New Zealand in Australia

New Zealand may turn to intravenous drips similar to those banned by the AFL in a bid to help their players cope with Australia's blazing summer.
Intravenous drips to speed the rehydration of players were banned last year by the AFL after the Brisbane Lions admitted they were being used but there is nothing to stop a cricket team using them.
New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming raised the issue after Tuesday's day-night clash against Australia A at the Gabba when Kiwi fast bowler Shane Bond was taken to hospital after bowling four overs in sweltering 37C conditions.
"If there is no law against them (IV drips) it is something to look at," Fleming said. An Australian Cricket Board spokesman said the board discouraged the use of drips but they were not banned.

Pakistan in Bangladesh

Half-centuries by openers Taufiq Umar and Shadab Kabir have put Pakistan in command after captain Waqar Younis stunned Bangladesh with a six-wicket haul on the first day of the first Test.
Pakistan were 3-126 at stumps in reply to Bangladesh's first innings 160. Kabir hit a sparkling 55 with 10 fours off 60 balls before being bowled by left-arm spinner Enamul Hoque in the 23rd over.
Skipper Waqar shone with devastating bowling to dash Bangladesh's hopes of prolonging their innings beyond the first day. Younis's success came in his second spell as he grabbed 6-21 for overall figures of 6-56.

England women in India

India notched up a massive 113-run victory over England to establish a winning 3-0 lead in the five-match Hero Honda women's one-day cricket series in Hyderabad on Wednesday.

Miscellaneous

Former Australia captain Mark Taylor has attacked coaching in England for being over-complicated. Taylor said that English coaching techniques had long been a source of amusement to Australians.
"The English have too many coaches and they are taught from a very young age to play the wrong way," he said. Taylor's opinions echoed those of Sir Donald Bradman who once criticised the batting stance of former England captain Graham Gooch in a letter to Australia's Sam Loxton.
"How can he expect to bat properly when he waves his bat around behind him like that?" wrote Bradman.

________________

It is tattered, battered, beer-soaked and 17 years-old. But Steve Waugh's baggy green cap is one of the symbols of Australian sport. Waugh insists he will not replace the worn and fraying cap, which is valued at more than $100,000.
Many cricket fans disagree, flooding talkback radio and letters pages with pleas for him to don a new one. Test great Neil Harvey weighed into the debate, saying it was Waugh's duty as captain to look impeccable in the field. "It looks bloody terrible, it really does. He needs to get another one," Harvey said.
Waugh has said he will not replace the cap unless told by Australian officials.

________________

India have confirmed they will not host September's ICC Knockout Trophy, with Sri Lanka favourite to act as a replacement venue.
India were unwilling to host the tournament for tax reasons that would have made it difficult to make a profit from the event.
Australia and the Gulf emirate of Sharjah are being considered as alternative venues to host the tournament, but Sri Lanka is expected to get the nod.
A final decision will be taken at the ICC's executive board meeting in Colombo in March, the officials said.

________________

India captain Sourav Ganguly has been asked to play in a one-day tournament in an attempt to improve his form ahead of the limited overs series against England.
England take on the hosts in the first of six one-day internationals in Calcutta on 19 January.
Chief selector Chandu Borde said the Bengali left-hander would take part in the NKP Salve Trophy, which pits an India Seniors side against A and B squads in a four-match tournament.

________________

The much-touted two-tier system in the national cricket championship for the Ranji Trophy is likely to be implemented only from the 2003-04 season.
Earlier, the Indian cricket board (BCCI) had stated that the double-tiered system, in which the top ten teams will be placed in the upper tier and the remaining 17 teams in the lower one, will come into effect from the next season.
A top BCCI official today said that all the affiliated units of the board have been told to be prepared for the new system from next season's Ranji Trophy event which is to be held under the existing format.
The current format, featuring the zonal league followed by the inter-zonal knock-out rounds for the first three finishers in each zone, will be continued in the next season too, according to the official.

________________

Former England cricket captain Graham Gooch accepted a tough new sporting challenge on Tuesday - to prove he does not wear a wig.
The star swam and ran to show the hair replacement treatment he advertises is the "real deal". For the last seven years the 49-year-old has been hailing the benefits of the Advanced Hair Studio product.
The company claims that its hi-tech laser therapy encourages hair to grow back but the Advertising Standards Authority says that claim is nonsense.
It dismisses the company's claims that the procedure "allows you to continue your lifestyle with total freedom; you can swim, run, or play sport with total confidence".

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