, but that will depend on the state of the game.”

Asif Mujtaba, Pakistan’s former left-handed all-rounder, scored the 49th century of his first-class career, as Pakistan International Airlines‘ (PIA) four-day, Group A, first-round Patron’s Trophy Cricket Championship match against Habib Bank came to an end as a predictable draw at the United Bank Limited (UBL) Sports Complex Ground No.1 on Tuesday.Habib Bank spent more than two days while compiling a massive first innings total of 681 runs for eight wickets before applying closure. Habib Bank needed to make 531 to avert a follow-on. Eventually, they didn’t manage to reach that target but the match was already coming to an end by then. Having resumed at their overnight 202 for four, still needing another 329 runs to make Habib Bank bat again, PIA were all out for 395 in their first innings. They still finished 286 runs in deficit but Habib Bank decided to bat again for nine overs till the final draw of stumps, making 38 for one wicket.The highlight of the final day’s play was a 154 runs fifth-wicket stand between Faisal Iqbal, the captain, and Asif Mujtaba. The latter, now 38 years old and making his 285th appearance in a first-class match, scored 105. Faisal reached 82 before getting dismissed and thus finished just a few runs short of making his 11th hundred in first-class cricket. Asif then found an able partner in Ahmed Zeeshan, the wicketkeeper, (31) as the two added 91 runs for the sixth wicket.Mainly due to the leg-spin of double century-maker Imran Farhat (3-33) and Hasan Raza’s off-breaks (2-11), PIA lost their last five wickets for the addition of just 14 runs.Habib Bank, record seven-time winners of the Patron’s Trophy title, got the three points, however. They had to share the title last season with PIA after the final was abandoned due to rain. PIA have never won the competition outright since its introduction in 1972-73.After Sarfraz Ahmed, Sialkot’s hero of their Quaid-e-Azam Trophy Cricket Championship Gold League triumph, took six wickets to set up the win prospects the Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) beat Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited (ZTBL) by eight wickets, on the final day of their four-day, Group B, first-round Patron’s Trophy Cricket Championship match at the Sheikhupura Stadium on Tuesday.Four-time champions ZTBL were bowled out for just 171 runs in their second innings, which meant that after having surrendered a first innings lead of 45 they finished only 126 runs ahead of WAPDA, who had ended as runners-up behind them in the 2003-04 competition. WAPDA resumed yesterday morning at their overnight 51-0 and eventually reached 127 for two to win. Adil Nisar, the captain, followed his first innings 73 with another worthy knock of 79, made off 113 balls with 13 fours.In the end, it was easy for Pakistan Customs as they defeated Khan Research Laboratories (KRL) by seven wickets , on the final day of their four-day, Group A first-round Patron’s Trophy Cricket Championship match at the National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) Sports Complex on Tuesday.KRL resumed yesterday morning at 171-9 in their second innings, with an overall lead of just 225 runs. Mohammad Wasim’s unbeaten 104 was thus of no avail as their last wicket fell at 183, leaving Customs a target of 238. Wasim, the captain and a former Pakistan opening batsman, carried his bat through the innings, his 104 not out coming off 175 balls with the help of 10 fours. He had made 62 runs in the first innings. Customs were off to a 74-run start between Kashif Siddiq (41) and Hanif Malik, the wicketkeeper, (32). Azhar Shafiq, the captain, (87 not out off 91 balls with 11 fours and two sixes) and Afsar Nawaz (40) then added 97 runs for the third wicket.Needing only a further 127 runs to win, Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) reached 204 for three, on the final day of their four-day, Group A, first-round Patron’s Trophy Cricket Championship match and thus beat Service Industries by seven wickets at the Iqbal Stadium on Tuesday.All their batsmen scored useful runs, Ashar Zaidi and Usman Tariq, the left-hand openers, both getting into the 30s. Eventually, it was the unbroken 79 runs fourth-wicket partnership that took them beyond the victory target. Of these runs, Shahzad Malik hit an enterprising 58 not out off just 45 balls with nine fours and two sixes. Aamer Bashir, the captain, remained unbeaten with 42 runs which saw him negotiate 88 deliveries and hit seven fours. As PTCL had earlier surrendered a 50 runs first innings lead to Service Industries, they collected only six points instead of the full nine.

Yesterday, Agha Zahid was the most sought-after man in Pakistan. As head curator for the Pakistan board, it was to his door most people rushed after Gaddafi Stadium produced over 1200 runs but only eight wickets. By some estimates, he gave over 50 interviews at Iqbal Stadium yesterday afternoon. Today, he even found himself the subject of an editorial in the , a leading English-language daily, which called for him to be flogged in public in Lahore. It was, it should be hastily added, more tongue-in-cheek than serious comment but revealing nonetheless how the Faisalabad pitch now shares with Sehwag, Dravid, Inzamam and Shoaib, headline status.What pitch will we be encumbered with then? On inspection, in its beige hue, it looks like Lahore’s although on closer inspection, some suggest it might be harder. What grass there is on it is dead. Against England, two months ago, the pitch ultimately didn’t do what was expected of it – turn on the last day. This, even after Shahid Afridi and some batsmen did their best to hasten its deterioration although the strip next to it is being used here.Clearly though it is a source of much humour among those who know. When Inzamam was asked about it, with a smile he said, “We can see a little bit of grass on the pitch.” A little later he added, “It will be a better wicket, in the sense that if there is a result then it is a good wicket.” If you think about it, actually that says nothing at all.Rahul Dravid also smiled when asked for his thoughts. “It was slightly different from Lahore. A bit more grass on it and it may change as the game goes on.” Michael Holding bellowed (although that might be because he was asked whether he would pull a muscle on this pitch as he had joked of the Lahore strip) and said, “This is a pitch for the beautiful batsmen.” Yesterday, Bob Woolmer couldn’t conceal a smirk when he said it looked a little better. In the Indian camp, one bowler simply laughed when asked whether he would get more joy from this pitch. Bowlers, it looks likely, might need some sympathy tomorrow.In , Inzamam denied he had asked for the grass to be shaved off on the eve of the first Test and asked for similar pitches to the ones that were used against England. The dead grass here was his choice, because he reckons, “When you have live grass the ball seams around a lot on the first day and then the pitch eases out. But when you have dry grass it remains consistent and the ball keeps on deviating off the blades and there is also spin on all five days. Ultimately it all depends on how the weather behaves.”And there it is. No one has really taken into account quite how the weather has hampered pitch preparations. Poor Zahid was at pains to explain yesterday and since the start of this series that rain, cold and damp have severely affected his work. During the Lahore Test, he was already in Faisalabad combating the effects of rain. For what it’s worth, he told AFP yesterday, “We can only do our best but we can’t beat the weather. We need a strong sun to make a hard wicket but the rain three days back and mild sunshine since then has made our job very difficult.”The sun has been shining for two days now and the forecast has lightened up, but both are notoriously fickle at this time of the year and too prone to change. Lahore too started in sunshine. Zahid says the sun, and plenty of it, is essential now for the pitch to play sportingly. You have to feel for him, for he has become a convenient and early scapegoat for the weather, the itinerary and his employers.Dravid, at least, is willing to give him the benefit of doubt: “I would hope the curator has made the best wicket in the time he has got. Let’s give it a chance and see how it pans out.” If it doesn’t, then maybe the more pertinent questions will be those asking the PCB why they scheduled the series at this time of the year and in this region and not Zahid about why he can’t produce a pitch for Test match cricket.