Prasar Bharati, the parent company of Doordarshan, has been awarded the rights to telecast the forthcoming Sri Lanka and South Africa series. The marketing committee of the Board of Control for Cricket in India met in Kolkata on Thursday to decide on the production and telecast rights due to the delayed court case against Zee TV. This gives the board breathing space to finalise the 2005-9 television rights case, a matter that has forced it into courts frequently since late last year.”With the two home series knocking at the door, the marketing committee felt that the Board should immediately take interim measures for television coverage of the two series,” said Ranbir Singh Mahendra, the president of the board. “The committee felt that no chances should be taken, especially because of the ICC’s stand that television coverage was essential for any international match.”While Prasar Bharati was awarded the rights for their offer of Rs7.5crore per game for the 12 matches, TWI was given the production rights. The meeting was notable for the absence of IS Bindra and N Srinivasan, two prominent members of the marketing committee. Bindra had said yesterday that the tender for television rights was restrictive, and if all the demands were met only two channels would qualify for the four-year rights. It is believed that one of the two channels is ESPN-Star Sports (ESS). Bindra had also said that Nimbus, a rival production company, had agreed to produce the 12 one-dayers for $25million.The BCCI’s case with Zee was postponed when the hearing was transferred from one bench to another. The case was regarding the restrictive eligibility clause in the tender document which prompted Zee to allege that it was being excluded from the bidding process. According to an earlier report in the , Zee has offered to withdraw the court cases if the BCCI awards it the rights.However, a source in ESS told Cricinfo that the their own bid amount was likely to be much higher than the US$308million offered and matched by Zee to the board last year. “We have bid on the assumption that Zee will not be disqualified,” he said, referring to the tender document issued by the board, which stated that only broadcasters who had experience in telecasting matches in 2002-4 would be eligible to bid. Zee pointed out that the tender was drafted in a manner to exclude it from the process, and pleaded that it be given a fair chance.With the floor price set at approximately US$278.2million for 130 days of cricket in India, the bids, by ESS, Prasar Bharati, Zee and SET Max, are expected to throw up big numbers. According to the source, the numbers were unrealistic because the revenue earned for each day of cricket was highly unlikely to be anywhere near the amount paid for it. A proliferation in sports channels is seen as a reason for the rise in prices. Another reason attributed is that with broadcasters seeking a shift to the more accountable Direct-to-Home (DTH) platform, cricket is seen as the hook with which to grab reluctant audiences.

England are likely to face a demanding schedule when they tour Australia to defend the Ashes in 12 months time.The tour will be sandwiched between the ICC Champions Trophy, to be held in India in November, and the World Cup in the West Indies in March. Despite the time constraints, five Tests will be squeezed together in just six weeks.The ECB and Cricket Australia are still in negotiations but, as reported in the schedule would mean England playing 25 days of Test cricket in just 45 days. Only between the second and third Tests are the players afforded a significant break of nine days.”I’m afraid I can’t comment on the itinerary because it has not been finalised, “John Carr, the ECB’s director of cricket operations, told .”There are one or two points that are under discussion. As soon as it has been agreed, we will release it because there are a lot of people who want to know the dates so that they can make their plans.”But it is going to be a very busy winter because of the Champions Trophy and the World Cup. The intention is to let the players have a couple of weeks between the Champions Trophy and the start of the Ashes tour, and a break after the Ashes series and the start of the World Cup, which will benefit both teams.”

Justin Langer is only a “50-50” chance of playing in the third Test against South Africa after suffering a grade one hamstring tear in the opening match at Perth. Langer was today ruled out of next week’s Boxing Day Test at the MCG, leaving the selectors with a difficult set of decisions.Michael Hussey, who filled in during two matches against West Indies when Langer had a fractured rib, could be shifted back to his preferred position as opener, which would allow a space for Michael Clarke to return. However, Phil Jaques, the New South Wales opener, is in fabulous form after hitting 158 in a one-day game against South Australia on Sunday to add to his 400 Pura Cup runs this summer. The poor form of Andrew Symonds as the team’s allrounder – he reached a career-best 25 in his fifth Test – could also create a middle-order vacancy and the second-Test team will be named on Tuesday afternoon.Jaques told he was ready for a possible promotion. “You never know until you actually get there, but I’m in some good form at the moment and I’d like to take the chance if I got a chance,” he said. “If I got the opportunity I’d take it with both hands and enjoy every minute of it.”Errol Alcott, the Australia physiotherapist, said Langer would travel with the team to have treatment in Melbourne and rated him a “50-50” prospect for the match in Sydney starting on January 2. “Having missed the first two Tests this summer with a broken rib, I am bitterly disappointed at suffering another injury which will keep me sidelined,” Langer said. Langer injured his left leg in the second innings and needed Matthew Hayden as a runner for the closing stages of his 47.

