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Craig McMillan has dismissed fears over his disappointing form on the tour of England so far. Two failures in the seven-wicket defeat at Lord’s, as well as a duck and 12 in the warm-up game at Kent, hasn’t done his confidence much good, but he insisted he is in the right frame of mind to get back in the runs.Talking yesterday at Grace Road, where the New Zealanders are playing Leicestershire, McMillan said, “It was a disappointing Test from my point of view, but I’ve had those before and bounced back so I’m not going to go searching.” He continued, “I felt fine. You can miss out in two knocks easily and it’s not the end of the world. It’s important to stay positive and not change too much, because then things can fall apart.”It’s simple, I missed a straight one then got a little bottom edge. You can over analyse about why those things happened and get down on yourself, but that’s not doing anyone any good.”McMillan was out lbw to Matthew Hoggard in the first innings, and then played a loose sweep shot to Ashley Giles to be caught by Nasser Hussain second ball. At the stage of the match, it wasn’t the most sensible choice of shot.McMillan, 27, averages over 40 in Tests, and he insisted the current match against Leicestershire was important to get him back in some sort of form for the second Test at Headingley next Thursday. “A few of us missed out and we didn’t score the runs we wanted from our middle order. England did, and that’s an area where they outshone us,” he said. “It was a hurt dressing room to be honest. Rightly so, we were pretty confident at the start of the day and thinking 280 was going to be enough to put them under real pressure. We didn’t put them under any real pressure at all. We didn’t bowl as well as we would have liked.”However, McMillan refused to write off their chances in the rest of the series. “Quite often this team performs best when our backs are against the wall. I’m sure the guys will come out swinging, even though it’s not an ideal position.”

The Queen’s Park Oval, one of 11 venues in line to host matches during the 2007 World Cup, has been given the thumbs-up by the International Cricket Council’s Venue Assessment Team ,which is currently in the Caribbean. The 13-member team includes Chris Dehring, managing director of the 2007 World Cup. The group started their evaluation on Monday, and had already visited St Lucia, St Vincent and Grenada prior to landing in Trinidad.Willie Rodriguez, president of the Queen’s Park Oval Club, said that the team left the venue satisfied with what they had seen. “At this early stage, it is fair to say that the presentation was very commendable,” he said. “We had a clip from Tourism and Industrial Development Company that gave us a broad span of what Trinidad and Tobago is all about, and it was quite impressive. The walk around the Oval was also met with very positive responses. So at this early stage, I think it is fair to say that they are quite satisfied with what they have seen.”Rodriguez, a former Test legspinner who has also been a selector and manager of the West Indian team, added that he expected the stadium facilities to be further improved – the Geddes Grant Stand will be replaced by a new structure later this year, and the famous Trini Posse Stand would also be rebuilt. The pavilion is also set to be refurbished, and Rodriguez said that there would be a vote on whether to admit female members at the end of June.The ICC team also met Roger Boynes, the sports minister, and David O’Brien, chairman of the Technical Bid Committee. Boynes once again reiterated Trinidad and Tobago’s preparedness to host the event. “As they go about verifying our capabilities, I want to let them know that they will be exposed to the culture, food, beautiful people, that makes us unique in the world,” he said. “We are ready, we are opening our arms to the entire team, as we prepare to lay the foundation for World Cup 2007 in the region and in particular Trinidad and Tobago.”Dehring was also confident about West Indies’ ability to host the tournament. “The types of presentation and the level of preparedness the countries have demonstrated so far speak volumes for the kind of work that has gone in,” he said. “And I believe that we are the best prepared region to have hosted the World Cup.”The evaluation will span two months, and the ICC will announce on July 4 which countries have been given the right to host World Cup matches. The awarding of individual fixtures will be done in Montego Bay on July 13.

