World Cup 2015 chairman James Strong dies

James Strong, chairman of the local organising committee for the 2015 World Cup, has died aged 68 after complications from surgery.

He died on Sunday evening in a Sydney hospital, having held the tournament chairman's position since August 2011. The tournament chief executive John Harnden said Strong had made a major contribution to the event.

"James has been a friend and a mentor to me over a long period and I will miss his company and his advice," Harnden said. "He has made a massive contribution to corporate and sporting life in Australia and New Zealand.

"We extend our sincere condolences to his family and many friends. We will continue the work he began on the World Cup and deliver a tournament in 2015 that would make him proud."

Before working on the organisation of the World Cup, Strong had been the chief executive and managing director of Qantas from 1993 until 2001. He had also served as chairman of the Australia Council for the Arts, alongside senior roles with Woolworths, Rip Curl, IAG and Kathmandu.

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PCB calls for revival of international cricket in Pakistan

On the fourth anniversary of the terrorist attack on the Sri Lankan team bus in Lahore, the PCB chairman Zaka Ashraf has called on the world to stand with Pakistan and help revive international cricket in the country. "It was the tragic episode in the history of Pakistan cricket," Ashraf, who is also a member of the ruling Pakistan People's Party's central executive committee, told ESPNcricinfo. "We have suffered a lot in fighting against terrorism - a war that is the entire world's and Pakistan is fighting as a front-line state. The whole world should stand with us in helping revive international cricket."

On March 3, 2009, the Sri Lanka team was on its way to the Gaddafi Stadium for the third day of the second Test against Pakistan, when gunmen opened fire and threw grenades at the bus, killing eight people at Liberty roundabout, one-and-a-half kilometres away from the stadium. The match was abandoned, Sri Lanka left the country the same day, Pakistan was stripped of its right to host the 2011 World Cup and there has been no international cricket in the country since. For the last four years, Pakistan have been playing their 'home' series mostly in the UAE.

Youth development in Pakistan cricket is on hold as no team, even at the youth level, is ready to tour. The PCB has suffered a budget deficit for years, stadiums are getting rusty, fans have been deprived. Around two dozen players made their international debut for Pakistan in this period, but are yet to play an international game in their own country.

The PCB is still haunted by the impact of the incident and doesn't like to be reminded of what happened. The board is now waiting for a change in the political landscape in the country, hoping it will lead to greater stability.

The PCB had tried to win back the confidence of players by organising the lucrative Twenty20 league, offering top players from around the world a chance to earn over $100,000 tax-free in 10 days. But the plan was hit by logistical arrangements and the board had to postpone it indefinitely. The PCB also tried hard to negotiate with the Bangladesh Cricket Board to commit to a tour of Pakistan but the series never happened, with Bangladesh withdrawing after committing twice. West Indies, in recent times, have refused to send their A team to Pakistan, proposing instead to play in the UAE.

The PCB, in the meantime, is focusing on building cricket infrastructure in Pakistan, a chaotic process in a time of isolation. A new stadium, Shaheed Benazir Bhutto International Cricket Stadium at Garhi Khuda Bakhsh in Naudero, Sindh, was completed last year; another one has been sanctioned in the capital Islamabad with a lodging facility. Domestic cricket has been revamped, with the introduction of an additional Twenty20 national championship between eight top teams around the country to keep the stadiums active.

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O'Keefe forfeits NSW captaincy

Steve O'Keefe has forfeited the captaincy of New South Wales in order to more vigorously pursue a place bowling left-arm spin for Australia.

Towards the end of his second summer leading the Blues whenever Michael Clarke is not available, O'Keefe volunteered to give up the job ahead of the state's final two Sheffield Shield matches, reckoning it would give him a greater chance of taking the wickets he needs to push for an international spot.

The Blues will instead by led by the batsman Ben Rohrer, who enjoyed success as interim captain last month when O'Keefe was briefly injured.

O'Keefe stated recently his disappointment at being passed over for a place in the Test squad to tour India, despite his possession of the most persuasive first-class bowling figures among all slow bowlers in the Sheffield Shield.

However apart from an eight-wicket match haul against Western Australia at Blacktown Oval recently, O'Keefe's bowling and batting returns have diminished during his time as captain, occasionally leaving selectors to ponder his best role in the NSW side.

O'Keefe's decision to abandon the captaincy also follows two years of largely barren results for NSW, and a raft of recent changes at the state association, which now has vacancies for the positions of chief executive and head coach plus a new chairman in John Warn.

