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A Baggy Green cap worn by Keith Miller in the 1954-55 Ashes series has been sold at auction for Aus$35,000 (US$26,000). The successful bidder paid almost double the amount expected.Among other items to go under the hammer were the Baggy Green worn by Wally Grout throughout his Test career sold for $27,000 (US$20,000), while another worn by Tim Wall, who played 18 Tests between 1928 and 1932, fetched $14,500 (US$10,500).A fourth cap, owned by Geoff Dymock, did not attract the reserve price.”It’s pretty unusual to have Baggy Greens for auction at anytime, to have four it’s just remarkable,” said Charles Leski, the auctioneer.

The prospect of a full-strength West Indies squad boycotting the World Twenty20 due to a contracts impasse appears less likely after the team captain, Darren Sammy, informed the West Indies Cricket Board that the team wants to play the tournament, which starts in India from March 8.

‘You cannot continue to be unfair, unreasonable’

Dear Sir,
As captain of the WT20 team, I wish that we can settle this matter and focus on preparations for the tournament. I want to state on behalf of the players that we want to play and will represent the West Indies to the best of our abilities. The embarrassment and fiasco of the Indian Tour which was called off by the Board must not be allowed to happen. However, it is the arrogance and high-handedness of the Board which cause these problems. You cannot continue [to] force players to be represented by a body that they are not members of and do not want to represent them. You cannot continue to be unfair and unreasonable. Issues like this will continue to plague West Indies cricket unless you have an MOU and arrangements for non-WIPA players are fair and just. ‎We are aware that, win or lose, this may well be the last tournament for most of us as reprisals will set in but we will speak out for what is fair. We are players and we know that unless radical changes take place, players will always have the grievance of which we complain.

In an email sent to the board over the last 24 hours, Sammy, however, reiterated his original demand asking the WICB to double the match fees, and share 50% of the sponsorship revenue and 100% prize money with the players. Sammy also asked the board if they would be ready for a mediation to settle the matter in case of a disagreement. Sammy’s latest communiqué comes after the WICB had set February 14 as the deadline for the players to agree to the terms of the contract, failing which it would be assumed they had refused selection for the World T20.”As captain of the WT20 team, I wish that we can settle this matter and focus on preparations for the tournament,” Sammy said in his third e-mail this week to WICB CEO Michael Muirhead. “I want to state on behalf of the players that we want to play and will represent the West Indies to the best of our abilities.”All through this week Sammy, who is playing for the Peshawar Zalmi franchise in the Pakistan Super League, has been involved in a dialogue with the WICB through a series of e-mail exchanges with Muirhead. In his previous two e-mails to Muirhead, Sammy said the WICB needed to double the players’ remuneration for the World T20 and stated they did not recognise the West Indies Players Association (WIPA) as their representative. Muirhead told Sammy that WIPA was the “exclusive collective bargaining agent for West Indian players.”Muirhead also let Sammy know that the WICB did not agree with the “old hierarchical system” of payment to players for ICC events under which senior players received “grossly disproportionate” amounts solely based on the number of international matches played.Sammy said that he would not be happy to repeat the “embarrassment and fiasco” of West Indies’ pull-out from the India tour in 2014 but pointed out that the WICB could not continue with its “high-handedness”, the main reason behind the frequent run-ins between both parties.”You cannot continue [to] force players to be represented by a body that they are not members of and do not want to represent them,” Sammy said referring to the WIPA. “You cannot continue to be unfair and unreasonable. Issues like this will continue to plague West Indies cricket unless you have an MOU and arrangements for non-WIPA players are fair and just.”Sammy said he was aware, yet unafraid, of the “reprisals”, and stated that “unless radical changes take place, players will always have the grievance of which we complain.”For the third time this week, he also asked the WICB to double the match fee of $6,900 on offer in addition to sharing 50% of sponsorship fees and 100% of the prize money with the players. “If you don’t agree to the above, would you consider that this matter goes to mediation for a settlement,” Sammy asked.

