Standard Bank Triangular series in South Africa

The Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly lauded umpire Dave Orchard for his brave decision in calling back Kenyan batsman Thomas Odoyo after he wrongly declared him out. Orchard was told through his walkie-talkie, by the third umpire that he had erred in making the run out decision and so called back Odoyo despite the fact that he had crossed the boundary ropes. The Indian skipper too was given out in controversial circumstances as replays showed that Kallis had not taken the catch cleanly. He has been advocating the use of technology to clear controversial decisions.

The skipper expressed happiness at the performance of his team while refusing to play down the performance of the Kenyans. He said strong teams should be patient with sides like Kenya as they build their game.

________________

South Africa meet Kenya in the fifth match of the series in Kimberly today. While Kenya have been struggling with their form on the tour South Africa will take the opportunity to rest some of the senior players and try out their reserve strength.

England in Zimbabwe

In yet another one-sided affair England thrashed Zimbabwe by 7 wickets despite a fighting century by Grant Flower. Batting first Zimbabwe were put on the back foot straight away losing 2 wickets by the fourth over. Grant Flower (104) steadied the ship with the help of small but useful contributions from A Flower (33) and Ebrahim (28). The home sides target of 228 was overhauled with out much difficulty with Nick Knight (80), N Hussain (47) and P Collingwood (56) leading the way. England won the match by 7 wickets and took the series 5-0.

England today chose not to play their controversial young fast bowler James Kirtley after he was officially reported to the ICC by the match referee Naushad Ali for a suspect action.

New Zealand arrive in Australia

New Zealand arrived in Australia for a three Test match series that begins on 8 November. The Kiwis who have been plagued by injuries to their top players in recent times will be bolstered by the return of Chris Cairns, Daniel Vettori and Dion Nash. Recalling the 0-3 mauling his team received in New Zealand last year Fleming said his side was a much improved one this time. The visitors play their first match against the Queensland Academy of Sport from early next week.

Cricket in Sharjah

Pakistan announced a fifteen-man squad for the Sharjah triangular beginning October 26. The selected players will attend a small camp beginning tomorrow in preparation for the tournament. Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe are the other two participating teams. Injury prone fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar makes a comeback to the side.

The squad is:
Waqar Younis (Captain), Saeed Anwar, Shahid Afridi, Younis Khan, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Yousuf Youhana, Abdur Razzaq, Rashid Latif, Wasim Akram, Azhar Mahmood, Shoaib Malik, Naved Latif, Shoaib Akhtar, Danish Kaneria, Taufeeq Umar.

________________

Meanwhile the Sharjah cricket authorities have given assurances to the participating teams that the tournament will go ahead despite the political tensions in the area. Abul Rahman Bukhatir chairman of the CBFS said all the necessary security arrangements had been made.

Irani Trophy

A fighting century by Baroda opener Connor Williams (133) helped Baroda reach 265-6 at close of play on the first day of the five-day Irani Trophy match against Rest Of India. Useful scores also came from N Mongia (31) and Himanshu Jadhav (43). For ROI Punjab spinner Sarandeep Singh claimed 3-70. The five-day tie is being played in Nagpur.

Miscellaneous

England's hard hitting all rounder Andrew Flintoff has ruled himself out of the race for the captaincy of his county Lancashire. The Lancashire skipper John Crawley chose to step down at the end of last season. Flintoff said he did not want to consider captaincy at this stage of his career and preferred if a more experienced player was chosen to lead the side.

________________

The one-man commission of Justice Karamat Bhandari looking into the allegations of match fixing during the 1999 World Cup in England has summoned captain Waqar Younis and several former captains and players to help with the inquiry process. Among other called are Wasim Akram, Moin Khan, Saeed Anwar and Inzamamul Haq.

________________

All-rounder Khaled Mahmud leads a 14 member Bangladesh A team on a month long tour of India. The team will play four three-day matches and five limited over matches in Mumbai, Pune and Baroda.

________________

England wicket keeper Alec Stewart is to undergo an elbow surgery to try and correct a long-standing problem that has affected both his arms. Stewart will have the operation at the end of the month after which both his arms will be in plaster for two weeks. With rehabilitation Stewart hopes to be available for England duty after the New Year.

________________

England skipper Nasser Hussain is to meet with England Wales Cricket Board for a selection meeting on the Indian tour with Duncan Fletcher (coach) and David Graveney (ECB chairman) on Monday. They are also likely to discuss the feasibility behind conducting the tour of India considering the political situation prevailing in the region. Hussain said he wanted the matter sorted out soon so as to enable the players to be mentally fit and prepared to make the tour.

________________

The long serving secretary of Baroda Cricket Association JY Lele today resigned from his post a day ahead of the scheduled no confidence motion that was to be raised against him. Former India wicket keeper Kiran More had submitted the motion against Lele claiming irregularities in the BCA accounts. Without stating any reasons for his resignations Lele said he would make a comeback soon.

SCORES AT A GLANCE

Irani Trophy (1st day)
Baroda vs Rest Of India at Nagpur
Toss: Rest Of India

Baroda:
265-6 (CC Williams 133, N Mongia 31, Himanshu Jadhav 43; Sarandeep Singh 3-7).

Yesterday's News .........................  News Roll archive