Hopes that the USA would become a major force in world cricket were effectively ended with the announcement by the ICC that Project USA had been scrapped.An ICC statement said that “in light of the inability of the United States of America Cricket Association to address the fundamental governance issues of the game inthe USA, the executive board decided to immediately terminate its initiative to stage international cricket in the USA to generate funds to develop the game in this country.”Ehsan Mani, the ICC’s president, said that the board was left with littlechoice but to make this decision. “The decision to terminate Project USA is taken with some regret. Cricket is growing in America and Gary Hopkins who was appointed to run this project had done some excellent work in preparing the way for international cricket to be played there,” Mani said. “Nevertheless, the success of this project relies on having an effective governing body for cricket in the United States.”Our experience in dealing with the USACA and the current controversyover the governance of the game in this country has convinced the boardthat it cannot support investing ICC members funds in this project andit has been terminated.”Constant in-fighting within the board and growing animosity between senior officials led to the ICC suspending the project in February. But rather than grab the bull by the horns, the USACA executive did almost nothing except provide further examples of its inability to act decisively.In the same week that the ICC met, the USACA’s president, Gladstone Dainty, embroiled the association in further controversy when he suspended the secretary and attempted to disqualify candidates after the poll had closed.There was also a feeling in some circles that the ICC needed the USA more than USA needed it and that it wouldn’t dare to abandon the project. That was always a risky strategy, and that particular bluff has been well and truly called.

Queensland will take the same team that beat South Australia in three days into the grudge Pura Cup match against Victoria at the MCG starting on Thursday. Contests between the sides have become increasingly fierce over the past couple of years and this one is desperately important as the Bushrangers cling to the hope of back-to-back titles.The Bulls are currently second on 34 points, two behind Western Australia and six ahead of New South Wales, while Victoria are ten adrift and need outright victories from the two remaining matches to qualify for the final. Victoria, who thrashed Queensland in last year’s decider, have beaten the Bulls in two ING Cup matches this season as well as the Pura Cup game at Brisbane in December.Victoria have also named an unchanged line-up from the one that beat Tasmania at the MCG yesterday. The match could hold even more significance for Shane Warne as he chases the five wickets needed to reach 1000 in first-class matches. Only 11 Australians have reached the mark and Warne would be the first since Graham McKenzie, the Western Australia fast bowler who finished his career in 1975 with 1219 victims.Shane Watson, used in a batsman-only role against South Australia, is expected to bowl after recovering from a side strain suffered in the VB Series finals against Pakistan. “The plan is for Shane to do some more bowling this week under controlled circumstances and then step it up to include some spells during the game,” Terry Oliver, the coach, said.Queensland Jimmy Maher (capt), Clinton Perren, Martin Love, Shane Watson, Craig Philipson, Lachlan Stevens, Wade Seccombe, Andy Bichel, Ashley Noffke, Mitchell Johnson, Joe Dawes, Brendan Nash.Victoria Matthew Elliott, Jason Arnberger, Brad Hodge, Graeme Rummans, Jonathan Moss, Ian Harvey, Cameron White (capt), Adam Crosthwaite (wk), Shane Warne, Nick Jewell, Shane Harwood, Michael Lewis.

