Three female Level One qualified umpires in Iran © ACC

It’s hard to call it ‘grass-roots’ cricket in Chabahar where on the two grounds granted by the government exclusively for cricket, grass has yet to be planted, but in Tehran at least, there are turf grounds, if not turf wickets.

Hellas, otherwise known as Greece, return to Lord's in February to defend their title of the European Cricket Council (ECC) Indoor Championship. They face Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Portugal in a bid to retain the title they won in Herning, Denmark last year. Full report on Cricinfo.

Tony Munro's weekly column has been published today. This week, he looks at Mexican cricket, news from Taiwan and the Central American Championships. Read it here. If you want to contact Tony, either email him or leave a comment below.

Ireland play England in a one-dayer on June 13 which is expected to be a sell-out, as reported by us yesterday.

Rod kindly wrote in to remind us (and you) of MCC's tour of Argentina which gets underway soon. Here's the info:

January 28th, One-dayer v North XI at Virrey del Pino
January 29th, One-dayer v South XI at Corimayo
January 31st, One-dayer v ACA President's XI at Hurlingham
February 2nd, One-dayer v Argentina at Hurlingham
February 4th, One-dayer v Argentina at Corimayo
February 5th, One-dayer v Argentina at Virrey del Pino

All games will start at 11.00, and the MCC team will stay at the "Hotel Emperador". This is the 1st time the MCC have toured Argentina since 2001.

In addition, the Argentinean season will resume on January 28th, with a MaxChallenge game between the Lomas Eagles and the St. Alban's Sharks at Longchamps, while the Belgrano Cavalliers will play the Hurlingham Hawks at Virrey del Pino on January 29th.

Incidentally, Argentina beat MCC in their inaugral first-class match, way back in 1912. If you have any information, snippets - or just want to get in touch, don't hesitate to email me and Martin. We've also enabled comments on the blog for you to leave your thoughts.

It's often said that money cannot buy happiness, and that seems to be the case in Bermuda, where the millions of dollars that have poured in since they qualified for the World Cup have produced more than their fair share of stories of unease in the camp.

The latest one broadcast on local TV is that the players are about to strike over contracts and fees ... and all before they have even gone semi professional! Clay Smith, the captain, was quick to speak out:

We have a players' committee which is responsible for relaying any concerns the players have to the board. They have met with the board at least twice in the last month and there are absolutely no problems whatsoever.

And that follows on from a report that Dale Butler, the sports minister, has been asked to investigate unconstitutional goings on at the board's AGM.

Vish Lekhram writes enthusiastically about the USA team who today head to Sri Lanka for the Under-19 World Cup:

Ordinarily in other sporting disciplines this would not be a very noteworthy event but because we Americans are viewed as the best at everything by the global population, this has added a lot of pressures on this cricket team to do as well as the other sporting disciplines, and are being compared to the US Olympic team that will participate in the Winter Games in a few weeks time. What an honor this team has bestowed on the USA's cricketing nation that is well represented by these strong, talented, and gifted young men!

We all expect the "boys," soon to be men to win the whole thing! Is this an unreasonable expectation? Are we being practical? Can this squad as talented as they are, beat the West Indies, South Africa, or Australia (they are grouped together in "D") to advance to the next round?

Tony Munro's second piece this week surrounds Uganda, their preparation for the Under-19 World Cup and all the latest news on the local competitions and happenings.

Tony Munro, Cricinfo's Beyond the Test World columnist, has written about Chile and their forthcoming preparations for the ICC tournament

The NepalCricket.com blog has an excellent photo of children playing cricket in the street, following a curfew which left the roads empty.

A photo of the Nepali team departing for the forthcoming Under-19 World Cup

The game of cricket, which becomes a national obsession in Australia over summer, is developing greater appeal in China. World cricket authorities are eager to capture the competitive spirit infecting the world's most populous nation. Radio Australia's Emily Bourke took a look at what's happening:

The ramifications of the departure of
Andy Moles as Scotland’s coach continue to rumble on, with a report in the Scotsman on Sunday claiming that he was sacked rather than resigned, as Cricket Scotland’s media department maintain.

