The Pakistan Cricket Board has renewed the central contracts of all 17 national players for another year – and added a further three to its roster. Shoaib Akhtar is one of the players who has signed. A further 13 players have been offered retainers for a year, which will take effect from July 1. These players have been offered the contracts as it is believed they have the potential to represent Pakistan in the future.Pakistan’s top 20 cricketers were given a monthly salary of around $1,200 to $3500 under the first-ever national contracts introduced last year which expired after the team’s West Indies tour earlier this month. But contracts of all unfit players or those under scrutiny for illegal bowling actions would be reviewed after six months.Shoaib Akhtar, who missed both West Indies and Indian tours due to fitness problems also got a renewed contract, ending speculation he could be dropped from the list of contracted players. Akhtar was the last player to sign the contract after he raised certain objections over personal sponsorship.Inzamam-ul Haq, Yousuf Youhana, Abdul Razzaq, and Akhtar were offered A-category contracts and received a monthly salary of 200,000 rupees (around $3,500). Players in the B category got 125,000 rupees (around $2,100 dollars) while players in the C category received 75,000 rupees (around $1,200) a month.The contracted players were judged by points scored on their performance in international matches. “The committee has also decided to add some more points, like five points will be given on scoring a century in a Test or one-day match,” said a spokesman. A bowler will get five points on getting five wickets in a Test or four wickets in a one-day match while a fielder will get the same number of points on taking four or more catches in a match, he added. “Achieving a world record in any form will give a player ten points while five points will be given on achieving national record in any form.”The renewed contracts start from July 10. The Pakistan team now has a lay off until late October when they host England for three Tests and five one-day games.Players awarded central contracts
Inzamam-ul-Haq, Yousaf Youhana, Younis Khan, Abdul Razzaq, Shoaib Malik, Shahid Afridi, Mohammad Sami, Danish Kaneria, Kamran Akmal, Asim Kamal, Salman Butt, Naveed-ul-Hasan Rana, Yasir Hameed, Shoaib Akhtar, Arshad Khan, Shabbir Ahmad, Rao Iftikhar, Umar Gul, Bazid Khan, Imran Farhat.Players awarded retainers
Misbah-ul-Haq, Hasan Raza, Faisal Iqbal, Muhammad Asif, Yasir Arafat, Najaf Shah, Mohammad Khalil, Shahid Nazir, Mohammad Irshad, Imran Tahir, Zulqarnain Haider, Asher Zaidi, Taufeeq Umar.

Muttiah Muralitharan, who is currently recovering from shoulder surgery, has signed for Lancashire in 2005, although he will only play the first half of the season because of international commitments.Muralitharan played for Lancashire in 1999 and 2001 with spectacular success, snapping up 116 wickets in 14 matches at an average of 15. In 1999 he was voted the Player of the Year by the club’s membership after taking 66 wickets in seven games.”It’s great to have Murali on board again; he is an obvious leader in world cricket and will provide an added edge to the early part of the season,” Mike Watkinson, Lancashire’s cricket manager, commented.Jack Simmons, the club chairman, added: “I’m highly delighted to have Murali at Lancashire for another season. He must be considered one of the best cricketers to have played the game.”Muralitharan was also chased by other clubs, including Middlesex, but he has retained a fondness for Lancashire after his previous visits and also developed strong friendships there, especially with Andrew Flintoff and Neil Fairbrother, his English agent.Muralitharan will be able to play until mid-July before having to return for a Test series with West Indies and tri-series also involving India in August. Sri Lanka will then tour Bangladesh in September.Several other Sri Lanka cricketers are keen to develop their games in England next summer, including Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene who are working with Fairbrother to secure contracts.

