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There is a new row brewing at the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) surrounding the unauthorised investment of US$3 million on the stock market. It appears that Chief Financial Officer, Richard Jodhan, along with Executive Secretary, Andrew Sealy, last year signed documents with a Wall Street brokerage company and invested the sum of money in high risk equity stocks without the board’s authority.A select committee, which was headed by Antiguan banker and former Leeward Islands batsman Enoch Lewis, reported to the WICB’s board that “after reviewing the documents provided by Merrill Lynch… we found no evidence of such authority and power being vested in these officers.”Former WICB president Pat Rousseau, in a statement last week, said: “I consider the appointment of Mr. Jodhan (to the interim management committee) improper and irregular.” In his statement Rousseau also suggested that action should be taken against Sealy, for allegedly “signing documents without authority for the investment of the money with Merrill Lynch”.The Lewis Committee document confirmed that both officers signed documents to Merrill Lynch and that the pair claimed they had full power and authority to enter this agreement.Former WICB vice-president Clarvis Joseph, speaking last night on State radio, confirmed that the WICB lost US$286,000 from these investments. Joseph said that in addition to not being authorised to play the equities market last year, it was a well-known fact that the stock market was very unpredictable ahead of presidential elections in the United States. Joseph, however, does not believe that the CFO acted to defraud the board, and said that even if the investment had paid dividends, it also would have been wrong, because the investment was not authorised by the board.Joseph said he found it strange that the board re-instated West Indies team manager Ricky Skerritt, because they “acted without the board’s authority and had exceeded their own authority”, but were not equally concerned about the investment of US$3 million without the said board’s permission.In a report dated 15 May, the Lewis Committee urged the WICB to “pull the plug on the investment and put its money into safer short-term instruments that made sense, given the Board’s cash-flow problems”. The report further went on to state “that the WICB borrowed US$2 million from the Wall Street bank Merrill Lynch against the investment portfolio”.Rousseau in his statement revealed that the executive committee in October 1999 received a proposal from Jodhan to invest US$100,000.00 with Merrill Lynch. But, Rousseau continues, “the recollection of the vice-president and myself is that the request was refused”. Rousseau goes on to say that “the Minutes of that meeting have not been produced”. Instead, the former WICB president claims that Jodhan invested US $496,000 with the Wall Street bank.In a budget proposal for the 2000 financial year, Rousseau said, Jodhan in May last year indicated an intention to invest US$3 million with Merrill Lynch “but makes it clear that he will seek the approval of the executive committee”. Rousseau insists that the approval was not sought, but the investment made.The Lewis Committee which also included Clarvis Joseph, Val Banks and Stephen Alleyne, reported that they found out that the fund in which the WICB had invested was for a long-term growth strategy, in which 65 per cent to 85 per cent of the exposure is in equities, thus carrying high risks. The report continues: “Given the potential high level of equity exposure and the specific nature for which the funds were acquired (i.e., reported coverage of short-term cash flow needs), this committee is of the opinion that the investment was ill-advised.”The Lewis Committee further concluded: “In reviewing the Merrill Lynch statements, we discovered that as at February 28 …WICB also has a current liability of US$2 million. We understand that these funds were borrowed and leveraged against the value of the portfolio to cover cash and understand that these funds borrowed leveraged against the value of the portfolio to cover cashflow shortfall arising from difficulties experienced in collecting funds from the Australia tour.”Jodhan has since verbally tendered verbally his resignation to the board at its recently concluded AGM, but did not offer any further details. Meanwhile Sealy, as part of the board’s restructuring process, will be leaving office at the end of June. His position with the board was made redundant along with the Director of Coaching, Reg Scarlett, in January.