At East London, Eastern Province collapsed to 219, a deficit of 133, for Border to take a strong position going into the final day. After an opening stand of 105 from Chad Baxter (58) and Colin Ingram (74) wickets fell quickly, but at 166 for 2 Eastern Province were still in reach of Border’s first innings total of 352. Warwick Hinkel, with his leg breaks, took two quick wickets, to put Eastern Province under pressure. He added two more to finish with 4 for 42 while Mario Olivier waded in with 3 for 62. Border increased their lead to 350 when they declared on 217 for 3, after Carl Bradfield (80) and Steven Pope (64 not out) put on 80 for the third wicket. At close Eastern Province had scored 18 without loss.Easterns came back strongly after being set a target of 439 to end the day on 223 for 3 at Kimberley. Griqualand West second innings was declared on 314 for 9 with a career-best 64 from Clive Bennett. Jason Brooker’s 58 and 52 from Alan Doherty, his second 50 of the match, contributed to the big lead. Israel Hlengane achieved a career-best with his slow left-arm spin to take an outstanding 7 for 107. Easterns replied well after being bowled out for 118 in the first innings, with Sharad Mandan and Andre Seymore (41) putting on 137 for the first wicket. Mandan was caught behind just two runs short of his maiden first-class hundred. Jaco Booysen will continue tomorrow, unbeaten on 38.A 72-run eighth wicket partnership between Pierre Joubert (68) and Paul Harris (47) enabled Northerns to recover to take a 65-run lead over North West, at Sedgars Park, in Potchefstroom. Struggling overnight at 95 for 5 and then 138 for 7 the pair carried Northerns past the North West total of 186 for Northerns to eventually be bowled out for 251 with Werner Coetsee taking 3 for 42. Joubert then showed his all round ability by taking two wickets in consecutive balls, leaving North West at a precarious overnight score of 77 for 5, lead of just 12 runs.

Makhaya Ntini is in serious doubt for the third Test after suffering knee tendon damage in Melbourne this week. Ntini, who took 3 for 70 in the first innings and 0 for 17 yesterday, did not bowl today after the team’s medical staff decided not to risk further damage to their strike bowler.”A scan revealed he sustained an injury to one of the medial tendons of his left hamstring behind the knee,” Shane Jabaar, the team physiotherapist, said. Ntini played in a game of frisbee during the side’s warm-up this morning but Haroon Lorgat, the selection convenor, said they preferred to withdraw him from the attack, which suffered from the heavy hitting of Matthew Hayden and Andrew Symonds as Australia set a target of 366.”Ntini is our strike bowler and we will not take any risks with him,” he said. “We will only play him once he has fully recovered.”South Africa have received a better report from Justin Kemp, who injured his right shoulder during the first Test in Perth. Kemp scored a vital second-innings half-century at the WACA and Jabaar said he was making “steady progress”.The early arrival of Johan Botha, the off-spinner, to Australia may lead to a call-up for next week’s final Test. Botha, 23, is a member of the tourists’ squad for next month’s triangular one-day series with Australia and Sri Lanka but has yet to play Test cricket.Botha told AFP in South Africa, before leaving, “I’m not sure whether I’m going to be considered for the Test, or whether I’m just going for the one-dayers. But it’s interesting that I’m going to Australia at this stage. It will be quite a challenge to walk into the series if I play in Sydney. But I’m not daunted — this is the kind of thing you dream about as a kid.”Australia are expected to play Shane Warne and Stuart MacGill at Sydney, traditionally a spinner’s paradise and South Africa may consider partnering Nicky Boje’s left-arm spin with Botha. Lorgat told Australian Associated Press, “Yes, he (Botha) will be in our one-day squad but he’s coming over a little earlier. He’s the young kid on the block and we thought we’d give him a chance. He will arrive in the next day or two. We’ll look at our options for the next Test.”

