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Big Picture

In a team sport like cricket, it’s never good to shine the spotlight on just one man. But Shakib Al Hasan is not only the icon player of Khulna Royal Bengals, he could be the only man who matters in the end. Shakib was the lone cricketer at the team table when they bid for players in the auction, and it is clear that the Orion Group is quite happy to let the No. 1 allrounder in the world do his thing.Credit then, to the former Bangladesh captain, for playing his part in picking some impactful Twenty20 names for Khulna. The foreign brigade includes the rather underrated West Indies allrounder Andre Russell, the experienced Herschelle Gibbs from South Africa, England’s big-hitter Jos Buttler and Niall O’Brien, a handy wicketkeeper-batsman from Ireland. Among the locals, Nasir Hossain – who impressed with a feisty century against Pakistan in December, albeit in a losing cause – has drawn the most money. Veterans Sanath Jayasuriya and Shivnarine Chanderpaul will be a calming influence, though their effectiveness is arguably on the wane.Fidel Edwards will lead the bowling attack alongside Shafiul Islam, a bit of a Twenty20 specialist for Bangladesh, while the spinners’ roles will be handled by Shakib and Abdur Razzak. Despite some aged stars in the line-up, it still looks a good fielding unit with locals like Marshall Ayub and Dollar Mahmud promising some spark.

Star Attraction

It isn’t a big secret that one of the main reasons for the Orion Group bidding for the Khulna franchise was Shakib Al Hasan. Bangladesh’s best cricketer has that appeal, enough to even draw in a conglomerate to cricket in this manner. The BPL will be another shot at captaining international cricketers for Shakib, the weight of this job slightly more pronounced than his stint as Victoria captain in the Dhaka Premier League.His popularity has been built around his consistency – his ability to score runs and take wickets when it matters most. He would be required to continue in this reliable vein for 19 days if Khulna are to pick up the trophy, conceivably Shakib’s first major trophy.

Top player

Shakib will be backed up by Andre Russell, a middle-order hitter and medium-pacer who picks up wickets regularly. In the West Indies side, he is an understudy to the captain, Darren Sammy, but many believe that he is the real deal as far as allrounders go in the Caribbean.Russell entered the national consciousness during the World Cup, when he almost took a game away from England, a game crucial to Bangladesh’s future in the tournament. Russell was excellent that day and though he lost the battle, he seemed to have imprinted upon cricketing minds in Bangladesh.

Under the radar

Among Khulna’s unknown entities, only one player can boast of being a Twenty20 specialist, or at least a big-six hitter. Nazmul Hossain Milon has been nicknamed Chhokka Milon (Sixer Milon) for several years, but has never quite delivered on the big stage. Apart from the odd six-a-side tournament in Hong Kong, Milon is a talent unfulfilled. He can turn a game with his big straight blows, the most famous instance being his knock of 140-odd in the National Cricket League’s one-day competition in 2007. He struck nine sixes that day, but the mojo has somewhat been lost since. He is still rated highly, though, as his price of $35,000 – this, after being placed in Grade C – suggests.

