Cricket Canada has announced its squad for the upcoming tour of Jamaica. The tour starts on 8 April with a match against Jamaica and concludes on 13 April with a ODI against the West Indies.

Parth Desai makes his first appearance in a Canadian senior squad, while Henry Osinde returns to the side after serving out his suspension due to disciplinary reasons.

Canada squad Ashish Bagai (Captain), Rizwan Cheema -(Vice Captain), Harvir Baidwan, Trevin Bastiampillai, Umar Bhatti, Khurram Chohan, Jawad Dawood, Parth Desai, Sunil Dhaniram, Nitish Kumar, Usman Limbada, Henry Osinde, Hiral Patel, Zubin Surkari

Tony Munro

Non-Test cricket's celebrity team of the last few years, Afghanistan, start their quest for a first ACC Trophy in Kuwait on Wednesday as favourites, ahead of defending champions, Hong Kong and traditional tournament heavyweights, UAE.

The customary qualification for the Asia Cup is not on offer to the finalists, so the main interest may be whether the full-strength Afghans can continue their recent run of success. This includes qualification for next month's World Twenty20 which they earned by snaring the ACC Twenty20 Cup in November, and winning World Cricket League Divisional titles amongst others. Their immediate challenge is to overcome fellow Group B team UAE who have prepared with matches last week against English counties Durham and Sussex. The UAE squad includes seasoned veterans who helped maintained their unbeaten run from 2000 to 2008, captain Khurram Khan and all-rounder Arshad Ali.

Malaysia, with ACC veterans Suresh Navaratnam and Rakesh Madhavan, and Bahrain, may pull off a surprise, although a shock is unlikely from Bhutan which returns to the top level of Asian non-Test cricket thanks to finishing second in the ACC Trophy Challenge tournament ahead of teams such as Myanmar and China. They lost the final against Oman by 213 runs.

Oman lurks in Group A and are somewhat unpredictable. Packed with allrounders, they could conceivably win the tournament or crash out at the group stage. Group A has greater depth with Nepal and Hong Kong the favourites to qualify for the semi-finals. It is at that stage Nepal traditionally stumbles, and will be seeking their first berth in a final since 2002. Singapore captain Munish Arora told Cricinfo last week his team will be distracted from the job at hand in their match against Nepal on April 3. It will be the first time the teams have meet since a riot in a match in World Cricket League Division Five saw Nepal promoted ahead of Singapore. The debacle deprived Singapore of a second straight WCL tournament title, so they should be confident. Nepal has the late distraction of vice-captain Gyanendra Malla's denial of a visa to enter Kuwait. Should his situation not be sorted, a replacement player will be sent.

Hong Kong will be led by Najeeb Amar, who hit a ton in the 2008 ACC Trophy final against the UAE, and include rising star Irfan Ahmed and veteran Roy Lam Sam. Although there are several changes from the 2008 squad, all the key players are in this one. In a tough group, they should not be dismissed as contenders. Kuwait, as first time host, will be familiar with the grounds and players with lengthy ACC Trophy experience, including Khalid Butt. Potentially, they could decide who makes the semi-finals.

Tony Munro

Afghanistan arrived in Kuwait this week with a full-strength squad and strong favouritism for the ACC Trophy Elite starting on Wednesday.

Motivation won't be an issue as the Afghans look to add the title of Asia's best non-Test 50-over team to their ACC Twenty/20 Cup success won last November.

Last week they prepared with four games in eight days at a camp in Lahore. Two of those matches were against a Pakistan A side, winning one.

Afghanistan schedule in Group B is - March 31 v Bahrain, April 2 v UAE, April 3 v Malaysia, April 6 v Bhutan.

Afghanistan: Nowroz Mangal (Captain), Mohammad Nabi, Karim Sadiq, Raees Ahmadzai, Hamid Hassan, Asghar Stanikzai, Mohammad Shahzad, Noor Ali, Dawlat Ahmadzai, Shahpoor Zadran, Mirwais Ashraf, Samiullah Shinwari, Shabir Noori, Nasatullah Nasrat
Coach - Kabir Khan.

A big year for the Kuwait national team and Kuwaiti cricket in general starts on Wednesday with the hosts' first match in Group A against Singapore.

The tournament is the first of two Kuwait will be playing in and hosting in 2010, with the World Cricket League Division Eight to be played in the Emirate in December.