Taking on the captaincy at the start of the 2011-12 season, O'Keefe was an unexpected choice to replace Simon Katich, who was keen to continue as state captain but was encouraged by the former CEO David Gilbert that the time was right for a change.

This left O'Keefe and the new coach Anthony Stuart as the inexperienced duo in charge, contributing partly to a poor summer. When results did not improve this season, Stuart was dismissed, and Gilbert and the chairman Harry Harinath have also now left.

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Warne's spin on Australian slow bowling

Shane Warne's manifesto for Australian cricket has finally ventured into the area he knows most about: spin bowling. In summing up the underlying reasons for a dreadful dearth in genuinely accomplished spinners around the country, Warne all but acknowledges that his was an impossible act to follow.

While offering the novel suggestion that spin bowlers the world over would benefit from an increase in the height and width of the stumps to compensate for advancements in bats and the reduced size of grounds, Warne's main point revolved around how spinners are viewed in Australia.

He reasoned that spin bowlers are now expected to provide exactly the sort of threat he once did - simultaneously an attacking weapon and defensive bulwark, able to dry up runs then clamber all over an opponent with wickets the moment circumstances changed. This, Warne said, was a commission too great to expect of the vast majority of young slow bowlers.

"I think the problem lies in what we expect from our young spin bowlers and the way they are handled at domestic level by their captains and coaches," Warne wrote. "The attitude should always be about taking wickets and not about economy rates: 4/100 off 25 overs is a good result and better than 2/60 off 25 overs.

"I believe the expectations are too high and the young spinners are put under a lot of pressure to be both attacking wicket takers as well as tight economical bowlers, which is very hard to do.

"My guidelines on what to look for in a young spinner is pretty simple; someone who can spin the ball. Any fast bowler that can swing or make the ball move has a chance to take wickets; if they bowl straight they will struggle. The same criteria applies for spin bowling."

Among the problems faced by young spinners is the expectation, both from themselves and their captains, that they will be capable of bowling equally well across all three formats, when the subtleties and requirements range from first-class matches to Twenty20s is vast.

Warne did not play T20 until his career was entering its twilight - how different might he have turned out if he had been juggling the shortest form with first-class matches and his early Tests in 1992?

"Twenty20 and 50 over cricket are a hindrance in the development of a young spinner as you have to bowl differently in those forms; with so many $'s involved in the various 20/20 competitions around the world, it's not an easy situation," Warne wrote. "This is where the responsibility falls upon the player.

"If the young spinner wants to play Test cricket for Australia, then maybe they have to back themselves to learn how to bowl before taking up the options available to them around the world in the shorter forms of the game.

"Easy to say, I know, but I believe we should identify our top four spinners and put them on a decent contract and have them play nothing but first class cricket for twelve months and then take a view and re-assess."

Lastly, Warne emphasised the importance of a strong, constructive relationship between a spin bowler and his captain. While Michael Clarke has largely set a decent example of this for Australia in recent times, stories are legion of Shield and club captains either misusing their spinners or ignoring them completely

"They also have to play under a captain who is prepared to back the spinner and play them in all 10-shield games not just in Adelaide or Sydney where the ball spins," Warne wrote. "This way, the spinner gets experience in all the different conditions and the good spinners will adapt and find a way to be successful.

"The more a captain can put a young spinner, and the team for that matter, in situations where they have to learn how to win a game for the team or help contribute to a win, the faster the jar of experience strengthens along with their confidence.

"Nothing beats knowing the captain has faith in you and will back you, as Alan Border did with me when I started. It means a lot, eases your mindset and boosts your confidence."

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Pakistan look for victory in comfort zone

Match Facts

March 3, 2013
Start time 1430 local (1230 GMT)

Big Picture

After the first T20 was washed out in Durban, the T20 trophy is up for grabs with just one match to be played. Unlike in the Tests, the gulf between the two teams hardly exists and Pakistan may have an upper hand in this format given their record and a new line-up for the new series.

A win for Pakistan will be a much-needed confidence enhancer after the Test-series whitewash and before the three ODIs which will conclude the tour. They have featured in two finals and two semi-finals in the four T20 World Cups but still need to overcome inconsistency and poor form on the current tour.

Experience in their T20 side and a win percentage of 59% in 66 matches might turn out as the ingredients they need for the winning recipe. With the addition of their limited-overs expert, Shahid Afridi, in the dressing room, Pakistan will be itching to taste success on this tour and give Gary Kisrten a headache before the ODI series, for which they will have a different captain.

