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* England coming sans Stewart, Gough and AthertonEngland have announced their squad for the tour of India. Alec Stewart andDarren Gough have both opted out. Also missing is Michael Atherton whoannounced his retirement from Test cricket on Tuesday.Graham Thorpe though will be coming. Nasser Hussain will captain the Testsquad, which includes two uncapped players, the Essex wicket keeper, JamesFoster, and the Yorkshire off-spinner, Richard Dawson. Also recalled to thesenior squad is Lancashire wicket-keeper Warren Hegg.”Ashley Giles has been included in the Test squad subject to him satisfyingthe selectors of his fitness ahead of the tour departure and he will be oneof three spinners together with Robert Croft and Richard Dawson,” Englishchairman of selectors David Graveney said.Squad:Nasser Hussain (Captain), Usman Afzaal, Mark Butcher, Andrew Caddick,Robert Croft, Richard Dawson, James Foster, Ashley Giles, Warren Hegg,Matthew Hoggard, James Ormond, Mark Ramprakash, Graham Thorpe, MarcusTrescothick, Michael Vaughan, Craig White. Duncan Fletcher (coach)* Tendulkar hopes to be fit for South Africa tourSachin Tendulkar is still having problems with his injured toe but he hopesto be fit in time for India’s upcoming tour of South Africa.”I am not in too much pain, although when I run, my foot gives trouble. SoI decided to get expert advice,” Tendulkar, who is in Durban to consult DrMark Fergussen for his injury, said.Fergussen meanwhile said that he would prescribe a course of treatmentafter running a few more tests. “We are presently looking at some of thesports shoes he will have to wear,” he added.The South African doctor was the man who treated both Javagal Srinath andAnil Kumble. Tendulkar injured his right toe during the triangular One-Dayseries in Zimbabwe and had to miss the ongoing tour of Sri Lanka.* BCCI in a fix about Laloo participationNo one seems to be ready to touch the former Bihar Chief Minister Laloo Prasad Yadav even with a barge pole these days. Even The Board of Control for Cricket in India.The BCCI has sought legal opinion on whether the President of Cricket Association of Bihar Laloo Prasad Yadav, should be allowed to participate in the Board’s Annual General Meeting. The Board’s decision follows a letter from one Sanjay Singh who claimed he was the genuine representative of the Bihar Cricket Association and not Yadav, according to BCCI sources.Let us see which way the ball rolls…

Umpire Richard Illingworth was “distraught” when he discovered that he had incorrectly called a no-ball that reprieved Adam Voges on the first day in Wellington, according to match referee Chris Broad.Voges went on to score 239 in a match-defining innings; he was on 7 at the time when he left a delivery and was bowled off the Doug Bracewell no-ball, despite a significant part of the bowler’s heel being behind the crease. Under the ICC playing conditions, a no-ball can be retrospectively called but not rescinded, so there was nothing that could be done about the call after Illingworth had made it.”Unfortunately Richard was distraught afterwards when he realised that it wasn’t a no ball,” Broad told the . “… I think when anyone is proved wrong in any decision that they make it’s clearly embarrassing at the time. But umpires, particularly on the elite panel have a great ability to be able to overcome that feeling and get on with the game.”There can be nothing done about it. The problem is that when an umpire calls a no-ball, you can’t change that decision because under the laws a batsman may change his shot when the no-ball is called. It was called – that’s the end of the matter. Richard is a Yorkshireman, he shrugs his shoulders and gets on with it. I’m constantly amazed at how the umpires, when they do make their occasional errors, are able to recover from it.”The mistake has led to debate about whether the on-field umpire is the best person to call no-balls, and whether the job would be better placed in the hands of the TV umpire. Australia’s coach Darren Lehmann, who sits on the ICC Cricket Committee which has discussed the matter in the past, said he would like to see the square-leg umpire take control of no-balls.”It’s a part of the game but I know it’s not right,” Lehmann said of Illingworth’s error. “We all make mistakes, I make plenty as a coach, umpires are going to make some. It’s heightened because he was on 7 and made 239 isn’t it? The no-ball situation is getting tough for umpires. I’d have the square-leg umpire do the no balls, but that’s me, that’s my cricket hat on.”Where do you go? How far do you go? How many no-balls are there in a game. How long will the day go, how many overs will we miss out on? All those questions have to be asked.””It’s something we’ve got to talk about at the ICC Cricket Committee. I sit on that so I have my views but there’s a lot of views and a lot of good players who have played a lot of cricket on that. We’ve got to get the solution right for umpires as well, there’s umpires on that commitee.”The incident occurred in the last over of the first day and was not replayed on the big screen at the Basin Reserve, so the New Zealand players did not realise the no-ball call was incorrect until they left the field at stumps. New Zealand coach Mike Hesson said he had spoken to Broad about the no-ball but the New Zealanders had moved on and tried to refocus on the match.”I just discussed it with Chris Broad after the game, as you do, but it became fairly clear pretty quickly that there’s not a lot that can be done about it, so you move on,” Hesson said on Tuesday morning. The spirit [among the players] was fine, there’s no doubt at the time we were disappointed, there’s no doubt about that. We moved on pretty quickly.”After New Zealand’s loss, captain Brendon McCullum indicated he would have no problem with taking no-ball calls out of the hands of the on-field umpires, and Hesson was also open to the possibility.”The more decisions right the better,” Hesson said. “If we can use more technology to do that then decisions like that become less influential. It’s something the ICC are aware of and will discuss … The game’s about swings and roundabouts, sometimes you get a bit of fortune sometimes you don’t. In this situation many batsmen get a reprieve but some are good enough to make the most of it and Adam Voges certainly made the most of it.”

