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‘Merlin’, the spin-bowling machine, had a part to play in England combating Shane Warne during the 2005 Ashes; now, stick cricket seems to be aiding England’s batsmen against India.In the nets, Ian Bell – England’s top scorer in each of the three games so far – has been using a bat two-and-a-half-inches wide and the rest of the team has gradually started trying this innovation. Manufactured by , it weighs as much as a regular bat but is no wider than a baseball bat, square rather than round.James Cornford, the director of the company – a one-man team as of now – provided the England team with a few samples during the Test series. During the Oval Test, Bell sought one that was customised for his needs.”Ian seemed to like it and he wanted one made for him,” Conford told Cricinfo. “It’s made of the normal wood, the still wood, and we made sure the bat was the same weight as his usual bat. All I do is saw the edges off and add more weight from the back.”After Ian, Matt [Prior] got interested and now you have Owais Shah and Monty Panesar trying it out too. In fact Peter Moores is keen to have everyone use them. Andy Flower was talking about making some that were even smaller.”Bell used this bat for most of his nets session. Facing Moores’s throw-downs, he didn’t have many problems middling the ball and even smashed a few straight down the ground. “It’s a small bat but you can get some meaty blows from it,” said Cornford, whose company is based just a few miles away in Stoke-on-Trent.Cornford deals in other cricket equipment as well. He’s provided the English and Indian teams with special stumps to practice yorkers. There have also been orange rubber bats, used to hit high balls for catches, net covers, to help in training for run-outs, and ‘snickers’, an instrument to help wicketkeepers practice sharp catches.

South Africa’s ODI series against Pakistan will go ahead unchanged despite the twin bomb attacks that rocked Karachi late on Thursday, killing over 130 people and injuring over 500. Karachi is due to host the final ODI on October 29 and it remains on the itinerary after assurances to the South African team of extra security.The decision came after a meeting between officials from Cricket South Africa (CSA), the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), top local security officials and the provincial Punjab government. Zakir Khan, PCB’s director operations, said, “After concern shown by South Africa’s management over the incidents in Karachi, we had a comprehensive security briefing, which included board officials and the Punjab home secretary. After the meeting, it has been decided the tour will go ahead as planned.”The series moves to Faisalabad and then Multan after tomorrow’s game in Lahore and the tourists have been assured beefed-up levels of security for the remainder of the tour. Logan Naidoo, South Africa’s manager and vice-president CSA, said the offer had come from the home secretary’s office.”We came here knowing the situation and we knew it wasn’t free movement. That hasn’t changed after the incidents of last night. It’s strange because we didn’t go to the PCB and say we needed more security. In fact, the home secretary said levels of security will be increased by another two levels at the other three venues.”The tour itinerary, however, remains open to change should the situation in the country change again. “Having met with the PCB chairman and officials and with the home secretary, we are quite satisfied so far that the arrangements that are made are acceptable to the South African team so we will definitely continue with the tour.”We will be keeping tabs on what’s happening within the country for the rest of the tour and if anything changes we will meet again before making a decision.”The management offered their sympathies and condolences to the families affected by the blasts and said the players had been disturbed by the deaths.”It’s not a usual situation for the players and they are more disturbed in terms of the deaths [that] occurred. We will ensure that whatever safety precautions we take for officials we will take for them as well,” Naidoo said. “We wouldn’t be limiting any security measures for them.””I have spoken to officials in South Africa and I have told them that we are engaging the PCB and I am thankful to them. We are satisfied with the way the situation has been handled.”The twin bombs went off at the motorcade for Benazir Bhutto, the former prime minister of Pakistan, who returned to the country yesterday after a self-imposed exile of eight years.