At the post-match presentations in New Zealand Stephen Fleming was invariably asked the same two questions. The first was always how to improve on some dire performances in their heavy losses to Australia. The second – without fail – was about their only world-class performer.”And what about Dan Vettori?”There was no need to trumpet his figures or embellish his performance. Fleming would exhale in relief that he had him – or that he was getting him back when he missed a one-dayer. Vettori, on the other hand, may not be as grateful for his team-mates. The batsmen rarely give him enough runs to show his true value and the bowlers fail to take the top-order wickets, forcing him into defence instead of attack.Vettori is New Zealand’s Andy Flower – each man has done great things, getting by with little help from their friends. Richard Hadlee at least had Martin Crowe, Courtney Walsh held hands with Curtly Ambrose andBrian Lara, and Muttiah Muralitharan delivered around Aravinda de Silva before Sri Lanka’s new breed arrived. For New Zealand, Fleming occasionally approached world-class form but has recently slipped away, so Vettori is left with nobody.Spin bowlers need support, mainly from their fast bowlers, but also from their slow-bowling colleagues and their batsmen. Vettori, however, is handed scraps when he deserves to be waited upon. His team-mates have let a great bowler be reclassified merely as good. He has lugged their weight almost since debuting against England in 1996-97. A spot in the World XI for the Super Series Test against Australia may be his only chance of getting the allround polish he’s been lacking for 62 Tests.Still only 26 and four away from 200 wickets, Vettori’s brilliance is shown in his constant threat against Australia. Without a five-wicket haul since the drawn series in 2001-02, he dusted his fingers with three in Bangladesh and has since recorded two against the world champions. Left-arm spin, like the Kiwis’ tendency to ignore Test cricket, befuddles Australians. Phil Tufnell managed it occasionally, Murali Kartik turned one-off rings around them at Mumbai last year, but Vettori does it regularly. And yey his side is rarely on top.

Vettori can’t stand the Harry Potter comparisons, yet he’s the closest New Zealand have to a wizard. The glasses and the teasing curls add to the look, but his effectiveness is in concreting the feet of Australia’s batsmen while twirling them into tentativeness. In 13 Tests he has taken 51 wickets against them, including half of his 12 five-wicket hauls and one of his two 10-wicket collections, at an average of 33.45 – two runs per wicket better than his career mark. Australians figure highly on his all-time list of dismissals. Shane Warne comes top on nine, Adam Gilchrist and Damien Martyn are second on five, and Matthew Hayden and Justin Langer sit one spot further back.Australia’s plan rested on seeing him off in the one-dayers and trying for some sort of aggressive retribution during the Tests. Only Gilchrist managed it – spectacularly. The problem for Australia – and for Vettori’s worrisome lower back – was that he bowled more as his peers were attacked. In four of the past eight innings he delivered more than 40 overs, and fatigue and familiarity contributed to his home series tailing off. He was visibly affected by the injury and the lack of early-innings support from his fast men on seaming pitches.Much of his time over the past two Australia series has been spent walking back to his mark, head in the air with arms dangling waiting for the next appeal. Vettori is both a delight and a pain to watch. A man stranded with many sparkling but unused utensils, he is too often bowling to the openers on pitches suited to pace.The World XI’s opponents make Vettori an attractive option for the Super Series Test at the SCG in October. Unlike his five main rivals for two possible spin berths – all of whom are above his ICC ranking of16 – Vettori has never faced them on raging turners. Only Danish Kaneria and Anil Kumble come close to Vettori’s record in Australia, with 29 wickets at 37 in eight Tests.Muralitharan, Harbhajan Singh and Ashley Giles have four Tests between them in Australia while Vettori has punched into them regularly. Taking six wickets in his first series, he had at least 10 in each of his next three. By early March, he had eight in three innings against Australia before going wicketless in the final match. He has never played Australia in more than three Tests and his record against the best deserves to be recognised.If Australia have Shane Warne coming on behind McGrath, Gillespie, Kasprowicz or Lee, then the World XI needs something that can scare their one-off rival. Vettori will do it over any length of spell and is the best slow-bowling option. It is an issue Sunil Gavaskar and his fellow selectors, who choose the squad in the coming weeks, should be raising as often as Fleming’s interviewers.

South Africa’s Jacques Rudolph may miss the third Test against West Indies after picking up a back injury while bowling in the nets on Friday. Rudolph subsequently withdrew from South Africa’s line-up for the two-day match against the University of West Indies Vice-Chancellor’s XI near Port-of-Spain, and was replaced by Jacques Kallis.”A decision has not been taken on his fitness,” said South African selector Enver Mall, “but it is doubtful if he will play.”Boeta Dippenaar is on standby to replace Rudolph should he not be fit enough for the third Test, which starts at Bridgetown on April 21. South Africa currently lead the four-match series 1-0.

