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Adam Gilchrist and Sachin Tendulkar, respective captains of Deccan Chargers and Mumbai Indians, have been fined $20,000 each for maintaining a slow over-rate during the IPL game in Durban on Saturday. Devdas Govindjee, the match referee from South Africa, found the teams short of the target after taking the allowances into consideration.Before the tournament began Lalit Modi, the IPL chairman and commissioner, had announced unprecedented fines for teams who don’t complete their overs within the stipulated time limit. Per the new ruling the captain will be fined $20,000 for a first offence, the entire team will be penalised $220,000 for the second, and the third offence will result in a team fine of $360,000 and a one-match ban for the captain.Delhi Daredevils were also penalised for a similar slow over-rate in their match against Chennai Super Kings on April 23 in Durban.Last season Mumbai and the Delhi were fined US$1000 and $500 respectively for a similar offence.

The English domestic season begins at Lord’s on Thursday, and much is riding on the result. Not only will Durham, the county champions, be eager to commence their 2009 campaign on a positive note, but a trio of MCC batsmen will be desperate to stake an early claim for the contentious No. 3 Test spot ahead of this most anticipated of summers.Michael Vaughan has been in good touch throughout the pre-season, and now begins the serious work of convincing the England selectors that he is worth a final chance at the top level. He will line up alongside Ian Bell, desperate to resurrect his international career after losing his place in the England side on the recent tour of the Caribbean, and Robert Key, who also is presenting national selectors with a strong case for consideration.Key was forthright when outlining the importance the season-opener holds for those contending for the No. 3 spot. “It is generally about people’s own agenda [in these games] and you are stupid if you think it’s anything else,” Key said. “Of course you want to win, but every player here will be thinking it’s my opportunity to show what I can do. But that’s a good thing to have. You’d like to think it won’t be just this game that’s the be-all and end-all.”England’s incumbent No. 3, Owais Shah, isn’t involved in the MCC-Durham match and will depart for South Africa in the next few days ahead of his IPL stint. Shah was far from convincing when finally given a run in the Test side in the Caribbean, compiling a modest 133 runs at 22.16 on a series of flat pitches and twice running himself out. Three weeks of Twenty20 cricket may not be the ideal preparation ahead of an Ashes summer; particularly when his challengers are getting their heads down in the first-class game.The selectors have backed themselves into a corner in many respects after telling Shah that he would get a fair run in the team. However, they can’t afford a weak link in the batting order when they face Australia, especially at first drop, so other options will prove tempting.Vaughan’s first priority is to score runs, beginning tomorrow, but he also holds the “experience card” and has performed well against Australia. That can’t be said of Bell and Key – Bell averages 25 against them in 10 Tests and Key, who faced Australia during the 2002-03 Ashes series, hasn’t played for England since 2005.Bell has been released to play all cricket ahead of the international season to provide him with ample opportunity to stake a claim for a recall. He has a lot of ground to make up, but will be grateful for the chance to return to the middle after spending much of the West Indies tour carrying drinks and netting.”There’s a lot of candidates for it, I guess, but it’s not for me to say,” Bell told Cricinfo. “I’ve got to go to Warwickshire score as many runs as I can and enjoy my cricket. If I can give the selectors no alternative but to pick me because I’ve scored so many runs that’s the way I’d like to go.”Key is coming off the Lions tour of New Zealand, where he performed well with the bat but failed to lead the team to a win. He is being touted as a likely option for the Twenty20 captaincy, but is also a candidate for the Test top order if England wish to take a new tack.”It’s funny, the reality is that people keep saying well done for being in the 30 but I say it doesn’t make much difference if you are the 29th man,” Key said. “You try not to think about it too much. Potentially I could be captain, I could open the batting or potentially not do anything and not make the squad.”I felt I always had a lot more to give and if I could get back to playing as I can I could get back in there,” he added. “When you see England struggling you think you have more of a chance. The more people struggle the better it is for those out of the team, that’s the harsh reality of it.”While the batting permutations will command much of the focus from Thursday, the MCC bowling attack also includes players duelling for international honours. Sajid Mahmood is closing in on a recall while Adil Rashid was part of the Test and one-day squads in West Indies.Tim Bresnan, the Yorkshire allrounder, has replaced Steven Finn after he injured his ankle in a Middlesex friendly and Chris Woakes is a highly-rated 20-year-old who was included in the 30-man Twenty20 squad on Monday. Worcestershire’s Kabir Ali is one of the most consistent county performers and will be eager to show he, too, is deserving of the chance to add to his lone Test cap.Durham will be led by their new captain Will Smith and have included Ian Blackwell in their squad following his winter move from Somerset. Paul Collingwood is preparing for his IPL stint and Steve Harmison has been rested by England.MCC Stephen Moore, Robert Key (capt), Michael Vaughan, Ian Bell, Tom Westley, James Foster (wk), Adil Rashid, Tim Bresnan, Kabir Ali, Sajid Mahmood, Chris WoakesDurham (from) Michael Di Venuto, Mark Stoneman, Will Smith (capt), Dale Benkenstein, Gordon Muchall, Ian Blackwell, Phil Mustard (wk), Liam Plunkett, Graham Onions, Mitchell Claydon, Callum Thorp, Gareth Breese, Ben Harmison

