West Indies in Kenya

Powered by a stroke-filled 152 from West Indian opener Chris Gayle (his first century in one day internationals), West Indies piled up an imposing 311-4 in 50 overs in the first one-day match against Kenya at Nairobi. Besides Gayle Ganga (68), Chanderpaul (38 not out) and Sarwan (32 not out) also contributed. The Kenyans meekly surrendered too lose by 106 runs with only Thomas Odoyo (40) and the extras (31) making an impression.

India in Sri Lanka

Yet another thrilling display of batting by the Sri Lankans after yet another lackadaisical Indian batting performance would be the best way to sum up proceedings on the second day of the 1st Test being played at Galle.
A fiery spell of quick bowling from Sri Lanka's new pace sensation, Dilhara Fernando, saw India fold up for 187, without a murmur within an hour of start of play on the second day. The rest of the day belonged to the hosts as they raced to 264-3 with Jayasuriya (111), Atapattu (33) and Sangakara (54) all contributing useful scores.

Australia in England

Wicket keeper Adam Gilchrist leads Australia in the absence of the injured Steve Waugh said he is keen to succeed without Steve Waugh, and said he would be comfortable to go to the injured skipper for advise anytime during the course of the match as Waugh is still in England taking treatment. Gilchrist said there was no question of being complacent with the series already decided. Nasser Hussain comes back from injury to lead a beleaguered home team.

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In an interesting diversion from the normal trend bookmakers in London have been accepting bets on when England are likely to lose the 4th Test beginning at Headingly today; that is within how many days.
The recent dismal performance of the home side against the Australians has disheartened fans and bookmakers alike. The odds of 500-1 have been placed on England losing to the Australians at the end of day one and odds are 4-5 that England will fight on to the fifth day.

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Australian leg spinner Shane Warne accused English cricketers of mediocrity and lacking the will to succeed as the reason for their recent dismal performances. Warne said players at the county level are happy with the good salary and sponsored cars they are provided with and don't really aim for anything higher.
The Australian first class cricketers on the other hand only aim to succeed at the domestic level so as to be selected to play Tests. Warne also felt that many of the older players in the English side were blocking the paths of the upcoming youngsters.
In his autobiography that is to be released for sale today Warne has clarified that he has nothing against Sri Lanka the country or its people. He said his only grievance was against the former skipper Arjuna Ranatunga who he felt at times used methods contrary to the spirit of the game to try and get under the skin of the Australians.

Miscellaneous

The Yorkshire cricket club yesterday opened the controversial new West Stand and the Sir Len Hutton Gates at Headingley. The opening coincided with the 20th anniversary of the famous "Botham Test" as well as the fourth Test between England and Australia beginning today at the venue.
There has been a controversy over the design on the gate that depicted a couple of Asian women in sari's watching the cricket. The gates were to be opened by former prime minister and cricket enthusiast John Major but was however inaugurated by the club president Robin Smith after senior Yorkshire men expressed their dissent over it saying the former Prime minister had little to do with Yorkshire cricket.

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Former Australian cricketer Rodney Marsh who is to head the new cricket academy in England said the most important quality he would like his wards to have is "desire". He said if the recruits at the English Academy had sufficient desire it would be possible to build a base of cricketers who could go on to play for England. Marsh will be shortly resigning as head of the Australian National Academy and coach of the Australian under 19 team to take up his new assignment in England.

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The recently released book written by Roland Perry that chronicles the 12 members of Sir Donald Bradman's dream team describes about how the late Sir Don made it a point to watch all of Sachin's innings until 1999. In a chapter titled 'The Star of India' Bradman has ranked Tendulkar as the best batsman over his nearest contender West Indian Brian Lara saying Tendulkar had a more sound defence.

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The famous Australian cricket venue the Melbourne Cricket Ground is to receive a facelift in time for the 2006 Commonwealth games. The Melbourne Cricket Club who manages the ground said the seating capacity would be increased to more than a 100,000 resulting in a reduction of seats in the members pavilion. The decision however has been criticised in some quarters, as restructuring the ground will mean the dismantling of the historic Long Room before it is rebuilt as a new stand.

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Pakistan's dashing batsman middle order batsman Inzamam ul Haq is likely to take legal action against the newspaper the Daily Telegraph, for publishing an article that claimed that he was being investigated by the Anti-Corruption Unit of the International Cricket Council on charges of match fixing.
The paper had raised doubts over the manner in which Inzamam was dismissed in a NatWest Trophy match against Australia held in England recently. Inzamam claimed the allegations had put him under tremendous pressure at the camp where the Pakistan team is currently undergoing training.
He felt that some one had published this information with the only intention of maligning his image. He said he had not been approached by the Anti-Corruption Unit for questioning, adding that he was ready to face them anytime.

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Pakistan's Shahid Afridi is hoping that Leicestershire would find him a suitable candidate for them as a full-time overseas player next season. Afridi replaced Australian Daniel Marsh who was ruled out mid way through the season after sustaining a fracture on his cheekbone.
Afridi came in as a replacement and made a remarkable impact on the performance of his side, powering them into to the C&G Trophy final with his batting.

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Former Pakistan skipper Wasim Akram has expressed his desire to extend his international career up until the 2003 World Cup. The former skipper, who is not part of the Pakistan national squad training before the beginning of the season, said he felt he still very much good enough for international cricket and was keen to surpass the number of wickets taken by Kapil Dev (434) and Richard Hadlee (431). Wasim Akram's wicket tally stands at 414.

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The Pakistan Cricket Board has agreed to be host to the International Cricket Council (ICC) meetings to be held in October. Lahore will be the venue for the meeting to be held between October 14 and 19.
Various aspects of the game like the formation of the elite umpires panel, the conduct of the next ICC knock out tournament and many other issues are likely to be discussed.

Brief Scores

INDIA v SRI LANKA (1st Test)
Played at Galle International Stadium , Galle (2nd day)
Toss: Sri Lanka
India: 187 (SS Das 40, S Ramesh, 42, M Kaif 37; D Fernando 5-42, Muralitharan 3-41)
Sri Lanka: 264-3 (M Atapattu 33, S Jayasuirya 111, K Sangakara 54 not out)

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WEST INDIES vs KENYA (1st ODI)
Played at Simba Union Ground, Nairobi
Toss: Kenya
West Indies: 311-4 in 50 overs (C Gayle 152, D Ganga 68, S Chanderpaul 38 not out, R Sarwan 32 not out)
Kenya: 205 in 49.3 overs (TM Odoyo 40; CEL Stuart 5-44, C Collymore 3-26).
Result: West Indies won by 106 runs
Man of the match: CH Gayle (WI)

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