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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.

Ashwell Prince has resigned as president of the South African Cricketers’ association (SACA) following a report in , an Afrikaans newspaper, that 30 cricketers had signed a memorandum calling for the eradication of the quota system in South African cricket.Prince, who was currently touring India with the South African A squad, alleged that details of the meeting between Cricket South Africa (CSA) and the cricketers had been leaked to the media.”I trusted people and that confidentiality has been broken. I was betrayed and used”, Prince told . “I feel strongly that SACA had nothing to do with this. But the fact that it could have been a player, or players, made me realise that I cannot represent people whom I cannot trust””My standpoint about certain aspects of CSA’s policy has never been a secret. Those who conspired against me should have known it,” Prince said. “Someone who was at the meeting we held last week has leaked [details of] the discussions to the news media.”Prince’s resignation was the latest in a period of off-field turbulence in South African cricket: Jacques Kallis’ resignation as vice-captain of the national team following his omission from the ICC World Twenty20, disciplinary hearings involving Mark Boucher and Loots Bosman, and Andrew Hall’s retirement from international cricket.

Inzamam-ul-Haq has been charged with bringing the game into disrepute along with changing the condition of the ball and, if found guilty, faces a ban of up to eight ODIs or four Tests. The ICC have confirmed that Inzamam will face a Code of Conduct hearing on Friday in London.Both Inzamam’s charges will be considered during a hearing to be conducted by the ICC chief match referee Ranjan Madugalle. Madugalle has been appointed to chair the hearing because Mike Procter, the match referee at The Oval, was involved in the incidents that took place on Sunday afternoon and is likely to be asked to present evidence to the hearing.Inzamam has been charged, as captain, with a breach of level 2.10 of the ICC code which relates to changing the condition of the ball in breach of Law 42.3 of the Laws of Cricket.This charge was brought by Billy Doctrove and Darrell Hair, the on-field umpires, on Sunday. If Inzamam is found guilty of breaching this provision he faces a fine of between 50 and 100% of his match fee and/or a one-Test or two-ODI ban.Inzamam has also been charged with a breach of C2 at level 3 of the code which relates to conduct that brings the player or the game into disrepute. This charge was brought by Doctrove and Hair, along with Peter Hartley and Trevor Jesty, the third and fourth umpires, following a meeting on Monday morning.If Inzamam is found guilty, an appeal must be made within 24 hours and he would be allowed to continue playing until that has been heard.

Darren Lehmann, who was named in the squad to face New Zealand at Brisbane ahead of Simon Katich, will find his preparation time severely limited by having to testify in the court case investigating the death of David Hookes, his close friend. Zdravko Micevic, a Melbourne nightclub bouncer, faces manslaughter charges over the attack that led to Hookes’s death, and Lehmann will give an eyewitness account of what happened in the Melbourne suburb of St Kilda last January when he appears before the Magistrates Court next Monday.The rest of Lehmann’s team-mates will arrive in Brisbane on Sunday evening, and there is no guarantee that he will be able to make it there before the Australians have their first net session at the Gabba on Tuesday. Lehmann has admitted that the legal obligation makes for difficult preparation ahead of the two-Test series, more so since he is just coming off a hamstring injury suffered during the Nagpur Test against India last month.In his column for an Adelaide newspaper, Lehmann wrote, “It [the court case] isn’t a nice thing and will be a difficult preparation. It’s something I’m not looking forward to but it has to be done. It is a responsibility I have to fulfil.”Undoubtedly, Hookesy will be in my mind when I go out to bat in Brisbane.”John Buchanan, the Australian coach, said there were no fitness worries over Lehmann, and even suggested that Lehmann might benefit from the court appearance. “It obviously was an important moment in his life, considering his association with David,” he said, “and so it will probably be very good for him to have all that cleared behind him before the summer season starts.”

After holding posts as the president of the ICC and the Indian board, Jagmohan Dalmiya is all set to head the Asian Cricket Council. According to a report in The Indian Express, Dalmiya will take over from Mohammad Ali Asghar, currently president of the ACC and the Bangladesh board, when his term ends on June 29.The post of ACC president works on a rotation basis, and it is now India’s turn to take the chair. The election, which is expected to be a formality, will take place in London, where the heads of boards will be present for an ICC executive board meeting.Dalmiya’s term as president of the BCCI ends only in September, which means that there will be a period of three months when he will head both, the ACC and the BCCI. Dalmiya had earlier been the secretary of the ACC between 1993 and 1996.

