Brett Lee will undergo surgery to his left ankle at St Vincent’s Private Hospital in Sydney on Thursday afternoon in an attempt to relieve him from pain in the back of his ankle. He will also use the enforced break to correct an ongoing posterior impingement problem.Errol Alcott, Australia’s physiotherapist, explained Lee had been troubled by the condition for some time. "Due to the increased workload during the first 3 Test match against Zimbabwe in Perth, Brett felt pain in his ankle that he has had on and off during the past season," he said. "With the injury to his stomach muscle we were presented with a window of opportunity to also correct this problem while Brett takes a break from competition."Brett will be reviewed again towards the end of November following an intensive rehabilitation program."

Akash Chopra: will he go the Devang Gandhi way? © AFP

When the Indian selectors sit down tomorrow to draw up a list of 16 people who will make a trip that could as easily end their careers as make them, people will be holding their breath across the country. Cricketers will wait by the telephone and fans by the television. After much deliberation, Syed Kirmani, Kiran More, Pranab Roy, Sanjay Jagdale and Kirti Azad have to decide whether they want an extra medium pacer or a third spinner, a reserve opener or a reserve wicketkeeper.The composition of this selection committee, with two former keepers, will most likely cause them to bend in favour of an extra wicketkeeper. And they will not be wrong in doing so, for there is no way Parthiv Patel can keep wicket in three tour matches and four Tests virtually on the trot. One can only hope that the selectors resist the temptation to make an uneasy compromise.It is believed that Deep Dasgupta is the first name they are considering. If only he was in better batting form, this might not have been a bad idea. But to pick him as the reserve wicketkeeper cum opening batsman will be playing into Australia’s hands. If India are serious about their long-term search for a keeper they must take Ajay Ratra on this tour. While he does not possess the natural glovework of Patel, he has shown a keenness to work hard and is by no means unreliable behind the stumps.The last time India toured Australia the fast bowlers interrogated Devang Gandhi like high-handed policemen would an unfortunate victim. His every deficiency was exposed and his confidence shattered almost irreparably. That’s perhaps the reason why the opening slot is the biggest cause for worry.Virender Sehwag and Akash Chopra have done enough and more to pick themselves. When the team looks for a reserve opener, and one may very well be needed after a couple of Tests, they should plump for someone who is not intimidated and looks to score at every opportunity. Sadagoppan Ramesh answers to that name, but serious doubts still exist over his footwork and his tendency to throw it away after making a start. While these concerns are real, they do not quite cut ice in the face of over 1300 Test runs from 16 Tests.The selectors, though, did not think enough of Ramesh’s century against New Zealand at Rajkot to pick him for the home Tests. With that being as it is, they could well choose Sanjay Bangar. As a batsman who has done little wrong, and averages over two hours at the crease as an opener in Tests, only a cruel man would grudge his selection. His usefulness as a medium pacer will come to the fore in Australia, where seam, rather than spin, will rule the day. And, as if things were not confused enough already, Wasim Jaffer has thrown his hat in the ring with a string of good scores in domestic cricket.India need five seamers on the tour and the retirement of Javagal Srinath could well pave the way for one extra youngster on tour. Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra and Ajit Agarkar are automatic selections, and Aavishkar Salvi puts his hand up as the next in queue. L Balaji would dearly swap the two home Tests he played against New Zealand for an opportunity on a wicket that has a bit more for his style of bowling. But that will, in all likelihood, have to wait.The one settled thing in this Indian team is the middle order. Despite the talk about matchwinning potential, flaws against short-pitched bowling and the like, you simply cannot think about any changes in the middle order. Yuvraj Singh, who had an unspectacular debut at Mohali against New Zealand, will be persisted with. And that is only fair.Beyond this, there may still be surprises. Who knows, Vijay Dahiya’s career could be revived or Sairaj Bahutule given a chance to sample the outdoor lifestyle of Australia. To be fair to the selectors, if they can resist the temptation to pull such a rabbit out of the hat, they would have made a good fist of a difficult selection.Probable squad
Sourav Ganguly (capt), Virender Sehwag, Akash Chopra, Sanjay Bangar, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman, Yuvraj Singh, Parthiv Patel (wk), Deep Dasgupta (wk), Harbhajan Singh, Anil Kumble, Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra, Ajit Agarkar, Aavishkar Salvi.

