Ian Healy has urged Shane Warne not to retire, and to grit it out through the controversies that surround him and his mobile phone.”I hope [Warne does not retire] because then he will be remembered solely for the last 12 months,” said Healy, speaking to the AAP news agency. “He needs to clear his head, and the harder it gets for him the clearer his cricket focus will become, and hopefully he will give us two good years of cricket, whether it’s for Victoria or Australia. Hopefully he can have a crack at being remembered for what cricketers will remember him for – his great skills.”Healy did say, though, that Warne might find it hard to get back into the national team. “You couldn’t say he would come back and slot back into the team with the good form of Stuart MacGill. He might never get back in the Australian team. That doesn’t bother me as long as he plays some good cricket for Victoria … that will be enough.”

A complex television dispute that could have jeopardised coverage of England’s tour to Sri Lanka now looks to be nearing a settlement following thedecision by Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) to call for “expressions of interest”from companies interested in securing television, sponsorship andbroadcasting rights for a new three-year period starting from 01 January2004.The SLC announcement on Friday morning means that the current three-yearcontract with Dubai-based Taj Television, which had previously beendescribed as "null and void" by cricket officials, will not run for its fullduration. The contract, signed in 2001 by a government appointed interimcommittee, had included tours to Sri Lanka by Australia and South Africa in2004.However, it is unclear whether the contract period was reduced withagreement from Taj Television, or whether the current contract will berecognised for the forthcoming England tour in November. The cricket hadbeen considering a one-tour agreement with Singapore-based WSG Nimbus toreduce a potential multiple-million dollar payout.A Singapore court had ruled earlier in the year that WSG Nimbus were duefinancial damages after Sri Lanka Cricket (previously known as the BCCSL)had "unlawfully" terminated a three-year broadcasting and sponsorshipcontract in 2001. WSG Nimbus claimed USD $ 18 million according to boardsources. The court will announce the exact damages to be paid shortly.Once the damages are announced, the cricket board will finalise ongoingdiscussions with both WSG Nimbus and Taj Television. The objective will be asolution that minimizes the potential financial losses and future liability.The board will be walking a tightrope: awarding rights to WSG Nimbus for thelucrative England series may reduce their damages claim but that is alsolikely to prompt a legal battle with Taj Television.An amicable comprimise with Taj Television – an organisation that has strongconnections with Sri Lanka cricket because of the CBFS-organised tournamentsin Sharjah – remains a possibility. They though are unlikely to considerdropping their claim to the England tour, which is already being advertisedand is by far the most valuable tour in the three-year contract period.

Despite taking 9 for 93 in the Chittagong Test, Richard Johnson is unlikely to be retained in the England squad for next month’s Test series in Sri Lanka. Johnson was a late replacement for the injured James Anderson, and with Anderson now fit, Johnson will almost certainly miss out.Johnson’s performance against Bangladesh won him the Man of the Match award, his second in only his second Test, and left him with a record of 15 wickets at 12.86. But to put this into context, his two matches have been against the weakest sides in international cricket, Zimbabwe and Bangladesh.”At this stage we’ve picked the seamers so it will have to stay at that,” said Duncan Fletcher, England’s coach. While the remark didn’t slam the door on Johnson, it ruled out any thoughts that his performance might have done enough to see him added to the tour party. “It must be frustrating for him,” Fletcher added. “He should have played for England some time ago but injuries keep cropping up.”But while injury has limited his own chances, it might offer him his best opportunity for a return to colours. Stephen Harmison flew home last Friday from Bangladesh after sustaining a back injury, and his position will be assessed in the coming week. However, Harmison remained upbeat that he would be fit to return.”I’m confident I’ll be in Sri Lanka,” he said. “I’ll be trying everything to get there and it’s just a case of seeking advice in England. I hope the medical people in England can tell me what my back problem is, and then say how to put it right,” he added. “[Hopefully] they’ll say, ‘You’ll be OK’ and I’ll get the green light to go to Sri Lanka when the rest of the boys go.”But if Harmison is ruled out, then Johnson might well be kept on after the one-day series. “I’m not contracted for the Sri Lanka part, so I’ll play the one-dayers.” Johnson told the BBC. “If I get the news I’m going home, I’ll go home, keep fit and then try to force my way on the West Indies tour.”

