No bar on selectors: Speed

Mumbai: The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Thursday made it clear that selectors cannot be barred from staying in the players’ dressing room during an international match if they secure a permission from the regional security officer. “There are ways in which the selectors can go into the dressing rooms. They have to get the accreditation from the regional security manager. Other officials also need to follow this process. There is no other issue,” ICC CEO Malcolm Speed said. Speed was reacting to questions about ICC’s reported instructions to the BCCI not to allow national selectors from going into the dressing rooms. “I am surprised. I was not aware of this. There’s no problem in the selectors sitting in the players’ dressing room. They have to follow a process, that’s all,” he said.

Ex-CBI man in ICC

Calcutta: The ICC on Thursday appointed former CBI joint director of special crimes, Ravi Sawani, as the general manager and chief investigator of its Anti-Corruption and Security Unit (ACSU) under chairman Paul Condon, says A Staff Reporter. Announcing this, ICC CEO Malcolm Speed said it was a “synergy of old world cricket (Condon of England) and the new world cricket (India)”. The 57-year-old Sawani from Chennai was the CBI joint director in charge of special crimes and worked on the enquiry into match-fixing in cricket, according to an ICC release

Foreign expert to test Asif

Karachi: Pakistan pace bowler Mohammed Asif will be examined by a foreign specialist to assess the seriousness of his elbow injury and the best possible treatment for it. Asif is undergoing a rehabilitation process in Lahore but the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman said on Thursday that a foreign medical expert would now examine him. “He is our key player and we want ensure that he gets the best possible treatment,” Dr Nasim Ashraf said.

Wait and watch

Mumbai: The ICC will adopt a wait and watch policy on the issue of Champions Trophy being held in Pakistan next September. “All ICC events have been allotted till 2015. The Champions Trophy was allotted to Pakistan last year and it’s still almost a year away. The ICC will transfer a scheduled event only as a last resort and only if it’s (venue) unsafe,” Malcolm Speed said on Thursday.

HCA to oppose

Hyderabad: The Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA) would move the Andhra high court, opposing the case registered against BCCI president Sharad Pawar and five others over the alleged irregularities in the sale of tickets during the India-Australia ODI held here last month.

Blackout

Brisbane: Australia’s Test season began on Thursday with international fans unable to follow the action after global news agencies were locked out of the ground in Brisbane. The world’s top three global news agencies — AFP, Reuters and AP — and News Limited have suspended all coverage.