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Cricket South Africa has implemented major changes to its selection policy following the recent controversies regarding quotas involving Andre Nel and Charl Langeveldt. The CSA president – Norman Arendse is the incumbent – no longer has the power of veto over selection, while the captain and coach have been removed from the selection panel, although will still be consulted.The key change involves divesting the board president of his veto power. “The present system in terms of which the president has the right to veto the selected team should be abolished,” a CSA statement said.”The president and board of CSA should continue to be the custodians of the transformation policy insofar as the national team is concerned,” it added. “In this regard, [they] should continue to monitor the progress in achieving acceptable levels of representivity that will eventually reflect the demographic make-up of the country, but there should be a change of process whereby the CEO and convenor of selectors are required to manage the process and report regularly to the CSA president/board as the ultimate oversight and policy body.””In selecting the national squad, the selectors shall consult with and have regard to the input of both the coach and the captain,” the statement said. “The coach and convenor shall be responsible for the selection of the final eleven players to take the field. The captain takes charge once the playing eleven have been selected.”The issue of quotas, whereby every 15-man South African touring squad should include seven coloured players, has long been a thorny issue, but it came to a head before the tour of India in March. Nel was left out of the squad, in favour of Langeveldt, who later pulled out himself saying he was uncomfortable with the selection policy. In the end, Monde Zondeki was drafted in although didn’t play on the tour.Langeveldt has since signed a Kolpak deal with Derbyshire, effectively ending his international career, although Nel has resisted the temptation and has been named in the touring team for England.The South African board set up a committee to review the transformation policy, and all 12 of the recommendations were approved at a recent meeting.”The board also decided that the committee should continue its mandate and make further recommendations on how to increase black African representivity in South African cricket at all levels and focus on other areas of transformation,” said Arendse.The changes are a significant erosion of Arendse’s powers and there is also a shift in emphasis to transformation needing to start at grass roots level and move up, rather than beginning with the international team.”CSA must focus on lobbying the state and other stakeholders to make possible the main thrust of the transformation policy which is to provide facilities, resources and access in previously disadvantaged communities, with particular emphasis to black African areas, as no sport has the resources to achieve these goals on its own.”Another recommendation was to ensure the selectors have “the necessary experience, expertise and knowledge of the game and, additionally, are trusted to ensure that the team is representative and reflects the broad ethos of democratic South Africa and the principles of CSA’s transformation policy.”

The world’s most renowned coaches will gather in Sri Lanka later this month for a high-powered coaching conference.Tony Greig, Bob Woolmer, Steve Rixon, John Buchanan and Barry Richards will all address coaches, cricketers and administrators during a series of seminars.

Organised by the recently formed International Cricket Coaches’ Conference (ICCC), the two-day programme will focus on the latest technological advancements in coaching.The project is the brainchild of former cricket board president Thilanga Sumathipala, who believes is will help ensure the highest standards of coaching throughout Asia.”Cricket has now become so technologically advanced,” said Sumathipala. “Coaches and cricketers need to keep abreast of these changes. At present there is no continuous program that would meet this type of professional demand.”The conference will look at the following issues: traditional game v new technology, advanced technology to develop techniques, introduction to modern techniques, the most effective way to develop young cricketers, issues facing coaches/coaching, what are the basics – technology and coaching, the fine art of wicket-keeping, batting and bowling, real approach to a champion team, a point of view from the current world champions Australia, a captain’s perspective, the role of captain and manager, relationships with media, moulding the complete cricketer, a pathway to achieve excellence and, today’s skills for tomorrow’s technology.Local coaches are also being encouraged to participate: “The need of the moment is to nurture the budding generation of cricketers that Sri Lanka is gifted with by utilizing the latest techniques and skills in coaching. This conference is the first step in achieving that milestone,” said Sumathipala.The Conference will be open to both local and international participants and is scheduled meant for September 25 and 26. For participation details, contact the ICCC on +94-1-389673 or log on to the website: www.cricketconference.com.

Test wicket-keeper Rashid Latif was examined by Pakistan Cricket Board’s panel of doctors Tuesday.Tauseef Razzaq and Meesaq Rizvi, PCB’s medical experts, checked Rashid who flew back Sunday midway Pakistan’s tour of Zimbabwe because of neck injury. Rashid was advised to appear for another medical check up Friday.However, the panel diagnosed nothing serious about his neck injury and gave him a verbal clearance after Rashid was sent to a local hospital here for an MRI test.Rashid, in the meantime, will do some physical exercises as well as continue physiotherapy in Karachi.

