In the last year you have been given ODI status (courtesy of the top six finish in the ICC Trophy). How has this changed the profile of the game inside Scotland?It has helped significantly in raising our profile as we have had games with Pakistan and Bangladesh and have visits from India, South Africa and New Zealand to look forward to. ODI status gives these games much more added spice and significance than the old ‘friendlies’ we played. Having an official world ranking (12th) also helps with PR and government funding.Some chairmen have complained that the ICC has not given enough financial backing to support the marked increase in the demands on Scotland and your players. Would you agree?Yes and No. The High Performance Programme and the funding following our ICC Trophy success has been a massive boost for us and we have been able to prepare more thoroughly, play more games and send our best players to training camps in our winter. However, the biggest area we need to address is our ability to put players on part or full-time contracts. We cannot continue to progress with amateur players.Given the financial gulf between the Full Members and the Associates, can the gap in playing standards ever be breached? Can you see one of the Associates, for example, playing Test cricket within a decade?It would be a major feat to achieve this. I don’t think the issue of playing standards is one that can’t be addressed as I firmly believe that with additional investment the top Associates could compete with the lower ranked Full Members. It would need the Full Members to agree to a more equitable split of resources – or even a two-tier Test system. This would be the best move for the leading Associates because in reality we cannot compete effectively with the top ranked nations at present.What are your views on players – and obviously Ed Joyce springs to mind – being lured away to play for Full member countries?Until Associates are playing Test cricket we would never want to stop any player competing at the highest level they can. The development of Ed Joyce reflects very well on Irish cricket as it did for Scotland when Dougie Brown and Gavin Hamilton played for England. It would be nice if there was a smaller re-qualification period so players could come back to represent their home country sooner after finishing [playing for] a Full Member. Four years to qualify for the country of your birth seems a little unfair.With the boot on the other foot, what are your views on players from outside a country – for example, from Asia, Australasia, South Africa or the Caribbean – being able to play for Associates after a relatively short qualification period?I don’t see four years as a short period. In Scotland’s case we have had some fantastic players who have come to Scotland, settled here and now live here permanently. They are committed to the country and I am sure will continue to live here once they stop playing. I would object if the period was shorter. One issue which is not consistent is that of passports: some countries can have shorter qualifications if they can issue residency/passports. There needs to be a level playing field.

Do you feel that the major countries give you enough help in terms of high-profile matches, A-team tours etc? What more could they do?England, our Full Member, has been very supportive and has just accepted our A team into their Second XI Championships. The FTP has been a great boost to the Associates with regular games. More A team visits would be very welcome as would the chance for us to go visit Full Member nations for longer tours with games of an appropriate standard. The issue as always is one of cost.How hard is it to attract sponsors to support the national side given the relatively low profile of the game in Scotland?Our profile is not low, it is actually very high. We have the third highest profile for team sports after the big two: rugby and football. We have a leading Scottish company in Lloyds TSB Scotland as our major sponsor and they have been fantastic. We also have over 10 other companies as partners.Should the ICC ensure that full ODIs should, wherever possible, be televised or, if not, that audio, video and live scores are available to the media to ensure that coverage is maximised?It would be nice to have all ODIs covered. BBC Scotland have been superb for us and televised our game with Australia in 2005 and they will cover the India game this summer.How hard is it for your players to strike the balance between being essentially amateur players in a professional world?This is a crucial area for us. Our players have to use large amounts of their holidays to play. From January to March this year they all were given three months leave by their employers to play cricket – at a cost to Cricket Scotland of over £85,000. We know this cannot continue if we are to challenge to go further up the rankings.Did your performances in Nairobi during the World Cricket League live up to your hopes?Yes. It was great to finish in the top two, albeit with some very close games. It was disappointing to lose the final but the players achieved their goal at the start of the event.

