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Boxing Day has always been an occasion to indulge in cricket, but this year there will be even more on offer with a domestic Twenty20 game expected to be added to the public holiday. Cricket Australia is planning a major review of the tournament in Australia as it tries to develop its own version of the Indian Premier League, but it has resisted the urge to tinker immediately and there are only minor changes to the 2008-09 scheduling, which includes the addition of a preliminary final to the fixture list.A revised draft of the season plan shows the KFC Twenty20 Big Bash will begin with a night match between Queensland and New South Wales at the Gabba on Boxing Day and another three games will be held in the same week as the MCG Test. Last season the tournament, which is preparing for its fourth summer in Australia, began on New Year’s Eve and the top two teams after the preliminary rounds went through to the decider. Victoria won the competition for the third year in a row.The period from Boxing Day to the final on January 24 will be blocked off for domestic Twenty20 fixtures, although appearances from Australia’s major players will be prevented by the staging of the Test and limited-overs matches involving South Africa. Twelve of the 17 inter-state contests will be televised on Fox Sports, with each team involved in five rounds before the two finals.Twenty-two of the 50-over FR Cup fixtures will be broadcast, starting with the season opener between Western Australia and New South Wales on October 15. The Pura Cup is due to begin on October 10 with matches between Queensland and Tasmania and the Warriors and the Blues.

Somerset County Cricket Club have just been given the staggering news that their official website www.somerset.cricinfo.com received well over a million visits during the month of July.Over the months since it was first established in May 2001, the official Somerset website has enjoyed increasing popularity even through the winter, with its up-to-the-minute news, views and information from the county club, but this figure far exceeds what was expected when it was launched.Chief executive Peter Anderson told me: "We have been totally amazed but grateful for the interest shown in our website. We thank you all for your support, especially those who live outside the UK in mainland Europe, the USA and even further afield, and welcome to you all."The August 31st final will be a very special day for the club, the players and all of our supporters. We hope to report on a success and will have a detailed report for our loyal supporters outside the United Kingdom, but if we should lose then I promise that it won’t be a black-edged page!"Tom Faulkner, Head of UK Business Development for CricInfo, who host the site said: "These page impressions are absolutely fantastic. Well done to everybody."

The England Blind cricket team will be spending two days at the County Ground next weekend preparing for their forthcoming overseas tour to India, and all visually impaired people in the region are invited to go along on Sunday September 15th to get a taste of the game for themselves.Earlier this season England player Tim Gutteridge came down to the ground and so impressed Andrew Moulding that the Somerset Cricket Development Officer is now keen to try to get a county side together.He told me: "This invitation is open to all visually impaired people in the B1 B2 and B3 categories and we are hoping for a good response. The game is played with a size three football which is filled with ball bearings. The bowling is underarm and the ball has to pitch twice before reaching the batsman."Mr Moulding continued: "This is a huge opportunity for us to expand our disabled cricket activity, and we hope we get enough interest from next Sunday to get a side together for Somerset."The cricket development officer is also hoping to arrange a cricket match next season between the England Blind team and Somerset CCC, with the game being played to blind cricket rules and the Somerset players having to wear special glasses to impair them visually.Anyone who would like to find out more about the visually impaired cricket day next weekend should contact Mr Moulding at the Centre of Excellence on 01823 352266.