Pakistan 258 for 8 (Shoaib 51, Inzamam 51) beat West Indies 218 (Afridi 4-40) by 40 runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

Pakistan condemned West Indies to their seventh straight one-day defeat of the season, and their 11th in 12 completed matches since their victory in the final of the Champions Trophy, as Shahid Afridi ripped his legspinners through a bamboozled tail for figures of 4 for 40. His efforts came on the back of a solid if unspectacular Pakistani batting performance, and ensured that West Indies will have nothing but pride to play for in tomorrow’s third and final match.After winning the toss and batting first, Pakistan struggled to dominate a spirited West Indian bowling attack, but once each of their top eight had reached double figures, they were able to muster a competitive total of 258 for 8. The main men of the innings were Shoaib Malik and Inzamam-ul-Haq, who made a brace of 51s, and Younis Khan, who seemed set to complete a half-century of his own until he was brilliantly caught for 48 in the final over of the innings, by a one-handed Chris Gayle, diving to his left at backward point.Breathtaking though Gayle’s effort was, it had come some 220 runs too late for West Indies. His earlier missed opportunity off Daren Powell at first slip had let a nervous Shoaib Malik off the hook before he had settled, and prevented West Indies from taking the game by the scruff of the neck. Without ever looking on top form, Shoaib scratched and scraped to rebuild the innings after the early loss of both openers, Shahid Afridi and Salman Butt.Yousuf Youhana brought up Pakistan’s fifty with a sweetly timed drive through the covers. But before he could really get stuck in, he was adjudged caught-behind for 21 off Wavell Hinds. In his place, however, came the solid reassurance of Inzamam, who punished Hinds with two dismissive strokes off consecutive deliveries – a cut and a pull – as Pakistan reached the 30-over mark well-placed on 134 for 3.

Inzamam was briefly forced to retire hurt after taking an eye-watering blow in the box from a Gayle full-toss, but in his place came the urgent presence of Adbul Razzaq, who clubbed a quick 20 off 16 balls before losing his off stump to a wild swing at Corey Collymore. Dwayne Bravo, whose bowling had been expensive all day, was then cracked for three fours in the penultimate over as Pakistan finished their innings with a flourish.Having failed to chase 192 in the first game, the omens were not good as West Indies began their reply, and Xavier Marshall duly came and went with another whimper, caught in the gully for 7 after looking horribly out of his depth for the second match running. But where there’s Chris Gayle, no one-day chase can be entirely written off, and when he launched Shabbir Ahmed over long-off for a massive six, West Indies’ hopes soared.But three balls later, they came crashing once again, as Shabbir clipped the top of Gayle’s off stump with a spectacular offcutter. He was gone for 43 from 45 balls, and when Ramnaresh Sarwan and Shivnarine Chanderpaul were both run out in quick succession, West Indies had slumped to 114 for 4.Despite being given a charmed life by umpire Billy Doctrove, who turned down a succession of lbw appeals from Razzaq and Afridi, Runako Morton began to grow in stature, and brought up his maiden one-day half-century with a one-bounce pull over midwicket off Shoaib. But, in the very next over, he was bamboozled by Afridi’s slower ball, and bowled all ends up as he aimed an expansive heave into the Caribbean Sea.Bravo then completed a miserable match with a fourth-ball duck, as Doctrove finally upheld an lbw appeal, and Afridi made it three wickets in nine balls when Hinds misread a googly and was bowled round his legs for 22. Courtney Browne attempted to be defiant by slamming Shoaib for six, before Afridi picked up his fourth, bowling Ian Bradshaw as he too went for the big one.That was emphatically that. Browne slapped another six to reduce the margin of defeat, but the final two wickets fell in the space of five balls, as Iftikhar Anjum and Naved-ul-Hasan returned to wrap up the match with 10 balls to spare. It was, incidentally, a rare series victory in the Caribbean for Pakistan, but few triumphs can have felt so flat.

