The Bangkok Post reports that the Chiang Mai International Cricket Sixes will stake place at the Chiang Mai Gymkhana Club starting this weekend. It will be the 19th time the event has been staged and 31 teams from across the world will be taking part, equally the record turnout.

A group of Sri Lankans, led by ex-Test star Amal Silva, will pay their own way to take part. In addition ex-Aussie international Trevor Chappell is expected to play with the New South Wales Warathais team.

Mumbai was the setting for some memorable scenes on Wednesday and there was another notable occasion today. Hafti Gulabid, a fast bowler from Jalalabad, claimed the prize wicket of Mike Gatting for a duck as an ">Afghanistan side won their first ever match against MCC. Gatting took it all in his stride.

"I got a decent ball. This isn't a game you just go out and play. If you don't have practice you don't do as well as you should."

Eldon Wade from Belize, Player of the Tournament © ICC

It was an interesting and entertaining three days of cricket in Belize, and with plans already in place to play the second Central American Championship in Mexico in 2007, the success of the event, and the positive spin-offs it will no doubt provide for cricket development in the Central American region, seem assured.

The quality of the soil used in Bermuda's pitches is being tested to ensure it meets the standards of international cricket:

In November West Indies cricket legend Lance Gibbs stated that in order for Bermuda’s cricket to advance the Island needed to improve the quality of its soil. His comments echoed International Cricket Council high performance development manager Richard Done, who visited the Island earlier in 2005.

[...]

On Monday, Director of Youth Sport and Recreation, Anthony Roberts, said soil samples were currently being assessed overseas.
“None of the soil samples have proved to have acceptable properties for ICC wicket standards,” he said. “We are in discussions with the ICC. We are experimenting with the samples mixing substances with them to see if it could strengthen the soil.”

He said that a similar procedure had been done for England. However,
Mr Roberts said that questions still remained.

Canada will be travelling to the Caribbean for the World Cup next year, but it will be a home from home for quite a few of a squad built aroiund ex-pats. The Stabroek News in Guyana reports on how five locals have been named in the 40-man squad.

"Thirteen of the players on the current Canadian squad were born in the West Indies and moved to Canada, or were born in Canada to West Indian parents, the Canadian team's Trinidad-born manager and senior coordinator Mike Henry pointed out. They originated in Guyana, Jamaica, Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, Antigua, and St Kitts-Nevis. At least five are from Guyana, or have a Guyanese parent."

Nepal have announced their squad for the Intercontinental Cup playoff against Namibia, to be held in Windhoek from March 23-26.

Aamir Akhtar and U-19 hero Basant Regmi are two new faces in the national team while off-spinner Sanjam Regmi, U-19 vice captain Paras Khadka and pacer Avaya Rana missed the national squad. Paras chose to opt out of the team for his studies. All-rounder Aamir, who played for Nepal in 2000 U-19 Cricket World Cup has been playing professional cricket in England and Scotland.

Binod Das has been retained as captain while Shakti Gauchan made to the team despite eye injury sustained by a raising delivery from Dhirendra Chand during practice threatening his position. Dhirendra, opener Paresh Lohani, U-19 captain Kanishka Chaugai, leg-spinner Raj Kumar Pradhan, Sharad Vesawkar, Gyanendra Malla, wicket-keeper Manoj Katuwal and Raju Basnet are all named for the team.

For more info, see Nepalcricket.com

Cricket in Kabul © AFP

The Pajhwok Afjhan News reports that the lack of proper playing areas, and pitches, is the main impediment for the promotion of cricket in Afghanistan. This problem is dramatically highlighted in the picture on the right (click here to see the full-size version, and here for another photo), where a group of cricket fans can be seen playing a game on a concrete wasteland, in front of a destroyed helicopter.

The newspaper continues:

This was observed by Iqbal Sikandar, official of the Asian Cricket Federation, in an interview with Pajhwok Afghan News the other day.

He said Afghanistan had a lot of talent and if certain problems faced by the players were addressed, they would be able to join the international level games in the coming 10 years.

He said his stay in Afghanistan was meant to review the situation and find areas where the Asian Cricket Federation could help in promotion of the game here.

Expressing surprise over the promotion of cricket in Afghanistan, Sikandar said he never presumed such a development. He said cricket is the most popular game in Afghanistan.

He said in order to promote the game, there must be an international standard playground. But it is a pity that there was not even a simple ground in Afghanistan, he added.

The rush to grab tickets for England's encounter against Ireland has started, with £100,000 raised from ticket sales - even before they've gone on sale. 2,900 tickets remain to be sold, priced between £20 and £35 pounds.

The capacity at Stormont on Tuesday June 13 will be 6,200, the biggest audience for a cricket match in Ireland, and there will also be room for 800 schoolchildren and a hospitality tent accommodating a further 500.

More information can be found at Newsletter and a previous article on Cricinfo.

