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The ICC has refused a request from the Canadian Cricket Association for their Intercontinental Cup match against the USA to be postponed. The three-day game is due to take place in Florida between May 28 and 30.The CCA made the request at the beginning of April, arguing that it had not had enough time to prepare. “We have proposed that the fixture be pushed back to the end of July or possibly September because we will not be ready in May,” explained Ben Sennik, the CCA’s president. “We need some time to breathe and give our team the best possible chance to compete and win.”Sennik had been keen for the national trials – scheduled for early June – to take place before the match, explaining that they would then be in a better position to select their strongest team. The ICC expressed their disappointment at the request, but agreed to look into it nonetheless.”There is a legitimate reason to consider postponing the games because both countries season would have just started by the time May month end comes around,” said Martin Vieira, the ICC’s regional development manager for the Americas.Canada met the USA in the Six Nations Cup in Sharjah in March, and lost by six wickets. And while the fortunes of the USA are on the up – they won that tournament and so qualified for September’s ICC Champions Trophy in England – those of Canada are in decline. They lost every game in Sharjah, and their Under-19 side returned from the World Cup in Bangladesh without a win.

ScorecardKent took over from Lancashire at the top of the County Championship, after Mohammad Sami produced another withering spell of hostile fast bowling to seal a 145-run victory over Northampton at Wantage Road.After serving notice of his intent with 4 for 39 in the first innings, Sami followed up with the fine figures of 6 for 99 in 31 overs, to complete his second ten-wicket haul in first-class cricket. Northampton had resumed on 39 for 2 and never genuinely threatened to reach Kent’s challenging target of 410, despite a gutsy century from Martin van Jaarsveld.van Jaarsveld, who had reached the close on Friday on 18 not out, faced 296 balls for his 114, and was only prised from the crease when he stepped on his own wicket to give Min Patel the third of his three wickets.The dismissal came at an inopportune moment for Northants, however, as they had just lost Graeme Swann, lbw to Sami for a hard-hitting 41. Swann and van Jaarsveld had stemmed the tide with a 76-run stand for the sixth wicket, but their dismissals precipated a collapse of five wickets for 21 runs. Martin Saggers, who had taken the first of the twenty Northants wickets, wrapped up the proceedings by bowling Carl Greenidge for 4.

The Dutch Under-17 and Under-15 tour of Kenya ended at the weekend, with Kenya’s U-17s winning their five-match series 4-1, while the Dutch U-15s gained revenge with a 3-2 series victory.The event was run under the flag of the new Cricket Kenya board and was organised by former selector David Waters. It is believed that the Kenyan Cricket Association did not have the necessary finances or resources to make the event happen.The result of U-15s series went down to the final match at the Nairobi Club where, in front of a good-sized crowd the Dutch emerged as worthy winners by 28 runs in a very closely fought game. Kongonis Colt James Allan was named Man of the Match for 5 for 29 from 10 overs and then 31 not out as he ran out of partners.The U-17s was more one-sided. Kenya’s only defeat was a close match where the Dutch, needing four to win after being set 227, secured victory with a six. Peter Kituku was named Player of the Series and indeed deserved the award after some outstanding performances.Most of the youngsters play for Kongonis under the guidance of Waters, a well-known and highly-respected figure in Kenyan cricketing circles.

Javed Miandad has lauded the Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) intention to appoint paid selectors. The board decided, after a meeting of its ad-hoc committee last month, to treat selectors as full-time paid employees instead of appointing them, as is done currently, on an honorary basis.The former Pakistan captain told he backed the move. “It is a good concept. Nowadays cricket is an industry and you need full-time paid professionals to do certain jobs. The days of having honorary selectors are over.”Meanwhile, the selection committee, headed by chief selector Wasim Bari, met in Lahore to announce squads for the series against Australia `A’ and practice games for the England tour. Bari, along with other selectors like Iqbal Qasim and Ehteshamuddin, are paid employees of different organizations. This has led to concerns at the PCB that due to their professional constraints, they are unable to spend as much time scouring talent on the domestic circuit as they should.The grapevine has it that the composition of the committee might undergo change, but the PCB insist that, if possible, they would like to retain the current selectors and make them full-time employees of the board. However, Miandad also stressed it is equally important to invest selectors with more authority over choice of the final XI. Traditionally, the selectors pick a squad but the composition of the playing XI remains the prerogative of the team captain and coach.Miandad, himself a three-time coach of Pakistan, argued, “We need to follow the example of other countries doing well at present. We need to give the selectors the authority to select the playing teams — obviously with the feedback of the captain and the coach. But the final decision should be made by the selectors.” By letting selectors pick the final XI, Miandad contended that the coach and captain are left free to concentrate on getting the best out of each player on the field.In recent months, there have been murmurs both within the board and outside it that the coach and captain have too much authority over the playing XI and that a stronger selection committee was needed. Former players and journalists have criticized the selection committee’s role as superfluous, a charge that wasn’t helped by reports at the end of Pakistan’s tour to India that some senior PCB officials were unhappy at a perceived lack of gumption within the committee.

