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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.

“Dem goin’ have tuh make greater use of de technology, y’hear?”He wasn’t seething with rage, but the customs officer at Grantley Adams International Airport (yes, Barbados, not Malaysia, but that’s another story) felt it was necessary to highlight the common train of thought running through the Caribbean cricketing fraternity in the aftermath of yet another contentious Brian Lara dismissal yesterday.It may be stretching it to suggest that Lara was definitely on course to keep West Indies in the hunt for a target of 241 against Australia in the DLF Cup final in Kuala Lumpur, especially as things were already looking pretty grim when he came in at 20 for 3 in the 10th over. Australia were back to full strength and were fully charged up to show they were still very much numero uno after failing to defend a total of 272 six days earlier.But then again, who knows? The West Indies captain had belted 87 off them in that victory last Monday, and his unbeaten 40 coming in at number nine against India two days later was a cameo that touched the levels of the sublime in the way he made such a mockery of all that had preceded him. Ramnaresh Sarwan was obviously in the mood to hang around, and, as we’ve seen many times before, Lara’s mastery at one end tends to inspire the lesser mortals partnering him from 22 yards away.All of that is, of course, speculation. But one thing is an indisputable fact. It takes a tremendous level of self-control to avoid making a very obvious display of disgust at yet another umpiring decision against the one man who has so often made the difference between victory and defeat for a West Indies side struggling desperately for over a decade.There is always a danger of making too much of one incident, for nothing is ever certain in the unpredictable world of sport. Who would have ever thought that Ian Bradshaw, a self-confessed part-time cricketer, would be ranked at number five in the latest list of the world’s best bowlers in the one-day international rankings? However it is surely not being too parochial to attempt to analyse just why Lara seems to be victim of so many dubious or flagrantly poor decisions. Are the umpires out to get him? No, never mind what anyone says.Are the opponents out to get him? Absolutely, and the more high profile the opposition, the more celebrated the bowler, the greater the pressure on the official to raise that index finger. And being human, umpires, despite the very best training and the toughest character, are more likely to waver under a constant bombardment from teams accustomed to dominating the competition.So it is, so it has been and so it always will be until every controversial decision is verified or reversed by technology. Even then, there will be a suspicion of conspiracy by the aggrieved party, however unjustified, especially as the manipulation and interpretation of the technology remains a human task.Check it out yourself. The pages of sporting history are replete with instances where critical decisions went in favour of the team or the individual with the more impressive pedigree. It doesn’t make it right, but it might make it a little more bearable to appreciate that Lara is not alone in paying the price for being the superstar in a struggling side.Nor should his unfortunate demise yesterday divert attention from other issues surrounding a 127-run cut-tail. Like why Wavell Hinds, in such woeful form throughout the tournament, was persisted with for every match? It defied all logic. Now everyone has seen just why there is still a debate over Runako Morton’s role in the team, even if he has fought hard to make the most of almost every opportunity that has come his way in the past 15 months.

While we sympathise with the national hero for being given out caught behind to a delivery he never touched, he should still be asked to explain why he persists with Dwayne Bravo as the “death” bowler, especially when it was killing the team’s chances of keeping totals down to manageable proportions. Add to that the allrounder’s impetuosity at the crease (yesterday’s demise was just the latest example of poor shot selection) and it should be clear that West Indies have more to look at in the aftermath of a heavy defeat than constant replays of an erroneous decision.Even if it all fell apart in the final, this is just the first leg of an Asian campaign that has another 13 weeks to run. By the time the last of five one-dayers against Pakistan is played in Karachi on December 16, the heavy loss at the Kinrara Cricket Academy Oval will seem a distant memory. Not that the lessons of each segment of the tour should be forgotten by the time the players settle into their business class seats for the next leg of the journey. But it serves no useful purpose to hanker over the captain’s latest contentious dismissal.In fact, if all goes according to form, there will be more dubious decisions against him before the squad returns home, giving the customs officer more ammunition to launch at the ICC. Amid the agonising of others, Lara will, quite sensibly, just shrug his shoulders and get on with the game.