With the four places in the World Cup Qualifier already allocated, there was only pride to play for on the final day of the World Cricket League Division Two in Namibia.In the final, openers Arshad Ali and Mohammad Iqbal scored centuries to steer UAE to a comfortable 67-run victory over Oman, the only affiliate in the competition, at the Wanderers Cricket Ground. Former captain Ali scored 133 while Iqbal hammered 111 as UAE posted 347 for 8 after being put into bat. Oman fought gallantly but lost wickets at crucial stages before being bowled out for 280 with more than six overs to spare.Ali and Iqbal laid the foundation for a mammoth total when they put on 200 for the first wicket in 29 overs. Ali, later adjudged Man of the Match, perished in the last over of the innings after scoring 133 off 145 balls, included 10 fours and two sixes. It was Ali’s second century of the week as he finished the tournament with 443 run from five matches. Only Namibia’s Gerrie Snyman, with 588 runs from one more match, as well as ten wickets, scored more.Oman made a valiant effort to protect their unbeaten record in the competition but UAE backed up their impressive batting display with some sharp fielding and accurate bowling. Left-arm spinner Khurram Khan bowled with a lot of variation to grab 3 for 42 while pace duo of Amjad Javed and Javed Ismail shared four wickets between them to keep Oman’s progress in check.In the third/fourth-place play-off at the United Cricket Ground, Namibia ended on a high with a four-wicket win over Denmark. Snyman was once again the star of Namibia’s victory as he scored yet another blistering innings. His 71 came off 68 balls and included eight boundaries and two sixes. However, Dawid Botha won the Man-of-the-Match award for his 58 as Namibia overtook the target of 221 with more than eight overs and four wickets to spare.In the fifth-six play-off between two sides already relegated, Uganda thrashed Argentina by 181 runs at the Centre for Cricket Development. Uganda’s opener Joel Olweny hit a superb century and put on 176 runs for the third wicket with Nand Patel to help Uganda to 335 for 7. Olweny struck 17 boundaries in his 130-ball innings while Patel scored an 82-ball 79 with nine fours and a six. Kenneth Kamyuka hit hard in the closing overs, clobbering six sixes and two fours in his 20-ball 57. The target proved to be too stiff for the Argentinians who were bowled out for 154 despite Donald Forrester hitting 71 from 80 balls with five boundaries. Frank Nsubuga was the pick of Uganda bowlers with 4 for 39 while Kamyuka bagged 3 for 44.By virtue of a top-four finish, UAE, Oman, Namibia and Denmark qualified for the World Cup Qualifier (formerly ICC Trophy) while Uganda and Argentina were relegated to Division Three. However, they will have a second chance to book a place in the Qualifier when the WCL Division 3 is staged in January 2009.

Jason Gillespie insists he is still one of Australia’s best bowlers and the selectors should stop looking at his age. Gillespie, 31, has not been included for any of Australia’s matches this season and he was surprised when Shane Harwood, who is a year older, was picked for the Twenty20 against England last week.”There’s this perception that I’m too old and it’s cr**,” Gillespie told the Sunday Mail. “They shouldn’t be discounting me because I’m one of the best bowlers in the country and they should be looking at me.”Gillespie, who is fourth on the Pura Cup wicket list with 20 at 22.90, said the current decisions “annoy me”. “The selectors talk about bringing youth into the side and then I look at the Twenty20 game and they pick Shane Harwood,” he said. “The perception is I’m older than I really am.”Age can’t be a factor. The selectors clearly feel I don’t fit into the Australian team’s plans. But I’m going to keep taking wickets and gradually eliminate their reasons for not picking me.”Despite his desire to return, Gillespie does not expect to be part of Australia’s next contract list. His last Test was in Bangladesh, when he scored 201 and was the Man of the Series, but he was overlooked for the Ashes series and the 30-man preliminary squad for the World Cup.”It didn’t kill me to miss the Ashes but to not even be in the framework for selection was hard to accept,” he said. Gillespie, who has played 71 Tests, was initially dropped during the 2005 tour of England.”I’ve resigned myself to the fact I won’t be on the contract list,” he told the paper. “It shows how much they don’t rate me any more. I don’t think they even wanted to give me a CA contract this year but it would have looked silly not to give me one after my Test against Bangladesh.”It’s almost as if I’m a bit of a fall-back plan if the s*** hits the fan. It happened in Bangladesh. Glenn McGrath took time out, Shaun Tait and Michael Kasprowicz were injured and Stuart Clark missed the second Test and it was like, ‘s***, we’ve got no options left, we’ll just play Dizzy again’.”

