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Bangladesh romped to a nine-wicket win over Malaysia in the third-place play-off in the CLICO International Under-15 tournament in Trinidad. Malaysia collapsed from 47 for 2 to 73 all out, with offspinner Khaza Khairuddin taking 4 for 15 and Naseef Ahmed 4 for 9. Didar Hossain (41*) led the chase and Bangladesh knocked off the runs in the 12th over. Despite the loss, Malaysia have performed tremendously considering they only entered the competition at the last minute following the withdrawal of Zimbabwe.Ireland defeat ICC Americas by two wickets in the fifth-place play-off in Tobago. Ireland appeared to be heading towards defeat as they slid to 77 got 6 chasing 139, but Barry McCarthy (44*) and Jonathan Andrews (16) added a vital 52 for the seventh wicket to guide the Irish to victory with three overs in hand. ICC Americas should have posted a bigger score, but from a platform of 110 for 3 they fell away, with Andrews and Ben Wylie taking three wickets each. ICC Americas’ lack of discipline also told as their bowlers gave away 24 wides and five no-balls.Netherlands finished in seventh after a 60-run win over the very poor Kenya side. Stefan Ekelmans’ 51 was the anchor as Netherlands made 172 for 8 in 50 overs, Kenya’s bowlers contributing 21 wides. But Kenya’s batsmen, as has been the case throughout, were simply not good enough, with Irfan Karim’s 50 one of only two scores in double figures as they limped to 112 in 44.2 overs.

Kevin Pietersen has ruled himself out of the running to be Michael Vaughan’s successor as England’s one-day captain, leaving the way clear for Paul Collingwood to be named as the new leader when the squad is announced on Friday.Speaking at a sponsor’s function in Central London, Pietersen said: “It’s something I’ve thought about long and hard but it’s not the right time for me to do it. Right now is the time for me to be doing team stuff.”I would be humbled in the future to be given the opportunity to captain my country, but whoever gets the job tomorrow will get my full support. It is a new era now with a new coaching staff and a good time for England to move forward.”Pietersen’s credentials as a captain have never yet been tested, although he received backing this week from Geoff Boycott, who argued that England needed to take the innovative route if they wanted to claim the World Cup in Asia in 2011. Pietersen just smiled and said: “I thank him for that.” Darren Gough, his best man at his forthcoming wedding, also gave his backing.Collingwood has also had limited experience of leadership, but is viewed as the safer option. “If I were to be asked, it would be very hard to turn down,” he said during the recent fourth Test in Durham. “There’s obviously going to be a few people who are up for the job so we’ll have to wait and see who the selectors feel would be the best made for the job.”But Pietersen did admit it was “something I have thought about a lot” and also said that he had had talks with the England management. “It has been mentioned. It’s not the right thing for me right now.”Pietersen added that he was sorry that Michael Vaughan had stepped down, although he realised that it was the best thing for England, and for the sake of Vaughan’s longevity in Tests. “It was done in the best interests of the country. The schedules we play, it’s hard. Test match after Test match after Test match… Our bodies take a hammering.”But he realised that, although finding a balance is hard, England’s one-day preparation still need to be addressed. “The one-day scene has been neglected,” he said. “We haven’t won too many trophies. It’s about winning at all costs and being the best at everything.” In the meantime, there are the forthcoming Twenty20s to take his mind off matters.”It’s a release,” he said, although he will be taking the Twenty20 World Championships in September very seriously. “It’s in South Africa, so that could be interesting,” he said with a grin which alluded to the reception the crowd gave him in 2005 when he scored three centuries in his first major series for England.

Scorecard

Riding on a quickfire fifty from Brad Haddin and the bowling trio of Brett Dorey, Shane Watson and Dan Cullen – three senior side hopefuls – Australia A handed New Zealand A its second defeat of the day at Darwin. Shortly after going down to Pakistan A, the tourists slumped to a 16-run loss despite turning in a worthy display with the ball.Having won the toss, Australia chose to bat and ran into early trouble. Chris Martin, the fast bowler with considerable international experience, dismissed Mark Cosgrove and Watson, while Joseph Yovich accounted for Phil Jaques. Staring at a potential disaster, Haddin and Brad Hodge combined for a 70-run stand for the fourth wicket, one that made the difference in the end. Haddin smashed 52 from 34 deliveries and Hodge 40 from 29, and the duo looked good for more before Jeetan Patel, the offspinner, and Yovich returned to rein the hosts in. Patel had Hodge and Chris Rogers beaten in flight and Yovich’s medium pace put the skids on a late-order attack as Australia were restricted to 160.By Twenty20 standards, this was a total that should have been overhauled with ease, but New Zealand failed to seal the deal. It was killer execution from Australia: Dorey dealt three early blows with the new ball, Watson struck when it mattered most, and Cullen stymied the long-handle attempts of the tail. Though they began very slowly, New Zealand’s hopes were raised with a superb 85-run stand for the fifth wicket between Rob Nicol (39) and Mark Orchard (53 from 28). As the run rate veered towards the gettable, Watson and Cullen effected a dramatic landslide that left New Zealand gasping. Ultimately, it was Australia’s nerve with the ball that proved too hot to handle.

