India's tour of West Indies

First Test, Georgetown, day five:
West Indies 1st innings 501 all out); India 1st innings 395-7. Match drawn.

Honours were even between the two sides as heavy rain prevented any play on the final day at Bourda.

A draw was seemingly the only result on the cards in any event after Indian vice-captain Rahul Dravid defied the home attack on the fourth day to make an unbeaten 144.

And umpires Daryl Harper and Asoka de Silva needed only a few minutes after arriving at the waterlogged ground to decide that no play would be possible.

"The water level outside in the drains is very high. There's virtually no chance of draining and no way we can get the ground cleared," Harper explained.

Match report | Scorecard | Day 4 Statistics

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India captain Sourav Ganguly was pleased with the fighting spirit displayed by his side in the first Test against West Indies.

India scored 395 for seven in response to their hosts first innings total of 501 before rain washed out Sunday's last session and the entire fifth day of play on Monday.

"I think we batted pretty well in the circumstances," Ganguly said. "Things were not looking all that bright after we lost a few quick wickets.

"But the batsmen responded to the challenge and we were still going with almost 400 already on the board in the end."

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India skipper Sourav Ganguly has said his team missed an opportunity to put pressure on the West Indies in the drawn first Test.

Rain ruled out play on the final day. "We had a chance to gain an upper hand when we reduced the West Indies to 44-3 on the first morning, but couldn't capitalise on it.

"One more wicket at that stage would have put the Test in a different perspective," said Ganguly, referring to a dropped catch that let Windies skipper Carl Hooper off the hook when on nought.

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Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh, who missed the first test against West Indies with a shoulder injury, is likely to be fit for the second test starting on Friday, India captain Saurav Ganguly said on Monday.

"He should be okay for the test," Ganguly told reporters. "I'm pretty confident he will be fit to play."

Harbhajan pulled his shoulder muscle while throwing the ball from the boundary during a warm-up game against a Guyana Cricket Board President's XI last week.

Sharjah

Sharjah Cup, match six:
Pakistan 217-2 (31.3 overs) beat New Zealand 212-9 (50 overs) by 8 wickets.

Opening batsman Shahid Afridi hammered a dazzling 108 not out as Pakistan booked their place in the final against Sri Lanka with more than 18 overs to spare.

It was the third one-day century of Afridi's career and he hit eight sixes and seven fours in his 97-ball demolition.

He was outscored by partner Imran Nazir (57) in a first wicket stand of 101 but took the New Zealand attack apart thereafter to make light of a modest victory target of 213.

Leg-spinner Brooke Walker justified his selection with two wickets, but his eight overs cost 54 runs and none of the bowlers were able to halt Afridi's onslaught.

Miscellaneous

Zimbabwe have suffered another major blow with the resignation of Dave Houghton as director of the national CFX Cricket Academy.

The 44-year-old, a former captain and coach of the national side, is to take up a media job in England, where he will also be playing league cricket.

Zimbabwe Cricket Union chief executive Vince Hogg said Houghton's departure was a "big loss".

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Mark Waugh has decided against a stint in England this winter.

Waugh's manager Leo Karis said that his client had decided to stay at home and have a break from cricket - a break which he hopes will end with a tour to Pakistan in September.

Waugh, after being dropped from the one-day team along with his twin brother and former captain Steve, would have been a borderline selection for the cancelled tour of Zimbabwe.

Now he has to wait four months to find out if the national selectors still want him.

In the interim he's got a few other things to do - such as watch the Bulldogs rugby league team, go to the trots and start preparing for the possibility of life after international cricket should the selectors decide to end his career at age 37.

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Two of the most recognisable figures on South Africa's cricket fields will be plying their trade elsewhere in the months and years to come, not because they have failed to come up to scratch, but because they have been recognised as two of the finest umpires in the world.

David Orchard and Rudi Kortzen have both been appointed to the International Cricket Council (ICC) elite eight-man panel of umpires to stand in all tests in future.

The appointments are a major signal of the faith the ICC has in umpiring in South Africa as it is the only country to have more than one official on the panel, not to mention Mike Procter's appointment as one of the five match referees.

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