Thirty of the country’s brightest young legspinners will next week train under the expert guidance of Terry Jenner, the former Australian legspinner, at King’s School, Taunton. Jenner played nine Tests for Australia between 1970 and 1975, and is the mentor of the most famous leggie of them all, Shane Warne.The training week forms part of the ECB’s programme, which aims to have a wrist-spinner in the England team by 2007, and for half of the 18 first-class counties to have one as well. This is the fifth year it has been in progress.The participants, aged between 12 and 21, will train and play against each other in matches during which legspin will be the only variety of bowling allowed. The programme runs from Monday August 11 to Friday August 15.Thanks to increased funding from the Brian Johnson Memorial Trust (BJMT), four of the most promising young players will be invited to go to Adelaide, Jenner’s home town, for two weeks in the autumn and have intensive legspin training.Graham Saville, ECB’s development of excellence manager, said, “Developing our wrist-spin bowlers is an on-going process. There’s no doubt that we have some highly talented young bowlers and they will benefit hugely from being taught by Terry, the world’s leading legspin coach.”For further information, contact ECB Corporate Affairs on And for further information about the BJMT, and membership of the Johnners Club, please contact Mark Williams, chief executive, BJMT at The Lord’s Taverners, 10 Buckingham Place, London SW1E 6HX. Tel: 020 7821 2828; Fax 2829; email [email protected]

Worried that India’s tour of Pakistan, scheduled for February-March 2004, might not materialise, the Pakistan board has already started planning for an alternate series. According to a report in the News International, a Pakistan-based news website, the PCB is likely to wait till October before taking a decision on this issue.The Indian team was scheduled to play a Test series in Pakistan in April this year, but the tour was cancelled after the Indian government refused to sanction it. The report quoted a PCB source as saying that the Pakistan board was now preparing for precisely such an eventuality. “This time the PCB is making arrangements to avoid another cancelled tour and loss of revenues if the Indian government does not change its policy on cricketing ties with Pakistan.”By October the scenario would be clear if there are realistic chances of India coming to Pakistan. And if the chances are dim, then the Pakistan board will ask ICC to arrange for alternate teams to tour Pakistan in place of India or arrange for compensation.”The boards of both countries have expressed the desire to resume cricketing ties – the PCB had even suggested one one-day international in each country to break the ice – but the Indian government has steadfastly maintained that the two teams can play each other only in multi-lateral tournaments. The last time a bilateral series was played between the two teams was in 1998-99, when Pakistan toured India for a two-Test series. The two teams have since played ODIs in England, Australia, Sharjah, Dhaka and, most recently, in the World Cup in South Africa.However, three tournaments for the junior cricketers from India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka have been lined up, with each country hosting one tournament. The first of these will be held in Sri Lanka next month, while Pakistan get their turn in August. India will host the last tournament early next year. It is believed that these matches have been introduced to check the feasibility of resuming cricketing ties between the senior teams.

The Glamorgan team to face Durham at the Riverside ground in Chester-le-Street in the final four day County Championship match of the 2003 season, starting on Wednesday, 17th September, will be drawn from the following squad :

J P Maher (6)M A Wallace + (18)A Dale (11)M J Powell (14)M P Maynard (25)D L Hemp (4)R D B Croft * (10)A G Wharf (16)M S Kasprowicz (3)D S Harrison (20)D A Cosker (23)S D Thomas (7)I J Thomas (27)

There’s a hole in the Indian batting order, and it’s at the top. Since Sunil Gavaskar’s retirement in 1986-87, 26 different players and 41 opening combinations have failed to yield the answer to the most contentious question facing Indian cricket: who will square up against the new ball in Australia. Plenty of openers have already paraded their ware, without distinction, it may be added, in the season openers. National selectors have lined up a few more for the two tour games against New Zealand. Wisden CricInfo caught up with two from the long list who are likely to get their first chance of the season.Akash Chopra, Delhi
Chopra, 26, has been a mainstay of the Delhi Ranji team for the last five seasons, and an outstanding performer in India’s A tours to Sri Lanka and the West Indies. An injury kept him out of the Challenger Trophy, but now he gets two chances to display his talent before the first Test against New Zealand. Being picked for both the tour games against New Zealand is a pleasant surprise. I know the opener’s slot is still up for grabs. Now my priority will be to take it game by game. Over the years I have added a few shots under my belt. Naturally, I am a patient batsman and have the temperament to stick around for long at the wicket. But after adding a few more strokes, I have tried to increase the pace of my scoring and this helped me a lot during the India A tours of Sri Lanka and the West Indies in the last couple of seasons.If it was not for the injury (he tore the anterior cruciate ligament on his right knee while playing a game of football three weeks before Delhi’s semifinals against Tamil Nadu) I would have played the Challenger Trophy too. I had attended the camps at the NCA in Bangalore in the tune-up to the Challenger, and Andrew [Leipus] was a bit apprehensive about the total recovery from the injury and thought a couple of weeks more would heal it completely. At the NCA, Leipus and King put me on to additional two-and-a-half hour training to analyse my recovery. But more importantly, John Wright told me at the camp that he had been following my game and felt that I was almost there. It has strengthened my self belief.Interviewed by Nagraj GollapudiDeep Dasgupta, West Bengal
Deep Dasgupta, 26, has been both saviour and villain in his eight-match Test career. Asked to open the batting when nobody else wanted the job in bouncy South Africa, his obduracy was instrumental in securing India a draw in the second Test. In his next Test, against England at Mohali, Dasgupta eked out a vital century on the first day. Obscuring that, however, has been some blatantly inept wicketkeeping performances, for which he has been shown no empathy. Now, the spotlight will be on him after more than a year which he spent honing, in particular, his work behind the stumps.Even though I didn’t get picked for the Challengers and Irani Trophy, this selection hasn’t come as a big surprise. I had heard some talk that I might get picked, and also read some newspaper reports which hinted it. Given the bouncy pitches in Australia, I got the feeling that they might be looking for a keeper who could bat. This game is a big opportunity for me.My last season was mixed. I perhaps didn’t perform as well with the bat as I could have, but I also got some very poor umpiring decisions. I think my keeping has definitely come along. I spent the summer in England, playing for Norwich Cricket Club, and standing up to swing bowlers in helpful conditions was good learning.Opening the batting in those conditions was also an experience. There are four openers (including myself) in this India A team, so I’m not sure where in the order I will bat. For Bengal last season, I batted both at the top and in the middle. I enjoy batting for long periods generally, and I’d be delighted to open for India again.Interviewed by Rahul Bhattacharya