Against a disappointing Western Australian attack, titleholder Queensland has made an excellent opening to the defence of its Pura Cup crown with a fine batting performance on day one of the match between the teams at the WACA ground in Perth. Buoyed by fine innings from Jimmy Maher, Stuart Law and Matthew Hayden, the Bulls have completed the first-class season’s opening day at the imposing scoreline of 2/283.Having shared the last four domestic first-class titles between them, both states entered this season with high hopes of success. But, for much of the day, this was a one-sided contest. The Western Australians encountered problems from early in the piece – fast bowlers Brad Williams and Brendon Julian were late withdrawals due to injury and, in a testament to the sheer quality of the competition, they could not find room in their eleven for returning Zimbabwe Test and One-Day International player Murray Goodwin – and they never recovered.It was Maher (132*) who offered the central contribution to the Warriors’ grisly predicament. The busy left hander was relaxed, authoritative and in command; the end result, perhaps inevitably in such circumstances, was the seventh first-class century of his career. Against some accurate new ball bowling from Jo Angel and Sean Cary, his innings began slowly. He was also a touch fortunate to survive at 39, when a cracking cut stroke was grassed by Justin Langer at gully off Angel’s bowling, and then again at 90, when Simon Katich dropped an incoming throw to the bowler’s end with the scrambling Queenslander still well short of his ground. But the rest of the day offered a showcase to his ability to industriously nudge the ball into gaps on the leg side, to drive with power through the covers, and to play horizontal bat shots with rapidly growing confidence the further that his innings tend to progress.Adopting the no-nonsense strategy of playing straight and resisting the temptation of flinging his bat at the succession of wayward deliveries bowled to him throughout his near-on four hours at the crease, Law (86*) also enjoyed an excellent day. Having come to the crease only twenty minutes after lunch – when the loss of Martin Love (4) to a catch at slip off Angel provided some hope of a Western Australian fightback – his role in the day’s proceedings was crucial. He cajoled and he caressed the ball beautifully through the off side in particular and, in the midst of his unbroken partnership of 189 runs with Maher, looked a completely different batsman from the one who strangely struggled so badly for form through much of the last Australian season.Maher’s opening partner, Matthew Hayden (47), also contributed freely to a first wicket stand of 87 before being trapped lbw by an Angel delivery on the line of leg stump. In fairness, it should be said that all three benefited from the experience of plying their trade on a benign pitch on a warm, sunny day: conditions which made opposition captain Tom Moody’s decision to invite the visitors to bat first all the more surprising.The placid nature of the track and the call at the toss were, though, far from the most significant of Western Australia’s problems. Suspicions about the Warriors’ ability to capture twenty opposition wickets on a consistent basis have been raised more than once in the lead-up to the season and, notwithstanding the gravity of the loss from this attack of players of the quality of Williams and Julian, they did little to dispel those pessimistic assessments today. Gavin Swan (0/38) and Angel (2/57) both acquitted themselves well but received little support. On far too many occasions throughout the day, the ball was pitched on the wrong line and a considerable number of deliveries passed harmlessly wide of the stumps on both sides of the wicket. Other than for four overs of gentle spin from Katich, the attack was purely pace-based and its explicit lack of variation was yet another factor among many which worked in the Queenslanders’ favour.

The fate of Chris Cairns will remain in the balance over the weekend after the jury in his perjury trial at Southwark Crown Court were unable to reach a majority verdict before the week’s proceedings were adjourned at 4.30pm on Friday.Cairns, who could face a maximum of seven years in prison if found guilty, must now wait until Monday at the earliest to learn his fate, with more than eight hours of deliberation from the jury having yet to produce an outcome.The defendants, Cairns and Andrew Fitch-Holland, whose charge of perverting the course can only be considered once the principal perjury charge has been resolved, were called back into the dock at 11.44am, but only so that the jury could request that the original requirement of a unanimous verdict be reassessed.Mr Justice Sweeney, the judge, granted the jury permission to return verdicts on which at least 10 of the 12 members agreed after consultation with Sasha Wass QC, the crown prosecutor, and Orlando Pownall QC and Jonathan Laidlaw QC, the respective defence counsels for Cairns and Fitch-Holland.The perjury charge relates to Cairns’ successful 2012 libel action against Lalit Modi at the High Court in London, which arose as a result of a tweet sent by Modi in 2010 accusing Cairns of match-fixing during the now defunct Indian Cricket League.In the course of the libel trial, Cairns stated that he had “never” cheated at cricket, and would never contemplate doing so, a statement that attracted the interests of the Crown Prosecution Service in the wake of leaked testimony given by his former team-mates, Lou Vincent and Brendon McCullum, to the ICC’s anti-corruption and security unit (ACSU).Of the nine witnesses called to give evidence on that count, Mr Justice Sweeney stated that the evidence of two of the three “key” witnesses – Vincent, McCullum and Eleanor Riley, Vincent’s ex-wife – needed to be accepted as true in order for the perjury charge to be upheld.However, he advised caution over the testimony of the first of the witnesses, Vincent, who has already been banned from cricket after admitting to accepting money to under-perform.Although the judge stressed that the jury was under no time pressure to reach a verdict, the prospect of a retrial cannot be ruled out if there is no progress next week.

