Brett Lee’s broken thumb won’t prevent him from joining his team-mates on their flight to the West Indies on Friday for the World Twenty20

Peter English21-Apr-2010When it comes to discussing his injuries Brett Lee can sound like the Black Knight in Monty Python. “It’s just a flesh wound,” the swordsman says as he loses both arms.Over the past year Lee has undergone surgery on his foot and ankle, missed the Ashes due to a side strain and retired from Tests following a severe elbow operation that wiped out his summer. Four IPL games into his comeback he broke his right thumb. Still he fights on.He didn’t quite mutter “just a scratch” when analysing the injury, but the latest setback won’t prevent him from joining his team-mates on their flight to the West Indies on Friday for the World Twenty20. “I’ve played with pain my whole life so a broken thumb won’t worry me,” Lee said after an indoor session at the Gabba.The slightly revised shape of the digit also offers some benefit. “The way that I hold the ball, it’s pretty much the way the thumb is sitting at the moment,” he said. “I’m lucky that I don’t have to get the finger right around the ball. It’s all good.”Lee was a late inclusion at Australia’s pre-tournament camp, which involves eight of the 15-man squad, and was cleared by his doctor two weeks after being hit by Sachin Tendulkar while playing for Kings XI Punjab. It was another untimely break for Lee as he attempts to regain a spot in the Twenty20 side that has evolved since he exited the one-day tour of India in October.So far the comeback has not gone well, but returning senior players find ways to overlook the statistics and focus on feel. Lee didn’t pick up a wicket in 14.3 overs in the IPL and went for 149 runs, 25 of those coming when he was roughed up by Robin Uthappa.”Apart from that one over, I thought I bowled pretty well during the IPL,” he said. “I was a little bit unlucky, but that’s part of cricket. To get back on the field after pretty major elbow surgery, I’m really confident and happy about that. To me it wasn’t about the figures, it would have been nice to get a wicket or two, but I was happy with the way the ball came out.”During Lee’s latest absence Mitchell Johnson, Shaun Tait and Dirk Nannes became the preferred trio in Twenty20s and the 33-year-old hasn’t yet been able to show that he should regain a starting place. He has the faith of a national contract for 2010-11 based on his decade of elite service.”It’s a matter of me, I don’t have to look over my shoulder,” he said of breaking into the team. “What I can focus on is getting myself right and if I get the opportunity to play I will try to grab the opportunity with both hands, pardon the pun.”If Australia feel indulgent they have the option of playing four extreme speed men in the Caribbean, although that would rob them of batting firepower. The IPL has also shown that the fast men are more prone to give away boundaries even while taking wickets.”Why not?” Lee replied when asked if a pace quartet could work. “It would be pretty handy, four bowlers bowling at 150 clicks. I wouldn’t want to be the batting side.”However, he realises bowlers are having to be more thoughtful in the format and that speed is no guarantee of success. Pitches in the West Indies are usually low and slow, except in Barbados, and Lee has been trying to add some new deliveries to his repertoire.”It’s important for the fast bowler to have a couple of things up his sleeve and be a bit more cagey,” he said. “In Twenty20 cricket we’ve seen all the adaptations that the batsmen have done – stance, lap sweeps – and bowlers have to be a little bit crafty as well. Changing different things, different balls, distracting batsmen in certain ways which are all legal, just trying different stuff.”Australia start their campaign with warm-up matches in St Lucia against Zimbabwe and a Windward XI next week, providing there are no ash-related delays in their travel. Their opening group game is against Pakistan on May 2 followed by the fixture with Bangladesh to determine which sides progress to the second round.