The government has taken over the management of Sri Lankan cricket,preventing the annual general election planned this weekend from going ahead. Jeevan Kumaratunga, the sports minister, justified the move on financial andadministrative grounds, claiming “wastages” and “no accountability”.An interim committee was appointed to look after the board’s management. Jayantha Dharmadasa, the head of Nawaloka Hospitals and chairman of Sri Lanka Film Association, was appointed as the chairman. Dharmadasa contested unsuccessfully for the board presidency in 2000.Other members of the committee included Tryphon Mirando as secretary andKumar Weerasuriya. Mirando is a director at Janashakthi Insurance and aformer board member. Weerasuriya is a vice-president at National DevelopmentBank. Rienze Wijetilleke, interim chairman back in 1999, Adel Hassim andDamien Fernando were also appointed.The dissolution of the board was been widely expected after the government’sdecision to force Thilanga Sumathipala, the board’s appointed ambassador forinternational affairs who was standing uncontested for a fifth term aspresident on Sunday, to leave an important ICC meeting last week in Delhi.Sumathipala’s last-minute replacement indicated a shift in thinking withinthe government which had previously appeared supportive of Sumathipala, themain power broker within Sri Lankan cricket since the 1996 World Cup, atriumph that ignited a fight for control of the board.No specific reasons were given for the dissolution but Kumaratunga told newspaper: “I have had so many complaints saying that there are various financial mismanagements at Sri Lanka Cricket and this time when Igot the accounts I went through them very carefully and found out everythingwas not right. Their have been a lot of wastages and their seems to be noaccountability.”The outgoing executive committee, headed by Mohan de Silva, were consideringa legal challenge to the minister’s decision and were expected to hold apress conference shortly to respond to the minister’s decision. The newchairman, meanwhile, is expected to hold a press conference on Monday afterhis return to the island from a business trip.The major issues needing to be addressed will include the finalisation ofthe team sponsorship bid process, the re-drafting of annual playercontracts, the future of coach John Dyson, a possible legal fight overPallakelle Stadium and the re-building of tsunami-damaged GalleInternational Stadium.A possible far-reaching constitutional change designed to ensure a long-termsolution to the board’s problems may also be considered by the minister. Thefuture of Cricket-Aid, the board’s tsunami disaster fund headed bySumathipala, is also unclear.Interim committees were previously appointed in 1999 and 2001 to takeoverSumathipala-led administrations.

Zimbabwe’s strike bowler Heath Streak will be able to bowl on the third day of their second Test match against New Zealand at Queens Sports Club after missing much of the second day because of a groin injury.Streak was on and off the field throughout the New Zealand innings, and Andy Blignaut fielded for him on all occasions he was off. Streak’s injury, which did not prevent him from taking 2 for 62 off 16 overs, although he would have undoubtedly bowled more had he been fit.His absence prompted Tatenda Taibu not to take the new ball before the close, keeping the old one, which had been used for 100 overs, with spinners Keith Dabengwa and Graeme Cremer doing most of the bowling. If Streak resumes at the start then Taibu will almost certainly take the new ball straight away.

Pakistan’s chances of staging a fightback in the one-day series against India took a knock with Shahid Afridi being ruled out of the remaining two matches.Afridi aggravated a rib injury that he sustained before Monday’s third match at Lahore and has been advised to take two weeks’ rest, Pakistan’s team management said. Afridi opened the batting in Monday’s game and felt considerable pain while bowling three overs in India’s innings.Pakistan are already missing Shoaib Akhtar, who was ruled out of the series on Sunday after missing the first two matches with an ankle injury. Mohammad Sami was included in the squad as a replacement for Akthar but no replacement was announced for Afridi. Afridi is a local hero in Pakistan and his dismissals in previous matches have frequently triggered mass exodus of spectators from the ground.India lead the five-match series 2-1 after they won the third match by five wickets. Pakistan won the first in Peshawar by seven runs and India claimed the second in Rawalpindi by seven wickets. The fourth match of the series will be played at Multan on Thursday while Karachi will host the fifth match on Sunday.

Enamul Haque Jnr has been fined 25% of his match fee for arguing with the batsman Brendan Taylor during Bangladesh’s one-day international with Zimbabwe at Chittagong.Taylor was officially reprimanded by the match referee for his part in the incident which arose as the pair collided when the 18-year-old spinner Haque tried to field off his own bowling. It was just Haque’s second one-day international for Bangladesh. He took no wickets in this match, but had taken 2 for 37 on his ODI debut in the previous match, which was also held at Chittagong.Bangladesh went on to win the game by 40 runs, a result which brought them right back into the five-match series: they now trail 2-1. The fourth match will be played this Saturday (Jan 29) at Dhaka.

