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KwaZulu-Natal have appointed Jesse Chellan, the former president of the Northerns Cricket Union, as their new chief executive. Chellan, who replaces Cassim Docrat, will begin his new position with the South African domestic side on October 1.A pharmacist by trade, Chellan, 44, headed Northerns for four years but decided not to stand for elections this August due to family commitments.”It is a fantastic opportunity to combine my passion with my daily job,” Chellan told Supercricket. “I had been serving the Titans on a part-time basis but now I can combine my passion, which is cricket, and get paid for it.”KZN haven’t won a domestic title since the 2005-06 season when they shared the first-class SuperSport Series title with the Titans. The franchise has already made some changes to their personnel this season, appointing Imraan Khan as captain and Graham Ford as coach. Chellan said his aim as CEO is to bring the team back to its winning ways.”Hopefully I can bring a winning culture. The Titans had a fantastic system from schools, through clubs, the high performance centre and then the franchise team and I want to bring that knowledge to KZN,” Chellan said.”I can also bring my knowledge of working in the corporate world because essentially that’s what the franchises are, corporate entities.”

Wayamba, Sri Lanka’s domestic Twenty20 champions, are banking on their mix of youth and experience as they head to India to contest the inaugural Champions Twenty20 League starting October 8.”We have a well-balanced side and most of our opponents haven’t seen us performing together. With our variety of combinations there is a strong chance of winning the championship,” said the captain Jehan Mubarak, who is one of 11 international players in the squad. “It’s all about chances and looking at our team card and the fact that we are an unknown combination in international Twenty20 cricket, we can be the underdog that strikes.”There are no favourites in Twenty20 cricket. On paper we have good players and at the same time we may not be the strongest of the IPL teams who are well experienced in Twenty20 cricket.”Mubarak was happy to have former Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene in his side. “Having Mahela in the side is a definite boost for us,” he said. “He knows how to lift the confidence of the players and having a player with his experience is always helpful to any team. Twenty20 is a totally different ball game and a player in the calibre of Mahela is an asset in a championship of this nature.”The allrounder Farveez Maharoof and Tillakaratne Dilshan were members of the Delhi Daredevils side that played in the IPL tournament. Maharoof had the option of representing either Delhi or Wayamba and he opted for his home team.”Dilshan will definitely give a few tips to his Delhi team-mates about our players but Maharoof has already given us some of theirs,” Mubarak said. “It’s not about worrying on individuals; we have done our homework accordingly and have practiced to suit different conditions. Playing in India in a big event will definitely add up that extra pressure on any player. Apart from a few players most of the Wayamba players are used to it. The spectator participation in India will be a contrast to what you experience in a domestic cricket in Sri Lanka.”Our players know how to deal with a bigger crowd around. Our objective is totally different. There is a possibility of winning the first-ever Champions Twenty20 League. It’s not unrealistic and we are confident. Playing in an aggressive and competitive tournament of this nature will definitely create pressure on our players who are taking part in their first ever international championship.”The players in the Wayamba squad have a good understanding of each other’s talents, having played together in nearly three inter-provincial tournaments conducted by Sri Lanka Cricket. They have performed well in the three-day, one-day and Twenty20 games and have won the inter-provincial Twenty20 championships for two seasons.Wayamba will play in Group D along with Delhi and Australian state side Victoria. They take on Dilshan’s Delhi in their first match on October 11, and the game against Victoria follows two days later.Wayamba: Jehan Mubarak (capt), Mahela Jayawardene, Ajantha Mendis, Rangana Herath, Farveez Maharoof, Kaushalya Lokuarachchi, Jeevantha Kulatunga, Michael Vandort, Mahela Udawatte, Ishara Amarasinghe, Isuru Udana, Thisara Perera, Sameera de Zoysa, Shalika Karunanayake, Chanaka Welagedara.

