The ongoing dispute between the West Indies Cricket Board and its own players continues to rumble on, with the board seeking clarification of some points put to it by the West Indies Players’ Association (WIPA).On Monday, the board sought to clarify Clause Five of its match/tour contract, the main cause of dispute, inserting a new clause that sought to clarify the position with respect to a player’s right to individual endorsements.WIPA responded to that by stating that the amendment, along with the main contract, needed to be put before Justice Adrian Saunders, who was appointed last November to arbitrate in the long-running dispute. But WIPA’s statement said that Saunders’ binding decision should be “applied to that contract with all the attendant consequences.” The board has now gone back to its legal advisors to ascertain the meaning of that phrase.An insider said that the relationship between the board and WIPA was now “extremely strained”. On Monday, the board sent a representative to Sri Lanka to try to persuade the A-team players there to prepare to be drafted in to the main squad were the row not to be resolved – WIPA were not told this was happening. Roger Bathwaite, the WICB’s chief executive, told the press that he had had “a very positive response from them”. And yet hours later it emerged that all but two of the players had rejected the idea, and had sent a letter confirming that they were backing the action of the senior squad.What is certain is that time is running out. A West Indies squad is scheduled to leave for Sri Lanka on Friday, and yet at the moment there are only five players who have signed the board’s contract – Shivnarine Chanderpaul, the captain, Darren Powell and rookie Denesh Ramdin from the 17 originally approached, and Tino Best and Kerry Jeremy from the A team.
Andrew Symonds insisted that Australia would be celebrating their series victory this evening, despite failing to win the fifth and final ODI in Colombo. "We’re very happy," said Symonds. "It’s a shame we didn’t win today, but that is the way it goes. Another win on the sub-continent and our first in Sri Lanka is reason enough to celebrate hard."
Nuwan Zoysa: ‘a dream come true’
Symonds is in a rich vein of form at the moment, and the prospect of a Test debut is not an outlandish one. "I just have a good plan working at the moment," he explained. "The way I have decided to playis coming off for me most of the time, and I feel as ready as ever to play Test cricket if selected. If I was chosen I would accept the challenge."Adam Gilchrist, standing in as captain for Ricky Ponting, was pleased to silence the doubters who believe that Australia are fallible on slow, low wickets. "To come and win another series on the subcontinent is so pleasing," he said. "We get told time and again that these are conditions that we don’t play well in. But we won in India late last year and now we’ve won here for the first time."The star of today’s show, however, was Nuwan Zoysa, who took three key wickets and then thumped a vital 47 not out to secure the victory almost single-handedly. "It was a dream come true for me," he admitted. "I knew when I walked onto the park [this morning] I could do well herebecause it is my home ground. It is always nice to bowl first at the SSC ground. I just concentrated on bowling a perfect line and length.""I bowled one of my best spells so far and that helped me bat well. I’ve gained a lot of experience in provincial cricket and with the Ateam on how to bat on different wickets, and on this wicket I wanted to play straight and be positive. There is always a pleasure when you get a chance to play cricket against the world champions. I had nothingto lose and thought I would go out and be positive."Sri Lanka’s captain, Marvan Atapattu, was pleased with the win, but keen to highlight the shortcomings in his team’s performance. "Apart from the second match in Dambulla, we have not got off to goodstarts. That has been the main problem. Also, below No. 5 we have not shown enough responsibility to see us through to 50 overs."But this victory will lift so many people up. It is a victory against the world champions and the way we finished with Zoysa was fantastic. They rested some of their key players, but still it is a one-day international and we treat every match as the same."
