Instead of tightening the screws on the match and going for a win, the Indians decided have some crucial match practice on the final day of the three-day fixture against Zimbabwe A at Mutare. After bowling out the local side for 175, India batted again to end the match at a disappointing 150-7. Earlier, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan and Ashish Nehra claimed three wickets each in the home team's first innings. Once again the main Indian batsman, specially the openers failed to put on a decent score in the second innings as well.

Meanwhile, off-spinner Harbhajan Singh, appearing in his 47th first-class match, since his debut in 1997-98, claimed his 200th wicket of his first-class career, when he captured the wicket of Zimbabwe A wicket-keeper Tatenda Taibu. At the end of the innings, he now has 201 wickets. The career summary of his first-class wickets are as follows: 53 wickets in 11 Tests; 105 in 23 Ranji Trophy matches, 10 in three Duleep Trophy matches, 23 in six matches against touring teams at home and 10 in four matches against local sides during tours.

Pakistani left-hander Wasim Akram will be playing his last Test of his career in England on a ground, which is like his second home - the Old Trafford at Manchester. Wasim who will celebrate his 35th birthday during the course of the Test match has been a part of the Lancashire County cricket team and will feel at home at this venue. Wasim, incidentally has his own house and a business in Manchester and lives there during the off season with his wife and two children. Pakistan in the meanwhile, are looking to maintain a staggering record of not having lost a Test series in England since 1987 as they take on England in the second Test at Old Trafford today.

While England were sweating it out on the field preparing to clinch a historic Test series win against Pakistan, the tourists raised many eyebrows by spending the day before the Test match at Blackpool (a seaside resort) sightseeing. Coach Richard Pybus defended his team saying they had practiced so hard it was time they had a break. Interestingly, this comes just a week after Waqar complained that the team did not have enough quality cricket on the tour leading up to the Test matches.

Alan Donald too has decided to go the Jonty Rhodes way and play only in one-day matches for South Africa, with a view to stay fit for the 2003 World cup. Donald, who is among the 19 contracted players, will be picked in Tests only in case of an injury to any of his teammates. Donald is South Africa's leading wicket-taker in Test cricket with 325 wickets in 69 matches and has been a part of the South African team since their return to the Test fold in 1992.

South African batsmen Herschelle Gibbs who was one of the five players who was involved in smoking marijuana in the West Indies will face a South Africa Cricket Board disciplinary committee next week. Gibbs was already serving a suspended sentence when he committed a second offence.

The sports minister of South Africa Nconde Balfour has promised to encourage a greater black representation in South African sport, especially cricket. He said he was concerned about sporting bodies in the country continually ignoring the blacks and was keen to establish a black representation in all sport in the country in line with the country's demography.

The South African cricket team will play their first warm up game in a black township near Cape Town prior to the World Cup to be played in South Africa in Feb-March 2003. This will be the first time a South African national team will be playing a match in a disadvantaged area. Dr Ali Bacher, the head of the South African World Cup organising committee has called for a list of such townships that have reasonably good facilities that could be likely hosts to warm up games prior to the World Cup. The Organising Committee has been criticised for not allotting World Cup matches to the black areas, although Bacher defends this decision by saying the costs of security and upgrading the venues are too high.

The Indian cricket team sponsorship troubles continue for the BCCI after its decision to award rights to IMG-TWI have been challenged in court by a Mumbai based company Gayatri Arts. The company claims that the rights were originally awarded to them after its bidding for Rs 90 crores (US$ 19 million). Sham Dhumatkar, the head of Gayatri Arts, claimed that the secretary of the BCCI, JY Lele had issued him a letter on May 3 confirming the deal. Dhumatkar has now filed a petition seeking an injunction from the High Court on BCCI signing the contract with IMG-TWI or any other group. Interestingly, the Indian team now touring Zimbabwe, are without a team sponsor as the IMG-TWI deal is effective July 1.

The speaker of the Sri Lankan parliament, Anura Bandaranayake, will order a full inquiry into the allegations of corruption by the Sri Lankan Cricket Board. He will be appointing a special committee made up of members of the ruling party and opposition to investigate the financial dealings of the Board that was previously headed by Tilanga Suimathipala. In March this year Sports Minister Lakshman Kiriella had sacked the Cricket Board and had appointed an interim panel to run the game. Meanwhile Tilanga Suimathipala through a court order has put a stop to the current cricket Board from utilising the finances of the Board, until the matter is resolved.

Australian skipper Steve Waugh has broken off his twelve year association with bat manufacturers Gunn & More and has found himself a new bat manufacturing company. The 36-year-old skipper, nearing the fag end of his cricket career, is probably looking to secure his future after cricket with a lucrative sponsorship deal from advertising on his bat. Meanwhile, he has also changed his management company.

The chairman of the Asian Cricket Foundation, Jagmohan Dalmiya, clarified that the Asian Cricket Council during its recent meeting at Lahore had agreed to India's tour to Pakistan for the Asian Test Championships only after receiving BCCI's clarification on its government policies regarding cricketing ties with Pakistan. The Indian government had earlier said it had no objection to India participating in matches with Pakistan that involved three or more teams as long as they were not bilateral. As per the schedule India play Pakistan at Karachi from September 13 to 17 in a four-nation Asian Test cricket tournament that also involves Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. However recently the Indian sports minister Ms Uma Bharati, had issued a statement that the BCCI had not consulted her ministry before agreeing to tour Pakistan.