South Africa in Australia

Steve Waugh hailed his team as "exceptional" after becoming the first Australian skipper to complete a clean sweep over South Africa since Bill Woodfull in 1931-32.

They completed a 3-0 whitewash with a 10-wicket victory in Sydney, and won with a day to spare for the second successive match.

"We play aggressively, we try to play to win inside five days, we try to take the weather out of the equation and we try and only bat once. "Those are the standards we're setting ourselves. We're not always going to achieve those, but we want to set the bar high and try to get to that standard."

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Coach Graham Ford could face the chop after South Africa's 3-0 Test series defeat in Australia, according to a Johannesburg Sunday newspaper. Australia completed their first whitewash of South Africa for 70 years with a 10-wicket victory in Sydney on Saturday.

"If that coach is no longer good for the team then obviously he has breached his contract - our contracts are performance contracts," United Cricket Board (UCB) president Percy Sonn said.

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Fast bowler Jason Gillespie has passed a fitness test and will join the Australia A team to play New Zealand in Brisbane on Tuesday.

Gillespie broke down with inflammation of the rotator muscles in his right shoulder at training on December 24, two days before the second Test against South Africa in Melbourne.

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Former captain Clive Rice believes political interference could have devastating consequences for cricket in South Africa. He said the selection of Justin Ontong for the third Test against Australia was symptomatic of the problems South Africa faces.

"I am furious at way politics is ruining the game in this country," Rice said.

Zimbabwe in Sri Lanka

Chaminda Vaas starred with bat and ball to put Sri Lanka in a commanding position over Zimbabwe at the end of the third day in Kandy.

Against a mediocre touring attack the lower-order batsman's sixth Test half-century helped Sri Lanka post 505 in their first innings.

But he was left stranded two short of his first class best 74 - made in the first Test in Colombo last week.

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Muttiah Muralitharan will require surgery at the end of the series against Zimbabwe after tearing finger ligaments. The star spin bowler dislocated the ring finger on his bowling hand attempting to take a catch on near the close of play on Thursday.

But it did not stop him bowling the next day as he attempted unsuccessfully to take his 10th wicket of Zimbabwe's first innings.

"I was in a little bit of pain when I bowled this morning. But, with no pain, there is no gain," he said.

England women in India

England's disastrous start to the five-match one-day series came as a surprise to the Indians, who expected a stiffer contest from Clare Connor's side. The tourists were bowled out for a paltry 106. India reached the required runs for victory with eight wickets to spare.

"We were looking for a resounding win in this series but frankly I must admit to have been a bit surprised that England caved in so easily," said India's coach Tarak Sinha.

Miscellaneous

Nasser Hussain has moved to retract remarks that suggested he wanted to hand over the England captaincy after next year's World Cup.

The 33-year-old Essex batsman had hinted it would be a good time for a new skipper to take over. But writing in The Sunday Telegraph, he said: "I want to make it clear that it is not up to me to dictate how long I do the job. The selectors make those decisions.

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Bangladesh has offered to host the forthcoming Test and one-day international series between Pakistan and West Indies.

The series was in doubt after the West Indies Cricket Board refused to allow their players to travel to Pakistan because of the current military build-up on the border with India.

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