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Cricket Australia will push to increase the attractiveness of cricket to women following a survey showing only 36% of females watch the game “always or occasionally” on television. While cricket was the most popular sport for both sexes in the Roy Morgan poll – 50,000 Australians were surveyed – James Sutherland, the Cricket Australia chief executive, said the state and national bodies had to increase their efforts.”Drilling into the Morgan data shows that cricket, and indeed all sports, needs to do more work to win female support,” Sutherland said. AFL was the next most popular with 34% watching it while 33% voted for tennis. The overall results showed 47% of the Australians surveyed enjoyed cricket on television, 41% chose AFL and 33% picked tennis.While record numbers of people are playing the game formally in Australia, Sutherland wants to make it more accessible for women. He said Cricket Australia would look to develop Twenty20 with an eye to catching the attention of new female fans, review event presentation at venues and try to understand their specific needs. Ladies’ days have been held during the MCG Tests over the past couple of years as a way to make more people feel welcome at the game.Australia will defend the Women’s World Cup when they host the tournament in March 2009. They won the 2005 event in South Africa under the leadership of Belinda Clark, who is now the manager of the Centre of Excellence in Brisbane.

One of the more radical recommendations of the Lodha panel report is one that would resonate most with cricket fans: restricting advertisement breaks during broadcast of Tests and ODIs in India to only the drinks, lunch and tea intervals. This effectively would mean no ad breaks at the end of overs, which could turn the Indian cricket economy on its head and, according to those in the TV business, ultimately send subscription rates sky high.The Lodha report is fairly clear: “It is recommended that all existing contracts for international Test & One-Day matches be revised and new ones ensure that only breaks taken by both teams for drinks, lunch and tea will permit the broadcast to be interrupted with advertisements, as is the practice internationally. Also, the entire space of the screen during the broadcast will be dedicated to the display of the game, save for a small sponsor logo or sign.”Taking note of how commerce has “overtaken” the enjoyment of cricket, the Lodha panel pointed to how “regardless of the wicket that has fallen, century having been hit or other momentous event, full liberty is granted to maximise the broadcaster’s income by cutting away to a commercial, thereby robbing sport of its most attractive attribute – emotion.”The recommendation stems from the committee’s belief that fans’ viewing experience is interrupted in international games. To offset the commercial impact of this recommendation, the committee exempted the IPL, from which the BCCI makes the bulk of its revenues. The recommendation would ensure the viewers would have uninterrupted views of the game, the changes, and the emotions even at change of ends.One of India’s top sports broadcasting professionals, however, felt such recommendations would have a “cascading effect” on Indian cricket’s ecosystem. “There is a certain cost that a broadcaster pays, a certain rights fee,” he told ESPNcricinfo. “The rights fee has to be recovered either through a combination of advertising and subscription or only through subscription. The broadcaster does some recovery from advertising.”According to him, a reduction in the quantum of advertisements would invariably result in a greater burden of subscription fee being passed on to the end consumer. He pointed to the scenario in the US where the subscription charges are significantly higher when compared to India.”Right now they [subscribers in India] barely pay Rs 5-10 for a cricket channel like Star Sports or Sony Max,” the official said. “[If advertising revenue is curbed] it will jump to the levels in the US.”He said advertisements wouldn’t get much play during the lunch or tea intervals as viewers tune out. This, in his opinion, would result in a fall in the number of advertisements and the value of advertisement inventory. It is understood that Star Sports, who hold the broadcast rights for Indian cricket, wouldn’t stand to lose since its contract with the BCCI allows for renegotiation of terms should the recommendations come into effect.The official, though, felt the larger problem was the financial implications it would have on the BCCI given the revenue earned from sale of broadcast rights was the board’s major cash cow. “What a broadcaster can pay for these rights will have to be revised downwards, and I mean really substantially. The numbers will go down by half if not more.”The BCCI is a healthy body and you have so much cricket infrastructure in this country because the BCCI gets all this money,” he said. “Let us say if the implications of all this would mean a billion-dollar contract becomes half-a-billion dollar contract then the BCCI’s capacity to invest in cricket will have to come down by half.”He also said it would dissuade broadcasters from investing in Indian cricket given other viable options. “If a broadcaster is looking at cricket then everybody should dump BCCI rights and start bidding for Australia and England and South Africa and rights of other countries where none of these encumbrances apply. Tomorrow if I have to bid I will bid for those rights.”The official also felt there were inconsistencies in the manner the committee had exempted T20 cricket, more specifically the IPL, from these regulations. “Cricket rights are already seriously overheated on per-match value,” the official said. “For the BCCI rights, Star Sports pays around Rs 43 crore, while in the IPL the per-match license fee is only about Rs 10-11 crore, they are fine for the ads to run.”If Star is expected to cough up Rs 43 crore, it would need legitimate avenues to recover that money. A broadcaster wouldn’t mind broadcasts being made totally ad-free but then the value of the rights will have to be equally adjusted.”While it is learned the committee studied broadcast models adopted in countries like Australia and the UK, there is no reference in its report to broadcasting corporations in India being interviewed. “They didn’t speak to companies like Star or Sony,” the official said. “I don’t know what input they have used [to arrive at the recommendations].”

