BCCI dials Infy after injury concerns

Concerned over the spate of injuries to its top players, the BCCI is in talks with IT Major Infosys for preparing an exhaustive injury-database.

"Anil Kumble (former India captain and current chairman of the National Cricket Academy) is in touch with Infosys to develop a software for injury management of players. But the talks are informal and at a very preliminary stage," said BCCI Chief Administrative Officer Ratnakar Shetty.

"We have been using the infrastructure of Infosys like their ground at Mysore on a regular basis," Shetty added. The spate of injuries to leading players has robbed the Indian team of the services of some key players during ongoing tour of the West Indies.

Regular openers Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir, are out of action following shoulder injuries sustained ahead of the Caribbean tour.

Pacers Zaheer Khan and S Sreesanth were recently ruled out of the second half of the tour, involving a three-Test series, against the hosts because of injuries.

Zaheer, earlier rested for the T20 one-off tie and the five-match ODI series currently underway, has a right ankle problem while Sreesanth injured in his right elbow. Both the players will require some time off for rehabilitation.

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Jayasuriya to retire after England series

Sri Lanka all-rounder Sanath Jayasuriya has today announced he will retire from international cricket during this month's tour of England.

Hours after being picked for the Twenty20 international against England and five limited-overs matches, the veteran revealed he will play only the Twenty20 and one ODI.

Jayasuriya, who will be 42 at the end of the month, told reporters in Colombo today: "I invited you not to share the happiness of my being selected to play for Sri Lanka again, but to announce my decision to end my international career of more than 20 years.

"I consider it a privilege to have represented Sri Lanka to bring glory to my country and the town of Matara where I come from.

"The selectors picked me for the whole series but it was my personal decision to retire midway."

Jayasuriya, who made his ODI debut in 1989, was originally included in a 16-man squad, despite not playing a limited-overs international for his country since December 2009, while he played his last Twenty20 match a year ago.

He was not included in Sri Lanka's World Cup squad and failed to secure a contract with a franchise in this year's Indian Premier League, leading many to believe he would not play international cricket again.

Jayasuriya's one-day international record is impressive - only Sachin Tendulkar has scored more runs than his 13,428 in ODI action, while he has taken 322 wickets with his left-arm spin.

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ICC opens probe after Amir breaks ban

Banned Pakistan cricketer Mohammad Amir is being investigated by the ICC after playing in a minor English league match last week.

The 19-year-old Amir played in an official Surrey Cricket League match on Saturday for Addington 1743, a village side based in a south London suburb. Apparently, they had no idea that Amir's five-year ban was being breached.

"The suspension clearly states that he cannot take part in any cricket-related activities," ICC spokesman Samiul Hasan told The Associated Press. "We are aware of the reports and are investigating the matter."

The Surrey Cricket League is under the jurisdiction of the England and Wales Cricket Board, which said it is "investigating and liaising with the ICC as appropriate."

It is being said that Amir's misery could compound after this small but crucial breach. The ICC tribunal that banned Amir in February for "spot-fixing" could impose a further sanction if proved that he played in a competitive game.

"He has been at all times anxious not to violate his ban. He has seen the news reports with alarm. He is making contact directly through his lawyers with the ICC," said Gareth Peirce, Amir's lawyer.

"He was given the chance of joining in a game with a village cricket team as a way of keeping in touch with the sport. He was assured by the team that they had asked their league if he was permitted to play with them and had been told that he was. He did not stay for the whole match," he said.

The left-arm fast bowler was introduced to Addington, which has less than 20 members, through captain Ijaz Raja and a team sponsor last week. Amir took four wickets and scored 60 runs in the match.

"We've got a couple of guys who have contacts with people from the Pakistan team. They said it would be good if he could play and it was a good day out for him and us," club secretary Raheal Shafi said.

He added: "I got the news from our captain on Friday morning and we spoke to the league secretary, Robin Ford, on Friday just to make sure everything was fine, and he was fine about it."

He added; "He said there shouldn't a be a problem. Robin Ford is associated with St. Lukes and he is one of their members. The opposition were St. Lukes and they did not have any objections."

Shafi, who has been a member of Addington since 1991, said he thought Amir was only prohibited from playing professional cricket.

"We are nowhere near Test or county standard and there was no money involved," Shafi said.

Amir and Pakistan teammates Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif were banned for at least five years by the International Cricket Council in February for accepting money from a businessman to bowl predetermined no-balls during a Test in England last year.

They are also due to face a criminal trial in London in October after being charged with conspiracy to cheat and conspiracy to obtain and accept corrupt payments along with their agent Mazhar Majeed.

When he wasn't playing on Saturday, Amir gave advice about how the Addington players could improve their batting and bowling.

