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It’s alive. It’s Flash-infested. Its stats are out of date. Michael Clarke’s management company has created a slick-looking website for him called - you guessed it - www.michaelclarke.com.au. I wonder how long before they remember to take down the Number 49 wallpaper.

For all the press clippings on his website, they missed these accounts of his first-class debut (New South Wales v India, 1999-2000):

“Michael Clarke (19) looked promising on his first-class debut until Kumble got a ball through his defences to take the off stump.”

Rick Eyre, CricInfo, 3.12.99

and:

“Michael Clarke got off the mark first ball with a two, but three deliveries later was well beaten for pace, his off stump sent flying.”

Rick Eyre, CricInfo, 5.12.99

Pakistan has beaten New Zealand by five runs in the first 20-overs-a-side international at the Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad.

It happened on November 23, 1984. Bad weather delayed the start of the game, which was set at twenty overs for each team when it finally got under way. Pakistan made 157 for 5, New Zealand were held to 152 for 7.

Despite Mudassar Nazar’s four-over haul of 4/27, it was Saleem Malik (41 from 40 balls) who was named Man of the Match. See the scorecard for further details.

There were no silly names like “Twenty20″ in those days. Remember this as New Zealand faces Australia for its second 20-overs international in two decades tomorrow at Eden Park.

It’s probably the only time that indoor cricket is officially embraced by the outdoor game. The European Cricket Council’s annual indoor championship was decided on Sunday in the Danish city of Herning. Congratulations to Greece, who beat the host nation by three runs in the final.

The ECC website has a video clip of Denmark losing their final wicket, and the jubilation of the Greek camp as they win their first European Indoor title since 2002. Was Euro 2004 ever this exciting? (Well, yes.)

A reminder that we are playing a different game here can be seen in the scorecard of the final, where one entry in the Danish innings reads:
Bilal Khan Ali roofed b J Eletheriadis 11

Congratulations also to Portugal, who defeated France in the third-place playoff. Portuguese opener Torben Rankine was the tournament’s leading run-scorer with 203. His team-mate R.Antunes (sorry I haven’t been able to track his full first name) was leading wicket-taker with 9.

Minor placings in the competition went to Belgium (5th), Spain (6th) and Luxembourg (7th), who scored an upset win in Saturday’s local derby against Belgium.

When everyone gets bored with Twenty20, there will always be this Ten10 to turn to.

The Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians will be recording January 10’s ICC World XI v ACC XI match in Melbourne, and the yet-to-be-rescheduled rematch, as official one-day internationals in accordance with the ICC’s wishes. The ACS committee discussed the matter at their latest meeting on Saturday, and their ruling was emailed to association members (including myself) yesterday.

The decision, forwarded to members in the name of ACS treasurer Jerry Lodge, reads as follows:

“At the ACS Committee Meeting on Saturday 29 January 2005 the Committee unanimously agreed the following action.

1. To accept the ICC ruling that the two tsunami matches be classified as official ODI matches. Therefore all performances in these matches will be included in the statistics prepared and circulated by the Association.

2. To write to the ICC expressing regret that a situation has been allowed to develop whereby statisticians are threatening to go in different directions and that this may lead to different sets of figures being promulgated.

3. To request the opportunity of being consulted in future by the ICC on any matter likely to affect cricket statistics, although we would not seek to reverse any decision by the ICC as this could be seen as being counterproductive.”

Please see my earlier entry on this topic. My first reaction is that the committee has surrendered to an Orwellian situation and is putting to the ICC a response which is disturbingly soft and apologetic in tone. My second reaction is to reconsider my membership of the Association.

I’ll give my third reaction a few more hours.