Titans 153 for 6 (de Villiers 46, Bodi 45) beat Dolphins 135 (Mbhalati 3-18) by 18 runs
ScorecardThe Titans were at their sharpest with bat and ball as they turned the Dolphins into sushi with an 18-run win in the Standard Bank Pro20 final in Durban. The win marked the Titans’ second triumph of the summer in the wake of their successful MTN domestic championship campaign.Led by a third-wicket stand of 60 between Gulam Bodi (45) and AB de Villiers (46), the Titans posted 153 for 6 – the highest total scored in this competition at Kingsmead this season. The Dolphins struck back by dismissing Bodi and de Villiers 10 balls apart, but Albie Morkel steered the Titans to their challenging total with an unbeaten 33 that he blasted off 17 balls with two fours and two sixes.Then, spearheaded by Ethy Mbhalati’s 3 for 18, they sent the home side packing for 135 in 19.1 overs. The Dolphins crashed to 49 for 5 in reply before Pierre de Bruyn (29) and Daryn Smit (36) dragged them back into the game with a stand of 60. But the Titans turned the tide conclusively when Faf du Plessis had Smit brilliantly caught on the midwicket boundary and Albie Morkel bowled de Bruyn.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has refused to intervene in the tussle between the Indian Cricket League (ICL) and the Indian board (BCCI), maintaining that national cricket boards should take their own decisions regarding the ICL.”The ICC Executive Board has taken a policy decision that the BCCI was the only competent authority to deal with the issue. It is up to the BCCI to decide whether to recognise the ICL or not,” an ICC spokesman told . “The executive board had told the BCCI that it was an internal matter and it was left to them whether to recognise the ICL or not. The ICC had told them that cricket should not suffer.”The Indian and Pakistan boards have come down heavily on players aligning with the ICL by banning them from playing for their country or in official domestic tournaments. The ICL has so far signed 51 players including several international stars, among them Brian Lara, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Yousuf and Lance Klusener, while Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath and Chris Harris have also been linked with it.

Sachin Tendulkar’s Ferrari 360 Modena, gifted to him by the Fiat group after he passed Don Bradman’s tally of 29 centuries last year, continues to attract controversy after it received exemption from the duty normally levied on foreign-made cars imported into India.The car arrived in Bombay on Friday after the duty of US$ 245,000 was waived on the US$-163,000-dollar Ferrari upon a request by Tendulkar to that effect.But the decision has drawn flak from various quarters, surprising considering Tendulkar’s normally high status in public esteem. “Sachin has earned enough for five generations, he needs no financial considerations,” said Pramod Navalkar, a leader of the Shiv Sena party.A survey conducted by the Indian Express newspaper revealed sharp public criticism as well. “They do this for Sachin and then spend hours checking the baggage of hockey players who have also brought laurels to the country,” said reader Vijay Kalantri. “Would hockey star Dhanraj Pillay have got the same treatment? Sachin can afford to pay and he should have.”Another letter said: “The duty would have gone a long way in alleviating suffering of poor farmers who sweat in the fields to make our country self-sufficient in food.”The chief minister of Maharashtra, Sushilkumar Shinde, defended the decision, however, saying: “Sachin has brought name and fame to India, we must accept that contribution by such gestures.” Tendulkar himself declined to comment on the isue.

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.

The Goa middle order put up a brave fight but there was preciouslittle substance in the rest of the batting and Andhra took firstinnings points as their rain affected three day KSCA Coca Cola Trophymatch ended in a draw in Bangalore on Tuesday.Andhra declared at the overnight total of 285 for five. Goa’s toporder made a mess of things and at 65 for four, they were down in thedumps. However Amit Jadav and Gaurish Phadte initiated the recoveryprocess by adding 77 runs off 34.1 overs. Phadte’s 42 was scored off116 balls and was inclusive of six boundary hits. Jadav and S Misquinthen kept the momentum going with a sixth wicket partnership of 36runs off 12 overs before Jadhav was out for a gallant 50. He faced 160balls and hit three fours and two sixes. Once Jadhav was sixth out at178, the tail offered little resistance. Misquin made a valuable 34off 60 balls with four fours and two sixes but Goa were all out for204 off 86.4 overs. Balaji Krishna Singh was the most successfulbowler with four for 51. Due to dampness of the pitch, play started 50minutes late. Andhra got five points and Goa three.

