India's tour of England

Second Test, Trent Bridge, day four (close) India 357 & 99-2 v England 617 England claimed two late wickets but Sachin Tendulkar led a counter-attack as India fought to stay afloat 161 runs behind in the second Test at Trent Bridge. India were battered into submission by England's batsmen, led by Craig White's unbeaten 94, as the home side racked up a first-innings score of 617 to lead by 260. Matthew Hoggard and Andrew Flintoff then removed both Indian openers with just 11 runs on the board in their second innings, before Tendulkar hit an unbeaten half century. England's Craig White refused to blame team-mate Steve Harmison after missing out on a century in the second Test against India at Trent Bridge. The all-rounder finished on 94 not out when club colleague and last man Steve Harmison was dismissed. Instead of trying to monopolise the strike, White took a single and was left high and dry when Harmison was dismissed the next ball. The use of television replays by the third umpire came under fire on Sunday after an incident involving England's Alec Stewart. Indian slip fielder Virender Sehwag thought he had dismissed Stewart with a brilliant catch on day four of the second Test match. Former England captain Mike Atherton said he believed it was wrong to use television replays on these occasions because most of the time the benefit of the doubt was given to the batsman. "The increased use of technology has only served to confuse things," said Michael Atherton.

Australia's tour of Pakistan

Pakistan captain Waqar Younis believes the Australian Cricket Board’s decision not to tour his country is understandable and hopes to play the series in a neutral venue. "It's not very good back home, so I don't think anybody can blame the Australians for not coming. We can just hope that the situation improves and we'll be able to play some cricket there." Waqar speculated that Sri Lanka, Bangladesh or Sharjah might be used as neutral venues for the series, but that it was up to the PCB to secure the best deal. Prime Minister John Howard today revealed Pakistan President Colonel Pervez Musharraf personally guaranteed the security of Australia's cricketers during their now cancelled tour to Pakistan. Mr Howard, a self confessed cricket tragic, said the Australian Cricket Board (ACB) had no alternative but to cancel the tour and that it was a great shame. "The president rang me about two and a half weeks ago, we had a conversation for about half an hour," he told Cairns radio. "He asked me to tell the board players would be safe, he said he would guarantee their security."

Women's Cricket

One-day international, Beaconsfield: England Women 119-4 (38.2 overs) beat India Women 118 all out (49.5 overs) by six wickets The Indians, who underperformed badly in the recent tri-series also featuring New Zealand, were bowled out for just 118, one ball short of their allotted 50 overs. Hemlata Kala put up the most stubborn resistance for the tourists, making 38, but she faced an uphill task after her team had slumped to 33 for four. Teenager Isa Guha and Clare Connor did the damage for England, finishing with figures of three for 28 and three for 25 respectively. England openers Charlotte Edwards (54) and Kathryn Leng (46) then knocked off the majority of the required runs, leaving Connor and Dawn Holden to steer their side home with 11 overs to spare.

Miscellaneous

Former England coach David Lloyd has criticised the MCC for allowing Steve Waugh to spend six weeks playing for Kent. Lloyd believes Australia captain Waugh's stint in county cricket will allow him to gain vital knowledge of the England squad ahead of the Ashes series this winter. Waugh will play for Kent from 21 August until the end of the season. Lloyd also fears it will give him the chance to sharpen up his batting in time to face England. England are set to increase the number of centrally contracted players from 12 to 15. The game's First Class Form will meet at Lord's on Monday and it is expected they will recommend the additional contracts to the England and Wales Cricket Board. Those who could benefit from a lucrative England contract, worth about £250,000-a-year, could include Kent's Robert Key and Glamorgan's Simon Jones. South African vice-captain Mark Boucher believes South Africa will hit their stride quickly in the Morocco Cup and in no uncertain terms regards his team as the best in the competition. "It always takes one or two games to get back into the thick of things," Boucher conceded, when discussing the Morocco Cup. "The two games we played at out training camp are going to help us a lot. But it is all about getting match fit," he added. South Africa have not played any international cricket since Australia concluded their tour of their country in April of this year. The West Indies will tour Bangladesh in November and December and play three limited-overs matches and two Tests against their hosts. The tour will start in Dhaka with two ODIs on 29 and 30 November. The third ODI will be played in the southeastern port city of Chittagong on 3 December. The first Test match will start on 8 December in Chittagong. The tour will finish with the second Test in Dhaka from 16 December.

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