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Rahul Dravid, the Indian batsman, has said it would be wrong to concentrate solely on tackling Ajantha Mendis, the Sri Lankan spinner, before the three-Test series against Sri Lanka begins on Wednesday at the SSC in Colombo.Mendis, known for his variations, was hyped as a sensation before his international debut and in his eighth match, spun Sri Lanka to victory in the Asia Cup final against India with figures of 6 for 13. However, he remains an unknown entity for the Indian Test middle order.”It will be a big mistake to focus just on Mendis,” Dravid said. “We will just play it as we see it. We have come against a lot of bowlers in our times and have succeeded against them. Sure, he is going to be one of their four or five bowlers, but you cannot just focus on Mendis. They have got a couple of other guys [Muttiah Muralitharan and Chaminda Vaas] who have got 1000 [Test] wickets between them.”India are currently third in the ICC Test rankings, with Sri Lanka two spots behind but Dravid was wary of Sri Lanka’s record at home and felt they had the right balance.”They have got the right balance in these conditions. They are always a big threat at home,” he said. “They have a good batting line-up that adapts well, they can bat for long periods. But we have come here with a good team as well. If we play to our potential, I think it will be a good Test series.”The series is of great significance to Sachin Tendulkar, who needs 172 runs to beat Brian Lara’s world record Test aggregate of 11,953 runs, but Dravid assured that the pre-series talk in the dressing room was on winning the series and not the record.”I hope he [Tendulkar] achieves the landmark here,” Dravid said. “We are hoping it is in the first innings of the first Test on the first day itself, so we can have a big celebration. There has been no talk in the dressing room of either the record or anything like that. We are focused on winning the series and so is Sachin.”India last won a Test series in Sri Lanka back in 1993. They lost their most recent tour – 2-1 – in 2001.

PERTH, Oct 23 AAP – England’s gamble on injured players appears to be backfiring already with paceman Alex Tudor under consideration for a call-up to the Ashes tour squad.Less than a week – and just one limited overs match – into the tour, coach Duncan Fletcher admitted today the 25-year-old Surrey quick could be summoned by Monday.Seeking its first Ashes series win in 16 years, England’s pace bowling shortcomings were badly exposed as it conceded 301 runs to the Chairman’s XI in 50 overs in the embarrassing 58-run loss at Lilac Hill yesterday.Tudor, who has taken 26 wickets in nine Tests at 31.5 since his debut at the WACA ground four years ago, is training at the national cricket academy in Adelaide.The tourists had planned for him to be in Australia in case members of its injury-plagued fast bowling brigade were unable to regain fitness.”We had contingency plans that we have got a player in South Australia who we might be looking at,” Fletcher said.”We’ll make that decision over the next four or five days.”The Lilac Hill defeat heightened the tourists’ grave concerns over the fitness of spearhead Darren Gough (knee) and allrounder Andrew Flintoff (hernia) who sat out the match.Such is the concern over Flintoff that he will fly to Adelaide tomorrow because busy team physiotherapist Kirk Russell can’t provide the necessary one-on-one treatment for him.Fletcher said Flintoff was still in the running to be ready for the first Ashes Test at the Gabba on November 7 but he wasn’t positive about Gough’s prospects.Fletcher hoped Flintoff, who is returning from a hernia operation, could recover as well as captain Nasser Hussain did from a similar problem during the 1998-99 Ashes tour.Quicks Andrew Caddick and Matthew Hoggard currently appear the most likely opening combination for England in the first Test at the Gabba starting on November 7.Youngster Simon Jones (side strain) looks underdone while Stephen Harmison’s confidence would have been sapped after delivering 16 wides in Tuesday’s loss.Fletcher expected England’s form batsman Michael Vaughan, who had a minor knee operation last month, to play in the three-day match against Western Australia starting Monday despite having an injection yesterday.Fletcher testily brushed off a question on whether England should have brought so many injured players.”Should we have left them at home then?” he said.Meanwhile West Australian captain Michael Hussey said his side would look to ensure the tourists continued to suffer a difficult lead-up to the five-Test Ashes series.”If we play as well as we can, I think we will keep the pressure on England and we won’t give them an easy build-up into the first Test,” he said.”We won’t be doing them any favours put it that way.”England’s two-day tour match against Western Australia starts tomorrow at the WACA ground.Australian players Adam Gilchrist and Damien Martyn were expected to sit out next week’s three-day tour match while Justin Langer and Brad Williams should be available.The WA team is: Western Australia: Mike Hussey (c), Beau Casson, Michael Clark, Murray Goodwin, Kade Harvey, Shaun Marsh, Scott Meuleman, Marcus North, Chris Rogers, Luke Ronchi, Callum Thorp, Paul Wilson.