BOWRAL, NSW, Jan 8 AAP – Owais Shah, unwanted by England for the cricket World Cup, scored 127 as England made 8-279 in its one-day match against the Bradman XI in Bowral today.Shah opened the batting and after battling through a tough period, was dismissed in the 48th over for 127, made off 154 balls.He hit nine fours and two sixes before he was caught on the boundary by Stuart MacGill off part-time bowler Greg Mail, who bowled at the death for an impressive return of 2-11 from three overs.England’s innings was personified by Shah who took 81 balls to reach 50 before scoring his last 77 runs off 73 balls.England, slow at first, sparked into life in the final 10 overs which were delivered by a collection of unlikely bowlers – part-timer Simon Katich, guest player Mike Whitney, slow medium pacer Shawn Bradstreet and Mail, normally an opening batsman for New South Wales.As a result England blasted 91 runs off the final 10 overs – thanks mainly to Shah and Adam Hollioake, who hit a quick half-century as the pair added 105 off 83 balls.England got off to a flying start with 24 runs off the first three overs – thanks mainly to some edges from Shah – but things gradually ground to a halt as Nick Knight struggled to get on strike and Shah battled to score.Knight went for 13 off 22 balls, caught by Katich at mid-on off the bowling of Dominic Thornley, who took 2-30 from his 10 overs.From 1-55 after 11 overs, England crawled to 1-75 after 20 overs as Shah and out of form, stand-in captain Ronnie Irani were tied down by Thornley and Bradstreet, who had bowled six overs for 12 runs before Irani clouted him out of the ground in the 22nd over.Still, Bradstreet went out of the attack with 0-19 from his seven overs and came back to concede another 28 runs off his final three overs.Irani hit a six off a tired looking Stuart MacGill but then fell for 39 (off 54 balls) when Thornley trapped him lbw.Shah joined the assault on MacGill with a six over mid-wicket and the Australia leg spinner slunk out of the attack after conceding 30 runs from four overs.Paul Collingwood (3) was run out from a direct hit by Mail in the 31st over as England fell to 3-134.Ian Blackwell hit a six off his first ball – and the first bowled by Katich – but that rivalry went Katich’s way when he bowled Blackwell five balls later for seven.Hollioake was the first English batsman to truly dominate the attack, cracking his half-century off 34 balls.He was run out in the 46th over for 53 off 38 balls.England left out the bulk of its Test players, with Robert Key and Matthew Hoggard the only players from the victorious fifth Test side backing up two days later.
It was only a few days ago that a headline like that was confined to events of a purely cricketing nature, such as when England reached an all-time low by being bowled out for just 84 by Australia at Old Trafford to lose a match in the NatWest Series. What happened at Headingley on Sunday represented an entirely different situation. Cricket was secondary to the pitch invasion by over-excited elements of the crowd. That resulted in England captain Alec Stewart conceding the game to Pakistan and a steward being taken off to hospital having become the victim of the unruly mob.There was no doubting that Pakistan would have deservedly won. There were 10.1 overs to be bowled, six wickets in hand and only four runs to be scored when a large section of the crowd burst over the boundary rope as if the game had finished. Such was the scale of the pitch invasion, and with a steward lying near the wicket with internal and head injuries, the game had to be regarded as finished. Rather than going out again when the pitch was eventually cleared, Stewart decided that England would accept the inevitable and so the unique entry in the record books: “England conceded the match.”Stewart said “It was a sad decision but it was a decision I felt was right for the long term good of the game. For the sake of the players and the umpires, I felt it was the only decision I could make. Hopefully it will mean that we won’t see scenes like that again and the ICC will now take very, very strong measures to make sure it doesn’t happen again.”John Read, the Director of Corporate Affairs of the England and Wales Cricket Board, acknowledged the gravity of the affair. “It was an incredibly sad day for cricket in this country and we condemn unreservedly what happened,” he said. “We’re resolved to ensure that the grounds are as safe an environment as possible for the players, spectators and umpires and that these sort of things don’t happen in the future.”But what can be done? Heavy fines, like those imposed in Australia for similar behaviour? Extra security, with snarling dogs as seen in South Africa? Fences, as used in Asia? None are usually necessary in England, but there is a dilemma for the authorities. Both crowd invasions in this series have involved predominantly Pakistani supporters, yet most are British citizens. Unlike when there is crowd trouble at football, it is not easy to identify a target for sanctions and punishment.The decision to concede the match was a brave one, and seemed correct at the time it was made. However, it could prove to be a dangerous precedent. It might send the wrong signals to those who seek to affect the outcome of a match. The game at Headingley was as good as over and meant little anyway. It would not be the same in, for example, a tense match that could have implications on qualification for the final stages of a world cup. It should not be up to either captain to concede. There is no provision for that in the regulations and nor should there be. In such circumstances the ICC should have the powers to determine the outcome, including abandoning the match as was threatened at Edgbaston.The scenes there might have been excused a merely exuberant enthusiasm. Perhaps over-exuberant, but nonetheless borne of high spirits. So too, essentially, were those at Headingley, but this time a steward was seriously injured. Next time, someone might be killed. The warnings must be heeded before an unfortunate incident becomes a major tragedy. That is not a question of “if” but “when”. The effects that would have on cricket and the social structure of the country do not bear thinking about.
