Virender Sehwag's regular dismissals in 30s and 40s is causing concern to the team management, which has waited for long for the dashing opener to justify his immense potential by being more consistent.

The dashing batsman has given blazing starts to the innings with his characteristic flamboyance but has often thrown away his wicket after getting his eye in. His inability to build on his innings prompted captain Sourav Ganguly to express his displeasure publicly during the match against South Africa after Sehwag got out for 37. However, it did not seem to have any effect as the stand-in vice-captain again got out to a rash shot on 43 in the next match against Bangladesh.

"He has a lot of talent but is not utilising his potential to the full. He is capable of doing much better," Ganguly said, gently pulling up the gifted batsman, who is one of the most powerful hitters of the ball in contemporary cricket."

Sehwag has one half-century in the three matches in the ongoing TVS cup triangular series, his 63 coming against Bangladesh in the opening match of the tournament.

New Zealand cricketers held their first practice session on Thursday, getting a taste of the Sri Lankan capital's heat and humidity ahead of the first cricket Test that starts on April 25.

The Black Caps arrived in Colombo on Wednesday and stayed overnight at the Taj hotel, overlooking the Indian Ocean.

The New Zealanders' arrival was good news for Sri Lankan cricket officials, who had feared that worries over the severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS, would force them to cancel the series.

"We are pleased to inform that the New Zealand team is here and everything is fine," said Tracy Francis, a spokeswoman for the local cricket board.

New Zealand cricket authorities had earlier expressed fears of travelling to Asia because of SARS, which has killed at least 162 people, mainly in Asia. Sri Lanka has not reported any cases of SARS.

New Zealand abandoned its tours to Sri Lanka in 1987 and 1992 due to bomb attacks in Colombo by Tamil Tiger rebels. There is now a truce in place between the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam and the Sri Lankan government.

The New Zealanders held a two-hour practice session in the morning and were scheduled to hold another in the afternoon.

During April, the humidity level in the capital can reach 90 per cent, with temperature registering 35 degree Celsius.

New Zealand will play two Tests against Sri Lanka. The first Test will be in Colombo on April 25 and the second will be in Kandy from May 3.

After that New Zealand will take part in a triangular one-day series with Sri Lanka and Pakistan. The one-day tournament starts on May 10 and ends on May 23.



Having realised that speed alone will not fetch him wickets, South African speedster Makhaya Ntini has added a "few new tricks" to his armoury and is now keen to test the famed Indian batsmen in the next match of the TVS Cup triangular series.

Ntini, one of the frontline bowlers in a rather inexperienced South African attack, said he had worked very hard on his bowling in recent times and was ready to shoulder the responsibility of being the main wicket taker.

"I have realised bowling fast alone will not get you the wickets in international cricket. You need to have the variety and need to keep the batsman guessing," he said.

The 28-year-old, who has seen the highs and lows as an international cricketer, said most bowlers who depended only on speed were now trying to bring more variety to be successful atthe highest level.

"I have a different style and try to bowl within my limitations. I don't try to go for too much pace like Shoaib Akhtar does. But then he bowls with a different rhythm and that suits him. You have to be comfortable with whatever you do," Ntini said.

Admitting that hurrying through his overs is part of his strategy, Ntini said his intention is to give the batsman very little time to think about the next ball.

"I to do it to make sure that the batsman gets no time to prepare mentally. He may be planning to play the shot one way but ends up doing it in a different way. By the time he thinks about it, I am already ready to deliver the next ball," he said.



Tamil Nadu skipper R Satish cracked a double century and Vidyuth Sivaramakrishnan and Noorul Riaz hit centuries as Tamil Nadu amassed 592 for three on the second day of their semi-final encounter against Bihar in the National inter-zonal under-25 knock-out tournament on Thursday.

Satish made 216 off 239 balls with 29 fours and two sixes, sending Bihar bowlers on a leather hunt, along with Sivaramakrishnan (130) and Riaz (156 not out).

Sivaramakrishnan hit 19 fours and two sixes in his 127 ball innings, while Riaz's unbeaten knock was laced with 13 fours.

Bihar had made 244 in their first knock in the three-day fixture, and already conceded a lead of 348 runs.

In the other semi-final match, Madhya Pradesh were 378 for three, in response to Punjab's first innings total of 201.

For Madhya Pradesh, Mudasir Pasha made 167, with 17 fours and two sixes. Nitin Menon made 47 and Sachin Dholpure 28. At stumps, Rahul Bakshi was batting on 78 and Mohnish Mishra on 23.



The father of conjoined twins pleaded with the Australian Cricket Board to reverse its decision to ban Test leg-spinner Shane Warne from playing in charity cricket matches.

Australia's greatest Test wicket-taker was banned from cricket until February 10 next year after testing positive to a banned diuretic.

The 12-month ban prevents Warne from taking part in a scheduled cricket match to raise money for Brisbane's Royal Children's Hospital through a charity set up by the Nolan family.

Shaun Nolan, the father of conjoined Brisbane twins Alyssa and Bethany Nolan, said the decision is a major blow to Beth's Legacy Foundation, which raises money for families with children in hospital.

Alyssa and Bethany were born joined at the head on May 3, 2001.

While Alyssa survived, Bethany died during an emergency operation to separate her from her sister a few weeks after they were born.

Warne and wife Simone are patrons of Beth's Legacy Foundation and Warne was to have been a major draw card at the charity match.