Another match, another hundred; such has been Kamran Akmal’s run of recent form. In scoring his fourth Test hundred, he took his tally of centuries to three in his last four Tests. In that time, he has also scored two ODI hundreds as an opener. Arguably, on this pitch with his side teetering at 39 for 6, this was the finest of the lot.Unless he is behind the stumps, Akmal is a man of few words; unassuming, shy even and improbably modest. He dedicated the century to his parents and said later that he rated this innings alongside his maiden Test hundred at Mohali last year, where he saved Pakistan from defeat on the final day. “I just wanted to play to the team’s requirements. The Mohali century was probably my best one but this one is also a very good one because we were in serious trouble at 39 for 6. Thankfully we have managed to make a decent score because of my batting.”As he had done at Mohali, he asserted himself from the very beginning, rarely letting up in his run-scoring or allowing the precariousness of the situation to bog him down. “Inzi just said to go out and play positively and play your shots that was all. That was what I did and it worked.”By the time he walked out to bat in the 10th over of the morning, six batsmen had gone, in unequal parts to good seam bowling and poor shot selection. Akmal refused to blame the batting and instead chose to praise the Indian seamers. “The batting wasn’t that irresponsible and I don’t think any of the shots were poor ones. It’s just that the bowling was excellent before lunch. Irfan Pathan and Zaheer Khan both bowled very well and did exactly what was required on this pitch and I would like to congratulate Irfan on his hat-trick.”And as Pakistan bounded in to take four wickets in the afternoon – Akmal taking two catches – he said the pitch is likely to help the seamers through the match. “I think the wicket will continue to seam throughout. Playing the new ball is quite difficult on the pitch and that will be crucial. The new ball is moving around but once it gets old it doesn’t do too much. But this match is by no means over.”

Brian Lara has vowed to battle on as West Indies’ captain, despite leading his team to their first home defeat against England for 36 years.Lara, whose personal form has matched that of the West Indies team as a whole, has come under renewed pressure in recent days, as the Caribbean braces itself for a first-ever whitewash in a home series. And, with the series already decided, it is that match in Antigua which is at the centre of Lara’s thoughts. “I have another Test match to focus on,” he said, “so the time for assessing my position of captain is not now.”Even so, Lara accepted that he will be forced to reconsider his position if West Indies cannot halt their slump. “Assessment time will come,” he admitted, “but I am here to play for West Indies and I will be doing that for some time to come.”Four years ago, Lara stood down after the humiliation of leading West Indies to a 3-0 whitewash in New Zealand, and it is quite possible that he could take a similar course of action now, having managed just 100 runs in the series to date. But, he added, it was up to his team-mates to play their part as well.”We played four series before this and for me to score the most runs in each and every series is a little bit of a concern,” said Lara. “I still believe we have a good group of young batsmen. It’s not that they are too inadequate in technique or anything like that, but they have to understand that they are playing for West Indies and are following in the footsteps of great players. We need to try and emulate them, but you have to be a big man to play Test cricket.”One of those former greats is Sir Viv Richards, now the chairman of West Indies’ selectors. He agreed that a lack of mental focus was at the root of the West Indian problems. “Individuals with a wonderful amount of ability have been unable to perform at their very best,” he said. “We are looking for winners and some of the attitudes that we have seen are unacceptable and selfish.”There are some guys who’ve played a few matches, and think they have a rightful place in the team – there’s no such thing.”

