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CSA’s internal strife is not over. The body will seek legal advice into possible breaches of the South African Companies’ Act by chief executive Gerald Majola but there is no money missing from their coffers. CSA will also review their remuneration and travel policy.Those resolutions were accepted by the majority at a special board meeting in Johannesburg on Saturday where accounting firm KPMG presented their report on CSA’s financial affairs. The investigation was expected to be the conclusion of the year-long bonus scandal which started when R4.7 million (US$704,436) was paid to 40 staff members after the hosting of the IPL and the Champions Trophy. Instead, the saga has only been lengthened and will now be passed into legal hands.”There is possible irregular conduct with respect to the Companies’ Act and the fiduciary duties of directors,” president Mtutuzeli Nyoka read from a statement. “The breach in terms of the Companies’ Act refers to the CEO and the purpose of the legal advice is to ensure we take informed decisions.” ESPNcricinfo has learned that it is unlikely that Majola will be fired once the legal opinion has been sourced.Essentially, the issue of procedure forms the kernel of the findings of the external investigation. Bonuses are usually paid to CSA staff annually but when events such as the IPL or an ICC trophy are hosted by South Africa, staff receive additional payments for their work during these tournaments. Event bonuses are a precedent that have prevailed since the 2007 World Twenty20 and have traditionally not been declared though CSA’s remunerations committee (REMCO).When CSA’s auditors Deloitte picked up the payments in July last year, they reported it as an irregularity, and it was decided there would be an external investigation, something Nyoka was in favour of. Eight weeks later, at CSA’s annual meeting, a new board was elected and the inquiry was moved in-house. At the time, sources said the decision to make the investigation internal was taken because CSA had not exhausted its own procedures.A committee of inquiry was appointed under vice-president AK Khan. In November, the Khan Commission cleared Majola of any wrongdoing save for making “an error of judgment” by not declaring the payments through REMCO and ordered him to pay back R28,168 (US$4221) which was used for travel for his children.The battle did not end there and in February this year, the board passed a vote of no confidence against Nyoka, removing him as their president. Nyoka challenged the decision in the South Gauteng High Court, where it was found that his removal was unlawful and that he should be reinstated. Nyoka also demanded an explanation of the movements of R68 million (US$10.2mn) from a suspense account that was used to fund the IPL. That money has been accounted for by the KPMG audit.On the same day as the judgement that reinstated Nyoka as president, CSA issued a release stating its intention to appeal the court’s decision. They went back on that statement on May 4 at a board meeting in which Majola and Nyoka reconciled “with the best interests of cricket in mind. Nineteen days later, KPMG were tasked with the investigation which was expected to take a month to complete.Constant delays saw the inquiry stretch over more than two months and the saga is now set to continue longer. The South African Sports and Olympic Committee, the country’s chief sporting body which reports to the sports minister, will be enlisted to assist CSA find the appropriate legal expert.”We have to do it on a very urgent basis,” Nyoka said when asked what time frame would be put in place to seek the legal opinion. The advice of lawyers is being sought because of questionable corporate governance which has been plaguing the body’s remunerations and travel policies. “We need to set up some committee to make sure we tighten up,” Nyoka said.Nyoka was elected in August last year for a term of two years and was rumoured to be facing a second no confidence vote at the conclusion of this inquiry. With the saga still ongoing, Nyoka is still in office and there was no word on any possible removal.

