The revelation that the USA Cricket Association had finally put forward a new constitution to its stakeholders was, on the face of it, a rare piece of good news in the murky world of domestic US cricket. But after a closer look, the news might not be as good as it seemed.

Within hours of the announcement there were signs of unrest. The most obvious issue was that the whole deal was presented as one that only needed rubber stamping rather than consideration. After months of silence and rumour, stakeholders were given three weeks to digest the proposals, circulate and discuss them, and vote. While that may be time enough, there was a feeling of indecent haste about the whole process.

And then there was the issue of the regions, and more specifically the clubs within those regions. A close examination shows that there is a considerable imbalance between the way the regions are divided. More worryingly, some regions appear to have grown at a phenomenal rate.

One regional president made his views clear. “There are a number of so called clubs that are nothing but bogus clubs,” he told Cricinfo. “I challenge this administration to conduct a through independent audit of all clubs in all regions to see if they really play cricket or if certain individuals chose to pay $30 per club time 8 per League (i.e. $240 per year) to ensure they have enough leagues and enough clubs to vote.”

In other words, are all the clubs recognised by the USACA genuine?

A quick examination of the numbers of affiliated clubs in each region throws up some remarkable success stories. In the Atlantic region, in 2004 there were 69 clubs – now there are 133. It’s the same story elsewhere. North East region has grown from 16 to 40 clubs; Central East from 51 to 127. This may represent a tremendous success story for the USACA in that it has expanded the game.

Cynics claim it is little more than an exercise in manipulation. Each of the regions will elect a representative to the USACA board, so gain control of the regions and you effectively run the USACA. The new clubs may well decide whether the current regime is allowed to carry on or not.

“You’re damned if you do, damned if you don't,” a senior official said. “If you oppose the constitution then you are hampering progress; if you are in favour of the constitution you are keeping the incumbent in power.”

The most recent elections were shrouded in controversy. It seems that these will be no different. The veneer of democracy will keep the ICC happy and will satisfy the various external companies rumoured to be about to climb into bed with the USACA. It will also ensure that the existing bosses remain in place.

Unless leopards can change their spots, that is likely to mean a continuation of a policy of running US cricket in virtual secrecy, with no information made available to stakeholders or the media.

Like elections in the old Soviet Union, they claim to be democratic and open when in reality they are quite the opposite. The candidates offer themselves for a re-election that is inevitable and as soon as the poll is counted, they wave, head back behind the curtain and carry on as before.

Perhaps we are wrong and this is a brave new world. We have asked senior USACA officials to comment, as we have repeatedly done over the last two years. Stay tuned to see if they reply. Stay tuned, that is, but don’t hold your breath.

After months of silence and less than five weeks before the ICC's final deadline for its implementation, the USA Cricket Association has finally circulated the proposed new constitution to its members for ratification.

The documentation was sent out by Paul de Silva, the secretary of the USACA, with a note asking each region to appoint a regional administration in accordance with the draft constitution by February 21, 2007. "This will help fast track the electoral process," he explained, adding that he "presumed that the draft constitution will be ratified".

To maintain its status as an associate member of the ICC the USACA must hold new elections by March 1, 2007 under a new constitution. This means that from the date of de Silva's email, the regions have 21 days to consult all member clubs, ratify the constitution and appoint a representative, as all ballots must be completed by February 19.

While stakeholders will be delighted to finally have some information after months of silence from the USACA board, the timescales for the process to be finalised are almost ridiculously tight, and questions have to be asked regarding why the board has left it so late and what exactly have they been doing in the meantime.

Few inside the USA expect the new elections and fresh constitution to bring many changes in leadership.

It won't get many column inches in the mainstream cricket press, but the World Cricket League, which started in Nairobi yesterday and continues into next week, features the best of the rest, the six sides just under the ten Test-playing countries. For the two finalists, the rewards are bountiful - a place among the big boys in the inaugural Twenty20 World Championship in South Africa this September, along with $250,000. For countries used to surviving on annual handouts from the ICC of less than $200,000, that's big money.

