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Statistician David Kendix, said the alleged pre-determined no-balls that Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif bowled in last year’s Lord’s Test had a one in 1.5 million chance of happening without any inside information

Richard Sydenham at Southwark Crown Court12-Oct-2011Statistician David Kendix, who devised and continues to calculate the world rankings for the ICC, said the alleged pre-determined no-balls that Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif bowled in last year’s Lord’s Test had a one in 1.5 million chance of happening without any inside information.Kendix, who also works for an insurance company on calculating the probability of rare events occurring to help insuring against them, is the second statistical expert in three days to tell Southwark Crown Court of such an improbability surrounding the no-balls being bowled exactly when predicted without foul play being present.Kendix was the official scorer at Lord’s during the match in question, as this is a role he has held since 1995, and has been a member of the Association for Cricket Statisticians and Historians.”I was asked to look at these instances and apply my cricket expertise,” Kendix told the court. “As part of that I looked at the bowlers’ international careers with regards to no-balls. I studied in detail when they bowled no-balls in order to determine when they might bowl no-balls in future.He added, after offering the court more in-depth detail: “The pattern of their previous no-balls did not give rise that on a particular ball in a particular over there would be a no-ball.” This, he went on to say, would have a one in 1.5 million chance of happening with only public knowledge to help.Alexander Milne, Asif’s barrister, confirmed with Kendix in front of the court that the sixth ball of the tenth over of the innings – when Asif bowled the second alleged pre-planned no-ball – was his quickest delivery of the over, at just over 80 miles per hour.Kendix was a prosecution witness at the trial of Salman Butt and Asif, who are facing charges of conspiracy to cheat, and conspiracy to obtain and accept corrupt payments. Butt and Asif deny the charges.Various senior police officers took the witness stand after lunch to reveal further detail about the findings of the raids that were made on the rooms of Butt, Asif and Amir last August at the team base at the Marriott Hotel in Regents Park. The court had previously heard the items apprehended via a printed transcript last week.The prosecution will call its final witness on Thursday morning, former PCB Operations Manager Zakir Khan. He will be appearing via a video link from Lahore. There is a possibility that defendants Butt and Asif may even take the witness stand for the first time.The case continues.

Usman Khawaja’s hundred vindicated his notion that he never felt out of form despite making only 52 runs from four innings on Australia A’s recent tour of Zimbabwe

Daniel Brettig at P Sara Oval26-Aug-2011

Usman Khawaja cobbled together only 52 runs from four innings on Australia A’s recent tour of Zimbabwe yet said he never felt out of form. He proved his own notion correct on day two of the Australians’ tour match against Sri Lanka Board XI in Colombo, stroking an attractive and intelligent 101 (retired) in conditions Khawaja admitted were almost entirely foreign to him.The innings gave Khawaja a grand chance of earning selection for the first Test at Galle, where he is likely to encounter a pitch not dissimilar to that at the P Sara Oval.”I never felt like I was out of form because I was hitting the ball pretty well,” Khawaja said. “But I was probably a bit underdone just having time in the middle and just to get out there and feel the conditions. It’s a bit different in Sri Lanka. The wicket there is a lot different to what we get back home, so it was just fun to be out there.”The wicket out there is a day-two wicket and it feels more like a day-four wicket back home; somewhere like the SCG or Adelaide. It’s quite dead out there, surprising for a day-two wicket, and it was tough work at times because the ball sort of lost its air and trying to create power with the old ball just became some tough work.”Accompanied for much of his century by the opener Phil Hughes, Khawaja showed plenty of class, and will have the tour selectors pondering their options for the Galle Test. Khawaja, of course, did not want to look too far ahead.”I think when you’re out there that’s probably far from your mind, you’re concentrating on the ball coming down,” he said. “Those things aren’t in my control and I can just go out there and score runs. That’s all I’m supposed to do as a batsman, just take some catches and make some run outs.”I’d bat anywhere for the Australian team, but it all depends what’s best for the team. I’m happy to bat anywhere from opener, all the way down to the middle and the No. 6 spot is the only one that’s available. So if I’m lucky enough to get that spot … my first two hundreds for NSW were batting at six, I’ve done work there too.”Much is made of the subcontinental flourishes in Khawaja’s technique, his wrists and hands allowing him to play the ball late and find gaps. But in environmental knowledge terms, Khawaja is very much a product of Australian surfaces, forcing a change in approach in his first innings of “red ball cricket” in Sri Lanka.”I’ve never seen rough on day two like that before,” Khawaja said. “Literally I was playing out there like it was a day-four wicket, batting in the second inning. That was the mindset we had out there because it was tough work out there. A lot of the guys mentioned how in patches you cannot score many then suddenly put 20 on in the space of two or three overs. So on the subcontinent from what I’ve heard, that’s just how it is.”Plans change, usually in Australia day two you don’t have as much variable bounce and you can be a bit more confident in your strokeplay and a lot more fluent. But me and Hughesy [Phil Hughes] were playing our first red ball cricket in Sri Lanka conditions and we wanted to make sure we gave ourselves the best chance of getting runs. I think the hard yards need to be done early.”Hard yards in a physical sense also, but a pleasing element of Khawaja’s innings is he did not appear to tire in considerable heat and humidity. For this he thanked the Australian coaching and fitness staff, who have put the tourists through plenty of torturous sessions thus far.”To be honest ‘Alfie’ [Justin] Langer and some of the other guys just nailed us by the time we got here, so out there was a breeze compared to what they had for us,” Khawaja said. “So I think we’re quite used to it now.”