What kind of structure does the BCCI have?The BCCI is a non-profit society and was registered under the Tamil Nadu Societies Registration Act in 1928. Its members comprise the various state cricket associations. There are 30 members in all.What are the various official positions on the board?There are nine official positions on the board: president, honorary secretary, honorary joint-secretary, treasurer and five vice-presidents, one from each zone of India. All nine positions are unpaid. In 2006, the board created its first paid position, that of chief administrative officer.Are there term limits for the various positions?According to the BCCI constitution, the term limit is three years and those elected can only hold a position once. For example, Shashank Manohar, the outgoing president, is not eligible to run for president of the board again. However, vice-presidents can be re-elected for more than one term.How are candidates nominated for the various positions?Candidates who wish to contest the elections only need to be proposed and seconded by members who are eligible to attend and vote at the AGM. However, typically a candidate will not proceed unless he has been endorsed his state association. Most of the time, nominees are chosen by consensus, especially those representing a particular zone, although there have been contentious elections as well, most recently in 2005 when the Supreme Court of India intervened to make sure the elections were fair.Who votes at the Annual General Meeting?Each member association authorises a person to represent it at the meeting. The authorisation must be sent to the BCCI prior to the meeting. That person then votes on behalf of his member association.What else happens at the Annual General Meeting?Aside from handling routine procedures such as the approval of accounts and minutes of previous meetings, the BCCI also appoints its various sub-committees for a year at a time. So at each AGM the committees are reconstituted. The most powerful committee is the working committee, by which most decisions of the board are taken. These decisions are then ratified at the AGM. There are 23 committees in all, including the IPL governing council committee and the various selection committees. The committee appointments are generally made on the second day of the meeting.

Royal Challengers Bangalore have been one of the most consistent IPL teams over the past three seasons. They are the only team to have reached the Champions League T20 every year so far, reached the finals of the IPL twice, but still have no trophy to show for their efforts. Their captain Daniel Vettori said he hoped the incredible last-ball win over South Australia which helped the Royal Challengers squeak into the semi-finals would be just the boost the team needed to land their first title.”I think everyone was pretty exhilarated after the game [against South Australia], there was a lot of excitement within the dressing room,” Vettori said a day before their semi-final against New South Wales. “RCB has come so close to a title for a number of years now, we’re sort of hoping that after a game like that yesterday, we will continue that form and go on and achieve the big one.”The win provided even more of a lift since it was achieved with only a bit-part role from their perennial match-winner Chris Gayle. “It was Virat [Kohli] and [Tillakaratne] Dilshan who did the majority of the work,” Vettori said. “I know Chris has been amazing for us, but to see two other guys step up, their partnership was just incredible, and then little cameos all the way along, it was a real team effort. I think that’s the thing that probably brings the most confidence to the side.”One thing that has been a downer for Royal Challengers is their fielding, with catches going down in every match. “I think our ground fielding is getting a little better, but it’s the catching that people remember, and unfortunately that has let us down. All we can do is work hard on it and keep talking to the guys about trying to relax and improve on what they have done because there is no point getting tough on anyone because that will make them more nervous.”Vettori’s team’s main challenge in the semi-final will be to keep New South Wales’ big-hitting opening pair of Shane Watson and David Warner quiet. “They are crucial to NSW’s success. We saw what Warner did in the last game and everyone is aware of how good Watson is, so they will probably be our main focus going into the game. We will try to work out ways of getting into that middle order who are still very experienced and very good, but not as destructive as their two top guys.”New South Wales captain Simon Katich was satisfied with the performance of his middle-order. “We got tested against Mumbai when we were 28 for 5,” Katich said. “The boys had a good partnership there and put on 70 in tough conditions against a very good attack.”The track at the Chinnaswamy has generally favoured the chasing side, but the range of scores have varied widely – Trinidad & Tobago nearly defended 98, while South Australia couldn’t win despite posting 214. Katich said the key in Twenty20 was being flexible in the sort of total the team was looking to put up. “I think we saw that in Chennai the other night when David Warner batted the way he did,” Katich said. “I don’t think anyone expected to get 200 on the board given the way the wicket had been throughout the tournament. Just goes to show that you can’t have a preconceived idea of what a good total is. There’s no point planning to go and get 140 if the wicket might end up being better than that. You just don’t know until you get out there and play on it.”New South Wales haven’t played in Bangalore in this tournament, while the Royal Challengers have plenty of experience of the Chinnaswamy deck, but Katich hoped that wouldn’t have much of impact in the semi-final. “There’s nothing we can do about that. We’ve played all our games in Chennai. It’s part of the draw. We knew that and we’re just going to have to deal with it.”

Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) recovered form 101 for 6 to 296 against Sialkot at the Jinnah Stadium in Sialkot, courtesy a fighting 170-run stand for the seventh wicket from the overnight batsmen, Ali Azmat and Zulfiqar Babar. Azmat went on to score a century, while Babar hit 81, to give WAPDA a 157-run first innings lead after the wicket-ridden first day. WAPDA’s bowlers then knocked over four Sialkot wickets in a little over 30 overs, with the hosts still trailing by four runs at 153 for 4. They would have been in a much worse situation had it not been for Mohammad Ayub: he smacked 97 not out from 70 balls with 19 fours, and they will be hoping for more of the same from him on day three.State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) put in a solid batting performance on day two, to take charge of their match against Abbottabad at the Abbottabad Cricket Stadium. In the morning, it took SBP just nine balls to wrap up what had been a stubborn tenth-wicket partnership – the No. 11, Mohammad Naeem, finally fell for 30 to end his 93-run stand with Ikramullah Khan, who finished unbeaten on 70. The SBP top order then took the side to 250 for 2 at stumps: the innings was steered by Waqar Orakzai who was unbeaten on 110, while Mohtashim Ali and Kashif Siddiq scored 53 and 40 respectively.Two big century stands on day two took National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) to 539 for 4 against Faisalabad, before their captain Kamran Akmal declared at the Iqbal Stadium in Faisalabad. Aqeel Anjum, who was batting on a hundred overnight, went on to make 146, while the other overnight batsman, Fawad Alam finished unbeaten on 157. He followed up his 155-run stand with Anjum with an unbroken 177-run stand with Qaiser Abbas. Akmal declared soon after Abbas got to his century. Faisalabad then lost opener Ali Rafiq for a duck to Wasim Khan, but Farrukh Shehzad and Mohammad Shahid put on a cautious stand to take them to stumps on 79 for 1.Rawalpindi‘s Sadaf Hussain carried his fine form from the last round into the match against Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited (ZTBL), claiming a five-for to give his team the advantage at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium. Resuming on 297 for 8, Rawalpindi were bowled out for 304, with Iftikhar Anjum completing his five-wicket haul. Sadaf then ripped through the ZTBL top order, reducing them to 31 for 4 before a steadying century stand between Haris Sohail and Zohaib Khan. But Rawalpindi picked up another cluster of wickets to end the day on top, as ZTBL were left wobbling on 178 for 7.Habib Bank Limited (HBL) took control of their match against Islamabad at the Diamond Club Ground courtesy a five-wicket haul by fast bowler Fahad Masood. Having started the second day on 341 for 4, HBL could only reach 401, with seamer Zohaib Ahmed ripping through the lower order to finish with 7 for 84. But Zohaib’s work was undone by his team’s batsmen, who folded for 108, giving HBL a 293-run first-innings lead. Masood and seamer Sarmad Anwar did the early damage for HBL, before legspinner Danish Kaneria took two wickets at the end. Zeeshan Mushtaq’s 39 was the highest score in Islamabad’s innings and only three other batsmen reached double figures. HBL enforced the follow on and Islamabad’s openers managed to erase another 59 runs off the lead, but still have a mountain to climb going in to the third day.A century by Sarfraz Ahmed and early wickets from new-ball bowlers Najaf Shah and Ali Imran put Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) in charge against Karachi Blues at the National Stadium in Karachi. Sarfraz started the second day 62 not out with Sheharyar Ghani, who was unbeaten on 106. The two had already put together 126 runs on the first day and added another 126 runs on the second in what was a huge sixth-wicket partnership. Ghani moved on to 161 while Sarfraz finished with 131. PIA’s tail did not last long, but Najaf and Imran rattled Karachi Blues, leaving them 63 for 5. An unbeaten half-century by Asad Baig provided some resistance but the hosts finished the day eight wickets down and still 314 runs adrift of PIA’s first innings total. Najaf and Imran had three wickets each on the day.