With the exception of Bermuda, cricket is not a mainstream sport in any of the participants. And yet it survives, and in some instances thrives, despite the lack of attention and a relatively small number of enthusiasts.

The ICC, who do sterling work in supporting the game's second and third tiers, will rightly use the event to highlight that cricket is not just about the Indians and Australias of the world.

But there remains a nagging worry. The ICC boasts that the game is spreading across the world. But is that right? Is it taking root or is it surviving because more people from its hotbed - south-east Asia - are emigrating and keeping it alive for the duration of their careers?

In last year's Wisden Almanack, Matthew Engel raised this very issue. "Overwhelmingly, the game in non-traditional countries is played by expatriates, mostly South Asian. Journalists were kidded into believing that cricket was about to burst on China, on the basis of some warm comments by civil servants and a couple of coaching courses. I have seen not one shred of evidence to back this up. Are the kids playing with tapeballs on the streets of Shanghai? Are they heck!"

Take Canada. Of the squad in Nairobi at the moment, only three were born in the country, and two of those are over 35. Of the rest, five come from the Caribbean, four from India and each from Pakistan and Uganda. Whereas other Associates have a smattering of expats, Canada are utterly reliant on them.

Engel's comment attracted fierce criticism from those who either argued that England had more than their share of "imports" or that the game only spread in Asia, Africa, Australasia and the Caribbean through expats playing it in the first place.

The worry in some countries is that rather the game is not being continued by the second and third generations but is only being maintained by a steady flow of new immigrants

With regards to England, yes there have been quite a few non English-born players who have been picked for the side, but the game still has a massive stronghold in the country. The selection has been more about improving a solid side. And as for the ex-pats argument? Well, yes, but that's the crucial point. In the regions flagged the game was brought in but it was then embraced by the indigenous population and taken on as their own. This is exemplified no better than in CLR James's seminal work, Beyond A Boundary.

The worry in some countries - and again I come back to Canada - is that rather the game is not being continued by the second and third generations but is only being maintained by a steady flow of new immigrants. Canada's cricket heritage is rich but there is little sign that it has been built on. This is best underlined by the selection of former West Indies international Anderson Cummins. Forty years old and without a major match to his name since 1995-96, he made his debut in Mombasa last week. What message does that send out about the strength in depth of cricket in Canada?

It's not just Canada. Look at the USA, whose 2004 Champions Trophy side was a collection of ageing expats whose performances verged on the disgraceful. And the UAE, which is almost entirely dependant on its ex-pat workforce to keep the game alive.

Cricket's expansion should not be about filling teams with expats and expecting the locals to get excited about it. The only way cricket can gain a foothold in emerging countries is by actually getting the indigenous population to embrace the game, and two excellent examples where this is happening are Nepal and Uganda.

Anderson Cummins of Barbados, West Inbies ... and now Canada © Eddie Norfolk

Does it matter? Yes, because as the ICC looks to develop the game in as many places as possible, that means the financial cake has to be cut in ever thinner slices. The ICC needs to concentrate on a smaller number of countries where the chances of the game taking off. It is invidious that Uganda gets the same basic allowance as Belgium.

Cricket is in trouble in its traditional homes in Africa - Zimbabwe are hell-bent on destruction and South Africa seems to be falling out of love with the game. So efforts should be made in Uganda . And in Asia, which everyone accepts is the game's stronghold, a side like Nepal should really be given the leg up. It's about targeting rather than a scattergun approach.

In fairness to the ICC, they have a tough time and a lot of countries scrambling for a share of the spoils. It's about weeding out the weak and really looking to grow the game in areas where it has the best chance of taking root. It's an almost impossible ask. Look at the repeated failure of American Football to crack Europe ... and if football itself still battles for acceptance outside expats and schools in the USA, then the size of the ICC's task becomes clear.

Of course expats have a key role to play in expansion. But if the game is basically played by them, is it the game spreading or is it more about diehards clinging to the traditions of their homelands? In the UK there are baseball and American football sides, but they are almost all expat Americans and so few would seriously claim the games have taken hold. However, basketball and ice hockey are widely played by locals, boosted by some imported players and expats, and, crucially, the national side can stand on its own two feet. That's the difference.

