Netherlands captain Peter Borren has his sights set on victory ahead of the ICC World Cricket League Division 1 from 1 to 10 July

Cricinfo staff25-Jun-2010Netherlands captain Peter Borren has his sights set on victory ahead of the ICC World Cricket League Division One from July 1 to 10. Having finished third both in 2007 in Nairobi and in 2009 in South Africa, his side is eager to go all the way, especially so being the hosts.”Things like the development of the side and preparations for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 can be put on a hold for the time being,” Borren said. “The immediate task is to play and perform in the most important and competitive tournament featuring the top Associate and Affiliate sides. It is imperative for us to not only do well but win it. I’ll be extremely disappointed if we don’t win this tournament.”It is a great opportunity for us to play in this tournament where every match is an ODI. We need to make optimum use of this great opportunity and give a good account of ourselves,” he said.Netherlands have a strong ODI record against Associates, and go into the tournament on a high, following the six-wicket victory against Scotland in Rotterdam last Tuesday. “We have a very settled side in one-day cricket and we’ve been gelling very nicely as a team. We’ve always done reasonably well in ICC events against the other top Associates so I think we’ll be very competitive, especially considering we’ll have home advantage,” Borren said.His side have some injury woes to deal with since they will be without top players like Ryan ten Doeschate, Edgar Schiferli and Daan van Bunge, while Alex Kervezee will not be around for the initial part of the tournament. Borren acknowledged that these players were “hard to replace”.”I realise we will be without some of our star performers due to injuries or other commitments. I also understand that experience is difficult to replace but we have players in our ranks who have the required skills and talent to deliver the goods at this level. We have played without these players recently and have enjoyed some success which has been excellent for the confidence of the younger players,” he said.Schiferli has been out of action with a knee injury since the ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier in the United Arab Emirates, while ten Doeschate picked up an injury while playing for Essex in the English County Championships. van Bunge is not available due to work commitments and Kervezee is tied up with his commitments Worcestershire commitments.”Kervezee has commitments with his clubs in England. Look, the players have shown a lot of commitment to Dutch cricket and we’d just love to have them. But as an Associate Member, you can’t have everything. You need to live with these facts and the reality is Kervezee will only be available for a maximum of two matches.”The younger players have shown a lot of potential, especially Mark Jonkman who has blossomed under the wing of Schiferli and is now ready to stamp his mark at the bigger stage. He is fast and keeps coming back at the batsmen. He is an excellent bowler in the death overs. As far as I’m concerned, he is the one to watch out for in this tournament,” Borren said.Borren believed his side was well-prepared for the tournament. “We have been playing a lot of limited-overs cricket this season with our involvement in the Clydesdale Bank Pro40 competition in England and this has really helped us.”We have been playing pretty well in that – we beat Derbyshire and we should have won a couple of other games too but we couldn’t quite get over the line. We hadn’t played in an English competition for years and we saw how much it did for cricket in Ireland and Scotland so it’s great to be involved in that. I think all this has been good preparation for the World Cricket League.”Borren however was quick to acknowledge that it will be a keenly contested tournament. “Ireland has done well over the years at this level while Afghanistan is another dangerous side. However, I think all the sides will start on an even keel as they are all evenly matched. I think it will boil down to the fact which side adjusts quickly to the conditions, handles the pressure, plays to its strengths and converts the opportunities.”He also refused to make much out of his side’s home advantage. “It can be a double-edged sword. While you’re best placed to understand the weather and your knowledge about the pitches and their characters are second to none, on the other side of the coin when you’re playing at home there are so many things that are running in your mind like work commitments which can easily distract you.”Squad: Peter Borren (capt), Tom de Grooth, Mark Jonkman, Pieter Seelaar, Eric Szwarczynski, Mudassar Bukhari, Atse Buurman, Tom Cooper, Adeel Raja, Maurits Jonkman, Muhammad Kashif, Alex Kervezee, Bradley Kruger, Nicolas Statham, Bas Zuiderent.