Warwickshire’s new era under Ashley Giles hasn’t begun with immediate success and he is now starting to search around the country for fresh signings. reports that the club have made 28-day approaches to Gloucestershire pair Alex Gidman and Steve Kirby along with David Sales, Graham Onions and Surrey’s Stewart Walters. Now that Warwickshire have formally lodged their interest in the five players they must wait four weeks before speaking to their counties.The Post also says that Warwickshire have begun negotiations with Luke Pomersbach, the Western Australia batsman who has played Twenty20 for Australia and is currently at the IPL, about being their overseas player for the Twenty20 Cup. Sanath Jayasuriya was previously lined up, but his recall to the Sri Lanka squad for the Asia Cup has put paid to that idea.Chris Martin, the New Zealand fast bowler, is also reported to be a likely candidate to fill the overseas role for the latter part of the season. Monde Zondeki is currently at Edgbaston, but has been named in South Africa’s touring party for the England series and won’t be available from next month.Four of the five English players being targeted represent the cream of county talent. Kirby and Onions have recently been part of England Lions, with Onions being suggested as a possible option for the Test squad after an impressive start to the season. Gidman has also been pushing for international honours as an allrounder, while Sales has been a prolific batsman for Northamptonshire with over 10,000 first-class runs.

Although the New Zealand v Pakistan Test at Karachi was cancelled after a bomb blast it is well worth examining how the two teams had fared in the past at Karachi. The two teams had played 6 tests at Karachi, Pakistan had won three and the remaining three were drawn.Here is a brief review of the previous tests between the two teams at Karachi:

1. 1955-56: Pakistan recorded their first Test victory at home by an innings and 1 run. New Zealand was out played for 164 and 124 in the two innings. Off-spinner Zulfiqar Ahmed claimed 11/79 and it was first 10-wicket haul in a match by a Pakistani bowler at home. Pakistan scored 289 (Imtiaz Ahmed 64). Henry Cave was New Zealand’s captain.
2. 1965: Despite skipper John Reid’s batting heroics (128 & 76) New Zealand lost by 8 wickets. Pakistan’s ace batsman of the era, Saeed Ahmed scored a career best 172 and opening batsman Mohammad Ilyas hammered a gallant 126. Intikhab Alam claimed 7 wickets. Hanif Mohammad led the home team.
3. 1969: It was ‘Little Master’ Hanif Mohammad’s last test. It was also the first unique instance when three brothers Hanif, Mushtaq and Sadiq participated in the same Test. Pakistan scored 220 & 283 for 8 declared. Left handers Sadiq Mohammad and Younis Ahmed (Saeed Ahmed’s brother) both playing their first Test, scored 69 & 62 respectively. Another debutant off-spinner Nazir Junior dismissed 7 Kiwi batsmen for 74 in their first innings (274). Despite gaining first innings lead of 54 runs New Zealand were poorly placed at 112 for 5 in the second when the match ended as a draw. Pervaiz Sajjad bagged all the five wickets that fell.
4. 1976-77: Majid Khan (112) scored a century before lunch on the first day and became the first batsman to achieve the feat after Sir Don Bradman (1930). Javed Miandad (206) scored the first double century of his career and skipper Mushtaq Mohammad scored 107 in Pakistan’s total of 565 for 9 declared. New Zealand made a spirited reply with a score of 486. Wicket keeper Warren Lees notched up a superb 159. Glenn Turner captained the New Zealand team.
5. 1984-85: JV Coney led the tourists and Zaheer Abbas skippered the home team. John Wright (107) and Saleem Malik (119 not out) scored centuries. Scores: Pakistan 328 & 308-5 dec. New Zealand 426.
6. 1990: Pakistan won by an innings and 43 runs. The duo of Wasim and Waqar demolished 15 Black Cap batsmen. New Zealand scored 190 and 194-9. Pakistan posted an impressive 403 for 6 due mainly to Shoaib Mohammad’s (203).