What are your realistic expectations for the World Cup?It is a shame we have been drawn against the top two sides in the world when we won the qualification tournament – but such are the vagaries of the draw. Realistically, we want to perform to the optimum of our abilities in the games against South Africa and Australia. If that is achieved then our players can be delighted with themselves. We want to beat the Netherlands in the final game – which I know will be a highly competitive affair.Where do you see Scotland cricket in five and ten years time?In five years time, playing regular ODIs home and away; a squad all contracted to Cricket Scotland, and challenging to make the world’s top ten. I would also love to see our domestic game strengthened, with world-class development programmes in place to secure the long-term progression of our game.In ten years time it would be nice to have a formal first-class structure in Scotland playing regular games against Associates and Full Members. A self sufficient governing body would be nice, but that may be a few years after the ten!How strong is grassroots cricket in Scotland, in terms of quantity and quality?We have over 200 clubs, 8,000 players and over 12,000 children accessing Cricket Scotland development programmes so we believe we are in a strong position.What one change to the game would really benefit the game in Scotland?At the top-end, a semi or full-time professional squad. At the grass-roots, better playing facilities.

Justice Malik Mohammad Qayyum, who led the probe into match-fixing in the 1990s, has urged the Pakistan government to send investigators to Jamaica to help probe the murder of Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer.Qayyum refused to speculate on the possible motives for Woolmer’s murder but said that Pakistan’s government should get involved in the investigation. “Woolmer was our man. He was our coach and the government must send its own investigation team,” Qayyum told AFP.Qayyum also demanded a judicial inquiry into the Pakistan’s shock exit from the World Cup, amid rumours that Woolmer’s death was linked to gambling mafia. Ireland beat Pakistan by three wickets on March 17 and eliminated them from the World Cup. A day later, Woolmer was found strangled in his hotel room.”A judicial inquiry should be ordered into this fiasco,” said Qayyum. “Winning or losing is part of the game but the manner in which we lost against Ireland in particular needs to be inquired into.”In 2000, Qayyum, at the time a Lahore high court judge, led an inquiry into allegations of match-fixing centred on former Pakistan captain Salim Malik. Australian cricketers Shane Warne, Tim May and Mark Waugh had alleged that Malik offered them money to under-perform during Australia’s tour to Pakistan in 1994.The Qayyum inquiry banned Malik and fast bowler Ata-ur-Rehman for life and fined six others, including Inzamam-ul-Haq, Mushtaq Ahmed, Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Saeed Anwar and Akram Raza.Qayyum expressed surprise over the inclusion of Mushtaq in the 2007 World Cup. “Mushtaq Ahmed’s appointment as assistant coach was in violation of my recommendations that he should not be given any position in the squad, as a member or official,” said Qayyum.

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has cleared all 68 cricketers randomly tested during the World Cup. Their samples produced a negative result for banned substances.”The fact that all drug tests at the World Cup proved negative is a great result for the game. It sends out a very positive message, something everyone connected with the game can be very proud of” Malcolm Speed, the ICC chief executive, said.Speed also said that the tests confirms cricket’s low-risk reputation when it comes to performance-enhancing drugs, but warned against complacency in this regard. Fifteen of the tournament’s 51 matches were randomly chosen. Two players from the teams involved in these matches were, again, randomly picked for testing, giving a total of 68 samples that were sent for analysis.But there was indeed some drug-related controversy in the run up to the World Cup, when Pakistan fast bowlers Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif were found to have consumed nandralone in an internal drug test conducted by the Pakistan Board. The duo were initially banned but cleared by an enquiry committee led by Justice Fakhruddin Ibrahim.The WADA had strongly contested the findings of the committee, and a case regarding the matter is still in arbitration. The official reason given by the Board for the absence of the two from the World Cup was that they were injured.Asif has since been selected in the Pakistan squad to take on Sri Lanka in three ODIs in Abu Dhabi, while Shoaib has been picked in the Asian squad to take part in the Afro-Asia Cup next month.

