The weather in these parts initially threatened to ruin parts of the Test match, the first ever at Warner Park; then came the ultimatum from the West Indies Players Association that threatened to ruin the Test match completely. Either rain or a strike may prevent the game from starting tomorrow. The latter looks highly unlikely; about the former, nobody can tell.As far as Brian Lara was concerned, “a Test match was carded for June 22 and we’re preparing ourselves for it”. He refused to divulge too many details but pretty much said that the match was on. Was there a sense of uneasiness among the players? “Not really, I think it’s been done at the office level,” he stated. “I feel the guys are very buoyant and they’re looking forward to the Test match. I don’t sense anyone agitated by the situation. I’m sure that the board has great respect for their players and show that at some point of time in the near future.”With that out of the way, Lara had to worry about the nature of his squad, one where no specialist spinner featured. Then there was a pitch that might not have much in it for the faster bowlers. Then again, there was a worry over Dwayne Bravo, who missed the practice session today because of viral fever. Suffice to say, he has enough on his plate.India must be feeling very much at home. The break has refreshed them and all injury concerns, including ones of freakish nature, are out of the way. The transformation of the pitch from a light-green carpet to a brownish mat may tempt them to play two spinners. Harbhajan Singh admitted that his “hands were itching for a bowl” in the final stages of the first two Tests; they might need treatment if he misses out here.India will do well to heed Lara’s thoughts on Harbhajan. “If he’d played in Antigua, on the last day, or even St Lucia, he would definitely have been a handful compared to Sehwag. It’s fortunate for us that it didn’t happen … We expected Harbhajan to be playing in the first Test so it will not be a surprise if he comes in tomorrow. We won’t be panicking, we’ve played against him in the past. If he’s included we might see a more potent Indian attack, but again it’s left to them.”The nature of the track, likely to take turn later on, may prompt West Indies to include Marlon Samuels to complement Chris Gayle in the spin department. The rest may depend on the Bravo situation, one that could have a large bearing on the result of the game. “We seem to be putting ourselves under pressure when India get big totals,” said Lara. “But we were able to hold out. You can expect the guys to perform better in this game. Our backs are against the wall and I wouldn’t say we got away. I thought we showed a lot of character and if the tables can turn in our favour, things can get beneficial for us.”TeamsIndia (probable) 1 Virender Sehwag, 2 Wasim Jaffer, 3 VVS Laxman, 4 Rahul Dravid (capt), 5 Yuvraj Singh, 6 Mohammad Kaif, 7 Mahendra Singh Dhoni (wk), 8 Irfan Pathan, 9 Anil Kumble, 10 Sreesanth, 11 Munaf Patel.West Indies (probable) 1 Daren Ganga, 2 Chris Gayle, 3 Ramnaresh Sarwan, 4 Brian Lara, 5 Shivnarine Chanderpaul, 6 Marlon Samuels, 7 Dwayne Bravo, 8 Denesh Ramdin (wk), 9 Ian Bradshaw, 10 Corey Collymore, 11 Pedro Collins.

ScorecardWarwickshire wrapped up the match on the third and final day at Edgbaston, beating West Indies A by an innings and six runs. The visitors may have been celebrating when they removed the obdurate Ian Westwood early – he added just one run to his overnight score of a career-best 177 – but that was about all the celebrating they were to do as Warwickshire continued in commanding vein.The home side rattled up 414 for 9 before declaring 179 ahead and then skittling out West Indies without needing to bat again. Darren Sammy took five wickets for West Indies and then Sewnarine Chattergoon and Lendl Simmons did their level best to fight for the draw, with an opening stand of 56, but they fell in pretty quick succession and wickets tumbled regularly from thereon in.Alex Loudon was the pick of the attack, he claimed 4 for 16 from ten overs. Adam Shantry was also taken for 16 from ten overs himself, and claimed two wickets in a polished display. His opening partner, Naqqash Tahir, took one wicket, but was comparatively expensive; his 15 overs cost 62.All of the six bowlers used by the captain Loudon struck, in fact, and it took Moeen Ali just five balls to finish the innings and prevent his side from needing a second innings to close out the game.West Indies now have just one day to lick their wounds before they face Derbyshire in a one-dayer on Sunday.