South Wilts cricketers are mourning the death of Gordon Gay, their former Chairman and President, after a long illness.A founder member of the Salisbury club in 1948, Mr Gay, 70, played for South Wilts for over 30 years, ten of which were as captain.An elegant batsman and off-spin bowler, he later became chairman, a post he held for some 18 years.An impeccable, dapper man, hugely respected in many spheres of Salisbury city life, Mr Gay worked tirelessly for South Wilts and Wiltshire cricket when his playing career ended.He put countless man hours into the Bemerton club, helping transform the South Wilts ground into one of the best in the region.In 1997, he received the Southern League’s prestigious Groundsman of the Year award and, two years later, his voluntary work for the ECB was acknowledged by His Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh, who presented him with the 1999 Torch Trophy award.More recently Mr Gay was presented with a Special Lifetime Achievement award for his outstanding service to sport in the Salisbury area.The funeral service was held at St John’s Church, Bemerton, immediately behind the South Wilts sports ground last Friday.Donations to the Salisbury Hospice can be made via Ian Newman, Funeral Directors, 55 Winchester Street, Salisbury.

Rain and no County Championship matches this past week saw most of the South African connection resting, even allowing Shaun Pollock two days to return to South Africa to join the South African training camp.Those who did manage to play in the Norwich Union League saw Nic Pothas carrying his bat in both matches played, scoring 50 and 34. Neil Johnson managed 14 apiece and a 2-29 as Hampshire went down to Derby and Northamptonshire in rain affected games.Andrew Gait and Sven Koenig both scored ducks but ended up on the winning side as rain and Duckworth/Lewis created exciting run chases.Shaun Pollock, getting back before the start on Sunday morning, managed to take 1-40 but did not need to bat as Warwickshire beat Leicestershire by seven wickets in another rain shortened game.Kevin Pietersen scored 19 not out in losing to Yorkshire with Nottinghamshire resting both Greg Smith and Nicky Boje.Rain also had a major impact in the Lancashire league.One of the few games to go almost untouched saw Martin van Jaarsveld scoring 83 and then taking 2-66 against compatriot Con de Lange. De Lange scored 33 and took 5-77 but ended on the losing side.Two innings of note were those by Andre Seymore scoring 52 not out, this out of a losing team total of 74 and Jacques Rudolph scoring 25 out of a losing team total of 51. Rudolph also took the only wicket for his team returning 1-14.Andrew Hall 12 and Pierre Joubert 0-9 had their games completely washed out.

Scott Styris may have been coming back from injury this summer, but he had reward for all his hard work when awarded the Northern Districts Cricketer of the Year Award last week.His performances for ND in both first-class and one-day cricket made him the obvious candidate for the award which was sponsored by Air New Zealand Travelcentre.During the summer in the State Championship, he scored 644 runs at 44.00 and included among those runs was an innings of 212 not out against Otago. At the time it was an ND record but James Marshall bettered it a week later.However, he also took 28 wickets for ND to complete a fine all-round summer.Appearances in the State Shield were limited due to the fact he was selected for New Zealand to play in the Australia tri-series in which he played in four games.But among his Shield performances was an outstanding 82 not out against Auckland at Eden Park’s outer oval to win the game in the final over.Styris is now a member of the New Zealand team in Sharjah and Pakistan.Nicola Browne was awarded the women’s cricketer of the year. She has had a meteoric rise in women’s cricket, despite being 18. She was the leading ND wicket-taker in the State League and also had the best economy rate.She was one of the success stories of the New Zealand A team’s tour to Australia, and she was asked to stay on as a member of the New Zealand women’s team for the annual series against Australia. She played in all three matches and then played another match in New Zealand in the return series. She is a member of the New Zealand Academy at Lincoln University this year.Ian Butler was named the Young Cricketer of the Year. He made his ND debut in the State Championship in late-November and by February was a member of the New Zealand team.He made five first-class appearances for ND taking 17 wickets at 24.Other awards made were:Basil McBurney Trophy – Bay of Plenty; Fergus Hickey Rosebowl – Bay of Plenty; Glenview International Hotel Cup – Northland; Outstanding services to coaching – Wynne Bradburn; Allan McBride Trophy for service to Junior Cricket – Per Rorholt; Umpire of the Year – Tony Hill; Fielder of the Year – Robbie Hart; Batsman of the Year – James Marshall; Bowler of the Year – Joseph Yovich.

Somerset Seconds suffered their third defeat in three days in the 2nd XI Trophy competition when they lost by seven wickets to Glamorgan at the County Ground today.Batting first Somerset got off to a flying start with openers Neil Edwards and Carl Gazzard putting on 73 in quick time before Gazzard was out for 45.Left hander Neil Edwards stayed around quite a bit longer before being fourth man out with the score on 166.Skipper Graham Rose (34) and triallist Chris Budd (44) who plays for Wiltshire in the Minor Counties, then shared a fifth wicket partnership of 65 after which wickets fell regularly until by the end of their allotted overs Somerset had reached 281 for 9.Evergreen Rose got Somerset off to the best possible start when he got a wicket with his first ball when Wes Durston held on to a sharp chance from Daniel Cherry in the slips.Glamorgan lost a further wicket with the score on 16 to a spectacular catch by West Durston, but from then on Glamorgan seemed to be in control and Keith Newell (89) and Jonathan Hughes put on 175 for the third wicket.Hughes remained at the wicket to hit the winning runs to see his side safely home, and ended unbeaten on 125 as Glamorgan reached 282 for 3 off 47.1 overs.Somerset Seconds play a two day friendly against Millfield School at Street staring tomorrow at 11 am.