India 211 for 1 (Sharma 96*, Jain 58) beat New Zealand 207 for 7 by 9 wickets
ScorecardJaya Sharma played a stellar role, for the second time in as many matches, as the Indian Women romped home to a facile nine wicket victory against New Zealand in the second one-dayer at Aurangabad. After the bowlers had done an excellent job of restricting the visitors to only 207, the Indians lost only one wicket as they finished the job with more than two overs to spare.The story was similar to the first one-dayer in Mumbai, that India won, as New Zealand were kept on a tight leash from the beginning. The Indian spinners came to the fore and teased the batsmen all day with Nooshin Al Khadeer finishing up as the most successful bowler with two wickets. Amita Sharma, Deepa Kulkarni and Neetu David also bowled a nagging line and dried up the runs to a great extent.Maia Lewis (47), the captain, Haidee Tiffen (44) and Kate Pulford (37) chipped in with useful contributions but the runs came at a crawl and New Zealand lost their way in the middle-overs. In the end, Lewis’s knock took them past two hundred and gave them some chance.The Indian openers kept abreast with the run-rate and never found themselves in any trouble. Sharma cracked 11 fours in her fine innings and Anju Jain proved an ideal foil. Jain, unhurried throughout he stay, fell shortly after making her fifty, but that was when the fun began. Mihali Raj unveiled some classical shots as a flurry of boundaries were executed. She raced to 38 of just 34 balls and finished the match with a flourish as India took a 2-0 lead in the five match series.

The Christchurch Junior Cricket Association draw for Saturday is:(All matches to start at 9am)Senior Traditional Two-day:Section 1:Bwu1 v Nb1 Raw2,Hals1 v Oc1 Elm4,Stac1 v Es1 Stac3,Es2 v Med1 Med1.Section 2:Hare1 v Hh1 Red1,Es3 v Oc2 Ilam5,Stac2 v Cagr1 Cagr1,Syd1 v Hals2 Halsd1.Senior Traditional One-day:Section 1:Bwu2 v Es5 Cla1,Pk4 v Sum1 Bar1,Med2 v Hsob1 Hgsc,Syd5 v Oc3 Cash1,Oc4 v Bwu3 Burn7,Horn1 v Es4 Burw3.Section 2:Bwu4 v Syd6 Burn5,Syd7 v Stac3 Stac4a,Med3 v Nb2 Ilam2,Hals3 v Horn2 Halsd2,Stc1 v Cagr2 Stc3,Sum2 v Lpw2 Bar2,Syd2 v Sum3 Syd4.Section 3:Bwu5 v Oc8 Burn10,Lpw4 v Oc5 Ens2,Upr1 v Mp1 Emc1,Bwu7 v Med4 Burn9,Oc6 v Bwu6 Ilam1,Syd8 v Med6 Syd2,Es6 v Med5 Stal1,Stc2 v Oc7 Stc4.Junior Traditional One-day:Section 1:Oc15 v Pk5 Fns1a,Oc10 v Es10 Stal2,Syd14 v Med7 Cash2a,Hals4 v Es11 Halsd3,Oc11 v Oc12 Ilam4.Section 2:Bwu9 v Syd15 Ilam3,Syd17 v Sum4 Lind1,Nb3 v Hare2 Stal3,Lpw5 v Horn3 Han1a,Oc13 v Hals5 Halsd4,Es12 v Cagr3 Cagr3.Section 3:Heath1 v Oc16 Hd1,Oc14 v Upr2 Rd1,Upr3 v Lpw6 Ens3,Syd18 v Hals6 Beck2,Stac4 v Pk6 Stac5,Bwu8 v Nb4 Burn8.Junior Modified:Zone 1:Bwu11 v Hals8 West1a,Hsob3 v Bwu10 Kirk1a,Oc21 v Sum5 Polo3a,Oc24 v Oc22 Polo1a,Oc20 v Med8 Polo4a,Hals7 v Oc23 Halss1a.Zone 2:Es14 v Nb4 Sis1a,Es16 v Mp2 Polo2a,Mp3 v Es15 Bow1a,Syd21 v Syd22 Thor1a,Syd20 Bye.Junior Average:Zone 1:Sum7 v Heath2 Brgn1,Lpw9 v Lpw8 Brgn2,Hals9 v Sum6 Brgn3,Hals11 v Syd34 Brgn4,Syd30 v Syd32 Brgn5,Syd33 v Hals12 Brgn6,Syd35 v Hals10 Brgn7,Hh2 v Syd31 Brgn8.Zone2:Nb5 v Cagr4 Walt6,Stac6 v Nb6 Walt7,Cagr5 v Stac5 Walt8,Es23 v Oc34 BurwN1,Es25 v Syd36 Brgn9,Syd37 v Es24 Brgn10,Oc35 v Pk7 BurwN2,Oc36 v Hare3 Walt9.Zone 3:Med10 v Horn4 Jel2,Ricc1 v Med9 Jel3,Mp5 v Oc37 Jel4,Oc31 v Oc32 Jel5,Oc33 v Oc30 Jel6,Hare4 v Mp4 Jel7,Hsob4 Bye.Kiwi:Zone 1:Lpw10 v Heath3 Brad1,Syd41 v Hals14 Brad2,Syd43 v Sum9 Brad3,Hals13 v Syd42 Brad4,Syd40 v Hh3 Brad5,Sum8 v Syd44 Brad6.Zone 2:Cagr7 v Nb7 Walt1,Nb8 v Cagr6 Walt2,Med11 v Stac7 Walt3.Zone3:Pk9 v Horn6 Walt5,Oc40 v Pk8 Walt4,Ricc2 v Oc45 Jel1,Oc41 v Mp6 Elm7,Oc42 v Mp7 Elm8,Oc46 v Oc43 Elm5,Oc44 v Upr4 Elm6,Horn5 v Tait1 Jel8.

