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Brett Lee will return home from New Zealand on Thursday to receive treatment for a breathing problem and therefore misses the last one-day international in the Chappell-Hadlee series at Christchurch.Lee has experienced breathing difficulty, caused by a narrowing of his left nasal passage, which is thought to be related to the cellulitis (nasal infection) he suffered, and was treated for in hospital, prior to the Ashes tour this year. He sought medical advice in Wellington and will return to Sydney for consultation with a ear, nose and throat (ENT) specialist.Lee said it was important to get the problem sorted: “Whilst I am disappointed that I can’t play the final match in the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy series, I am grateful that I can return home and give priority to getting my health right.”Australia wrapped up the series with a thrilling two-run win at Wellington, where Lee conceded 85 runs his 10 overs including 18 off the penultimate over of the match.

Shane Warne has decided South Africa’s unimaginative captaincy and their lack of bowling variety are their main weaknesses in the lead-up to Monday’s second Test in Melbourne. Warne, who became the world record holder for wickets in a year at Perth, also expected Justin Kemp would be his “new Daryll Cullinan” despite his match-saving half-century in Perth.Warne said the Proteas batting and bowling discipline was a strength but believed their bowling similarities and the attitude of Graeme Smith assisted Australia’s batting. “It was pretty hard work for bowlers but there is not a lot of imagination with their captaincy,” Warne said in . “It’s been a general trait of all [South Africa] captains over the years, especially Smith. That’s the way they play. They set normal fields and once the ball gets older they have a ring field and just bowl line and length.”South Africa clawed a draw at the WACA through Jacques Rudolph’s century and Kemp’s 55 in the second innings, but Warne was not convinced by Kemp’s performance and tipped him as his bunny. “Just the way he played … he top edged one that landed safe early on, there were a couple of close lbws and he played and missed once or twice an over,” Warne told the paper. “You need a bit of luck on day five and he had that and hopefully it will be my turn to get the rub of the green and the 50-50 this Test.”Warne said Cullinan, who was his most famous target throughout the 1990s, “could have a disguise on”. “From what I saw in Perth Ashwell Prince could also be a candidate to become a Daryll,” Warne said. “It’s either Prince or Kemp. They are both candidates but I am still leaning towards Kemp.”

The Leeward Islands, responding to Guyana‘s first innings of 547 for 8 declared, reached 39 for 1 at the close on the second day of their Carib Beer Series match at the Carib Ground yesterday at St Maarten.Krishna Arjune and Travis Dowlin were the main contributors in the Guyana innings. Arjune, who retired hurt on 116 on Friday, top-scored with 157 after he was dropped twice, and Dowlin, who benefited from three floored catches, made an unbeaten 123. Following Arjune’s dismissal – bowled off an Omari Banks offspinner when the ball rebounded off the forward short-leg fielder – Guyana went to lunch at 365 for 5 after scoring 99 runs in the session.After the interval, Dowlin continued his patient accumulation of runs but lost partners Derwin Christian (7), Neil McGarrell (29) and Mahendra Nagamootoo (26) as Guyana progressed to 484 for 8 at tea, adding 121 runs in the session. Dowlin carried on to bring up his third first-class hundred and was assisted in a late-order flourish by Esuan Crandon, who hit four sixes in an undefeated 42 from 28 balls.

Zimbabwe’s national team players have been barred from playing for the Mashonaland team in the country’s only limited-overs first-class competition, the Faithwear One-Day tournament, that begins on Monday.Cricinfo has been told that the disputed Mashonaland Cricket Assoction board, led by its controversial chairman Cyprian Mandenge, yesterday removed the names of players from the six top clubs in the province who were expelled from the provincial association last year. The six affected clubs are Harare Sports Club, Old Hararians, Alexandra, Takashinga, Universals, Old Georgians and Universals.The provincial teams are picked by the panel of national selectors. But the new Zimbabwe head convener is Bruce Makovah, who was last week appointed by the new Zimbabwe Cricket interim. Makovah, who is also the Mashonaland head selector, previously said he will not pick players from the established clubs. The reason for this can be traced back to last October when Makovah and Mandenge led a pitch invasion at Harare Sports Club where they allegedly threatened players and racially insulted others.The skeleton Mashonaland team to play against Matabeleland on Monday is made up of players from the development side, and is coached by Claudius Mukandiwa, who was also involved in the pitch invasion.The other members if the selection committee are national team coach Kevin Curran, who is widely reported to be unpopular with many national players, and Kudzai Shoko, the general manager of the National Academy who is said to have close links to Peter Chingoka and Ozias Bvute.By Sunday afternoon, most professional players did not know whether they would play, while a few had approached other provinces asking to be selected by them instead.

