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Former Victorian player, captain and coach John Scholes passed away today aged 53. The cause of death is unknown and will be subject to a coroner’s report.Cricket Victoria Chief Executive Officer, Mr Ken Jacobs, said that Scholes was a unique person and would be sadly missed. “I think today Victoria lost one of its greatest ever cricketing sons. John’s contribution as a player, junior and senior coach, as well as mentor to many young Victorian cricketers, will quite simply never be matched. On behalf of the entire Victorian cricket community, I extend our sincere condolences to Diane, as well as John’s children, Shannon and Adam”.JOHN “BARREL” SCHOLES

• Played 62 matches for Victoria (3201 runs @ 30.78, 3 centuries, HS 156)
• First captained Victoria aged 21 and again aged 30
• Coached the Victorian Bushrangers between 1996 – 2001. Led the side to the 98/99 Mercantile Mutual Cup and to two successive Pura Cup finals in 99/00 and 00/01
• All time Premier Cricket games record holder (396). Carlton (277), Fitzroy Doncaster (119)
• 12, 693 runs (Premier Cricket record at the time), 26 centuries, 60 half-centuries
• 5 Premierships (4 Carlton, 1 Fitzroy Doncaster) from 9 Grand Final appearances
• Coached Carlton CC in 2002/03
• Played Premier Cricket for 31 years

There was a spontaneous eruption of firecrackers, cheers, chanting and joy across the length and breadth of a large country as India pulled off a stunning win against the old enemy Pakistan for the fourth time in as many World Cup clashes.India had never successfully chased more than 222 in a World Cup match before Saturday. But gritting his teeth through a shooting pain in his left leg, the world’s best batsman scored a scintillating 98, as India chased down a victory target of 274 with majestic ease in 45.4 overs. Sachin Tendulkar was the match-winner once more as India sailed through to the Super Sixes.It was always going to be a day of heated arguments, passionate following and a tense battle out in the middle. Several cities in India had declared a public holiday to watch their team take on Pakistan in a one-dayer for the first time in three years. Cities that did not were paralysed as children stayed away from schools, offices emptied out by the start of the game and the streets wore a deserted look. Time stood still, life was put on hold as India delivered the game that a billion people wanted.Chasing 274 needed something special, especially against a Pakistan attack that included Wasim Akram, Shoaib Akhtar and Waqar Younis. There was something unusual in the air as Tendulkar took first strike, allowing Virender Sehwag to stay at the non-striker’s end. Sehwag can hardly complain – he was at the best place in the world, watching a breathtaking innings unfold from 22 yards away.There was an exaggerated shuffle across the stumps as Tendulkar flicked Akram to the on-side fence for his first sweetly-timed boundary. Then came Akhtar, steaming down to deliver his thunderbolts. Seeing a short one early, Tendulkar played an unfettered cut shot, inside out and over the top, sending the ball into the stands several rows back at point. The little master had thrown down the gauntlet.A bouquet of the finest strokes greeted the 22,000 strong crowd at the SuperSport Park, Centurion. Anything on the toes saw Tendulkar shuffle across and time the ball impeccably to the midwicket fence. A copybook on-drive signalled that the maestro was in perfect touch.Not one to stay out of the limelight for long, Sehwag came to the party, clattering a six over point and a few fearsome drives. In just 5.4 overs, India had blasted their way to 53 when Pakistan struck their first blow. Driving on the up, Sehwag hit a full-swinging delivery from Waqar Younis straight to cover. Afridi held the sharp chance and Sehwag (21, 13 balls, three fours, one six) was on his way.After making an elaborate show of setting his three slip fielders in the right place, Waqar sent down one of his trademark full, straight deliveries next up and Sourav Ganguly fell into the trap. Not moving his feet, he was rapped on the pads and Rudi Koertzen’s slow finger adjudged him lbw. The Indian skipper was back in the hut for a first-ball duck and the pumped-up Pakistan side had India at 53/2.Waqar ran from player to player, back slapping, hugging, celebrating what might have been the most vital breakthrough of the day.Promoted up the order, Mohammad Kaif began watchfully and proved to be an able foil for Tendulkar. Not taking any risks, Kaif was able to rotate the strike and pick up the boundaries whenever the loose ball was on offer.Tendulkar, meanwhile, continued to score boundaries with regularity even after the fielding restrictions were lifted. When he knocked his way to 83, Tendulkar brought up 12,000 ODI runs. When the giant screen flashed this message, the large Indian contingent rose and applauded.But the same fans had to concede a point to their Pakistani counterparts as Kaif (35, 60 balls, five fours) dragged an Afridi delivery back onto his stumps.Rahul Dravid walked out to an atmosphere that would have made the most feisty bullring appear pedestrian. Taking his time to get set, Dravid had one eye on the scoreboard at all times, making sure that the required run-rate never ran away from the Indians.Well, that really never was in doubt – thanks to Tendulkar’s masterly knock. It was only a brute of a delivery from Shoaib Akhtar, rearing from a length that got the better of Tendulkar. Having just called for a runner, Tendulkar in considerable pain, fell just two runs short of what would have probably been his finest one-day ton. Fending the ball to gully for Afridi to catch, Tendulkar departed on 98 (75 balls, 12 fours, 1 six) in the 28th over. Remarkably, India were already 177 at this stage, needing only a further 97 runs for victory in more than 20 overs.Yuvraj Singh then underlined his utility in the side, scoring a priceless unbeaten 50 and taking India to victory. Belting the ball through the covers with the honest enthusiasm of a flaming young talent, Yuvraj kept the runs coming at a healthy pace, blunting the Pakistan bowling and making sure there were no mishaps as India overhauled the target. Ever reliable, ever trustworthy, Dravid was unconquered on 44.Earlier in the day, things looked so much better for Pakistan as they won the toss and elected to bat.On the back of a Saeed Anwar century that was more dogged than spectacular, Pakistan posted a daunting 273/7 from their 50 overs. After a bright start, a clutch of wickets slowed Pakistan down and it is to Anwar’s credit that he managed to bat on, regardless of the fall of wickets at the other end.Despite being tired, and certainly wishing for a pair of younger legs, Anwar stuck to his task admirably. Realising that the side was short on inspiration, the elegant left-hander pieced together his third World Cup century, in the process drawing level with Sourav Ganguly on 20 ODI tons. What will give Pakistan supporters more comfort, though, is the fact that Anwar has now scored 2,000 runs against the old enemy – India.When he was finally dismissed, it was a result of a lapse in concentration. Soon after reaching the three-figure mark Anwar (101, 126 balls, 7 fours) was cleaned up by a yorker from Ashish Nehra.The rest of the Pakistan batting was patchy, with the next highest score being 32 from Younis Khan. Yet Pakistan had made 273, surely a total that they would have been confident of defending with the bowling attack at their disposal.But nothing’s a surety when you’re up against Tendulkar. Walking away with yet another Man of the Match award, he went on to why he is lauded as the greatest batsman in world cricket today.There will be mourning in the streets of Lahore and Karachi. There will be heartburn in Pakistan’s provinces. There will be calls for a change of captain and coach. There will be anger, there will be disappointment and there will be a sense of shock. But somewhere in the hearts of cricket fans there will also be a small place for joy. For yet again, one man had played the game as well as it could be with admirable support, and a team that was better on the day came out on top.What more can a game of cricket possibly do?