England have rested Kevin Pietersen for the upcoming ODI series India and called-up Durham allrounder Ben Stokes

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Aug-2011

England have rested Kevin Pietersen for the upcoming ODI series India and called up Durham allrounder Ben Stokes.Pietersen, who was the highest scorer in the Test series against India, has been left out as part of the selectors’ ongoing policy of ‘managing player workloads’. While Pietersen has recovered his Test form in fine style, his one-day returns have been less productive – just two half-centuries since November 2008.Geoff Miller, the England selector, emphasised, however, that Pietersen was being rested rather than dropped. “The decision to omit Kevin Pietersen from the one-day squad is in line with our policy of sensibly managing player workloads and will give the opportunity to another batsmen to test himself batting at number four.”Stokes is the only one of the three debutants from the one-off ODI against Ireland to have made the squad, with Ravi Bopara holding his place ahead of James Taylor and legspinner Scott Borthwick not selected either. Stokes was close to playing against Sri Lanka earlier in the summer but picked up a finger injury. He has had an excellent season for Durham in the CB40 with 357 runs at 51.00. Though he won’t be fit to bowl, he offers England hard-hitting ability down the order.While the remainder of the ODI squad is largely similar to the one that beat Sri Lanka 3-2 earlier in the summer, there are maiden Twenty20 call-ups for Somerset wicketkeeper-batsman Jos Buttler and Nottinghamshire opener Alex Hales. Buttler has not actually had as productive a season as last year in Twenty20, but has showcased enough potential to step in for the injured Luke Wright.Hales, meanwhile, replaced Michael Lumb from the team that lost to Sri Lanka in the one-off T20. Ian Bell, who was a non-playing member of the squad from that game, has been dropped. Hales impressed in all forms of the game for Nottinghamshire this season and is the highest-scoring English player in the Friends Life t20 with 544 runs from 16 games. “The domestic Twenty20 competition went well for me and I’m pleased to have been recognised for scoring runs in a winning team,” said Hales.”England are the world’s best Test team and the Twenty20 world champions so breaking into the setup at any level is a big deal and I’m extremely proud to have done so. I need to back my ability to play positively and score runs if I’m going to stay in contention for a place and that’s my target going into Wednesday’s game.”Miller, meanwhile, backed the squads blend of youth and experience to succeed. “Across both squads we believe we’ve selected an exciting blend of experienced international performers along with some exciting young players with a great deal of talent,” he said in a statement. “We will need to play a high quality brand of limited overs cricket against the world champions India.”We’re very excited to have included some bright young players in the form of Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler and Alex Hales, all of whom have proved themselves domestically and will now be looking to successfully take the step up to international level.”Twenty20 squad: Stuart Broad (capt), Ravi Bopara, Tim Bresnan, Jos Buttler, Jade Dernbach, Steven Finn, Alex Hales, Craig Kieswetter (wk), Eoin Morgan, Samit Patel, Kevin Pietersen, Ben Stokes, Graeme SwannODI squad: Alastair Cook (capt), James Anderson, Ian Bell, Ravi Bopara, Tim Bresnan, Stuart Broad, Jade Dernbach, Steven Finn, Craig Kieswetter (wk), Eoin Morgan, Samit Patel, Ben Stokes, Graeme Swann, Jonathan Trott