A very interesting article in Kenya’s Standard about Henry Osinde. Born and raised in Uganda, he is back in neighbouring Kenya this week to play in the World Cricket League. But he has turned his back on Uganda and is now a member of the multinational Canadian side.

Without a touch of irony, he said that "Uganda cricket has a good development programme, but the problem is to get it to next level." He added, with another turn of the knife, that he had no plans to visit to offer any support.

Malaysia put on a brave front before going down by five wickets against Sri Lanka in the opening match of the HSBC Malaysian Under-19 Invitational tri-series at the Kinrara Oval.

It was a result which the young Malaysians, led by skipper Faris Almas-Lee, should not look into with sadness or shame but instead hold their heads high at the end of the day as there was so much excitement provided by the hosts which had the Test-playing nation gripped with nail-biting anxiety.

Click here for the full article

	Match cancelled ... a blackboard breaks the bad news after the Kenya-Canada game was called off © Eddie Norfolk

Astounding as it seems, the slanted reporting from certain journalists in Kenya's Nation newspaper has continued in recent weeks.

The Nation's cricket coverage is now so slanted as to be damaging its international reputation, as well as its domestic one. It is Kenya's leading and most respected newspaper and yet it one or two of its staff repeatedly attack the board of Cricket Kenya, whereas at the height of the battle between stakeholders and the old Kenyan Cricket Association it barely raised a whimper.

Skewed reporting aside, other questions need to be asked. Why does the Nation pay so little time actually talking to board officials and players? Tsuma is not rated by most of the team and that accounts for the fact they will not deal with him. Earlier this month they attacked Cricket Kenya's deal with Nimbus, calling the details "sketchy". Well, Cricinfo knew the details because we asked. But no reporter from The Nation attended the press conference despite assurances from Chris Tsuma and Richard Mwangi that they would be there. The excuses given were lame and they made no attempt to follow up.

And match coverage has been dismal. The reports on the Bermuda tri-series last November were almost non existent, even thought the board sent daily updates. Criticism of the lack of progress made by CK has been a regular feature of the paper's cricket coverage, but no mention has been made of the new league established in Rift Valley, for example, nor of the fact that Kenya have played 16 ODIs this year, in contrast to two in the previous 30 months.

With regards to the Tri-Series in Mombasa, the paper gave lip service to matches with the bare minimum of coverage. They did manage to comment on the illness which caused the cancellation of last weekend’s Kenya-Canada match, claiming that “some of the gloss” was taken off the event.

As it was, Kenya won the tournament. Not that that would appease Chris Tsuma, whose one-eyed view of the game is well documented. At the start of the year he wrote: "Not much is expected from the team whose only international match practice since then have been restricted to minor skirmishes with fellow minnows Canada, Bermuda, Ireland, Scotland, Namibia with a splash of India and Pakistan (in the 2004 ICC Champions Trophy) and Bangladesh thrown in."

He went on to refer to a "lack of any development programmes, funding and absence of a competitive domestic competition". A five-minute phone call to any of the board's senior officials would clear all that up, but he prefers to write without the distraction of such research.

All cricketers in Kenya have a right to know the truth and they also have a right to be told the truth. While newspapers should hold those running sports, governments etc to account, they have a duty to present the facts. The sad reality here is that The Nation is guilty of failing in that regard where it's cricket coverage is concerned.

People are not stupid and they know what is happening. They are aware of the legacy inherited by Cricket Kenya, and they aware that there is progress, however slow it might be. At the end of the day, the only loser is the reputation of a fine newspaper. Its senior editors owe it to their readers to intervene and end the constant and often slanted sniping at Cricket Kenya . They should also ask what is driving Tsuma’s attacks.

We would all be interested to know what they find. The way they cover the World Cricket League, the most important cricketing event in the country since the 2000 ICC Champions Trophy, will be fascinating to see.

Scotland's cricketers last night sent an SOS home for extra supplies of a special energy drink after going through a six-week supply in just over a fortnight.