Beating Pakistan in this format won't be as easy for South Africa as it was in the three Tests, as they have a new permanent captain, have rested Dale Steyn, Hashim Amla and Jacques Kallis, and are without an injured JP Duminy - their highest T20 run-scorer in 2012. Faf du Plessis showed his leadership skills with a 2-1 series win against New Zealand in December, but Pakistan are a different kettle of fish, especially with the bowling attack they possess. South Africa also do not enjoy the supremacy in this format as they do in the Tests, ranked No. 5, only one point ahead of Pakistan.

Form guide

(Completed matches, most recent first)

South Africa: WLWLL
Pakistan: LWLWL

In the spotlight

Shahid Afridi averages 17.25 in South Africa in T20s with the ball and has 12 wickets from eight matches. The pitches may help his zippy legspin which in turn may help revive Pakistan's and his own fortunes as he has only five wickets in his last seven domestic limited-overs matches. If the Afridi of the World T20 2007 (played in South Africa) plays as the Afridi in 2013 on the same grounds, South Africa may not have answers to his bowling which can turn and sting like vipers.

A 33-year old Henry Davids made his international debut against New Zealand less than three months ago and scored two fifties in three matches and topped the run-scoring charts in the series with 143 runs. The test for him will be tougher and more challenging against the likes of Umar Gul, Saeed Ajmal, Mohammad Irfan and others who do not like the sight of batsmen scoring runs against them.

Team news

South Africa have left out Richard Levi, which means Davids will have a new opening partner in AB de Villiers. In the absence of Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel, newbie Kyle Abbott may get a chance in the XI and Chris Morris may get to bat for the first time in T20s.

South Africa: (probable) 1 AB de Villiers (wk), 2 Henry Davids, 3 Faf du Plessis (capt), 4 Justin Ontong, 5 David Miller, 6 Farhaan Behardien, 7 Chris Morris, 8 Robin Peterson, 9 and 10 Rory Kleinveldt/Kyle Abbott/Ryan McLaren, 11 Lonwabo Tsotsobe

The only change Pakistan have made in their squad from the T20s in India is the inclusion of Wahab Riaz in place of Sohail Tanvir. Riaz was not a part of the Test squad but claims to be fitter now and collected 21 wickets (including a hat-trick) in four first-class matches at an average of 12.90 in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy.

Pakistan: (probable) 1 Nasir Jamshed, 2 Ahmed Shehzad, 3 Mohammed Hafeez (capt), 4 Umar Akmal, 5 Shoaib Malik, 6 Kamran Akmal (wk), 7 Shahid Afridi, 8 Umar Gul, 9 Wahab Riaz/Junaid Khan, 10 Saeed Ajmal, 11 Mohammed Irfan

Stats and Trivia

• Pakistan have won five out of the eight T20s they have played in South Africa, their best record in any country after Canada.
• Out of the 60 Pakistan wickets in the Tests, 35 were taken by Dale Steyn and Vernon Philander together, but they aren't playing in the T20 series.

Quotes

"The foundations are being laid so that we can try and do something special and emulate the Test side's performances with a new group of players."
South Africa T20 coach Russell Domingo on his not-so-experienced T20 side.

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Kings XI Punjab sign Sandeep Sharma, Manan Vohra

Kings XI Punjab added two India uncapped players - Manan Vohra and Sandeep Sharma - to their squad for the sixth IPL season. Vohra and Sandeep are the two new players after Aniket Choudhary was signed by Kings XI in February.

Both from Punjab, Vohra is a right-handed batsman and Sandeep a right-arm medium pacer. Sandeep was a part of India's Under-19 squad in the 2012 World Cup which India won. He took four wickets in the final and was the joint highest-wicket taker from India with 12 wickets from six matches at an average of 15.75.

Both Sandeep and Vohra were part of the India squad in the Quadrangular Under-19 series in Australia and in the Under-19 Asia Cup in Kuala Lumpur in 2012. Vohra was involved in a record-chase with Unmukt Chand when India chased 164 against Australia in only 12 overs and Vohra was unbeaten on 79 off 35. Sandeep was India's highest wicket-taker in the series with eight wickets from four matches at an average of 19.25.

While Vohra has played two first-class matches, Sandeep has 12 first-class matches to his name and played for Punjab in the Vijay Hazare Trophy in which his side reached the quarter-finals.

Commenting on the signings, Col. Arvinder Singh, COO, Kings XI Punjab, said, "I am very delighted to have a good performers like Aniket, Manan and Sandeep to be part of the Kings XI team and believe they will effectively contribute to the tournament. We wish them all the best and hope that they can utilise this opportunity as a platform to make a mark a niche for themselves as well."

Kings XI play their first IPL match against Pune Warriors on April 7.

