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Disregarding strong West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) advice, Marlon Samuels journeyed to Anguilla yesterday with the Jamaica team for the opening match of the Carib Beer Series against the Leeward Islands, starting tomorrow.At the same time, Jamaica Cricket Association (JCA) president Jackie Hendriks said in Kingston that Samuels had asked to have his injured left knee examined by his own specialist in Washington with whom he "would feel more comfortable"."That seems a perfectly reasonable request and, as I understand it, an appointment has been firmed up for sometime next week," he added.It conflicted with WICB president Wes Hall’s announcement Tuesday that an appointment had been made tomorrow for Samuels to see Dr Ainsworth Allen, the New York orthopaedic surgeon who has treated several West Indian players.Samuels was withdrawn from the West Indies squad for the forthcoming World Cup in South Africa last Sunday following a report to the selectors of an MRI scan on his knee by Dr Akshai Mansingh, a member of the WICB’s medical panel.But Samuels said in Kingston he felt "100 per cent fit", although acknowledging that intermittent pains in his knee during the West Indies’ training camp in Antigua last week prompted him to consult Mansingh.Both Hall and WICB acting chief executive Roger Brathwaite were adamant that Samuels should not play in the Anguilla match.They fear further damage to the knee that was operated on during the West Indies series against Pakistan in Sharjah a year ago and, according to Mansingh’s report, will require further surgery that would put him out of action for up to a year.Hall said Tuesday it would be "the quintessence of cricket stupidness" for the classy 22-year-old batsman to play with his injury.Brathwaite issued a statement Wednesday night supporting the selectors’ decision and setting out the WICB’s position."The WICB feels strongly that it is not in Marlon’s best interest for him to play in the upcoming Carib Beer series," Brathwaite said."While we are advising him not to play while carrying this injury, we do not have the authority to prevent him from playing and will not be responsible for any injury he may suffer as a result."Hendriks said he could not comment on Brathwaite’s statement as he had not seen it.The decision to replace Samuels, with left-handed all-rounder Ryan Hinds for the World Cup, has generated heated protests in Jamaica. He was one of the stars of the West Indies batting on the tours of India and Bangladesh late last year on his return after a seven-months layoff following his earlier knee operation.There have been accusations of unfairness and insularity on radio call-in programmes and from Jamaica coach Robert Haynes."It’s not cricket. We as Jamaican and West Indies supporters should do something about it," Haynes said.He claimed captain Carl Hooper, who had surgery on both knees in early December, and fast bowler Merv Dillon, who returned from the tour of India in November with a back injury, had been asked to carry lighter workloads at the Antigua camp than Samuels and said their fitness could also be questioned."The way things have transpired have left room for a lot of suspicion," Samuels’ agent, John Pinnock, told the Jamaica Observer.

Otago’s modern indoor cricket facility is starting to prove very popular as teams work on their winter programmes and clubs start to build up for their seasons.Otago has 35 winter representative squads working out of the facility and time is having to be managed carefully.Because of the high use of the indoor facilities, the Otago Cricket Association has spent another $20,000 doing up a secondary area for use by club cricket sides.”Otago chief executive Graeme Elliott said today, “The beauty of having the facility is that we can do work with all those squads.”The squads and individuals have been doing their preparations there while clubs haven’t really used it yet. However, we are starting to get enquiries.”The main part of the complex has two batting strips, one for pace and another for spin and the bowlers’ run-ups are softened to minimise injury prospects for bowlers.The coming season is a big one for Otago as it is celebrating its 125th summer.Jubilee activities are still being planned but one feature promises to be the presentation of New Zealand Cricket’s individual Test Black Caps to New Zealand’s surviving triple century makers, Glenn Turner, Ken Rutherford and Mark Richardson while a member of the Blunt family is expected to be able to attend the function to receive Roger Blunt’s cap.

The lure of guaranteed playing time is expected to see Celtic win the race to sign Bayern Munich youngster Christopher Scott this summer, according to Alex McLeish.

The Lowdown: Celtic linked with move

The 19-year-old midfielder has been linked with a move to Parkhead in recent days, with Sky Germany reporting talks with the player’s representatives even though Bayern are keen on extending his stay beyond 2022 – when his current deal expires.