Michael Hussey was still taking deep breaths when he sat down shortly after the match to discuss what he had just achieved. It hadn’t sunk in

Andrew McGlashan14-May-2010Michael Hussey was still taking deep breaths when he sat down shortly after the match to discuss what he had just achieved. It hadn’t sunk in. Australia shouldn’t have won this game, they really shouldn’t have got close.The fact they were victorious with a ball to spare was down to one man who produced something even he doubted was possible. Words like “freakish”, “extraordinary” and “special” were thrown around after his 60 off 24 deliveries, but for once they weren’t too far off the mark.One impact of Twenty20 has been the number of innings that are acclaimed as out of the ordinary in their immediate aftermath. When there are so many boundaries, so many run chases and so much cricket in a condensed period, it can be hard to retain context.After Yusuf Pathan clubbed 100 off 37 balls early in this year’s IPL, Shane Warne called it “the greatest innings he had seen”, seemingly forgetting a couple of epics by Brian Lara and Sachin Tendulkar to start with. Twenty20 is still such a young game that the true gauge of performances will be how they are recalled in 10 or 20 years.Given that Hussey’s display came in a world semi-final against a good bowling attack under immense pressure, it may just last the test of time. “I think that’s probably the best feeling I have ever had on a cricket field,” he said. “Particularly in such a big game when I was having so many doubts, I had a feeling it wasn’t going to be our day – when balls kept lobbing over us in field. Before today hitting the winning runs in the Adelaide Test against England was pretty special, but I think this tops it.”Whether Hussey retains that feeling when his career ends remains to be seen, and he may reflect that one of his many Test or ODI epics settles at the top. But it goes to highlight the seriousness with which Australia are now taking Twenty20 when a victory is rated higher than one of the greatest Test successes in history.When Cameron White was caught at long-off for 43 Australia still needed 53 off 21 balls. Basically almost every delivery had to end up at the boundary and that isn’t far off what happened. It was all down to Hussey. Steven Smith only managed 5 and in the 53-run stand that sealed the win Mitchell Johnson’s contribution was 5 off three deliveries – although crucially he squeezed a single off the first ball of the last over.”I can believe it because of the guy sitting beside me,” Michael Clarke said after the game. “[Hussey] and White had an amazing day. I honestly felt Pakistan scored 15 runs too many. But you just can’t write us off, with the class and experience we have in the team.”This was just a freakish performance from an unbelievable cricketer.
When we lost a few wickets it was always going to be hard to chase that total. Then I just couldn’t watch the last over after Mitchell got a single. I was in the dressing room and heard cheers so knew it was a six, then another one and I thought: ‘What’s going on?'”Hussey’s striking in the final over will be what is recalled, but the way he played the penultimate six balls was a master class in limited-overs batting. The target began as 34 from 12 and Hussey collected all 16 that came from the 19th over with deft placement and hare-like running. No one could have done it better, not even the king of run-chases Michael Bevan, who used to keep his side in seemingly impossible pursuits.Hussey has grabbed the mantle of Australia’s finisher and has done it so effectively in the 50-over game that he still maintains an average over 50 after 140 matches. However, translating that into Twenty20 didn’t quite come as easily. Brute force, such an important skill in the dying overs of a 20-over match, wasn’t natural to him and even in this innings he used a few balls to get in.”I’m not the kind of batsman who can go in and clear the ropes from the first ball so to start with I was just trying to give the strike to Cameron [White],” he said. “Then it came to the stage where every ball had to go and you just have to try. Even I wasn’t that confident we could do it.”It was all a bit of a blur and with last ball I just wanted to hit it out of the middle. I’m so happy and it’s great to see the elation on the boys’ faces.”His average has lifted by nearly 12 runs during this tournament as he has settled into the No. 7 position. He is Australia’s safety valve, who has twice come in with his team in trouble against Bangladesh and Sri Lanka to lead a recovery. When he launched Saeed Ajmal for the third six in the last over everything else looked tame by comparison.

