India's tour of West Indies

Three-day tour match, Georgetown:
Day One: Guyana President's XI (118 all out) v India (73-2).

A strong bowling performance by India has put them in a good position at the end of day one of their three-day tour match against the Guyana President's XI in Georgetown.

Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh took 4-37 as the hosts were reduced to 118 all out.

At close of play, India reached 73-2 in reply thanks to 40 not out from captain Saurav Ganguly.

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West Indies ace Brian Lara has declared himself fit for the forthcoming Test series against India.

The former captain had not played since last December when he damaged his elbow in a one-day game against Sri Lanka.

He collided with Sri Lanka's Marvan Attapatu and had to be carried off the field at Kandy. But on Friday, Lara returned to the crease and scored 71 for his local club Queen's Park Oval against an English touring side.

"I am fit to play in a Test match," said Lara.

"The selectors will be picking the team in a couple of days and they will be looking to hear from me. At this moment. I can give a positive answer."

Australia in South Africa

Despite owning an unassailable 4-0 lead going into the sixth one-day international against South Africa, Australia have no intention of taking their foot off the pedal.

"We've got plenty to motivate us still," said skipper Ricky Ponting on the eve of the match in Port Elizabeth.

"We've had a tag of not performing in so called dead rubbers. To keep up our high standards we have to keep performing.

"Also it gives us a chance to experiment with different players in different positions." Darren Lehmann, who missed Thursday's series-winning victory in Durban, has passed a fitness test on his hamstring.

But that just leaves Australia in a deeper selection dilemma, as Michael Bevan has only just regained his place in the side.

Ponting has instead concentrated on his attack, especially in the later overs of the match.

Miscellaneous

Captain Waqar Younis believes that victory in the Sharjah Cup this month will be an ideal way to launch Pakistan's World Cup preparations.

"Although there is still time and much cricket to be played before next year's World Cup I hope we can win this tri-series to open our campaign," said Waqar.

The 16-man Pakistan squad will arrive in the United Arab Emirate on Saturday to prepare for the beginning of the series, also featuring Sri Lanka and New Zealand, on 8 April.

"Both New Zealand and Sri Lanka are competitive teams but I have confidence in my team," Waqar said.

Pakistan could play as many as 31 one-day internationals in the lead up to next February's World Cup in South Africa, including two indoor matches in Australia in June.

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The International Cricket Council is unhappy with England captain Nasser Hussain for dismissing the Test Championship.

Hussain said he was "not interested" in the tables after England slipped down to fifth following their drawn series in New Zealand.

The Test Championship was introduced in May last year amid much hype, but Hussain appeared to play down their importance to England.

"Tables will come and go. I'm interested in the efforts of my team. Are we improving, are we learning, and how we're going to win an Ashes series," Hussain said after the third Test.

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David Shepherd revealed that he was on the verge of standing down as a Test umpire following criticism of his performance in the Test against England and Pakistan in June last year.

Shepherd was pilloried for giving three England batsmen out off no-balls as Pakistan triumphed to square the series at Old Trafford.

He was talked out of retiring by family and friends and was selected for the International Cricket Council's eight-man panel of elite umpires last month.

"I felt very low and came close to chucking it in," Shepherd told Bloomberg.

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