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Scott Mason, the Tasmanian batsman, has died from a heart failure in the Royal Hobart Hospital at Hobart.Mason, 28, who played 28 first-class games and eight limited-over matches for Tasmania, has missed the entire 2004-05 season owing to his heart condition. But he had been given approval to resume light training and was hoping to return to the first-class scene later this year. After facing a few balls in the net session at the Bellerive Oval on Thursday he had to be rushed to hospital.Jamie Cox, his team-mate and opening partner, paid tribute by saying, “Just such a likeable guy, and an inspiration, and I guess you could say tragically but ironically he was one of the heartbeats of our team. There aren’t enough words to say enough about this little mate, he was a beauty.”

Malcolm Speed, the ICC chief executive, has been put on paid leave until his contract runs out on July 4.In a brief statement, David Morgan, the ICC’s president-elect, said: “This … is the result of a fundamental breakdown in the relationship between the CEO and a number of board members, including the president, over a variety of issues that include Zimbabwe.”David Richardson, the ICC general manager – cricket, will serve as interim CEO until Speed’s replacement, Haroon Lorgat, assumes the role at the ICC’s annual conference at the beginning of July.”Cricinfo has learnt that though Speed’s ouster was largely due to serious differences he had with Ray Mali, the ICC president, and Norman Arendse, the president of Cricket South Africa, over the Zimbabwe crisis, the chief executive’s recent comments on the unauthorized Indian Cricket League (ICL) had senior BCCI officials demanding that he leave the post.BCCI started pushing for Speed’s removal after he told reporters in Mumbai that the Indian board was yet to officially request ICC to ban the one-year-old ICL. Indian officials later claimed that the issue had been raised at various ICC meetings.Apparently, the decision to remove Speed was finalized informally during a meeting of some senior ICC board members, including a senior Indian official, on the eve of the Indian Premier League (IPL) launch in Bangalore on April 18.”There were many who were not happy with Malcolm’s confrontational style of functioning,” a BCCI official, who did not wish to be named, told Cricinfo.”We have removed him so what is left to say now,” said a senior official from the anti-Speed camp, who did not wish to be identified. “We were not happy with the way he handled the Zimbabwe situation, and his recent statements which implied that the ICL issue had not been raised officially within ICC.”Rumours had also been circulating for the last month that Speed had had a serious falling-out with Mali, following the ICC executive’s decision not to take any major action against Zimbabwe following an independent forensic audit carried out by KPMG, which the ICC has since refused to make available.Following the ICC’s meeting in Dubai in March, at which the decision to overlook the audit was taken, Speed refused to attend the traditional post-meeting media conference, explaining privately to the executive that he was not prepared to defend in public a decision with which he fundamentally disagreed. It had been the recommendation of the audit committee that senior ZC officials should have been referred to the ethics committee.In July last year, a confidential report by Speed and Faisal Hasnain, the ICC’s chief financial officer, was leaked, much to the ICC’s embarrassment and anger, in which Speed made a series of stinging attacks on Zimbabwe Cricket’s finances, concluding: “It is clear that the accounts of ZC have been deliberately falsified to mask various illegal transactions from the auditors and the government of Zimbabwe. The accounts were incorrect and at no stage did ZC draw the attention of the users of these accounts to the unusual transactions. It may not be possible to rely on the authenticity of its balance sheet.”Mali, who is a staunch supporter of Zimbabwe and of its officials, has not yet commented publicly on the situation it will be Morgan who fronts up at the press conference at Lord’s tomorrow.Mali is understood to have been incensed by Speed’s conduct and gained support from a number of board members as he successfully moved to have Speed sidelined for the remainder of his tenure. Although Zimbabwe has emerged as the key reason for the falling-out, it is understood that Speed’s recent statement that the rebel Indian Cricket League had approached the ICC seeking official recognition had also been used as an excuse to get rid of him.”At this point I am not in a position to respond to your question,” Mali told the when asked for the reasons the action against Speed had been taken . “But I will definitely do so in the near future.”Haroon Lorgat, South Africa’s former convenor of selectors, is lined up to succeed Speed as CEO, but said that it would not be appropriate for him to comment on the development as he is not involved with the ICC yet. “This is something I don’t want to get into right now,” Lorgat told Cricinfo.

