Zimbabwe Cricket have been fined $US 50,400 by a Harare court for breaching the country’s foreign exchange laws.Between November 2004 and September last year Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) paid a British television company, Octagon CSI, $US 1.3 million for advertising and marketing services. And although the board committed the offence to further the interests of the sport in the country, they breached a recently introduced law. Given the record inflation and shortage of essential supplies in the country, foreign payments now need approval from the central bank.The board were also charged with a second offence when they switched their advertising contract from 7Cs, based in South Africa, to Gameplan Limited in India.”The accused (ZC) then directed Gameplan Limited to pay US$ 75,000 to 7Cs for breach of contract without the permission of the exchange control authority,” Obi Mabahwana, the state prosecutor, told the court. The board was also accused of paying $US 42,930 in college fees for three players and a manager’s daughter who were pursuing studies overseas.

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

Yet another fine exhibition of seam bowling from Sreesanth led India’s inexorable march towards their first Test win in South Africa. Up against a history-defying 402-run target, South Africa limped to a shaky 163 for 5 and would hope for either inclement weather or a minor miracle to escape unscathed.Once VVS Laxman and Zaheer Khan had helped stretch the lead to beyond 400 the new-ball bowlers delivered an encore of yesterday’s performance. Sreesanth’s immaculate seam position, allied with impressive, yet unlucky, spells from Zaheer and VRV Singh reduced South Africa to 34 for 3. Ashwell Prince’s doughty 53, involving moments of good fortune, held the middle-order together and stretched the game into the fourth day.Zaheer followed up his handy 37 with an excellent spell of bowling, both with the new and old ball, as well as managing a sharp direct-hit to get rid of AB de Villiers. He got only one wicket, when Herschelle Gibbs drove recklessly in the solitary over he had to play out before lunch, but the movement he managed, both conventional and reverse, had all the batsmen in a tangle.His new-ball partner, Sreesanth, matched him for accuracy – his ability to keep the seam upright on almost every occasion meant there was no letting up – and was rewarded with three top-order wickets. Graeme Smith flayed a wide one only to see Virender Sehwag latch on to a spectacular catch at point while Hashim Amla had no answer to a peach of an outswinger that kissed the edge on its way to the wicketkeeper. Jacques Kallis resisted with a fighting 24 but a near-perfect set up – the shorter one being followed up with a full, swinging ball – had him groping.Prince cobbled together a dogged half-century, surviving a half-chance and a perilously close appeal for caught behind. His penchant for the pull shot almost cost him his wicket when on 21 but Wasim Jaffer couldn’t latch on to a tough skier while running from midwicket. Sreesanth’s darting off-cutter appeared to have nailed him when on 44, with the ball deviating after passing the bat, but Daryl Harper turned down a huge shout. Replays suggested that it was too close a call and Prince was probably given the benefit of the doubt.

South Africa’s hopes of cleaning up India’s lower order had earlier come to nought, with Laxman and Zaheer thwarting them with a 70-run stand. Laxman swooshed his way to an entertaining half-century but it was Zaheer who blasted India to an impregnable position. Zaheer walked in after South Africa had nailed two early wickets and took 25 deliveries to get off the mark, cautiously ducking and defending as Laxman ticked along, but he was suddenly stirred into action. Pollock’s fuller deliveries were juddered across the line, piercing the gap between midwicket and mid-on, before Smith, sending down his innocuous offspinners, was carted for 26 off his three overs. Smith couldn’t hold on to a ferocious Zaheer straight-drive but he was lucky not to have incurred a major hand injury.Laxman switched between blocking and flowing. Anything on the pads was delicately clipped away and a couple of jaw-dropping straight drives demoralised South Africa further. He shepherded the lower order and his tentative poke at a probing ball from Ntini was one of the few indiscretions all morning. Zaheer fell soon after but the real entertainment was just about to begin.Sreesanth decided to match Nel antic for antic – returning glares and sledges. Nel’s aggressive salvo was met with a charge down the track, with the ball disappearing for six, but Sreesanth followed that up with a brand of hip gyrations that was accomplished enough to make it in the movies. There was a distinct needle in the contest and Sreesanth swirling the bat like a lasso with a pelvic thrust of a break-dancer was definitely the highpoint. For once Nel probably met his match.Short cuts
By Dileep Premachandran in Jo’burg
Highlight of the day: The morning session saw the battle of the twonutters. After Sreesanth backed away to the leg side and tried to mow adelivery over the infield, Andre Nel strode up and pointed to his heart,perhaps suggesting that Sreesanth lacked the ticker to take him on. He mayas well have donned a sequined suit, and waved a red cape. The next ballwas given the charge and pummelled straight down the ground, and as he randown the pitch, Sreesanth whirled his bat around mockingly in Nel’sdirection. Almost everyone watching had a laughter attack.Lowlight of the day: Soon after that, Sreesanth revealed the unsavouryside of his game by giving Hashim Amla a send-off after having him caughtbehind. To mock and sledge the likes of Nel and Mark Boucher is one thing,but to pick on someone like Amla, and that too after dismissing him, wasin singularly poor taste.

