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Barbados 7 for 0 trail Trinidad & Tobago 273 (Pollard 126, Smith 4-54, Collins 4-55) by 266 runs
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It was a day divided into two distinct phases. The first was about Barbados. The second was about Kieron Pollard.For the first two-and-a-half hours, the hosts made all the running, restricting the double-crown defending Carib Beer champions to 81 for 6 thanks to the accuracy and movement of Pedro Collins and Dwayne Smith. For the next two-and-a-half hours, Pollard took command of proceedings with a spectacular century on his first-class debut that was filled with a proliferation of superb sixes.With the minimal of effort, Pollard smashed bowlers back overhead to provide rich entertainment in amassing 126 off 150 balls that included 11 fours and seven sixes. The first three sailed over long-off against Collins, Corey Collymore and Kevin Stoute. The fourth went over long-on off Collins. The fifth was a straight hit off Collins just before tea. The sixth, the biggest of the lot, off Smith carried the 19-year-old to a memorable hundred, and the seventh, also off Smith, was a pull over cow-corner.It was magnificent stuff, a joy to watch – authentic strokes of the highest order – and ended with a sensational one-handed catch by Kirk Edwards on the long-on boundary. Pollard and Rayad Emrit pulled Trinidad and Tobago around in a seventh-wicket partnership of 143 that should have been broken when Floyd Reifer missed a chance at first slip when Emrit was on 5.Collins’ line was impeccable, almost exclusively on or about off stump and Smith was also on the spot. Both gained sideways movement and combined to share eight wickets, many coming from catches off the edge in the arc between the ‘keeper and gully.As many as seven catches went behind the wicket, and Smith produced the best ball of the day, a lifter that Jason Mohammed gloved to the keeper. Collins, who finished with 4 for 55, took the first two wickets and bowled to suggest that he should have been in Pakistan with the West Indies team. Smith, who ended with 4 for 54, dramatically swung the match in a brief period just before lunch when he removed Mohammed, Dwayne Bravo and Denesh Ramdin.

After all the pre-match debate about the expectation of a fast, bouncy pitch, the script didn’t go exactly to plan even if there was a tinge of green. Early in the piece, the surface was slowish and the ‘keeper collected a few balls low down. As the day progressed the strip was quicker, but it never played like the North Stars pitches of previous seasons.There is a simple explanation why the pitch didn’t play as fast as expected. The club was initially asked to host two matches in the KFC Cup limited-overs competition and was in the process of preparing a track suited to the shorter form of the game. By the time North Stars was confirmed as host for this match last Sunday, the pitch preparations were well advanced and there was little time to make the necessary adjustments.There was an encouraging turnout among fans, bearing in mind that it was a Thursday. Close to 2000 spectators made the trek up north and among those at the ground were Prime Minister Owen Arthur and St Lucy MP Dennis Kellman.It was a heartening attendance for the first day of the season, but there was one complaint from some fans watching the action. Their grouse was that there were not enough tents for protection from the elements. There was some merit in what they were saying and maybe a few more tents could have been mounted in the south-eastern section of the ground.Leeward Islands 291 for 4 (Joseph 97*) v Jamaica
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Leeward Islands captain Sylvester Joseph was on the brink of another regional century as his side revelled in Jamaica’s bowling on the opening day of their first round Carib Beer Series match at St Mary’s Park. Joeseph struck a composed, unbeaten 97 to lead the Leewards to 291 for 4, after losing the toss and being asked to bat first. Joseph batted a shade over five hours and faced 204 balls, stroking 17 fours in his knock.Capitalising on a missed chance when two, Joseph formed two crucial partnerships along the way, helping the Leewards to recover after they had slipped to 34 for 2. West Indies batsman Runako Morton missed out on three figures when he fell for an enterprising 78, while 23-year old Tonito Willett hit an unbeaten 43. Steve Liburd and Austin Richards Jr got starts but failed to carry on, both hitting 33.Fast bowler Jermaine Lawson, who finished with 3 for 55, did the early damage in the Leewards innings. He bowled opener Shane Jeffers off the inside edge without scoring and then had Richards caught and bowled off a slower ball.Joseph then added 99 for the third wicket with Morton, who hammered 13 fours in an innings lasting 142 minutes and 94 balls. Missed by Chris Gayle at second slip off the luckless Jerome Taylor with the score on 37 for 2, Joseph flourished to keep Jamaica’s bowlers at bay. When Morton fell to a catch at the wicket off leg-spinner Andre Dwyer, Joseph added a further 91 with Willett, whose 43, including six fours, came off 92 balls in 137 minutes batting.Windward Islands 163 for 5 v Guyana
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Rookie teenaged batsman Andre Fletcher and veteran Junior Murray shone as hosts Windward Islands reached 163 for 5 against Guyana on a truncated opening day of their Carib Beer Series encounter at the Tanteen Recreation Ground.Fletcher hit the top score of 40, while Murray scored an unbeaten 38, to lead their side after Guyana won the toss and invited the Windwards to bat first in bright sunshine on a track with some moisture and a damp outfield. Heavy overnight rain had left the ground in a soggy condition, resulting in a 270-minute delay before play eventually commenced at 1:30 p.m. Murray, the former West Indies wicketkeeper, faced 99 balls and batted 120 minutes, striking a solitary four. Fletcher faced 100 balls in his 110-minute knock.