A report in the Nairobi-based Daily Nation says that several Kenyan players have made themselves unavailable for this Friday’s Intercontinental Cup match against Namibia, as a result of a contractual dispute with the board (KCA).The squad, together with a new captain, is to be named shortly, but some players are likely to be omitted after clashing with the board over a decision by the KCA to extend their contracts only until the end of November.A source informed Wisden Cricinfo that he had been told that a number of mainly African players have made themselves unavailable for the game, allegedly including senior figures and youngsters, although most of the Asian cricketers have agreed to play. He added: “I hear the selectors are desperately trying to find adequate replacements who are willing to play.”There are separate reports that the selectors are scambling around to try to fill the side. Some people who have not previously come close to international selection are thought to have been approached, including a couple who live overseas.Steve Tikolo, who resigned as captain after Kenya’s exit from the Champions Trophy, said he would personally not sign a two-month contract. He was quoted as saying: “Giving us a contract until the end of November means that after that date, when Kenya has no international fixtures, we are discarded.”Sharad Ghai, the KCA’s chairman, said this position had been forced on the board due to lack of funds. “I had said before that unless we find a sponsor, it is going to be difficult to keep the players on contract and nothing has changed so far,” he explained. “The seniors said they want at least a year’s contract but we say no because we do not have the resources, they need to give us more time to get a sponsor.”If they do not play, too bad but I have faith in the younger players to do well against Namibia, I believe they have a point to prove and are more hungry,” he added. “I don’t mind losing, we must have the courage to lose today so we can win tomorrow.”

Shoaib Akhtar, who two days ago pronounced himself “very much available” for the forthcoming six-nation Asia Cup one-day tournament in Sri Lanka, has been ruled out so that he can rest a rib injury.Wasim Bari, the former Test wicketkeeper who is now Pakistan’s chairman of selectors, said: “We have received directives that Shoaib should not be considered for the Asia Cup to allow him to recover.”Shoaib, who is 28, picked up the injury in the third and final Test against India at Rawalpindi in April – but he has been playing county cricket for Durham since, and on Tuesday said he had “recovered well from my ribcage injury after two weeks of rest”.The Asia Cup begins in Sri Lanka on July 16. India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh are all taking part, along with associate-member countries Hong Kong and United Arab Emirates.

The Australian Cricket Board is cautious about a possible bid for ShaneWarne to play for charity during his doping ban.But the board stresses it’s yet to see details of the proposal for Warneto sign with the Lashings club, an English social team.Lashings bills itself the Harlem Globetrotters of cricket and hasconfirmed it’s trying to sign Warne and former Zimbabwean paceman HenryOlonga.Warne’s management has told the ACB he would be playing for charity.The ACB will decide next month what Warne can do during his ban fortaking banned diuretics, which ends on February 10 next year.