Australia’s new coach Mickey Arthur has drawn a comparison between the 18-year-old debutant Pat Cummins and a young Dale Steyn.Arthur became South Africa’s coach in 2005 at the start of Steyn’s international career, and said Cummins can grow into a similarly formidable spearhead for the Australian attack, provided he is managed adroitly.Upon taking the expanded coaching position of Australia, Arthur spoke warmly of the future of the team, and of how he planned to help build a team for sustained success this summer and beyond.Cummins’ redoubtable debut in Johannesburg won him the Man-of-the-Match award, and Arthur said he saw in the 18-year-old the future leader of the attack. Arthur was careful to balance this promise with a word of caution about not overburdening Cummins with too much expectation at such a callow age.”I’m pretty sure he could be [a pillar of the team] down the line. I think we’ve just got to be a little bit careful just to temper the heightened expectation on him,” Arthur said in Melbourne. “You always have expectations of an international cricketer, but expectations might have just gone through the roof.”I see a similarity with him and Dale Steyn, when he came into the South African team. The similarities are uncanny except that Pat Cummins is a lot younger, which makes it all the more exciting.”I do think he needs to be managed, he definitely needs to be managed down the line. What excites me about him is he can bowl quick. Genuine pace at any level of the game ruffles the feathers of batsmen and generally knocks the tail over. He’s immensely exciting.”Equally exciting for Arthur is the chance to take on an Australian team that is showing signs of regeneration after last summer’s Ashes defeat. He said the narrow victory over South Africa to square the series would help build the confidence and the culture of the team, even as it wrestled with various personnel changes.”It is definitely going to help,” Arthur said. “I saw a lot of excitement last night, you come back home and the players are upbeat, Australia’s upbeat, the support staff are upbeat. It is better coming in and leading an environment like that than one that is completely down and downtrodden.”I see the strength [of Australian cricket] in an immensely good structure. Also immensely talented cricketers. There’s some experienced players that are icons of the game and there are also players coming through that are certainly very exciting. It is going to be up to us as coaching staff to mould that potential and make that potential and promise into good, sustainable Test cricketers.”Arthur coached South Africa from 2005 until 2010, taking the team from fifth in the ICC Test rankings to No. 1 for a brief period. A similar task confronts him in Australia, though this time he will be seeking more sustained success.”The key right now is to get some sustainable success and achieving that pinnacle, with South Africa we always tried to knock off little components along the way,” he said. “It was so important to get those components right to get to the ultimate goal. South Africa did that and hopefully we can now replicate that in some way.”The key to ultimate success is strong leadership and clear role definition, but also consistency in selection, so players know exactly where they fit at any given time. I’m sure we’ll cultivate that with Australia.”I do [see similarities] in so many ways. I think the style of play that we want to try to play ultimately is going to be the same, with a few little tweaks because I think our cultures and conditions are similar. You build a team around pillars, and we need to identify who those pillars are and we’ll do that as a selection panel down the line and be consistent.”Consistency was the watchword of the team performance manager Pat Howard, who presided over the appointments of Arthur and also John Inverarity as the national selector. Though the Argus review projected the rotation of coaching duties in some ODI and Twenty20 series to ease the burden on Arthur, Howard said the change wrought in 2011 had to be given the chance to settle before further adjustments occurred.”That is something that is contemplated in the Argus report, but in the short-term we’re definitely focused on getting consistency in selection and culture as we alluded to earlier across all three forms of the game,” Howard said. “So for the time being Mickey will be involved in all three forms of the game in his role, absolutely. But are we counting out that option, no, we’re just building some consistency first.”To that end, Australia’s bowling and fielding coaches, Craig McDermott and Steve Rixon, will be retained until at least the end of the home summer, after making strong starts in their respective roles in Sri Lanka and South Africa.