Kuwait coach, Sameer Desai, said though, he didn't think home advantage in this tournament would be the bonus it used to be. "with so much international cricket being played now days I feel teams have developed greater adaptability to changing environments real quickly...." He also conceded, like in most Persian Gulf states, the Afghans would find plenty of support in Kuwait during the ACC Trophy. "Kuwait has a resident population comprising of multiple nationalities and quite a few teams might find unexpected support from the audience. You will be amazed how much support Afghanistan cricketers get in Kuwait and it often exceeds the support for our local team when we play against each other."

Desai said he expected captain Hasham Mirza and aggressive opener Khalid Butt were likely to be Kuwait's key batsmen. Butt hit centuries (117)against Afghanistan, then playing in its first ACC Trophy, and United Arab Emirates, (114) on successive days, in the 2004 tournament. Desai thought Under-19 captain and pace bowler Saad Khalid was another to watch.

Kuwait's first match in Group A is on March 31 vs Singapore followed by Hong Kong (April 2), Oman (April 4) and Nepal (April 6).

Kuwait: Hashim Mirza (Capt.), Khalid Butt, Lasantha Dimuthu, Saif Ullah, Muhammad Amin, Nikhil Kulkarni, Saud Iqbal, Muhammad Javed, Saad Khalid, Nalaka Dayan, Muhammad Murad, Muhammad Akhudzada, Khalid Yamin, Haroon Shahid
Coach - Sameer Desai

A team from Sydney is amongst the eight taking part in this weekend's annual Easter tournament in Suva, Fiji.

Friends United Sports Club will join seven representatives sides from across Fiji to conest the event, which will be played using the Twenty/20 format for the first time.

The return of Komo and Oneata from the Lau group of islands reflects the rejuvenation of the tournament, which has struggled in recent years to attract teams. Previously, it was common for teams from New Zealand and Australia to take part in the three-day event which traditionally is the biggest in Fijian cricket, as well as the Tongan national team.

Also returning are teams from Lautoka and Nadi, from the western side of the main island, Viti Levu.

The eight teams will be split into two pools of four with pool games being played on Thursday, Friday and Saturday with the semi finals and grand final being played on Monday.

Papua New Guinea paceman, Willie Gavera, will play the Scottish National League (SNL) season with Aberdeenshire. It is planned for the right-arm fast bowler to play in the SNL and then if necessary return for the Scottish Cup Final on September 4.

Gavera played grade cricket in Brisbane last Australian season with South Brisbane after spending the previous season with Wanderers club in Townsville in Queensland's North taking 30 wickets. He has been PNG's main strike bowler since debuting for the national team in 2008 and in January he represented the East Asia-Pacific composite team at the Australian Country Championships.

Tony Munro

Malaysia’s coach, Rajiv Seth says his team is fortunate to be pooled with Asian Twenty20 Cup champion Afghanistan and 2008 ACC Trophy runner-up United Arab Emirates in Group B as a positive for the tournament which starts this Wednesday in Kuwait. "We are lucky to be pitched against the best because every match will be a final for our boys and that should bring the best out of them,” Seth said. “I feel our boys have it in them to surprise bigwigs like Afghanistan, UAE & Bahrain though we respect our opponents’ credentials."

Seth is pleased with his team’s "rich blend of youth and experience." The veterans in the side are allrounder and former captain, Suresh Navaratnam, who has played several seasons of grade cricket in Melbourne. He has represented Malaysia for over 10 years as has punishing left-hander opener, Rakesh Madhavan. "Generally, most of the side has been around for more than two to three years - Noorwira Rahim is the youngest of the lot and is a left-arm spin bowler who can bat reasonably well,” Seth said.

Malaysia has prepared for the tournament at the ACC High Performance program for the past eight weeks, concentrating on a combination of centre-wicket sessions and game-sense methods.
Also joining Malaysia, United Arab Emirates and Afghanistan in Group B is Bhutan.

Malaysia squad: Suhan Kumar (capt), Ahmad Faiz, Faris Almas, Rakesh Madhavan, Damith Warusavithana, Suresh Navaratnam, Anwar Arudin, Eszrafiq Azis, Shukri Rahim, Nik Arifin, Shafiq Sharif, Hassan Ghulam, Noorwira Rahim, Shahrulnizam Yusof

Malaysia's matches: April 1 v Bahrain, April 3 v Afghanistan, April 4 v Bhutan, April 5 v UAE
Meanwhile, there are seven survivors from Hong Kong's 2008 ACC Trophy winning squad to defend its title starting this Wednesday, against Nepal.

Among those are left-hander Najeeb Amar, who was Man of the Match with a century in the final, two years ago against United Arab Emirates, and young allrounder, Irfan Ahmed, who recently earned the match award against Afghanistan in the Under-19 World Cup.