Christi Viljoen, the Namibia medium-pacer, has said he had waited all his life for an opportunity to play against a top international team, and was determined to do well for the ICC Combined Associate and Affiliate XI in their three-day match against England at the Global Cricket Academy ground in Dubai. Viljoen was picked in the Combined XI primarily as a bowler, but impressed with the bat on the first day, scoring 98 to help his team recover from 122 for 7 to 281.It was Viljoen’s highest score in first-class cricket, and only his third half-century. He said he usually found it hard to bat down the order – his previous best of 87 came batting at No. 3 against Ireland – but raised his game because he realised the importance of the occasion.”When I first got to Namibia, every time I batted up the order I got runs,” Viljoen, who was born and raised in South Africa, said. “Then, when senior players came back I had to move back down, and I find it difficult to bat later down the order. But today I just buckled down, and tried to stay there and not get out because it is a massive opportunity and hopefully I have used my chance.”Namibia did not qualify for the 2011 World Cup, so Viljoen had never played against a Test-playing nation in any form of the game before. Coming out to face the World No. 1’s Test team, England, with his side tottering at 90 for 6, he said he was quite nervous.”I’ve been waiting for an opportunity like this all my life: to play against one of the top teams. When I first got out there I was a bit nervous, but once the pitch got a bit flatter it got easier and then I just didn’t really think, and just batted and enjoyed the occasion.”Two runs short of what would have been his maiden first-class hundred, Viljoen was caught by James Anderson in the deep. “I was willing the ball to go further and get to the boundary,” Viljoen said. “I thought I was on the way to my maiden first-class hundred and I was gutted when James Anderson caught that ball. But it was a good performance for my team so I am happy with that.”Viljoen began the ICC XI’s recovery in the company of Afghanistan’s Mohammad Shahzad, who scored 51, before putting on 96 for the ninth wicket with Ireland fast bowler Boyd Rankin. “Shahzad played amazingly well,” Viljoen said. “When I was batting with him it was easy because I just gave the strike to him and he played some amazing shots. Then Boyd supported me really nicely and we had a great partnership going there.”While Viljoen averages just 15.92 with the bat in first-class cricket, it is his 74 wickets from 23 first-class matches at an average of 27.87 that earned him a place in the Combined XI. He is the joint-leading wicket-taker in the ongoing Intercontinental Cup, and will hope to do well with the ball on the second morning, when, he said, there might be a bit in the pitch for the seamers.”The pitch moves a bit in the morning so we will try to exploit that and get some swing and movement of the track, and get early wickets. Hopefully we can get them out for less than the score we put up and then we will get the chance to bat again.”England are using the match as preparation for their upcoming Test series against Pakistan in the UAE. Viljoen said the English bowlers got some reverse-swing on the first day, which could help them in their series against Pakistan.”Towards the middle of the day the ball started reversing a bit, which made it a bit difficult. It’s England’s first warm-up game and with them already getting some reverse, I think if they just keep working on their reverse then they will pick up wickets with the older ball.”

Phillip Hughes, the Australia left-hander, will join Worcestershire in June for his third stint in county cricket.He is currently fighting to retain his place in the Test side having endured a poor series against New Zealand where he fell to the same combination – caught Guptill, bowled Martin – in all four innings for a tally of 41 runs. With David Warner having carried his bat for 123 in the second innings in Hobart, Hughes now faces a fight to hold onto his berth for the Boxing Day Test against India.Hughes has had previous spells with Middlesex in 2009 and Hampshire in 2010. In three matches for Middlesex before the Ashes series he scored 574 runs at 143.50 with three hundreds, but only lasted for two Tests after being troubled by Andrew Flintoff. When he returned for Hampshire the following summer he made just 85 runs in six innings.”I’m absolutely thrilled to be heading back to England,” Hughes said. “Worcestershire is a quality organisation and I can’t wait to meet my new team-mates and re-acquaint myself with English conditions. My previous stint in England helped my batting enormously and I have high expectations that spending the 2012 Australian winter in the UK will do the same.”Steve Rhodes, Worcestershire’s director of cricket, added: “To gain the signature of the current Australian Test opener is a tremendous boost for the club and the players for the 2012 season. Phil is a heavy run-scorer with a career ratio of a century every four games in first-class cricket.”

‘The story of Basil shows the courage and feistiness of people who were excluded during the aparthied era.’•Paul McGregor/ESPNcricinfo Ltd

“It is a sad time for us as a family but after a long battle against Parkinson’s disease dad passed away peacefully. Although it is difficult we will celebrate a great life rather than mourn a death.”

“My memories are of a very good player, who was cheerful, friendly and unassuming. He was also quite brave. He was a shrewd cricketer, a good catcher and a very useful extra bowler who would swing the ball. Ray Illingworth used to use him as an extra bowler; he appealed to him because he filled in gaps and wouldn’t give too many runs away. I can remember reading a book of tours that Ray was captain of and how often he turned to Basil. I never saw him in any other way than as a friendly cricketing colleague who enjoyed the game.”
“He will always remain a giant in the transformation of South African sport. He showed conclusively that blacks in South Africa, given the same opportunity as whites, had that ability, talent and potential to become international stars. It is sad that he could never play for his country of birth. There is no question that in the 21st century he would have played for South Africa, which I’m sure would have been his first choice.”