BRISBANE, Oct 16 AAP – Brendan Nash can’t match the size or reputation of his famous classmates and teammates but he became Queensland’s unlikely star in the Pura Cup cricket clash with NSW at the Gabba today.Nash batted through the first day, posting an unbeaten 141 as the Bulls reached 4-299 after being sent in to bat.It was Nash’s second first-class century but his most mature, outshining well-known teammates Jimmy Maher (39), Andrew Symonds (42), Martin Love (27) and Stuart Law (14).The son of a Jamaican Olympic swimmer, Nash was born in Perth, raised in Cairns and schooled at Brisbane’s Nudgee College in the same year as AFL Brownlow Medallist Jason Akermanis and Wallaby flyhalf Elton Flatley.The 24-year-old left-hander, holding down the place of Test opener Matthew Hayden, is the shortest and lightest member of the Bulls squad and he became the thorn in NSW’s side.”It was really tough batting early on and the wicket wasn’t as flat as it looked,” Nash said.”It was just a matter of concentrating and there were times when I had bad patches of about five overs but I came through and I’m pretty happy with the way I stuck at it.”Nash survived 282 balls in 370 minutes against a Blues attack which struggled to take quick wickets on a greenish deck.Don Nash (2-39) and Nathan Bracken (1-52) kept the brakes on the batsmen early after the Blues began without Stuart Clark, who was ruled out hours before the match with an ankle injury.Rookie Doug Bollinger (0-46) made a sound first-class debut in Clark’s place while leg-spinner Stuart MacGill (1-93) toiled for 28 overs, earning a reward when he had Love caught at slip.MacGill almost had Nash twice in the final session but the Queenslander survived sharp chances at 104, 115 and 133 to leave the Blues lamenting their missed opportunities.They were relieved to abort another demolition job by Symonds, who smacked five fours and one six in a run-a-ball innings after tea.But, as happens too often for Symonds, he provided a regulation dismissal just when he seemed to be scoring with ease, edging Don Nash to Michael Clarke at second slip.Lee Carseldine (17 not out) then joined Brendan Nash for the one-hour journey to stumps, with Nash knuckling down in the final overs.He has been a fringe player for the Bulls since rejecting an approach from the West Indies two years ago, when fast bowling great Courtney Walsh asked him to consider a switch.”Queensland had given me an opportunity and I wanted to take that with both hands,” Nash said.The Bulls were grateful today as Nash built on the promise shown when he made 96 in last season’s Pura Cup final win over Tasmania.

Past West Indies cricketers drank and were subjected to curfews but they respected their profession and would never go overboard. This admission was made by former captain Clive Lloyd at the launch of his new biography in England.Lloyd, who is now a director of the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB), said he never condoned indiscipline and the players he led to global dominance in the 1970s and 1980s knew where to draw the line.”If you have rules and people break them, they know they’ll get punished. I think you need curfews if you have young people in the squad,” Lloyd said. “Discipline has always been something that I’ve believed in and the guys in the West Indies team knew that from day one. They said that once they saw me annoyed, they knew they’d overstepped the line.””We always had curfews and we had respect – respect for one another, respect for your profession and respect for the people you represent,” he added. However, Lloyd said that curfews weren’t imposed for the tour matches as the players had their free time then.Lloyd, who is also a committee member at Lancashire, Andrew Flintoff’s county, explained how drinking was not the only way to build team spirit but it had been a part of professional sport for many years.”Respect has got to be earned. You have to do the right things and lead by example. If you do things like Andrew has done, then you let yourself down,” Lloyd said.But Lloyd said former England coach Duncan Fletcher was wrong to speak out about Flintoff’s behaviour during the Ashes tour and could have handled the situation better.Fletcher said, in a serialisation of his autobiography, he had to cancel a training session in Australia as Flintoff, who was captain in the absence of Michael Vaughan, was under the influence of alcohol. Although Lloyd admitted drinking had always been a part of professional sport, he accepts Flintoff overstepped the mark.”Sportsmen have been drinking for years, it is not something new, but you don’t want to overdo it. I think there’s a limit because you need to be fresh and you’ve got to be thinking straight. We went out drinking but the point is we never overdid it. We went out as a group and knew it was important to do the right thing.”

