Steve Bucknor has revealed that both he and Aleem Dar received death threats on the last day of England’s final Test against South Africa at Centurion. Bucknor and Dar were the two umpires for that game.According to London’s , Bucknor stated that the threat came through a phone call made to the chief executive’s office at SuperSport Park during the final day’s play. “I was told that the threat came towards the end of the last day. I’m not sure if Aleem realised it was against him as well, but I was told that the words the caller used were ‘We are going to get rid of Aleem Dar and Steve Bucknor, we are going to shoot them’,” Bucknor said. “You get lots of abuse as an umpire, but that is the first time that I have been threatened to that extent. I briefly thought about cutting short my stay and going home to the Caribbean, but I convinced myself that I am stronger than that. If umpires react to threats like that, then there will be a flood of them.”I have to say that I am not really worried about it – the words were serious, but I’m not sure whether the person who said them was serious – I’m certain it was just a hoax call,” Bucknor continued. “Also, I grew up in a part of Jamaica where threats are a daily occurrence, and I refereed football matches in Jamaica where you get threatened all the time – although it was never this extreme. Nevertheless, it’s not been a pleasant couple of days.”Bucknor has already officiated in 99 Tests, but his performance during the series came in for criticism from some of the players and the media. Michael Vaughan, the England captain, was especially vocal about the umpires’ interpretation of the playing conditions during the fourth Test at Johannesburg, while South Africa believe that plenty of decisions went against them during the recent series. Dar has returned to Pakistan after the Tests, but Bucknor is still in South Africa and will officiate in the one-day series as well.

Pakistan were so worried about the umpiring on their Australian tour that they completed a team investigation into contentious decisions which showed the home side was almost six times better off. “It went 29-5 against us,” Bob Woolmer, the coach, told the Brisbane Courier-Mail.Woolmer, who left Australia yesterday after three Tests and the one-day VB Series, said the players had taken the setbacks well, but there were five close calls against them in the opening one-day final, and a first-over knock-back in the second when Adam Gilchrist was “plumb”. “Quite frankly, Australia were the better side against us this summer, but some of these decisions made a huge difference,” he said. “You are talking about decisions which players’ careers rested on.”The Pakistan Cricket Board sent a letter to the ICC during the limited-overs tournament requesting two neutral umpires for one-day matches as well as Tests. One overseas and one local official stood in the VB Series, in line with ICC’s current regulations.Woolmer said Australia were very good at appealing, and that the adjudicators had pressure applied from the players and the crowd. “Umpires are not cheats,” he told the newspaper. “I would never accuse them of that. The way the Australians appeal and the way the crowd supports them creates subconscious pressure on umpires and it shows. People can say an umpire gives a decision on what he sees rather than the appeals, but I disagree. The appeal is very much a part of it. It is a very fine line.”Woolmer said he was looking at ways to improve Pakistan’s appealing. “Even if that means training at it,” he said. “Maybe we need to appeal only when we are certain it is out and appeal very strongly. There are also ways of conducting yourself when you are batting to get the message across to an umpire that an appeal against you is not out. We must look at that as well.”A fan of Hawk-Eye’s ball-tracking technology, Woolmer believes it should be used for decisions even though it is not perfect. “At the very least it is the same for both sides so you take all those other factors out of play,” he said. “I am not having a go at umpires because they get it right well over 90% of the time.”

Harbhajan Singh will work under Bruce Elliott, the biomechanics expert from Australia, to correct his action. Harbhajan’s doosra, the delivery that leaves the right-handed batsmen, was recently reported by Chris Broad, the match referee for India’s series against Bangladesh, and he was give six weeks to complete the corrective procedure and report back to the International Cricket Council.SK Nair, the secretary of the Indian board, confirmed this to Reuters: “We have identified Bruce Elliott for Harbhajan to work on his action and we have informed the ICC on the action we are taking.” Nair added that the ICC had extended the deadline until February 18 following a request by the BCCI.Ravi Shastri, Laxman Sivaramakrishnan and Javagal Srinath were also expected to be on the experts’ panel and Nair said that the BCCI were awaiting their acceptance of the assignment.Harbhajan action had earlier come under scrutiny in 1998 but he was cleared after after undergoing remedial work in London.

