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Port-of-Spain – While Christians around the world celebrated the resurrection of Jesus Christ, nearly 20 000 at the Queen’s Park Oval and many more around the region mourned the West Indies’ death in the Caribbean’s first-ever triangular limited-overs competition yesterday.Unpredictable Pakistan, beaten twice by the same opponents in the preliminary phase of the competition, were the ones who rose to the occasion to complete a hard-fought victory by four wickets in the third and decisive final.It was complete misery for West Indians watching their side capitulate to their lowest total in 33 One-Day Internationals at the ground, an inadequate 114 which the Pakistanis overhauled for the loss of six wickets.’I think we were about 60 runs short of having a competitive total. We tried our best to defend it, but in the final analysis, we didn’t get enough runs,’ captain Jimmy Adams admitted.’Without getting too technical, the bottom line is that we did not score enough runs.’You talk about keeping wickets for the last ten overs. That did not happen and we paid the price for that.’We have accepted the fact that we made mistakes. We have to face them and we have to make sure that they don’t happen again.’The hosts defended their paltry total gallantly, with Reon King at the forefront of an absorbing battle.The improving Guyanese fast bowler brushed aside both openers before the lunch break and added the scalp of Abdur Razzaq just after. But his four wickets for 25 runs from ten overs were not enough to stage a remarkable resurrection on Easter Sunday.Pakistan survived the early discomfort of 19 for three, and although it took them 45.1 overs to attain the target, it was a deserved success for the Asians to follow up their capture of the Sharjah Champions Trophy just before coming to the Caribbean.Inzamam-ul-Haq was by far their leading light with the bat. He ignored the discomfort of a foot injury that necessitated a runner for most of the afternoon and held things together with a composed unbeaten 39 that carried his series aggregate to 295 runs (ave. 59.00).Few would disagree with his being chosen to receive the Man-Of-The-Series prize of a Rover vehicle.Unlike so many previous occasions, West Indies’ demise was not caused by careless, irresponsible strokes after they predictably maintained the pattern by batting first on winning the toss.It was orchestrated by the craft and guile of the dangerous leg-spinner Mushtaq Ahmed and a sensational over from Shoaib Akhtar in which he twice sent stumps flying all over the place.The combination of Musthaq and Shoaib triggered the deterioration from 71 for two to 97 for eight, which meant that six wickets were swept side for the addition of 26 runs after the best opening stand of the series between Philo Wallace and Sherwin Campbell.Mushtaq, a constant threat throughout a series in which his economy rate was second to none, finally gained a big haul.He snared four wickets, including the three young Jamaicans in the 23rd over of the innings that virtually settled the outcome of the match.After Razzaq induced Campbell into flicking a catch to mid-wicket with the total on 61, Mustaq started the West Indies’ problems by having Wallace stumped, a decision which television replays suggested could have gone either way.The memorable Mushtaq over followed. The victims, in order, were Wavell Hinds, Chris Gayle and Ricardo Powell, the trio falling within two balls of each other.The left-handed Hinds was left clueless about a delivery which he expected to spin away. Instead, it spun onto him and bowled him. Both Gayle and Powell were outfoxed by flight, the former clipping a catch to mid-wicket and the latter slicing one to backward point.When Ridley Jacobs was dismissed to a bat-pad catch off off-spinner Saqlain Musthaq, there was still some hope of a West Indies revival, but that was quickly snuffed out by the irrepressible Shoaib.Still not yet fully recovered from the groin injury that kept him out of the series until now, Shoaib was not at his best. But he gave a hint of what will come in the Test series by knocking over the stumps of Adams and Curtly Ambrose.Earlier, Ambrose was typically tight with the new ball, but it was King who made the breakthroughs that were needed by finding the edge of Imran Nazir’s tentative bat and removing Shahid Afridi to a tumbling catch by Franklyn Rose.Razzaq was another casualty to an edged catch to the keeper, but Pakistan consolidated by way of a partnership of 42 in 15 overs between Inzamam and Younis Khan.Adams broke the stand with his left-arm spin when Younis hit a loose delivery back to the bowler.Adams struck another blow by having Yousaf Youhana snapped up at silly-point,h and King kept the match alive when Jacobs caught Moin Khan inches off the ground.Pakistan were then 93 for six, but the experience of Inzamam and Wasim Akram prevailed.

With Frank Lampard trying to help Everton turn a corner this season in the Premier League, one thing the new Toffees boss will certainly be pleased about is the progress being made by some of his club’s brightest young talents.

It’s been an area where the Merseyside club have somewhat struggled to bring through in recent years, but one teenager who is delivering on some of the hype at academy level, is Tom Cannon.

