Tom Tikolo, elder brother of Steve and the former Kenya captain, has been awarded the Head of State’s Commendation (HSC Civilian Division) in the President’s Jamhuri day honours list.

Mr. Tikolo was born in 1961. He is the first Kenyan of African descent to be selected to the Kenya National Cricket Team in September, 1980 and subsequently became its Captain in June 1986. He was also elected to the Cricket Association in Kenya and also worked for the International Cricket Association. He is currently the Chief Executive Officer of the Cricket Kenya and Tournament Director of the Africa Cricket Association. He is awarded the Head of State’s Commendation (HSC- Civilian Division) for his commendable achievements in promoting cricket in the country.

Via CricketEurope.

The former Sri Lanka batsman, Aravinda De Silva, is the star guest to open next month's junior tournament in Abu Dhabi. Strong teams from England and India have been invited and it will be umpired by officials from England and the UAE.

"We have decided to make the event more competitive by inviting strong teams from England and India," said Shehzad Altaf, the former UAE team player turned coach and chief organiser of the tournament.

The tournament has been divided into three categories. The Under-11, Under-13 and Under-17. "The U-11 and the U-13 will be a 25 overs event the U-17 will play a 30-overs tournament. All the matches will be umpired by professional umpires from UK and UAE," added Altaf.

The tournament gets underway on January 7. More info can be read at Gulf News.

Nick Deverell provides an excellent, comprehensive timeline and round-up of Kenya's year in 2006 over at Cricket Europe.

Do you support Kenya? Let us know your thoughts on their year by leaving a comment.

There is widespread confusion in US cricket circles over the almost secret marketing deal reportedly agreed last October between the USA Cricket Association and a company called Centrex. The deal, which was flagged in outline to Cricinfo before it was finalised, has reportedly been signed and a payment made to the USACA, and yet it has proved almost impossible to find any information about what it involves and how much money has changed hands now and is expected to in the coming years.

What we have been told is that the agreement will mean a joint-venture company will run most aspects of the game and its promotion, with the USACA reaping a financial benefit. But a source close to the USACA said that a number of issues remain unresolved, although it is not expected that the ongoing dispute over the association’s constitution and elections will affect the deal.

Wild sums have been bandied around behind the scenes, with some claiming that the deal could net the USACA millions of dollars a year. While this appears to be an exaggeration, the sudden influx of cash could account for the association’s reluctance to make the arrangement public. The already ultra-secretive board of directors are unlikely to be happy about potential rivals becoming aware of a new income stream.

And what of Major League Cricket, the organisation which threatened to usurp the USACA and which seemed to be expanding rapidly into the void left by the shambolic organization of the association? Insiders report that if the Centrex deal goes through, it spells the end of MLC as much of its raison d’etre centres on doing what the USACA should be expected to do in any normal board.

And MLC has gone from sending out almost daily press releases to becoming almost as uncommunicative as the USACA. Its website has not been updated for seven months and, like the USACA itself, emails go unanswered.

While the next year could be exiting for the game in the States, the sad truth is that almost nobody knows. And the question that raises is, what have those who are supposed to represent the stakeholders got to hide?

If anyone has any more information, please send us feedback!

Nepalcricket.com have a good, if dispiriting, round-up of Nepal's last year in cricket. Progress is undoubtedly being made, but they are yet to win the big matches.

Successful year with distasteful failures in the important matches, as always, remained the story of Nepali cricket in the year 2006.

Youth teams returning triumphant and senior teams performing well except in one or two important matches marked the year with hopes flying high in the cricket administration with the return of one of the most influential cricket administrators in power.

Read the lengthy report here.

The Cricket Association of China, in a letter sent to the Pakistan Cricket Board, has praised the services of former Test player Rashid Khan who has been working with it as coach for the last two months. Rashid was sent as coach to China by the board after they received a request from the Asian Cricket Council to nominate someone for the coaching assignment.

“There is a lot of enthusiasm for cricket in China and the best part is they have all local players. They are a very determined and disciplined lot and I have no doubt that if they put their mind to it they will emerge as a good cricketing force soon,” Rashid told Dawn newspaper.

Rashid has also received a coaching offer from Saudi Arabia Cricket Association after his fine work with the Chinese.