Michael Clarke says he has cleared the air with Anil Kumble over two of the controversies that flared in the second innings of the Sydney Test. Clarke stood his ground after edging Kumble to first slip and then, as India were fighting to save the game, he claimed a catch off Sourav Ganguly while fielding in the slip cordon, although there were doubts over whether the take was clean.”I wanted to speak to Anil before I spoke to the media on both cases – the catch and my dismissal,” Clarke said. “I still, to this day, feel 100% positive that I caught the catch fairly. I told him that and said with my dismissal that it was more out of shock and disappointment more than anything else.”Anil was very supportive and said ‘mate I understand’. We’ve played a fair bit of cricket against each other and he knows I’m not the kind of person to try and harm the game; the last thing I’d want is to put the game in jeopardy.”Kumble had criticised Clarke for not walking after edging to slip and called it “unsportsmanlike” behaviour. “Huss [Michael Hussey] and Haydos [Matthew Hayden] batted fantastic in the second innings, so I sat and waited for a couple of hours dying to get out and have a bat,” Clarke said.”I was really excited to get out there and do well, with family and friends all at the game, after failing in the first innings. When I went to cut the ball and it come off my glove and went to slip it was more just the shock and disappointment of failing and getting my first first-baller in Test cricket.”In hindsight and if I had my time again, I wish I had just walked straight off the field. I hope it doesn’t happen too many times, I hope I don’t get too many ducks in Test cricket, but if it happens again, I’m certain I will react differently.”Clarke would not be drawn on the Harbhajan-Symonds controversy but said there was no room for racism in the game. “That’s why the ICC and the Indian board dealt with the stuff with spectators in India [during the ODI series in October].”He said he was not sure how Australia would have reacted if “we were in their shoes” but hoped that India would not boycott the series. “Fingers crossed I’m hoping they definitely stay for the rest of the Test series and the one-dayers because you look forward to every chance you get to play India. It’s up to BCCI and Anil and whoever is in charge.”Clarke said he was positive the Perth Test, which starts on Wednesday, would be played in the right spirit after the problems in Sydney. Australia will be pushing for their 17th consecutive Test victory, a triumph that would break the world record set by Steve Waugh’s Australians between 1999 and 2001.”The Australians are keen as mustard to get out here and win this 17th Test match in a row,” he said. “It’s a reminder about why we are the best cricket team in the world, what we do to achieve such highs in all forms of the game except Twenty20 at the moment. I think he [Ricky Ponting] will want to remind us about that and make sure that we keep playing it like that for a long time.”It might one day be Clarke who sets outs to guide an Australian side past the record again, as there has been much speculation that he is being groomed to eventually succeed Ponting as the Test captain. But Clarke said he was unsure how he would have handled the events of the past week had he been in Ponting’s shoes.”Full credit to the way he has stood tall,” Clarke said. “It’s been a hell of a ride in the last week. I don’t think many players have experienced what we’ve experienced. I think it’s opened everybody’s eyes as to how big this game of cricket is. You don’t know until you are sitting in the chair, I don’t know if I’d have handled it like Ricky; I am not sure how I would have approached it.”