Zaheer Khan, the Indian left-arm seamer, has said that he would like to continue his association with Worcestershire after enjoying a successful stint with the county side this season.Zaheer was drafted in as a last-minute replacement for Australian paceman Nathan Bracken, and is currently the leading wicket-taker of the second division of the County Championship with 69 wickets, a figure surpassed this season only by Mushtaq Ahmed, the Pakistan legspinner, now playing for Sussex. Though he was omitted from the Indian touring squad for Sri Lanka, he was later included among the 30 probables for the Champions Trophy in October.”Worcester is definitely a place I’d like to come back to next year,” he told Sky Sports. “I’ve really enjoyed this season. The dressing room has been great and I have made a lot of new friends.”The ground here is also very beautiful and hopefully if things go well I might come back next year. I’ve not really had any discussions with the club so far and am just focusing on finishing the season on a good note.”Zaheer was also hopeful of making a comeback to the Indian side on the back of his performances. “India are touring England for three months next season so that might be a factor. I am very hopeful of being recalled to the Indian side very soon. It will be down to my performances and that is in my hands.”But if I can’t come back to Worcester next season, I would definitely like to come back here some time in the future.”

The analyst Simon Hughes says he had his doubts about the ball used by Pakistan in the Oval Test. Hughes, who was a witness in Inzamam Ul-Haq’s disciplinary hearing last week, was asked to examine the ball and give his opinions.”One or two of the scratches were concentrated on one area and that slightly aroused my suspicions,” he told BBC Five Live. “But it was impossible to say for sure whether they got there naturally or with human intervention.”I don’t think it’s any different to what England players and others do, countries do,” he added, before saying that ball-tampering is common in world cricket. “If we’re honest about this most bowlers in the world – of all countries – do kind of tamper with the ball in some way or other.”We get in a great big lather about this but it’s just minor things on the ball that might or might not help it to swing a little bit and make the game a bit more interesting.”However, the England fast bowler Simon Jones was keen to stress that reverse swing can be achieved without working on the ball. “People who say reverse swing is not possible without ball-tampering obviously know nothing about cricket,” he told . “I know what I did was legal. I would never do anything outside the laws of the game.”

Marcus Trescothick is “fit and raring to go” for England’s Ashes campaign after missing the Champions Trophy to recover from a “stress-related illness.At the end of a disappointing 2006 season, which began with a tearful departure from England’s tour of India in March and concluded with a first-ball duck against Pakistan at the Rose Bowl in September, Trescothick admitted the pressures of touring life had worn him down.”The constant treadmill of playing, training and being away from home non-stop took its toll,” Trescothick told The Mirror, “but now the buzz is back, the energy is back, I’m fit and raring to go. I want to get on the plane now, I want to get going and feel the bat in my hands again.”Trescothick was an integral member of England’s Ashes-winning team, scoring 431 runs in the five Tests, including a tempo-seizing 90 at Edgbaston. His absence from this winter’s contest, not to mention the forthcoming World Cup, would have left a huge void for the team management to fill, although he insisted that the prospect of six months on the road was not a worry. Doing well in the Ashes and World Cup, he said, “would be perfect therapy”.”There are lots of people who have experienced the things I’ve been experiencing – but not all of them open the batting for England and have to try and put on a brave face in public. But the England management have been very supportive, the Professional Cricketers Association have helped me no end, and an extended break has given me both the chance to take stock and the boost I needed to kick on again.”

