KARACHI, 24 June 2003 — The Australian Cricket Board (ACB) will help the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) set up three regional academies in Dubai, Johor Baru and Katmandu this year.
“The Australian board will provide us with technical and administrative support in setting up these academies in the UAE, Malaysia and Nepal,” ACC development officer Iqbal Sikander told Reuters yesterday.
“The academies will serve as improvement centers for young cricketers and coaches of the regions,” Sikander said.
Sikander also stated that he would be visiting Afghanistan shortly to help set up a proper cricket infrastructure in the war-ravaged country.
Windies vs. Sri Lanka Fourth
Day Start Delayed
In Gros Islet, St Lucia, the start of play on the fourth day of the first Test between West Indies and Sri Lanka yesterday has been further delayed after a pitch inspection by umpires.
Umpires Brent Bowden and Daryl Harper said that play was unlikely to start until well into the day because of the waterlogged pitch.
Heavy rain halted play for the day eight overs after the lunch break on Sunday when the West Indies were on 272 for four in reply to the tourists’ first innings total of 354.
When play re-starts, Brian Lara will resume on 93 with Marlon Samuels on five.
Harbhajan to Undergo Finger
Surgery in Australia
In New Delhi, India off spinner Harbhajan Singh will travel to Australia later this week to undergo surgery on a long-term finger injury, an Indian cricket official said yesterday.
“He is leaving on Saturday and will have the surgery in Melbourne,” said Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) executive secretary Sharad Diwadkar.
Harbhajan had planned to get treated at a U.S-clinic where team mate Sachin Tendulkar was recently operated on for a hand injury, but changed his mind on Australia leg spinner Shane Warne’s recommendation, Diwadkar said.
The 22-year-old Harbhajan, nicknamed “Turbanator”, was advised he needed surgery earlier this month to rectify the ligament injury in the knuckle joint of his right middle finger, attributed mainly due to his tight bowling grip.
Despite the pain, he played in the World Cup in South Africa earlier this year, where India lost to Australia in the final, and in a one-day tournament in Dhaka in April.
But swelling and pain forced him to pull out of a stint with English county side Lancashire earlier this month.
Shoaib Akhtar Signs
for Durham
In Durham, England, Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar has agreed to play for Durham for the rest of the season, the English county said on their website on Sunday. “This is excellent news for Durham,” club chairman Bill Midgley was quoted as saying. Akhtar, who was to join up with his new teammates replaces paceman Dewald Pretorius, who is touring England with South Africa.
