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The ongoing tussle between the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) and the West Indies Players Association (WIPA) continued yesterday with the WIPA accusing the board of “unilateral” decision-making.In a media release signed by president and CEO Dinanath Ramnarine, WIPA criticised the regional board for “this unilateral process that the WICB continues to insist on taking in deciding what is to be or not to be…”, which WIPA “cannot accept”.Ramnarine was referring to Monday’s announcement by the WICB that they had agreed to a five-year extension of the current sponsorship contract with Digicel, until 2012. The deal is reportedly worth US $4 million “without any deductions”.The statement said that: “while WIPA is pleased to know that the West Indies Cricket Board is always looking for ways to improve its finances through its sponsors or any other company”, the lack of consultation with the players was a blatant breach of the MOU [Memorandum of Understanding] between both parties.Ramnarine added: “This [recent unilateral action/absence of consultation] by the WICB continues to undermine the maintenance and strengthening of good relations between both parties. Furthermore, WIPA is now forced to pay more careful attention to the protection of the players’ intellectual property rights,” the release continued.The WIPA head referred to Article 11 of the MOU, which he said made it “quite clear” that “prior consultation with WIPA is necessary before any such sponsorship agreement is signed”.”It would appear,” Ramnarine stated, “that WICB chose to ignore advising WIPA of its intention to re-negotiate with Digicel. Having come to an agreement without consulting with WIPA, the board decided to make the deal public and as an afterthought, stated that WIPA would be forwarded a copy of the agreement for its perusal.”

Six, six, six
Chennai, chasing 188, had lost two wickets in the space of five balls and the required rate was hovering near nine an over. Sixteen deliveries without a boundary wasn’t helping their cause, but the big-hitting Albie Morkel swung Chennai back by plundering 23 runs off the 14th over, bowled by Virender Sehwag. The first ball was heaved over midwicket for a massive six, the second biffed dead straight for the same result, and the hat-trick followed with another clout over midwicket. That spectacular comeback from Morkel made the difference when push came to shove.AB pulls off a blinder
Mahendra Singh Dhoni was threatening to finish the match himself, batting sensibly as wickets fell around him, but a stunning catch from AB de Villiers cut him short. Sehwag called back Vijaykumar Yo Mahesh to bowl the penultimate over and Dhoni skipped down to drill a full delivery towards long-on. The ball was dipping on de Villiers, harrying in from the boundary, but he dived forward and cupped it off the ground, refreshing memories of Ajay Jadeja’s similar stunner to dismiss Allan Border in the 1992 World Cup.Chamara surprise
Chennai seemed to have just four overseas players in their squad but everyone was caught on the wrong foot when Chamara Kapugedera, the Sri Lankan batsman, was named in the XI. Apparently he signed over the weekend and sneaked ahead of Makhaya Ntini, who hadn’t managed to get a wicket in three games. He didn’t have a great start, though: going for 15 runs in his only over. Things weren’t much better when he batted though his presence did play a part in Chennai moving towards the target.

Michael Kasprowicz, who grew into a respected Test bowler after starting his state career as a smiling 17-year-old, will retire after the one-day match against Western Australia on February 16. One of the game’s most popular players, Kasprowicz will leave as Queensland’s most prolific wicket-taker – he currently has 501, 38 more than his great friend Andy Bichel – and a valued contributor to Australian cricket over the past three decades.In a collection of fine achievements, Kasprowicz’s greatest is probably the recovery from injuries as a result of the 2006 boot camp. He hurt his back during the bonding exercises, then suffered a groin problem and delivered only eight balls for Queensland before hurting his leg. It was his lowest season but he remained in good spirits, jokingly claiming the break as long-service leave.Further problems hampered him this summer and the constant battle to regain fitness has resulted in him walking away. He has appeared in four first-class matches since coming back, taking 11 wickets at 35.09, and collected five victims in five FR Cup matches. Kasprowicz, who has two young children, is 36 on Sunday and his exit opens the way for a new breed of Queensland bowlers.”I’m excited about the opportunities that await me,” he said. “I’m looking forward to doing things like going to the beach on a Saturday in summer for the first time since I was about eight years old and spending time with my family together. Probably the one thing I will miss is the feeling you get in a winning dressing room and being with your mates.”He has played 114 first-class games for Queensland and also had county stints with Essex, Leicestershire and Glamorgan, where he honed his skills and frightened batsmen with his under-estimated pace. Consistent performances for the domestic sides ensured he was never far from being mentioned in selection meetings and he was constantly to-ing and fro-ing into the national side.In 43 Tests he picked up 113 wickets at 32.88, although his figures were better than they read. Five-wicket hauls came at The Oval, where he recorded a career-best 7 for 36 in 1997, Bangalore, Darwin and Perth, showing his versatility. He also appeared in 43 ODIs and the country’s first two Twenty20 internationals.During his last Test Kasprowicz sealed a dramatic two-wicket victory in partnership with Brett Lee against South Africa, easing the pain of the disheartening defeat to England in the 2005 Ashes. Following a 59-run last-wicket stand with Lee, Kasprowicz was ruled to have edged Andrew Flintoff to Geraint Jones at Edgbaston, a moment that was crucial to England winning the series for the first time in 16 years.The pair fell three short of a legendary success and Kasprowicz was devastated. His mood wasn’t helped by a text message from a confident former school mate, who congratulated him on the victory when it seemed certain Australia would secure a miraculous result.