Cricket Australia has announced a 13-player squad, including 7 NSW players, to take on New Zealand in the first leg of the six-match Rose Bowl series beginning in Auckland on 11 FebruaryThe NSW players selected in the Commonwealth Bank Southern Stars are:

Player	Suburb	Club	State Caps	ODI caps
Alex Blackwell	Griffith	Gordon	26	5
Leonie Coleman	Moonbi	UTS Balmain	69	0
Shannon Cunneen	Lane Cove	Gordon	27	0
Julie Hayes	Gladesville	UTS Balmain	80	23
Lisa Keightley	Mudgee	UTS Balmain	99	54
Lisa Sthalekar	North Sydney	Gordon	60	17
Emma Twining	Glenwood	UTS Balmain	55	12

In a series of changes, New South Wales pair Leonie Coleman and Shannon Cunneen have been drafted into the Commonwealth Bank Southern Stars team for the first time.Cunneen comes into the Australian team from outside the original 2003-04 Commonwealth Bank Southern Stars squad named in April 2003. The 26-year-old has scored 230 runs in the Women’s National Cricket League (WNCL) at an average of 32.85, finishing in the competition’s top 10 run-scorers.Wicket-keeper Coleman, 24, has previously represented Australia at youth level and has enjoyed a consistent year for the New South Wales Breakers, with six dismissals behind the stumps.A further change to the Australian line-up sees New South Wales stalwart Lisa Keightley step out of retirement to make a return to the national team.Keightley, who announced her retirement from the international level in December 2002, played 54 one-day internationals for Australia. She did not play in Australia’s recent Ashes Tests or its limited-overs series against New Zealand, India and England last year, but has played for state team New South Wales this season.Chairperson of selectors Margaret Jennings said the changes to the squad were about keeping the team balanced and flexible."Shannon Cunneen has had an exceptional year in the WNCL, playing as an attacking batter and that’s something we encourage and are looking for in terms of developing the right squad for next year’s World Cup," said Jennings."We also want to give Leonie Coleman a chance and see how she performs in New Zealand. Leonie has had a consistent year and done everything asked of her, so she deserves this opportunity."The side will gain the experience of Lisa Keightley who makes her return. Lisa has had a great season and put herself back into contention for the national team and we feel she will fit in well and add some stability to the middle order."Cunneen said she was thrilled with the news of her selection. "This is a fantastic opportunity for me and I really want to make the most of it," said Cunneen."Even though I wasn’t named in the original Australian squad, I still set the goal for myself to work hard because you just never know what can happen, and it shows that selection is open for anyone who is playing well enough."Coleman said her experience at youth level would assist in making the step into the international arena. "I’m rapt that the selectors have shown faith in bringing me into the squad," said Coleman."The chance to represent Australia at the highest level has been my dream and after gaining a taste of international competition with the youth side, I’m looking forward to this next challenge of playing with the Commonwealth Bank Southern Stars."The Commonwealth Bank Southern Stars team was chosen by the three-person national selection panel consisting of former Australian players Margaret Jennings (Chairperson) and Wendy Weir, and former Australian coach Peter Bakker.Australia plays New Zealand in six one-day international matches in the annual clash for the Rose Bowl trophy.The six-match limited-over series includes three matches in New Zealand (11, 15 and 17 February) and three matches in Australia