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The company behind the Bermuda Classic, the veterans Twenty20 tournament held in April, has gone broke after it appeared that government decided not to increase the funding to the Get Fit Foundation (GFF).The Bermuda government gave more than $1 million last year to help underwrite the event, but it was last week reported that GFF were looking for an additional $3 million this year after reporting losses of around $700,000.A spokesman for the company said that without government backing, and with little corporate interest, there was no money left to pay the bills. He added: “As a result, the GEFF directors have no alternative than to work with legal advisors with a view to placing the company into the hands of the official receiver.”The Royal Gazette reported that a number of local firms were owed money by GFF, and it also claimed that the rental charges for the pitches had not been paid.Keith Pont, the former Essex fast bowler who headed the GFF, had claimed that a loss was expected in the first year, but only half the tickets were sold and expected corporate sponsorship did not materialise. He was unavailable for comment.

Chris Gayle’s management have retained the services of a “leading Australian media lawyer” with the intention of “immediately” launching defamation action against Fairfax Media over allegations that he indecently exposed himself to a woman in Sydney during the World Cup last year.The allegation arose following Gayle’s widely decried actions in an interview with the Ten Network sports presenter Mel McLaughlin while playing for the Melbourne Renegades in the Big Bash League.The Renegades fined Gayle $10,000 for the incident, and the Cricket Australia chief executive James Sutherland declared the West Indian opening batsman would be facing far more severe consequences if he transgressed further.It is believed a substantiation of Fairfax Media’s indecent exposure allegation against Gayle, which it claimed had taken place during a training session at the SCG before the start of the tournament, would be viewed by CA as sufficient cause to tear up his existing contract with the Renegades.Gayle would also be banished from playing for any club in the BBL – a competition designed in part to be a welcoming tournament for females – in the future.”Chris Gayle has strongly denied allegations first published by Fairfax Media that he indecently exposed himself to a woman during last year’s World Cup in Sydney,” Gayle’s manager Simon Auteri said in a statement.”Despite such denials Fairfax Media continues to publish the false and defamatory allegations which have received widespread re-publication in media throughout the world.”As a result Chris Gayle has retained Mark O’Brien, a leading Australian media lawyer to immediately commence defamation proceedings against Fairfax Media.”

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Identical scores of 84 from Denesh Ramdin and Daren Ganga helped Trinidad & Tobago knock down a target of 248 with little hassle in their opening KFC Cup match, and avenge their three-wicket loss to Barbados on Monday.Ramdin, opening the innings, added 147 – a second-wicket record – with Ganga, whose unbeaten innings earned him the Man-of-the-Match award, after William Perkins departed for four in the third over.Dwayne Bravo didn’t last long, nibbling Ryan Hinds’ left-arm spin to slip in the 32nd over, but Kieron Pollard scored a plucky 44-ball 46 to assist Ganga across the finish line. Dropped by rookie Kevin Stoute at long-off off Hinds when on 15, Pollard took 15 off Kemar Roach’s final over and hit the winning runs with 51 balls left.Half-centuries from Dwayne Smith, Dale Richards, and Patrick Browne lifted Barbados to 247 for 4 from their 50 overs after the hosts chose to bat. Smith led the way with a 68-ball 71 that included two fours and four sixes, while Richards and Browne, opening the batting, both scored 52 and in a record 102-run stand for their team. Bravo, Dave Mohammed and Sherwin Ganga were the only wicket-takers for T&T.
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Leeward Islands captain Sylvester Joseph’s unbeaten hundred couldn’t stop a top-heavy Jamaica batting order from sealing a five-wicket victory at St Mary’s Park. Joseph, 32, was at the centre of Leewards’ 232 for 6 but half-centuries from Brenton Parchment, Chris Gayle, Marlon Samuels and Tamar Lambert proved too much.Asked to bat first, Leewards were reeling at 82 for 5 before Joseph and Omari Banks, who continued his good form with 76, added 148. Joseph was in top form, collecting six fours and a six and reaching his hundred with a double off the last ball of the innings.Jamaica were given a solid start with Parchment (63) and Gayle (54) adding 103 for the first wicket. Gayle his eight fours in his 58-ball innings and Parchment six fours and three sixes. Wavell Hinds, the captain, came and went for 0 but Lambert, with an unbeaten 51 from 52 balls, and Samuels, with a 63-ball 50, added 85 for the fourth wicket. With 14 to win from 15 balls, Samuels departed, but Lambert stayed on until the end. Banks finished with two for 40 while medium pacer Gavin Tonge took 2 for 62.
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Liam Sebastian and Rawl Lewis combined for a 126-run fifth-wicket stand to overshadow Royston Crandon’s hundred as the Windward Islands brushed aside defending champions Guyana at St. George’s. Set 255 to win, Sebastien and Lewis came together at 140 for 4 in the 32nd over, and took the attack back to Guyana, Sebastian hitting an unbeaten 72 and Lewis hitting three sixes in a 47-ball 54.Opener Devon Smith (59 from 49 balls) got the innings off to a flier, adding 54 in six overs with a in the company of Andre Fletcher (21 from 12 balls). Lewis won the toss and inserted Guyana on a flat track and a fast outfield, and Croydon, with a superb 101, led a solid start with his captain Narsingh Deonarine (54) and Travis Dowlin (42). Crandon, 23, survived a chance to Lewis at cover when on 38, but moved past his fifty from 79 balls and slammed two sixes off Sebastian en route to three figures. Kenroy Peters was the Windwards best bowler with 3 for 56.