Shafi said his teammates watched clips of Amir bowling for Pakistan on the internet in front of him.

"He was very down to earth," Shafi said. "He was relaxing and sitting on the grass and talking about life in Pakistan, life in England and where he has travelled."

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ICC opens probe after Amir breaks ban

Banned Pakistan cricketer Mohammad Amir is being investigated by the ICC after playing in a minor English league match last week.

The 19-year-old Amir played in an official Surrey Cricket League match on Saturday for Addington 1743, a village side based in a south London suburb. Apparently, they had no idea that Amir's five-year ban was being breached.

"The suspension clearly states that he cannot take part in any cricket-related activities," ICC spokesman Samiul Hasan told The Associated Press. "We are aware of the reports and are investigating the matter."

The Surrey Cricket League is under the jurisdiction of the England and Wales Cricket Board, which said it is "investigating and liaising with the ICC as appropriate."

It is being said that Amir's misery could compound after this small but crucial breach. The ICC tribunal that banned Amir in February for "spot-fixing" could impose a further sanction if proved that he played in a competitive game.

"He has been at all times anxious not to violate his ban. He has seen the news reports with alarm. He is making contact directly through his lawyers with the ICC," said Gareth Peirce, Amir's lawyer.

"He was given the chance of joining in a game with a village cricket team as a way of keeping in touch with the sport. He was assured by the team that they had asked their league if he was permitted to play with them and had been told that he was. He did not stay for the whole match," he said.

The left-arm fast bowler was introduced to Addington, which has less than 20 members, through captain Ijaz Raja and a team sponsor last week. Amir took four wickets and scored 60 runs in the match.

"We've got a couple of guys who have contacts with people from the Pakistan team. They said it would be good if he could play and it was a good day out for him and us," club secretary Raheal Shafi said.

He added: "I got the news from our captain on Friday morning and we spoke to the league secretary, Robin Ford, on Friday just to make sure everything was fine, and he was fine about it."

He added; "He said there shouldn't a be a problem. Robin Ford is associated with St. Lukes and he is one of their members. The opposition were St. Lukes and they did not have any objections."

Shafi, who has been a member of Addington since 1991, said he thought Amir was only prohibited from playing professional cricket.

"We are nowhere near Test or county standard and there was no money involved," Shafi said.

Amir and Pakistan teammates Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif were banned for at least five years by the International Cricket Council in February for accepting money from a businessman to bowl predetermined no-balls during a Test in England last year.

They are also due to face a criminal trial in London in October after being charged with conspiracy to cheat and conspiracy to obtain and accept corrupt payments along with their agent Mazhar Majeed.

When he wasn't playing on Saturday, Amir gave advice about how the Addington players could improve their batting and bowling.

Shafi said his teammates watched clips of Amir bowling for Pakistan on the internet in front of him.

"He was very down to earth," Shafi said. "He was relaxing and sitting on the grass and talking about life in Pakistan, life in England and where he has travelled."

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Prior reprimanded after window damage

England wicketkeeper Matt Prior has been reprimanded by the ICC following an incident at Lord's yesterday in which a dressing room window was smashed.

Prior reacted angrily to being run out on the final day of the second Test against Sri Lanka and a window in the dressing room was shattered, with a spectator in the members' area suffering minor cuts from the broken glass.

The England and Wales Cricket Board said on Tuesday that it was an accident and that Prior had apologised to the spectator, but the ICC have now opted to sanction Prior.

A statement from the sport's world governing body read: "England wicketkeeper Matt Prior has been reprimanded for breaching the ICC code of conduct during his team's Test match against Sri Lanka at Lord's.

"Prior accepted the Level 1 charge and the proposed sanction from Javagal Srinath of the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Match Referees after an incident where a window was broken in the England team dressing room.

"He was found to have breached clause 2.1.2 of the code which relates to 'abuse of cricket equipment or clothing, ground equipment or fixtures and fittings during an international match'.

"The charge was brought by on-field umpires Billy Doctrove and Rod Tucker as well as third umpire Aleem Dar and fourth official Richard Illingworth."

Srinath added: "Matt knows that his action was in breach of the code and he should be more careful in future. That said, it was clear that the damage he caused was purely accidental and without malice. It's also noted that he apologised to the ground authority for the incident."

Level 1 offences can be punished by a fine of 50% of a player's match fee, but Prior's acceptance of the charge means the punishment will not go beyond the reprimand.

Prior had just made his way back to the pavilion after being run out in England's dash to set up a declaration on 335 for seven when the window was smashed.

England moved quickly to explain it was an accident - and captain Andrew Strauss insisted the case was closed.

An ECB spokesman said yesterday: "Prior put his bat on the ledge where the wall met the window in the dressing room.

"The bat handle bounced off the wall into the window, and the glass broke.