A group of Omani national cricketers are trying to form a breakaway group after the Oman Cricket Club, who run the game in the country, backed by the Sports Ministry, refused to bow to their demands for more representation in the national side.

"Our doors are always open and we have done everything to convince the group to continue playing in the tournaments organised by us," Maqbool Yousuf Al Lawati, vice president of the OCC, told Gulf News. "They [the Omani nationals] wanted 60% representation in the national team. We cannot accept that condition as we are here to pick the best and cricket is not played only by the Omani nationals, every resident in the country must get a fair chance, including expatriates."

A group of about 90 Omani nationals, three-quarters of the country’s players, have started playing their own tournament outside the official league in protest against OCC's refusal to accept their demands which the elected board members of the OCC termed as 'unreasonable'.

Our old friend Chris Tsuma has used the season of goodwill to all men to have another one of his digs at Cricket Kenya, although at least this time he has stopped short of saying that the return of Sharad Ghai would signal the dawn of a new era of unheralded success.

In his year-end round-up in The Nation, Tsuma was faced with a problem. The new board had ensured the national team played more ODIs in the last 12 months than in the previous three years, and had also signed a lucrative TV deal which would ensure that funds went directly to the game in Kenya, something that previous deals had been accused of not doing. So what could he take a pop at?

Easy. Why were Kenya not hosting home series against a Test nation or even A-team matches against leading countries. Tsuma, never one to let detail get in the way of a good attack, seems to overlook the reluctance of major countries to tour minnows – ask Bangladesh for starters. But, he then has a go at the board for the results – two whitewashes – when they did get major opposition from Australia and Bangladesh.

For sure there is much room for improvement, but there is also, as he well knows, much baggage to be lost. Kenya have taken steps to build for the future, but it will take time. A little support from the country’s main newspaper might not go amiss. Just don’t expect it from Tsuma.

Uganda kick of 2007 with a tour to Kenya in January where they will play a select Nairobi Provincial Cricket Association (NPCA XI) side, Kenya, Canada and Bermuda.

The Ugandans will take on the NPCA select side on January 24, play the hosts Kenya or Kenya A on January 26, Canada on January 27 and conclude the tour with a match against Bermuda on January 28. " We have lined up some of the ICC’s top Associates because they will also use the games as warm up ties for the ICC World Cricket League tournament that runs at the same time," said Cricket Kenya’s CEO, Tom Tikolo.

Uganda v NPCA XI (Jan 24)
Uganda v Kenya (Jan 26)
Uganda v Canada (Jan 27)
Uganda v Bermuda (Jan 28)

Bermuda have delayed naming their squad for the World Cup, citing " a number of factors" leading to the board waiting until February 11, just before the ICC's deadline, to name the final 15.

The local media had been expecting the announcement, but instead they got a 19-man training squad, which will be reduced to 15 in January when Bermuda take part in the World Cricket League in Kenya.

The only thing that was confirmed was that Irving Romaine will captain the Bermuda team , replacing Clay Smith, who had been in charge since 2003 but whose tenure has been blighted by a string of injuries. "It's been an honour to captain my country and I cannot deny that it's something I enjoyed doing immensely," Smith said."But it's also an honour just to represent your country and from my perspective, I have always tried to put the interests of the team before my own. The selectors have made a decision which they feel is in the best interests of the team and I am happy to fulfill whatever role is required of me."

Bermuda have been under fire after some poor performances in 2006, and Gus Logie, the coach, did address one are of concern, the side's mental toughness. "One of the problems I have is we learn lessons and then we go back," he told the island's Royal Gazette. "That, for me, is most frustrating. Guys know 'if I have a late night then I might not perform as well as I want to'. Then why take the risk?

"That's where the professionalism comes in. Players understand more and more of what is required of them, but whether or not they are prepared to make that extra sacrifice comes down to the individuals. You must have the mind to win and the will to succeed."

Logie also stressed that nobody had been ruled in or out of consideration and that players could still "pick themselves" with their performances over the next few weeks. "Their own performances, their attitudes to what we are about and their own approaches, that's what is going to help them get into the squad. We are giving players help right now, getting people to talk to them about the psychological side of it and more individuals must take the opportunity to discuss things with people like that.