It took an innings of raw courage, as much as instinctive class, from Brian Lara, and high-quality bowling by the constantly improving Pedro Collins for the West Indies to overcome Kenya’s spirited challenge in the ICC Champions Trophy yesterday.It ended with a distressed Lara in a Colombo hospital for the second time in nine months, awaiting tests on suspected hepatitis, a liver ailment.During the West Indies tour here last December, he fractured and dislocated his left elbow in an on-field accident that kept him out of the game for four months.Careless Kenyan fielding that missed the double world record-holder at 37, 45 and 61 on his way to 111 – and, less significantly, Shivnarine Chanderpaul at three and 36 in his laboured 40 off 76 balls – also aided the West Indies to get home by 29 runs.Had they not converted a clear chance of victory into a stunning, last-ball loss to South Africa in their opening match last Friday, the result would have booked their semifinal place.That possibility is now beyond their control, depending as it does on Kenya somehow upsetting South Africa on Friday.Summoning the willpower to survive the physical torment that he clearly endured throughout his two-and-a-half hours in the middle, Lara defied the sweltering 35-degree heat and high humidity to compile his 15th One-Day International hundred.His first, unconvincing, 50 took him 80 deliveries as he battled against the illness that began to take hold the previous day.Although needing the on-field attention of his non-playing teammates and lying flat on his back, panting uncomfortably, during the refreshment break, he plundered his next 61 runs off a mere 41.It was acceleration, complemented by Ramnaresh Sarwan’s busy, run-a-ball 20 and Wavell Hinds’ two breathtaking sixes in 20 from just seven balls, that gave the innings an emphatic conclusion.The last five overs yielded 56 runs, boosting the 50-overs total to 260 for six. Kenya were bowled out with five balls left, for 232.Collins, offering nothing to the batsmen with his controlled, accurate left-arm movement, immediately set Kenya back with a wicket in his second over, bowling Kennedy Obuya round his legs.Every time he was called back to check Kenya’s worrying advance, led by captain Steve Tikolo’s 93 off 91 balls with nine fours, the left-armer responded with a restraining spell.His figures when he appropriately formalised the result with the first ball of the last over by bowling Martin Suji were 9.1-4-18-3. They were his best in the shorter game. Not many have had better.On a pitch of slow pace offering encouraging turn, batting was never straightforward. Chanderpaul, as he did against South Africa, made it seem as difficult as wringing water from stone. Until he finally found his range, and rode his luck, it also mocked Lara’s timing.The off-spin of Maurice Odumbe, Man Of The Match in Kenya’s unforgettable win over the West Indies in the World Cup six years ago, and Tikolo, another survivor from that time, and the leg-spin of Collins Obuya presented the main problems.Odumbe gave up only 21 from his ten overs for the wicket of Chanderpaul, caught behind cutting for 40 in the 29th over.At the start, the faster bowlers kept Chris Gayle scoreless his first 15 balls but the tall left-hander then lashed two long sixes off successive balls from Thomas Obuya, one of three Kenyan brothers in the side – two named Obuya and the other Otieno. He had made 33 off 42 balls when he topedged a catch. For the next 17.4 overs, as they added 55, Chanderpaul and Lara could hardly get the ball off the square, so the West Indies were only 115 for two when Chanderpaul went.At Hooper’s dismissal in the 41st, caught at deep midwicket, they were 179 for three but Lara was then finding his range, finishing with two sixes and eight fours when bowled by Tikolo with 11 balls remaining in spite of his distress. Sarwan and Hinds simply added to the momentum.Collins apart, the early West Indies bowling was ragged, as Tikolo, long since proven a batsman of Test quality, made it look even more so.

