South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) chief executive Dali Mpofu’s move to suspend his news chief Snuki Zikalala was the last straw that prompted his own suspension, according to court papers on Thursday. Mpofu has launched an urgent application with the Johannesburg High Court, to challenge his suspension last Wednesday.
West Indies batsman Marlon Samuels has been found guilty of breaching regulations after a probe into allegations of links with a bookmaker, the West Indies Cricket Board said on Monday. Samuels (27) could now face a two-year ban from the game if the International Cricket Council enforces a mandatory ban.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) will look at ways to protect Test cricket in the wake of Twenty20’s growing impact at a two-day board meeting starting in Dubai on Monday. The India Premier League was launched last month involving several high-profile players and has taken the cricket world by storm, with the England board also planning their own league.
Former International Cricket Council (ICC) president Ehsan Mani said on Monday the governing body could lose credibility after the ”disgraceful” treatment of outgoing chief executive Malcolm Speed. Mani became the latest critic of the ICC board, which has come under fire after Speed was placed on paid leave on Friday.
Cricket faces the threat of the biggest revolt in its history, with elite players ready to call for a breakaway from the International Cricket Council (ICC). Fica, the international players’ union, will demand far-reaching reform of the ICC, the global governing body it considers to be paralysed by the dominance of India’s Board of Control for Cricket.
Ah, Lord’s, that oasis of tradition in a world given over to instant, facile gratification of every which flavour. Yes, dear Lord’s, where time doesn’t dare move forward one tick unless; where the ungodly clatter of a woman’s heels marching to the beat of progress on the pavilion’s creaking floorboards causes collars and sphincters to tighten in unison.
An International Cricket Council (ICC) investigator has questioned banned fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar over his claims that he was offered money to throw matches, Pakistani sources said on Tuesday. Akhtar (32) was banned for five years a week ago for criticising the Pakistan Cricket Board. He later alleged that that he had refused offers of bribes to underperform.
South Africa paceman Dale Steyn has risen to joint number one in the International Cricket Council (ICC) rankings for Test bowlers, alongside Sri Lanka spinner Muttiah Muralitharan. Steyn (24) joined Muralitharan after claiming eight to bowl the tourists to an innings victory in the second Test against India on Saturday for a 1-0 series lead, the ICC said on Monday.
Neil McKenzie and Hashim Amla moved up the International Cricket Council (ICC) Test rankings on Monday after outstanding performances in the drawn match against India. McKenzie, who made 94 and 155 not out, made his first appearance in the top 40 in four years and is ranked 36th in the world, while Amla’s 159 and 81 saw him shoot up 10 places to 24th position.
Imtiaz Patel will not become the next International Cricket Council chief executive, the ICC said on Monday. Patel had been earmarked to succeed Australian Malcolm Speed who will step down in July after seven years in office. However, the sports television executive has told the ICC he is not interested in the post.
Political interference in South African cricket has not produced the best team for their tour to India, the Afrikanerbond said on Tuesday in a letter to the Board of Control for Cricket in India. Managing director Jan Bosman said that international standards must apply in the selection of the best team to represent a country.
Former Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq was ”shocked and disgusted” by controversial umpire Darrell Hair’s reinstatement, but Australia welcomed the move on Wednesday. Inzamam clashed with Hair in the forfeited Oval Test between Pakistan and England in August 2006, which led to the Australian umpire’s ban from standing in top-level matches.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) restored controversial Australian Darrell Hair as a Test and one-day international umpire on Tuesday and decided to shorten the 2011 World Cup. Cricket’s governing body also said a ”full independent security assessment” would be made before violence-hit Pakistan staged the Champions Trophy in September.
Imtiaz Patel’s appointment as the next chief executive of the International Cricket Council (ICC) is ”not a done deal” according to SuperSport, his current employer. ”Nothing has been formalised yet,” SuperSport spokesperson Guy Hawthorne said Tuesday.
South Africa paceman Dale Steyn, fresh from being named player of the series in the recent Bangladesh tour, is proud his name is now being bracketed with some of the world’s best. ”Just to be put in the same bracket like [Muttiah] Muralitharan, Glenn McGrath, Shaun Pollock or Shane Bond, it’s remarkable,” he said in an interview on Thursday.
Australia all-rounder Andrew Symonds will face no action after he knocked over a streaker in his side’s nine-run one-day international loss to India in Brisbane on Tuesday. Robert Murray David Ogilvie stormed the field and ran towards Symonds, who shoulder-charged him to the ground.