ScorecardFahad Masood’s fifty and three wickets went in vain•PCB

Shoaib Malik and Sheharyar Ghani scored fifties to chase Habib Bank Limited’s competitive target of 181 which meant Fahad Masood’s all-round performance went in vain.After Pakistan International Airlines chose to field, Habib Bank lost Imran Farhat after he struck three fours which was followed by a 101-run stand between Asad Baig and Masood. The pair batted for 12.2 overs, scoring at more than eight an over. Masood was dismissed for 64 which included eight fours and two sixes. Baig was joined by Hasan Raza and the two scored 60 off the last 32 balls to take them to 180. They were also aided by 20 extras.PIA were in trouble early, as three of their top four batsmen scored five runs in all. They were 7 for 2 after the first five balls and 29 for 3 in the fifth over. However, Malik and Ghani revived them by scoring 118 runs in only 12.3 overs. They needed 56 from the last five overs and when Malik was run-out for 78, they still needed 34 off 16. Anwar Ali was also run-out in the next over but Ghani scored 19 in the penultimate over and his unbeaten 71 ensured they won with two balls to spare. Masood took all three wickets that were taken by bowlers.
ScorecardState Bank of Pakistan (SBP) overcame a stop-start batting performance to beat Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) by three runs to record their first win of the Ramadan T20 Cup.Choosing to bat, SBP’s openers began brightly with Rameez Raja collecting a four off the first ball. But just as Raja and his opening partner Farrukh Shehzad were getting into their stride, Mohammad Mudassar accounted for both of them in successive overs to leave SBP at 36 for 2 in the sixth over. SBP flourished again with Adnan Raees and Usman Saeed as they added 52 runs off 38 balls, but both of them were removed in the 17th and 19th overs respectively. SBP lost a further three wickets in the last seven balls to score 139 in 20 overs. Zulfiqar Babar and Mudassar took three wickets apiece for WAPDA.WAPDA began well and had the target in sight even as late as the 12th over when left-arm spinner Mohammad Waheed turned the game around. Needing 70 runs off 51 balls with eight wickets in hand, the well-set Sohaib Maqsood was run out and Waheed capitalised by removing Mohammad Ayub and Saad Nasim to leave WAPDA at a precarious 92 for 5 in the 16th over. Ayaz Tasawwar came up with a threatening cameo but fell in the eighteenth over. With 12 needed off the last over, Rizwan Haider came up with two crucial dot balls to give away only eight and seal the win.

