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The ICC Awards, cricket’s equivalent of the Oscars, have been officially launched, and will be held for the first time this year at the Alexandra Palace in London on September 7.The awards, which will recognise and honour international cricket’s best players of the past 12 months, have already been endorsed by several of the world’s leading players, including the captains of Australia, England, South Africa and Sri Lanka. Players from all ten full-member countries, as well as Kenya and the United States of America, who will be in London preparing for the ICC Champions Trophy, are expected to attend the awards ceremony.”With so many ad hoc cricket awards around the globe, I think it’s great that world cricket now has an awards ceremony with genuine meaning – where winners are decided by their peers and recognised in front of an international audience,” said Ricky Ponting, Australia’s captain.”I know how much the Australian players value the Allan Border Medal at the end of our home season, so to see a similar concept evolve on a world scale is terrific news. To have players from all nations in attendance will be something special. Let’s hope it develops into a lasting tradition.”Graeme Smith, South Africa’s captain, agreed with Ponting’s comments, saying “For a player there can be no greater accolade than to be judged by one’s peers and those who are intimately involved in the game.”The ICC Awards are an exciting addition to the cricket scene and will add a new dimension to the game at the highest level,” he added. “The depth of knowledge and first-hand experience of the game on the voting academy lends great significance to the awards.”Seven awards, in two categories – individual and team – will be presented on the night. The awards include cricketer of the year, Test and one-day player and team of the year, and emerging player of the year, as well as a spirit of cricket award.The awards will be judged by an academy made up of current captains, umpires, former prominent players and respected media representatives. The Test and one-day teams of the year will both be World XI sides made up of the best individual international players in the respective forms of the game.In addition to the seven player-related awards, an award will be presented to the umpire of the year. The judging period for the ICC Awards is August 1, 2003, to July 31, 2004, and includes all Tests and one-day internationals played during that time. Malcolm Speed, the ICC chief executive, made the point that the awards will “generate a great deal of interest, discussion and debate in the cricket community about nominations and selections”.Marvan Atapattu, the Sri Lankan captain, said creating the different award categories meant that all international players had the chance to be acknowledged and recognised for their performance at the highest level. “This is a great incentive by the ICC to honour the players who have shone in international cricket during the year.”The awards were established by the ICC in association with the Federation of International Cricketers’ Association (FICA). Tim May, the chief executive of FICA, said the ICC awards were an important way to ensure players around the world are acknowledged for their performances. “In presenting these awards in conjunction with the ICC, FICA is able to continue its tradition of honouring the world’s best-performed cricketers on an annual basis,” he said.And England’s captain Michael Vaughan, who will have the task of voting on the awards as part of the academy, said he will be giving plenty of thought when casting his vote in the various categories. He also added to comments made by Smith and Ponting, saying, “I think that the awards will really mean something to individual players because their efforts will have been acknowledged by their peers and colleagues. This is a good idea and I’m sure that it will become a fixture in the international cricket calendar.”

The Australian juggernaut rumbled on with a convincing 67-run victory over West Indies in the first of ther weekend’s double-header in Trinidad. It was Australia’s 21st consecutive win, meant that they took the best-of-seven series 4-0 with three to play, and was never in doubt once they posted a formidable total.More to follow.

Hampshire Hawks take the eleven that lost to Lancashire Lightnings, in the Norwich Union League Second Division match at West End on Bank holiday Monday, for the vital floodlit clash on Wednesday against Glamorgan at Cardiff (4:10pm).Will Kendall and James Hamblin are also included in the squad.”We really have to win this one,” says Robin Smith, “If we are to stay with the pack of four pushing for the three promotion spots. Losing badly to Lancashire was disapointing, especially after Dimi and Big Al (Mascarenhas and Mullally) had given us such a great start, and this makes Wednesday’s day nighter even more vital.”Hampshire 13: Jason Laney, Neil Johnson, Derek Kenway (w/k), Robin Smith (capt), John Francis, Giles White, Dimitri Mascarenhas, Lawrence Prittipaul, Shaun Udal, Chris Tremlett, Alan Mullally, Will Kendall and James Hamblin.