Australia’s replacement vice-captain Darren Lehmann will miss the only lead-up game before the first Test against India because of a flight delay. Lehmann, who skipped the beginning of the tour to visit his sick mother in Adelaide, will not arrive until the match against Mumbai has started tomorrow after his departure from Melbourne was stalled by fog.With Adam Gilchrist elevated to the captaincy by Ricky Ponting’s absence, Lehmann, who acted as vice-captain against Sri Lanka during the winter when Ponting hurt his back, will assume the deputy’s role for the first Test in Bangalore on October 6.Ponting broke his left thumb during the Champions Trophy semi-final loss to England and will have another examination in Sydney tomorrow.While the fitness of Ponting is still a concern the squad has been boosted by the arrival of Sydney yoga instructor Kate Turner to help the players strive for peace of body and soul.The ancient technique originated in India and Australia’s support staff hope it will aid pre-game stretching and post-match sleeping.”India is a good place to introduce yoga because it is physically challenging and the players have fewer diversions,” the team’s physiotherapist Errol Alcott told the Courier-Mail. “After a long session some of the guys can feel mentally challenged and have trouble sleeping. If we do a short session at night at the appropriate time it may help the players sleep.”

Rahul Dravid is enjoying the new season in his new role as captain. Even though India lost the opening game of the tri-series yesterday narrowly to Sri Lanka, Dravid has not been losing sleep.Against Sri Lanka he showed a fluent touch in his 54 even if it was in a losing cause. On Sunday evening he continued in the same vein to finish unbeaten on match-winning 52 that gained him the Man-of-the-Match honours. “Yes, I am enjoying the role and the feeling of comfort comes from the fact that the each one of us is playing his role well.”The tight line and length and the economic spells of his bowlers has not been lost on Dravid. He was happy that the bowlers have come out well at the beginning of the new season. “The fast bowlers have really done well here and struck to the correct line and length.”Both he and the Indian coach Greg Chappell had talked about how they were using this series as a stepping stone to bigger things in the future. And identifying and grooming young talent was high on the priority list. “This tournament gave us the opportunity to test the youngsters. And, so far, I have been impressed. Suresh Raina did well today as did Venu [Venugopal Rao] yesterday.” The Indian captain feels flexibility is the another key factor when it comes to the team selection. “We would like to give more responsibilities to the youngsters by giving them chances frequently. But that may not be possible always.”Even if India have changed its opening combination in the first two matches – in the first game Virender Sehwag opened with Mahendra Singh Dhoni and today it was Mohammad Kaif who raised his hand to open with Sehwag – and with Sourav Ganguly joining the squad on Monday, Dravid feels he is spoilt for choice. “Sourav has seen a lot of success at that position and everyone knows his record, so that is a very big option for us.” He was also unperturbed with Anil Kumble not having played a game as yet. “Harbhajan has been doing well and though it was very difficult to bench someone like Anil, I am sure he is top bowler and would understand.”His West Indian counterpart Shivnarine Chanderpaul thought that it could have been a different game had the fielding been more circumspect. “If we had held our catches it could’ve been a different game.”

The deal to sign over live cricket coverage to BSkyB might be done and dusted, but to the increasing frustration of the ECB, the debate just won’t go away.After a couple of swipes from Channel 4 executives, now it is Lord MacLaurin, the former chairman of the ECB, who has stoked the controversy by telling the Daily Telegraph that the negotiations should be reopened.It was in 1998 as chairman that MacLaurin made a deal with the government which resulted in home Test cricket being removed from the list of sports which had to be available on free-to-air channels. MacLaurin says that agreement was reached on the understanding that major series – of which the Ashes tops the list – would remain on free-to-air terrestrial channels.”Those negotiations went on for a very, very long time,” MacLaurin told the Telegraph. “Chris [Smith, the then Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport] came to the Lord’s Test in 1998 against South Africa and he said, ‘OK, provided you keep the majority of Test matches on free-to-air television I will allow you to move from the A to B list’. He was very concerned about the Test matches.”Smith told parliament that he expected the freedom resulting from his decision to be used sensibly. “If these expectations are not fulfilled,” he added, “then I may of course need to review the listed criteria again.”MacLaurin said that his understanding was that BSkyB would have the right to take minor series, ODIs and all domestic cricket. “I feel quite strongly about this,” he explained. “I think the new deal is wrong for cricket. There are millions of people who share my view.”He went on to say that he believed the government should intervene, and added that David Morgan, his successor at the ECB, was aware of the detail of the agreement he made with Smith.Morgan has a different recollection, and insisted that the terms of the deal were not as limited as MacLaurin maintained. “This deal is very good for cricket. The next best deal would have been a disaster. It would have been £24 million a year less and it would have meant massive cuts.”The chances of the government getting involved are non existent and the deal will stand. MacLaurin’s comments, however, will cause more anxiety inside the ECB as it continues to attract considerable flack for its decision.

