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The latest chapter in the Javagal Srinath saga began on a positive note with his inclusion in the Indian squad for the first Test against West Indies which starts in Mumbai on Wednesday. Rookie legspinner Amit Mishra was the only surprise inclusion, though he may not find a place in the final XI, with Harbhajan Singh and Anil Kumble likely to be the two spinners playing, supported by the pace duo of Zaheer Khan and Srinath.Ajit Agarkar was omitted from the squad after his dismal showing with the ball in England, as were Tinu Yohannan and Wasim Jaffer. Ajay Ratra also got the boot, with Parthiv Patel chosen as wicketkeeper. Both SS Das and Sanjay Bangar were in the squad, with Bangar favoured to continue in his role as Virender Sehwag’s opening partner.Interestingly, in the first squad they have selected, Brijesh Patel and his newteam of selectors have shown an inclination to continue with the policy of Chandu Borde and co., of backing young players and not being afraid to experiment. Picking two legspinners is a bold move – Sarandeep Singh or Murali Kartik would have been the clichéd choices for third spinner, but Patel and his men, clearly, are not afraid of backing their instincts.Indian squad 1 Sourav Ganguly (capt), 2 Virender Sehwag, 3 Sanjay Bangar, 4 Rahul Dravid, 5 Sachin Tendulkar, 6 VVS Laxman, 7 Parthiv Patel (wk), 8 Anil Kumble, 9 Harbhajan Singh, 10 Javagal Srinath, 11 Zaheer Khan, 12 Ashish Nehra, 13 SS Das, 14 Amit Mishra.

As expected, the Zimbabwe selectors have picked an inexperienced squad for the first one-dayer against Sri Lanka at Bulawayo next Tuesday (April 20). In a statement, the Zimbabwe Cricket Union said the team had been chosen only from those who had made themselves available, in a reference to the 13 white players who are at loggerheads with the ZCU about political interference in team selection.The press release detailing the squad added that the “rebel” players will be expected to report for team practice tomorrow morning, even though they have not been selected. If they fail to do so, “action will be taken against them in terms of their contract”, but if they do turn up, they will be considered for selection for future tours.Tatenda Taibu, 20, will lead the 14-man squad, with Dion Ebrahim as his vice-captain. Other familiar names include Stuart Matsikenyeri, Vusimuzi Sibanda and Douglas Hondo. Tinashe Panyangara, who took 6 for 31 in the shock victory over Australia in the recent Under-19 World Cup, was one of six uncapped players.Meanwhile, the ZCU has appointed Walter Chawaguta, the Matabeleland provincial coach, to the panel of national selectors. He replaced Mpumelelo Mbangwa, who declared himself unavailable. Chawaguta joined Stephen Mangongo, Maqsood Ebrahim and Richard Kaschula on the committee.Zimbabwe squad for first ODI
Tatenda Taibu (capt and wk), Dion Ebrahim, Vusimuzi Sibanda, Elton Chigumbura, Stuart Matsikenyeri, Alester Maregwede, Mluleki Nkala, Waddington Mwayenga, Brendon Taylor, Douglas Hondo, Prosper Utseya, Tawanda Mpariwa, Edward Rainsford, Tinashe Panyangara.

Essex won the Triangular Tournament Final yesterday, beating Lancashire by 3wickets at Newlands. Lancashire won the toss and batted first, but couldonly reach 142 off 44 overs on a slow, low wicket being used for the fourthconsecutive time. Iain Sutcliffe made some welcome runs and was thetop-scorer with a solid innings of 45. The only other batsmen to reachdouble figures were Mark Currie with 29 and Gary Yates who finished 21 notout. James Middlebrook and Paul Grayson once again tied the batsmen down,Middlebrook taking 4 for 19.In the Essex reply, Will Jefferson hit 61, which an innings watchingLancashire Manager Mike Watkinson described as "brilliant". The rest of theEssex batsmen struggled with the conditions and a mid-innings collapseinitiated by Gary Yates with 4 for 39 and Peter Martin (3 for 32) meantEssex still required 30 runs with only 4 wickets left. Wicket-keeper JamesFoster and the experienced John Stephenson then combined to steer their sideto the victory target with nearly 8 overs to spare.Mike Watkinson while disappointed with the defeat, was pleased with thefight back in the Essex innings. "You would like to win, of course," hesaid, "but these games are all about time in the middle, and we will beusing the remaining games to give everyone as much practise as possible."Scores:Lancashire innings: 142 all out (44 overs)Mark Chilton 2, Iain Sutcliffe 45, Mal Loye 9, Alec Swann 0, Mark Currie 29,Glen Chapple 3, Warren Hegg 4, Peter Martin 2, Gary Yates 21*, John Wood 8,Steven Crook 4.Bowling figures:Jon Dakin 0-24 (5), Justin Bishop 1-28 (7), Andy Clarke 2-22 (8), JohnStephenson 1-21 (6), James Middlebrook 4-19 (9), Paul Grayson 1-24 (9).Essex innings: 144-7 (37.1 overs)Will Jefferson 61, Darren Robinson 16, Aftab Habib 6, Paul Grayson 9, JamesFoster 27*, Ravinder Bopara 0, Jon Dakin 3, James Middlebrook 3, JohnStephenson 10*. Did not bat: Justin Bishop, Andy Clarke.Bowling figures:Peter Martin 3-32 (9), Glen Chapple 0-24 (7), Gary Yates 4-39 (8), John Wood0-27 (7), Steven Crook 0-20 (6.1).