Nick Jewell says there is a different feel in Victoria’s squad as the players push to end their losing streak in domestic finals. The Bushrangers host Queensland in the Sheffield Shield decider at the Junction Oval from Friday and have a serious advantage after scoring 806 against the Bulls at the MCG in the last game of the regular season.Jewell, a key batsman in the Victoria squad, hoped the performance would leave the visitors demoralised. “A few of their quicks bowled 50-odd overs,” Jewell told AAP. “If we get off to a good start, win the toss and bat and get through the new ball, there’s going to be some sore bodies and a few scars there from this game.”The Bushrangers, who are unbeaten in first-class matches this summer, have been runners-up twice in the past three years and have lost the FR Cup and Twenty20 deciders in 2008-09. “It feels different to the other Shield finals I’ve played in,” Jewell said. “There’s a bit more of an air of confidence about us.”The one a couple of years ago, in Queensland, we had to make 360-odd to beat Western Australia in the last game at the Junction Oval to make it. That was like our grand final. We chased that total down and I think we played our grand final in that match because we got smashed in Queensland. Last year we did pretty well but came up against basically the Test team [playing for New South Wales].”This year it feels different within the group. We haven’t conceded a point all season and I don’t think we’re about to start now. Everybody’s pretty confident and determined to get the job done.”Jewell will appear in his 50th match during the final and wants to correct the previous losses. “You could almost retire and walk away at the end of the season if we get away with the result that we’re after on the weekend,” he said. “It would be that satisfying.”

Australia 258 for 6 (Nitschke 73, Blackwell 59, Browne 2-51 ) beat New Zealand 154 (Mason 34, Bates 33, Osborne 3-32, Sthalekar 3-16) by 104 runs
ScorecardA record opening stand and a fine display by their spinners helped Australia record a must-win triumph over New Zealand in the third match of the Rose Bowl series in Hamilton. With Australia trailing 2-0 in the five-match series, the openers Alex Blackwell and Shelley Nitschke put on a record 148 for the first wicket to set up the foundation for a total of 8 for 258, and New Zealand collapsed to 154 to hand the visitors a comprehensive 104-run win.Asked to bat, Australia got off to the ideal start with Blackwell and Nitschke scoring half-centuries.However, Blackwell was dismissed for 59 in the 27th over, and Nitschke fell for 73 an over later when she was caught by Katey Martin off Lucy Doolan. Barring a 57-run fourth-wicket stand of 58 between Lisa Sthalekar and Lauren Ebsary, there was little resistance from the middle and lower orders. Australia eventually struggled to 258 for 6 – after their openers had scored close to six-an-over – with fast bowler Nicola Browne taking 2 for 51.However, in the end, that target proved daunting. New Zealand’s reply was poor. Australia’s offspinners Erin Osborne and Sthalekar took three wickets each, and New Zealand lost their last seven wickets for 29 after their top-order failed to consolidate on starts. Aimee Mason, Suzie Bates and captain Haidee Tiffen were all dismissed after scoring 30’s, and the middle order then succumbed to spin in pursuit of Australia’s challenging 258.A resounding win after two closely fought defeats will provide Australia the confidence they badly needed in order to keep the series alive.