Officials admit they were caught out by the fierce heat and humidity in Mombasa during the recent Tri-Series with Kenya and Canada.

Read the full story in The Herald

While most attention outside the Test world centres on the World Cricket League which gets underway next Monday (January 29), two of the sides providing opposition in warm-up matches will be taking those games far more seriously.

Uganda and Tanzania have been brought in by the tournament organisers to provide opposition for the six countries in the WCL, but both will be looking to impress. Uganda have been talked up by many in the last year, but they suffered heavy defeats when Kenya toured there at the end of last year.

"Everybody is in good frame of mind,” former Uganda Under-19 captain Hamza Saleh told The Monitor. “We have played with these guys (Tanzanians) in different age group events before and we will handle them cautiously."

Contrary to reports at the weekend, it is highly unlikely that a planned one-day series between India and Australia in North America will be able to include matches in the USA. At present, there are no venues in the country approved by the ICC to host a one-day international. In fact, there are none even close to being recognised.

While Canada might conceivably host a few games at the quaintly named Cricket, Skating and Curling Club, the failure of Project USA - which was intended to develop the US market - has set the game back in the continent at least until 2008.

A new deal between the largely dysfunctional USA Cricket Association, whose utter inability to run the game led to its suspension by the ICC, and a marketing company called Centrex should give cricket in the USA a commercial stability hitherto absent. But it won't happen in time for this series.

To many - mainly the marketing men who so dominate the way cricket is run - the USA remains the untapped Holy Grail. Crack that, so the thinking goes, and the rewards are almost unlimited. Millions of dollars of income - up to $6 million per game for up to seven matches - was touted as a likely reward for the venture. Up to 10 million first-generation Asians make for a lucrative market, even if the average American doesn't care one jot for the game.

There are three main centres in the USA - New York , Florida and California. The speculation over the Australia-India series centred on New York, but there is not a venue there that could host a match. There was talk that an NFL stadium might be used, but that shows the lack of credibility of the reports. The major NFL stadiums are astroturf, and even if the organisers laid an artificial wicket, such a surface would not be approved for an ODI. There is one other minor detail. NFL pitches are far too narrow.

That leaves baseball grounds, and only one - the Mets' Shea Stadium - could conceivably be used. However, the cricket season in New York runs slap bang in the middle of the baseball season, so that's not an option. And drop-in-pitches are not a short-term solution as there are strict rules about transportation of soil and grass across state lines. The raw materials available in New York are just not good enough.

With that in mind, California has been earmarked as the ideal centre for the game, with the right climate and good soil. In the short-term, the venue at Burbank is the nearest to being ready. There are two grounds in Florida - at Fort Lauderdale and Broward County - but neither has pitches nearly good enough for international matches. The grass pitches they have crumble too easily. One expert told Cricinfo that soil with the right amount of clay needed to be imported, probably from Georgia, and that meant a mountain of red tape to be overcome before the project could even start.

When Andy Atkinson, the ICC's pitches guru, was consulted by the bosses of Project USA, he estimated that with the right soil and the will, a pitch could be laid and ready in around eight or nine months. Australia and India's commitments mean that the only spare dates for a North American series is June, and there is no way on earth that any grounds in the USA could be ready by then. As the flamboyant boxing promoter Don King loves to say: "it's got two chances ... slim and none, and slim just left town."

That leaves the one ICC-approved venue in Toronto, which hosted several one-day series in the late 1990s. It offers a foothold on North American soil, but a long series there would have limited appeal, and it's the USA not Canada that whets the two boards' appetites. In terms of TV coverage, they might as well play in some more established neutral centres such as Kuala Lumpur or Sharjah.

Time is running out for Bermuda’s under-fire players to prove to the national selectors that they are the men to take the side into the World Cup.

Back-to-back defeats in warm-up matches in Trinidad has added to deepening concerns following a poor tour of Africa at the end of last year, but Irving Romaine, their captain, remains upbeat … in public at least.