Billed as `twice the action; half the time’, the new Twenty20 Cup cricket competition being launched at The Rose Bowl appears to be an appealing concept as over one thousand tickets have already been booked within the first week of sales.At 5.30pm on Friday, 13th June, the Hampshire Cricket team will face the Sussex squad for two hours and 45 minutes of fast-forward cricket that should produce a summer’s evening full of high scores and fast action. Following on from the cricket action, The Rose Bowl will also be hosting a live concert starring both Mis-Teeq and D’Side plus additional supporting acts.With all seating around The Rose Bowl being allocated, the Hampshire Cricket membership and ticket office has been inundated with enquiries and bookings for the reserved seating, car park spaces and new park & ride facility."The telephone has just not stopped ringing." said membership and ticketing manager, Jill Smithers. "There has obviously been incredible interest from our members, but interestingly, the fast action concept and the after-match concert are proving a big hit with a much wider audience, including office and business social groups planning a great Friday night out, school parties and many people who would not normally be attracted to a standard cricket match. They are all anticipating a really great atmosphere around the ground."The Rose Bowl has also had considerable interest for the special `hospitality’ package that provides a hot supper and complimentary bar of beer, house wine and soft drinks for £60 per person.The Twenty20 Cup is the first brand new competition for county cricket for almost 30 years.Tickets covering both the cricket match and the concert are £15 for adults and £10 for under sixteens and senior citizens Further information and advance tickets can be obtained on 0870 243 0291.EndsIssued by: Hampshire CricketPress Contact: Jane Kerr 07976 549705Simon DalySales Manager – The Rose BowlTel. 023 8047 2002Fax. 023 8047 2122Mob. 07766 505794

When is a batting average not a real batting average?That’s the question posed by University of Otago economics professor John Howells in an article which appeared in Dunedin’s Albion Cricket Club’s annual report.Always one of the more quirky, humorous and best presented club annual reports, the Albion club is onto a thought-provoking and contentious matter here.Howells asks after looking at the averages of the 1999 World Cup: “How could [Lance] Klusener have a batting average of 140.5 if his highest score was 52? How did [Tom] Moody, over five innings, have an average of 117 when his aggregate of runs was 117?”The reason for such statistical absurdities is the convention that batting average is calculated by counting only completed innings.”It is, in effect, the mean number of runs per completed innings of any batsman.”In simple terms, the score for not-out innings is counted but the innings itself is ignored when dividing the total of innings into the total of runs to determine average,” he wrote.Howells said not-out innings seriously inflated batting averages and pointed out that [Trevor] Bailey had 215 and [Wilfred] Rhodes 237 in their first-class careers. While in Test cricket, Steve Waugh had 18.9% (at the time of writing – Ed) and Imran Khan 19.8% of their innings as not outs.He also made the point that of 57 players listed in Wisden 1999 with an average of 50 or better and a minimum of 10,000 runs, 45 had 10% or more of not-out innings, 12 had 15% or more as not-out innings.”Given the incidence of not-outs, the procedure for calculating batting average generates results that are often bizarre and produces inflated averages which undermine the effectiveness of batting average as an honest and accurate measure of a player’s performance.Furthermore, it is not clear what sort of average is being calculated.”It is not a batting average for completed innings because not-out innings are included in the numerator.”It is not a batting average for not-out innings are excluded from the denominator.”The purpose of an average is to represent a group of individual values, but it is not obvious what it is that a batting average represents.”The public has been presented with an imposter dressed in the robes of a batting average,” he said.The answer was a simple and sensible alternative.”By removing the distinction between completed and not-out innings, batting average can be calculated simply by dividing total runs by total innings [call it RBA or ‘real batting average’],” he argued.In his article, Howells also refutes the arguments put up by those who would retain the status quo.He said there was no real difference between not-outs and completed innings and as a result no logical reason for not counting all innings as completed in calculating average.Of the 57 players with a first-class average of 50 or more in Wisden 1999, batting averages fell by 10% or more for 45 of them when the RBA was applied. Forty-eight players missed the 50 mark with only Don Bradman, Bill Ponsford, Vijay Merchant, Bill Woodfull, Sachin Tendulkar, Arthur Morris and Walter Hammond remaining in the elite category above 50.Howells concluded: “This review seeks to show how far the conventional batting average is out-of-line with actual on-field performance.”As a classic example of this, consider Bradman’s last Test innings. From press reports in 1948, and since, he was bowled within four runs of averaging 100 in Test cricket.”Not so!”To score 100 runs, ‘on average’, in every Test innings, Bradman needed 1004 runs from his last innings.”Again, recent statistics give Steve Waugh a Test average of 50.8.”Not so!”To score 50.8, ‘on average’, in every Test innings, he still needs 1778 more runs.”These two examples, and there are others, patently expose the schizophrenic nature of the conventional batting average, namely, its inability to recognise reality,” he argued.