Barny Mohammed, the Uganda coach, is confident that their recent performance in Kenya has put his team on the right course ahead of the forthcoming Division 3 of the World Cricket League.Uganda arrived home on Monday, losing two of their three matches but only by a slim margin. On Sunday at the Gymkhana in Nairobi, Uganda’s spinners ripped out Kenya’s top batsmen to leave the home side struggling at 180 for 8. The visitors didn’t have enough firepower to seal the match but Mohammed was nevertheless impressed.”I think we played very well,” he told . “After winning the first match, I thought we were very unlucky in Sunday’s game as we dropped crucial catches which would have given us the victory.”Uganda only managed 203, with Joel Olweny making 52 and Frank Nsubuga 37. “We got 200 plus against the Kenyan senior side and that was very impressive,” Mohammed added.Division 3 of the World Cricket League kicks off on January 24 in Buenos Aires, with Uganda taking on one of the favourites, Afghanistan, on the opening day.

Argentina’s hopes of securing a place at the ICC World Cup Qualifier when they host the ICC World Cricket League Division 3 tournament next moth were given a tremendous boost when they beat a developmental Bermuda side by 43 runs at the St. Alban’s Club. Bermuda were bowled out for 146 in reply to Argentina’s 189 for 5.Argentina’s innings was built around a second-wicket stand between Lucas Paterlin (75) and Alec Ferguson (57), but only Delyone Borden (38) managed any score of substance for Bermuda.It was the third game of the tour for Bermuda, and they had got off to a good start in last weekend’s double header.In the first match they made 258 for 6, Chris Douglas top scoring with 79, and bowled Argentina out for 122, with Tamauri Tucker taking 4 for 24.On Sunday, Argentina’s batting again proved fragile as they managed 144, but Bermuda too had problems and it took Glenn Blakeney (37*) to steer them to a two-wicket win.

Australia’s spin cycle has washed up another surprise with Nathan Hauritz almost certain to play his first Test in four years despite being considered not good enough for New South Wales last week. Jason Krejza will be given until the morning of Friday’s second match against New Zealand to prove his fitness after hurting his ankle on Wednesday, but the captain Ricky Ponting is preparing for an attack featuring Hauritz.”Jason is still going to remain our No. 1 choice of spinner with 12 wickets on debut and obviously I understand how shattered he is at the moment,” Ponting said. “We’ll keep our fingers crossed and hope he comes up, but at the moment we think that it’s likely that Hauritz will play ahead of him.”It is fair to say Hauritz was surprised by the late call-up. He was left out of New South Wales’ Sheffield Shield side last week and had already been told he was the likely twelfth man for their four-day game against Tasmania starting next Tuesday.But the conveyor-belt carrying Australian spinners has been moving so rapidly that no first-class slow bowler, even those on the fringes of their state sides, can write off the possibility of an international outing. If he plays, Hauritz will be the sixth specialist used by Australia in Tests this year.Ponting conceded that Hauritz’s figures – he has six Sheffield Shield wickets at 40.66 this season – “don’t look that flash” but said he was the best option available. His only previous Test appearance came in Mumbai in 2004 and he has found it hard to find regular state action, let alone international call-ups, since then.But in a match where New Zealand are considering two specialist spinners, Australia were adamant they needed at least one. After batsmen from both sides had trouble applying themselves on the green-tinged Gabba pitch last week, where Australia wrapped up a comfortable win, the bowlers know their task will be infinitely tougher on the flat Adelaide surface.Aside from Jamie How’s 170 in the tour match in Sydney, the New Zealand top order has struggled significantly. However, the captain Daniel Vettori said they would not be aiming to belt their way back into form by focusing on Hauritz, even though he failed to pick up a wicket for New South Wales in the warm-up game.”I don’t think you target him. We know that he’s going to have a big role to play because it’s the Adelaide Oval so spin bowlers do have a lot of work,” Vettori said. “We’ve just got to pretty much do what we did in our first game in New South Wales … sit on him, get a feel for him, because a lot of our guys have only faced him once before.”Vettori said his own workload would “increase exponentially” on an Adelaide pitch not expected to offer the seamers much assistance. The offspinner Jeetan Patel is a chance to play and Vettori is also keen to make use of the opening batsman Aaron Redmond, whose legspin has brought him 96 first-class wickets.To squeeze Patel into the line-up New Zealand would need to make a tough call to drop one of their fast men: Iain O’Brien, Tim Southee or Chris Martin. The bowlers face a nervous wait until the morning of the match, unlike Australia’s Stuart Clark, who has been assured he will play ahead of Peter Siddle.Earlier this year Clark was one of the first selected in Australia’s side but he has been under increased pressure and struggled on the tour of India, where he collected two wickets and was dropped for the fourth Test. Clark bounced back to be one of Australia’s best at the Gabba with six wickets, but his record at Adelaide is not so strong: in his two Tests here he has four victims at 56.50.”If Stuart Clark is bowling at his best it doesn’t really matter what the surface is,” Ponting said. “I’m sure he’d like to bowl at the Gabba every week, most bowlers would.”He’s not going to be the guy that’s going to run in and blast guys out. He’s going to be the guy that’s going to have to work hard and chip away and bowl lots of good overs and try and put pressure on guys in different ways. He’s certainly got a role to play in our team and with the confidence behind him from last week I’m sure he can do that role on any surface.”

