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Patrick Ochan and Jimmy Okello have been banned for life by the Ugandan Cricket Association (UCA), after the duo went missing at the end of the ICC World Cricket League Division Three tournament in Darwin.The bans are unlikely to have a significant impact on the duo – it has been reported that they have now taken up residence in Adelaide after applying for, and successfully obtaining, working visas.”By the rules of the association, we dissociated ourselves from the act [their disappearance] and banned them from playing cricket for Uganda ever again. They would have no cause to come back to us at all,” William Kibukamusoke, the chairman of UCA, told Cricinfo on telephone from Kampala.Ochan and Okello, who are multi-talented sportsmen, have also been barred from representing Uganda in any other sport. The duo have played in the International Tennis Federation’s (ITF’s) circuit. Ochan, who was the more successful of the two, had a career-best ranking of 428 in the ITF’s junior level, and represented Uganda in the Davis Cup.”They will never [represent Uganda in any international sport]. We passed this information around all our sister associations. Their talent is now wasted,” Kibukamusoke said. “That [their banning] was the statement we made to the police in Darwin. We had to leave the case clear, and there was no use moving out without making a police case.”Interestingly, Ronnie Kintu, a sports journalist with the , a Ugandan newspaper, also went missing with the two after Uganda defeated Argentina in the final of the tournament on June 2. “He [Kintu] wasn’t grabbed but the other two were grabbed – wherever they were staying in the neighbourhood, they were uprooted and apprehended,” Kibukamusoke said.Though Ochan and Okello were found in Sydney by Australia’s Immigration Department on June 12 – no action was taken as their visas were valid till July 28. The had reported that Ochan and Okello were staying with Ken Skewes, a South Australia player who they befriended at an Under-19 tournament. Skewes had contacted the authorities when he realised that the two were being sought.Meanwhile, Ochan and Okello are enjoying life in their adopted country. “We got the visas last week and I’m even going for official cricket practice with my new club tomorrow,” Ochan told on August 1. Jimmy [Okello] is currently playing soccer with the Africa Stars Club and scoring goals for fun. Our ability to play most of the games here has made us very popular.”

Suggestions circulating inside the US to the effect that the ICC would again withdraw recognition of the USA Cricket Association because of its failure to meet certain deadlines have been dismissed.While the ICC did impose deadlines, and ICC spokesman pointed out that none of these were imminent.The conditions under which the USACA was readmitted to the fold were as follows:

Division One

Harbhajan Singh took 4 for 64 to bowl Worcestershire out for 217 on the third day against Surrey at Guildford, forcing them to follow on. Surrey’s last two only added a further 22 to their overnight 347, but their bowlers quickly tore into Worcestershire’s top-order; Matt Nicholson removed his compatriot Phil Jaques and Vikram Solanki before Harbhajan took over. Steven Moore, the Worcestershire wicketkeeper, stood in Surrey way with a combative 58, but his wicket prompted an inevitable slide from the lower-order who collapsed to 217 all out. Following on Worcestershire moved to 46 without loss, still trailing by 106.Read John Ward’s full report of Yorkshire’s third day against Kent at Scarborough.Hampshire continued to rule the rod over title-chasers Sussex, who barely recovered from their overnight 65 for 6 to make 145 at The Rose Bowl. Luke Wright’s 46 added a touch of respectability. Hampshire’s reply was by no means flawless, at 83 for 3, but John Crawley’s unbeaten fifty took them to 113 without further loss. They will aim to quickly erase the deficit on Saturday morning and march on to a steady lead.

