India's tour of West Indies

India will put their faith in off-spinner Harbhajan Singh for the final Test against West Indies, which starts in Jamaica on Saturday.

Harbhajan was dropped for the drawn game in Antigua after managing only six wickets in the first three games.

But he is set for an immediate recall with Anil Kumble having flown home for surgery after his jaw was broken by a short ball from West Indies fast bowler Merv Dillon.

The series is currently tied at 1-1 but India hope to pull out all the stops in search of their first win outside the Asian continent for 16 years and their first in the Caribbean since 1971. "There are likely to be hardly any changes to the team. Harbhajan Singh will come into the side for Kumble," said skipper Sourav Ganguly.

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India will bring in off-spinner Harbhajan Singh for injured Anil Kumble in the only change to their team to face West Indies in the deciding fifth Test starting tomorrow.

The series is tied 1-1 and the the match will decide if India clinch their first Test series win in the Caribbean since 1971 or West Indies bounce back from two straight series losses. West Indies, may bring leg-spinner Dinanath Ramnarine into the side.

Sri Lanka in England

First Test, Lord's, day one:
Sri Lanka 314-3 v England

England will resume on the second day at Lord's hoping for an early breakthrough to put the skids on the Sri Lankan juggernaut.

The visitors helped themselves to 314 for three on a sun-baked opening day with Marvan Atapattu unbeaten on 133 at stumps in company with Aravinda de Silva (18 not out).

Sri Lanka batted throughout the afternoon session without loss and only the late wicket of Mahela Jayawardene (107) gave the home side some respite.

Scorecard | Match report | Images

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England coach Duncan Fletcher said his bowlers lacked discipline after Sri Lanka piled on the runs on the opening day of first Test at Lord's.

The tourists, aided by centuries to Marvan Atapattu and Mahela Jayawardene, finished the day on 314 for three after being 55 for two at one stage.

England's seam attack toiled on a lifeless pitch with the bat dominating the ball and the frontline bowlers struggled to make an impression.

"The bowlers could have bowled with more discipline, it's imperative on that wicket that we showed a bit of patience but we were lacking in that department," said Fletcher.

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England made a mistake by leaving spin bowler Ashley Giles out of their team for the first Test against Sri Lanka, according to injured paceman Darren Gough.

Giles was sent back to Birmingham to play for Warwickshire on Wednesday with England expecting their seam bowlers to exploit a supposedly helpful surface.

But Gough believes skipper Nasser Hussain and coach Duncan Fletcher missed a trick.

Australia's tour of Pakistan

Australia's cricket selectors named a 13-man squad on Friday to face Pakistan in a three-game limited-overs series in June.

There were no surprises in the squad with Ricky Ponting named captain and Adam Gilchrist his deputy.

The selectors stuck with the same players who featured in Australia's 5-1 series win over South Africa earlier this year although all-rounder Ian Harvey and off-spinner Nathan Hauritz were cut from the 15-man squad that toured South Africa because the Pakistan series is only three matches.

World Cup 2003

The Indian media has called the national team's participation in the 2003 Cricket World Cup into question.

The Today newspaper believes there is a doubt over whether India will play in South Africa because of the government's hard-line views about playing matches against Pakistan.

India and Pakistan are in the same first round group and due to meet at Centurion next March. But the two arch-rivals have had no cricketing contact since June 2000 because of political differences.

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Kingsmead, one of cricket's famous Test grounds and the Durban headquarters of the KwaZulu-Natal Cricket Union, is being given a R10,7-million facelift.

This is in line with the upgrading of all major venues around the country where the 2003 Cricket World Cup matches will be played.

The World Cup starts in February next year with the official opening and the first game at Newlands in Cape Town. The biggest cricketing event to be held in Africa will culminate in late March with the final at the Wanderers in Johannesburg.

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The inspirational Jonty Rhodes may captain South Africa at next year's World Cup now that Omar Henry is the new national selection convenor.

Henry was appointed on Wednesday as the head of a new-look panel comprising Hugh Page, Pat Symcox, Haroon Lorgat and Douglas Maku. Lorgat is the only survivor of the previous panel.

In his role as a TV commentator, Henry had often expressed the view that Rhodes was the right man to captain South Africa's one-day team.

"It is the view I expressed before I was appointed convenor and I am not going to change my mind overnight," he said on Wednesday, after his election was announced.

Kumble undergoes surgery

Indian spinner Anil Kumble has undergone surgery to repair the broken jaw he suffered during the fourth Test against West Indies in Antigua.

Kumble flew home to Bangalore earlier this week and the operation was carried out at the city's Mallya Hospital.

It lasted 45 minutes and involved attaching a metal plate to support his jaw to aid the healing process.

"He should return to normal diet in about two to three days and be back to the nets and regular cricket in 10 to 15 days," said Dr. Kishore Nayak.

"Two titanium mini-plates were used to stabilize the fractures." Kumble is still hoping to play a full part in India's forthcoming tour to England.

Miscellaneous

South Africa, Pakistan and Sri Lanka will take part in the first-ever limited-overs tournament to be played in the North African nation of Morocco in August, organisers said on Thursday.

The $250 000 (about R1,1-million) triangular, to be played from August 12 to 21, will make the Moroccon city of Tangiers the latest stop on the growing international cricket calender.

A $25m cricket facility has been constructed at Tangiers by the Cricketers Benefit Fund Series (CBFS), organisers of cricket internationals in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates.

Officials from the International Cricket Council (ICC) are scheduled to inspect the new stadium in June.

"We are confident the ICC will find the facilities first-rate," a CBFS said.

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Australian umpires got 95 per cent of decisions correct in international cricket during the 2001-02 season.

The Australian Cricket Board used video evidence to analyse the performance of home officials during Test series against New Zealand and South Africa and the triangular one-day competition involving all three teams.

Of the 363 appeals made to Australian umpires, they gave the correct decision on 345 occasions. "If we want our umpires to improve, an effective way to do that is to sit down and review each decision and use footage to iron out deficiencies," said ACB umpiring manager Geoff Allardice.

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The ECB has nominated Peter Willey and Neil Mallender for the new international panel of umpires. The pair, both former England players, were named alongside Jeremy Lloyds, who is to be considered as a specialist third umpire, as candidates for the ICC's new ranks of match officials.

The International Panel of Umpires will sit alongside the Elite Panel of eight that was named earlier this year, which includes David Shepherd.

This latest panel will provide officials for all one-day internationals and offer cover for the ICC's elite eight at peak times in the Test match calendar and during leading tournaments.

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