Indian media on Wednesday rewarded the cricket team’s conquest of world champions Australia with front page banner headlines, celebrating a victorious end to an acrimonious tour. ”Triumph against all Oz” screamed the mass-selling Hindustan Times a day after the young Indian team completed a 2-0 whitewash of Australia.
Britain said on Tuesday it would support a ban on a tour next year by the Zimbabwe cricket team in protest at President Robert Mugabe’s rule, but the decision was up to the sport’s authorities. The BBC’s Inside Sport said the government was looking at several options to stop next year’s tour.
The British government has no plans for a blanket ban on sportsmen from Zimbabwe, Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s spokesperson said on Tuesday, rebuffing a report from the BBC. The spokesperson said Downing Street had been ”surprised” by the report suggesting that Britain was considering such a ban.
The British government is considering stepping up the pressure on Zimbabwe by banning its athletes from competing in Britain, the BBC has reported. The Inside Sport programme reported that the ban could notably prevent the Zimbabwe cricket team from touring England next year.
Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh has lashed out at Australian crowds after being cleared of allegations he made monkey gestures and spat toward fans in the tri-series final win against Australia. Harbhajan was cleared after match referee Jeff Crowe was unable to find any video evidence to confirm the claims by spectators and photographers.
India spinner Harbhajan Singh was cleared on Monday of making racist gestures and spitting at fans during his team’s one-day win over Australia on Sunday. Harbhajan was crucial in Sunday’s victory, which gave India a 1-0 lead in the tri-series finals, claiming the key wickets of Andrew Symonds and Matthew Hayden.
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/ 27 February 2008
India’s new cricket coach Gary Kirsten said on Wednesday he was impressed with the team’s aggressive attitude despite controversies on their ongoing tour of Australia. ”What I like about Indian cricket as a whole now, and especially about the young players, is that they are ready to accept the battle,” said the former South African batsman, who officially takes over as coach next month.
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/ 26 February 2008
Australian fast bowler Brett Lee defended his team’s on-field behaviour on Tuesday and played down talk of another rift with India. The lingering ill-feeling between the sides surfaced again when Indian paceman Ishant Sharma was fined 15% of his match fee for a verbal altercation with Australian batsman Andrew Symonds during Sunday’s tri-series clash in Sydney.
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/ 25 February 2008
West Indies all-rounder Marlon Samuels has been suspended from bowling in international cricket with immediate effect due to an illegal action, the International Cricket Council said on Monday. The Jamaican, an occasional off-spinner, was reported for a suspected illegal bowling action during the third Test match between South Africa and West Indies.
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/ 15 February 2008
The money-spinning Indian Premier League (IPL) could boost cricket around the world but organisers had to ensure there was as little overlap with internationals as possible, said South Africa’s Graeme Smith. ”Scheduling is obviously going to be the key for the IPL,” the South African captain told reporters in Dhaka on Friday.
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/ 30 January 2008
The exoneration of Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh on racial-abuse charges was heavily criticised in Australia on Wednesday as a blatant demonstration of India’s power in world cricket. Harbhajan pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of abusive language at the appeal in Adelaide and was fined about Aus 000.
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/ 29 January 2008
India off-spinner Harbhajan Singh has been cleared of racial-abuse charges at a hearing in Australia, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) said on Tuesday. ”He has been cleared — the racial charge has been dropped against him,” BCCI secretary Niranjan Shah said.
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/ 29 January 2008
India will abandon the tour of Australia if spinner Harbhajan Singh is not cleared of racial abuse charges, a top Indian official said on Tuesday. Harbhajan was handed a three-Test ban by match referee Mike Procter after being found guilty of racially abusing Australia’s Andrew Symonds during the acrimonious Sydney Test earlier this month.
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/ 28 January 2008
New Zealand will dump star paceman Shane Bond after he signed for the rebel Indian Cricket League, the country’s cricket board confirmed on Monday. New Zealand Cricket has been trying to persuade the injury-prone 32-year-old to stay in the official fold, but no solution could be found.
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/ 15 January 2008
Embattled cricket umpire Steve Bucknor expressed disappointment on Monday in being sent home from the Test series between India and Australia. Bucknor said he was ”disappointed that I am not continuing the tour between Australia and India, in Australia. But I respect the International Cricket Council’s authority in the matter.”
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/ 14 January 2008
Australia will hope to put the acrimony of recent days behind them as they chase a world record 17th straight Test win against India this week. Batsman Michael Clarke said the home team were ”keen as mustard” to get back on the field after the fall-out of the second Test in Sydney.