Piyush Chawla, the Uttar Pradesh legspinner, and Pankaj Singh, the 22-year-old Rajasthan fast bowler, have been asked to join the five-day bowlers camp in Mysore starting on June 4th. Former India seamer Venkatesh Prasad, who was the team’s fast bowling during the recent visit to Bangladesh, would assist the 14 bowlers.Chawla was to leave last night for Australia where here was scheduled to train at the Centre of Excellence in Brisbane along with Tamil Nadu medium pacer Yomahesh and Saurashtra batsman Cheteshwar Pujara.It was also speculated that Chawla had been advised to cancel his Australian sojourn since he could be named in the Indian squad for the one-day internationals against South Africa and Pakistan later this month. That team was to be picked on June 11.Zaheer Khan and Harbhajan Singh, who were part of the originial list, would not take part in the camp as they would be playing in the Afro-Asia Cup. Sreesanth, who has been included in the Asia squad for the lone Twenty-20 International against Africa on June 5, would join the group the following day. The camp would be held at Infosys Complex and stringent security has been put in place.The batsmen’s camp would be held from June 9 to 12 at the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore.The 14 bowlers to train at the camp: Anil Kumble, Ajit Agarkar, Rudra Pratap Singh, Sreesanth, Irfan Pathan, Munaf Patel, Ramesh Powar, Vikram Rajvir Singh, Ranadeb Bose, Ishant Sharma, Rajesh Pawar, Piyush Chawla, Pragyan Ojha and Pankaj Singh.

Cricket South Africa’s anti-corruption and security unit (ACSU) has charged an “intermediary” under its anti-corruption code for “contriving to fix, or otherwise improperly influence aspects” of the recently completed domestic T20 tournament, the Ram Slam Challenge.CSA has provisionally suspended the unnamed individual under Article 4.7.1 of the Code. The ACSU has also charged them with “failing or refusing, without compelling justification, to cooperate with an investigation carried out by CSA’s Designated Anti-Corruption Official”, the board said in a release on Tuesday.The intermediary will now be required to respond to the charges via the ACSU.”The provisional suspension means that the intermediary may not be involved in any capacity in any match or any other kind of function, event or activity (other than authorised anti-corruption education or rehabilitation programmes) that is authorized, organised, sanctioned, recognised or supported in any way by CSA, the ICC, a National Cricket Federation or any member of a National Cricket Federation,” CSA said.Haroon Lorgat, CSA’s chief executive, added: “Our attitude to corruption will always be one of zero tolerance and we are confident that we have the necessary structures in place to effectively deal with any corrupt activity. We will relentlessly pursue under our code and the law of the land any persons we believe to be involved in corrupting the game and, with assistance from the police, we will also seek criminal prosecution.”The Ram Slam T20 Challenge 2015-16 was played between November 1 and December 12, with Titans winning the final against Dolphins on Saturday.

The Indian team has been awarded a bonus of US$ 3 million by the Board of Control for Cricket in India for their victorious campaign in the ICC World Twenty20. Sharad Pawar, the BCCI president, also announced a cash award of Rs 1 crore [US$ 253,000] to Yuvraj Singh for hitting six sixes in an over in the match against England.The team, which will land in Mumbai on Wednesday morning, will go on a victory march to the Wankhede Stadium where they will be received by Pawar and be presented the prize-money. Pawar appealed to the people and former cricketers to join the march to provide a fitting welcome to the team.Each of the team’s support staff will be awarded Rs 15 lakh [US$ 38,000] for their efforts. India beat Pakistan by five runs in a thrilling final in Johannesburg.Meanwhile, a few state governments too have chipped in with cash rewards for its players. Joginder Sharma, who took the wicket of Misbah-ul-Haq to seal the victory, is set to receive a cash reward of Rs 21 lakh [US$ 52,920] from Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda. Maharashtra chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh has announced a cash reward of Rs 10 lakh each [US$ 25,250] for Mumbai players Rohit Sharma and Ajit Agarkar. Rohit Sharma was one of the biggest finds for India after playing crucial roles in the victories over South Africa and Pakistan in the final.Air India, the international airline which employs six players in the squad, announced out-of-turn promotions for each of them. Praful Patel, the civil aviation minister, said that all the 15 members of the winning squad and their family members would also be given additional free travel benefits for five years.The team lost just one match, against New Zealand, in the Super Eights. Following the defeat, the side knocked hosts South Africa out of the tournament and Australia in the semi-final.

