Changes are likely to be made in the England squad that takes on Pakistan in the second Test next week, despite a convincing win in the first Test. It may be a lucky recall for veteran batsman Mark Ramprakash, after skipper Nasser Hussain broke his thumb and is likely to be out of action for a week more. Matthew Hoggard, one of the 12 contracted players could also be a part of the playing eleven provided he is completely fit and would most certainly replace left-armer Ryan Sidebottom, who had an unimpressive debut at Lord's.

Though a little stiff after the long journey, the Indian team got down to business right away and began preparations for their first match that begins tomorrow against a Zimbabwe academy side at Harare. Particularly enthusiastic were India's fast bowling brigade of Srinath, Agarkar, Zaheer, Mohanty and Nehra who said they were glad to be in conditions that would be helpful to them.

In a sudden change of mind Australian skipper Steve Waugh on the way to England in defence of the Ashes said he was only "joking" when he said England were the favourites for the Ashes series. Waugh said he was probably misunderstood by the media. He however felt the series would be a good contest and that Australia was confident of coming out victors.

The biggest sponsorship deal so far signed between the BCCI and marketing giants TWI-IMG may be running into trouble with major corporates backing out of the race citing the high price. Big names including Samsung, Britannia and Hero Honda are reported to have backed out. The sponsor has to be able to cough up Rs 45 lakh (approx US$ 85000) for every one-day international and Rs 50 lakh (approx US$ 100000) for a Test match. Insiders are skeptical as to whether IMG-TWI will ever be able to find a sponsor with this heavy price tag. However the managers at TWI remain confident. They say they might even decide to split up the offer with different companies sponsoring the Test and One-day squads.

A one-day cricket match will be organised by the The Veteran's Cricket Association of India (VCAI) at the Islam Gymkhana, Mumbai on June 3 between an India XI and a Rest of India XI. Former Test all-rounder Salim Durrani will skipper the India XI, while the Rest will be led by Yajuvindra Singh. Ajit Wadekar, Roger Binny, Madan Lal, Gundappa Vishwanath, WV Raman, Suru Nayak and Chandrakant Pandit have confirmed their availability to participate in the match.

Banned cricketer Manoj Prabhakar has been issued an arrest warrant for his involvement in a multi-crore financial scam. The complaint was filed by many people, who had invested in the company, partly run by Prabhakar, who now claim they have been swindled. Prabhakar has denied any wrongdoing.

The Maharashtra Government has kept up its promise made during the recent Tendulkar felicitation function by approving the allotment of land at the Bandra-Kurla complex (a suburb of Mumbai) for constructing an indoor cricket academy and stadium. It is now up to the Mumbai Cricket Association to set the ball rolling.

At the Asian Cricket Council's meet at Lahore, member countries of the ACC have decided to sign a contract honouring the obligations of playing each other, failing which the defaulters will have to pay a heavy price for the losses incurred by the hosting Board.

England's chirpy all-rounder Darren Gough got a shock of his life when he discovered a whole lot of his cricket gear, a laptop and a leather jacket, were stolen from his car. But apparently what hurt Gough most was the loss of his cap. The cap was the one presented to him on the occasion of his playing his 50th Test for England.

The manager of the West Indies cricket team Ricky Skerritt came out strongly against the resignation and statements made by the team psychologist Joe Hoad. Skerritt claimed that Hoad was informed about a month ago, that his services would no longer be required and his resignation was just an attempt to save face. Skerritt felt Hoad could be disappointed that his contract was not renewed. A couple of days ago, Hoad had resigned from his post after criticising the attitude of the players. The Barbados born Hoad, 64, who also works with the South Australia Cricket Association, had said the complacent attitude of the players was the reason for their current situation while adding that the players would do anything to miss a practice session and go out partying. Hoad was with the team since last eight months.

West Indian fast bowler and the world Test record holder with 519 wickets Courtney Walsh has been inducted into the Hall of Fame of the Caribbean Development of the Arts and Culture Foundation at a special function at the Kingston House in Jamaica. He was presented a plaque by the Sir Howard Cooke, Jamaica's Governor-General.

The meeting between the chairman of New Zealand's anti corruption team, Ian Baker and former Kiwi captain Martin Crowe may be delayed for a while until the ICC's anti corruption chief Paul Condon collects more evidence. Crowe admits he had been approached by a man who he thought was a journalist during the 1992 World Cup but claimed he discontinued his association with him when he discovered the man was a bookie. Meanwhile, Crowe has also denied allegations, made by an Indian bookmaker Mukesh Gupta to India's Central Bureau of Investigation, (CBI), that he accepted US$ 20,000 for pitch and team information.

The Asian Cricket Council during its meet at Lahore has decided to form its own Anti-Corruption Cell on the lines of the ICC. This cell will look into allegations against players of member countries. Details of the proposed cell will be announced shortly.

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