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Sri Lankan cricket authorities have confirmed that they have written to the ICC expressing concern over the conduct of Chris Broad, the match referee for the recent series against Australia.According to the state-run Sunday Observer, Broad was allegedly found “boozing with Australian cricketers during the February-March series, which Sri Lanka Cricket claimed is gross misconduct in breach of the ICC rules”.Broad, the former England opener, was in charge for the series and reported Muttiah Muralitharan’s action to the ICC, claiming that it was suspect.Mohan de Silva, the board president, insisted that the letter was an informal way of making the ICC aware of its feelings on the matter. “We have brought to the notice of the ICC his [Broad’s] general conduct,” de Silva said on Sunday. “It is not a formal protest or a complaint, but a letter to keep the ICC informed. We feel it is part of our responsibility.”Meanwhile, Bruce Elliott’s biomechanics team at the University of Western Australia has concluded that Muralitharan should be allowed to continue using his doosra until the completion of further biomechanical research into slow bowling.

Only a miracle can save New Zealand’s World Cup now after a poor 47-run loss to Sri Lanka in their opening game at Bloemfontein.Worst of all, the batting woes of the home summer were exported with the side to South Africa.Only Scott Styris’ 141 off 125 runs, the second highest score by a New Zealander after Glenn Turner’s 171 not out against East Africa, was anywhere near representative of the batting ability in the side.But having to chase 273 to win, the appalling start made it all but impossible. No side can afford the carnage New Zealand experienced in its top-order. All the hope and expectation lay in tatters by game’s end.Nathan Astle 0, Stephen Fleming one, Craig McMillan three.New Zealand 15 for three wickets says it all.The first wicket lost from a suicidal run out of Astle’s choice, and two more examples of wooden shots played by leaden footed top-order batsmen Fleming and McMillan.A pitch tailor-made for run scoring, as Styris and Sanath Jayasuriya proved.Jayasuriya scored 120 off 125 balls but New Zealand started this run chase in the most important match of their World Cup campaign with an attitude as carefree as if it was going to be a dawdle in the park.The only dawdle was for the Sri Lankan bowling attack.Styris offered defiance of the type expected from all members of the side to achieve a fine maiden One-Day International century off 104 balls, a perfectly-paced innings but which went largely unsupported.The looseness in thinking from the batsmen should not have been a surprise, it was evident throughout New Zealand’s bowling effort.Had it not been for the employment of Astle as the seventh bowler, who was basically asked to put seven stitches in the artery of cheap runs that had haemorrhaged, and Jacob Oram, whose 10 overs cost only 37 runs, Sri Lanka would surely have scored 320.Having chosen to bowl first, Fleming would have had to be disappointed with his bowlers.Certainly there was frustration over umpire Neil Mallender’s failure to give out Jayasuriya to what was a blatant catch behind from Daryl Tuffey’s bowling when he had scored only 14.But to see Tuffey go for 36 runs from his five overs, and for Andre Adams see his first three balls despatched to the boundary en route to 58 off his nine overs was not, surely, in Plan A, B or C.From the moment the team for this vital match against Sri Lanka was named there was a nervousness about how New Zealand were attempting to play this game.It is difficult to understand why it was decided to reduce the effectiveness of one area of consistency in the New Zealand side this summer, the fielding in the circle. Lou Vincent is crucial to that strength because of the sheer dynamism he gives the side.To ask him to take the wicket-keeping gloves is to reduce one outstanding strength of the side, while also reducing the effectiveness of the ‘keeper.And his batting was ineffectual facing only three balls before attempting a cut shot as loose in its way as the dismissals of the top order.For all the talk about having batting length, it proved a false claim, a dream shattered. No side can afford to lose two of its batsmen after 1.5 overs, and certainly not three by 5.3 overs.Apart from the softness of the top-order dismissals, Chris Cairns will have nightmares about offering Aravinda de Silva an easy return catch while Chris Harris and Oram were too easily undone by Muttiah Muralitharan and Adams’ mid-wicket blast was desperation plus.The selectors have some work to do because if New Zealand’s lack of ODI success in South Africa is growing longer, the prospect of beating South Africa, a South Africa who will be equally desperate for success, has suddenly assumed huge proportions.Will there be blood on the floor in the aftermath of this loss?Something certainly has to happen if the slight crack in the Super Six door is to be pushed open a little.

A cricket stadium at par with international standards will come up in Jaipur, the Rajashtan local Self-Government Minister Shanti Dhariwal said on Thursday. The Jaipur Development Authority had agreed in principle to provide land to the Rajasthan Cricket Association for construction of the stadium after the BCCI made a request for this, he told reporters.The proposed stadium would host only international cricket matches, he said, adding that the RCA would spend Rs six crore for its construction.