“When I was growing up in South Africa, Basil was a revered personality in ‘non-white’ cricketing circles. At the time his influence and his legacy in a divided South Africa stretched way beyond the cricket field. While he never regarded himself as such, he was a hero to a generation of disenfranchised South Africans. Today I can recall with even greater respect how he served as a role model showing that despite the odds, underprivileged South Africans like myself can rise to the top.”

“He was a man of true dignity and a wonderful role model, somebody who overcame the most extreme prejudices and circumstances to take his rightful place on the world stage.”

“Basil D’Oliveira was more than just a cricketer. He personified the bravery and determination of the South African people’s struggle against apartheid, and his own remarkable achievements, starting a Test career at 34, an age when most players are considering retirement, showed the world just what he and his people could accomplish.”

“We are just finishing a book on our [Western Province’s] 121-year history and the story of Basil is central in that. It shows the huge waste of human potential that happened during the aparthied era and the courage and feistiness of people who were excluded at that time. They created rich cultures that we are benefiting from today.”

“A few Soweto Cricket Club players that have read his biography, in our small library at the Soweto Cricket Oval and marvel at Basil’s vision. He achieved great feats irrespective of the adversity he faced back in the 1950’s. During the historic first 1995 SCC tour of England, Ireland and Wales, the late great Khaya Majola broke down after reading a letter from Basil d’Oliviera to the touring party. In the letter Basil pointed out the plight of black cricketers, deprived of opportunity in South Africa and encouraged the players on tour not to give up on their dreams and hopes of playing first-class cricket.”

“It’s terrible news to me because Basil was one of the my best friends. I can remember saying ‘If he doesn’t go, I’m not going,’ because we were such great friends and he’d done everything to go and get back into the team, so it was politics I’m afraid. It was very sad.”
“From a county point of view, he was a massive part of the club’s history and his family name lives on through Damian and grandson Brett.”
“He became a flagship for all those who despised the whole concept of apartheid. Basil D’Oliveira’s influence helped to usher in a world where apartheid was consigned to the dustbin.”

“He was somebody who just carried himself in a very dignified way, despite all the pressures whirling around him. Somebody who became much loved in the English cricket world as a result and yet somebody who, in his own quiet, modest and unassuming way, became the symbol of what was wrong with apartheid South Africa.”

“His is the example I use when people tell me sport and politics should never mix. Sport can have huge political influence in the right situation.”
“History may well decide that the lives of millions of non-white South Africans would have been made wretched for even longer but for Basil d’Oliveira.”

