Final Test, The Oval, day four: India 508 v England 515 & 114-0
India batsman Rahul Dravid admits the most likely outcome of the fourth and final Test against England is a draw.
Dravid hit a superb double century to take India to within seven runs of England's first innings total at The Oval on Sunday.
But Indian hopes that Dravid's feat could inspire them to victory were dashed as Michael Vaughan and Marcus Trescothick took England to 114-0 at stumps.
That means England take a lead of 121 into Monday's final day with the match looking set to peter out into a draw that will leave the series tied at 1-1.
"It's a strange game and anything could happen but a draw looks the most likely result," Dravid admitted.
"For us to force a result, we needed some wickets [on Sunday]. Full credit to them, they came out and played positively and we didn't bowl as well as we should have."
England's Michael Vaughan agreed that a draw was the most realistic outcome, but refused to rule out the possibility of a surprise result.
He said: "There are 93 overs left in the game and we will have to play pretty positively on Monday to force a result.
"But on the last day of Test match cricket there is always the odd surprise.
Captain Stephen Fleming is confident New Zealand can defend their ICC Champions Trophy title when the tournament begins in Sri Lanka on Thursday.
"We are under no pressure and are looking forward to the tournament with a high degree of confidence," Fleming said on the team's arrival in Colombo.
The Black Caps beat India in the final in Nairobi two years ago and open their campaign with a game against world champions Australia next Sunday.
The Champions Trophy starts on Thursday with hosts Sri Lanka meeting Pakistan in a day/night match.
The straight knockout format of the last tournament has been replaced by a group phase in which each side plays two matches.
New Zealand and Australia are in Group A, alongside Bangladesh, and the strongest side should meet either Pakistan or Sri Lanka in the semi-final.
The South African team left for Sri Lanka on Sunday with the mission to restore the credibility of South Africa as a major player in the big league of international cricket when they compete in the International Cricket Council (ICC) Champions Trophy in Colombo.
The once mighty African cricket machine have run out of petrol somewhat over the last year and with that lost the respect it once commanded from many teams in the international arena.
Shaun Pollock and his team would want to ensure that they are once again considered as one of those teams that you would rather avoid when they play in the mini-World Cup and the only way to do it is to command respect out in the middle.
The South African squad:
Shaun Pollock (c), Mark Boucher, Herschelle Gibbs, Graeme Smith, Jacques Kallis, Alan Dawson, Lance Klusener, Jonty Rhodes, Dale Benkenstein, Nicky Bojé, Boeta Dippenaar, Alan Donald, Makhaya Ntini, Justin Ontong.
Match-fixing
Cricketing legend Kapil Dev on Sunday strongly called for lifting of the life ban on former Indian captain Mohammed Azharuddin and all-rounder Ajay Jadeja in connection with the alleged match fixing scandal.
The former Indian captain and coach, who had himself earlier been a target of match fixing charges before being exonerated by CBI, said no proof had ever been obtained by any investigating agency to corroborate fixing charges levelled against the two players.
"It is unjust to hold a player guilty merely on the basis of some statements of one or two individuals," he said.
Kapil, who was recently chosen as the "Wisden Indian Cricketer of the Century," asserted that even the courts did not take any congnizance of charges levelled against any person in the absence of any proof or evidence.
"In the case of Azhar and Jadeja, nobody had so far informed these poor victims of what their real fault was. Every thing appears to be fishy," he said.
Australia-Pakistan Test series
Australia's cursed Test series against Pakistan may face further rescheduling if the US goes ahead with it's threatened military action against Iraq, forcing all matches to be played in Sri Lanka.
Only last week the Australian Cricket Board confirmed the three-Test series next month - originally scheduled for Pakistan but relocated because of security fears -- would be split between Colombo (first Test) and Sharjah (second and third).
But there is an increasing level of private concern among some officials and players that should the US threats materialise, then Sharjah would be unacceptably dangerous. The United Arab Emirates, of which Sharjah is one, line the Persian Gulf about 1000km from Iraq.
A Pakistan Cricket Board official said yesterday there was no suggestion the Sharjah Tests were in doubt and everything was in place for the matches to go ahead from October 11-23.
But he conceded that events can alter quickly in the Middle East and indicated that if changes had to be made then the PCB would consider playing all three Tests in Sri Lanka.
Miscellaneous
Leading fast bowler Darren Gough is likely to be named in England's Ashes touring party on Tuesday, subject to his recovery from a knee injury.
And Graham Thorpe is favoured for a spot in the squad despite not having played cricket for over two months, after he took a complete break from the game because of personal problems.
England's four-man selection panel, including coach Duncan Fletcher and captain Nasser Hussain are to meet at the end of the current Test against India.
But chairman of selectors David Graveney has already had a meeting with Thorpe and says his is impressed with what the batsman had to say.
South African opening batsman Gary Kirsten's chances of forcing his way into the World Cup squad nose-dived on Sunday after he was left out of the South African A squad currently playing Australia A.
Kirsten was dropped from the senior side after a disappointing Morocco Cup and it was hoped that he would regain some measure of form for South Africa A during the seven match limited overs series.
However, Kirsten, whom many considered as late as last season to be indispensable to the national side, has failed in all three knocks at the top of the order.
He made seven in Potchefstrrom, one in Benoni and two in Pretoria on Sunday.
India batsman Rahul Dravid admits the most likely outcome of the fourth and final Test against England is a draw.
Captain Stephen Fleming is confident New Zealand can defend their ICC Champions Trophy title when the tournament begins in Sri Lanka on Thursday.
Cricketing legend Kapil Dev on Sunday strongly called for lifting of the life ban on former Indian captain Mohammed Azharuddin and all-rounder Ajay Jadeja in connection with the alleged match fixing scandal.
South African opening batsman Gary Kirsten's chances of forcing his way into the World Cup squad nose-dived on Sunday after he was left out of the South African A squad currently playing Australia A.