Shot of the day: VVS Laxman missed out on a century, but his 73 featuredone glorious straight-drive off Makhaya Ntini. It wasn’t a particularlybad ball, but the sound as Laxman’s bat arced down to stroke it to thelong-on fence was quite beautiful.Ball of the day: Jacques Kallis was the beacon of hope for South Africa asthey set off in pursuit of an improbable 402 for victory, and once again,it required a tremendous delivery to get rid of him. Sreesanth pitched onejust outside off stump, enticed the drive, and the away movement off theseam took the edge to third slip. Sourav Ganguly took a superb catch infront of his ribcage, and it became a matter of when, rather than if,India would win.Catch of the day: Graeme Smith’s miserable season continued with a sliceto point that was brilliantly taken by Virender Sehwag diving to hisright. It wasn’t a great delivery from Sreesanth, and on a good day Smithmight have sent it thudding into the boundary boards at point. Such days,however, are proving increasingly elusive for South Africa’s embattledcaptain.Message of the day: A poll on the SABC Sport website asks viewers: Goingby India’s performance in South Africa, what will be the scoreline in theTest series. The options are 1-0, 2-0, 3-0 (all in favour of South Africa)and a draw. But after three glorious days for the Indians at the Wanderers,it’s easy to forget what easy-beats they were thought to be going into thegame.Off the park: Kallis’s failure to engage his vocal cords when the SouthAfrican national anthem is played was highlighted in a Sunday newspaper,and while most agreed that it was a case of making Mount Kilimanjaro outof an ant-heap, the brusque nature of Kallis’s emailed response will havewon him few admirers. There’s a perception that some of the world’s bestsportsmen live in a cocoon, utterly divorced from reality, and the feelingis reinforced by such events.