B & H Quarter Final
Gloucestershire CCC v Worcestershire CCC
at Bristol on Tuesday 21st May 2002
Ticket are on sale in the Club Office priced at:

Adults £12.00OAP £9.00Under 16 £6.00

For more details please call the Ticket Office on 0117 910 8010

Pitch punditry is best practiced with extreme caution. Few present at Chelmsford could have anticipated that Essex would roar to 262/9 in their Benson and Hedges Cup semi-final with Worcestershire. Ronnie Irani smashed 57, with Andy Flower hitting a mature 45 after Nasser Hussain’s rollicking 35 put Worcester on the back foot. It was only a late order collapse which prevented Essex turning a good total into an excellent one.Essex captain Irani glanced ruefully at the dressing-room as Graeme Hickinserted the home side on a green top. Torrential rain yesterday hamperedpreparations, and the pitch looked damp with tufts of live grass. Heavy cloud cover, and Allan Donald opening the bowling should have spelled trouble for Essex.In the event it was Kabir Ali, and poor running between the wickets, which prevented a massive score. Kabir, the leading bowler in England this year, bowls a skiddy away-swinger with admirable accuracy. He was more effective than Donald at the death, finishing with 4-34. David Leatherdale and Stuart Lampitt also helped to keep the brakes on.A mixture of poor bowling, excellent timing and agricultural heaving coupledwith what was, in essence, a fairly docile pitch helped Essex into a potentially winning position. The drizzle which delayed play by four hoursmeans that a result will probably not be attainable tonight. Play can continue until 8pm, by which time the direction of the game should be a little clearer.Putting all thoughts of the pitch aside, Nasser Hussain took advantage of anawful opening spell from Alamgir Sheriyar. The England skipper hit fourboundaries in a row, two cover-drives, one through point, and a hooked six.At the other end, Donald was accurate without being unplayable.Kabir Ali replaced Sheriyar, and the youngster immediately found his length.Bowling with a little nip, Kabir hit the seam, moving the ball away from theright-hander. Sure enough, Kabir claimed the first success, Hussain brilliantly caught above his head by Anurag Singh at mid-on.Graham Napier joined Darren Robinson, the pair initially unable to keep themomentum Hussain had set. Stuart Lampitt was his usual miserly self, thoughKabir looked the more threatening. After attempting several lusty blows, Napier was caught by Lampitt at long-on from the bowling of Sheriyar. Andy Flower announced his arrival with a classy straight drive and a lazy clip over the leg side to the fence. Robinson’s stoic 46 ended with a misjudged single, and fast work by David Leatherdale negated the need for the third umpire.While Flower’s runs came with an almost nonchalant ease, Irani was all hustle and bustle. Eager to go over the top, he hammered Donald over long-on as Flower turned the strike over regularly. Irani’s first six would have looked good on the baseball diamond, a mighty heave over mid-wicket from a Lampitt full toss. A mid-pitch mix-up ended Flower’s knock, Leatherdale claiming his second run-out with an easy run to the stumps. Not one to brood for long, Irani launched the hapless Sheriyar – who had already missed two catches – over the on-side for six.Irani celebrated his fifty with another huge six, Sheriyar dispatched overlong-on again. Next ball, thinking the ball had passed `keeper Steve Rhodes,Irani left his ground. Rhodes whipped off the bails to end an innings whichmust leave the Essex faithful wondering why Irani is not in England’s one-day set-up. A third run-out saw Aftab Habib floundering, bringing big-hitting Jon Dakin to the wicket. An impressive death spell from Kabir bought three more wickets, as Dakin and England player Paul Grayson failed to capitalise.Despite a disappointing end, Essex will be delighted with their final total.Worcestershire’s strong batting line-up are capable of anything, but thehome side should be confident of a trip to Lord’s.