ScorecardDarren Bravo helped stabilise the innings after early strife•Cricket Australia

Darren Bravo’s unbeaten 46 helped West Indians reach 6 for 154 after Cricket Australia XI had reduced them to 5 for 83 on the first day of the tour game in Brisbane. Only 60 overs were possible, however, due to rain interruptions.West Indians opted to bat and their openers Kraigg Brathwaite and Rajendra Chandrika were cautious at the start, adding 32 by the 16th over. The good work was undone, however when both men fell within six overs to seamer James Bazley.Bravo and Marlon Samuels shared a 31-run partnership for the third wicket, but Samuels’ dismissal was followed by two more quick wickets. Jermaine Blackwood was caught off fast bowler Ryan Lees for 1 and Denesh Ramdin bagged a duck, courtesy medium-pacer Simon Milenko.Bravo kept steady at one end and inched his way to 46 off 135 deliveries with six fours and a six. He shared a sixth-wicket partnership of 32 with Jason Holder and then added an unbeaten 39 runs with Carlos Brathwaite – the highest stand of the innings so far.Apart from Milenko and Bazley, who took two wickets each, Lees and legspinner Cameron Boyce were also among the wickets.

From the vast, high-tech arena that was the Rose Bowl, the one-day caravan has shifted to the idyllic County Ground at Bristol, a venue set up as early at 1889 and one steeped in history.It’s a ground where the memory of WG Grace, Gilbert Jessop and Wally Hammond lives on, from an age where the sport was still an amateur pastime. There is a suite named after Jack Russell, the former England wicketkeeper, who was one of the most eccentric men to walk the cricket field. Temporary stands have been set up for this encounter and makeshift flood-lights arrangements are being put in place.Narrow, winding streets provide an approach to the ground and locals say the route will be choc-a-block tomorrow. This miniature ground is lined with houses on one side and trees on the other. A thick edge is bound to fly over third man for six and, if the pitch plays true, the match could be a high-scoring one.Twice in nine games has a score of more than 300 been seen here and India have been involved in both. The first was against Kenya in the 1999 World Cup when Sachin Tendulkar made an emotional hundred after returning from his father’s funeral; the next was against Sri Lanka in the Natwest Series of 2002, when Tendulkar smashed another century in India’s 63-run win. He batted at No. 4 in both instances. India will need something similar from him tomorrow, this time at No. 1.Worringly for India, Tendulkar missed practice on the eve of the game along with Zaheer Khan, Ajit Agarkar, RP Singh and Yuvraj Singh, all of whom were suffering from flu and body ache. With Munaf Patel returning from injury, India find themselves heavily depleted at such an early stage of the series.England are likely to stick to the same combination, one that ran away to an overwhelming win at the Rose Bowl. “There’s a lot of energy in the side,” said an upbeat Stuart Broad, England’s opening bowler. “It’s an exciting place to be playing. We had a great performance at the Rose Bowl. If we fulfil our potential, we’re difficult to beat.”A fiery return for Andrew Flintoff added an potency to their side. Steaming in at more than 90mph and hitting the awkward middle length, he made life difficult for India’s middle order. The fact that James Anderson and Broad teamed up for such a good combination first up made things easier. “Jimmy bowls a swingy length and I hit the pitch and get bounce,” said Broad. “It’s good to have such a combination. Certainly our aim is to bowl straight and [be] aggressive.”