Andrew Strauss insists there is still plenty of room for improvement from England in the final ODI at Lord’s as they search for a 4-1 series victory

Brydon Coverdale at Lord's02-Jul-2010Andrew Strauss insists there is still plenty of room for improvement from England in the final ODI at Lord’s as they search for a 4-1 series victory. The loss at The Oval on Wednesday ruined their chances of a clean-sweep and although Strauss maintains there is nothing to be gained from the series ahead of the Ashes, he does believe every win is important less than a year from a World Cup.England will consider making changes for Saturday’s game, with the possibility that players might be rested ahead of Bangladesh’s tour. But Strauss doesn’t want to risk Australia finishing the series with a pair of victories, after England’s powerful start gave them a realistic chance of completing a whitewash.”Having pretty much dominated the first three games, we don’t want the series to finish 3-2,” Strauss said. “It would not be the sort of way to finish the series we would have anticipated at 3-0 up. But we’ve got to play better than we did at The Oval, there’s no doubt about that, and look back to what we’ve done well over those first three games and make sure we repeat it.”We’ve had one hundred in the series, so you always want your top order to get hundreds, there’s no doubt about that. That’s an area we’ve identified that we can improve. As a batting unit I think we can probably play better than we have done. The bowling has been pretty good, the fielding his been pretty good, but there’s still room for improvement in both of those disciplines as well.”One man England would love to see lift is Kevin Pietersen, who has shown promise during the series without making use of his starts. Pietersen has now gone 16 ODIs without a half-century, stretching back to the tour of India in November 2008, and Strauss said that while such a lean patch was unexpected, he had no concerns over Pietersen’s form.”You expect him to score runs consistently and he has done so much in the past,” Strauss said. “What I would say is he has contributed in a lot of those one-day internationals without getting fifties. He’s still the player that opposition teams fear the most in our side. If you see him playing in the nets, you know there’s absolutely no reason to believe he’s not going to go out and get a hundred tomorrow. We’ve got no concerns with him.”While victory for England would cap off an outstanding series, Australia will consider it a minor triumph if they come from 3-0 down to end up with a 3-2 scoreline. There have been some real positives for the visitors over the past two games, including the form of the pace trio of Shaun Tait, Doug Bollinger and Ryan Harris.The Australians are also keen to take some momentum into their Twenty20s against Pakistan, which begin two days after the Lord’s ODI. The coach Tim Nielsen said the group was in better spirits after the 78-run win at The Oval.”We feel a bit better about ourselves,” Nielsen said. “We were probably building to that game throughout the first three. It would be nice to finish 3-2. If we do that, we know we’ve played well tomorrow and it’s probably a pretty fair reflection of the series.”

Andrew Strauss and Jonathan Trott produced the highest partnership in England’s one-day history as England crushed Bangladesh by 144 runs

The Bulletin by Andrew Miller at Edgbaston12-Jul-2010England 347 for 6 (Strauss 154, Trott 110) beat Bangladesh 203 (Mahmudullah 42, Bopara 4-38) by 147 runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsAndrew Strauss was inventive and expansive as he set the tone for England’s crushing win•Getty Images