"There is a fear of failure, obviously, and I understand that in a small society like ours that people are always going to be in your face telling you different things and sometimes what people say to you affects you in different ways, negatively or positively. We need players to understand that they have to deal with that, that's part and parcel of the whole process of being a professional."

Jersey has submitted an application to the ICC to become Europe’s 11th Associate member country.

The decision follows the Associate/Affiliate Members’ formal meeting in July 2006, where it was noted that the previously problematic interpretation of the “playing standard” criterion had to be dealt with immediately. Subsequently the ICC “playing standard” criterion for Associate membership applications was reviewed at a Special Associate and Affiliate Representatives’ Committee meeting in November and a new definition was established and adopted. This new criterion was then unanimously supported by the ICC Development Committee at its meeting on December 5 and 6.

Jersey are one of two ICC Affiliate members (the other being Vanuatu of the East Asia-Pacific Region) who had submitted applications for Associate membership to the ICC Development Committee before the change in the playing standards criterion came about. These applications no longer meet the new “playing standard” and under the new conditions the applications would be rejected. However, the Jersey Cricket Board has now been given the opportunity to meet the playing standard criteria by May 31, 2007 and if successful its application will be considered at the next ICC Annual Conference in June 2007.

As cricket develops in new countries, true cricket lovers take great pleasure in seeing young cricketers improve their skills. However, in the last few months, a coup of another kind has happened in Thai cricket.

In the last month, there was an AGM of the Thai Cricket Association. The incumbent president, a prominent businessman, had been in the role for a considerable time, and the clubs thought it time for a change in direction at the top to push cricket development forward.

Thai cricket is spread throughout the country, clubs dominate the scene in Bangkok, but youth development is flourishing in the provinces. It was believed that a new strategy to pull the organisation together and push it forward was needed.

The vote was held, a new face was elected to head up the organisation, all seemed well. Unbeknown to the voting clubs and the committee, the incumbent chairman had registered another "dummy" committee consisting of his family, and employees with the government authorities. The vote had been a farce, and the incumbent appears to want to be president forever in defiance of the vote. Being a member of a prominent sports club in Bangkok, it is now also a case of I bring the pitch, so I am captain.

Interestingly this appears to be supported by the ACC for some strange reason.

Cricket is a developing sport in this part of the world, and without legitimate structures and organisations will never move forward correctly. For the volunteers and donors who support the cricket in Thailand this is a complete slap in the face. However, when one sees the farce that the ICC has created in Zimbabwe, I don't expect a good outcome for a minnow like
Thailand in terms of governance and organisation.

The announcement that the ICC is to expand the World Cricket League (WCL) to five divisions is great news for European Cricket.

The expansion will see a total of seven Associates and Affiliates from the Europe Region compete in the WCL. New additions Norway and Jersey are set to join the European top five teams who already compete in the competition.

Ireland, Netherlands and Scotland will participate in Division 1 in Kenya in January next year, and Denmark compete in Division 2 which is planned for Namibia in November 2007.

A change in venue for Division 3 moves the competition from the USA to Darwin, Australia in May/June 2007. Italy is grouped in Group B of this league alongside Papua New Guinea, Fiji and Hong Kong, whilst Group A is made up of USA, Uganda, Cayman Islands and Tanzania.

Elsewhere Norway and Jersey have been announced in the final three teams to be added into Division 5 alongside Singapore. Norway fall into Group A and will face Afghanistan, Nepal and Argentina. Jersey, granted entry into the league after finishing runners-up to Norway in the European Division 2 Championship in Glasgow this year, will compete in Group B against Singapore, Botswana and a country from the East Asia Pacific region.

The host nation is yet to be announced, but will be from amongst the participants and exact dates and venues will be released by the ICC in due course.

The news is great for the Jersey Cricket Board, whose senior cricketers thought their next chance of international competition would be in the European Championships in 2008.

Cricket Jersey’s Director of Cricket, Chris Minty, says that it will give his players something to focus on and work hard towards. “We have no idea what to expect, just as was the case when we competed in the European Division 2 in Glasgow in August this year. The team can only hope to play as well as they can and see what happens.”

The League expansion also gives the Division 5 countries a glimmer of hope in qualifying for the 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup. The top two teams from Division 5 will gain promotion to Division 4, to be held later in 2008, and the top two from that competition then progress to Division 3 in 2009. The winner and runner-up of Division 3 then qualify for the ICC World Cup Qualifier, which could result in qualification into the 2011 Cricket World Cup.

