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Allan Donald is back in the frame, as far as Test cricket is concerned, and he will be joined on South Africa’s tour of Zimbabwe next month by Claude Henderson, the Western Province left-arm spinner, the only uncapped player named in a 13-man squad by the selectors on Monday.Donald, South Africa’s premier fast bowler for the last decade and the only South African to have passed 300 wickets in Test cricket, has been included in both the Test and one-day squads for Zimbabwe. This contradicts earlier statements from Donald that he wished only to be included in the South African side for one-day internationals only and suggests a new resolve on the part of the United Cricket Board that players may not pick and choose how and when they would like to be considered for selection.Apart from the 13 players named for the Zimbabwe Test matches, Jonty Rhodes and Justin Ontong will be added to the squad for the subsequent three Test matches.Rhodes, according to convener of selectors Rushdi Magiet, is now also available for Test selection, "but was not chosen". Allowing that the selectors have also now signed a confidentiality agreement which forbids them to reveal what went on in committee meetings, this would nevertheless suggest that Rhodes will be available for the Australian tour at the end of the year.South Africa should hope that he is. As the country’s most experienced middle order batsman – with two tours to Australia under his belt – Rhodes would be an invaluable asset in the Antipodes, but the equivocation about his role in Zimbabwe hints that Rhodes’ ambivalence about his roles as husband, father and Test player have not yet been completely resolved.At the same time, Daryll Cullinan’s position is no more clear. His contract with Kent precludes him from the Zimbabwe tour, but it is hoped that he will be available for the remainder of the season. Which includes Australia, a country he has toured twice previously with unhappy results.So the squad for Zimbabwe tends very much to portray itself as a work in progress. There is no Mfuneko Ngam – still recovering from a shoulder operation – and no Nicky Boje – ditto. There is also no Roger Telemachus, in either the Test or one-day squads, which some might believe to be a reflection on the attitude of one who has no little potential, much of which still remains unfulfilled.Henderson should get a Test match in Zimbabwe, ahead of Paul Adams, on the basis, said Magiet, that South Africa took Adams and Boje to the West Indies in order to have "an attacking spinner and a defensive spinner".Presumably Magiet is saying that Henderson will be in Zimbabwe as a defensive spinner – Adams certainly does not fit this description – there to give South Africa’s seam-heavy attack a rest and to provide variation. This might be unfair to Henderson’s ability, but no doubt he will grasp the chance and leaving the theorising to the critics and selectors.There is place in the squad for both Lance Klusener and Justin Kemp, who both seem to be fighting for the same place with Klusener’s track record certain to push him into pole position, and Andre Nel.With Donald around, Nel might again have to wait his turn, but South Africa’s real concern will be sorting out the middle order. Neil McKenzie should be an automatic choice at this stage, but with the uncertainty about Rhodes and Cullinan not yet resolved, it is still not possible to say with any certainty who will batting at four, five and six against Australia in December.The squad: Shaun Pollock (capt), Mark Boucher, Gary Kirsten, Herschelle Gibbs, Boeta Dippenaar, Jacques Kallis, Neil McKenzie, Lance Klusener, Justin Kemp, Claude Henderson, Allan Donald, Makhaya Ntini, Andre Nel. To join squad for ODIs: Jonty Rhodes and Justin Ontong.

Once regarded as one of the top talents in Europe, a Premier League winner, training ground bust ups, described as “unmanageable” by Jose Mourinho, and still could still “be one of the top strikers in Europe” according to Andrea Pirlo.

It is of course the enigmatic Mario Balotelli. A man possessed with fantastic talent but an awful attitude – it is fair to say the Italian forward’s career is hanging in the balance once more.

He has fallen out of favour at Anfield and hasn’t featured for the Reds this pre-season. He was left out of Brendan Rodgers’ side that toured Australia and Finland.

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There isn’t a lot of positivity going on in the former Inter’s strikers career at the moment. He lost his place in the Italy squad last season after a poor first year at Anfield, where he scored four goals in 28 games following his £16m move from AC Milan.

His poor form has convinced Reds boss Rodgers that it was probably a mistake to sign him in the first place, and it does look likely he will leave Anfield this summer – with Serie A clubs interested in the forward.

However, despite his poor form his former Italian team mate Andrea Pirlo believes Balotelli will get back to his best.