Division Two

Justin Langer and Simon Katich, former Australia team-mates, set up an enthralling finish to Derbyshire and Somerset’s match on the third day at Derby. Katich declared Derbyshire’s first innings on 94 for 2, 246 behind Somerset who increased their lead by 84 before setting the home side 331 to win in 98 overs. Somerset’s last five smashed 160 runs before lunch with Craig Kieswetter stroking an impressive 52 from 43 balls. Derbyshire then added 94 in 31 overs – Katich declaring after a brisk 29 – before Somerset, batting for the second time in the day, cracked 84 in 20 overs. Bad light forced the players off early, but an intriguing final day is in prospect with Derbyshire requiring a further 329 runs on a wearing pitch.Northamptonshire made steady progress against Nottinghamshire at Northampton after rain washed out the first day. Three fifties from the top four helped them past the 200-mark, but Notts struck back in the evening session to restrict them to 264 for 7. Stephen Peters, David Sales and Alex Wakely struck the half-centuries, while Robert White fell just short, with 46. Last week may have been one for the old-timers – but Mark Ealham added his own contribution today, with four wickets.A wet outfield meant there was no play between Glamorgan and Leicestershire at Abergavenny, nor at Bristol for Gloucestershire’s match against Essex.

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Karnataka were in for a rude shock in their Ranji Trophy opener at the Moti Bagh Stadium in Vadodara, being bundled out for 85 after an inspired opening spell by seamers, Rakesh Patel and Irfan Pathan Sr. Karnataka’s decision to bat first backfired with Patel scything through the top order with 5 for 85, while Pathan chipped in with three wickets in 15 miserly overs.The duo shared the first six wickets to fall with six of the Karnataka batsmen failing to get past double figures. Baroda too got off to a shaky start – NC Aiyappa accounted for both openers with the score on 24. Ajit Bhoite, promoted to No.3, counterattacked with a fluent 62-ball 48 as Baroda went about wiping out the deficit. Seamer B Akhil struck two vital blows at the end of the day but Baroda, 28 runs ahead with six wickets in hand, were very much the side in command.
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Gagandeep Singh, Punjab’s opening bowler, instigated a manic opening hour at the PCA Stadium in Mohali, tearing Bengal’s top order apart. Gagandeep’s opening burst left Bengal reeling at 18 for 5 – including Sourav Ganguly falling for 6 – and it was only because of the former Indian wicketkeeper Deep Dasgupta that they averted a humiliation. Dasgupta’s 73-run partnership with Laxmi Ratan Shukla revived them somewhat but lack of lower-order support didn’t help matters. Dasgupta, who led the side to the runner-up spot last season, battled for close to four hours, managing ten fours in his rescue mission. Bengal’s bowlers struck three vital blows before the day was out, restricting Punjab to 75 for 3.
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Jaydev Shah’s composed hundred helped Saurashtra recover from a shaky position, recovering from a jittery 7 for 2 to a competitive 298 for 7 at the end of the first day’s play at the Ordinance Equipment Factory Ground at Kanpur. Having being promoted from the Plate Group last season, Saurashtra had one of the toughest games first up, taking on defending champions Uttar Pradesh on their home turf. Shalabh Srivastava, UP’s opening bowler, pegged them back with two wickets within the first six overs but a couple of handy partnerships rescued them.Shitanshu Kotak and Cheteshwar Pujara – one 34 years old with 14 seasons of first-class behind him, the other 18 in his second domestic year – reversed the tide with a 130-run stand. Kotak’s dismissal brought in Shah, son of current board secretary Niranjan, who solidified their position with a 159-ball 124, one that included 22 hits to the fence. His dismissal in the third session, off Rudra Pratap Singh, was followed by two more as UP came back into the contest.
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A fine century from Anirudh Singh, his third in first-class cricket, and a promising debut from Ravi Teja, the 19-year-old opener, got Hyderabad’s campaign off to a fine start against Maharashtra at Chatrapati Shivaji Stadium in Karad. Choosing to bat first on a ground hosting its first match in six years, Hyderabad ended the day on a comfortable 254 for 3. Teja kickstarted the innings with a breezy 84, comprising 13 fours, repaying the faith that the selectors had shown in him, throwing him into the deep end after a string of impressive performances at the Under-22 level. His 121-run stand with Anirudh laid the platform before VVS Laxman consolidated their position with a solid 31. Anirudh was unbeaten when play was called off – 36 minutes after tea owing to bad light and a slight drizzle – but his even 100, in 197 deliveries with 12 fours, had put them in control.
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A five wicket haul from Ashraf Makda, the left-arm opening bowler, helped Gujarat gain the upper hand on the first day against Rajasthan at Ahmedabad. Justifying his captain’s decision to field first, Makda and his partners halted Rajasthan’s fine start, restricting them to 204. Vikram Solanki, one of Rajasthan’s foreign imports, had a good start to his campaign, managing a 95-ball 58, but Makda bowled him, changing the complexion of the game. Nikhil Doru offered some middle-order resistance, with a little help from Kabir Ali, the other import from Worcestershire, but a quick three-wicket haul from offspinner Kirat Damani cleaned up the tail. Gujarat suffered two early jolts and ended the day on 43 for 2.
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Joginder Sharma’s 4 for 54 with his medium-pace enabled Haryana to bowl out Andhra for 202 in 71 overs at the Bansi Lal Stadium in Rohtak. Joginder and Sachin Rana, who conceded only 27 in 11.5 overs, reduced Andhra to 33 for 4. Satya Kumar Varma, coming at No.3, was the only batsman who managed to resist the Haryana attack and remain unbeaten at 105. On a day when no-one else crossed 25, Varma attempted to push the score forward along with the tail, adding 38 with Syed Sahabuddin and 50 with Lakshman Kishore, but Sharma broke both partnerships before they could do any serious damage. Haryana’s openers batted out the last six overs adding 8.

