Standard Bank Triangular series in South Africa

India meet Kenya to decide who will go into the final of the Standard Bank triangular series being played in South Africa. India will be playing their first match after that forgettable day in Port Elizabeth when they lost to Kenya and should be looking to sweep the loss under the carpet. A full-strength Indian squad is what the Kenyans are likely to run into at Paarl today.

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Indian coach John Wright yesterday dismissed rumours doing the rounds that India's shock 70-run defeat against Kenya at Port Elizabeth was fixed. Wright said he would not be involved in coaching the side if he had felt the slightest suspicion of any sort. The ICC had asked for the tapes of the match to try and ascertain if there could have been any wrongdoing.

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The South African team management has released Boeta Dippenaar and Charl Langeveld from the squad for the final of the tournament. They both have been told to get back to their provincial games that begin towards the end of this week. The team for the final includes:
Shaun Pollock (Capt), Mark Boucher (WK), Herschelle Gibbs, Gary Kirsten, Jacques Kallis, Neil McKenzie, Jonty Rhodes, Lance Klusener, Justin Kemp, Nicky Boje, Makhaya Ntini, Mornantau Hayward, Andre Nel.

Doubtful tours

The England cricketers selected to tour India have been given Friday as a deadline to decide if they would be making the tour or not.
The England and Wales Cricket Board chairman Lord McLaurin said the tour was going ahead but players would be allowed to choose for themselves whether or not they would participate.
David Graveney, chairman of selectors said players who chose not to tour would not have to worry, as this decline would not be held against them in selecting future teams.
The Indian media in the meanwhile including former cricketers have come down strongly on the English over their attitude of touring India, as it is highly likely that a mediocre second-string English team will be coming down to India.

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The West Indies on the other hand has confirmed that they would make their tour of Sri Lanka as planned. West Indies Cricket Board President Wes Hall announced that the team has been guaranteed safety and that they believed they would be safe.
He added that cricketers are heroes in Sri Lanka and so it was highly unlikely any harm would be caused to them. The WICB however have requested the Sri Lankan Board to make a few changes in the proposed itinerary.
The BCCSL had made changes to the original itinerary due to the general elections in the country that have been fixed for December 5.
The WICB said they would like to have at least three days between Tests. The alteration was done so as to ensure no matches were played on the three days of the elections in the island nation.

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Yet another showdown is likely between the Board of Control for Cricket in Sri Lanka (BCCSL) and WSG Nimbus over the television rights.
WSG Nimbus have decided to take the BCCSL to court over the sudden termination of their contract. According to the Sri Lankan Board, the terms of settlement required WSG Nimbus to make a bank guarantee to the BCCSL before prior to every tour. In the event of a default their agreement would cease to exist.
The BCCSL maintain that this is the second occasion the television company had been found at fault for not honouring their contract. The first time was against the series against England that also resulted in an unholy row between the two parties.

Miscellaneous

The Khaleej Times will sponsor the Champions Trophy in Sharjah to be played from the end of this week. The Khaleej Times reports that security has been beefed up considerably for the event and that there a new 'code of ethics.' has been spelt out. Sri Lanka,Pakistan and Zimbabwe are the three teams participating in this year's tournament.

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The newly appointed Pakistan coach Mudassar Nazar in the meanwhile has predicted his side's victory in Sharjah. He said the only worrying factor was the inconsistency in batting and that he has been working on that aspect ever since he took over as coach.
Inzamam-ul-Haq will miss the first game due to a suspension that was imposed on him in England during the NatWest Trophy final, where he stood rooted to the ground for a relatively long time after he was given out lbw. This is the first one-day game Pakistan play since the NatWest Trophy in June.

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Paul Wiseman will replace Daniel Vettori in the New Zealand squad now in Australia. Vettori has been forced out of the rest of the tour following an ankle injury.
Wiseman was one of two spinners kept on standby for the tour and he along with uncapped Glen Sulzberger are now strong contenders for the first Test in Brisbane beginning 8 November.

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Australia's Bret Lee meanwhile said he would press his claims for a place in the Test side against New Zealand. Lee will be playing his first first-class game since he suffered a side strain in England.
Lee is likely to have a modified bowling action after as per the advise of Dennis Lillee, that will place less stress on his body by shortening his run-up stride and adopting a more upright approach at the point of delivery

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Zimbabwe's captain Heath Streak has resigned from his post as captain as he said he felt his performance with the bat and ball has been affected by the rigors of captaincy.
Twenty-four year old Brian Murphy will lead the side in the Sharjah series. Streak had earlier resigned as captain during the one-day series involving India and West Indies following differences with selectors but had been persuaded to don the mantle yet again.
The new captain Brian Murphy has played only 10 Test matches and 17 one-day internationals.

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Wasim Akram leads a Pakistan team for the U.S. $ 257,000 Hong Kong Cricket Sixes tournament that will be played next month. Others in the side include Shahid Afridi, Abdur Razzaq, Rashid Latif, Azhar Mahmood and Shoaib Malik.
Other teams that have confirmed participation are England, Australia, India, South Africa, Sri Lanka. The two-day tournament begins on November 10. The winner will take away 80,000 USD as prize money

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