It is believed that Brentford are also interested in acquiring Scott’s services, as the potential battle to sign him in the summer hots up.

The youngster has won four caps for Germany’s Under-20 side and is valued at £1.08million by Transfermarkt.

The Latest: McCleish backs Hoops for signing

Speaking to Football Insider, McLeish, a pundit for BBC Radio 5 Live, backed Scott, a ‘glorious talent’ to trade Bayern for Celtic, with the promise of more minutes giving them the edge over Brentford:

“That would be a cracker. I suspect he will only come if he is promised he will be playing. I’m not saying he’ll be in the nucleus of the team.

“But he will need to be assured he will be getting games. It’s rare to see young teenagers making a breakthrough but teenagers in their late teens have a chance.

“If you’ve got a glorious talent, there’s absolutely no stopping you. But it seems that a lot of them are thinking about, not bigger clubs but the bigger leagues, to get them over that kind of foundation hurdle.

“The aim is to catch the eye of the seniors at Bayern Munich or whatever. They clearly want to get the experience of a tougher league.”

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The Verdict: One for the future

While Scott wouldn’t necessarily come in as a key man immediately, he is someone who would be viewed as a long-term signing with great potential.

That’s not to say he wouldn’t play regularly, though, as McLeish alludes to, and he has been described as ‘one of the biggest talents in Germany’ in the past, surely earning himself plenty of playing time when the Bhoys compete on multiple fronts.

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Scott could add depth and quality to Celtic’s midfield, not to mention ensure that Ange Postecoglou’s side continues to build into the future, as key midfielders like Callum McGregor begin to age.

In other news, two Celtic players could potentially start at Rangers this weekend. Find out who it is here.

Day 3
Scorecard

	South Zone will look to their captain S Badrinath to secure a come-from-behind victory © Cricinfo Ltd

A superb bowling performance helped South Zone crawl their way back into their match against East Zone in Mumbai. After an eventful third day, the game was evenly poised with South needing another 160 runs to win with seven wickets in hand.East were in command when the day started, having secured a handy 114-run lead with all their wickets intact. However, they let their advantage slip with an inept batting performance. Only one of their top six batsmen got a start – Anustup Majumdar – as they crashed to 79 for 6.No. 7 Halhadar Das, who made 93 in the first innings, top scored again with an unbeaten 52, including eight boundaries, to add some respectability to the East total. Tushar Saha also chipped in with a 28 to help set a target of 273. South’s bowlers kept the runs under check; Ashwin Raghu finished with impressive figures of 3 for 33.South’s pursuit got off to a bad start with Murali Vijay falling in the first over to former India international Debasis Mohanty. S Badrinath, the South Zone captain, and Ravi Teja stitched together an 81-run stand for the second wicket. Teja was aggressive – making 54 in 59 balls and lashing eight fours and a six – before left-arm spinner Saha trapped him in front. Arjun Yadav made 12 before falling in a similar manner. Badrinath remained unbeaten on a sedate 42 with wicketkeeper Prasad Reddy keeping him company.
ScorecardA spirited performance from England Lions’ gave them the edge going into the final day of their match against Central Zone. Chasing a stiff 296 for victory, they reached a confident 146 for 1 by stumps in Vadodara.Joe Denly was the only Lions’ wicket to fall, trapped in front by left-arm spinner Praveen Gupta for 15. Michael Carberry and captain Michael Yardy then forged an unbroken 116-run stand for the second wicket to lead the Lions’ pursuit. Needing to score the highest total of the match to win, Carberry and Yardy both played patient knocks to ensure there was no repeat of the second day’s batting collapse. Carberry, who made 35 in the first innings, didn’t throw away his start this time, finishing on an unbeaten 71, including 12 fours and a six. The experienced Yardy had reached 57 by stumps.Central had started the day in control after gaining a 115-run first-innings lead but were kept down to a moderate 180 in their second. With a top-order collapse seeing them at a parlous 39 for 4, Mohammad Kaif, the captain, tried to salvage the situation, top scoring with 42. The tail also resisted with a 60-run partnership for the seventh wicket between Jalaj Saxena (27) and Sanjib Sanyal (37).All the Lions’ bowlers chipped in, with Graham Onions being the most successful, taking three wickets. Monty Panesar was expensive but got the big wicket of the in-form Kaif while legspinner Adil Rashid made short work of the last two wickets.

Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif will be missing in action for the second time in a major tournament, having missed the Champions Trophy last year © AFP

As had been expected for some time now, Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif were finally ruled out of Pakistan’s World Cup squad, though the decision, farcically, came minutes before the team’s departure to the Caribbean. Asif is down with an elbow injury while Shoaib is nursing a crocked knee.”We have received their medical assessments and the players are physically unfit. Therefore we felt we shouldn’t take them for such a big tournament,” PJ Mir, the team spokesman told Cricinfo. “Their injuries will take time to heal so after selectors consulted Inzamam-ul-Haq the decision has been taken to not take them.”The pair will be replaced by fast bowler Mohammad Sami and allrounder Yasir Arafat. “Sami and Arafat will join the team in the Caribbean in a few days but we have to get clearance for them from the ICC’s technical committee. Their names were decided by the captain and the selection committee together,” Mir added, mindful perhaps of reports today speculating that the decision to name Azhar Mahmood as a replacement for Abdul Razzaq overlooked the selection committee altogether.Though injuries remain the official reasons for their withdrawal it is understood that continuing doping-related concerns clinched the issue. The pair tested positive last year for Nandrolone in internal dope tests conducted just before the Champions Trophy got underway, but their bans were eventually overturned, much to the chagrin of the global cricket community.Fears that traces of Nandrolone remained at unacceptably high levels in their bodies were enhanced as the pair, for varying reasons, avoided undergoing another PCB-conducted dope test, held last week for all members of Pakistan’s World Cup squad. Only last week, an official close to the team had told Cricinfo that neither of the injuries were serious enough and if the pair didn’t go, it would only be “over concerns with the doping issue”, a thought confirmed once again today by an official. There was a threat that if the two tested positive again, either in internal tests or those conducted by the ICC, they would face stringent bans.Shortly before the pair were ruled out, the ICC confirmed they would be target-testing players at the World Cup and Malcolm Speed made specific reference to Shoaib and Asif. “Both Shoaib Ahktar and Mohammed Asif have played for Pakistan over the past few months despite testing positive for prohibited substances last year,” he said.”That is a fact neither player has disputed and it is also a fact that has caused the game a high level of embarrassment as a result. We want to make absolutely sure that all players who take part in the World Cup do so on the basis that they are free from banned substances.”From an ICC perspective, having the option to target test as well as the already-scheduled tests in place means that if a player does have anything in his system then there is a very strong possibility he will be caught out.”Nasim Ashraf, the PCB chairman, however, stressed that Shoaib and Asif’s exclusions were due to injuries and unrelated to the doping issue. “The truth is both of them are injured and they may take even months to make a full recovery,” Ashraf told PTI.”The board’s medical panel will soon check them out but the chances of them recovering quickly from their injuries is very bleak.”Whatever the reasons for their exclusion, the impact of their absence cannot be underestimated; Asif is one of cricket’s most exciting young bowlers and Shoaib one of the game’s fastest. Inzamam acknowledged to reporters that losing the two, and the uncertainty surrounding them, was not the best way of preparing for the tournament. “It is not an ideal situation for us. We are going there under intense pressure. But in the past we have played in such situations with tremendous team spirit and we can achieve best results even without our key players.”Bob Woolmer, the Pakistan coach, preferred to draw strength from good results achieved over the last two years without the two bowlers. “It is a big blow and I feel sorry for both these players. They are missing a mega event.”But last year we did well without Shoaib in Sri Lanka and the year before in India without either of the two bowlers,” he added. “I want to remind the players of those two series and of playing with the same unity and spirit we showed on those tours. If we can replicate that, we can still do well. We also now know at least where we stand and exactly what players we have available.”It now means that Pakistan go into cricket’s premier event without three key components of their team, after Razzaq was also ruled out of the tournament this week with a serious knee injury. Additionally, they will be without allrounder Shahid Afridi – owing to a four-match ban imposed by the ICC for misconduct in South Africa – for their first two games, including a tough opening game on March 13 against the hosts. Preparations for big series or tournaments in Pakistan are often blighted but few in recent memory have been as ravaged by injuries, controversies and scandals as this.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

