Ian Bradshaw hasn’t ruled out a West Indian World Cup victory, despite a run of three Super Eights defeats on the trot for the hosts. The West Indies need to beat South Africa on April 10 to stay in the tournament and, as Bradshaw put it, would need to be “near perfect” to become the first host nation to lift the trophy.”It is pretty straightforward for us from here on in – we have to try and win each game and win as convincingly as possible,” Bradshaw, 32, told Reuters. “Now we must improve each and every aspect of our game and leave nothing to chance. We have to play near perfect games from here on in.”If we work hard we can get out from the Super Eights then we are confident that we can play two good games, in the semi-final and the final, to win the Cup. We still have dreams of lifting the cup on the 28th, it is not beyond us but first and foremost we have to take care of these three games.”The West Indies have been criticised by many quarters, not least former players and the local media, and Bradshaw said it had not gone unseen by the team. “You are conscious of it. Family, friends and the fans are disappointed because they are looking for more from the team and we ourselves are really disappointed because we started well and just fell off in the last three games, which were unfortunately critical games for us.”That has put us in the situation where we have to win the last three games and have other results turn our way. It means getting the runs on the board, bowling tight and taking wickets and having the energy in the field.”Bradshaw has played just two of West Indies’ six games so far, but said he looked at the game against South Africa as if he were a certainty.

Scorecard

Sussex batted out a draw on the final at Lord’s after being set an unattainable 368 in 49 overs by MCC. But they had to overcome an uneasy start to their second innings as Matthew Hoggard struck twice after Owais Shah moved to an unbeaten 120. There was a late injury scare when Hoggard left the field following a dropped catch, but fears were eased of a major problem.Hoggard, who struggled for his rhythm in the first innings, spent part of yesterday afternoon working on the Nursery Ground with Peter Moores, acting as MCC’s coach for this match. The extra practice paid off as he appeared more comfortable in the second innings, removing Carl Hopkinson with an edge to first slip then trapping first-innings centurion Murray Goodwin lbw.Sandwiched between Hoggard’s strikes, Alex Gidman had Chris Nash caught behind and at 30 for 3 – with Michael Yardy unable to bat after breaking his finger on Sunday, ruling him out for up to six weeks – the champions were under pressure. But this isn’t a fixture where players want to push themselves too hard and Hoggard was rested after six overs, while Steve Harmison delivered just a four-over burst.After tea, the attack was largely in the hands of Alex Loudon and Adil Rashid, leaving Matt Prior and Andrew Hodd with a comfortable task of batting out time. Hoggard dropped Prior at long on, then immediately left the field with a suspected hand injury, but it was later confirmed there was no break. Prior fell three short of a half-century when he was caught behind off Rashid a few overs before the draw was agreed.The morning session had been cut to 45 minutes after a faulty sprinkler allowed water to leak under the covers at the Nursery End, leaving a damp patch on the bowler’s follow through. The groundstaff used torches to dry the area as the umpires, Trevor Jesty and George Sharp, made two inspections.On resumption, Shah moved to his century off 208 balls and Gidman eased to a fifty. Gidman was deceived in the flight by Ollie Rayner shortly after lunch, but Alastair Cook batted on as Shah and Steven Davies added another 40.

The Sri Lankan Under-19s are scheduled to play the U-19 squads from Bangladesh and India at home in July and August. They will first play Bangladesh in two U-19 Test matches before India arrive to take part in a triangular tournament after which they will also play two Tests against Sri Lanka.The Sri Lankan U-19 team, led by Sachith Pathirana, recently won a one-day tournament in Malaysia against the hosts and England.Ashley de Silva, the Sri Lanka U-19 manager, said that the focus of selection for the matches against India and Bangladesh would be on players who were eligible to play in the next U-19 World Cup which will be held in Malaysia in February 2008.