All-rounder Robin Singh on Sunday rejected reports that he wasplanning to retire from international cricket and said he wasperfectly fit and raring to make a comeback.”I have no immediate plans for retirement. I am fit enough and hopingfor a comeback,” Robin Singh told PTI in Jaipur.The selectors, of late, have refuted his claims for a place in thenational side on grounds that he is well past his prime and youngstersmust be given a chance.Robin Singh said though many youngsters had been tried recently, theyhad failed to perform consistently.”Youngsters have been tried recently but they have not beenconsistent. There have only been a few good scores by them,” saidRobin Singh, who turns 38 next month.”May be the youngsters got their places in Indian team easily and didnot have to work hard for it and that is why they look complacent,” headded.The left handed all rounder said India’s dismal performance againstZimbabwe and Sri Lanka showed that the players were “lacking inapplication”.”Against the much stronger Australians, the Indians had shown muchbetter application but recently their approach has not been positive.May be when our players go abroad, the failures of the past haunt themand they come under pressure and commit mistakes. There should be amore positive approach,” he said.The unassuming player regretted his omission from the national squadand said: “Sometimes I feel opinions are made before hand. Players arelabelled and treated accordingly. Why bother about the age if a playeris performing. Merit alone should be the criteria for selection”.Brushing aside his disappointment, Robin Singh said he failed tounderstand how the team could lack in motivation. “Playing for yourcountry is the biggest motivation. Earlier, cricketers were gettingpeanuts but now they get so much money and fame and playing for thecountry is an honour in itself”.Robin Singh, who has to his credit many a match-winning performance,said the players should be made to earn their places in the side inorder to make themselves mentally tough. “The players should be madeto earn their places in the Indian side. Let them compete for a placein the team and if they go through the hard way then strength andtoughness will come automatically. But they also need to applythemselves. It is a long process and it comes through struggle,” hesaid.On the spate of injuries to players, Robin Singh said, “You shouldknow your own body. I am fit because I worked hard and knew therequirements of my body. You have to work hard for fitness and harderto maintain it”.He refused to put the blame for failures of the team on skipper SouravGanguly and said “he may be in bad form but it is a collective gameand every body has a responsibility”.He admitted that the team was over-dependent on star batsman SachinTendulkar. “Sachin’s absence should not be an excuse because all teamshave to go without their star players at some time or the other. Thosewho are playing should show commitment”.

Albion and Green Island will meet in the Otago/Southland club knockout final in Dunedin this weekend.The match could well double as another trial for State Otago Volts coach Glenn Turner with no fewer than seven of the province’s representative squads involved.Albion looks the slightly stronger combination with the McCullum brothers, Nathan and Brendon, in action alongside Evan Marshall and New Zealand Under-19 squad member Jordan Sheed. veteran, Kevin Galliven, who first played senior cricket in 1978, will lead the side.However, Green Island can also boast high profile players in the form of Chris Gaffaney, Craig Cumming and Bradley Scott. The vastly experienced former Otago wicket-keeper/batsman Shane Robinson is also named.A number of the Green Island players were involved when the club took back-to-back national titles in 1998/99 and 1999/00.The winner of Sunday’s match, which will be played at the University Oval, will contest the national club championship in Auckland next Easter.The teams are:Albion: Kevin Galliven (captain), Jordan Sheed, Brendon McCullum, Nathan McCullum, Paul Kennedy, Damian Petre, Brendon Hunt, Nathan King, Jonathan Homer, Paul Adams, Evan Marshall.Green Island: Hayden Finch (captain), Shane Robinson, Mike Hawken, Chris Gaffaney, Craig Cumming, Bradley Scott, Jeremy Scott, Ian Mandry, Jeff Simmonds, Andy Harris, Mark Joyce, Dion Lobb, Regan Finch.

Match facts

Saturday, April 19, 2008
Start time 20:30 local time (15:00 GMT)

The Big Picture

Shane Warne and his Rajasthan Royals travel to Delhi, where the Daredevils await them for their opener under the recently installed floodlights at a refurbished Feroz Shah Kotla. Neither Rajasthan nor Delhi made any big purchases during the auctions; Virender Sehwag, the Delhi Daredevils captain, tops the payroll list for his franchise at US$833,750, while Mohammad Kaif is the most expensive player for the Jaipur-based franchise, at $675,000.Delhi start favourites for the clash, with a heady mix of aggressive batsmen, wily bowlers and athletic fielders, but it will be folly to underestimate the tactical acumen of Warne, the coach and captain.

Watch out for …

Some big hits. Delhi has in its ranks the explosive Sehwag, alongside Gautam Gambhir, a standout performer for India in Twenty20s, and Shikhar Dhawan, while Rajasthan have big hitters of the ball in Shane Watson and Yusuf Pathan. Warne’s battle with Sachin Tendulkar has been touted as one to watch in the IPL, but the contest against Sehwag will be no less engaging. After conquering batsmen the world over in unison, Glenn McGrath and Warne will be on opposing ends, though it’s unlikely they will bowl to each other.