After a week of bluster and hyperbole, it fell to Andrew Strauss to provide the sense of perspective required ahead of the Investec Ashes series.Strauss, England’s new director of England cricket, was at the Kia Oval to promote a charity match in which he will captain a team. And as he looked around the room to see some of the injured servicemen who he will represent in his Help for Heroes side, the talk of “war” and “battle” that so often precedes the Ashes was given a sobering slant.Help for Heroes is a charity that aims to help those injured in real wars. The match, on September 17, will involve some of the world’s most high-profile players (Brian Lara, Graeme Smith, Matthew Hayden and Graeme Swann are among those confirmed to play) and will raise funds for those facing a lifelong fight to live with their battle scars. It was a reminder of sport’s ability to heal and help, but also of its relative triviality.”It makes you realise that the Ashes is not about life and death,” Strauss said. “It’s a game of cricket. It’s a number of games of cricket between two very passionate sides who desperately want to win.”We don’t need to build it into something it’s not. Ultimately our team are going to be very focussed to go out there and beat Australia, as every team that’s represented England will do so. But that kind of war rhetoric when it comes to the Ashes is unhelpful. The players should be competitive, they should stand up to each other and play in the right sort of spirit, and if we do so it will be a great advertisement for the game of cricket.”But nobody should mistake Strauss’ sense of proportion with any lack of desire to win the Ashes. While there has been much talk of late that the style of cricket played by England will be almost as important as the result, Strauss is not convinced. Certainly, he dismissed the idea that the victorious England side of 2013 struggled to win over everyone due to any lack of style.”The reason people weren’t all that impressed in 2013 was because they’d got very used to us winning Ashes series,” he said. “Ultimately, it’s very hard to come out of an Ashes series as a loser and be pretty happy with yourself. It is about winning and losing, as professional sport is generally.”But I do think everyone involved in English cricket got a real lift from the two series against New Zealand. They got a lift from the way those games were played and the type of cricket England played. It made us all appreciate and understand the importance of engaging with the public.

Cook will try new things – Strauss

Andrew Strauss has reiterated his commitment to Alastair Cook as Test captain and suggested he is at the stage of his career where he will welcome the encouragement to develop as a more dynamic captain.
While Cook has rediscovered his form with the bat in recent games, doubts about his conservative captaincy have arguably been magnified by England’s impressively positive cricket in the limited-overs series against New Zealand.
But while Strauss was reluctant to be drawn on the situation beyond the end of the Investec Ashes, he felt Cook was going into the Ashes in a “better frame of mind” than has been the case for some time.
“As I said at the start of the summer I think Cook is very much the man to take the England Test team forward,” Strauss said. “He’s had two Test matches, he’s played well and I think he has captained well. So my opinion hasn’t changed in any way.
“None of us know what’s going to happen over the next five Test matches so it would be wrong to speculate about what goes on after the end of this series. But at the moment he is the right man. I also know he is incredibly motivated for this series; from a team level he is going into this series in a better frame of mind than he has been for some time.
“I think Alastair is in a phase of his career where he is not afraid to try new things. I know from my experience that when you’ve been involved with English cricket for a long time it’s quite nice to have that sort of fresh change of thinking. I am sure he and Trevor Bayliss will forge a very strong partnership.”

“Ultimately we are in the entertainment business and people have a choice whether they turn on cricket on television or go and watch a cricket match or do something different. We’ve got an obligation to make the product one that people want to watch.”Strauss has maintained a relatively low profile this summer. Despite taking some major decisions – notably the replacement of the England coach – this was the first open press conference he had held since the day of his appointment. Even now, he was only persuaded to do so by the boost to the charity event his profile guarantees. As he put it: “If I can use the higher profile of my new role to blatantly engender more publicity for this game, then I will have no hesitation in doing so.”While Strauss’ attention has, understandably, been on the recruitment of Trevor Bayliss as coach – Strauss admits he only learned about him when he was linked to the job at the time Peter Moores was reappointed and that, the more he found out, the more impressed he was – it is clear his plans are starting to take on more long-term projects.Notably, the national academy at Loughborough is about to undergo a review, while it seems inevitable that an announcement into the restructure of county cricket will be made by the end of the year. The current likelihood is that each county will play 12 Championship matches (they currently play 16) and that the domestic T20 tournament will be played a month or so later than it is at present.”I think there’s a general feeling that Loughborough isn’t producing,” Strauss admitted. “But I don’t think people were saying that two or three years ago when we were top of the world rankings. It’s also very difficult to measure the impact because all the good players go through there and go on to play for England.”I have spent a lot of time there since I took over the job. There is a lot of good and hard work goes on there but there are areas we need to look at and see what we can do better. It’s not a process that’s starts and finishes in a couple of weeks.”And yes, we have to find a way of creating a different structure for the domestic competitions. There isn’t any cricketer who goes through the full season that feels like we are giving ourselves the best chance of producing England players in the various formats with the structure we have at the moment.”Personally I think there needs to be some change but whatever change that is implemented has to appeal to a wide array of people and it has to definitely be better than what we have at the moment.”The process of national selection is already under review. “I am sitting on selection,” Strauss said. “But I don’t have a vote. The process will continue as it has done, but it is an area I am looking at and doing a bit of a review of whether it is the best possible structure going forwards. I think there are some issues about responsibility and accountability which need to be flushed.”