Jolly Rovers took only three overs on Sunday morning to wrap up theirMRF Buchi Babu invitation cricket tournament first round tie againstIndian Airlines by an innings and 108 runs at the IIT-Chemplastground.Airlines, 264 runs in arrears on the first innings and 148 for five in36 overs in their second innings overnight, were facing defeat. Butfew would have imagined that the proceedings on the final day wouldlast just three overs. Medium pacer L Balaji, in excellent form oflate, brought the innings to a swift end by picking up four wickets,three of them in one over to end the match. He had Vijay Dahiya legbefore for eight. And in the following over, he bowled Sagamdeep Singhwith the first ball, bowled Vineeth Jain with the fourth ball and hadSonu Sharma caught by J Harish to terminate the Airlines secondinnings at 156 after 39 overs. Balaji, who took six for 34 in thefirst innings had six for 35 the second time around giving him matchfigures of 12 for 69. Off spinner R Ramkumar who dismissed J ArunKumar for 45 on the final morning, took three for 46.In the three day quarterfinals, which commence on Monday, Jolly Roversmeet All India Associate Banks at IIT Chemplast ground. The otherpairings are: National Cricket Academy vs Indian Railways (CPT-IP),MRF vs New Zealand A (MA Chidambaram stadium) and Cricket Associationof Bengal vs Karnataka State Cricket Association (Guru Nanak collegegrounds).

Australia’s coach Darren Lehmann has insisted that Shane Watson’s Test career is not over despite being replaced by Mitchell Marsh for the critical Lord’s Test.Lehmann stated that Watson had only narrowly won selection for the first Test at Cardiff, and after a poor match in which he was twice out cheaply lbw and was unable to take a wicket, the selectors decided the younger Marsh deserved a chance having made two centuries in the warm-up matches.”Obviously Shane has been a little bit disappointing with his runs and it’s a tight call,” Lehmann said before play on day one. “He’s been an experienced player for us. Mitch Marsh has done everything we could ask for behind scenes and first two tour games he’s in good form.”Tight call first Test, we went with experience, this Test we’ve gone with Mitch Marsh. Tough call on Shane but I’m sure he’s got plenty of cricket left in him.”Many have concluded this decision marks the end of Watson’s time in the Test side, but Lehmann said the allrounder could still win his way back into the XI on this tour if he presses a hard enough case in the remaining tour matches. Lehmann drew parallels with the World Cup earlier this year, when Watson was dropped for Marsh midway through the tournament and then reinstated.”I think it’s a case of him getting back and obviously got a county game next week he’ll play in and try find some form back and keep putting his name in front of selectors,” Lehmann said. “A chance very much like the World Cup where he got dropped and came back into side, so really form will dictate what Shane does.”Whatever happens in Watson’s Test match future, he remains a central player in the ODI and Twenty20 teams, meaning he is likely to be around the national squads for some time yet.With Mitchell Starc passed fit, the Australians made two changes to the team for Lord’s, also bringing in wicketkeeper Peter Nevill for his Test debut in place of the unavailable Brad Haddin. Nevill’s cap was presented to him by a fellow New South Welshman in Steve Waugh.”Player 443 for us and gets his cap presented by Steve Waugh, one of the greats of the game,” Lehmann said. “We wish him a great and long career.”

Younis Khan, the Pakistan batsman, has called for a truce in the row between the PCB and fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar.The Pakistan board had banned Shoaib for five years on grounds on indiscipline. Following the ban, Shoaib hit out against the PCB, and said he would appeal against the ban. However, his comments to a TV channel resulted in board chairman Nasim Ashraf serving a legal notice on him, seeking damages for defamation.”I think the matter has gone too far. This whole issue is damaging for Pakistan cricket so I hope a compromise is reached,” Younis said. “Of course he is my friend, my senior and I have played alongside him for years, so my sympathies are with him.”I think the player [Akhtar] must think about his problems and the board must talk to him and solve this matter.”Akhtar had been permitted by the PCB to play in the Indian Premier League [IPL], but the organisers of the league subsequently barred his participation.Younis said Pakistan could afford to do without such controversies. “We have too many issues in Pakistan cricket. Teams are not coming to Pakistan [due to security fears] and issues like Akhtar’s will further hit Pakistan cricket.”Australia pulled out of their scheduled tour to Pakistan in March-April over security concerns, and the tight schedules of other international teams, besides the inaugural edition of the IPL, leaves Pakistan with only Bangladesh to visit for five ODIs in April.