MatériaMais Notícias

Vaiado após o apito final, o Botafogo ficou apenas no empate no jogo contra o Vitória, no Nilton Santos. O 1 a 1 manteve o Glorioso no meio da tabela, sem vencer nas duas últimas partidas. O lateral-esquerdo Moisés lamentou o tropeço em casa, mas manteve o otimismo para a sequência do Brasileirão.

– Fizemos um primeiro tempo abaixo do esperado. Depois, melhoramos. Nas chances que tivemos, chutamos em cima do goleiro. Não era o resultado que esperávamos. Mas agora é buscar os três pontos contra o São Paulo. Descansar pois o Brasileiro tem muitos jogos. Mas era importante a vitória dentro de casa.

Moisés voltou ao time titular do Botafogo neste jogo. Antes, vinha ficando na reserva de Gilson. O lateral foi um dos destaques da equipe no Carioca. Mas uma lesão na final do Estadual fez com que ele perdesse a posição na equipe.

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تحدث الحكم الدولي البولندي، شيمون مارتشينياك، عن تجربة في مصر بعد إدارة نهائي كأس العالم قطر 2022 بين الأرجنتين وفرنسا يوم 18 ديسمبر الماضي.

كان مارتشينياك حديث الساعة بعد نهائي كأس العالم، حيث اتهمته الصحافة الفرنسية باحتساب هدف الأرجنتين الثالث بقدم ليونيل ميسي، رغم عدم صحته بسبب دخول لاعبين من التانجو إلى أرض الملعب قبل دخول الكرة للشباك.

ولكن بعد أيام قليلة من تلك المباراة، ظهر البولندي بعد أن كان شاهدًا على تتويج الأرجنتين في مصر خلال مباراة الدوري المصري بين الأهلي وبيراميدز والتي انتهت بفوز الأول بنتيجة 3-0.

اقرأ ايضًا | تصل إلى الشطب.. 3 عقوبات تنتظر كهربا بعد شكوى الزمالك بسبب احتفاله مع جماهير الأهلي

كان مارتشينياك يتواجد في حفل أسبوعي في بلده “Pilka Nozna”، وحصل على جائزة شخصية العام، وقال أثناء التكريم: “طُلب منا من بعض الاتحادات الصديقة إدارة بعض المباريات الصعبة بعد نهائي كاس العالم”.

وأضاف: “لقد خضنا هذه المباريات وكأنها نهائي كأس العالم، حتى لا يخبرنا أي أحد أننا لا نريد إدارة أي مباراة بعد الأرجنتين وفرنسا، لكننا أدرناها بكل حزم لأن قرار واحد خاطئ سينهي الثناء الذي حصلنا عليه”.

وأدار مارتشينياك بعد نهائي كأس العالم مباراة الأهلي وبيراميدز في الدوري المصري، الشباب واتحاد جدة في الدوري السعودي وكذلك أبويل نيقوسيا وأريس ليماسول في كأس قبرص.

وتابع: “في مصر وقبرص والسعودية، كانت المباريات أشبه بحفل به ألف كاميرا، لم نستطع التحرك بحرية، ساعات من الصور والمحادثات”.

