Azhar nominated for Wisden award

Disgraced Indian skipper Mohammad Azharuddin, serving a life-ban over match-fixing, has been nominated for an Indian cricketer of the century award launched by the Wisden Cricketers Almanac.

He faces competition from former opener Sunil Gavaskar and batsman Sachin Tendulkar among 16 cricketers.

Leg-spinner Anil Kumble is the other current player besides Tendulkar to be shortlisted for the award.

Azharuddin was banned by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in 2000 after it conducted an internal inquiry into a report on corruption in cricket by India's federal Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

Sri Lanka in England

Sri Lanka come into the first Test against England on Thursday looking to make it 10 wins in a row with Chaminda Vaas leading the attack just with Muttiah Muralitharan sidelined.

Off-spinner Muralitharan is out of the Lord's match after tearing shoulder ligaments while fielding against Pakistan in last month's Sharjah Cup.

He has frequently bowled Sri Lanka to victory single-handed - in 1998 he took 16/220 at The Oval in Sri Lanka's 10-wicket win over England.

"We miss Murali badly but we've got Chaminda Vaas who is coming close to 200 Test wickets and he has a lot of experience in Test cricket," said Sri Lanka captain Sanath Jayasuriya.

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Ted Dexter, the McC president, unveiled the latest adornment to the most cherished ground in the world on Tuesday evening, an outstanding 9ft bronze statue by Antony Dufort of an anonymous bowler, sturdy but flowing.

Such is the degree of dampness below the thickly tufted surface of the pitch for the first npower Test match against Sri Lanka, starting at Lord's this morning, that any seam bowler, be his name Chaminda Vaas or Andrew Caddick, should enjoy himself today no matter how strongly the sun shines.

Until the groundsman, Mick Hunt, is confident that one of the two "drop-in" pitches that are under preparation on the corner of the Nursery Ground is ready for use, probably not before 2005, Tests in the middle of May are almost certain to be played on surfaces that suit the faster bowlers.

Even with a thunderstorm or two forecast for the weekend, it would be unwise to plan a visit to Lord's on Monday.

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England coach Duncan Fletcher says the decision to recall veteran wicketkeeper Alec Stewart and two other 30-year-olds was based on finding the right balance between youth and experience for the Test series against Sri Lanka.

The England selectors came under heavy criticism after they overlooked players from the newly formed academy under Australian Rodney Marsh. They recalled Stewart, 39, along with batsman John Crawley, 30, and swing bowler Dominic Cork, 30, for the series opener at Lord's on Thursday.

Miscellaneous

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has finalised its programme of academies for promising young cricketers.

A total of five centres - four regional and one national - will be organised this year. The purpose of the academies - originally an Australian concept - is to identify talented youngsters who could develop into the Test players of the future.

Besides local coaches, the PCB is also exploring the prospects of getting the services of a foreign coach.

The PCB development manager and a former Pakistan cricketer Zakir Khan said a foreign coach was likely to train players at the national academy at Lahore.

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Sri Lanka have confirmed they will join Pakistan and South Africa in a one-day tournament in Morocco in August.

As BBC Sport Online revealed in February, Tangiers is set to make its international debut with the tournament.

The one-day tournament, which will run from 12 to 21 August, will have prize money totalling $250,000 (£171,000), with the winners taking home $120,000 (£82,000).

Sanath Jayasuriya's side have a hectic schedule, returning home from their tour of England on 14 July, and then fitting two Tests and three one-day internationals against Bangladesh into 17 days.

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As the first non-white player to represent South Africa in Test cricket, Omar Henry has already been at the forefront of a new dawn.

Ten years later Henry plans to instigate another as South Africa's new convenor of selectors and member of the newly formed National Cricket Committee.

As head of the newly appointed five-man selection team, the 50-year-old has been charged with addressing some of the problems currently afflicting the national side.

"My objective is to instil pride, commitment and vision into South African cricket," Henry told BBC Sport Online.

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