Following the blandest of media releases on Friday, no-one at Cricket Scotland appears to have been able to give a firm reason for Moles’s departure and few seem to believe that it was of his volition.

But the article by William Dick indicates that it might not have been because of player unrest, as most reports have suggested. “It has emerged that there were concerns about various aspects of the coach's performance from early in his reign, begging the question why it took bosses so long to act.”

A much-needed boost for US cricket with the news that the Indian and Pakistan boards are looking at playing matches at neutral venues. Shaharyar Khan, the chairman of the Pakistan board, said:

Once again we would go to our governments for approval before finalising the venues but places like the United States and a few European countries are under consideration. We have offshore venues like Florida and New Jersey in the United States and some venues in the United Arab Emirates and we want to popularise cricket in these countries.

Given the ICC's view of the USA Cricket Association - one shared by most of the major countries who see the board as an embarrassment - this will increase the pressure on Gladstone Dainty, the embattled president, to stand down for a more internationally acceptable candidate. The alternative is for the USA to remain a cricketing backwater.

With the USA Cricket Association still doggedly determined to run cricket in the USA after it saw off the challenge from a rebel group of stakeholders, it has a new challenger - Major League Cricket.

A recent national event run by MLC in Florida was a success despite attempts by unknown parties, thought to support the USACA, to persuade and even intimidate sides to stay away. And now MLC has thrown down the gauntlet and started taking on the USACA head to head.

The contrast between the two could not be greater. MLC appears to be open, eager to speak to the media, and keen to host events and promote the game. The USACA has a history of CIA-like secrecy, shunning the media and, frankly, not doing much for the game in the country. It even managed to get its funding suspended by the ICC and was barred from attending the ICC AGM.

Gladstone Dainty, the president, clings on to power with grim determination but his time seems limited. And a USACA EGM to discuss the crisis attracted a single-figure attendance last month, leaving Dainty embarrassed but still there.

A good source of lively chat about the US cricket scene can be found at www.uscricket.com/ and click on forums.

Six months ago to the day, coach Andy Moles guided Scotland to the ICC Trophy - and into the 2007 World Cup - and was rewarded with a two-year extension to his contract. Today, he resigned to spend more time with his family, according to a bland media release from Cricket Scotland. That disguised a far more tawdry reality, namely that a few of Scotland' senior players appear to have clashed with Moles, and the board has backed them rather than him.

With a lack of high-profile sponsors and serious questions over some players' fitness, Scotland go into one of their biggest years in some thing of a mess.

The Asian Cricket Council Development Committee has proposed that the next ACC Trophy be held in Kuala Lumpur in August. Eighteen teams will participate.

Bermuda are hosting an international Twenty20 competition this April, consisting of teams from Australia, New Zealand, India, the West Indies, Sri Lanka, England and South Africa:

More than 70 former Test and first-class cricketers, including Australian batsman Greg Blewett and West Indian fast bowler Kenny Benjamin, have so far signed playing contracts with English charity the Get Fit Foundation – the international body behind the new venture.

According to this article, Nepalese football fans are turning their attention to cricket:

In coffee shops and other public places, Nepalis are buzzing about cricket, talking about recent matches and analyzing players and teams, perhaps more than about football.

Although it is not an easy sport to understand, that hasn't stopped Nepalis' curiosity

[via the Nepal Cricket blog]

In case it slipped your attention, USA's U19 squad for February's World Cup were announced a few days ago.

Cricket Europe has an interview with the renowned scorer, Bill Frindall, otherwise known as the "Bearded Wonder." Frindall spoke with Wraye Wenigmann, secretary of German Cricket Umpires and Scorers Association (DCUSA).

The Royal Gazette has a "year in review" of Bermudan cricket