ScorecardJoe Clarke’s excellent maiden hundred was not enough to claim victory•Getty Images

Gloucestershire joined Surrey in qualifying for the Royal London One-Day Cup quarter-finals with a four-wicket win against Worcestershire Rapids at New Road.In maintaining a 100 per cent record from five completed games, they overcame a brilliant unbeaten 131 from 109 balls by Worcestershire teenager Joe Clarke and successfully handled the absence of their injured captain Michael Klinger.Clarke hit 10 fours and three sixes in seeing Worcestershire to 264 for eight in a 46-over match and any doubts over Gloucestershire’s ability to cope without the prolific Klinger were dispelled by an opening stand of 106 in 16.5 overs by Will Tavare (61) and Chris Dent (43).The recalled Tavare faced 56 deliveries, hitting eight fours and a six from the ball before he was bowled by Ed Barnard and Dent went in the next over, leg-before as soon as Brett D’Oliveira joined the attack.The setback was quickly corrected by a partnership of 100. Gareth Roderick made 56 from 51 balls until he was bowled by Barnard, and Geraint Jones went on 58 from 57 when he was leg-before to Joe Leach.Worcestershire battled to the end, Leach and Ross Whiteley taking wickets before the visitors got home with seven balls to spare.Worcestershire’s record in competition is now the exact opposite of Gloucestershire’s – they have lost all five completed games – and it was a big disappointment that the innings of the day by Clarke failed to break the losing run.The 19-year-old was born in Shrewsbury, went to school in Powys, developed his cricket with Shropshire and in the academy at New Road, and came through to the first-team after playing as wicketkeeper-batsman for England Under-19s last summer.The latest milestone in his career would not have been a surprise to a quartet of Gloucestershire bowlers. Late in May, James Fuller, Benny Howell, Tom Smith and Jack Taylor were among those on the receiving end when Clarke made an unbeaten 201 in a second-team fixture at Cheltenham College.This was the innings which got him into the LV= County Championship and last weekend brought a new experience with promotion to the 50-over side.Again he was a quick learner, recovering from a duck on debut before registering a first 50 against Surrey and now a first hundred in successive days.There was a mixture of everything in his batting, authority, confidence, style and at the end a glimpse of power in a 6-6-4 assault on Howell in the final over, giving him 10 fours and three sixes from 109 balls.It was not that Gloucestershire bowled badly. With Worcestershire missing their captain, Daryl Mitchell, with a hamstring injury, David Payne dismissed the new opening pair, Tom Kohler-Cadmore and Richard Oliver, before a light shower reduced the overs.Howell was next to strike, bowling Tom Fell for 21, and Smith’s left-arm spin brought two wickets as D’Oliveira (22) and Whitley (33) attempted to pick up the pace.Whiteley shared in a fifth-wicket stand of 87 and from then on it was all about Clarke as he kicked on from a hundred in 97 balls.Steve Rhodes, Worcestershire’s director of cricket, said: “I thought it was a tremendous effort from Joe Clarke to get his highest score in List A cricket. For a first century it was brilliant. For a young kid he shows a lot of promise for the future. I’m excited by his qualities.”

The Lodha committee is expected to come down severely on the glaring loopholes and absence of any mechanism in the BCCI to deal with and remove the conflict of interest issues both within the board and the state associations. The conflict of interest point is likely to be strongly highlighted when the committee unveils its recommendations on the governance of and structural reforms for the BCCI, a task delegated to the three-member panel by the Supreme Court last July.In the interviews conducted by the panel with BCCI officials, it is understood that the first question posed by the chairman of the committee, RM Lodha, former chief justice of India, was on conflicts. In his interactions with a number of current and past BCCI officials, Lodha made it clear that conflict had to be eradicated completely if the BCCI wanted to bring in a professional structure.In their defence, a number of representations were apparently made by senior BCCI officials to the panel expressing the inevitability of former cricketers needing to hold multiple positions to make a decent living after retirement. This was placed in the context of the existing BCCI structure, where many posts are honorary and part-time in nature. It was represented that while this is far from an inconvenience to those in politics or business, for retired cricketers their residual sources of income would naturally be from allegedly conflicting activities such as coaching, commentary and media work.Any intention to stop the former cricketers from holding multiple roles, the panel was told, could perversely drive former cricketers out of leadership positions in the sport’s administration. While sympathetic to these concerns, it is understood that the Lodha committee’s desire is for cricket administration to move towards a culture and a structure where conflict of interest is not seen as a given or a fait accompli. The committee is likely to be of the view that reforms must be wholesome and, when combined with a BCCI structure with paid professionals in key posts, there ought to be no room or apology for conflict of interest.Incidentally, the committee discussed all this with Shashank Manohar immediately after he was elected as the BCCI president in October. Since then the BCCI has announced a slew of measures that have pointed to a board that wants to be transparent and professional. Manohar issued a three-page directive to BCCI and state association members, employees along with players, coaches and selectors, listing out guidelines to avoid conflicts of interest. The BCCI also appointed an independent auditor in PriceWatherhouseCoopers to check the books of all the state associations to ascertain that the various subsidies that were granted by the board have been utilised appropriately.However legal experts, who have knowledge of the workings of the BCCI, remain cynical. They feel in the absence of other reforms, this standalone conflict of interest policy is a “band-aid” measure and could further entrench existing powerful administrators who have no playing history. Experts believe that it would be incomplete to stop just at conflict issues, and that the Lodha Committee is likely to dig deeper and will also look at other forms of impropriety, whether these relate to favours, allocation of match-hosting rights, ticketing, tendering and contracting practices, etc. “As we have seen with FIFA, there is a broader ethics challenge that needs to be met head on when it comes to sports administration,” one legal expert said.

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.”