JOHANNESBURG, Feb 13 AFP – Controversial Indian cricket chief Jagmohan Dalmiya raised the stakes in the Zimbabwe World Cup boycott crisis today by accusing the world governing body of going out of its way to help England.Dalmiya, a former head of the International Cricket Council (ICC), criticised the current leadership of “bending backwards” to favour England in its bid to shift its scheduled clash with Zimbabwe away from Harare.”Let the ICC decide whether it is safe to play in Zimbabwe or not,” Dalmiya said one day before the tournament technical committee meets here to decide on the affair.”If it is not safe, then it should shift all matches out of that country. But if it is safe, England should be docked four points.”England refused to play their Group A match in Harare, which was scheduled today, due to security concerns and claimed they had new evidence to support their claim which was being presented to the technical committee.”It appears the ICC is bending over backwards to protect the interests of England at the cost of other competitors,” Dalmiya said.”We had waited for so long because we wanted an amicable solution and give the ICC enough time to sort out the matter.”Being a competitor team playing in the same group, India could be put to a lot of disadvantage if England do not play in Zimbabwe.”England’s intention appears to be an intentional delay so that they can pursue a wait and watch policy to see how the other results in the group go before they make up their minds about playing in Harare.”Meanwhile, New Zealand, who have refused to play their Group B game against Kenya in Nairobi on February 21, eased their fears about having to reluctantly make that trip with a 20-run victory over the West Indies at Port Elizabeth.The Kiwis, semi-finalists in two of the last three World Cups, made 241/7 from their 50 overs, with Nathan Astle top scoring with 46, before they dismissed the West Indies for 221.Ramnaresh Sarwan hit 75 and Ridley Jacobs 50, but a tigerish display in the field ensured victory for the Kiwis.The World Cup lost one its top fielders today when South Africa’s Jonty Rhodes was forced out of his country’s squad because of a broken hand.The 33-year-old, who suffered the injury in a fielding accident against Kenya in Potchefstroom on Wednesday, was dropped from the squad to be replaced by Graeme Smith.”It was one of the toughest conversations of my life,” said Omar Henry, convenor of the South African selectors.”Jonty wanted to stay in the squad and he was positive that he could be fit again in three weeks. But the medical specialists could not give me that guarantee. We had to make a decision.”Smith, 22, a tall left-hander who usually opens the batting, was regarded as the unluckiest player to miss the original World Cup selection.