at Sydney’s Bankstown Oval (21 February), Victoria’s Albert Ground (25 February) and Hobart’s Bellerive Oval (27 February).The Australian squad will be reselected at the end of the New Zealand leg of the tour, and announced on 18 February.FOUR NSW PLAYERS SELECTED IN AUSTRALIAN YOUTH (UNDER 23’S) TEAMNSW strength was again confirmed with 4 players being named in the 13-player Commonwealth Bank Shooting Stars squad to play New Zealand A in four limited-over matches at Lincoln, New Zealand, beginning on 8 February.The NSW players selected in the Commonwealth Bank Shooting Stars are:

Player	Suburb	Club	State Caps
Leah Poulton (captain)	Wallsend	Wallsend	12
Kate Blackwell (vice-captain)	Griffith	Gordon	12
Sarah Aley	Mortdale	Bankstown	0
Sarah Andrews	Newcastle	Wallsend	20

India 280 for 7 (Laxman 131, Darvid 56, Gavaskar 54, Streak 3-53) beat Zimbabwe 277 for 6 (Carlisle 109, Ervine 100, Agarkar 3-39) by 3 runs
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VVS Laxman: whenever India needed him, he was there ©Getty Images

VVS Laxman could do no wrong today. Zimbabwe needed seven runs in four balls when Andy Blignaut hit a ball in the air towards midwicket, and Laxman, running in from deep midwicket, seemed just that shade too far way. But the improbable became possible in the space of a second, and Laxman took a magnificent tumbling catch to take the wicket – decisively, as it turned out for India. Laxman had taken another superb diving catch earlier, to dismiss Travis Friend, and there was also the small matter of the 131 runs he made while batting to rescue India from 4 for 3, and take them to 280 for 7 in their 50 overs. India won by three runs at the end, in a thrilling encounter in which Zimbabwe redeemed themselves for all their failures earlier in the series.For much of the last quarter of the match, though, Zimbabwe seemed the side most likely to win. It hadn’t seemed that way at the start of their innings, when they slid to 46 for 3, but Stuart Carlisle and Sean Ervine added 202 glorious runs, the highest partnership in Zimbabwe’s ODI history, to seize the upper hand. None of this was due to any complacency on the part of the Indians but rather, to the grit and intensity of the batsmen, who kept their heads while playing out of their skins.The first phase of their partnership contained many singles and twos, as they eschewed risks and consolidated the innings. But they punished any loose bowling that came their way. Carlisle was especially severe on anything short and slightly wide outside off, cutting with ferocity, while Ervine welcomed any chance to free his arms. They did not panic after the required run-rate climbed past six an over; instead, they kept on accumulating runs, and kept Zimbabwe in the chase. With wickets in hand, Zimbabwe were the favourites as the last phase of the match began.But once Ervine was run out for 100 in the 46th over, sacrificing his wicket after a mix-up, the innings unravelled. Ajit Agarkar, who had bowled excellently at the start as well, and Irfan Pathan bowled a couple of tight overs, though Zimbabwe were still in with a chance until Laxman took that superb catch. Carlisle, who made 109, couldn’t take his team through the last mile – but the fact that they were still running was awesome in itself.Earlier, India had got off to their worst ever start – never before had India lost their first three wickets for as little as four runs. Sanjay Bangar, in the side in place of the injured Yuvraj Singh, and Parthiv Patel were both out for zero, trying to drive Heath Streak and edging him behind. Sourav Ganguly, batting at No. 4, was out again to a short ball, top-edging an attempted pull off Blignaut. The underdogs had taken the first bite.

