India's tour of England

India skipper Sourav Ganguly says Javagal Srinath's retirement means India will line up against England this summer with an inexperienced pace attack.

"Of all the quick bowlers, only Ajit Agarkar has experience of conditions in England," said Ganguly.

Agarkar played for India in the 1999 World Cup in England, while pacemen Ashish Nehra, Zaheer Khan and Tinu Yohannan will be on their maiden tour of the country.

Ganguly said he had asked Srinath to rethink his decision to retire, but without success.

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England fast bowler Darren Gough should find out today whether he will be able to play in the forthcoming one-day series against Sri Lanka and India.

Gough has not played this season after returning home from New Zealand with a knee injury.

He has undergone two operations to clear the problem and is optimistic that he will be given the all-clear when he consults a specialist in London.

The England one-day squad will be announced on Wednesday and having Gough available would be a boost to the selectors as Andy Caddick's participation may be in doubt after he suffered a side strain in the third Test against Sri Lanka.

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India set off on a tour of England today in search of a Test series victory outside south Asia which has eluded them for more than 16 years.

Their first Test series in England for six years will be a huge challenge against a home side which has looked in ominous form in the three-Test series against Sri Lanka.

India play a one-day triangular series also involving Sri Lanka on June 27 before the four-Test series starts at Lord's on July 25.

India, who lost a five-Test series 2-1 in West Indies last month, will hope their strong batting line-up shows more consistency in England.

India won the second Trinidad Test but batting failures led to defeats in the third Test in Barbados and the deciding fifth Test in Jamaica.

A major setback followed when leading fast bowler Javagal Srinath announced his retirement from Tests on returning from West Indies.

Tour schedule

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An injury update on four of England's senior players will not have made pleasant reading for chairman of selectors David Graveney.

Mark Butcher is set to undergo knee surgery on Thursday. The Surrey left-hander is expected to be out for three to four weeks but should be fit in time for the First Test against India at Lord's starting on July 25.

On Friday, he is due to face an England and Wales Cricket Board disciplinary hearing over newspaper comments he made about Sri Lanka's Ruchira Perera after the seamer's suspect action was reported by the umpires following last month's First Test.

Fast bowler Andrew Caddick, off the field on Sunday and yesterday with a side strain where he has already been troubled this season, will see a specialist today.

The Somerset quick is rated "extremely doubtful" by an ECB spokesman for the one-day triangular series also featuring India and Sri Lanka that starts on Thursday week.

Sri Lanka in England

Third Test, Old Trafford, day five
England 50-0 and 512 beat Sri Lanka 253 & 308 by 10 wickets.
England win series 2-0.

England completed a dramatic win against Sri Lanka when they successfully chased a target of 50 runs to win off six overs to claim a 2-0 series.

It is only the second time since 1985 that England have won a Test series by a two-match margin.

But for most of the day, it seemed certain that Sri Lanka would bat out the day to claim a draw.

The game's complexion completely changed at tea when the second new ball did its job for England's seamers.

Scorecard | Match report | Slide show

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Captain Nasser Hussain praised England's "magnificent" Test victory over Sri Lanka at Old Trafford, saying it was the best cricket he had ever seen from his team.

England completed the dramatic win when they successfully chased a target of 50 runs to win off six overs to claim a 2-0 series.

It is only the second time since 1985 that England have won a Test series by a two-match margin.

Alex Tudor was named man of the match for taking seven wickets at Old Trafford, but his performance was one of many brilliant efforts by the England team.

Mark Butcher and Alec Stewart both hit centuries in England's formidable first innings total.

Pakistan in Australia

Australia have abandoned the strategy that won them the last World Cup and introduced a more defensive game plan, which is being trialled in the current short series against Pakistan.

Captain Ricky Ponting and coach John Buchanan were not keen to give away details of the new formula as Australia prepared for the third and deciding match, to be played at Brisbane's 'Gabba tomorrow night.

Ticket sales have been encouraging since Pakistan tied the series at one-all under the roof at Melbourne's Colonial Stadium on Saturday night. A Queensland Cricket spokesman said it was too early to say if the crowd would top 17,000, giving Brisbane the best attended game in the tournament.

Ponting credited Buchanan with the team's change of direction heading into next year's World Cup title defence.

"We just think it is easier to shore up the bowling side of things rather than the batting side of things," Ponting said.

Women's cricket

England captain Clare Connor warmed up for the forthcoming tri-series against New Zealand and India by leading The Braves to the inaugural Super 4s title.

The competition was set up to improve the level of domestic competition for the country's top women players, with four teams taking part.

Connor's side clinched the title by defeating the V Team by 73 runs in Taunton, a game which saw The Braves total 162 for nine in their 50 overs and then dismiss their opponents for 89.

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