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Former Guyana and West Indies spin bowling legend Lance Gibbs has been contracted by the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) to be the technical advisor at a five-day camp for orthodox spin bowlers (sometimes called finger spinners) in Antigua, starting next Monday.Gibbs once held the world record for most Test wickets (309) and was the first spinner to pass 300 wickets in Tests."The aim of the camp is to provide some of the region’s most promising orthodox bowlers with the fundamentals of a good bowling action and to examine and analyse techniques of effective spin bowling," said Dr Michael Seepersaud, the WICB’s chief cricket development officer."It also continues our programme of involving outstanding former players more and more in the development of our cricket."We believe that greats like Lance and Andy Roberts, who recently conducted a training camp for our fast bowlers, has much to offer and you will see more of this."Another former West Indies off-spinner, Clyde Butts, who holds the record for the most wickets in the regional first-class championship, will be the coach at the camp.Critical areasThe young spinners will cover a number of critical areas identified by Gibbs, including: the grip, run-up and delivery, effective use of height and body, detecting and exploiting errors of batsmen, field-setting strategies, flight, loop and spin, and improving the spinner’s armoury."We have targeted a number of promising spin bowlers but a few had prior territorial commitments and could not make the camp," Dr Seepersaud said."The camp has been timed to coincide with the beginning of the West Indies first-class championship and it is hoped that a number of these bowlers will be given an opportunity during the championship to expose their talent."Even if this opportunity is not available now, they would have learnt from the best and would have acquired skills that will serve them well in the future."Seepersaud noted there was another strategic reason for the camp. He said the idea for the camp came out of a casual analysis of the weaknesses of the Australian team.Australia are due to arrive in the Caribbean in April for a series of four Tests and seven limited-overs internationals."We noticed that as far back as the 1950s, the former great England off-spinner Jim Laker was effective against the Aussies and then the wiles of Lance troubled them in the 1960s and Harbhajan Singh destroyed them recently in India," Seepersaud said."We thought, therefore, that this was a good opportunity to provide our promising finger spinners with the skills and techniques that would improve their efficiency and effectiveness and, hopefully, enhance their chances for selection."The invitees:Ryan Austin, Anderson Sealy, Jason Smith (Barbados); Kevin Bazil, Zaheer Mohammed (Guyana); Chaka Hodge, Orson Nurse, Larry Joseph (Leeward Islands); Lorenzo Ingram, Philip Keating, Wayne Simpson (Jamaica); Amit Jaggernauth, Rodney Sooklal (Trinidad and Tobago); Dwayne Leverock (Bermuda); Shane Shillingford (Windward Islands)

Somerset skipper Jamie Cox is keen to take advantage of the fact that Yorkshire and Surrey are not playing in the fresh round of the CricInfo Championship.Somerset are currently third in the Championship and hope to close the gap on the two pace setters when they meet bottom club Northants at Wantage Road.”It’ll be good if we can get closer to them,” Cox explained. “We managed to get 10 points last week (against Yorkshire), and we batted well. We’re going okay and sitting where we need to be sitting. It’s about getting steady points.”Cox will miss the next two or three weeks with his broken thumb, leaving Somerset without several first team players to a mixture of England calls and injury, but rival captain, David Ripley, is taking nothing for granted.”Somerset are a good side. They have quite a small squad but always seem very together and close-knit. Obviously they’ll be missing (Andy) Caddick and (Marcus) Trescothick, but they’ve got guys to come in and take their chances.”Kent are level on points with Somerset, and entertain Leicestershire at Canterbury.”Leicestershire are playing good cricket and I expect them to come down here full of confidence,” Kent captain Matthew Fleming said. “They have shown they’ve got great strength in depth and they’ve got good match-winners with the bat and the ball.”Aftab Habib returns to strengthen the visitors’ squad.Middlesex and Warwickshire meet at Edgbaston in a top of the table Second Division clash, with Mohammed Sheikh’s medium pace expected to be preferred to the off-spin of former captain, Neil Smith, for the hosts.Middlesex’s coach, John Emburey, is expecting a tight encounter. “It’s a top-of-the-table clash and it’s not going to be easy,” he said. “They play some positive cricket and try to get their runs quickly. I’d imagine it’ll be a very close match between two evenly-matched sides.”Meanwhile Durham travel to West End to play Hampshire. Stephen Harmison is hoping to be fit for the visitors, but Nick Hatch has been included in the squad as cover. James Brinkley is away with the Scottish squad in Canada for the 2001 ICC Trophy.”Durham have been playing very well in the one-day championship and they are far more consistent in the championship this year,” Tim Tremlett, Hampshire’s director of cricket, said.Gloucestershire will have to cope without Jon Lewis who has a bad back, but Ben Gannon is expected to play as they travel to Derby. The home side welcome back Paul Aldred and Nathan Dumelow.Kevin Pietersen will miss Nottinghamshire’s home match with Sussex suffering from a pinched nerve in his back. Ex-Test player, 37-year-old John Morris is the man likely to replace him.

Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca has been linked with a high-profile move to Man City recently, and the Blues are believed to be thinking about replacements behind-the-scenes.

Their fairly inconsistent season under Maresca has left them still sitting in fourth after 17 matches, with Chelsea most recently fighting back to secure a hard-fought 2-2 draw at Newcastle United.

The Italian has faced mounting scrutiny in recent weeks amid a fairly uninspiring run of just two wins from their last six in all competitions, including a damaging 3-1 defeat at Leeds, a loss to Atalanta in the Champions League and lifeless stalemate at Bournemouth.

Saturday’s 2-2 comeback at St James’ Park offered some encouragement after the Blues recovered from two goals down to salvage a point, but the performance highlighted the defensive fragility that has plagued Maresca’s side throughout 25/26.

The manager has rotated a lot due to injuries and tactical experimentation so far, more than any other Premier League manager, and questions remain about whether Maresca’s squad possesses the experience and quality to challenge Arsenal, Man City and Aston Villa at the summit.

In the last week, doubts have also begun to surface around Maresca’s long-term future.

Related Fabrizio Romano says 24-year-old has now played his last game for Chelsea

He doesn’t have a future in west London.

Posts ByEmilio Galantini

The reliable David Ornstein broke news recently that City have identified him as a possible heir to Pep Guardiola, considering this could be the legendary Spaniard’s final season at Eastlands.

While Maresca has publicly denied any interest in a return to City, where he once served as Guardiola’s assistant during the treble-winning season, the 45-year-old caused quite a stir with his comments before Chelsea’s 2-0 win over Everton.

The tactician claimed the 48 hours leading up to that game were the ‘worst’ of his career at Stamford Bridge, citing a lack of support, and with no context, many have speculated over tension with the Chelsea hierarchy.

Reports suggest Chelsea have candidates in mind to replace Maresca if he does leave, with one Spanish media source now claiming they could turn to an ex-defender of theirs.

Chelsea identify Filipe Luis as 'perfect fit' to replace Enzo Maresca

Indeed, it is now believed that Chelsea have turned their attention to Flamengo manager Filipe Luis as a ‘perfect fit’ to take over should Maresca depart.

The young Brazilian coach has enjoyed a spectacular start to his managerial career in Rio de Janeiro.

Luis has transformed Flamengo into a dominant force both domestically and abroad since taking charge, winning multiple titles, including the Copa Libertadores, and guiding them to the final of the FIFA Intercontinental Cup, where they were only beaten on penalties by PSG.

The 40-year-old’s rapid success has attracted interest from several major European clubs, with Chelsea identifying him as a firm candidate to potentially step into Maresca’s shoes.

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Chelsea’s main obstacle in securing Luis has been his contract situation at Flamengo, with the Brazilian Serie A side expected to offer him a lucrative extension following their recent success.

However, reports suggest negotiations have cooled unexpectedly, opening a window of opportunity for European suitors to make their move.

Chelsea are reportedly prepared to advance on a pre-agreement that would secure him for the future, with Stamford Bridge chiefs believing his profile fits seamlessly with their project.

For now though, Maresca remains focused on Chelsea’s upcoming fixtures as he attempts to guide the Blues back into title contention.

Related Bayern Munich insider confirms Liverpool, Man City and Chelsea interest in Michael Olise

He could replace Mohamed Salah.

