The Indian board has left it to the selectors to decide on the number of probables for the ICC Champions Trophy.”It’s up to the selection committee to choose the number of probables. It should not exceed 30 as per the ICC’s directive,” said Niranjan Shah, the board secretary. “But it’s up to the selectors to decide on the upper limit.” He said that Rahul Dravid and Greg Chappell, the coach, seemed inclined towards selecting around 20 or 22 players for the Champions Trophy in October.There has been speculation that Sourav Ganguly, the former captain who has returned home after a stint at Northamptonshire, would find a place in a 30-player list. It remains to be seen whether Ganguly, ignored by the selectors since the three-Test series in Pakistan in January, would still find favour if the list consists of only 20 or 22 players.The final 14-member squad has to be chosen before September 7 and submitted to the ICC.

Kiran More, whose high-profile and controversial four-year term as chairman of selectors comes to an end later this month, has said that, contrary to popular perception, he was not anti-Ganguly and believed Ganguly could still make a comeback into the national side.”Sourav was in a difficult phase,” he told when asked about one of the toughest decisions of his tenure. “He was captain and had been a great player … All of us had debated it long and I was very clear about it. The media hype made things worse. But when you are dropped, you need good people around you. I have been dropped and went through that phase when people around you attribute reasons to the dropping. India’s culture is such that a person’s dropping affects not just him but his parents, family, friends and the city. Soon, you forget about performing and instead, put on a performance. It is tremendous pressure and takes your focus off cricket.”However, he asserted that he is “not anti-Ganguly” and believed that Ganguly can make a comeback. “A strong domestic performance, a place in the team management’s plan, an open slot. Most cricketers make five-six comebacks. I am not anti-Ganguly. I am against no one. Sometimes players get dropped and they glare at you, stop wishing you. Players have said a few things to me, have argued, I have put it out of my head.”More also felt the board needed to be flexible about the terms given to the selectors. “If someone is good, give him a longer term, even seven-eight years,” he said. “Otherwise, if every year the appointment has to be made, then obviously a selector comes under pressure. He is only human.”Despite many criticisms against the selection system – John Wright, the former coach, went to the extent of comparing it to “horse trading” – More spoke about the benefits of having such a policy. “The system per se is not that bad, you need zonal representation because in a country as large as India, you need to see players from all over. Then, I don’t think that if a selector is unpaid, he is not professional. Still, I agree selectors should be paid. They spend too much time doing this job, away from family and regular commitments.”We tried to remove a zonal bias, and even in the West Zone we’ve tried to make changes. I am human, I can make mistakes but as long as I have done so in good faith, it is OK.”More also spoke about one of his biggest disappointments. “I really have to think [about regrets] but probably, Aakash Chopra. [He was] a fantastic talent and great temperament and we really believed in him and supported him after his knee injury but somehow, he just shut himself down – mentally more than technically, I think.”If you see his scores before he played for India, they were all big, but then he slowed down. Perhaps what affected him was the media hype about technical perfection, about him being the best-equipped Indian opener in a long time, maybe technique took him over. It can be difficult to deal with, I know him very well and wondered. Only, the doors aren’t shut for him, for anyone. An outstanding season, win a couple of games for your state, you’re back in contention.”

Tom Moody has insisted that he will honour his contract as Sri Lanka’s coach despite security concerns for foreign nationals in the volatile region. Escalating violence in Sri Lanka, where a three-decade-old separatist ethnic conflict has claimed more then 60,000 lives, forced Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s website to issue warnings of kidnapping for ransom.”It has not got to the point where it has stopped me from thinking about doing my job,” Moody told . “When you’re out of the country it probably appears a bigger deal and more of an issue than it is to the people who are here. The Sri Lankan people have grown relatively immune to these kind of things. It’s not as though the people are daring not to venture outside. There has been a significant increase in the military and police presence, which is comforting. In a way, I’m becoming immune, too.”South Africa’s withdrawal from a tri-series last month following a bomb blast in a Colombo marketplace was another indication of the fragility of the situation. Moody, though, felt that no cricketer was safe from danger: “I think there has to be a realisation that in this day and age, no matter whether you’re in London, Sydney or Colombo, you have to be mindful of the unpleasant possibility of terrorist action”.Already tipped as a strong candidate to succeed John Buchanan as coach of Australia after the World Cup, Moody looked back at Sri Lanka’s recent success. “Things had been very good. We took a lot of confidence out of the England series,” he said. “From a team and an individual point of view, the build-up over the last six months has been really pleasing. This is something we have worked hard at. It’s certainly not something that happened overnight.”This has been 14 months in the making. South Africa’s withdrawal was frustrating from the viewpoint of momentum. The more wins we could have got under the belt, the better. But with the bad comes the good. It has given us the opportunity to rest our guys, and gives those with a few niggles time to recover.”