Ricky PontingOn the turnaround
We were really struggling. I thought we did a pretty good job with thebat, to tell the truth. It wasn’t the easiest conditions to bat in. Wedidn’t think it was till Shiv [Chanderpaul] came out and played the way he did.[laughs]. That was probably the best way to play on that wicket, to justback yourself and try and make use of the Powerplays. As I said at thetoss, I always thought it was going to be hard batting second. In thesesort of humid conditions, I thought it would seam around a bit more atnight time. Once we got those couple of wickets, we got on a bit of aroll. I don’t know what it was in the end – something like a 9 for 20-odd. Itwas a pretty amazing comeback.On McGrath’s return
He was a little bit frustrated early on. He was actually swinging it,which is very unlike him, so I told him halfway through his first spellnot to worry about swing and get back into hitting a good area. I thoughthe was excellent in the second spell. It was a pretty important time tocome back on and take a wicket and keep things pretty tight. He’ll onlyget better with bowling. We all know that. That’s the reason he’s here, toget some bowling under his belt.It’s his first game in 12 months, and he’d have been disappointed withbowling as many wides as he did in his first spell. As I said to all theplayers last night, it’s going to be difficult for us just to get thetempo again. I think Glenn was just trying a bit too hard in his firstspell. It’s a matter of getting his body in the right shape to do what hewants to do.On whether they might have experimented too much with team composition
We’ve managed to win by 78 runs so I didn’t think we experiemented toomuch. Coming here with 18 guys, we were always going to mix and match, andwe’ve done the best job we can. As I said yesterday, some guys will gettwo games, some will get three and only one player in the whole squad willget all four games. That’s the ‘keeper [Brad] Haddin. That’s just the way we’redoing it.On Mitchell Johnson taking two key wickets in his second spell
At that stage of the game, I got Glenn and Mitchell back because I thoughtthey’d be our best wicket-taking chances. Mitch copped a bit of stickearly but to be able to come back and get those vital wickets was great.It won’t do his confidence any harm at all. It was a pretty amazing gameactually. We haven’t had the chance to sit back and think about it.On Johnson getting Lara for the second time in two games
That sort of wicket tonight, it was very suited to seam-up bowling. Oncewe got a bit of a sniff, I told our bowlers to attack the stumps. We’llhave to make sure we play Mitch in the next game against the West Indiesif he’s got that sort of record against Brian [Lara].On what went through his mind as Chanderpaul and Gayle cut loose
It can be really hard to stop that sort of batting at times, no matter whoyou bowl or what fields you set, when you’re on a roll, as Shiv was, andwith Gayle joining in. But once you get two wickets, you expose newbatsmen to those conditions,On what he thought of the pitch
It wasn’t a great batting wicket. We made 280 batting first but there wasenough variation there to make it difficult.On Watson and Johnson
Man of the Match and 4 for 40, I think Shane deserves to answer somequestions. It’s terrific to see blokes that work so hard on their game getsome reward. Shane’s been around for a while now, and played someexcellent cricket for us of late. Mitch is in the same boat, and justkeeps improving game by game. We need to keep exposing these younger guysto the international game. Until you’ve done it a few times at the highestlevel, you’ll always have a few doubts in the back of your mind.Shane WatsonOn bowling in those conditions
Our batters did an extremely good job to get us to 280 and set us up. Ireally enjoyed bowling out there. One-day wickets are usually extremelyflat, and geared towards the batters. When there’s a little bit ofmovement there, it’s always handy to bowl.On his tactics when the ball was being flayed everywhere
My thinking was to try and change it up a little bit. I was trying to bowla few yorkers, a few bouncers and a few slower balls to stop the batsmengetting into a rhythm against me.On missing a hat-trick
I’ll take four wickets any day of the week. It would’ve been nice, but I’mextremely happy to contribute to a really good fightback.