The 19-year-old striker was a prolific goal-scorer for the club’s U18s, scoring a whopping 29 goals in 42 games and also providing a further nine assists too.

Since the step-up to the U23s, things have been a bit more slow-going however, with just the eight in his 33 games at that level.

However, Cannon has shown signs of finding his feet in recent weeks, including notching twice in a 2-0 win over Derby County on Monday night.

Speaking after his brace, U23s boss David Unsworth raved about the kind of development Cannon has enjoyed recently.

He said: “We all know about Tom’s goalscoring, he does the hardest thing in the game, he puts the ball in the back of the net. We just need to get the other areas of his game up to speed and he’s done so well this year.

“He’s developed at a really fast rate and we’re all delighted for him.”

Unsworth’s verdict on Cannon makes for promising reading for Lampard, and the youngster’s style of play certainly makes him a different option to the likes of Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Richarlison in the senior team.

A player profile done by The Liverpool Echo back in the summer of 2020 revealed: “Due to his willingness to run in behind, play on the shoulder of defenders and work between the lines, comparisons to Leicester City forward Jamie Vardy have been drawn.”

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While Lampard may be reluctant to throw Cannon into the deep end anytime soon, especially with how the club have been performing in the Premier League this season, the Toffees may well have a real breakout star on their hands in the future.

With his goal-scoring instinct and pace to run in behind, it’s no surprise the 19-year-old is likened to a young Vardy, and that’s something Everton fans should surely be excited about.

Meanwhile, Patrick Boyland has dropped an update on Jean-Philippe Gbamin’s Everton future…

Nicky Boje is set to be questioned by the Delhi police © Getty Images

Nicky Boje, the former South Africa left-arm spinner who is in India playing for the Hyderabad Heroes in the Indian Cricket League, has been served a notice by the Delhi police to make himself available for questioning with regard to the 2000 match-fixing scandal.”A notice has been issued to Boje but no date has been fixed on which he should appear,” Madhu Tiwary, the deputy commissioner of police with the Crime Branch, told . Rajan Bhagat, a police spokesperson, said Boje had been served the notice under Section 160 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, which requires the attendance of a person if they are found to be “acquainted with the facts and circumstances of the case.”Boje, along with his former-captain, the late Hansie Cronje, and Herschelle Gibbs were charged with match-fixing by the Delhi police after South Africa’s tour to India. The King Commission held Cronje guilty and heavily fined Gibbs, but Boje was not implicated. Boje had avoided visiting India since then in the absence of assurances from the police that he would not be questioned.After a seven-year boycott of South African tours to India, Boje changed his mind to join the ICL. “Nicky made it clear that the case was shut two and a half years back,” Ashish Kaul, the executive vice-president of the Essel Group, told Cricinfo. “We have had no problems so far. He was in Delhi for a few days also. He has not expressed any fears.”Gibbs, his former team-mate, had been questioned for more than two hours by the Delhi police when he was in India for the 2006 Champions Trophy.Boje is presently in Panchkula, Haryana, where he playing in the ICL’s inaugural Twenty20 tournament.

Jacques Rudolph is heading to Yorkshire with the aim to develop his game © AFP

Jacques Rudolph is removing himself from the international arena and joining Yorkshire for three years in a bid to rediscover himself, the left-handed batsman told Cricinfo on Wednesday.Rudolph, who was set for a recall to the South African Test team when they play Pakistan in Cape Town from Friday, announced he had signed a three-year Kolpak deal with Yorkshire on Tuesday, thereby making himself ineligible for his country.”I feel like I haven’t been myself and I haven’t played the way I wanted to for the last two or three years. I want to play with more freedom and flair, like I did at the start of my career with the Northerns Titans,” Rudolph said.The 25-year-old has also been messed around by the South African selectors, never being able to cement a place in the team or even a regular batting position.”It’s been very difficult for my game, knowing you are always one or two Tests away from being dropped, you put pressure on yourself. So it becomes a rollercoaster and you’re always in and out of the side, or batting at number three and then number six.”South African coach Mickey Arthur certainly values Rudolph’s abilities, but he is also in the process of building a Test side for the next couple of years.”No one wants to lose a player of Jacques’ class, but we are building for 2008 and there’s no point involving Jacques now if he can’t be in our plans for later. But it might be a win/win situation because I’m sure Jacques will get more depth to his batting while he’s over there,” Arthur said.Rudolph has not played Test cricket since last August in Sri Lanka, but the South Africans were set to call on his services at the top of the order in Cape Town, due to the uncertainty over Herschelle Gibbs’s appeal over his suspension for making racist remarks and the woeful recent form of AB de Villiers.”Haroon [Lorgat, the convenor of selectors] told me they would give me a run of three or four Tests, but at this stage I feel I need a career move and I’m looking for some stability and security for my game and some guarantees,” Rudolph said.”I’ll still be young, 28, when I come back and I’m sure I can be a great prospect for South Africa then,” the scorer of five hundreds in his 35 Tests said.One could tell Rudolph was a rare strokeplaying genius when he plundered a run-a-ball 150 against Australia in their final warm-up for the 2003 World Cup. Sadly, the follow-up successes have not really come as the burdens of always playing for his place have heaped upon his shoulders.Yorkshire having been through a winter of upheaval. Firstly there was the drama surrounding Chris Adams’s u-turn over his role as captain then the controversial departure of Anthony McGrath who, despite being offered the captaincy, decided to leave mid-contract. Along with the loss of Michael Lumb to Hampshire it has left Yorkshire very short of batting experience.However, the signings of Rudolph and Younis Khan, whose absence at the World Cup will be covered by Matthew Elliott, will go some way towards compensating for those losses and should provide stability in the top order.