Glamorgan have pulled off a major coup after the ECB awarded Cardiff the opening Ashes Test for next summer.The announcement was made public on Friday, and the first Test is set to get underway at the newly refurbished Sophia Gardens in Cardiff on July 8, which is a Wednesday instead of the traditional Thursday.The ground has been undergoing a £9.4million refurbishment since it was announced in 2006 that it had won the right to host its maiden Test match. The capacity will have been raised from 5,500 to 15,643 in just under two years. The first Test of the famous 2005 series took place at Lord’s, but Australia will not have fond memories of Cardiff, after their shock defeat against Bangladesh in that summer’s NatWest Series.David Collier, the ECB’s chief executive, said: “Already there is great expectation surrounding the Ashes Test Series which will follow the 2009 Twenty20 World Championships in an exciting summer of cricket for cricket followers.’We have been in full consultation with the England management about the structure of the series and our summer programme in 2009 and this was ECB’s preferred programme . I think everyone is now looking forward to the summer with relish.”Cricket Australia’s CEO, James Sutherland, said: “While it’s still more than a year away, the 2009 Ashes Series is already generating significant interest both here and in the UK. The 2005 series was a remarkable contest and the catalyst for huge growth in our game Australia and the UK. I’m sure that the 2009 Ashes will be another eagerly anticipated series.”Commenting on the announcement, Kevin Pietersen said: “As a member of the victorious England team in 2005, I’m looking forward to facing the Australian team again on home soil. The 2009 series promises some great cricket, at some great venues and no doubt some tough challenges along the way.”I’m pleased that interest in cricket continues to grow and the spectators can look forward to another thrilling Ashes duel,” said Pietersen, “arguably the biggest cricket contest of them all.”In addition to Cardiff and Lord’s, next summer’s other venues will be Edgbaston, Headingley and The Oval.The Ashes itineraryWed 8 – Sun 12 July, 1st Test, Cardiff
Thu 16 – Mon 20 July, 2nd Test, Lord’s
Thu 30 July – Mon 3 Aug, 3rd Test, Edgbaston
Fri 7 – Tue 11 Aug, 4th Test, Headingley
Thu 20 – Mon 24 Aug, 5th Test, The Oval

With the storm surrounding the chairman of selectors settling, if only for the moment, the focus shifts to the selection of the Indian squad for the four Tests against Australia. It’s tough to predict much in Indian cricket these days but the 16-member squad is expected to be chosen without too many flutters.India’s good form of late means the selectors won’t be inclined to make too many changes and are likely to go with five fast bowlers, two spinners, two wicketkeepers and seven batsmen. Barring a debate surrounding the openers and one related to the fast-bowling line-up, the team almost picks itself.What the selectors will keep in mind, though, is performance on the last tour to Australia, one on which India memorably drew 1-1. Virender Sehwag, Aakash Chopra, Parthiv Patel and Ajit Agarkar may under normal circumstances have had an outside chance of making the cut but their case now will be strengthened by the impression they made four years ago.The only member of the starting XI whose spot is under scrutiny is Dinesh Karthik. He was the highest run-getter in the three Tests in England earlier this year and also gives the team an extra wicketkeeper option but two poor Tests have brought him under the scanner.He’s managed just 39 runs in the last four innings but backing from the team management, as well as a section of the selection committee, could see him through. Parthiv, in fine nick of late, is the one pushing for his slot. He toured Australia last time around and close observers have pointed to his improved wicketkeeping but his selection would nonetheless go down as a big surprise.The third opener’s slot will be contested by three Delhi batsmen. Gautam Gambhir, the reserve opener on the England tour, starts as favourite. He’s made a strong case with 342 runs in two Ranji Trophy games (at an average of 114) and would consider himself very unlucky to miss out.His competition is two contrasting batsmen who opened the batting in all four Tests last time around. Sehwag, with a poor showing in two Ranji matches, remains in the reckoning because of his fine record in Australia. His buccaneering 195 on the opening day of the Melbourne Test the last time hasn’t been forgotten and there is a belief that he still has it in him to swing a Test on his own.Chopra’s 215 in Dharamshala – he reached his double-century today with a six – provided a timely reminder that there is a third option. With 493 runs at 70.42 he has enjoyed a good, consistent run but remains only an outside contender. His close-in fielding could be an asset but he might well lose out in what’s turned into a rat-race.The rest of the batsmen, including Yuvraj Singh, pick themselves and Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh are all but certain to be the only two spinners on tour.That leaves five fast bowlers, a choice largely dependent on the fitness of those involved. Sreesanth is all but ruled out, providing Irfan Pathan with an opening for a comeback. He’s turned in some good spells in the Ranji games (11 wickets in two matches) and can be viewed as a fourth seamer who can bat lower down the order.Zaheer Khan and a fit RP Singh are obvious choices. Munaf Patel, with a couple of good spells in the recent series, could make it despite his injury-prone nature and that leaves the fifth slot to be filled. Ajit Agarkar, who last played a Test nearly two years back, comes back into the reckoning and will battle with rookies Ishant Sharma, VRV Singh and Ranadeb Bose for a spot. Agarkar’s six-wicket haul in Adelaide, added to his ability to get through a tour without picking up injuries, makes him the favourite for the final slot.Probable squadWasim Jaffer, Dinesh Karthik, Gautam Gambhir, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, VVS Laxman, Yuvraj Singh, Mahendra Singh Dhoni (wk), Anil Kumble (capt), Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, RP Singh, Irfan Pathan, Munaf Patel, Ajit Agarkar.