There has been much boasting in recent years of Australia’s seemingly endless supply of talented, young fast bowlers. Of a first-class roster bursting at the seams with seamers. Of tall timbers touted as the Next Big Thing.But, as the injury roll call and retirement parades have multiplied, the next few months may prove to be a true test of Australia’s depth across short and long formats in a way not seen for several years.Selector Rod Marsh, speaking after the Test series against New Zealand – a series that cost Australia two powerhouse Mitchells – put a magic number on the depth question. Twenty.Marsh believes the selectors need a roster of 20 fast bowlers, capable of playing for Australia in at least one of the three formats, from which to choose.The latest two off the rank are Scott Boland and Joel Paris, hoping to make an impression on a WACA pitch that is meant to be a paceman’s paradise but proved to be a batsman’s bonanza earlier this summer.Even Steven Smith, while expressing hope the pitch would have improved, admitted it felt “soft underfoot” a day out from the first ODI against India. The Australia captain, however, believes playing the first two matches in the five-game series at the WACA and the Gabba will help a relatively green line-up.”We’ve got a pretty young, inexperienced bowling attack but they’ve all been bowling pretty well and I think it’s a really exciting time for Australian cricket to see these young guys coming through and getting an opportunity,” said Smith. “And I’m sure they’re going to relish the opportunity to bowl on places like here and at the Gabba in a couple of days time.”Boland’s nine-wicket haul for Victoria against Western Australia at the WACA during a Sheffield Shield match in Victoria so impressed selector Trevor Hohns that he was thrust to the top of the contender pile for a possible Test call-up. While the call-up did not eventuate, Boland did not waste his time in camp, at one point cleaning up Smith’s stumps with a searing delivery in the SCG nets.While that was with the red ball, Smith is now counting on the skills Boland has with the white version in the Matador Cup and the Big Bash League.”His death-bowling has been very impressive,” said Smith. “I think he hits a yorker as well as anyone at the moment and he has a bit of pace to him so hopefully he can hurry up the Indian batters a little bit.”He’s been impressive in the nets in the last couple of weeks. He’s hit the bat very hard and bowled good areas and that’s what you need to do out here at the WACA so hopefully he can do that for us tomorrow.”While there was praise for Boland’s death-bowling, Smith maintained he will go with “gut feeling” when deciding who will bowl the final overs. He described having the choice of Boland, Josh Hazlewood, James Faulkner and the other debutant, Paris, as a “luxury”.Whenever Paris takes the ball, there is a sense that this, while a full international, is still very much an audition for the local boy on home soil.”He has been very impressive in the Matador Cup the last couple of years and this year in the Big Bash, and I look forward to seeing how he’s going,” said Smith. “It’s a good opportunity for him and some other young quicks around the country so yeah it’s an exciting time for Joel to make his debut here at the WACA.”Traditionally we like playing a left-armer here. They can use the breeze and swing the ball so hopefully he’ll be able to do that for us tomorrow.”

Nasim Ashraf, the chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board, has expressed satisfaction that several Pakistan cricketers have turned down lucrative offers to join the Indian Cricket League (ICL). Eight Pakistan cricketers signed six-month contracts offered by the PCB, which would prevent them from joining any professional league.”We had faith in our players that they will not join the Indian league,” Ashraf told reporters in Karachi. The PCB had already made it clear that any contracted player turning out for the ICL will not be considered for Pakistan. Seven current players were reported to have been approached by the league and Shoaib Akhtar, Mohammad Asif and Shahid Afridi have already turned down offers.Younis Khan, the middle-order batsman, too was among those who were approached and Ashraf confirmed that he had also rejected the offer. “Younis was made the offer in England where he is playing county cricket but he told the official who contacted him that he is happy playing for his employers Habib Bank and for Pakistan.”Ashraf highlighted other factors which may have influenced the decision of the players, mainly the fact that the league is yet to be recognised by the ICC and the Indian board. Secondly, the league has attracted former players like Brian Lara and Shane Warne but no high profile current players. With the contracts being issued, Ashraf said he was confident that none of his players would compromise on representing their country.”I was least bothered because I know my players and was sure that they would not join any league which is neither accepted by the Indian board nor by the ICC,” he said. “I am pleased to know the players’ sentiments and they proved they only want to play for Pakistan. The league is only signed by players who have either retired or are on the verge of retirement so we were not bothered.”Pakistan face a busy schedule in the months ahead with a home series against South Africa in October, followed by a tour of India, the dates of which would have invariably clashed with those of the ICL.