Hong Kong coach, Tabarak Dar, who has assumed a non-playing role after handing the captaincy over to Amar, said Ahmed will be a key player in this tournament. "A lethal weapon he is, bowling at 140-150ks at present and similarly scoring runs. He is growing fast and getting mature."

Dar said the squad had the strike-power to get the results, and dismissed the significance of its 10th place at the ACC Twenty20 Cup last November.

"We have 14 match-winners you need two or three to strike in one match to win matches. The squad resembles the one finished 10th at the ACC Twenty20, but they have a different coach this time and a different format. We are the current ACC defending champions and we will try our best to defend our title."

Hong Kong is in Group A along with Nepal, Kuwait, Singapore and Oman.

Hong Kong: Najeeb Amar (capt), Roy Lamsam, Zain Abbas, Irfan Ahmed, Nadeem Ahmed, Waqas Barkat, Hussain Butt, Ilyas Gul, Aizaz Khan, Asif Khan, Nizakat Khan, Vikash Vaswani, Nasir Hameed, Jawaid Iqbal

Hong Kong's matches: March 31 v Nepal, April 2 v Kuwait, April 4 v Singapore, April 6 v Oman.

Tony Munro

Singapore will be without key bowlers, Jackie Kumar and Riaz Hussien, due to work commitments, for the ACC Trophy Elite tournament starting in Kuwait on Wednesday.

Kumar, the 22-year old slow left-arm bowler, was Singapore's leading wicket-taker (11) at the World Cricket League Divison Five tournament in Nepal in February while allrounder Hussien, took seven wickets in his country's Division Six triumph last September.

They are among six changes to the Division Five squad which was controversially denied promotion after a riot in the match between the United States and Nepal.

Singapore captain Munish Arora played a dead bat to suggestions his team may place special emphasis on their match against Nepal on May 3. "We are waiting for the outcome of the ICC decision, so we are focusing on the job on hand - to do well in the ACC Trophy and keep our motivation going irrespective of whom we are playing."

It is a match Singapore will probably have to win if they are to reach the ACC Trophy semi-finals for the first time, Nepal has been victorious in the last three encounters between the teams (including a Twenty20 match). Arora said he was confident his team could close the gap. "Nepal has got the better of us in the last few close games, but there is not much difference in the two teams. We need to focus on our all-round game to get the results in our favour."

Singapore must get over other teams though as Group A also features defending ACC Trophy champions, Hong Kong, hosts Kuwait and the unpredictable ACC Twenty20 semi-finalists, Oman. Their opening game is against Kuwait on March 31.

Singapore: Munish Arora (capt), Muhammad Ali, Narender Reddy, Chetan Suryawanshi (wk), Shoib Razak, Dharmichand Mulewa, Pramodh Raja, Buddhika Mendis, Saad Janjua, Sagar Kulkarni, Irfan Madakia, Varun Varman, Manbhir Singh Philip Childs; Coach - Marvan Atapattu.

Tony Munro

Oman will be without captain Hemal Mehta for their return to the top level of non-Test cricket in Asia, the ACC Trophy Elite, to be held in Kuwait from March 31 to April 9.

Mehta had to opt out due to work commitments so the squad will be led by wicketkeeper Sultan Ahmed, who has been Mehta's deputy in several previous non-Test tournaments.

The squad includes the core of the team which has made it one of the more unpredictable in the second tier of Asian cricket. Aggressive allrounder Hemin Desai, middle-order batsmen Adnan Iyas and Vaibhav Wategaonkar and fast bowler Awal Khan are regular members of the Omani team.

Mehta's absence is a blow not just due to his captaincy, as he was player of the tournament at last year's ACC Trophy Challenge (the virtual second division of Asian non-Test cricket). Oman easily won the tournament to earn promotion back to the top flight. They were consigned to the Challenge after losing two of three matches in the 2006 ACC Trophy, and were the runners-up in the 2004 ACC Trophy and third in the ACC Twenty20 Cup last November.

Oman is in Group A alongside Hong Kong, Nepal, Singapore and Kuwait. Group B comprises United Arab Emirates, Afghanistan, Malaysia, Bahrain and Bhutan.

The squad is: Sultan Ahmed (capt), Rafeeq Al-Balushi, Yousuf Mahmood Sufyan Mahmood, Hemin Desai, Adnan Ilyas, Vaibhav Wategaonkar, Zeeshan Siddiqui, Awal Khan, Khalid Rasheed, Amir Ali, Nileshkumar Parmar, Tariq Hussain, Aamir Khaleem; coach - Mazhar Khan.