Michael Vaughan is preparing to head out to New Zealand to lead England’s Test team with a huge drive to ensure he is around to captain the side in next year’s Ashes and also has ambitions to play until the 2010-11 series in Australia.After England’s 1-0 defeat against Sri Lanka, their second consecutive series loss following the 1-0 reversal against India, there have been a few murmurings that Vaughan’s captaincy spell may come under pressure, especially with the one-day side under Paul Collingwood showing promising improvement.With the bat, though, Vaughan has proved his worth since returning to the Test side last summer against West Indies. He scored two centuries last year – a memorable ton on his comeback at Headingley and a stylish 124 against India at Trent Bridge – and feels he could have had plenty more runs to his name.”I know I am good enough to be there,” Vaughan told the at an Urban Cricket event in Sheffield. “That’s never ever been in question.”In the nine games since I have come back and played, I have probably found a rhythm to bat in that I have not had for a few years, which is a really great sign. I could have even averaged 75-80 with the way I played. I had two or three opportunities to go on and get 150s, 200s, massive scores and I didn’t take them.””If I can continue to play in that rhythm and form, I believe there will be a purple patch around the corner where I get big scores on the trot,” he said. “Whether I am there in 2009 – it is still a long way off – I still have ambition to go on beyond it.”I don’t just think 2009 will be it for me, I look maybe at the Australians in Australia the time after that. I would like to still be playing in that.”However, if he is around for the next trip down under he doesn’t think it will be as captain. He first took up the role in 2003 and would like to end his career purely as a batsman.”I don’t think I will do it [captaincy] for that stretch,” said Vaughan. “I really would love to play as a non-captain towards the latter stages of my career. I love the captaincy but I also wouldn’t mind having a ‘do’ eventually at just playing.”That’s why I have enjoyed this little six-week period out of the game when I can just focus on me, if you like: get my body and form to the standard I want it to be at, arrive in New Zealand fitter, and I probably will do, than I have been for years and years.”When I get there, I have to look after all the team so, in these little periods I have, I have to make sure I look after myself and arrive in decent form.”