The Pakistan Cricket Board is keen to utilise the experience and expertise of Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis at their National Cricket Academy as and when possible. The twin W’s, who comprised one of the most formidable fast-bowling pairings in the history of the game, had been contacted in this regard, a report in of Karachi suggested.The academy is aiming to be more result oriented, and the PCB felt that Wasim and Waqar would be able to help in identifying fresh talent and grooming promising youngsters. “Shaharyar (PCB chairman) has written to them that he realises that since they are busy people and have prior commitments as television commentators they can’t make themselves available on a full-time basis at the academy,” a board official is quoted as saying. “But he has invited them to come whenever possible and help train youngsters.”Akram has been sought out around the world, including most recently in India, to speak to young bowlers and pass on his wisdom. Not long ago Waqar was tipped to become fast-bowling coach of Pakistan but that fell through at the last moment as there was disagreement about the duration of his contract.

Michael Kasprowicz is close to signing a deal with Glamorgan for the 2006 English season, days after being dropped from the Australian side following the Ashes series defeat. However, Kasprowicz says he is still considering interest from other counties.Speaking to BBC Sport Wales he said: “I’ve only just arrived home after the Ashes series and I’m working on a deal with Glamorgan. I’ve enjoyed three good seasons with the county and had a lot of success, and certainly from a family point of view I’d like to get back to Cardiff. But there is interest elsewhere and I’ve been talking to other counties.”Glamorgan have already re-signed Matthew Elliott for next summer after he missed most of the 2005 with a leg injury, forcing the county to patch up their team with temporary signings. Glamorgan also opted for a single overseas player despite regulations allowing two and supporters are now wanting a full quota at Sophia Gardens.Kasprowicz struggled in the two Ashes Tests he played – taking 4 wickets at 62.50 – but is an attractive signing for a county, especially as he is now unlikely to feature in the Australian team again. Kasprowicz, though, has not given up on a recall and is using his previous experiences of being dropped as inspiration.”It was obviously disappointing to miss out on the Australian squad, but my Test career has been spent on the fringes. I’ve been left out before and have fought back, so I will hope to do that again The media were demanding changes before the Ashes series and someone had to be made the scapegoat, but now the media are saying there’s been an over-reaction.”The Ashes result was a disappointment, of course, but I was still part of one of the greatest series ever. There were so many great moments and it was just living your dream as a cricketer.”

Sachin Tendulkar, named captain of the West Zone team for the Duleep Trophy league opener against South Zone, is unlikely to play in the tie as it coincides with the three-day camp for the Indian team to prepare for the forthcoming seven-match one-day international series against Sri Lanka. Ajit Agarkar and Zaheer Khan, Tendulkar’s West Zone team-mates, would also miss the match due to the same reason.SK Nair, the Indian board’s secretary, told PTI, “All the team members selected on October 14 for the first few ODIs against Sri Lanka should attend the camp at Bangalore from October 19-21 that has been proposed by coach Greg Chappell and agreed upon by the Indian cricket board”.Tendulkar is set to return to competitive cricket during the October 10-13 Challenger Trophy after a fourth-month post-surgery lay-off. He had another full practice session at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Thursday along with his Mumbai Ranji Trophy mates and was seen batting with more freedom during his 25-minute stint at the nets than witnessed on the first two days. He was, however, not available for comment to mediapersons and is expected to address them on Friday after another net session before proceeding to Mohali on October 8 to play in the Challenger Trophy.West Zone team: Sachin Tendulkar (captain), Sairaj Bahutule (vice-captain), Dheeraj Jadhav, Satyajit Parab, Wasim Jaffer, Neeraj Patel, Parthiv Patel (wicketkeeper), Ramesh Powar, Irfan Pathan, Ajit Agarkar, Zaheer Khan, Akash Christian, Vinit Indulkar, Jaydev Shah, Rakesh Patel.