Clive Lloyd has suggested a non-voting representative of Caricom on the board, a relationship with the Caribbean Development Bank and a link with Allen Stanford © Getty Images

Not before time, it has finally dawned on the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) that things really can’t go on as they are. Not a week, indeed not a day, passes without more evidence, damning and irrefutable, that only its immediate restructuring along with other urgent measures can save West Indies cricket from complete and utter ruination. It is not far from that stage at present, a disturbing realisation that clearly pervaded its directors’ meeting in Port of Spain last weekend.The media release at the end of it made encouraging reading. It revealed planned action on the most crucial issues-the restructuring of the board, settlement of retainer contracts for the leading players, establishment of the comprehensive development plan prepared by Bennett King, the head coach, and Tony Howard, the operations manager, for every level throughout the region, and the need to achieve a break-even position at the end of 2006.President Ken Gordon, in office for just over six months, would not have had to open proceedings by spelling out to his colleagues the gloomy background to their discussions. But he no doubt did so all the same. It is common knowledge that the WICB is effectively bankrupt, repeatedly embarrassed by public disclosures that it cannot pay its bills on time, obliged to close its Academy and cut its annual first-class tournament in half. More and more, it is clear that its composition fuels insularity as members placed on its directorate by their individual boards see it as their duty to serve their own narrow interests first, the West Indies second.At administrative level, except for how to fill in expense accounts and sign credit card receipts, the WICB’s operatives seem challenged by even the most straightforward tasks such as arranging matches and announcing teams. Its marketing department is patently malfunctioning. When it chose to change its major sponsors two years ago, the WICB found itself embroiled in an ugly row that brought West Indies cricket to its knees while enriching a British company with a million-dollar finder’s fee. Critically, its relationships with its most important employees, the players, seldom cordial, have become strained to the point of consistent conflict and controversy. It has managed to alienate the majority of the eminent performers of the past; a priceless resource who are recruited instead by an American tycoon so appalled by the haphazard way the game is run he has decided to use his wealth to start a regional tournament on his own. As one blunder has followed another and West Indies cricket has plunged deeper into the pool of mediocrity, a public fanatical about the game has been driven to despair. These are not idle or misleading observations. They are supported by any number of well-documented instances over time.The consequences are to be detected in the balance sheets-financial and playing. The former indicates a deficit of US$15 million and rising, the latter a dizzying drop to the bottom among the game’s major teams only a decade after lording it over them for 15 years and more. There are those who have sat on the board for so long, they either do not recognise the signs or are in a state of denial. Perhaps it has taken a new president and a couple of new directors to stress the certainty that, if the situation continues unchecked, the further diminishing, even the eventual demise of West Indies cricket, will inevitably follow. That is a self-evident truth.So where does the WICB under Gordon start? After all, the subjects raised at last weekend’s meeting have occupied its attention many times before yet remain outstanding. The most fundamental proposal emerging from the latest meeting is for the addition of four directors, to be chosen from outside the narrow confines of the affiliated associations which presently constitute the board by providing two members each to sit under the president and vice-president. Such an arrangement excludes the countless specialists with experience and expertise in critical areas who should be available to West Indies cricket but who, for one good reason or another, do not seek office on the territorial boards.In his thoughtful, well-balanced article that appeared in some Caribbean newspapers and websites at the same time as the WICB meeting, Clive Lloyd, the former captain, also saw the need for a wider spread of the net. His suggestions approximated to those mooted in Port of Spain. He envisaged a non-voting representative of Caricom on the board, a relationship with the Caribbean Development Bank and a link with Allen Stanford, the Antigua-based Texan tycoon who has engaged Lloyd and 13 other greats of the West Indies’ game on his board to administer his US$28 million Twenty20 tournament. These are the kinds of individuals likely to fill the four new posts on the board, once the change is approved by the territorial boards. Already Stanford has agreed to place his tournament under the WICB’s aegis and closer cooperation can be anticipated. It is clear that the increase in directors, from 14 to 18, would create a top-heavy board. The corollary would be to streamline it by limiting the territories to a solitary representative each, either the president or his appointee, reducing the numbers to 12.It is an arrangement Wes Hall fought vigorously to have implemented during his term as president for he could observe from the inside-as he had in the Barbados cabinet and the board rooms of private enterprise-that quantity simply diluted quality. Hall never got it through for the majority of the directors who had to ratify the decision held coveted positions that afforded them lofty status. In this regard, it was refreshing to hear Desmond Haynes, an eminent West Indies cricketer of comparative youth and one of Barbados’ directors as its association’s recently-elected vice-president, urge on radio on Friday for such a reduction of regional directors.While the restructuring is still to be ratified, the WICB release stated that approval has been given to establishing two specialist committees. It identified one as “a cricket committee which would play a dominant role in influencing cricket decisions”. It was a pertinent disclosure since a cricket committee existed, in various forms, for many years. It was headed, at separate times, by David Holford and Michael Findlay and comprised former Test players, appointed by the board irrespective of territory, whose mandate was to advise on cricketing matters. The problem, as frustrated members repeatedly made it plain, was that the board paid them not the slightest notice. It got to the point where, after not meeting for two years, it simply vanished into thin air.Now that it is to return, the WICB must appoint committed former players of repute and stick to its declaration that it “would play a dominant role in influencing cricket decisions”. If it continues to be overridden by the tinkers and tailors on the board, it will simply go the way of its predecessors. Indeed, if the other grand plans itemised in last week’s release are also allowed to become unstuck, West Indies cricket will go the same way.

