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Sir Viv Richards has resigned as West Indies’ chairman of selectors after two years in the job. His commitment to commentate with the BBC was cited by the West Indies board as the main reason for his decision. Richards himself was unavailable for comment.Richards will be replaced on the three-man selection panel by Clyde Butts, the former Guyana and West Indies offspinner – Joey Carew and Gordon Greenidge are the other two selectors. Carew will take over from Richards as chairman.The WICB has appointed interim selection committees for the next two months pending the conclusion of the review of the management structure of the West Indies team. The recommendations of the review are expected to be implemented following the ICC Champions Trophy in England this September, and will have an impact on the role of selectors.Richards, 52, took over as chairman of selectors in May 2002, but his last few months in charge became increasingly controversial, with reports of rifts between him and Brian Lara, the captain. On West Indies’ tour to South Africa earlier this year, the two were involved in an extraordinary incident, when Lara made a last-minute change to the fourth-Test team during the toss – apparently against Richards’s wishes – bringing in Merv Dillon for Adam Sanford.

Graeme Smith, the South African captain, has pledged to put South African cricket back on track following a disappointing World Cup campaign. Prior to the team’s departure to England for the triangular NatWest Series, Smith was quoted in the Beeld newspaper as saying: “The entire group realises the importance of this tour — to excel as individuals, but also to form a united front.”A negative image has been created in the wake of our failure in the World Cup, and as a result of recent events highlighted in the media. Many of our supporters have lost confidence in us. That’s why we’ve got to accept responsibility for the current situation, and do everything in our power to restore the pride and passion that were once trademarks of South African cricket.”In sport, there are many variables that have a bearing on results, but there are also many aspects that can be controlled, and we cannot afford to fail in that respect. As a young team, we’re very aware of the enormous challenges we face and that we are not the favourites in either of the two series. However, we accept the challenge with the pride and passion that our supporters expect of us. It was not so long ago that we were supporters ourselves, encouraging the players from the stands.”Promising the South African fans total commitment and integrity, Smith said: “We can give the assurance that we share the joy of every victory and the disappointment of every defeat. We are the selected group that has the honour of representing our country on the cricket field, and we acknowledge the responsibility that we carry in that respect.”We are the torch-bearers for SA cricket … each of us is determined to hand over the torch while it’s still burning brightly. Our message to the entire country is that we realise we’re not perfect, and that we disappoint ourselves and our supporters from time to time. Still, we represent our country and we’ll give it our all, on and off the playing field.”The South African one-day squad arrived in Dublin on Monday, without Jacques Kallis and Nicky Boje. Kallis stayed back due to a bereavement in the family, while Boje remained at home for the birth of his first child. Both are expected to join the squad in England on Saturday.