Australia’s coach Tim Nielsen is confident the Kensington Oval pitch will favour the team’s fast bowlers when they take on Bangladesh on Wednesday

Cricinfo staff05-May-2010Australia’s coach Tim Nielsen is confident the Kensington Oval pitch will favour the team’s fast bowlers when they take on Bangladesh on Wednesday. However, the chances of Australia taking an extra fast man in to the game have diminished with Mitchell Johnson in doubt due to an infection in his right elbow.There had been a possibility that Australia would name Ryan Harris to join Johnson, Dirk Nannes and Shaun Tait in a powerful pace attack, at the expense of the spinner Steven Smith. However, Harris appears more likely to replace Johnson with the Australians hesitant to risk their most experienced bowler with their path to the Super Eights almost assured.”[Johnson] could probably play if it was the World Cup final tomorrow, but there’s a lot of the tournament to go,” Alex Kountouris, the team physio, told AAP. “We just want to make sure we knock it on the head and get it right. It’s not affecting his muscles or his joint itself.”The surfaces in St Lucia and Guyana have proven sluggish over the past week but the Australians always felt Barbados would provide more pace and bounce. “The conditions in Barbados will suit our quicks,” Nielsen said, “so I hope they’ve been practising against fast bowling.”Jamie Siddons, the Bangladesh coach, conceded that an all pace attack was not a bad idea against his team, who prefer facing up to slower men. However, Siddons was not convinced that Barbados would provide as much zip and carry as the Australian squad anticipated.”It’ll be quicker than most other wickets, definitely quicker than St Lucia,” Siddons said. “But it’s also spinning and that will suit us. Firing away with four quicks is probably a good plan against Bangladesh but it can also backfire if the wicket’s not as fast or bouncy as they think it might be. We’ve played practice matches here. There’s nothing lightning quick about it.”Bangladesh must beat Australia to have any chance of progressing to the Super Eights. They would need to win by enough to pass Pakistan on net run-rate, while a much bigger victory would be required for Australia to drop below Pakistan and out of the tournament.

Josh Hazlewood, the teenage fast bowler, has been catapulted into Australia’s one-day squad after Mitchell Johnson was ruled out of the series in England with an elbow infection

Cricinfo staff10-Jun-2010Josh Hazlewood, the teenage fast bowler, has been catapulted into Australia’s one-day squad after Mitchell Johnson was ruled out of the series in England with an elbow infection. Australia are hopeful Johnson will be fit for the two Tests against Pakistan that follow the limited-overs portion of the tour.”Mitchell had an infected right elbow during the ICC Twenty20 World Cup, which had resolved towards the end of the tournament,” Alex Kountouris, the team physio, said. “Since returning to Australia he has had a flare-up of the condition and is currently being treated for it.”As part of the treatment he requires specialist medical management over the coming weeks and as such he’s been ruled out of the six ODIs against Ireland and England. It is hoped that he will make a full recovery in time to join the tour and take part in the Twenty20 internationals and the Test series against Pakistan in England.”Johnson has had his right arm tattooed since the Australian summer, but it is unclear whether that had anything to do with the infection. His absence could open the door for Australia’s youngest ever one-day international debutant, as Hazlewood doesn’t turn 20 until next January.The only two men to have played ODIs for Australia at 19 are Ray Bright and Craig McDermott, but if Hazlewood debuts on this trip he will beat them by roughly three months. Although his one-day form for New South Wales has been solid rather than brilliant, Hazlewood was a standout in Australia’s Under-19 World Cup-winning side this year and has been marked down as a star of the future.”Josh Hazlewood has been identified as one of a crop of young fast bowlers who the national selection panel consider can impact for Australia at international level,” Andrew Hilditch, the chairman of selectors, said. “He will be well suited to English conditions and this provides a great opportunity for him to be part of the Australian setup on a tour of Ireland and England. We are sure if he gets an opportunity he will perform very well.”The Australians fly out on Friday for their tour of the British Isles, which begins with a one-day international against Ireland in Dublin next Thursday. That is followed by five ODIs against England, two Twenty20s with Pakistan and two Tests against Pakistan.