Michael Kasprowicz knows he doesn’t have a crystal ball. But with his confidence lifted after playing his first Test in seven months, he has rearranged his winter to give himself the best preparation for a potential Ashes contest.Dropped during last winter’s 2-1 loss to England, Kasprowicz returned for the first Test against South Africa and was a steady performer behind Brett Lee and Stuart Clark with 2 for 44 and 1 for 39 in the seven-wicket win. “It’s only natural that it’s going to feel good after a three-day Test match,” Kasprowicz told . “I’ve always spent my whole career being just in or just out of the side and I enjoyed being part of the side.”Kasprowicz’s experience was called for when Glenn McGrath was ruled out of the tour and the change in circumstances forced him to cut his northern summer county contract with Glamorgan. “By coming on this tour, then having the winter at home and training hard it will give me the best opportunity to be at my best for the start of the next season,” he said. “Whether that’s playing for Australia or whether it’s just for Queensland, I can’t see in the future. It’s something that I stewed over a lot, and having a good relationship with Glamorgan after a couple of good seasons there, I didn’t want to let anyone down.”The Ashes series has become a heavy topic of discussion despite the side preparing for the second Test at Durban on Friday. Ricky Ponting spoke about the series on radio during the week and Kasprowicz’s plans changed with next season in mind and without advice from the national selectors.”I don’t have a crystal ball and I have no idea what the future holds as far as Glenn is concerned either, but while I’m here and getting a game I’m certainly going to have fun,” he said. “With all the bowlers coming in there is always great respect for one another and for the guys in the team. You know there are blokes working hard to get in the side, which makes you work twice as hard to stay in there.”Shaun Pollock is set to prove his fitness from a back injury for the second Test and Kasprowicz said his recovery would be “huge bonus” for South Africa as they try to stay in the series. Peter Pollock, Shaun’s father, said his son was ready to play.”He has been at home having a lot of treatment with his personal physiotherapist working on the problem,” Peter Pollock said. “He is very confident of playing. I’m sure he will be right to go.”

The first meeting of the Central Organising Committee (COC) of the World Cup 2011, to be held in the subcontinent, will take place on May 18 in Bhurban, a popular tourist resort near Islamabad in Pakistan.Senior board officials from Sri Lanka, India, Pakistan and Bangladesh will meet over two days to begin discussions on the organisation of the tournament, the first time it is being held across four countries.”Initially, the discussions will be on how the COC will be formed. Sharad Pawar is the chairman but other positions also need to be decided then,” Saleem Altaf, director special projects, told Cricinfo. Talks will also take in the formation and likely roles of local organising committees (LOC) during the event. Altaf is expected to be on the committee.After 1987 and 1996, this will be the third time the event has come to the subcontinent. The final is expected to be held in Delhi, with Sri Lanka and Pakistan getting a semi-final each. Of the 53 matches, India will stage 22, Pakistan 16, Sri Lanka nine and Bangladesh six.

Fast bowler Christopher Mpofu has been given a chance to redeem himself after being called up to the Zimbabwe A side for the series against Bangladesh A that gets underway at Mutare on Saturday.Mpofu, who has fallen out of favour with the national selectors and has not played for Zimbabwe since the second Test against New Zealand at Queens Sports Club in August 2005, was given a late call- up to the second-string side. He was not in the original 15-man squad announced at the beginning of this month and was in Harare training when he was told to make the trip to Mutare.Should Mpofu impress against Bangladesh A, he would almost guarantee himself a place in the senior squad to play against Bangladesh next month.A number of players who were originally in the A-team squad are said to have been dropped, and these include Kwawulani Ntuli, Bradley Staddon and Bothwell Chapungu. The trio has no first-class experience, although Ntuli and Chapungu impressed during the hastily-organised National League. Staddon, son of ZC interim executive committee member Stanley, was a surprise inclusion as he has been studying in South Africa for the past two years and has not played any competitive cricket in that time.Zimbabwe A take on Bangladesh A in the first four-day match at Mutare Sports Club on Saturday with the second match set for the same venue. The two teams move to Bulawayo for the third and final four-dayer at Queens Sports Club before they meet in three limited-overs games at the same venue. The last three limited-overs matches take place at Kwekwe Sports Club.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