“He made mistakes when he was younger, he knows this,” Pirlo told shortlist.com. “But I hope next season goes well for him, because I still believe he has all the attributes to be one of the top forwards in Europe.”

The fact that such a quality player like Pirlo, who has played alongside some of the world’s best players throughout his long career, is saying something like that about Balotelli should at least make Brendan Rodgers think twice about selling the forward.

But it does not look as though that the Northern Irishman does not fancy the Italian forward too much as he has already brought in big Belgian striker Christian Benteke from Villa who is looking to be the main man at Anfield next season.

Some would argue that being sold after just one season is a bit harsh on Balotelli, as one poor campaign doesn’t define a career, but two or three years certainly do.

And it is getting to that point very soon now for the striker. It’s getting to that crucial point for the 24-year-old where he needs to deliver, because clubs will run out of patience with him and won’t give him many more chances.

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The Reds have seemingly run out of patience with the striker, as they clearly see it as a waste of time trying to get anything out of the forward any more.

It is a strange decision after just one season, especially after they pinned their hopes on the Italian last summer.

Nevertheless, there is still time for the striker to show why he was once so highly regarded.

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	The Mumbai Metropolitan court adjourned the hearing for the case filed against Jagmohan Dalmiya by the Economic Offences Wing of the Mumbai police © AFP

Jagmohan Dalmiya, the former ICC and BCCI president, got a further reprieve after the Mumbai Metropolitan court adjourned the hearing for the case filed against him by the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Mumbai police for alleged embezzlement of funds from the 1996 World Cup jointly hosted by India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. The court set June 16 as the next date of hearing after Dalimya’s lawyers asked for more time to study the case.Last month the court had granted Dalmiya bail after the EOW had filed a chargesheet accusing him of misappropriating funds to the tune of Rs 2.9 crore (approx US$725,000). It alleged that Dalmiya diverted funds from a bank account in Kolkata that was originally set up for paying legal fees towards various other expenses. There was a “technical arrest” but Dalmiya received a swift bail after he said he would produce surety of Rs 25,000 ($625).Dalmiya was absent from the hearing on Friday but his lawyer Satish Maneshinde said his client had been granted exemption from personal apperance. “The surety bonds were furnished in front of the court and since he [Dalimiya] had to attend to some [religious ceremonies], we requested the court that there was no impediment in granting him exemption.”

Richards believes the dispute could hurt West Indian cricket if it drags further© Getty Images

Viv Richards has called for the West Indies board and the players to put aside their differences so a full-strength team can be sent to Australia for the VB Series. Formerly a chairman of selectors, Richards had seen the beginning of the conflict during his time. The disagreements include the players’ sponsorship rights as well as their recent unexpected demand for US$500,000 as appearance money.”Something has to be sorted out, it has been going on too long. I really hope they do tour and that something can be finalised,” quoted him as saying. He mysteriously added: “I would not like to add any ammunition from what I saw during my time. But this will not be a win for cricket if this carries on. Both sides must work this out.”Relations between the board and WIPA, the players association, remained bitter as the confrontation dragged on dangerously close to the players scheduled departure date of December 29. Dinanath Ramnarine, the president of WIPA, criticised a board representative for publicly citing figures mentioned during a stressful round of negotiations. Such is the seriousness of the matter that the Prime Minister of Grenada, Keith Mitchell, appointed a judge to help resolve the dispute.But in case West Indies withdraw from the tour, Australian board officials have marked India as a likely replacement in the month-long series.