After all the whining about inconsistent conditions, Stephen Fleming wonthe toss and chose to bowl on a very overcast morning. There was a huge chanceto extract revenge for the Faridabad disaster, where Nathan Bracken and BradWilliams had torn New Zealand apart.Daryl Tuffey and Kyle Mills took four importantwickets, but their consistency left a lot to be desired. Their length washighly erratic and on a pitch that begged for discipline, they could haveeasily run through the batting order. They bowled six short balls and five half-volleys, which got hit for 35 runs. Even in the other 75 balls that they bowled,there were many drifting down the leg when they should have been probing on offand middle. Compare this to the Faridabad match – where New Zealand were bundledout for 98 – when Bracken and Williams completely avoided the short ones andconceded only five runs when they erred with their length.

	New Zealand today		Australia at Faridabad
Half Volley	5	15	6	5
Good Length	75	33	83	23
Short	6	20	0	0

After 20 overs Australiawere 102 for 4 and conditions were getting better for batting. Ricky Ponting and Michael Bevanwere laying a strong foundation and one would have expected the typicalAustralian urgency for singles and twos in the middle overs. But both withdrewinto their shell, and the runscoring was drastically curtailed. Between the 21st andthe 40th overs there were only 74 runs scored, with 96 dot-balls. Thateffectively makes 16 maiden overs out of 25 and even Bevan did not wantto force the issue. But like all champion teams, the Aussies compensated towards theend, when they hammered 66 off the last 10 overs and set New Zealand acompetitive total – which turned out to be a matchwinning one.

	First 15	16 – 40	41 -50
Runs scored off bat	68	74	66
Dot balls	66	96	24

Rahul Dravid: played a divine innings © Getty Images

Asked to rate his first-innings knock a couple of days ago, Rahul Dravid had responded with the realism that is a feature of his persona. “It is satisfying to score a hundred in Australia,” he had said, “but the true value of the innings will only be judged by what result it achieves for the team.” After ensuring the unbelievable for his team, he was willing to term his performance, a staggering 305 runs from 835 minutes of occupying the crease, as the greatest of his life. His captain was more effusive. “Rahul batted like god,” said Sourav Ganguly.God indeed. Because he offered India deliverance. From 85 for 4, he forged a partnership with his old ally, VVS Laxman, that first frustrated Australia and then drove them to desperation. And then, as they sought frantically for a breach in the second innings, Dravid stood before then like an immovable object, offering a straight bat to anything remotely threatening and latching on to every scoring opportunity. Australia blew their chance when Adam Gilchrist dropped him early because after he had got over his early tentativeness, he didn’t offer them a sniff. “It was a remarkable achievement,” said Steve Waugh, paying Dravid repeated compliments after the match, “to come back after a double-hundred and to be able to concentrate so hard, it is an outstanding performance.”Dravid said there were times today when his concentration flagged. “But it has always been a strong side of my game, so it wasn’t difficult to get it back. The motivation wasn’t hard to find. There was history for the making, there were many team-mates, our coaching staff, who have worked so hard over the last two or three years, I knew I had to do it for them.”He said the gameplan had been simple. “I knew that if we batted out the overs, we were going to win. It was my job to stay there and let the others bat around me. I had a few partnerships, a brief one with Sehwag, a good one with Sachin and another good one with Laxman. To be able to stay there till the job was done is a quite a special feeling.”Inevitably, comparisons were sought with Eden Gardens. “I have not had a chance to sit back and think about this. May be things will sink in better a few days later. But Eden Gardens was a very emotional affair, very special. But in terms of what it could mean to us as a team, and what this could lead to, this win is significant.”Ganguly offered the same sentiments. “We have been winning Tests abroad in the last couple of years. But to win in Australia, to go one ahead is special. I have been here as vice-captain in 1999. I remember the atmosphere in the dressing room then, and I can feel the difference now.”When asked if his team was not intimidated by Australia, Ganguly said while many members of his team may look soft from outside, there was a lot of steel within. “Don’t go by how they look,” he said, “we have plenty of tough guys. Rahul, Laxman, Kumble, Zaheer, Ajit, they are all very strong in their head. I am proud of them.”We know Australia will come hard at us in the next two Tests. But we will be ready for them. We know, and they know, that we can beat them. I have always said that we are the second-best team in the world. And now if we beat them, and with some of their top players going out, well …”The job isn’t done yet. “Perhaps we will party tonight,” Dravid said. “We have a few days of break coming up. Then it’s back to work.”Sambit Bal, the editor of Wisden Asia Cricket magazine and Wisden Cricinfo in India, will be following the Indian team throughout this Test series.