‘Reece Oxford’ was towards the top of Twitter’s trending lists prior to West Ham’s opening game of the Premier League campaign at Arsenal, and for good reason.The 16-year old was drafted in by new Hammers gaffer Slaven Bilic to feature in the midfield along sideÂMark Noble and Cheik Kouyate in what is a massive leap of faith from the Croat – particularly given the array of talented opposition he’ll have to face at the Emirates Stadium.

Follow all the action on our LIVE Arsenal vs West Ham blog

The debut caps a remarkable few months for the Academy product after starring in preseason and being handed his full senior debut in the Europa League qualifier versus FC Lusitans.

Here’s what the internet made of it all…

Sri Lanka Cricket has sold broadcast rights for the forthcoming three-Test series against India to Sony for $3.25 million – a $1.85 million increase from the bid the board had originally received from Ten Sports. As part of the new deal, SLC advanced the tour by six days, and moved the third Test from Pallekele to the SSC in Colombo, as Kandy was deemed too prone to rain to host a match in late August. Kumar Sangakkara’s farewell Test, meanwhile, was confirmed for the P Sara Oval in Colombo.

India’s schedule in Sri Lanka

Aug 6-8 Warm-up game v SL Chairman’s XI, R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo
Aug 12-16 1st Test, Galle
Aug 20-24 2nd Test, P Sara Oval, Colombo
Aug 28-Sep 1 3rd Test, SSC, Colombo

The new figure remained well short of what SLC had originally expected, with a three-Test series against India usually worth more than $5 million. However, the increase came as some relief to the board, which has had payments from the ICC in escrow since April, and has additionally begun expensive infrastructure upgrades at Khettarama Stadium.The first Test in Galle had been scheduled to begin on August 18, but has been brought forward to avoid a clash with Sri Lanka’s general elections, which are set for August 17. India are also likely to play a warm-up match in Colombo before the Tests begin.SLC had expressed dismay in the original bid from Ten Sports, its usual broadcaster, before negotiating with other companies for an increase. The board has an ongoing seven-year deal with Ten Sports but this tour was sold separately because it had not appeared as a home series in the Future Tour Programme. These Tests were meant to be played in India, but the previous board had negotiated for them to be brought to Sri Lanka, in exchange for an impromptu five-ODI series in India last year.

Marcus Trescothick’s return to international cricket could come a step closer this week when David Graveney, the chairman of selectors, speaks to him about being available for the Twenty20 World Championships in South Africa.Trescothick hasn’t played for England since mid-way through last season’s one-day series against Pakistan. After the third match at The Rose Bowl he announced he wouldn’t be available for the Champions Trophy. However, he was selected for the Ashes tour before having to return home two weeks into the trip.Since then he’s returned to action for Somerset and has struck 715 runs at 65 in the County Championship including a career-best 284 against Northamptonshire. With England’s top-order struggling in one-day cricket the calls for Trescothick’s recall have been growing louder, but there has been understandable caution from all parties.Trescothick was named in the England Performance Squad at the start of the summer, but now though the selectors’ hands are going to be forced because a 30-man preliminary squad for the Twenty20 needs to be named by Wednesday.Graveney told the : “We have to name our preliminary squad by Wednesday. We want to be able to consider Marcus and I will be contacting him to find out where he stands.”Peter Moores, the England coach, added: “Watch this space. Marcus is a very good one-day player and when we announce that 30, if he’s in it, you will know the time is right for him to come back in.”England’s series defeat against West Indies again highlighted how much they miss Trescothick’s experience in the top order. In 123 ODIs he has 12 centuries; the England side at Trent Bridge had nine in total, split between two players – Kevin Pietersen and Paul Collingwood.England shared the Twenty20 series against West Indies 1-1 and Moores said he hadn’t ruled out drafting in specialist players who have succeeded in county cricket.”The challenge with the schedules is fitting everything in but we will pick what we think is the best team to win that tournament,” he said. “We will be very keen to go there and win it and that could be a mixture, it could be the same team, we are moving on all the time with those discussions.Names such as Darren Maddy and Mal Loye have been mentioned for the top order while a number of spinners, including Leicestershire’s Jeremy Snape and Surrey’s Nayan Doshi have been successful.”The first job is to pick the 30 players we can select those from,” added Moores. “If you are a good one-day player you are going to become a good Twenty20 player. When you shorten games it just tends to heighten the skill levels needed. People say Twenty20 is a bit of a lottery but it is certainly not a lottery, it is a skillful game that you need a high level of skill to be successful in.”The trip to South Africa would last a maximum of 16 days if England reach the final and it starts on September 11, three days after the final ODI against India. England’s first match is against Zimbabwe, in Cape Town, on September 13.