If you are looking for a break from the stresses of football……………..!
Poker is a trendy game, and rightly so. Unlike other games of luck like slots, roulette, and blackjack, you can play with other people. This makes poker a perfect game to play with friends, family, or even total strangers.
You can play poker online today, like many other casino games. And for those who love bonuses, you can check out casino bonus sites in the UK.
Poker is a sport that requires a high level of skill and mental alertness. Poker tournaments can last several hours, and stamina is required. A saying says poker takes a day to learn but a lifetime to master. In other words, don’t feel frustrated if you seem not to be learning fast enough. Mastering poker indeed takes time, effort, and patience.
This article will provide ways to improve your poker skills.
5 Ways to Improve your poker skills
Here are some ways to improve your poker skills:
Learn about the game
When starting poker as a beginner, the first step you need to take is to learn everything you can about the game. If you don’t understand the fundamentals of the game, there’s no way you can learn quickly.
You can start by watching tutorial videos. There are tons of videos for poker beginners on YouTube and Twitch. You can also visit poker blogs to learn about the latest poker strategies.
If you have a couple of bucks to spare, you can pick up poker strategy books. Strategy books are available for both online and live poker. A poker strategy book costs around $20 to $30. This budget is perfect for small stake players.
A significant edge that poker strategy books have over watching videos or scouring blogs is the extensive information they contain. You can learn more from a single poker book than you would ever learn from videos or blog posts.
Join online communities
Online forums are another way to accelerate your growth as a poker player. You’ll always find more experienced players who are more than happy to offer advice to new players. And you know the best part? It’s free.
You can even post your hands for review on poker forums to receive valuable feedback. However, not all the feedback you’ll get will be beneficial. Some pieces of advice may not be from winning pros. And it’s of no use when a blind person tries to lead another blind person.
When using online forums, another thing to keep in mind is to be polite and respectful. Other members will be more willing to help and share tips with you.
Hire a poker coach
Free tips and advice will help you as a beginner but won’t take you far. Hiring a personal poker coach is sure to speed up your growth. The sky will be your limit when you have a seasoned professional dedicated to helping you improve.
However, the big drawback with hiring a coach is that it’ll cost you. Well, there’s no fixed price. Expect to spend at least $200 per hour if you want a decent coach.
Hiring a poker coach is only advisable if you’re a mid-stake or high-stake player.
Study your hand’s history
If you play online poker, a good poker tracker is an indispensable ally if you want to up your game. It tracks your hands and results and your opponent’s statistics. The statistics the software gathers from your opponent help you devise strategies to beat them.
You can review each poker session later to find out your mistakes. Once you’ve discovered your errors, the next thing is to work on them. You’ll undoubtedly notice a significant improvement in your game over time.
Play more poker
Practice makes perfect. If you want to get good at poker, you need to devote more time to improve your skills. That’s just how it works. A coach and books can’t do your work for you.
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You also have to find a perfect balance between theory and practice. Too much theory without much practice is useless. And practice without theory or strategy is like running without direction. Your progress will be slow— if you make any at all.
Practice what you learn consistently. You might not notice the daily improvements instantly. However, one day when you look back, you’ll be surprised at how far you’ve come and your progress.
Conclusion
Getting good at poker can appear a daunting challenge at first. However, you can become that professional you’ve always dreamed of with patience and consistency.
Focus on one thing at a time. An overload of information does more harm than good. You’ll progress faster when you take things a step at a time than when you’re trying to learn everything at once.