Summary: 1955-56 to date

Highest innings total for New Zealand: 468 (1976-77)
Highest innings total for Pakistan: 565-9 declared (1976-77)
Lowest innings total for New Zealand: 124 (1955-56)
Lowest innings total for Pakistan: 220 (1969)
Highest individual innings for New Zealand: W. Lees 152 (1976-77)
Highest individual innings for Pakistan: Javed Miandad 206 (1976-77)

There are a couple of West Indian cricketers in Port-of-Spain this morning, at the preliminary training camp for the upcoming Indian series, who must have wondered whether they would ever be in such company again.There are others scattered across the Caribbean who are putting their own interpretations on their absence from the guest list.For Stuart Williams, 32, and Junior Murray, 34, it is a recall three years after they last played for the West Indies and at an age when the thoughts of international sportsmen turn to a final farewell from the action and pressures of competition, to coaching posts and to commentary boxes.But what of Leon Garrick, Kerry Jeremy, Reon King, Jermaine Lawson and Corey Collymore, all young men in their mid or early 20s who have already had the recent taste of international cricket? What message should they read in their removal from the roll call?The case for Williams and Murray would seem to be based on the weight of performance over the last two regional seasons.Williams averaged 53 in the Busta Cup last year and rounded off this year’s campaign with his unbeaten 252 against Guyana in the semi-final, a record 974 runs and an average of 97.4.Murray, the linchpin of the weak Windwards batting for the past decade, reeled off four hundreds, another tournament record, and averaged 53.5 to supplement his 26 catches and a stumping.Those are figures no selection panel could resist, even if they were compiled in what has become the depressed standard of our domestic cricket. If Williams and Murray were excluded from the 22, Keith Mitchell and Vance Amory, their respective prime ministers, would have led their people in collective apoplexy.Yet there are reasons other than runs for their presence.Williams’ experience is the same factor that brought Sherwin Campbell back into the team for the series against Pakistan in Sharjah when Brian Lara and Ramnaresh Sarwan were missing with their injuries.Only if Lara’s elbow and Sarwan’s back remain immobile would a place be available for Williams in the starting eleven and, as with Campbell in Sharjah, it could only be at No. 3.Should a new opener be required, the dashing young Grenadian left-hander Devon Smith is surely the man. He is 12 years Williams junior, outscored him and everyone else in the preliminary round of the Busta, carries an unmistakable touch of class and has a long-term future in West Indies cricket.A year ago, against South Africa, it was Garrick, the little 25-year-old Jamaican jack-in-the-box who briefly filled the role. His treatment since can only have left him in a state of utter bewilderment.He was confined to four matches on subsequent tours of Zimbabwe, Kenya and Sri Lanka and is now scratched after a Busta Cup in which he averaged 41.Had there been the equivalent of a Devon Smith or a Garrick among the keepers, there would be also be no need for Murray at this point of his career, no matter how many runs he scores. But, as with Courtney Browne when Jacobs was harshly suspended for one Test in Zimbabwe last July, Murray has been summoned because no young contender has come through.Jeremy has cause to be just as perplexed as Garrick.At a time when the search for fast bowlers has been as futile as that for Winston Hall, he is 22 and has 86 wickets in the last three Busta seasons at an average of 19.82, 40 of them this year at 18.83.He has already been chosen for two tours, to Australia and Zimbabwe, but these have been cut short by injuries and his other international appearances have been confined to a few inconclusive one-day matches.The likely reason Mike Findlay and his colleagues reckon he won’t be of value at the highest level is that he isn’t much above medium-pace. Carl Hooper certainly didn’t hide his opinion when he refused to give him a single over in a one-day international against South Africa at Kensington last season.Jeremy has been included among the second batch of students for the Shell Academy but Rudi Webster and his Australian gurus may have to turn him into a modern-day Wes Hall before he can gain recognition. Not everyone’s Busta form is relevant, it seems.Collymore’s similar lack of speed is also the likeliest explanation why he is now categorised as purely a limited-overs specialist. Unfortunately, he simply has to live with the restrictions placed on his action by his mended back and plug away, as he always does.Their little extra pace and penetration brought in, for the first time, Darren Powell and Adam Sanford, both described as stiff by more than one batsman who faced them this season.It was the same term applied to King two seasons back against Zimbabwe and Pakistan when he looked the business. First hobbled by a stress fracture of the foot and then a hernia, he hasn’t been the same since and, like so many fast bowlers of late, has now faded into the background.Lawson, the tall Jamaican who was summoned as a replacement on the tour of Sri Lanka last December, and Tino Best, the bustling little Barbadian, are two 20-year-olds with a turn of speed. But they have been made to wait their turn, probably on the ‘A’ team to tour to England in the summer.Given the present unresponsive nature of West Indian pitches and the quality of the Indian batting, it is not a bad series for young, untried fast bowlers to miss. Their time will come. For Williams and Murray, it has come again and again and again.Elite panel, what about TV?As I understand it, the International Cricket Council (ICC) has appointed elite panels of eight umpires and five match referees to ensure that Test cricket is officiated by the best there is and to eliminate charges of nationalistic bias.It, therefore, defeats its purpose when it leaves decisions on television replays in the hands of whoever the home authority cares to appoint as third umpires, especially now that use of such technology is to be extended.It is a post, more often than not, given to umpires long past their sell-by date or else not good enough to stand in the middle.Time and again, verdicts have contradicted the crystal clear evidence on the screen.The most recent, and most glaring, instance was the red light pressed by the Pakistani, Ahthar Zaidi, to give Sherwin Campbell run out in the first Test in Sharjah when a one-eyed man sitting upside down in front of a cloudy 12-inch black-and-white set could see Campbell was in his ground.With the prospect of more work under the new arrangement, the job assumes greater responsibility. It can no longer be left to home town has-beens.

