With this being the end of coach Dav Whatmore’s four year tenure, Bangladesh will be looking forward to build on their successes in the World Cup and give him a victorious farewell when they take on India in three ODIs and two Tests beginning on May 10.After thrashing India in the group stage of the World Cup and South Africa in the Super Eights, Habibul Bashar, the Bangladesh captain, remained confident of beating India again. “We are not overawed by our rivals,” Bashar told AFP. “We know that if we play good cricket, we can defeat any team.”Bashar was speaking at a celebratory dinner on Saturday to felicitate the national squad after their World Cup performance. Specal mention, however, was reserved for Whatmore. Abdul Aziz, the Bangladesh cricket chief, said that they would “always be grateful to Whatmore for turning the team into a proud group of world beaters”.Whatmore said he was focused on his final assignment – the home series against India – and did not rule out returning to Bangladesh at a later stage. “I am proud and honoured to have been associated with Bangladesh,” he said. “It was great working with such a dedicated bunch of players who did all the hard work out there on the field. It is time to move on but I hope to return to Bangladesh some day in the future.” Whatmore is considered as a strong candidate to become India’s coach, when he finishes his assignment with Bangladesh.Since he took over as coach in 2003, Bangladesh have defeated the World Champions Australia, India (twice), Sri Lanka and South Africa in ODIs. They also secured their maiden Test victory against the Zimbabweans. But Whatmore believes that the team had a long way to go. “The journey has only just begun but they are on the right path,” he said. “There is more self-belief among the players than before and that is a good sign.”The three ODIs against India on May 10, 12 and 15 will be followed by two Tests at Chittagong (May 18-22) and Dhaka (May 25-29).

Western Australia have aimed to strengthen their bowling stocks with three fast bowlers added to their squad for 2007-08. Peter Worthington, Andrew James and Scott Meuleman were dropped from last year’s list, while Tim Macdonald has moved to Tasmania.The Warriors’ senior list now comprises 23 players – including five who have Cricket Australia contracts – and there are seven players on their rookie list. Trent Kelly, a fast bowler who has played first-class cricket for South Australia, has been included along with Danny McLauchlan, the left-armer who made his debut for the Warriors last season.McLauchlan claimed 45 victims at 20.20 for his club, Scarborough, in 2006-07. His Scarborough team-mate, Theo Doropoulos, has been promoted from the rookie list. Doropoulos’s inclusion came on the back of a strong grade season in which he took 34 wickets at 18.79 and scored 721 runs at 48.07.Justin Langer, who is no longer CA-contracted, is now on the Warriors’ list. Adam Gilchrist, Michael Hussey, Chris Rogers, Adam Voges and Brad Hogg were all included in the CA squad named earlier this month.There have been four additions to the rookie-contracted players list. Willetton all-rounder Matthew Johnston, Scarborough wicket-keeper Michael Johnson, Fremantle off-spinner Christopher Wood, and Subiaco-Floreat left-arm orthodox spinner Chris Hansberry have received rookie contracts for the first time.Nathan Coulter-Nile, Liam Davis and Josh Mangan all retained their rookie contracts and another four new rookies were added: Matthew Johnston, an allrounder; Michael Johnson, a wicketkeeper; Christopher Wood, an offspinner; and Chris Hansberry, a left-arm orthodox spinner. Arron Crawford and Craig King did not have their rookie contracts renewed.Graeme Wood, the WACA chief executive, said the state had tried to keep the majority of the squad intact. “We have been on the brink of success for the past few seasons,” Wood said. “With the talent we have now assembled, combined with the arrival of Tom Moody as manager and head coach and Trevor Penney as assistant coach, there is an expectation that success won’t be too far away.”Squad David Bandy, Brett Dorey, Theo Doropoulos, Ben Edmondson, Sean Ervine, Adam Gilchrist (Cricket Australia contract), Shawn Gillies, Aaron Heal, Clint Heron, Brad Hogg (CA), Michael Hussey (CA), Mathew Inness, Trent Kelly, Justin Langer, Steve Magoffin, Shaun Marsh, Danny McLauchlan, Marcus North, Luke Pomersbach, Chris Rogers (CA), Luke Ronchi, Adam Voges (CA), Darren Wates.Rookies Nathan Coulter-Nile, Liam Davis, Chris Hansberry, Michael Johnson, Matthew Johnston, Josh Mangan, Christopher Wood.

