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All rather quietly, Zimbabwe’s national league started last week, overshadowed by the board’s secret annual general meeting.The national league is now being played under a new two-day format though it has done little to spice up the image of the flagging tournament. Although all the national sides are taking part, matches have been so one-sided that they have offered little of real value to the selectors.Despite some obvious talent in clubs, most of the participants in the league are very young and in need of guidance from more experienced players: the average age of players is 20. Except for a few older players, such as Gary Brent and the returning Ray Price, there is almost nobody over 25 in Zimbabwe domestic cricket, a state of affairs reflected in the national side.Sources says the national league is likely to act as a feeder for the Logan Cup, the country’s first-class competition, which itself has been hit by falling standards and may also undergo an overhaul.The Logan Cup was put on hold as Zimbabwe was preparing to play in South Africa’s SuperSport Series, a plan which fell through because of the reluctance of the franchises to take time to play an additional fixture in Harare. However, the Zimbabwe board has been assured by their South African counterparts that they will “definitely play” in the domestic limited-overs and Twenty20 events.

A report in The Standard claims that the five-year ban handed down to Maurice Odumbe was recommended by presiding adjudicator Ahmed Ebrahim, a retired Zimbabwean supreme court judge, and not, as first thought, by the Kenyan Cricket Association.Odumbe was banned following a hearing in July which found him guilty of associating with known bookmakers. At the time it was widely reported that the KCA had pressed for the punishment. But The Standard published Ebrahim’s confidential report.”Far from shouldering this responsibility [ as Kenya’s captain], Odumbe has shown himself to be dishonest and devious in his behaviour in relation to the game of cricket,” Ebrahim said in his findings. “He has been callous and greedy in the way he has conducted himself. There is no suggestion that he was in desperate straits and in dire need of money because of some serious difficulty which may have befallen him.”Odumbe has exhibited no remorse. He has not indicated any intention to mend his ways. Instead, he has chosen to cast doubts on the honesty and integrity of people who have despaired of his behaviour. The penalty provided for his `illegal’ conduct in terms of the ICC Code of Conduct is a minimum ban of two years or a maximum of a life ban.”He has not been found guilty of `match-fixing’ but, as I have indicated, his conduct was outrageously reprehensible,” concluded Ebrahim. “In my view, a five-year ban would meet the justice of the case and I so recommend.”The ramifications of the evidence given by Katherine Maloney, Odumbe’s estranged wife, continue. It was her testimony which proved so damning to Odumbe, and which resulted in ICC Anti-Corruption officials again visiting Nairobi last week as part of an ongoing investigation.

A spell of 3-3 in 14 balls from Robert Croft put Glamorgan in a promising position onthe opening day of their match against India A at Swansea, as the tourists slumped to 149-6in the 53rd over. However, Glamorgan`s hopes of making further inroads were thwarted bypersistant rain which swept in from the Mumbles and prevented any further play after 2.35pm.The Welsh county had earlier reduced the tourists to 26-2 after a disciplined openingspell by David Harrison, with the young seamer dismissing both openers, Shiv Sunder Dasand Satyajit Parab, at a cost of just 4 runs in 28 balls.The tourists then recovered from being 26-2 in the 12th over, thanks to a watchful partnership of116 in 35 overs by Sridharan Sriram and Rohan Gavaskar before both were dismissed by Robert Croftafter scoring 62 and 61 apiece. Gavaskar was well caught by a diving Owen Parkin at shortthird man as the Indian miscued an attempted drive after striking 8 fours and a pull for6 off a short ball from Darren Thomas.Sriram quickly lost his new partners Vijay Bharadwaj, who was leg before to Parkin for1 and then Hemang Badani was adjudged leg before for 0 as he padded up to Robert Croft.Then Sriram was caught at first slip by Mike Powell off Croft, after striking 6 foursin his patient innings.Sriram`s departure meant that the Indians had lost four wickets for just 7 runs in thespace of 5.2 overs, but heavy drizzle, followed by more persistant and heavy rain meant thatno further play was possible.

“It hasn’t been easy playing 100 Tests,” Inzamam-ul-Haq said beforethe match. “I never thought I would get so far.” But in this 100thTest, walking in with Pakistan on 7 for 2, he showed that he still hasplenty of juice left in him. Playing with an ease that made bowlers’efforts seem almost comical, he stroked his way to his 21st century.He got there by guiding the 131st ball he faced, from Irfan Pathan, tosquare leg for a single. He reached the other hand, took off hishelmet, raised his arms, and smiled broadly. He looked with pride andaffection towards the pavilion, where his team-mates stood clapping.The audience applauded too, as did Anil Kumble, another weatheredgiant who knew how it felt to be underestimated.

Requests for information about the current standings in the Open League, as well as what chances various clubs have of getting into the semi-final stage of the Open League this season have recently been made. Disregarding possible points lost due to a failure to supply umpires, as the table stands only Concordia CC are definitely in the semi-finals, whilst the clubs Vienna CC, Lords CC, Five Continents CC, United Nations CC, Ljubljana CC, Pakistan CC and Pakistan Falken CC all have a mathematical chance of qualifying for the Open League semi-finals, with only Zagreb CC definitely not being able to qualify. Realistically though, the semi-finals are likely to be composed of Concordia CC, Vienna CC, Lords CC, and one of Five Continents CC or United Nations CC. The fixtures between Vienna CC and Lords CC (27th July) and Concordia CC and Lords CC (2nd August) will play an important role in deciding the top three places.Pakistan CC and Pakistan Falken would probably require close to full points from their remaining fixtures to qualify, with Pakistan Falken CC needing comprehensive victories against leaders Concordia CC and second-placed Vienna CC to have any chance of qualifying. The fixture between Five Continents CC and United Nations CC (17th August) may also have a decisive role in deciding which teams qualify for the semi-finals.