Posts ByTom Cunningham

Scorecard

	Hashim Amla’s brisk 103 steered South Africa to 329 for 9 on the first day of their warm-up game © Getty Images

A century from Hashim Amla and Mark Boucher’s unbeaten 64 boosted the South Africans to 329 for 8 at close on the first day of their three-day warm-up match against a Bangladesh Cricket Board XI in Fatullah.Both teams named 12 players [with 11 fielding and 11 batting], which also happens to be the strength of South Africa’s squad at present, with opener Neil McKenzie and left-arm spinner Robin Peterson due to join later. Tamim Iqbal was not part of the BCB XI, still suffering from a broken thumb, and veteran Habibul Bashar was also not included.Graeme Smith, the South African captain, opted to bat after winning the toss. JP Duminy, who starred in the middle-order during South Africa’s ODI cleansweep over West Indies, opened the batting along with his captain. However, both failed to make an impact and were snared early by left-arm bowler Syed Rasel, who had missed most of the Bangladesh’s New Zealand tour due to a dislocated left collar bone.South Africa recovered from 35 for 2 thanks to a century stand between Amla and Jacques Kallis. Amla did the bulk of the the scoring during his stint at the crease, he scored 103 off just 120 deliveries as South Africa moved from 5 for 1 to 169 for 4, when he fell to Enamul Haque jnr. Haque also dismissed Kallis and finished the day with figures of 2 for 71.Ashwell Prince and AB de Villiers got themselves some batting practice, but both perished in the 30s. Farhad Reza staked his claim for a Test debut with three wickets, removing de Villiers before getting rid of Johan Botha and Morne Morkel for ducks. Mark Boucher fought hard and added an unbroken 55-run stand with fast-bowing sensation Dale Steyn, who contributed 19.This is South Africa’s only practice game ahead of the two-Test series, and a few quick runs on the second day could be handy for the visitors before letting the bowlers get their rhythm against a line-up which contains several national team regulars.

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.

Michael Kasprowicz is enjoying his time back in the Test squad © Getty Images

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 tough times just don’t seem to end for Sourav Ganguly© AFP

A series that seemed to be one-way traffic after two matches has suddenly, and most emphatically, come to life after Pakistan’s outstanding display at Jamshedpur. India may still be ahead in the race, but the advantage is only a slight one, which might become slighter still if the coin lands in Inzamam-ul-Haq’s favour tomorrow morning.So far, the team batting first has won all three games, and with heat being a factor – as usual – at Ahmedabad as well, the team batting in the afternoon after chasing leather for three-and-a-half hours in sweltering conditions could once again be severely disadvantaged. Win the toss and bat first is the obvious mantra.If India have a slender lead coming into this match, then Pakistan undoubtedly have a huge surge of momentum going their way. One win should usually not count for too much in a format as fickle as a one-day international, but the manner in which Pakistan swamped the Indians at Jamshedpur means that their confidence would be sky high; high enough for them to believe that even a successful run-chase – the first of the series – is not beyond them. Ganguly, on the other hand, will be desperately hoping to win the toss.Besides the toss, Ganguly will be desperate for something else – a few runs for himself. In three matches so far, he has contributed a mere 13, but the problem isn’t with Ganguly alone: Sachin Tendulkar (series aggregate 12), Yuvraj Singh (32) and Mohammad Kaif (39) have done precious little for the cause of the Indian total. That got camouflaged by Virender Sehwag, Rahul Dravid and Mahendra Singh Dhoni in the first two matches, but there’s only so much three men can manage in a game played by 11. Ganguly’s woeful form is obvious to all, but it isn’t often that Tendulkar scores 4, 2 and 6 in consecutive matches. A big score is surely round the corner.Pakistan, on the other hand, have a less formidable batting line-up on paper, but none of their batsmen are so obviously struggling for runs. Salman Butt’s century was the outstanding effort of the day at Jamshedpur, but there were other less obvious but vital contributions as well – Shoaib Malik’s 75 at No. 3, a position from which he averages 40.45, useful cameos from Inzamam and Yousuf Youhana. And the bowling attack, which appeared so toothless at Kochi and Visakhapatnam, suddenly sprung to life with a performance as disciplined as it was incisive.An important factor in the bowlers’ display, though, was the pitch at Keenan, and it’s unlikely that the one at Motera will help them as much. From afar, it looked bare and devoid of grass – one where the batsmen could safely plonk their front-foot and drive through the line, without fearing either seam movement or extra bounce. So it’ll be a tough baptism for the seam bowlers from both sides, and Lakshmipathy Balaji, who missed out at Jamshedpur due to injury, is likely to be one of the bowlers who will try to make the best of a tough task. Ganguly indicated at the press conference that a final decision on Balaji would only be taken after nets: “He [Balaji] says he’s fit. He’ll have a bowl in the nets and then we will decide.” If Balaji plays, Irfan Pathan, who had a terrible match with the ball at Jamshedpur, is the most likely to sit out.Meanwhile, the unusually high number of policemen present all around the ground is a telling indicator of just how serious the state government is taking the issue of security for the game. The city finally got the match despite many question-marks being raised, and, by the looks of it, the administrators are taking absolutely no chances.India (probable) 1 Virender Sehwag, 2 Sachin Tendulkar, 3 Mahendra Singh Dhoni (wk), 4 Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly (capt), 6 Yuvraj Singh, 7 Mohammad Kaif, 8 Harbhajan Singh, 9 Lakshmipathy Balaji, 10 Zaheer Khan, 11 Ashish Nehra.Pakistan (probable) 1 Salman Butt, 2 Shahid Afridi, 3 Younis Khan, 4 Inzamam-ul-Haq (capt), 5 Yousuf Youhana, 6 Abdul Razzaq, 7 Kamran Akmal (wk), 8 Arshad Khan, 9 Iftikhar Anjum, 10 Naved-ul-Hasan, 11 Danish Kaneria.

