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By his own standards, Lance Klusener has had a quiet time of it in the Standard Bank one-day series against New Zealand, but on Kingsmead on Wednesday night he showed that there’s still a bit left in the great lump of wood he uses as a bat.Klusener’s ferocious onslaught in the fifth match of the series brought him 41 off 18 balls, the last 27 coming off just seven deliveries as the game was snatched away from New Zealand for South Africa to win by six wickets and take a 4-0 lead in the series.The South Africans had been chasing a revised target of 153 off 32 overs after two rain breaks while New Zealand were batting ended their innings at 114 for five off 32.4 overs. It might have looked tricky for the home side but Jacques Kallis batted through after coming in at the end of the second over of the innings, and Klusener battered the last of the life left out of New Zealand to see South Africa home with nine balls remaining.Kallis took the man of the match award, finishing not out on 50 to add to his 100th ODI wicket – picked up when he ripped out Roger Twose’s middle stump – and two catches at slip. The award might just as easily have gone to Klusener, though, as South Africa again denied New Zealand with another confident and assured performance.Kallis had to survive an awful blow to the nether regions when he was hit amidships by Shayne O’Connor. So fierce was the blow that it shattered his box and he noted afterwards (with his voice back to its usual pitch) that he was thinking of asking his sponsors for a couple of extras and might employ three protectors in future.But while nothing really serious can seem to go wrong for the South Africans, New Zealand remain stuck in the starting blocks. They were caught on a tricky pitch that offered bounce and lateral movement, lost two early wickets, rebuilt their innings through Stephen Fleming and Twose and then had to rebuild it again after both went in the space of six balls.”We’re getting closer to competing well enough,” said Fleming afterwards, “but we’re certainly not happy with not getting over the mark. It’s frustrating.”This was, perhaps, the closest of the four matches won by South Africa in the series after the adjustment. In effect, the South Africans had to face four fewer deliveries than New Zealand, but were asked to score 39 more. Kallis wasn’t the only one at Kingsmead somewhat perplexed by the arithmetic of it, but in victory he was able to concede that “I don’t think they’ve come up with the right system yet, but it’s probably the best system so far”.The South Africans claimed afterwards that they always felt they had the match in hand. This nonchalance may have stemmed from the fact that they chased down the target with a bit to spare, but it is also the product of the confidence that comes from winning.”They’ve got a number of quality players throughout their batting,” said Fleming. “Klusener hasn’t done it in this series for a while, so he was due his turn. It’s nice when you get into that rotation and we’ve had it. We had it against the West Indies at home. It’s a confidence thing. You know you want to be it and someone else is going to do it as well. Once you get on that roll, it’s a case of keeping it.”New Zealand, though, haven’t managed to peg down that elusive “it” since leaving Kenya. There’s one last chance in the final match of the series at Newlands on Saturday and for the sake of the confidence of the entire squad with the Test series lying ahead, they desperately need to break the rhythm of defeat.