Scorecard

Rajin Saleh’s maiden one-day international century powered Bangladesh to a whitewash of their series against Kenya. A commanding stand of 175 with Habibul Bashar hurried them across the line with more than eight overs to spare, despite the loss of three early wickets. Steve Tikolo had earlier provided the ballast for Kenya with an assertive 81 as they posted their highest total of the series.However, Bangladesh have become more convincing as the four matches have progressed and really strutted their stuff during the run chase. Saleh took his time in the early stages, a situation forced on him by some loose shots from the top order. But he ensured the required rate never spiralled out of control and started to impose himself after 15 overs of consolidation.Bashar had not reached a half-century for 20 ODI innings, so the chase was at a crucial juncture when he joined Saleh in the 14th over. Bangladesh’s two leading strokemakers, Mohammad Ashraful and Aftab Ahmed, had played their shots too early and another quick strike would have left Kenya poised for a face-saving victory. Bashar, though, worked the ball around and with Saleh finding the boundary the Kenyans began to loose their sparkle.As the result became a formality the main interest revolved around whether Saleh would be able to reach his ton. Bashar gave the strike to his partner and Saleh crossed the milestone shortly before the winning mark. It was only the third ODI century by a Bangladesh batsman, and another important mark of their steady improvement over recent months.The Bangladesh opening bowlers handed them the advantage as they made the most of early movement after Kenya chose to bat. Runs were coming at less than two-an-over when David Obuya was trapped plumb in front by Mashrafe Mortaza, who had deserved the success after repeatedly beating the batsmen with the new ball.Tikolo realised that he firstly needed to repair the early damage, but was still quick to latch onto anything off line, twice threading Syed Rasel to the boundary in the same over. Modi was the ideal foil and the pair produced the most significant stand of the innings – 95 in 20 overs. Bangladesh were struggling to make an impression on the experienced pair and Tikolo was just beginning to put his foot in the accelerator when Mohammad Rafique again proved his importance to the team.Rafique sealed Bangladesh’s victory in the third ODI, and here removed both key batsmen. Tikolo was disappointed to be dispatched lbw on the front foot, but replays suggested his stride wasn’t as confident as it first appeared and the ball was heading towards middle and leg.The middle order stuttered and at 164 for 6 the hardwork of Modi and Tikolo was being frittered away. Collins Obuya and Tony Suji played sensibly to add 54 off 40 balls as Kenya crossed the 200-mark. However, despite a promising start from the bowlers, it proved nowhere near enough to trouble Bangladesh, who will have gained important confidence from their impressive performances.

South Africa 70 for 3 trail England 139 (Pollock 4-32) by 69 runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball

After being bruised by defeat in the first Test, a battling South Africa came out fighting on Boxing Day at Durban. After winning the toss and fielding, they never let up, blowing England away for 139 and reducing the deficit to 69 for the loss of three wickets by the close.England’s lowest in Tests this year – their previous worst was 226 against West Indies – vindicated Graeme Smith’s bold decision to put them in. His fast bowlers performed well, banging in short balls to exploit the pace of the pitch: Ashley Giles, in particular, was a handy punchbag for a battery of body blows before he became a third victim of injudicious hooking.But none of England’s batsmen played with much conviction and the killer blow came ten minutes before lunch when Nicky Boje dismissed Andrew Strauss – England’s hero at Port Elizabeth – for 25 with his fourth delivery (53 for 3). And after the break, South Africa carried on where they had left off – picking up the three quick wickets of Graham Thorpe, Andrew Flintoff and Michael Vaughan as they kept England on the ropes.Simon Jones and Matthew Hoggard put up some late resistance – their ninth-wicket partnership of 26 was England’s highest – but the bowlers applied blow after brutal, bloody blow until they finished England off.And while Smith, Herschelle Gibbs and Jacques Rudolph had all been sent back to the pavilion before the close, South Africa will be more than happy with an honest day’s work which was kick-started by Makhaya Ntini’s dismissal of Marcus Trescothick for 18. Ntini had initially struggled to find a probing line and it was only when he switched over the wicket to the left-hander Trescothick that he struck, finding the inside edge and AB de Villiers, in his first session as a Test keeper after replacing Thami Tsolekile, changed direction to hold a diving, one-handed catch to his right.