The young cricketers who are part of the Academy at the County Ground in Taunton may have been away for a few days over the Christmas period, but during their time away will most certainly have kept in touch with coaches Mark Garaway and Kevin Shine.Thanks to the generosity of the Somerset Wyverns each of the eleven young players now has the use of a hand held computer.For sometime now the Wyverns have donated funds to the club to help with the development of young players, but this year their money has been used specifically to fund the Personal Data Assistants that each of the Academy members have been given to use.Academy Director Mark Garaway told: "We are very grateful to the Somerset Wyverns for their generosity. Both Kevin Shine and myself have worked with these hand help computers for a while now and they do make a difference and they will most certainly help the young players."He continued: "We can put all the information that we want the players to have into the computers and it’s there for them as and when they need to use it, as well as us being able to keep in touch easily."Somerset coach Kevin Shine told me: "These computers have an infra-red capability. Each session that we have with the players we can put the information onto their computers rather than just tell them and it’s there for them to use."The coach continued: "We can also monitor their progress and keep in regular touch so that we can all be clear about what we are doing."

Vijay Malalasekera, Interim Committee Chairman of the Board of Control for Cricket in Sri Lanka (BCCSL), said on Tuesday that the West Indies tour of Sri Lanka was very much on and that there was no cause for concern over it.”Based on various newspaper reports, we got in touch with the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) and they indicated to us that there was no concern with regard to the Sri Lanka tour,” said Malalasekera.Cricket Board chief executive Anura Tennekoon confirmed that he had spoken to the WICB cricket operations manager Michael Hold who confirmed the tour was on.The West Indies are due to arrive on the first week of November and play a series of three Tests and participate in a one-day international triangular with Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe.Officially, however, the WICB have deferred making a "final decision” until its representatives meet Sri Lankan and Pakistani officials at the ICC meeting in Kuala Lumpur October 16-19.West Indies are scheduled to tour Pakistan from January 29-March 4 next year.

This morning the Honourable Mr Justice Kirk-Cohen dismissed an applicationby Hansie Cronje to have a life ban imposed by the UCB overturned. Hence, MrCronje remains banned for life from all activities of the UCB and itsaffiliates.As far as the interdicts sought by Mr Cronje are concerned, the effect ofthe order is that:* Mr Cronje was not entitled to an order restraining the UCBfrom instructing its employees not to engage in personal, private or socialcommunications with Mr Cronje. The UCB has never instructed and does notintend to instruct its employees not to engage in personal, private orsocial communication with Mr Cronje.* Mr Cronje was not entitled to an order preventing the UCBfrom taking any steps to prevent Mr Cronje from coaching, sponsoring,promoting or otherwise participating in the game of cricket where he does sowithout remuneration or for charitable purposes. The UCB has not taken stepsand does not intend taking steps to prevent Mr Cronje from doing so beyondthe activities of the UCB and its affiliates.* Mr Cronje may not coach cricket at schools which areaffiliates of the UCB or which fall under the control of UCB affiliates. Hemay, however, not be prevented from doing so at other schools, provided hehas the authority of the governing body of the schools concerned.* Mr Cronje may not be prevented from seeking employment withany person other than the UCB or its affiliates.* Mr Cronje may not be prevented from gaining access tocricket grounds under the auspices of the UCB or its affiliates as ajournalist. However, he remains banned from the press boxes/broadcastingfacilities at those grounds; he is also banned from interviewing players andofficials at these grounds.* Should Mr Cronje apply for accreditation to use the mediafacilities of the UCB or its affiliates, it is at the sole discretion of theUCB to relax the ban from these facilities – either on an ad hoc basis orgenerally.Mr Cronje has been ordered to pay half the costs incurred by the UCB inopposing his application.The UCB is disappointed that this matter had to be resolved in a court oflaw, particularly as it had clarified the issues relating to the ban priorto the court date.The UCB is hopeful that this matter has now been put behind us. We willcontinue to commit all our resources and energies towards growing the gameof cricket in a positive manner and to eradicate corruption from cricket.