The ECB is clamping down on the burgeoning number of Kolpak players who it believes are turning out for counties without having the correct work permits.Ina report in today’s Daily Telegraph, Simon Briggs says that some Kolpak players have been signed by counties without necessarily meeting the requirement that they have played international cricket or are of first-class standard.A European Union ruling in 2003 made it illegal for a member of one EU state to prevent a person from another, or where that country has a trading relationship with the EU, from working in that country. This loophole has been exploited by players from the West Indies, Zimbabwe but predominantly South Africa.Most counties have taken advantage of the ruling to bolster their squads. Some, like Northamptonshire, have exploited it to the full while only Glamorgan have not done so. Supporters of the scheme claim that it allows players to join counties and go on to qualify for England. Critics say it allows counties to fill sides with what amount to mercenaries who take the cash and run.”With the number of recruitments we are seeing, things are in danger of swaying in the wrong direction,” Ian Smith, vice-president of the Professional Cricketers’ Association, told The Daily Telegraph. “The problem people are those who bypass the system, make a pile of cash, then go home.”Earlier this week Haroon Lorgat, the convener of selectors in South Africa, actually welcomed players signing Kolpak contracts with counties. It “could be to the advantage of SA cricket,” he said. “English conditions provide a good training ground to any player. When someone decides to go the Kolpak route, it does not necessarily mean he is lost to South Africa. Take Paul Harris as an example. He went to England as a Kolpak player but when we selected him for our Test team last season he dropped his county like a hot potato to play for South Africa.”The ECB has tried to give cash incentives for counties not to sign so many Kolpak players, but in the view of Richard Bevan, the PCA’s chief executive, the amounts are not enough to be a big enough incentive to do so.But the paper reports that David Collier, the ECB chief executive, has written to all counties reminding them that all Kolpak players must meet the necessary criteria or they would be in breach of work permit regulations.

The debt-ridden West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) is expected to move out of the red thanks to profits from this year’s Caribbean World Cup.The additional money will provide a boost to the game’s development, according to Ken Gordon, WICB’s outgoing president. “The profit from the event will eliminate the deficit of the WICB and this augurs well for the future of West Indies cricket.”Gordon said that ticket sales from this year’s tournament 2007 World Cup were the highest yet seen. “We sold more tickets [672,000] than the last two World Cups in South Africa [625,000] and England [476,000] and garnered $32 million in ticket revenue which the ICC [International Cricket Council] has told us is the highest gate ever.”Gordon praised the organisers, though admitted that lessons were learnt and unanticipated events provided an extra challenge. The organisers have been heavily criticised, with many suggesting the tournament was the worst ever. Local fans were displeased with the high ticket prices and touring fans surprised by steep lodging costs across the islands. The tournament also suffered an early setback with Bob Woolmer’s death, the exits of India and Pakistan before the Super Eight stage and a farcical finish to the final.”The fact that we were able to effectively deal with the challenges is a credit to the excellent work and high quality of the management team. The staging of the Cricket World Cup was an experience we all take great pride in.”The directors are very satisfied with the overall results of the tournament. First and foremost is the fact that the region was able to deliver on its host agreement, satisfying all the important deliverables of this major undertaking.”This was always going to be challenging given the number of countries involved, the lack of infrastructure at the time when the region committed to the project and the relatively small size of our economies. But despite all this, the West Indies got the job done.”Gordon also suggested that the World Cup was a boon for sports infrastructure in the region. “Thanks to our governments, we now have 12 world-class cricket stadiums and 22 practice facilities for the further development of West Indies cricket – built on time and to specification.”Over 4300 volunteers and 3000 event security personnel were trained and deployed and we now have a cadre of over 500 West Indians trained and experienced in world games event management.”

