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Johan Botha, the South Africa offspinner, could return to international cricket soon, after his revised bowling action was examined by the ICC a fortnight ago. Russel Domingo, Botha’s coach of the domestic side Warriors, has expressed confidence that Botha’s amended action would be cleared by the ICC.”Some amendments were made and his new action has passed all the tests we have done so far,” Domingo was quoted as saying by News24. “Johan worked really hard during the winter and one can see he is hungry to start bowling. We are confident that he will be able to play a major role for us again.”Botha was called for throwing in his Test debut against Australia at Sydney in January this year, and was subsequently banned by the ICC after scientific tests in Perth proved that his action required remedial measures. Botha was assisted by Vincent Barnes, the assistant coach of the South African national team, Tim Noakes, the head of the Institute for Sports Science in Cape Town, and Shafiek Abrahams, the former South African spinner. The results of the test should be announced soon.

As Ricky Ponting’s XI wrapped up the Test series against Pakistan at the MCG today with an unassailable 2-0 lead, the fans took yet another opportunity to hail their Baggy Green-wearing heroes. The occasion seemed appropriate for the conducting of a vox pop. After all, over 121,000 people had attended the match, all of whom were acutely aware that the chances of Australian victory were better than odds on. And after all, this present team has changed the face of the five-day (or four, or three, or two as the case may be) game beyond recognition.So, in the homage to the “Where to now?” arm of global cricket’s administrators, I posed the question: “Isn’t Australia’s domination just the teeniest bit boring?” When the results of the survey were tallied and checked, the answer seemed to be a resounding “No!”Matty from Perth was the first to offer his words of wisdom. “I’m old enough to remember Australia being thrashed in the ’80s, especially by the West Indies,” he said. “As far as I’m concerned, the more wins the better. The circle will turn eventually, a lot of these guys will retire and we’ll start losing again, and the other teams will rise, so until then, let’s go with it.”His friend Simon, who had made the trip from Adelaide to experience a Boxing Day Test at the “G” was happy to take the argument a step further. “Us beating the pants off everyone is good for the game, and anyone who doesn’t agree with me has got a short memory,” he suggested, while waving his Australian flag through the chilly currents of the south-westerly breeze. “It’s up to the other nations to bring their game into line with ours. And with money and development that will happen soon enough.”But I pushed the controversial line of interrogation: what has happened to the age-old Aussie tradition of barracking for the underdog? Aren’t we, according to cultural stereotypes at least, supposed to admire those who “try and fail” far more than those who “brag and succeed”? Aren’t we supposed to be egalitarian by nature? Aren’t we supposed to live in the land of the “fair bloody go”?Peter from the inner Melbourne suburb of Carlton was having none of this sociological claptrap. “How can you not love this team? How can you not support this team?” he asked while aiming his multi-megapixel digital camera towards Gilly for a close-up of some behind-the-stumps squatting action. “They’ll be talking about this lot in a hundred years’ time. And anyway, when did winning become such a bad thing? As far as I’m concerned it’s a good thing. A very good thing,” he added, while zooming in on the slips cordon.Peter’s wife Helen was keen to add some logic and balance to the discussion. “There are kids following cricket now who think 350 runs in a day is normal,” she smiled. “That’s what this team has accomplished. That’s why it’s still thrilling to see them win. That’s why it will never be boring. Because of them Test cricket will never be the same again.”OK. So much for the “fair go” theory I thought, as my trudging continued along the length and breadth of the MCG. But surely there must be dissenters, somewhere. Surely there must be someone, anyone, willing to venture away from popular – or vox-popular – opinion? When all the votes were in, I’d found two.The first was Fiona from Clayton who, from her vantage point in the Great Southern Stand, voiced her psychological concerns. “I’m totally sick of the cockiness of these guys,” she frowned. “It’s as if they’re starting to believe their own publicity. I’d like to see them brought down a peg or two. Winning doesn’t necessary breed character. And the ‘we’re so hot’ attitude of these guys is really beginning to annoy me.”The second was Paul from Caulfield, who, from the second tier of the Members’ Stand, was approaching the solemnity of the survey with all the consideration of a seasoned philosopher. “I’d like to see two teams battling it out and introducing some real tension to the game. We haven’t had that for a while. Plus it’d be nice for a Test to go for the full five days.”Meanwhile, coming quickly back in to bat for the “negative” was his friend Adam from Canterbury, who shook his head at the notion of a level playing field. “We’ve got to take these victories while we can,” he advised. “Some teams dominate. Some teams have winning streaks. Sink the boot in. That’s what sport is all about.”At the end of the match, as Ricky Ponting’s XI walked towards the presentation area, the fans took yet another opportunity to applaud and cheer their all-conquering heroes. OK, I thought, so much for vox pops.Christine Davey is a freelance writer based in Melbourne.

