WI tour of India

The absence of Brian Lara will be a "major blow" to the West Indies as they begin a three-Test tour of India, captain Carl Hooper has admitted. "Lara is a very, very experienced player and we will miss him certainly," Hooper said as the team arrived in Bangalore for their tour-opener against the Board President's XI.

Australia-Pakistan Test series

The Pakistan Cricket Board are hopeful that two Tests against Australia in Sharjah later this month will go ahead. Australian batsman Ricky Ponting has expressed concerns about entering the Gulf state with the possibility of military action against nearby Iraq. PCB director Chishty Mujahid confirmed, however, that there had been no correspondence with Australian officials over the issue. Former Pakistan spinner Mushtaq Ahmed has his doubts about Pakistan’s ability to beat Australia, but he has emphatically denied suggestions of a rift within Waqar Younis’ team. "To be honest I don’t think they can win." "But you never know how Pakistan are going to play. There are so many players in the side who are capable of destroying any team single-handedly." "Australia are obviously the favourites and they are a very good team, but a win for Pakistan is definitely possible." Ageing Australian seam bowler Glenn McGrath believes Pakistan’s weakness to be their inexperience and hopes to dominate his opposition as early as possible in the series. "They've got a lot of youngsters coming in with a lot of pressure on them," said Glenn McGrath. "If we can get on top of them early we might be able to keep them down for the whole series - that would be our plan."

Miscellaneous

Sri Lankan off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan is priming a new weapon to unveil during a limited-overs international series against Australia and England in December. "I bowl it with my same action, a slightly flatter trajectory and it skids through faster than normal," Muralitharan was quoted as saying in Cricket Week magazine. "I've been trying it, but only in the nets so far. I want to be able to perfect it." Muralitharan plans to use the new delivery, similar to a leg-spin bowler's flipper, before the 2003 World Cup in South Africa, starting in February. Two South African venues have been granted new Test Match status by the ICC and will host Test cricket this summer. By the end of this summer of cricket, 11 venues in South Africa will have hosted Test matches. They are: Buffalo Park, East London Ellis Park, Johannesburg Goodyear Park, Bloemfontein Kingsmead Cricket Ground, Durban Lord's Durban Newlands, Cape Town North West Cricket Stadium, Potchefstroom St George's Park, Port Elizabeth SuperSport Park, Centurion The old Wanderers Ground, Johannesburg The new Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg Australian Test captain Steve Waugh has said he would be happy to work under Ricky Ponting should he make Australia's one-day World Cup squad. "I'm very happy just to be a player. I quite enjoyed it at Kent, letting someone else have the responsibility and all the headaches. "I'd be very happy to be just a player in the side. I wouldn't have to be captain. Certainly not." 37-year-old Waugh has been working tirelessly on fitness and improving his form and has recently taken in a stint with English side Kent. "I'm realistic. I know I'm going to need luck to make the World Cup squad," Waugh added. Nasser Hussain and four Ashes team-mates will interrupt a much-needed break from international cricket to play in two star-studded indoor matches. The England captain will lead a Great Britain side against a Rest of the World XI in a two-match series at Cardiff's Millenium Stadium. Also featured in the Brit team are Rob Key, John Crawley, James Foster and Simon Jones. England leave for Australia on October 17.

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