England have named a 15-player squad for the women’s tour of New Zealand in February where the teams meet in a five-match Twenty20 series before three one-day internationals.The first three T20s will be televised live ahead of New Zealand men’s match against South Africa. Having only lost five of their 23 matches in 2011, England have called up Somerset’s Anya Shrubsole and Beth Morgan of Middlesex for the tour. Morgan returns having fully recovered from shoulder surgery.Spin bowler Holly Colvin is again unavailable due to her studies at Durham University and Yorkshire’s Katherine Brunt is rested.”The England women’s team has had an exceptional 2011,” said Clare Connor, the ECB head of women’s cricket. “Their dominance continued during their recent, unbeaten, tour to South Africa. It was especially pleasing to see younger players taking their opportunities and senior players contributing with match-winning performances.”Following the New Zealand tour, England entertain India in June and July before a Twenty20 series against West Indies in September provides preparation for the women’s World Twenty20 which runs alongside the men’s event in Sri Lanka.”The next 18 months provides an exciting schedule for international women’s cricket,” said Conner. “The upcoming tour to New Zealand will provide both formats of limited overs cricket and give the players every opportunity to impress and retain their place for the upcoming global events.”England women squad Charlotte Edwards (capt), Jenny Gunn, Tammy Beaumont, Arran Brindle, Georgia Elwiss, Lydia Greenway, Isa Guha, Danni Hazel, Heather Knight, Laura Marsh, Beth Morgan, Susie Rowe, Anya Shrubsole, Sarah Taylor, Danni Wyatt

Eric Simons, India’s bowling coach, has been appointed as the head coach of the Delhi Daredevils for the 2012 season of the Indian Premier League. Simons, who was previously Delhi’s assistant coach, replaced the Australian Greg Shipperd. TA Sekhar will return to a mentoring role with Delhi after spending the previous two seasons at Mumbai Indians.”It is an honour and a wonderful challenge going into the new season. The IPL is a dynamic and exciting place for any cricketer to be involved in at the moment,” Simons said. “To have the trust and confidence shown in me as coach is something I am grateful for.”Simons represented South Africa in 23 ODIs between 1994 and 1995, and played the last of his 123 first-class games for Western Province in 1999. Simons coached Western Province before being appointed the South Africa coach in September 2002, a role he had until October 2004. He is presently India’s bowling coach, a responsibility he took up after Gary Kirsten became India’s coach in 2008.”I am sure that Simons taking over as head coach and Sekhar’s return as mentor will help the team [Delhi] overcome the disappointments of last season and become most competitive again,” Kiran K Grandhi, GMR Sports’ business chairman, said. GMR is the company that owns the Delhi franchise.Virender Sehwag, the Delhi captain, also endorsed Simons’ appointment. “Eric has done a good job as bowling coach and now he can do that as the head coach. He can make a difference, as he has been with the team for a couple of years,” Sehwag said. “If someone else had come in [as coach], he would have to had to start from the scratch. It is good Eric has taken over and I am hoping he will do a good job.”Delhi finished bottom of the league in the 2011 season of the IPL, winning only four out of 14 matches.

