India in South Africa

India’s preparations for the first Test starting in Bloemfontein on November 3 suffered a big blow when the second day’s play of the three-day tie against the South African ‘A’ side also had to be abandoned without a ball being bowled. Although the rains had stopped a wet and soggy outfield ruled out the possibility of any play.

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Yet another blow to the Indian team was the news that their vice-captain and star batsman Rahul Dravid’s shoulder injury could be more serious that expected. Dravid has been diagnosed as having a rupture in his shoulder cartilage and playing in the Tests that begin this week could aggravate the problem. The only alternative would be to field near the wicket and avoid throwing from the deep. The doctor in Cape Town who examined Dravid said his injury was similar to the one sustained by South African Nicky Boje.

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India’s leg spin bowler Anil Kumble who is back in the Indian side after nearly a year out of it following a shoulder surgery said he had over the past year developed a new googly that he felt was bound to trouble the South African batsmen. Kumble said the criticism against him that he lacked big spin inspired him to try out some different things. Kumble dismissed all concerns over his shoulder saying it was doing fine.

The England tour

Dashing Opener Marcus Trescothick, all-rounder Craig White and left-arm spinner Ashley Giles confirmed their readiness to tour India while pace bowler Andrew Caddick and off-spinner Robert Croft opted out. The above five players had asked for time till Friday to confirm their availability. The three who agreed yesterday join the eleven players including skipper Nasser Hussain, Usman Afzaal, Mark Butcher, Richard Dawson, James Foster, Warren Hegg, Matthew Hoggard, James Ormond, Mark Ramprakash, Graham Thorpe and Michael Vaughan, who had earlier agreed to make the tour. The replacements or the two who opted out will be named soon.

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Somerset fast bowler Richard Johnson has announced that he is ready and willing to replace his Somerset teammate Andy Caddick in the squad for India. Johnson was in the squad for the final three Ashes Tests, but did not get a chance to play. Johnson said he was a cricketer and every cricketer’s ambition was to play for his country and that was his only priority. He said he would jump at an opportunity to tour India.

Khaleej Times Trophy, Sharjah

Sri Lanka knocked Zimbabwe out of the Khaleej Times Trophy being played in Sharjah by inflicting a 79-run win over the beleaguered team. After claiming 3 wickets for 62 Zimbabwe allowed the Sri Lankan middle-order to get away and eventually score 250. Zimbabwe was never in the chase after they lost their first wicket for just 5 and could eventually muster only 171-8 in the 50 overs. With this loss Zimbabwe have ruled out all hope of making it to the final leaving the rest of the league matches of just academic interest.

Miscellaneous

Former Indian captain Kapil Dev has said that he would soon be getting back at all those who dragged him into the match-fixing scandal. Kapil Dev was speaking to the media after his company had signed an agreement with the Orissa Cricket Association for installing floodlights at the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack. The work will be completed within 120 days. Reluctant to talk about the charges made against him by Manoj Prabhakar, the legendary all-rounder said the scandal had put his name on the front page that was normally reserved for politicians. He said he was happy to be on the sports page.

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Young West Indian left hand batsman Wavell Hinds has been ruled out of the team to tour Sri Lanka after he broke his nose playing in a festival match in Jamaica in the weekend. The broken nose may require surgery. West Indies are as it is without Brian Lara and Shivnaraine Chanderpaul both of whom have been ruled out of the tour due to various injuries.

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A press release from the International Cricket Council revealed that a team of the ICC’s Anti-Corruption Unit will visit to New Delhi this week to work with the local authorities in a bid to wipe out malpractices from the game before the 2003 World Cup. The investigators will have a series of meetings with law enforcement agencies in India to identify potential corruption threats to the 2003 World Cup. Another team is already in Sharjah carrying out an independent check of new security measures introduced by the Cricketers' Benefit Fund Series for all tournaments played at the desert venue.

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Former Indian skipper Dilip Vengsarkar has been appointed head of a Talent Resources Development Officers Committee that will aim at spotting and nurturing talent keeping in mind the forthcoming Youth World Cup. BCCI President Jagmohan Dalmiya said Vengsarkar has been appointed chairman on a long-term basis considering his wealth of experience. Dalmiya added that Vengsarkar has also been appointed as the consultant for the junior team for the Youth World Cup scheduled to be held in January next year in New Zealand.

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Former Test cricketer and coach of the National Cricket Academy Balwinder Singh Sandhu has been named coach of the Under 19 team for the Youth World Cup. Arjun Rana will be the physical trainer. Twenty-five probables will be selected on the basis of performance in the CK Nayudu Trophy that will be held in December. The team leaves for New Zealand in early January.

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Former India all-rounder Mohinder Amarnath said India needed to look northward towards Punjab, Delhi and Rajasthan to create a good pool of fast bowling talent because of the good physique and aggressive attitude of the people of these states. Speaking to a newspaper in Dubai Amarnath said food habits of the Punjabis was similar to those of the Pakistani’s who seem to have an assembly line of fast bowlers. Amarnath said he felt not enough was being done to unearth and mould the talent that was available in these states.

Scores at a glance

Khaleej Times Trophy
Zimbabwe vs Sri Lanka (4th match)
Played at Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah
Toss: Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka: 250 in 49.4 overs (M Jayawardene 63, R Arnold 55, K Sangakara 35; H Streak4-59, G Brent 3-32)
Zimbabwe: 171-8 in 50 overs (S Carlisle 37, D Marillier 52; K Dharmasena 3-26)
Result: Sri Lanka won by 79 runs.
Man of the match: M Jayawardene (SL)

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