Australia captain Steven Smith has won the top ICC awards for 2014-15, being named Cricketer of the Year as well as Test Cricketer of the Year.Smith became the seventh player after Rahul Dravid (2004), Jacques Kallis (2005), Ricky Ponting (2006), Kumar Sangakkara (2012), Michael Clarke (2013) and Mitchell Johnson (2014) to bag both awards in the same year.Smith was “thrilled” to receive the awards, but said he would end 2015 with “mixed feelings”.”Given that there are so many great players around the world, I’m incredibly honoured to receive these awards,” he said. “While team success is always my number one motivation, awards like this are very special. I’m thrilled and very proud to receive them.”I will look back on 2015 with mixed feelings. Winning the ICC Cricket World Cup at home was a career highlight, and being appointed captain is a great honour, but the disappointment of losing the Ashes remains.”To be the best team that we can be, we have to become better at winning away from home, and that remains our motivation heading into 2016.”South Africa’s ODI captain AB de Villiers was named ODI Cricketer of the Year for the second successive year, while his compatriot Faf du Plessis won the T20 Performance of the Year award for his 56-ball 119 against West Indies in January. Australia fast bowler Josh Hazlewood was named the Emerging Cricketer of the Year.The two awards in women’s cricket, for the ODI Cricketer of the Year and T20I Cricketer of the year, went to Australia captain Meg Lanning and West Indies allrounder Stafanie Taylor respectively.Former UAE captain Khurram Khan was named Associate and Affiliate Cricketer of the Year, while Richard Kettleborough got the Umpire of the Year award for the third straight year.New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum, who has announced he will retire from international cricket in February, bagged the Spirit of Cricket award, for “inspiring his side to play the game in its true spirit”.McCullum said his team-mates deserved as much recognition for buying into his sportsmanlike vision of cricket.”The team has loved how the New Zealand public and cricket fans from around the world have responded to the way we’ve played our cricket in the last 12 months,” he said. “I think the Spirit of Cricket is hugely important and I feel extremely honoured to have received the award. It does take buy in from the entire team though and the rest of the Blackcaps squad needs to be recognised for this as well.”The awards were given on the basis of performances during the voting period between September 18, 2014, and September 13, 2015. In that period, Smith was the leading run-getter in Tests, with 1734 runs at an average of 82.57. In that period he also made 1249 ODI runs at 59.47, his excellence across the two formats contributing to his winning the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy for Cricketer of the Year.De Villiers, the ODI winner, made 1265 runs in that format in the voting period, at an average of 79.06 and a just-as-astounding strike rate of 128.42. The 24-year-old Hazlewood, who made his Test debut in December 2014, took 40 Test wickets in the voting period.Lanning was the top Women’s ODI run-getter in the voting period, with 531 runs at 88.50, while Taylor finished on top of the Women’s T20I charts with 340 runs at an average of 42.50 and a strike rate of 105.91.Awards list
ICC Cricketer of the Year (Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy) – Steven Smith
Test Cricketer of the Year – Steven Smith
ODI Cricketer of the Year – AB de Villiers
Women’s ODI Cricketer of the Year – Meg Lanning
Women’s T20I Cricketer of the Year – Stafanie Taylor
T20I Performance of the Year – Faf du Plessis
Emerging Cricketer of the Year – Josh Hazlewood
Associate/Affiliate Cricketer of the Year – Khurram Khan
Spirit of Cricket Award – Brendon McCullum
Umpire of the Year (David Shepherd Trophy) – Richard Kettleborough

Tatenda Taibu returns for Zimbabwe, but questions remain whether the tour should even go ahead © AFP

Hark, yonder mobile phone is abuzz with a text message. From Zimbabwe.”Are you coming up for the tour? Need some warning to go hunting for food!”No, your correspondent does not eat more than the average reporter. It’s just that he has loads of good friends in Zimbabwe who make damn fine dinner hosts.But it would seem that these days Zimbabweans – even those with the means to “go hunting for food” – don’t know where their next meal will come from.Not that the South Africans who will play three one-dayers in Zimbabwe next week will have to worry about such trivialities as they ponder their room-service menus. Actually, cricket aficionados of all stripes don’t seem to have expended much thought on South Africa’s imminent jaunt northward to take on the world champions (of inflation, that is).The media remains confused over Jacques Kallis’ omission from the squad for the Twenty20 World Championship and with Mark Boucher’s spirited reaction to his friend and team-mate’s fate. The absence of both Kallis and Boucher from the squad to tour Zimbabwe was explained away by Cricket South Africa (CSA), which also labelled the matches against Zimbabwe as preparation for the Twenty20 event.None of the selected players have said anything about the dangers of lending legitimacy to one of the planet’s most oppressive regimes. Perhaps that is the price we pay for raising a generation of abject professionals. Or are the players mindful of what happened to Errol Stewart, who withdrew from the 2003 South Africa A tour to Zimbabwe on moral grounds and was promptly barred from representing his country again?It would be cynical to wonder whether CSA created the Kallis situation with the express aim of taking the sting out of this disgraceful tour. But we need to forgive our cynical selves considering CSA is a bedfellow of the ICC. After all, it is the ICC who has refused to take Zimbabwe off the international fixture list.”The Zimbabwe issue was debated fully, and at length, at the ICC annual meeting in London,” Norman Arendse, CSA’s president said on August 9 after Cricinfo’s broadside against South Africa A’s tour to Zimbabwe. “Despite initial criticism from countries like Australia, England and New Zealand, after full debate and discussion, the Full Member countries of the ICC unanimously agreed to retain Zimbabwe as a full member.”That can only mean the cricket bosses of nice, civilised, First World places like England, Australia and New Zealand are not repulsed by the starvation, routine violence and strife that is part of the daily reality of living in Zimbabwe.In other words, they just don’t give a