Scorecard

England ended their long tour of the Caribbean on a high note with a five-wicket victory in the seventh and final one-dayer at Bridgetown. After Ramnaresh Sarwan boosted West Indies with a sparkling unbeaten century in their total of 261 for 6, England, thanks to a rasping 82 from Marcus Trescothick, cruised home with 16 balls remaining to level the series 2-2.After Michael Vaughan won the toss and inserted the opposition, England started as they went on with a disciplined display with the ball and in the field. Sarwan threatened to blow them of course with his 104 not out, but an early fall of West Indian wickets, followed by a romping start to England’s innings meant the result was rarely in doubt.Trescothick’s rocket-fuelled innings of 82 from 57 balls set the platform for England’s victory. After Vaughan was unluckily given out caught behind for 14, Trescothick took charge. Not afraid to go the ariel route, he belted out shot after shot, displaying impeccable timing and placing. He raced to his half-century from only 36 balls, slapping nine boundaries in that time. He was particularly harsh on Ravi Rampaul and Merv Dillon. He frequently waltzed down the track to Rampaul, whipping him over and through the fielders on both sides of the wicket. Dillon got even rougher treatment, as he went for 17 in one over. Trescothick smashed him for three boundaries in that over, the last of which notched up his half-century. Dillon looked a broken man, going for 59 from his first eight overs.Ricardo Powell was next in the firing line. He was caressed for two consecutive cover-drives, and Trescothick launched him for a huge six over mid-on in the final ball of the 15th over. However, just as Trescothick was threatening to score one of the fastest one-day centuries, he was stumped down the leg side by Ridley Jacobs off Chris Gayle (123 for 2). But, by that stage, the damage had been done.Trescothick’s typhoon meant that England could afford to take their time and do it in singles from then on. The main driving force was Andrew Strauss, who quietly went about his business on the way to his second consecutive one-day half-century. He had no choice but to take a back seat while Trescothick went bananas, but he then took responsibility while others fell around him. Content to work the slow bowlers in the gaps, he slowly began to open up with a few boundaries, including a delicate cut off Dillon, and a thumping pull of Ian Bradshaw. It would have been fitting if he had finished the job off, but he chopped Bradshaw onto the stumps for 66 with 12 overs remaining (218 for 5).In that time, Rikki Clarke, who promoted to No. 4, failed to make an impression as he tamely patted Bradshaw to Dwayne Smith at short midwicket for 9 (146 for 3). Andrew Flintoff then drove Bradshaw through the covers, but he was caught and bowled by Sarwan, driving the ball on the up where the bowler took a good low catch (169 for 4). At that stage, England threatened to choke, but Paul Collingwood made sure it was West Indies who swallowed their pride.He took advantage of some tired and dispirited bowling – and some shaky fielding – in his unbeaten 49. He heaved Shivnarine Chanderpaul’s part-time legspin for six, and pulled Sarwan for two fours. He added an unbroken 44 with Chris Read, who thumped three fours towards the end to hurry England to victory before Collingwood hit the winning boundary in the 48th over.England’s win was thoroughly deserved, but it overshadowed another eye-catching knock from Sarwan, who at least gave his side a chance of victory after they had slumped to 90 for 4. While the other batsmen struggled to come to terms with the quick and bouncy pitch, Sarwan stood out and held the innings together. He scored 13 fours in all, cutting and driving beautifully, and running intelligently between the wickets.