“It’s all up to us because we have the talent and can match our opponents talent-wise … it’s just that they are more disciplined than we are at the moment. But if we can get control of our discipline and play to our full ability then we should win because we do go into games definitely looking to win.”

Read the full interview in The Royal Gazette

An interesting article in the Montreal Gazette on immigrants in Canada who are spreading the cricket gospel. But this raises a bigger question … if the game is played predominantly by first-generation expats, can it be said that game is growing?

Since beating higher-ranked Bangladesh at the last World Cup in South Africa in 2003, Canada has stepped up recruitment of immigrants like him, as well as Canadians living abroad, to play on the team.

And with organizers spending more money on the sport - paying for cricket classes in high schools and colleges, building indoor arenas in Ontario and investing in such specialized training equipment as automatic bowling machines - the future of Canadian cricket looks bright.

Bermuda's very soggy tour of Trinidad finally got under way yesterday...but they crashed to a 47-run defeat to a local club side, W Connection Wanderers.

Batting first at the Gilbert Park Ground, Wanderers scored 243 for 9 in their 50 overs with Jason Samuel top-scoring with 68. Clifton Hall (43) and Kenroy Williams (41) - the former Barbados youth captain - also contributing useful knocks. Dwayne Leverock took 3 for 46.

Clay Smith, the opening batsman, made 37 for Bermuda - and David Hemp 35 - but their innings fell away in the middle order, losing their last three batsmen for ducks.

Martin Williamson looks at what message is being sent to the Associates by the ICC deciding to appoint Darrell Hair to officiate in their tournament ... and do the ICC even know where they stand.

So Darrell Hair has been appointed to stand in the triangular one-day series in Mombasa next week, the first time he will don the white coat since that gloomy Sunday afternoon at The Oval in August when his world turned on its head.

The announcement - which caught the ICC on the hop as it only intended to release the news on Sunday - caused, inevitably, a flurry of media comment. Some were surprised that Hair was still an umpire, so intense was the criticism of him between the Oval Test and the ICC's decision to bar him from standing in major matches which followed in November.

There are two sides to this. The first is that this is actually a really good move. Hair, for all his stubbornness, was, up to four months ago, one of the top officials in the game, a fact underlined by the ICC's own internal rankings which placed him second only to Simon Taufel. There is no doubt that in Kenya his presence will benefit sides who will for the first time play in a game with such a senior official.

Hair himself will receive a warm welcome. Mombasa Sports Club, which is the home ground of Samir Inamdar, Cricket Kenya's chairman, is a delightful venue and the people there go out of their way to make all visitors feel at home. A few overseas reporters may make their way to the coastal town, but by and large he should enjoy his trip.

But there have to be questions asked of senior ICC officials as to what has changed in the last two months? In November, Percy Sonn, the ICC's president who has a habit of speaking before necessarily thinking, said that the ICC executive board had "come to the conclusion that they've lost confidence in Mr Hair". While Malcolm Speed, the ICC chief executive, has always said he hoped to find a way to keep Hair in the game, he too admitted that the decision was right. Most of those close to the decision-making process left Dubai believing that Hair would not stand in any international match again.

As an umpire, Hair clearly is good enough. So why can he stand here and not in more important matches?
If Hair was not deemed fit by the ICC to umpire then - and the key here is that nobody questioned his decision-making ability - what has changed? The ICC have spent today vociferously stressing that the ban was for Full Member matches only. But surely, either he is fit or he is not.

Perhaps even they don't actually know what they agreed or the best way forward. When Sonn was asked at the November meeting to clarify details regarding Hair's future, he refused, and when pressed snapped at reporters: "You are free to leave if you want. We are not giving any more details." Perhaps Percy was not exactly on message, or perhaps he was as confused as the rest of us.

The Mombasa tournament involves three of the six leading Associates, all of whom will be playing in the World Cup. These are among the best of the rest, and the matches are accorded full ODI status by the ICC. In effect, there is a danger that people will interpret this as the ICC saying that they have no faith in Hair but that the Associates aren't really that important.