A change in attitude – not the end of selection rotation – was the key factor in Australia’s form reversal in the cricket tri series, batsman Mark Waugh said today.Australia’s comprehensive victory over South Africa in Sydney last night, its second in three days, came from an improved mental approach, not the change inplaying personnel, Waugh told reporters in Adelaide today.”We didn’t lost the first three games because of the rotation, we lost because our attitude wasn’t quite right,” Waugh said.”We didn’t do the basics right, rotation or not, you’ve got to do the basics right.”Selectors opted to go with Australia’s best batting line-up for last night’s match after deciding to end the system of rotating the squad of 14 players through the side for the first four matches of the series.Waugh said Australia’s one-day side had rotated regularly and without any problems for the past 26 matches.But he said the turnaround in attitude should be enough for Australia to carry its improved form through to the tri-series finals after climbing past South Africa (8 points) with a bonus point last night to be on nine points, behind New Zealand (12).”I think we’ve turned the corner, our attitude’s been spot-on the last couple of games, guys have got a bit more confidence back and hopefully we can keep thatgoing,” he said.”We can’t afford too many slip-ups or we won’t be in the finals but I’m confident that we’ll keep winning now.”Waugh said his own improvement in making 55 not out last night was more to do with a change in luck than a return to form.”I wouldn’t say I’m in great form, I had a bit of luck last night, I haven’t had much luck all summer, so it was nice to get a few chances and post a 50,” he said.Waugh had made scores of one, nought and 15 in his three previous innings in the series and there was speculation he would be dropped from the side with theprolific Darren Lehmann touted as a replacement.But the 36-year-old veteran said he had not felt any added pressure.”I suppose when you get older people don’t want to give you as many chances,” he said.”Every time there’s a couple of failures there’s always pressure on but I’m pretty used to it now, I’ve got to keep scoring runs, that’s the name of the game, so that’s what I hope to keep doing.”

Judgement in Hansie Cronje’s appeal against his life ban from cricket will be handed down in the Pretoria High Court on Wednesday by Justice Frank Kirk-Cohen.Cronje was banned by the United Cricket Board following his admissions in April and June last year that he had been involved with Indian bookmakers during his captaincy for a number of years and that he had offered team-mates Herschelle Gibbs and Henry Williams money to underperform in a One-Day International in India.As a result of these admissions, Gibbs and Williams served six-month bans from international cricket.Cronje based his appeal on the argument that he was not given a fair hearing by the UCB before his banning was announced and that the ban prevented him from earning a living.

Mumbai failed to deliver the knock out punch to Baroda, as Baroda managed tohold out Mumbai to a Draw in the West Zone Ranji match at MIG, Bandra onTuesday. Baroda ended the day at 360 for nine off 112 overs chasing a target of464. The hosts took away five points and the visitors fought hard for theirthree.Mumbai began the day needing nine wickets for an outright victory and Barodaneeded to survive 90 overs. The latter doing the same on a match saving inningsby stumper Mongia. Nayan Mongia proved the hero of the day battling for 203minutes for his unbeaten 41 runs. He played 117 balls with seven hits to thefence. Mongia and Valmik Buch added 48 runs off 12.3 overs for a crucial eighthwicket partnership. Buch lost his nerve in the 107th over and called for a nonexisting single, Mongia sent him back but it was too late as an accurate throwfrom Paras Mhambrey caught him short of his ground.Zaheer Khan joined Mongia at the fall of Buch’s wicket. He hung around for 3.4overs and looked to save the game. Mumbai bowlers toiled the whole day but wereunable top get the break throughs. The turning point of the match was providedby Sachin Tendulkar who bowled the second last over of the day. He cleaned outZaheer on the first ball, turning the tables around for Mumbai. It became aquestion of getting one wicket for Mumbai and surviving eleven balls for Baroda.Last man Sukhbir Singh held his nerve and Mongia saw the last over through toguide Baroda to a draw.Earlier in the day, Baroda resuming on 75 for one at the start on play on thelast day were comfortably placed at 249 for five off 79 overs at the teainterval. Opener Connor Williams played a patient and sensible innings. Hescored 81 off 193 balls. One drop Himanshu Jadhav was the other steadycontributor to the Baroda score card.Jadhav’s 41 came off 110 balls. Tushar Arothe chipped in with 59 off 100 balls.Ajit Agarkar had figures of three for 66, Robin Morris was the pick of thebowlers bagging four for 64 in the second innings. Morris ended with matchfigures of eight for 91.Sachin Tendulkar was awarded the Man of the Match award by MCA president ManoharJoshi at the prize distribution ceremony.

Michael Dighton, the Australian first-class batsman, will join Hampshire as a temporary replacement for Michael Clarke.Dighton, 28, has played 41 first-class games for Tasmania and Western Australia, and has scored over 2,000 runs at an average of just below 40. He is currently playing for Greenock in Scotland.Clarke, Hampshire’s second overseas player after Shane Warne, is in Australia’s one-day squad to play in Zimbabwe between June 6 and 12, and Dighton is expected to make his first appearance in the National League match against Kent on May 31 at The Rose Bowl.