Sean Ervine’s action has been impressive at Hampshire © Getty Images

Sean Ervine, the former Zimbabwe allrounder, is eyeing a long-awaited debut for Western Australia after he was picked in the Ford Ranger Cup squad for the one-day game against Victoria at the WACA on Friday. Ervine moved to Perth to escape the problems of his national team and was unable to earn a starting spot over the past two seasons.However, he has performed strongly in two warm-up matches, scoring 122 in the WACA zone competition and 127 in the Retravision Shield, and received a call-up to the 12-man outfit. Ervine, who performed solidly for Hampshire in the off-season, appeared in five Tests and 42 one-day internationals for Zimbabwe during a three-year career. Justin Langer will lead the Warriors and his squad also includes Brett Dorey and Shaun Marsh.Western Australia FR Cup squad Justin Langer (capt), Marcus North, Luke Ronchi (wk), Shaun Marsh, Adam Voges, Chris Rogers, Sean Ervine, Peter Worthington, Brett Dorey, Ben Edmondson, Steve Magoffin, Aaron Heal.

Sourav Ganguly and Greg Chappell: “It’s now difficult to see how they can both work together.” © AFP

Greg Chappell’s suggestion that Sourav Ganguly should step down from the captaincy was an honest opinion expressed during mutual discussions, and not an open demand as it has come to being portrayed after Ganguly made it public at a press conference during the first Test between India and Zimbabwe.In fact, this was a matter strictly between the captain and coach till the day before the Bulawayo Test when Ganguly chose to involve Rahul Dravid, the vice-captain, and Amitabh Chowdhary, the administrative manager. Cricinfo has spoken to a few sources close to the Indian team to piece together the full story.Chappell’s suggestion was neither abrupt nor out of the blue, but a result of several discussions over the composition of the team and planning for the future. Chappell was a strong proponent of picking the best possible XI, and during one of the frank discussions between coach and captain, he suggested that India would be better served if Ganguly focused on getting his batting organised by stepping down from the captaincy.Perhaps taken by surprise, Ganguly asked Chappell if he was serious. Chappell said that if Ganguly was interested in an honest opinion, then he had it. The ideal Indian Test middle-order, according to Chappell, was Dravid, Laxman, Yuvraj and Kaif. This discussion took place in Mutare, where India were playing a warm-up game.The matter of team selection came up again before the first Test. Mohammed Kaif, who had looked India’s best batsman in the triangular one-day series that preceded the Test, was included in the XII and when it came to choosing between him and Yuvraj Singh, another batsman who had done well in the one-dayers, Ganguly asked Chappell for his preference. Chappell reiterated that he should pick the best XI and when Ganguly pushed him for a frank opinion, Chappell said that left to him, he would have them both in the team ahead of Ganguly.Ganguly once again asked if Chappell was serious and Chappell replied that he should consider the long-term future of Indian cricket and think about his legacy rather than his immediate future. He added that it was a decision that he should take himself, and if and when he chose to step down, he should do so with good grace.Ganguly then stormed off to the dressing-room, summoned Dravid and Chowdhary and informed them that he was packing his bags and leaving because Chappell didn’t want him in the team. Chowdhary then asked Chappell to join in and it was decided that the captain leaving in the middle of a tour would be disastrous. Ganguly stayed on, but the matter didn’t stay inside the dressing-room.”By choosing to go public, Sourav has drawn the battle lines,” said a source close to team. “It’s now difficult to see how they can both work together. The Indian board will now have to choose between one of them.”Click here to send us your feedback on the issue.