– The so-called shareholders of a Barbados team which has not won aregional limited-overs title for 13 years have been given a simple butstrict message for the 2001 Red Stripe Bowl starting here today. "Thekey word should be responsibility and it doesn’t matter who theopposition is," team coach Hendy Springer said yesterday ahead ofBarbados’ opening match against first-time competitors Antigua."We have some guys who have represented Barbados for a while and weneed to put that extra pressure on the senior batsmen and seniorbowlers to perform and to bring the rest of the team through."As a result, the tour selection panel – chairman Richard Edwards,Springer, captain Sherwin Campbell and vice-captain Courtney Browne -last night opted for the most experienced combination after reducingthe squad to 12.It meant, therefore, there were no places for the uncapped KurtWilkinson and Ryan Nurse, while the struggling Adrian Griffith seemsto be battling with the in-form Dale Richards for the final battingspot.There would have been debate over whatever team Barbados went for, butthe crux of the matter is that Campbell’s men cannot afford to slip upat the first hurdle in a brief preliminary phase in which they playonly three matches.Defeat today at the Uitvlugt ground on the west coast of Demerarasurely puts them under pressure to finish among the top two in a groupthat also includes hosts Guyana and the Southern Windwards, the mainbunch of last year’s champions. Every game, then, is a must-winsituation."I look at it so, not only for points, but for general credibility andconfidence," Springer said. "We’re looking to win all the games, we’relooking to play hard. We want to start with a good win, because thatis always a good note to start on. It will give the guys confidencegoing into the other games."Antigua may be first-timers in name only, but the make-up of the teamfeatures a few players who are seasoned campaigners.Among them are captain and hard-hitting batsman Dave Joseph; vicecaptain and West Indies wicket-keeper Ridley Jacobs; 1999 MVP, theenterprising Sylvester Joseph; along with two consistent regionallimited-overs performers, allrounder Wilden Cornwall and off-spinnerAnthony Lake.The fast bowling attack, too, appears to have a good look. It will bespearheaded by Kerry Jeremy and also includes Ricky Christopher andGoldwyn Prince."They’ve got a pretty good combination of players, but I still fancythe chances of the Barbados team with the more experienced line-up,"Springer said.It has not been a secret Barbados’ preparations have not been ideal.The team was picked less than two weeks ago following three back-toback trial matches and the planned practice matches last week werethwarted by the weather."The preparations have been adequate, but not sufficient," the coachsaid.On arriving in this South American country on Sunday following a 5:30a.m flight, the team engaged in a three-hour evening practice sessionat the LBI ground and came back yesterday morning for similar work outat the Malteenoes ground."We need to get familiar with the conditions," Springer said."We found yesterday (Sunday) that the pitch was very, very low. Itemphasises the fact that the batsmen have got to do a lot of frontfoot work. Guyana’s weather has often been a problem for major cricketmatches, but it was mainly hot and sunny yesterday and reportsindicate that the weather was fine over the last few days.

On a day when their new-ball bowlers were smattered in the first session, their third seamer over-stepped on 15 occasions and their fielders let slip three catches, the Indians could take heart from Zaheer Khan’s spell in the middle session, one that read: 7-3-10-2. It was an effort that both Andrew Strauss, captain of the England Lions, and Venkatesh Prasad, India’s bowling coach, spoke highly of and would serve as a consolation at the end of a tough opening day.A year back Zaheer was uttering phrases like “all I want to do is be back in the side” and “I’m desperate to return”. He was at Worcestershire, troubling batsmen in the second division of the County Championship, and doing his best away from the spotlight. It was an experience that got him fitter, gave him a chance to bowl long spells and enabled him to return to England as India’s spearhead. He ended as the highest wicket-taker in the division (78 wickets in 16 games) and helped Worcestershire gain promotion.He wasn’t at his best on the opening day at Chelmsford. He struggled with his length in the first spell, though he got rid of the out-of-form Andrew Strauss, struggled with his line in the second, when he strayed down leg, before turning up for an inspired seven-over burst in the middle.He showed the value of experience – keeping it on and around off – and mixed his length well. Jonathan Trott, who recently made his England one-day debut, was forced to edge to first slip in a sequence that read yorker, slash and miss, leading edge, outside edge. Tim Ambrose, the Lions’ wicketkeeper, was taunted from over-the-wicket before he quickly changed to round the stumps and induced the edge. The bowlers had discussed a specific plan at the lunch break, as Prasad was to reveal later, and decided to avoid the trap of keeping it too full or too short. Bowling back of a length and mixing up the angles worked just fine.”Being a left-armer adds something to your armoury, something most batsman aren’t used to and he can swing it both ways,” said Strauss of Zaheer. “He knows what he’s doing with the ball and is someone to watch out for from the Indian side.”The fact that Sharma sent down 15 no-balls, on a day when he hardly threatened, didn’t seem to worry Prasad. “He’s just 18, he’s bowling well in the nets and this is a chance for him to learn. He’s shown signs of improvement and will be better off after this experience.”But were India anywhere close to deciding their third seamer for the first Test at Lord’s? “RP Singh has been the most impressive,” said Prasad providing a clear indication but quickly added, “Ranadeb Bose and Ishant have done well too. It’s upto the team management to finally decide.”Strauss said he was happy with the total but cautioned that they’d get an indication of how good a total it was only when they bowled on the pitch tomorrow. “Bresnan batted exceptionally well and both he and Broad saved us today,” he said. “Broad showed what talent he has with the bat and Bresnan we all knew had a lot of capability anyway. At 380-odd at the end of the day we’re pretty happy with that, a few guys have shown what they can do.”Strauss himself didn’t make much of an impact though, and couldn’t get much practice before the first Test at Lord’s, starting on July 19. “I was looking forward to getting a big one but there is a second innings to come and hopefully things will turn around. I was feeling pretty jaded at the end of the last Test at Durham [against West Indies] and felt I needed some time away. It was a case of getting myself ready for the Tests and part of it involved technical work indoors before hitting the ground running with Middlesex. Hopefully I can get a good score in the second dig, before the first Test.”