Lalit Modi has filed a petition in the Bombay High Court requesting it to quash the board’s disciplinary proceedings against him

Cricinfo staff08-Jul-2010Lalit Modi, the suspended IPL commissioner, has filed a petition in the Bombay High Court requesting it to quash the Indian board’s disciplinary proceedings against him. Modi has also asked the court to appoint a mutually acceptable and independent person, or panel, to judge his case.Modi has moved the court to recall and withdraw the suspension order issued by the BCCI on April 25, as well as the three show-case notices issued on April 26, May 6 and May 31 respectively that accused him of a number of financial irregularities related to the bidding process for franchises and the sale of theatrical rights and mid-over ads. He was also charged with colluding to set up a rebel league in England.In addition to asking the court to quash the board’s proceedings against him, Modi has challenged the legal validity of the board’s decision to ratify the charges against him at last week’s special general meeting, calling the decision “malafide, illegal, perverse and unconstitutional”, and asked the court to prevent the BCCI from taking any further steps against him.The petition was filed by Modi’s lawyer Mehmood Abdi and names the BCCI, its president Shashank Manohar, secretary Srinivasan and the three members of the disciplinary committee – interim IPL chairman Chirayu Amin, Arun Jaitley and Jyotiraditya Scindia – as the respondents. Scindia was appointed to replace Manahor on the committee after the board president recused himself from all proceedings having to do with Modi. The disciplinary is currently considering Modi’s case and has until October 26 to to make its recommendations to the board.Two days ago, Modi sent a legal notice to the board saying Amin holds a grudge against him because Modi revealed he was part of a failed bid for one of the two new IPL teams, and therefore should be removed from the disciplinary committee.

Gary Kirsten, India’s coach, has expressed disappointment over how few Indian fast bowlers have added to the bare cupboard, or shown the promise to be given a long run

Sidharth Monga in Galle18-Jul-2010Gary Kirsten, India’s coach, has expressed disappointment over how few Indian fast bowlers have added to the bare cupboard, or shown the promise to be given a long run. “In the last two years and seven months that I have been with the team, we have tried 15 or 16 seamers in one-day cricket,” Kirsten said. “That’s a lot of options. We need to settle on the few who can get through.”It is a concern that the guys are not saying ‘I am here now and now I am going to play international cricket for next five years’. A lot of them might argue that they haven’t been given enough opportunities, but when you are trying to achieve results all the time, sometimes you get only limited opportunities and you have got to ensure that you show what you are capable of in that time.”Kirsten was speaking after India had a disappointing start to the Test series against Sri Lanka, conceding 256 for 2 in 68 overs on a rain-curtailed first day. Ishant Sharma, who has not had a great time after a promising start to his career, found himself leading the pace department in the absence of Zaheer Khan. He went for 79 runs in14 overs.”We need to be patient with Ishant Sharma,” Kirsten said. “He hasn’t had much game time in the last three months. In his last Test in Kolkata he made a crucial contribution, got two vital wickets against South Africa. We need to be patient with guys who we know have the potential and talent to go forward. We must be careful not to judge him on one practice game and one day here. Let’s give him a bit of a run and see how he goes. He lost a bit of confidence towards the end of the last season and that takes some time to come back.”When asked if Ishant and Sreesanth should have been sent on the A tour of England, especially to play in the first-class games, Kirsten said: “I would like the guys to have as much game time as possible. Wherever they get an opportunity to play quality cricket they must play.”Kirsten also spoke about the missing allrounder in the scheme of things, someone who could have shored up the bowling in circumstances like today. “It [playing five bowlers] is an option, but you know that our success in the last 16 Test matches has been this combination. We are a good batting line-up, and it’s important for us to have six batsmen. Ideally we want a batting allrounder who can bowl seam but there are not many of those.”If he is going to be a batting allrounder, he has to be able to make a contribution with the ball. We can’t have a guy bowling at 115 kmph, holding up one end and getting one wicket every five Test matches. He has got to be able to make a proper contribution with the ball. Irfan [Pathan] was certainly one of the individuals that we earmarked, but he is probably a little bit light on his bowling side.”