Daniel Vettori believes New Zealand will be worse off for Australia’s 2-0 loss in India when the two teams meet in the first Test at the Gabba next Thursday. Vettori, the New Zealand captain, said Australia were always a major challenge at home and coming off the defeat in India they would be even more desperate to reassert their authority.”This is the first time I suppose that they’ve been beaten in a series comprehensively by an opposition side,” Vettori said. “I look at the Aussie team and think they are quite a resilient side and I’m sure they are going to bounce back and will want to answer some critics in the next couple of Test matches.”New Zealand have not won a Test in Australia since 1985-86 and are significant underdogs in the two-match series after they were forced to toil hard to beat Bangladesh last month. Australia are not the dominant force they once were – their past two Tests at home resulted in a draw and a loss to India – but they have failed to win only one of their past 13 home series.”You look at the Australia team and their performances in their own country over the last few years have been almost impeccable,” Vettori said. “It’s going to be difficult, I’m sure they will be hurting as a side after losing the Test series.”Since their previous Test tour of Australia in 2004-05, New Zealand have lost several key players and of the squad for Brisbane, only Vettori, Brendon McCullum, Chris Martin and Kyle Mills have Test experience in Australia. The loss of Jacob Oram, who has a back injury, is a major blow, although Vettori expects his side will be competitive.”We are quite inexperienced, but in saying that I still think this is a nucleus of a good side, so hopefully we can come here and perform,” he said. “But I think you will see the best of this side as it starts to mature, particularly our young batsmen.”New Zealand have been training at the SCG ahead of their only tour match, a four-day game against New South Wales that begins on Thursday. After the Gabba Test the teams head to Adelaide for the second and final Test, which starts on November 28.

Paul Campbell is the new president of the Jamaican Cricket Association (JCA) after edging out Courtney Walsh by three votes at the board’s annual general meeting on Thursday.Walsh, the legendary former West Indies fast bowler and one-time record holder for the most Test wickets, had the strong backing of Allen Stanford, the Antigua-based billionaire. Walsh also happens to be a Stanford 20/20 director and a Stanford selector.Campbell said Walsh will still have a role to play in the affairs of the JCA despite the defeat. “It has been a long, stressful one [election], but thank God it’s over,” Campbell told the . “We can now get back to the work at hand. There’s much to do.”I must say that we need all the support. Walsh had run a really good campaign and as I have said to him, I do expect his support because he has come forward with quite a few initiatives that we will definitely take on board.”Walsh took the result in his stride and wished Campbell well. “I’m happy, I gave it everything we had [but] the delegates came out and voted for what they wanted for the long-term future of the cricket and I just wish everybody good luck.I’m happy for the support I got from my team; we’re all about cricket and I’m just happy that we have one person on the slate so far.”Campbell was formerly the vice-president of the JCA and has also served as the chairman of its marketing committee since 2001.

Uganda 142 for 6 (31.4 overs, Kyobe 51) beat Zimbabwe 175 (Masakadza 55) by 17 runs (D/L)Uganda ended their short tour of Kenya with one of their most notable performances, beating Zimbabwe by 17 runs in a rain-affected match at Nairobi’s Ruaraka Sports Club.For Zimbabwe, this game was supposed to be little more than a stroll in the park against Uganda, but it ended up as yet another humiliation. Uganda, who came into the match on the back of wins over Kenya A and a Nairobi select side, returned home with their prestige given a major boost ahead of their January trip to Argentina for the ICC World Cricket League Division 3.Zimbabwe’s batsmen never settled after a good start. Stand-in captain Hamilton Masakadza made 55 while Cephas Zhuwawo cemented his place with 44, but otherwise there was little fire.Even so, a score of 175 should have been enough, but Arthur Kyobe and Roger Mukasa Galiwango steered them to 86 for 1 before the nerves hit and they slid to 90 for 4. Joel Olweny made a quickfire 30 as the clouds gathered, ensuring his side were well ahead of the required run-rate when the heavens opened.