Australia’s stand-in captain Ricky Ponting has said he is still worth his place in the ODI team despite a run of four consecutive single-digit scores to begin the triangular series. Following an outstanding Test series against India, Ponting has struggled for touch in the limited-overs matches, and is now saddled with the extra responsibility of captaincy while Michael Clarke recovers from a hamstring strain.Despite his poor run and horrid night for the hosts against Sri Lanka at the SCG, Ponting said he was still an important component of the team as one of the senior players from whom a transitional squad must learn.”I think I am, but you’d better ask the selectors what they think about that,” Ponting said. “My last four games have not been what they would have liked, but I guess if the selectors were thinking that way already then they probably wouldn’t have picked me for the start of the series.”There are still a few senior players around the side and they made it clear to the younger guys at the start of the summer that it was vital they gain a little bit of experience around them. But saying that, it’s not just reputation that going to get you picked. You have to score runs, that’s what it’s all about. I know that as well as anyone.”When asked whether or not he was entering another extended difficult patch, having waited 33 Test innings between centuries prior to the New Year’s match against India in Sydney, a look of exasperation flashed across Ponting’s face as he considered the possibility.”Hopefully I’m not starting again with that,” he said. “I can’t run away from what’s happened. It’s been four single-figure scores in four games. If I look at the way I’ve trained in the last few weeks, yesterday is the best session I’ve had in a long time.”I felt as sharp as I have all summer, but I’ve got to find a way to get some runs. If I’m out cheaply we’re 2 for 20-odd and we’ve been that in just about every game we’ve played.”Ponting’s team rounded off a poor night by confirming that Clarke would not be fit in time for Sunday’s match against India in Brisbane. The Tasmania captain, George Bailey, has been pulled out of a Sheffield Shield fixture against Queensland in Hobart in order to join the squad as batting cover.Mickey Arthur, the coach and selector, said Bailey’s inclusion was necessary after Mitchell Marsh was forced out of the squad by back stress fractures, and to ensure Clarke was given adequate time to recover.”While it is not ideal having to take George away from the Sheffield Shield match currently underway in Hobart, we feel it is important we have sufficient batting cover in our squad,” Arthur said. “This selection is reward for George’s excellent form with Tasmania this season and recognition that the National Selection Panel consider him the next batsman in line for Australian one-day selection.”The Victoria left-arm spinner Jon Holland is being kept with the squad alongside Xavier Doherty, following the latter’s struggle with back spasms leading into the Sydney ODI.

Michael Di Venuto, the former Australia batsman, has been named in the Italy squad for the ICC World Twenty20 Qualifiers to be held in the UAE between March 13-24, 2012. The ICC has finalised all 16 squads for the tournament, from which the top two teams will qualify for the ICC World Twenty20 to be held in Sri Lanka from September 18 to October 7, 2012. The other notable inclusion is that of Geraint Jones, the former England wicketkeeper, in the Papua New Guinea squad.The Hobart-born Di Venuto, who is of Italian origin, played nine one-dayers for Australia in 1997. When he left the Australian domestic scene he was Tasmania’s leading one-day run-scorer, was second to Jamie Cox on the state’s lists of Pura Cup-Sheffield Shield appearances and runs scored, and owned the most half-centuries in Pura Cup-Sheffield Shield history. He was also a prolific scorer in county cricket, representing Derbyshire and Durham.Afghanistan will be defending the title they had won in 2010, when the qualifying tournament was an eight-team event. They had beaten Ireland in the final in Dubai by eight wickets, and both sides qualified for the ICC World Twenty20 2010 in the West Indies.Ed Joyce, the