Fawad Alam, the Pakistan batsman, who has been selected in his team’s limited-overs squads against England is looking ahead towards the World Cup and is keen to cement his place for the global tournament next year

Cricinfo staff24-Aug-2010Fawad Alam, the Pakistan batsman who has been selected in his team’s limited-overs squads against England, has said he is looking ahead to the 2011 World Cup and is keen to cement his place for the tournament next year.”The World Cup isn’t too far away now and with series against England, South Africa and New Zealand prior to the premier one-day competition, I know that I have to deliver and that the competition for places is intense,” Alam told . “I have faith in my ability though and hope that the selectors give me the opportunity to deliver.”I hope I get a chance to play in the Twenty20 matches and the one-day series [in England], especially as the World Cup is only six or so months away. It’s time to ensure that I perform well whenever I am given the opportunity, as preparations for the World Cup are now in full swing.”Alam has played 17 ODIs for Pakistan, averaging an impressive 40.87. He last played an ODI in January this year, against Australia in Perth. Upon the conclusion of the two-match Twenty20 series against Australia in England, Alam stayed back and signed up with Woodhall Spa in the ECB Premier League to play club cricket.”I could have gone back to Pakistan, but I felt that playing some club cricket in England would be more beneficial. Woodhall Spa gave me the opportunity and I am very grateful to them,” Alam said. “It has given me valuable match practice, the opportunity to maintain my levels of fitness and a chance to work on some technical issues as well. I’ve really enjoyed my stint in the ECB Premier league and have scored consistently and taken wickets too. Sometimes, away from the hustle and bustle of international and first-class cricket, you can work on issues that you feel you need to work on, which is what I have done”.

The Warriors, Victoria and Central Districts – the home teams of Jacques Kallis, Cameron White and Ross Taylor respectively – have been compensated US$200,000 each by the Bangalore franchise according to the tournament’s rules