The Jamaican batsman, Marlon Samuels, has been drafted into the West Indian squad as a replacement for their injured captain, Ramnaresh Sarwan, who was forced out of the tour after damaging his shoulder in a fielding accident at Headingley last week.Samuels, 26, was surprisingly overlooked for the original squad, after featuring in last month’s World Cup, where he made 63 in the opening match against Pakistan, and 51 in the narrow one-wicket defeat against England at Bridgetown.In Tests, however, the big-hitting Samuels has consistently underperformed, averaging just 28.21 from 23 matches. His solitary century came against India in Kolkata five years ago, although in the absence of such big names as Sarwan and Brian Lara, the selectors hope that he can finally fulfil his promise.The captaincy, meanwhile, is set to pass to Daren Ganga, who deputised at Headingley after Sarwan had damaged his AC joint after landing heavily while trying to prevent a boundary.In the absence of their captain, West Indies lost the Headingley Test by a record margin of an innings and 283 runs, thanks to a career-best 226 from Kevin Pietersen, and Ryan Sidebottom’s eight-wicket haul. Their next match, a three-day fixture against MCC in Durham, gets underway on Friday, before the third Test at Old Trafford begins on June 7.

The beleaguered Kenyan Cricket Association might have won a 21-day suspension of the government’s decision to replace its existing board with an interim committee, but opponents are confident it is unlikely to prevent wholesale changes in the long run.Sharad Ghai, the KCA’s chairman, and his executive were ousted last Friday on the orders of Ochillo Ayacko, Kenya’s sports minister, but the KCA went to court on Tuesday and obtained a stay of the suspension pending a judicial process appeal. That angered many who have been trying to get the board ousted, and some even took to the streets of Nairobi yesterday to protest.Cricinfo has learned that Ghai is growing more isolated by the day and that it appears that only a few hardcore board members remain loyal. Others have resigned or are working with the government as it investigates allegations that millions of dollars have gone missing from within the KCA.It is believed that investigations centre on the LG Trophy in 1999, where more than two million dollars is unaccounted for, and the ICC Champions Trophy the following year. Both events were hosted by Kenya, and audited accounts have not been produced nor have satisfactory explanations been given for large holes in the accounts relating to television rights, ticket sales and perimeter advertising. In addition, the ICC is thought to be increasingly concerned as to how money it has paid to the KCA has been distributed.Ghai only became chairman this year, having filled the role of fixtures secretary since 1997, the last time the KCA held elections, but is generally acknowledged to be the driving force behind the board. If allegations of mismanagement are shown to be true then it could prove embarrassing for Jimmy Rayani – he was chairman of the KCA for most of this period and is now a member of the ICC’s executive board.The court’s ruling yesterday has briefly halted the operations of the interim committee, but it is thought that when Ayacko returns to Kenya later today the situation will move forward.The KCA continued to mount a counter-offensive, and yesterday it sacked Sammy Obingo, its general manager, who was only appointed in May. Anil Sarkar, the KCA secretary, told reporters that Obingo could not work for the board and be a member of the interim committee. Cricinfo also learned that Obingo had been accused by the board of passing confidential information to the government and the ICC.The interim committee did obtain access to the KCA offices at the Ruaraka Sports Club on Monday, although it has since vacated the premises as a result of the court order.The KCA’s sudden burst of activity is in direct contrast to its behaviour in recent months, when it has been almost anonymous. Its league and cup competitions never took place, the board’s website has not been updated since July, and media requests have almost all gone unanswered.In 2002 the KCA executive used the courts to ward off similar action by the government, but this time the pressure on the authorities to act is far greater, while the support for the board is ebbing rapidly.

