Stewart proud at climbing run table

A proud Alec Stewart was handed an incentive to continue Test cricket after he moved into second place in England's list of Test run scorers on the first day of the second Test against Zimbabwe at the Riverside, Chester-le-Street on Thursday.

Stewart's 67 not out took him past fellow former England captain David Gower's tally of 8,231 runs and into eighth place overall in the all-time list of Test run scorers.

It also helped England recover from 156 for five to their stumps total 298 for five and after close of play Stewart said, "It's something to go past the likes of David Gower and Geoff Boycott.

"It gives you another reason to carry on."

Aged 40, veteran wicketkeeper-batsman Stewart's continued inclusion in the Test team has provoked much media debate in England.

Some pundits have said the selectors should drop the Surrey stalwart in favour of younger rivals such as Essex's James Foster or Nottinghamshire's Chris Read.

But Stewart, extending his England Test appearance record to 128 matches in this game, said, "A lot's been written and said about my position but all I've ever done is make myself available."

His current total of 8,280 runs is still well behind ex-skipper Graham Gooch's England record of 8,900.

Ganga to lead Windies President's XI against Sri Lanka

Test batsman Daren Ganga will lead the West Indies Cricket Board President's XI team in a three-day, first-class match against the touring Sri Lankans next week in St. Vincent.

Ganga, 24, scored two centuries in the recent four-Test series against the Australians, but was not selected for the subsequent seven one-day internationals last month.

Aside from Ganga as captain, the West Indies selectors on Thursday named six others with Test experience to play on the 13-man squad against Sri Lanka on June 14-16.

Four of them -- Carlton Baugh, Tino Best, David Bernard and Devon Smith -- made their debuts against Australia, while all-rounder Ryan Hinds and fast bowler Daren Powell first played in 2002.

The 25-year-old Powell, of Jamaica, is the oldest member of the team.

Other members include fast bowlers Jason Bennett and Jerome Taylor, batsmen Dwayne Bravo, Narsingh Deonarine and Aneil Kanhai and wrist spinner Dave Mohammed.

Former Windward Islands and West Indies paceman Ian Allen will coach the team, while Julian Jack is the manager.

Sri Lanka also will play three one-day internationals against the West Indies on June 7, 8 and 11, and two Tests on June 20-24 and June 27-July 1.

Sri Lanka beats Shell Cricket Academy Invitational XI

Sri Lanka beat the Shell Cricket Academy Invitational XI by 114 runs in a warm-up match in Grenada.

The Academy Invitational XI on Wednesday managed a final score of 129 for nine off 50 overs in response to the visitors' 243 for seven off 50 overs. Sri Lankan captain Marvan Atapattu top-scored with 99.

The Sri Lankans won the toss and batted first. Romesh Kaluwitharana was the first to go for only six runs. He was caught by Floyd Reifer off the bowling of Jerome Taylor.

Naveed Nawaz was next, caught by Taylor off the bowling of Carl Simon for 26. After a disappointing start, the Sri Lankans reached 70 for two with their captain pacing nicely.

The Shell Cricket Academy Invitational XI missed an easy chance of getting rid of Kumar Sangakkara when he was 12 with a bad miss by Jason Bennett when he could have run-out the Sri Lankan middle order batsman quite easily.

Sangakkara was eventually caught by Simon off the bowling of Dwaine Bravo for 21 runs.

Mahela Jayawardena and Atapattu put together a good partnership before Jayawardena was caught by Deonarine off the bowling of Bravo for 35. The score was four for 183 when the partnership was broken. Atapattu was next to go for 99 runs.

Since the World Cup in which Sri Lanka qualified for the semifinals, they have had to contend with the resignation of captain Sanath Jayasuriya, the retirement of top batsman Aravinda de Silva and have experienced mixed results in seeking to rebuild their side.

Yesterday's match marked the opening of Sri Lanka's Caribbean tour which is comprised of three one-day internationals and two Tests.

Akram should have retired during World Cup: Mudassar Nazar

"Wasim Akram should have retired during the World Cup," former Pakistan Test star Mudassar Nazar and coach told Gulf News.

"The World Cup was the ideal stage for Akram to announce his retirement. The time was up for him to call it a day and he should have made the decision then," added Mudassar, whom Akram credited as being one of the cricketers to have played an important role in his success soon after picking his 500th wicket.

"It's very clear that Lt General Tauqir Zia, the Pakistan Cricket Board chief has been under tremendous pressure following statements from former players like Imran Khan and Asif Iqbal on Akram's retirement.

"Akram had reached the last stage of his career and he should have made up his mind. I do not think he should retire in Pakistan," said Mudassar, who was one of the senior most players in the team when Akram joined the squad.

"As a youngster he was very talented. The most important quality in him that attracted me was his ability to learn. He was always willing to work long periods very often harder than the senior cricketers," he revealed.

Mudassar, who had also coached him, feels Akram's other quality was his willingness to watch and learn.

"Many top cricketers after reaching a particular level refuse to learn and even listen to coaches. Akram never did it. He was willing to experiment. I think his willingness to work hard and to watch and learn were the qualities that made him a top class bowler," said Mudassar.