Cricket Australia has expressed its satisfaction with the facilities and security measures at both venues in Chittagong for the tour of Bangladesh beginning in April.A four-member team from Cricket Australia inspected the Chittagong Divisional Stadium (CDS), which the ICC has approved as a Test venue, and the MA Aziz Stadium. They also met with the Chittagong Metropolitan Police (CMP) officials to evaluate security measures, which was the main purpose of their visit.”Chittagong is definitely one of the few cities in the world to have two recognised Test venues,” Steve Bernard, the Australian team manager, told . “The Australian officials were very much pleased with the overall arrangements here ahead of their upcoming tour,” said Salman Ispahani, a Bangladesh Cricket Board member. “They were particularly happy with the presentation on security by the CMP and liked the CDS venue because of it has beautiful natural surroundings.”Australia will play two Tests and three ODIs at Chittagong and Dhaka during their tour. The first Test begins on April 9.

Ross Taylor, the 21-year old batsman, is in line to make his ODI debut for New Zealand. Taylor and Kyle Mills have been drafted into the New Zealand squad for the fourth one-day international against West Indies.The call for Taylor comes on the back of a strong domestic season where he scored three centuries in the limited overs State Shield competition. Mills was already on standby as cover for Michael Mason, who has a mild strain of the lower back, but now has been named as a full member of the squad.New Zealand’s selectors announced that James Franklin and Jamie How were being released from the squad to play domestic cricket. However it was not clear whether this selection was specifically for the fourth ODI or for the whole series. New Zealand have already sealed the series 3-0 and all along have.Squad Stephen Fleming (captain), Nathan Astle, Lou Vincent, Ross Taylor, Scott Styris, Peter Fulton, Hamish Marshall, Brendon McCullum, Daniel Vettori, Kyle Mills, Shane Bond, Michael Mason, Jeetan Patel.

The three-match ODI series between Pakistan and Sri Lanka starting on Friday becomes crucial as both teams look to avoid relegation to the preliminary round of the forthcoming Champions Trophy. Countries have until April 1 to improve their rankings and make it to the group stage.According to the new format, eight teams will be divided into two groups of four each which include the top six in the ICC ODI Championship table as of April 1 2006, plus the top two from the preliminary round. This round comprises a four-team round robin play-off for the sides ranked seven to10 in the ICC rankings.Sri Lanka are under greater pressure to qualify for the group stage – their fate hinges not only on their performance in the three-match series against Pakistan but also on the results of the India-England ODIs starting March 28. India and England are scheduled to play two ODIs before the April 1 cut-off date.Sri Lanka are currently ranked at seven in the latest rankings with 107 points, just behind England (108). A 2-1 win for Sri Lanka will mean that they can topple England and claim that sixth spot, but can slip back to No.7, should England win one of their two games against India.If Sri Lanka sweep the series 3-0, they will immediately move to No.6, but Pakistan face the danger of being relegated to No.7, should England win one of their games. If Pakistan win 2-1, Sri Lanka will slip to 106 points but will need to rely on India winning both their games to jump to the sixth spot.A fourth – and worst-case scenario – is if Pakistan sweep all three games, which would mean that Sri Lanka would have no option but to deal with the preliminary round, irrespective of the results of India’s matches against England.Both Pakistan and Sri Lanka have shown a bit of inconsistency with their ODI form. Pakistan, after beating England in the ODI series at home late last year, suffered a reversal, losing the ODI series to India 1-4, which included four straight defeats. Sri Lanka rebounded after disappointing performances in India and New Zealand by reaching the best-of-three VB Series finals in Australia, eventually going down 1-2. A shock defeat in the second ODI against Bangladesh followed, although they took the series 2-1.Kenya, currently in Bangladesh for a four-match ODI series starting March 17, are yet to play the minimum number of games to qualify for the rankings. The exact number will be determined at the ICC Executive Board meeting in Dubai next week.For the full list of rankings click here.