Shoaib Akhtar has been fined by Pakistan’s team management in South Africa for his role in a televised spat with Bob Woolmer, the Pakistan coach, during the second Test at Port Elizabeth, as details of what actually transpired emerge.A PCB official confirmed to Cricinfo that Talat Ali, Pakistan’s manager, had fined Shoaib an undisclosed amount – US$2500 according to unconfirmed reports – and the matter was likely to be investigated further. “He has been fined for that incident and we will look into the matter further. The chairman is there in South Africa so they will discuss the issue,” he said.The incident occurred on the second morning of the Test, TV cameras capturing pictures of a clearly incensed Shoaib having a heated discussion with Woolmer. Inzamam-ul-Haq, the Pakistan captain, was seen to placate matters shortly after.Woolmer told Cricinfo that there was an argument, but refused to go into further details about the nature of the incident. “Shoaib and I did have a disagreement. It got heated as well, which was unfortunate and maybe could have been handled better,” he said.He also denied, categorically, that he had threatened to resign at any stage, as reported in an Urdu newspaper, , if no action was taken against Shoaib. “That is just rumour-mongering. I did no such thing at all and neither do I intend to. Talat Ali has taken the action he felt appropriate and that was his decision.”Though there are conflicting reports, it appears that the argument was over Shoaib’s fitness. Having arrived in South Africa ahead of the second Test – he was left out of the squad originally because he was considered unfit – Shoaib lit up the first day, taking four wickets in 11 overs to help bundle out the hosts for a paltry 124. But in a twist typical of much of his career, Shoaib picked up a hamstring injury and told the team management during morning practice on the second day that he could not bowl any more in the Test.”After he told the management, his commitment was questioned,” eyewitnesses told Cricinfo. “It was a crucial Test and obviously he was needed to bowl in the second innings. But Shoaib argued that the injury was genuine and was picked up during his first-day spell, because of the heavy ground he was bowling on. Naturally there was frustration and it carried on in the dressing room, where cameras got hold of it. The situation threatened to turn ugly there but Inzi intervened eventually.”Since the argument, a doctor in South Africa confirmed a hamstring injury though it was uncertain about how long it would keep him out. One report suggested he was out for two weeks while another said he was “fifty-fifty” for the third Test. In the end, the management decided to send him back to Pakistan, along with Umar Gul who is carrying an ankle injury.The incident caps what appears to be a strangely dysfunctional tour thus far for Pakistan. While results on the field have been promising – and a five-wicket series leveling win was memorable – off the field there has been tension and growing frustration within the camp, especially over the long injury list.Gul and Shoaib Malik have been injured since almost the beginning of the tour and apart from Shoaib’s single-day return, Mohammad Hafeez and Inzamam have also suffered niggles and knocks. It is also being said that Inzamam is deeply unhappy with the selection committee for first having Shoaib hoisted upon him and then for not allowing Shabbir Ahmed to go as cover for the third Test. Inzamam had asked for him, but the request was turned down by the selection committee, who understandably don’t want to stand accused of sending another unfit player on tour.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball commentary

England’s three-month tour of Australia will beextended by another seven days after PaulCollingwood’s 106 set up an unpredictable triumph. Twoweeks ago England’s players were praying to go home,but now they have a best-of-three finals seriesagainst Australia to prepare for and moreopportunities for consistency before the World Cup.Having done well to score 7 for 270, England quicklygave up their strong position with a wayward openingand Stephen Fleming clipped a century that appeared tobe sending England to the international airport.However, despite raising his first hundred in three years,Fleming was unable to carry his team and was light onsupport as they finished with 8 for 256.In a tense and often scratchy second innings, NewZealand began well, were pegged back after the first15 overs, worked themselves into comfort throughFleming and Ross Taylor and suffered terminal blowswhen Scott Styris, Jacob Oram and Brendon McCullumleft in quick succession. Wanting 19 from the lastover to tie and go through, the eventual margin was 14runs and it was a disappointing end for a team thatplayed well until the final week of qualifying.After Collingwood and Andrew Strauss worked their wayout of bad patches, Fleming also shook off a lean runin an innings that needed his leadership. Fleming, whosuffered a painful blow on the hand from AndrewFlintoff, played well until he approached his centurywhen he stalled and was unable to recharge. His 106from 149 balls was his seventh ODI century but thecause was lost when he edged Flintoff and his nextengagement is the Chappell-Hadlee Series at home.New Zealand’s openers wiped 81 off the chase beforeLou Vincent was caught trying to slog Monty Panesar to midwicket. The swift start was boosted by the tardiness of England’s new-ball men, who gave up 56 runs between them in eight overs, and Liam Plunkett was the early offender with an 11-delivery over that included nine runs in wides.Plunkett sprayed the ball and Sajid Mahmood also hadtrouble controlling Fleming and Vincent before Panesar arrived to end the damage. Panesar picked upVincent for 31 off 32 balls in the 14th over and NewZealand’s progress continued to slow when Peter Fultonarrived, taking 11 deliveries to get off zero.Departing to a leading edge, Fulton occupied 30 ballsfor 12 and the dip in the scoring rate had lastingeffects.Collingwood’s century was the high point for Englandas they produced a competitive total despite a fineeffort by Shane Bond, who captured 4 for 46. At timesduring the series Collingwood, who had 83 runs in hisprevious six attempts, had looked lost, but he pickedan ideal day to fire.