ScorecardWest Indies A’s match against Leicestershire at Grace Road petered out to a draw as the home side batted through the last day to save the game.In fairness, there was little else Darren Maddy could do after Leicestershire conceded a first-innings lead of 144 and then slid to 51 for 3, with Darren Sammy grabbing two wickets. However, life wasn’t especially testing for the batsmen as Omari Banks and Ryan Hinds, the two spinners, failed to find the right line or produce much turn.Maddy – who is struggling to hold down a place in the Championship team – and Tom New added 162 for the fourth wicket to snuff out the tourists’ chances of victory, and by the time Sammy returned to remove Maddy, the game was as good as over.New was within sight of a maiden hundred when he fell to Dwayne Smith, and after that there were not even personal milestones to enliven the tedium.

The Western Australia Cricket Association has announced a 29-man squad for the forthcoming season, with Justin Langer – when not on national duty – continuing to lead the side. Of the players chosen, six are on Cricket Australia contracts, 18 have full contracts with the state side, and five are rookies.Two rookies under the spotlight will be Sam Howman, a right-arm medium-pace bowler from Subiaco-Floreat, and Liam Davis, an aggressive opening batsman from Scarborough.Wayne Clark will continue as coach, having previously coached the team to two Sheffield Shield titles. New arrivals include Sean Irvine, the former Zimbabwe international, and Steve Magoffin from Queensland. Jo Angel and Paul Wilson, two stalwarts of the domestic scene over the past decade, have retired.Cricket Australia Contracted Players for 2004-05 Justin Langer (capt), Michael Hussey, Brad Hogg, Adam Gilchrist, Damien Martyn and Brad Williams.Senior Contracted Players for 2004-05 Ryan Campbell, Beau Casson, Michael Clark, Ben Edmondson, Sean Ervine, Murray Goodwin, Kade Harvey, Sam Howman, Steve Magoffin, Shaun Marsh, Scott Meuleman, Marcus North, Chris Rogers, Luke Ronchi, Craig Simmons, Adam Voges, Darren Wates and Peter Worthington.Rookie Contracted Players for 2004-05 Justin Coetzee, Liam Davis, Aaron Heal, Steven Jacques and Andrew James.

On Pakistan’s bowling problems in the ODIs and the first Test
We have had some problems with our bowling and we haven’t bowled well thus far. The discipline continues to be a bit weak. We improved on the second day considerably and I thought we were unlucky. The fielding has been poor in this game. A long bowl will help us in a way, because it gave the bowlers a chance to get their rhythm back. The Indians stuck to a line and length and they bowled well.On the pitch
We want to play on positive, sporting pitches. These types of wickets do not suit us or help us to play positive cricket. Our attack consists of pace bowlers, not seamers, so we would like hard and bouncy pitches. There was communication between the team management and the curator as regards the pitch, but that type of wicket obviously couldn’t be produced.On the need for a bowling coach
If spinners don’t bowl well, do we then need a spinning coach as well? How many coaches do we need? If a team doesn’t perform well once or twice, it doesn’t suddenly mean that we need all sorts of coaches.On saving the match
It is difficult but if we continue to bat as we did today, when we were attacking, we can do it. There is still a lot of life in the match. Our batting has been good throughout the series and we performed well today – 364 for 6 isn’t such a bad score, it just seems small against a score of nearly 700. Razzaq, who batted well, is still there and Saqlain and Sami can bat. We need 111 runs to save the follow-on and if we bat like this tomorrow, I am confident we can save the match.On Yasir Hameed and the nervous nineties
If he keeps getting nineties all the time, I won’t be too displeased. He played well today, but maybe he gets nervous when he gets close to the century. If so, then he needs to work on that.On debatable dismissals … like his and Yousuf Youhana’s
All the batsmen were well set when they got out, so it was very disappointing. I can’t say anything about the dismissals, but you have all seen the TV replays so it is up to you to decide whether or not they were debatable.On Saqlain’s poor performance, and an extra spinner
He has been out for some time but he tried very hard on a very flat pitch. Let’s see what happens in the remainder of the match. An extra spinner would not have made much of a difference on what is a batting paradise.On not congratulating Sehwag, and Tendulkar’s near-miss
All the players did congratulate Sehwag on his effort, but I will do it now officially: Congratulations Virender Sehwag, on your magnificent triple-hundred! [Referring to Tendulkar:] Every team plays to its own plans. If someone was so close in my team, I would let them bat on for the double-century.