Shane Warne with his son Jackson© Getty Images

Shane Warne has admitted that he had to leave his country and flee to Spain to save his marriage, after having an affair with a Melbourne stripper in 2003. Warne, who disclosed this during the 60 Minutes programme on Australia’s Channel 9, said that he was embarrassed by the affair and couldn’t face his wife.”It’s not easy to talk about,” he was quoted as saying by AAP. “It was quite a tough time in my life. It was something that I thought was personal between my wife and I. I did the wrong thing and that’s something I have to live with, and it’s not easy to live with because I’m embarrassed about what I did.”Unable to cope with the intense media scrutiny after news of the affair broke, the Warnes fled the country. “We were angry about the 50 [media] people outside our house. We couldn’t get out of the driveway. It was the wrong environment to try and talk, and so we couldn’t really talk; we had to get out of the country. We ended up going to Spain.”Warne, a father with three children, said that the family managed to overcome the crisis and his wife, Simone, had conducted herself with dignity during the saga.”I think she has handled herself very well in a lot of tough situations, and it’s an unfortunate part of our live and now, hopefully, it’s gone.”This isn’t the first time that Warne has been involved in a sex scandal. He also stole the spotlight when revelations of phone sex with a British nurse were made in 2000. This resulted in Warne’s losing the vice-captaincy of the Australian side. And in 2003, Warne was also accused of making raunchy phone calls to a 45-year-old South African woman Helen Cohen Alon. However, the woman was later sentenced to jail for attempting to extort money from Warne. He has also served a 12-month ban from cricket for taking a banned substance contained in a diet pill during the 2003 World Cup.

Hampshire return to meeting Minor County opposition in the Cheltenham and Gloucester Trophy competition next season when they travel to meet Cheshire in the second round on 5 May 2004.Having lost to Sussex in the first round this season, Hampshire’s third place finish in the National League second division ensured they missed first-class opposition this time around.It will be the third time the two counties have met in the different guises of this competition, with Hampshire having won the previous two meetings.In 1981, Steve Malone’s spell of 5-34 and 4-31 from Trevor Jesty led Hampshire to a comfortable six wicket win at the County Ground as Cheshire were dismissed for 137. Gordon Greenidge hit 56 as the home side reached the target with relative ease.A rain-affected match at Chester did not stop Hampshire progressing in 1989 as Chris Smith (159) and Paul Terry (99) blasted the total to 306-2 in 60 overs. Malcolm Marshall then undermined the reply with 4-40 as the hosts were bowled out for 159.