Even though the England opener Marcus Trescothick has ended weeks of speculation, by telling Sky Sports News that he returned home from the tour of India because he had been laid low by a viral infection, there is still plenty of interest surrounding the issue.During Somerset’s media day at Taunton he did not speak to the press, as he was shadowed by Colin Gibson, the head of the ECB’s communication department. Even in his TV interview he did not give any more specifics about the illness, but said that personal factors and spending time away from his family had also been partially responsible for his decision.”The main reason was that I picked up a bug when I was out there,” Trescothick told the news channel. “The second part of Bombay really hit me hard; I wasn’t sleeping and couldn’t shake it off. We moved to Baroda, and it didn’t get any better; I wasn’t eating or drinking, and it really took its toll.”At the time all that the England camp would say was that he had left the tour for personal reasons and it asked the media to respect his privacy, which it has done.Trescothick admitted that the endless toll of touring and playing had taken its toll. “We play so much; we spend 300 nights a year out of our own house either travelling the world or at hotels preparing for games in England. Touring Pakistan and India are probably the hardest you can do, because it is not easy to take your family away to that part of the world. You spend a long time away from home.”The Somerset chief executive, Richard Gould, told the : “I’m sure the press have found it frustrating, but the most important thing is that we get Marcus in the best frame of mind for the new season.”The fact he was forced to return home was a combination of things – stress, the virus and being away from his family for long periods of time. I was taken by surprise by the degree of scepticism that has been shown about his explanation.”Richard Bevan, the chief executive of The Professional Cricketers Association, has also offered sympathy for players like Trescothick who are so stretched physically and mentally by a punishing international schedule. Trescothick admitted six years of continuous cricket with England had been taking its toll.”We have to find a balance and a bit more common sense,” said Bevan. “You don’t want the game brought into disrepute. The ICC are certainly sympathetic. The chief executive stated in his annual report … that the demands on international cricketers are enormous.”What the ICC have to do is develop clearer and longer-term plans. They have to improve communications with the stakeholders. We want them to get younger players on the board. They will have different ideas on international cricket and player burn-out. They need to forge stronger links with the international players’ association (FICA).”Last week it was revealed that Trescothick was back training with Somerset, although he admitted that he was still suffering from the virus until about three weeks ago.To read Trescothick’s interview with Sky Sports News click here.

Despite another catastrophic overseas tour, Daren Ganga, the West Indies opener, is upbeat about the immediate future and a turnaround in fortunes for the team.Speaking on Friday at the Grantley Adams International Airport in Bridgetown, Barbados, shortly after the squad’s return to the Caribbean from New Zealand, Ganga pointed to a level of team spirit, especially in the aftermath of a shock defeat in the first Test.Ganga said, “Since I made my debut in 1999, this team that we’ve got and the guys we have around, there is a certain uniqueness about the spirit and about the team unity. Although we lost that game and it was very hurtful, we stood by each other, we supported each other and we ensured that we played together.””The spirit that we have is unique. This is a unit that is working hard together and can make a difference. This is a unit that is willing to commit themselves to the success of West Indies cricket.”After an opening stand of 148 between Ganga and Chris Gayle, West Indies lost the first Test by 27 runs at Auckland when they were set 291 to win. They also tasted defeat by ten wickets in the second Test at Wellington before the rain-ruined third Test at Napier ended in a draw. Their fortunes in the limited-overs series were no better, losing the five-match series 4-1.”It was really, really hurtful to lose that first Test match knowing how close we were to winning,” Ganga said. “I thought we played really good cricket and deserved to win. Be that as it may, I think we are one session short of winning Test matches.””It’s good to see our performance on an overseas tour as well. Our record overseas doesn’t say much but we’re on the right path. It’s just a matter of us getting things together, working together as a team and ensuring that we play together as a team.”In the ODI series, West Indies were also in reasonable positions to press for victories, but were unable to capitalise.”It is just unfortunate that we didn’t click on at crucial points in games, both in the Test matches and one-day matches. We had New Zealand on the ropes on many occasions and it was just a matter of us not understanding the situation and knowing what was required at the point in time. We lacked the mental toughness and the tactical toughness as players.”The majority of the squad returned to the Caribbean, minus captain Shivnarine Chanderpaul, who traveled to the United States on business, while Brian Lara also has business matters in India and England.