Team news

Both teams will miss some of their overseas players. Delhi will be without Pakistanis Shoaib Malik and Mohammad Asif, while AB de Villiers is back in South Africa playing the Standard Bank Pro20 Series. For Rajasthan, Graeme Smith is also away on domestic duty, forcing them to send an SOS call to 38-year-old Darren Lehmann after Mark Ramprakash turned down the offer. Also unavailable are the Pakistani trio of Younis Khan, Kamran Akmal and Sohail Tanvir, besides hard-hitting allrounder Dimitri Mascarenhas, the only English player in the league. Delhi are likely to open with Sehwag and Gambhir, with Tillakaratne Dilshan and wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik occupying middle-order spots. Manoj Tiwary, Dhawan, Mithun Manhas and Rajat Bhatia will vie for the remaining slots in the batting line-up, leaving space for four bowlers, spearheaded by McGrath and Daniel Vettori, one of the most effective bowlers in last year’s World Twenty20 in South Africa. An injury to Sri Lankan allrounder Farveez Maharoof means Tasmanian Brett Geeves, a surprise signing, might get a game, while it will be a toss-up between Yo Mahesh and Pradeep Sangwan, unless Delhi opt for a second specialist spinner in Amit Mishra.Delhi (probable) 1 Virender Sehwag (capt), 2 Gautam Gambhir, 3 Shikhar Dhawan, 4 Manoj Tiwary, 5 Dinesh Karthik (wk), 6 Tillakaratne Dilshan, 7 Rajat Bhatia, 8 Daniel Vettori, 9 Brett Geeves, 10 Glenn McGrath, 11 Pradeep Sangwan.Rajasthan’s allrounders – Pathan and Watson – form the core group along with Warne and Mohammad Kaif. Taruwar Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja, two of India’s World Cup-winning Under-19 team, might get a look in, while Mahesh Rawat is expected to keep. Munaf Patel might seem to be a bit laidback for Twenty20 but, barring injury, he should be opening the bowling alongside Rajasthan’s very own Pankaj Singh.Rajasthan (probable) 1 Shane Watson, 2 Taruwar Kohli, 3 Mohammad Kaif, 4 Darren Lehmann, 5 Niraj Patel, 6 Yusuf Pathan, 7 Mahesh Rawat (wk), 8 Ravindra Jadeja , 9 Shane Warne, 10 Pankaj Singh, 11 Munaf Patel.

Stats and trivia

Peter Chingoka, the chairman of Zimbabwe Cricket, will be in London for the ICC executive meeting next week despite an attempt by the Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) to have him refused an entry visa to the UK.The British Embassy in Harare recommended to the FCO in London that Chingoka be refused admission to the UK on account of his associations with the government of Robert Mugabe. The FCO rubber-stamped this but Cricinfo has learned that the ban was blocked by Richard Caborn, the sports minister, as he feared that any such move could jeopardise the bid to have David Morgan, the ECB chairman, elected as ICC president in 2008.The Foreign Office compromised and have only given Chingoka a visa for five days. He cannot start his journey until Monday, June 25 and must be out of the country by Saturday, June 30. This will enable him to attend the directors’ meeting on Wednesday and Thursday, and the ICC annual meeting which follows, but that’s all.An ECB spokesman told Cricinfo that the board “had not discussed the issue with the FCO” and that it “was solely a government decision” to limit the entry visa. A spokesman for the Department of Culture, Media and Sport said that they “did not comment on individual visa cases”.Kate Hoey, Caborn’s predecessor as sports minister and the chairperson of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Zimbabwe, told Cricinfo that she was “disappointed” with Caborn’s intervention. “Zimbabwe’s cricket officials are at the heart of the dictatorship’s web of corruption and political oppression. It is sad that the sports ministry has used Morgan’s chances – which are really no chance at all – of becoming ICC president to ask the FCO to go against their better judgment and grant a visa. This sort of unprincipled manoeuvring looks very bad when we are asking other countries to stand firm in isolating those at the heart of Mugabe’s regime.

“We were meant to have an ethical foreign policy… that needs to include an ethical sports policy too.”As long ago as July 2004, Lord Avebery raised a request in the House of Lords that Chingoka and Ozias Bvute, Zimbabwe Cricket’s managing director who is expected to attend the ICC meetings next week, be barred from entering the European Union as “close supporters and collaborators of the [Mugabe] regime”.Chingoka, whose son and wife are believed to be in London, usually stays for some time either side of the meeting, as do many officials from other boards, but on this occasion he will have to leave the UK almost immediately after the conclusion of the AGM.