Clive Lloyd, the former West Indian captain, has said that the domestic structure in the Caribbean needs drastic improvement if the team has to come out of its prolonged slump. West Indies extended their run of consecutive losses in one-dayers to nine after losing 3-0 to Pakistan.”We need to be working towards some more A-team cricket and we have to strengthen our domestic cricket,” Lloyd told the BBC World Service. “We need to get coaches who have a good track record into our game and [who will be] singing from the same hymn sheet.”Lloyd also pointed to the absence of West Indies players in county cricket as one of the problems that has led to the current state. “Maybe [the counties] don’t think their [West Indies’] cricket is good enough,” he said. “Something our players should think about is being a winner – then you win all round. When we were winning everyone wanted our players, now we are not winning anything, nobody wants our players.”Winning, like losing, is contagious and nobody wants to be involved in West Indies’ cricket if we’re not winning,” he continued. “When playing in different conditions against different types of bowlers, you learn to be more professional and have more discipline – that’s what county cricket is all about.”West Indies were also subjected to their first whitewash in a one-day series at home when they lost 5-0 to South Africa, who also won the Tests 2-0. West Indies’ next assignment is a two-Test series against Pakistan, the first of which will start in Barbados on May 26.

More women are playing cricket in organised competitions in Australia, research by Cricket Australia has revealed.But the figures also highlight that cricket needs to do more to attract more girls and women into the game, according to Cricket Australia chief executive officer James Sutherland.Census figures illustrate that more than 7,000 women have taken up cricket over the past year, as female participation in cricket has grown from 40,445 participants nationally (8.7%) in 2002-03, to 47,780 (10.1%).”We are delighted with the results from the census,” said Mr Sutherland. “In particular, it is fantastic to see that female participation in the game is growing at a healthy rate. This is an especially pleasing result as Cricket Australia became fully integrated with women’s cricket in July 2003.””The female cricket market in Australia has a lot of potential to grow, and this year’s results help indicate to us that we’re heading in the right direction with the women’s game. It is a result we’re very pleased to see and a trend that we, the state cricket associations and clubs need to keep working on.”For the purpose of the census, the definition of a cricket `participant’ is one who plays in an organised cricket competition or program of more than four games per season.

Barbados 244 for 7 (Reifer 72, R Hinds 71*, Browne 42) beat Guyana 164 (Daesrath 38, Collins 3-23) by 80 runs
ScorecardBarbados recovered magnificently from a position of 17 for 3 to sail to a whopping 80-run victory against Guyana at Georgetown. Their recovery was set up by a magnificent 136-run partnership between Floyd Reifer and Ryan Hinds.Even after the two were out, Reifer for 72 and Hinds for 71, Barbados carried on to make sure that the initiative remained with them. Courtney Browne, doing an Adam Gilchrist as wicketkeeper-captain, lashed 42 to take Barbados to 244 for 7 in their 50 overs.Guyana began bravely, as Sewnarine Chattergoon and Lennox Cush added 60 runs after Darwin Christian was bowled by Pedro Collins early in the innings. But once they were out, the innings unravelled, though Damodar Daesrath showed some fight with a combative 38. But none of the many Guyana batsmen who got starts could come up with the big innings needed, and in the end, they fell far short.Windward Islands 219 (Murray 64, Sooklal 4-46) beat Trinidad and Tobago 218 for 9 (S Ganga 46) by 1 run
ScorecardWindward Islands are getting used to close finishes. In their last match, they beat Leeward Islands by one wicket, and here, at the Enmore recreation Ground in Guayana, they prevailed over Trinidad and Tobago by a solitary run.Daren Ganga, Trinidad and Tobago’s captain, won the toss and asked his opponents to bat. Windward Islands seemed blighted by the tendency of their batsmen to get a start but not carry on to make a big score. All of their top seven reached double figures, but only Junior Murray, at 36 one of the senior figures in the side, made a half-century, with 64.Rodney Sooklal, the 23-year-old medium pacer, took 4 for 46 in his ten overs, pegging the batsmen back every time a partnership threatened to develop. Windward Islands finished on 219, which seemed quite gettable.But the malaise of batsmen getting starts and not converting continued during the chase as well, with seven batsmen making a start – Daren Ganga the lowest of them with 19 and Sherwin Ganga the highest with 46 – but none of them going on to make a half-century. The bowling was miserly, partnerships were tenuous, and Trinidad and Tobago, despite batting out all 50 overs, finished a run short.