Ireland will begin the defence of their World Cricket League Division 1 title against Kenya when the 10-day tournament begins in Netherlands on July 1.

The hosts start off against Scotland while Afghanistan, who recently qualified for the World Twenty20 in West Indies, open against Canada in the six-team event. For Ireland, Canada, Kenya and Netherlands the competition will allow them to continue planning for the 2011 World Cup after the four teams qualified through the previous WCL Division 1 event, in South Africa, last year.

It was at that tournament that Afghanistan narrowly missed out on reach the World Cup when then finished fifth, but made up for that disappointment with their Twenty20 success last month.

A total of 18 matches will be played in this year's tournament which will be staged in a single-league format with the top two sides qualifying for the final and the other four teams squaring-off in the play-off matches on the last day of the tournament.

For a full fixture list click here.

Colin Macbeth

The thrashing of Warriors by Premier in Uganda's Luswata Cup last weekend provides the perfect ammunition for the introduction of a testing, high-level three or four-day provincial competition in East Africa.

Arthur Kyobe and Lawrence Ssematimba, both making easy centuries, greatly enjoyed themselves and it was a wonderful warm-up 'net' for them at the beginning of the season; but they should not be allowed to have such free licence on a regular basis, instead they must be able to play their cricket at a higher level - as must quick bowlers Asadu and Tabby, who both bagged easy wickets for few runs.

Cup competitions always provide mismatches; and there is nothing wrong with that, as long as it is not a regular occurrence. Uganda are in the world's top 20 and the games their international players take part in need to reflect that.

Two weeks ago I advocated in a Cricinfo piece the creation of an East African provincial league, similar to Zimbabwe's Logan Cup, to allow the skilful players the region has recently thrown up to capitalise on these skills.

After the game at Kiambogo, Dennis Tabby asked: "How was my game?" He had just taken four for 18, but my reply was: "There wasn't any opposition"; and I was right.

The Uganda squad appear in cracking good form at the moment and they need all the leverage they can get. When it comes to the long game, the success of this year's Logan Cup is a sufficient blueprint; at local international level rugby's keenly contested Kenya v Uganda Elgon Cup should act as a catalyst.

For Kenya, they need to slough off the pall of mediocrity and get playing as much proper cricket as they can, and it will take leadership from Cricket Kenya and the Nairobi Provincial Cricket Association to allow them to do this.

Sunday's Twenty20 washout in Nairobi - and there had been no advance notice to the public of these games taking place - crams up the final weeks of their season, which ends on April 11, before they go to Holland to meet Netherlands in Amsterdam on July 1.

For Uganda, the main season has only just started, and their talented players, both men and women, must build up the momentum for their key International Shield fixture with Namibia in September.

The future is there to be seized, so - "carpe diem" - let the players be provided with the stage on which to seize it.

Tony Munro

At least four African countries are set to lose their annual international competition following the apparent demise of the North-West African Championships (NWAC).

Nigerian Cricket Federation President, Kwesi Sagoe, has advised CricInfo the event is "highly unlikely" to be held in 2010 due to issues obtaining sponsorship as a result of the state of his country's economy. It will be the second year in a row it has not been held.

There is a possibility Nigeria and/or Ghana will be included in one of the lower divisions of the global World Cricket League, however that option is not open to Sierra Leone, Gambia, Mali and Morocco.

The latter four can compete in the regional Africa Division Three event bi-annually, and depending on results play in Division Two the following year.

The NWAC was a successor to the old West African Cricket Conference which had been held since 1960.

ICC Africa Development Officer, Cassim Suliman said his office would consider providing financial support if approached.

Colin Macbeth

A tremendous six into the pavilion from veteran Richard Davies summed up the success of Cricket Without Boundaries' dynamic coaching tour of Uganda earlier this month.

The tour took in landslide-struck Mbale, and Mbarara, Kasese and Fort Portal in the west - from where raw talent is reported - before gravitating to the capital, Kampala, where the Uganda Cricket Association chairman's boys - and girls - took on the tourists and their local assistants in a lively 25-over exhibition match.

Eventually Davies' six did it, and a graceful couple of singles sealed the visitors' victory.

Cricket Without Boundaries has certainly set out its marker in Uganda, where the game is being played with growing enthusiasm among the youth - and, indeed, among some of the old.

The exhibition match at a good-looking Lugogo stadium - and, incidentally, attended by far more people than saw Kenya and Netherlands in the Intercontinental Cup in Nairobi last month - dovetailed nicely with the start of the Ugandan cricket season, which the next day witnessed star-studded Premier trounce newcomers Warriors and Wanderers beat KICC in the keenly contested Luswata Cup.