This provides Affiliate and Associate countries with a pathway through from competing in the lowest division of the World Cricket League right the way up to the dizzy heights of playing in the World Cup.

Susan Lowrey European Cricket Council

Once again, time is running out for the USA Cricket Association to live up to its basic responsibilities. And this time, there are not likely to be any further reprieves.

The trouble started when the USACA asked for yet more time to write and approve its constitution. The current deadline was November 20, which itself had been a postponement from the original date of July 2006. This time, said the ICC, the deadline would be March 2007, but that would be it—no further extensions would be granted.

In fact, USACA’s Constitution Review Committee (CRC) had already produced a draft for the USACA. Its existence, however, had been a well-guarded secret. No one outside the USACA executive and board had any idea when it had been prepared, let alone what its contents were.

Then came the bombshell. An alert board member noticed that a draft USACA constitution had indeed been posted on the web site, but it was completely different from the CRC version. Moreover, this “new and improved” draft was a complete mess; it was riddled with errors and inconsistencies, contradicted itself on many key points, and used arbitrary formulas for counting member votes that made no particular sense.

The biggest problem with both the CRC and the new version of the constitution was their abandonment of any democratic principles in the operations of the USACA. Up to this point, the USACA has functioned as a national association of cricket clubs, which elected their representatives to a board of directors, which, in their turn elected a president and executive. The CRC version stayed within those parameters, although it tightened things up in a few decidedly undemocratic ways. The new version simply made cricket clubs and their leagues irrelevant; regional boards would consist of league representatives and any number of appointees, all aspects of cricket would be “controlled” by a central organization, and there would be a paid chief operating officer who would answer directly to the president. As one cynic put it, Hitler could not have come up with a more authoritarian constitution … assuming, of course, that he would bother to write one.

All this has led to a flurry of activity in US cricket circles, which is one good thing that may come out of all this skullduggery. Within the USACA, Laks Sampath of the Northwest Region and Shelton Glasgow of Mid Atlantic teamed up with Aron, a lawyer and one of the writers of the CRC version, to see if they could rewrite the new version to a more satisfactory format.

Meanwhile the Council of League Presidents, which has been in hibernation for a year, is cranking up its web site and has also produced a formal list of 12 amendments to the “new and improved” constitution, which it has sent to the USACA group as its contribution to constitutional reform. There has, of course, been no word from the USACA executive on any of these developments … and none are expected in the foreseeable future.

Clarence Parfitt, the former Bermuda batsman, has said his country needs to undergo a radical “shake-up” before next January’s World Cricket League in Kenya.

“I think half the team should go because they’re not strong enough mentally and physically to play cricket at this level consistently where you have to be mentally tough,” the legendary figure argued.

“There are a few boys in there that are pulling their weight, but I think the rest of them are just going through the motions. And it just doesn’t look good and they should be feeling embarrassed because if I was in that squad I would be.”

Read the full report at the Royal Gazette

he 2007 season will be one of Netherlands' busiest with international fixtures against Canada, Ireland and Scotland as well as the World Cup in March.

In the light of this, the country's domestic competition has been revamped, although changes have fallen short of what some had been hoping for.

There had been those who had asked for as much as six weeks' breaks during international competitions when national players will be absent, but when that was done during the ICC Trophy in 2005 it proved unpopular.

The main change to the Hoofdklasse is that the title will, for the first time, be decided by play-offs between the top four rather than a straight league, and it is hoped this will reduce the impact of top players missing some rounds of the competition.

The other main change is that rain-affected matches will use the Duckworth/Lewis system which applies in almost every major domestic league across the world. As a result, the minimum number of overs which need to be completed for a game to be finished reduces from 35 to 20. Rescheduling abandoned matches has been an issue and this will no longer be necessary - any games which do not manage to be completed will be left out of the points calculations..

Further changes in this direction, such as the use of white balls and black sightscreens, are still under discussion but no decision has been made yet. There are also serious discussions about abandoning the use of coconut matting, with the board advocating the acceptance of astroturf pitches where grass is not available.