England’s struggles were again on show when Bonddropped them to 2 for 28, but Collingwood re-floatedthe side in partnership with Strauss and thencompleted the job by almost staying until the end.Both batsmen have struggled during the limited-oversstage of the tour, but their 103-run stand in 118balls provided extra confidence and put England on theright track.Strauss fell pulling for 55 and Collingwood continuedto grab runs through nudges, glides and firmboundaries. There were moments of doubt, including adropped caught-and-bowled chance by Jacob Oram on 18,but he grew more assured as the innings progressed anddeserved his reward. He left in strange circumstanceswhen Jamie Dalrymple dropped his bat at thenon-striker’s end as Bond was in his delivery stride. Collingwood noticed and appeared to be put off as he moved across his stumps and was bowled.In Bond’s first spell of five overs he capturedMichael Vaughan and Ian Bell for nine runs andreturned in his second to remove Andrew Flintoff (17)before he became too dangerous. Michael Vaughan’sreturn from three weeks out with a hamstring injuryended in almost immediate disappointment after he wonthe toss. Bond began the second over of the inningswith a wide, but his first legal effort wassensational and he bowled Vaughan with an inswingingyorker.Collingwood engineered the fightback and added to hisbright day with two victims while Plunkett managedthree despite his accuracy problems. Flintoff was also important to the success and with Vaughan back in charge they will feel better prepared to test Australia at the MCG on Friday.

England women’s head coach, Richard Bates, is upbeat despite his side’s position at the bottom of the table in the quadrangular series in Chennai after losing three out of three. England have been beaten by Australia, India and New Zealand during the opening week of the event, leaving them struggling to make the final.”We’re obviously very disappointed with the results so far especially considering we were in a winning position in the first two games,” said Bates. “In terms of our bowling, we have struggled to contain the opposition as much as we would like. We are certainly missing our two main strike bowlers, Katherine Brunt and Nicky Shaw who are both injured.”Coupled with the fact that Laura Marsh is currently suffering with a thigh strain, we have been lacking the fire-power needed at the start of the innings and again at the death. We have therefore struggled to pick up wickets at key times, which is essential against these sides.”England lost the first match against India by 18 runs short after being set a total of 232 and their second against New Zealand who hit a massive 291. “We batted pretty well in the first two games,” Bates continued “But the reality is that we let India get 230 rather than 200 and New Zealand 290 rather than 250. We chased well in both games and managed to put ourselves into winning positions but then faltered in the later stages, which is frustrating.”England have three games remaining, which they must win if they have any chance of making the final at Mac A stadium on March 5. “We have a young and talented squad, which is continually improving and it is tournaments like this that accelerates their development,” said Bates. “We have an opportunity in the next three games to come out fighting and to battle to reverse the three results so far. As you can imagine the squad is a bit low on confidence at this point, but good teams bounce back and that is what we must do.”Bates believes that this experience will help the side as part of the planning for the 2009 World Cup. “I’m confident we can go out there and win our remaining three games and I have every faith in this young group of players. It’s a great opportunity for us to prove ourselves and it’s a good time to see where we stand in relation to the other countries.”England will train on Tuesday and then go into back-to-back ODIs against India and Australia.

Scorecard

South Zone defended a small target with enthusiasm and defeated North Zone by 30 runs in the league stage of the Deodhar Trophy at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. The result meant that West Zone were ensured of the title with two league games yet to be played.Put in to bat on a seaming, bouncy pitch, South Zone struggled from 82 for 5 to post a modest total of 191 in 44.3 overs. But their new-ball bowlers fought back superbly to skittle North Zone for 161 in 46.4 overs.South owed their decent score to a patient half-century from S Badrinath. Half their side, including captain VVS Laxman, had been packed off cheaply, by the North pace bowlers led by Delhi youngster Ishant Sharma (3 for 51).Badrinath and wicketkeeper Tilak Naidu (31) put on 44 runs to stem the rot before Ashish Nehra came back for his second spell to polish off the tail. He ended with 3 for 27.North Zone, who needed to win the match with a bonus point to keep their slim title hopes alive, lost their top half for 49 against the South Zone’s new-ball attack led by Andhra’s KS Sahabuddin. He snapped up two wickets in his sixth over and finished with 4 for 30. North Zone will take on East Zone on March 10 while South Zone will clash with West Zone in the last tie on March 11.

