Miscellaneous

West Indies umpire Steve Bucknor will set a new record when he stands in his 67th Test match at Old Trafford on Thursday. Bucknor currently shares the record with England's Dickie Bird, who retired in 1996.

He should have broken it last month only for the second Test between Pakistan and New Zealand to be cancelled following a bomb explosion in Karachi.

But he will finally establish the new mark when he stands alongside South Africa's Dave Orchard as England meet Sri Lanka.

"Steve is an outstanding umpire who has the respect of international cricketers throughout the world," said David Richardson, the International Cricket Council's General Manager-Cricket.

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The five Security Managers appointed by the International Cricket Council to help stamp out corruption in the game are meeting for the first time this week.

They are attending an induction conference in London organised by the ICC's Anti-Corruption Unit, which is headed by Lord Condon, the former commissioner of the Metropolitan Police.

The conference will provide a full briefing on all aspects of their role, plus confidential information the work of the ACU since its formation two years ago in the wake of the match-fixing scandal which tarnished the game's reputation.

Each Security Manager has been assigned two Test-playing nations and they will attend all future series played there.

Pakistan in Australia

Speaking ahead of the first ODI against Pakistan, Ponting told the media, "We're not there yet, we're not where we'd like to be, but we're certainly going to work on that and certainly going to improve that as much as we can."

Pontings comments come after claims by young South African opening batsman Graeme Smith that he was abused by experienced Baggy Green stars when he amde his debut against the Australians earlier this year.

Although his claims have been denied by the Australian camp Smith suggested that players like Glenn McGrath and Matthew Hayden were particularly harsh and personal with their sledging.

"I've said all the way along I won't accept guys in the Australian side getting too personal with the things they say," continued Ponting.

"We can still improve on our behaviour on the field, there is no doubt about that," concluded the skipper who will lead his charges for the first time in front of his home crowd.

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With the World Cup in South Africa only eight months away, every one-day international now has an extra significance. Putting together squads capable of mounting a serious challenge to Australia's supremacy has now begun in earnest and Pakistan already have a settled look about them.

Only Abdur Razzaq and Saqlain Mushtaq, who are playing county cricket in England, are absent for the three-match Super Challenge II series, which gets under way in Melbourne today.

It offers Pakistan a chance to strike an early psychological blow against the World Cup holders.

But for many fans, the main focus is seeing Brett Lee and Shoaib Akhtar go head to head in pursuit of the title of the world's fastest bowler.

Shoaib became the first bowler to produce a 100mph delivery in a one-day game against New Zealand in Lahore two months ago.

And there is an added incentive if either or Lee can repeat that feat during Super Challenge II, with a AUS$25,000 (£9,700) bonus available to any player who can bowl a legal 100 mph delivery or score a century in 100 balls or less.

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Pakistan skipper Waqar Younis said that politicians were denying the world a real cricket treat.

"I would love to play against India but things are not really working out between the countries and the politicians.

"The world is missing a great game of cricket between Pakistan and India... so let's cross our fingers and see that things will get better."

India and Pakistan haven't played against each other for more than two years as tensions over Kashmir continue to plague relations between the two Asian giants.

Sri Lanka in England

England have given key batsman Mark Butcher a further day to prove his fitness for Thursday's final Test against Sri Lanka after he came through Tuesday practice unscathed.

The Surrey batsman requires surgery on a knee problem but hopes to delay it until after the Test, with England holding a 1-0 series lead going into it.

But an England and Wales Cricket Board spokesman said a final decision on whether Butcher keeps his place ahead of John Crawley will be delayed until Wednesday.

"He had a lengthy bat and a fielding session on Tuesday. He didn't aggravate the injury and we will make a further assessment on Wednesday," said the spokesman.

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Having gambled on the fitness of Muttiah Muralitharan at Edgbaston, Sri Lanka are set to take another calculated risk in the final Test against England at Old Trafford.

With a win needed to square the series, the tourists are likely to include paceman Dilhara Fernando in a bid to improve their firepower on a pitch which is expected to have some uneven bounce.

He is set to replace namesake Charitha Buddhika Fernando, despite having bowled only 18 first-class overs on tour.

The 22-year-old arrived late after recovering from back problems but is potentially the quickest member of the Sri Lankan attack if he has full freedom of movement.

Coach Dav Whatmore has urged his players to forget their innings defeat at Edgbaston, which brought a 10-Test unbeaten run to an end.

"We need to put that one bad one out of our minds and reassure ourselves that we'll be playing good cricket in different conditions.

New Zealand in West Indies

New Zealand need to raise their game with the ball to have any hope of avoiding a third successive defeat in the five-match series.

Their cause has not been helped by the need to nurse Shane Bond following a stress fracture of his foot and the inexperience of fellow pace bowler Ian Butler.

West Indies were comfortable winners of both weekend games in St Lucia following the wash-out of the series opener in Jamaica. Kiwi captain Stephen Fleming is struggling to give his under-performing players enough practice, meanwhile.

Women's cricket

Leading batsmen Charlotte Edwards and Claire Taylor are back in the England Women's squad for the forthcoming triangular one-day series against New Zealand and India.

Edwards has not played international cricket since undergoing cruciate ligament surgery last year and Taylor had to miss the winter series in India after damaging a knee while training.

The selectors have gone for experience, with Yorkshire duo Kathryn Leng and Melissa Reynard also back in favour.

They were left out following England's disappointing performance at the 2000 World Cup in New Zealand, but have been in good form in the new Super 4s competition.

There is no place in the 14 for opener Caroline Atkins, who shared in a women's Test record first wicket stand of 200 with Arran Thompson in India, although she has been named as one of four reserves.

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