Chandu Borde, the former Indian batsman, has been appointed as the manager for India’s tour to Ireland and England, which starts in a week’s time. Borde’s appointment comes after Graham Ford, the former South African coach who’s currently the director of cricket at Kent, rejected the Indian board’s offer to coach the national side.Borde said that he was “happy to get this responsibility”. Now 72, he was the manager way back in 1989-90, when India undertook a tough trip to Pakistan. He had also been entrusted with the responsibility between 1984 to 1986. He was twice chief national selector, first from 1982-84 and then again from 1999 to 2002.”This has come as a very pleasant surprise,” said Borde. “I am very happy to accept it. I take it as a challenge. I was the manager in 1989 in Pakistan which was a very tough tour. Our team did very well. That was also the debut series for Sachin [Tendulkar]. Coming to the present assignment I know all the boys and I look forward to the challenge.”Kiran More, who played in that series against Pakistan, recalled that Borde had done a wonderful job but felt it was not fair to ask him to take up a short-term role. “We had lots of youngsters on the tour,” More told Cricinfo. “He managed all of us really well. His reading of the game was outstanding.”But this is going to be a short-term job. I don’t know what wonders he can do. It’s not going to be easy for him. It’s not fair to Mr Borde. Also, there is going to be a lot of pressure on Dravid. I hope he does well with the bat and with leading the team. At the end of the day the blame [if India don’t do well] will fall on the captain. I don’t think it will be fair on Dravid.”More also believed that the BCCI should have approached the coach-recruitment process more professionally. “They should have gone in more systematic way. They should have advertised for the post, canvassed for candidates from round the world and in fact, should have appointed the coach before the Bangladesh tour.”Borde played 55 Tests for India between 1958 and 1969 and captained in one Test, the opening game of the 1967-68 series against Australia at Adelaide.

The 30 probables for the inaugural Twenty20 World Championship in South Africa will be picked by the selection committee at Mumbai on July 7, according to the Indian board (BCCI).The selectors, headed by Dilip Vengsarkar, will also pick the India A team that will tour Zimbabwe and Kenya later this month, said Ratnakar Shetty, the chief administrative officer of the BCCI.The list of 30 probables for the Twenty20 World Championship will then be pruned to a squad of 14, to be announced a month before the start of the tournament on September 11.India are scheduled to play their first match of the Championship against Scotland on September 13 at Kingsmead, Durban.

Jonty Rhodes, the former South African player and currently their fielding coach, has denied rumours that he is set to join England’s coaching staff.”I can honestly say I have never received any offers from England,” Rhodes told News24.com. “Some time ago there was a rumour I was going to coach Sri Lanka, but I was never approached by them either.” Sri Lanka were keen on Rhodes as assistant coach to Trevor Bayliss. Before joining South Africa’s coaching staff, Rhodes worked as a fielding coach with the Pakistan team. His former team-mate Allan Donald is currently England’s bowling coach.”Jonty has confirmed he’s staying with us,” said Mickey Arthur, the South African coach. Rhodes is expected to stay as South Africa’s fielding coach for the Twenty20 World Championship in September subject to confirmation by Cricket South Africa.”He [Rhodes] is an integral member of our team and he is committed to staying with the Proteas,” Arthur said. “I don’t know where all these rumours start, but Jonty’s definitely with us. I hope we can squash all these rumours.”Since Trevor Penney, appointed fielding coach for the Ashes in 2005, left to assist Tom Moody in Sri Lanka in 2005, England have been without a permanent fielding coach and Peter Moores, the national coach, hopes to fill the position before the seven-match one-day series against India in August.

