(In The Papers Today: All eyes are on Brian Lara as West
Indies head into the third and final Test Down Under; Pedro Collins
planning return; World Cup Barbados borrowing money, all in today's
news round-up...)
For the umpteenth time, the West Indies will go into the final
test of a series with one thing in mind: avoid an embarrassing
whitewash.
However, the focus of all the match previews in newspapers
around the word is on one man and his struggle for runs. Can
Brian Lara snap out of the funk and deliver a lasting memory
in what is most certainly his last Test in Australia?
Despite the outstanding performances of Dwayne Bravo and Denesh
Ramdin, the West Indies lost the Second Test against Australia at
Hobart on the weekend. One wonders when the losing will end and
what is needed to halt the continuous decline.
This is running parallel with the return of the Soca Warriors
from a heroic performance in Bahrain, before a hostile audience in
what appeared to be a less-than-welcoming country.
More than 800,000 tickets -- ranging from US$10 for a single
match ticket to US$300 for the best seats at the final -- for the
World Cup 2007 cricket tournament will go on sale from January,
officials announced Wednesday.
World Cup organisers say a phased roll-out of ticketing for the
one-day tournament will give cricket fans "a fair and equitable
distribution of tickets" for the 51 matches to be played over 47
days in March and April 2007.
Former Somerset captain Peter Roebuck believes the game
of cricket can benefit from an official challenge system to help
cut down on several blatant umpiring errors in international
cricket.
In a syndicated column appearing in several Australian
newspapers, Roebuck jumped into a debate sparked by Brian
Lara's recent misfortunes and argued that the ICC should look
at the NFL (American football) compromise of allowing a coach to
have a set number of challenges per match.
West Indies opening batsman Chris Gayle has opted to undergo a
corrective medical procedure for an irregular heartbeat in
Melbourne, a decision that ruled him out of the third and final
Test against Australia.
The surgery was considered minor in nature and team management
said it was a success. "Chris is awake and alert and will remain
under observation overnight. He will be discharged tomorrow and
will remain in Melbourne before leaving Australia."
