An aggressive sixth wicket partnership between Rahul Dravid and keeper Sameer Dighe rescued India from a hopeless situation to one of hope as they declared close their first innings at 336-9 on the first day against Zimbabwe 'A' at Mutare. Zimbabwe in reply was 33-1. Dravid (137 in 135 balls, 22 fours and 1 six) and Dighe (87) rescued India from 71-5 by putting on a record 225 run partnership.

The sixth wicket partnership of 225 runs between Rahul Dravid and Sameer Dighe against the Zimbabwe A team at Mutare was a new record in the Zimbabwean first-class cricket. The pair bettered the previous best, which was the unbeaten 217 between Hashan Tillekeratne and Gamini Wickremasinghe for a Sri Lankan 'B' team against a Zimbabwean XI at Harare in 1987-88. However, the Dravid-Dighe partnership, fell short by just one run of India's best while on tour for the sixth wicket, which still remains the unbeaten 226 between Vijay Hazare and Vinoo Mankad against Middlesex at Lord's in 1946. India's previous best for the sixth wicket in the African continent was 222 between Mohammad Azharuddin and Sachin Tendulkar against South Africa in the Cape Town Test match in 1996-97. For the record, the highest ever partnership for this wicket by any touring side is 428 between Warwick Armstrong and Monty Noble for the Australians against Sussex at Hove in 1902, while the highest partnership by an Indian side is 371 put on by the Bombay pair of Vijay Merchant and Rusi Modi against Maharashtra at the Brabourne Stadium in the Ranji Trophy in 1943- 44. Incidentally, Dravid playing in his 145th first-class match recorded the 33rd hundred of his career.

The current tour by the Indians will most certainly bring in money to the impoverished Zimbabwe Cricket Union. Through the 45-day tour the ZCU is expecting nearly a million dollars from the television revenue. In fact the ZCU has not been able to run its domestic cricket due to paucity of funds and this tour by the Indians will improve their financial position.

England's chairman of selectors David Graveney has appealed to the public to come and show their support to cricket when Pakistan play the second Test from May 31 at Old Trafford at Manchester. The venue of late has a history of low crowd turn-outs and has resulted in the venue being bypassed for the Ashes series. The Lancashire Cricket County Club are outraged by this decision and have lodged a complaint with the English Cricket Board. The Club insists that they enjoyed big attendances the last time Australia visited in 1997.

A day after England skipper Nasser Hussain called for the Asian community in England to come out and support the English team, former Pakistan skipper Imran Khan scoffed at the suggestion by saying Hussain's calls would be heard only if the Asians felt they were a part of the British community. Imran said the British Asians would always identify themselves with the subcontinent even if many of them have never been there.

After stopping over at the Gallipoli battlefields in Turkey, on their way to England, the Australian cricket team led by Steve Waugh said that a visit to Gallipoli should become a part of every Australian team that tours England. The Australian cricketers visited many of the memorials and remembered the courage and determination of the Australian soldiers who had lost their lives on the Turkish battleground during the first World War in 1915-16. An emotional Steve Waugh said the visit should be made a must for every Australian team touring England.

The Indian government has taken offence to the announcement made by the BCCI that it would visit Pakistan in September. The Government claims it has not received any written proposal in this regard. The sports minister Uma Bharati expressing her displeasure issued a letter to BCCI President AC Muthiah that her ministry should have been consulted before such an announcement was made. It seems once again the BCCI has got into the bad books of the sports minister.

If India's tour of Pakistan is confirmed then India will pull out of the three-match one-day series in Australia, as the dates of the Asian Test Championship matches clash with the dates of the one-day series. Meanwhile, the BCCI secretary JY Lele has gone on record saying that India would rather play in Pakistan than tour Australia.

The police of the new state of Uttaranchal will declare former Indian cricketer Manoj Prabhakar, a proclaimed offender if he does not surrender or in the meantime is not arrested by the Delhi police. Prabhakar had recently been issued a non-bailable warrant for his involvement with a defunct finance company, which has duped thousands of investors.

The manager of the West Indian cricket team, Ricky Skerritt, has been sacked by the West Indian Cricket Board (WICB). Skerritt has been with the team since the past one year. Meanwhile an official of the WICB has confirmed that Carl Hooper will be retained as captain for the tours of Zimbabwe and Kenya beginning next month.

The South African cricket team physio Craig Smith said he and the five players got carried away while celebrating the team's victory when they smoked marijuana in their hotel rooms at St John's, Antigua, last month. He regretted the incident saying it was a different thing to do what you wanted in your private life but not indulge in something regrettable when you are representing your country.

A symposium honouring late Sir Don Bradman, will be held next week in London. The event is organised by the Menzies Centre for Australian Studies. The venue is the Warner Room at the Lord's Pavilion.

In an attempt to encourage dog-loving members, the Derbyshire Cricket County Club, which incidentally has the smallest membership among county cricket clubs in England, have issued special season passes to member's dogs. This is an attempt to bring in members, along with their dogs to watch the game, but at the same time also keep the animals under control inside the ground and also prevent them from disturbing the groundstaff. The passes cost £ 10, and include a photograph.