Indian opener SS Das dedicated his first 'Man of the match' award he received in the Bulawayo Test to his parents and coach Kishore Mania. He said being a relative newcomer to the side the victory achieved in Bulawayo was special. At one stage said he was keen on going for a hundred, but was cautioned by teammate Tendulkar to stay at the wicket. He was not happy with a few aspects of his batting and said he would be talking to Sunil Gavaskar, who is on the tour as a commentator, about it.

Pakistan play England in a crucial encounter at Lord's today. The former has won and lost a match each, while the home team has lost both their matches. Meanwhile, England's injury problems of the last two games appear more or less solved with batsman Michael Vaughan and pace bowler Andrew Caddick returning to the side after missing the last couple of games. However left-handed batsman Graham Thorpe is not likely to be fit until a few more days. But keeping in mind the long Ashes series ahead, the English selectors may chose not to overwork some of the key players. Pakistan too may be without fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar who broke down mid-way through last match at Bristol.

With two of the fastest bowlers (Brett Lee and Shoaib Akhtar) on the current circuit on display in the NatWest Triangular series it was becoming an issue as to who would bowl the fastest ball ever. After bowling a sizzler at 157.2 km per hour to Adam Gilchrist at Cardiff, the Pakistani can claim the honours. But after producing this delivery Shoaib fell uneasy immediately and had to go off the ground where he is said to have spat blood and vomited. Bowling the fastest delivery in the world can take its toll it seems. Lee on the other hand ended the day with the title of most expensive spell from an Australian bowler after his 10 overs conceded 85 runs.

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) will be very soon trying out the technology used in tennis to determine if the bowler had no-balled while delivering the ball. For some time now, tennis officials has been successfully using the 'magic eye' to determine service faults and the ECB hopes to use the similar technology during cricket matches. This season in England there have been many controversial umpiring decisions as many England batsmen have been dismissed on no-balls. Ironically, all such decisions involved English umpires, including David Shepherd, who is considered as the best in the business. According to an ECB official the magic eye can indicate if a bowler is overstepping the line and thus avoiding these errors. It seems the ECB has been approached by the manufacturers and the offer by them would be taken seriously.

South African fast bowler Alan Donald has expressed his desire to play one last season of county cricket. Donald who has played the past 11 seasons for Warwickshire, however said he was aware that the county were looking to replace the ageing fast bowler in 2002. His own skipper Shaun Pollock may be the choice depending on the country's international engagements.

The Pakistan Cricket Academy at Lahore is to have a new English fielding coach, Julian Fountain. Fountain, who is a qualified coach and has had stints with England and West Indies teams, will join the Pakistan-A team who will be undertaking a tour of Sri Lanka this month. On his return he would continue his coaching stint with the Pakistan Cricket Academy at Lahore.

The Bangladesh skipper Naimur Rahman is to leave for New York to attend a United Nations anti-AIDS meet. Naimur has already been working on an anti-polio drive in Bangladesh and said he was privileged to be invited for this cause. The skipper is due to speak at the United Nations seminar to be held in New York on June 19. Naim, who is currently training along with his team for the forthcoming Asian Test Championship and Zimbabwe's Bangladesh tour and has been given two weeks leave by the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) for the UN meet.

Meanwhile, Naimur Rahman will also team up with former Bangladeshi skipper Aminul Islam, on his return from New York for an exhibition cricket match in London. Aminul Islam, considered the best batsman in Bangladesh, will play another exhibition match against the touring Australians at Lord's as a member of the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) Eleven. He will be the first Bangladeshi cricketer to play at Lord's Cricket Ground, London.

According to the Bangladesh Cricket Association (BCA) secretary Sayed Ashraf-ul-Haq, India's refusal to play Pakistan has threatened the very existence of the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) and it is very difficult to raise the required funds for the development of the game in the region if India does not play Pakistan. In such a situation the ACC is a non-starter, according to Ashraf-ul-Haq. "Without India, there is no revenue for the ACC" he added.

The South African Revenue Services are all set to impose taxes on the income not declared by the disgraced former South African skipper Hansie Cronje. Necessary action would be taken if Cronje is not granted indemnity by the King Commission of Inquiry to cricket match-fixing. The Commission had recently submitted its report to the government. The contents of the report will be out within five to six weeks time, through the South African Cricket Board.

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