Two high ranking New York Region cricket officials sent letters out on Tuesday to US cricket stakeholders, urging them to band together and bring positive changes to the way the sport is run in the country. New York regional chairman Lester Hooper and Eastern American Cricket Association league president Rudy Persaud are some of the first people from outside the USA Cricket Association board to speak up against the recent actions of the USACA president Gladstone Dainty.”I am not one to get involved in USACA politics but folks how do you sit by as the game that you love is being destroyed on a national level and by extension a regional level?,” Hooper wrote in a letter to league presidents around America. “President Dainty’s unilateral decisions will eventually cost us a price that we cannot afford.”Hooper also wrote a separate letter directly to Dainty to protest the suspension of USACA secretary John Aaron.USACA issued a brief statement on its web site stating that former India allrounder Robin Singh will coach the USA women’s team for the ICC Women’s World Cup Qualifier next month in Bangladesh. Robin replaces Linden Fraser, who had been working with the majority of the USA Women’s squad from his base in New York since January. USACA Cricket Committee chairman Krish Prasad said he played no part in the decision to remove Fraser, and that it was another example of Dainty making a unilateral decision. Fraser’s dismissal appears to have been the last straw for Hooper and Persaud, who each issued their letters within 24 hours of the news.”As President of the Eastern American Cricket Association – one of the oldest member leagues of the New York Cricket Region, I am painfully aware of the embarrassment being caused by our national body – USACA,” Persaud wrote. “It hurts me to be associated with such a body that is led by Mr. Gladstone Dainty, who, in my opinion is acting in a crude and dictatorial manner.”As league presidents we are the ones electing our national and regional members to the USACA board, and at this time I have no confidence in Mr. Dainty’s ability to lead USACA or to represent my league to the ICC. I am not afraid to stand up and speak out on the bad things which have been affecting USACA during this year, and therefore I ask you to stand up and speak out, because, as the saying goes, if you don’t stand for something, you will fall for anything. Let’s us stand together, so that we may not fall for what Mr. Dainty is doing to the sport of cricket in this country.”Hooper, who is the brother of former West Indies captain Carl Hooper, was critical of the decision to hire Robin at short notice, saying that Fraser was cast aside for asking questions about the finances of the administration, which is threatening to exclude more than a dozen USA squad members from the Bangladesh tour for refusing to accept a tour stipend that is significantly less than what the men’s team receives. Hooper also said that Robin will have to earn his money “by aiding in the development of US cricket”, and not by “coming in a day or two before the tournament and not knowing the players”. Robin coached the USA U-19 team at this summer’s ICC Under-19 World Cup Qualifier in Ireland where the team finished seventh, failing to qualify for next year’s U-19 World Cup in Australia.”Will Robin be doing any work with them in the near future? Will Robin be instructing our local coaches? Will he be conducting open sessions in the various regions? The only time I hear the name Robin Singh is just before a US team goes on tour. Folks this is unacceptable,” Hooper wrote. He urged the league presidents to speak up, else a second string USA Women’s team will become “the biggest joke at the World Cup Qualifiers”.”I urge the regional directors and league presidents not to facilitate the actions of President Dainty,” Hooper wrote. “Send a message to him that we will all hold one front in the defence of cricket in the USA and the USACA organization. If not, I promise you that individuals outside of the US will make the decision for you.”

Michael Hussey’s Twenty20 Champions League duty for Chennai Super Kings has ruled him out of Western Australia’s Sheffield Shield opener, against Tasmania at the WACA ground from Tuesday.Having been the undisputed man of the series for Australia against Sri Lanka in September, plucking the match award in all three Tests, Hussey flew direct from Sri Lanka to India for the CLT20, and then back to Perth in time to train with the Warriors ahead of their first domestic fixture.However the national selectors have decided to withdraw Hussey from the match, allowing him time to rest and rejoin his family before flying off again as part of the Australia ODI squad to face South Africa. Their decision reflects the impact of the CLT20 on player schedules, for Ricky Ponting, Xavier Doherty and Mitchell Johnson, all due to fly to South Africa at the conclusion of the Shield match, will take part having missed the T20 event.Michael Brown, Cricket Australia’s general manager, said the call was made with consideration to Hussey’s workload, but also his outstanding batting form of recent times. As a point of contrast, Ponting has played nine days of cricket since the start of the Sri Lanka Test series – returning home mid-series for the birth of his second child – while Hussey has been involved in 18.”The NSP took into account all the various factors in making this decision,” Brown said. “Michael was Man of the Match in all three Test matches on Australia’s tour of Sri Lanka and has just returned from the CLT20, so his recent workload has been significant. Looking at all the coming international fixtures, it was decided that it is best for Michael if he sits out this week’s Sheffield Shield fixture in Perth, in advance of his Friday night flight to South Africa.”Queensland, meanwhile, have been dealt a one-two punch on the eve of the Sheffield Shield match against Victoria at the Gabba, losing the captain James Hopes and young batsman Chris Lynn to injury.Hopes suffered a jarred knee in the Bulls’ limited overs victory over the Bushrangers on Sunday night, while Lynn sustained a hamstring strain. It was thought prudent to keep the duo out of the match given that another one day fixture against Tasmania in Mackay following closely on the heels of the Shield game.Chris Hartley, the Bulls’ wicketkeeper, will captain the hosts in place of Hopes, having also deputised at times last summer.The withdrawals took place on the same day that CA announced the healthcare group Bupa had signed on as the Shield’s sponsor for the next three summers. The conglomerate replaces Weetbix after its own three-year association expired.”Health, sport and physical activity are a logical mix – CA and Bupa objectives are closely aligned, with each being committed to promotion of healthy lifestyles,” James Sutherland, the CA chief executive, said. “In particular, we are both committed to promoting physical activity as an important contributor to life-long good health.”The Sheffield Shield has a rich tradition, is a critically important part of Australian cricket’s success and it is pleasing to have Bupa’s support promoting its continued success.”The company had previously been engaged by CA as the provider of health insurance for the national team.