Jayantha Dharmadasa, the chairman of Sri Lanka Cricket, has expressed disappointment at the withdrawal of Rumesh Ratnayake as assistant coach of the Sri Lankan team.Ratnayake, the former Sri Lankan fast bowler, had signed a four-year contract with Sri Lanka Cricket nearly a month ago to become assistant coach, replacing the outgoing coach Trevor Penney. But in a complete u-turn Ratnayake has stated in a letter that he is unable to accept the position due to family commitments.”I am very disappointed with Rumesh’s decision. We have been trying to get his services for the past two years and when he decided to sign with us to become assistant coach we were extremely happy,” said Dharmadasa. “We have been criticised for not contracting former cricketers for the job of coach. This is what we get in return when we try to open the doors for them.”Dharmadasa said that he had great difficulty in getting Ratnayake released from his present position as development officer of the Asian Cricket Council of which Dharmadasa is the chairman. He said that Trevor Bayliss, who has signed a two-year contract with SLC to become Sri Lanka’s next head coach, will be given the opportunity to find a suitable assistant.

Sylvester Joseph has been appointed captain of the West Indies A side for the tour of England in July and August this year.The 16-man squad contains as many as eleven players with international experience, including Dave Mohammed, Runako Morton and Jerome Taylor, currently with the national team for the home series against India. The touring squad also includes Lendl Simmons, Richard Kelly and Jason Mohammed, stars of Trinidad and Tobago’s Carib Beer title triumph. Tino Best, the fast bowler who missed out on selection against India, gets another chance to impress the selectors.The team will play a series of three-day and limited overs games against various county sides, including a three-day fixture against the touring Pakistan side at Shenley.Squad – Sylvester Joseph (capt), Ryan Hinds (vice-capt), Devon Smith, Sewnarine Chattergoon, Runako Morton, Dwayne Smith, Lendl Simmons, Jason Mohammed, Darren Sammy, Patrick Browne (wk), Richard Kelly, Jerome Taylor, Daren Powell, Tino Best, Dave Mohammed and Andrew RichardsonSupport staff – Anthony Howard (manager), David Moore (coach), Phyllis Burnett (physiotherapist), Bryce Cavanagh (strength & conditioning coordinator)

Sri Lanka A pulled off a thrilling four-wicket win, with eight balls to spare, in the third and final unofficial Test against West Indies A, at the Saravanamuttu Stadium, to clinch the three-match series 2-1.Sri Lanka left themselves chasing a target of 218 off 43 overs after dismissing West Indies for 205 in the second innings. But their chase was stalled by rain, which lopped off four overs, making their task a little tougher than expected. However, from 93 for 2 when the interruption came, Sri Lanka did not give up the chase but kept pursuing the target despite losing wickets constantly.Russel Arnold and Tillakaratne Dilshan lifted the spirits of the team with a 53-ball 64-run partnership for the fourth wicket. Dilshan, running fast between the wickets, made 40 off 35 balls without hitting a single boundary and Arnold contributed 39 off 34 balls. But it was left to Danushka Lokuhettige, a hard-hitting fast bowler, to steer the side to victory with a few hefty blows, in an undefeated knock of 22 off 19 balls.West Indies, resuming on 114 for 4, struggled against the left-arm orthodox spin of Sajeewa Weerakoon. He troubled all the batsmen on a wearing pitch to pick up his third consecutive five wicket haul in the series.Weerakoon’s final figures of six for 57 off 40 overs, and eight wickets in the match, gave him a series haul of 26 wickets and he was the deciding factor between the two sides. Darren Sammy put up strong resistance, keeping one end going, batting over three hours for an unbeaten 40. But, apart from Dave Mohammed who contributed 30 in a stand of 40 for the eighth wicket, the rest of the batsmen succumbed to the wiles of Weerakoon.West Indies won the first ‘test’ at Dambulla by 57 runs and Sri Lanka squared the series by winning the second at Colts ground by an innings and 16 runs The two teams now meet in a five-match one-day series starting on July 13 at the Nondescripts CC grounds.

Tushar Imran, the middle-order batsman, will lead Bangladesh A in the first four-day “Test” against the touring Zimbabwe A side. Bangladesh’s 13 was whittled down from an original 25-man training squad.The first representative match starts tomorrow (March 17) at Rajshahi, and will be followed by another at Bogra (March 23-26). The two A teams will then play a five-match one-day series.Zimbabwe A won their first match of the tour, a three-day game against a Bangladesh Under-23 XI, at Fatullah yesterday.Bangladesh A (from):
1 Nafees Iqbal, 2 Rashedul Haque, 3 Ehsanul Haq, 4 Mazharul Haque, 5 Tushar Imran (capt), 6 Nasir Uddin Faruque, 7 Mohammed Selim (wk), 8 Jamal Uddin, 9 Alamgir Kabir, 10 Enamul Haq junior, 11 Shahdat Hossain, 12 Faisal Hossain, 13 Gazi Alamgir.