The IPL will use pink balls at practice games ahead of the third season of the Twenty20 Indian domestic league starting on March 12, Lalit Modi, the tournament chairman, has said. The IPL will also experiment with four fielding substitutes instead of just the twelfth man.”IPL teams to test pink ball in their practice matches and sessions in partnership with MCC,” Modi posted on his twitter site. “Four fielding substitutes rather than 12th man.”Modi is currently in Bangkok where the IPL is holding a workshop to discuss the third season, to be held across India.The MCC had suggested using pink balls as an alternative to white ones, which often get discoloured and can be difficult to spot in day-night matches. Although this suggestion was rejected by the ECB in county cricket, the IPL had shown interest in trialling them.The introduction of pink balls is considered essential if Test cricket is to be played in the day-night format – an idea that the BCCI has supported to increase spectator interest.”The concept of using pink balls in the IPL received a very positive reception from the franchise owners,” John Stephenson, MCC head of cricket, said. “The successful use of pink balls in the IPL would be a major step towards their acceptance in international cricket, as it would expose most of the world’s top Test players to the ball. It would also add further weight to the IPL’s standing as a progressive force in the game.”Pink balls are suitable for use with white or coloured clothing, during the day or at night. They are easily visible to spectators, they work well on television and are innovative and marketable. Importantly, the balls behave as cricket balls should and have already received backing from top players and umpires, such as Shaun Pollock and Steve Waugh. It is a compelling case to take forward for international cricket.”

The batsman Travis Birt has been recalled to Tasmania’s Sheffield Shield squad and has also been handed the gloves for the side’s FR Cup game against New South Wales on Sunday. Birt will replace Brady Jones in the limited-overs side for the fixture at North Sydney Oval while Rhett Lockyear, a late call-up for the clash with Victoria last Saturday, was a certainty to retain his place following his 111 in the defeat.Birt’s spot in the Shield team comes at the expense of the allrounder James Faulkner as the Tigers prepare to take on a star-filled New South Wales outfit at the SCG from Tuesday. Michael Clarke could be back and Brett Lee is also keen to prove his fitness in an effort to return to Test action. Jones keeps his spot in the four-day side and should continue to be the first-choice gloveman until Tim Paine’s broken finger mends.Tasmania FR Cup squad Rhett Lockyear, Michael Dighton, Ed Cowan, George Bailey (capt), Travis Birt (wk), James Faulkner, Luke Butterworth, Wade Irvine, Jason Krejza, Brendan Drew, Brett Geeves, Xavier Doherty.Tasmania Sheffield Shield squad Ed Cowan, Jonathan Wells, Alex Doolan, George Bailey (capt), Dan Marsh, Travis Birt, Luke Butterworth, Jason Krejza, Brendan Drew, Brett Geeves, Brady Jones (wk), Tim Macdonald.

Sri Lankan batsman Tillakaratne Dilshan has recovered from the ankle sprain he suffered at practice and will resume training on the eve of the first Test against India in Ahmedabad starting on November 16. The captain Kumar Sangakkara also confirmed that one of Prasanna Jayawardene and Kaushal Silva will keep wicket, meaning that Dilshan will play as a specialist batsman.The Sri Lankans go into the Ahmedabad Test without match practice, after their only three-day warm-up game in Mumbai was washed out.”Dilshan has recovered from the minor injury he had due to accident at the warm-up,” Sangakkara said. “He is fine now and batting well. We will have to see how well he does tomorrow.”Prasanna has been doing great with the gloves. Kaushal is on a maiden Test tour but has been scoring a good amount of runs for the A side and in domestic cricket. One of them is going to get the first game.”Dilshan kept wicket and batted in the middle order in the three Tests against Pakistan at home during August, stepping in for the injured Jayawardene, which allowed Sri Lanka to accommodate allrounder Angelo Mathews, who chipped in as the third seamer. However, Jayawardene returned for the two Tests against New Zealand that followed and Dilshan was promoted to open the innings. Sri Lanka have four wicketkeepers in the squad, including the captain himself.That flexibility, Sangakkara said, was Sri Lanka’s strength and it extended to all departments of the game. “The guys are relaxed and enjoying themselves as the pressure is not on us. We do have a balanced side this time and have options of playing various combinations of fast bowlers and spinners giving us more flexibility.”We have got a mix of youth and experience, a good variation of pace and spin plus over seven or eight batsmen. And all of them have been doing well in their own disciplines. We are looking forward for them to go into the first Test and enjoy themselves, play good hard cricket and hopefully come out on top.”Sangakkara said he was pleased with the composition of the five-member pace attack, including Mathews. “We have fast bowlers like Dammika Prasad and Thilan Thushara who are bowling at the speed of 145-plus kph,” he said. “Then we have Nuwan Kulasekara at 130 and Chanaka Welegedara who can hit 140 as well. Speed does not really matter unless it is accompanied with accuracy.”