Jacques Rudolph: dropped to accomodate a second spinner © Getty Images

South Africa have announced a 14-man squad for their two-Test series in Sri Lanka which gets underway in July.The main surprise is the inclusion of Thandi Tshabalala, a promising 21-year-old offspinner who has taken 39 first-class wickets in 17 matches for the Free State Eagles.The squad also marks the return of Herschelle Gibbs, who was released for the final two Castle Tests against New Zealand after losing form.Ashwell Prince has been named as vice-captain in place of Jacques Kallis who is recovering from surgery to his elbow and is not expected to return to action for at least two months. Last season, Prince deputised as vice-captain for Kallis when he was injured during the Test series in Australia.Shaun Pollock will join the team a few days after its departure on 18 July, as he will be with his wife for the birth of their second child.”With a demanding season ahead of us, a pragmatic approach to managing player workloads will mean rotating our players through the season,” explained Haroon Lorgat, the convenor of the national selection panel. “We have taken a bold step to include Thandi in our efforts to create more spin options. We want him to develop and gain experience with the squad, especially in subcontinent conditions.”We expect to face tough choices this season as the quality of our fringe players improve, and Jacques Rudolph can consider himself unlucky not to be in the squad following a successful tour of Sri Lanka with the A team a year ago. He was left out to accommodate a second spinner, and we opted not to carry an extra batsman to Sri Lanka for only two Tests”.South Africa squad Graeme Smith (capt), Ashwell Prince (vice-capt), Hashim Amla, Nicky Boje, Mark Boucher, AB de Villiers, Boeta Dippennaar, Herschelle Gibbs, Andrew Hall, Andre Nel, Makhaya Ntini, Shaun Pollock, Dale Steyn, Thandi Tshabalala.

Scorecard

Dilshan struck an aggressive half-century to help steady the innings © Getty Images

The decisive third Test between Sri Lanka A and West Indies A is heading for a close finish after a third day at the Saravanamuttu Stadium. West Indies ended the day with an overall lead of 126 runs and six wickets in hand. The slow left-armer Sajeewa Weerakoon tilted the scales slightly in favour of Sri Lanka when he snapped up the wickets of the opener Lendl Simmons for 52 and Marlon Samuels for 16 within nine runs of each shortly before the close for West Indies to finish on a shaky 114 for 4.If they are to make any headway towards winning, Sri Lanka will need rely on Weerakoon: he has captured 22 wickets in the series so far. Earlier in the day, West Indies bowlers kept the free-scoring Sri Lankan batsmen pegged down with some tight bowling to give their team a slender 12-run lead at the end of the first innings.Sri Lanka resumed at a promising 181 for 3 but failed to build on that total and were dismissed for 312 in reply to West Indies’ first innings of 324. Shantha Kalavitigoda added only one to his overnight score of 74 before edging a catch to Simmons behind the wicket off Washington in the third over of the morning.The captain Russel Arnold – who hit a match winning 159 in the second Test – and the vice-captain Prasanna Jayawardene followed in quick succession as Sri Lanka slid to 194 for 6 within 36 minutes of play in the morning. Washington grabbed two of the three wickets to fall at the end: he finished with figures of three for 31.The slide was halted by the fast bowlers Farveez Maharoof (16) and Danushka Lokuhettige (57) who figured in a seventh-wicket stand that produced 59 runs. Weerakoon chipped in with a useful 27 not out, sharing a last-wicket stand of 38 with Suraj Mohamed which took Sri Lanka past the 300-run mark. The series stands tied at one-all with West Indies winning a at Dambulla by 57 runs and Sri Lanka at Colts grounds by an innings and 16 runs.

The deadline for submission of the 2007 World Cup bids passed yesterday evening with two surprises. Firstly, the Trinidad and Tobago government announced that although it had complied with the requirements of the Bid Book, it was submitting itself only as being able and willing to host matches, and would not compete with territorial neighbours.Patrick Manning, the Prime Minister, said he did not want Trinidad to seem to be grabbing for everything, given its better economic standing in the region. "What T&T did not want to do was to compete against those very countries that support us, as the benefits that could accrue from these matches would be more needed in those countries than in T&T."Manning added that the government would be willing to host whatever matches were left over after the bids were sorted. The understanding is that the most costly affair, the opening, will be outside the reach of most territories, and will more likely than not end up on Trinidad’s door.Meanwhile, Barbados and St Lucia have submitted a joint bid proposal. Stephen Alleyne, head of Barbados’s World Cup programme, said that their joint effort will have "the resources of half a million people" behind them. The driving force behind the St. Lucia committee, Desmond Skeete, died while preparing for the weekend of one-dayers against England at Beausejour Stadium. In all, 12 countries have indicated their intention to bid for matches. The allocations are to be announced on July 12.

