It ought to have been Dutch cricket’s proudest moment on the worldstage. Their victory over Namibia in the 2003 World Cup wascomprehensive but hardly unexpected; today’s trouncing of Scotland, onthe other hand – a side that had beaten them in their last threeencounters – came as a mild shock to the pundits and players who hadtried to read the remnants of their thumping defeats earlier in thiscompetition.Unfortunately the moment was somewhat overshadowed by the magnanimousgesture of their captain, Luuk van Troost, who stepped down on themorning of the game after a tournament in which he had made scores of5 and 0, and whose final three deliveries against South Africa had allbeen carted for six. A natural leader and a likeable man, it was agesture that left his deputy, Jeroem Smits, downcast in his moment ofglory.”He thought it was best for the team not to play,” said Smits. “He wasvery depressed, he’s still depressed and I’m a bit depressed as well. He’s a good friend of mine. The decision has been in the air, but he was planning to make this his last tournament, and it’s sad he can’t finish off in the right way.”Luuk is very straightforward and honest,” added Smits. “He is a verydangerous player, and one of the best Dutch players around. He candestroy any side in the world, but he decided himself it was best forthe team not to play today. That shows how much character he has got.He deserves all the credit for this win today, and I’m sure it wouldhave been the same if he had played.”It was a real important toss to win,” said Smits, who hit back atGraeme Smith’s suggestion that his team would be underdogs for thismatch. “I saw some comments yesterday,” he added. “I don’t think they[South Africa] know what goes on at Associate level. I think we arequite even and on our day we are a good unit. Today we were the betterside by far.”Scotland’s captain, Craig Wright, couldn’t disagree with thatsentiment, and admitted he was “embarrassed” by how the day had pannedout. “We came into this part of our winter having played a month ofreally good cricket,” he said. “Most of the guys had been looking atthis match as a real opportunity to make statements about themselvesas players. And unfortunately, nobody has.”Had his team perhaps taken their minds off the job, having playedtheir biggest two games of the tournament against South Africa andAustralia? Wright bridled at the suggestion: “It’s a World Cupfixture, it’s a one-day international, which is something we’ve onlyrecently got the privilege of playing,” he said. “If any of the guysswitched off after the last game I’d be very, very surprised. Everygame we play for Scotland, every time we pull on the saltire andthistle, it means as much as the other game.”There were too many soft dismissals,” he continued. “We just got out.The guys have proved before against this type of opposition that theyare big players, and I can’t explain why it’s gone so wrong today. Wepride ourselves on being a squad, so everyone will be taking a look atthemselves and asking some questions. We’ve shown we’re far betterthan that in the past.”The day was a particular disappointment for the vocal legions ofScottish fans who had made the trip to St Kitts, and continued singing”Flower of Scotland” long after the result was a foregone conclusion.”If I was a rich man I’d be going round the ground handing back theentrance fee,” said Wright, “because they deserve far more than we’vebeen able to give them.”

The last round of the Logan Cup gets underway on Thursday with three teams all vying for the title.Until the last round, it seemed Westerns were going to lift the trophy with ease, but everything has changed as a result of their nine-wicket loss to Easterns, a result which leaves the title race wide open.Third-placed Centrals can still win if they manage to beat Easterns and Westerns lose to Southerns at Masvingo Sports Club. A win for Centrals will take them to 34 points, the same as Easterns, but the head-to-head result will count and Centrals will walk away with the title. If Easterns win then they will be champions, regardless of how Westerns fare against Southerns. Westerns have to hope that they win and Easterns lose.Sean Williams is still not available for Westerns because of a back injury, while Easterns are without Hamilton Masakadza, who was slapped with a one-match ban after clashing with Westerns’ Thabo Mboyi. Prosper Utseya or Stuart Matsikenyeri are expected to take over the captaincy. Centrals are boosted by the return of Edward Rainsford from injury.The third match is a basement battle between Northerns, the side blighted by internal selection squabbles, and Kenya Select at Harare Sports Club. Neither side has won yet, although the Kenyans put on a much better display against Centrals last week.