This is a unique situation. The ICC could argue with any other official - including Hair's two colleagues also standing in Mombasa - that they were not quite good enough to make the transition from this level to the Elite. But that's not an issue or an excuse here. As an umpire, Hair clearly is good enough. So why can he stand here and not in more important matches? As with every aspect of this sorry episode, the ICC has failed to be clear or transparent in its handling and once more we can expect more smokescreens and sidestepping.

And so, while the Associates ponder just how important they are to the ICC, Hair, who arrives in Mombasa on Monday, is left yet again to face the media on his own. It's something he has become used to in recent months.

Larry Gomes, the former West Indies batsman, has been helping Bermuda train for the forthcoming World Cricket League.

"Larry is there to help with the technical areas and give feedback on cricket specifics and let them know the demands of playing at the top level.

"He's Trinidadian, he knows the conditions, he knows what is required mentally to succeed. We also have Tony Gray, Bernard Julien and Raphick Jumadeen to work with the bowlers.

"It's a chance for all of them to make the most of this opportunity to learn from these guys.

"They have a wealth of experience to pass on. We will be getting information from everyone."

Middle-order batsman Lionel Cann said yesterday that it had been useful to work with Gomes, who he said had analysed all the batsmen and given them pointers on how to improve.

 

The Bermuda Sun has the full story.

Ryan Steede, the medium-pacer and Kwame Tucker, the wicketkeeper, are the two notable omissions of Bermuda's squad for the World Cricket League to be held in Kenya later this month.

Read the full story.

Bermuda are currently in Trinidad for a week’s training ahead of the World Cricket League, but they’ve been severely hampered by torrential rain over the last few days. Both their matches on Wednesday and Thursday were washed out, and today they’re off to the Frank Worrell Cricket Development Centre in Balmain, until Monday, for practice sessions.

They have back-to-back one-dayers against a Connection Wanderers side on Tuesday and Wednesday at Gilbert Park and Inshan Ali Park respectively. Bermuda return home from Trinidad on January 19.

Lionel Cann, the Bermuda allrounder, is writing for The Bermuda Sun. In his column he says: "Since [Bermuda] qualified for the World Cup in 2005, my life has changed. I became an instant celebrity, along with my teammates. Everybody in our whole circle wants to be a part of that success".

And in spite of widespread criticism of the team's fitness, Cann insists has has "to watch what I eat when I'm out because people will question what I'm eating".

As I train in Trinidad, there is a lot of excitement with World Cup places up for grabs, I can see the extra sacrifice that the players have made.

Things are going quite well for us. From my observation all the team is working very hard on their fitness and it appears the team is on a high with the World Cricket League ahead.
I feel like the team is trying to forget the negatives and focus on the positives.

I am very excited about the addition of the potential of the young players. They're striving forward and working hard to gain experience and improve their game as they are looking forward to 2009 and the next ICC Trophy.

Cann is with the Bermuda squad for a week's training in Trinidad.

There is now hardly anyone in USA cricket circles who believes that there ever was a Centrex deal negotiated by, and for, the USACA Cricket Association.

Reported on Cricinfo by a gentleman who proclaimed himself the USACA representative for media relations (an appointment, incidentally, which was never presented for approval of the USACA board of directors), the magic deal appears to be a case of smoke and mirrors, with no basis in fact or reality. There is no other explanation that can fit the facts at hand.

An unguarded statement by the media representative provides a clue to what is going on. According to his explanation, USACA wanted to make sure the draft constitution was being sent out by hard copy, so its contents would not be "tampered with". Surely some one in the USACA has heard of "read only" reports, which can be sent out with a single mouse click? In any case, if the original of the draft was still in the USACA's files, would it be so difficult to compare it with any tampered drafts that were sent back--and view the tamperings as contributions to the discussion, rather than as attempts to sabotage the USACA? Or is the process of discussion inherently subversive in USACA's eyes, so any discussion is to be perceived as a threat?

Meanwhile, the USA Council of Cricket League Presidents, or CLP, is not waiting for USACA to keep prevaricating. It has moved swiftly to take centre stage in US cricket politics, and is picking up momentum as time passes.