Kyle Mills: officially reprimanded © AFP

New Zealand’s Kyle Mills has been officially reprimanded for excessive appealing during Wednesday’s eight-wicket win over Pakistan at Napier.The incident reported by umpire Darrell Hair came when Salaam Elahi was caught behind in the 16th over, with Mills accused of celebrating the wicket without bothering to check that his appeal had been upheld. The ICC has recently clamped down on excessive appealing, emphasising that players must wait for an umpire’s decision.”Kyle admitted he did not address the umpire when appealing for a wicket in the 16th over of the Pakistan Innings,” said Chris Broad, the match referee, announcing his decision. “This is a level 1.5 breach of the ICC Code of Conduct. Kyle has been officially reprimanded and any reoffending of a similar nature within the next year would automatically see him charged with a level 2 offence which would bring more serious consequences.”All players have been officially advised by the ICC of the on-field standards of behaviour expected under the code.”

Brendon McCullum’s impact on the wicket-keeping records in One-Day Internationals continued against India in the third National Bank Series match at Jade Stadium in Christchurch today.McCullum, who, in only his second ODI wearing the wicket-keeping gloves, equalled Adam Parore’s record of five dismissals in an innings, did that again today, but claimed a world record for most dismissals in consecutive ODIs.His 10 bettered the nine achieved by South Africa’s Dave Richardson in 1995/96 and Ridley Jacobs in 1999.He became the eighth player to make five dismissals in an ODI innings twice. The esteemed company he joined were: Mark Boucher, Andy Flower, Adam Gilchrist, Jacobs, Moin Khan, Nayan Mongia and Richardson.The Indian innings also represented the 25th time extras have been the top score in an ODI innings and the fourth time it has been achieved by India.Daryl Tuffey’s bowling, of two wickets for 11 runs off 10 overs was New Zealand’s most economical against India, surpassing Ewen Chatfield’s none for 13 at Adelaide in 1985/86.It was the fourth most economical against all countries by a New Zealander and the second most economical performance by all countries against India. Glenn McGrath holds the record with four for eight off 10 overs in 1999/00.Paul Hitchcock also achieved his best figures of three for 30 in his eighth ODI.

Kent’s rash batting coupled with an inspired spell of bowling by Glamorgan seamer Darren Thomas ensured honours finished just about even at the end of this first day of four at Maidstone.The hosts totalled 304 on a dry and fairly benign pitch at The Mote after winning the toss, a score that may well prove well below par once Glamorgan crack on from their overnight score of seven for one tomorrow.It was a day of what might have been for the hosts who, despite posting three batting bonus points, ought to have boasted two centuries to go with them.Ed Smith, fresh from an excellent 84 in Leeds last week, raced to 74 from 94 balls before clipping a catch to the diving Steve Watkin just before lunch.Opener Rob Key also appeared on course for his second Championship ton of the campaign when he attempted to cut Dean Cosker, only to pick out James Maher at slip to go for 97 in a shade over four and a half hours.The introduction of Thomas from the Rugby End coincided with a change in the weather and the Welsh seamer revelled in the overcast conditions by claiming four for 13 in 24 balls.The 26-year-old, aided and abetted by some wild strokes, sent back Matthew Fleming, Paul Nixon, Min Patel and James Golding in quick succession as the Kent middle order collapsed.The tenth-wicket pairing of Ben Trott (13) and Martin Saggers (27) repaired some of the damage by reaching 300, after which Saggers picked up the new ball to remove Maher leg before in the final over of the day.