Match facts

Auckland v Kolkata Knight Riders, September 19
Start time 20.00 (14.30 GMT)
Yusuf Pathan poses a threat for Auckland with bat and ball•AFP

Big Picture

Kolkata Knight Riders finished fourth in IPL 2011 and, having come to the qualifiers with the least favourable result in their domestic league among the participating teams, will be eager to prove they belong with the Twenty20 elite. Injuries to their captain Gautam Gambhir and Eoin Morgan, and Brad Haddin’s unavailability – he’s with the Australia Test squad in Sri Lanka – will affect the quality and balance of the side. Even so, a team featuring the likes of Jacques Kallis, Yusuf Pathan and Brett Lee should post a stiff challenge.Auckland, New Zealand’s champions, have reached the finals of the domestic Twenty20 competition in four seasons out of six. Batsmen Jimmy Adams, Colin Munro, Lou Vincent and Colin de Grandhomme were solid in this year’s HRV Cup campaign. In Chris Martin, Kyle Mills, Daryl Tuffey and Andre Adams the team enjoys vast international experience on the pace front. Areas of concern would be a lack of match practice – it’s the winter offseason in New Zealand – and minor shoulder and dental issues for Martin and Tuffey.The format of the qualifiers – two pools of three teams each, with the top three overall going through – demands the sides win two out of two to ensure they make the main-draw.

Team news

Jimmy Adams and de Grandhomme are likely to open, with Martin Guptill at No. 3. Auckland were flexible in the HRV Cup, with Vincent, Anaru Kitchen and Munro floating up and down the order. Here, Munro’s HRV form and Robert Quiney’s power-hitting should put them ahead of Kitchen for middle-order spots. With Indian conditions in mind, they might consider going against a traditional strength and playing two spinners, bringing Bruce Martin in to partner Ronnie Hira.

Auckland: (probable) 1 Jimmy Adams, 2 Colin de Grandhomme, 3 Martin Guptill, 4 Colin Munro, 5 Robert Quiney/Anaru Kitchen, 6 Gareth Hopkins (capt & wk), 7 Lou Vincent, 8 Ronnie Hira, 9 Andre Adams, 10 Kyle Mills/Daryl Tuffey/Bruce Martin, 11 Chris Martin.Kallis will lead Kolkata in Gambhir’s absence and partner Manvinder Bisla at the top. Manoj Tiwary could be forced to move up a spot to No. 3, unless they promote a bit-hitter up like Yusuf or Ryan ten Doeschate instead. Shakib Al Hasan, whose left-arm spin proved handy in the IPL, will fill the fourth foreign player’s spot.Kolkata Knight Riders: (probable) 1 Jacques Kallis (capt), 2 Manvinder Bisla (wk), 3 Manoj Tiwary, 4 Ryan ten Doeschate, 5 Shakib Al Hasan, 6 Yusuf Pathan, 7 Rajat Bhatia, 8 Brett Lee, 9 Iqbal Abdulla, 10 L Balaji, 11 Jaidev Unadkat.

Watch out for …

Andre Adams is coming off a fine English county season and HRV Cup, where he topped the bowling charts for Nottinghamshire and Auckland. Can he reproduce that form at the batting paradise that is the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad?Yusuf Pathan will be smarting after being overlooked for India’s tour of England. Brutal batting aside, he could pose problems with his offspin – Yusuf conceded a miserly 6.10 runs an over in IPL 2011, while claiming 13 wickets to finish second on Kolkata’s wickets table.