Brian Luckhurst, the former Kent and England batsman, died on Tuesday at the age of 66. Luckhurst, who was associated with Kent County Cricket Club for 51 years and ended up as their president, had been suffering from cancer of the oesophagus for some time.Luckhurst’s international career began with five unofficial Tests against the Rest of the World XI in 1970, after which he made the first of 21 appearances for England, against Australia on the Ashes tour of 1970-71. As Geoff Boycott’s opening partner, he marked the occasion with 74 in the first innings, and made four centuries in 41 innings, including a top-score of 131, in the second Test at Perth. He had guts as well – two of his hundreds were made with a broken hand.Primarily a dependable batsman who knew his limitations and stuck to them, Luckhurst was also a part-time left-arm spinner, whose solitary international wicket was the notable scalp of Gundappa Viswanath, and an outstanding allround fielder. His fleet-footedness against spin earned him a century apiece against India and Pakistan in 1971, although he was unlucky to be omitted from the subsequent tour of the subcontinent in 1972-73.His final Test appearances came at the age of 35, against Dennis Lillee and Jeff Thomson on the ill-fated Ashes tour of 1974-75. After that, he concentrated his efforts on Kent’s fortunes, a club he had joined at the age of 15, and was a member of a side which dominated county cricket in the 1970s, winning nine trophies outright and sharing the County Championship in 1977. In all, he played in 335 first team matches from 1958 to 1976 before retiring to become captain of the 2nd XI, club coach and later, the manager of the Ames Levett Sports Centre.In 1985, he made an unexpected return to first-team duty when Kent suddenly found themselves one short against the Australian touring team. The 2003 Canterbury Cricket week was the 50th he had attended, and to mark the occasion he was presented with an inscribed silver salver by the club’s chairman, Carl Openshaw.”He was a great buddy and a loyal servant,” Mike Denness, who captained Luckhurst in the Kent and England sides, said. “In cricketing terms, he probably didn’t have a lot of natural gifts, but with the gifts he had, he worked so hard at it that he deserved to reach the top which he did by opening the batting for England.”His funeral will take place at Alkham Parish Church, Alkham, near Dover on Monday, March 14 at 1.30 pm, followed by a private cremation at Barham Crematorium at 3.00 pm and a reception at the St Lawrence Ground, Canterbury.

Craig McMillan, who was dumped from the third Test side, will captain a New Zealand Major Associations XI next week in Sri Lanka’s only warm up match for the two-Test series. McMillan was cut by New Zealand after some ill-disciplined shots to Shane Warne, but he will have a chance for redemption alongside Daryl Tuffey.Tuffey starred in a recent New Zealand Cricket inquiry after he was videoed by two English tourists having sex and was fined NZ$1000 (US$700). His place depends on his recovery from injury, but the match would give him the opportunity to hit back from a poor patch that included a 14-ball opening over in the one-day series against Australia.Mathew Sinclair, another to suffer against the world champions, has also been picked in the side that will play at Christchurch’s QEII Park from March 28 to 30. Richard Hadlee, the selection panel manager, said the team was not a New Zealand A side because players from Auckland and Wellington, who will be preparing for the State Championship final from April 3, were not considered.Major Associations squad Mathew Sinclair, Craig McMillan (capt), Graeme Aldridge, Peter Fulton, Gareth Hopkins, Jamie How, Warren McSkimming, Bruce Martin, Aaron Redmond, Ross Taylor, Greg Todd, Daryl Tuffey, Joseph Yovich.

Zee Telefilms Ltd, the Indian television company which which bid unsuccessfully for the telecast rights to Indian cricket, has launched its own 24-hour sports channel.”The sports-programming genre is growing at a fast pace,” Punit Goenka, the CEO of Zee, was quoted as saying by Reuters. “What we felt missing was content relevant to the average Indian apart from cricket. With that in mind, we aim to bridge the gap by providing a programming mix that is entertaining, relevant and catering to our core viewer base.”An investment of Rs 1.5 billion has been allocated for the channel which will air sports shows and news meant for youth, along with interviews and live sports action.The Indian Supreme Court recently rejected Zee’s plea to grant them the telecast rights for international cricket in India till 2008. Zee had challeged the decision by the Indian board to cancel the bidding process.However, Zee hasn’t lost hope and will wait for telecast rights for cricket in other countries. “In the next 18 months, cricket rights in England, Australia, South Africa, Sri Lanka and West Indies would be up for bidding and we intend to be contenders with reasonable means,” said Gary Lovejoy, CEO, Zee Sports. “We have plans to cover lifestyle sports such as golf, motor sport and adventure sports, and also looking at the creation of events.”Zee has also expressed interest in securing rights of a few domestic events. It has placed its bid for Indian football at the committee meeting of the All India Football Federation.On the television rights controversy, Himanshu Mody, executive vice president, Zee Sports, said, “As an operational strategy, it (the telecast controversy) has had a positive effect. We had to think a lot harder. We will bid aggressively but sensibly.”After the entry of Zee Sports, India will have as many as five sports channels, including ESPN, Star Sports, Ten Sports and DD Sports.