The joy that swept through the Sri Lankan camp when it was announced Muttiah Muralitharan was fit to play was quickly dissipated as the England bowlers worked steadily through the batting order.When the morning rain eventually relented and Nasser Hussain had won his fourth toss in 23 attempts, the bowlers made up for lost time by hustling out the Sri Lankans for 162. The pitch, with its steep bounce, was tailor-made for Andrew Caddick, and the tall Somerset pace man did not spurn the opportunity it offered him. Despite Murali’s appearance in the attack before the close, the England openers survived until stumps.Play could not get under way until 1.40pm, and within nine overs of the start, Sri Lanka had lost two wickets. Matthew Hoggard had struggled to match the consistency of Caddick, tending to over-pitch – the preferable of the two possible errors. However, he found a beauty that Marvan Atapattu had to play, touching it to Alec Stewart behind the wicket.A scoreboard that read 23 for one read 23 for two just four balls later. Caddick had earlier rapped Sanath Jayasuriya a painful blow on the hand. Now he found the edge and Stewart poached the catch from in front of first slip.There was a crying need for the Sri Lankans to stiffen their resistance, and Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara duly did so. With Caddick resting and the other bowlers unable to maintain quite the same sustained hostility, the batsmen settled in to offer evidence of their attractive strokeplay.Jayawardene, in particular, looked in elegant form and scored the bulk of the runs in a productive third-wicket partnership with Sangakkara. They had added 53 runs and were promising more riches when Sangakkara played the most appalling shot at a wide ball from Andrew Flintoff. He did well to reach it (or not!) without any apparent foot movement to present Stewart with his 200th victim as a Test wicket-keeper.Before the hundred had been posted, Aravinda de Silva forced Hoggard off the back foot straight into the gully, to be followed to the pavilion 14 balls later by Jayawardene, who offered Flintoff a regulation catch at second slip off the deserving Caddick. The same pair combined on the stroke of tea to bring about the downfall of Russel Arnold so that the tourists took an uncomfortable break on 108 for six.Chaminda Vaas joined Hashan Tillakaratne after tea to play with a good deal of commonsense before two wickets fell in the space of four balls to set Sri Lanka back on their heels once again.There was a suspicion of an inside edge as Tillakaratne was given out lbw to Alex Tudor before Nuwan Zoysa hooked high to deep fine-leg where Hoggard waited patiently for the ball to descend into his hands.Vaas proved admirably adhesive and found an equally determined partner in Charitha Buddika. They were not able to increase the scoring rate significantly, but did slow the rate at which the bowlers were taking wickets. Their stubborn partnership came to an end when Vaas played on to another wide ball from Flintoff.Muralitharan faced one ball to which he played an extraordinary one-handed drive. But next over, as Buddika tried to protect him from the bowling, the final wicket was sacrificed. They tried to steal a single that was never there off the last ball as Buddika tried to keep the strike and Caddick and Tudor effected the inevitable run out that ended the innings.The England openers had seven overs to face, the fifth of which was bowled by Muralitharan. From the fifth ball, he found the outside edge of Michael Vaughan’s bat only to see Jayawardene fail to grasp the chance at slip. Vaughan went on to score his one thousandth Test run, as the England batsmen safely negotiated the brief period of play that concluded in brilliant sunshine.