The Tasmanian Cricket Association has announced 20 players who have been awarded first-round contracts for the 2005-06 season. Travis Birt and David Dawson have been given full contracts after being upgraded from rookie status during the 2004-05 season. Dane Anderson, Jason Shelton and Ben Hilfenhaus are the three new players who have been awarded rookie contracts.While making the announcement, Peter Faulkner, the chairman of selectors, said the TCA was looking to build on the success of last season in the ING Cup and develop the young players in the squad. “It is gratifying to see that two of last year’s rookies have progressed to senior contracts this season,” said Faulkner, “and the wealth of young talent in Tasmania has been recognised in awarding rookie contracts to four local players.”The second round of the contract process will be completed within the next two weeks. Under the Cricket Australia Memorandum of Understanding each state must have a minimum of 16 senior and 4 rookie contracts in place by 11 July 2005.Senior Contracted Members
George Bailey, Travis Birt, Michael Bevan, Luke Butterworth, Sean Clingeleffer, Jamie Cox, David Dawson, Michael Dighton, Michael Di Venuto, Xavier Doherty, Andrew Downton, Brett Geeves, Adam Griffith, Dan Marsh, Damien Wright, Ricky Ponting (CA)Rookie Contracted Members
Dane Anderson, Ben Hilfenhaus, Tim Paine, Jason Shelton

The United States of America Cricket Association (USACA) has not been permitted representation at the forthcoming ICC meetings at Lord’s, due to the unresolved governance dispute that has dogged the association since its controversial elections last March.Two rival factions – the official board, led by Gladstone Dainty, and the Council of Cricket League Presidents (CLP) – have been fighting for control ever since March, and with the ICC meeting fast approaching, Malcolm Speed, the chief executive of the ICC, has run out of patience.”As a result of several of the matters that have been raised in recent correspondence, ICC is unable to come to a clear view as to which party should be recognised as the legitimate governor of USACA,” wrote Speed in a letter. “Regrettably, despite having had three months in which to resolve these matters, you seem to be no closer to doing so.”The result of this is that, at this stage, ICC does not intend to recognise any of the current competing parties as being in undisputed control of USACA. Further, at this stage, ICC does not intend to recognise any of the current parties as being the legitimate governor of USACA.”In the circumstances, unless the matter can be resolved by mutual agreement in the meantime, we do not intend to recognise any party for the forthcoming ICC meetings.”If the matter is not resolved in time the USACA will miss out on the opportunity to be represented at the ICC Associates Meeting on 26 June and the ICC Annual Conference on 28 June.Speed also highlighted the potential financial implications of the on-going dispute. “It follows that funding to USACA will continue to be withheld,” he added. “If USA qualifies for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2007, USACA will be entitled to funding to prepare for that event. We will need to be able to put in place a system to ensure that cricketers in the USA are not disadvantaged as we move through the next six to 12 month period.”The dispute is not expected to affect USA’s participation in the ICC Trophy 2005 in Ireland starting on July 1.

Latest points tablesHosts Ireland, along with Bermuda, booked their places in the semi-finals with wins in the last round of group matches. Bermuda’s victory meant that they (and Ireland) will be involved in the Caribbean’s 2007 World Cup, as well gaining ODI status for four years and $500,000 of funding from the ICC.But Denmark, who came into the tournament as outsiders and who rated their own best hope as a sixth-place finish, saw their own dreams of a place in the last four evaporate as they were well beaten by Ireland who had Ed Joyce to thank for bailing them out after they slipped to 28 for 3. Denmark needed a good start in chasing 223 in unhelpful conditions, but lost early wickets and despite a spirited 58 from Baljit Singh, fell 73 runs short. But Ireland will have to do without Joyce from now on in as he returns to Middlesex.Denmark will now meet Netherlands on Saturday with the winners of that tie going on to play the winners of the other play-off between UAE and Namibia. The side that wins that game will join the four semi-finalists in the World Cup.Bermuda took full advantage of Denmark’s slip by routing USA in a one-sided meeting at Waringstown. Bermuda were wobbling on 88 for 4, but Janeiro Summers (132) and Dean Minors (41) savaged the dispirited bowling, enabling them to reach 311 for 8. USA, whose performances have been verging on the shambolic, were never remotely in the hunt and they were bowled out for 198 with more than 14 overs of their innings remaining. One of the pre-tournament favourites, they slink back home without a win to their name.UAE, another one of the fancied teams to have had a disappointing tournament, ended with a win over Uganda, one of the surprise packages. Naeemuddin led the way with 76, but with only two batsmen passing 20, UAE’s final score of 201 looked very chasable. But Uganda lost early wickets, slipping to 66 for 6, before finally being bowled out for 138.