Ahead of what has all the makings of a competitive one-day international between India and Australia, Adam Gilchrist believes his side are well prepared. Australia were knocked out of the ICC World Twenty20 by India in a tight semi-final but as Gilchrist put it, there was no excuse here.”We’re very excited about it, it’s great to be here and having some cricket under out belts. We feel like we’ll be ready to go tomorrow,” he said before Australia’s practice session at the Chinnaswamy Stadium. “We have enough preparation leading into this series. We were probably caught short at the T20 tournament but there’s no excuse now. We know the conditions well here and with the amount of networking we’ve done we should be good to go.”Australia are without Ricky Ponting, Michael Hussey, Shane Watson and Nathan Bracken due to injuries and personal leave. According to Gilchrist this was the time for Australia to fall back on their greatest strength – depth. “We definitely have to rely on the depth in our squad. We have six changes in this, our first ODI since the World Cup, owing to retirement and injuries and babies being born. We’ve got a few new faces which not a lot of people would have seen a lot of, and we’re confident about them.”Australia have often engaged in a war of words before tough series. Ponting has said that the pressure is right back on India and the return of Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid might work in Australia’s favour as they’ve played against the three many times. Andrew Symonds too felt that there was too much celebration after India’s triumphant return from South Africa.Was this a deliberate plan? “No, it’s far from a plan to get verbal,” said Gilchrist. “There’s been a lot of focus on the fiery nature of the Indian players in that semi-final and I think they’re going to continue playing that like. And that’s fine; we expect that. If you don’t have a bit of fire in the belly as a fast bowler I think you’re already sort of half-knocked as a team. It doesn’t matter what you say, you’ve got to back it up with good cricket. And India did that throughout the T20 tournament. We’ve been doing that for the last ten years.”When questioned as to whether Australia saw any perceived threat from India, Gilchrist shot back his reply. “Definitely there’s plenty of threat. As you saw they knocked us out of the Twenty20 final,” he said. “They play with great passion and energy and they’ll be relying on all those same qualities in the next seven games. We’re expecting them to come out full of confidence and that’s a great challenge.”Gilchrist said he had a brief look at the surface and expected it to play out well for the batsmen and bowlers. “It has been a good track in the past. We’ve played Test and ODI cricket here and scored runs so we’ve got fond memories. It looks like it’ll come through nicely again.”If Australia are reading from their stand-in captain’s script, then its business as usual as the seven-match contest gets underway.

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The oldest batsman in the Test side showed he still knows how to make a huge score just a day after Dennis Lillee voiced concerns the ageing top order could cost Australia the Ashes. Justin Langer was unbeaten on 188 when he declared Western Australia’s first innings closed 200 runs short of Tasmania’s total as he pushed for an outright result at the WACA.With Tim Paine and Michael Bevan (46) flying in the second innings – Tasmania were 5 for 149 at stumps with a lead of 349 – both sides will be battling for victory on day four. Langer had also scored freely, bringing up his hundred in 140 balls, including 20 boundaries, before declaring at tea with the score 5 for 353.The runs continued to pile up quickly when Luke Ronchi joined Langer and smashed 47 not out from 29 balls, 30 of which came in the space of two overs. Ronchi, who reached 40 from only 18 deliveries, hit eight fours and a six in a breathtaking cameo.In the first session Shaun Marsh made 50 before he was the first man out on day three, trapped lbw by Brendan Drew. Brett Geeves then made inroads into the Warriors’ middle order with two wickets in an over.When Tasmania began their reply Paine built on his first-innings 215 by racing to 56 from 77 balls before he was out lbw attempting to sweep the left-arm spinner Aaron Heal. Heal also troubled Michael Bevan and Dan Marsh to collect 3 for 36 from ten overs.The Tigers selected their squad for the Ford Ranger Cup match against the Warriors on Friday. They made no changes to the side that lost to Queensland by nine wickets on October 11.Tasmania FR Cup squad Michael Di Venuto, Tim Paine, Travis Birt, George Bailey, Michael Bevan, Daniel Marsh (capt), Luke Butterworth, Brett Geeves, Brendan Drew, Adam Griffith, Xavier Doherty, Ben Hilfenhaus.Western Australia FR Cup Squad Luke Ronchi, Justin Langer (capt), Marcus North, Shaun Marsh, Adam Voges, Chris Rogers, Sean Ervine, Peter Worthington, Brett Dorey, Ben Edmondson, Steve Magoffin, Aaron Heal.