West Indies275 for 4 (Lara 125*, Sarwan 55) trail Pakistan 374 (Younis 106, Kamal 51, Collymore 7-78) by 99 runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

Brian Lara produced another batting masterclass on his way to a 30th Test century as West Indies dominated the second day at Sabina Park. Having wrapped up the Pakistan innings for the addition of only 38 runs in the morning, West Indies were given a flying start by Chris Gayle, before Lara and Ramnaresh Sarwan, who responded to failure in Barbados with a gritty 55 here, stitched together 146 for the third wicket. And even though Pakistan stemmed the flow of runs in the final session, it wasn’t until Shivnarine Chanderpaul was out to the last ball of the day that they made any sort of impression.Lara started in circumspect fashion, having arrived at the crease after Devon Smith’s assured 25 had been ended by a worm-killer that knocked back off stump. Gayle had taken heavy toll of Rana Naved-ul-Hasan – whose right thumb was badly hurt by a delivery from Daren Powell – stroking some splendid drives and flicking the ball nonchalantly off his pads. There was also one magnificent six over long-on off Shabbir Ahmed before Abdul Razzaq got one to nip away a shade and take the edge.As many as 59 had come from 11 overs before lunch, but the innings was becalmed after the interval, with Danish Kaneria proving especially miserly. But having taken his time to get his eye in, Lara opened up as only he can to send the fielders scattering and give Inzamam-ul-Haq plenty to ponder by teatime.Having taken 68 balls to reach 33, Lara then sauntered along at a run-a-ball until he reached the 90s. The purple patch included two massive sixes over long-on off Kaneria, and when Naved, who had been flayed for 22 in two overs with the new ball, was brought back, Lara responded with two coruscating pulls interspersed by the most gorgeous cut for four.At the other end, Sarwan overcame early jitters against Kaneria to give his former captain sterling support. Kaneria, who conceded just 18 from his first 11 overs, went for 32 from his next five as West Indies went from 100 to 200 in just 142 deliveries. The stage was set for an assault after tea, but when Sarwan, who had got to 50 with a tremendous square-drive off Shabbir, mistimed a hook, the momentum was irrevocably lost.Chanderpaul pottered around initially, and with Lara also going into a shell of sorts as he neared three figures, Pakistan were able to gather breath and regroup. Lara, who scored as many as three-fourth of his runs on the leg side, finally reached his hundred with a delicate glance for four, and then opened up with some gorgeous strokes, none more exquisite than two off-drives off Kaneria.Chanderpaul took imbibed some of the attacking intent, slamming a wayward Shahid Afridi for two fours through midwicket before Kaneria ensured that he wouldn’t be around for fun and frolic on day three.Earlier in the day, West Indies had been indebted to another seasoned campaigner. Corey Collymore, who reined in Pakistan during the final session yesterday, picked up three more to finish with stunning and richly deserved figures of 7 for 78.Razzaq and Kamran Akmal were the last recognised pair at the crease, but any hopes that Pakistan had of posting a huge total were dealt a severe blow in the day’s first over when Collymore trapped Razzaq in front without any addition to the overnight score. Akmal continued to pull and cut in positive fashion, stitching together 19 with Naved before Powell intervened with a quick delivery that smashed into Naved’s hand.Shabbir didn’t bother the scorers, giving Collymore his sixth victim of the innings, and when Powell sneaked one in low to trap Kamran one short of his half-century, Naved strode bravely out to the middle. He couldn’t make any impact, however, as Collymore mopped up the innings with a full delivery to Kaneria. It took just 10.3 overs to thwart Pakistani ambitions of a huge total, and thereafter Lara was to the fore as West Indies went in search of a total that would shut the door as far as both match and series are concerned.

How they were out

PakistanAbdul Razzaq lbw Collymore 19 (336 for 7)
Ball nipped back, struck in frontShabbir Ahmed c Browne b Collymore 0 (360 for 8)
Good length ball, edge behindKamran Akmal lbw b Powell 49 (374 for 9)
Trapped in front by one that kept lowDanish Kaneria b Collymore 6 (374 all out)
Bowled by a full deliveryWest IndiesGayle c Kamran Akmal b Abdul Razzaq 33 (48 for 1)
Swung away from round the wicketSmith b Abdul Razzaq 25 (59 for 2)
Ball didn’t rise more than a couple of inches after pitching.Ramnaresh Sarwan c Danish Kaneria b Shabbir Ahmed 55 (205 for 3)
Set up by a short ball, which he hooked on the swivel to fine leg.Shivnarine Chanderpaul c Kamran Akmal b Danish Kaneria 28 (275 for 4)
Undone by a googly that reared up at him. Thin edge to the keeper.