The West Indies selectors yesterday named two changes to the current team for the upcoming triangular one-day series, which starts on December 8.Barbadian all-rounder, Ryan Hinds, has been elevated to represent the senior West Indies, along with compatriot Corey Collymore, who makes his return to the senior team.Hinds and Collymore are the only two changes announced yesterday to the West Indies team which has already conceded the Test series, and must now try and salvage some pride during the remainder of the tour.Collymore, who was overlooked for the present Test series against Sri Lanka after coming highly recommended during the West Indies’ home series earlier this year against South Africa, returns to the senior West Indies team. But his selection is sure to raise some eyebrows across the Caribbean. Collymore only represented Barbados in two preliminary round matches of the Red Stripe Bowl, and lost his place because of lack of form and control. It is for this reason that his inclusion in the West Indies’ team for the triangular series is sure to cause some unease and discomfort.However, the West Indies selectors have lived up to their widely-regarded reputation for “never failing to surprise”, and surprise they did since their are obviously more qualified seam bowlers and all-rounders available in the West Indies, especially at a time when the West Indies bowling is depleted.Hinds and Collymore will replace Jamaican Leon Garrick and Guyanese, Colin Stuart in the West Indies squad, which is already in Sri Lanka. They are scheduled to leave the Caribbean on Friday and arrive in Sri Lanka on Sunday morning (Sri Lanka time).20-year-old Hinds made his first-class debut in 1999 against the Windward Islands, and is widely regarded as one of the few genuine all-rounders in the Caribbean. He last represented Barbados in the 2001 Red Stripe Bowl when he led the team, averaging 75.20 runs with two half-centuries in the four matches he played. He also captured five wickets in the tournament at an average of 26.20 runs apiece.The triangular one-day series begins on December 8.

Tamil Nadu made a superb recovery on the opening day of their RanjiTrophy Super League Group C match against Orissa at the Barabatistadium in Cuttack on Saturday and symbolising this was a record lastwicket partnership of 137 runs off 34.3 overs between No 10 RajatBhatia and No 11 J Gokulakrishna.The two came together shortly before tea with Tamil Nadu in trouble at190 for nine. They took the score to 222 at tea and dominated thebowling in the last session. Both went boldly for their strokes. The20-year-old Bhatia was slightly more aggressive and hit 72 in 166minutes. He faced 93 balls and hit nine of them to the ropes. The27-year-old Gokulakrishna who remained unbeaten with 59 batted 147minutes. He faced 126 balls and hit five boundaries. Bhatia was outshortly before the scheduled close.The partnership is the fourth highest for the tenth wicket in the66-year-old national competition. It surpassed the previous best forthis wicket for Tamil Nadu, 130 between NJ Venkatesan and CRRangachari against Madhya Pradesh in 1951.Tamil Nadu made a poor start losing five wickets for 74. A sixthwicket partnership of 58 runs off 15 overs between skipper SridharanSarath (60) and Vasanth Saravanan (27) retreived the innings. Sarathplayed the sheet anchor role, batting 196 minutes, facing 115 ballsand hitting 12 fours. Coming in at 47 for three, he was ninth out at190. Wicketkeeper Reuben Paul chipped in with a valuable 22. Then camethe last wicket stand that boosted the Tamil Nadu total to327. Mohanty, A Barrick and Bipin Singh all took three wickets each.

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Medium-pacer Junaid Nadir took four wickets as Pakistan Under-19 completed a 144-run victory over Bangladesh U-19 in the first ODI at the Niaz Stadium in Hyderabad.Sent in, Pakistan scored 257, thanks to half-centuries from opener Ahmed Shehzad and wicketkeeper Ali Asad, and a late cameo from captain Imad Wasim. Shehzad, who impressed during Australia Under-19’s tour of Pakistan recently, led a solid start for the hosts with a 94-run opening stand with Shan Masood.Rony Talukder then took three wickets as Pakistan stumbled to 121 for 4 before Usman Salahuddin and Asad put on 77 runs to repair the damage. Wasim’s 22-ball 34 ensured Pakistan reached a competitive total.Tamim Iqbal, a regular in the senior team, got the Bangladesh chase a rolling with a 24-ball 23 before falling to Mohammad Rameez. His opening partner Talukder, who scored a hundred and a fifty in the the Test preceding the ODI series, couldn’t continue in the same vein and became Nadir’s first victim for 17.Pakistan gained the upper hand when Bangladesh lost four quick wickets to collapse to 83 for 6. With none of their batsmen going past the 25-run mark, the visitors could not mount a serious challenge and were shot out for 113.The two teams will face each other once again in Hyderabad on Wednesday for the second of the five-match series.