Cricinfo staff10-Aug-2010The teams participating in the Champions League T20 in South Africa this year have named their final squads, with Royal Challengers Bangalore retaining three foreign players who were also eligible to represent their home teams in the tournament. The Warriors, Victoria and Central Districts – the home teams of Jacques Kallis, Cameron White and Ross Taylor respectively – have been compensated US$200,000 each by the Bangalore franchise according to the tournament’s rules.Andrew Flintoff, the England allrounder, who was included in the Chennai Super Kings preliminary squad, has been left out. He was ruled out of the remainder of the English domestic season due to a knee injury that has been troubling him since the end of the Ashes last year.West Indies stars Kieron Pollard and Dwayne Bravo – who helped South Australia and Victoria respectively to qualify for the Champions League – will represent Mumbai Indians, their IPL team, in the competition. Their home team Trinidad and Tobago, however, did not qualify.”CLT20 regulations stipulate that with Jacques Kallis, Ross Taylor and Cameron White playing for their IPL franchise instead of their home teams, RCB must compensate the Warriors, Central Stags and Victorian Bushrangers US$200,000 each respectively,” Dean Kino, the tournament’s governing council member and Director of Legal and Business affairs said. “While a number of other players were eligible to play for more than one team in South Africa, no compensation is payable due to their home teams not qualifying for this year’s event.”Allan Hunt, coach of Central Districts, admitted that losing Taylor was unfortunate, but had to be accepted. “We’ve known for some time he’d be picked up by Bangalore and we’ve been planning for that occurrence,” Hunt told the . “You can’t replace him. He’s our key player and one of our principal run-getters in our success in the HRV Cup last year.”Ten teams will compete in the tournament, including Guyana who won the inaugural Caribbean T20. The Champions League gets underway on September 10 and finishes on the 26th.Chennai Super Kings: MS Dhoni, S Badrinath, M Vijay, Suresh Raina, R Ashwin, Shadab Jakati, A Srikkanth, L Balaji, Muttiah Muralitharan, Michael Hussey, Doug Bollinger, Thilan Thushara, Albie Morkel, Matthew Hayden, Joginder Sharma.Warriors: Davy Jacobs, Ashwell Prince, Colin Ingram, Mark Boucher, Johan Botha, Nicky Boje, Craig Thyssen, Juan Theron, Makhaya Ntini, Lonwabo Tsotsobe, Justin Kreusch, Garnett Kruger, Arno Jacobs, Lyall Meyer, Jon Jon Smuts.Victoria: David Hussey, Ryan Carters, Aaron Finch, Shane Harwood, John Hastings, Brad Hodge, Andrew McDonald, Bryce McGain, Clint McKay, Glenn Maxwell, Dirk Nannes, James Pattinson, Rob Quiney, Peter Siddle, Matthew Wade.Wayamba: Jehan Mubarak, Mahela Udawatte, Mahela Jayawardene, Jeevantha Kulatunga, Kaushal Lokuarachchi, Kushal Janith Perera, Rangana Herath, Chanaka Welegedara, Ajantha Mendis, Farveez Maharoof, Thissara Perera, Damitha Hunukumbura, Shalika Karunanayake, Isuru Udana, Sameera Zoysa.Central Districts: Adam Milne, Bevan Griggs, Brad Patton, Brendon Diamanti, Doug Bracewell, George Worker, Jacob Oram, Jamie How, Kieran Noema-Barnett, Mathew Sinclair, Michael Mason, Mitchell McClenaghan, Peter Ingram, Seth Rance, Tim Weston.Mumbai Indians: Shikhar Dhawan, Sachin Tendulkar, Ambati Rayudu, Saurabh Tiwary, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, R Sathish, Ali Murtaza, Dhawal Kulkarni, Aditya Tare, Kieron Pollard, Dwayne Bravo, JP Duminy, Lasith Malinga, Ryan McLaren.Royal Challengers Bangalore: Anil Kumble, Rahul Dravid, Robin Uthappa, Manish Pandey, Praveen Kumar, R Vinay Kumar, Virat Kohli, Cameron White, Ross Taylor, Dale Steyn, Jacques Kallis, Dillon du Preez, B Akhil, Abhimanyu Mithun, Nayan Doshi.South Australia: Cullen Bailey, Daniel Harris, Graham Manou, Daniel Christian, Gary Putland, Peter George, Callum Ferguson, Michael Klinger, Jake Haberfield, Tim Ludeman, Shaun Tait, Tom Cooper, Chris Duval, Cameron Borgas, Aaron O’Brien.Guyana: Ramnaresh Sarwan, Royston Crandon, Lennox Cush, Travis Dowlin, Sewnarine Chattergoon, Narsingh Deonarine, Jonathan Foo, Derwin Christian, Christopher Barnwell, Esuan Crandon, Devendra Bishoo, Assad Fudadin, Paul Wintz, Steven Jacobs, Richard Ramdeen.Lions: Alviro Peterson, Thami Tsolekile, Craig Alexander, Shane Burger, Richard Cameron, Werner Coetsee, Cliffe Deacon, Zander de Bruyn, Robert Frylinck, Neil McKenzie, Ethan O’Rielly, Aaron Phangiso, Jean Symes, Jonathan Vandiar, Vaughn van Jaarsveld.

Cricket Australia has expressed “concerns” about the security details at the Chinnaswamy stadium in Bangalore, the venue for the second Test between India and Australia