The prospect of West Indies sending a second-string team to the World T20 has increased after the sides failed to reach agreement in their contract impasse.WICB CEO Michael Muirhead responded to the players’ request for a doubling of their remuneration package in the tournament by reiterating the view that the compensation package was agreed with the players’ union, WIPA, last year and would not be changed on the eve of the event.Muirhead also stated that any player who had not confirmed their acceptance of the current contracts by February 14 would be presumed to have refused selection.With only days to go before that deadline, it is becoming hard to see how agreement can be reached. The breakdown in the relationship between international players and their union would appear to have robbed the parties even of the mechanism for meaningful dialogue and there seems little time for Caricom leaders to intervene.

The crisis letters

ICC

The exchange of letters between Darren Sammy and Michael Murihead shows that West Indies cricket is again in crisis as World Twenty20 approaches

The possibility that West Indies will send a second string squad unable to reflect their No. 2 position in the T20 rankings and, as a consequence, tarnish the tournament, is real and growing.Darren Sammy, the captain of the West Indies World T20 team, had earlier written a second letter to the WICB repeating the view that his squad “don’t accept that WIPA can represent us” and insisting on an increase in the financial terms on offer for their availability in the tournament. His first letter complained of a cut of up to 80% in the remuneration on offer to West Indies players at this event compared to previous global tournaments.”WIPA became conflicted during its negotiations with you and compromised itself,” Sammy said. “It could not and did not actively represent the best interests of all West Indies cricketers.”The difference between the remuneration on offer from previous World Cups to this one is shocking and we cannot accept the terms on offer.”To now be offered just US$6,900 per match across the board irrespective of experience is totally unacceptable. Players are being asked to start providing services from nearly four weeks ahead of the World Cup and be guaranteed just US$27,600 if they play all the guaranteed matches [which] is a staggering reduction. We are looking, even on 2012 figures, [at] reductions of between 50-80%.”We suggest that 100% of prize money needs to be paid to the players as per previous tournaments. Twenty percent should not be retained by the WICB.Michael Murihead has named a February 14 deadline to accept terms•WICB Media/Brooks LaTouche Photography Ltd

“We also suggest that the match fees be doubled from US$6,900. In summary, we cannot accept the terms on offer. The players are not happy and understandably so with such big differences.”But Muirhead insisted that the players take up their issues with their player association directly with WIPA and gave no indication he was about to reopen negotiations over remuneration.”The terms on offer were negotiated and agreed between WICB and WIPA with the assistance of representatives from the ICC and FICA during a mediation process last year,” Muirhead stated. “And all parties agreed that they were fair and equitable and acceptable to be offered to the members [of the] WI team selected for the relevant ICC Event.”As mentioned in my previous email to you, this information was shared with all players following that process in May last year. Players were given an opportunity to discuss the new structure and no concerns were raised at that time.”It is disappointing that you would choose to question the terms now, on the eve of the WT20 in India.”

Craig Cumming and Chris Martin have been added to New Zealand’s squad for the one-day series against South Africa. The opener and fast bowler, already in the Test side, have been retained after James Franklin withdrew with an injured knee.”Franklin will not be available for the immediate future, and his withdrawal leaves the squad lacking his versatile set of skills,” Sir Richard Hadlee, New Zealand’s selection manager, said. “However, the retention of Cumming and Martin from the Test squad will restore balance to the ODI squad.”Having originally named a 14-man squad for South Africa, both these players can be accommodated in the squad.”Cumming has played 12 one-day internationals with an average of 14.63, the last of which was against Australia at Napier in 2005. Martin has also had a lengthy break from the one-day circuit. He last played for New Zealand against Sri Lanka in January 2006.Franklin will have surgery on his injured right knee later this month, which will prevent him from taking part in the three-ODI series against South Africa which starts on November 25 and the Chappell-Hadlee series in December.New Zealand squad: Daniel Vettori (capt), Shane Bond, Craig Cumming, Mark Gillespie, Gareth Hopkins, Jamie How, Chris Martin, Michael Mason, Kyle Mills, Brendon McCullum (wk), Jacob Oram, Jeetan Patel, Scott Styris, Ross Taylor, Lou Vincent.