The unconvincing Mark Butcher, nearly run out early on, then aimed to smack Dale Steyn through the covers off the back foot but only succeeded in dragging the ball into the ground and on to his off stump for 5. But if that gave South Africa the slight advantage, Strauss’s dismissal really put them in the driving seat. Strauss had been subdued yet patient, but, just after stroking two good fours, he failed to get over a straight ball from the left-arm spinner Boje, and Ntini took a good low catch at widish mid-off. That really started the rot.Shaun Pollock then struck twice in his first two overs after the break: an inswinger trapped Thorpe in front for 1, then Flintoff departed without scoring, as he mis-hooked a straight bouncer which lobbed to Hashim Amla at short leg (64 for 5). Ntini then waded in with the sucker punch – a straight, well-pitched one which trapped Vaughan leg-before for 18. At 80 for 6, England were reeling.Geraint Jones showed signs of fighting spirit, opening his account with a hooked six off Pollock, and he added several streaky edged boundaries before he perished attempting a hook too many off Ntini. A defiant Simon Jones thumped Pollock for two fours and a glorious straight six in five balls before he fell, dragging one on to his stumps. Pollock then bowled his fourth victim, Steve Harmison, to complete England’s batting misery.But England’s bowlers gained the immediate breakthrough they desperately required: Smith fell for 9 as South Africa stumbled to 17 for 1. Harmison and Matthew Hoggard responded to the working-over England had received with some fiery pace of their own. Harmison clattered Smith on the upper arm before he offered an outside edge to Flintoff at second slip.Harmison then set about tucking up Rudolph, while at the other end Hoggard was busy keeping the usually aggressive Gibbs quiet – he managed one four, a crashing cover-drive, but was mainly in defensive mode. Hoggard eventually got his man. On 15, Gibbs misjudged one which nipped back to hit off stump (48 for 2).Harmison made history with the last ball of the day: in removing Rudolph he brought up his 64th Test wicket of this calendar year, a record for an English bowler – Ian Botham had held the honour for 25 years. Rudolph fell steering a bouncer to Thorpe at short leg after a breezy 32, but there was no doubt as to which team had the upper hand on the first day. England will need to muster all their bowling acumen and strength on the second day against South Africa’s reinforced batting line-up.Jenny Thompson is assistant editor of Cricinfo.