Joanne Cook has retained her place on the Essex Academy. Cook, 17, was the third female player to be invited on to Essex’s Academy when she was drafted in last year, following in the footsteps of Alexis Mannion and Beth Wild.Allrounder Cook is a top-order batsman as well as a medium pacer. She made great progress during the 2007 season, scoring two centuries for the Essex women’s team and was also in the wickets for the London and East Region Under-19 team in the Junior Super Fours competition – a team she also captained.Cook’s development earned her selection for this year’s Super Fours, for Emeralds, and she now has her sights sets on making further progress in the months ahead.”I’ll be training hard this winter at the Essex Academy and with my Under-19 Regional side,” Cook told Cricinfo. “My next aim is to make the England Under-19 Academy, which trains at Loughborough. I feel like I’m close to getting into it because I’ve been given the extra responsibility of captaining my regional side and if I keep working hard it should come.”My long-term goal is to play for England women. I need to keep pushing myself to achieve that and I’m sure being part of the Academy at Essex will benefit that.”Despite being the only female among an intake of nine at the newly-titled Graham Gooch Essex Cricket Academy (Gooch will be providing funds of £30,000 a year to support the Academy) the self-assured Cook does not feel undue responsibility to prove himself among her contemporaries.She explained: “I do in some ways – because the younger girls look up to me – but not in other ways because I’ve been playing cricket with boys from the age of eight so I feel comfortable with them. I was the only girl playing in junior teams at Ilford until the Under-15s before we went our separate ways.”Cook, who plies her club cricket with Ardleigh Green men (2nd XI) and Loughton Ladies, readily acknowledges being part of the Academy has advanced her progress.”It’s benefited me a lot. Training is a lot more intense with the boys so when I come back to women’s cricket it makes a difference. In particular I would say my fielding has improved most of all. Whereas I am always on the ball – thanks to the extra training – some of the girls can be a bit lax. Boys push you more to improve your game.”Academy Director John Childs was suitably impressed by Cook’s efforts last summer to reward her with a second year on the programme.With one Cook – Alastair – having already graduated from the Essex Academy to gain international honours, fingers are crossed that Joanne will soon follow suit.

It may not have been all that tough for Shivnarine Chanderpaul to relinquish the West Indies captaincy. Except for any superficial damage to his ego, it was his only real option after a turbulent year in which he enjoyed only one Test victory and two one-day wins. Would it have been any different if he and his team had held their nerve and won the first Test against New Zealand at Eden Park?Probably, but the fact that they didn’t reinforced the belief that this is a side that has become so accustomed to losing that they are almost paralysed by anxiety in a tight situation. The fact that there is no obvious successor, and really hasn’t been for the last five years, speaks volumes, not just about the parlous state of the game, but the quality of individuals being produced by West Indian societies.Despite all of that, the West Indies Cricket Board must announce the new captain sooner rather than later. We can do without all sorts of wild speculation over the coming days, especially with the start of the seven-match limited-over series against Zimbabwe just two weeks away.Even if I still believe that Wavell Hinds will do a good job, I have to concede that going the way of picking a captain who is not an automatic selection in the final XI is unprecedented in contemporary West Indies cricket and would probably create more problems that it solves. For all of his apparent reluctance to take on the responsibility, too much time, money and effort has been invested in Ramnaresh Sarwan for him not to recognise that he has a duty to step up to the challenge if called upon.As vice-captain for most of the last three years and an established batsman in the middle-order, the 25-year-old “veteran” has enjoyed a free ride-seniority without real responsibility-for long enough. It may bring the best out of him and we will all say why the decision wasn’t made earlier. The other side of the coin, of course, is that the burden of leading a team that will still be losing much more than winning for some time could take a toll on his confidence and his batting, much in the same way as Chanderpaul has been affected.But like ending one footballer’s World Cup dream in a month’s time, tough decisions have to be made with an eye to the future. Unlike the legal profession, you can’t opt for a course of action, lose and then interpret it as a victory. Only politicians and their rabid following fall for that nonsense.

