Miscellaneous

English born South African resident Richard Pybus has once again been appointed the coach of the Pakistan team for the home series against New Zealand, the Asian test Championship and the trip to Sharjah. As per the agreement both parties will review options in November after the above said series are completed. Pybus had rejected long term coaching assignments following personal commitments. He arrives in Pakistan in mid August.

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Contrary to expectations the worst sledgers in the cricket world are the Kiwis. Shane Warne revealed this in his autobiography that hit the stands on Thursday. He singled out New Zealand wicket keeper Adam Parore and former South African all rounder Brian McMillan as some of the worst sledgers he had seen.
Warne also felt the current Australian team were a relatively quiet bunch when compared to the team he made his debut with in the 1990's when Merve Hughes was at his best. The West Indians bowlers he said excelled in the art of giving long hard piercing stares. However he felt the important part of sledging was that the team had to have the good performances to back it up or else the sting was lost.

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The Zimbabwe Cricket Union discussed the political situation prevailing in the country with the managements of England and South Africa and clarified that there was no threat to the security of the teams and that the tours could very much go on as per schedule. The Zimbabwe Cricket Union issued a statement regarding its policy of ensuring for the safety for all visitors and assuring the visitors that the same policy would be followed for the tours by South Africa and England to Zimbabwe in September/October this year. Reports of the violence going on in parts if Zimbabwe, have been covered in the media leading to fears over the security of the two teams.

Dream turns sour!

The doubts that former Indian opener Sunil Gavaskar raised regarding the authenticity of Sir Don Bradman's dream XI has taken Australia by storm. The Director of the Bradman Museum in Bowral, New South Wales Richard Mulvaney issued a statement assuring one and all that the team was definitely chosen by the late Sir Don himself.
Mulvaney said he could understand the hurt going through the mind of the former Indian opener on being excluded from the elite list. He also clarified that Sir Don had been unwilling to come out with his all time dream XI but had been persuaded by his biographer on the condition that it would be published only after his death. Mulvaney said a World XI team could never be satisfactory to everyone. The only player that could find a place in any World XI was Sir Don he concluded.

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Joining the bandwagon questioning the authenticity of Bradman's dream team is former Pakistan batsmen Zaheer Abbas. Nicknamed by the 1972 Wisden as the Asian Bradman, because of his sheer hunger for runs Zaheer said Gavaskar was not off the mark when he called the dream team a fake. Zaheer was also stung by the fact that no Pakistani figured in his team. He called the dream team too Australian and said selection was unfair.
Former Australian batsman and now commentator David Hookes termed the team as the most unbalanced ever and just a figment of the biographer's imagination.

India in Sri Lanka

Two days of thunder, lighting and non stop rain is the only hope India have of saving the first Test match that is being played against Sri Lanka at Galle, and since that is unlikely to happen Sri Lanka will be proudly pulling off their first victory in a Test match over India since 1985.
India bowled out the Sri Lankans one hour after lunch for 362 but not before wicket keeper K Sangakara helpe himself to a maiden Test match hundred, The visitors then plummeted to 130-8 by stumps. With an injured Srinath unlikely to bat it is for all practical purposes the last pair at the crease. Dravid stood strong amidst the ruins with a painstakingly complied 37. Play was extended for half an hour beyond scheduled close with a result in sight but Dravid and Prasad survived to fight another day, but presumably not for long.

Australia in England

England made a hash of proceedings on the first day of the fourth Ashes Test match at Headingly yesterday. After having the visitors reasonably on the defensive claiming the openers for just 42 runs, the English bowlers let loose a host of misdirected deliveries that enables the Aussies to scramble quickly out of the corner they were in. Ricky Ponting (114) and Mark Waugh (72) applied themselves and helped the Australian cause with a 221 run partnership in quick time on a day that was marred by rain. Stumps were drawn when M Waugh was out with the Australian total reading 288-4.

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Former England captain and wicket keeper 38 year old Alec Stewart has said that he is keen to play first class cricket for at least another two years. This statement from the former skipper put to rest all the speculation going around in the media about the need for him to retire and make way for younger players.

Asian Test Championships

The Asian Test Championship will go on as per schedule even if the government prohibits India from travelling to Pakistan to play its first game. The Asian Test Championship features Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka playing each other at different venues between September2001 and February 2002. The BCCI is yet to get the clearance from the Indian government to send a team to Pakistan.

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The scrutiny Committee of the Asian Cricket Foundation (ACF) will be shortly finalising a panel of Development Officers who will be in charge of promoting the game in the Asian region. The committee apart from ACF chief Jagmohan Dalmiya consists of Lt. Gen. Tauqir Zia and Zakir Syed (Pakistan), Duleep Mendis (Sri Lanka) and Ashraf-ul-Haq (Bangladesh). Under them national level development officers were also appointed by India Pakistan and Sri Lanka. The Indian nominees included Ashok Malhotra, Madan Lal, Roger Binny and W V Raman

Brief Scores

INDIA v SRI LANKA (1st Test)
Played at Galle International Stadium, Galle (3rd day)
Toss: Sri Lanka
India: 187 (SS Das 40, S Ramesh, 42, M Kaif 37; D Fernando 5-42, Muralitharan 3-41)
Sri Lanka: 362 (M Atapattu 33, S Jayasuirya 111, K Sangakara 105 not out; Srinath 5-114, Zaheer Khan 3-89)

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ENGLAND v AUSTRALIA (4th Test)
Played at Headingly Leeds (1st day)
Toss: Australia
Australia: 288-4 (R Ponting 144, M Waugh 72, A Caddick 3-97)

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