A senior Indian journalist, who’s been covering international cricket for two decades, was among the bunch of (largely) rookies sent across the border to cover India’s tour of Bangladesh. He was excited at the prospect, and it wasn’t because Indian cricket was undergoing a tumultuous phase. “I want to see the dawn of a new era for Bangladesh cricket,” he said.On the evidence of the two Tests, what he saw was anything but the announcement of a new dawn for Bangladesh cricket. The drawn Test at Chittagong was shaped largely by the weather but the crushing defeat at Dhaka – by an innings and 239 runs – exposed the harsh reality of Bangladesh cricket as it stands today: Miles to go.In a way it was good because this series has lifted the illusion created by Bangladesh’s World Cup performance and forced us to accept the need to look at our cricket with greater objectivity. But why are we mixing the World Cup and Test cricket? It’s true that Bangladesh cricket must travel a long way to be competitive in the Test arena but what the World Cup proved was that you can never treat Bangladesh the same way again.Like that veteran Indian journalist, many thought that the Caribbean performance was an indication of where Bangladesh cricket was heading. A team that had gone five years without a win had beaten India, entered the Super Eights and beat South Africa too, for good measure. Talk of a false dawn was not an exaggeration – but Bangladesh is still on the cusp of a new era.With this India series the Dav Whatmore era comes to an end. And, on the last day of Whatmore’s reign, a battered Habibul Bashar gave in to criticism of his captaincy during the World Cup and stood down as the one-day captain. His replacement is Mohammad Ashraful, and whether that’s just for ODIs will depend on whether the Bangladesh Cricket Board wants separate captains for the two forms of the game. They are likely to have separate captains, though what purpose it will serve – with every possibility of loyalties having to be divided – remains to be seen.Indeed, it was Bashar himself who once said: “It doesn’t really matter who captains teams like Australia and England, it’s no big deal. The players are like soldiers, who follow the orders of their commander (the captain) without question. Our subcontinental players are far more emotional; here, who is the captain is a big thing.”Bangladesh are standing at the crossroads and their next step will be of great importance. One false step could set them back quite a bit. For instance, the choice of the next coach. I’ve heard from a lot of Indian journalists who came here that the Greg Chappell era set their country’s cricket back by two years. If true, Bangladesh too is familiar with this experience. In 2002, Mohsin Kamal and Ali Zia came from Pakistan to take charge of the national team; the year they spent at the helm was an entirely forgettable time for Bangladesh cricket.Regardless of what Ian Chappell and Imran Khan feel, the coach of a national team has a huge role to play in modern cricket – and even more so in the case of a developing team like Bangladesh. Much will depend on who is chosen to succeed Whatmore as the national coach.

Whoever is the coach, the priority for Bangladesh will be to improve on their Test record. And one key factor in that is increasing the number of first-class domestic games. If you look at the profiles of Bangladesh’s Test players, you’ll see they have played far fewer first-class matches than their counterparts in any other Test side.The busy international calendar doesn’t allow players to play too many domestic matches and, in any case, domestic cricket here is of very low intensity. On paper things look good, with six divisional teams playing each other on a home and away basis. It sounds like Australia; in reality it’s a farce, with a picnic-like mood at most games.There is no proper structure; often, the regional teams are picked by national selectors because there are no local selectors. The money isn’t much, the arrangements even less and overall the conditions are not really enticing for international cricketers.Whatmore has often spoken of the need for other Test-playing countries to help improve Bangladesh’s Test skills. They can do this, he said, by playing tour matches when they come here. But the hectic scheduling usually rules out such side matches, so the only way of judging whether young players are ready for Test cricket is by playing them in Tests.After the World Cup, Bangladesh has cemented its one-day credentials with an encouraging performance in the home series against India. To keep progressing on that learning curve, the next step must be to be competitive in Test cricket. Whether we can do it or not depends on many factors – new coach, new captain. Bangladesh is at a crossroads; the days ahead will be most interesting.

Ochilo Ayacko, the sports minister, has told a news conference in Nairobi that the Kenyan cabinet met on Thursday morning and unanimously agreed to withdraw all recognition for the Kenyan Cricket Association in favour of Cricket Kenya.Ayacko’s announcement came less than four days after he first mooted the idea of establishing Cricket Kenya to bypass the KCA, and two days after Kenya’s stakeholder clubs voted overwhelmingly to support the venture.On another day of high drama, the KCA executive returned to court to obtain a further injunction against Cricket Kenya. In a bizarre twist, the injunction was granted by the same judge who last month ruled that he would hear no more ex parte applications, and who last week deferred a hearing challenging Ayacko’s decision to suspend the KCA for a month.Ayacko has been discussing matters with the ICC, and it is understood that the ICC is assessing the situation and has asked for copies of the cabinet minutes. However, an ICC spokesman said that it did not recognise Cricket Kenya as the official body representing cricket in Kenya.Although the KCA still exists, it is now increasingly marginalised and, as far as cricket in Kenya is concerned, virtually irrelevant. “I have studied the issue as it is and the way forward is not to allow the affairs of KCA to steal the limelight,” Ayacko said. “The only body we recognise is Cricket Kenya.”He continued by saying that the KCA’s “mismanagement” had led to “disillusionment among the players and other stakeholders, who have boycotted playing for the country and supporting cricket activities”.

A day after Jamaican police confirmed that Bob Woolmer died of natural causes, Dr Ere Seshaiah, the pathologist who conducted the post mortem, defended his findings that Woolmer was murdered.”I am sticking to my findings,” Seshaiah told the . “He was murdered. Woolmer is not a first for me, I have been doing autopsies here [in Jamaica] since 1995.”However, his insistence that Woolmer was murdered is likely to result in the issue being settled in a coroner’s court. The results of the investigation will now be handed over to the coroner of the corporate Area, Patrick Murphy. All the files detailing the four pathologists’ findings, as well as the results of tests carried out on fluid and tissue samples taken from Woolmer’s body, will also be handed over to him.Woolmer was found unconscious in his hotel room in Kingston a day after Pakistan’s exit from the World Cup. The autopsy, conducted by Seshaiah, claimed that Woolmer was murdered by manual strangulation. The investigation was treated as a homicide until early this month when three independent pathologists all concluded that Woolmer died from a heart attack caused by a combination of illnesses.