SHARJAH, Oct 16: Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB)’s decision to call up Shahid Afridi as a replacement for ‘out of commission’ Abdul Razzaq to face the rampaging Australians in the third Test is another mind-boggling step which defies logic.This only confirms PCB’ management’s incompetency and lack of imagination.Shahid, who arrived here early Wednesday, first of all should have been in the original team. He was overlooked for reasons better known to the PCB selectors and the top management.Shahid’s record as an all-rounder at Test level is better than Razzaq’s. Even the unavailability of Razzaq is no excuse to replace him with Shahid as the second all-rounder Rana Naveed-ul-Hasan is in the original squad and so far done nothing but act as a “drinks carrier”.In case the PCB’s blundering management decided to use Shahid as an opener in place of a mediocre Imran Nazir there is already a third opener in the squad – Imran Farhat – who should be given a chance because he too was regarded as a better option than Shahid in the first instance by the selectors.It is certain that Shahid will play in Saturday’s Test. The all-rounder will be under tremendous pressure to perform well in this one-off given to him. And if he fails with the bat here then the selectors and the team management should be blamed.One cannot expect a player of even a bigger stature than Shahid to performhis best when the team’s morale is so low and especially when the rivals are the world’s best side. So it seems that Shahid is once again being sacrificed by PCB.With the series already decided, another victory for Australia will give them a second clean sweep against Pakistan, which is the most likely outcome barring a mini-miracle from beleaguered Waqar Younis’ boys.And the Aussies are determined to heap further humiliation on Pakistan by winning sixth successive Test success, a perfect retort to uncalled for empty threats from Shoaib Akhtar and coach Richard Pybus.The Australians did their talking on the field and the result of the second Test amply illustrated the steely determination of Steve Waugh and his colleagues.Majority of the diehard Pakistan team’s followers believe that the third Test is not going to last the distance as Waqar’s boys are not in the same league as the Australians. They are not accepting PCB’s excuses that the team tackling Aussies is short of experience.Another example of PCB’s bowing to player power is Razzaq’s presence here when he should have been flown back to Pakistan to give his injured wrist time to heal. Why he is still wandering around Sharjah and Dubai shopping centres with his left hand in sling is anybody’s guess.And as he has been ruled out playing cricket for six weeks there is no justification of him being with the team as one of its members.Reuters adds: Wicket-keeper Rashid Latif has been passed fit to play in the final Test.The former Pakistan captain was unable to keep wicket in the humiliating second Test defeat because of a muscle spasm in his back.Rashid, who went for an MRI scan on Tuesday said: “The scan showed no major problems, and the problems which surfaced will be treated with ultra sound, massage and icing.”I have started training and will play the third Test as wicketkeeper and batsman.”

Indian captain Sourav Ganguly said on Tuesday that his lean phase with the bat was over, and expressed confidence of striking form again in the coming Zimbabwe series. “I failed in only one series (in the recent one against Australia)…there is a lot of talk going on….I have been around for five years. It’s the first time I have struggled. This is bound to happen…it’s past now,” Ganguly said.Stating that he was now looking forward to the series against Zimbabwe, Ganguly told reporters after the morning session in the ongoing conditioning camp at the Chinnaswamy stadium in Bangalore that he was working hard on his cricket the same way as he used to do before. “I am pretty positive about the nextseries,” he said.”It is important to take forward the good work done against the Australians. We played well against Australia. We hope to continue that in Zimbabwe. If we play well, I don’t think there is any reason why we should not win.”Stating that the Zimbabwe series was going to be challenging, he said “Zimbabwe is a good side. They are a much improved side than what they were. They are a formidable side at home.”Asked if the Test series win over the mighty Australians had given the Indians a new confidence, he said “Every win gives you confidence. It’s important winning abroad.”Ganguly indicated that Samir Dighe was going to be the first choice as far as wicket-keeping is concerned. “Samir Dighe has done well in the series against Australia. He has probably won the series for us. He has also scored important runs. He should be a handy prospect for Zimbabwe.”Ganguly said the team would be picked on May 17, but its final composition would be decided only after reaching Zimbabwe.On the preparatory camp here, he said “it has been organised well and the players are working hard. The facilities are fantastic and the climate is superb.” The players were also practising yoga in the camp. “I think yoga is good for the body and the mind. You stretch a lot better.”Declining to compare coach John Wright with any other coach, he said “He (Wright) is a good man. He is gelling well with the team. All the boys have a good rapport with him.” Ganguly also refused to discuss India’s prospects in the tri-series involving the West Indies, saying “it is too far (away).”He said he did not see any problem if the wicket favoured seamers in Zimbabwe. “That’s going to help us. We have some fast bowlers in the team. It is important to put enough runs on the board for seamers to take wickets.”On the Indian team’s hectic international schedule in the next few months, Ganguly said: “You got to accept it. You are playing professionally for India. The itinerary is fixed. You play ten years of international cricket and should make the most out of it.”