The Pakistan Cricket Board has proposed Lahore, Karachi and Rawalpindi as venues for the three Tests for India’s next tour of the country. During India’s historic tour of Pakistan in 2004 the team only played a one-day international at Karachi, fearing that an extended stay in the city could expose them to the risk of a terrorist strike.However the one-dayer went off without incident and Pakistan now hope that India will be willing to play a Test at Karachi. However the Pakistan board has problems of its own – with the managements of the Pindi Cricket Stadium and the Arbab Niaz Stadium in Peshawar, reported. There was a chance that the Rawalpindi Test could be moved to Faisalabad if the Pakistan board is unsatisfied with the working of the management at the Pindi Stadium.For the one-dayers Pakistan has proposed Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar, Faisalabad and Multan as venues.

Rao Iftikhar Anjum, the Pakistan fast bowler, has returned home mid-way through Pakistan’s tour of England after hearing news of his father’s death on Sunday.Zaheer Abbas, Pakistan team manager, said that the entire Pakistani squad was saddened by the death of Rao’s father and the management made hectic efforts to send the player back to his home town.Rao came to England as a replacement for the injured Mohammad Asif. He did not play the first Test at Lord’s in which Pakistan played Mohammad Sami and Umar Gul but took two wickets in Pakistan’s seven-wicket win in the tour match against Northamptonshire. Zaheer said that Pakistan would not be asking for any replacement for Rao.”Almost everybody who can be in the Pakistan team is here and if any such player is not already with us, that means he is injured. I mean, we don’t have anybody left to try out any more,” said Zaheer.Pakistan decided against net practice at Old Trafford on Monday in a bid to give their players some much-needed rest ahead of the second Test starting on Thursday. “Some of our players needed more rest so we have decided to have the nets tomorrow,” said Zaheer. “The boys have now fully settled down. Players like Younis Khan, who faced injury problems earlier on this tour, are now completely fit and looking forward to play in the next Test.”Younis did not play in the Lord’s Test because of a knee injury he sustained earlier this month. Zaheer said Abdul Razzaq, who suffered from a minor back problem on the final day of the Lord’s Test, was also almost completely fit and would take part in the nets session on Tuesday.

