England in India

Skipper Nasser Hussain has put the onus on England's batsmen to find ways of dealing with Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh. Ideas on how to tackle the Indian spin duo will be thrown around in an impromptu think-tank following India's 10-wicket victory in the first Test at Mohali.

"They are fine bowlers. To play, it's a mental thing, a technical thing. "There are certain areas you can score off them and certain areas you can't. It comes down to individuals looking at their game and working out a gameplan," said Hussain, whose first innings 85 was England's top score in Mohali.

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England coach Duncan Fletcher has given public backing to James Foster following the wicket-keeper's undistinguished Test debut against India. Foster dropped a catch and missed a stumping at Mohali and only managed five runs in two innings with the bat after being given his chance ahead of Warren Hegg. He also had problems in the one-day series in Zimbabwe in October, but Fletcher believes Foster has a long-term future at international level. "People forget what Mark Boucher was like in his first few games. How well did Rod Marsh keep early on?

West Indies in Sri Lanka

West Indies fast bowler Merv Dillon has been instructed to return home from Sri Lanka after missing a practice session on Wednesday. Trinidadian Dillon is the most senior fast bowler in the side, with 19 Tests and 66 wickets to his name.

He will now not take any part in the triangular one-day, which opens on Saturday with Sri Lanka taking on Zimbabwe. Dillon said he had been dismissed because he refused to be a part of the team practice session, held on the same day as the general elections in Sri Lanka.

Bangladesh in New Zealand

The inexperience of Bangladesh's bowling attack was exposed as Harley James helped himself to a century at Victoria Park. The right-hander from Wellington batted for more than five hours to make 117. They will play two Tests in New Zealand, having recently lost 1-0 to Zimbabwe on home soil. Naimur Rahman was sacked as captain after the Zimbabwe series and replacement Khaled Mashud was out of luck with the toss at the start of their tour opener.

Miscellaneous

Former South African captain Hansie Cronje has dismissed Australian fast bowlers Jason Gillespie and Brett Lee as "nothing special". His comments are bound to increase the rivalry between the two sides, with South Africa bidding to supplant the home side as the world's top Test-playing nation.

They play the first of three Tests in Australia next week and will play a three-match series in South Africa in February and March. But Cronje believes Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne are the only truly world-class bowlers in the Australian team.

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England fast bowler James Ormond has agreed to join Surrey on a three-year contract. The 24-year-old decided to leave Leicestershire following the 2001 county season after taking 225 first-class wickets for them since his debut in 1995. C&G Trophy winners Somerset made Ormond a formal offer and Hampshire were also thought to be interested in signing him. But he decided that Surrey offered him the best chance of achieving success at domestic level.

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The International Cricket Council is considering the introduction of a football-style card system to standardise player discipline. ICC chief executive Malcolm Speed is looking at way to avert a repeat of the recent crisis in the Test series between India and South Africa. The game's governing body will consider the process as part of its review of refereeing at an executive board meeting in March.

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Pakistani paceman Shoaib Akhtar has been cleared for the second time in a year by biomechanical experts in Australia. Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) director Brigadier Munawwar Rana confirmed on Friday that he had received a new report on Shoaib from the University of Western Australia, who previously cleared him in May of this year. "The report confirms and reiterates its earlier findings that it is Shoaib's peculiar anatomical characteristics that lead to the erroneous perception of throwing," Rana said.

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