The first thing CLP has done is to find out which US cricket leagues can be counted on for support. Firm participation is expected from leagues west of the Mississippi, including Chicago. As of 2007, there are 15 leagues in Western USA who could participate if they so wished. Perhaps four or five from Eastern USA might join. Together, these leagues cover 75% of cricket clubs in the USA, which is a healthy place to start.

The CLP also forwarded a formal list of 12 amendments to the USACA draft constitution, along with a detailed critique of the draft explaining the need for these amendments - needless to say, there has been no response of any kind from the USACA. The CLP is also taking steps in the federal courts to block USACA's plan to register itself in New York, and seeking an injunction to block any implementation of the draft USACA constitution until it is fully approved and ratified by its membership.

The CLP is warning all cricket clubs that it may take some time to exorcise all the demons left over from the past three years of mismanagement by the USACA. But the process, says CLP, is at last fully under way.

Veteran Kenyan wicketkeeper-batsman Kennedy Otieno has been left out of the squad for the forthcoming World Cricket League after failing to make himself available for the national training camp. Click here for more

Nick Deverell has a report at CricketEurope of a Rift Valley Sports Club Invitational XI beating Methlick CC, from Scotland.

	'I know I can do a job in the longer form of the game' © Scotland Cricket

Dougie Lockhart, the Scotland batsman who has been shunted up and down the order in recent years, will relaunch his international career this week when Scotland take on UAE in an Intercontinental Cup match at Sharjah.

What part Lockhart plays in proceedings remains to be seen for a player who, in recent seasons, has become the victim of his own versatility. The utility tag has not always worked to the advantage of the West of Scotland batsman/wicketkeeper to whom such alliterative obriquets as "Dedicated Dougie" and "Loyal Lockhart" have inevitably attached themselves.

Lockhart has responded to a string of disappointing omissions with commendable stoicism and, given a dearth of top-flight action of late, it is remarkable that he remains the country's third most-capped player with 135 international appearances.

Only skipper Craig Wright and Clydesdale all-rounder Greig Williamson have more, though Lockhart would surely be out on his own if a succession of selectors had recognised him for what he is - a solid opening batsman.

Instead, the former Oxford Blue has been shunted up and down the order in bewildering fashion, on occasion appearing only to retain his squad place on the strength of his alternative role as wicketkeeping understudy to Colin Smith.

The Sunday Herald has the full interview.

The Scotsman reports that Scotland’s cricketers set off on their longest-ever tour when they flew to Sharjah to prepare for a decisive Intercontinental Cup match against UAE.

Craig Wright's side will reach the final of the tournament they won two years ago if they defeat their Arab hosts in a four-day match starting a week today. To acclimatise, the Scots face a UAE Development XI over two days from Sunday, kicking off five weeks of almost continuous cricket ahead of their second World Cup appearance in the Caribbean in March.

Scotland C Wright (capt), J Blain, D Brown, G Hamilton, M Haq, P Hoffmann, D Lockhart, R Lyons, N McCallum, D Nel, N Poonia, G Rogers, C Smith, R Watson, F Watts.

In The Australian, Mike Coward reflects that while the Ashes series has generated massive revenues, the story is different beyond the Test world. He reports on the story of one Australian club side helping Uganda by donating equipment and funds. Spearheaded by Brian Freedman, Bankstown District CC in Sydney are doing their bit:

"There are 20,000 cricketers in Uganda and nearly all are playing with hand-crafted gear. Given so many have so little, cricket equipment is out of the question. Most cricketers I think have two or three bats in the shed that will never be used again but are too good to throw away.”

The first drive for equipment in 2005 was so successful the BDCC was able to ship a container of 100 bats, 100 pairs of pads, gloves, wickets, balls, stumps and some clothing. Unsurprisingly, shirts from the range bearing the names of two of the club's most famous sons, Steve and Mark Waugh, enjoy considerable popularity.

The ongoing mystery over the marketing deal agreed by the USA Cricket Association and Centrex continues, with the USACA refusing to provide stakeholders or the media with any information.