Jamie Siddons, the Bangladesh coach, has called on his captain and most experienced batsman, Mohammad Ashraful, to start performing ahead of their fourth ODI against Pakistan in Multan.Ashraful has had a poor series so far, scoring only 47 runs in three innings, as Bangladesh have relied heavily on contributions from Tamim Iqbal, Mahmudullah Riad and Shakib Al Hasan. “I am concerned about his performances,” Siddons said. “As captain of the team, he needs to perform and score.”It can’t yet be said how captaincy has affected Ashraful’s batting. He averages two runs more than his career figure of 22.26 in 15 matches as captain, though he has only scored two fifties in that period. But when Bangladesh have done well, he has usually been at the centre.He looked to be getting some form back in the third ODI in Lahore, but he was run out when set, for 22. “Ashraful is the most experienced batsman in our side,” Siddons said. “Whenever he performs the team wins. I have spoken to him about it. The way he has been training I think a big score is round the corner.”Siddons will hope his words have the same effect on Ashraful that they did on Shakib. After the second ODI in Faisalabad, Siddons highlighted the need for his top six – particularly Shakib – to start scoring runs. Shakib responded with 75 in the third ODI, taking Bangladesh closer than many thought to Pakistan.”I put the heat on Shakib and Aftab [Ahmed] after Faisalabad and they responded well to it,” Siddons said. “I am now putting the heat on Ashraful in the same way. I am confident he will come good in the last two matches.”Bangladesh’s batting has improved as the series has progressed and their total in Lahore was comfortably their highest against established opposition, as well as their highest second innings score in an ODI. If Ashraful joins Tamim, Shakib and Aftab in scoring runs against an experimental Pakistan attack, we may well have a match on our hands.
Mohammad Ashraful is the new Bangladesh vice-captain in an expected 14-man squad for the one-day series against India this month. Habibul Bashar kept his place as captain, even though it was reported that he would retire after the World Cup, as theBangladesh Cricket Board retained 14 of the 15 players that toured the Caribbean recently. Only Rajin Saleh, who didn’t play a game during the tournament, missed out., a Dhaka-based newspaper, said that Bashar, 34, was likely to retire after the series against India. Faruque Ahmed, the chief selector, had hinted that the selection committee was unlikely to make any changes, and added that the Test side would be announced during the three-match ODI contest.Bangladesh played their last Test in April last year against Australia at home.Bangladesh ODI squad: Habibul Bashar (capt), Mohammad Ashraful (vice-capt), Javed Omar, Tamim Iqbal, Shahriar Nafees, Aftab Ahmed, Saqibul Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), Mashrafe Mortaza, Syed Rasel, Abdur Razzak, Shahadat Hossain, Mohammad Rafique, Farhad Reza.
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.”
Darren Lehmann could give his place to Michael Clarke, the “genius” who scored a fabulous century on debut in Bangalore, so he can have an unrestricted start to his Test career.In a move that could end his own international ambitions, Lehmann, the current vice-captain, said he would not stand in the way of a younger player and would consider moving aside for the third Test, when Ricky Ponting is expected to return from a broken left thumb.”That’s something I’ll think about and talk about after this Test match,” he said. “If I was a selector I would think that Michael Clarke should play every Test for the next 10 or 12 years. If a guy plays a genius knock like that in the first innings of his first Test and is earmarked by all of us to play well, you have to let him.”Clarke’s 151 created a batting-order traffic jam and before the first innings of the first Test was over there were calls for Lehmann, who averages 49.37 in 21 Tests and scored 17 and 14 in Bangalore, to be dropped.”We always knew he was pretty special,” Lehmann said. “We probably held him back for maybe a year or so to really make sure he was ready to play. He works bloody hard at the game and respects the game more than any other youngster that I’ve seen for a long time.”The move would cost Lehmann $15,000 for each missed Test and put in doubt his Cricket Australia contract, which is worth around A$650,000 a season. But Lehmann, 34, said it was not a generous decision. “Sometimes you have to make it for them [the selectors] because it’s a lot harder for them to make,” he said. “I don’t think blokes should be playing on too long. It is a bit different from state cricket where you can help out some young blokes. In international cricket sometimes you might be holding up a spot for a young guy.”