Scoreboard
Sri Lanka A took a firm grip on the match by reducing Bangladesh A to 201 for 7 on the second day at the Colombo Cricket Club ground. Sri Lanka A were dismissed for 396 earlier in the day and were poised to gain a significant first-innings lead.Resuming on 296 for 5 on the second day, Kaushal Silva and Upul Chandana extended their overnight partnership to 103. Chandana contributed 43 before Enamul Haque jnr trapped him leg before and Silva was dismissed for 75 in the same manner with the score on 372. The tailenders posed no problem for Haque who sliced through their the lower order to finish with 6 for 106.Bangladesh’s openers, Jahurul Islam and Mehrab Hossain jnr, gave them a solid start by adding 69 for the first wicket. Once Dammika Prasad broke through Islam’s defences, Sri Lanka A began picking off wickets at regular intervals. Hossain top-scored with 51 and Tushar Imran contributed 31. Mahmudullah remained not out on 37 with Mosharraf Hossain who had just come to the crease with Bangladesh A still trailing by 194 runs. Sujeewa de Silva, Rangana Herath and Chandana picked up two wickets each for Sri Lanka A.

The Khan Research Laboratories (KRL) and Punjab third round match of the Pentangular Cup 2007 ended in a draw on a hot Karachi afternoon here at the National Bank of Pakistan Sports Complex.Punjab gained a useful 136 run lead in the first innings as KRL were all out for 397 after resuming on their overnight score of 382 for the loss of eight wickets. Shehzad Butt (32) and Akhtar Ayub (10), the two not out batsmen, were both dismissed by Adnan Rasool as he finished with two wickets for 57 runs from his 19 overs.Punjab’s second innings failed to get off to a good start as both openers were back in the pavilion with only 16 on the board. Mohammad Irshad picked up both the wickets as Mohammad Hafeez went for two while Mohammad Ayub failed to score.A 77-run third wicket partnership between Bilal Khilji and the in-form captain Misbah-ul-Haq stabilised the innings temporarily but wickets fell regularly after their dismissal and Punjab finished the day on 208 for the loss of eight wickets. Misbah top-scored with 62 and Bilal managed a useful 41 before becoming one of Saeed Ajmal’s five victims. Wicket keeper Zulqarnain Haider chipped in with 43 to ensure Punjab bat out the day.Ajmal finished with five for 66 to add to his two wickets in the first innings and Mohammad Irshad bagged a brace.The penultimate round of matches will begin on April 15 with Habib Bank Limited taking on Sind while North West Frontier Province-Baluchistan will face Punjab.

Kiran More, the former wicketkeeper and one of the executive directors of the Indian Cricket League, says that the formation of the so-called breakaway initiative was by no means intended to provoke the Indian board (BCCI). Seeking to assuage tensions between the ICL and the BCCI, More said the Rs 100 crore (US$ 23 million approx) project would only benefit the game in India.”We should see the ICL as an opportunity which will provide few more matches. There is no question of any confrontation. BCCI has still not said anything against it. ICL should be seen like just another tournament,” he told AFP. “There are a number of private tournaments being organised in India.”More did not see the ICL – launched by Subhash Chandra, who heads the Essel Group, owners of the Zee brand – as a spinoff of the infamous Kerry Pecker rebel series. “It is not right to compare ICL with Packer’s cricket,” he said. “It is an opportunity for those who could not play for country due to one reason or the other.”He also denied reports that Sourav Ganguly had been linked to the ICL: “The news that Ganguly is also in touch with ICL is only a rumour.” Zee Sports earlier denied the report circulating in the media that Brian Lara, Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath and Inzamam-ul-Haq were signed up for the series.On India’s current tour of Bangladesh, More said: “After every big failure, teams need time to recover. They have started the process but will need more time to come back in same flow.”