Indian vice-captain Rahul Dravid tonight has been fined 50 percent of his match fee for a breach of the ICC code of conduct at tonight’s VB Series match between India and Zimbabwe at the Gabba.ICC match referee Clive Lloyd found Dravid guilty of a Level 2 offence and imposed a Level 2 penalty.Dravid was charged under the ICC Code of Conduct, specifically clause 2.10.Clause 2.10 refers to: “Changing the condition of the ball in breach of Law 42.3 as read with Standard Test Match and ODI Playing Conditions clause 42.1 (this supplements and does not replace the provisions of the Laws of Cricket and Standard Test Match and ODI Playing Conditions).Dravid attended a hearing after the match and was subsequently informed of the penalty.

Simon Jones has been ruled out of England A’s warm-up match against the Karnataka State Cricket Association, which begins today. According to the Telegraph, Jones, who came back from a 14-month layoff after seriously injuring his right knee in Australia, bowled 13 overs in two warm-up matches in Malaysia last week, but the exertions left his knee swollen and sore.The good news is that the setback is only a minor one. Rod Marsh, the coach of the team, informed that resting Jones was only a precautionary move. “I’m not overly concerned and he probably could play, but he hasn’t bowled off his full run yet and we want him to be right before he does that.” It is expected that Jones will be fit to play the three one-dayers against India A and the Duleep Trophy matches. His performance in those matches would probably decide if Jones gets a berth in England’s squad for the tour to the West Indies.Of greater concern was Alex Gidman’s slow recovery from the injury he sustained during training in Loughborough in December. Gidman, the captain of the side, broke his finger and is still unable to grip the bat, making him an unlikely starter for the one-day series.

Sabina Park in Jamaica will host two Test matches in the current West Indian season, after one of the two Tests against Bangladesh was switched from Georgetown in Guyana.Zorol Barthley, the West Indies Cricket Board’s chief operations officer, explained: “The Guyana Cricket Board has informed us that the timing of the tour coincides with their rainy season, hence the change.”St Lucia’s Beausejour Stadium, originally the venue for the second Test,will now host the first one (May 28 to June 1), and the second Test will now take place at Sabina Park from June 4 to 8.Bangladesh will also play three one-day Internationals against West Indies – at St Vincent’s Arnos Vale Playing Field on May 15 and 16, and Grenada’s Queen’s Park Stadium on May 19. It will be Bangladesh’s first full tour of the Caribbean, although their A team took part in the West Indian first-class competition two years ago.Revised schedule:
May 15 – 1st ODI – St Vincent
May 16 – 2nd ODI – St Vincent
May 19 – 3rd ODI – Grenada
May 28-June 1 – 1st Test – St Lucia
June 4-8 – 2nd Test – Jamaica

At the unveiling of the Samsung Cup trophy for the India-Pakistan series, Rahul Dravid had a few things to say about strategy, pressure and, yet again, keeping wicket in one-dayers. The following quotes are from reports that appeared in AFP, The Indian Express, The Times of India, and The Asian Age.