Former Free State captain Joubert Strydom has been appointed as the convenor of selectors for one year by Cricket South Africa (CSA).Strydom will replace Haroon Lorgat, who was not nominated by any of the CSA affiliates at the annual general meeting last week. Mustapha Khan and national coach Mickey Arthur, remained selectors with Shafiek Abrahams, the former South African spinner, being the new appointment.”The board of directors of CSA has decided to appoint Joubert Strydom as convenor for one year after which the appointment will be reviewed,” CSA’s chief executive officer Gerald Majola said. “Joubert is very experienced and has been part of the provincial and national selection system for several years now. He will give continuity.”Strydom said it was an honour to be appointed as convenor of selectors at what was “a very exciting time for South African cricket”.”We have won the Emerging Players Tournament in Australia for the second successive year which means we are going to have a big pool of young talent to work with. The challenge is to find the right combination of promising and established players.”

Scorecard

Thirteen years ago, Chandrasekhar Raghu was just another cricketer. They come in dozens in India, rushing home after school, picking up a cheap bat and rushing to join the neighbourhood tennis-ball . It’s all very simple: whack the ball, indulge in a bit of hit-and-giggle, and retire home at sunset to bury your face in homework. It doesn’t happen to most young enthusiasts, but something changed, for the better, where Raghu is concerned.When he was 11, a neighbour who happened to be the secretary for the local Hanumant Nagar Cricket Club, picked him out of the street cricket milieu and invited him to come and practise at the club. “I owe a lot to Balaji,” Raghu told Cricinfo at the end of the first day’s play at Mysore’s Gangothri Glades Ground. From there his journey to state-level cricket started. Soon he was playing for under-13 cricket.Was he afraid of the leather ball, having never played before? “No,” he says with a smile, “I just used to go out and play.” But that’s where my transformation as a bowler happened. I used to be just a batsman but suddenly I discovered that with the leather ball, I could bowl pretty useful offspin.” In fact, Raghu played in an under-19 tournament as a spinner.Even though he found his touch as a batsman and became prolific at the league level, where he used to bat at No. 3 or 4, at the Ranji Trophy level he was still treated as a bowler. He admits, “I used to play at No. 8 for Karnataka, and they used to consider me as an ODI player.” An average of 12.72 in 10 first-class matches is a proof of that. “I was very disappointed in those times. I used to bat at No. 3 or 4 in the leagues, but when it came to playing for Karnataka, I would be relegated down the order and treated as a bowler. I never used to get a chance to prove myself. It was very tough. I was stagnating.”Others’ misfortune, as it would turn out, gave Raghu the opportunity he was looking for. “I was feeling very down but then suddenly two or three batsmen flopped last season and I got my chance.” And he grabbed it. Two centuries and a fifty in the P Subbiah Pillai tournament in February 2006. He rates his 117 against Hyderabad in that tournament, as his best and the turning point of his career. All of a sudden the bowler was publicly recognised as an allrounder.There were other innings that Raghu remembers fondly. “I got a hundred against Western Australia recently,” he said. “I wanted to prove to the selectors that I can do well in three-day matches. Those knocks gave me confidence – and possibly the selectors too.” It definitely did. Within months, he was picked for the Challenger Series where the best young talents in the country get a chance to play with senior cricketers.Raghu is one of those batsmen that make the game look easy; lazy elegance seeps through his batting. Though he admits otherwise – “I don’t think I am lazy, it looks like that to others” – Raghu has been a victim of his own fluent batting style. “Yes, so many times I have got out like that,” he said. “When playing very well, I would think this bowler is easy to play and I have got out trying few things. I used to get 30, 40 quickly and then get out. I have matured now. That’s why I maintain this is a mental game. Now I am learning to play to big innings.”His preference is to keep the ball on the ground but he remains a busy player, constantly looking for singles. While Joginder Sharma, who grabbed seven wickets in Haryana’s match against Andhra – including a hat-trick – was troubling some of the other batsmen today with his bounce off a length, Raghu played him with ease.So what does he think when he stands at the crease waiting for the ball to be released? “Nothing,” comes the answer with a smile. “I keep my mind blank, I don’t think about anything.” Sensible ploy. Like many Indian batsmen, he makes his living off the front foot. Without disagreeing, he says today it was part of a plan: “I thought on this pitch – it was keeping low at times – it was better to get on to the front foot. I got out playing the wrong line though”.One other amazing thing about him is that he has never had a batting coach. So where did this pleasing stroke play come from? “There was no coach, I just play like this,” he said. “No one taught me how to play. This game is played more in the mind. Its 70% mental. Venkatesh Prasad [the Karnataka coach] has helped to improve on the mental aspect. My aim is to score runs and I go about finding ways of doing that. I just play ball by ball, I don’t think much.”For Raghu, each day is taken in his stride. “I am sticking to the present,” he said. “I just have to do well in the Ranji Trophy as I want Karnataka to be the Ranji Champions. I want to score at least three centuries this season. I am not thinking too much ahead, just want to stick to the process.”