Sri Lanka, powered by a maiden double century from Kumar Sangakkara, mauled the highly over-rated four-man Pakistan pace attack to take an iron grip in the Asian Test Championship final at Gaddafi Stadium Thursday.Sangakkara, starting the day at 39 in the visitors 94 for one, struck a scintillating 230 – highest individual score by a Sri Lankan against Pakistan – as the tourists replied to home team’s modest 234 with 447 for five when curtains were drawn for the second day with four overs still to be bowled.Pakistan must be thanking the floodlights that came into operation 18 overs before the scheduled close. With the red new cherry in hand, Pakistan picked up Russel Arnold and Sangakkara in a space of four balls to restrict Sri Lankans from posting a much bigger lead.But the late double strike failed to take the honours away from Sangakkara inspired Sri Lanka who added an impressive 353 in 86 overs Thursday with 212 coming off boundaries.The left-handed Sangakkara, who reached his fourth career century in style by belting three boundaries in five balls off Shahid Afridi in the final over before lunch, reached his double century by flicking Mohammad Sami off his toes for his 27th boundary.His high quality and strokeful innings contained 32 boundaries and three sixes from 327 balls. He was dropped on 119 and 182 and then making a narrow escape at 215 when the edge flew between Younis Khan and Rashid Latif, was not the only one to toy with Pakistan’s mediocre attack.Skipper Sanath Jayasuriya, who began at 47, scored 88 in a stand of 203 while an elegant Mahela Jayawardena scored 68 in a third wicket partnership of 173 in as many minutes. Arnold joined in the fun and chipped in with a 52-ball 44 after being dropped by Younis Khan when 22. He hit six boundaries and added 71 runs in 72 minutes for the fourth wicket with Sangakkara.Jayasuriya’s innings spiced 14 boundaries from 159 balls while Jayawardena canned eight boundaries and a six in his 174-minute vigil at the crease. If Sangakkara, sixth wicket-keeper to score a double century, was in imperious form and in punishing mood, his cause was helped by poor, purposeless, and wayward bowling by the Pakistanis in overcast conditions.Pakistan pacers, relying on speed rather than accuracy and trademark swing bowling, bowled short and everywhere except stumps to be ruthlessly hooked, pulled and cut by Sri Lankan batsmen. Ironically, when the bowlers put the ball at the right length, they succeeded.Jayasuriya was caught at the wicket off Abdul Razzaq, Jayawardena was picked by Inzamam-ul-Haq at the first slip off Mohammad Sami, Sangakkara was smartly held by Younis Khan at first slip off Razzaq and Arnold’s furniture was disturbed by Shoaib Akhtar.

South Africa’s first-class competition may not have the same aura as its English counterpart, but it is still regarded as one of the best breeding grounds for Test cricketers. Since the franchise system started in 2004-05, the quality of the contests has become stronger and the cricketers produced have shown a readiness for a bigger stage.Last summer, the tournament went down to the final weekend, and this time the level of competition is expected to be just as strong.