Lasith Malinga, the Sri Lankan fast bowler, says he is struggling to be fit for the start of next month’s Indian Premier League (IPL).A niggling knee injury ruled Malinga out of Sri Lanka’s Test and ODI series in the West Indies but he hoped to be a part of the Mumbai Indians’ squad.”I’ve had this injury in Australia and played with it,” Malinga said. “However as it got worse I couldn’t tour the West Indies too. I would have loved to be with the team and enjoy its success. I am still under treatment and working hard.”It is tough at this stage to be sure about IPL, but I am very hopeful I can make it.”Malinga, 24, was bought by Mumbai for US$350,000 in the Twenty20 competition that starts on April 18 and finishes on June 1. Mumbai – who have two other Sri Lankans in Sanath Jayasuriya and Dilhara Fernando – kick off their IPL campaign the against Bangalore Royal Challengers on April 20.

Former Sri Lanka cricketers Aravinda de Silva and Guy de Alwis have been appointed to the Sri Lanka Cricket interim committee along with Asoka Pathirage, a leading mobile owner by sports minister Gamini Lokuge.The seven-member committee headed by former Sri Lanka captain Arjuna Ranatunga will expand to ten with these new appointments.de Silva is already heading the cricket committee of Sri Lanka Cricket and is presently a consultant coach of the Sri Lanka Under-19 team for the World Cup in Malaysia starting later this month.de Alwis was a former chairman of selectors and one-time coach of the Sri Lanka women’s team.It is assumed their appointments were pushed for by Ranatunga, who, since taking over the chairmanship of the interim committee last month, insisted that he would like more ex-players to be involved in cricket administration.Interim committee: Arjuna Ranatunga, Kangadaran Mathivanan, Sujeewa Rajapaksa, Sidath Wettimuny, Premasara Epasinghe, Lalith Wickremasinghe, Dian Gomes, Aravinda de Silva, Guy de Alwis and Asoka Pathirage.Cricket committee: Aravinda de Silva, Sidath Wettimuny, Hashan Tillakaratne, Ranjan Madugalle, Guy de Alwis, Michael Tissera, Roshan Mahanama and Graeme Labrooy.