Key contest

Iqbal Abdulla v Auckland batsmen: A side from New Zealand might not be completely at ease against spin. Left-armer Iqbal Abdulla proved he could rein in and get past several international batsmen in IPL 2011. The Auckland power-hitters’ response to Abdulla’s wiles promises to be an intriguing battle.

Stats & trivia

• Kolkata were the only team in IPL 2011 to have four bowlers – Abdulla, Yusuf, Rajat Bhatia and Shakib – with an economy rate below 7.00 (25 overs minimum).
• Colin Munro hit the most sixes (17) in the HRV Cup 2010-11.

Quotes

“Nothing actually beats playing in India. For some young players, it can be a great experience, [maybe even] a frightening one. The experienced players will help them.”

A consequence of Simon Katich’s removal from Australian team is that Ricky Ponting is the only member of the Sri Lanka tour squad to have played a Test match on the island.Australia’s captain, Michael Clarke, was a member of the touring squad in 2004 but did not make his Test debut until the visit to India later that year.Australia’s 3-0 victory in 2004 arrived in fighting fashion. The hosts led on the first innings in all three Tests before the batting of Damien Martyn and Darren Lehmann, among others, allowed Shane Warne to spin out Sri Lanka in the fourth innings.It was a momentous way for Ponting to start his captaincy, but now he will be the man handing out advice on Sri Lankan climes to his successor Clarke and his team-mates.”As it turns out I think I am the only player that has played Test cricket over there so I will be giving him [Clarke] advice all over the place I think when the Test matches come around,” Ponting said with a smile before flying to Sri Lanka.David Hussey has already spoken of the challenge to be posed by pitches designed to favour the hosts, but Ponting said his best advice would be to play the conditions on merit, not suspicion.”One thing we can’t afford to do, especially when you go anywhere on the subcontinent, is worry too much about wicket conditions,” Ponting said. “In the past we have talked ourselves into what we think conditions are going to be like before we actually started, and made things increasingly difficult for ourselves. There wont be any talk about that.”We’ve got plenty of time to get prepared. We’ve got five days of training before the one-dayers come around and Michael and I are not playing Twenty20 cricket, but we’ve got five one dayers before the tour game, so there is plenty of opportunity for us and there should be no excuses come Test time.”For his part, Clarke said Ponting’s presence would be far more of a help than a hindrance when he is figuring out how to combat a Sri Lankan team that possesses one of the deepest and most statistically accomplished batting line-ups in world cricket.”We’ve caught up a few times over the last couple of months. We spent a lot of time up in Brisbane chatting about the team and a few of my ideas and I was trying to get a bit of guidance from him,” Clarke said. “That’s the advantage the team has, we have such a great player around the group, who’s had some amazing success not only as a batsman but as a leader, and we’d be silly not to utilise that as much as we can.”One thing he’s said to me is that he’s there for me, anything I need he’s more than happy to help. With him not being captain it’s given him the chance to spend more time with the younger players. He’s been spending time with Usman [Khawaja] over the last couple of days, so I’m really looking forward to working with Ricky.”He was great to me when I was vice-captain and he taught me a hell of a lot, and I feel comfortable in my position knowing that I have learned a lot from him and that he’s right there as well if I need any help or guidance.”

