India's tour of England

Tour match, Southampton, day two of three:
Hampshire 123 all out & 43-2 vs India 236 & 139-4 decl.

Preferring to risk a defeat rather than injury to their players on an uneven pitch, the Indians prematurely declared their second innings at 139 for four on the second day of the three-day match against Hampshire.

Despite a tacit understanding that only slow bowlers be used considering the unpredictable bounce of the pitch, the Indians did not deem it fit to continue their second innings once Sanjay Bangar, who remained unbeaten on 52, was hit on his gloves by a snorter from James Hamblin.

The Indians thus set a target for 253 for Hampshire to be attained in a minimum of 101 overs. The hosts were 43 for two in their second innings at stumps with captain Robin Smith batting on 19 and John Francis on 10.

Wary of injuring their players ahead of the first Test against England starting on Thursday, the Indians had earlier threatened to pull out of the match because of the bad quality of the pitch. They relented only after a mid-field conference between the two captains in which a compromise was arrived at over not using genuine fast bowlers.

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The ever-dependable Rahul Dravid denies he is defensive but says he enjoys batting for long periods and 'frustrating people' by his technique.

"I wouldn't say I'm defensive but I think sometimes the situation demands that I put down a solid foundation for the stroke-makers to follow," The Observer quoted Dravid as saying.

"I enjoy doing that (playing defensive). I enjoy batting for long periods. I enjoy frustrating people," Dravid said.

Dravid also dismissed suggestions that being in the same side as Sachin Tendulkar had affected his batting. "I've never looked at it that way. I mean it's a huge honour to play with Sachin, to share the same dressing room as him.

"If anything, his presence has helped me and it's good for my cricket. I've always batted the way I know I can bat."

When Dravid arrives at Lord's on Thursday for India's first Test against England, the 29-year-old will be returning to the scene of his Test debut.

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England's chairman of selectors David Graveney has said Glamorgan quick Simon Jones will make his Test debut against India at Lord's on Thursday if first-choice spearhead Darren Gough fails to prove his fitness.

Yorkshire quick Gough is currently playing his first championship match of the season against his county's arch-rivals Lancashire, having so far been restricted to one-day games as he battles to overcome a knee injury.

And England are determined not to go into a five-day match with anything less than a fully fit bowling attack confronting the powerful Indian batting lineup in the opening encounter of a four-Test series.

"If Darren Gough doesn't come through his match at Headingley he (Jones) will definitely be playing at Lord's," said Graveney.

Bangladesh in Sri Lanka

First Test, Colombo, day one:
Sri Lanka 32-0 v Bangladesh 161

Muttiah Muralitharan took his 35th Test five-wicket haul to bowl Bangladesh out for 161 on a rain-affected opening day of the first Test in Colombo.

Returning from a shoulder injury, the off-spinner removed Habibul Bashar for 24 at the stroke of lunch.

And he had Aminul Islam, caught by Russel Arnold at bat-pad for a duck, for the sole wicket in an afternoon session reduced to seven overs because of heavy rain.

But the deluge came when Murali combined with Charitha Buddika to remove the final five wickets for 13 runs.

Muralitharan finished with figures of five for 39 from 19.4 overs, while Buddika took two for 38.

The hosts continued with an opening pair first used in England, Russel Arnold joining Marvan Atapattu to add 32 without loss in seven overs before the close.

Betting scandal

Former Pakistan captain Salim Malik has gone to the Supreme Court seeking to overturn a life ban imposed on him two years ago for match-fixing.

Malik's lawyer, Jahanzeb Akhtar said the fresh bid to clear the batsman's name would be considered after the court reopened in August.

"Malik is determined to get his name cleared of these match-fixing charges," Akhtar said. "He has still not given up hope and will continue fighting legal battles to get the ban dismissed in a court of law."

Malik was banned from competitive cricket for life and fined £200,000 on the recommendation of Lahore High Court Judge Malik Mohammed Qayyum following a match-fixing inquiry in 1999.

Malik last petition against the ban was rejected by the Lahore High Court in May.

Current Test players Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Inzamam-ul Haq and Saeed Anwar were also fined for not cooperating fully with the inquiry.

World Cup

Plans to shift the World Cup cricket games from Zimbabwe to South Africa will be discussed at a conference of Commonwealth Sports Ministers in a Manchester hotel on Wednesday, on the eve of the start of the Commonwealth Games.

Richard Caborn, Sports Minister of Zimbabwe, has organised the conference even as the country remains in turmoil with President Robert Mugabe cracking down on opposition and seizing farms owned by whites.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) had originally planned to have the World Cup in Zimbabwe, Kenya and South Africa next February. But ministers fear that the games in Zimbabwe could be disrupted by violence, the Sunday Telegraph reported.

The moves to switch the World Cup from Zimbabwe would be raised in "the margins" of the conference, the report said. "There are concerns for the safety of the teams in the World Cup next year and it will be discussed," told a newspaper.

Miscellaneous

Hampshire have admitted their interest in signing Indian batting legend Sachin Tendulkar for the 2003 season.

The county are expected to hold talks with the former India captain this weekend, as India play a three-day warm-up match at the Rose Bowl prior to next week's first Test.

And BBC Sport Online understands that the batsman made the first approach to the county.

"Tendulkar is the game's best batsman, so we are interested," director of cricket Tim Tremlett admitted to the Mail on Sunday.

"You have to go for the best if you want to compete with the likes of Surrey and Yorkshire and win the Championship. That is the level of our ambition."

With two overseas players allowed per team next season, Tendulkar could play alongside Zimbabwean Neil Johnson, whose contract expires at the end of this term.

Hampshire recently admitted they would be unable to bring Australian leg-spinner Shane Warne back next season because of international commitments.

Women's cricket

Captain Emily Drumm admitted that New Zealand were short of the total they wanted, but it was enough for a 63-run victory over England in the tri-series final.

The White Ferns lost their first two wickets before registering a run and were eventually bowled out for 161, despite a half-century from Kate Pulford.

But they bounced back to dismiss their hosts for 98 with six overs remaining.

"We'd talked about a total of 180, but they took wickets and put us under pressure," Drumm admitted.

"That start put us on the back foot and we were made to work hard but we got a good total and backed ourselves."

Her counterpart Claire Connor admitted that England only did half of the job. "We did well in the field and got half the game right but we had got to chase 160 and it was disappointing that we couldn't," she said.

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