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Lasith Malinga has moved into the top ten bowlers in the ICC ODI rankings following his four wickets in the two ODIs he played in the series against Bangladesh.Malinga has moved up four places to ninth place on the rankings, replacing Abdur Razzak of Bangladesh, who has dropped three places to 12th. Razzak continues to be the top-ranked bowler for Bangladesh.Malinga’s team-mates Farveez Maharoof and Dilhara Fernando and Bangladesh’s Syed Rasel are the others who’ve made significant improvements in the bowlers’ list.The number one spot is still occupied by South Africa’s Shaun Pollock, followed by Nathan Bracken of Australia, Shane Bond in third place, and Sri Lanka’s Chaminda Vaas and Muttiah Muralitharan in the fourth and fifth places respectively.Sanath Jayasuriya, named the Man of the Series, has climbed up two spots in the allrounders table. Jayasuriya, the first player to score 12,000 runs and take 300 wickets in ODIs, is in third position, behind the South African duo of Pollock and Jacques Kallis.Sri Lanka also draw level with Pakistan in the ICC ODI championship table on 111 rating points after completing the clean sweep against Bangladesh. However, Pakistan have retained their fourth position by the margin of a few thousandths.

Full rankings on www.icc-cricket.com

The Pakistan Cricket Board has sent the BCCI an official proposal for a short three-match ODI series to be played in Pakistan in March. Though the Pakistan board is confident the series will go ahead, a cramped Indian itinerary means the tour is still not a certainty.The series has been under discussion between the two boards following the hesitancy shown by Australia in coming to Pakistan as scheduled in March-April. It was decided recently that Australia’s tour – if it goes ahead – would be considerably shortened. Pakistan are now keen to utilise the free period in the first half of March.”We have spoken to the BCCI about it and the tour is 99% done,” an official told Cricinfo. “If Australia do come, it will not be over the same period as it was before, so we want that period to be used as well. The series will involve three ODIs, and we are aiming for it to start around March 12. For ease, the ODIs will be played in Lahore.”Though the Pakistan board is fairly confident of organising such a high-profile contest in such limited time, the BCCI is still undecided about the series. An official confirmed to Cricinfo that the BCCI had received the proposal. “We have received a proposal from the PCB. The board needs to decide yet. It depends on India’s schedule then. Nothing is confirmed yet.”India’s participation in the ongoing CB series only ends on March 7 at the latest – provided they qualify for the best-of-three finals – and are then scheduled to begin their Test series against South Africa on March 26. The official pointed out that fitting in a three-match series into this gap may be very tough.Pakistan has been desperately trying to fill up considerable gaps in its FTP and the uncertainty over Australia’s tour hasn’t helped. But bilateral talks with boards and discussions in Kuala Lumpur have borne some fruit at least with the estimated addition of nearly 38 ODIs into Pakistan’s commitments over the next two years.As well as plans for a tri-nation series before the Asia Cup in June, New Zealand are also expected to visit Pakistan for a five-match ODI series in September this year, before the ICC Champions Trophy, which Pakistan is hosting. South Africa and Sri Lanka have also agreed to play five-match ODI series in Pakistan in 2009, but concerns over Pakistan’s Test schedule remain.Apart from three Tests against India in November-December this year, Pakistan have no Test commitments until November 2009 when they head to Australia.

With the cricket world’s attention on sledging after the controversial Sydney Test, former Australian captain Ian Chappell, Sri Lankan wicketkeeper-batsman Kumar Sangakkara and former Indian batsman Sanjay Manjrekar said the problem could be tackled if more power was given to on-field umpires, and called for players to act with more responsibility.”If you have a CEO who is not even in the country and not even in the ground trying to call in and say, ‘Well I saw this’, that is never going to work,” Sangakkara said during Cricinfo’s Round Table, a fortnightly audio show. “Even a match referee is quite far removed from where the action is. The two guys who are in charge are the umpires and they should be allowed to handle it as they see fit.”Chappell was critical of the ICC for undermining the authority of the on-field umpires. “[The ICC have] diluted the decision-making process of the umpires on the field and in doing that, they have diluted the authority of the umpires on the field. They have also put layers of officials between the umpires and the players.”The three thought that while banter on the field was always going to be present, there are lines which should not be crossed. Sangakkara said a player’s colour, race, country or family should not be dragged into the debate. Chappell agreed, “There is gamesmanship, which has always been around and there’s always place in the game for that. But there’s no path for personal abuse or inane chatter.”Sangakkara also stressed that incidents should be left on the field. “Players have to be very honest with themselves that if they do engage in gamesmanship and banter, that is always something you can leave on the field. You should not go running around and complaining to the media or to the match referees.”Manjrekar was of the opinion that television was also a contributing factor to players displaying more aggression on the field. “Some players have realised that if they behaved in a certain manner, if they said some things or glared at the opposition, they would get a lot of attention via the television cameras,” he said. “Obviously, this is the cricketer who perhaps doesn’t get enough wickets or runs to get the attention. So he realises: ‘If I behave in a certain fashion that is slightly over the top, I tend to get lot of attention’.” (Click here to listen to the show or read the transcript.)

