The Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan on Sunday concluded its first professional cricket coaching camp, after years of relying on television to learn the game.
A two-day camp was held in the capital of this tiny Buddhist kingdom by former Sri Lankan Test player Roshan Mahanama and cricket administrator Jayantha Paranatala.
The duo were brought here by Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Tyronne Fernando to popularise the game, which is almost a common religion in South Asia.
The Bhutanese Cricket Association (BCA), which was affiliated to the International Cricket Council (ICC) last year, hopes to improve the standards and attract young players to the game.
BCA President, Lyonpo Kandhu Wangchuk, who is also the Minister of Trade and Industry, said Bhutan's cricketers were used to high altitudes and could easily adapt to conditions anywhere else.
"Till now, cable TV was the only source of coaching for our players," Wangchuk said, referring to the 45 cable TV channels that broadcast, among other things, a steady dose of international cricket matches.
Australia leg-spinner Shane Warne wants to make a fourth Ashes tour of England in 2005 and may give up one-day cricket to pursue his goal, an Australian newspaper said on Sunday.
Warne, 33 next month, is the second leading wicket-taker in Test cricket and will be a key player for one-day captain Ricky Ponting in next year's World Cup defence in South Africa.
"I think another Ashes series (tour) is a realistic goal," Warne was quoted as saying by The Sunday Age newspaper.
"Maybe I'll only play one form of the game. That might prolong my Test career.
"Maybe I could play four or five years of Test cricket. They're all the things you have to weigh up.
"But you don't want to get too far ahead of yourself. That's when your form wavers and you're out of the side anyway."
Graham Thorpe will meet with the England management during the Oval Test this week after revealing that he wants to tour Australia this winter.
After the first Test against India in July, left-handed batsman Thorpe said he was taking a break from cricket to spend more time with his children.
Since then he has not played a competitive game either for England or his county Surrey.
But he is about to represent Surrey once again to show that he is mentally able to play professional cricket at the highest level again.
Chairman of selectors David Graveney said on Sunday that he intends to invite Thorpe to this week's final Test against India and speak to him personally.
"Graham has spoken to Duncan [Fletcher, the coach] already and I'm going to ask him to come down to the Oval and talk to myself and [fellow selector] Geoff Miller," explained Graveney.
"We have made provisions in our Ashes squad both with Graham and without him but it will be good to speak to him face to face.
For the first time since the Sri Lankan civil war began, a member of the national cricket team has been to Jaffna, the town at the heart of two decades of separatist struggle.
More than 10,000 people turned out to see Muttiah Muralitharan, one of the world's top spin bowlers play a friendly match against the local team.
The event that would have been unthinkable before this year's ceasefire agreement between the Tamil Tigers and the Sri Lankan Government.
Whereever he goes, Murali is a phenomenon, but in Jaffna he was literally mobbed as he went on and off the pitch.
Fans were desperate to touch him, grab his cap, or just get a glimpse up close.
Police had problems controlling the crowd, and on occasion, resorted to beating them back with sticks.
The turnout far exceeded expectations, with spectators perched on trees and the surrounding walls for hours on end.
Murali is an international cricket legend, with 400 Test wickets to his credit. But in Jaffna, he is doubly revered as the only Tamil in the Sri Lankan team.