New Zealand have been to Pakistan many times before but there is an element of the unknown in travelling there at this time of year.Traditionally, tours have been in the late Northern Hemisphere summer, but this time around it is in late spring, early summer.And while that might normally affect travellers, to cricketers it can mean a lot, especially in terms of pitch conditions.According to the available information, the New Zealanders have been well served with their itinerary and conditions appear favourable.They won’t be without conditioning after nearly two weeks in Sharjah and then the one-day games preceding the two Test series.However, it won’t only be climatic heat the side faces, for it is clear from the Sharjah exercise that Pakistan is back to being a formidable unit with Shoaib Akhtar now back in harness with Waqar Younis and Wasim Akram also rounding out the fast bowling attack.Saqlain Mushtaq continues to send down his wily spin and gives the side a formidable look.Even without several members of the front-line attack, Chris Cairns, Shane Bond, Dion Nash, Shayne O’Connor and the just-retired Chris Drum, New Zealand has been able to assemble an attack aware of what is needed to take on Pakistan, albeit developed as a result of injury problems over the last two summers.Daryl Tuffey capped his first two full years of international play with a six-wicket bag in the first innings of New Zealand’s third Test victory over England earlier this month. Chris Martin, his partner in crime when New Zealand inflicted a record defeat, and achieved a record win for itself, over Pakistan in 2001 has come back into the side while two newcomers, fast bowler Ian Butler and all-rounder Andre Adams bring new skills to the side.Butler is still raw but has shown a capacity to learn and Pakistan will provide him with a significant boost to his education.Adams is the sort of cricketer who is capable of keeping the turnstiles, or whatever counting method they use nowadays, clicking with his latent ability to do the unexpected whether it be with bat or ball.He is still fresh on the Test scene but that hasn’t stopped him playing the game in the best way he knows, by all-out attack. Deceptively fast when bowling, he is a hard-hitting batsman who is also lethal in the field.Once again, however, it is around the batsmen that New Zealand’s hopes will rest. They have to score the runs to allow the side to compete against the best Pakistan will fire at them.There were emerging signs, especially from Nathan Astle, Mark Richardson, Craig McMillan and Lou Vincent, this summer that consistency may be emerging in the batting and that will be welcomed. Captain Stephen Fleming had a lean series against England but batted well in Australia earlier in the summer and will be looking to get back into it against Pakistan.Matt Horne will also be looking to regain his best touches after a poor return in the first two Tests against England. He was dropped for the first Test.Chris Harris will be another interesting performer, especially if given a chance high in the middle-order, as was the case in New Zealand’s win over England at Auckland. He played the key hand in the first innings and dug the side out of a disastrous position.Interest on the wicket-keeping performance of Robbie Hart, who has taken the place of long-serving Adam Parore, will be unavoidable. He is the provincial captain of left-arm spinner Daniel Vettori and will be well versed in ‘keeping to him. He is also a useful performer with the bat and will maintain the long batting order New Zealand has enjoyed in recent times.Events last September in the United States, and subsequently in Afghanistan, may have precluded New Zealand from touring in October, but there has been a willingness for New Zealand to meet their obligations for the tour and the players have known about it for some time.In an ironic way, it has ensured a continuity of match play through a part of the year when there is not normally a lot of cricket and in terms of the lead-up to the World Cup next year, and in the Test programme overall, it is well-placed to help in the overall development of New Zealand’s players through what has been a difficult time.The programme for the tour is:ODIs: Sunday, April 21 v Pakistan (Karachi, day/night); Wednesday, April 24 v Pakistan (Rawalpindi, day/night); Saturday v Pakistan (Lahore, day/night).Tests: May 1-5 v Pakistan (Lahore); May 8-12 v Pakistan (Karachi).

Graeme Hick stated his credentials for a Test place with an authoritativeinnings against the Sri Lankan board President’s spinners at P.SaravanmuttuStadium today. He scored 75 crucial runs having come to the crease withEngland in trouble in their second innings and ensured that they go into thefinal day of this practice game with an excellent chance of securingvictory.