Titans

Captain Henry Davids
Coach Matthew MaynardWhat’s changed
Most noticeably, the captaincy. Martin van Jaarsveld, who had a torrid time on his return to the South African domestic scene, has been replaced by Henry Davids. Less obvious could be the change in mood. A double tragedy struck in the off season and its effects could linger over the camp. The Titans will have to move on without long-serving chief executive Elise Lombard, who died of a heart attack in August, and coach Matthew Maynard lost his son, Tom, in an accident in the UK. Usually one of the most festive franchises, the Titans may be tinged with sadness this season.How they fared last season
The Titans won the competition with five victories from ten fixtures. Their season did not begin as planned, though, with a loss in their opening match to the Knights at home. They recovered to win in Durban against the Dolphins the following week. The pattern continued with a big win over the Lions and an innings defeat to the Cobras. By mid-season, the Titans were barely in contention. They gained consistency after that and three more wins secured the title.Faf du Plessis earned his Test call-up due to his 599 runs from four matches while new captain Davids was their most consistent player, with 637 runs from nine matches at an average of 37.47. Rowan Richards was their highest wicket-taker – 26 at 20.07, including two five-wicket hauls.Who to watch
Mangaliso Mosehle is on wicketkeeper watch as South Africa continue their search for a permanent replacement for Mark Boucher. Spinner Paul Harris still has a point to prove after he was dropped from the national team. Farhaan Behardien is trying to secure a spot in it.

Cobras

Captain Justin Ontong
Coach Paul AdamsWhat’s changed
Everything. With Richard Pybus resigning the post under a cloud – he said he was being undermined by the chief executive Andre Odendaal – the Cobras have new management. Paul Adams will hope to bring his knowledge of the international game into his first venture as a franchise coach. Justin Kemp has handed the armband to Justin Ontong, who will head up a unit that is used to winning but only had one trophy to show for it last season.How they fared last season
Participation in the CLT20 meant that the Cobras’ domestic season started later than normal but they made an impact immediately with an eight-wicket win over the Warriors. Innings victories over the Titans and Lions set them up well before their first defeat came – a shock result at the hands of the Warriors. They rallied to beat the Knights comprehensively but three draws and a narrow loss to the Titans at home ended up proving decisive. They remained on top of the table until the final weekend when they had to beat the Lions but were held to a draw.Justin Ontong scored 658 runs at an average of 59.81 to finish as their leading run-scorer while Dane Vilas caught the national selectors’ attention, averaging 48 with his with 528. Johann Louw and Rory Kleinveldt were the chief destroyers with 33 and 32 wickets respectively.Who to watch
Monde Zondeki makes his return to professional cricket after injuries forced him to lose his contract for a significant period. Dane Piedt and Siya Simetu are two spinners who have registered on the radar.

Knights

Captain Morne van Wyk
Coach Sarel CilliersWhat’s changed
The Knights have been consistent in the engine room and the playing field for many seasons and will continue in that vein this summer. Morne van Wyk continues to lead a familiar squad of few superstars.How they fared last season
Promise faded into mid-table mediocrity as the Knights surged to three wins from their first four fixtures but then compiled a succession of draws to finish third. Victories over the Titans, Dolphins and Warriors were followed by two draws. Remarkably, they only lost once but it was a heavy defeat. An innings-and-54 run humiliation at the hands of the Cobras preceded two more draws but they ended the season on a high, with a win over the Warriors.van Wyk continued his evergreen form with 754 runs at an average of 44.35. He was closely followed by Reeza Hendricks, who featured in the South Africa A side after scoring 748 runs. Experience topped the bowling charts with Quinton Friend claiming 40 wickets and Johan van der Wath, 34.Knights’ Reeza Hendricks is pushing for national selection•Getty Images

Who to watch
Hendricks and Rilee Rossouw are both pushing for national selection. With runs aplenty between them in seasons past, they must feel they don’t need many more before the national selectors come calling.