He brought up his half-century from 60 balls and then continued to play shots all round the wicket. He smacked two imperious fours from Stephen Harmison to go the 90s, hit two more off Darren Gough to go 99, and scrambled a single to go through to his second one-day century. His innings also included a vital partnership of 69 with Smith, and that stand revived West Indies just when it looked like a mini-collapse was on the cards.England’s first breakthrough came in the sixth over when Chanderpaul clipped Harmison to James Anderson. Powell was then run out by a marvellous direct throw from Flintoff at mid-off (57 for 2), and Gayle, who looked in the mood for runs with four fours and a six, was undone by an Anderson yorker for 41 (57 for 3).Sarwan and Lara set about repairing the damage. They had added a watchful 33 until Clarke struck gold with Lara’s wicket in the 23rd over. Attempting to guide the bowler down to third man, Lara nicked the ball too near to Read, who flew to his left to take a stunning catch (90 for 4). Smith announced his arrival by flicking Clarke out of the ground, St Lucia-style. He again impressed with an entertaining cameo of 39 from 36 balls, including three fours and two sixes, before he was trapped lbw by Gough (159 for 5).Dwayne Bravo again kept a cool head, keeping Sarwan good company for 18 balls until he played on to a full ball from Flintoff for 11 (193 for 6). Jacobs chipped in his own solid style, clubbing three fours and scoring a valuable, unbeaten 31 to lift West Indies further, but in the end it never looked enough.

Mumbai’s Brabourne Stadium will not be hosting any of the matches of the Indian Premier League after the league and Reliance Industries, owners of the city franchise, found unacceptable the conditions imposed by the Cricket Club of India (CCI), to whom the stadium belongs.The Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) had enquired whether the CCI could stage matches at the Brabourne; the CCI’s executive committee decided to offer the ground but not the clubhouse and the club members’ children’s enclosure.These conditions were unacceptable to both the IPL and Reliance Industries Limited, the owners of the Mumbai franchise, since the agreement between the franchise and the IPL states that 80% of all categories of seating must be available to the franchise, and the remaining 20% to the concerned local association, in this case MCA, the BCCI, and the IPL.”If the [club] members are not able to watch the match, we won’t have it. It’s an inherent right of the CCI member to watch the match and not pay for it and this is mentioned in the by-laws of the club,” Raj Singh Dungarpur, the CCI president and former BCCI president, said. Hosting future international matches, he said, would not, however, be an issue.”There is no confrontation between us, our issue is that just the staging authority wouldn’t be able to watch the match and that’s not right. There is no misunderstanding and we will continue to host matches for the board [BCCI].”The move puts the MCA in a quandary, since the local associations are responsible for finalising the stadiums for the eight city-based franchises of the IPL. Mumbai is slated to host a total of ten matches, including the seven home games of the Mumbai Indians, and more importantly the semi-finals and final of the inaugural edition. The Brabourne Stadium had been tipped to host the semi-finals and final.However, with it being ruled out, the options left are the DY Patil Stadium and the Wankhede Stadium; renovation work scheduled for the latter may now have to be postponed till the end of the IPL.

Digicel, a mobile-phone company, have decided to offer unprecedented incentives in an attempt to drag West Indian cricket out of the morass of mediocrity in which it has been marooned for much of the past decade. The new sponsorship deal will see the players awarded bonuses for victories against top-notch opposition, and comes soon after the West Indies hit rock-bottom, losing at home to England for the first time in 36 years.”We wanted to ensure that we achieved the best performances on the field,” said Roger Braithwaite, chief executive of the West Indies Cricket Board. “We wanted to move to a situation where players were getting rewards,” he added, according to a news report on the BBC Sport website. “There was a feeling that not going down that road had perhaps impacted on the side.”The Board and the players are currently negotiating the terms of the agreement, though Braithwaite ruled out the possibility of fines for below-par performances. It is expected, however, that the team will get bonus payments for victories againt any side ranked higher in the ICC’s Test or one-day championship table. That means just about any victory will be lucrative, with the West Indies abysmally placed at eighth in both tables.The agreement will come into effect next January, just before the team takes on Australia. The five-year deal with Digicel is worth over £10.9million over the next half-decade, and it means that Cable & Wireless, the previous sponsors whose deal expired recently, are out of the picture.