Ricky Ponting held Australia’s chase together on the fifth day © Getty Images

In the end, the scorebooks will record that on April 13, 2006 Australia beat Bangladesh by three wickets at Fatullah. But that does little to showcase a thrilling match in which Bangladesh were the dominant side for the better part. On a frenetic fifth afternoon – a day this match was not even supposed to go into – Ricky Ponting’s awesome 118 not out sealed a great win but the battle was much, much harder than it seemed.Those who have followed this match knew that another classic twist was always around the corner as Ponting marched into the nineties. Brett Lee was dimissed for a vital 29 by Mashrafe Mortaza – rewarding his captain’s decision to take the new ball – and then Ponting was given a slice of luck that had Bangladesh going into lunch shaking their heads. Shahadat Hossain banged one short, Ponting swiveled into his favourite shot, the ball spiralled high to deep backward square leg where Mortaza dived and dropped a swirling chance. A push through covers for four off Mortaza brought Ponting his sensational hundred and the bowler walked back to his mark knowing that he had dropped the match.A flurry of boundaries after the interval took Australia to within three runs of victory and all but sealed the affair, but still Bangladesh refused to cave in. Shahadat sent down three bouncers in a row to Ponting, one of which struck him square in the helmet. Bowler stared down batsman, words were exchanged, and in the end the match concluded in the same in-your-face aggression that had played out for four days.Ponting’s effort must go down as another classic. Australia, who haven’t lost a Test since surrendering the Ashes, were in danger of falling prey to one of the biggest upsets in Test history if not for Ponting’s most meaningful hundred this year. As Mohammad Rafique struck gold with the wickets of Adam Gilchrist and Shane Warne first thing in the morning, Ponting looked on, memories of Old Trafford fresh in his head. When push comes to shove Ponting has always been the aggressor, and today was no exception.The battle of the morning was always going to be him versus Rafique, and Ponting won it hands down. Rafique tossed it up but Ponting was right there, feet and bat firmly in defiance. When he used the quicker one, Ponting was back and across. When he erred in line and dropped it short, Ponting pulled him for four or cut past point. He had his moments – Rafique got one to spit and rip past his forward prod and a leave to Enamul Haque came agonisingly close to off – but otherwise Ponting was supreme in his assessment of the situation. Most importantly, he did not let the situation get on top of him. Singles were stolen wide of cover and short of square leg and his overall rotation of the strike with a confident Lee was worthy of a battle-hardened veteran.

Mohammad Rafique almost helped Bangladesh scale Mount Improbable © Getty Images

Ponting was quick to acknowledge the scare Bangladesh had given them. “They’ve played very, very well. For them to score 355 on the first day was a terrific effort,” he said at the end of the match. “They certainly have come a long way. A few of us had to put our hand up in the second innings and make sure the job was done. lt was just nice to be there at the end of the day.” Adam Gilchrist’s brilliant 144 earned him the Man-of-the-Match award and it was this effort that allowed Australia to crawl their way back into the match.Bangladesh have only ever won one Test match in their six years as a Test nation and that was against a depleted Zimbabwe side, and things almost changed here. Habibul Bashar and his band of would-be giant-killers didn’t scale Mount Improbable, but the view from base camp must have looked very promising. Bangladesh can take some positives from this match – Shahriar Nafees’s hundred, Bashar’s own hand with the bat, and Rafique’s superior effort with ball. In both Australian innings Rafique was the key, taunting the mighty with his loop and turn and getting them to dance to his tune. Today, as Australia attempted their bid for another win, he put the lethal faster one to use, dismissing Gilchrist and Warne, he checked Lee numerous times and forced him to hustle onto the back foot.Bangladesh also have problems to address – the fielding, the running between wickets, and an appalling second-innings record – but now they will believe that they can compete with the best in the business. Mohammad Ashraful played but a little role in this Test but can lay claim to having sown its seeds. For it was a balmy summer’s afternoon last year at Sophia Gardens when he defied Australia and allowed all of Bangladesh to dream. With a little more of the brilliance they showed in bursts here, they wont have to dream anymore.How they were outAustralia
Adam Gilchrist b Rafique 12 (225 for 5)
Shane Warne lbw b Rafique 5 (231 for 6)
Brett Lee c Mashud b Mortaza 29 (277 for 7)

