London, Jan. 23: The England and Wales Cricket Board''s decision to sanction a three-week Indian Premier League window may have prompted optimistic noises from Lalit Modi, the league''s chairman, but several England players are likely to miss out.

The month-long transfer window closed last night with little trading done, and all attention now turns to the February 6 player auction.

A preliminary list is unlikely to contain more than half-a-dozen Englishmen.

Melbourne, Jan. 23: A marine worker who extorted 45,000 dollar from former cricketing great Craig McDermott by threatening to put sex tapes of him and his wife on the internet will spend at least 18 months behind bars.

According to the Daily Telegraph, Peter Josef Vigan, 38, pleaded guilty to eight charges of extortion in Southport District Court today over repeated threats he made to the former Australian fast bowler in 2006.

Opening Indian batsman, Virender Sehwag is all set to be declared Castrol Indian Cricketer of the year 2008 with 59 points.

The others in the race include: left hand batsman Gautam Gambhir, Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, off-spinner Harbhajan Singh and fast bowler Ishant Sharma.

Sehwag had an unparalleled year in Test Cricket with a triple ton against South Africa and a double ton against Sri Lanka, along with some roaring starts at the top of the order in the ODI’s.  

Karachi, Jan 23: One of Pakistan's most feared fast bowlers, Shoaib Akhtar, is no longer in the reckoning as the team management and PCB officials are concerned.

After surviving career-threatening injuries, dope related controversies, questions over his bowling action, discipline related bans and hefty fines during his 12-year international career, the Rawalpindi Express has not been selected for the third one day international against Sri Lanka.

Karachi, Jan 23 : Two senior Pakistan Cricket Board officials -- Javed Miandad and Saleem Altaf -- seems to be on a collision course, suggesting the emergence in the functioning of the Board.

PCB's Director General Miandad on Thursday appeared to be an unhappy man when his name was not included in the organising committee for the final one-dayer between Pakistan and Sri Lanka in Lahore on January 24, The News reported.

London, Jan 23 : England Batsman Kevin Pietersen and all-rounder Andrew Flintoff will play in the Indian Premier League after signing their national central contracts.

Talks between England's players and the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) on signing of the annual deals had stalled over how long they would be allowed to play in the IPL, The News reported.

The agreement will allow a chosen few, probably Kevin Pietersen, Andrew Flintoff, Paul Collingwood, Owais Shah and maybe Ravi Bopara, to earn some big money quickly.