This weekend’s Round 2 of the Sydney Grade cricket competition provides a huge opportunity for players to make an impression with the NSW selectors, before the Speedblitz Blues commence their Pura Cup-ING Cup defence on 26 October in Bowral.Mark Waugh will again lead Bankstown, this time against local rivals St George at Bankstown Oval. He will be ably supported by former NSW all-rounder Scott Thompson, who has returned to Bankstown after a three-year stint with the Dragons. Both clubs were Round 1 losers.Eastern Suburbs’ Brad Haddin will also battle his former club, Northern District, at Waitara Oval. Blues all-rounder Dominic Thornely will look to spoil Haddin’s return, and lead Districts against a Dolphins outfit buoyed by its first-up success against last year’s finalists Penrith.Another highlight of the round is exciting Blues openers Michael Slater’s clash with three former NSW pace bowlers, when University of NSW hosts Mosman at Village Green. Phil Alley, Trent Johnston and Warwick Adlam will be eager to claim Slater’s wicket, and reinvigorate their representative careers.At Petersham Oval, Simon Katich will look to post back-to-back centuries as the Randy Petes take on Campbelltown-Camden, boosted by the return of Brett van Deinsen. Katich was in brilliant touch against Manly-Warringah last week, after gaining Hampshire CCC’s Player of the Year award in the English summer.In other matches- Blacktown v Manly-Warringah at Joe McAleer; Fairfield-Liverpool v Penrith at Rosedale; Gordon v Parramatta at Killara; Hawkesbury v Sydney University at Owen Earle; UTS-Balmain v North Sydney at Drummoyne; Western Suburbs v Sutherland at Pratten.

Just a few places LEFTIf you still haven’t confirmed your participation, here’s your invitationCARCAMANES CRICKET FESTIVALBuenos Aires – ArgentinaSaturday 28th February to Friday 5th March, 2004We have great pleasure in inviting you, along with your team/club and/or a select group of “experienced” cricketers, to visit Argentina and take part in the 1st Carcamanes Cricket Festival for over 40’s in the magical city of Buenos Aires.The Festival will take place from Saturday 28th February to Friday 5th March 2004, and will be hosted by the Argentine Cricket Association.The only necessary qualification is that all players should be at least 40 years young!This event will be an unforgettable and wonderful experience, combining the fun and friendship of cricket with the exhilirating atmosphere of South America. Each team will play a minimum of three matches, plus have plenty of time for other activities like golf, sight-seeing and shopping.Christian TunonEvent ManagerCarcamanes Cricket FestivalBuenos Aires, Argentina 2004E – Mail: [email protected] (54-11) 4968-3232

Subrata Guha, the former Indian swing bowler, died in Mumbai following a massive heart attack early this morning. He was 57.Guha was an accurate right-arm medium-pace bowler who could swing the ball both ways, but his Test appearances were limited. Guha played only four Tests for India, in the late 1960s. He finished with three wickets at an unflattering 103.67, and 17 runs at 3.40. His best bowling was 2 for 55 – the wickets of Paul Sheahan and John Gleeson – at Kanpur in 1969-70.He made his presence felt when he took 11 wickets in the match to bowl an unfancied combined Central & East Zone team to a shock victory over the all-conquering West Indian side in 1966-67. But he had a nightmarish start to his Test career, when he sent down 48 overs and conceded 115 runs without taking a wicket against England at Headingley in 1967.In the Ranji Trophy, however, Guha was a pillar of strength for Bengal for over a decade, and took 209 wickets at 14.61, with a best return of 7 for a8 against Assam at Gauhati in 1972-73. In his first-class career, Guha captured 299 wickets at an average of 20.29.

Kapil Dev and Arun Lal have voiced their displeasure over the manner in which the Indian board has dealt with Abhijit Kale in the bribery scandal. Kale has been suspended pending an investigation for allegedly offering money to two selectors for a place in the Indian team.Kapil said: “If he is not proven guilty, I wonder how the BCCI will compensate him.” The BCCI has ordered a probe into the cash-to-play scandal and will meet in an emergency session in New Delhi on Sunday to discuss the case.Kapil questioned the decision to ban Kale from playing before the investigation was complete. He added, “I feel for the young man. I’ve been through all this and support Kale completely.”Arun Lal, now secretary of the Indian Cricket Players Association, hoped that Kale would get adequate legal support.Lal said,”He is an integral part of Indian cricket and therefore it’s only fair the BCCI appoint a lawyer for the accused as well.”

Heath Streak, Zimbabwe’s captain, believes one-day internationals should consider new rules and fresh ideas to maximise its interest and appeal.Talking ahead of Zimbabwe’s opening game of the VB Series against Australia at Sydney on Sunday, Streak said: “One-day cricket is a fantastic advert for the game, but there is a risk that unless a tight finish is involved, the game can be predictable for players and fans.”Spectators now have dozens of sports and entertainment to choose from on their TV screens, so cricket has to find a way of holding its own in a crowded market.”Streak had a few ideas of his own on how to shake things up a bit. “For example, as a captain, I’d support the idea of being able to change the current fielding restrictions from the first 15 overs of a match, when you have to have two catchers and only two fielders outside of the circle.”If I could use the 15 overs in blocks of, say, five overs each, it would allow me to experiment more with my bowlers and have new options to try in the field. That might help change the quiet period you often get in games between overs 16 and 40.”He also suggested the introduction of international Twenty20 cricket, the 20-over format introduced in England last season. “We saw the instant impact that Twenty20 cricket had in England when we toured there in the last northern summer,” he said. “Perhaps the ICC could experiment with an international version of Twenty20, which I think would pull in spectators and be an attractive formula for telecasters.”Streak, who has played 172 one-dayers for Zimbabwe, warned that the game needs to keep coming up with new ideas. “With 11 countries playing limited-overs internationals there is plenty of scope to experiment with some fresh thinking,” he said. “Cricket needs to find a way of keeping itself attractive and interesting. Test cricket should always be there as the purest form of the game, but one-day internationals provide the perfect opportunity for some creative thinking.”