Lions

Captain Alviro Petersen
Coach Geoffrey ToyanaWhat’s changed
The bowling attack. The Lions have headhunted two strike bowlers in paceman Hardus Viljoen and legspinner Imran Tahir to bolster their ranks. Dave Nosworthy’s resignation paved the way for Geoffrey Toyana to take over as coach. As a former first-class cricketer, Toyana knows the structures at the union well and is also South Africa’s first black African franchise coach.How they fared last season
Two draws and a loss in their first three matches summed up what would become the Lions’ biggest problem over the season: an inability to bowl teams out. They were able to take 20 wickets against the Warriors, who they beat to earn their first win of the season. A crushing innings-and-83-run loss to the Cobras was followed by two victories, over the Titans and Warriors but their season petered out with three draws.Run-scoring came in droves for the Lions. Alviro Petersen wrested back his international spot with 816 runs from seven matches at an average of 62.76 and was the competition’s top run-scorer. Neil McKenzie was second highest with 790 runs, and Steven Cook contributed 690 to give the Lions a healthy top order. Pumi Matshikwe’s 30 wickets got him picked for the South Africa A side and Eddie Leie’s 24 scalps saw him emerge as an exciting legspin prospect.Who to watch
Quinton de Kock is being talked up as the next big wicketkeeper-batsman and will be closely monitored. Chris Morris was part of the South African squad who competed in an unofficial T20 tri-series in Zimbabwe and Matshikwe has shown promising signs in the fast-bowling department.

Warriors

Captain Colin Ingram
Coach Piet BothaWhat’s changed
The loss of Lonwabo Tsotsobe is the biggest concern for the Warriors who have a talented but underperforming squad. Since Russell Domingo was poached for the national assistant coach job, they have struggled to reach the highs of the 2009-10 season when they won two trophies. Not much has changed in their personnel, but they will need a change in attitude if they hope for success this season.How they fared last season
With seven losses from ten matches, it’s a wonder the Warriors did not finish last on the table. They managed over 350 runs just once in the competition and conceded over 350 six times. With three defeats from their first three matches, reaching parity was always going to be tricky for them but they almost stood up to the challenge. Wins over the Dolphins and Cobras kept them above water. But three defeats, a weather-affected abandoned match and a fourth loss ended their season dismally.It was not all woe though – Simon Harmer’s 44 wickets made him the tournament’s highest wicket-taker. Jon-Jon Smuts was their leading run-scorer with 742 runs at an average of 43.64.Who to watch
The Smuts brothers, Kelly and Jon-Jon, are entertaining and resourceful cricketers who could attract the attention of people in important places. Makhaya Ntini is still playing, despite international retirement, and Ashwell Prince is the senior statesman who has not given up on playing for South Africa just yet.

Dolphins

Captain Daryn Smit
Coach Lance KlusenerWhat’s changed
Another franchise who have had a complete change at the top, the Dolphins are another new-look team. After Graham Ford’s departure to Sri Lanka mid-season, Klusener was appointed interim coach and the players enjoyed playing under him so much that he was given the job full time. Smit is a new, enthusiastic leader, and they have acquired Tsotsobe and Jonathan Vandiar, but lost Tahir to the Lions.How they fared last season
A forgettable season for the Dolphins, who won one match in 2012, beating the Warriors by 227 runs.Divan van Wyk scored 669 runs at just under 40 and Imraan Khan contributed 652 runs. Kyle Abbott and Robbie Frylinck both took 33 wickets to lead the bowler’s rankings.Who to watch
Khaya Zondo and Mthokozisi Shezi have made waves in the batting and bowling departments respectively, while Vaughn van Jaarsveld is always on the national selectors’ minds.