The caribbeancricket.com website has reported that most of the West Indies squad had to spend an extra two days in the UK waiting for flights back to the Caribbean.The team flew back to London after their game in Dublin on Saturday but flights for the onward journey home were not immediately available, so since then those players who have not gone on to join counties have been at a hotel at Gatwick airport.A spokesman for the board said that all the players had left on a flight earlier today. “The travel arrangements for the team were made a long time ago in order to secure business-class seats on the flights. It is a stipulation of the industrial agreement that the team travels business class. The original schedule for the Ireland leg of the British Isles tour was scheduled for Belfast with a completion date of July 16, 2007. The organizers shifted the tournament to Dublin with a completion date of July 16, 2007. Every effort was made by the WICB to have the players fly home on July 16 or July 17. However, British Airways were unable to accommodate the WICB’s request as business-class seats were not available. BA advised the WICB to keep the original bookings.”The website estimates that this administrative glitch could cost the West Indies board somewhere in the region of US$15,000 in accommodation, expenses and meal allowances.

Durham have loaned medium-pacer Mark Davies to Nottinghamshire for one month. Davies will make his Notts debut in the Pro40 match against Essex on Wednesday.Davies played six County Championship matches this season and has taken 16 wickets. “I’m looking forward to getting involved in Nottinghamshire’s campaigns, both in one-day and Championship cricket,” Davies told Sportinglife.co.uk. “It will be good to get some more competitive one-day games under my belt, especially if Durham need me later on in the season.”Notts were hit by injuries to several of their bowlers and had already loaned Nadeem Malik, from Worcestershire, and Kyle Hogg from Lancashire this season.Durham chief executive David Harker said: “We appreciate that Mark is keen to play competitive first-team cricket in both forms of the game and due to the current strength of our bowling attack Mark’s appearances have been limited to Championship matches. We are able to recall Mark at any time should we need him, so this gives him a great opportunity to play at first-team level.”

Robin Brown, the Zimbabwe coach who replaced Kevin Curran last month, has asked his players to hold the celebrations till after the game against England today.”I told them to keep the celebrations until tomorrow night when we have beaten England,” Brown told AFP. “Then we can have a full go.”Zimbabwe beat Australia by five wickets at Newlands and Brown, on his first international assignment, said that before the game he reminded the players of Zimbabwe’s win on debut against Australia in the 1983 World Cup. “I reminded them of that and told the guys to go out and express themselves in our first World Cup Twenty20 game.”Brown was part of the Zimbabwe squad in the 1983 World Cup but did not play against Australia.Ricky Ponting, the Australian captain, admitted that Zimbabwe had done better than Australia in most aspects in the game and Brendan Taylor, the Man of the Match for his unbeaten 60, felt Ponting’s remark was a great compliment to Zimbabwe. “That’s a great compliment because we try to model ourselves on them,” Taylor said.An England win over Zimbabwe will make it more difficult for Australia to qualify for the Super Eights. They play England on Friday at Newlands.