Waqar Younis has been named as part of a five-man panel that will help work with the Pakistan offspinner, Shoaib Malik, who was reported by the umpires Aleem Dar and Simon Taufel, and the match referee Jeff Crowe, for a suspect bowling action in the final of the recently concluded Paktel Cup.Abbas Zaidi, a spokesman for the Pakistan Cricket Board said: “We have formed a five-member committee which will work with Shoaib and submit a report [to the ICC].” Waqar, who was Pakistan’s captain when Shoaib made his Test debut in 2001, is joined on the panel by Bob Woolmer, the national team coach; Khizar Hayat, a former international umpire, and Ijaz Faqih and Bruce Yardley, ex-Test players.The panel have six weeks in which to work with Shoaib, before reporting their findings to the ICC as stage one of the process for assessing bowlers with potentially flawed actions. Malik himself, who is currently playing in the first Test against Sri Lanka in Faisalabad, will undergo corrective measures on his action after the two-match series is concluded. If his action was reported again, he would have his case brought before the ICC’s bowling action review committee.

Division One

Mark Ealham’s 34 not out gave Nottinghamshire the edge by the end of a manic day at Trent Bridge on which 18 wickets fell. After winning the toss and batting, Surrey were skittled by Greg Smith, who claimed three wickets for four runs, including Rikki Clarke and Jon Batty for ducks. Mark Ramprakash retaliated with a gutsy 42, but Surrey’s total of 136 seemed inadequate, until it came to their turn to bowl. Martin Bicknell bagged his brother Darren for a second-ball duck, and had taken 4 for 42 by the close as Notts limped to 185 for 8.Only 30 overs were possible on the first day of Sussex’s match against Gloucestershire at Hove. Sussex won the toss and batted first, and were indebted to a solid opening knock from Richard Montgomerie, who clung on in difficult conditions as four wickets fell at the other end. Steve Kirby took the notable scalps of Matt Prior and Chris Adams, as Sussex closed on 97 for 4.

Division Two

Darren Gough cemented his side’s advantage with two wickets in his first four overs, as Leicestershire closed on 12 for 2 in reply to Essex’s Ronnie Irani-inspired 297. Irani top-scored with 97, falling three short of his second hundred of the season and the 24th of his career, one of David Masters’ four wickets in the innings. His efforts lifted Essex from an early rut – they had at one stage been 57 for 3 after Andy Flower had become the first of Ryan Cummins’ three wickets. Alistair Cook contributed a solid 62 at the top of the order, while Andre Adams’ hard-hitting 32 from 40 balls lifted them from a dicey 213 for 6. But once Gough had made his mark on the top of Leicestershire’s batting, Essex’s position was looking much healthier.Paul Collingwood chose the ideal moment to stake his claim for an England Test recall, by carting a Somerset attack including Andy Caddick all around the ground at Taunton in front of David Graveney, the chairman of selectors. With speculation surrounding the make-up of England’s second-Test squad, Collingwood finished unbeaten on 181 from 268 balls, with 24 fours and a six, as Durham closed on a hefty 345 for 3. He dominated both of the big stands of which he was a part, 142 for the second wicket with Mike Hussey (63), and 152 for the third with Gordon Muchall (57), to put pressure on the England batting line-up that crumbled so feebly at Lord’s this week. Somerset stuck to their task, with Caddick taking two wickets, but Durham have their sights firmly fixed on first division action.Phil Jaques and Anthony McGrath put Derbyshire’s bowlers to the sword at Headingley, adding 310 for the third wicket to leave Yorkshire on a commanding 419 for 3 at stumps. McGrath made 134 but the star of the show was Jaques, who finished unbeaten on 217, and needs another 27 runs tomorrow to pass his career-best. The pair came together at a wobbly 29 for 2, after Matthew Wood and Joe Sayers had fallen cheaply, but that was as good as Derbyshire’s day got.

Hampshire’s National League match against Worcestershire at The Rose Bowl was abandoned without a ball being bowled, thus denying the home crowd a chance to see Kevin Pietersen in action. Both teams now have 14 points.

Scorecard
Ben Harmison topscored with 57 as England Under 19s made 298 all out on the first day against Sri Lanka Under 19s at Headingley. There were fifties, too, for the captain Varun Chopra and Moeen Ali, while Joe Denly just missed out on his half-century, with 48.He and Chopra gave England a strong platform with an opening stand of 68, before Shalika Karunanayake trapped Chopra lbw for 50, the first of his three wickets. Chathupama Gunasinghe also claimed three wickets to help drag Sri Lanka back into things, removing Denly and Christopher Thompson in quick succession and later adding Adam Harrison.England had been well set at 207 for 3, but slid to 209 for 6 with Kevin Latouf’s run out on 30 precipitating the mini-collapse. Ali marshalled a healthy response with Tom Smith, but when Smith fell on 21, a second collapse ended with England losing their last four wickets for 38 runs.