Graham Gooch has pulled out of contention for the role as England’s new national selector, saying the commitment wouldn’t allow him to maintain his other interests and also raising concerns over where the final selection decisions would lie.Gooch had been the biggest name linked to the position, but said after weighing up all his options he decided it isn’t a job for him.”The job is very appealing for someone like me who has a big interest in English cricket and a strong desire to see us succeed at international level,” he told the . “Initially I was interested but, after weighing up all the options, I do feel that whoever does the job will have to devote themselves fully to it, to the exclusion of other interests. Mainly on that basis I’m ruling myself out.”If I were to be appointed there is no way I could continue with the coaching work I do at Essex,” he added. “I feel I’ve been able to help in the development of Alastair Cook and Ravi Bopara on their road to the England team and that has given me great satisfaction. The other issue is that it seemed unclear to me who would actually have the final say over selection.”David Graveney, the current chairman of selectors, is having to reapply for the role, but the ECB job description says that international playing experience is “desirable although not essential.”Chris Adams, the Sussex captain and former England batsman, is reportedly interested in the role. The closing date for applications is December 17, with interviews taking place early next year. The new selection panel, which will also include two part-time members, will take up position at the start of the 2008 English season.

Brett Lee is confident Cricket Australia and the Australian Cricketers’ Association will work out their sponsorship problems with the BCCI so their players can appear in the Indian Premier League if the tour of Pakistan is called off. CA has raised objections about its contract holders endorsing products that clash with the home board’s deals and Lalit Modi, the IPL chairman, has said he will not budge on CA’s demands about global protection of its partners.”We will listen closely to what CA and the ACA are saying,” Lee said in Melbourne. “It’s a matter now of waiting and seeing. They are confident of coming up with a plan which will make everybody happy”.The Pakistan tour is due to start next month but the Australians are waiting on a security visit to determine whether it goes ahead. If not, the players could be free to travel to India for the IPL before the tour of the West Indies in May.”It’s very hard for us because we are so focussed on what’s happening here in Australia, which is good,” Lee said. “We don’t have to focus on what is happening elsewhere, we have people who are doing it for us.”If the opportunity comes up, then great. The IPL poses a brilliant opportunity for Australian and other world cricketers to go out there and play in the Twenty20 format. I am sure it will all work out and people will be happy with the outcome.”

Damien Fleming, the former Australia fast bowler, has advised Shane Watson to play domestic cricket for an extended period of time to deal with his persistent hamstring injuries. Watson missed the opening games of the ICC World Twenty20 with a hamstring problem and broke down in his first match of the tournament as the injury flared up again.”I have a lot of empathy for him because I had a lot of injuries as well,” Fleming told the . “You can’t give it 100% and state cricket, let alone international cricket, is really unforgiving.”The only way you get over it is by having a prolonged run of injury-free [games] to get that confidence up, and I think coming back straight in to international cricket every time, it’s just not holding up. He needs to start building up a block of not only confidence in his body but confidence mentally as well.”The best thing for him is to start playing state cricket over a period of time and give himself a chance to play, and it does open up options for the selectors to start questioning his longevity. He has to give them a fair bit in injury-free games before he will play again.”Watson has been ruled out of the seven-match ODI series against India which kicks off on Saturday in Bangalore. He has had an array of injury concerns that have contributed to his Test tally stalling at three matches, the last of which was against West Indies in 2005-06.He was in doubt for the World Twenty20 with hamstring trouble but was cleared for the trip. He had a start-stop campaign in the World Cup due to a calf strain, having already missed much of the 2006-07 season – including the Ashes – with hamstring injuries. His most serious setback came when he dislocated his shoulder while attempting a dive in his most recent Test, nearly two years ago.But Adam Gilchrist, Australia’s stand-in captain, has come out in support of Watson. “People might look and say it’s silly to pick him but that’s not the case,” Gilchrist told . “He keeps presenting himself when he’s fully fit, and when he is fully fit, he can form a vital cog in that wheel of success for us.”He’s just a young, exciting cricketer in both forms of the game. He’s got the power and touch with the bat. There’s talk that he could even open in Test cricket, that’s how highly regarded he is with the bat.”And bowling, he just adds that extra dimension we may have lacked or certainly we may need in the absence of [Shane] Warne and [Glenn] McGrath. He’s highly regarded in the Australian cricket set-up and he knows that and that’s why it’s even more disappointing for him to break down like this.”