The gloves are off in the battle for control of Zimbabwe Cricket, and it seems almost anything goes, with both sides in the dispute accusing the other of dirty tricks, and the newspapers clearly taking sides in the battle.Earlier this week, Macsood Ebrahim, the chairman of Masvingo and the head of national selection, told of how the ZC board was forcing pro-board loyalists into key positions in his province in a bid to oust him.On Wednesday, Ebrahim reported that Lazarus Zizhou, who had been suspended by the board in 2004, had arrived at Masvingo and said he was taking over as general manager under orders from Ozias Bvute, the controversial ZC managing director.Less than 24 hours later, Zizhou’s name was all over the newspapers, claiming that he had been racially abused by Ebrahim. “Macsood stormed into my office and threatened to remove me,” Zizhou told the Independent yesterday. “He called me a black c*** after I refused to produce my letter of appointment as he was demanding. I could not cooperate with him because he has no power to do so since he was booted out by the province.”While pro-board newspapers have claimed that Ebrahim has been ousted by his own province, that is disputed by many inside Masvingo.The timing of Zizhou’s allegation was suspicious, and while Ebrahim is not stranger to controversy himself, he has been at the heart of Zimbabwe’s attempts to push for racial quotas in the national side which made the claims all the more surprising.Today, Ebrahim’s supporters in Masvingo rallied behind him and issued a letter suggesting that, in front of five witnesses, Zizhou actually abused Ebrahim.How ZC deals with this remains to be seen. It is already under fire for not taking any action over allegations of racial threats made by Mashonaland chairman Cyprian Mandenge and provincial selector Bruce Makovah when they stopped a match in Harare. Last week, further serious allegations were made to the board over the conduct of Themba Mliswa, the chairman of the newly-created Mashonaland West province.There appears to be a concerted attempt to oust certain provincial chairmen following a meeting which produced a dossier asking ZC many probing questions and demanding an Extraordinary General Meeting. Aside from Ebrahim, Alan Walsh, the chairman of Manicaland, was reported dismissed after a fractious meeting, but again this is disputed by provincial officials.

David Leatherdale has announced his retirement from Worcestershire to take up the post of commercial director for the club on a full-time basis, having combined both financial and playing roles during the 2005 season.Leatherdale joined Worcestershire in 1987 and was a key player in the trophy-winning teams of the late 1980s and early 90s. As a player, he will be remembered as a high quality allrounder and an excellent fielder. During the 2005 season he passed 10000 first-class runs and 5000 one-day runs, and took 315 wickets in both forms of the game, the highlight of which was his 5 for 10 against the touring Australians in 1997.”I am immensely grateful to have been given the opportunity to start my cricketing career at Worcestershire some 20 years ago,” said Leatherdale, “and would like to thank the club for their faith over this time.”Since playing my first 2nd XI match in 1985 and joining the playing staff full time in 1987 there [have] been numerous highs. To be part of the revival of the club in the late 80s and play in a winning championship and one-day side with the likes of Ian Botham, Graham Dilley and Graeme Hick are times I will remember fondly.”The friendships I have built up with individuals directly involved with the club, as well as members and those outside, will live with me for a long time to come and I look forward to my future off the field with the same enthusiasm I did when starting my career on it.”Mark Newton, Worcestershire’s chief executive, paid tribute to Leatherdale’s commercial prowess: “Since becoming commercial manager back in January, David’s performance in the role has been outstanding. In just nine months he has delivered a commercial surplus that is both above budget and an increase on the previous year. He has secured a number of new sponsors and the announcement of the Elton John Concert will present a huge commercial challenge. We are delighted that David has chosen to take on the role of commercial director.”