Andrew Strauss and Jonathan Trott produced the highest partnership in England’s one-day history, surpassing the 226 that Strauss and Andrew Flintoff recorded against West Indies at Lord’s in 2004, as England crushed Bangladesh by 144 runs to atone for their historic defeat in Saturday’s second ODI at Bristol, and secure a record-equalling fourth consecutive series win.Strauss and Trott’s second-wicket stand of 250 was complemented by a late onslaught from Ravi Bopara, who slammed 45 not out from 16 balls, and Bangladesh never came close to challenging a formidable target of 348. Their key man, Tamim Iqbal, skied an Ajmal Shahzad slower ball to mid-on in the third over, and Shahzad followed up by blasting Imrul Kayes from the crease with a fearsome gloved lifter. A pair of miscues and a comical run-out left Bangladesh floundering on 86 for 5 in the 19th over, whereupon Bopara put the seal on a spirited return to the side with 4 for 39 in 10 skiddy overs.It was not an entirely flawless performance from England: the loss of six wickets for 46 between overs 41 and 47 once again raised concerns about the solidity of the middle order, with Luke Wright’s directionless summer continuing as he flailed his way to a first-ball duck after being pushed up the order for a late slog. And the closing stages of the match meandered mercilessly, with Mahmudullah and Abdur Razzak adding 56 in 15.3 overs to haul the total up towards 200. But seeing as Strauss and Trott had already put the contest beyond doubt with the 11th highest one-day stand of all time, there was not a whole lot to quibble about.England’s second-wicket pairing left nothing to chance as they batted in tandem for exactly 40 overs of the innings. Strauss was the star performer with 154 from 140 balls, his fourth and highest ODI hundred but his first since the tour of the Caribbean in March 2009, while Trott put to one side the bitter memory of his last-over dismissal to Shafiul Islam at Bristol to improve on his career-best for the second match in succession. He made 110 from 121 balls before wellying the disciplined Mashrafe Mortaza to midwicket. Mortaza’s final figures of 10-2-31-3 were outstanding, but he was the only Bangladeshi to keep a lid on England’s aggression.For that, the credit belonged to Strauss, who once again belied his self-appointed reputation as a “stodgy” opener, to blister along at a tempo rarely witnessed in England’s one-day history. In all he struck 16 fours and five sixes, each of them deposited up and over the leg-side boundary, as he took personal responsibility for Saturday’s setback to put England’s one-day revival back on track.It was a commanding performance against a Bangladesh team that was unable to raise its game for a second match in succession, but England still had to earn their right to the ascendancy. They lost the toss after a 45-minute rain delay, and were sent into bat in overcast conditions, and when Craig Kieswetter was bowled through the gate in Mortaza’s first over for a second-ball duck, the prospect of further embarrassment could not be ruled out.Strauss and Trott, however, responded to the setback with an initial volley of boundaries – including a brace of fours as Shafiul Islam strayed onto Trott’s pads, and an agenda-setting six from Strauss as Mashrafe dropped short – before settling back into a holding pattern to ease the score along to 45 for 1 at the end of the 10-over Powerplay. Shafiul, whose crucial final wicket had sealed the Bristol victory, this time conceded a record 97 runs in nine overs. Strauss dismantled his line and length early on, before Bopara crushed him in a final over that cost 28.Mashrafe did his best to keep England on a tight leash in an unchanged eight-over spell that yielded just 17 runs, but at the halfway mark of the innings, England were sitting pretty on 117 for 1, and perfectly placed to increase the tempo. Strauss nudged Shakib for a single to reach his hundred from 106 deliveries, before cutting loose with a bold array of improvisatory strokes, including a variation on Eoin Morgan’s ambidextrous “paddywhack”, and a bona fide right-hander’s nurdle to third man (or rather, fine leg). He needed just 29 more deliveries to rush to his second score of 150 in ODIs – the other also came against Bangladesh, at Trent Bridge in 2005.Trott maintained a more measured approach, as is his wont, picking off his runs with clips, drives and pulls as he capitalised on the absence of Kevin Pietersen and Ian Bell, and built on his double-hundred in the Lord’s Test back in May with another unflappable performance. In his five home appearances since August 2009, Trott has now amassed an Ashes-winning century, a Test double-century, a maiden ODI hundred and a 94 to boot. It’s food for thought for those who continue to question his bottle.

Ravi Bopara missed a golden opportunity to press his claims for a place on the
Ashes tour this winter when he failed to perform in front of national selector
Geoff Miller at Colchester

18-Aug-2010

ScorecardBen Phillips put Essex under pressure with two wickets in his opening spell•Getty Images

Ravi Bopara missed a golden opportunity to press his claims for a place on the
Ashes tour this winter when he failed to perform in front of national selector
Geoff Miller at Colchester.He made just a single as Essex replied to Somerset’s 215 all out, falling lbw
to Charles Willoughby. It signalled the continuation of a disappointing sequence for Bopara. Since scoring a century in each innings of the match against Yorkshire, he has scored just 41 runs in his last five trips to the middle in the County Championship.On an absorbing opening day Essex reached the close on 126 for 6, to leave
the contest intriguingly poised going into the second day. While Bopara’s struggles continue, Miller must have been impressed with the efforts of James Hildreth who maintained his season’s fine form.He came into this match with an average well over 50 and made 84 to keep
Somerset afloat after Marcus Trescothick had been caught at slip from the third
ball of the match, without a run on the board, to provide David Masters with one
of his five wickets.Coming in with the total on 32 for 3, Hildreth batted with fluency to
gather a dozen boundaries before he chipped Masters to short mid-wicket. Next highest score was Zander de Bruyn with 34, but not before he was called back to resume his innings.When he had made 16 he was given out lbw by umpire Peter Willey, but following
a consultation between Willey and his colleague John Steele he returned to
continue with his innings which was eventually ended by Danish Kaneria, thanks
to a fine diving catch by Mark Pettini at first slip.Masters went on to finish with 5 for 43 from 21.1 overs, his best figures of
the summer. Tony Palladino and Chris Wright weighed in with two wickets each. Somerset, who are nursing realistic hopes of being county champions, will have been disappointed with their efforts with the bat against opponents looking favourites to drop into the second division.However they fought back strongly. Either side of Bopara’s departure Ben
Phillips struck to remove Jaik Mickleburgh and Matt Walker before paceman
Alfonso Thomas raced in to make further inroads into the innings.First he trapped Billy Godleman lbw for 32 before cutting short the promising
innings of Pettini who had reached 34 when he was caught behind. Then in the final over of the day Willoughby had Foster caught in the gulley for 16 to end a partnership of 47 with Ryan ten Doeschate, who will resume on 36.In all, 16 wickets fell on the day for 341 but pitches liaison officer Jack
Birkenshaw announced himself “reasonably satisfied” with the pitch. However, Birkenshaw revealed he will again be in attendance tomorrow to see if there is any marked deterioration.