To the cash-strapped Zimbabwe cricket administrators, the current tourby the Indian team is expected to be a windfall.”It is good we have the Indians here this winter. It will be betterwhen they leave.” The statement attributed to David Ellmann Brown,President of the Zimbabwe Cricket Union (ZCU) and Dave Houghton,former Test player and incharge of the National Academy, may or maynot be true but it is doubtful if they would disagree with thesentiment.The ZCU is expecting a windfall of 450 million Zimbabwean dollars(approx US $900,000) from the television revenue in this series. Thecricket body has never had a bigger bite than this pie in theirhistory. And they can only earn it after the Indians are through withtheir fixtures and have boarded the home-bound plane.In a cricket set-up where there are no sponsors and only a fewhundreds play the game, the revenue is most welcome and would keep thegame going in the six provincial bodies and the Academy.The ZCU is so short of funds it has not been able to run a domesticone-day competition between the provinces. Apparently, the cost ofrunning two competitions and footing the accommodation and transportbill is overwhelming.Yet, the game is growing every day as reflected in the overflowingcricketing engagements Zimbabwe is managing for itself. In the lastseason, Zimbabwe team left for Sharjah in mid-October, went to India,New Zealand, Australia and then played hosts to Bangladesh.They played five Tests, winning two, losing one and drawing theremaining two. Of the 23 one-dayers, Zimbabwe won seven while losing16 ties.This winter, between May and September, they would play host to noless than four countries. After India and West Indies come and playtwo Tests each and a triangular one-day series with the hosts, SouthAfrica and England are scheduled the fill the second half of thewinter.Zimbabwe have so far won five games from 50 Tests in nine seasons, twoof them by an innings.Their top players, contracted in three different categories by the ZCUaccording to their seniority and experience, earn around one millionZimbabwean dollars (approx $80,000) a year.In a country where economy is declining by nearly 10 per cent and thegovernment has stopped repayments of all foreign loans, includingthose owed to the IMF, it is not an insignificant sum.Indeed, Zimbabwe is in need of serious help because Canada has imposedpenalties, Denmark has cut back and European Union is consideringsanctions.The government reportedly owes more than US $4.5 billion to severalmultilateral institutions and Western countries. In the past fouryears about 1.4 million young people have left school with only about100,000 finding some kind of work in the formal sector.So high is inflation that the ZCU and its provinces have problems inmaintaining facilities, keeping nets in condition or to employ staffand manage irrigation of grounds.The players’ condition though has improved after they forced theiremployers, the ZCU, in a corner in a pay dispute last year. The flashpoint to this simmering discontent was the incident involving its starplayer Andy Flower in a Asia Eleven vs Rest of the World match inDhaka last year.The Rest of the World side, led by Mark Waugh of Australia, namedFlower as its 12th man. Flower, quite the best batsman in Zimbabweancricket, was not unduly worried. “As far as I get my 5,000 US dollars,I am okay,” he said.It intrigued Waugh and on his asking, Flower explained the conditionsof Zimbabwean cricket and its cricketers to the star Australianbatsmen. “In that case, you shouldn’t be playing for Zimbabwe,” Waughis quoted to have said.It triggered a response among cricketers. The ZCU, worried at the lossof star players like Neil Johnson and Murray Goodwin on account ofmoney, woke up in time to agree for improved conditions forcricketers.Brown, the ZCU’s president, is credited with ensuring enoughengagements for the national team to keep the game going in thecountry. At its helm since August 1998, Brown’s stroke of genius forZimbabwean cricket has been his achievement to ensure reciprocal tourswith other Test-playing nations.It has taken the load of guarantee money, to be paid to visitingteams, off ZCU’s shoulders. Australia, for instance, command a hugeguarantee money because of their star status.This is also the first time Zimbabwean cricket has opened itself tocricket in winter. There has never been any international cricket inthis country between May and September. It will assist Zimbabwe inmaintaining a viable financial organisation. The 10-year reciprocaltouring calendar which the ICC has made for Test-playing nations isalso most welcome for Zimbabwean cricket.Brown says the new programme will mean they would get at least one”icon” tour each season. Thus, Zimbabwean cricket can look ahead forstill better times in coming years.