Graeme Smith has called a truce to his ongoing dispute with Dwayne Bravo and says he will not take any further action. Smith had demanded an apology after being cleared of racially abusing Bravo, during the fourth Test in Antigua, as he approached his first Test century.”I believe it would be sensible that the matter be laid to rest,” said Smith. “Bravo is young and inexperienced, and with time he will learn and mature into a better person.”Last week West Indies team manager Tony Howard had indicated that Smith should not expect an apology from Bravo. The alleged incident led to Wavell Hinds throwing a ball at Smith while bowling towards the end of the Antigua Test and being fined his entire match fee.

The Tasmanian Selectors have today announced the Cascade Tasmanian Tigers squad selected to play the Western Warriors in the ING Cup Twighlight match at Launceston Oval on Sunday, 1st February 2004.

CASCADE TASMANIAN TIGERS
Daniel MARSH (Captain)
Shane WATSON (Vice-Captain)
Xavier DOHERTY
George BAILEY
Michael DIGHTON
Michael Di VENUTO
Andrew DOWNTON
Sean CLINGELEFFER
Damien WRIGHT
Shannon TUBB
Adam GRIFFITH
Luke BUTTERWORTH
Scott KREMERSKOTHEN

The eleven to play in the match will be named on the morning of the game.Damien Wright returns from injury to make up the squad of thirteen. The twelve players who were selected for the last ING Cup match against Queensland have been retained in the squad.The Tasmanian Cricket Association would like to remind Patrons and Media this will be a twighlight match and play will commence at 12 noon, with gates open at 10.30 am.During the match patrons will have the chance to win a set of keys to the Ford Focus competition by supporting the Tigers and bringing their entry form from the Mercury Newspaper and placing it in the entry box provided at the ground.

New Zealand batsman Nathan Astle has withdrawn from his contract withDerbyshire to have knee surgery.Astle, 31, who is New Zealand’s highest-ranked one-day batsman, also holds the world record for the fastest Test double century.Surgeons will operate on a patella tendon injury immediately after the World Cup, which begins in South Africa in less than three weeks’ time. He will need around six months rehabilitation.”It is incredibly frustrating having to say no to Derbyshire but I want to play for New Zealand for another couple of years and I don’t want to jeopardise that,” Astle told the Dominion Post newspaper.”It might get sore at the World Cup but I don’t want to miss that for anything. I think we can manage the problem there with a sensible workload, lots of Voltarins (anti-inflammatory tablets) and just the adrenaline of the occasion.”Astle, who has also played for Nottinghamshire, is contracted to Derbyshirefrom June to September, but the county was aware of his knee problem. Derbyshire may now offer an extended contract to Pakistan’s Shahid Afridi, who is currently contracted for April and May.Astle believes the injury is the result of wear and tear rather than a specific problem. “I’ve played with niggles before but this is a bit different. It gets sore and I get sharp pain in the front of my knee so it obviously needs an op,” he added.

Batsman Matthew Wood looks set to make his first team debut for Somerset against Yorkshire at Bath in the CricInfo Championship match that starts on Wednesday.The 20-year-old right-handed opening bat who plays club cricket for Exmouth has been on the Somerset scene for several years, and last year played for Devon in the Nat West Trophy.Matthew has enjoyed a run of good form this year including an impressive century for Somerset Seconds, in the one day win over a strong Gloucestershire side at Bristol.Second XI coach Julian Wyatt rates him very highly, and has brought him in to replace Peter Bowler, who will miss the match because of his law exams.Matthew Bulbeck is missing as a precaution to enable him to make a full recovery from the injury he sustained against Surrey in the Championship, and Jason Kerr and Jamie Grove are added to give bowling options.Richard Johnson and Rob Turner who both missed Sunday’s match with food poisoning are expected to be fit to play.