T&T selector Rangy Nanan has suggested that Dwayne Bravo and Kieron Pollard believe they can earn more money from playing in different leagues

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Sep-2010Trinidad & Tobago selector Rangy Nanan has suggested that allrounders Dwayne Bravo and Kieron Pollard turned down their national contracts because they believe they’ll have opportunities to play in different leagues, but thinks there won’t be too many others following in their footsteps.”If you are under contract by the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) they could prevent you from playing in other tournaments because they are paying your salary,” Nanan told . “If you do not have a contract you will not be paid if you are not selected, and would make [the] player available to play in other leagues.”The WICB had offered contracts to 25 players on August 31. While 23 of those players expressed their willingness to sign the one-year retainers, Bravo and Pollard were reported to have turned them down. The WICB offers players three different grades of contracts – Grade A, B and C – and according to Nanan, only two players were given Grade A contracts.”From what I heard only Chris Gayle and Shivnarine Chanderpaul were given Grade A contracts. I am not sure how true that is, but if that is the case maybe they [Bravo and Pollard] believed they could earn more money playing in different leagues. “Pollard and Bravo most recently turned out for the Mumbai Indians in the Champions League Twenty20. Pollard also played for South Australia and Somerset, while Bravo played for Victoria and Essex. All these teams reached at least the semi-finals of their respective Twenty20 tournaments, in part due to the performances of the two players.The pair has been named in Trinidad & Tobago’s squad for the upcoming domestic limited-overs tournament and Nanan believes Bravo, who has played 37 Tests for the West Indies, would opt to play Test cricket if he were selected. The 23-year-old Pollard, on the other hand, has yet to make his Test debut, and turned down a place on the one-day leg of the West Indies A-team tour to England in June in favour of his deal with Somerset for the Friends Provident t20.Pollard’s desire to play Test cricket has been questioned in the past, but former West Indies fast bowler Ian Bishop is confident that the 23-year-old Pollard has the skills to make a big impact in the longest version of the game.”As far as whether he has aspirations to play the longer form of the game he says he has and I have to take him at his word on that,” Bishop told . “Does he have what it takes skill wise to play the longer form? I think so, yes.”Nanan, who played one Test for the West Indies, does not believe the duo will start a trend of players refusing to sign national contracts, as not all players enjoy the demand they have. At the same time, he said cricketers should be more focused on representing their national side than on how much money they can make.”We need to get back the pride of playing for the West Indies because it is the only thing that keeps the people in the West Indies together,” he said. “If the West Indies lose the people in the Caribbean hurt.”

Andrew White’s unbeaten half-century took Ireland to a six-wicket victory against Canada even as rain threatened to thwart Irish hopes on the last day

Cricinfo staff04-Sep-2010
ScorecardAn unbeaten partnership of 59 runs between Andrew White and John Mooney took Ireland to victory against Canada•Bryan Vandenburg, Cricket Canada

Andrew White’s unbeaten half-century took Ireland to a six-wicket victory against Canada in Toronto even as rain threatened to thwart Irish hopes on the last day of an absorbing match.Play began with Ireland four down and requiring only 52 to win with rain forecast for the day. White and John Mooney began patiently before White opened up in the fourth over, driving and pulling Rizwan Cheema for consecutive fours. With 28 runs still needed, rain interrupted proceedings and no play was possible for a major portion of the day. Ireland’s optimism was turning into despair, but the sun eventually came out and play resumed.White did not waste time, reaching his fifty with consecutive fours off Khurram Chohan. He then pulled Umar Bhatti past midwicket to bring up Ireland’s victory, remaining unbeaten on 59 off 73 deliveries with eight fours. Mooney was not out on 16 off 35 balls with three fours in an unbroken 59-run stand for the fifth wicket. White was named Man of the Match for guiding Ireland to victory after top-scoring with 84 in the first innings.It was a comfortable win ultimately for Ireland after Canada had fought back on the second and third days. Ireland now have 52 points from five matches and are placed fourth in the points table. They take on third-placed Zimbabwe XI in Harare in their last match, which begins on September 20. Canada finished last with five losses in six games.