Sanath Jayasuriya is determined to play against India on Monday despite a badly bruised left forearm and a hairline fracture on his left thumb.Sri Lanka manager Ajit Jayasekera believes that Sri Lanka skipper will have recovered sufficiently to lead the side in their crucial Super Six tie withtheir Asian neighbours.Jayasuriya was hit twice during a hostile first over from Brett Lee and wasforced to retire hurt as Sri Lanka slid to a 96 run defeat against the world champions.”Sanath’s injury has been treated with ice. The swelling has gone down and the pain has subsided a little in his forearm,” said Jayasekera here today.”The hairline fracture in his left thumb appears to be an old injury which Sanath thinks he picked up against the West Indies,” he revealed. “His main concern is the forearm and will have a net tomorrow to check it out.”Even if Jayasuriya plays there is some doubt as to whether he could bowl.Apart from Jayasuriya, Sri Lanka have more injury concerns with Hashan Tillakaratne having aggravated a hamstring injury first sustained during the South Africa game.Jayasekera described the left-hander’s fitness as a “concern” but it is unclear whether one of the replacements, Jehan Mubarak and Avishka Gunawardene, will have to step in.

Isn’t it strange the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has been functioning without a constitution for the last two years? Erstwhile Chairman Mujeeb-ur-Rahman’s term started August 1999 and lasted a few months with some actions called ‘comical’ by many. The next incumbent, Dr Zafar Altaf hardly got the chance to practically assume the coveted appointment. Thus the onus of running PCB, controlling the richest and the most popular sport in Pakistan, now rests with the Board’s present set up. But it is still being run on an ad hoc basis for the past 20 months and without a constitution in place.We hear the excuse, they are waiting for the Nation’s overall devolution plan to take effect but this does not seem valid. The PCB is an autonomous body with a special role, its constitution has never been subservient to the country’s political structure or to the government’s plans and policies. The Board appears to have been misguided on this point.In 1978 an ad hoc committee took over in exactly the same manner as the present set up. The organisation’s size was a fraction of what it is now and yet it only took six months to conduct countrywide elections of cricket bodies down to district level, restore the dissolved associations, draft and promulgate a new constitution and appoint the Council and General Body of the Board to run cricket affairs. The restoration of cricket relations with India after a break of 17 years and exchange of teams, renovation and expansion of stadiums and creation of numerous other facilities were the other landmarks.Except for a few amendments made during the times of Air Marshal (R) Nur Khan, the constitution remained supreme for 18 years. It was on the eve of World Cup 96 that a group of political appointees, desirous of running the Board through their whims and fancies, replaced it with an abstract looking document. Although the new constitution was far from being comprehensive enough to run national cricket, it had not fiddled with vital aspects of the Board’s structure. However, it seems the present set up is planning on making fundamental changes.The actual contents of a new draft constitution are not known but reading between the lines of recent news reports as well as statements issued by PCB officials from time to time, one gathers the following:

1. The Board seems to be waiting for the Government’s devolution of power plan to take effect before giving final shape to the document.
2. The Divisional Cricket Associations are being replaced by the Provincial Associations.
3. The membership of Departments, commercial organisations and institutions is being cancelled to give the Board a purely regional touch.