A resurgence in the size of Test cricketing attendances at its home venues has been among the most notable by-products of the Australian team’s phenomenal run of success over recent years. But, enlivened as it is by the likelihood that it will feature the first official head-to-head battle for world Test cricketing supremacy, comes the prospect of even greater renaissance in 2001-02.In today’s announcement of the itineraries for the twin Test tours by New Zealand and South Africa – complemented by the renewal of airline Ansett Australia’s sponsorship of five-day cricket in Australia for a further five seasons – the Australian Cricket Board has confirmed that it will be Australia’s series against the latter which will assume star billing. The Proteas have been drawn to play the opening game of their three-match series in mid-December in Adelaide and will then take on the home team in the two feature matches of the Test summer: the back-to-back contests in Melbourne and Sydney over the Christmas/New Year period.Under the International Cricket Council’s recently-introduced Test rankings system, the prospect that the two teams will be playing off for the chance to assume Test bragging rights is contingent upon the outcomes of intervening series.Disappointing results in the Australians’ upcoming Ashes contest against England and their tussle against New Zealand could spell an early end to their reign, while the South Africans may lose the chance to challenge Australia for ownership of the number one mantle if they perform poorly in fixtures against Zimbabwe and India in September and October respectively.But the chance of a direct bout for the title of world champion still looms as a genuine possibility.South Africa’s tour will open with the annual festival-style one-day match against the ACB Chairman’s XI at Lilac Hill in Perth on 5 December and will also take in four-day matches against state teams Western Australia and New South Wales as well as the three Tests.For the New Zealanders, meanwhile, their visit during the early part of the Australian summer will again feature Tests in Brisbane, Hobart and Perth. That scheduling continues a well-entrenched pattern that has already seen more than thirteen years pass since they last played in a Test match in Australia outside of any of those three venues – the previous such instance having occurred in 1987-88 when the two teams played out a thrilling draw in front of a captivated crowd in Melbourne.The Black Caps’ 2001-02 tour will open with a match against state team Queensland in Brisbane in the opening week of November and will also include a one-day encounter with the Prime Minister’s XI and a four-day match against South Australia.

Devendra Bundela’s 144 was the mainstay of the Madhya Pradesh innings on the second day of their Ranji Trophy pre quarterfinal against Hyderabad at the Daly college ground in Indore on Sunday. Thanks chiefly to his 280-ball innings, MP were able to post an imposing total of 490 in their first innings. At stumps Hyderabad were 34 for no loss.MP, who batted patiently to score 216 for two off 90 overs on Saturday were a bit more enterprising on the second day, taking 78.3 overs to make 274 runs. Opening batsman HS Sodhi was a bit unlucky to miss his century. He was run out for 89 after a 474-minute vigil at the crease. He faced 320 balls and hit ninefours. He and Bundela added 175 runs for the third wicket off 70.5 overs.Bundela and Abbas Ali (57) then carried on the good work by adding 95 runs for the fourth wicket off 21.3 overs. At this stage, Bundela was out after having batted 384 minutes. The 23-year-old right hander faced 280 balls and hit 19 fours and a six.Jai P Yadav then hit up a bright 44 off 54 balls with six hits to the ropes. The tail too chipped in and MP almost topped the 500 run mark. The bowling honours were shared by off spinners, young NS Yadav (4 for 114) and veteran Kanwaljit Singh (4 for 95).Hyderabad openers Daniel Manohar (18) and M Srinivas (13) batted confidently for the nine overs till close of play. But Hyderabad still have a lot of work ahead of them.

The Bangladesh Cricket Board has said it is concerned that Richard Pybus, who took over as the national team’s head coach in May, hasn’t yet signed a contract with the board. The BCB took up the matter on Sunday after it came to the media’s notice.The board’s cricket operations committee, in a meeting, asked the acting CEO Nizamuddin Chowdhury to communicate with Pybus, who returned to South Africa last week. He had given the national players a rest before playing in the first-class competition, the National Cricket League, which was supposed to start on October 14 and run till the Eid holidays later this month. But since the NCL’s scheduled start has been delayed, the board now expects Pybus to start the national team’s training programme earlier.”He [Richard Pybus] has been asked to come to Bangladesh and sign the contract as soon as possible as there might be legal complications otherwise,” said Jalal Yunus, chairman of the BCB media committee. “As of now, our main aim is to start the national camp for the players. For that we’ll need Pybus to send us a training programme as soon as possible. Our immediate concern is the West Indies tour.”Meanwhile, the BCB has extended spin bowling consultant Saqlain Mushtaq’s tenure till December. The spinner had initially joined the national team in July on a three month contract. This means that Saqlain will be part of the coaching set-up through the series against West Indies in November.