India's tour of West Indies

India are undecided over who should open the batting with Shiv Sunder Das in this week's third Test against West Indies.

Wasim Jaffer and Deep Dasgupta made half centuries in the warm-up game against a Busta XI in St Lucia, and skipper Sourav Ganguly confirmed that both would be considered.

India hold a 1-0 lead in the five-Test series and middle order batsmen Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar and Vangipurrapu Laxman are all in form.

India's tour of England

Indian officials have asked the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) to provide special security for Sachin Tendulkar and captain Sourav Ganguly during the forthcoming tour.

"In the light of the events after September 11, we think that special security arrangements are needed during the team's tour of England," said Board of Control for Cricket in India sdecretary Niranjan Shah.

India are to take part in a triangular one-day series in England, also involving Sri Lanka, to be followed by four Test matches.

New Zealand's tour of Pakistan

New Zealand are keen to make a frest start against Pakistan in the two-Test series which begins on Wednesday.

They suffered a 3-0 whitewash in the one-day series, but their squad has been reinforced by the arrival of batsmen Mark Richardson and Mathew Sinclair, spinner Daniel Vettori and seam bowler Chris Martin.

"We are disappointed with the 3-0 result, but all starts again at nil-all, so we are looking forward to the Test matches," New Zealand coach Denis Aberhart said following Monday's practice session at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.

Nagamootoo's injury

West Indies leg-spinner Mahendra Nagamootoo has been told he can leave hospital after treatment for minor injuries suffered in a road accident.

The 26-year-old was a passenger in a minivan that ran off the road and crashed in his hometown of Berbice on Friday.

He was rushed to a Guyana hospital, where he received stitches to his head and face, and he was then flown to Trinidad for extended treatment.

His face and feet were bruised and his neck was in a brace as he lay motionless while being wheeled in to the St. Claire Medical Complex.

Shoaib's feat

Australian paceman Brett Lee was quick to offer his congratulations to Shoaib Akhtar after hearing that the Pakistani had beaten him in the race to become the first man to bowl at 100 miles per hour.

Shoaib clocked 100.04 mph (161 kph) in the third one-day international against New Zealand in Lahore.

The record will remain unofficial, however, as the International Cricket Council (ICC) does not at present recognise speeds achieved by bowlers.

"We have never kept any official records about bowling speeds," said spokesman David Clarke. Lee, meanwhile, hailed Shoaib as a "fantastic guy"

________________

For Pakistan's paceman Shoaib Akhtar, producing cricket's first 100mph delivery is only the beginning. Having broken the record, he is now focused on developing as a bowler, with the aim of reaching 200 one-day international wickets before the start of next year's World Cup in South Africa.

He has so far taken 105 wickets in 62 matches at a cost of just over 20 runs each.

Shoaib was clocked for a 100.04 mph delivery during Saturday's game against New Zealand in Lahore, beating Australian Jeff Thomson's 99.8mph in controlled conditions in 1975.

________________

Shoaib Akhtar has achieved his lifelong ambition to bowl the fastest ball in history . . . or has he?

The statement said "according to a speed gun operated at the ground by a sponsor, Shoaib bowled a delivery at a speed of 161km/h".

But a report on website Cricinfo by Pakistani journalist Agha Akbar yesterday casts doubt on Shoaib's record.

Akbar described the sponsor's gun as "unreliable" and added: "This is an issue that will fire up lots of media speculation as the TV broadcaster's speed gun was not working, so one can only rest this case as there is really no official system in place for measuring speeds."

Miscellaneous

Wasim Akram has confirmed he will retire after next year's World Cup.

The Pakistan international has a world record 459 scalps in 331 one day internationals since making his debut in November 1984.

"I have decided to hang up my boots after next year's World Cup," the 35-year-old said. "I have had the honour of leading my country and also played my role in a number of wins which is very much satisfactory for me.

"Now I must prepare myself to enjoy life without cricket." Wasim has taken 414 wickets in 104 Test matches since his bow in January 1985. In addition, he averages nearly 23 with the bat in Tests.

________________

The Australian Cricket Board is considering a proposal to stage Test cricket in the northern cities of Darwin and Cairns.

The move would ease the pressure on Australia's six main Test venues in Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth, Brisbane and Hobart.

The two cities would probably used to stage matches against lower-ranked Test nations, like Bangladesh and Zimbabwe.

Because of Darwin's geographical position in the northern Territory and climate, it would also be possible to play games there outside the normal Australian season.

________________

England captain Nasser Hussain has called for a reduced international schedule in order to make matches more meaningful for players and prevent them suffering from burn-out.

"There is a feeling around the game that we do want a little bit less cricket to make it more important," said Hussain, 34.

"There is so much cricket, a one-dayer here, a one-dayer there on the other side of the world, Test matches, triangular series, we don't know who is playing who now. "You could be playing the ninth game of a 12-match series."

________________

Former South African strike bowler Fanie de Villiers has called for the new four-man selection panel for the national side to be made up of men with experiece of the international game and who have a real passion for cricket.

The United Cricket Board (UCB) are expected to name the new panel within the next two weeks, and de Villiers has strong views on the kind of people he would like to see appointed.

"I would like to see four capable people (on the panel) who have played the game recently and know the ins and outs of the modern game," de Villiers told Supercricket.

Yesterday's News .........................  News Roll archive