For the first time there will also be a Twenty20 competition, following successful regional experiments. The tournament, which will be staged in August, will feature the winners of the regional events.

Bangladesh intends including cricket as a new event when it hosts the 11th South Asian Games in 2008. Eight nations - Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka - are expected to participate in the biennial meeting.

"We have four test playing nations among us. So we could easily include the cricket in the SA Games," Ishtiaq Ahmed, a senior official of the Bangladesh Olympic Association, told Reuters. "We understand it will be difficult for the test playing nations to send a full-strength side in the SA Games. In that case we would happily accept age-level teams," he said.

The events will be finalised at a meeting of representatives from participating nations in Dhaka next February. "As the host, we primarily underlined 15 disciplines including cricket for the meet," Ishtiaq explained.

Cricket was last included at a major international tournament in the 1998 Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpar. It also featured in the Olympics once, when a side from Britain beat France in Paris in 1900.

In the aftermath of Uganda 's below par performance in the inaugural ICC Women's World Cup qualifiers in Nairobi, coach Charles Lwanga has insisted his team is more talented than other teams in the region.

Uganda lost to Zimbabwe by 63 runs and Tanzania by 20 runs, before restoring pride with a 91-run win over Kenya in the penultimate game. "The players forgot that we had a World Cup berth at stake. It was like they were playing friendlies and warm ups till when the team put their act together. The players didn't play to their full potential," said team coach Lwanga.

Lwanga, also a former national team opener, disclosed that the eventual winners of the tournament Zimbabwe were beatable and didn't have anything special in their armoury. "They won the tourney because they applied basics, which was everyone else's undoing," added Lwanga.

The next tournament for the girls will be the ICC East Africa Women Championship in Tanzania next year and that is enough time for the team to bounce back and reclaim its lost regional accolade.

Click here for the full story from The Monitor

Japanese wicket-keeper/batsman Tatsuro Chino may be small in stature but he is making a big splash in East Asia Pacific cricket circles.

Click here for more

Bermuda's recent performances have been the subject of some intense media criticism in the wake of a poor African tour where they were whitewashed by Kenya and also beaten by Netherlands and Canada. Now Richard Done, the ICC's High Performance Manager, has questioned the side's fitness levels.

"It's generally application of what they've already got," Done told the Royal Gazette in Bermuda. "There's some talented players there. But I think they don't always give themselves the best opportunity to get their minds right and their bodies right to perform on the field.

"Fitness is critical, not just at this level playing one-day internationals, but also playing the longer version of the game," he continued. "You just can't get by without it in the modern game. West Indies, through the 1980s and Australia through the 1990s and the early part of this decade have been outstanding, and I think without doubt they've been the fittest sides in world cricket, and the most athletic and most physical sides playing the game. Of course, they've had great skill levels as well."

Gus Logie, the former West Indian batsman and current coach of Bermuda, expressed concern over the margin of defeats; Canada and Holland won by nine and seven wickets recently. "In the field, we were the slowest team in the competition," he said. "A lot of excuses can be given. People talk about playing for their places in the World Cup, but if that's the way they're going to play for their places well, I'm sorry, their places will be up for grabs."

Logie was happy with the presence of David Hemp, the Glamorgan captain, who was recently recruited after he completed a 100-day residency period that allowed him to play for Bermuda. Hemp, 34, was born in Hamilton, Bermuda, but his family returned to Swansea soon after his birth. In a drawn four-day Intercontinental Cup against Holland in South Africa, he smashed an unbeaten 247 in Bermuda's total of 620, and broke the previous mark of 220 set by Kenya's Steve Tikolo.

"Having Hemp here has been a big plus," said Logie. "The players have been able to watch and appreciate how, as a professional, he prepares and his dedication to getting the best out of himself."

The Italian Cricket Federation are planning to hold their first cricket academy in April 2007. 16 players from the first division of the Italian Cricket League, aged between 15 and 19, will be selected. The aim of the venture is to bridge the gap between schools cricket and senior club cricket.

As encouraging as this sounds, cricket in Italy is still very much a minority sport. The Academy director, James Cheyne who grew up in Britain, says the lack of tradition and history of the sport in Italy is a major obstacle to it prospering in the future.

“Youngsters do not grow up with cricket and miss out on the opportunity to pick up the tricks of the game and do not encompass its unique spirit.”