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SLC locks out 23 top players

Sri Lankan cricket is headed towards a major crisis with the board on Saturday night freezing out 23 of its top players over a contracts deadlock, less than a week before the start of the home series against Bangladesh. SLC, which met the players earlier in the day, has told its selectors not to consider those cricketers for any international cricket, including the Bangladesh series, until they agree to their new contract terms.

Player contracts expired on February 28, and all 60 players who were offered new contracts have refused to sign them before the March 2 deadline prescribed by the board.

"We spoke to all of the players present at the meeting, and gave our viewpoints and they also gave their points," SLC president Upali Dharmadasa said. "We have said, 'Nothing doing. We're going to stick to our guns.' It ended like that.

"They will not be getting any facilities that Sri Lanka Cricket has been offering them, including, physios, masseurs and coaches. They can't come for practice at our venues."

New Test captain Angelo Mathews and Twenty20 captain Dinesh Chandimal are among the players frozen out, along with the bulk of Sri Lanka's Test and ODI players. Mathews and Chandimal were appointed captains just over two weeks ago, and are yet to play any matches in their new capacity.

Dharmadasa did not rule out the possibility of Sri Lanka's top cricketers playing in the first Test against Bangladesh in Galle, but only if the players signed their contracts by then. Kumar Sangakkara is the only player immediately affected by the lockout - he was due to play in the three-day tour match against Bangladesh in Matara, which begins on Sunday. The match was supposed to be Sangakkara's return to competitive cricket after fracturing his index finger in the Boxing Day Test.

Dharmadasa also said SLC had not planned any more meetings with the players, but had invited them to put their concerns in writing, and present them to the board.

The major point of dispute in the new contracts is SLC's refusal to pay the players 25% of the board's earnings from ICC events, as they have done since 2003. This payment is to compensate players for their images being used by the ICC and its sponsors to promote the tournament as well as during the event.

Other points of contention include the board's move to freeze payment to cricketers taking part in the IPL for as long as he is with his IPL team, a clause tying pay to team performance, and the scrapping of a convention that allowed players' wives to travel on one tour a year on SLC's money.

Contract terms also sparked a dispute in 2012, though SLC had a weaker bargaining position then, having not paid its players since the 2011 World Cup. The disputes were eventually settled in July after players threatened to boycott the Sri Lanka Premier League, after having played international cricket without an official contract for over four months. Payment from ICC events had also been a sticking point on that occasion, as well as a clause that required the players to have SLC permission before speaking to media.

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Blazing Simmons gives West Indies easy win

West Indies 131 for 2 (Simmons 63*, Dwayne Bravo 38*) beat Zimbabwe 130 for 8 (Waller 49, Ervine 34, Best 3-18) by eight wickets
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

West Indies may have been without Chris Gayle, but they were not exactly missing his presence at the top as Lendl Simmons matched him for destructiveness, making a chase of 131 look ridiculously simple against a listless Zimbabwe at North Sound. Simmons muscled six sixes - mostly slog sweeps over deep midwicket - in an unbeaten half-century that helped West Indies home with nearly four overs to spare.

With the boundary ropes brought forward generously by a few yards, Zimbabwe were not able to take advantage of that after winning the toss, posting an underwhelming total. A partnership of 60 between Malcolm Waller and Craig Ervine gave the visitors some control but either side of that partnership were two collapses.

Zimbabwe got off to a poor start, losing three quick wickets in the Powerplay, but their predicament was more due to poor shot selection. Vusi Sibanda slashed a short ball from Tino Best straight to third man; Brendan Taylor attempted a cheeky reverse paddle before he was set and ended up edging to the keeper; Hamilton Masakadza tried to smack another short ball from Best but was brilliantly taken one-handed by Kieron Pollard at backward point. Masakadza's was not the poorest of shots, but Pollard's sharp reflexes had the better of him. Masakadza was starting to look dangerous, having clubbed Best for a six over deep square leg the previous ball and he walked back in disbelief.

Ervine didn't take long to settle, driving a low full toss off the legspinner Samuel Badree wide of cover and then rocking back and cutting the same bowler past point when he dropped short. The pair progressed at the rate of five and a half runs an over, and were prepared to wait for the loose ball.

Ervine picked up the pace when he cut Darren Sammy over point and then gliding the next ball past the keeper to break a boundary drought that lasted 24 balls. Sunil Narine broke the stand of 60 when he had Ervine stumped, deliberately bowling it wide outside off and spinning it away on seeing the batsman advance. Waller kept the momentum going when he smashed two sixes in an over off Sammy that leaked 18, the most expensive of the innings. Waller looked set for a deserving fifty but was bowled by Narine playing across the line. Waller's fall halted Zimbabwe's charge as they looked to beat the average first innings score at this ground, 134.