Australia’s cricket authorities face a stern test of their new hardline anti-racism laws, after it was reported that Monty Panesar had been taunted as “a stupid Indian who can’t speak English”, during England’s three-day warm-up match against New South Wales at Sydney.Panesar, who underwent counselling from the team psychologist, Steve Bull, ahead of England’s trip Down Under, was fielding on the boundary fence under the Clive Churchill Stand, when he was abused by a group of fans on the opening day of the match.Sydney’s Daily Telegraph reported that a spectator had shouted: “Give us a wave Monty. You can’t speak English you stupid Indian, I’ll have to say it in Indian. What are you doing playing in the English side, you’re not English.”No official complaint has been made, although the paper added that both Panesar and the South African-born Kevin Pietersen were subjected to similar abuse during England’s opening fixture of the tour in Canberra on Friday, where eight people were ejected from the ground for unruly behaviour.Under the new regulations, fans may face lifetime bans if they are found guilty of racial abuse during a match, while the venues themselves could be stripped of international status if they fail to act on any transgressions. The SCG Trust, who are responsible for the upkeep of the ground, admitted that three people had been ejected for excessive drunkenness.Australia’s racism problem came to light during South Africa’s tour of the country last year, when Graeme Smith’s men complained of the use of the derogatory term “kaffir”. This week, Smith himself warned Panesar of the reception he was likely to get, adding: “We all shivered at the prospect of what he could be in for.”A spokesman for the England team said: “We have come out here to play the game with dignity, and we expect the Australian fans will show the sportsmanship they are renowned for and hope they will respect the players both on and off the field.”

On a day of shocks for Australian cricket the selectors produced two more by picking Andrew Symonds and Adam Voges, a Western Australia batsman, in the 13-man squad for the third Test starting on Thursday. Damien Martyn began the rash of surprises by retiring and the decision was followed by Cricket Australia insisting he was part of the original outfit for Perth.While a “flabbergasted” Symonds was an outsider, Voges was not even on the radar until Martyn walked away. Voges, a hard-hitting 27-year-old, was chosen ahead of the injured Brad Hodge and Phil Jaques, Chris Rogers and Marcus North. He did not know the news until tapped on the shoulder during the game against the England XI at Lilac Hill. Told to leave the field, he thought he was in trouble until he took the call from Michael Brown, Cricket Australia’s operations manager.”This was not an easy decision as there are many players pushing for selection, which augers well for the future,” Andrew Hilditch, the chairman of selectors, said. “His inclusion in the squad is a just reward for his efforts to date.” Voges has impressed during his time at the Centre of Excellence in the off-season and he started the summer strongly for Western Australia, but he was dropped last month when the state’s internationals returned to face Queensland.The Symonds Test experiment appeared to have ended after the South Africa tour when he was dumped for the Bangladesh series in April, but the aging attack’s need for assistance has provided an opening. Shane Watson, the injured allrounder, was the first choice for the spot and Symonds has a chance to add to his 10 Tests and contribute with his mix of medium pace, offspin and aggressive batting.”I was flabbergasted when I got the call,” Symonds said. “I thought I was a million to one to play this series, especially when they went for Pup [Michael Clarke] when Watto was ruled out. I dug out my baggy green the other day when I was moving some stuff around and wondered if I would ever put it on my head again. That’s still up in the air but I’m obviously a fair bit closer to that moment than I thought I was.”Hilditch said there was some uncertainty over the conditions at the WACA and the pitch would be assessed closely before the XI was named. Perth’s previously quick surface has become more batsman friendly and a cap for Symonds is more likely than a debut for Voges, who will gain useful experience in the squad ahead of the one-day section of the summer.Voges has scored two Pura Cup centuries this season, including a high of 152 against Tasmania, and has 320 runs at 53.06. In the one-day competition – he owns the record for the fastest century after his 62-ball effort in 2004-05 – he has picked up 233 runs at 46.60 and posted two half-centuries. Shaun Tait has been dropped from the squad while Mitchell Johnson, the 12th man for the first two Tests, has retained his spot.Australia squad Justin Langer, Matthew Hayden, Ricky Ponting (capt), Michael Clarke, Michael Hussey, Andrew Symonds, Adam Voges, Adam Gilchrist (wk), Shane Warne, Brett Lee, Stuart Clark, Glenn McGrath, Mitchell Johnson.