At Brisbane four years ago, in what was also a series opener, on another soggy second day, Australia went from a commanding 262 for 2 to a modest 323 for 9, all in a span of 16 overs. Today, after about three hours’ delay when rain soaked the ground, England came apart, losing 6 for 30 in 11.2 overs to a bowling line-up that had sleepwalked through most of yesterday.If the drainage system at Lord’s was efficient, India’s bowlers were doubly so. They began the day with the old ball, hit the straps early, took the new ball, dislodged the nightwatchman, induced two edges from the most dangerous opposition batsman, and swung out the tail. Six of England’s last seven batsmen totalled two runs between them. It wasn’t Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis unleashing reverse-swing, just a set of medium-fast bowlers applying some common sense. All breakfast and lunch that was consumed today must be preserved in the new board office at Mumbai.Delays cause lethargy, especially when you’re watching the incessant pitter-patter. India began snappily without dawdling around and waiting for things to happen. Wickets weren’t followed by stunned celebrations but a far more expected routine. India weren’t surprised they were getting wickets but glad they’d managed to hit their stride. It was this belief that carried them through and the lack if it that undid the batsmen.Mid-way through the third over of the day, Rahul Dravid decided to take the new ball. Two balls later, RP Singh provided the breakthrough. Dravid could have easily been tempted to giving RP Singh a few more overs; he resisted and brought back his main men.Zaheer Khan outfoxed Pietersen in his very first over. When Simon Taufel reversed the decision, he didn’t overtly show his frustration but walked back purposefully, ready to strike again. Sreesanth summed up the mood at that moment: “If he got him once we were sure he was going to get him twice. If you can get somebody out once, I’m sure he can be out again.” It took just two balls for him to find the snick again.Sreesanth conceded ten in his first over, seeming to fall back to wayward habits, but was soon pitching it up and pumping his fists. No unnecessary short balls, no extra aggression, just full and straight. Three for 11 in four overs, hands outstretched and hair flopping. Zaheer mopped it up: short of a length, outside off, inside edge onto the stumps. Two for seven in 4.2 overs, buoyant strides and big smiles.The relaxed start to the day seems to have had a salubrious effect. “I listened to a lot of music,” said Sreesanth, “was just relaxing and the moment the umpires said the game is on from 1:50 I said, ‘Ok cool’. We [himself and Zaheer] were lucky RP [Singh] was bowling a few overs, we had some more time. He got the first wicket and I said, ‘Ok, he’s hitting the right areas. I’d decided to do the same in the morning. Venky [Prasad] really helped us. When there was a delay in the start he told me not to lose the focus and come back hard.”It was a stark contrast to yesterday’s opening spell, one where nerves got the better of him. “I started bowling like Sreesanth only when I bowled the seventh over, the first of my second spell,” he said triumphantly in third person. “I was standing at fine leg yesterday and I saw Sourav Ganguly bowling. It really inspired me – he was just hitting the right areas. He got Cook out, the first wicket and showed us the way. I’m thankful to him to be honest.”The bowlers will be doubly thankful to Ganguly if he can stay out there and build a few partnerships tomorrow. At Brisbane four years ago he walked in when India were 127 for 3; today he came in at 106 for 3. His sublime 144 set up an classic series back then; a repeat here could take this Test down a similar route.

The Ontario Cricket Association’s joy over being granted Can$1 million might be short-lived, with the government – under fire for money given to various multicultural groups – planning on getting back a part of the sum.”I intend to discuss with them the grant and whether the Can$1 million was appropriate,” Ontario’s citizenship and immigration minister Gerry Phillips told the . “If we both determine this is not quite the appropriate decision, my experience is people are, by and large, pretty reasonable.”The grant was made by Phillips’s predecessor Mile Colle, whom he replaced after Ontario’s auditor general criticised the manner in which Can$32 million was handed over to 110 multicultural groups over the last two years. The cricket association had requested Can$150,000, but Colle sanctioned Can$1 million.The association’s president Mike Kendall expressed surprise over the new development. “We didn’t think they would [want part of the money back],” he said, indicating that the association has set aside funds to introduce the sport in more schools.He felt that even the sanctioned amount was inadequate for the game’s development. “This amount of money is barely scratching the surface of what’s needed,” he said. “Cricket is growing exponentially in Canada. As the sport grows we need to have infrastructure facilities in place.”The association has already spent Can$360,000, including Can$250,000 on a cricket pitch, in King City – north of Toronto – to make it meet international standards, according to a report on globeandmail.com. Half of the remaining money is with a guaranteed investment certificate.