Sean Ervine engineered Zimbabwe’s tremendous fightback with run-a-ball 100 © AFP

But India had the last laugh. First, Laxman and Rahul Dravid, who made 56, added 131 crucial runs. Laxman was a revelation in the first 15 overs, confounding Zimbabwe by whipping balls from outside off to the leg side, and punishing anything remotely short or full or wide. His cutting and cover-driving was characteristically elegant, but it was his pull shots that left one gasping, both for their audacity – just short, outside off, midwicket boundary -and the effortlessness with which he seemed to execute them.Dravid, meanwhile, was a picture of classical grace and beauty, especially when driving through cover. The two took the score to 83 at the end of the 15th over, after which, with the field restrictions off, the momentum slowed. Laxman, who had reached his 50 off just 44 balls, concentrated on milking the bowling as his strike-rate dipped, and Dravid did the same.Ray Price was the pick of the bowlers, not afraid to flight the ball and varying his pace well. He eventually got rid of Dravid, drawing Dravid into a pull, holding the ball back just a bit, and inducing a mishit to Blignaut at short midwicket (137 for 4). Dravid had made 56, and the new man in was Rohan Gavaskar, who would finally have enough overs left in the game to play himself in.As indeed he did. Gavaskar, running adroitly between wickets, kept the scoreboard ticking along, as Laxman eased towards his century. Price and Grant Flower bowled well in the middle overs, and did not allow the batsmen too many boundaries. Price took 1 for 43 in his 10 overs, while Flower had figures of 0 for 48 in nine, which would have looked much better had he not been hit for two sixes towards the end of his spell – one, an inside-out shot over cover from Laxman; the other, a hoick over midwicket from Gavaskar.Gavaskar’s fluent innings of 54 came to an end in the 47th over, when he mishit Douglas Hondo to Blignaut at midwicket (255 for 5), and wickets fell regularly after that, as India bumbled their way to 280 for 7 – only 33 runs had come off the last five overs, and in the end, it was left to Laxman to make sure that it was enough.

Sri Lanka 1 for 81 (Atapattu 29*, Sangakkara 16*) trail Australia 220 all out (Lehmann 63, Muralitharan 6-59) by 139 runs
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Murali may have destroyed Australia to reach 491 Test wickets, but by the end of the day Shane Warne was back in front with 492© Getty Images