Amid all the rain, gloom, wickets and runs that we’ve witnessed at Lord’s over the last four days, there’s been a cracking Test match unfolding out in the middle. The pitch has supported the batsmen and bowlers in equal measure, the moisture in the air has added spice to the contest, rookie bowlers have shone and one of the world’s most exciting batsmen has reeled off what could turn into a matchwinning hundred.At a quarter past noon today, when Ian Bell played on trying to pull, the game hung on a thread. England were 132 for 5, with an effective lead of 229; India’s first-change bowler, RP Singh, was impressing with every over; more than six sessions remained and the match was thrown wide open. Even the sun didn’t want to miss out on the action. We know what happened after that and can predict what might happen tomorrow but, irrespective of the result, one mustn’t forget the rivetting fare that’s been dished out.India arrived at Lord’s with an egg-shaped line-up, and will possibly leave with one resembling an hourglass. They were apprehensive about the openers and uncertain if they possessed the bowling ammunition to take 20 wickets but their biggest worry after this game will be in connection with the middle order, dysfunctional and in need of resuscitation. They could yet leave unscathed, considering how fickle the weather has been of late, but at some point the bowlers need to start raising the volume in the dressing-room. During the early stages of the World Cup, in 2003, Javagal Srinath spoke on behalf of India’s bowlers and made it clear to the batsmen that they needed to pull up their socks. They did. There was a time when former coach John Wright used to pit the batsmen against the bowlers in volleyball tussles and later realised that India did really well during that period. They restarted the practice.

Here England were dismissed for under 300 in both innings, a situation the batsmen would gladly have bargained for before the game began. Two inexperienced bowlers, Sreesanth and RP Singh, have turned up for their first Test in this country and done what was expected of them; in fact one has raised his game for the occasion. RP Singh, 21, has been part of just four Tests before this, despite a Man-of-the-Match debut performance on a concrete Faisalabad pitch last year. Just like in that game, he surprised batsmen with bounce, swing and pace, the type you wouldn’t expect from a man of his build. He has the knack of picking up wickets with innocuous-looking deliveries, as Bell realised, but he can surprise you occasionally, as Paul Collingwood had found out earlier.There was a lesson in his batting as well. Sent in as a nightwatchman in the first innings he stayed out there for a minute under an hour and ended up as the fourth highest scorer in a line-up filled with stars. He’s stuck to the basics, not been overawed by the occasion and, unlike the rest of the team so far, registered his name on the honours board in the Lord’s dressing-room.It’s a feat that Sachin Tendulkar may never manage after choosing not to use his bat to a Monty Panesar arm-ball but it’s something Dinesh Karthik is in a position to achieve, especially after the composure he displayed this evening. On the first morning, he might have been tempted to dig a hole in the point region and bury himself in it all day – after dropping what one newspaper termed the “easiest catch in history” – but there was a discernible assuredness in his game today. To gauge Karthik’s form it’s best to observe his cover-driving: crisp and all along the ground. The lack of swing this evening helped and he could afford to go after the full ones, lacing them through the off side. Edges and airy flashes are part and parcel of a Karthik innings but his urgency between the wickets and confidence to back himself took him through to stumps.The weather might come to India’s rescue, maybe even one of their batsmen might, but another engrossing day’s cricket will be a fitting way to end this Test. India will hope the tickets are sold out; if the sun gets in it may be curtains.

The former Cricket Australia chairman, Bob Merriman, believes a Twenty20 tournament could copy the Super 14 rugby union template to lengthen the season and satisfy more spectators. Merriman, who will retire from Cricket Australia’s and Cricket Victoria’s boards this month, told the Age the proposal would not compromise Tests or ODIs.”I don’t believe we satisfy our customers,” he said in the paper. “On the other hand, the players say we have too much. Clearly there is a conundrum.”Merriman, who has been involved in cricket for 50 years, said the introduction of Twenty20 in England showed there were ways for better presentation over a season. “At the moment we are basically late November until early February – that’s terribly small,” he said. “In my view the venues are starved and if the venues are starved so is the cricket population.”He suggested a season running from October to March. “Rugby has done it terrifically well with Super 14,” he said. “It is an outstanding thing. Could you apply that to Twenty20 cricket?”The Super 14 competition involves teams from South Africa, New Zealand and Australia playing over a four-month season. Australia’s domestic sides will contest the two-week Big Bash Twenty20 tournament in December and January while the national side has fixtures against New Zealand in Perth on December 11 and India in Melbourne on February 1.