Rahul Dravid admitted that Gautam Gambhir’s spot was under scrutiny, adding that he might miss out if they go with the five-bowlers option. “Like everyone else in this side, he has earned the right through performances,” Dravid said. “When he goes back to domestic cricket he scores runs and must be given the opportunity. Whether he takes those chances or not is up to him. In Ireland he got a 70, did well in Scotland. He’s got runs in all the side games between the Tests. Now it’s up to him to stand up and make the jump.”India have a few factors to consider while picking their XI – the pitch, which the curator feels is “a 300 wicket” and the size of the ground, which is conspicuously small. It might be tricky playing two spinners here, especially with the 30-yard circle dangerously close to the boundary line at the pavilion end. One meaty hit is all it will take to clear the Hammond roof, the Grace pavilion, and the Jack Russell suite. Three legends floored with one stroke.England (likely) 1 Alastair Cook, 2 Matt Prior (wk), 3 Ian Bell, 4 Kevin Pietersen, 5 Paul Collingwood (capt), 6 Andrew Flintoff, 7 Ravi Bopara, 8 Dimitri Mascarenhas, 9 Stuart Broad, 10 James Anderson,11 Monty PanesarIndia (likely) 1 Sachin Tendulkar, 2 Sourav Ganguly, 3 Gautam Gambhir, 4 Yuvraj Singh, 5 Rahul Dravid (capt), 6 Mahendra Singh Dhoni (wk), 7 Dinesh Karthik, 8 Piyush Chawla, 9 Ajit Agarkar, 10 Zaheer Khan, 11 RP Singh.

Percy Sonn, speaking at the ICC’s annual conference at Lord’s on the day he took over from Ehsan Mani as ICC president, said that the next 12 months was a vital period for the long-term health of the game.”During that time we will be negotiating the sale of our commercial and broadcast rights for the next eight years to 2015,” he explained. “The last time we did that, in 2000, we received US$550 million and that money has benefited every one of our Members in some way. It provided financial security that has allowed us to develop plans to take the game forward and the next agreement will, we hope, do the same.”But while commercialism is important, we must not let it dominate the landscape or lose sight of what this great game is all about. Financial considerations cannot be our only driver and cricketing considerations must also play a vital part in any decisions the ICC makes.”After all, we should all remember how and why we came to love this great game. I did so because of the joy I got from playing it, the excitement I got from watching it and the fellowship that came from being part of a team sport that has always embodied fair play.I am keen that we remember all these things so we can ensure cricket can be a strong sport growing stronger during my Presidency.”In order for cricket to do that the ICC must maintain a unity of purpose, something that characterised the discussions of our board in April when it agreed to the venues for the hosting of 17 events over eight years with a positive consensus.”We should never overlook the simple truth that, as an organisation, we are stronger when we all act together. It sends out the right messages to our stakeholders and it is something else I am keen to maintain over my time as ICC president.”