Though the results of the B sample have yet to be confirmed, Shoaib Akhtarand Mohammad Asif testing positive for Nandrolone is just another peek atthe dirty subterranean world of professional sport. With cricket onlyrecently getting tough on drugs, you can rest assured that they won’t bethe last big names to be hauled up.What, though, is Nandrolone, and why have so many elite athletes testedpositive for it in recent years? According to the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) system of nomenclature, the anabolic steroid has the name17b-hydroxy-19-nor-4-andro-sten-3-one, and can occur naturally in thebody, albeit in minute quantities. Structurally, it’s very similar toTestosterone, the male hormone that was recently the buzz word in sportsbulletins after Floyd Landis, the Tour de France winner, tested positivefor excessive levels.Like Testosterone and Creatine, the amino acid that Juventus’s footballteam were alleged to use regularly in the 1990s, Nandrolone too increasesmuscle mass. It can also produce the same side-effects, like overly aggressive behaviour, as testosterone. Clinical experiments have been conducted in the past to see itsefficacy in the treatment of HIV-affected men and also for other diseasesthat cause muscle wastage.The tests for Nandrolone, which involve urine samples, are consideredpositive if the level exceeds 2 nano grams per ml, the limit set by theInternational Olympic Committee which is considered the maximum possiblein natural cases. Most positive tests have involved athletes with levelshundreds of times above normal.Those caught in the past have included Linford Christie, Olympic 100mchampion in 1996, and Petr Korda, the Czech tennis player. Football,though, has had to endure the most scandal, with Jaap Stam, Edgar Davids,Frank de Boer (The Netherlands), Fernando Couto (Portugal) and JosepGuardiola (Spain) all having served bans for nandrolone use.The testing procedures have not been without controversy though. Athleteswho have been caught have often cited the use of Creatine and theconsumption of protein shakes as the reason for positive tests. AnAberdeen University study suggests that they may have a point. Accordingto that, consumption of dietary supplements in conjunction with heavyphysical training can result in the athlete returning a positive test forNandrolone. As with many drugs, including THG that was involved in theinfamous BALCO case, our knowledge is far from comprehensive. And as longas that remains the case, the protestations of innocence from those caughtmay just have a ring of truth to them.

Ian Butler, the New Zealand fast bowler, has been reduced to relying on medical advances in an attempt to revive his international career. Butler, 24, has suffered from a bulging disc in his lower back for the past 22 months and with surgery not an option, he has to wait for the discovery of a new treatment for the problem.Butler planned on having pain-killing injections in order to represent Northern Districts, but consultation with his coaching staff scrapped that idea. “There was no point having injections to mask the pain,” he told stuff.co.nz. “I didn’t want to risk it for later in life. It was worth it to wait. If something happens and medical procedures improve, I could be back again.”A nerve being damaged by compression added to Butler’s troubles, and while the bulging disc can be managed, he admitted life was tough. “Then daily life becomes hard. Even getting out of bed is hard,” he said. “I’m not throwing away all hope of bowling but I’ve just got to be sensible about it. I was almost kidding myself that it [the injections] was going to be of any benefit.”After being picked as a batsman in a Twenty20 tournament last weekend, Butler decided to try bowling slower. “I was just trying to cover other bowlers,” he said. “I was bowling very, very slow, it could almost be described as spin. James [Marshall] just asked me if I could do a job bowling with the keeper standing up.”Butler’s last Test and one-day international appearances were in late 2004.

Gateman gets connected
Albert, a gentlemanly Queensland Cricket corporate gateman, has been serving with distinction at the Gabba for years, but one of the downsides of his job is he can’t watch the game. He greets and directs people cheerfully as they exit the lifts and occasionally gets a score update. During the Test a kind businessman gave him an “event com radio” that offers a choice of the ABC or Nine commentary so he no longer misses out.Where is the fun?
First it was the eviction of the Barmy Army’s trumpeter. Now England fans are reportedly boycotting the stadium and even the locals are complaining they are being drowned in stadium regulations. “Queensland has banned fun,” Solomon Rowland, a Brisbane solicitor, said. “It now seems to be illegal to have a good time.” Despite the complaints, the ground and local cricket authorities are happy with the rules.No singing when they’re not winning
England’s on-field performances have not been the only disappointment of the first Test. The Barmy Army’s singing has been as quiet as their support bowlers, although they have not been helped by being scattered around the ground. Before tea a pocket of fans at the Stanley Street end tried to get going and ran through a few of their repertoire, but they could sustain the music for only 12 minutes. Like their playing heroes, the army operates better as a pack than a collection of individuals.