No tickets were sold for the fourth ODI between India and Sri Lanka at the Eden Gardens after the Cricket Association of Bengal decided to offer available seats to its members and affiliated clubs. The stadium is being renovated for the World Cup in 2011 and with four stands out of service, only half the seats were available for the match.”We are obliged to reserve seats for our members and clubs,” CAB official Biswarup Dey said. “Even all of them were not accommodated because there was just not enough space. So we decided not to sell tickets for the game.”The one-dayer was Kolkata’s first since February 2007, when former BCCI president Jagmohan Dalmiya, a rival of the current Sharad Pawar-Shashank Manohar faction, returned to power in the state. But Kolkata will host four World Cup matches.Virender Sehwag, India’s stand-in captain, said it was unusual not to play in front of a packed Eden Gardens. “But there will be a better, bigger stadium for the World Cup,” Sehwag said. “Still, 40,000 is more than what we get at many grounds around the world.”

ScorecardJason Holder’s 5 for 19 knocked England out•Getty Images

Led by half-centuries from Kraigg Brathwaite and Andre Creary, and a five-wicket haul from Jason Holder, West Indies became the first team to qualify for the semi-finals of the Under-19 World Cup. They got there after a tense contest against England, who fell 18 runs short of West Indies’ total of 166 in Rangiora.Rain reduced the quarter-final to a 36-over contest and Azeem Rafiq, the England captain, put West Indies in under testing conditions. The move paid off quickly, when fast man David Payne had Trevon Griffith caught for 5 in the fourth over and bowled John Campbell in the eighth, but England’s bowlers soon met with resistance. Brathwaite’s innings – 69 off 96 balls – included only four boundaries and was the anchor, while Creary’s aggressive 52 off 53 balls provided momentum.The pair added 103 for the third wicket in less than 20 overs, setting up a platform, but their dismissals in consecutive overs triggered a collapse. Ben Stokes, who had dismissed Creary, took two more quick wickets and West Indies folded from 135 for 2 to 166 all out. Tim Payne returned to pick up two tailenders to finish with 4 for 19.West Indies’ defence was launched by Barbados fast bowler, Jason Holder, who dismissed England’s openers for 0 and 9. Nelson Bolan caused further damage, picking up two more to reduce England’s chase to 38 for 4. The middle order rallied, with several batsmen getting starts, but none converted them. Ateeq Javid, Stokes and Rafiq scored 20s to keep England in the hunt but John Campbell and Holder struck timely blows. England, at one stage, needed 29 to win with three wickets in hand, but Holder returned to mop up the tail and finish with excellent figures of 5 for 19.”This was a disappointing end to the tournament after three good performances in the group stages. The players have gelled together as a unit and worked hard during the preparation and competition phases on their own games and for each other,” John Abrahams, ECB Elite Player Development Manager, said. “There is no doubt that they have grown as people and cricketers and hopefully they will see proof of that in the coming season.”West Indies will now face Pakistan, who beat India in Saturday’s other quarter-final, in the semis.

