Briefly Cricket

CARICOM to sort Gayle dispute

Roseau: The West Indies Players Association WIPA has thanked the Caribbean Community CARICOM for their intervention to resolve the long-standing dispute between the West Indies Cricket Board and Chris Gayle. WIPA is pleased that CARICOM has heeded the call by Chris Gayle to intervene. Chris made a telling point which we see that the Heads of Government have picked up, WIPA president and CEO Dinanath Ramnarine said.

SLPL wont stall: Sports Minister

Colombo: Sri Lankan Sports Minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage has rubbished claims that the Sri Lanka Premier League SLPL has been stalled due to non-participation of Indian players and sponsorship issues. The tournament will go ahead as per plan with or without the Indian players. There is no final word yet on the non availability of Indian players, Aluthgamage said.

Walsh appointed U-19 manager

Antigua: Former West Indian great Courtney Walsh has been appointed manager of the under-19 team for the tour of USA starting Friday. Roddy Estwick is the coach of the Kraigg Brathwaite-led 14-man side for the four-match tour. The West Indies team will leave on July 6 and will play four 50-over games against the US under-19 team in Florida.

Collingwood signs for Scorchers

Perth: England all-rounder Paul Collingwood became the second international signing for Australian franchise Perth Scorchers for the Big Bash T20 tournament. I stated last week that overseas recruits need to bring outstanding qualities,and Paul Collingwood is one who offers so much to our set-up, said Perth Scorchers coach Mickey Arthur.

Pak cricket mental torture: Misbah

Karachi: Pakistan crickets endless parade of controversies and scandal has made playing for the national team akin to mental torture,according to captain Misbah-ul-Haq. Since being appointed Test captain in October,Misbah has led a team dogged by corruption allegations and political in-fighting. It is a mental torture to go through such things and it affects your performance, the 37-year-old batsman said.

India wielding too much power

london: Former West Indies fast bowler Michael Holding has slammed India for wielding its power on international cricket and dictating to the rest of the world. I have no sympathy with India, said Holding. They have too much power. I do not believe any country should be able to dictate to the rest of the world, he said. Brazil has dominated many football World Cups. But they could never go to FIFA and say this is what we want. They could never dictate the path of the sport, Holding said.

Australia target consistency

Story continues below this ad

Melbourne: Fallen power Australia are not even thinking about a return to the top of the Test rankings,according to coach Tim Nielsen,as the team seeks to rebuild. Australia have slipped to fifth in Test rankings but Nielsen said his focus was purely on next months tour to Sri Lanka. We are not even thinking about number one, he told local reporters on Tuesday. To get to number four then number three and so on in Test rankings and maintain our hold on the number one ranking in one-day cricket,we need our players to be as consistent as they can be.

Lankans look to seal ODI series

nottingham: Already 2-1 down,England will be desperate to stay alive in the five-match ODI series when they take on Sri Lanka in the fourth game on Wednesday. With woeful pace bowling in the last two matches James Anderson was carted around,Tim Bresnan has struggled and Stuart Broad is yet to pick a wicket and inconsistent batting,England have a tough task on their hands. On the other hand,Sri Lankas batting looks in great shape while even the inexperienced bowling has have chipped in with wickets.