The 2003 World Cup finally gets underway on Saturday with the opening ceremony at Cape Town. This after all the uncertainly that seems to have gripped the game ever since the ICC Champions Trophy last September. Unfortunately, that element of uncertainty still continues with New Zealand’s reluctance to play in Kenya, and England’s confusion over playing in Zimbabwe.Despite all this, I don’t think that there will be another World Cup, which will be as hyped as the current one. In fact, all the controversies leading up to this World Cup – be it the one over the player’s contract or the morality behind playing in Zimbabwe – have only helped to sustain this unprecedented media hype. In hindsight, perhaps it is only a reflection of our times that such tangential things are made to sound more important than the real event – the game itself.

With such uncertainty surrounding this World Cup, it becomes extremely difficult to predict a front-runner who will go on to win the World Cup. Had this been a World Cup for Test Cricket, well, I wouldn’t have thought twice before saying Australia. But when it comes to the ODI World Cup, I have serious doubts about whether Ricky Ponting has it in him to pull off what Steve Waugh would have definitely delivered as a captain.As for hosts South Africa, their record of having choked on numerous vital occasions goes against them. No doubt they play brilliant cricket, but the South Africans are past masters in putting themselves under tremendous pressure even when the going is great. Add to that the pressure of expectations of being the host country and it is tough to be optimistic of their chances.When it comes to India, my heart will understandably always beat for them. As always the key to their success will lie in their ability to convert the surplus potential energy to kinetic. Their batting is the most potent in world cricket if it starts firing. But therein lies the whole problem – ‘if only India play well’.The Achilles heel of Sourav Ganguly’s men has always been their inability to play to a plan. Take the case of Sehwag for instance. There is no batsman in world cricket today who is as exhilarating as him; the fiery opener can win a match on his own with his batting. But the hit-or-miss element of his exuberant batting, and the woeful run of form of Ganguly, could expose India’s batting line-up to some world-class fast bowling during the course of the World Cup.As we all know, one-day cricket is more or less a batsman’s game. This being the case, a team like India just can’t plan to set a target or chase a total with their uncertain batting. If they are to win games against serious opponents in this World Cup, it would be thanks to the individual brilliance of a Sachin Tendulkar, Yuvraj Singh or Sehwag. The confusion in the Indian team when it comes to planning can be easily made out from the fact that they are willing to sacrifice a bowler to pack in seven batsmen. So much so for a team that has a famed batting line-up.

And it is the lack of that one bowler, which worries me the most. Apart from Zaheer Khan, I just can’t see any other attacking bowler in the Indian line-up. Whether India will play Harbhajan Singh ahead of Anil Kumble also seems uncertain at the moment.If you ask me, the absence of a fifth bowler surely is the destabilising factor that India will have to deal with. In the circumstances, I reckon someone like Sehwag will have to play a crucial role as an off-spinner and claim wickets in the middle overs.A quality all-rounder would definitely have boosted India’s prospects in this World Cup. But let us face the truth; India does not have an all-rounder who can score runs when it matters and also claim crucial wickets. The all-rounder is the pivotal man, one who contributes to a team’s success when the going really gets tough. Look at someone like Brad Hogg who scored 70-odd runs when Australia were struggling against England in the VB Series final.On rational assessment, it is none of the above teams but New Zealand whom I rate as having a very good chance of winning this World Cup. It is quite another matter if the Kiwis decide to shoot themselves in the foot by not playing in Kenya. But if New Zealand qualify to the Super Sixes, they have the best chance of going the distance and taking the World Cup home. And Chris Cairns could well be their man of the tournament.

It certainly is not a wild guess that I am making. In Stephen Fleming, New Zealand have the best captain in the competition. In my book, he ranks just below Steve Waugh, who is arguably the best captain in world cricket today.As a team, New Zealand are super-efficient. Put in a thinking captain like Fleming, match-winners like Cairns and Nathan Astle, genuinely wicket-taking bowlers like Shane Bond, Daryl Tuffey, the best left-arm spinner in the world today, Daniel Vettori, that quintessential superman Chris Harris and you certainly have a team capable of winning the World Cup.My mind, then, says New Zealand, while my heart says India will win the World Cup. That said, whoever wins the tournament will certainly be a worthy champion.On a sad note, this World Cup will be the last one featuring Allan Donald, Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath, Muttiah Muralitharan and others. But the beauty of the game of cricket is that worthy champions will emerge. Personally, I would advise you to keep an eye on this chap from West Indies – Marlon Samuels.