“The Italian Cricket federation held a 3 day U13 championship in which around 120 boys and girls participated.

“Five years on, only a few of those boys continued to play the game. This level of dropout is not good and we must do something to sustain the development of cricket amongst the youth”

The ECB have more

	David Hemp is bowled by Henry Osinde during another Bermudan defeat ... this time by Canada © ICC

A year ago, Bermuda cricket was on a high and expectations were high - possibly unrealistically so, but there was a general expectation that the country was about to be elevated from the middle of the also-runs of the ICC Associates to the brink of the top flight. And yet, despite a massive financial investment by the government, less than three months before the jamboree in the Caribbean kicks off, the side is in turmoil are facing possible humiliation.

The results in Africa confirmed what many suspected by few wanted to believe. Bermuda, for all the enthusiasm and passion, are simply not good enough to hold their own among the leading Associates, let alone scrap with the big boys. They lost all three ODIs in Kenya, and what is worse, locals expressed surprise at how poor and out of condition the Bermudans were.

The second leg of the trip in South Africa offered only marginal solace. The side at least won one ODI, albeit a dead rubber against Netherlands, and they also drew the Intercontinental Cup tie with the same opponents, but despite the appearance of the scorecard, they did not dominate a game played on a pitch which got easier and easier.

The inquest was underway long before the side returned home, but it is already too late to make changes in time for the World Cup. As far as that is concerned, the team will have to hope and pray. Or, as coach Gus Logie, admitted in a remarkably candid confession this week, they might have to be threatened to perform at their best.

What is needed, however, is remedial action immediately. The lack of fitness was one observation that kept being raised. If other non full-time Associates can produce players with reasonable levels of fitness, why can't Bermuda?

One of the reasons is that the selectors have chosen to go with old players rather than bring in young blood. That strategy sometimes works, but it has been clear for some time that it wasn't going to in this instance. By sticking with the same old faces, the selectors have helped to foster a feeling of complacency among the squad, who know that there are no youngsters snapping at their heels. Again, it's too late now, any newcomers have precious little time to find their feet, but a wholesale clearout is a must next April.

The comparisons with Kenya are interesting. Both sides are ageing, although Kenya are broke whereas Bermuda have cash. But Kenya have opted to build around a nucleus of old timers while drafting in youngsters to play alongside them and learn from them. It is worth noting that two of the successes of the series between the two countries were 19-year-old Tanmay Mishra and 22-year-old Hiren Varaiya. Both were thrown in at the deep end and both are swimming. Come the next ICC Trophy in 2009, these two will be among the core of a new-look Kenyan side and they will be able to draw on their World Cup experiences. Even if Bermuda start from scratch, they will be a year or more behind, and raw as well.

And Kenya, despite crippling debts, have played A team and age group cricket. That in the longer term will ensure that there is a flow of new talent pressing for recognition. Where is Bermuda's next crop of players going to come from? It's a gulf in class between club and international cricket.

The infighting has already started, and there have been reports in the last week that Logie wants to make radical changes now, while selectors have been quoted as saying they will stick with the tried and tested players. Such disharmony will rumble on until after the World Cup; the virtual open warfare will start as soon as the side gets knocked out.

And politicians being politicians, they will start to demand to know exactly how their $11 million has been spent once the weakness of the national side is highlighted on an international stage. They have a point. On the evidence of 2006, the cash has been squandered rather than invested in the future.

It's too late to salvage anything in time for the World Cup. But that doesn't mean that tough decisions should be delayed any longer.

Martin Williamson

The countdown for the 2009 women's World Cup begins this Friday when four African countries will assemble in Nairobi, Kenya for the start of the World Cup regional qualifiers.

Joining the host nation Kenya will be Zimbabwe, Tanzania and Uganda and the one-day competition will be played in a simple round-robin format, with the winner heading to the next qualifying stage, a tournament in Pakistan at the end of next year. Eight teams will vie for two spots at the 2009 World Cup in Australia.

Click here for the full story.

In an open letter to Cricinfo, Ben Sennik, the president of the Canadian Cricket Association, has hit back at recent critcisms of the board and him personally.

would imagine in common with most national cricketing bodies operating under the ICC umbrella, the Canadian Cricket Association (CCA) prefers to avoid conducting its business via the media. In the case of the CCA, we avoid doing so simply out of a desire not to bore cricket fans around the globe with the myriad of background situations and challenges which confront any national cricket organization.