The Oman Cricket Club Academy launches today:

The launch of the academy was delayed by a few weeks due to the annual examinations at the various schools. Several qualified coaches including Omani nationals will be attached to the academy to carry out the coaching functions and each one of them will be assigned days/times during each week.

Rajinder Singh Rawat, an ACC Level II coach who was the assistant coach of the Oman senior team on the tour to the Republic of Ireland for the ICC Trophy 2005 during June-July 2005, will supervise the various functions related to coaching.

More info at the Times of Oman

The Uganda Cricket Association has received a major shipment of equipment from Australia, the largest ever donation in the history of Ugandan cricket. The donation included more than 100 bats, 150 pairs of pads, junior cricket equipment, gloves, helmets, stumps, wicketkeeping gear and more.

The Swaziland Cricket Association has presented 35 ICC Basic Coaching Certificates to sports teachers who attended the coaching clinics held last month

Bermuda's Premier, Alex Scott, has pledged $11m to Bermuda's cricket team over the next five years:

The package of spending also includes cash for youth development, ground and infrastructure improvements and support for the national team beyond the World Cup.

[...]

Plans for a major youth development schedule will now be possible. The BCB will be able to increase the professionalism of the national set up, with the addition of physiotherapists and nutritionists.

The Government sponsorship also makes Bermuda's bid to host a mini-world cup featuring the six second-tier cricketing nations a much more realistic proposition.

The Papua New Guinea cricket board (PNGCB) has received extra funding, and have opened up a qualifying structure to allow more teams and players to qualify for the National Cricket Championship.

The chairman of the PNGCB Mick Nades announced this during the signing of K25,000 sponsorship from SP Brewery to back the Board to stage SP Lager Super Series cricket title. Nades said Port Moresby had been the dominant force in PNG cricket history and arguably the best organised competition in the country. With the new structure, the top teams in the elimination process will proceed to play in the championship. All five affiliated associations – Port Moresby, Lae, Central, Alotau and Popondetta – have been invited including five invitational sides – Aroma Coast, Fairfax, Koita Warriors, PNG Development Squad and Tabubil. Port Moresby will field three teams, Port Moresby 1, Port Moresby 2 and Port Moresby U23, Central will have two teams, Central One and Central Two, while Alotau and Lae one each. Eleven teams will take part in the qualifying and elimination series which starts on March 18-19.

More information can be found at The National

The Daily Telegraph has a remarkable report on how cricket is making a big comeback in Cuba after disappearing for almost 30 years. It seems that Fidel Castro is worried young people on the island are becoming too Americanised and wants Cuba to feel more affinity with the Caribbean.

In the late 1990s, the game was confined to the traditional east of the island, but it soon spread to Havana, where there are more than 500 players now. "Thanks to someone in Argentina, we've got the rules of cricket translated into Spanish," Miss Ford told a journalist.

In the past couple of years, as gifts of equipment poured in from other cricket-playing nations, the potential for the sport percolated through to the powers that be.

The USA Cricket Association is again under pressure, this time following the request to the ICC by the rival Major League Cricket to take control of the games Stateside. Cricinfo reports that the USACA has some tough questions to answer when the ICC meets later this month.

The USACA has adopted an approach of operating in virtual secrecy for some time, and it looks as if it had decided to deal with the ICC in the same way. If so, then it made a massive mistake. The ICC is highly professional, well organised, and holds the purse strings. Bluster and bull will not work.

The New Vision website reports that Uganda won four of the nine annual Africa regional development awards given out by the ICC. Uganda has for the last five years consistently boasted one of the biggest development programs in the Associate and Affiliate world involving 20,000 children.

Sam Walusimbi, Uganda’s Under-19 coach, said the World Cup was a learning curve to the side that finished 14th out of the 16 playing nations.

Uganda participated for the second time after their maiden appearance in Bangladesh 2004, notched two victories, one against Ireland in a warm-up matches, and then against Scotland in the Plate Championship.

"It was a great learning experience for the boys and I have no regrets for such a sounding exposure they got after playing against test playing nations ranked best in the World," Walusimbi said.

The U-19 tournament produced its fair share of great stories, with Bangladesh qualifying for the Super League for the first time in their history before going on to win the Super League play-offs to finish fifth.

ICC associate member Nepal beat South Africa and New Zealand to win the Plate Championship and the United States of America took part in the event for the first time.

"We were definitely not the worst losers after seeing highly-ranked countries making pathetic scores in the tournament,” Walusimbi said. “In every other match we were showing steady improvement and surely the boys will be a side
to reckon with in future if they put the good they have learnt into their cricketing careers.”

The side produced the youngest player in the history of the U-19 World Cup, Emmanuel Nakaana (14), who was closely followed by the ICC analysts during the tournament. Patrick Ochan stood out from the crowd with a priceless Man-of-the-Match award after leading Uganda to victory against Scotland.

Team manager Justine Ligyalingi hailed the discipline of the boys and acknowledged it was the best group of youngsters he had managed in the past. He said: "With such good discipline, a lot is ahead for the boys and with consistency they would get the best out of their careers.”

Tony Munro