The ICC has given Zimbabwe’s rebel cricketers until Wednesday to agree to go to arbitration with the Zimbabwe Cricket Union, and while they are likely to do so, serious concerns remain among them about the process.Their biggest worry – as it has been since the idea was first mooted – is that the ZCU will simply ignore the findings of the arbitration should they go against its entrenched policy. Talking to the players, the names of Ozais Bvute, Max Ebrahim and Tavengwa Mukuhlani are regularly mentioned as being the major obstacles to a resolution to the dispute – all three are seen as intransigent perpetrators of entrenched hardline policies.The other concern is that the whole process could become very expensive. Neither side has bottomless pockets, but given that the ZCU does receive substantial funding from the ICC, it is probably in a better position to get involved in a drawn-out legal battle than the players.The rebels’ attitude to the board has been hardened by reports that the ZCU has approached some of the younger players and offered them large sums of money to return to the fold. One of them said that this was little more than an attempt to bribe them to come back, and so to enable to board to claim that their return was proof that all was well inside Zimbabwe.They stress, however, that this is not the case. And concern at the ZCU’s attempts to take over all aspects of cricket in Zimbabwe grows. While the ZCU has been publicly quiet in recent weeks, behind the scenes it has been maneuvering to repress regional boards who have been opposing it. Earlier this month we reported how Mukuhlani had effectively hijacked the Mashonaland annual general meeting to prevent the election of officials less supportive of the ZCU.The constitution of the ZCU board remains a major stumbling block in a satisfactory resolution of the dispute. The players feel that has effectively become a self-electing elite, unaccountable to anyone.The rebels reiterate that they are against all forms of discrimination, which includes the stipulation of numbers representing each race in the team, in the board itself, and at every level of the game. They believe in selection on merit in every area, and black domination – eventually, and on merit – is both inevitable and desirable.Chris Venturas, the players’ lawyer, has spent the last few days in England collecting his clients’ opinions, and he is expected to go back to the ICC shortly before the 1600GMT Wednesday deadline.

Group A

The USA’s controversially-picked and ageing side, already in disarray after back-to-back defeats in their warm-up matches, slumped to a 59-run defeat at the hands of the UAE. There was no inkling of an upset in the early stages as UAE slipped to 109 for 6, but a captain’s innings of 79 from Khuram Khan nursed them to 200 all out with more than 10 overs of their innings unused. USA started solidly, but from 30 for 0 they lost eight wickets for 56, five of them to Ahmed Nadeem (5 for 28), and only a last-wicket stand of 41 gave their total any respectability.Ed Joyce made an early impression on the tournament with 103 as Ireland ran out comfortable 97-run winners against Bermuda. Joyce added 180 for the fourth wicket with Eoin Morgan, which formed the backbone of Ireland’s impressive 315 for 6. Bermuda never threatened to approach the target and suffered a blow when Clay Smith, their captain, was forced to retire hurt. However, Janeiro Tucker struck a half-century so that Bermuda at least batted out their allotted overs. “I was a bit nervous before the start so it was a bit of a relief to get some runs,” said Joyce, who was outshone for much of his innings by the crisp hitting of Morgan who made 93. “That was my first century for Ireland but I’m really pleased for Eoin, he was hitting it really well. I think that’s the best I’ve ever seen him bat.”Tom Hansen took 6 for 30 to carry Denmark to a 28-run win over Uganda. Chasing 197, Uganda slipped to 73 for 6 but Kenneth Kamyuka struck 59 to keep them in the game. However, Hanson return to mop up the tail with a three-wicket burst. It was a good day for the Hanson’s as Hendrik provided the backbone for Denmark’s innings with 71. Kamyuka produced an impressive all round performance, taking 4 for 39, but it wasn’t enough to swing the match.

Group B

John Davison reminded everyone of his World Cup heroics, making 125 as Canada held their nerve to seal a thrilling two-run victory over Namibia in one of the early heavyweight clashes. For a full report click here.Scotland launched their campaign in emphatic style by making short of Oman, easing to six-wicket win with 31 overs to spare. Paul Hoffmann put in a starring all round performance, taking 5 for 12 as Oman were skittled for 83 as only Tariq Syed made any impression with the bat making 32. Hoffmann then took charge of the run chase, as 39 ensured that the loss of four wickets was nothing more than a blipHolland dispatched Papua New Guinea in clinic style, completing a nine-wicket win in a match that lasted barely 40 overs. Papua New Guinea’s batsmen had no answer to Holland’s seamers, with Edgar Schiferli claiming 5 for 20 from his 10 overs. Ryan ten Doeschate, the Essex allrounder, provided a fine supporting role with 4 for 18. Bas Zuiderent and Daan van Bunge, the batsman who has spent time with MCC, added 68 as Holland reached their target of 70 within 15 overs.