وواصل تصريحاته: “كان سلوك اللاعبين الذين حكمناهم مذهلًا أيضًا، لكن بدت تلك المباريات الهامة وكأنها ودية، لم يعترض أحد علينا، لم يصرخ أحد في وجهنا بعد القرارات، رضخ اللاعبون لنا كما في اليابان، أعلم كيف هو الحال في شرق آسيا، لأنني أدرت بعض المباريات هناك، حتى قال رؤساء الأندية هناك بأن علينا البقاء لفترة أطول إذا كان هذا هو أسلوب اللاعبين”.

وعن الاعتراضات من قبل الصحافة الفرنسية بعد نهائي كأس العالم: “بعد المباراة، جاءني مدرب فرنسا، ديديه ديشامب، أثنى على أدائي وقال شكرًا لقد قمت بعمل جيد، هذا ما حدث أيضًا من قبل كيليان مبابي، هوجو لوريس، أوليفييه جيرو، لم يكن هناك أي شكوى، هذا ما كنت أريده، لا أهتم بما تقوله الصحافة، على الرغم من احترامي لهم، الأهم بالنسبة لي أننا لم نفسد النهائي بأي قرارات مثيرة للجدل”.

VVS Laxman, who rescued India with a sublime 85, threw his support behind Virat Kohli and the openers who haven’t done well so far in the series

Sriram Veera at the Kensington Oval29-Jun-2011VVS Laxman, who rescued India with a sublime 85 to help them reach 201, backed Virat Kohli and the openers, M Vijay and Abhinav Mukund, who haven’t done well so far in the series, and said playing county cricket will help young batsmen adapt to different conditions and hone their skills.Twice in three innings Kohli has fallen to the short ball. However, Laxman believed Kohli would be the batsman to watch out for. “Today, it was unfortunate,” he said. “Considering the bounce of the wicket, he expected that ball to rise more. It was an unfortunate dismissal. He is a fabulous cricketer and has improved as a batsman in the last two years. He has played well in various tough situations in ODIs. It shows he is improving with every match. He will be a great player to watch out for, a match-winner for the country.”The openers haven’t scored much either. Vijay, who failed in the first Test, fought hard for nearly two hours before he fell, strangled down the leg side. Mukund fell early, unable to cope with extra bounce off a delivery that jumped from short of a length. However, Laxman didn’t see any cause for concern. “We’ve got talented openers. Abhinav had an excellent domestic season and Vijay has always grabbed his opportunities. It’s tough playing in the West Indies, especially on wickets that are usually damp in the first couple of hours on the first day. They are potential match-winners.”Virat Kohli hasn’t got going in his debut Test series•Associated Press

Laxman agreed when asked whether the youngsters would benefit from the experience of playing county cricket but wondered if the tight international calendar would allow them that opportunity. “It will be a great experience for a batsman to play county cricket. I enjoyed my time with Lancashire. But given the amount of time the cricketers are already playing, it doesn’t give much opportunity. It will be great for a batsman because you get so many opportunities to play on different pitches, in different weather conditions and against different bowlers.”Laxman also praised Suresh Raina, with whom he was involved in a 117-run partnership to lift India from the depths of 38 for 4. “Raina has practiced a lot playing the short deliveries. You could see that in Jamaica and here. He has played two important knocks. He played positively when the chips were down. It was great to see the way he approached the innings.”The two batsmen didn’t talk much at lunch, Laxman said. “That’s the beauty of this Indian team. Irrespective of the situation, it’s very relaxed. Someone puts his hand up.”Laxman reached 8000 Test runs during his innings, but rued the fact that he couldn’t carry on to reach a century and take India to a more competitive total. “Had we batted on, we could have got around 250 to 300, which would have been a very good score.”It was yet another innings of substance in crisis from Laxman, who said such situations bring out the best in him. “It gets the best out of me, especially when we are in a terrible situation. The track was challenging and so was the situation. But I always regret not converting the hard work done into big hundreds. Still, I got into better rhythm especially after Jamaica.”Laxman felt the pitch had some venom in the morning session but eased out once the sun came out in the afternoon. “It was a difficult wicket before lunch because it was slightly damp. They were getting bounce. After lunch, the wicket eased out a bit and it was nice for strokeplay. Raina came out positively and changed the momentum of the innings. That partnership was important but I think we threw away the hard work done after lunch. “While Laxman appreciated the 8000-run landmark, he said he could only savour it after retirement. “So many runs seem great once you retire. At the moment I am not elated. I was just disappointed not getting a hundred. Personally, it would have been satisfying had I got the hundred as those additional 15 to 20 runs would have got us to 250. The bowlers did well to get us right back in to the game. It is an evenly poised situation.”