South Africa convincingly beat Bangladesh by 10 wickets, with 29.4 overs still to be bowled, after an opening stand of 155 between Herschelle Gibbs and Graeme Smith,.From winning the toss, the South Africans retained control of the match. Makhaya Ntini’s pace and length was once again the problem for the Bangladesh top order. The line and length from Shaun Pollock added to the pressure with only 23 runs coming off the first 10 overs.After the first wicket went down for 26, Bangladesh never recovered and soon found themselves five down with 57 on the board and half the overs gone.A couple of small partnerships and a bit of a flurry at the end of the innings restored the innings to 154/9.Tushar Imran, Tapash Baisya and Manjural Islam showed that they were more adept at attacking than defending. Tushar aggressive from his first ball, lofted consecutive boundaries off both Allan Donald and Lance Klusener. With Dale Benkenstein coming on to bowl, Tushar’s eyes opened too wide and was caught chasing a very wide ball for 23 off 31.Manjural swinging down the line from way outside the leg stump, scored 13 off 18 balls including two boundaries before being run out.Baisya’s contribution was a couple of boundaries and a big six over mid wicket from the bowling of Donald. He ended on 35 off 46 balls.For the rest Bangladesh have to decide if they want to just bat out the 50 overs, or play more attacking cricket. At the top end of the order far too many balls are being left from which runs could be scored off.Pollock, Donald and Klusener all bowled well but it was Ntini who claimed 3/28 who was the pick of the bowlers.A target of 155 was never going to cause the South Africans any problems.Smith and Gibbs started aggressively with Gibbs in chase of his fourth, and record, hundred in as many innings.Gibbs was ruthless on anything that resembled a bit of width. Although dropped, in the thirties, by Tushar, he went to his 50 in 39 balls including 10 boundaries.Gibbs had his record bid bungled by a four run wide from Alok Kapali. Instead of needing four runs, out of the six needed for the win, he now had to score a boundary to set the new record and also score South Africa’s fastest hundred in a One-Day International.A powerful drive down the field was cut off by the fielder racing round from wide long on, and the run taken ended the match with Gibbs stranded on 97 off 66 balls including 19 boundaries and Smith on 48 off 58 balls including 5 boundaries.One shuddrs to think what would have happened had South AFrica batted first.