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Sep-2010Cricket Australia has expressed concerns about the security details at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore, the venue for the second Test between India and Australia from October 9. In an email sent to the BCCI secretary N Srinivasan, CA chief James Sutherland said his board was not aware of the exact security arrangements at the ground and asked the BCCI to follow it up with the state government.In his email, sent last Friday, Sutherland said his advance security team, while satisfied with arrangements at the four other venues hosting Australia on this tour, had failed to get details of security arrangements from the Bangalore police.The official in charge of security at the ground, deputy commissioner of police G Ramesh, confirmed to ESPNcricinfo that the police had not made any arrangements but said there was sufficient time to deal with the issue. “The match is scheduled from October 9 to 13, so there is lots of time,” he said. “When they come here, we will make the arrangements as usual.”He said Australian officials had visited him a month ago, at which time they had discussed security arrangements for the Test match, and had not contacted him since.Australia’s concerns, as Sutherland noted in his email, stem from perceived risks in the aftermath of two low-intensity bomb blasts outside the venue on April 17, in which eight people were injured. The blasts occurred hours before an IPL match between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Mumbai Indians. Two unexploded devices were also recovered outside the venue over the next 24 hours. As a consequence the IPL semifinals, originally scheduled to be held in Bangalore, were moved to Mumbai, raising further doubts over the security at the ground.”With the small explosions outside the Chinnaswamy Stadium during IPL III, there is obviously some greater sensitivity and awareness about security risks in Bangalore,” Sutherland said.CA had sent a pre-tour group comprising the team manager (Steve Bernard), cricket operations manager (Geoff Allardice), security manager (Frank Dimasi) and a representative of the players’ association to inspect all the venues for the two-Test and three-ODI series. Sutherland said that the group was satisfied with all the measures taken at the other venues and even had complimentary words for Goa and Vizag.In Bangalore, though, Sutherland said Ramesh failed to provide conclusive answers, though he assured them things would fall in place by the time of the Test.CA’s spokesperson Peter Young told ESPNcricinfo on Tuesday they were “completely satisfied” with the arrangements in India. “We did, as commonly happens after our standard pre-tour inspection visits to the countries where we are due to play, have follow-up questions, which have now been satisfied,” Young said.”Our long-standing and consistently held position is that we don’t travel to, or stay anywhere, if the advice is that it is not safe to so do, and our record speaks for itself on that front.”With less than ten days to go, CA is bound to be sensitive about the issue. As a suggestion, Sutherland asked Srinivasan to check if the BCCI could contact the Karnataka chief minister and get assurance and further details from him. In addition the Australian security manager has recommended that security officers at the Chinnaswamy stadium be more pro-active and vigilant when they let the crowd enter the ground.

The three West Indies players who have turned down central contracts may find themselves unable to play in Australia’s Big Bash twenty20 tournament

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Oct-2010The three West Indies players – captain Chris Gayle, Dwayne Bravo and Kieron Pollard – who have turned down central contracts in order to play domestic cricket overseas, may find themselves unable to play in Australia’s Big Bash Twenty20 tournament. Recent statements from Ernest Hilaire, the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) chief executive, and Michael Brown, Cricket Australia’s acting head, suggest board clearance will be required for such events, and will not be automatically granted by the WICB.Gayle and Pollard are contracted to Western Australia and South Australia respectively, while Bravo is reportedly interested in representing Victoria, as he did last year. However, the players need no-objection certificates (NOCs) from the WICB to be eligible for the event.”There seems to be a thinking out there – and I’m not sure who has advised them – that they don’t have to sign central contracts and they can still play wherever they want,” WICB chief executive Ernest Hilaire told the . “The rules of international cricket do not exactly allow for this.”Brown said there was no way the cricketers would be allowed to participate in the Twenty20 tournament without getting permission from the WICB. “I would not see a situation where a player would be putting his position with his [home] board at risk without consent,” Brown told the . “We will work through that and I will talk to the West Indies if needed. Our relationship [with international teams’] boards is fundamental.”Last month Bravo and Pollard, followed by Gayle, turned down the one-year central contracts offered by the West Indies board. The contracts require the players to make themselves available for the West Indies team at all times, something the three players – all of whom have forged prominent careers in domestic Twenty20 competitions including the IPL – were reluctant to do.Meanwhile Hilaire said the board has begun a discussion on how to “make all stakeholders happy” in the future, but cautioned that while the WICB has so far been liberal with issuing NOCs to players, it might be time to change that policy to safeguard the interests of West Indies cricket.”It has been to our detriment. We gave an NOC to a player to play in the Big Bash; he got injured, and could not play for our one-day international team. We have also allowed players to arrive days before important matches and play for West Indies.”We have allowed it to happen and the time has come not for us to say we are not supporting any player playing elsewhere, but to find the right arrangement and framework in which our interest is not compromised.”