Rahul Dravid: bored with answering questions about wicketkeeping © Getty Images

On security and pressures: I think enough has been said and done about the security bit, it’s now time to think about the cricket. Honestly, people tend to exaggerate the pressures. They imagine that cricketers get affected [by everything], but they don’t. We are excited as most of us will be touring Pakistan for the first time. This is the only time I’ve seen players as eager for play to start as the fans. It should be a great experience.About strategy and staying focussed: I am just watching a lot of video clips and practicing hard. It is very difficult to recreate conditions like those in Pakistan. So you just have to practice as you normally would and hope to adapt to the conditions quickly. The fact that we played some good, intense cricket in Australia will work to our advantage in Pakistan. We want to take the intensity on to the Pakistan series.Keeping in one-dayers: It’s becoming too boring to answer. What I feel doesn’t matter. It all depends on the team’s strategy. I’ll do what the team management, coach, [and the] captain want. This tour will be a good opportunity for a young keeper like Parthiv to perform and establish himself in the team.The pitches in Pakistan: One or two pitches may have some bounce and pace and sting. Not all wickets in Pakistan are slow. In the series against South Africa last year, one saw a couple of tracks in Pakistan that had more bounce and pace than the others. Anyway, as international cricketers, we are expected to adapt and adjust to the situations and conditions.About the battle between Pakistan’s bowlers and the Indian batsmen: It’s wrong to project the series in this way. It would be a contest between two teams and two units. It will be a test of skill and nerves for both teams. Neither India nor Pakistan will want to take it easy, and that should provide some engrossing cricket all through. Pakistan definitely have a more experienced bowling attack. But then, batting is our strength. We have a strong batting line-up and if we can put up a big score in the one-dayers there is no reason why we cannot win the series. Actually I am quite pleased the one-dayers are being played first because this will give our bowlers time to be ready for the Tests.On choking: The chokers tag is an exaggeration. Honestly, I don’t care what people say. We played a tough, competitive series [in Australia] and will continue to give our best.

Sourav Ganguly being carried off in a stretcher in the final one-dayer at Lahore. Thankfully for India, his injury isn’t as serious as it first appeared© AFP

Sourav Ganguly’s fitness has been a talking point ever since he was stretcheredoff the field during the final one-dayer at Lahore. Ratnakar Shetty, the managerof the Indian team, said today, “there is good news. An MRI scan was doneyesterday and it showed that there was no back injury. Sourav [Ganguly] onlysuffered from muscle pain.” However, it was not possible to say to say whetherGanguly would be fit enough to take the field on Saturday, when the first Testbegins.Ganguly, who arrived in Multan from Lahore on Friday morning, had undergonephysiotherapy sessions with Andrew Leipus, and his injury was not thought to beserious. He has to undergo two more sessions in the lead-up to the first Test.When asked whether Ganguly would be in a position to play the first Test, Shettysaid, “It’s too early to say anything now. He needs rest. We will have a clearerpicture only by tomorrow evening or on the morning of the match.”However, word on the ground is that while Ganguly’s injury is not serious, itmight prevent him from being fully fit in time for the first Test. It is learntthat Ganguly has a slight disc problem, and is still in considerable pain. Gangulyfound sitting down a painful experience for most of Thursday, and has indicatedthat it is unlikely that he will be in a position to play in the first Test, inwhich case Yuvraj Singh will get to play his second Test match in almost identicalcircumstances to those in which he made his debut in Mohali last October.On that occasion Ganguly had minor surgery to remove an abscess on his upper leftthigh, and pulled out on the eve of the match. This gave Yuvraj his Test debut athis home ground. That was also the only instance when Rahul Dravid led India in aTest match.”Obviously, if you are missing your captain, then you will find things a bitdifferent,” said Haroon Rashid, the Pakistan manager. “We are well aware thatSourav is a very influential member of the Indian team. He has done very well as acaptain, and has the backing of the entire team. I guess Rahul will do a good jobas captain, but there will be pressure on the Indians because they will miss avery key player if Sourav doesn’t play here.”Interestingly enough, Ganguly needs just one more Test victory to become the mostsuccessful Indian Test captain ever. India’s famous win in Adelaide last Decembertied him with Mohammad Azharuddin as the winningest Indian Test captain – they both have 14 wins apiece. Ganguly is also India’s most successful leader overseas with Test wins in Bangladesh, Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka, West Indies, England and Australia under his belt.Ganguly’s injury appeared to be very serious when he had to be carried off thefield. He was attempting to stop a drive at mid-off, off the bat of Inzamam-ul-Haq. When he dived, Ganguly fell awkwardly, hitting the ground sideways androlling over. Yet, when the game was won Ganguly walked out onto the field tocelebrate with the rest of the team.