Canada have named a 14-man squad for next week’s Americas Under-19regional tournament. They and Bermuda are expected to battle for theWorld Cup spot at stake.Thirteen of the players, including the captain Abishek Krishnamoorthy,are from Ontario, as is vice-captain Khrishna (Chris) Monohar.Jaskeerat Khalon from Alberta is the other member of the squad.Courtney Gonsalves has been coaching the players, assisted by AbdulMajeed and Pubudu Dassanayake. Most have trained in the GreaterToronto Area over the last two weeks, with Maple Leaf CC providingfacilities.Admission is free for all matches.Squad Abishek Krishnamoorthy (capt), Khrishna (Chris) Monohar,Rustrum Bhatti), Usman Iqbal, Riyazkhan Pathan, Arsalan Qadir, PratikPatel, Asif Manjra, Hasan Raza, Kevin James, Majid Usman, RuvinduGunasekera, Khusal Gangopadhyay (all Ontario) and Jaskeerat Khalon(Alberta)

Tom Moody, the former Australian allrounder who coached Sri Lanka, has been confirmed as coach of the Mohali franchise of the Indian Premier League (IPL).Moody is expected to be joined in the BCCI-backed tournament by fellow Australian John Buchanan, who is likely to coach the Kolkata-based team. reported that Buchanan will sign a three-year deal with the Kolkata franchise, which will have Sourav Ganguly in its team, within the next week. The stint will be Buchanan’s first serious coaching assignment since stepping down as Australia’s coach following the World Cup win in the West Indies last year.Greg Chappell, the former India coach, and Victoria’s Greg Shipperd are the other key contenders for coaching positions among the IPL franchises.The Mohali franchise also named Yuvraj Singh as the captain of its team. “We are pleased to choose Mohali as our centre ahead of all the other choices we had, as it is the best association (Punjab Cricket Association) and with excellent facilities,” Ness Wadia, a co-owner of the franchise, told the . “With Yuvraj as our captain and Moody as coach, I think everything has fallen into place for us.”Moody was sounded out last week as a candidate and was expected to take a call last Friday. He took over as coach of his native Western Australia after a successful two-year stint with Sri Lanka which ended after the World Cup in the West Indies last year.The franchise officials did not, however, reveal any further details on the team’s composition. The players’ auction is set to take place in Mumbai on Wednesday with a host of international players already signed up.Four local players have to be selected in the squad and IS Bindra, the president of the association, said a Ranji Trophy player would be given a $50,000 contract while an Under-22 player would be offered a minimum of $20,000. The tournament begins on April 18.

Scorecard

Ireland marched towards victory against United Arab Emirates on the third day of their Intercontinental Cup match, with the hosts tottering at 186 for 7 after conceding a 246-run lead on the first innings.Niall O’Brien, who made 137 on the second day, added a further 37 to his score as Ireland converted their overnight score of 366 for 7 to 474. UAE, who had dismissed Trent Johnston on the second day’s final delivery to end a 163-run stand, were yet again frustrated as Niall found company in Kyle McCallan.UAE were unable to dislodge McCallan during his 52, which included a 77-run eight-wicket partnership with Niall. Sameer Zia finally ended Niall’s innings on 174, and then dismissed Greg Thompson for 1. Last-man Dave Langford-Smith scored 15 in a 37-run stand with McCallan, before UAE captain Saqib Ali put an end to the misery.Saqib was UAE’s leading bowler, with figures of 3 for 84. He was not done for the day though, and came with a fighting 98 as he kept his team in the hunt to avoid an innings defeat.McCallan, coming in a first change, removed the openers Amjad Ali and Gayan Silva, while Johnston had Naeemuddin Aslam trapped leg-before as UAE stumbled to 64 for 3. Rashid Khan (17) put on a 44-run partnership with Saqib, but his wicket triggered a collapse; Alex Cusack scalped two as UAE lost four wickets for 19 runs.Saqib took control from then on, and got support from No. 9 Zahid Shah to take UAE to 186 for 7 at stumps, still trailing by 60. Saqib played an attacking knock; his 98 came off 137 deliveries, with 14 fours and two sixes.McCallan capped off a good day with a 3 for 65 to add to his unbeaten fifty, while Cusack’s seven overs went for only ten runs, and his two wickets jolted UAE at a crucial juncture.

Jack Simmons has stood down as chairman of Lancashire after 11 years in the position. Michael Cairns has been elected as his successor.Simmons announced he would not stand for re-election during his chairman’s speech at the club’s AGM on Thursday evening. He said: “It is something I’ve been thinking about for a couple of years and my decision not to stand for re-election was made in the best interests of Lancashire.”Michael [Cairns] is the top man, and has a huge amount of experience in business and development. Lancashire is embarking on a very integrated redevelopment and I think it’s better for someone like him to be leading the club forward.”What I didn’t want people to think is that I’ve finished here because I have a new position at the ECB – that has nothing to do it.”Simmons will continue to sit on the club’s cricket committee, which also includes former West Indies captain Clive Lloyd.