The Pakistan Cricket Board has switched the venues for two of the ODIs against South Africa, citing a lack of cricket facilities in Peshawar and Rawalpindi as reason for the change. However, sources close to the PCB said the fragile security situation in both cities was behind the decision.The match previously fixed for Peshawar will now be played at Lahore, while the game scheduled to take place at Rawalpindi will take place at Karachi.While Zakir Khan, the PCB’s director of operations, insisted there as no issue with security, it is widely reported that the South Africans had expressed concern. Peshawar has been a security concern for foreigners with its close proximity to Afghan border, while a spate of suicide bomb attacks have targeted security forces in the north west since the government raided a radical mosque in Islamabad, which is close to Rawalpindi, last month.Khan maintained the stadium at Peshawar lacked international-level facilities. “A PCB official has ascertained facilities in Peshawar which were not as per the international standards and that’s why we shifted the match. As far as the Rawalpindi match was concerned, the stadium there too needs some refurbishment and we hope to get it ready for next year’s Champions Trophy.”

Chris Gayle says West Indies want to be the first Twenty20 world champions, a format many believe suits his attacking style of play.”It is perfectly suited to me yes but it is still an international game, it is a shorter version of one-day cricket,” he said. “I know everyone enjoys it to see balls being hit everywhere; but on the field apart from the fun of it all everyone wants to win it and West Indies would like to get hold of that trophy first.”West Indies had also won the inaugural World Cup for one-dayers in 1975.Gayle said the team was upbeat after arriving in South Africa. “All the guys are keen to go. We’re a bit jet-lagged but we [have begun] to do some work in the gym and on the field to get that out of our system and move on from here on in. The team spirit is high.”Shivnarine Chanderpaul, who might partner Gayle at the top of the order for West Indies, aired similar views. “We are looking to win, not just to play good cricket but to win and take the trophy, it’s good to see all the guys in good spirits and talking about winning this tournament,” he said.”We showed some good form in the two Twenty20 games we played in England a few weeks ago and in the 50-over games as well. What we have to do is take that form into this tournament.”Chanderpaul indicated that batsmen needed to innovate in Twenty20. “It is a faster-paced game. You have to go out there and score because the overs run out on you very quickly. You have to find ways and you have to try things because you need runs on the board quickly.”Daren Powell, who picked up 14 wickets in an otherwise lacklustre display at home during the World Cup, said that bowlers could capitalise as the batsmen would look to play shots. “It is a batsman’s game but since the batsmen will be very aggressive this will give you the chance to take a couple of wickets.”There is a 60 per cent chance for the opening fast bowlers to exploit the wicket and make inroads in the first over or two when the batsmen are not sure how the pitch will play. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t but as a bowling unit we are hoping it works.”Gayle also hoped that West Indies could do a repeat of the first match of the 2003 World Cup, where they beat hosts South Africa. “It would be nice to do the same here but we can’t take anything for granted. I’m sure they [South Africa] have worked on us by going to the drawing board and I’m sure they will look to capitalise on us and get a good start.”West Indies and South Africa square off in the opening game of the tournament on September 11.

The third ODI of Pakistan’s tour of India which was scheduled for November 12 in Kanpur will now be played on November 11. The reason, BCCI Secretary Niranjan Shah said, was because the Indian board wanted the match to be held on a Sunday.As a result of that change, the first and second ODIs have also been brought forward by a day. The first match will now be played on November 5 and the second on November 8.The Pakistan Cricket Board was keen to fit in a Twenty20 match during the tour to raise funds for the Bob Woolmer cricket academy but PCB Chairman Nasim Ashraf said the Indian board had rejected the proposal.”They [BCCI] say that since the ICC has kept a cap of seven Twenty20 matches a year for all teams, they can’t fit in this match this season,” Ashraf told PTI. “But we feel this is a match for a noble cause and something can be managed. We are still trying to convince the Indian board to review the situation. We are very keen to do something for Woolmer’s academy and if it is not possible on this tour we will look at other alternatives as well.”Gill Woolmer, Bob’s wife, had sent a letter to the Pakistan and Indian boards requesting them to play a Twenty20 international to raise funds for the academy which Woolmer had established in his hometown of Cape Town.

