India Sends Its Cricket Riches to South Africa

Less than two decades after the end of its long isolation because of apartheid, South Africa has become the place to be for fans of international sports.Next year, it will stage soccer’s World Cup. This year, it is host to a tour by the British and Irish Lions rugby team, the game’s biggest event other than a World Cup. This weekend, the Cricket World Cup qualifiers come to their conclusion, while South Africa has recently seen a head-to-head contest for the de facto world championship of the sport as its team failed to displace Australia from the top of the International Cricket Council’s rankings.All of these are scheduled events, planned well in advance. But the bonus comes over the next few weeks as South Africa stages the 2009 edition of cricket’s Indian Premier League, which starts on Saturday in Cape Town.

IPL to impose fine up to $360,000 for slow over-rates

Heavy fines ranging from USD 20,000 to USD 360,000 await captains and teams which fail to bowl their 20 overs inside stipulated time during the Indian Premier League starting in Cape Town on SaturdayEach team will get 80 minutes to bowl its 20 overs with breaks of seven and a half minutes each after every 10 overs in the matches that will last for three hours and 15 minutes.Failure to complete the overs in time at first would invite a USD 20,000 fine for the captain, the 'Beeld' newspaper reported, quoting IPL chairman Lalit Modi.A second transgression would lead to a USD 220,000 fine for the entire team, while a third offence will mean a USD 360,000 fine and a one-match suspension for the captain.The IPL starts at Newlands on Friday with Chennai Super Kings taking on Mumbai Indians, followed by a clash between Bangalore Royal Challengers and defending champions Rajasthan Royals..

Zimbabwe must upgrade structure to make test return

Zimbabwe can nurture hopes of a return to the test arena by upgrading its domestic structure and introducing a more competitive first-class league, the International Cricket Council (ICC) said on Friday.A task force headed by ICC director Dr Julian Hunte, formed last year to help restore Zimbabwe to the test fold, has now submitted a report to cricket's governing body."The report presented a series of recommendations on how best to assist Zimbabwe to improve its performances so as to allow its return to the test arena as soon as appropriate," an ICC statement said after the first day of a two-day board meeting.Domestic structures needed to be upgraded and a longer and more competitive first-class league introduced, added the report.It also said a sustainable return was only possible when teams in Zimbabwe had satisfied reasonable performance criteria in first-class and other multi-day matches.In addition, the report said there needed to be an ongoing partnership between Zimbabwe Cricket and the ICC member services department to track the former's performance against the plan.Zimbabwe Cricket has accepted the recommendations and agreed to work with the sport's governing body to ensure they are processed, said the ICC statement.The troubled African nation has not played tests since January 2006 after the team were left depleted following disputes between senior players and the administration..