Injured South African opener Loots Bosman has been forced to withdraw from the ICC World Twenty20. Announcing the unfortunate news, Norman Arendse, the president of Cricket South Africa, said a replacement would be named only after it has been approved by the ICC’s technical committee.”The medical report left us with no alternative,” Arendse said. “Loots has had a stand-alone record in this form of the game in South African cricket and he was desperately keen to play.”But we have to look at the bigger picture, particularly as it affects his long-term career. Neurological injuries can take on career-threatening proportions and, had Loots got hurt again in the tournament, he could have been put out of action for far longer than the six weeks’ rest recommended by our team of medical specialists.”Bosman had hurt his lower back while attempting a catch during the ODI series against Zimbabwe last month. He has an impressive record in domestic Twenty20 competitions with a strike rate of nearly 150 and is one of only three South Africans to have scored a century in this format.

Allen Stanford and his 20/20 board of directors have invited thewinners of the World Twenty20 in Johannesburg to play a one-off,$5million, match at Stanford’s ground in Antigua. The game ispencilled in for June 29 against a Super Star Team selected from theplayers taking part in the 2008 Stanford 20/20.”Since this is the first World Twenty20 and that is the format of ourtournament we felt it was fitting to have this team come and play ourSuper Star team next year,” said Stanford. “It will be the perfectculmination of our 2008 Stanford 20/20 programme [which takes place inJanuary and February 2008].”Because Stanford can’t invite a Full Member of ICC to play in thematch, the official invite will come from the West Indies Board. “Mr Hunte [thePresident of WICB] will actually be making the invitation on behalf ofStanford 20/20,” Stanford told Cricinfo during an event in Johannesburg. “We are going to invite the winner to come to Antigua for one night and play one game for $5m, winner takes all.”However, if India wins at the Wanderers it may not take up the offeras it has said it is unwilling to enter into a private event. Stanford has therefore made a contingency plan. “If the winner of this game chooses not come we are going to ask Australia as a back-up.”But this match has only come about as a compromise after Stanford’sinitial plan for a quadrangular event – involving Sri Lanka, India,Australia and South Africa – was scuppered by the TV deal between ICCand ESPN-Star.”What we wanted to do was invite Sri Lanka, India, Australia and SouthAfrica to come down and play on Friday, Saturday and Wednesday, and then you come out with a winner who then plays our Super Stars the following Saturday,” explained Stanford. “I called it 20/20 for 20 – $20million dollars for the winner. But because EPSN-Star are locked into this big contract with ICC it eliminated me getting fourteams.”We needed to get their permission and had a meeting scheduled here inJohannesburg with them, but they didn’t show up. Now I think it isgoing to be too big an issue to get ready for this year, because ourtournament starts in January so we optedfor this one-off game. We wanted the four-team play-off but there is alot of bureaucracy.”Stanford is in Johannesburg with nine of his board members includingJoel Garner, Michael Holding, Viv Richards and Desmond Haynes.Although the meeting with ESPN-Star fell through, they met withMalcolm Speed and ICC members in what Stanford called “constructivemeetings” although the feeling between the two is still strained.

MSK Prasad, the former India wicketkeeper, will lead a 15-member Andhra Ranji squad to take part in the Ranji Trophy Super League.Prasad was made captain after former captain Venugopala Rao shifted allegiance to Maharashtra. The team will also be without the services of KS Sahabuddin, who signed up with the Indian Cricket League.The player to watch out for will be Bodipati Sumanth, the former India Under-19 batsman, who impressed on the U-19 team’s tour to England in 2006. He scored an unbeaten 97 in the third one-dayer in Cardiff. Sumanth has played three first-class and five domestic Twenty20 matches for his state.The squad will be coached by former Test player, Syed Abid Ali, who had guided Andhra to the top of the South Zone in 2002-03, when the Ranji Trophy was zone-based.The squad’s 20-day conditioning camp in Visakhapatnam ends tomorrow.Andhra squad
MSK Prasad (capt, wk), Arjun Kumar, Mohammad Faiq, Gnaneswara Rao, Doddapaneni Kalyankrishna, I Raju, Prasad Reddy, Reddy, V Sandeep, Shankara Rao, Bodapati Sumanth, Marripuri Suresh, Satya Kumar Varma, P Vijay Kumar, Hemal Watekar
Coach: Syed Abid Ali