Adam Gilchrist, Australia’s most successful one-day opening batsman, is expected to be demoted to No. 7 when he returns to the side from a short holiday next week. The reports Trevor Hohns’ selection panel, which wants a stable combination before next year’s World Cup, has decided on the move after Gilchrist’s disappointing returns this summer.Gilchrist was slotted in at the top of the order on a Steve Waugh hunch in 1997-98 and since then he has blasted 7147 runs in 201 matches. However, he has struggled after the three Super Series games and scored only 24 runs in his past five matches, including a first-ball duck in Sunday’s loss to South Africa. However, Hohns said on Sydney radio he had no plans to shuffle Gilchrist down the line-up, and Ricky Ponting defended his team-mate.Brad Haddin will replace the resting Gilchirst when Australia face South Africa in Melbourne on Friday and Sri Lanka in Sydney on Sunday. The paper reported the selectors were keen to ease Gilchrist’s load and ensure stronger starts from the opening pair than during the VB and Chappell-Hadlee series. The candidates for Gilchrist’s opening spot alongside Simon Katich, who will miss Friday’s game against South Africa with a groin injury, include Michael Clarke, Damien Martyn and Michael Hussey. Martyn was given the first chance to cement a spot when he was named alongside Phil Jaques for the clash at the Telstra Dome.Another opener in need of runs is Graeme Smith, the South Africa captain who has not posted an international half-century on the tour. Smith, who was unlucky to be given out lbw for 3 in Tuesday’s loss to Sri Lanka, said it was important for the senior players to make contributions after the tour-ending injuries of Kallis, Nel and Ntini.”We’ve got a lot of young guys around and the guys who have been around for a little bit need to take a lot more weight on their shoulders,” he said in . “That includes me. It’s important for me to stand up and get performances.”

Gladstone Dainty, the president of the USA Cricket Association (USACA), has denied making a number of comments attributed to him in the media about the relationship between the ICC and the USACA.Following a letter from the ICC seeking clarification from Dainty on comments attributed to him, Dainty insisted the remarks were inaccurate and did not accurately reflect his views."I would like to make it perfectly clear that USACA board of directors and its executive officers unreservedly recognise the ICC as its parent organisation," he said. "It would be extremely silly not to want to do business with the ICC especially when it is for our benefit. Every member of the USACA board and executive committee are excited and looking forward to working with the ICC. We will not be distracted by any party whose interests are questionable."Dainty denied specific comments attributed to him in the media reports. He wrote: "I am not in a position to nor did I ever characterise the ICC’s position as unreasonable. I never attributed the leaking of any documents to the ICC … as a matter of fact I contacted a private attorney to seek assistance in determining who was leaking this information."I vehemently deny any statement attributed to me that speaks of any `lynching’. I see it as being counter-productive to our efforts to move Project USA forward. If I indeed felt that way I would never consider being part of such a diverse organisation as USACA. I am absolutely disgusted that such a statement has been published as one that I made."Dainty colcluded by saying that he would address the matter directly with the journalist that wrote the original article.

Leicestershire have announced that Garnett Kruger will join Brad Hodge as their second overseas player for the 2004 season.Kruger, a 26-year-old fast bowler who plays for Gauteng, is on the verge of the South African side. He was in the squad for the first Test against West Indies at Johannesburg last week, but didn’t make the starting XI.Kruger moved from Eastern Province during the close season, and has taken 141 first-class wickets at an average of 29.90.But it wasn’t all good news for Leicestershire, as it was also revealed that Luke Wright, an England Under-19 allrounder, had decided to leave the county.