left-handed batsman who has played limited-overs matches for England, returns to the Ireland squad. The squad also features the uncapped fast bowler Max Sorensen.Notable omissions from the squads include Netherlands’ Ryan ten Doeschate, who has opted out due to ‘other cricket commitments’, and Canada’s Ashish Bagai.Afghanistan – Nawroz Mangal (captain), Javed Ahmadi, Merwais Ashraf, Mohammad Nabi, Hamid Hassan, Mohammad Zamir Khan, Mohammad Shahzad, Gulbadin Naib, Shabir Ahmed Noori, Karim Khan Sadeq, Samiullah Shinwari, Dollat Zadran, Noor Ali Zadran, Shapoor ZadranBermuda – David Hemp (captain), Jason Anderson, Lional Cann, Fiqre Crockwell, Terryne Fray, Joshua Gilbert, Stefan Kelly, Kamau Leverock, Stephen Outerbridge, Josclyn Pitcher, Samuel Robinson, Curt Stovell, Rodney Trott, Janeiro TuckerCanada – Jimmy Hansra (captain),Manninder Aulakh, Harvir Baidwan, Rustam Bhatti, Rizwan Cheema, Khurram Chohan, Tyson Gordon, Ruvindu Gunasekera, Zahid Hussain, Nitish Kumar, Henry Osinde, Hiral Patel, Raza Rehman, Junaid SiddiqiDenmark – Michael Pedersen (captain), Aftab Ahmed, Shehzad Ahmed, Sair Anjum, Bobby Chawla, Basit Javed, Frederik Klokker, Jacob Larsen, Kamran Mahmood, Rizwan Mahmood, James Moniz, Martin Pedersen, Bashir Shah, Hamid ShahHong Kong – James Atkinson (captain), Irfan Ahmed, Muhammad Moner Ahmed, Nadeen Ahmed, Waqas Barkat, Babar Hayat, Asif Khan, Mohammad Aizaz Khan, Mohammad Nizakat Khan, Courtney Kruger, Roy Lamsam, Kinchit Shah, Daljeet Singh, Maxwell TuckerIreland – William Porterfield (captain), Alex Cusack, George Dockrell, Trent Johnston, Nigel Jones, Ed Joyce, Rory McCann, John Mooney, Kevin O’Brien, Boyd Rankin, Max Sorensen, Paul Stirling, Andrew White, Gary WilsonItaly – Alessandro Bonora (captain), Gareth Berg, Damian Crowley, Gayashan Munasinghe, Luis Di Giglio, Michael Di Venuto, Dilan S. Fernando, Damian C. K. Fernando, Andrew Northcote, Hayden Patrizi, Dell’agnello, Vincenzo Pennazza, Peter Petricola, Stanly H. J. Samaraweera, Carl SandriKenya – Collins Obuya (captain), Ragheb Aga, Duncan Allan, Tanmay Mishra, James Ngoche, Shem Ngoche, Alex Obanda, David Obuya, Nehemiah Odhiambo, Nelson Odhiambo, Elijah Otieno, Morris Ouma, Rakep Patel, Hiren VaraiyaNamibia – Craig Williams (captain), Sarel Burger, Merwe Erasmus, Hendrick Geldenhuys, Zhivago Groenwald, Louis Klazinga, Christiaan Opperman, Bernard Scholtz, Nicolaas Scholtz, Gerrie Snyman, Ewald Steenkamp, Louis Van Der Westhuizen, Raymond Van Schoor, Christoffel ViljoenNepal – Paras Khadka (captain), Pradeep Airee, Mahaboob Alam, Prithu Baskota, Amrit Bhattarai, Shakti Gauchan, Krishna Karki, Paresh Prasad Lohani, Gyanendra Malla, Anil Kumar Mandal, Basant Regmi, Sanjam Regmi, Chandra Sawad, Sharad VesawkarNetherlands – Peter Borren (captain), Wesley Barresi, Mudassar Bukhari, Atse Buurman, Tom Cooper, Tom De Grooth, Tim Gruijters, Timm Van Der Gugten, Tom Heggelman, Alexei Kervezee, Ahsan Malik, Stephan Myburgh, Pieter Seelaar, Michael SwartOman – Hemal Mehta (captain), Sultan Ahmed, Qais Bin Khalid Al Said, Syed Amir Ali, Adnan Ilyas,Syed Aamir Kaleem, Awal Khan, Farhan Afzal Khan, Ajay Lalcheta, Sufyan Mehmood, Rajeshkumar Ranpura, Zeeshan Ahmed Siddiqi, Jatinder Singh, Vaibhav WategaonkarPapua New Guinea – Rarua Dikana (captain), Geraint Jones, Jack Vare-Kevere, Jason Kila, Willie Gavera, Chris Amini, John Boge Reva, Tony Ura, Assadollah Vala, Chris Kent, Mahuru Dai, Vani Vagi Morea, Joel Tom, Hitolo AreniScotland – Gordon Drummond (captain), Richard Berrington, Kyle Coetzer, Joshua Davey, Ryan Flannigan, Gordon Goudie, Majid Haq, Calum Macleod, Preston Mommsen, Matthew Parker, Safayaan Sharif, Jan Stander, Craig Wallace, David WattsUganda – Davis Arinaitwe (captain), Arthur Kyobe, Brian Masaba, Deusdedit Muhumuza, Roger Mukasa, Benjamin Musoke, Frank Nsubuga, Jonathan Sebanja, Asadu Seiga, Ronald Semanda, Laurence Sematimba, Henry Ssenyondo, Charles Waiswa, Arthur ZirabaUnited States of America – Sushil Nadkarni (captain), Orlando Baker, Adil Bhatti, Ryan Corns, Muhammad Ghous, Elmore Hutchinson, Asif Mehmood Khan, Aditya Mishra, Azrudeen Mohammed, Nauman Mustafa, Abhimanyu Rajp, Gowkaran Roopnarine, Usman Shuja, Steven Taylor

