© ACC

Oman’s 1100+ cricketers, growing in number and with an increasing number of native Arabs, need more places to play. With two of its four grounds lost this season to the demands of housing, the need has become even more pressing. A solution will present itself in December when Oman Cricket leases two grounds at Al Amerat to the south of Muscat, all league matches will now be played at the same place. “We do not want to have this nomadic life anymore,” says Oman Cricket’s Pankaj Khimji.

This season 61 teams are in the Oman League. “Last year we had 52 teams and we had faced difficulties and we don’t want such problems to happen again. We will have a good cricketing infrastructure at the new grounds,” says Mr.Khimji, who is also the Asia region’s Affiliates’ representative at the ICC. “We are extremely delighted at the way the popularity of the League is increasing every year. To have 61 teams in the League is not a small thing. The response by these teams shows the popularity of the League,” he says.

Desert scrub no more than 12 months ago, the grounds at Al Emarat will be unturfed. Oman have recently built a turf-practice facility in Muscat, and will be hoping to make good use of that under new coach Roy Dias in the years ahead as they aim to qualify for the T20 World Cup, ICC Intercontinental Cup, and the World Cup.

'Ask golfers if they can putt on bumpy greens, they wouldn’t putt so bloody good then would they' © Royal Gazette

Geoffrey Boycott has said Bermuda needs a complete overhaul of its sporting structure if cricket on the island is to improve.

Visiting for a golf tournament, he said the existing government policy on banning imports of soil left Bermuda’s cricketers suffering on below-par pitches.

“The soil you have is a reddish soil that crumbles too easily. I’ve already spoken to the Minister for Sport . The BCB needs to get them on board to let them bring in a different soil. You need to get a better type of soil that binds because the 22 yards we play on is everything. It's everything, it dictates what the ball does, how it reacts, it dictates the make-up of the team, do you bat first, bat second, are people going to be able to apply their skill or not.

“Ask golfers if they can putt on bumpy greens, they wouldn’t putt so bloody good then would they. Ask those snooker players, who have snooker tables that are spirit level perfect, ask them if they could pot the ball on a bumpy table.

“It’s the same with cricket, it’s grass it’s not artificial, there is a great skill, a great knowledge, that goes into preparing really good pitches that give everybody, batsman and bowler, a fair chance to express their skills.”

Read the full story in the Royal Gazette

Work on the Alan Cooke Ground continues © Phuket News

The Phuket News reports that significant progress has been made on the Phuket Cricket Group’s (PCG) new home, the Alan Cooke Ground (ACG).

The grass and the concrete base for the pitch has already been laid and the high-tech synthetic turf pitch, being provided by the Cricket Association of Thailand, will follow shortly.

“It won’t be long now before the Island Furniture cricket season gets underway, and the players are eagerly awaiting trying out the new ground,” said Pat Cotter, chairman of the PCG, who recently visited the site to view progress. “The PCG is extremely proud of our new home, provided by Alan Cooke, one of Phuket’s long-time residents and most avid cricket supporters.

“Now that the turf has been laid, we need a growing in period for it to take root. We expect it to be ready for the soft opening on Saturday, November 6, when a Phuket All Star team will take on the Singapore Cricket Club in a Twenty20 exhibition match.”

Thirteen of the 18-player USA women’s squad for the forthcoming 2011 ICC Women’s World Cup Qualifier which is being held in Bangladesh next month have written to USACA to complain about proposed payments for the tournament. There is now a chance that USACA will be forced to name a second-string side for the prestigious event.

Such is the level of concern that the cricketers have threatened to boycott the final pre-event training camp this weekend. In return, USACA has said any of them who do not attend will be considered unavailable for the trip and will be replaced. With the deadline for submission to the ICC of the squad set for this Saturday, time is running out for both sides.

The players’ gripe is not so much the amount as the fact that they are paid less than their male counterparts. The offer to the women is $100 a day whereas the men get $175 a day for an equivalent event. They also claim a bonus promised to them for a series against Canada earlier this year has not been paid.

“We are thrilled at representing the USA at this prestigious tournament and looking forward to achieving the goal of going to India,” an email on behalf of the 13 said. “But we are feeling very much under-appreciated, disrespected, and simply disregarded for the achievements we have made thus far in our short history and underestimated, for what we can accomplish in Bangladesh.”

USACA countered that the $100 stipend is based on projected daily costs in Bangladesh, and denied there was any discrimination.

“I think the women should be treated the same way as the men because they also have commitments and expenses and we should treat them the same way,” USACA cricket committee chairman Krish Prasad told dreamcricket.com. “We never take advantage of the exchange rate or the cost of living per se. We were always dealing with a limited amount of resources but we’re always trying to do the best for the players.”

The ICC Global Cricket Academy (ICC GCA) celebrated its first year of operation at its Dubai Sports City (DSC) facility this week by announcing its Arabian Cricket League (ACL) for corporate and club teams to take place in November and December 2011.

The ACL, run under the auspices of the Dubai Cricket Council, will see 16 teams divided into four groups with each team playing a minimum of six matches ahead of semi-finals and a final.

The Twenty20 tournament will run on Monday to Thursday evenings every week from November 1, under lights at the ICC GCA Ovals, and will culminate with a final on December 29.