Ricky Ponting, the Australian captain, has said that he was both happy and relieved after playing a vital innings of 156, which helped Australia to secure a thrilling draw against England in the third Test at Old Trafford.Ponting denied the England bowlers for seven hours but his epic vigil appeared to have been futile when he gloved a catch to the wicketkeeper, eaving Brett Lee and Glenn McGrath to face four overs from Andrew Flintof and Steve Harmison. But both survived some gut-wrenching moments as Australia hung on for a draw.”I thought I had let the whole thing slip so the emotions have been up and down all day,” Ponting was quoted as saying in AFP. “I had a little tantrum when I got out and sat in the dressing-room with my head down for a while because I thought the game had slipped away from us. It was difficult enough for me batting out there against Flintoff and Harmison at the end,” said Ponting whose 156 was his personal best against England, “so having Glenn and Brett subject to it for four overs meant I didn’t have a lot of faith in them. But they managed to get through and do a fantastic job once again, as they have all series.”Michael Vaughan, the England captain, said that he was very proud of the way his side had played at Old Trafford. Having outplayed Australia for most of the Test only one wicket stood between England from taking a 2-1 lead in the series. “We were one wicket away from going 2-1 up,” he said, “and a lot of people will say ‘you must be disappointed’ but I’m very proud of the way the team have responded to going 1-0 down at Lord’s [where England lost the series opener by 239 runs last month]. Three weeks ago we were written off; we were out of the contest, 5-0 I kept on hearing. It’s now 1-1 with two to play.”Vaughan said that he was pleased with how the team had coped with tense situations in the series. “The team and individuals have shown a lot of character. We’ve got nine days to rest our bodies and minds. We will arrive next week at Trent Bridge fully focused and hoping to go 2-1 up there.”With Ian Bell scoring two fifties at Old Trafford and impressive performances from their bowlers, Vaughan felt that England had a very bright future because of the young talent in the side. “I think this England team can go as far as it wants to. We’ve shown, in the last two weeks, we’ve got a lot of character, a lot of ability and a lot of young players in the team which only bodes well for future.”Vaughan added that at no stage during the Test did he think that the match was won. “You can never think you’ve done it against Australia. There was a time when we took the ninth wicket and you’ve got four overs to go and you think you’ve got an opportunity. But those two [Lee and McGrath] hung in very well. I think we really used our resources well this week on this wicket, both with batting and bowling.”While a draw is never as good as a win, Ponting said that he was happy with how the team had rallied and salvaged parity from a grim situation. Rating his innings as one of his best, Ponting said, “That was one of my best knocks, not just a match-saving one. It is satisfying to put your hand up when it matters and do the things the team requires as a batter and as a leader. I don’t think a draw ever feels like a win but we worked extremely hard to sneak away. It was a long, hard day of Test cricket and an unbelievable Test match once again.”We have had to scrap and fight for everything; this is certainly the highest-intensity Test cricket I have played in for the last four or five years and you won’t find two better tussles than you have witnessed over the last two weeks,” said Ponting. “We haven’t done a lot right but they’ve been unbelievable games.”After being set 423 to win, Ponting admitted that victory had never been a serious possibility. “We thought if we could get through the first two sessions of play without losing many wickets an opportunity might present itself in the last session. If we had wickets in hand we could have had a go at it. We wanted to remain positive and at the end of the day we were only 52 runs away and we haven’t tried at all to win that Test match because we weren’t in a position to do that.”Australia’s batting has looked suspect all series and Ponting said that the performances of the top order weren’t satisfactory. “We’ve had two really good wickets to bat on in our first innings and we’ve only just managed to get to three hundred both times. That’s not good enough. We’ve got guys who are in good form and look good for short periods of time and they are just getting out. We’ve got to rectify that. If we actually start finding some form and hitting top gear you’d like to think the results would be slightly different.”Though the game ended in a draw, Vaughan said that England were dominant throughout the Test match and would take a lot of positives from the game. “We’ve been talking about psychological advantages and disadvantages all summer,” said Vaughan. “We can take a lot out of this game. We’ve dominated four days of Test cricket against the number one team in the world. I don’t think we lost any sessions.”Simon Jones, who took 6 for 53 in Australia’s first innings, was singled out for praise. “His [Jones’] bowling has come on in leaps and bounds since the Bangladesh series this season, said Vaughan. “To get six for 53 against the Aussies is a great effort.”Old Trafford was packed with 23,000 fans for the match and Vaughan was appreciative of their support. “I couldn’t believe how many people were outside the ground. It’s fantastic. It does show a respect for the two teams who are playing out there. They are playing good cricket, it’s great entertainment and the nation’s talking about it.”He said that he hoped that the last two Tests would do justice to the high-quality cricket that’s been on display so far. “I really do hope the final two games are as good as the last two because I think the series deserves that. Trent Bridge should be another classic, turn up.”