There was a 25th century and 10,000 Test runs for Rahul Dravid and a large crowd to celebrate, but little else went India’s way at Chepauk as a rejuvenated South African side dominated the fourth day’s play. Makhaya Ntini, given a pasting by Virender Sehwag on Friday, led the revival with a vastly improved spell and Dale Steyn’s pace then proved far too much for the tail to handle as the Indian lead was restricted to just 87. Faced with a potentially tricky session of batting, South Africa responded with aplomb, finishing the day 44 ahead with nine wickets in hand.Neil McKenzie fashioned another stylish half-century and Hashim Amla carried on from where he left off in the first innings, and the partnership was already worth 78 by the time stumps were drawn. It was Graeme Smith, though, who set the tone for the riposte, with a nonchalant clip off the pads off Sreesanth, and three fours in a wretched opening over from RP Singh.The Indian pace bowlers had learnt nothing from the discipline shown by their South African counterparts in the morning and wasted the new-ball possibilities with their lack of line and length. RP was all over the place, and the few variations tried didn’t work either, with McKenzieeasily cover-driving a telegraphed slower ball from Sreesanth.After eight overs of uninspired pace, Anil Kumble had had enough. Harbhajan Singh came on at one end and Sourav Ganguly at the other. It was an inspired gamble as Harbhajan struck with his ninth delivery. Bowled from round the wicket, it didn’t turn much and evaded Smith’s forward prod before thudding into his pad. Smith’s 35 had taken just 30 balls and gave the innings the momentum it needed.That was as good as it got for India. Kumble took Ganguly off after two tidy overs, but even spin at both ends had little effect against two men who had batted with such authority in the first innings. McKenzie twice lofted Harbhajan over mid-on for fours, and also swept with impunity, while Amlacut and drove as well as he had on days one and two. In just 18.1 overs, the deficit was wiped out, with India’s lack of attacking options on a sluggish pitch painfully exposed.Kumble switched to round the wicket, and troubled both men with the odd delivery that really took off but by stumps South Africa were once again in a position to dictate terms.Earlier, two wickets, ten balls apart, had deflated the sizeable crowd that had braved the heat and humidity to sit in the stands. For 26 minutes, the dream had stayed alive, but then a thick outside edge ensured that Brian Lara’s record score of 400 would remain intact for a while yet. Sehwag’s epic finished at 319, the highest score ever by an Indian, beating the 309 he made in Multan four years ago to the day.South Africa had taken the new ball first thing in the morning, and runs proved a lot harder to come by. Sehwag finally pulled Ntini to the midwicket boundary to surpass Chris Gayle (317) on the all-time list, but a big swish at the next ball went to McKenzie’s right at first slip. Hisinnings had spanned 304 balls and after an initial deathly silence, the crowd roared its appreciation.The applause for Sehwag spilled over into a welcome for Sachin Tendulkar, but he lasted just five balls at a venue where he has four Test centuries, two of them against Australia. Again, Ntini was the man, angling one in to take the edge through to Jacques Kallis at second slip.Dravid scored just three from the first 30 balls he faced in the morning but a terrific off-drive off Steyn appeared to boost his confidence. Ganguly then eased Morne Morkel through the covers to bring up the 500, and after an hour of play Smith once again turned to Paul Harris. There was no immediate impact, with Dravid cutting for four and Ganguly playing another dreamy drive through cover. A single to midwicket off Morkel then took Dravid into five figures in Tests, and he celebrated with an off-drive off Harris.Ganguly, fortunate earlier when an inside-edge off Morkel just missed the stumps, fell for 24 with the interval in sight, as Mark Boucher took a stunning catch off the bottom edge. Dravid finished the session on 99, and the third ball after the resumption was clipped down to the long-onboundary to go past two of the biggest names on the centurions list – Greg Chappell and Vivian Richards – but he fell soon after, edging Ntini to Smith. His 111 had taken him 291 balls, but he had been the perfect foil for the rampant Sehwag.VVS Laxman resumed after lunch with two pleasing cover-drives off Harris, but after an initial audacious reverse-sweep, Mahendra Singh Dhoni failed to settle. Both Ntini and Steyn tested him with the short ball, and it was to be his undoing. Steyn came up with one that Dhoni just about evaded while ducking, but the next squared him up comprehensively and tookthe glove through to Boucher.Kumble, Harbhajan and RP were all bowled by brilliant deliveries that reverse-swung, with Steyn upping his pace as high as 148 kph. Sreesanth was then struck a painful blow just above the wrist, and South Africa’s torment ended soon after when Harris, who bowled 53.1 overs, caught Laxman off his own bowling. By then, the tenor of the game had changed utterly, with the high notes of Friday’s Sehwag sessions a fading memory.