ScorecardLancashire Lightning took a huge step towards reaching the Friends Life t20 quarter-finals as they beat Northamptonshire Steelbacks by three runs at Wantage Road, despite Alex Wakely’s half-century.The Lightning were restricted to 110 for 9 from their 20 overs as Steelbacks captain Andrew Hall took three for 17 and Jack Brooks and Lee Daggett claimed two wickets each. Wakely smashed 52 off 46 balls, including four fours, but Junaid Khan and Sajid Mahmood took two wickets apiece to deny the hosts.Lancashire won the toss and chose to bat but they lost Stephen Moore for a single in the first over when he mis-timed Brooks’ delivery and was caught by Hall at midwicket. Lightning skipper Steven Croft went cheaply for 11 when he chipped David Lucas straight to Bilal Shafayat at mid-off.Daggett came on in the seventh over and with his second ball Tom Smith lofted him to David Willey who took an easy catch at mid-on. Two balls later, Farveez Maharoof tried to run a quick single but Daggett picked up the loose ball and, with a direct hit at the stumps, ran out Karl Brown for 16.Lancashire wicketkeeper Gareth Cross plundered 18 before he walked after launching Hall into the air and Rob Keogh took the catch at point and Maharoof followed for 14 when he smashed Brooks to Willey at long off. Hall bowled Mahmood before Luke Procter launched the same bowler to Keogh at fine leg and Daggett clattered his delivery into Junaid’s (off stump in the final over.Chasing 111, the Steelbacks lost wicketkeeper Niall O’Brien for a duck in the second over when he hooked Junaid to Croft at point. Junaid struck again in his next over when he was edged by Johan Botha to Cross to reduce the hosts to 16 for 2 before a fifty partnership between Rob White and Wakely stabilised their innings.White made a patient 33 off 48 balls before holing out by clubbing Mahmood to Stephen Parry at third man as the Steelbacks required a run-a-ball from the last five overs. In the penultimate over, Shafayat smashed Mahmood to Maharoof who took a superb diving catch at long on.Wakely then reached 50 off 44 balls before he was run out by Moore at square leg in the final over as the Steelbacks fell agonisingly short in the increasing gloom.

James Sutherland, the Cricket Australia chief executive, doubts any action will be taken against Simon Katich for his tirade against CA and the national selectors.However Sutherland has taken issue with Katich’s contention that the naming of a 17-man squad prior to the first Ashes Test in Brisbane last year, in order to appease the demands of the CA marketing department, had destabilised the team.CA were sent scurrying for a response by Katich’s bold address at the SCG on Friday morning, and Sutherland emerged from a concurrent board meeting to say it was unlikely that Katich would be penalised before his central contract expired on June 30.”I understand that Simon’s disappointed and that he’s made comments along those lines today but I don’t see that CA will be taking action for those comments,” Sutherland said. “My view and the Cricket Australia board’s view is that it is right for people to be able to make their subjective judgements but it crosses the line when there are any suggestions about the integrity of individual members of the selection panel, the panel as a group, or the processes they engage in to make these selections.”I am not necessarily saying Simon has entirely called them into question in that fashion but Cricket Australia stands by them in terms of their integrity and the process they go through.”Sutherland said he was “not happy” with Katich’s public pronouncements but would seek him out personally to discuss them rather than charging him with bringing the game into disrepute over public comments, an area usually within the remit of the head of cricket operations, Michael Brown.”The simple answer is yes, Simon could have expressed his views more privately. But he chose to do that in the manner that he did,” Sutherland said. “I’m not making a complaint about that. I know Simon did have some discussions with the Australian Cricketers’ Association to explore that. If that’s not some sort of avenue to at least understand what his rights might be then I’m not sure what is.”More divisive was Katich’s view that the Ashes campaign had been damaged by the selection of a 17-man squad that could be announced via a public event at Sydney’s Circular Quay. The announcement was a fizzer, attracting few spectators or television viewers, and things would only get worse from there.”It’s fair to say that has come up from time to time in discussions, certainly something in the review. My personal view on that is that as professional sportsman you live in a world of competition,” Sutherland said. “You compete against other teams, you compete against other people for spots in teams, and if the process of selection means you have a squad of 13 or 14 or whatever it might be before a Test match, or even 17, well so be it.”People live in that competitive world, and if anyone can cope with that, it is elite athletes, elite cricketers. I don’t see how someone who has the mental toughness and strength to compete in Test cricket at the highest level how that should affect them too much. At the same time I acknowledge that it wasn’t an ideal situation, and perhaps looking back on it we would’ve done it slightly differently.”As for the growing tide of opinion that the selectors should be full-time employees, Sutherland said there were “no immediate plans” to change the current system, but hinted that may change after the Argus review had concluded.”At the moment we have a selection panel of three, Greg Chappell is a full-time employee, there are no immediate plans for that, but there is a review under way and it is quite obvious that one of the topics of discussion within the review process has been about selection,” he said.