Sachin Tendulkar, who recently ruled himself out of India’s tour to West Indies, has been advised to wait at least another six weeks before returning to competitive cricket. Tendulkar met with the same doctors in London who conducted surgery on his shoulder in March, and it has been decided that he will continue with “a structured rehabilitation programme” of his right shoulder.The medical team at the Hospital of St John and Elizabeth reached the conclusion that Tendulkar, though recovering “well and as expected” was not fit for international competition yet. In a statement released by the hospital, it was reported that his shoulder was now stable and had regained “a full range of motions although strength remains slightly weak”. Though the doctors said that his biceps repair was good, there was still some discomfort in stressing a “weak” tendon.Though the expected timeframe for a recovery from a major tendon stress would be 10 to 12 weeks, the doctors said that in Tendulkar’s case the priority was to regain strength over the next four to six weeks. Tendulkar will be reassessed after a fortnight but will continue his rehabilitation during this time.Meanwhile, Tendulkar has dismissed all suggestions of retirement and insisted that he would continue to compete in both forms of the game.

Bangladesh are planning to stage a one-day tournament in December in a bid to improve their one-day ranking. At the moment, Bangladesh are 11th in the ICC’s rankings, but this will improve to 10th in the coming weeks as some of Kenya’s wins are expunged from the calculations.Under the ICC’s new rules for Champions Trophy qualification, Bangladesh need to be in the top 10 to be part of the play-off between countries ranked from No. 7 to 10 to decide one of two places in the competition.To help do this, Ali Ashgar Lobi, the Bangladesh Cricket Board’s president, told reporters that the board would be looking to stage a triangular one-day series involving Kenya and Zimbabwe, two sides immediately above them in the rankings. Although sources in Kenya indicated that this series would take place in the second week of November, Lobi said that it would be in December or January.Lobi hinted that Chittagong might get the chance of hosting the tournament as there will be no venue in Dhaka at that time.

Chris Read has been named as Nottinghamshire’s captain for this season’s Twenty20 Cup, which comes as some consolation after the harsh manner in which he has been removed from England’s Test and one-day plans.It was Read’s perceived batting weaknesses that led the England selectors to opt for Geraint Jones in both roles, but so far this season, Read had made two centuries in the County Championship, and averages more than 50 in both forms of the game. In addition, his ability to pull out big shots at the latter stages of an innings will stand his team in good stead in the Twenty20 format.”It’s going to be an interesting few weeks for me," admitted Read, whose first match in charge will be against Durham at Trent Bridge on July 2. "I’ll need to learn quickly, but I’m really looking forward to leading out the lads.”