Richard, who has visited East Africa with Cricket Without Boundaries seven times and will be coaching in Kenya's Rift Valley region next week, is optimistic. "It is excellent how the cricket is coming on here," he said.

In Nakuru and beyond, Cricket Without Boundaries, part of whose brief is to deliver an anti-HIV message, will have a role in helping heal some of the wounds still apparent in the area following post-election ethnic bloodletting in 2008.

The tour also coincides with the Rift Valley Festival at Lake Naivasha, which purports to be part of the healing process.

For cricket, as all know, is a great 'healer and bonder'; and Cricket Without Boundaries' brave, voluntary approach - "those who come are people who want to do it," says Richard - is paying off in more ways than six in many places outside cricket's regular reference points.

The Asian Cricket Council has announced that in its tournaments it will be mandatory to include three members in the playing side who are passport holders of the country they represent, and no team will be permitted to field more than two players in the under-four-year-residency category.

This ruling will initially apply to Under-16 sides but the aim is to roll it out across all age groups and eventually senior sides.

The number of qualified players used to boost sides, as opposed to home-grown talent, has been a concern for a long time and continues to be so. The USA side at the recent ICC World Twenty20 Qualifiers was almost entirely made up of players from the Caribbean and the subcontinent, while some other Associates and Affiliates have at times had as few as one player who could not be considered an expat.

"If cricket is to put down roots and grow and break out of the relatively small cradle in which it currently is placed in many countries, it has to be played by, taken up by, as significant and substantial a part of the population as possible,” a statement on the ACC website said. "Cricket is increasingly an Asian game yet at the same time, it cannot be a game for the people connected to just a few Asian countries."

The ACC’s decision had an immediate impact, causing Qatar and UAE to withdraw from the ACC Under-16 Elite Cup.

The UAE are particular unhappy with the new regulations because local laws make it hard, and in some instances impossible, for some people born in the Emirates to gain citizenship.

While the debate over eligibility of players rumbles on, the Netherlands have gone abroad to boost their chances in the coming year and recruited two players with Dutch passports and first-class experience in Australia and New Zealand.

Tom Cooper, a 23-year-old batsman who played for Australia at Under-19 level, and 24-year-old Otago wicketkeeper-batsman Derek de Boorder will both play for the country this coming season. Neither will be deemed to be an overseas player by the ECB so can compete the English 40-over competition. They will also be allowed to take part in ODIs and the ICC’s World Cricket League but not the ICC’s first-class Intercontinental Cup.

“There are still a few formalities to be finalised,” Jeroen Smits, the high performance advisor to the Dutch board told Cricket Europe. “We are confident that both players will be available for our first matches.

“I’m delighted that the selectors, who make the final decisions, will have the possibility of including these players in our squad and, looking further forward, I see them as potentially playing a significant role in our plans for next year’s World Cup.”

Papua New Guinea will be hosting the Australian Indigenous national team in the first week of July, with the teams competing in two one-day games and two Twenty20s, which will be played on turf wickets at Amini Park in Port Moresby.

“The Cricket Australia Australian Indigenous XI will be an exceptionally strong and experienced XI,” said Cricket PNG general manager Bill Leane. “They will be captained by Dan Christian, who recently made his Australian debut in a Twenty 20 International against the West Indies. He will be joined by current State-listed players Preston White, Josh Lalor, Worran Williams and an exciting group of young, highly skilled and experienced players.”

“The Australian Indigenous XI will be a formidable opponent and our national team will be challenged in every facet of the game,” said PNG national coaching director and former Australian fast bowler Andy Bichel. “Dan Christian is a super player, he made over 700 runs as Captain on the Australian Indigenous Tour of England.

“He potentially could be going to the ICC T20 World Cup at the end of April. Preston White is playing in the future Tours competition and Josh Lalor is playing great cricket for the Blues.

“The PNG Barramundis will field a full strength side with all of our 14 Brian Bell Future Stars players back in PNG after their scholarships end in March in Australia and New Zealand,” added Bichel. “This means it really will be .game on.for our boys as only the fittest, most in form and hungriest will be selected.

“The Barramundis will be playing for the opportunity to win our first ever home international series on turf plus creating an opportunity to be selected to represent PNG in our 2011 World Cup qualifying campaign. Having a turf wicket in PNG will also be big news and it must be said that it plays a huge part in our future development.”