ScorecardIndia A are chasing 205 for victory on the final day of the four-day Top End Series match against New Zealand A at Darwin. Rudra Pratap Singh, the left-arm fast bowler with international experience, produced a fine bowling display to dismiss New Zealand for just 153 in their second innings after Tejinder Pal Singh and Rohit Sharma boosted India to 280.RP Singh bowled very well in the first-innings but had only the one wicket to show for it; today, he gained sufficient swing and turned in an even better showing that put New Zealand in a tizzy. Michael Papps was trapped lbw for 4 early, Gareth Hopkins was cleaned up beautifully, and Chris Martin was forced to nick one to Robin Uthappa. Rob Nicol, who top-scored with 55 to prop his side to a semi-decent total, was caught-and-bowled. The last three wickets fell for just two runs.The day began with India on 6 for 209, following which Tejinder and Sharma extended their stand to 115 before Jeetan Patel, the offspinner, bowled Sharma through the gate for 57. The last three batsmen failed to assist Tejinder, who had to use the long handle to push the scoring along. He was eventually dismissed caught behind off Mark Orchard’s right-arm medium pace. Piyush Chawla, the young legspinner, made it seven wickets for the match as he snapped up the most crucial duo of Matthew Sinclair and Craig McMillan.India were 0 for 1 at stumps.

Matthew Maynard, a six-time veteran of the Hong Kong Sixes and an assistant coach to England for one-day internationals, will again captain the England side. They will hope to emulate last year’s success when the comfortably beat Pakistan, themselves four-time winners, in the final. Dimitri Mascarenhas has been seleceted after a productive season with the ball for that won praise from his captain at Hampshire, Shane Warne.The Hong Kong Sixes, still played at the Kowloon Cricket Club wherethey started in 1992 and will take place for the tenth time this year on November 6-7. The teams will be competing for a prize fund of US$260,000, with the winners taking away US$80,000. Heavy international and domestic schedules have prevented Australia and New Zealand accepting their invitations to play.England, who have won three times, will compete against SriLanka, Kenya and Hong Kong in Pool One, where one win will see themprogress to the semi-finals. Pool Two consists of Pakistan, SouthAfrica, India and the United Arab Emirates.The full squad is Matthew Maynard (Glamorgan, capt), Kabir Ali (Worcestershire), Glen Chapple (Lancashire), Darren Maddy (Leicestershire), Dimitri Mascarenhas (Hampshire), Graham Napier (Essex), Chris Tremlett (Hampshire). David Graveney will act as manager.

The Pakistan board is trying to schedule a one-day series in India before the team embarks on their tour to Australia in December 2004. The News, a Pakistan daily, quoted sources from the Pakistan board who said that Shaharyar Khan, the PCB chairman, and Rameez Raja, its chief executive, were keen to ensure a series in India, or arrange a tournament in Sharjah.”The idea is to either convince the Indian cricket board to ensure Pakistan’s participation in a one-day series in India or to ask the Cricketers Benefit Fund Series to organise a tournament [in Sharjah],” the newspaper quoted the source as saying. “The Pakistan team will then be playing at home in October against Zimbabwe and probably another team in a Test and one-day series, while they embark on the Australian tour from early December. But November remains free for the national team.”Pakistan recently hosted India in a Test and one-day series for the first time since 1989, and a return series is due next year. Meanwhile, the crowded international calendar has also meant that Sharjah hasn’t hosted a showpiece event since April 2003, when, in a low-profile event immediately following the World Cup, Pakistan put it across Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe and Kenya, the two other teams involved in a quadrangular tournament.

Carl Hooper’s international career has been prolonged, and there are three newcomers in a West Indies 14-man squad for the first Cable & Wireless Test against Australia, starting Thursday in Guyana.Hooper, the 36-year-old Guyanese who was sacked as captain last Monday, has retained his place in the side amidst speculation over his immediate future.The controversial non-selection of Chris Gayle and the unavailability of injured vice-captain Ramnaresh Sarwan have paved the way for the inclusion of the uncapped trio of Devon Smith, Dave Bernard Jr and Carlton Baugh.Smith, the 21-year-old Grenadian opening batsman, is included after two prolific regional seasons, while the Jamaican pair of all-rounder Bernard and wicketkeeper Baugh have been called up after outstanding performances in the 2003 Carib Beer Series.The presence of Baugh in the 14 alongside experienced wicketkeeper Ridley Jacobs is perhaps a sign that Jacobs’ place in the side could be challenged in the near future.In the absence of Gayle, the selectors have named three openers in Smith, Wavell Hinds and Daren Ganga.It comes somewhat as a surprise that there is no room for a specialist spin bowler in the squad for a match that will be played on a slow, low Bourda pitch.It means that Hooper will be the first-choice slow bowler with Marlon Samuels providing back-up with his off-spin.The fast bowling department is predictable, comprising Mervyn Dillon, Pedro Collins, Vasbert Drakes and Jermaine Lawson.With Sarwan not having yet recovered from a cracked finger injury, the selectors will name a vice-captain later.The team: Brian Lara (captain), Carlton Baugh, Dave Bernard Jr, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Pedro Collins, Vasbert Drakes, Mervyn Dillon, Daren Ganga, Wavell Hinds, Carl Hooper, Ridley Jacobs, Jermaine Lawson, Marlon Samuels, Devon Smith.