If the above is true, I suggest the PCB should appoint a committee of ‘neutral’ experts to study the pros and cons of the new proposals. In my opinion, these proposals if implemented will not only retard the development of cricket in the country but also create serious administrative-cum-functional problems for the Board.One thing is clear, that it is neither obligatory nor necessary for the PCB to conform to the country’s political structure. To achieve its aims and objectives with success, the Board should have a set up that suits its own requirements. Apart from infusing politics in the game, the Provincial Associations may well cause disruption and hindrance in the functions of the Board rather than being of any help.Actually, back in 1978, deep thought was given to this aspect and top legal experts consulted while drafting the 1978 Constitution. A combination of district and divisional cricket association was found to be the most ideal for promotion of cricket in the country and thus adopted. The system stood the rough and tough tests of time and brought unprecedented progress in the game. It must not become a victim of the whims of a group of people who perhaps had/have no love for the game.As in the past, the District Cricket Associations (DCA’s) must be formed with utmost care. Leaving the control of clubs to them, the DCA’s are in fact the nurseries of cricket as far as the Board is concerned. There are around 80 districts in the country and the calibre of those elected as heads of DCA’s can be well imagined. If the plan is to directly affiliate them with the Board, the PCB will likely turn into a farm with the responsibility of brooding young chicks. If placed under their respective provinces, they will face the vagaries of politics and likes and dislikes, eventually becoming the victims of neglect.The ideal and the most efficient control of the DCA’s would be under the bodies as compact as the former Divisional Cricket Associations. Since the divisions do not exist in the government’s devolution plan, I suggest that the good old divisional associations may be revived under the new title of “Regional Cricket Associations” and given the control of DCA’s with changes in composition where necessary. These associations should also be given membership of the Board rather than the politically motivated trouble shooting Provincial Associations.The major blunder in PCB’s future plans is the ouster of Government departments, commercial organisations and institutions from the Board. The people at the helm of affairs cannot perhaps visualise the invaluable contribution that they made to cricket during the last three decades. In a poor country like ours, where talented youngsters emerging from lower/middle class families could not afford to buy a full set of cricket gear, these organisations not only provided them employment but also groomed them to become officers.A cursory glance of the Pakistan’s cricket scene, past and present, will show how many great cricketers emerged from organisations like PIA, banks, railway, services and others. With the change of policy, we will not only deprive our cricket of a big chunk of talent but also render hundreds of promising cricketers, officials and umpires jobless, ultimately closing the doors of employment for the future aspirants.It’s no secret that former skipper Imran Khan, disliked the presence of these organisations and always harped on the tune of organising Pakistan cricket purely on regional basis. There is no doubt Imran was a great cricketer as well as captain but as I said in my first article, cricket administration is a different cup of tea. Imran’s proposal was not accepted for being unsuitable to our conditions. The present Board has somehow succumbed to something similar, perhaps not knowing its implications and adverse effects on the game, its popularity and promotion.I am surprised to read Rameez Raja’s explanation of the priorities under the PCB Vision 2005, which included ‘progressive phasing out of department based cricket’. I wonder, how could a person who happens to be a senior employee of a major bank and their team actively participates in domestic cricket, is reconciled to such an idea?Out of the numerous disadvantages that the ouster of department-based cricket has, I will only discuss one and leave the rest to those in power. The Regional cricket associations produce hundreds of talented players. As per rules only 25 of them could represent the association team in domestic cricket while the best among the left over lot played for the departmental teams. Now when the departmental teams are being phased out, where would these boys go?In defence of the plan one may say that, ‘the associations could be allowed to enter any number of teams in domestic cricket tournaments’. Having been a part of the system, I know that our associations do not have enough funds even to send their teams to far-off places to play matches. How would they manage it? What about the employment of these boys? I feel the change will reduce the level of our domestic cricket to a third-rate competition. And last of all, what are we trying to gain by changing the system?
(To be continued…..)

According to reports in the Yorkshire Evening Post, Leeds United are keen to sign Everton loanee Matthew Pennington on a permanent deal this summer, although the Toffees could throw a spanner in the works.

What’s the word, then?

Well, Pennington moved to Elland Road on a season-long loan deal last year after finding first-team opportunities hard to come by on Merseyside, and despite missing chunks of the campaign because of injury and disappointing form, he has obviously still made a positive impression to Paul Heckingbottom and his assistant Jamie Clapham.

The Yorkshire Evening Post says that the Whites have already looked into the possibility of a permanent deal, but the Toffees are keen to extend his current contract which is due to expire next summer when he returns to Goodison Park.

How has Pennington done this season?

The 23-year-old started Leeds’ first Championship match of the season away against Bolton Wanderers, but he picked up an injury that meant he didn’t make his second league appearance until the end of September.

The centre-back, who played as a makeshift right-back in the 2-1 win against Barnsley at Elland Road on Saturday, has made 22 outings in total for the Yorkshire outfit this term, and has started six of their previous eight fixtures – although fans on Twitter weren’t impressed with his display against Aston Villa earlier this month.

Are they right to try and sign him?

They certainly would be, for the right price.

As we mentioned previously, the defender has struggled at times this season but when he has had something of a regular run in the XI, he has impressed.

The 23-year-old certainly has the quality to make an impression for Leeds in the future, and the club will hope that Everton can be convinced to let him go this summer.

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Will they get him?

It’s difficult to say.

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Leeds found themselves in a similar situation last season when they wanted to sign loanee Kyle Bartley on a permanent basis following a successful loan spell, but he penned a new contract with Swansea and ended up staying there instead.

The Whites will certainly be fearing the same outcome, and could come down to whether Pennington feels he is going to get the chance to play regularly or not at Goodison Park next season.