A superb opening spell from Tinashe Panyangara raised visions of an upset, but Shoaib Malik and Younis Khan rallied to inspire a three-wicket victory for Pakistan in the second match of the Paktel Cup at the Arbab Niaz Stadium in Peshawar. Panyangara’s medium-paced swing bowling had reduced Pakistan to 48 for 3, but the lack of quality back-up meant that Pakistan were never seriously under pressure to keep up with the asking rate. A late cameo from Shahid Afridi, the hometown hero, was the icing on the cake for a crowd that had sportingly cheered Zimbabwe’s gutsy effort.Brendan Taylor and Stuart Matsikenyeri gave Zimbabwe the perfect start, and Dion Ebrahim (71*) and Tatenda Taibu (46*) provided the final flourish as Zimbabwe tallied 252. With Pakistan struggling in reply, the much-maligned Younis came in and played a superb innings, taking singles at will and smashing the loose deliveries into the gaps. A huge six off Mluleki Nkala in the 46th over effectively ended the contest, even though Douglas Hondo had the consolation of yorking Yousuf Youhana, the stand-in captain, for just 14 (240 for 6).Afridi came in to bat with a runner, but that didn’t cramp his style, and a huge six over midwicket off Hondo sent the crowd into raptures. Pakistan eventually eased past the target with 11 deliveries to spare, but not before Younis, who had batted brilliantly for his 77, was needlessly run out after tapping the ball to Elton Chigumbura at mid-on.Panyangara had struck in the very first over, inducing Yasir Hameed to go after a perfectly pitched outswinger. Taibu pouched the edge, and Pakistan could reflect on another opening partnership gone wrong. Salman Butt, though, was soon into the groove, stroking a glorious straight drive off Hondo, and then creaming him through the covers thrice.Bazid Khan couldn’t match his fluency, and after pottering around for nine balls, he shuffled across to be hit high on the pad. Panyangara and the Zimbabweans went up, and Asad Rauf, the umpire, lifted his finger, though Hawk-Eye might have taken a more charitable view.Butt was in fine form, and had cruised to 30 at a run-a-ball when he played too early at a Panyangara delivery. The leading edge flew to Chigumbura at mid-on, and Pakistan were in real trouble. Fortunately for them, it didn’t get worse, with Mark Vermeulen grassing a chance low to his left at second slip after Malik had poked at one from Panyangara.Misbah-ul-Haq and Malik then took a heavy toll on Hondo, whose line was all over the place. A couple of powerful cuts, and flicks through the onside, increased the run rate, but Hondo persevered until Misbah (23) played back to one that took the edge through to Taibu (89 for 4).Younis, who had kept wicket instead of the rested Moin Khan, came in and provided the ideal foil for the more belligerent Malik. Both treated Prosper Utseya, who bowled another tidy spell, with respect, but pinched easy runs off the likes of Taylor and Matsikenyeri.Malik smashed Matsikenyeri for a six over midwicket, and with Younis also finding the gaps with ease, victory appeared a formality. The partnership had swelled to 114 when Malik (80) lofted one from Nkala in the direction of long-on where Matsikenyeri, who had fumbled on two previous occasions, took a stunning catch diving to his right (203 for 5).Zimbabwe had found runs hard to come by early on after being sent in by Youhana, and both Taylor and Matsikenyeri did well to survive a hostile spell from Mohammad Sami. While Iftikhar Anjum at the other end was tidy without being unduly threatening, Sami got steep bounce and consistently pushed the batsmen on to the back foot.Matsikenyeri got going with a powerful cut and a superb off-drive off Sami, and a deft flick over square leg off Anjum. Taylor, just 18, was circumspect in the initial exchanges, but once Sami was replaced by the gentler pace of Naved-ul-Hasan, he got into his stride with two gorgeous cover-drives.Naved wasn’t spared by Matsikenyeri either, with 15 coming off one over. Having conceded just 36 in the first 12 overs, Pakistan had suddenly bled 30 from the next three. Malik and Afridi stemmed the tide somewhat, but after a hesitant start, the batsmen were brimming with confidence.That was to be Matsikenyeri’s undoing. Largely untroubled on his way to 41, he gave Afridi the charge and spanked one straight to Sami at long-on. Vusi Sibanda, who came in next, didn’t even face a ball, stranded up the pitch after Afridi had dived full length at short fine leg to stop a sweep from Taylor, and throw the ball to Malik at the bowler’s end (87 for 2).Taylor and Ebrahim batted with great discipline in the middle overs, picking up singles, and setting the stage for the final onslaught. Taylor’s assured 73 ended only when he smashed Naved straight to Youhana at mid-off (159 for 3). When Vermeulen was completely deceived by a Naved delivery that swung in to take out the off stump, it appeared that Pakistan might restored some sanity to proceedings.But Taibu and Ebrahim took charge with some brisk running between wickets and some innovative strokeplay. Taibu showcased his intent from the outset, pulling Anjum for six over square leg. The return of Sami into the attack didn’t deter him, with a hoick over midwicket adding to Pakistan’s frustration.Ebrahim was no slouch either, flicking Sami over square leg for four and then driving Naved – who went for a whopping 82 from 10 overs – through cover. But it was Taibu, with powerful shots emanating from that pint-sized frame, who applied the finishing touches, with a mighty six onto the roof of the temporary stand at square leg after Naved had persisted in dropping the ball short.For more than two-thirds of the reply, it looked like 252 might be enough. But Pakistan dug deep to ensure that Cinderella wouldn’t reach the ball.