The IPL’s two new franchises will be announced on March 7( initially set as March 8), Lalit Modi, the tournament commissioner, has said. Twelve cities – including four that will host games in IPL 2010 – are in the running, with the criteria for the bidding to be revealed on February 21.The cities in the fray are: Ahmedabad, Nagpur, Kanpur, Dharamsala, Indore, Cuttack, Gwalior, Visakapatnam (all eight have stadiums for hosting games), Rajkot, Pune, Vadodara and Kochi (the last four have new stadia under construction).The IPL had already announced that the bidding for a new franchise would start from a base price of US$225m, more than four times the US$50m base price that the original eight franchises were auctioned for in 2008. The league’s expansion will see a much longer fixture list – 94 games as opposed to 59 in the first two seasons if the format remains the same.Modi said on his Twitter page that the IPL wanted to ensure the new owners were identified before this year’s IPL starts on March 12, so that the new owners and management will get a feel of how franchises work during the season to prepare them for their debut in 2011.”The addition of two new franchises to IPL 2011 is perhaps the most interesting development for the league from an operational perspective,” Modi said in a press release. “We have scheduled the ITT (invitation to tender) process at this juncture to give the two new team owners enough time to set up their organizations and also participate in the player’s auction process post IPL 2010 for new squads. “The announcement comes amid speculation that existing franchise owners are looking to divest all or some of their stake. Modi said those interested in buying part of or an entire franchise include a top English football club, with the MCC also keen on getting involved with the league.

In a move that further proves that Associate countries have entered an era of professionalisation, the Netherlands board has given a boost to the country’s players by handing out central contracts for the first time. The decision, taken with the aid of funding from the ICC’s High Performance Programme ahead of the World Twenty20 Qualifier tournament next month, allows the Netherlands players the much-needed opportunity to juggle their careers while attempting to maintain or launch their international careers.Three players – the captain Peter Borren, Tom de Grooth and Eric Szwarczynski – have been awarded full-time contracts. Ryan Ten Doeschate and Alexei Kervezee and signed Category B contracts, or county player agreements, while the remainder of the squad have all signed part-time player agreements due to their commitments elsewhere either with jobs or emerging professional careers. The legspinner Daan van Bunge was also offered a professional contract but opted for a part-time one owing to his intended career aspirations outside cricket.The problem for Associates has been balancing their professional careers with other issues, such training after working a full day and having to take time off work to go on tours. This radical decision has now made it far easier for the Netherlands players to manage their careers.”We have different categories of contracts, so that there are options and opportunities for those in careers, those playing county cricket in the UK, and those not established yet or emerging,” said Richard Cox, the Netherlands board chief executive. “The contracts are also designed to be flexible to allow some to progress full-time with their cricket and coaching whilst others will be focused on their county commitments and careers in the Netherlands.”According to Borren, this was a much needed necessary step in view of the full programme. “The Netherlands is now following other countries in professionalising the set-up,” he said. “This way competing at the highest possible level becomes a step closer as the core of the team improves its cricket. We are looking forward to having more opportunity to devote time to the Netherlands team in a truly exciting 13 months for Dutch cricket.”Said Peter Drinnen, the head coach: “It’s another step forward in semi-professionalising the squad and in general the squad and I will benefit from full access to each other in training and preparation leading through to the World Cup.”The World Twenty20 Qualifier tournament in Dubai and Abu Dubai between February 9 and 15 will see 17 matches take place, played at Abu Dhabi’s Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium and the Dubai International Cricket Stadium at Dubai Sports City.

ScorecardRyan ten Doeschate’s 15th first-class hundred helped Netherlands reach 276 for 6 on the first day•ICC

Ryan ten Doeschate again showed why he is so important to Netherlands as his unbeaten 129, his 15th first-class century, led them out of a tough situation on the opening day against Kenya. The visitors stumbled to 75 for 4, but ten Doeschate turned the innings around alongside useful contributions from captain Peter Borren and wicketkeeper Atse Buurman.Play didn’t start until after lunch due to overnight rain and Kenya’s seamers made use of some early movement to trouble Netherlands’ top order. Elijah Otieno removed Eric Szwarczynski with his second ball and Bas Zuiderent was caught behind for 3 off Nehemiah Odhiambo. Alexei Kervezee played positively for his 42 but when he and Nick Statham fell in quick succession Kenya were in control.However, ten Doeschate changed the complexion of the day as he added 113 for the fifth wicket with Borren (44). ten Doeschate found the boundary regularly and also cleared the ropes four times. Kenya struck two quick blows to leave Netherlands on 193 for 6, but ten Doeschate found valuable support from Buurman.The pair added an unbroken 83 for the seventh wicket to guide Netherlands through o the close as ten Doeschate reached his hundred from 141 balls with a tight contest shaping up between two teams currently in mid-table and needing a victory to make a push for the top.