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has announced its decision to send a three-man team to Pakistan in the first week of February to assess the security arrangements for India’s tour in March. Jagmohan Dalmiya, talking about this delegation, said, “we have to rely on specialists.”The only security specialist among the three people named, though, is Yasovardhan Azad, an inspector general of police for VIP security, who has been nominated by the ministry of home affairs. The other two members of the delegation are Ratnakar Shetty, BCCI’s joint secretary, and Amrit Mathur, the director, communications.

Derbyshire have signed James Bryant, the former Somerset batsman, on a two-year contract. The deal was originally agreed back in September last year, but only sealed this week.Bryant, 27 and born in South Africa, had a disappointing last season for Somerset, averaging under 30. However, he has impressed for Eastern Province, the South African domestic side this winter, scoring 163 and two half-centuries.Bryant, whose parents were born in the UK, qualifies as a domestic player after he granted a British passport last year.

Marvan Atapattu has, as expected, been named as Sri Lanka’s new Testcaptain. The 33-year-old Atapattu took over the one-day leadership 12 monthsago but will now inherit control of the Test team too after the resignationof Hashan Tillakaratne following Sri Lanka’s 3-0 whitewash byAustralia.Atapattu’s first assignment will be a tour to Zimbabwe in April and May, during which they will play five ODIs and two Tests. Atapattu’s deputy will be named later, but Mahela Jayawardene, the current one-day vice-captain, is expected to be appointed.Atapattu’s appointment is subject to ratification by the government, inaccordance with Sri Lanka’s sports law.

ScorecardAfter 14 wickets fell on a jittery opening day, Namibia and Uganda’s batsmen were more settled second-time around, as their Intercontinental Cup clash built towards an intriguing final day. By the close, Namibia were 130 for 2 in their second innings, and led by 21 runs after conceding a lead of 109.Overnight, Uganda had been a shaky 90 for 4 in reply to Namibia’s 165, but Nand Kishar top-scored with 74, and F Nsubuga contributed a vital 62 from No. 8 – an innings which included 10 hard-hit boundaries. Although they lost their last three wickets for two runs, Uganda’s total of 274 looked to be a platform from which to force victory.But Namibia knuckled down in their second innings, with Danny Keulder and JM van der Merwe wiping out the deficit with a stand of 111. But, just when Namibia were had half an eye on the close of play, both men fell within ten runs of each other. Uganda will need to wrap up the remaining eight wickets in quick time if they are to secure victory.

Sourav Ganguly has dropped a hint that he may be thinking of pushing himself up the order in one-day internationals, to open the batting, once again, for India. Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag are currently India’s one-day openers, but Ganguly has suggested that those two spots are not fixed, and form will play a large part in determining who opens for India.Speaking to the news channel, NDTV, Ganguly said, “It could be between Sachin, Sehwag and myself. I have played as an opener in one-day cricket for some time. We need to work on it. Sehwag stands well as an opener at the moment, but whoever is in good form at that stage will open.”Ganguly and Tendulkar were India’s regular opening pair for a few years, until Tendulkar missed out on a triangular in Sri Lanka, the Coca Cola Cup, in 2001. Yuvraj Singh and Sehwag were both tried as openers in his place, and Sehwag seized the day with an explosive 70-ball 100 in a crucial game against New Zealand.Tendulkar was later demoted down the order, in a controversial move aimed at strengthening the middle order. The logic behind it was that India, then, had a problem finishing matches, and it seemed to make sense that their best batsman should fill that lacuna. But almost as soon as the tactical shift was made, voila, the finishers appeared, making Tendulkar’s new role virtually redundant. Yuvraj, Rahul Dravid and Mohammad Kaif demonstrated this by playing magnificently in the NatWest Trophy in 2002, with Yuvraj and Kaif sealing a remarkable win in the final, chasing 326 successfully after India were 146 for 5.Deprived of the position where he was most comfortable, Tendulkar appeared unhappy, and India went through a bad run of games starting from the 2002-2003 series against New Zealand, where they lost the one-dayers 2-5. By the time the World Cup came around, Tendulkar was back where he was most comfortable – at the top of the order. His spectacular form propelled India to the final, with his memorable 98 against Pakistan regarded as one of the great one-day innings. Tendulkar finished on top of the run-scoring list in the World Cup, with 673 runs at 61 – and Ganguly, who had batted in the middle order, came second, with 465 at 58.As the year closed, Ganguly lost his No. 3 position as well, with VVS Laxman striking a fine vein of form in that position in the VB Series. For a batsman with a penchant for innings building, and a hunger for big scores, it wasn’t quite the ideal position, so Ganguly’s comments, in that light, come as no surprise. But Tendulkar will clearly not be inclined to give up his position, and Sehwag has lived up to his potential at the top of the order as well.Ganguly has opened for India in 192 one-dayers, and averages 42.52, with 19 centuries and 44 half-centuries. Sehwag has opened for India in 70 one-day internationals, averaging 38.4, with six hundreds and 11 fifties. But Tendulkar’s record at that position comfortably surpasses that of his team-mates; in the 223 games he has opened in, he has scored over 10,000 runs, with 34 centuries and 48 fifties, at an average of 49.66.