Narsingh Deonarine’s recall to the West Indies Test team to face Australia is a temporary solution to the absence of Marlon Samuels and has arrived despite continued reservations about his fitness, the coach Ottis Gibson has candidly admitted.Deonarine acquitted himself well as a batsman in Australia in 2009-10, but after Gibson’s 2010 appointment the left-hander was not offered a WICB contract due to poor fitness results. He has undergone a fresh round of testing ahead of the first Test of this series at the Kensington Oval in Barbados, and Gibson stated that Deonarine had to show visible improvement over the next three weeks.”Partly but not entirely. I can only be honest,” Gibson said when asked whether Deonarine had reached the fitness benchmark set for him. “He’s someone that we need right now, we’re not able to have Marlon [Samuels] in the team at the moment because Marlon’s gone to the IPL as well and he’s a like for like replacement for Marlon, he bowls a little bit of off spin and he bats at six, he’s been the leading batsman in the regional tournament just now, and that’s the role that he will play.”With regard to his fitness, it’s just an ongoing process for him, one that he has to keep on top of because I’m sure he has seen how the fitness of the team itself has improved significantly in the last 12 months. He will know that eventually if he doesn’t make the necessary adjustments to his fitness that the team will move on, as all great teams do, without him.”I’m sure he will meet those requirements because he’s desperate to play cricket. I had a chat with him yesterday and he desperately wants to be here and do his thing and he had some fitness assessments yesterday, we will know the results of them later on and stuff, so hopefully if the message didn’t get through in the first instance, hopefully it will get through the second time around.”Australian observers were surprised when Deonarine was discarded due to doubts about his ability to bat for long periods, after a couple of limpet-like displays against Australia in Perth during a series where the 2-0 margin arguably flattered the hosts. Gibson pointed out that Deonarine’s strong results in this season’s Caribbean regional competition were compelling enough to earn a recall, but had been achieved without the hundreds he expects of his batsmen.”His quality as a batsman has never been the concern,” Gibson said. “It’s whether he’s able to bat a day and a half, whether he’s able to bat the four hours that is required at international level to make a Test hundred. His results will show he’s made a lot of runs this year but he hasn’t made a first-class hundred.”At the same time he’s been putting runs on the board and in a series where not a lot of batsmen put runs on the board it is hard to ignore his runs. I add to that the fact we can’t have Marlon at the moment, so he fills the role that Marlon was playing.”Another batsman facing high expectations against Australia will be the gifted Darren Bravo, who has shown the potential to be the best West Indian batsman of his generation but had a halting introduction to Australian opposition in the ODI matches, losing his place. Gibson said Bravo needed to clear his head and believe in his methods, ignoring the visitors’ efforts to corral him.”He just needs to be himself,” Gibson said. “I think sometimes one-day cricket lends itself to you having to go out in circumstances and play shots and maybe up the scoring rate or whatever’s the case or consolidate when you’ve just lost a couple of wickets and stuff like that. Test cricket’s very different, he goes out every day and starts over, [he should] just be himself and bat the way he batted, especially in India.”He made a brilliant hundred in Bangladesh, but in India he was outstanding, and the Indians, from some of the fields that they set for him, it was clear they had obvious plans for him as well and he scored two Test hundreds. So he is somebody that we have a lot of confidence and belief in and somebody that will take us forward over the next couple of years.”We’re not worried about his form, we know what he’s capable of and he tends to rise to the big occasion as well, so we’re looking forward to seeing him bat over the next couple of weeks.”