The head of Indian cricket has hit out at the country's leading players over the row concerning contracts for the forthcoming ICC Champions Trophy tournament.
Jagmohan Dalmiya, president of the Board of Control, has accused the team of "lacking intelligence" by refusing to sign the contracts, which insist they must give up personal endorsements for the duration of the 17-day competition.
The matter is due to be discussed at next week's International Cricket Council executive committee meeting in Dubai and Dalmiya is expecting to be given a rough ride.
He claims the ICC had agreed to his proposal to review the contracts, but the stance of the Indian players has made his job more difficult.
"I am stunned by the lack of intelligence on some of our senior players.
"By refusing to sign, they have given ICC much time to negate all our efforts," The Times of India quoted Dalmiya as saying.
ICC Champions Trophy
Makhaya Ntini is being put through a crash course in the art of the slower delivery to get him back into the firing line for the International Cricket Commission (ICC) Champions' Trophy tournament in Sri Lanka next month.
Ntini, the best bowler for South Africa last summer when he revelled on faster and bouncier pitches in Australia and at home, is a key member of the potential World Cup attack.
But, under Asian conditions, such as South Africa encountered in Morocco last week, a slower ball is a vital part of any bowler's armoury and, without it, Ntini came badly unstuck.
"Makhaya does have a slower ball," said national coach Eric Simons. "But at the moment it is not much slower than his normal delivery. In Morocco we found that his slowest delivery was timed at 134 and his fastest one at 145. He needs to develop a greater variety in pace.
"We already started working on the problem in Morocco the day after the final finished and he is working hard on the problem on his own this week with bowl-downs.
"We will be having a three-day camp at Centurion this weekend, starting with the 25 overs-a-side charity match at the Supersport Show, which will give us the chance to see how Makhaya is progressing.
India in England
Former England captain Tony Greig has praised India's performance following their innings victory in the Headingley Test.
Greig believes the game was "one of the high points of their cricketing history" and much of the credit should go to skipper Sourav Ganguly.
Writing for the Indian Express, Greig said: "Since taking over the leadership of the side in 2000, Ganguly has recorded four overseas wins - twice as many as what was achieved in the previous decade.
"With a young and talented unit under his command, Ganguly leads a formidable unit in both forms of the game."
Marcus Trescothick has failed in his bid to make a return from injury in a first-class match ahead of England's final Test against India.
The opening batsman had hoped to prove his recovery from a broken thumb in Somerset's County Championship match against Lancashire at Blackpool.
But he is still suffering from a jarring in the thumb while batting in the nets, and faces a race against time to be fit for Saturday's C&G Trophy final at Lord's.
"We hope he will be fit in time for the final but we won't know until just before the match," Somerset chief executive Peter Anderson told BBC Sport Online.
Tri-Nation tournament in Kenya
Stuart MacGill, the scourge of England's county batsmen in a devastating cameo stint with Nottinghamshire, fears he is no longer part of Australia's Ashes plans after being overlooked for the series against Pakistan next month.
MacGill, 31, has been passed over in favour of Queensland off-spinner Nathan Hauritz, who will team with Shane Warne, leaving the New South Welshman facing the prospect of cooling his heels against England next summer.
"To be brutally honest I don't think I will be featuring in the Ashes series, which is slightly upsetting for me," MacGill said.
Miscellaneous
England coach Duncan Fletcher is due to discuss his long-term future with the England and Wales Cricket Board next week.
"I have been asked to a meeting on Monday. I think that it's important that it's sorted out before an important cricket tour," Fletcher said.
England face a tough test over the next year, with a gruelling schedule beginning with the ICC Champions Trophy one-day tournament in Sri Lanka.
"At this stage I'd really like to carry on," the former Zimbabwe captain, 53, told the Mail on Sunday.
"With the group of players we have now, our bases are covered and there is a lot of young talent around as well.
"As long as we don't start messing around, I think English cricket is in for an exciting two or three years."
The race to succeed Lord MacLaurin as chairman of the England and Wales Cricket Board is set to hot up following the close of nominations for his successor.
Names of candidates have to be submitted to Lord's by midnight on Tuesday and MacLaurin's deputy David Morgan and Surrey chairman Mike Soper are expected to be the front-runners.
MacLaurin decided to step down after six years because of business commitments.
England all-rounder Andrew Flintoff has acknowledged the winter Ashes series in Australia is his top priority after being ruled out of the final Test against India.
Flintoff is due to undergo a hernia operation on Friday and will not play again this summer.
It means he is almost certain to miss next month's ICC Champions Trophy one-day competition in Sri Lanka.
The prognosis is that it will take him four to six weeks to fully recover.
"The Ashes is the main thing now - that's the big one," Flintoff told The Sun newspaper.
India under-19 in England
First one-day international, Bristol: India U19 268-7 (49.1 overs) beat England U19 265-8 (50 overs) by three wickets.
An impressive three-wicket win at Bristol brought India Under-19s first blood in their three-match one-day international series with England
Set an imposing target of 266 to win, the Indians recovered from a mid-innings stutter to win with five balls to spare as England's bowlers struggled to contain a steady flow of runs.
Kuldeep Rawat top-scored with 53 not out.
And Irfan Pathan helped him guide the tourists to victory with an unbeaten 42 to go alongside the two wickets he took in the England innings.
Jagmohan Dalmiya, president of the Board of Control, has accused the team of "lacking intelligence" by refusing to sign the contracts, which insist they must give up personal endorsements for the duration of the 17-day competition.
Makhaya Ntini is being put through a crash course in the art of the slower delivery to get him back into the firing line for the International Cricket Commission (ICC) Champions' Trophy tournament in Sri Lanka next month.