India's tour of England

Legendary Indian all-rounder Kapil Dev has slammed current skipper Sourav Ganguly for taking off his shirt after his team's remarkable victory over England in the NatWest final at Lord's.

"A captain getting carried away is quite normal, but he should know how to show his emotions," said Kapil.

"I was taken aback when he took off his shirt, though I knew it was an emotional outburst." Ganguly took off his shirt and waved it to the crowd from the balcony of the dressing-room after his team had successfully chased a stiff 326-run target with two wickets to spare on Saturday.

"Had such an act been done by a youngster, I wouldn't have minded. But Ganguly is after all the skipper," said Kapil, who led India to a memorable triumph over the West Indies in the World Cup final at Lord's in 1983.

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Tour match, Arundel, day two of three:
India 253-7 dec. & 87-3 v West Indies A 266.

India opener Shiv Sunder Das has just one more match to find his form before the first Test against England at Lord's.

Das, who scratched around for 155 painstaking minutes and 112 balls for just 29 runs in the first innings, fared even worse second time around as he was out first ball against West Indies A at Arundel.

He flicked at a delivery down the legside from Reon King and was caught by wicketkeeper Keith Hibbert as India began their second innings 13 runs behind after dismissing the West Indians for 266.

Das now has only the match against Hampshire, starting on Saturday, to get among the runs, although his selection for the first Test looks assured.

India finished day two on 87 for three in their second innings.

Match report

Miscellaneous

Somewhere in cricket-crazed England an electronics company has spent a six-figure sum to invent the game's version of Cyclops, the beeping robot that makes tennis line calls.

The thinking is the new gadget will intervene when bowlers overstep the crease and deliver a no-ball.

A beep would be heard in the umpire's ear and he would signal a no-ball. As is so often the case in technological debates, the logic sounds flawless.

With the electronic eye taking care of no-ball calls, the umpire would not have to look down at the crease for a split second before he looks up for the more important business of deciding what happens at the other end.

It sounds like the breakthrough of the year . . . but is it?

What happens when, as occasionally occurs in tennis, Cyclops gets it wrong and goes off when it shouldn't?

In tennis you can call a let and replay the point. People accept that as part of the game's culture.

But it's never been part of cricket's culture to call "dead ball" for an umpire's error. Hopefully it never will.

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Amid the controversy regarding World Cup tickets and transformation, Eric Simons started his first official training camp in Centurion on Wednesday as he looks to prepare the national team for the new season.

Simons has gathered 14 players from an 18 member squad for three days of training and net sessions as he seeks to ease them into the season after a break of almost four months.

Allan Donald, Paul Adams, Nicky Boje and captain Shaun Pollock have been excused on account of their commitments to various county and club sides in England.

On Wednesday the team were involved in a series of fitness workshops and meetings as Simons sought to build team spirit ahead of what is likely to be one of the toughest season since South Africa's return to international cricket.

After the triangular series in Morocco next month involving Sri Lanka and Pakistan, the South Africans go to Sri Lanka for the Champions Trophy - a one-day event involving all ten Test playing countries.

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The South Australian Cricket Association is considering selling the naming rights to Adelaide Oval to help fund the ground's redevelopment.

SACA president Ian McLachlan said the SACA board was considering the move, especially after the State Government's decision to remove its share of the Oval's proposed $57 million upgrade.

Treasurer Kevin Foley withdrew $11m that had been put aside by the previous Government, placing SACA's plans in limbo.

The SANFL sold the naming rights to Football Park last week for an estimated $5m over five years to insurance group AAMI and according to McLachlan, the SACA is contemplating a similar move.

"Yes it's certainly something we are considering at the moment," McLachlan said. "Selling the naming rights to the ground or particular parts of the Oval is definitely something we are thinking about.

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Ireland will stage the 2005 ICC Trophy - one of the world's top cricket tournaments.

The top three teams in the event qualifiy for the World Cup finals in the West Indies in 2007. The Irish Cricket Union was unanimously supported by the International Cricket Council in its quest to bring the event to Ireland.

The tournament features 12 non-Test playing countries and gives them a chance to qualify to play against the best players in the world.

The only outstanding problem is whether to stage the tournament in the north or south of the border.

World Cup

The remaining ticket packages for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2003 will now be available on a first-come-first-served basis on all three booking channels.

The original restrictions of 60 percent of packages at the venues, 20 percent at the call centre and 20 percent on the internet have now been dropped in order to give the public an equal opportunity of buying the 90 000 packages that still remain.

Dr Ali Bacher, Executive Director, announced on Wednesday that the change in booking process would also give people abroad an even chance of obtaining tickets.

The only exception to the rule are tickets for the disabled. These can be booked at the venues only.

Of the bigger venues, 436 stadium packages are still available for St George's Park in Port Elizabeth and 200 at Supersport Park in Centurion.

Womens' cricket

Women's one-day tri-series, Durham:
New Zealand 96-5 (28.4 overs) beat India 95 all out (41.1 overs) by five wickets.

They may not have had it all their own way, but New Zealand Women inflicted a third triangular series defeat on India by five wickets at Durham.

Chasing just 96 for victory after again bowling India out cheaply, the White Ferns lost four wickets in two overs with the score on 40.

Slow left-armer Neetu David did most of the damage, taking all three of her wickets in a single over.

But Haidee Tiffen and Sara McGlashan put on 55 for the fifth wicket. And Aimee Mason did not even take strike following McGlashan's run out for 21 before Tiffen hit the winning runs, finishing 30 not out.

The result leaves India unable to make Saturday's triangular series final, but they have a final chance to gain a win when they take on England on Friday.

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