The Rajasthan Cricket Association and Rajasthan Royals will meet in Mumbai on Tuesday in a move prompted by the BCCI to find a solution to their public conflict

Tariq Engineer16-May-2011

The Rajasthan Cricket Association and Rajasthan Royals will meet in Mumbai on Tuesday in a move prompted by the BCCI to find a solution to their public conflict that erupted after the Sawai Mansingh Stadium pitch was switched for the game against Chennai Super Kings last week. The meeting follows RCA’s rejection of an apology offered by the Rajasthan franchise, with the state board also threatening further action if the matter was not resolved to its satisfaction.Since the pitch was changed for the May 9 game, Shane Warne, captain of Rajasthan, and Sanjay Dixit, the honorary secretary of the RCA, have engaged in a war of words that has been fought, in public, private and through the media. The dispute has grown to involve Lalit Modi, who was Dixit’s predecessor and opponent at RCA, and who has maintained good relations with Warne on Twitter.In his latest salvo on the micro-blogging site, Warne posted on Sunday to ask his fans to “wait till the end of IPL and I will say everything he promised and went back on his word about to the Royals. Unfortunately it is all about Dixit ego! RR has been fantastic for RCA – it’s about RR not Dixit.” To which Dixit replied: “I want to hear them too. Be sure to back it up with evidence, though.”Meanwhile Modi was re-posting a number of comments from other Twitter users critical of Dixit, such as one that read: “a quick way up the ladder in BCCI, is to publicly defame @LalitKModi and everyone he knows, don’t believe me ask @sanjay_dixit.” The RCA secretary was quick to respond to Modi directly, writing, “Bloody fugitive. Come back to India and I will give you your just desserts.”The Twitter exchange came after the RCA complained to the BCCI and IPL that Warne reportedly abused Dixit after his team’s loss to Royal Challengers Bangalore in Jaipur on Wednesday. The reported that RCA venue director Narendra Joshi had written to IPL’s chief operating officer Sundar Raman, alleging that Warne had publicly abused Dixit by calling him “a liar and egoistic” and demanded action against Warne.Rajasthan subsequently sent an email apology on May 14 to Dixit, in which the team said it would take disciplinary action against Warne, who had also apologised for “any distress caused”. However, according to Dixit, the franchise has refused to say what that disciplinary action would be, something he considers unacceptable. “We asked them what action they were going to take, but they never divulged it,” Dixit told ESPNcricinfo. “They are playing diversionary tactics.” Rajasthan Royals did not respond to phone calls or text messages seeking comment.Dixit said there has been no communication with the franchise since Sunday and in the wake of Rajasthan’s silence, he has threatened to take further action “because we want to put an end to these kinds of incidents. We cannot have players coming and abusing senior officials just because they don’t get what they want.”Warne’s alleged tirade has its genesis in Dixit’s refusal to have the match against Bangalore played on a different pitch to the one on which Rajasthan had lost to Chennai. The pitch for both the Chennai and Bangalore games was flat, unlike the slow and low tracks for Rajasthan’s first five home games, and had a short boundary, a switch that Warne had criticised after the Chennai match, saying he had never before been told which pitch to use in the four years of the IPLAt the time, Dixit contradicted Warne, saying the BCCI has always had the final say on which pitch is to be used. “The BCCI has already clarified that the pitch comes under the purview of the pitch committee and curator. So, how could I have acceded to his demand?” Dixit told the . “His behaviour was totally unjustified and I have asked for action against him.”The BCCI ratified that in a statement after the Chennai game. “Neither of the playing teams has a choice of the wicket, on which to play the game,” the statement said. “It is the curator, in consultation with the committee chairman, who prepares the wickets.”The Jaipur pitch first became a topic of discussion after Mumbai Indians were restricted to 94 for 8 on it, and Sachin Tendulkar called the track two-paced. At the time both Warne and Dixit had criticised Mumbai for their comments on the pitch. The BCCI’s pitches committee head Venkat Sundaram attended Rajasthan’s next home game, and took the decision to switch the pitch for the Chennai game. The same pitch was then used for Rajasthan’s last home game, which was also Warne’s last match in Jaipur, and Rajasthan were once again comprehensively beaten.