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Matthew Hayden continued from where he had left off in the 2001 series, muscling his way to 67, as the Australians gained some valuable batting practice on the first day of their tour opener in Mumbai. After overnight showers had delayed play by more than four hours, all the batsmen in the Australian top order used the chance to get into their groove. Mumbai did manage to pick up three wickets in the final session, and the Australians finished on 159 for 3.Hayden was like a bulldog on a leash – always threatening, and at times ferocious. He took an excessively long time preparing himself to face the first delivery, with Ramesh Powar surprisingly sharing the new ball, as he cleared huge amounts of dust from the pitch, squatted several times and checked the field placement twice. Powar got away unscathed in his first spell but suffered when he returned in the 11th over, being clattered for 16 runs, including a six that crashed into the sight-screen.Ajit Agarkar and Avishkar Salvi were also carted around – one four off Salvi was close to the mid-off fielder, but it screamed past so fast that he didn’t move. The only bowler who he wasn’t taken apart by Hayden was Sairaj Bahutule, the legspinner. Though Hayden lofted him over long-off for six, and came down the track almost every ball, Bahutule induced a few iffy moments. He finally got his wicket in the 33rd over, as Hayden converted a full-length ball into a low full-toss and patted it back to give Bahutule a simple return catch (108 for 2).Hayden and Justin Langer had given Australia a confident start, and added 69 in the ninety minutes before the tea-break. Langer’s innings was characterised by a number of balls that he drove straight to the fielders. He preferred to rotate the strike and watch the show at the other end, but just before the tea break he capitalised on some wayward bowling, and helped himself to a few fours as well. However, he fell to the second ball after the break as he tried to drive Agarkar through the off side, but edged through to Vinayak Samant, the wicketkeeper (69 for 1).Simon Katich (30) was promoted to No. 3, which is where he will probably bat in the first Test, and milked the bowling around in his 80-ball innings. He survived a run-out chance when he was on 3 as he danced down the track and played a shot straight to the short-leg fielder, who failed to hit the stumps with a return throw. Damien Martyn (28 not out) then gave a sneak preview of his silken touch, and there was a gentler ending to the day’s play after Hayden had torn everyone apart earlier.Due to heavy showers last night, the first half of the day was spent waiting for the field to dry up. Polly Umrigar, the chief curator, was in the centre of all the action, enthusiastically handing out instructions to the ground staff while constantly muttering: “It’s all OK”. Fittingly, it was Umrigar who walked out to the toss with Ian Johnson way back in October 1956, when Australia played their first-ever Test match on Indian soil.

West Indies 294 for 3 (Lara 119, Sarwan 106*) lead Bangladesh 284 (Rajin Saleh 47, Banks 4-80) by 10 runs
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Hundreds by Brian Lara and Ramnaresh Sarwan put West Indies in control of the second Test against Bangladesh at Sabina Park yesterday. At the close they had reached 289 for 3, a lead of 10 runs.Although Lara fell five overs before the close for an excellent 119, the day belonged to West Indies. Pedro Collins wrapped up the Bangladesh innings in the morning, and despite the early loss of Chris Gayle, caught behind off a lazy drive for 14, it was one-way traffic thereafter.Bangladesh will be hoping to take the attack to the West Indies early on this morning, starting with the wicket of nightwatchman Tino Best. With three days to go in this match, there is a lot of cricket still to be played, but with the West Indies poised to build a big lead, and Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Dwayne Smith, Ridley Jacobs and Omari Banks still to bat, the home team remains in a good position to ease to a series-winning victory.The weather forecast for Kingston today is warm, with a high of 31 degrees, but it will be mostly cloudy with a chance of scattered thunderstorms.

The Kenyan legspinner, Collins Obuya, has been signed by Warwickshire as oneof their overseas players this season. Obuya, 21, a star of the World Cupduring Kenya’s astonishing march to the semi-finals, picked up 13 wickets inthe tournament at an average of 28.76, including 5 for 24 in the victoryover Sri Lanka at Nairobi.”The players are very excited about Collins’s introduction to the squad,”said Michael Powell, the Warwickshire captain. “He was impressive in theWorld Cup and is proving to be an exciting prospect. His bowling should add an extra dimension to our attack and we have also been struck by his athleticism in the field.”Obuya, 21, is likely to play his first game against Cardiff Universityon May 14 and will be available throughout the season, subject tointernational duty. He joins another star of the World Cup, New’s Zealand’sfast bowler Shane Bond, after Warwickshire’s approaches to Anil Kumble andBrad Hogg were turned down.”This is a thrilling time for me to be playing for such a famous club,” saidObuya, who until recently sold tomatoes to supplement his meagre salary. “Iam looking forward to it and hope that I can produce the form and successthat I managed during the World Cup in Africa.”