At the appointed hour, 20 minutes past five, Srikanta Datta Narasimharaja Wadiyar’s car pulled into the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA). He stepped out ceremoniously, and wanted to lead the way into the president’s office, but couldn’t compete with the TV crews and photographers. A strong believer in doing things at auspicious times, Wadiyar sat in the president’s seat at 5.30 PM and threw the floor open to the media.Wadiyar’s working relationship with Brijesh Patel, the man he fought bitterly before and during the election, was one of the main points raised. Patel retained his post as secretary of the KSCA.”The first priority is the one day international here on September 29 [against Australia],” Wadiyar said. “We have to conduct it well and Brijesh Patel is well aware of the day to day affairs of conducting an international match. I will discuss it with him and we need to ensure that the match goes well.”Yes I know that we are two groups working together and we need to find a formula of compromise so that the best ideas are used. When I say compromise I mean to sayno-confrontation, at least in the beginning. There is no point in starting with a confrontation with Brijesh.”When asked of the charges of financial misconduct leveled against the rival groupduring the course of the election campaign, he refrained from making any comments.”We have stated the facts and in fact we discussed these issues in the AGM (Annual General Meeting) too yesterday,” he said. “Yes we did speak about these issues during the election campaign and the facts are there but I don’t want to say anything more at this stage. The law will take its course.”On the priorities of the KSCA apart from Bangalore’s international matches in the upcoming home season, Wadiyar addressed the need to develop cricket in Karnataka, especially in the districts. He also mentioned that the proposed salary hike for all KSCA staff will be discussed later with Patel.”Promoting cricket at all levels is the number one priority,” said Wadiyar. “Improving cricket in the mofussil areas, improving the standard of club cricket, all these are issues that we need to work on.”Patel then walked in, posed for photos along with Wadiyar. There was a momentary awkward silence, which Wadiyar broke, saying “See we are sitting together and we will work together,” as the gathered media and KSCA members broke out in laughter. “We will take the best ideas from both groups and work together for the game. Yes in the campaign, a lot of words were exchanged.”But even political parties become friends once the elections are over. And here we are not talking about political parties, there are no high-strung egos. And I believe two different heads are better than one and I am sure we will work well together.”Patel then played down the pre-election jousting. “We are all sportsmen and as Wadiyar said `two heads are better than one.’ They are also sportsmen who have the good of cricket at heart and I am sure the differences can be worked out.”He also wanted to put all the mudslinging and threats of lawsuits behind him. “Let us not talk about that. It’s all over. We want to work towards improving the game. We have already done some good work and we need to carry that forward.”

Muttiah Muralitharan has been ruled out of the first three one-day internationals against England. Mahela Jayawardene, Sri Lanka’s captain, confirmed that Muralitharan’s bicep injury had not healed.”We don’t want to rush him,” Jayawardene said. “He’s almost there, but we just have to make a decision whether we would like to risk him like this soon after injury. We will make sure that we will make a sensible decision.” Sri Lanka’s priority is to get him fit for their trip to Australia which follows almost immediately after the five-match series against England.Such is the shadow that Muralitharan casts over matches that at the press conference today Paul Collingwood, England’s captain, seemed reluctant to believe that he would not be playing. “We’re preparing as if Murali is playing and we will still prepare in this way,” he said.Sri Lanka called Kaushal Lokuarachchi into the squad as a replacement. A legspinner, he has 19 ODIs to his name and can more than hold his own with the bat. The Guardian reported that his inclusion was too much for Trevor Bayliss, Sri Lanka’s new Australian coach, who told the media, with some uncertainty, that Muralitharan’s stand-in was someone called Wakaroochi.Before the first game England take on a Sri Lanka Cricket XI, captained by Avishka Gunawardene, in a one-day warm-up match at the P Saravanamuttu Stadium in Colombo on Friday. Besides Gunawardene, England’s opponents include seven players with international limited-overs experience, the most prominent among them being Malinga Bandara, the legspinner, who lost his spot in the national squad to Lokuarachchi.Gihan de Silva and Indika de Saram will vie for the wicketkeepers slot. The selection of de Saram, 34, comes as a surprise, considering that he played his last ODI in 2001.Kevin Pietersen is likely to captain England for the first time after Collingwood was hit by a stomach bug. Collingwood, Stuart Broad, Luke Wright and Alastair Cook are all struggling with what their coach, Peter Moores, described as a “stomach illness”. The match will also be a significant moment for Dimitri Mascarenhas, who will play for the first time in his country of origin.Sri Lanka Cricket XI Avishka Gunawardene, Viraj Perera, Chamara Kapugedera, Thilina Kadamby, Gihan de Silva, Gihan Rupasinghe, Malinga Bandara, Nuwan Kulasekara, Ranga Dias, Akalanka Ganegama, Sujeewa de Silva, Ashan Priyaranjan, Indika de Saram (wk), Lasith Fernando.England XI (probable) Kevin Pietersen (capt), James Anderson, Ian Bell, Ravi Bopara, Dimitri Mascarenhas, Phil Mustard (wk), Monty Panesar, Owais Shah, Ryan Sidebottom, Graeme Swann, Chris Tremlett.