After playing 13 consecutive Tests during a period when his form was so strong he kept Lee out, Kasprowicz was no longer considered an essential during that series. He fought back to tour South Africa, but was forced home with injury and never returned.Ricky Ponting said Kasprowicz “did a terrific job” whenever he played for Australia. “He’s been an amazing servant to Queensland and Australian cricket,” he said. “He’s just a real workhorse sort of bowler. He had to reinvent himself a couple of times through his career, had a few injuries early on and loss of form and that sort of thing.”Ponting said Kasprowicz’s lighter side made him fun to tour with. “He made a newspaper, the Mumbai Mumbler, he called it,” he said. “Chock-a-block full of some hilarious stuff. He’d download pictures from the internet and make up little stories about it. He was terrific to have around the group.””I’ve enjoyed every moment I had in the game,” Kasprowicz said. “I have tried to make it fun whenever I was on the field, whatever the state of the game.”A man for all conditions, he kept answering his country’s SOS calls, particularly for tours to the subcontinent. One of his key qualities in the middle stages of his career was an ability to reverse-swing the ball, a trait which won him high praise in India. In the beginning, when he played for Queensland while his mates studied for their final high school exams, he was a swing bowler, but he showed he could evolve with the game, concentrating on hitting the pitch before re-focussing later in life on shape in the air.Kasprowicz has acted as a mentor for youngsters throughout his time with the state and bowlers with promise will continue to line up for invaluable tips from a professional who has finally given in to his body’s demands. Players like Kasprowicz, who have pushed forcefully from the fringes, have been responsible for keeping the standards of the national team so high. Australian cricket should not forget him easily.

Plan B for Bouncer sounds like it might be the title of an Alfred Hitchcock thriller, but there was not a lot of mystery or intrigue about the storyline as conjured by Stuart Broad on a day heavily punctuated by bad light and heavy rain. As the hardiest spectators filed out, puddles were still swelling on the outfield.Warwickshire had added 48 runs to their overnight 181, for the loss of Dominic Sibley, when Broad began the 109th and by far the most eventful over of the contest. Nottinghamshire had scarcely used the short ball up to that point and, if nothing else, the change of tactic would challenge the home side to score the quick runs they needed for a second batting point.Three fielders took their place on the leg-side boundary primed for the misplaced hook. Another crouched at a deepish short leg. On the offside the straightest man was located at cover. Broad was about to spring either the most audacious double-bluff in cricketing memory or the worst-disguised trap since Douglas Jardine clapped his hands and shouted: “Let him have it, Harold.”Adam Hose, nicely set, ducked the first ball and defended the second. The third struck a glancing blow on the helmet which left him briefly on his backside. Springing up quickly, he jogged through for a leg bye before being cleared by the physio to continue. Liam Banks evaded a bouncer in relative comfort and umpire Martin Saggers stepped in to warn Broad for running on the pitch.This would have done nothing for Broad’s disposition, and when Banks swayed inside the line of ball five, Saggers signalled that the bouncer allocation for the over was up. Think of all this as background, the build-up of suspense. Now came the big event.The designated last ball was an absolute snorter. The most hostile of the over, of the day, perhaps of the game so far. Short, yes, but how short? That was the difficult question for Saggers. It certainly seemed too quick for Banks who could not get out of the way and appeared to glove through to wicketkeeper Tom Moores tumbling to his right. But as Broad began to celebrate, Saggers signalled no ball.The umpire felt that it went through above shoulder height. Broad in turn pointed out that it had taken the glove and must therefore be deemed a legitimate wicket. He opened his arms, palms upwards beseeching justice before a theatrical gesture of ball brushing glove. At one point, astounded, he seemed to appeal to the batsman himself, while captain Steven Mullaney joined the conversation as though seconding the proposal of his team-mate.Saggers remained unmoved, and to add to the sense of theatre Banks stroked the eventual seventh ball, the fullest of the over, to the off side boundary. Cheers roared from the stands; Broad must have felt he was in Brisbane rather than Birmingham. He re-opened conversation with Saggers while taking his sunhat and Mullaney came in for a second time, this time to usher away his team-mate before things became even more fractious.Perhaps they did go too far. While Saggers may not literally Dial L for Lord’s, his match report might well conclude that Broad’s behaviour represented dissent. Alternatively, he could look at the replays and agree that he was wrong. Peter Moores, the Nottinghamshire head coach, believes so. “I think it [the decision] was probably a mistake,” Moores said. “It happens, and you move on. Sometimes things go your way, sometimes they don’t.”Sequel: Next over, Banks attempted to sweep the off-spin of Matt Carter and was adjudged leg-before by Tim Robinson. Justice was probably done, albeit with no personal advance to Broad’s haul of wickets. Warwickshire didn’t get their extra point. And Broad didn’t bowl again. People did, indeed, move on.After the slow pace of Monday, Warwickshire showed more urgency in the 37 overs possible. Sibley added only six more runs to his overnight 81 before opening the face, slightly, to a ball from Luke Fletcher of perfect length, but Hose, with 101 runs in eight Championship innings hitherto, played soundly in defence, batting out of his crease to combat swing, while capitalising on opportunities.Forcing sixes off both spinners, Carter and Samit Patel, he played efficiently either side of the wicket and will resume on 84. Overall, though, the bowlers offered very few freebies and Mullaney’s disciplined swing earned wickets before the worst of the weather hit. Tim Ambrose shouldered arms before Henry Brookes fell lbw.Jeetan Patel gave a brief insight into the way Warwickshire may try to move forward from here when he forced his second ball from Samit Patel over the ropes. As Peter Moores said, Nottinghamshire must hope that time taken from the game delays any deterioration of the surface until they have at least batted once themselves.