Scorecard

Ricky Ponting enjoyed his return to the Pura Cup with 96 before conceding first-innings points in an effort to set up a final-day chase for Tasmania. Michael Di Venuto made 138 – his second century in two games – in Tasmania’s 6 for 363 and at the close South Australia had extended their lead to 290.The Redbacks were on 4 for 171 at stumps with Mark Cosgrove on 66 and the debutant Andy Delmont on 26 after Darren Lehmann chipped in with a quick 47 from 39 balls. South Australia’s top three struggled again, with Matthew Elliott, Shane Deitz and Nathan Adcock all falling in the first ten overs.The visitors began their second innings with a 119-run lead thanks to Ponting’s declaration, which gave both sides hope of victory after the Tigers opened their season with a draw and South Australia with a loss. Ponting looked set for a century when he feathered behind while trying to fend off a bouncer from Shaun Tait, who is hoping for a spot in Ponting’s Test team.That was Tait’s only success of the innings, however, as he conceded 11 no-balls in collecting 1 for 117. Di Venuto began the day on 99 and had no problems posting his 44th first-class hundred before becoming the first of Dan Cullen’s two victims.Di Venuto’s form in the past 12 months has been remarkable – he had his best Pura Cup year last summer with 961 runs at 53.38 and opened this season with 178 against Queensland to salvage a draw at the Gabba. In between, he was fourth on the county run-tally in 2007 with 1329 at 66.45 for Durham.

Mahela Jayawardene said that it was time his team showed some character and gave Australia some of its own medicine.”We’ve been pushed to the wall now. Where else can we go but push them back. The next two days are very crucial for us to show some of the character that we have spoken of,” said Jayawardene after scoring his maiden Test century against Australia on the third day of the second Test at Hobart.”We spoke a lot about finding within us to beat this team but unfortunately we still haven’t got that. That hunger for victory and success we need bring that out in ourselves.”Jayawardene was of the opinion that if you spend some time in the middle, as he did, runs would come. Some of Sri Lanka’s top-order batsmen got out playing loose shots before assessing the pitch which led to them being dismissed for 246 – 296 runs behind Australia in the first innings.Jayawardene scored 104 of those runs getting to his hundred with the help of the tailenders after his top order batsmen had deserted him leaving him the lone man standing defying Australia.”It was important for me to spend some time there in the initial period and get to a position where I could get something out of it,” Jayawardene said. “Mixed feelings, though, since it wasn’t a very good day for us overall. I was very disappointed with our batting today, we need to show a bit more character I guess.”He rated his hundred among the top of the 19 he had scored in his career because “it was tough and that I hadn’t scored one against Australia before. Australia is a very good attack. They kept asking questions and I was a bit lucky at times as I got beaten. It’s a very good wicket to bat on if you bat through the initial period to get used to the pace of it and then graft your runs.”I was very slow, I wanted to make sure I didn’t make many mistakes upfront and once I got into that position and got 70 runs with the seventh wicket down, I thought we need to push for more runs. I was the only person who could have done that. I took a few more risks and managed to get a few more boundaries going my way. That momentum carried me to the hundred. If you give yourself time to settle down you have a good chance of scoring a big one.”Jayawardene will be hoping that his responsible knock would rub on the rest of the team members when they set out to bat in the second innings some time tomorrow. “We need to show a bit more belief in our ability. As soon as you go [to the middle] is where you are most vulnerable against this attack.”