Melbourne, Dec. 14: Cricket Australia is expecting to turnover more than a billion dollars in the next four years, but added that player pay rises would not be automatic.

New Cricket Australia chairman Jack Clarke said payments to Australia''s elite players had to be weighed against the cost of many other areas that promote, sustain and develop the game.

He also suggested a major push to recruit indigenous players - to develop role models such as Maurice Rioli, Michael Long and Andrew McLeod in the AFL - would be a priority investment.

Perth, Dec. 14 : Former West Indian pace bowler Michael Holding believes that the present South African pace attack is the most ferocious to arrive Down Under in almost 20 years.

The Sunday herald Sun quoted Holding as saying that quicks Dale Steyn, Makhaya Ntini, Morne Morkel and Monde Zondeki could expose Australia to the express speed generated by the feared Windies outfits of the 1980s and ''90s.

Australia has not lost a Test series at home since 1992-93, when West Indies trio Curtly Ambrose, Courtney Walsh and Ian Bishop terrorised the home team with their cocktail of raw pace and steepling bounce.

There's official announcement of the cancellation of the first edition of the Champions League Twenty20, which was to be held in Mumbai, Bangalore and Chennai, and was initially scheduled to be played from December 3 to 10 but was postponed due to the terror attacks on Mumbai.

Now, it has been announced by the governing council, comprising the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), Cricket Australia and Cricket South Africa that event would be held in October 2009.

Melbourne, Dec. 13: Australia’s key batsmen are likely to get fast bowler Brett Lee into the nets more aften than he would like in preparing themselves for the expected thunderbolts from South African pacer Dale Steyn during the forthcoming Test series Down Under.

Opener Mathew Hayden told the Daily Telegraph that Australia''s batsmen have asked Lee to work overtime to provide them with custom-made net practice ahead of their battle with Steyn.

London, Dec 13: The future of Lord’s as England’s pre-eminent cricket venue could be threatened by plans that may see Test matches shared more widely around the country.

The MCC is also warning that their ambitious 200 million pounds project to redevelop Lord’s into one of the world’s top sporting arenas will placed in doubt by any reduction in lucrative high-profile international matches at the ground, The Telegraph reported.

The England & Wales Cricket Board are considering proposals for new five-year staging plans with the nine category A grounds which will guarantee them a minimum of 11 days’ international cricket over the course of the deal.

Perth, Dec. 13: South African pace bowler Morne Morkel swears by the disciplined off-stump line bowling of former Australian bowling great Glenn McGrath.

Morkel, who has modelled his game on McGrath, possesses the same confidence about his abilities as his Australian idol.

Asked whether his pace combination with Dale Steyn and Makhaya Ntini was the best in world cricket, Morkel did not hesitate and was quoted by the Sydney Morning Herald as saying: "Yes, right now, we are definitely the best. And looking into the future, I can see us only improving."