Justice Anthony Lucky has blasted the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) for what he yesterday termed “an appalling response” to his three-member committee’s report on how Digicel replaced Cable & Wireless as the new sponsor of West Indies cricket.The WICB, now headed by Ken Gordon, former media mogul, of Trinidad and Tobago, in responding last Friday to positions adopted by the review committee, rejected some of the most significant conclusions of the committee’s report.Those include its disagreement that the Digicel contract was “legally flawed” and that C&W was “treated unfairly in negotiations”.Further, the board deplored in its statement what it described as “imputations against the integrity” of some of its top officials, among them Roger Brathwaite, chief executive officer, and Teddy Griffith, immediate past president.However, Lucky, speaking in a telephone interview from Canada on his way to Europe on judicial duties, told the he had discussed with Avondale Thomas and Gregory Georges, fellow committee members, the need for a joint statement to the WICB’s response to their report.While such a joint statement “is to be expected”, said Lucky, he wished to make his own position clear at “this preliminary stage” in the interest of his “personal integrity, fairness to those interviewed, as well as my respect for public opinion”.He said it was “simply appalling, indeed outrageous, for the Board, including its new president (Ken Gordon), to have acted as judge and jury in its own cause…” Lucky said the WICB had appointed the three-member committee as an “independent” body to undertake the review of the circumstances that led to Digicel being awarded the contract as new sponsor of West Indies cricket.Therefore, he added, it was “not for the WICB to insult public opinion” by playing judge and jury in defending itself against the findings and recommendations of the committee.”By this shocking stand, and with critical documents, including the Digicel contract, still protected from public scrutiny,” said Lucky, “the WICB is only doing more harm to itself by appearing to go after the review committee because it did not deliver what was apparently expected, a wishy-washy report…”Lucky, who has a six-year relationship with the WICB, primarily with its disciplinary committee, and serving as of 2004 both as the committee’s chairman and representative on the code of conduct committee of the International Cricket Council (ICC), further stated: “The findings of the sponsorship review committee are based on concrete evidence, including taped statements, and these can be made available, if necessary, to defend its (the committee’s) integrity. Perhaps Mr Griffith and Mr Brathwaite and others should listen to some of the taped evidence.”Meanwhile, Gordon, the WICB president, is scheduled to have a requested meeting on Wednesday in Grenada with Prime Minister Keith Mitchell, chairman of CARICOM’s Prime Ministerial Sub-committee on Cricket.Mitchell yesterday confirmed his meeting with Gordon ahead of Friday’s scheduled meeting of the Prime Ministerial Sub-committee, at which the ongoing disputes between the WICB and the West Indies Players Association (WIPA); the Lucky committee’s report; and the recent resignation of business executive Rawle Brancker as chairman of Cricket World Cup 2007, are expected to be discussed.Mitchell said yesterday he shares “the deep concern”of his CARICOM colleagues on the ongoing WICB/WIPA impasse, but preferred to hold all comments until after speaking with Gordon and following the conclusion of Friday’s Prime Ministerial Sub-committee meeting.

Cricket Australia and Northern Territory Cricket today announced the appointment of Michael McGregor to the role of senior officer – indigenous cricket. The position will be based in Darwin and was created to help drive Australian cricket’s strategy to increase participation in cricket, particularly among indigenous people, who represent approximately 4% of overall figures.McGregor’s primary responsibility is to develop and implement services and programs to increase the current rate. James Sutherland, the Cricket Australia chief executive, said providing all Australians with access to cricket was part of the plan to have 555,000 participants by 2009.”This important role is an investment by Australian cricket into increasing participation of indigenous people,” Mr Sutherland said. “The state and territory cricket associations work across most urban and provincial regions to provide people with access to cricket. But we recognise there are some harder-to-reach areas where we need to take responsibility and ensure that appropriate access, resources and services are available so that all Australians have the opportunity to be involved in the game.”Neil Dalrymple, the NT Cricket chief executive, said the appointment was a joint initiative between Cricket Australia and NT Cricket. “While this role will be based in Darwin, it will adopt a national focus with close liaison and working relationships right around Australia,” Dalrymple said. “A large focus of the role will be the event management and coordination of the Imparja Cup, Australia’s national Indigenous cricket carnival, which is a significant aspect from NT Cricket’s perspective.”

The Bangladesh Cricket Board has been rocked by the resignation of Reazuddin Al Mamun, its joint secretary and chairman of the media committee, following reports that Ali Asghar, the board’s president, struck a deal over television rights without advising Mamun.Asghar is said to have agreed a TV and sponsorship deal with Aston Moore, who were also appointed as the board’s marketing agents, and the situation was further complicated when he refused to accept Mamun’s resignation.Asghar denies any such arrangement. “I did not make any secret deal with Aston Moore as BCB marketing agent, I just gave them a letter to determine the value of BCB,” he said. “I asked them assess current marketing value of the Bangladesh and the team and other rights, but Aston Moore failed to submit the assessment report within the stipulated period.”But a report in the Daily Star quotes a board insider as saying: “One thing is now sure that the BCB president had a deal with that agency. No doubt everybody was kept in the dark about it. Now an attempt is on to make both parties keep mum to avoid further complications.”Actually there have been a lot of disputes over certain issues during the last six months and it became exposed after the elections of the board in August. It is not unexpected for Mamun to resign because he was not happy with certain things.”The report added that more resignations might follow. The source concluded: “I will not be surprised if the board president himself steps down citing his political commitments ahead of the next general elections.”