It now seems that not even all the association's board of directors are aware of what has been signed. "At a conference call on November 16 we were promised a copy of the deal," one member told Cricinfo. "We were clearly told that it would not be in electronic form as "some" board members were prone to "leaking" such information and the executive was going to make it harder to "leak" such information."

He continued: "A marketing deal that is supposed to be beneficial to the organisation is not touted to the membership and press as the best things since sliced bread; instead we are concerned about the information "leaking" to the media and the membership. I know, I find that rather hard to swallow too."

The USACA has a long history of refusing to keep stakeholders informed, and for several years it has effectively shut out the media. Senior officials have repeatedly refused to answer questions put to them by Cricinfo.

There is growing concern over exactly what the new deal, which according to some could earn US cricket millions of dollars, actually involves. Given that there is a continuing row over the USACA's constitution, there have also been questions as to whether it is within the current leadership's powers to agree to enter into such a major contract.

Scotland’s wicketkeeper Colin Smith has told The Scotsman he could end a glittering career on a high by bowing out at the World Cup.

"I don't know what the future holds but it's getting harder to keep going. It's a huge commitment to maintain the fitness levels required these days for playing international cricket. When you have a career and a family to think about as well it's even more difficult.

"I'm making no decisions at this stage because we're about to embark on an intensive programme of matches. There is some crucial cricket to be played and I'll give it 100% but the World Cup might be my last big tournament for Scotland."

The Fiji Times has a disturbing report on the poor state of Albert Park in Suva, the capital of the country. Safety aspects have been "compromised," and the outfield is littered - literally - with rubbish, pot holes and overgrown grass.

The article also has news of the latest match in the Suva Cricket Association league, where Army Cricket Club beat Willow Whisperers. And finally, there's this:

A highlight of the round was seeing clubs showing initiative to turn up with coloured tops and white longs. While on uniforms one thing that should be mentioned here is that some clubs are still flouting tradition and disrespectful to the sport by not playing in their white longs or even the same coloured longs.

Some ill-mannered players put a slap in the face to this respectable game by rocking up and playing Cricket in different coloured shorts. I feel that W.G. Grace is really turning in his grave and for that matter ironically these players have shown shortcomings in their performances this first round.

Do you play in Fiji or Albert Park? Let us know your thoughts on the state of the ground in the comments below or email us if you have any photos to share.

Bermuda are in Trinidad to prepare for the World Cricket League which gets underway at the end of this month. Three club sides - Clico Preysal (who won all five of their matches on a tour to Bermuda last September), Wanderers Cricket Club and Clarke Road United have all been lined up.

“Trinidad really is a good fit for us,” Logie said of his homeland yesterday.

“It’s obviously where we are going to be playing our World Cup matches so it’s important we give the players as much time as possible to get used to the conditions there. And we’ve got everything we need in terms of practice facilities and support.

“Traditionally we’ve always done quite well after a training camp down there and with the World Cricket League tournament coming up at the end of January (in Nairobi, Kenya), we saw it as a perfect opportunity to get the guys away from everything again and prepare thoroughly.

“We always try and play some practice matches while we’re down there and we’re going to play three teams who we’ve come up against before, who’ve got some good players and who are steeped in the art of swing and spin.

“It’s just the sort of challenge we need ahead of Kenya.”

Read more at the Royal Gazette, and leave your thoughts on Bermuda's preparations below.

Should Canada reach the final of the World Cricket League - to be held in Nairobi at the end of this month - thus qualifying them for the Twenty 20 World Cup in September, each player will receive a bonus of USD$5,000. More info can be found at their web site.

Dwayne Leverock, Bermuda’s supersized spinner, and Teresa Perozzi - the boxer who defended her world title twice while running a business and raising her son - are the Bermuda Sun's sports personalities of the year for 2006.

Both have faced public and media scrutiny away from the sports arena, but have proved their critics wrong where it counts - on the pitch and in the ring. Leverock's battle with his weight and Perozzi's ability to juggle work, family and intense periods of training have endeared them to the public.