MCC have departed for their seven-match tour of the USA. The tour starts in California on March 17 before heading east to Florida, culminating in two matches at Central Broward - the new national cricket stadium - against USA and a West Indies XI.

The 16-man squad is captained by Michael Foster, the former Australia Under-19 batsman, and includes Matthew Friedlander, who has played for both Northamptonshire in England and Boland in South Africa, and actor Torquil Deacon.

MCC's first match is against the Southern Californian Cricket Association (SCCA) at Woodley CC in Los Angeles. They play two more games at Woodley - against the South West Region of the SCCA, and the Hollywood All-Stars on March 19 and 20 - before moving on to San Jose to play the North West Region and North West Region Under-19s. They then travel to Cupertino, just outside San Jose, to run a coaching session, before flying east to Miami.

"North America has great cricket history - USA and Canada played the first ever international match back in the 1840s - and we hope it's got a bright future too," said John Stephenson, MCC's head of cricket. "MCC believes the USA is a massive potential growth area for the game and we're delighted to do our part to encourage interest in California and Florida."

MCC teams have been regular visitors to the USA, having toured five times in the past twenty years, most recently in 2004.

The ICC has dismissed criticism it was too slow to react to the crowd trouble which marred the match between Nepal and USA in Kirtipur in the ICC World Cricket League Division 5 tournament.

The ICC was roundly attacked for its seemingly slow response, not announcing an investigation until two days after the end of the tournament, but it has told Cricinfo the process was started in the immediate aftermath of the game. The next stage is the findings of the investigation will be delivered to the board who will deliberate what to do when they meet in Dubai in April.

The ICC is in a difficult position. If it fails to act then there is a danger it sets a precedent for crowds to disrupt matches if doing so will benefit their side. Against that, it will not want to
stamp down to heavily on a country where cricket has really taken hold.

Click here for the full article.

Bermuda have announced their 14-man squad for the tour to South Africa and Namibia, which takes place from March 23 to April 12.

The tour includes a week-long High Performance training camp at the University of Pretoria prior to the team’s departure for Namibia, where they will play a four-day Intercontinental Shield game against the hosts from April 2 to 5. Then follow two limited-overs games, on April 7 and 8, and a Twenty20 match on April 10 before the team return home.

"The team selection was based on attendance, ability and availability,” explained Lionel Thomas, the chairman of the selection committee. “We know it is not our strongest team due to withdrawals for personal reasons from some players and school commitments, but we are cautiously optimistic that the team selected will equip themselves admirably."

"I am pleased to be able to confirm that David Moore has received his work permit and hopes to be able to join the team for the tour,” added Reginald Pearman, the BCB president. “I know the boys have been putting their all into training and I am confident they will do their best."

Bermuda squad: David Hemp (Capt), Stephen Outerbridge, Jekon Edness, Stefan Kelly, Irving Romaine, Rodney Trott, Fiqre Crockwell, Chris Foggo, Jordan DeSilva, Justin Pitcher, Malachi Jones, Shannon Rayner, Ryan Steede, Jim West

Standbys: Regino Smith, Kevin Tucker, David Lovell, Joshua Gilbert

The deputy president of the troubled Malaysian Cricket Association, Datuk Dr Amarjit Singh, has resigned, citing time constraints as the reason for his decision.

"There is no need to say anything more nor do I want to hurt anybody. I have come to a decision to resign and that's it," Dr Amarjit told Bernama, the Malaysian National News Agency.

His resignation is a major setback for the MCA, which is in the midst of a slew of resignations, and has yet to find replacements for the two vice-presidential posts left vacant after Mahindra Vallipuran’s resignation and the death of Affendi Tuan Stephens last year. The association is reportedly also in financial difficulties.

"But I hope the president will take a serious look at the situation and fill up the vacancies, including that of ordinary member Gopal Sreenavasan who has also resigned,” added Dr Amarjit, who runs a clinic in Kuala Lumpur and was also the chairman of the MCA development committee. "If not, it's only fair that a re-election be called soon."

Bernama reported on its website that Dr Amarjit had been in the process of organising a golf tournament to help raise funds for cricket development but his plans were not given support, prompting his resignation.

"If I were him I would have felt very frustrated too,” said the president of the Johor Cricket Council, Datuk Dr Harjit Singh. “Dr Amarjit has the interest of cricket at heart and it's sad to see him go. Malaysian cricket has lost a good man.

“But I think there is more to it. In fact, Malaysian cricket is in a shambles right now. Something must be done to put things right again. Malaysian cricket cannot function like it is now.”