Callum Ferguson has been starved of cricket over the past month but he cashed in with a swift century as South Australia finished the second day at 7 for 405

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Oct-2010

ScorecardCallum Ferguson scored a century in his opening first-class game after knee surgery last year•Getty Images

Callum Ferguson has been starved of cricket over the past month but he cashed in with a swift century as South Australia finished the second day at 7 for 405 against Western Australia. After only 4.1 overs were allowed on the first day, Ferguson showed he was back in excellent nick in his opening first-class game since knee surgery last year.Aiden Blizzard also played a significant part as he brought up his first hundred in his second Sheffield Shield match for the Redbacks. After making 96 on debut, he backed up with 108 not out, hitting 12 fours and three sixes, including one to the legside which moved him to 95.Ferguson, who didn’t play during Australia’s one-day tour of India, breezed to 129 from 143 deliveries to set up South Australia’s bid to get some points over the next couple of days. He put on 176 with Michael Klinger (86) for the third wicket after Daniel Harris became Michael Hogan’s second wicket. Once Ferguson departed lbw, having been hit trying to sweep the spinner Michael Beer, Blizzard took over until bad light and rain ended the day.Mitchell Johnson has been on Western Australia’s books for two years but this is his first match for the Warriors as he prepares for the Sri Lanka ODIs and the Ashes. He struggled for much of the day and had 0 for 96 before he picked up Graham Manou, who left a ball coming back to be lbw. Daniel Christian then hit Johnson to backward point and he finished with 2 for 108 off 24 overs.

West Indies’ batsmen struggled on the first day of their tour match against a Sri Lanka President’s XI at Colombo

Sa'adi Thawfeeq10-Nov-2010West Indies’ tour of Sri Lanka got off to a disappointing start when the tourists were bundled out for 176 by seam and spin on the first day of their three-day match against Sri Lanka President’s XI at the SSC. Only middle-order batsmen Brendan Nash and Shivnarine Chanderpaul got useful practice out in the middle ahead of next Monday’s first Test in Galle.The pair rescued West Indies from 29 for 3 with a partnership of 81 before spinners Ajantha Mendis and Malinga Bandara wrapped up the lower order. Nash who scored 62 off 107 balls said, “We would have liked to have batted some more overs and got used to the conditions over here. The wicket was quite good although it played a few little tricks. Maybe it was just one of those things where we started the tour a little slowly today.”Shiv and I batted together for a while and a few of the other guys showed signs of hanging there for a little bit. We were a little disappointed by the way we batted but we were surprised by the wicket being quite easy to bat on. Maybe that took us a little bit by surprise and we didn’t adjust as well as we should have.”Describing his maiden half-century in the subcontinent, Nash said, “I was a little scratchy in patches for my first innings in this part of the world. Personally I am pleased with it – the mental and physical side of things.”I was interested with the pace of the wicket, it was two-paced. Just when you thought you were sort of going quite easy something would happen to keep you on your toes. Although it was a nice wicket to bat on, every now and then it reminded you that something can happen out there.”Nash said that West Indies should take a good look at their batting today and establish how they were going to move on from there. “We got this out of our system and had a bit of a knock in the middle, so we got to know the conditions and what they are going to be like. We can learn from today. We have to move forward and keep going.”Nash expressed surprise in the way the home team approached their batting. “The top four batsmen who came out played real shots. They obviously had a plan to come out quite hard and score runs quickly. We sort of pegged them back towards the end by taking a few wickets.”It’s a three-day match and there is plenty of time. The wicket might break up a little bit more so it would be another test for our batsmen and bowlers to use those conditions,” he said.