The Board of Control for Cricket (BCCSL) has organized three limited-overpractice games prior to the selection of the Sri Lankan squad to tour the West Indies. The matches will be played on May 25, 26 and 27. Sri Lanka are due toplay three one-day internationals and two Tests in the Caribbean, starting from June 7.Practice match squad: Avishka Gunawardene, Ian Daniel, T.M. Dilshan (wk), Russel Arnold, Upul Chandana, Kaushalya Weereratne, Anushka Polonowita, Chamila Gamage, Michael Vandort, Jehan Mubarak, Dharshana Gamage, Naveed Nawaz, Chamara Silva, Thilan Samaraweera, Prasanna Jayawardene (wk), Hasantha Fernando, Lanka de Silva, Ravindu Pushpakumara, Taranga Laksitha, Nuwan Zoysa, Ranga Dias, Sujeewa de Silva, Tilan Tushara Mirando, Mudalige Pushpakumara, Malintha Gajanayake, Sahan Wijeratne, Buddhika Fernando, Dinusha Fernando, GayanWeerakoon, Dilhara Fernando

In their final Championship match of the season at Hinkley, Somerset Seconds closed the day 328 behind Leicestershire with nine wickets in hand.The home side batted first and scored 378 for 6 declared with Furnival top scoring with 103. For Somerset Ian Jones took 3 for 88, and Joe Tucker 2 for 55.By close of play on the first day Somerset had moved on to 50 for 1, with Mark Lathwell unbeaten on 27, and David Roberst, a trialist from Northants on 20 not out. The game continues tomorrow.

Usman Khawaja wondered if this moment would ever arrive. When he made his Test debut 1768 days ago, Ricky Ponting was still officially captain (though he did not play that match), Tim Nielsen was coach and Julia Gillard was prime minister. Michael Clarke came and went, then Steven Smith took over. Mickey Arthur came and went, now it’s Darren Lehmann. The prime ministers since then are too numerous to list.Through it all Khawaja kept dreaming, and hoping, and finally his first Test century arrived, late in the afternoon on the first day of the 2015-16 home summer, on his adopted home ground. The release of emotion was obvious in his celebration, a running leap and wave of his bat, before his batting partner and captain, Smith, gave him a hug.”It was just elation, the biggest amount of emotional relief,” Khawaja said. “I’ve wanted to get a Test hundred for Australia my whole life. There were times over the last three or four years I thought it might not happen. When it did happen the build-up of a lot of emotions came out because it’s what I always dreamt about.”The first one is always the hardest, I’ve said, so it’s massive for me. I scored my first first-class century here and now my first Test century. I’m just really excited about the day we’ve had as a team, that’s as good a day as you get. We’ve got a lot of hard work coming up but I’m very excited at the moment. And I like to live in the now, so I’m just enjoying this at the moment.”Khawaja’s hundred came with a swivelled pull for four, and it came from 123 deliveries, an innings in which he showed the kind of positive intent that had sometimes been lacking in his earlier stints as a Test batsman. He lifted the spinner Mark Craig for two classy sixes and never looked like getting bogged down, which had been a problem earlier in his career.”The hard work was done at the top by Davey and Burnsy, they batted beautifully,” Khawaja said of the 161-run opening stand between David Warner and Joe Burns. “It allows us at No. 3 and No. 4 to come out and play a few more shots because the ball is a bit older and the bowlers are a bit tired… It’s a real nice wicket out there and it was easy to play positive for that reason.”I just kept looking to score runs. It makes it easier when you have Davey at the other end, it takes a bit of pressure off you when he’s going, you don’t feel like you have to score very fast. I kept looking for runs, as you do when you’re playing well. Fortunately I got a few in my area and I got off to a flyer, which doesn’t always happen, and kept the momentum going.”There was a moment of concern for Khawaja when he collided with a New Zealand fieldsman while completing a run, and immediately hobbled around in discomfort. Khawaja had surgery on his left knee after suffering a serious injury last summer, but he was able to bat on and complete his hundred without any further problems.”I got a little jar on my left knee, the one I had surgery on,” he said. “It hurt like crap. I was making sure I was all right. It was sore for 10 overs but by the end of it, it was pretty good.”