MatériaMais Notícias

A derrota por 1 a 0 para o Corinthians, no último domingo, colocou um tempero extra no jogo do Palmeiras contra o Junior Barranquilla (COL), às 21h45 desta quarta-feira, pela última rodada do Grupo 8 da Libertadores. A Mancha Alviverde, que já divulgou nota pedindo a saída de Roger Machado, promete protestos na arquibancada do Allianz Parque.

O Palmeiras adotou a estratégia de deixar a turbulência do lado de fora. O planejamento de poupar alguns – ou vários – titulares nesta partida está mantido. Nove deles (Marcos Rocha, Antônio Carlos, Edu Dracena, Diogo Barbosa, Felipe Melo, Bruno Henrique, Lucas Lima, Keno e Borja) nem participaram do treino desta terça.

Devido à enorme sequência de partidas que antecedem a Copa do Mundo, já estava previsto que a comissão técnica usaria força máxima nos jogos contra Atlético-PR, América-MG e Corinthians e pouparia os mais desgastados contra o Junior. Mesmo assim, segue o discurso de que o objetivo é garantir a melhor campanha entre todos os classificados para os mata-matas da Libertadores (basta uma vitória).

Do lado externo, a pressão é grande. Começou horas depois do jogo em Itaquera, quando o elenco foi recepcionado por alguns torcedores revoltados em frente à Academia de Futebol e viu a Polícia Militar disparar tiros de bala de borracha para contê-los. No Facebook, a Mancha avisou que deixará de cantar os nomes dos jogadores e que fará cobranças antes e depois dos jogos enquanto Roger estiver no comando.

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Se antes havia alguma dúvida sobre a motivação da equipe para essa partida – que é crucial para o futuro do Boca Juniors na Libertadores -, agora a vitória é quase obrigatória para diminuir a efervescência causada pela terceira derrota em quatro Dérbis no ano.

O duelo entre Palmeiras e Junior Barranquilla é pauta de todos os veículos esportivos da Argentina porque o Boca só terá chances de classificação às oitavas de final se o Verdão tirar pontos da equipe colombiana. Se houver empate no Allianz, os argentinos precisarão vencer o Alianza Lima (PER) em La Bombonera para avançar. Se houver vitória palmeirense, bastará um empate em Buenos Aires. Os “hermanos” temem que o Palmeiras facilite a vida do Junior para eliminá-los de forma proposital.

يلتقي فريق ميلان، مساء اليوم الأربعاء، مع جاره اللدود إنتر ميلان في مباراة كأس السوبر الإيطالي.

ويستضيف ملعب “الملك فهد الدولي” في المملكة العربية السعودية، مباراة السوبر الإيطالي بين الفريقين في التاسعة مساء.

طالع.. مباشر بالفيديو | مباراة ميلان وإنتر في كأس السوبر الإيطالي.. إعلان التشكيلين

وأعلن ستيفانو بيولي، المدير الفني لفريق ميلان التشكيل الذي سيخوض المباراة والذي جاء كالآتي: تشكيل ميلان أمام إنتر في كأس السوبر الإيطالي

حراسة المرمى: تاتاروشانو.

خط الدفاع: كالابريا، توموري، كايير، ثيو هيرنانيز.

خط الوسط: إسماعيل بن ناصر، تونالي، دياز.

خط الهجوم: ميساس، لياو، جيرو.

