Zimbabwe in India

First Test match, Nagpur, day one (stumps):
Zimbabwe 248-8 v India .

Zimbabwe failed to cash in on a solid start by captain Stuart Carlisle as India's bowlers reduced the tourists to 248 for eight on the opening day of the first Test in Nagpur.

Carlisle hit a Test-best 77 and shared in a 106-run second wicket stand with Alistair Campbell, who made 57, after choosing to bat on a pitch offering little obvious encouragement to the bowlers.

But leg-spinner Anil Kumble and pace bowler Zaheer Khan each took three wickets as Zimbabwe slumped from 118 for one to 227 for eight.

Carlisle was content to play the anchor role in the morning session while Campbell celebrated his return to the side with some aggressive strokeplay.

The pair bettered the previous Zimbabwean record for the second wicket against India - 101 between Carlisle and Trevor Gripper made at the same venue in 2000.

________________

The Indian squad's physiotherapist has called skipper Sourav Ganguly a shirker when it comes to working hard on his fitness, a senior official has said.

The official said Andrew Leipus had conducted a fitness audit on leading Indian players and submitted special dossiers on top players.

"It contains shocking observations about the Indian captain," the Board of Control for Cricket in India official told AP on condition of anonymity.

"This report has been a huge embarrassment for the BCCI even though the fitness appraisal was conducted on its behalf. "Leipus has rapped the Indian cricketers for their careless attitude toward fitness and was very severe in his assessment of the national captain."

Cricket board sources said the observations made in the Leipus report have been conveyed to Ganguly.

England in New Zealand

England wicket-keeper James Foster is hopeful of playing in the final two one-day internationals after admitting feeling mentally drained by a tough tour in New Zealand.

Marcus Trescothick stood in behind the stumps for last Saturday's defeat in Wellington and the side's 43-run victory in Napier after 21-year-old Foster was rested.

"It has been a tough tour for me, not just in getting used to the step up to international level, but the pressure both on and off the field," Foster told BBC Sport Online.

"Sometimes I've found myself just not on my game. The routine of playing, travelling, playing is hard on the body and it just comes at you bang, bang, bang.

________________

New Zealand's veteran wicket-keeper, Adam Parore, has decided to take an indefinite break from cricket. Parore, who was dropped for the one-day series against England, has told New Zealand Cricket (NZC) that he was exhausted and needed time to refresh himself.

The 30-year-old, who was replaced by Wellington's Chris Nevin, has played in and 75 Tests and 179 one-day internationals for New Zealand.

Parore said he was unsure whether he wanted to be available for the three-Test series against England. He would not comment further.

But he is expected to be precluded from selection when the Test side is announced at the end of this one-day series.

Australia vs South Africa

Embattled South Africa has been forced to call on reluctant captain Mark Boucher after inspirational leader Shaun Pollock withdrew from the first Test against Australia.

Middle-order batsman Justin Ontong was also ruled out today with a hamstring problem in a bad day for the nervous Proteas, who have called in debutant batsman Ashwell Prince and inexperienced paceman Andre Nel.

Pollock's loss is an enormous blow but the all-rounder admitted he simply couldn't bowl with a side strain he thinks happened during the one-day finals in Sydney earlier this month.

"It's probably one of the most disappointing days in my cricket career," Pollock said.

"But I always knew that I was up against it. Side strains don't recover all that quickly and I bowled about six or seven balls at half pace and I could feel it.

"The team has got to move on and we've got a more than capable captain."

Mike Denness controversy

The England and Wales Cricket Board has said it does not want to spark a row with its Indian counterpart despite nominating Mike Denness for the new elite panel of Test match referees.

Former England captain Denness imposed penalties on six Indian players, including Sachin Tendulkar, following a Test in South Africa last year.

The ensuing controversy, which included protests on the streets in India, almost led to the cancellation of England's subsequent tour of India.

"We have nominated Mike, among others," ECB spokesman John Read said.

Miscellaneous

New South Wales batsman Graeme Rummans faces a possible two-year ban after testing positive to a masking agent.

The Australian Cricket Board announced today that the 25-year-old had tested positive to probenecid from samples taken before a Blues training session last December.

The ACB was notified on Monday by the Australian Sports Drug Agency (ASDA) that both A and B samples were positive. Probenecid is often used in the treatment of gout or gouty arthritis.

Rummans will protest his innocence in front of an ACB Anti-Doping Committee in Melbourne next Thursday.

The prescribed penalty under the ACB Anti-Doping Policy is a two-year ban from international and interstate cricket.

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