The young apprentices served up a fine entrée in the final Test between India and Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground, and then the modern masters got down to the task of preparing a substantial main course. As at Melbourne, Akash Chopra and Virender Sehwag set India up nicely with a century opening partnership. But the middle order did not squander the platform they had been gifted, and India finished the first day on 284 for 3. Sachin Tendulkar, the subject of much unseemly media speculation, constructed partnerships of 66 with Rahul Dravid and an unbeaten 90 with VVS Laxman on his way to an ominous 73 not out.The day began fittingly for a man who relishes the uphill battle. Steve Waugh lost the toss and watched the Indian openers tot up 98 runs before lunch. They spluttered to a start rather than roared to one. On a good bouncy pitch, Chopra and Sehwag began tentatively, playing and missing, prodding and poking, unsure of quite how to handle the swing and seam movement that Brett Lee and Jason Gillespie generated. Gillespie, back from injury, had trouble with his line, frequently bowling wide of the off stump, or on the batsman’s legs. Lee was quicker and more accurate, and any early breakthrough appeared likely to come from him.Then, in the space of two heartbreaking overs from Lee – heartbreaking for the bowler – the momentum shifted. First, Chopra edged a beautiful away-swinger and was caught behind – off a no-ball. The next ball was legitimate, and Chopra edged again, straight to Simon Katich at gully – Katich fumbled, and dropped it.Sehwag added sodium chloride to Lee’s lesions a couple of overs later, and again, a no-ball started it. Lee overstepped and dropped one wide outside off, Sehwag slashed over backward point for six. Lee overcompensated, drifted down leg, Sehwag clipped him to fine leg for four. Lee got his line right in the next ball, but not his length, as Sehwag punched a fuller ball in the corridor to the cover boundary. Singles followed, and 18 came off that over. Lee had been hit out of the attack.Chopra found his groove as the game went on, as his shot selection grew more assured, and fortune gave way to fortitude. Sehwag, meanwhile, opened up as the ball grew older. His aggression bordered mostly on the right side of recklessness; he put away most loose balls that came his way, but didn’t try any wild strokes against the good balls. When he did flash, he flashed hard.Just when Sehwag seemed set for another big innings, he edged a good-length ball from Gillespie after lunch, and was caught behind for 72 (123 for 1). Shortly after that, Lee earned a fine wicket. First, he unleashed a bouncer at Chopra, which Chopra left alone. Then came the yorker, which Chopra dug out superbly. Then, the faster inswinging yorker, which left Chopra clueless as it crashed into his stumps (128 for 2). Chopra had made 45 – once again, the openers had given India a good start. What would Rahul Dravid and Tendulkar make of it?Tendulkar, an irresistable force for so much of his career, was an immovable object. He played a solid and compact innings, with few expansive attempts to drive, and no expensive uppish slashes. He got his boundaries with the minimum of risk – as when he opened his account off a slightly underpitched yorker from Lee, meeting it nonchalantly with the full face of his blade, in a perfectly timed push to the long-on boundary.Dravid, at the other end, was his usual unyielding self, immaculate in his responses to every question thrown at him – from balance to footwork to every microscopic detail of technique. He was serene yet busy, solid yet fluid, and he outscored Tendulkar during their partnership of 66. He was clinical against loose bowling, much of which came, during his stay at the crease, from Stuart MacGill.Dravid cut and on-drove MacGill for fours in the first over after tea, then flicked and off-drove him for two more boundaries in his next over, and then chose the otherwise controlled Nathan Bracken for punishment, square-cutting him ferociously when he pitched short and slightly wide. But as in the first innings at Melbourne, he was out against the run of play, caught on his crease by an incutter from Gillespie for 38. At 194 for 3, India were on the same slippery slope as towards the end of the first day in the last Test.But Tendulkar and Laxman, promoted in the batting order above Sourav Ganguly, kept climbing. Tendulkar opened out as he grew more comfortable, using his wrists to work balls on off and further inside to the leg side, rocking back to punch or pull anything short. He did not allow the comfort with which he was playing to relax him, and played no loose strokes – though MacGill did fox him a couple of times, inducing edges that did not go to hand.Laxman’s last innings at the SCG was the gorgeous 167 in 1999-00, when he had nothing to lose. Today, he gave nothing away, as he settled in for the long haul. He found occasion to play his staple shots, the wristy flick to midwicket and the inside-out cover-drive, but was more a gatherer than the hunter he had been in his last Test here.In the previous Test, India’s middle order had made a meal of the start they had been given. But these men had worked too hard and dreamed too long of victory in Australia, and they batted as if they would not let anything come in the way of their just desserts.Waugh, no doubt, had other plans up his sleeves. After all, this was his party.