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Munaf Patel picked up two wickets on his return from an ankle injury, butthe Indian bowlers were made to toil on a hot and humid day at theNorthwood Crusaders Ground as their two-day match against a Kwazulu-NatalInvitation XI ended in a draw. Having declared on the overnight score of270 for 6, the Indians were given the runaround in the afternoon sessionbefore some quick wickets prior to and after tea gave the scorecard a morerespectable look. When play was called off an hour after tea, the homeside had progressed to 243 for 8, with Rivash Gobind and Michael vanVuuren having made eye-catching half-centuries.Zaheer Khan and Sreesanth, who shared the new ball at the Wanderers, tookit again on Saturday morning, and Munaf had to wait till the 12th over forhis chance. The impact was immediate, with Fabian Lazarus struck on thepad in front of the stumps. But Ross McMillan and Gobind then rebuilt theinnings slowly, as only 68 came in the 27 overs before lunch.It was a different story after the interval. Sourav Ganguly, on to relievethe frontline pace bowlers, picked up McMillan and Martin Bekker in quicksuccession, but Van Vuuren and Gobind then pounded out a rapid 97-runpartnership. Irfan Pathan was flayed all around the park, and even AnilKumble wasn’t exempt from rough treatment, with Van Vuuren slamming twosixes and a couple of fours.He and Gobind played superb shots all around the ground as the run-ratewent up to a gallop. Needing to staunch the flow of runs, the Indians wereforced to call back the likes of Zaheer and Munaf as the afternoon woreon. Munaf finally got Van Vuuren, brilliantly taken at slip by Laxman, andwhen Harbhajan Singh came on in the 54th over, an impetuous charge fromGobind presented Mahendra Singh Dhoni with a simple stumping. By then hehad made 88 from 128 balls, and the Indians gave him an ovation as theplayers trooped off for tea.Harbhajan added two more wickets in the final session, and there was onefor VRV Singh as well, as the Indians were forced to pull out all the stopsin stifling conditions. After the monotony of repeated net sessionsthough, this was one step closer to what awaits at Kingsmead on BoxingDay.

ScorecardAllrounder Dave Bernard starred in Jamaica’s five-wicket win against Windward Islands at the Beausejour Stadium. Bernard took three wickets in ten economical overs and scored 23 to guide his side to the modest target of 162.After Wavell Hinds chose to insert the opposition, Bernard struck in the second over, picking up two wickets in consecutive balls. Junior Murray (44) and Liam Sebastien (45) then staged a recovery, adding 40 for the fifth wicket. Nikita Miller, the left-arm spinner, broke the partnership when Murray was stumped by Carlton Baugh Jnr. Miller and Jermaine Lawson supported Bernard well, as the trio shared for eight wickets between them to bundle out Windwards for 161 in only 43.2 overs.Jamaica well well-placed for victory at 64 for 1 but lost three quick wickets for the addition of just 14 runs. Tamar Lambert and Bernard then consolidated in a crucial fifth-wicket stand of 72. Bernard was dismissed before Jamaica reached their target, trapped in front to a googly off Rawl Lewis. Lambert was undefeated on 48 with eight fours off 89 balls. Windwards were guilty of conceding too many extras, 32 in all, including 13 wides and 11 no-balls.
ScorecardKevin Stoute anchored Barbados to a six-wicket win over Leeward Islands at the Carlton Club Ground. Stoute top-scored with 73 and shared two vital stands to guide Barbados to the victory target of 227 with five overs remaining. He added 68 for the second wicket with opener Patrick Browne (39) and 83 for the third with Floyd Reifer.Stoute was adjudged leg before in the 41st over, playing across the line and Reifer was caught at long-on in the 44th over. Both built on the solid opening stand of 55 provided by Browne and Dale Richards. Richards looked in good touch with a few neat drives through the off-side, but was unfortunately run-out in the 12th over, backing up too far at the bowler’s end and failing to beat the throw by Maxford Pipe, the substitute fielder.Leewards were restricted to 226 for 9 in 49.4 overs, and were set back when Steve Liburd was forced to retire hurt, injuring his left arm after colliding with Fidel Edwards. Liburd was unbeaten on 31 and Leewards were effectively 70 for 4 at that stage. Tonito Willett lifted the side with a run-a-ball 46 that included four fours and two sixes, and the lower order lifted the side to 226. Ryan Hinds was the most effective bowler, picking up four wickets.
ScorecardKieron Pollard scored an aggressive 87 to help Trinidad and Tobago secure a comfortable five-wicket win over Guyana at the Queens Park Oval. His knock consumed just 58 balls with seven sixes and six fours, as his side overhauled the modest target of 184 with 15 overs to spare.Pollard, in West Indies’ provisional World Cup squad, got off the mark with a massive six over the long-off boundary off offspinner Narsingh Deonarine. He reached his fifty with another six over long-off, this time off Deon Ferrier. He was particularly harsh on on left-arm spinner Veerasammy Permaul, hitting him for three consecutive sixes. However, Permaul got the better off him, bowling Pollard off the inside edge.Pollard shared two 50-plus partnerships, adding 56 with debutant Darren Bravo and 51 off 36 balls with Jason Mohammed.Earlier, after being put into bat, the Guyana openers, Azeemul Haniff (53) and Royston Crandon (13) added 40. However, wickets tumbled at regular intervals, as the batsmen struggled against Ravi Rampaul in particular. Rampaul, playing his first regional match in two years sidelined due to various injuries, took 4 for 53 and got good support from left-arm spinner Dave Mohammed who bagged 2 for 24.