ScorecardFile photo: Puneet Yadav’s attacking hundred helped Rajasthan chase down their fourth-innings total of 158•PTI

Puneet Yadav’s unbeaten 107 drove Rajasthan to their first win of the season, over Haryana in Lahli.Puneet combined with opening batsman Manender Singh to post an undefeated 159-run partnership that helped Rajasthan chase down their fourth-innings target of 158. His century that included 12 fours and two sixes came off 115 balls. Haryana were bowled out for 324 after starting the day at 287 for 6. Pankaj Singh ran through Haryana’s tail, ending the second innings with figures of 5 for 85, taking his match tally to nine wickets.The win lifted Rajasthan from the bottom of the table, while Haryana remain without a victory from their seven matches.
Scorecard Dhruv Shorey(107*) and Nitish Rana’s (132*) unbroken 240-run partnership saved Delhi as they drew with Karnataka in Hubli.Shorey and Rana batted out the day after the openers Gautam Gambir and Unmukt Chand were dismissed for 15 by Sreenath Arvind. Rana was the more attacking of the two as his hundred comprised off 19 fours and two sixes. The pair batted a little less than 60 overs after their side was asked to follow-on in the second innings. Karnataka picked up three points because of their first-innings lead.
ScorecardAssam continued their memorable season, claiming three points against Maharashtra, which took their tally to 25. On a day when as many as 17 wickets tumbled, Arun Karthick’s first-innings century on a “dangerous” pitch eventually stood out. Maharashtra managed to add only 36 runs to their overnight total before getting bowled out, giving Assam a first-innings lead of 102 runs. Asam then struggled in their second innings and were wiped out for 135 in 48.2 overs. Domnic Muthusamy and Anupam Sanklecha had combined figures of 7 for 63, setting Maharashtra an improbable target of 238.Chirag Khurana was trapped in front for a five-ball duck before Swapnil Gugale and Sangram Atitkar put on a 65-run stand to prevent another collapse. Maharashtra were placed at 82 for 3 before stumps were called.

The South African fast bowler, Monde Zondeki, has signed as Warwickshire’s overseas player for the 2008 season.Zondeki, 25, has represented South Africa in five Tests and 11 one-day Internationals, having made his Test debut on South Africa’s last tour of England in 2003.His ODI debut came six months earlier, at Bloemfontein in December 2002, where he made an immediate impact with his first-ball dismissal of Sri Lanka’s Marvan Atapattu. To date he has taken 201 first-class wickets in 63 appearances at an average of 27.81, as well as 78 limited-overs wickets at 28.67.Zondeki will be available for all of Warwickshire’s competitions next season, except when Sanath Jayasuriya comes across for the Twenty20 Cup in June.”I am hugely excited about signing for Warwickshire,” said Zondeki. “The opportunity to work under Ashley Giles and bowling coach Allan Donald is one that was too good to refuse. This promises to be a huge year for the Bears and I am looking forward to playing an important role in the upcoming season.”Warwickshire’s director of cricket, Ashley Giles, said: “Monde comes highly recommended from South Africa. Myself and AD have had many discussions about world-class bowlers and he rates him as one of the quickest bowlers in South Africa.”Monde will add pace and experience to our bowling attack and will be a good addition to the squad. I look forward to welcoming to Edgbaston in March.”

ScorecardNicole Bolton’s 77 laid a strong platform for Australia’s chase•Getty Images

Half-centuries from Meg Lanning and Nicole Bolton trumped a maiden hundred from Smriti Mandhana, as Australia Women gunned down 253 against India Women to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the ODI series.India, opting to bat, lost their opener Thirush Kamini off the very first ball of the match, but Mandhana and the captain Mithali Raj led a recovery, batting together for 31 overs to put up a 150-run partnership. Mandhana struck 11 fours for her 102, while Raj played the more patient foil, stroking 58 off 98 balls. However, a flurry of wickets towards the end halted India’s charge, as despite a 33-run blast from Shikha Pandey, the visitors could only manage a total of 8 for 252. Ellyse Perry was the pick of Australia’s bowlers, collecting 3 for 54.Australia began their chase on the front foot, as their openers Lanning and Bolton scored at more than six an over right from the off, stringing together a 138-run association. Bolton struck 77 and Lanning scored 61, as the pair stayed together at the crease for 22.3 overs. Four wickets in quick succession briefly threatened to derail Australia’s chase, but Jess Jonassen (29*) and Alyssa Healy (29*) guided the team home inside 47 overs.