Ehsan Mani launches the ICC Champions Trophy© Getty Images

At a glitzy function to mark the India launch of the ICC Champions Trophy 2004, Ehsan Mani, the president of the ICC, and Malcolm Speed, the chief executive, spelled out the plans they had for the tournament, and what they hoped to achieve.When asked how the ICC planned spent the money generated by the event, Mani said: “All the money coming out of the Champions Trophy goes into development. We have allocated US$13million from each event for development in associate and affiliate member countries. Anything over that goes into development of full member countries. So, every penny of profit or surplus earned from these tournaments goes into development.”On the subject of money, Mani was reminded of the problems the ICC faced with relation to players’ contracts. Mani was emphatic in stating that he expected none of the problems that blighted last year’s World Cup to crop up this time around. “Since then we have been in discussion with all the boards and our commercial partners and there is no disagreement on the way forward, so I don’t expect their to be any dispute at all on this matter.”While Mani dealt with the big picture, Speed got down to the nitty-gritties. As has already been announced, the ICC will be experimenting with the use of technology to aid umpires in the Champions Trophy. The first stem would be “wiring the umpires” to earphones that play the output from the stump microphones. The second step involves giving the third umpire the power to adjudicate on no-balls. This gives the standing umpire an opportunity to focus on decisions at the batsman’s end.”That Champions Trophy is the perfect opportunity to experiment, in that we have the twelve teams together,” said Speed. “It’s a short, sharp tournament played over three grounds, so it’s not difficult to get the cameras in place to do the research. All of the top umpires and referees are there, so we get feedback from them at one time. We can talk to the captains about their response to it.”This experimentation has minimum impact on the cricket that is played. It is not going to affect anything that the players are doing. They will be told that the umpires are wired and that the third umpire would call the no-balls. There might be a slight delay between the third umpire being able to signal to the standing umpire and he then signalling the no-ball. The players want the umpires to focus at the business end and get it right there.”The last edition of the tournament, held in Sri Lanka, was jointly won by India and Sri Lanka, when rain washed the final out at the halfway mark even on the reserve day. That is something that won’t happen this time around. “We play on the first day. If the match is not concluded we continue, not replay, it on the second day,” said Speed. “If we get to the second day and the match is then weather-affected, Duckworth Lewis will apply on the second day only.”The participation of the United States of America, who qualified through an ICC feeder tournament, has been a big step forward in the development of the game in that region. This is something both Mani and Speed looked forward to with excitement. “We have targeted that USA as an important region for development of cricket,” said Mani. “There are huge amounts of people who play the game there. Expatriate West Indian and Asian cricketers make for a very active scene. I believe there are about 10,000 active cricketers in the USA and that’s more than, say Nepal. What we have done is agreed to allocate resources in the United States, we will appoint a chief executive there soon.”However, Speed was quick to clarify that the ICC was not looking to compete with established sports in the USA: “We’re not saying we want cricket to be the next NFL, NBA or MLB. But, there is an opportunity for cricket to come into the USA because of the huge number of expatriates. What we’re seeking to do is start the game using these expatriates, and then take the game forward. We see it ultimately as being an effective niche sport in USA, not something that challenges the big ones.”

When I was in Kenya in 2001, at the then end of a West Indian tour of Zimbabwe, Maurice Odumbe and Steve Tikolo, the former and present captains of Kenya, made it a point to tell me, friend to friend, that, like Muhammad Ali when he beat George Foreman, “We are going to shock the world again.”