Teams wanting to get involved can call +971 4 448 1355 or email iccgca@dxbsport.com. Registrations close on October 30 but the event is likely to be popular so early enquiries are encouraged.

ICC GCA Operations Manager Salman Hanif said: “We wanted to do something special for the ICC GCA’s first anniversary of operation at Dubai Sports City and so we’ve come up with the Arabian Cricket League. Most local tournaments involve teams playing over a 10 to 15-day period but we want to give those passionate people something more and to be involved for a longer period of time.

“The Arabian Cricket League will involve 51 matches over 50 days in November and December and with a guaranteed minimum of six matches for each team, all under floodlights, it is a superb opportunity for cricketers to experience the world’s-best facilities for themselves at the ICC GCA.”

The ACL is will feature prize money of AED15000 for the winning team with AED7500 to the losing finalist. The tournament will become a permanent feature in the ICC GCA calendar of events.

ESPNcricinfo has learned that the eight Kenyan players who refused to agree to national contracts and were subsequently dropped by their franchises have had their request to rejoin the team rebuffed.

The eight did not agree to the terms offered by Cricket Kenya, resulting in the board offering deals to alternative players. They also withdrew from the second round of matches in the two new East Africa competitions giving than 24 hours notice, resulting in them being barred by their franchises. With Kenya's selection based on performances in those tournaments that in effect ruled them out as far as the selectors were concerned.

In the past players have used similar tactics to hold the board to ransom, but now things have changed. Faced with CK's steadfast approach, the rebels approached their franchises to ask if they could return, but were told that would not be possible.

It is likely CK will look to broker a deal, but with only two rounds of games left, as well as a finals weekend, it seems unlikely if any of them will be back this year.

Two high ranking New York Region cricket officials sent letters out on Tuesday to US cricket stakeholders, urging them to band together and bring positive changes to the way the sport is run in the country. New York regional chairman Lester Hooper and Eastern American Cricket Association league president Rudy Persaud are some of the first people from outside the USA Cricket Association board to speak up against the recent actions of the USACA president Gladstone Dainty.

Click here for the full story

With the USA Cricket Association embroiled in confusion and controversy, it appears the country is again heading towards an international suspension with the ICC under increasing pressure to step in.

Elections, which should have been held in March, are due on October 15 but this now seems impossible after Gladstone Dainty, the USACA president, suspended John Aaron, the board secretary and the man who should have been coordinating the process.

Faced with growing concern at his behaviour, Dainty has in effect rendered the board redundant and run things with a small cabal. There has not been any formal meeting since April and no face-to-face meeting since November 2010.

He still has some allies but not enough to enable him to carry on without being called to account, even though some of those most vocal in their opposition to him are finding themselves replaced with Dainty-friendly faces of the past. Aaron’s removal from office, ostensibly for publicly criticising USACA, appears to be unconstitutional, according to the USACA Constitution and it is dubious Dainty even has the support of the majority of the board in any case. Dainty, it should be remembered, was instrumental in the removal of Don Lockerbie, the board’s first full-time CEO, last year. It is believed that matter is currently in the hands of lawyers.

So as it stands, there are two factions, one claiming the moral high ground and the other firmly planted behind Dainty . The last two board meetings – called for September 24 and October 1 – have simply not happened. Dainty has reverted to his tactics of old, namely refusing to communicate and making arbitrary decisions. The other group, rallying behind the ostracised Aaron, can do little but raise awareness and hope that the ICC decides enough is enough.

The short-term loser here is US cricket. There are several investors keen to pump money into developing the game in the USA, but as long as Dainty remains at the helm and the board operates behind a shroud of secrecy, it is hard to see how they can. Ironically, it was Aaron’s public disclosure of the unconstitutional actions of Dainty that irked the latter into suspending the nationally elected secretary of USACA.

The USA was suspended by the ICC twice in the last six years because of the board’s dysfunctionality. The president back then was Dainty, and as it stands he is accelerating the country towards an unprecedented third international ban.

Michael Dighton, the former Tasmania batsman, has been named Canada's new coach. Dighton replaces ex-Sri Lanka wicketkeeper Pubudu Dassanayake, who took over as Nepal's coach on October 1.

A handy batsman, Dighton, 35, has played 71 first-class matches, including some on the English domestic circuit for Derbyshire and Hampshire. He has also played the Clydesdale Bank 40 (England's domestic 40-over tournament) for Netherlands, as an overseas signing. He assisted the Netherlands squad during the 2011 World Cup, and has previously worked as head coach of Cricket Australia's National Emerging Talent Rookie Squad and batting coach of the Tasmania Under-23 side.

Vimal Hardat, Cricket Canada's vice-president, said the board were pleased to have Dighton heading the national team. "We are thrilled to have someone of Michael's background on board to direct our drive to the 2015 Cricket World Cup and restore our position as one of the top Associate Cricket Nations," he said. "Michaels drive and determination to succeed will be a welcome addition to our programmes."

Dighton said he would initially focus on the basics. "I will place much emphasis on physical preparation [fitness] and fielding, the two areas that we can control and always improve on," he said. "I will encourage an attacking and dynamic brand of cricket, combined with smart decision making."