March 18 – Pervez Mir, Pakistan team’s media manager, announces news of Bob Woolmer’s death. “Bob Woolmer has passed away. I am speaking from the hospital and all the team management is also at the hospital. Doctors have pronounced him dead. Bob has passed away and it is very shocking news to all of the team and the team management.”March 21 – Mark Shields, deputy commissioner Jamaican police, announces that authorities are treating the death as suspicious. “Having met with the pathologists, our medical personnel and investigators, there is now sufficient information to continue a full investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death of Mr Woolmer, which we are now treating as suspicious.”March 22 – Gill Woolmer, Bob’s widow, admits her husband might have been murdered. “I suppose there is always the possibility. I mean some of the cricketing fraternity, fans are extremely volatile and passionate about the game and what happens in the game, and also a lot of it in Asia, so I suppose there is always the possibility that it could be that.”March 23 – Karl Angell, a Jamaican police spokesman, confirms Woolmer was strangled. “The pathologist’s report states that Mr Woolmer’s death was due to asphyxiation as a result of manual strangulation. In these circumstances, the matter of Mr Woolmer’s death is now being treated by the Jamaica police as a case of murder.”March 27 – Jamaican police test Woolmer’s last meal to check whether it was drugged. According to Shields, Woolmer was “a big man, and unless he was drugged or impaired it would perhaps have been difficult to restrain him. We are looking at whether his food was drugged.”March 28 – Shields denies newspaper reports that Woolmer may have died after falling heavily against the bathroom sink and that a second autopsy was being ordered. “I can assure you there is no post mortem, there is no planned second post mortem.”March 30 – Shields tells media that Woolmer could have been strangled with a towel as there were no marks found on his neck. “If it’s some form of manual strangulation and there are no physical marks on the neck of the victim, therefore there may have been something between the hands of the assailant and the neck of the victim.”April 17 – says samples taken from Woolmer’s blood, stomach and urine have shown the presence of a foreign substance and has quoted an unnamed government official as saying that the substance could have been poison. Shields, however, decides not to comment on the report till all investigations are over. “We have some results from toxicology now, but they will require further investigation and analysis, and therefore it would be totally inappropriate for me to elaborate any further on that.”April 23 – Information relayed to the Woolmer family by Jamaican police suggest Woolmer may have been drugged with snake venom. According to Neil Manthrop, a South African commentator, “The detective told Gill they believe it must have been a natural poison, such as a snake venom, which leaves the body fairly soon afterwards.”April 27 – Police rule out the possibility that snake venom was involved. Shields, who is leading the investigation, told the BBC that there was no evidence to support that theory, and he also hit out at “wild” rumours which continue to surround the case, saying they were “causing a lot of distress” to Woolmer’s family.April 30 – A BBC investigation programme confirms that Woolmer was poisoned before being strangled and that that there is evidence of a drug being present in his system that would have incapacitated him. “It now seems certain that as he was being strangled, he’d already been rendered helpless, leaving him unable to fight back,” said Adam Parsons, the show’s producer. “The specific details of that poison are now very likely to offer a significant lead to finding his murderer.”May 7 – Newspaper reports suggest Woolmer may have been poisoned by a weedkiller, high concentrations of which were alleged to have been found in his stomach and on the outside of a champagne glass. Police sources confirm the presence of weedkiller in the glass while Pervez Mir reveals tht Woolmer was presented the bottles by travelling fans.May 8 – Inconclusive evidence leads a Pakistani investigator to suggest that Woolmer’s death was not a murder. According to Zubair Mahmood, one of the detectives sent to Jamaica, “Several tests have been sent to Scotland Yard and the results are awaited. And the most I can say [is] that the investigation … is inconclusive.”May 20 – A report in reveals that police in Jamaica have privately admitted that Dr Ere Seshaiah, the Kingston pathologist, was wrong to say that Woolmer had been strangled. Angell, however, said that the matter was still being handled as a murder investigation. “That will remain our position until such time as the results of the investigation are known; including the forensic and pathology analysis.”June 4 – Speculation grows that the pathologists’ findings were faulty. Shields, for the first time, hints at doubt on the finding of murder. “Usually we investigate a murder and we look for suspects but on this occasion, because of the lack of evidence to support the pathologist what we’ve done is gone out to prove it’s not a murder. We have to go with what the pathologist gives, and if I’d ignored it and it had turned out to be true I would have been lambasted for not treating it seriously.”June 12 – Jamaican police announce that Woolmer’s death was due to natural causes, not murder and closes the investigation.