When Hick plays with the positive intent that he displayed todaythere are few better players of spin bowling. With an economy of movement hehit the ball with disconcerting power and regained the initiative from theSri Lanka spinners, who had taken three wickets in the space of three oversto leave England teetering on 119 for five.He signalled his intent from the beginning with a checked drive through extracover off Dinuk Hettiarachchi and then a clean straight six off the off spinof Thilan Samaraweera. Unlike some of his colleagues, who rely heavily uponthe sweep shot, Hick prefers to hit straight down the ground and isconfident when using his feet. He hit ten fours and one six in his 112 ballinnings.”I am feeling really good at the moment and that was valuable time for me at the crease today,” he said afterwards. “I thought I played well and was pleased with some of my shots as I had wanted to use my feet and hit down the ground.”We now have one more match before the First Test Match and I will keep trying my best to score runs, as will Michael, and then it’s up to the selectors. If he scores runs and England win then that’s fine. Everyone is making a lot of it, but we just want to get out there, play our best, and help England win.”Hick was well supported by Craig White, who made runs for the second time inthe match. The pair added 63 runs for the sixth wicket with Whitecontributing 39 of them. Even more so than Hick, he was bold in his methodand not afraid of lofting the ball over the infield.Then, when White was caught on the mid-wicket boundary after top-edging apull-sweep, Hick added a further 54 runs with Ashley Giles. He waseventually caught at cover trying to loft Test prospect, DinukHettiarachchi, who finished with five wickets, over mid on.Hick’s runs allowed Nasser Hussain the luxury of declaring on 261 for nine,which left the President’s XI with a stiff 326-run target. The Englandbowlers were given a 52-minute burst before the close of play in whichDarren Gough grabbed three wickets in a hostile opening spell to leave theSri Lankans on 20 for three.On the grimly slow pitches here Gough has charged up to the wicket and bowled with great pace and fire. He has hurried the batsmen and shown that the fast men need not be resigned to a supportive role in Sri Lanka.He trapped Jehan Mubrak lbw as the tall left-hander offered no stroke to astraight delivery and then clean bowled Michael Vandort with a briskinswinging yorker in his first over. Then, he had Chaminda Mendis snapped upin the gully moments after unsettling the President’s XI captain with apainful blow to the body.Earlier in the day Michael Atherton had eased any concerns over his formwith a fluent 47 from 80 balls. With Hussain being dismissed cheaply,Atherton added 60 runs with Graham Thorpe before he was adjudged to havebeen caught behind off the left arm spin of Hettiarachchi. The Surreyleft-hander went on to score an industrious 40 before being trapped lbw bythe same bowler.Alec Stewart scored just 11 runs as he was stumped for the second time inthe match and Michael Vaughan top-edged a sweep to short fine leg toregister his second duck of the tour.

Indian captain Sourav Ganguly said that his team was prepared mentally and physically for the forthcoming tour of Zimbabwe and expressed confidence of reversing India’s dismal performance overseas.”The preparation has been good. We are mentally and physically prepared for the Zimbabwe tour and I am pretty confident that we have a good chance of winning the series”, Ganguly said in an interview to Doordarshan in Kolkata on Tuesday.He said that the Indians were mentally fitter after their series win against the formidable Australians and hoped that his teammates will display the same toughness on the tour. “Mental preparation has to be done by the players, it is the individual player’s concern. The coach and the physio can look after the physical aspects. I expect all the players to be mentally fit”, the elegant left hander said.Ganguly, however, warned against any complacency creeping in despite the preparations. “Although the preparations have been good, we have to do well in the match. That is very important.”Ganguly, who has been practicing with a bowling machine in Kolkata since returning from the Bangalore camp, said that bowling machines were not of much help though it could be useful for mastering a particular stroke. “Bowling machines are not of much help. I practised with a machine for a few days only because I wanted to master a certain stroke. But for regular practice, it is not handy,” Ganguly said.On the conditions the team expected in Zimbabwe, the Indian captain said that the wickets were likely to assist the seamers and the pace bowlers had a key role to play. “The conditions in Zimbabwe generally assist the seamers. The ball is likely to seam”, he observed.Asked whether he would use himself as a bowler during the tour, Ganguly said “batting will be the first preference. Depending on the situation of the game, I will utilise my bowling.”