England skipper Nasser Hussain will be out of action for the rest of this Test match and the also for the next match, after he fractured his thumb. Hussain was hit by a delivery from Shoaib Akhtar and X rays confirmed a fracture that could keep him out of action for at least three weeks.

The Pakistan coach Richard Pybus admitted to have misread the Lord's pitch after Pakistan put England into bat despite winning the toss. Pakistan did not play their specialist spinner Saqlain Mushtaq as they were expecting a seamer friendly pitch. The visitors despite their famed pace attack could not restrict the England total.

Jason Gillespie and Brett Lee have been declared fit to tour England for the Ashes series. The duo were put through a rigorous two hour work out by team doctor Trefor James and physios Errol Alcott and Patrick Farhart. Gillespie will be cleared for the team that is to play the one-day series, while Lee will join the team in time for the Test matches.

A three-day meeting of the technical committee of the ICC chaired by Sunil Gavaskar will meet in London on May 23 to discuss the growth of technology in television coverage and its affect on the field umpire. According to the ICC release Australian umpire Darrel Hair will also attend the meeting to give an umpires perspective. All the member countries of the ICC have been invited to give their views on the subject. Any decision made will be made effective from September 1.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Gen Tauqir Zia has finally admitted of the growing indiscipline in the Pakistani team, especially among the senior players, but said that the PCB would not take any disciplinary action against them for violating team rules until he had found suitable replacements for them. Speaking at a public function at Peshawar, Gen Zia said the players were national heroes and that made the Board helpless. He said he was aware that many senior players indulged in wrongdoings and hoped his training programme under Vision 2005 will unearth exciting new talent.

Brian Lara may not have been in his flamboyant form during the recent series against South Africa, however in his opening match in England for the Lashings Club against the University of Kent he showed some of his old magic when he scored a crisp 77 off just 58 balls before a crowd of about 1000. The Lashings Cricket Club, in Lancashire has a host of West Indian stars representing it.

South Africa opening batsman Herschelle Gibbs is likely to face a disciplinary committee after he admitted to smoking marijuana on the tour of West Indies. Gibbs and his teammates Andre Nel, Justin Kemp, Paul Adams and Roger Telemachus, and physio Craig Smith were fined and reprimanded for using marijuana in their post victory celebrations at St John's, Antigua. Gibbs who was already under a suspended ban is likely to miss out on the tour of Zimbabwe coming up later this year.

Sir Paul Condon, the ICC investigator into match fixing said he believes that match fixing is still going on in the cricket world. He felt that the recent matches played by Pakistan in New Zealand and Sharjah are under scrutiny. After having traveled all around the world and spoken to many people he says he is still not able to come to any conclusion about match fixing by particular teams or individuals. He however also adds that he could not give a clean chit to the game as yet.

The decision of the Mumbai Cricket Association to rename the MCA Pavilion at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai as the "Sachin Tendulkar Stand" on May 23, has once again run into trouble. It is understood that the present MCA Pavilion was sponsored by the House of Morarkas when the stadium was first built in 1975. As per the then agreement, the Morarkas provided the funds on the condition that the pavilion will be called as the BCA Pavilion (then Bombay Cricket Association) and will not be renamed without their permission. Incidentally, Kamal Morarka, the chief of the Morarka Group, also happens to be the vice president of the BCCI. With Morarka, out of the country, the MCA hopes to clear the issue on his return. It may be recalled that the MCA's plan to name the North Stand as the "Sachin Tendulkar Stand" could not materialize due some legal hassles.

Test match

English cricket county scores

Lancashire v Glamorgan at Manchester
No play possible on all four days due to rain

Kent 343 (DP Fulton 140, DJ Cullinan 57) v Somerset 184 and following-on 334-7 (J Cox 63, PD Bowler 87, MN Lathwell 58; MV Fleming 4-74) at Taunton
David Fulton scores his third hundred of the season on the first day. Match Drawn

Leicestershire 246 (JM Dakin 69; ESH Giddins 5-48) & 94-5 v Surrey 190 (J Ormond 4-61, CD Crowe 4-47) at The Oval
No play due to rain on the first-two days Match Drawn

Hampshire 350-4 decl (DA Kenway 131, RA Smith 102 not out) & 55-6 v Gloucestershire 133 (AD Mullally 5-41) and following-on 272 (DR Hewson 89, JR Snape 73; AC Morris 4-74) at Rose Bowl
Rain delayed start on the first and second days
Hampshire needing to score 56 runs to win made 55-6 in 10 overs.
Match Drawn

Nottinghamshire 402-6 decl (DJ Bicknell 167, GS Blewett 99) v Warwickshire at Nottingham
Only 9.4 overs were possible due to rain on the first day
No play on the second and third days due to rain
Match Drawn

Derbyshire 0-0 decl & 222-8 decl. (MJ De Venueto 108) v Worcestershire 0-0 decl & 52-0 at Worcester
No play due to rain for the third successive day
Play was possible only on the last day. Both teams declared their first innings without a run on the board.
Match drawn

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