A wicket from the last ball of the day for Matthew Nicholson has given Western Australia the edge at stumps on day two of their Pura Cup clash against South Australia at the Adelaide Oval.The Warrior paceman ripped out Jeff Vaughan’s off stump with a delivery that stayed down after the batsman had let it go. That wicket, the third that South Australia surrendered in the space of just over three overs at the end of the day, left the hosts reeling at 5/133.After captain Darren Lehmann’s unfortunate run out, the Redbacks lost a further two wickets for the addition of just five runs. Nicholson was the main destroyer, snaring the last two wickets in the final over of the day.The lanky right arm bowler was close to the best of the Western Australian attack today, with 2/42 off his 14.5 overs. Conceding 40 runs off his 17 overs for one wicket, chinaman bowler Brad Hogg was also in top form. And Jo Angel, who conceded just 14 runs from his seven overs, was typically economical.The Warriors will be looking for early wickets tomorrow to finish off the South Australian lower order and possibly enforce the follow on. South Australia’s hopes, meanwhile, will rest principally with 27-year-old batsman Ben Johnson, who is averaging 34 in domestic first class cricket. The hosts trail by 347 runs with only five wickets in hand.Earlier in the day, the Redbacks had been provided with a solid start by opener Shane Deitz. The 25-year-old played a typically patient and watchful innings today, bringing up his third half century in what is only his fifth first class match. Deitz’s fifty, which came from 128 balls, included four boundaries.Darren Lehmann, at the other end, scored at a quicker rate, posting 38 off 52 deliveries. Together with Deitz, he recorded a 50-run partnership, the highest of the Redback innings, from 101 balls.But just when those two looked settled, Deitz set off for a suicidal single off Warrior captain Tom Moody’s first ball. The throw from Ryan Campbell at mid wicket was an accurate one and, by the time that Lehmann reached his crease, wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist had already dislodged the bails. The Redback captain’s innings contained four boundaires.Next in, Jason Gillespie quickly signalled his intentions with a boundary to get off the mark. But the Redbacks ran into even more trouble soon after, when Deitz was trapped lbw by Nicholson for 60.Earlier in the final session, Australian Test hopeful Greg Blewett had failed to catch the selectors’ eyes, scoring just two runs off 21 deliveries. Blewett, who lingered before walking to the pavilion, was clearly unhappy about the caught and bowled decision that brought about his demise. Left armer Hogg, however, was delighted at having held the low catch off the Redback’s bat.Blewett’s counterpart and occasional Australian teammate Damien Martyn (122) enjoyed a better day. A philosophical Martyn, who averaged 60 in Australia’s last Test series against New Zealand, says he knows Ricky Ponting’s recovery from injury will leave him out of the national team for the start of this summer’s Test series against the West Indies.”I haven’t been really worrying about that. I’ve just started my season and am going about my job,” he said. “I’d like to play Test cricket again. I got to play Test cricket in New Zealand and it was a lucky break and if I just keep making runs, you never know, anything could happen. If I’m not there in the first Test, I won’t be too unhappy about it.”Martyn’s ton was good, but Gilchrist’s early in the day was just superb. The Australian vice-captain, who had come to the crease when Martyn was at 58, even found his way to his century before his partner. Along the way, he belted 12 fours and two sixes to finish with 102 off 99 deliveries.He punished all the Redback bowlers, striking boundaries off even the accurate and economical Gillespie. He eventually fell to Peter McIntyre, missing a drive and watching the ball dislodge his off-stump instead. Martyn later described Gilchrist’s sparkling innings as a real bonus for his team.

Clive Lloyd threw his weight behind West Indies, saying they are capable of playing better than they have done in the Super Eights.”This West Indies team can play much better than they have done. They played well in India and advanced to the final, something no one had expected them to do so,” said Lloyd, referring to West Indies’ runners-up finish in the Champions Trophy last year.After three successive defeats in the Super Eights, the hosts face an early exit from the World Cup and need to win all three remaining matches against South Africa, Bangladesh and England to have any hope of reaching the semi-finals. After an all-win record in the group stages, Brian Lara’s men suffered a 103-run defeat against the defending champions Australia, a seven-wicket thrashing by New Zealand and a crushing 113-run loss to Sri Lanka.Those defeats have left millions of Caribbean fans disappointed, former players looking for scapegoats and organisers fearing for the financial implications if seeing even emptier stadiums for the remaining matches.Lloyd, the most successful West Indies captain of all time who led them to victory in the 1975 and 1979 World Cup finals and a runners-up spot in 1983, said he would do his utmost to lift morale. “I hope to motivate the players by making them realise the pride of representing the West Indies at cricket,” said Lloyd, who was also a former coach, manager and is now an adviser.Lloyd said the West Indies team lacked experienced players. “We have a lot of young and inexperienced players, who have not been exposed to much international cricket and they need backing,” said Lloyd.Brian Lara has been singled out as the main culprit for the team’s demise, with former fast bowler Michael Holding demanding his removal as captain.Even a ten-day break, for which some players headed home to rest, has not been met with enthusiasm by some former players. “We are hearing they need time to go home and relax and that’s unbelievable in the middle of the tournament when they should be representing their people. Aren’t other teams tired?” questioned former captain Richie Richardson. Another former fast bowling great Joel Garner asked: “Going home, for what? “You can’t walk off in the middle of the battle. We have to be together and correct the errors,” said Garner.