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New South Wales’ decision to play Andrew Johns, the rugby league star, put them out of contention for the final as Simon Katich refused to put Johns on strike in the last over, handing South Australia victory. The Blues were chasing the Redbacks’ modest 150 and fell to 9 for 138 in the 19th over. Johns, the No. 11, joined Katich but with 13 needed from the final six balls, Katich was unable to find the boundary and protected Johns by neglecting singles off Ryan Harris.Five dot balls and a four from Katich meant the game petered out to a loss for the Blues, a disappointing result for the Newcastle crowd, who came in part to watch Johns, their home-town hero. South Australia failed to capitalise on their blazing start – they were 2 for 50 after five overs – as regular wickets kept the run-rate down. Graham Manou (43) and Darren Lehmann (33) top-scored but it was their bowlers who put them back in the game. The home side struggled as the spinners Dan Cullen and Nathan Adcock took three wickets each.
ScorecardMichael Di Venuto and George Bailey blasted Tasmania to a comprehensive 85-run victory at Hobart. Western Australia crumbled in response to the Tigers’ 4 for 208, limping to 8 for 123. Di Venuto ran out of time to reach a century but his unbeaten 95 came from only 56 deliveries, while Bailey hammered seven sixes in his 21-ball 60.The pair took 31 from one Adam Voges over, which started with four sixes and a single from Bailey before Di Venuto also belted the last ball over the rope. While the Warriors’ medium-pacers were costly, Tasmania’s fast men proved dangerous and economical. Damien Wright’s brilliant spell of 1 for 14 from four overs and Brendan Drew’s 1 for 24 set the tone, with the visitors never able to cut loose. Luke Pomersbach continued to impress with 40 from 21 balls but the required run-rate ballooned out of control and Tasmania cruised to their first win of the tournament.
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Victoria jumped to the top of the KFC Twenty20 table after some outstanding bowling by their fast men, led by Mick Lewis and Shane Harwood. Brad Hodge, the Bushrangers’ acting captain, had set up a tough run-chase for Queensland at Melbourne, and in reply to Victoria’s 6 for 194 the visitors collapsed to be all out for 106 in the 17th over. Lewis took 4 for 10 from 3.2 overs and Harwood 2 for 13 as they kept the pressure on the Bulls, who never looked settled.Hodge continued his excellent form and is the leading run-scorer in the tournament despite the Bushrangers’ match against Tasmania being washed out. His 65 from 46 balls was the cornerstone of the home team’s innings, before Aaron Nye, the offspinner, slowed things down with three wickets in one over. But Andrew McDonald and Adam Crosthwaite launched a late blitz; McDonald took only 22 deliveries to score an unbeaten 36, while Crosthwaite’s 23-ball 39 featured inventive paddle shots and a huge six over backward point.