Muttiah Muralitharan burst out of the blocks in the race to 500 wickets, ripping through Australia’s formidable batting order to leave Sri Lanka in pole position in the opening Test in Galle. Australia, wasting a crucial toss on a bald, sun-baked pitch, were bowled out for just 220 in 68.3 overs. Muralitharan snapped up 6 for 59, his best figures against Australia. Marvan Atapattu finished off the day with a brace of elegant cover-drives, and Kumar Sangakkara smashed Stuart MacGill for a magnificent six in the last over as Sri Lanka closed on 81 for 1 from 22 overs.It was the 40th time in his 86-match career that Murali had taken five wickets in an innings – extending his own world record – and it wiped out Shane Warne’s six-wicket lead as he extended to his career tally to 491 wickets. The chances of Murali reaching 500 in this game remain extremely remote, but Sri Lanka’s cricket board is taking no chances, speeding up the production of souvenir T-shirts and a commemorative award.Darren Lehmann, back in the side after an Achilles-tendon injury, used his experience and prowess against the spinners to hold the innings together with a battling 63. Lehmann added 72 with Damien Martyn (42) for the fourth wicket, and then 52 for the seventh with fellow returnee Warne (23), who was playing his first Test for 12 months after a drugs ban.The Australian innings, though was dominated by incendiary passages of play. First, midway through the afternoon with a small crowd tiring under a fierce sun, three wickets fell for 15 runs to bring the Martyn-Lehmann recovery to an abrupt halt. Then, straight after the tea interval, the last four wickets tumbled for just five runs in the space of 13 balls.Sri Lanka’s dream day continued as Atapattu and Sanath Jayasuriya added 53 for the first wicket. But Warne’s return to the bowling crease gave Australia something to cheer. There was no wonder-ball to relaunch his career, as eight runs were scored off his first over, but an innocuous straight one accounted for Jayasuriya (35), who missed an attempted sweep.Earlier, Sri Lanka opened the bowling with Chaminda Vaas, their only fast bowler, and Kumar Dharmasena, one of six slow men in the XI. Vaas found a smidgin of swing in his first couple of overs, but the pitch was back-breakingly slow from a fast-bowler’s perspective and, although Hayden offered a difficult return chance on 19, the spinners were always going to hold the key.Justin Langer was the first spin casualty of the series as he rocked onto the back foot and tried to punch Dharmasena through the off side. He was deceived by the low bounce of the offbreak, and Sangakkara took a juggling catch off the toe of the bat (31 for 1).Ricky Ponting, who had finally assumed the Test leadership from Steve Waugh, showed his aggressive intentions immediately. He had batted superbly in the one-day series, clocking up four consecutive fifties, and he started in an equally business-like manner here as 31 runs were added in 39 balls.Muralitharan was drafted into the attack with immediate success, courtesy of an athletic, full-stretch catch by Upul Chandana, sprinting around from a deepish square leg. Hayden, who had top-edged an attempted sweep, had scored 41 from 46 balls, with six fours. The introduction of Chandana was equally successful, this time accounting for the prized scalp of Ponting, stumped by two metres after being lured down the pitch by a flighted legbreak (76 for 3).Martyn and Lehmann steadied the innings for a while, adding 72 in 131 balls for the fourth wicket either side of lunch. Like their colleagues back in the dressing-room, they endeavoured to be positive whenever given an opportunity to score. Lehmann was the bolder, shuffling down the wicket to the slow bowlers as often as he could, even to Muralitharan, whom he lifted for six over long-on.As the partnership started to reach sizeable proportions, Sri Lanka slipped back onto the defensive. Dharmasena operated with a 7-2 field against Martyn, who hasn’t scored a Test century for 25 months. The ploy worked, as he paddle-swept an offbreak straight into the hands of Mahela Jayawardene at leg slip. Martyn had scored 42 from 81 balls and hit three fours (148 for 4).Muralitharan, called back into the attack for a second spell, then spun Sri Lanka firmly back into the driving-seat: Andrew Symonds was adjudged to have edged a fizzing offbreak via his pads to Jayawardene at slip for a debut duck, and Adam Gilchrist’s poor run continued as he toe-ended an awkward sweep to Dharmasena, running in from deep square (163 for 6).Sri Lanka were firmly in charge now, as three wickets had tumbled for 15. But Lehmann, dropped at silly point when 30 off Muralitharan, battled hard, along with Warne. Lehmann chugged past fifty for the fifth time in his career while Warne, riding his luck against Muralitharan, smacked four meaty fours in a valuable cameo.They carried Australia within sight of a competitive score by tea. But Muralitharan ensured that was never achieved after Lehmann fidgeted too far across his stumps, leaving them exposed. Vaas’s offcutter feathered Warne’s outside edge, and Murali mopped up the rabbits: Kasprowicz was bowled through the gate, and Stuart MacGill made a complete hash of a straight one, to leave Murali on a hat-trick in the second innings.