Mumbai’s Abhishek Nayar did not get a chance to impress in an unofficial one-day series against South Africa A last month, what with two of the three games washed out, but pitted against his team-mates from that series, he showed his talent.Nayar, a left-hand middle-order batsman and right-arm medium-pace bowler, walked in when his side were threatening to collapse from 164 for 4 on a good batting surface. He didn’t curb his natural instincts, instead trusting his attacking method. Neither did he let the Rest of India bowlers hit with any sort of rhythm, taking Mumbai towards a competitive total with 118 off 108 balls, including 20 fours and a six.Nayar later said that his second first-class century, coming as it did against mostly the same team, was special. “At this level, at this point of my career, this innings is important. I was in the A side, but didn’t get to play. I had got a hundred before that, and to get another now is special.”That hundred was a 162-ball 152 against Karachi Urban last month which helped seal the Mohammad Nissar Trophy for Mumbai. But Nayar rates this a lot higher “because it came at a more crucial juncture”. “At that point I wasn’t thinking about India A and all, but now I am.”What satisfied him most, though, was that the situation was tough and he still managed with his natural game. “I rate it as a good knock because of the situation. We were on the back foot and I got my team into a better position. It’s not because of the quality of the opposition, but because the situation demanded a lot out of me. That’s why it was satisfactory.”If a situation demands something, it’s not necessary to change your game. And if I get out after changing my game, I would come back unhappy that I didn’t do what I do best. I did what I do best and it worked for me.”It is not usually that a team rattles up close to 400 on the first day of a big match in Indian domestic cricket, but thanks to Nayar’s aggressive batting Mumbai managed 385 in 86 overs. The pace at which the runs were scored will prevent this game from degenerating into a first-innings affair as happens with high-scoring domestic games. Being a five-day match and given the strength of ROI’s batting and the quality of the surface, Mumbai would have wanted more, as Nayar’s fellow centurion Sahil Kukreja agreed.

Australia 250 for 2 (Blackwell 91, Nitschke 82, Sthalekar 62*) beat New Zealand 249 for 7 (McGlashan 50, Browne 50, Devine 40) by eight wickets

Shelley Nitschke picked the right time to hit her highest ODI score to help Australia come back from a 2-1 deficit and win the Rose Bowl in the final match in Lincoln. Nitschke’s 82 was part of a 144-run opening stand with Alex Blackwell, who made 91, and laid the platform for back-to-back wins to ensure Australia remained unbeaten in any series this decade.Saturday’s fourth match was not without its alarms as they edged a tight success, but Sunday’s contest was a dominant eight-wicket thumping set up by the batsmen. They were left to chase 250 following fifties from New Zealand’s Sara McGlashan and Nicola Browne – Sophie Devine also thrashed 40 off 27 balls – and did it with 3.1 overs to spare.Nitschke and Blackwell remained undaunted during their record opening stand for Australia in New Zealand. It was Blackwell’s second fifty in two days, but the first of the series for Nitschke, which came off the back of two half-centuries against England.After Nitschke fell to Lucy Doolan, having just passed her previous high of 81, Lisa Sthalekar (61 not out) combined with Blackwell to add 80 for the second wicket. Blackwell fell just short of her second ODI hundred before Sthalekar, who reached her second half-century of the weekend, and Karen Rolton added the final six runs.Though Australia have taken every Rose Bowl since 1998-99, New Zealand have given them tight contests in the past three series, while England also tested them with a 2-2 draw in February. England then went on to beat New Zealand.Australia showed their fighting spirit with a courageous comeback but they are now world leaders by a nose only. This has been a packed calendar for three of the top four sides and the aim of the games was to see where the teams were at and gain some decent experience for next year’s World Cup and proposed Twenty20 World Cup.On the evidence of the three recent series, the verdict is an open one. There is more cricket to play before 2009 but next year is an increasingly mouth-watering prospect.

The pressure is growing on Norman Arendse, the Cricket South Africa (CSA) president, as leading figures in the game prepare for a set of hastily-arranged meetings in Johannesburg to discuss selection and quota issues.Logan Naidoo, the manager of the squad in Bangladesh and vice-president of CSA, has flown back to South Africa amid rumours that Arendse will face a vote of no confidence from senior figures next week.The current controversy stems from the squad selected to tour Bangladesh. Initially the 14-man party was rejected by Arendse for not conforming to CSA quota requirements which state the need for seven players of colour. The squad only included four – later five when Robin Peterson replaced Paul Harris – and it required the intervention of Gerald Majola, the CSA chief executive, to release the team.Majola and Arendse issued a joint statement apologising for the public nature of the disagreements but tensions below the surface are still running high.Adding to the debate are comments from Butana Komphela, chairman for the parliamentary portfolio committee on sport, who has said that the CSA president should have the right to veto a South African team that doesn’t meet the transformation policy. reported that Komphela said that while parliament will never select sporting teams, they will continue to insist they are representative of the country.