Michael Hussey believes his interrupted rescue act with Brad Haddin needs to double if they are to earn a dominant position in the opening Ashes Test

Peter English at the Gabba26-Nov-2010Michael Hussey believes his interrupted rescue act with Brad Haddin needs to double if they are to earn a dominant position in the opening Ashes Test. Australia will start the third day 40 runs behind England’s first-innings 260 after Hussey and Haddin lifted the side with a partnership of 77.The hosts were 5 for 143 when the pair joined forces after Steven Finn and James Anderson had held up the hosts following an opening stand of 78. Hussey (81) and Haddin (22) provided some comfort for Australia but are now headed for the most important part of the match.”We had to battle pretty hard throughout that partnership,” Hussey said. “We managed to get a good partnership but it’s probably not even half what we require, we’ve got some really hard work to do tomorrow morning. The second new ball is going to be a really challenging time in the game.”England were about to take it when bad light stopped play 17 overs early, but they gained a slight boost when the groundsmen were slow to cover the pitch when a shower arrived. “The game is interestingly poised, it’s pretty tight, probably 50-50 at the moment,” Hussey said. “The first hour or two is going to be interesting to see what happens. It might be the pivotal point of the match.”Finn said England were happy with their results on a pitch that is still providing some help to the bowlers, and contributing to regular shifts in momentum. “That’s been the nature of the game so far,” he said. “It’s ebbed and flowed, and I’m sure it will tomorrow.”This is Finn’s first Ashes Test and the 21-year-old had an encouraging day. He collected the wickets of Michael Clarke, who edged behind pulling, and Simon Katich. Katich drove firmly back to Finn and he leaned forward for a stunning take just off the ground.”If you watch me in the mornings, I practise catching low like that all the time,” he said. “It’s something I try and work on and am conscious of. I need to be able to take catches like that to make myself a better cricketer.”Finn was also punished at times by Hussey, particularly when he was pulling, and finished with 2 for 61 off 15 overs. The Gabba was almost full, but Finn said he wasn’t intimidated.”It was great to get out there and bowl,” he said. “I heard the crowd all of yesterday shouting, 35,000 people. To be able to play in front of 35,000 today was great. I’m used to playing championship cricket in front of 20 people. To have so many people watching has been fantastic. I’m loving it at the moment.”

The International Cricket Council has turned down India’s request to replace Mike Denness as match referee for the third and final Test match betwen South Africa and India

Stephen Lamb14-Jan-2011The International Cricket Council has turned down India’s request to replace Mike Denness as match referee for the third and final Test match betwen South Africa and India. The request from the Board of Control for Cricket in India followed penalties imposed by Denness during the second Test at Port Elizabeth.Denness fined and imposed a suspended ban on India’s Sachin Tendulkar for ball-tampering, after TV evidence showed him using a fingernail on the seam of the ball.The ICC Chief Executive, Malcolm Speed, said: “We have received and are currently considering a written complaint from the BCCI regarding the
actions of Mike Denness during the recent India v South Africa Test match.”Mike Denness is a former Test captain and a very experienced match referee.
During his time refereeing Test and one-day international matches his record
has been one of fairness and consistency. On the previous 9 occasions where
Mike Denness has acted as referee for a match involving India, no Indian
players have been reported or penalised.””The BCCI has requested that another match referee be appointed to officiate in the third Test. However, given that the ICC is satisfied that all procedures have been adhered to, we cannot agree to this request.”It remains to be seen whether the final Test at Centurion, which is due to start on Friday, will now go ahead. In demanding Denness’s replacement, the BCCI president, Jagmohan Dalmiya, indicated that several of India’s players wished to pull out of the series.Tendulkar was fined 75% of his match fee and handed a one-match ban, suspended until the end of this year, while five of his team-mates were also punished.The most severe penalty was handed to Virender Sehwag, who was banned for the next Test and fined 75% of his match fee for excessive appealing. Shiv Sunder Das, Harbhajan Singh and Deep Dasgupta were fined the same amount and given suspended single-match bans for the same offence.India captain Sourav Ganguly was given a suspended ban for one Test and two one-day international games for failing to exercise control over his team-mates.The ICC President, Malcolm Gray, said: “The ICC is concerned about standards of on-field behaviour of players and has asked umpires and referees to take a stronger stance in respect of charging offending players and imposing appropriate penalties. This initiative has the strong support of all members of the ICC Executive Board.”If any member country of the ICC is concerned about the processes that have
been in place for many years, the proper way of dealing with this is to raise it as an issue at the next meeting of the Executive Board.”There is no doubt that he can expect an extra item on the forthcoming agenda as a result of the events of the past two days.