Chandigarh’s Sector 16 stadium is likely to host its first one-day international in 14 years when Australia tour India later this year. The venue has been slotted for the fourth ODI on October 8 instead of the initially-scheduled game at Guwahati, but following the change the Assam Cricket Association will stage a match there against Pakistan on November 6.The Indian board (BCCI) and the Haryana Cricket Association (HCA) agreed to host the game there after some deliberation as the HCA was first allotted the opening ODI of the series against Pakistan.Confirming this, the BCCI joint secretary MP Pandove told Chandigarh’s , “The BCCI has okayed the HCA’s proposal to shift international matches allotted to them from Faridabad to Chandigarh. A team from the International Cricket Council (ICC) would be visiting the city in July to inspect whether the stadium could host an international match.”The last ODI hosted by the city was an India-England match in January 1993.”The stadium [at Chandigarh] has good facilities and experience of hosting international cricket before,” said Ranbir Mahendra, the HCA secretary. “I would be coordinating with the administration soon for making the facilities at the stadium match the international standards. If this match is organised well, many international matches could be in line for Chandigarh.”SK Sandhu, the finance and sports secretary, said the immediate plans for the stadium were “on track”. “The stadium is almost ready; an electronic scoreboard would come up soon. The press box also needs furnishing, as both national as well as international media would be there to cover the game. We have sufficient funds, you will find an international-class stadium ready when the match would be played here.”Australia will now play at Bangalore, Kochi, Hyderabad, Chandigarh, Baroda, Nagpur and Mumbai and Pakistan will play at Guwahati, Mohali, Kanpur, Gwalior and Jaipur.

Justin Langer has revealed watching Phil Jaques head out to bat against Sri Lanka with his former Test opening partner Matthew Hayden was painful. Langer quit in January after the Ashes and he revealed that seeing Jaques take his place was “quite emotional”.”It was the first time since I’d announced my retirement that I realised that that was it, particularly the moment I saw Haydos and Phil Jaques walk across the white line,” Langer said during Western Australia’s Pura Cup match against South Australia in Adelaide. “That was quite an emotional time for me, but life goes on and I’m sure the decision I made was the right one. But having done it for so long – people know how passionate I was about playing for Australia – that was an emotional first morning.”However, he took pleasure in seeing the heat on Jaques and Chris Rogers, who were vying for the opener’s spot, and it was a relief for Langer not to be in the media spotlight for the first time in 10 years. “That was quite nice for me,” he said. “It was interesting to see both of them struggling [in domestic cricket] and I’m sure it was because they were putting so much pressure on themselves. Having lived through that, I was watching with a smile rather than having to worry too much about it.”Jaques has reserved his place for now, with two centuries and a fifty in his three innings against Sri Lanka. He has impressed his predecessor, too. “His insatiable hunger for runs – that’s the thing that strikes me most about him,” he said. “He’s shown it in Test cricket, but whether he plays club cricket or state cricket or county cricket, he makes so many runs. You see the great sportsmen – [Roger] Federer playing tennis – and Phil Jaques watches the ball so closely, and that’s the sign of a very good player.”Langer, meanwhile, is happy to be enjoying domestic cricket away from the Test arena. He captained Somerset to promotion in the County Championship over the winter, and is happy in the Warriors’ set-up. Tom Moody, Langer’s new coach and old friend, who is godfather to his third daughter, has helped change the mood of the squad.”We’ve been mates a long time and we’ve played together, so it’s nice to be playing in this very professional environment again,” he said. “It’s been something Western Australian cricket has probably lacked for a long time, and it’s just brilliant to be playing in this environment again.”

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