Tony Munro

As a sign of the times, Seychelles will be the only applicant for Affiliate membership of the ICC in 2010. The ICC had introduced a little-known stipulation in 2008 stating that all new applicants for Affiliate membership must have a minimum of eight men's teams, effectively ensuring that the applications would come from countries where the game had consolidated.

Existing members were told that they had until June 2010 to meet the criteria. Those who did not, would be given a further 12 months to conform before their membership might be reviewed.

Seychelles has 10 teams including women's and veteran's teams. Eight men's teams contest several short-term competitions based around the capital, Victoria, on the main island of Mahe.

Jonathon Paul, Seychelles Cricket Association (SCA) President, is himself a Zimbabwean and is proud of the many nationalities, including Seychellois, although he would like to see more locals involved. "It's a real melting pot - nearly every [cricket-playing] country is represented - British, Australian, South African, Sri Lankan, Indian," Paul said.

Locals are involved in the league, whom Paul says "are as good as anyone else". A combined team used to play a Mauritian club side on a home-and-away basis until recently and a few years ago the Seychelles played in a triangular tournament against the Maldives and Mauritius.

This year the SCA is running its first-ever four-team junior competition, which Paul hopes will lead to the game's introduction into schools despite obstacles. "The game was nearly eradicated after independence so not too many Seychellois have any idea about the game," he said. Progress has been solid though, as the SCA only began running coaching clinics on Saturday mornings for school children last year.

The ICC has agreed to demands from Singapore that it look into events surrounding the ICC World Cricket League Division 5 match between Nepal and USA in Kirtipur which was marred by serious crowd trouble.

Singapore argue that Nepal only qualified for the final and so gained promotion as a result of the disruption. Until the stoppage, Singapore looked set to edge them out on net run-rate, but, so they argue, the revised target agreed by the ICC technical committee altered the equation in Nepal’s favour and they edged through by 0.0035.

The ICC, who dismissed initial complaints, belatedly decided to look into the complaint, which centres on the decisions of the technical committee. Nevertheless, it seems bewildering an immediate investigation was not launched into the riot itself.

It may help Singapore’s efforts that Imran Khwaja, chairman of the Singapore Cricket Association, is one the ICC executive committee, although insider said there was little chance of the ICC reversing the technical committee’s decision. “They will do what they always do in this kind of situation – nothing.”

An editorial in the Straits Times, was highly critical of the ICC. “Nepali fans are known to run riot when their team are losing. But is it Singapore’s fault that security measures at the Tribhuvan University ground in Kathmandu were inadequate to stop around 5,000 of them from throwing stones and invading the ground for nearly an hour? The ICC’s silence is deafening.”

The round-robin match was delayed for around 45 minutes after sections of the 12,000-strong crowd started to throw rocks and debris onto the outfield. Trouble had been brewing for some time as USA cruised towards an easy victory over the hosts, and riot police were already in situ when things got nasty.

While most people headed at speed for the exits and the teams fled from the field, a hard core of spectators continued to hurl anything they could grab hold of onto the playing area. Some reports suggested tear gas was fired into the stands.

Eventually order was restored, and as police cleared the rubbish from the outfield using wheelbarrows, the ICC technical committee deliberated as to whether to continue the game or abandon it and award the win to the USA. In the end, a Duckworth-Lewis revised target of seven from 14 overs was agreed on and the match ended quickly and in relative calm.

Don Lockerbie, the chief executive of the USA Cricket Association, has said that plans for the professionalisation of the game in the United States was on track to begin later this year.

“We’re fast approaching the ability to feel comfortable with some of the initiatives that we’ve put in place and some of the financial planning that we’re putting in place and can soon announce,” he told dreamcricket.com. “We’re adding staff to my office which would include hiring a national director of coaching, an assistant coaching staff, kind of retooling the way we select players throughout the country. We’d be looking at a regional coaching staff around the country that we’d want to incentivise with paid positions.

“I think that a lot of people know that my strategy all along has been to start at the national team level and work our way down because I believe that club cricket and regional cricket is healthy. Certainly, they can always use more funding and more facilities and more initiatives and we’ll get that to them in the near future, but the first thing to do in my opinion is to meet the mandate of the ICC and the mandate of the ICC is to make sure that we’re developing professional cricket teams that can make it to World Cups.”

The perennial problem for USACA has been money as the funding it receives from the ICC is no bigger because of the size of the country. “I think the stakeholders of US cricket will soon find that there will be funding for all areas of US cricket,” Lockerbie insisted, without going into specifics. “The goal is to make noise and noteworthy headlines at the national and international level so that the funding can come in so that there are broadcasters and sponsors and investors who want to be part of US cricket and so that it then makes its way throughout all spectres and spectrums of US cricket.”