Shoaib Malik may well be opening in the Test series against England this summer but he doesn’t seem unduly concerned about taking on the best pace attack in the game in a still unfamiliar role.”I have no problems with opening. Basically I want to play for Pakistan and any position I don’t really care. I have been asked to open and I am happy to do it. If I have to do it in England I will do,” Malik told Cricinfo. Though his career as opener has experienced an uncertain start, there were signs, after a match-saving maiden Test hundred against Muttiah Muralitharan and others in Colombo, that he might be getting used to the role. “I guess I am more comfortable doing it now. That century was really special and more so because it saved the Test. Muralitharan is always a test but just as bad was the heat.”With that century, Malik now averages 42.60 (higher than his career average) from seven Tests and 11 innings as opener; the record includes two half-centuries as well, against India and the West Indies. Malik’s promotion to Test opener was the Pakistan management’s much-debated solution to one of the oldest ailments in Pakistan cricket – the lack of a solid opening pair. Though he made his first appearance as opener against West Indies last year, he was only installed as a semi-permanent choice in the last home season.In three Tests against England, he helped Pakistan – with Salman Butt – to three fifty-plus partnerships though he failed to go beyond 39. As Pakistan now visit England, in vastly different conditions, they will hope for more from Malik. “Opening there will be a different experience but we will have to get used to it during the practice matches, get used to the pitches, the weather, the swing. I’m not sure the county experience I’ve had (with Gloucestershire) will be that relevant.”Although he hasn’t fully recovered from elbow surgery, he has begun light training at the conditioning camp. “I haven’t started batting or bowling yet. That will have to wait another eight days or so, but my elbow is pretty much fine now.”There is little doubt he will play, but whether he continues to do so as an opener is still uncertain. Rameez Raja, a former Pakistan opener, told Cricinfo recently that though Malik was a gifted player, “he might struggle as opener in English conditions.” The view is backed up, though not in such absolutist terms, by Wasim Bari, chairman of the national selection committee.Bari told Cricinfo, “He is a very talented player and extremely versatile. And though he can switch positions in ODIs – he is also an excellent fielder and good spinner – in Tests, I feel it is more advisable to have specialist openers. I don’t know if the experiment with him will work long-term. You need specialists in that position.”Bari’s selection committee has, of course, been criticised for not being patient enough with specialists such as Salman Butt, Taufeeq Umar and Imran Farhat though the former wicketkeeper defended the changes, pointing to Pakistan’s impressive recent successes. “People keep talking about openers but look at the results we have had. Pakistan has won three Test series in a row against good opposition which is a good record. Opening is a problem area yes, but there are others as well, such as poor fielding and running between the wickets. All these areas need to be looked at too.”Whether Malik continues to open or not, Bari admits, is ultimately up to the captain and coach but if he doesn’t, Pakistan can still choose one combination from three left-handed openers for the series. Farhat, Butt and Umar have all been included in the list of probables – the latter two making a comeback into the team after time out of it – but Bari doesn’t seem entirely convinced by any of them.”This game is all about confidence and when we dropped Butt, he just didn’t have any confidence. Ideally a break from the game when you’re low on confidence will do you good. We did the same with Mohammad Sami; if you play a player when they are low, they are likely to suffer more.”Taufeeq looks good other than when he is playing in Tests. The pressure seems to affect him in Tests and it is all about pressure. But hopefully he can prove himself. Basically, there’s very little difference between the players. Whoever is more confident at the time needs to be picked.”

Chris Dehring, the World Cup chief executive, has conceded the seven-week tournament is too long but said shortening it would have risked important matches being washed out. He also argued that ticket prices were not too high for locals and said the small crowds at some venues were caused in part by the live television coverage in the host nations.Dehring said the next World Cup, to be held on the subcontinent in 2011, might be abridged. “One of the shortfalls of the last World Cup in South Africa was that rain played such an important factor,” Dehring told The Courier-Mail. “We decided this time to make sure you had adequate rain days so there is a rain day for every game.”But, of course, that is going to elongate the tournament. It is a difficult balancing act but you would always prefer a shorter event. It is difficult to maintain momentum in an event over such a long period. We would have preferred a shorter event had it been possible, but to do that there would not have been rain days. I think they may change it next time.”Matthew Hayden said this week the tournament was dragging on too much for everyone involved.Keeping fans interested for nearly two months has proved a challenge and crowds at some venues have been very disappointing. However, Dehring said attendances were not as disastrous as they appeared.”The lower-end ticket prices were certainly cheaper than what they were for a standard one-day international in the West Indies,” he said. “In some countries ticket prices had an impact on attendances but in some countries it clearly didn’t.”In Jamaica it didn’t because the matches involving the West Indies there were very well attended. The fact that it was live on television in small countries where it has never happened before has made a real difference.”Organisers have also been criticised for a perceived crackdown on musical instruments, which some spectators said removed the unique Caribbean feel from the stadiums. Dehring said there was no reason fans could not take instruments like conch shells, provided they were pre-registered with officials.”The conch shell thing was precautionary because we wanted to know who was bringing things,” he said. “We wanted to make sure they were reputable people.”