Andrew Hall’s contract has not been renewed by the Titans Cricket Franchise, meaning that he is now a free agent in South African cricket.Hall, 28, has played 10 Tests and 43 one-day internationals since 1998-99, and was one of South Africa’s stars on their tour to England last year, when he took 16 wickets with his medium-paced bowling and contributed a Test-best 99 not out to their victory at Headingley. He is currently plying his trade with Worcestershire, the county that has become his second home.”It is most unfortunate that we have not been able to agree terms with Andrew Hall and his agent,” said Brandon Foot, the chairman of the Titans’ board of directors. “We have been in protracted, but inconclusive, negotiations for a sustained period of time.Hall is perhaps the only cricketer to have been shot at point-blank range during a mugging, and lived to tell the tale. “Andrew is a wonderfully courageous cricketer who performed admirably for the Titans during the recent Pro-20 Series,” added Foot. “We wish him everything of the best in his future endeavours.”

Sandeep Patil, the former Indian batsman and one of the four candidates shortlisted by the Indian cricket board for the position of India’s next coach, has opted out of the fray citing existing commitments with the Oman cricket team, according to a report in Mid-Day, a Mumbai based newspaper. Though Patil refused to either “confirm or deny” the report, it is learnt that Patil has communicated his unavailability through a written reply to the board’s invitation for an interview scheduled.Patil will be travelling to Ireland next month with the Oman team for their World Cup qualifiers. He is also involved in conducting the Complan coaching scheme to unearth cricketing talent from schools.Patil had earlier coached India in 1996, when he took over from Ajit Wadekar, but his tenure was a forgettable one and was replaced within six months. In the next few years, though, Patil guided the Kenyan national team and helped them enter the World Cup semi-finals in 2003, after overcoming Test-playing countries like Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe and Bangladesh. He then returned to take charge of the India A side, guided them to a very satisfactory tour of England before winning the tri-series in Kenya, in a tournament also involving Pakistan A. He quit the post as he felt he was being treated “shabbily” by the Indian board and took over the responsibilities of coaching Oman.

A new twist has been added to the Indian Test campaign in Australia, with the team management summoning Murali Kartik, the 27-year-old left-arm spinner, to join the squad in Australia on the eve of the second Test which starts at the Adelaide Oval on December 12.Sourav Ganguly confirmed the news, and said that “All three spinners will be be in contention for the Adelaide Test.”Kartik, who has been the most impressive spinner on the domestic circuit this season, left India late last night and is expected to arrive in Australia at around 10pm local time.However, the addition of Kartik, who was considered unlucky to have missed out from the original tour party, further reinforces the belief that the Indian team management are considering spin as a serious option for the remaining Tests.

Queensland 9 for 264 (Maher 92, Symonds 73) defeated South Australia 195 by 69 runs
ScorecardQueensland extended South Australia’s horror run at the Gabba with an emphatic 69-run ING Cup victory. Unbeaten in two matches, Queensland charged four points clear of Tasmania at the top of the competition table by bowling the Redbacks out for 195 and earning a bonus point.The captain Jimmy Maher (92 from 123 balls) and Andrew Symonds (73 from 72) laid the foundations with a 132-run second-wicket stand to push the side to its 22nd win from 27 limited-overs matches against South Australia, who have won only twice at the Gabba.South Australia never appeared in the hunt chasing 265 after Andy Bichel continued his early-season purple patch by removing Ben Cameron and Callum Ferguson inside the first 10 overs. The offspinner Chris Simpson chimed in late to finish off the tail.Maher was Man of the Match but Symonds could easily have earned his second award after guiding the Bulls to a two-wicket win over New South Wales a fortnight ago. Symonds made an extremely cautious start, taking 10 balls to get off the mark, but peeled off 12 fours as his last 70 came from 52 balls.His wicket sparked a middle-order stumble and they lost 8 for 92 in the last 20 overs. Maher, the competition’s all-time leading run-scorer, looked set for his eighth domestic one-day century before being painfully run out in the 37th over.

Terry Jenner’s roles as Shane Warne’s mentor and an ECB legspinning coach have been cleared as a conflict of interest. The ECB received complaints after Jenner had fine-tuned Warne’s action before the first Test at Lord’s, where his six wickets sent a new generation of English batsmen looking for answers.However, an ECB spokesman told Jenner was a consultant rather than a full-time staff member on a program to unearth Test quality spinners by 2007. “As far as we are concerned there is no problem at all,” the spokesman told the paper. “Terry Jenner is his own man. He was involved for one specific project and his work on that is finished.”At a pre-Test net session Jenner, who has coached Warne for more than a decade, worked with him for two hours after spotting some areas where his loop and drift could be improved. Warne then produced what Adam Gilchrist said was “some of the best bowling I’ve kept to from him”. “That’s a pretty big statement, he has set such high standards,” Gilchrist told . “When he bowls over the top he gets that drift towards leg. Then, when you are spinning it, you only have to spin it six inches and you are going to deceive batsmen.”Gilchrist will miss the tour match against Worcestershire, which starts on Saturday, but plans to work on problems caused by Andrew Flintoff bowling around the wicket. The second Test begins at Birmingham on August 4.