بينما يدخل سيموني إنزاجي، المدير الفني لفريق إنتر ميلان بتشكيل مكون من: تشكيل إنتر ميلان أمام ميلان في السوبر الإيطالي

حراسة المرمى: أونانا.

خط الدفاع: سكرينيار، أتشيربي، باستوني.

خط الوسط: دارميا، جاليارديني، تشالهانجلو، مخيتاريان، باريلا، ديماركو.

خط الهجوم: لاوتارو مارتينيز، دجيكو.

Gladstone Dainty, John Thickett, Ram Varadarajan and Dr. Asif Ahmad have been appointed by the USACA board of directors to fill the four seats from USACA on the Cricket Holdings America LLC board

Peter Della Penna05-May-2011

Gladstone Dainty, John Thickett, Ram Varadarajan and Dr. Asif Ahmad have been appointed by the USACA board of directors to fill the four seats from USACA on the Cricket Holdings America LLC board. According to Thickett, the USACA Treasurer, the four men were elected in a vote held on April 29 by the USACA board of directors.”One of the things that I believe will be good for US cricket is actually bringing in people from outside USACA and broadening the roles of involvement of people outside of USACA who have a link to cricket and who can do a lot of good work, but they don’t necessarily have to be on the USACA board,” Thickett told ESPNcricinfo.Cricket Holdings America LLC was formed as a partnership in December between New Zealand Cricket, USACA, Australian-based marketing company Insite, Top Bloom and Podar Holding International. The entity will hold the majority of commercial rights to cricket in the USA, including the formation of a Twenty20 league and the staging of international matches.One of the chief duties of the four USACA representatives on the CHA board will be deciding how to distribute USACA’s portion of any profits that come through deals signed by CHA. Thickett has sketched a plan for what he feels would be an ideal method of profit distribution among the stakeholders of US cricket.”I’m approaching this from my role as the treasurer so I know how much money USACA’s spending and needs for a robust national operation and then wanting to give enough out for the regions and leagues,” Thickett said. “This is very early days and it needs to be discussed and debated, but I’ve got it down to USACA having for its national teams and operations, 40% of the money. I’d recommend putting 20% in a reserve fund for the long term. I would put in 20% of the money for the regions and then we’ve also put down the final 20% going out for the leagues that make up the regions as well so they can do some grassroots development in the individual leagues as well.”However, Thickett would like to organise town hall-style meetings in order to explain what Cricket Holdings America is about and offer a chance for stakeholders to give their own opinions on how the money that funnels down to USACA should be used.”The question for all the stakeholders in US cricket is to how to take this money and invest it,” Thickett said. “In the 45 or 46 years history of USACA, I don’t think it’s ever really had major positive cashflow. It’s always been kind of scraping by. I call it guerilla financing. Now with the license fee coming in from the LLC, there’s a reasonable cashflow to do a number of things.”We’ve papered out some ideas that we want to share with the board and the regions, the leagues that make them up and get everyone’s input. We want a period of consultation where people can input how this money is to be invested for the future.”It is unclear who else was nominated for the four positions represented by USACA on the CHA board, but the selection of Varadarajan is remarkable from the standpoint that he ran against Dainty for the position of USACA President in the 2008 election in which Dainty defeated him by a narrow three-vote margin. It had been rumored that Varadarajan would run for the same position in this year’s election as well and his appointment to the CHA board has already had an effect on regional elections.Varadarajan was nominated and expected to win the role of North West Region representative on the USACA board of directors, but in a USACA press release sent out on Tuesday announcing election results for the newly formed North West and South West region boards, his name was withdrawn from consideration for that position. The press release also stated that Nina Ahmad, the wife of Dr. Asif Ahmad, was also withdrawn as a nominee for the position of South West Region representative on the USACA board.There is no known requirement stipulating that Varadarajan or anyone else cannot hold positions on both the USACA and CHA boards at the same time, especially considering the fact that Thickett and Dainty will be serving on each board. Thickett, who ran on the same ticket with Varadarajan in the 2008 election, is pleased to have him on the CHA board.