Virender Sehwag’s remarkable double-century against Pakistan at Lahore this week was not sufficient to lift him up from seventh position in the latest LG ICC Player Rankings. Ordinarily, an innings of 254 from 247 balls would have sent Sehwag surging up the list, but such was the torpid nature of the Gadaffi Stadium pitch that his efforts barely registered.In five days just eight wickets fell while 1089 runs were scored, even with men of the stature of Shoaib Akhtar and Danish Kaneria in the Pakistan attack. Five other batsmen scored centuries, including Sehwag’s opening partner and captain, Rahul Dravid, who climbed two places to joint-fourth with Australia’s Matthew Hayden.Inzamam-ul-Haq was a rare failure, making just 1, and has slipped down to sixth. But his middle-order colleagues Younis Khan and Mohammad Yousuf have both made gains after their scores of 199 and 173 respectively. Yousuf is ninth and Younis tenth, with career-best ratings for each of them.Further down the list, Shahid Afridi’s blitzkrieg batting on the second day has moved him up five places to joint 39th, while Kamran Akmal, whose 81-ball century was the fastest by a wicketkeeper in Test history, is up to 52nd spot. Both players have career-best hauls of rating points.There were five bowlers from among the world’s top 20 on show in Lahore and unsurprisingly, all of them lost rating points. Irfan Pathan has dropped out of the top ten, slipping two places to 12th position, but India are still represented in that top ten by Anil Kumble, down one spot to ninth place. Pakistan’s representatives are Shoaib Akhtar, unchanged in fourth, and Danish Kaneria, down one position to 14th.For the complete rankings click here

Australia and Zimbabwe met 12 times before the first Test series, six of those in World Cup matches, and the first encounter gave Zimbabwe one of their finest moments when Duncan Fletcher led Zimbabwe to victory at Trent Bridge in 1983. That, however, remains their only win to date.

1999-2000

Wisden Almanack | Cricinfo
It took eight years after they had secured Test status for Zimbabwe to meet Australia in a Test, and when they did the result was much as expected. Australia won the match by ten wickets and then strolled to a 3-0 whitewash in the one-dayers. Both Steve and Mark Waugh made centuries in the Test and limited-overs games respectively, while Glenn McGrath picked up six Test wickets. Zimbabwe fought well, but were clearly outmatched and made basic mistakes at crucial moments. For the Australians it marked the start of a record-breaking run of success.
Test: Zimbabwe 0 Australia 1
ODIs: Zimbabwe 0 Australia 3

2000-01

Wisden Almanack | ?Cricinfo
Zimbabwe arrived in Australia for the tri-nation Carlton Series on the back of a one-day series draw in New Zealand, and although they only won one of eight matches, they lost two others – one each against West Indies and Australia – by one run. The victory came when they bowled West Indies out for 91 defending 138, Heath Streak leading the way with 4 for 8, but in their final match they almost pulled off one of the great one-day wins, falling one run short of Australia’s 302 for 5 when needing 14 off the last over.

2002

In a sign of things to come, Australia pulled out of a proposed tour citing security and safety issues.

2003-04

Wisden Almanack | Cricinfo
Streak led a side already weakened by retirements, and while they lost both Tests – by an innings and 175 runs at Perth and by nine wickets at Sydney – they fought hard all the way, taking the game at the WACA into a fifth day. Matthew Hayden made the headlines there, breaking Brian Lara’s world record in scoring 380, but it was all rather low key. The public’s reaction to the unseasonable Test series was tepid, with an aggregate crowd of 18,363 over four days at the SCG and 24,051 over five days at the WACA a week earlier. Zimbabwe stayed on for the VB Series, which also included India, but failed to win any of their eight matches, although they within three runs of beating India thanks to hundreds from Sean Ervine and Stuart Carlisle.
Tests: Australia 2 Zimbabwe 0

2004

Wisden Almanack | Cricinfo
Coming against backdrop of serious internal rows between Zimbabwe’s players and board, which meant that Tatenda Taibu replaced Streak as captain, and considerable political unrest, Australia again came under massive pressure to boycott the tour on moral grounds. In the end they went, although Stuart MacGill stayed away for reasons of conscience. That did not bother Dean Jones, who signed a contract to commentate with a promise not to mention politics. “I’m just there to watch the cricket and I don’t give a rat’s arse what he does about his country,” he said. The tour was supposed to include two Tests, but they were scrapped when Zimbabwe suspended itself from Tests on the eve of the first match. The three ODIs were brought forward, Australia won them all without ever looking that interested, and Ricky Ponting described the Zimbabwean team as “pretty ordinary”, which is Australian for terrible.
ODIs: Zimbabwe 0 Australia 3