Ehsan Mani, the ICC president, has admitted that he is worried about the situation inside Zimbabwe but that the ICC has been assured by Peter Chingoka, Zimbabwe cricket’s chairman, that its concerns will be addressed.In an exclusive interview with Zimbabwe’s Independent newspaper, Mani continued to stress the ICC’s stance that this was fundamentally a domestic issue while admitting that the ICC would no longer remain totally on the sidelines.”The ICC is clearly very concerned about a range of cricket issues in Zimbabwe,” he said. “We recently met with Chingoka and outlined a series of outstanding concerns to him. In doing this it was also indicated that these concerns must be promptly and effectively addressed. Chingoka has committed to raising these concerns at the first board meeting of the new committee.””The board of Zimbabwe Cricket had clearly become dysfunctional; the board was divided and meetings were not being held to discuss issues of genuine concern to its stakeholders due to a lack of quorum. While there is an inevitable link between sport and politics – the two areas are intertwined throughout the world – the operations of our member boards must be motivated by an overriding duty to serve the best interests of the sport. [Chingoka] is aware of the ICC’s position in this respect.”With regards to the overtly racist comments made by the head of the Sports & Recreation Commission, the body that appointed the interim board headed by Chingoka and admitted to cleansing it of white and Asians, Mani was less forthcoming. “The ICC takes a very firm stance on the issue of racism on and off the field of play. For example, you will recall that when allegations of racism were raised by the Zimbabwe players in 2004 they were investigated by an independent dispute resolution tribunal. The concerns raised to Chingoka included a detailed discussion of the process through which the composition of the committee was determined. The ICC has made certain recommendations on the composition of the Interim Committee so that it includes stakeholders from all the communities in Zimbabwe. We await the response of the interim committee.”That interim committee remains a problem in that it is headed by Chingoka, the man the players and many stakeholders wanted removed over allegations that there was widespread financial mismanagement. “The ICC has called on the committee to deal with these allegations in a transparent and open manner,” Mani argued. “Once this has been addressed, necessary action must also be taken to effectively deal with any issues that are identified.”

Trevor Bayliss, Sri Lanka’s new coach, believes that his teams attacking style of cricket would suit them in the upcoming Twenty20 World Championship in South Africa.”Sri Lanka hasn’t played a lot of Twenty20 cricket. But the style of cricket they play can be suited to the Twenty20 game. Sri Lanka is a team that plays an attacking style of the game. With a bit of experience and playing a few practice games, I am hoping the players can learn fairly quickly. I’m confident that we can give a good showing.”Bayliss who coached New South Wales before taking up the Sri Lanka job, had his first session with the national team today.”They are a bright bunch of guys and very friendly people. Before we came here everyone was telling us how good these guys were, lovely people, hard trainers and hard workers. Certainly that’s what we got this morning. I am looking forward to working with them.””The opportunity to coach an international team and also a very successful one at that, was no contest. It’s a dream, I suppose, where you can reach the top in whatever endeavours that you try. I am very happy and honoured that I’ve been given the opportunity to coach the Sri Lankan cricket team,” Bayliss said.Bayliss admitted that he had spoken to Tom Moody, whom he succeeded as coach, on several occasions. “We have got a fairly similar views on the way cricket should be played and the way it should be taken forward. Not a lot will change in the process. Sri Lanka has been very successful in their last 18 months. I don’t want to change too much but continue along those lines. If one or two small things come up we will make the appropriate changes”.”Tom’s opinion of the team was that they were a bunch of guys, very talented, easy to work with and easy to talk to. They play an attacking style of cricket similar to Australia. From that point of view and coming from Australia, there won’t be a big change in the way we are going,” Bayliss said, adding that he would be quite happy for the selectors to select the team and for him to coach it.”Before the match starts, Mahela (Jayawardene) and I will be able to give our views. The attitude I had in New South Wales when I was coaching was the same thing. I didn’t actually have a vote on the selections, but the one rule we put in place for the players was that there should be no whinging. Whatever you have been dealt, just get on with it.”Along with Bayliss, assistant coach Paul Farbrace and trainer Jade Roberts also had an interaction with the media.Bayliss, who had a hand in the appointment of Farbrace, said: “Paul is a coach who knows his stuff and is a very hard worker. He is also a guy whom I will be able to get on with. He’s probably got a similar personality and similar views on the way the game should be played. I think it is important that the two of us should work together.”Farbrace, who was the coaching director at Kent before joining the Sri Lanka team, was upbeat about his new job. “To work with Trevor and the other guys here, it really wasn’t a contest. It’s an exciting opportunity. You don’t very often get the chance to work with exciting teams who are playing good cricket.””Normally in sport you go with things like ‘perhaps I am doing well’ but that’s when things change. This time it is an opportunity to handle a side and an excellent set up. I really want to get into and get stuck in.”Roberts, who is also a dietician, said he would rely on the players to be professional. “I’ve talked to the guys and my opinion is they are a very professional outfit. It’s really upto them.”The three newcomers will join physio Tommy Simsek in the support staff. Simsek is the only remaining member of the Sri Lanka coaching staff from the 2007 World Cup.