Michael Vaughan, the England captain, insists that there will be no “Ashes let-down” for his side when they play Pakistan. On the eve of England’s departure for a three-Test and seven one-day match tour, Vaughan told reporters at the team’s hotel that his side would have to be at their best to win in Pakistan.”The Ashes are a massive goal and we attained that in the summer. It was great to play the cricket that we did in England. We’ll certainly keep our feet on the ground but we have to draw confidence from the fact we beat Australia and played some fantastic cricket in the summer.”There are only five players from England’s successful 1-0 win in a three Test series on their last tour of Pakistan in 2000-01 – Vaughan, Matthew Hoggard, Ashley Giles, Marcus Trescothick and Andrew Flintoff – in the current squad and Vaughan said his team would have to adapt quickly to the conditions.”It’s a big challenge and opportunity for the team to continue the progress we made in the summer,” said Vaughan, who doubled up as a sightscreen pusher when England won five years ago in fading light at Karachi to clinch a dramatic series win. “The last two years the England team have played some good cricket and the tour to Pakistan is really going to test our skills in conditions which some of the players haven’t played in.”Pakistan’s pitches traditionally offer plenty of assistance to spin bowlers and although Bob Woolmer, the Pakistan coach and former England batsman, said he wanted to play the series on good rather than turning wickets, Vaughan was in no doubt about what sort of surfaces would confront his men.”I would be very surprised if we go to Pakistan and it doesn’t spin. But we have become decent players of spin over the last few years,” said Vaughan. “Look at the World XI team (in the recent ICC Super Test in Australia) and the success Stuart MacGill and Shane Warne (both leg spinners) had against the best players in the world. That shows what success we had against Warne. He managed to take 40 wickets but we took him for a few an over.”Duncan Fletcher, the England coach, said the lack of hype in comparison to the Ashes would also work in the squad’s favour. “After what took place it should be one of the best tours to go on. There should be very few distractions and I think that will be good for the side.”England will be without injured reverse swing specialist Simon Jones, one of their Ashes stars. “He will be missed because he has become a fantastic bowler with reverse swing, but it creates chances for Liam Plunkett, James Anderson and Alex Loudon,” admitted Vaughan. “It will be a real challenge, but an exciting challenge. We just need to stick to our basics and get our plans right.”England play their first tour match in Rawalpindi, a three-day game, starting on October 31 with the first Test at Multan commencing on November 12.

Opening bat Sam Harper powered Melbourne Stars to a six-wicket win against Adelaide Strikers to extend their perfect start to the BBL season.With captain Matt Short top-scoring with 56 from 42 balls, the Strikers posted 155 for 8 as Stars’ quicks Haris Rauf (3 for 28) and Tom Curran (3 for 35) claimed three wickets each. Stars’ Harper struck 55 from 36 balls as they chased down the target at the Adelaide Oval on Tuesday night with 11 balls to spare, reaching 161 for 4 to bank a second consecutive win to open their campaign.Stars’ usual opener Tom Rogers couldn’t bat after injuring a shoulder in the field. But Harper and Joe Clarke (23 from 19 deliveries) set an ominous tone, smacking 52 runs from the initial 24 balls.Stars’ openers reached 67 before the partnership was broken when legspinner Lloyd Pope (1 for 22) bowled Clarke with a wrong’un from the top shelf on the last ball of the seventh over.Harper posted his half-century from 35 balls but was dismissed next ball when skying to mid-on from the bowling of Jamie Overton (1 for 39) in the tenth over.The visitors were at a comfortable 90 for 2 at the halfway stage, but lost Glenn Maxwell (2 from four balls) cheaply. Campbell Kellaway (28 from 22 deliveries) and Marcus Stoinis (32* from 22), who hit a six to win the game, ensured there were no following hiccups.Earlier, Strikers’ innings was rocked by a double blow in the second over when Stars paceman Curran snared two wickets in three balls. Curran bowled veteran Chris Lynn (4 off four balls) with an offcutter through the gate, and then produced a superb legcutter which clipped the off stump of Jason Sangha, who failed to score.Short and Liam Scott steadied, registering a 50-run stand from 34 balls, and taking the total to 62 in the eighth over. Stars allrounder Stoinis (1 for 23) ended the union when Scott (25 from 19) was trapped lbw, and soon after, Short was given a reprieve on 40 when a hesitant Tom Whitney turfed a simple skied chance at cover from Curran’s bowling.At their midpoint, Strikers were 83 for 3, and Short soon after posted his half-century from 38 balls.But just when the skipper was set to wind up, he smacked a Curran delivery to extra cover, where Stoinis took a sharp catch with both arms outstretched above his head.Short’s departure left Strikers at 110 for 4 in the 14th over, and the home side couldn’t gain any late traction, with Rauf taking two wickets in consecutive balls in the 19th over.

