Aussies in Calcutta;
Steve to skipUdayan

Australian cricket captain Steve Waugh will not be playing Holi with the inmates of Udayan - a home for leprosy-affected kids in Barrackpore in West Bengal - citing match practice ahead of the second test match against India at Eden Gardens beginning March 11.

Talking to rediff.com, the team's media manager Brian Murgatroyd said that the decision was in keeping with the significance of the second India-Australia tie.

According to an earlier schedule, Waugh was to visit Udayan with his team mates on the occasion of Holi on Friday.

Brian said that Waugh preferred match practice to a visit to Udayan, which the Australian skipper has been helping monetarily for the last few years.

Brian said, "We will leave the hotel for Eden Gardens at 0900 hour (IST) for four hours of strenuous net practice. Despite having taken the lead in the ongoing series, Steve is not taking the upcoming test match lightly. He has cancelled many of his personal engagements to concentrate on the Eden test."

The Australian team arrived in Calcutta by an Indian Airlines flight at 2145 hour on Thursday night. A visibly tired Waugh declined to talk to waiting reporters.

Brian said that the injured Adam Gilchrist had recovered completely and would keep wickets in the Eden test. The final composition of the team would be announced only on March 11, he said.

Four members of the Indian team - Nayan Mongia, Sarandeep Singh, Venkatapathi Raju and skipper Saurav Ganguly - also reached Calcutta on Thursday night.

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