National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) enhanced their chances considerably to win the final honours, as they defeated Faisalabad comprehensively by 10 wickets, inside two days in their Pentangular Cup match at Multan.NBP are now at the top of the points table as Faisalabad slipped a place below them. The latter now have 18 points from three appearances while NBP have the same number from two matches, with two still remaining.Yesterday, having resumed their overnight score of 192 for 7, NBP took their eventual score to 241 and gained a first innings lead of 144. Faisalabad crashed in their second outing too, as they were routed for 165 in 46 overs. The two NBP openers rattled up the 22 required for the win, in only 3.3 overs.Mohammad Sami excelled both as a bowler and batsman in the match, with figures of 5 for 31 and 3 for 28 and hammered a quick 33 not out off 43 balls with two fours and two sixes.Faisalabad’s Samiullah Niazi, the left-arm seamer, provided a late burst of wickets and ended the NBP innings with a haul of 4 for 67 in 24.3 overs.Faisalabad started their second innings disastrously, losing the in-form Mohammad Hafeez and Asif Hussain without scoring. Later, Misbah-ul-Haq too perished for a duck. The middle-order resisted for a while but the end was not too far away. Ijaz Ahmed Jnr top-scored with 45. NBP medium-pacer Imran Javed was the most effective bowler for NBP, taking four wickets for 34 runs in 11 overs.NBP’s fourth-round match, their third in the competition, is against Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) at the same venue in Multan, starting from Monday, April 17. Faisalabad only have one more match to play — against Karachi Harbour, starting at Lahore next Monday.Karachi Harbour virtually ended Sialkot’s chances of picking themselves up from the bottom of the table as took their overall lead to 258 they and still had six second innings wickets in hand, on the second day of their Pentangular Cup match at Lahore.Sialkot were dismissed for 227, with a 99-run deficit. By the close of play, Karachi made 159 for 4 in their second outing with Asim Kamal at the crease, unbeaten on 42. He shared a fourth-wicket stand of 86 with Afsar Nawaz. Afsar scored 65 off 115 balls with nine fours and lost his wicket in the last over of the day.Earlier, Sialkot resumed at their overnight score of 43 for 2, with the fourth-wicket pair of Ayub Dogar (77) Shahzad Malik (35) putting on 96. Although Haafiz Khalid Mahmood later hit a characteristic 47, off a mere 39 balls with six fours and a six, the last four wickets added only a further 68 runs. Mohammad Hasnain and off-spinner Atif Maqbool picked up three wickets each for Karachi.

Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) has announced the interim committees of its 10 provincial associations.The new provincial set-up follows the adoption by the ZC of the Sports and Recreation Commission (SRC) recommendation for national sporting associations to devolve along the country’s administrative structure. In line with this recommendation, the ZC then affiliated the new provinces of Bulawayo Metropolitan, Harare Metropolitan, Mashonaland Central, East and West and Matabeleland North and South. It also dissolved the boards of its five old affiliates of Manicaland, Mashonaland, Masvingo, Matabeleland and Midlands as they were constituted under the old provincial set-up.Crispen Tsvarai will chair the new Bulawayo Metropolitan Provincial Cricket Association, which, together with Matabeleland North and South, was formed from the dissolution of the old Matabeleland. His committee members are Victor Mhlanga, Vumindaba Moyo, Tivington Ncube and Stanley Staddon.The Matabeleland North Provincial Cricket Association will be chaired by Brian Musumba, with Donald Khumalo, Brian Moyo, Alfred Ndlovu and Lazarus Ndlovu as committee members.Julia Ndhlovu will chair the Matabeleland South Provincial Cricket Association with Ruth Zulu and Thulani Gumbo, Arthur Maphosa and Sifiso Sibanda as the committee members.The new Harare Metropolitan Provincial Cricket Association, which is one of the four new provinces formed out of the old ZC Mashonaland province, will be headed by former Mashonaland Cricket Association chairman, Cyprian Mandenge. His committee members are Tendai Kuhlengisa, Elisha Kandi, Taurai Mapfunde and Mike Weeden.Lavert Zungunde will chair the Mashonaland Central Provincial Cricket Association, which is one of the new affiliates from the dissolved Mashonaland. His committee comprises Maxwell Dzumbunu, Cleopas Ngwenya, Norman Nyawo and Herbert Sithole.Mashonaland East will be chaired by Edward Matemai, with Jane Chimombe, Rhoda Gotora, Ben Rushambwa and Nicholas Tapfumaneyi as committee members.Mashonaland West, the fourth affiliate from the old Mashonaland, will be chaired by Temba Mliswa. His committee members are Exodus Makumbe, Brian Mugota, Eberhard Tapera and Trevor Vambe.Phillip Matiza will chair Manicaland, with Joyce Chizano, John Doka, Bill Taylor and Alistar Zowe as the committee members.Masvingo will be chaired by Josphat Mbanda, with the other members of the committee being Flavian Kondo, Fanuel Mahembe, Walter Maweni and Richmore Murape.Freddie Kapuya will chair the Midlands Provincial Cricket Association. His committee members are Liliosa Nyathi, Solomon Madzogo, Paul Mungofa and Charles Office.The 10 interim boards will run the game in their provinces until such a time as substantive committees are in place. Further, they have been given the mandate to draw up new provincial constitutions, in conjunction with ZC. This will be followed by the adoption of the new ZC constitution, and subsequent implementation of its structures.

Andy Moles will take over as the coach of New Zealand domestic side Northern Districts in the 2006-07 season. The chief executive of Northern Districts, David Cooper, announced today that Moles will begin his stint in September.Moles is currently in England coaching the Under-19 squad for a series against the touring India U-19s starting later this month. As a player, he served 12 seasons with Warwickshire and three with Griqualand West in South Africa as an opening batsman. After retiring, he took to coaching and was in charge of South African domestic side Orange Free State from 1998 to 2002, where he worked with international players like Hansie Cronje, Boeta Dippenar, Nicky Boje and Allan Donald.He also served as coach of Kenya and Scotland, guiding Scotland to victory in the ICC Trophy last year before quitting in January 2006.

The Cricket Association of Bengal’s (CAB) annual general meeting at the Eden Gardens began this evening amidst unprecedented security.Jagmohan Dalmiya, CAB president, is locked in a prestige fight with Prasun Mukherjee, the Kolkata police commissioner, who has the backing of West Bengal chief minister Buddhadev Bhattacharjee, for the post of president.The elections, which have generated interest across the country following Bhattacharjee’s statement on June 19 that he wanted Dalmiya to stay out of the presidential contest, is the fourth item on the agenda.Dalmiya filed his nomination on July 21 ignoring Bhattacharjee’s express wish that he stay away from the contest. In a break from CAB tradition, polling for all the posts – president, two joint secretaries, treasurer, and four vice presidents – would be held simultaneously, under court-appointed observer Justice (retd) S K Phoujdar. The results would be announced together.Heavyweights from several fields are participating in the AGM which would see 118 affiliate units of the CAB voting to elect the office bearers of the game’s governing body in the state.Among those present are Ajit Panja, Trinamool Congress leader and former union minister, M J Akbar, Editor-in-chief of , Srinjoy Bose, Executive Editor of , besides several political leaders and police officials.&