England in India

An excellent century from Craig White put England on top after day two of the second Test against India at the Sardar Patel stadium. White made 121 - the first time he has reached three figures in Tests - as the tourists posted an impressive 407 in their first innings.

And in the final session Ashley Giles claimed his first Test wicket since July and Andrew Flintoff also struck as India reached stumps under some pressure on 71 for two.
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England all-rounder Craig White celebrated his birthday three days early with a maiden Test century in the second cricket Test against India.

White, who turns 32 on Sunday, December 16, made India pay dearly for fielding lapses as he cracked 121 under pressure to help England post an impressive 407 in the first innings.

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Chairman of selectors David Graveney says that Graham Thorpe knows he has less than a month to decide whether to rejoin England for the second half of their winter schedule. The Surrey left-handed batsman arrived back from India on Wednesday morning to deal with private matters at home.

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India have pulled out of a proposed triangular tournament in Bangladesh next month, saying that players need a rest before taking on England again. The tournament was scheduled to take place in Dhaka between 3 and 13 January, and was also to involve Pakistan. But England are due to arrive back in India, after a Christmas break, on 12 January.

South Africa in Australia

Australian paceman Glenn McGrath has fingered South African opener Gary Kirsten as his main target this series. McGrath, never afraid to predict his domination of leading batsmen such as Brian Lara and Michael Atherton, yesterday spotlighted the tourists' most experienced batsman leading into the first Test which starts here tomorrow.

"Gary Kirsten is a main batsman for them. He is the key to their batting line-up, especially being an opening batsman. I don't mind bowling to left-handers, so I'll probably target him again this series. I've had a bit of success against him in the past. So if all goes well with the new ball, hopefully I can take a few early wickets and see how we go."

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The psychological sparring between the two superpowers in world cricket is beginning to resemble the run-in to a world heavyweight title fight in boxing. South Africa and Australia play in the first Test of three in Adelaide from Friday in an attempt to determine the champions in the longer version of the game. Three more Tests will be played in South Africa early next year.

Australian leg-spin legend Shane Warne opened the hostilities by saying he saw no reason why Australia should not win the series 3-0 if they play to their potential. "We have a psychological advantage over South Africa," he said.

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The Australian vice-captain Adam Gilchrist’s wife Mel is expecting a baby any day now. Gilchrist would love to be present when the baby arrives, but in the meantime he has to "attend to urgent matters of a cricketing nature" and hopes the youngster arrives between the first and second Tests. Gilchrist believes Australia would retain their number one position in the world if they are at their best against the South Africans.

"Quite a number of the South African players believe they can beat us. Gary Kirsten recently said the South Africans are for the first time confident that they can do so."

West Indies and Zimbabwe in Sri Lanka

A first innings 272 from Sri Lanka was just too big for Zimbabwe, who fell to a 59-run defeat in the triangular series. Spinner Muttiah Muralitharan finished with figures of four for 32 as the tourists were bowled out for 213 in the 48th over at the Premadasa Stadium.

Needing to score at 5.44 per over for victory, openers Grant Flower (45) and Dion Ebrahim (32) put on 69 runs in 14 overs.

Miscellaneous

Surrey have received planning permission for an ambitious re-development of AMP Oval. The London Borough of Lambeth gave the club the green light for their proposed ground modernisation. The plans include increasing the capacity of the international arena in Kennington, London, to 23,500. Surrey chief executive Paul Sheldon described the proposals as a "gigantic milestone" in the history of the cricket club. “The demand for international cricket at the AMP Oval has been growing year by year," he said.

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Former West Indies captain Clive Lloyd has been hired to coach Pakistan's under-19 team at an eight-day training camp before the Youth World Cup in New Zealand. Lloyd, who managed the senior West Indies side during the 1999 World Cup will pass on tips to the youngsters in Rawalpindi between 2 and 10 January, a week before the tournament begins.

SCORES AT A GLANCE

India v England - 2nd Test (Day 2)
Sardar Patel (Gujarat) Stadium, Motera, Ahmedabad
Toss: England

England: 407
India: 71/2 (Dravid 5*, Tendulkar 2*; 36 overs)

Detailed scorecard: Indian innings

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