"A lady spectator suffered a small cut to her ankle.

"It was an accident, and Matt Prior has apologised."

The 22-year-old student who was injured in the incident, Emma Baker, also tried to draw a line under the incident.

She told the Daily Mail: "It certainly wasn't something that I expected to happen, but it hasn't put me off cricket or coming to watch England play here. Everyone was very nice about it.

"Matt Prior has said he is sorry and I've accepted that. I realise these things sometimes happen in the dressing room and I won't be taking the matter further."

The ICC reacted in the same manner when former Australia captain Ricky Ponting damaged a television set in his team's dressing room after being run out against Zimbabwe at the World Cup in February.

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Prior sorry after fan cut by glass

Matt Prior on Tuesday apologised to a female spectator who was cut by shattered glass after he accidentally broke a window in the Lord's pavilion.

The England wicketkeeper was out cheaply in England's second innings as they chased quick runs before their declaration against Sri Lanka.

It transpired only slowly how his understandable aggravation resulted in the window being broken, as an England and Wales Cricket Board spokesman first of all reported that batting gloves thrown across the room somehow ricocheted into bats which cracked the glass.

Then after consulting coach Andy Flower, who saw the incident, the spokesman further clarified exactly how the window in the corner of the room came to be broken.

"Prior put his bat on the ledge where the wall met the window in the dressing-room," he said.

"The bat handle bounced off the wall into the window, and the glass broke."

The unfortunate spectator was then hurt as the glass shattered down into the members' seating area below.

"A lady spectator suffered a small cut to her ankle," added the spokesman.

"It was an accident, and Matt Prior has apologised."

It is understood England captain Andrew Strauss accompanied Prior downstairs to speak to the injured spectator.

Australia captain Ricky Ponting was reprimanded by the International Cricket Council for breaking a television screen in his team's dressing room after he too was run out at the World Cup in Ahmedabad three months ago.

The ICC had the power to fine Ponting up to 50% of his match fee for that incident.

Prior will doubtless hope that today's matter is already closed after his misdemeanour and misfortune.

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England unfazed after stumble

England believe they showed a different aspect to their world-beating potential by refusing to panic when they hit unexpected trouble at Lord's on Friday.
Alastair Cook (96) top-scored among four individual batsman to better 50 in a stumps total of 342 for six.
On an apparently benign surface and in glorious conditions, that does not immediately scream out as an especially impressive first day's work in the second npower Test against Sri Lanka.
But after lurching to 22 for three, it appears England were not fazed by their early wobble after being put in.
Eoin Morgan (79) was among their main contributors - Matt Prior (73no) and Ian Bell (52) were also in the runs - after Andrew Strauss, Jonathan Trott and Kevin Pietersen had mustered only eight between them.
Irishman Morgan reported afterwards that England never lost their cool during their unaccustomed early strife.
"Because of the performances we've had recently, the communication was quite good," he said, of scenes in the dressing room.
"Guys accept when they're out and feed information back, so it was quite chilled."
"If we want to be a champion side, when our backs are to the wall we want to come out fighting."
"We recognise that as a crucial part of our game - we can't just fall over and fold like a deck of cards."
The result was that Cook and Bell dug in for a century stand, and Morgan and Prior also shared a three-figure partnership in the final session.
The only surprise for Morgan was that Cook should get himself out so close to yet another century, in what has been a prolific run of form since the end of last summer.
"We don't see it very often, not even in the nets," he said.
"I think he was even more surprised himself. The nets go all over the place, and he leaves really well there as well. His judgment and decision-making is unbelievable. He can just leave the ball all day."
As for Pietersen, short of runs since his man-of-the-match double-hundred in Adelaide last December, Morgan - like the rest of the camp - retains the faith.
"He works twice as hard as anybody, and he's looking good in the nets.
"He's the type of character who could go out easily tomorrow and score 170. He plays match-winning innings, and has done since he's come into the side."
The main reason for England's comparative comfort at the close, though, was their ever reliable opener.
Morgan added: "Cookie played outstandingly well again. He's in unbelievable form, and it was a crucial innings.
"Belly did too, and it was a nice position for me and Matty to come in towards the end and take advantage.
"We managed to gain momentum, ran quite well - and got a few more bad balls. It puts us in a great position for tomorrow morning, if we can get through the first half-hour."
"If Matty and Broady can get themselves back in, there's no reason why we can't kick on."
Sri Lanka batting coach Marvan Atapattu had more regrets, but still thinks the tourists can hit back.
"I thought we won the first two sessions, but lost a bit of grip after the tea interval," he said.
"But it's all about getting important early wickets in the morning. We lost momentum in the last session, but it doesn't mean we can't come back into the game. The first hour will be crucial."