Ricky Ponting, the Australian captain, believes that South Africa didn’t deserve to win any of the six Tests the two teams have played over the last four months in Australia and South Africa.South Africa had drawn the first Test at Perth but subsequently lost the next two at Melbourne and Sydney during their tour of Australia in December 2005. Australia’s two-wicket win at Johannesburg on Tuesday completed South Africa’s first whitewash at home in over a century.”Some of the Tests have been close, but I don’t think South Africa deserved to win any of them,” Ponting told SAPA. “I think we’ve been the ones who dictated the Test matches. We should have won at Perth, but South Africa put up a tremendous rearguard action to draw the match.”Sydney would be the one Test they could argue that they were probably in front of us and the weather, and the series the way it was, dictated their declaration – but still we got the runs, for two or three wickets.”However, Jacques Kallis, who replaced the injured Graeme Smith as captain for the third Test at Johannesburg, felt that the results did not reflect how closely the two series had been contested. “I think we had more opportunities in Australia and if we had held on to our catches, we could have done better in the Tests in Australia – but we’ve come a long way,” said Kallis. “We’ve made strides in Test cricket. We are still a long way behind Australia, but we are definitely moving forward.”You always want to play the best in the world. It’s been a long, hard challenge and to play against the best for four and a half months has been tough. You wake up, and you’re playing against the same guys, and you’ve got to be up and ready for the challenge and if you are not 100%, you get nailed.”New Zeland will tour South Africa for three Tests in April and May 2006. “We’ve got a new challenge with the series against New Zealand. It’ll be nice to see some black caps out there instead of the baggy green. So we’re looking forward to that challenge,” said Kallis. “There is the danger that we’ve been playing some very hard cricket, but we’ve got 10 days off, which means the guys can go away and get mentally prepared for New Zealand. It’s a huge series for us. I think it’s a series that could define our season. We’re going to be taking it very seriously – it’s a very big series for us.”

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

The opening day of this series turned into a nip-and-tuck battle between two sides aiming to consolidate mid-table respectability in the Test rankings. In the final reckoning New Zealand sneaked the points after four wickets for Kyle Mills and three for James Franklin, although they were balanced out by some gusty batting from South Africa on a surface that offered encouragement for the seamers.New Zealand’s attack was impressive, especially in the way they overcame the loss of Shane Bond to yet another injury before the match, but South Africa’s total could yet prove to be about par – the judgment will have to reserved until the Kiwis begin their reply. Given the way that Mills and Chris Martin got the second new ball to bounce and move the New Zealand top order will not have an easy time.However, Stephen Fleming could not have asked for much more from his bowlers after Graeme Smith opted to bat. The opening overs were well directed from Mills and Franklin, but South Africa weathered the early passage of play and would have been highly satisfied with their lunchtime loss of just the one wicket. Smith and Boeta Dippenaar had settled into their roles and begun to locate the boundary as the New Zealanders appeared low on firepower without Bond.Franklin changed the complexion of proceedings shortly after the interval when he removed Smith in a manner that won’t surprise anyone – falling across a straight ball. Smith’s dismissal continued his run without a half-century and, once again, he had done the hardwork before failing to press on. This would also become the story of South Africa’s day – batsmen and partnerships being terminated each time one threatened to develop. The first seven stands all reached double figures but none exceeded the 79 of Smith and Dippenaar.

