India in South Africa

The Indian cricket coach John Wright appears to be confident that the upbeat mood in the team plus the added advantage of right preparation will ensure a better performance from the team on the current tour of South Africa. Wright said he was trying to remove the mindset prevailing among the players about playing on fast pacy wickets. He added that since the Test matches were after the one-day internationals the team would be prepared better for the real Test! During India's previous two tours of South Africa in 1992-93 and 1996-97, tour began with the Test series followed by the one-dayers.

England in Zimbabwe

The England team finally arrived in Zimbabwe for a 17-day tour that will include five one-day internationals. The England manager Phillip Neale said that they were expecting a tough battle against Zimbabwe who are a much improved one-day side and also because that the tourists have been struggling with their one-day game of late.

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Graham Thorpe who has been a last minute inclusion to the England side to tour Zimbabwe has warned against people expecting too much of him. Thorpe is making a comeback into cricket after a three-month layoff following a hand and calf injury. He said it would take a while to get his body back to a hundred percent fitness.

Miscellaneous

A South African Court that is currently hearing the appeal made by former skipper Hansie Cronje has delayed announcing its verdict. However the banned former skipper will be permitted to work for the South African media as there is nothing that can stop him from entering cricket grounds as a spectator and writing articles. Cronje had alleged that the ban has taken away all his rights to earn a living.

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New laws regarding crowd control in England are to be introduced after many instances of unruly crowds marred cricket matches this summer in England. The new laws call on police and cricket officials to inform spectators of the possible penalties they face for invading the field of play.
Recommendations also include the introduction of a common level of steward training, a co-ordinated ticketing policy, plus the appointment of a Safety Officer at each international venue with the power to suspend play if crowd trouble erupts. These new laws will be in force for the next season when Sri Lanka and India tour England.

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Despite the worries caused by a possible invasion by the United States, Afghanistan has expressed its desire to take part in Pakistan's Quaid-e-Azam trophy that begins in October.
The Afghan team has been included in the list of participating teams according to PCB, but whether they take part in it depends entirely on the circumstances prevailing at the time.
Club teams in Pakistan have played a number of games against Afghan sides in the past, and the PCB had successfully recommended by getting Afghanistan admitted as an affiliate member to the International Cricket Council earlier this year.

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The decision on whether Sri Lanka should undertake a consolation tour of Pakistan next month will be taken at a meeting of the interim committee of the Board of Control for Cricket in Sri Lanka (BCCSL) on October 2.
The meeting has been called for after several players, including their skipper Sanath Jayasuriya, have expressed their willingness to tour Pakistan. The PCB has expressed his gratefulness to the BCCSL for the response.

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Indian batsman VVS Laxman has withdrawn from the Australian club side Balmain in the Sydney Grade game.
Laxman had undergone surgery for a troublesome knee and was recuperating in Australia. He however withdrew from the side after he realised that he was to fly home on the second day of the match. With his sudden withdrawal, doubts are being raised about his level of fitness.

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Glamorgan's Matthew Maynard will lead the England squad in the Cathay Pacific/Standard Chartered Hong Kong Cricket Sixes Tournament in November.
The squad, which will be managed by David Graveney, consists only of players not involved in the Test series against India. Maynard will also keep wickets.
England will line up against Australia, Hong Kong, India, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka and United Arab Emirates. The teams for the event will be split into two groups of four and will be played on an artificial pitch at Kowloon Cricket Club from 10-11 November.
The team: M Maynard (Glamorgan, capt and w/k), I Blackwell (Somerset), P Collingwood (Durham), M Ealham (Kent), A Flintoff (Lancashire), B Hollioake (Surrey), R Johnson (Somerset).

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Former West Indies batsman Desmond Haynes was sworn in as a new Senator with the Barbados government on Tuesday.
The 45-year-old former opener joins a long list of Test players from the West Indies and other countries, who turned to politics after retiring from the game.
Interestingly, former West Indian fast bowler Wes Hall, now president of the West Indies Cricket Board, served as Sports Minister of Barbados after a successful Test career in the 1950s and 60s.

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