Western Australia have named a fresh looking 20-man squad for 2008-09 after a year of change during which several of their senior players departed. Liam Davis, Paul Davis, Arron Crawford, Wes Robinson and Matt Johnston earned their first full contracts, while four new rookies were also included.The list of departures is extensive and includes the recent retirees Adam Gilchrist, Justin Langer, Mathew Inness and Darren Wates. Brad Hogg has not officially given up state duties but has been left out while he contemplates his future, while Chris Rogers has moved to Victoria. The Warriors also axed the allrounders Sean Ervine and Shawn Gillies and the left-arm fast bowler Danny McLauchlan.Among the new rookies is Mitchell Marsh, 16, a younger brother of the Cricket Australia-contracted batsman Shaun Marsh and the son of former Australia opening batsman Geoff Marsh. A right-hand batsman, the youngest Marsh has represented his state at Under-17 and Under-19 level and this season broke the record for most runs in the Perth schools competition, the Darlot Cup, where he scored 739 runs at 105.57.Liam Davis was bumped up from a rookie deal after an impressive start to his first-class career in 2007-08. An opening batsman, Davis played three matches and scored a century and a fifty and will become a key player with the loss of Langer and Rogers.Johnston also received a promotion from the rookie list having shown promise in the FR Cup last summer until a wayward throw broke his jaw and forced him off for surgery that disrupted his season. The fast bowler Paul Davis, 27, made his limited-overs debut in February while Crawford was welcomed back to the list having lost his rookie deal last year.Robinson, 27, was included following an outstanding club season during which he made 865 runs at 61.78 and collected 12 wickets at 17.80. He also picked up the Olly Cooley Medal as the best player in Perth’s grade competition.The new rookies include Nicholas Death, a former ACT under-age representative who grabbed 46 wickets in club cricket in 2007-08. The batsman Marcus Stoinis and the bowler Chris Thompson also picked up their first rookie contracts. Josh Mangan, Michael Johnson and Christopher Wood held on to their rookie deals while Chris Hansberry and Patrick Molinari were omitted.Tom Moody, the Western Australia coach, said the youthful group would help the Warriors look to the future. “We are very fortunate to have a wealth of local talent in Western Australia and I am thrilled that we have managed to secure some of that talent on our contact list,” Moody said. “Our main focus in the selection process was to reward performances while also keeping a keen eye on youth so we can continue to develop for the future.”Squad David Bandy, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Arron Crawford, Liam Davis, Paul Davis, Brett Dorey, Theo Doropoulos, Ben Edmondson, Aaron Heal, Clint Heron, Michael Hussey (Cricket Australia contract), Matthew Johnston, Trent Kelly, Steve Magoffin, Shaun Marsh (CA), Marcus North, Luke Pomersbach, Wes Robinson, Luke Ronchi, Adam Voges (CA).Rookies Nicholas Death, Michael Johnson, Josh Mangan, Mitchell Marsh, Marcus Stoinis, Chris Thompson, Christopher Wood.