Somerset Chief Executive Peter Anderson attended a meeting at Lord’s earlier this week where the future pattern of the first class game was under discussion.When I asked him what progress had been made at the meeting Mr Anderson told me,” Discussions between the counties are intensifying over the proposals to drop one of the one day competitions in favour of a twenty over 4.15pm – 8.15pm affair and all counties have agreed that they must have both a marketing and a business plan in place before any decision is made.”He continued, “As far as Somerset is concerned it’s fan base, be that members and non members indicates that they like the early season knock out cup competition. At that time of the year the financial advantages of the cup are in the hands of the weather. Some counties, not Somerset, have indicated that over the years that they have had poor returns.”Mr Anderson went on, “Advocates of the proposals point to the commercial benefits of floodlit cricket, and the assumption is that for two or three home matches with an after work proposed start and end time similar audiences would be attracted.”The chief continued, “Somerset acknowledge that grounds situated in a centre of high population stand a chance of attracting an audience for a short game. Our view is that in a rural area where many of the supporters have to travel substantial distances for home matches that it is unlikely that they will do so for a four hour match at the end of the working day.”He concluded “Somerset would not be against the proposals if it was in addition to rather than instead of the early season one day competition, but notice must be taken of coaches and players, who think that an additional competition would be too hard and therefore the best players, particularly bowlers would probably not play which will lessen the attraction.”

The England and Wales Cricket Board is to ask the World Cup technical committee to reschedule England’s World Cup match against Zimbabwe.A statement confirming the move was released by the ECB this afternoon. The six-man technical committee has taken responsibility for the matches from the world governing body, and will make a decision on the ECB’s request later this week.The ECB stament added: “The England captain, head coach and the Professional Cricketers Association are fully aware, and supportive of, the ECB’s intentions to ask for the match to be moved.”The ECB’s director of corporate affairs John Read added: “We’ve always said we’ll closely monitor the situation in Zimbabwe and we feel in the last couple of days there has been a deterioration there.”It leads us to believe there are real security concerns. The important thing to emphasise is the players and the Professional Cricketers’ Association, who we have been working closely with, are fully appreciative of the steps we’ve taken today.”The International Cricket Council has confirmed that it has been informed of the request. The ICC’s chief executive, Malcolm Speed, said that it is the first time that a country has sought such a review.”Prior to this request from the ECB, no country has sought a review of the ICC decision to stage games in Zimbabwe,” said Mr Speed.The ECB request is provisionally scheduled to be heard by the ICC Cricket World Cup Technical Committee in Cape Town on Thursday, 6 February.The ECB has asked for the hearing to proceed as a matter of urgency, and the ICC is establishing the availability of the Committee members.

Gloucestershire County Cricket Club announce that Amethyst Honda will be selling tickets for their home one-day National Cricket League matches .Chief Executive, Tom Richardson explains that, "we have had a successful partnership with Amethyst Honda who are our car suppliers and this agreement on tickets, further cements the relationship. We have been conscious of the need to have a ticket outlet in a prime position in Cheltenham, with easy car access and we are most grateful to Amethyst Honda for filling this void".Advance tickets sold through Amethyst Honda will be at the reduced rate of £10 for adults and £5 for children.Paul Boyce, Managing Director of Amethyst Honda said, "at Amethyst we are proud of our continued association with Gloucestershire County Cricket Club and are delighted to have been selected as the Business Centre for North Gloucestershire. This means that we are the main ticket distribution centre for Gloucestershire Cricket Club Home one-day matches, and for the Gloucester and Cheltenham Festivals".Visit Honda and SEAT showrooms on Gloucester Road, Cheltenham, open 7 days a week, Monday to Friday 8.30am – 6.00pm, Saturday 9.00am – 5.00pm and Sunday 10.00am to 4.00pm or telephone 01242 570088. Tickets are now available, so don’t delay book yours today. On visiting the showroom ask for Sunita.We look forward to seeing you.For further information please contact:
Jon Fletcher, Sales Manager on 0117 9108046