A marathon innings of 75 from 276 balls by Joseph Yovich dominated the first day’s play between Northern Districts and Central Districts at WestpacTrust Park, Hamilton.However, the loss of three wickets in the last hour left CD ahead on points on a day which never got above second gear.It finished with ND 221/6, having won the toss.The pitch offered some movement early on, but with good pace and reliable bounce it is a good batting surface on which a first innings par score should be at least 300.In their last home State Championship game, lost to Wellington by one wicket, ND surrendered so many easy wickets that a white flag could have been flown over the changing room. Hence the emphasis on survival today.James Marshall and Matthew Hart weathered the new ball well, putting on 46 for the first wicket before Hart was caught by Mathew Sinclair at third slip off Lance Hamilton for 13.The appearance of Yovich at No 3 was a surprise. He had scored only 127 runs at 18.14 in this season’s State Championship before today. A resolute 51 not out against Auckland in the last round prompted ND to give him a chance higher up the order.Yovich scored 11 fours, but needs to develop the ability to move the score along with ones and twos in order to take the initiative away from the bowlers.Late in the day, CD were convinced that Yovich had been caught behind, but umpire Peter Wright ruled that the ball had come off the pad. That was the nearest Yovich came to losing his wicket in a remarkable display of concentration that met the terms of his job description completely.With Marshall, Yovich put on 67 for the second wicket. Marshall fell lbw to give Andrew Schwass his 31st wicket of the season.Michael Parlane would have been the man to increase the tempo from the other end while Yovich dug in, but he holed out to deep mid on for 13 off Glen Sulzberger.Hamish Marshall joined Yovich for a fourth wicket partnership of 72, but took the same attritional approach to batting.The off spinners Sulzberger and Campbell Furlong bowled a long spell in tandem, conceding less than two an over without looking threatening. Neither batsmen attempted to disrupt line and length by using their feet.With less than an hour to go it seemed that a secure platform had been built, ready for acceleration tomorrow, but everything changed when Hamilton returned with the new ball.The left-armer took three wickets for 10 runs in a six-over spell, finishing the day with four for 64 from 20 overs.Hamish Marshall was first to go, caught at third slip by Ben Smith for an 83-ball 35. Scott Styris followed, caught at third slip by Sinclair for four.Furlong completed the trio of slip catches, taking Grant Bradburn at the second attempt before the batsman had scored.Hamilton swung the ball and maintained an attacking length. Michael Mason also bowled well, at least a quarter of the 33 runs scored off his 20 overs coming off the edge. He was unlucky to finish wicketless.It is vital for ND that Yovich stays there to reach his maiden first-class hundred tomorrow and that the ND tail supports him well. Durability is an asset, but not an end in itself.The day was marked by the announcement that Simon Doull will be unavailable for selection for the rest of the season. Though he has not ruled out a return to one-day cricket next season, the tone of the press release suggested that this was the end of a most distinguished career for one of ND’s most loyal and effective players.A Doull cameo with the bat would have enlivened today’s proceedings no end.

England’s middle-order mainstay, Graham Thorpe, will not return to the one-day side at least until the final NatWest Series qualifying match against Australia at The Oval on June 21.The Surrey left-hander has been ruled out for a further week after failing to recover from calf trouble.He has so far missed all three of England’s one-day defeats after sustaining the injury in the warm-up to the opening game against Pakistan at Edgbaston last Thursday.It had been hoped that Thorpe would recover in time to face Australia intomorrow’s day-night match at Old Trafford, but with half an eye on the Ashes series England will not want to take any risks with him.If England fail to win tomorrow they will already have been ruled out of the June 23 final at Lord’s.