© Reuters

That first shock referred to, of course, was their win over the West Indies in the 1996 World Cup, and although that line was again remembered when Kenya beat Sri Lanka, I believed more shocks were in store. It seemed, like Odumbe and Tikolo, I was correct, and Zimbabwe and the rest of the cricketing world got another surprise as Kenya qualified for the semi-finals of the 2003 World Cup.Friend or not, these Kenyans undoubtedly play cricket as the West Indians did in the 70s and 80s, with tremendous passion, even though they may be more limited in ability. They play to their full potential and enjoy it thoroughly. In most cases, they have nothing to lose, but now, they may have the World Cup to win.Zimbabwe were already shaken up with internal wrangling; a selector quit, their best batsman, Andy Flower, announced retirement, and Henry Olonga was selected only to prove that he was not cast into the cold after his political statement. Zimbabwe, consequently, were as unprepared as could be, and that Flower made 63 out of 133 all out tells a sorry tale. Being the veteran and professional that he is, Andy Flower would have known the importance of the game, both to himself and to his team, and it was not a happy exit from the national side for a man who always gave 200 percent on the field.The find of this World Cup, though, is leg-spinner Collins Otieno Obuya. To date, he has bamboozled two Test-level teams – Sri Lanka and then Zimbabwe – with figures of five for 24 and three for 32. Eight wickets for 56 from 20 overs for a leg-spinner from a non-Test side – amazing! Shane Warne, look out! To be very honest, the world seems to be this chap’s oyster.The Kenyan fielding also reminds me of the Clive Lloyd-led sides of the late 70s and 80s. It is not that they do not have the occasional misfield or dropped catch; every team does. But Kenya does not fear anybody any team. They are as enthusiastic when playing against the big boys of Sri Lanka and South Africa as against Canada and Bangladesh. They play as if every game is their next shot at greatness, and perhaps their last. What a refreshing cricket team!Whatever happens from here, the Kenyans have already almost progressed to cricketing immortality. The games against Australia and then the semi-final against India notwithstanding, Kenya will be world-famous and as well known as Cameroon was in the 1990 soccer World Cup. Cameroon has since been dubbed the “Indomitable Lions,” and the Kenyans play cricket like unconquerable lions!

NOTTINGHAM, England – Australian coach John Buchanan has denied adocument proclaiming “psychological control” over England wasintentionally leaked to the media ahead of the third Ashes Test at TrentBridge.However, Buchanan admitted to caring little that in-house correspondencewas now in the public domain, including most back pages of Englishnewspapers.His memo, which relates theories from fifth-century BC Chinese warriorSun Tzu’s book “The Art of War” to Australia’s Ashes campaign, wasslipped under the door of journalists as well as his players by areceptionist at the team’s Southampton hotel on the weekend.Conspiracy theorists claim Buchanan may have wanted the thoughts of theAustralian camp to become public, but he denied this was the case.”I don’t think I’m a devious sort of person,” Buchanan said.”It’s a fairly common practice, I put material under the door ofplayers.”It seems I’ve put the material under the door of a lot of media at thesame stage.”I don’t see it as a mistake, it’s just unfortunate that somehow itescaped our normal channels.”Buchanan gives his players motivational material as often as once a weekand often delivers it himself but occasionally he asks hotel staff todeliver the papers to the appropriate rooms.The heart of the receptionist responsible for the gaffe in Southamptonmust have missed a beat this morning when the story dominated newspaper,television and radio reports.”It’s always in the back of my mind that it might sneak out, not that Iwant it to happen,” Buchanan added.”There are ways and means of getting around it I suppose but maybe I’mnot worried about that, either.”The beliefs of Tzu were accompanied by hand-written notes from Buchanan.Alongside Tzu’s direction to “forestall an opponent by seizing what heholds dear,” Buchanan scrawled: “Overall, this English team is hangingonto excuses (eg injuries, toss, bad luck, dropped catches, etc). Bygradually taking each of these away, ultimately there is no place tohide.”He stood his ground on that claim.”In the end we’re in a more comfortable position and therefore it isdifficult when you’re not winning games and you are trying to assess whythat’s not the case,” he said.”Ultimately you’ve got to be responsible and accountable for what goeson out on the field.”Buchanan said he would be satisfied if only a handful of his 17-mansquad actually read the memo.”I don’t for one minute think that it’s going to be the bible for 17players, that’s for sure,” he said.”All it’s intended to do is focus our attention not only on this gamebut the rest of the series, and also beyond the series trying to extendpeople a little bit and get them to think a bit differently, look atthings differently.”Australia, expected to announce an unchanged XI from the side that wonat Lord’s by eight wickets, and England trained at Trent Bridge today.