Dilhara Fernando has been included in Sri Lanka’s 15-man squad for the IndianOil triangular one-day tournament which also involves West Indies and India. The squad also includes two uncapped players – Upul Tharanga, a left-handed opening batsman, and Dilhara Lokuhettige, an allrounder whose medium pace has fetched him 137 first-class wickets.Fernando has shown excellent promise as a fast bowler, but his career has been plagued by injury, especially a stress fracture of the back which kept him out of the side for long periods. However, he has shown signs of regaining full fitness, and performed superbly for the A in the one-day series against their West Indian counterparts, taking nine wickets in five games at 17.33.The tournament gets underway on July 30, with Sri Lanka taking on India under lights. This will be Tom Moody’s first one-day series as the Sri Lankan coach. Incidentally, his counterparts Greg Chappell, India’s coach, and Bennett King, the West Indian coach, are also from Australia. The first four matches will be played at Dambulla before the action moves to the Premadasa Stadium in Colombo for the last two games and the final on August 9.Squad
Marvan Atapattu (capt), Sanath Jayasuriya, Upul Tharanga, Kumar Sangakkara (wk), Mahela Jayawardene, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Russel Arnold, Dilhara Lokuhettige, Upul Chandana, Chaminda Vaas, Nuwan Zoysa, Farveez Maharoof, Muttiah Muralitharan, Dilhara Fernando, Lasith Malinga.

In a bid to end the impasse between the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) and the West Indies Players Association (WIPA), Ken Gordon, the new WICB president, disclosed the board’s intentions to introduce central contracts by the end of the year.Currently, the players are given contracts for every tour, whereas most players in other countries are contracted throughout the year, providing additional stability with the sole responsibility of training for, and playing, cricket.”In recent times, we’ve had discussions from people in places like Australia and England,” Gordon was quoted as saying in , “but what was responsible, particularly in the English team, for transforming the team from the relatively indifferent performances you had five or six years ago to the hard, professional unit they have become – and in every case we were told – [was] that it was putting the players under contract, so the players had contracts where they worked full time at cricket.”Our first task is to resolve the WICB and WIPA conflict,” he continued. “We’ve set that as a clear and distinct objective to be achieved before the end of December, and hopefully well before that. Second is to finalise arrangements to place on contract a minimum of 10 players for the West Indies team.”Moving in the same direction, the players association has called on Tim May, the chief executive officer of the Federation of International Cricket Associations, to help resolve the contract dispute, which has kept several top players like Brian Lara, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Chris Gayle out of the game, and resulted in a second string squad being sent to Sri Lanka.”Mr May will be meeting with us to give his experience of dealing with similar situations that have arisen in the Caribbean recently and pass on some of his knowledge of dealing with such a situation,” Ramnarine told the . May is also expected to meet with Gordon.May, who recently resigned as the chief executive officer of Australian Players Association, is vastly experienced in players’ issues, and is also responsible for negotiating with the ICC on behalf of all players who participate in the 2007 World Cup in the Caribbean.