India in West Indies

Third one-day international, Barbados:
India 187-3 (43.5 overs) v West Indies 186 all out (44.5 overs). India win by seven wickets.

India's captain Sourav Ganguly praised his team's all-round display after their seven-wicket defeat of the West Indies in the third match of their one-day series.

After the first two matches in the five-match series were washed out in Jamaica, the visitors now head to Trinidad needing just one win to clinch the series.

"It was a good overall performance and we did well in all departments of the game," Ganguly said.

Scorecard | Match report

Sri Lanka in England

Disciplinary action is likely to follow Mark Butcher's confession yesterday that he was responsible for comments made in a ghosted column under his name in the Croydon Advertiser about Ruchira Perera, the Sri Lanka left-arm fast bowler, who was reported by the umpires for a suspect action after the first Test.

An ECB spokesman said that a ghosted column under Butcher's name was being studied to determine whether he had broken one of the rules in the players' code of conduct that "no player may make a public statement that constitutes a personal attack".

In his article Butcher said: "Having faced him (Perera) for some time, I can say that he definitely straightens his arm. It's not so bad when the ball is pitched up, but when he bowls short he just runs up and throws it at you. It's extraordinary and I can't believe someone is getting away with it."

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Sri Lanka will give Muttiah Muralitharan every chance to prove his fitness before naming their side for the second Test against England.

The tourists are prepared to wait until an hour before the start of the match at Edgbaston to allow Muralitharan's injured shoulder to heal.

He has not played since suffering partial dislocation and tendon damage in his left shoulder while fielding in Sharjah.

But with his match-winning ability the Sri Lankan management are willing to play him even if he is not completely fit.

They have not won any of the 12 matches he has missed since he made his debut in 1992-93.

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Nasser Hussain and Duncan Fletcher will be expecting a significant improvement from England's bowlers when the second Test begins at Edgbaston on Thursday.

Andy Caddick, Matthew Hoggard and Dominic Cork were all well below par at Lord's. And while various excuses and explanations have been offered since then, only one rings true with me: that they were not sufficiently prepared for a Test match.

In these days of central contracts and 'professional' planning, that simply is not good enough, and it is the first real criticism of Fletcher since he took over as England's coach in 1999.

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Sri Lanka's preparations for the pivotal second Test against England have received a damaging blow after the bowling actions of two of their bowlers came under fire from the most cutting of sources - fellow players.

Just days after Adam Gilchrist criticised Muttiah Muralitharan's action, England batsman Mark Butcher raised the ante by dragging the action of Ruchira Perera into the mud.

Perera's action was reported by the umpires after the first Test at Lord's. Ironically, he could be replaced by Muralitharan at Edgbaston, though he is eligible to play.

Australia vice-captain Gilchrist was charged by the Australian Cricket Board (ACB) for making comments "detrimental to the interests of the game".

ICC Champions Trophy

India has ended months of speculation by confirming their participation in September's ICC Champions Trophy in Sri Lanka where Pakistan are also playing.

India have also verified it will be sending a team to next year's World Cup, but once again ruled out resuming bilateral cricketing ties with Pakistan in the near future.

It was thought India would not compete alongside Pakistan, but sports minister Uma Bharti told the Press Trust of India that Pakistan's presence will not preclude participation in either tournament.

In early May the Indian media raised doubts over participation of the Indian team in the ICC Champions Trophy because of heightened military tension between the two nuclear-armed neighbours.

Pakistan have already confirmed their participation in the event.

Pakistan's tour of Australia

Pakistan will use wet tennis balls during net practice in preparation for the forthcoming tour of Australia.

Pakistan will play three one-day games, including two indoor matches for the first time, against the world champions.

Coach Mudassar Nazar said the tactic would be used during the team's camp, which is already in progress in Lahore.

"That and other plans would be followed in the camp to prepare for what is going to be a difficult series," Mudassar told a local English-language daily, The News.

Miscellaneous

Shane Warne hopes to resurrect his long-forgotten football career for one final season in a bid to fill the only glaring gap in his sporting record.

Warne, who was a promising forward in AFL club St Kilda's junior ranks before opting for cricket, said yesterday he was itching to pull on the boots before age defeated him. He has told his wife Simone of his plans but has not held any discussions with amateur clubs in Melbourne's southern suburbs where he lives.

A rare winter without cricket commitments coupled with a new fitness regime that has the 32-year-old as fit as at any stage of his record-breaking career, has enabled Warne's thoughts to drift to his first love. "I'd like to play a year of footy before I get too old," Warne said.

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South Africa's domestic cricket structures will change after next season's World Cup. That's if United Cricket Board of South Africa chief executive Gerald Majola gets his way.

Majola said provincial cricket in its present format was not sustainable. Majola said he would push for domestic cricket to be structured on a strength-versus-strength basis for the start of the 2003/2004 season.

"We will publish our plans this August," he said, admitting though that it would be tough to get the proposal past the UCB's executive.

"Of course there will be provinces who would like to keep their little empires going, but I think most people realise we can't continue as we are," Majola said.

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After three years as coach of the national side, Graham Ford's reign appears to have come to an end.

And, although the position will only be discussed formally at the United Cricket Board's General Council meeting this weekend, it appears that at least two - or even three - candidates have been lined up to take over from Ford.

Of course, the last few months of the 2001/2002 season were not the easiest for the former Natal coach.

Having been victorious in Test series against England, New Zealand and Sri Lanka at home and winning series in India and the West Indies, one would have thought Ford's position for next year's World Cup would have been secure.

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