Regional cricket associations in Pakistan will finally be given the financial empowerment they have demanded for so long, as the new PCB administration slowly begins to unveil its vision for domestic cricket.Nasim Ashraf, chairman PCB, announced at a press conference in Karachi that gate money from international matches would go to the relevant association, marking a distinct shift in policy from his predecessors. “From now, including the last ODI between Pakistan and the West Indies at Karachi, all revenue gate money will go to the region,” revealed Ashraf.The revenue will be divided between the city hosting the match and the rest of the province. “For example, for the last Karachi ODI, 50% of the revenue will go to the Karachi City Cricket Association (KCCA) immediately and the rest will go back to the province of Sindh and other districts like Larkhana and Hyderabad. Overall, 100% will go back to the region to develop the game further,” said Ashraf.Under the regime of Shaharyar Khan, regional associations had become increasingly marginalized. Revenues from international matches were distributed only through the board, the organization of international matches was left solely in the hands of the PCB with no involvement from the associations. Even in the selection of regional teams, for domestic tournaments, one PCB-appointed selector was always involved. It had been argued, with some justification, by the board, that regional associations were so torn by internal politics and even corruption that they were unable to function properly.But not all policies of the previous administration have been set aside. Ashraf also announced that welfare and pension funds for ex-cricketers, an idea first mooted earlier this year, has now been put into place. “The fund will help out hardship cases and medical emergencies in particular. All Test cricketers who retired before the Kerry Packer era in 1978 and are now sixty-plus years old, will be receiving a monthly pension,” said Ashraf.Under the plan, Test cricketers with over 20 appearances for their country will receive Rs 25,000 a month. Those who represented their country over ten times will receive Rs 20,000 a month while players with fewer than ten appearances will receive Rs 15,000 a month. The same amounts will be available to the families of cricketers who have passed away. The board is also considering setting up a pension scheme for current Test cricketers.

Allan Donald, the former South Africa fast bowler, has expressed an interest in becoming Yorkshire’s new director of cricket, according to reports from South Africa.The club have suffered a calamitous winter with several administrative hiccups. The post was originally offered to Chris Adams, the Sussex captain, who accepted the role before pulling out at the eleventh hour. This effectively left the man he was to replace, David Byas, without a job; after mulling his options over Christmas, Byas retired earlier this week.Sources in South Africa, as revealed in this morning’s say Donald, 40, is interested in the position, although it is believed the club will still advertise the position in the national newspapers.”It’s flattering if someone like Allan Donald is interested in the job,” Stewart Regan, Yorkshire’s chief executive said, “and we are certainly interested in talking to as many people as possible, but we have not received an application from Allan and everything is still wide open in terms of the club filling this position.”The job is undeniably one of the most high-profile in cricket and it’s bound to attract some high-quality names” he said. “At the same time, I would stress to our supporters that we are still very much in the process of casting the net and that nothing whatsoever has yet been finalised.”Donald, who retired from cricket in 2002, has been linked to several managerial and coaching positions. He applied for the job of England’s bowling coach in 2006, when Troy Cooley returned to Australia, but withdrew his application when a development opportunity arose in his native South Africa. He now works for the country’s high performance department, as well as a commentator on South African television.Yorkshire will advertise the position in the national newspapers on Sunday.

A quiet return was never to be expected but maybe such a successful one wasn’t either. Shoaib Akhtar, who returned to his first Test in almost a year by taking 4 for 36 as South Africa were bowled out for 124 on the first day of the second Test at Port Elizabeth, was evidently surprised by it himself. “I thought it would take me the whole Test match to get back into it,” he said after a day on which South Africa fought back to restrict Pakistan to only a lead of 11 runs, with four wickets left.The surprise emanated in part from just playing a Test again, something Shoaib thought might never happen again, after a year racked by initially by injuries and subsequently by the doping crisis, which saw him banned and then reinstated to international cricket. Controversies, he said, had been the story of his life.”If you asked me the same question [about his career] a few months ago I wouldn’t have had an answer that I would play cricket ever again,” he said. Shoaib was banned from playing cricket twice before, for chucking before testing positive in October for the banned anabolic steroid, Nandrolone, stalled his career once again.Shoaib was, however, quick to acknowledge the contributions of all the other bowlers in the attack; Danish Kaneria, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Sami shared the rest of the wickets as Pakistan, in bowling out South Africa for their lowest-ever total against them, put on a vastly improved performance from the first Test. “We worked in partnerships and every bowling spell brought a wicket,” he said.But they couldn’t drive home their advantage, as the South African bowlers and Makhaya Ntini in particular, with 4 for 18 in his 10 overs, ripped through their top order leaving them tottering on 135 for six, with only Inzamam-ul-Haq and the tail to bat.Mickey Arthur, the South Africa coach, was optimistic at the end of day. “We’re right back in it,” he said. Arthur added that his team’s batting had been poor on “a fantastic wicket, which ranks with Durban [against India] as the best we have played on this season.”Arthur hoped that South Africa would benefit from Inzamam coming in to bat on the second day with only the tail in support. Inzamam bruised his shoulder during fielding practice before the match and went off the field at the first drinks break which meant that he could not bat until an equivalent amount of time had passed. He was said to have been in considerable pain and is expected to ba after taking pain-killing injections.

Darrell Hair’s claim that the ICC’s decision to bar him from officiating in major international matches was racially-motivated will be heard by an employment tribunal in London starting on October 1. The hearing is expected to last around a fortnight.Hair has recently returned to Sydney after living for three years in England. He told the Australian media that it was “unsure but unlikely” he would umpire again, although James Sutherland, Cricket Australia’s CEO, hinted that Hair might be offered a contract to umpire first-class cricket there.”We had three good years living in England,” Hair said, “but I am sure we will enjoy living here as well.”Hair is believed to be writing his memoirs which are expected to be published at Christmas.