Mills, who would have been the likely seamer to miss out if Bond had played, turned one person’s bad luck in another’s fortune with two further strikes during the afternoon session. Dippenaar’s pleasing half-century – studded with ten crisp boundaries – was ended by a limp pull then Ashwell Prince was undone by some extra bounce. That double blow left South Africa in a familiar position – relying on Jacques Kallis to steady the innings, something he is used to after 100 Tests.He needed a pain-killing injection into his troublesome elbow shortly after arriving at the crease, and with South Africa’s batting currently as creaky as Kallis’ elbow this was the crucial passage of play. He was struck on the helmet by Martin, but at the beginning of the final session crunched a series of powerful fours square of the wicket before Franklin made a timely intervention for New Zealand.With Kallis’s bat growing broader by the minute it was going to take something special to dislodge him and right on cue Franklin pulled out a stunning yorker. The Kiwis’ smiles grew wider when Franklin produced another peach to take de Villiers’ off stump.But this South African side certainly doesn’t give in easily. Even against Australia they fought every inch of the way and the lower order again played a vital role. Mark Boucher fell to a sharp piece of teamwork in the slips after a fast edge flew off the hands of third and Fleming clung onto the rebound at first. Shaun Pollock and Nicky Boje used the extra pace of the second new ball to strike some meaty boundaries and Dale Steyn, recalled in place of Andre Nel, unfurled a brace of legside flicks that belied his position at No. 10.New Zealand will be pleased with their tally of eight wickets, especially after their morning effort had produced a solitary scalp. Mills began his day by cleaning up Herschelle Gibbs in a manner that it is becoming an unwanted trademark. Gibbs had been returned to his traditional opening slot but the lack of footwork that haunted him against Australia was still evident and he heard the familiar rattle of timber. New Zealand continued to make life tough throughout but, after scrapping against the best for most of the summer, South Africa won’t give this up with a fight.How they were outHerschelle Gibbs b Mills 6 (21 for 1)
Graeme Smith lbw b Franklin 45 (95 for 2)
Boeta Dippenaar c Fulton b Mills (118 for 3)
Ashwell Price c Styris b Mills 9 (130 for 4)
Jacques Kallis b Franklin 38 (177 for 5)
AB de Villiers b Franklin 27 (197 for 6)
Mark Boucher c Fleming b Martin 18 (229 for 7)
Shaun Pollock c Styris b Mills 24 (233 for 8)

Dwayne Smith has justified his selection for the World Cup with a match-winning performance in the opening game against Pakistan on Tuesday. When West Indies’ squad was announced in February, there was strong opposition to Smith’s inclusion.However, Smith repaid the faith when he was adjudged Man of the Match for hitting 32 off 15 balls and taking 3 for 36, including the crucial wickets of Mohammad Yousuf and Inzamam-ul-Haq. “I’m always confident in myself and I don’t worry too much about what people say,” Smith told after the victory. “I just go out there and do my job, and do it to the best of my ability.”It was a great start for me personally, but I think it was a solid team performance and one that will give us plenty of confidence as we look towards the remainder of the tournament. Although I have been pushed lower and lower in the batting order, it has not really affected my confidence. It has just made me realise that I have to work harder and harder in the nets, and that is what I am prepared to do.”In 20 matches leading up to the World Cup, Smith had averaged 7.40 with the bat and 38.43 with the ball. Gordon Greenidge, the convenor of selectors, had said that he was not convinced about Smith’s selection.”Personally, I’m not convinced. I’m partly convinced. I feel that the guy has a lot going for him but he doesn’t show it as often as we would like him to,” Greenidge had told . “Unfortunately, in recent times, his bowling takes more precedence than his batting. I would like to see him develop more into a total player, an all-round player.”The coach Bennett King, however, backed Smith’s potential and said he was a matchwinner with the bat. Brian Lara also supported Smith and wanted him to go from strength to strength. “His performance was excellent, and he knows that, and from here what he wants to do is build on it, not just sit back and think I’ve started well and that’s it,” Lara said. “We’ve hopefully got ten more games in the tournament and he is looking for a performance like this every time.” West Indies face Zimbabwe in their second group match at Sabina Park on Monday.

Scorecard

Travis Birt and David Dawson rescued Tasmania from a disastrous start as they ended a wind-swept opening day of their Pura Cup match against Victoria on a respectable 5 for 299. Gerard Denton, the right-arm fast bowler, snaffled both openers, Jamie Cox and Michael Di Venuto, for ducks, but Birt (93) and Dawson (73) put together 171 for the third wicket to steady the Tasmanians at Bellerive Oval.After the early success, Victoria had to wait more than 50 overs for their next wicket, when Cameron White, their captain, nailed Birt. White claimed two more dismissals as well, ending the day with fine figures of 3 for 48, but Tasmania continued to build useful partnerships – Scott Kremerskothen and Sean Clingeleffer added an undefeated 71 for the sixth to frustrate the Victorians. At the close of play, Kremerskothen was on 32, with Clingeleffer unbeaten on 44.”It would have been nice to get three figures up on the board … as it turns out we’re in a fairly strong position,” Birt said. “We were going to bat first anyway but how it turned out … me and ‘Daws’ really stuck together and really fought it hard out there and yeah, we’re pretty happy with that.”The strong winds may have been to Dawson’s advantage as the umpires were forced to remove the bails after they kept blowing off. At one stage, Dawson appeared to play the ball into his stumps, but neither umpire could be sure that it had actually struck the wicket.