Scorecard
If Michael Vaughan’s England side was let off the hook by bad light in Faisalabad, then the – or verdict – on the women’s side against India on the final day at Delhi was slightly more heartening. Resolute batting from Charlotte Edwards (46), the captain, Arran Brindle (46), and Jenny Gunn (32) staved off defeat and thwarted India’s bid for a maiden Test win against England, Edwards’ side finishing the day on 210 for 6.The Indian women gave nothing away though. The fielding was enthusiastic, the bowling tight, but in the end the resolve of the English batsmen shone over all else. Veteran spinner Neetu David consistently found turn from a slow pitch, and she beat the bat on numerous occasions. Nooshin Al Khader, however, was the pick of the bowlers, sending down 32 miserly overs for just 30 runs, picking up the wickets of Laura Newton, Clair Taylor and Lydia Greenway to stymie England’s run chase.Earlier, England’s batsmen produced a good morning session by adding 109 to their overnight 3 for 0, with Edwards standing tall with a 94-ball 46. She was eventually out, leg before, to the persistent Jhulan Goswami, with England 73 for 3. Brindle and Gunn then added 73 for the fourth wicket before Brindle was run out for 46 as the scoring rate slowed. She hit four boundaries as well as the solitary six of the match, but was unlucky to be dismissed just four short of a deserved fifty. Her dismissal, on the stroke of tea, meant England were 146 for 4, still 165 runs adrift of their target.At this stage, Mithali Raj, India’s captain, used an attacking field to try and put pressure on England, and the efforts of her fielders would have pleased her. A hard punch down the ground just after lunch by Gunn was met by a diving mid-off fielder, saving a certain boundary. Al Khader struck again to have Greenway caught by Raj for a laborious 6 off 51 deliveries, and England looked in trouble at this stage.Yet, as it became evident that a win was out of reach, Rosalie Birch and Laura Harper put their heads down and avoided any further checks to their progress. A loud appeal for a very close lbw against Harper was turned down by umpire RD Singh – to the clear frustration of Al Khader – but it was to be the last tense image on a day in which determination was the name of the game.Goswami was eventually adjudged Man of the Match for her spirited showing with the bat and ball throughout the match.