Sceptics will again flag that Lockerbie’s ambitious plans are big on confidence and promises but sketchy when it comes to details on where the cash will come from.

The winners of the ICC’s Development Programme Annual Awards have been announced, with individuals and initiatives from associate and affiliate member countries from around the world being honoured.

While Nepal celebrate their victory in the final of the World Cricket League Division 5, Binaya Raj Pandey, president of the Cricket Association of Nepal, received the programme’s Lifetime Service award. Namibia’s cricket development programme won Best Overall Cricket Development Programme, while the Deutsche Cricket Bund picked up the Best Women’s Cricket Initiative award.

The Israel Cricket Association won the Best Spirit of Cricket Initiative for their programme, in partnership with UNAIDS and UNICEF, which has introduced cricket as a means of bringing together Jewish and Bedouin children in the Negev Desert to promote co-existence and tolerance among those caught up in the Israel-Arab conflict.

“It is wonderful to see so many of our Associates and Affiliates being recognised for all the hard work and effort they put into their cricket programmes,” said ICC global development manager Matthew Kennedy. “Everyone who has won and those who were not successful this time round should be congratulated for their continuing effort and dedication to improving cricket in their nation.”

Ireland’s James Bennett and S Gopalkrishnan of Indonesia shared the Volunteer of the Year Award for their dedication and contribution to the game in 2009. The Photo of the Year also came from Ireland and was taken by Rob O’Connor. His picture captured the celebrations following the match-winning run out in a game between Leinster and West Glamorgan Under-13s.

“This is great news for Irish cricket and I’m delighted for both winners, said Arthur Vincent, Cricket Ireland’s president. “Jim Bennett is a dedicated and tireless volunteer for Irish youth cricket, and it’s thanks to the likes of stalwarts like Jim why our youth system is the envy of many countries. He is quite simply a fantastic servant to the cause of cricket in the country and the award is richly deserved. Jim is a gentleman and a great ambassador for Irish cricket.

“Rob O’Connor is involved with Irish cricket at many levels, and is a superb photographer,” he added. “His image captures for me the essence and the unspoilt sheer exuberance and enjoyment of young cricketers playing the game. It’s a great honour for both to have won these prestigious awards and a marvellous reflection on the healthy standard of cricket here.”

The judging panel for the awards featured current ICC President David Morgan, former presidents Ehsan Mani, Malcolm Gray and Ray Mali, and Keith Bradshaw, MCC’s secretary and chief executive.

There is a renewed mood of optimism in the Kenya cricket camp following their five-wicket victory over the Netherlands last week.

Although it is still unlikely that the result will give Kenya passage to the Intercontinental Cup final in Dubai in November, it is proof that the sterner regime inaugurated by coach Eldine Baptiste is beginning to pay off. Cricketers can now go around with a smile on their faces following a crucial win in which all departments performed well, although the fielding is in desperate need of some tidying up.

The game was all the talk in Nairobi cricketing circles at the weekend when Kongonis, who are a main arm in the development of the game in the country, held their annual Chairman's XI v Patron's XI fixture at Nairobi Club. There the match, which included national assistant coach Martin Suji appearing for the Chairman's XI, was watched by more people than had been at most of the international fixtures at Gymkhana.

That fact must be a worry for Cricket Kenya (CK), although the despondency that fell upon the country after the withdrawal by the ICC of the Under-19 World Cup in January has been partly sloughed off. Nonetheless, this set a pall over Kenya's cricket-loving fraternity and the various agencies associated with it, such as the tourism sector, for several months.

Now CK needs to look again to the future, market the game more creatively, encourage spectators to its fixtures and get its grounds in spot-on condition for 2012 and its next opportunity to host the Under-19 World Cup.

Meanwhile, an eye on the successful Logan Cup in Zimbabwe may indicate that the way forward in the longer game could be to set up a five-way provincial contest in East Africa, taking in Coast, Nairobi/Central, Rift Valley/West from Kenya, along with two Ugandan teams, Buganda (West of Nile) and Busoga (East of Nile).

This, with the possible later addition of a Tanzanian side, might prove to be the way ahead for boosting the four-day game, on which the concept of the Intercontinental Cup and Intercontinental Shield is built, throughout the region.

Could it be that in future there will not just be a Chairman's XI v Patron's XI fixture in the late season, but a Logan Cup XI v an 'Elgon' Cup XI too? Colin McBeth