Sourav Ganguly: aggressive on the field, and off it© AFP

Sourav Ganguly might have landed himself in trouble after terming as”ridiculous” a decision taken by the ICC not to dock overs from the side bowling first if it fails to complete its quota of overs in the stipulated time. The Pakistani bowlers, who conceded 30 runs in wides and no-balls, consumed nearly 20 additional minutes to complete their 50 overs, and Ganguly wasn’t amused to learn that Pakistan’s batsmen would still have 50 overs available to them.”At the break, when I went to the match referee to ask how many overs Pakistan had to get the target in, he said there would be no overs docked,” Ganguly said. “I find that ridiculous. We weren’t told about it in the meeting with the match referee [Ranjan Madugalle] yesterday, but irrespective of [that], I think the rule is totally ridiculous.”When you are in a tight situation, and when winning and not losing is so important, players don’t mind foregoing money. In the ’70s and ’80s, people used to speak of the West Indies’ slow over-rate, that they bowled only 11 or 12 overs an hour. If this persists, I think that situation will return again.”What Ganguly does not realise is that the rule actually changed more than a year ago. It was on April 1, 2003, just after the World Cup, that it came into effect. The ICC Playing Handbook for 2003-04, which most journalists carry, says that in the event of the over-rate being below that required by ICC regulations, the referee shall “impose the following sanction at the end of the match: (i) for each of the first five overs short of the minimum overs required, 5% of each player’s gross match fee in the fielding side; (ii) for the sixth and any subsequent over short of the minimum overs required, 10% of each player’s gross match fee in the fielding side.”Further, if the number of overs short is more than two overs in a one-dayer, the captain will be charged with conduct contrary to the spirit of the game and could be suspended. This was first put in practice in the Sharjah Cup that began on April 3, 2003, just two days after the rule came into force.By questioning a year-old regulation, Ganguly has not only advertised his ignorance of the new regulations, but might also have laid himself open to a charge of breach of conduct.

Sussex 200 and 399 for 7 (Montgomerie 50, Goodwin 102, Ambrose 60, Prior 92) drew with MCC 539 for 8 dec
ScorecardSussex made sure that they didn’t start their year as champions with a defeat, batting solidly through the day at Lord’s until bad light brought about an early finish at 5pm to force a draw with MCC. By then Sussex were just about safe, 60 runs ahead with three wickets still remaining.Sussex’s batting heroes were Murray Goodwin, their stand-in captain, and the highly rated Matt Prior. Goodwin played attractively for 102, which included 18 fours and a six, while the Johannesburg-born Prior just missed out on his century, falling to Martin Saggers for 92. He hit 15 fours before becoming one of four victims behind the stumps for James Foster, whose century yesterday will have interested the selectors. There was also a breezy 60 for Tim Ambrose, Sussex’s own keeper/batsman.Saggers – he of the one Test appearance at Chittagong last October – was lively, and finished with 3 for 67, but MCC’s other bowlers proved a little expensive as the early-season cobwebs were dusted off. But all in all, the resumption of this fixture after 13 years was a success, despite the occasionally wintry weather.

Within a day of the scrapping of Zimbabwe’s Test series against Australia comes the news that South Africa might not be willing to play them either. The South Africans are scheduled to play three one-dayers and two Tests at home in February 2005, but Ray Mali, the president of the United Cricket Board of South Africa, stated that they wouldn’t host a second-string Zimbabwe team.Agreeing with the decision to postpone the Australian series, Mali said: “We would not like to play against a very inferior Zimbabwe team and so we will be doing everything possible to assist them in the development of a top-class side.”Talking to Reuters, Mali stressed that the South African board would continue to work with the ZCU in an effort to resolve the crisis in Zimbabwe. “I have spent the last two weeks talking to the Zimbabwe Cricket Union as the representative of our board and things have turned out the way we wanted. But no cricket board can be held to ransom and the issue with the rebel players must be resolved quickly.”Zimbabwe have played five Tests against South Africa so far, but only one of them was an overseas game, at Bloemfontein in 1999-2000, when a full-strength Zimbabwean team – inclusive of the Flower brothers, Murray Goodwin and Neil Johnson – were thrashed by an innings and 13 runs. If the tour to South Africa does happen, the plight of Tatenda Taibu and co. would, one suspects, be much worse.