However, due to the litany of aggressive commentary appearing on the Cricinfo website in recent months about the CCA, I feel compelled to offer some defence. I do so not out of any need for personal gratification, but rather as recognition of the on-going support of Canada's Provincial Cricket Associations and the thousands of players across the country.

I refer specifically to four articles:

i) Commentary about the CCA president being "eccentric" and the CCA "shooting itself in the foot" for severing the relationship with a person appointed to the portfolio of Marketing and Communication. The article was written by that same person.

ii) Criticism of the CCA's marketing, merchandising and promotional activities.

iii) Criticism of the CCA's selection procedures.

iv) Article entitled "The blinkered world of the Canadian Cricket Association".

Cricinfo has done a stellar job as one of the primary sources for cricket information internationally (including, I believe, winning internet media industry awards). The CCA respects Cricinfo's right as a media vehicle to present its views and opinions. However, we believe that that right is accompanied by a responsibility to ensure unbiased content.

Despite the fact that the four articles have a common thread, I will spare your readers a tiresome (but easy) point-by-point rebuttal. Instead, I concentrate on what the CCA has achieved in recent years.

1. Financial
In the 2005-2006 financial year, and for the first time in over a decade, the CCA has succeeded in recording a small operating surplus. It has also substantially reduced the debt load inherited from a previous administration. For the third year in succession, the CCA has completed a Canadian finance industry-approved audit. We are pleased to have joined the select group of national cricket bodies operating within ICC which can claim such a sound financial standing. We are confident that ICC, and other cricketing nations, appreciate such fiscal prudence.

2. Facilities
The CCA has recently succeeded in adding a second ICC-approved ODI ground (Maple Leaf CC, near Toronto). As such, Canada is the only country in the Americas with such facilities. We take only small pride in that latter point: we would like to work with other recognised cricket bodies in the Americas to lift their facilities to similar levels.

3. Sponsorship
Cricket is far from being a major sport in Canadian sponsorship circles. Nevertheless, the rapidly changing demographics in the country are making it more attractive to companies which are committed to an ethnic marketing approach. The CCA has recently attracted five corporate sponsors and has had lengthy discussions with companies in areas such as financial services, the automotive sector and both print and electronic media. Canada is far from alone among ICC Associate Member countries in facing sponsorship challenges. However, we continue to confront those challenges - with some successes.

4. Government Support
Governments represent a further - and important - area of financial support (a measure of that importance is the favourable situation for Bermudan cricket with the recent injection of US$11 million from the national government).

The CCA was pleased to work with the provincial Ontario government to help secure a recent grant of Can $1 million for cricket in Ontario, Canada's largest cricketing region. We are also in discussions with the Canadian federal government to secure long-term support for the sport. Quite rightly, the government requires the sport's organizing body to be on a sound financial footing (now proven). It also requires the CCA to offer support to all groups including recent and previous immigrants, Canadians of aboriginal descent and to both female and male cricketers (all, either done or in the process of being done).

5. The Playing Side
Canada remains the only Associate Member country to have qualified for three World Cups. The ICC High Performance Program is ensuring that the top stratum of Associate Member cricket is becoming more and more competitive. We are dedicated to maintaining Canada's position in that stratum. This is evidenced by the fact that Canada will be playing in the Intercontinental Cup final in 2007, following victories in four-day games over Kenya and Bermuda.

6. More On The Playing Side
The availability of two ICC-approved grounds in Toronto is attracting the attention of the Boards of Control of ICC Full Member countries. We have had extensive discussions with several countries about playing bilateral or tri-series in Toronto, both in the 50-over format and Twenty20 (as an aside, the Twenty20 form may well prove particularly suited to the North American market which is accustomed to three-hour baseball games). Again, it would be imprudent to make public such discussions prior to their finalisation.

All of these points which I outline were made formally at the 2006 CCA AGM - a meeting which was open to, and attended by, representatives of the media.

If all of the above represents "eccentricity" and "a blinkered world", then I as CCA president and the CCA as a body stand guilty. I would respectfully suggest, however, that this is far from being the case.