Scorecard

Federal Areas had an impressive first day against top-placed Sind in Islamabad, bundling them out for 222 and then scoring 119 for the loss of three wickets.With his 5 for 58, Sohail Tanvir ensured Federal Areas made good first use of the pitch. Sind lost wickets at regular intervals, Tanvir removed two of the top four, while Yasir Arafat and Shehzad Azam took one apiece. A 71-ball 53 from Naumanullah held up one end for a while, but the knock of the innings came from Shahid Afridi, the Sind captain.Coming in at No. 6, Afridi blasted 70 off 49 balls, with eight fours and three sixes. At 194 for 5, Sind were in with a chance to reach 300, but Saeed Ajmal and Tanvir triggered a collapse. Ajmal got rid of the dangerous Afridi, out caught-and-bowled, while Tanvir scalped Sarfraz Ahmed, Danish Kaneria and Sohail Khan. Ajmal, an offbreak bowler, took another wicket as well, but figures of 2 for 64 off six overs indicate he suffered the most during Afridi’s onslaught.Federal Areas made a strong reply with an 82-run opening stand, before Afridi removed Umair Khan for 19. Umair’s partner Raheel Majeed did the bulk of the scoring, with 72 off 93 balls. Sohail Khan, who scythed the Baluchistan top order in the previous game, picked up two wickets before stumps to reduce Federal Areas from 114 for 1 to 119 for 3.ScorecardAfter being shot out for 42 against Sind last week, Baluchistan’s batsmen did better against Punjab, managing 298 for 7 on the first day at the Jinnah Stadium in Sialkot.However, Baluchistan frittered away the advantage, they were at 208 for 2 at one stage, but lost five wickets for 90 runs as Punjab fought back. A 121-run second-wicket stand between Yasir Arafat and Rameez Alam laid the platform for Baluchistan. Arafat made 62, while Alam scored 84 before he was bowled by Mohammad Hafeez.Saeed Bin Nasir chipped in with 46, and wicketkeeper Gulraiz Sadaf ended the day unbeaten on 36. For Punjab, opening bowler Wahab Riaz was the pick of the bowlers with 2 for 53.

Matthew Mott, the New South Wales coach, says the loss of Doug Bollinger is a huge setback for the Blues as they build towards the Pura Cup final in mid-March. Bollinger has been ruled out for the rest of the season after breaking his foot in this week’s four-day game against Victoria.He is the leading Pura Cup wicket-taker this summer with 45 victims at 15.44, a collection that placed him high on the Australian selectors’ list of back-up fast bowlers. Bollinger’s injury requires a minimum four to six weeks of recovery time, which means he is virtually no chance for the decider which starts on March 15.”It was just terrible for Doug,” Mott told . “He has been the heart and soul of our bowling attack this year. He was probably knocking on the [Australian] selectors’ door. It’s a massive blow for us.”Mott said Mark Cameron, who took ten wickets in the Pura Cup draw this week, would be fit for the rest of the season despite missing Wednesday’s FR Cup game. Although New South Wales and Victoria have already qualified for the Pura Cup final, the next two rounds will remain important as the teams vie for the right to host the match.

Reports that the multi-million dollar deal between Allen Stanford and the ECB is under threat because of problems with Stanford’s black bats were dismissed as “rubbish” by an ICC spokesman.It was claimed that Stanford’s trademark black bats, which are central to his marketing strategy, would be outlawed by the ICC and, as a result, he would withdraw his offer to put up to US$100 million into matches in the Caribbean and London.However, matches played by Stanford are not under the jurisdiction of the ICC, who oversee international cricket, and, as such, the sides involved can agree to their own playing conditions and amendments to the laws.The Times quoted a source close to negotiations between the ECB and Stanford as saying that “we have been told that the ICC put forward this recommendation about the colour of the blades at the request of the BCCI”. The ICC spokesman pointed out that coloured bats were not even discussed by the cricket committee.