A second Australian women’s cricketer has been caught out betting on the game this summer, with Western Australia’s Piepa Cleary suspended for six months by Cricket Australia for placing bets on the day-night Test in Adelaide last November.Cleary, 19, placed six bets totalling $15.50 on various elements of the match between Australia and New Zealand, and like the previous transgressor, Angela Reakes, has been handed a suspended two-year ban.However, in this case, the CA head of integrity Iain Roy chose to activate the first six months of that ban due to several “aggravating circumstances” including the fact that Cleary had made the bets two months after being present at a face-to-face anti-corruption training session from CA head of security Sean Carroll.”We continue to remind all elite cricketers and officials that betting on any form of cricket is strictly prohibited,” Roy said. “It is outlined in the anti-corruption education that we deliver annually, and is written into our anti-corruption code.”Piepa has heard this message many times through the anti-corruption education sessions that we deliver and accepts that in placing the bets she exercised poor judgement. Bets totalling $15.50 might seem small but it doesn’t matter.”We take a zero-tolerance approach to any form of gambling on cricket by players in order to protect the integrity of the game. It has been made very clear that if Piepa breaches the code in any way again, she will receive a significantly lengthier suspension.”Christina Matthews, chief executive of the Western Australian Cricket Association (WACA), expressed her disappointment at Cleary’s actions. “We are naturally disappointed that one of our players has been involved in an incident such as this,” she said. “Cricket in this country is held in high regard for its integrity and it is important for the future of the sport that remains the case. The WACA understands and supports the sanctions that have been handed down in this instance.”Piepa will have to work hard to regain some respect from this incident, but she remains an important member of WA cricket and has taken responsibility for her actions.”CA has 16 official betting partners, all of which have signed up to “assist CA in its ongoing management of the integrity of CA competitions, by agreeing to information sharing and other integrity requirements specified by CA”.Like Reakes, Cleary will now be compelled to form part of CA’s anti-corruption player education programmes in the future, as an example of how not to behave.

There is no good redemption
Where was Bob Marley when we needed him? It was fightback time once again and Misbah-ul-Haq could have redeemed himself after the World Twenty20 loss by seeing his side through in Mohali. He had said he wouldn’t shy away from playing the scoop over fine leg, that had led to his downfall in Johannesburg, if the opportunity presented, and he was true to his word tonight. He played it again, with 39 required off 26. He didn’t need Sreesanth for support this time, though, as he played it on to his stumps. His innings was no less crucial than the one he played in the World Twenty20 final as he, along with Younis Khan, brought Pakistan close to victory before getting out.That elusive catch
It wasn’t only Sachin Tendulkar who nearly got there. Yuvraj Singh tried to pull what would have been two blinders in the field. First running from square leg, he almost reached a skier from Younis Khan, which landed at mid-on. In hindsight he could have let the man at long-on make an attempt running in, as opposed to himself running backwards.The next one would have been the real beauty. Shahid Afridi had hit Zaheer Khan for three continuous boundaries and brought the target down to 21 off 14. Next one was a leading edge that went between the sight-screen and mid-off. Yuvraj ran from wide long-off, full throttle, launched for a full-length dive, but could only get a finger to it. Both the batsmen went on to make India suffer: Younis had scored 72 off 78 balls; he eventually got out for 117 off 110.Deceptive Shoaib
There was a time when it looked Shoaib Akhtar couldn’t bowl one ball at the stumps. In the 39th over of the Indian innings, he would have frustrated his captain the most. With Pakistan already running behind the over-rate, he bowled back-to-back wides and all of a sudden his celebrated long run-up started to seem excruciatingly long. That’s when he cut down on it, but bowled – surprise – a wide again. Yet for all the extras he bowled, he had the best figures in the match: 10-1-42-3. And the maiden came in the 47th over of the innings. The might have started late, but it did arrive, and did help Pakistan restrict India.Free hit, same difference
Relevant statistic: The free-hit rule seems to have benefitted the over-rate as since its introduction, the no-ball-per-match rate has come down considerably. Irrelevant statistic: When Sachin Tendulkar tried to make room and failed to make proper contact off a free hit, the scorer at the PCA Stadium was quick to claim this was the third free-hit opportunity Tendulkar had got and had failed to score on any of them. The scorer chose to stay silent when in the 24th over, Tendulkar brought out his trademark paddle sweep to a free hit off Shoaib Malik, getting his first runs off a free hit: four of them.