England will tour India in November without a security manager, contrary to advice from the sport’s ruling body on how to counter corruption.Sir Paul Condon, head of the International Cricket Council’sAnti-Corruption Unit, recommended in April that all Test-playingcountries appoint someone to advise on the security of players,officials and venues. That person’s job would include preventingand detecting improper approaches to players on tour, and liaisingwith the ACU.”At the moment we are not planning to appoint a securitymanager before the India tour,” ECB spokesman Andrew Walpolesaid. “Our management staff for the tour has been named and isunlikely to change.”India has been a hotbed of cricket corruption in recentyears. The Board of Control for Cricket in India handed out twolife bans for match-fixing and two five-year bans in November,while former South Africa captain Hansie Cronje’s life ban stemmedfrom links with Indian bookmakers.India will appoint a security manager after its AnnualGeneral Meeting at the end of this month, in time for the tour ofSouth Africa in October.”We think it is very important,” said A.C. Muttiah,president of the BCCI.The ICC meets next month in Lahore, Pakistan, where it willset time-scales to implement its recommendations such as the oneon security managers.”Urgency is needed,” ICC spokesman Mark Harrison said.

ScorecardParas Dogra drives during his 167•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Jammu & Kashmir were well-placed to push for an outright win against Tripura in Agartala, as the visitors led by 367 runs going into the final day. Tripura, who began at 85 for 2 in reply to J&K’s 428, lost wickets in a bulk, as the team failed to sting together any meaningful partnership. Parvinder Singh top-scored with 60, but no other batsman managed a half-century, as Tripura were bundled out for 224 to concede a lead of 204 runs. Fast bowler Ram Dayal was the pick of J&K’s bowlers, collecting 4 for 51, while Umar Nazir Mir and medium-pacer Rohit Sharma took two each. J&K lost their openers Shubham Khajuria and Imran Haroon early in the second innings, but Ian Dev Singh (40*) put up a fifty-plus stand with Parvez Rasool, before Bandeep Singh blitzed 51 off 16 balls to guide the visitors to 163 for 3 at stumps. Bandeep reached his half-century in 15 balls, and broke the record for the fastest fifty in the Ranji Trophy. Before Bandeep, Shakti Singh (Himachal Pradesh, 1990-91) and Yusuf Pathan (Baroda, 2012-13) held the joint record with 18-ball half-centuries.
ScorecardHimachal Pradesh edged ahead in their Ranji clash against Goa in Dharamsala as they secured a crucial innings lead. HP were 298 for 5 coming into day three, and their overnight centurion Paras Dogra made his way to 167, ensuring that his team had a slender advantage. None of the lower-order batsmen chipped in with a handy knock, but Dogra’s rearguard earned HP a lead of 52. Prasanth Parameswaran picked up 5 for 82, while Rituraj Singh chipped in with 3 for 95. Goa began their second innings positively, as the openers Amogh Sunil Desai (63) and Swapnil Asnodkar (72) batted together for 53.5 overs to add 131 runs. However, HP fought back with three key wickets towards the end of the day, as Bipul Sharma and Akash Vasisht struck to remove Asnodkar, Desai and the first-innings centurion Sagun Kamat. Goa were 182 for 3 when stumps were called, leading by 130 runs.
ScorecardA three-wicket burst from Karaparambil Monish, coupled with timely blows from Rohan Prem meant Kerala could harbour hopes of gaining first-innings points against Services in Delhi. Services were well-placed at 66 for 0 when the day began, but Soumik Chatterjee was dismissed early on for 42. Anshul Gupta (68) and Ravi Chauhan (56) added 75 for the second wicket, but from 160 for 1, Services collapsed to 221 for 6. Handy knocks from Vikas Hathwala (45) and Muzzaffaruddin Khalid (28*) guided Services to 281 for 7 when the day ended, with the team still trailing by 41 runs.