India will persist with their new strategy of fielding five frontline bowlers in Test cricket, according to coach Greg Chappell, who believes the five-bowler theory is the only way India can win more matches.Chappell also sees a key role for his young pace battery in improving India’s floundering reputation in Test cricket, saying that the team can improve only if it “replicates the lessons of our one-day success in Tests”.”It’s the bowlers who win Tests and we all know that. I am convinced that India need to persist with the five-bowler theory in order to win more Test matches,” Chappell told PTI shortly after the Indian team’s arrival here. Chappell said he expects his young fast bowlers to step up to the task and excel in Tests as well. “It’s an opportunity for them to seize the moment and prove themselves in demanding conditions.”Chappell’s eyes looked blood-shot with the trip across continents, yet the importance of the series goaded him into summoning Ramakrishnan, the computer analyst, and Ian Fraser, the bio-mechanist for an impromptu computer session within a couple of hours of checking in at the hotel. Irfan Pathan, Munaf Patel, Sreesanth and Rudra Pratap Singh carry the torch of India’s fast bowling challenge, and Chappell expects them to make light of hot and humid conditions as well as of wickets which might not be of great assistance in terms of pace or movement. There is also this little matter of bowling to the irrepressible Brian Lara.”If they are uptight about bowling to Lara, I don’t know. But individuals don’t matter as long as you stick to the process. In any case I’m not too keen to dwell on the negatives at the start of the tour,” remarked Chappell.An elementary part of this “process” for Chappell is that bowlers should dry up the scoring and build up the pressure on opposition batsmen. “It surely is important if bowlers can build pressure from both ends. It adds to a team gaining control of the situation.”India have made a complete reversal of their fortunes in one-day cricket under Chappell but its stock has fallen in the longer version of the game, with defeats to Pakistan and England in the first four months of the year. “It would be good if we could replicate the lessons of our one-day success in Tests but it is also worth remembering that compared to 25 one-dayers, we have played only eight Tests in the same period.”It takes time to understand the particular rhythm of Test cricket. It doesn’t happen instantly. I’m hopeful the boys would come to grips with it soon.” Chappell felt it was only a “bonus” for his young team to get first-hand experience of these conditions which would come handy during the World Cup next year.He said it was worth keeping an eye on West Indies’ fast bowling resources since they had a few talented youngsters in the line-up. “But there is no reason to believe that our batsmen wouldn’t be up to the task. How well we would do, who knows.”The Indians spend the next two days in Kingston before flying to Montego Bay for a practice match against a local eleven.

Pakistan has been awarded the right to host the next Champions Trophy in 2008 by the ICC. West Indies, due to host the World Cup in 2007, will stage the Champions Trophy in 2010.By then the tournament promises to be more streamlined than the present version, with only the top eight teams taking part. The Pakistan edition is likely to be scheduled towards the end of September 2008 while the West Indies will do so in April and May 2010.Shaharyar Khan, the chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), said that Pakistan was delighted to have been awarded the event. “The ICC Champions Trophy 2008 will be one of the biggest global sporting events ever held in Pakistan. The decision of the ICC board to award this event to Pakistan is a tremendous show of support in the PCB, in Pakistan cricket and in our nation. We are very honoured to have been given the responsibility of hosting this important event and look forward to welcoming the top cricket nations to our country.”Ehsan Mani, president ICC, praised the efforts of Pakistan to be ready to host such an event. “The PCB has worked tremendously hard to get to a position where it is ready to host an event of this importance. It will be the first nation to host a streamlined Champions Trophy involving only the top eight sides in ODI rankings.”The Champions Trophy is an established part of the international cricket calendar and we were inundated with members that wanted to host this prestigious event. This means that we have been able to find very sensible time slots for this and other events in the years ahead. By reducing the number of teams taking part and moving the scheduling of the event the Champions Trophy will be a very strong component of the exciting package of events through to 2015.”Ken Gordon, chairman of the West Indies board (WICB), thanked the ICC for providing the West Indies with the opportunity to build on next year’s World Cup. “I’d like to thank the ICC for understanding that it is important that we have further opportunities to make use of the excellent facilities that we are building for the World Cup 2007. The hosting of the Champions Trophy provides the perfect opportunity for us to build upon the momentum of next year’s World Cup for the long term benefit of cricket in the region.”A decision on whether the annual ICC events from 2012 to 2014 will be Champions Trophies or Twenty20 World Championships will be made after the success of the events through to 2009 has been evaluated. The hosting right, though, have been allocated for the events in 2012 and 2014. Sri Lanka has earned the right to host the 2012 event while Bangladesh will host the major ICC event in 2014.”Sri Lanka has an excellent tradition of hosting ICC events and in recent times they have successfully staged two ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cups and one ICC Champions Trophy. We have every confidence that they will stage another memorable event in 2012 be it Twenty20 or ODI cricket,” said Mani. He added that, “Bangladesh hosted perhaps the most remarkably successful ICC event during my time as president (the Under-19 Cricket World Cup 2004). The fact that they have now been asked to host a major ICC event in 2014 as well as act as a joint host of the World Cup 2011 is testament to the progress that has been made in Bangladesh cricket over recent times.”