Like Gayle, Simmons began watchfully, plodding to 3 off nine balls before opening up. His opening partner Johnson Charles began in robust manner, clipping the first ball of the chase for four, before ripping into Kyle Jarvis. Charles smashed five consecutive fours in Jarvis' second over, with two powerful drives off the front foot through the off side, and the remaining through the on side. Christopher Mpofu gave the Zimbabweans some relief when he trapped Charles lbw, lazily prodding forward, before getting Darren Bravo to miscue a pull to mid-on.

The relief was only temporary. The captain Taylor had himself to blame when he fluffed a run-out chance against Dwayne Bravo, failing to gather the ball as the batsman struggled to make his ground. It was Zimbabwe's last hope of creating pressure. Simmons was merciless against the rookie legspinner Tinotenda Mutombodzi, slogging him for two sixes in his first over. Natsai Mushangwe was dealt with similarly, as Simmons peppered the on side with massive blows. Simmons scored his first four after he had already bashed five sixes and he sealed the chase in style with a straight six off Jarvis, who leaked 39 off 3.1 overs.

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Laxman launches ESPNcricinfo's Talking Cricket

Talking Cricket, a compilation of in-depth interviews with the greats of the modern era - from the Nawab of Pataudi to Mark Taylor - on various aspects of cricket, was launched in Hyderabad on Friday by VVS Laxman, the former India batsman. The book, which was launched in the company of commentator Harsha Bhogle and ESPNcricinfo editor Sambit Bal, brings together selected long-form interviews covered in ESPNcricinfo, Wisden Asia Cricket and Cricinfo Magazines over the past decade.

The book features 22 interviews in the Q&A format with current and former players giving their inputs on topics including the technical aspects of the game, and the mental side. Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis explain the nuances of swing and fast bowling, Matthew Hayden speaks on intimidation, Ian Chappell on Australianism, Sachin Tendulkar on how he changed his game and Bill Lawry on commentary. Captaincy has been explored in great detail, with four players - Nasser Hussain, Mark Taylor, Mahela Jayawardene and Pataudi - speaking on the subject.

The idea with the series was to broadly explore a single theme in each interview. "Over the years, we interviewed cricketers across generations and countries on a variety of subjects," Bal wrote in his introduction. "If you wanted to know how VVS Laxman developed the gift of caressing the ball from outside off through midwicket, or why Virender Sehwag bats the way he does, you can hear it from the men themselves."

He says the Q&A style does justice to delving deeper into a particular topic: "The Q&A is a format that keeps the interviewee centre stage. The interviewer contributes by steering the conversation, but the spotlight never leaves the subject. The embellishments of the written-through format may at times read better, and the impressionistic interventions of the writer may provide a deeper sense of place and time, but for revelation of soul and exploration of depth, the Q&A is incomparable."

During a live chat with Bhogle and Bal, ahead of the launch, Laxman spoke about how he became a better player of spin, how he developed his wristy style of batting, and why youngsters should be taught early on how to handle fame and pressure.

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Warks tempt Hain to Britain

Warwickshire may have pulled off something of a coup by signing Sam Hain. Hain broke into the Australia U19 squad aged just 16 and was regarded by some as the best young batting prospect in the country.

But now he has committed himself to England and has agreed a contract with Warwickshire.

17-year-old Hain was born in Hong Kong but has a UK passport - both his parents are British - and will accompany Warwickshire's first team squad on their pre-season trip to Barbados.

He was spotted by former Warwickshire captain, Michael Powell, while on an exchange scheme at Loretto School in Edinburgh, where Powell now works, and was sent for trials at Warwickshire. He made his debut for the club's second XI aged just 14 and impressed sufficiently to win the club's most promising young player award. He agreed a contract with Warwickshire a year ago, but on the understanding that he would finish his education in Australia and join up with the squad ahead of the 2013 season.

Warwickshire have also signed Scotland batsman Freddie Coleman. The 21-year-old from Edinburgh scored a century for Oxford MCCU against Worcestershire last season in just his second first-class game.

He also won the MCCU Walter Lawrence Trophy for his innings of 141 against Durham MCCU. The award is made to the highest individual scorer from the MCCUs in innings against other MCCUs or the first-class counties. He made his List A debut for Scotland aged just 18 in 2010 and was recently awarded a developmental contract with Scotland. He will join Hain in Barbados.

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