Responding to Heath Streak’s call to revamp one-day cricket, Sourav Ganguly said he saw no reason to change the existing format.”I believe one-day cricket is doing just fine, and there is no reason why it should be tampered with,” Ganguly said. “It could be said about the one-day games of the past that they could become flat at certain times, but the one-bouncer rule has brought a competitive equation to it.”Ganguly is a formidable presence in the one-day game, with 9049 runs with 22 centuries at an average of 43.11. But in Tests, where the bowlers hold more sway, he is less authoritative.The one-bouncer-an-over rule was implemented to give bowlers an element of surprise in what has become a batsman-dominated game. “Now a good bowler has the freedom to test out a batsman. It is not as if the batsmen are having a free run all the time,” Ganguly continued. “But for the fielding restrictions in the first 15 overs, a fielding side and a bowler are free to do whatever they want to on a cricket field.”Streak had suggested that the 15 overs could be spread out over the innings, to sustain interest in the middle overs. “If I could use the 15 overs in blocks of, say, five overs each, it would allow me to experiment more. It might help change the quiet period you often get in games between 14 and 40 overs.”

Greg Chappell seconded Streak’s call for changes. “I believe one-day cricket could retain its interest if there is a contest between bat and ball. Without it, the game could turn out to be too flat.”Limited-overs cricket has come under fire for being repetitive, with interest slacking off during the middle overs of an innings. What is interesting is that, for a while, the one-day game was regarded as Test cricket’s saviour. But the recent pattern of high-scoring result-oriented Tests has brought more people through the turnstiles, and increased television ratings.

South Africa’s tour of India will not be affected by any Delhi police interest in questioning Herschelle Gibbs and Nicky Boje over their supposed links to match-fixing, according to Gerald de Kock, the South African cricket board’s media manager. He said that both players were available to be interviewed by the relevant authorities ahead of the tour, which is due to start on November 14.”We have heard nothing from the Indian authorities in any case,” said de Kock. He then denied suggestions that Gibbs and Boje, who were implicated in the Hansie Cronje match-fixing saga, would be detained for questioning by Indian police if they travelled to India, saying there was no basis for such speculation.”There’s no chance of them being arrested as they land, but if the Indian authorities would like to interview Herschelle and Nicky, then they must just let us know,” he said. “We would need to get legal representation for the players and arrange a suitable time and place for the interviews. But there has been no official request.”South Africa are due to play two Tests in India, the first at Kanpur from November 20 and the second at Kolkata from November 28.

Jacques Kallis has promised his side will show no mercy to Zimbabwe in their forthcoming three-match ODI series, due to begin at Goodyear Park in Bloemfontein on Friday.Kallis, standing in for Graeme Smith as captain, said his side will play as hard against Zimbabwe as they would against Australia as South Africa begin a season that will culminate with the World Cup in the West Indies next April.Kallis was quoted on a South African website as saying that the series would be ideal for a group of players, including himself, who have been out of action for a while. “This series is especially valuable for the players who have not been in action for a while. This is a good way for them to get back into things.”Kallis, who returns to international cricket after missing the tour to Sri Lanka with an elbow injury, confirmed that everything the Proteas do from now on would be with the World Cup tournament firmly in mind. Kallis has also had a bout of flu and was one of three players who did not participate in the team’s fitness tests at the University of the Free State on Wednesday.Kallis said he had just about shaken off a cold and that the elbow injury that had kept him out of the game was not troubling him much any more. “I have hit a few balls that were thrown to me. The high-intensity net practices during the next few days will be the real test. I believe I’ll be ready.”Mickey Arthur, South Africa coach, said the series would be useful for the Champions Trophy. “I expect Zimbabwe to be very competitive, but we are going to focus on our own performance. One could use these fixtures as practice matches, but we would rather ensure that our combinations and match-plans are in place for India.”South Africa will also play the Lions and the Titans after the three outings against Zimbabwe and then three matches in Indian before their first match of the tournament on October 15, against New Zealand. “We are going to play these two matches according to international one-day rules. They are part of the training camp in Pretoria before we leave for India.”One can practise in the nets as much as you want to, but it’s not the same as out in the middle. I want the lads to train with consequences. If you play the ball down someone’s throat in the nets, you continue batting. If you do so in a match situation, you have to go and take a shower. I want the players to train under pressure.”Shaun Pollock, with a sore calf, and AB de Villiers missed the fitness tests. Pollock was injured in a Twenty20 match while De Villiers has a minor foot injury. Smith, meanwhile is still recovering from ankle surgery and trained away from the rest of the team, watched by the team’s physiotherapist, Shane Jabaar.