Following New Zealand’s exit from the World Cup semi-final, Stephen Fleming, the Test captain, is hopeful their coach John Bracewell will stay on after his contract expires next month. “I think Braces should stay on, I think he’s a fine coach, he’s worked well with this side,” Fleming said in The Press.Bracewell, who is expected to submit a detailed performance appraisal of the squad to New Zealand Cricket (NZC), said a review of the World Cup campaign would determine his future. He was recently under-fire from Martin Crowe, the former New Zealand captain, who suggested that he should resign.However, Bracewell hasn’t given any indication he would join the mass exodus of international coaches and said the priority would be to sort out the player contracts for the forthcoming season. “Once we’ve gone through that review process I’ll make that decision on whether to continue, or that decision will be made for me,” Bracewell told .”Ric Charlesworth [the NZC high performance manager] has a lot of things on the table when we get back in terms of the development plan. We have a month of hard cricket ahead of us, not in terms of playing, but players’ contracts have to be sorted out. There’s a lot of work to do.”New Zealand impressed through the group stages but faltered towards the end of the event. They were exposed in all departments in the semi-final against Sri Lanka, raising questions about their ability to lift their performance in knock-out games. This was their fifth semi-final loss in World Cup history.Though NZC were non committal on Bracewell’s future, Justin Vaughan, the newly-appointed chief executive, was also hopeful that he would continue. He said the off-season would be ideal time for the players to reflect on their performances. “They have been going at it since the series against Sri Lanka in December so they deserve the chance to sit back and reflect on things,” Vaughan said.Reflecting on his side’s showing in the tournament, Bracewell said they had performed above expectations, but admitted they were completely undone by a far superior side in the semi-final. “We were as well prepared as any side that’s has been put together,” he said. “We really have to put our hands up and say we didn’t perform on the day. A good dose of Test cricket will do us the world of good – players like Ross Taylor and Peter Fulton need it to continue their development.”

Zimbabwe Cricket has announced a revised domestic cricket structure that will see five national select sides play in a national league competition beginning next season.Five new sides – , the national team, Zimbabwe A, a Board XI, Zimbabwe Development and the National Academy – will take part. At a meeting on Friday, ZC said the objective of the new national league format was ”to create a professional, well organised and competitive domestic league that is free from individual politics”.It continued: ”The technical challenges being faced by ZC today relate to the lack of a clearly defined technical structure. ZC needs to put in place a technical structure that is well defined in terms of role with clear and defined outputs in order to measure performance.”It is against this background that a workshop on structure development is required before the onset of the 2006-07 season. This workshop will deal with issues of communication, job descriptions, politicking among others.”Meanwhile, the Logan Cup, the country’s first-class tournament, is set to resume with three new sides. Although Manicaland and Midlands remain as they were, the two old provinces of Mashonaland and Matabeleland have been disbanded and their places will be taken by Harare Metropolitan and Bulawayo Metropolitan. The fifth side will be Masvingo. “What will happen is that the smaller provinces will be swallowed up by these five for the Logan Cup,” source said. “With time, they say, they will become independent and play on their own.”ZC came under intense fire after it failed to stage the Logan Cup in 2005-06. At the time a spokesman insisted that it had merely been postponed and that the seasons had been rejigged.Cricinfo first broke the story that the board was planning the domestic overhaul earlier in the year.