Everton manager Sam Allardyce hinted that he is set to stay next season in his pre-match press conference for the Premier League trip to Huddersfield Town this weekend, and Toffees fans have been quick to have their say on the news.

The 63-year-old was questioned about what was discussed during talks with owner Farhad Moshiri in London on Thursday, and he replied by saying they were “discussing plans for next season” and that he has “some clarity moving forward now”.

The former England boss continues to be hugely unpopular among the Goodison Park faithful, who continue to slate him on Twitter, as they aren’t enjoying their team’s performances despite the fact they currently lie in eighth position in the standings.

Everton supporters were quick to have their say on Allardyce’s latest comments via social media, and while one said “he must go”, another said “we get what we deserve”.

Here is just a selection of the Twitter reaction…

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Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsFile photo: Jahurul Islam steered Rangpur Riders’ chase of 136•Associated Press

Rangpur Riders inflicted three timely run-outs and then batted well to beat Dhaka Dynamites by six wickets. The win meant that Rangpur, Comilla Victorians and Barisal Bulls now have 10 points each on the table, while Dhaka are in fourth place with six points, and still need to strengthen their lead over Chittagong Vikings and Sylhet Super Stars, who have four points each.The fielding was the main difference between the two sides. Dhaka misfielded several times, especially Sohail Khan at the boundary, while Rangpur made sure that their bowling wasn’t going to be the only thing attacking Dhaka as they limited the side to 135 for 7. Jahurul Islam was in charge of the chase for most of the time, ending with an unbeaten 35 off 26 balls with four boundaries.When Rangpur’s chase began, however, there were plenty of plays and misses from the Rangpur openers – Soumya Sarkar and Lendl Simmons – in the first six overs. Soumya hit just the two fours and a magnificent pull off Sohail Khan in the fifth over but in the following over, Abul Hasan had him caught at mid-off as he attempted to bunt the medium-pacer. Simmons was caught at point off the same bowler, after making only 18. Rangpur’s chase received a further jolt when, in the 12th over, Mustafizur Rahman duped Shakib Al Hasan to give a catch to mid-on to make the score 74 for 3.Sammy had a terrible time at the start of his innings, missing deliveries against Mustafizur and Abul, but just as things were getting tougher for Rangpur, Shykat Ali was given a third over with 54 needed off 42 balls. Sammy struck two fours and Jahurul got one past the wicketkeeper to take 16 runs off the over. In the next over, the pair combined to hit Sohail Khan for three fours in a 15-run over. The target came down to 23 off 30 balls.Mohammad Irfan had Sammy drag one on to the stumps after making a 21-ball 23, with 17 needed off the last 24 balls. Jahurul kept his cool and, with Thisara Perera, made sure the win was achieved with 10 balls to spare.When Dhaka decided to bat, the 45-run, fourth-wicket partnership between Nasir Hossain and Kumar Sangakkara was the best part of their batting. That partnership helped the side overcome a sluggish start after they had slipped to 39 for 3 in the seventh over. Shadman Islam was the first to go, run out by Soumya Sarkar’s direct hit in the fourth over. Shamsur Rahman was struck in front against Shakib, before Shykat, impressive while hitting the two fours and the six, holed out at long-off for 18.Sangakkara and Nasir worked on picking the singles and twos, and occasionally found the boundary; the stand-out shot was Sangakkara’s inside-out six over cover off Mohammad Nabi in the 11th over. The partnership had the potential to push the total past the 150-mark, especially after Arafat Sunny dropped Sangakkara on 29 but, off the very next ball, Shakib’s direct hit from short midwicket found the batsman inches short of the crease.Nasir made a 28-ball 30 and, after Sangakkara’s dismissal, tried to push the run-rate. He even struck a six off Sunny but was gone next ball after the bowler turned it and beat Nasir’s charge. Ryan ten Doeschate swept one straight down deep square-leg’s throat in the 18th over before Mosaddek Hossain was run out trying to run a bye after Thisara Perera bowled a wide at the end of the penultimate over.Apart from Sunny’s two-wicket haul and the three run-outs, Sammy and Shakib had one wicket each.