Zimbabwe have named their A team for the three-day match against West Indies next week at Takashinga, Henry Olonga’s former club.Dion Ebrahim will lead the side in which seven players have international experience. This is the only warm-up match for West Indies ahead of two Tests, the first of which begins on November 4 at Harare.Zimbabwe A
Dion Ebrahim (capt), Travis Friend, Craig Evans, Stuart Matsikenyeri,Barney Rogers, Elton Chigumbura, Gavin Ewing, Alester Maregwede (wkt), Jordane Nicolle, Blessing Mahwire, Vusimuzi Sibanda, 12th man: Conan Brewer.

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Mahela Jayawardene guided Sri Lanka into a dominant position on the rain-affected fourth day at Galle with a patient 86 not out, including a last-wicket stand of 46 with Muttiah Muralitharan. England were set 323 to win, and with Murali all ready to flex his rubbery wrist on a wearing pitch, the rain which brought an early finish was a welcome sight for England – but a frustrating one for Sri Lanka.After a heartening final session last night, the onus was on England to take quick wickets in the morning and limit the lead to manageable proportions. But that didn’t happen. Their first breakthrough eventually came after the morning drinks break, and even that was in controversial circumstances.Chaminda Vaas, who had batted with typical resolve for his 19, was caught at short-leg by Paul Collingwood to give Ashley Giles his seventh wicket of the match. There was some doubt, however, as to whether Vaas had actually touched the ball, as it ballooned off his pads into Collingwood’s hands. And though umpire Venkat had no hesitation, Vaas’s reaction spoke volumes as he stalked off the pitch. He flung his gloves and helmet to one side as he reached the boundary rope, much as Sanath Jayasuriya had done in similar circumstances at Kandy in 2000-01.For most of the morning, England laboured for little reward, as Vaas and Jayawardene fended off the best efforts of Andrew Flintoff and the spinners, Giles and Gareth Batty. With a lead of 195 in the bag already, there was no need for risks, and the batsmen limited themselves to singles and the odd extravagance, such as the lofted four that Vaas smacked back over Batty’s head.It was slow going, and even after a two-hour rain break, Sri Lanka continued to show little urgency and crawled along at two runs-an-over. Chandana soon paid the price for his negativity when he padded up to a straight one from Giles, and was given lbw by Venkat (163 for 7). Jayawardene then eventually reached his half-century off 192 balls – and just under four hours – but still they were in no hurry to extend the lead, which was trickling towards 300.Matthew Hoggard took the new ball and immediately grabbed his first wicket of the match – and the tour – when he trapped Kumar Dharmasena lbw stone dead in front of middle (179 for 8). Flintoff was then rewarded for his tireless efforts when Dinusha Fernando edged him to Marcus Trescothick, who again showed off his party trick of juggling the ball a few times before clasping it (180 for 9).

But whether it be with bat or ball, Murali always livens things up, and today was no exception. He strode out with his ever-present grin, and then smeared Flintoff over cover and slashed Hoggard past point, both for four. Jayawardene suddenly came to life as well. He thumped Johnson for two successive boundaries over midwicket to take the lead past 300, and smacked Giles back over his head for another four.Again the bowlers could not finish off the job quickly. For a No. 11, Murali was surprisingly comfortable, and his partnership with Jayawardene sapped England’s morale even further. After Murali eventually edged Batty to Collingwood at short leg for a handy 13, England were left pondering their almost impossible bid to save this game.If only rain can rescue England now, then it came to their aid after just one over in to their second innings. Trescothick and Michael Vaughan walked out in spitting rain, and then hurried off five minutes later as the downpour started. Play was inevitably called off at 5.30pm local time, and England will need more bad weather tomorrow if they are going to escape with a draw.

India may have had the better of the exchanges in the first Test, but Matthew Hayden showed just what might be in store for the Indians in the remaining Tests. His 99 was remarkable for the utter disdain with which he treated even the good balls. Of the 98 balls he faced, 51 of them pitched on a good length, which were dispatched for 52 runs. When the Indians pitched slightly short, though, Hayden was far less destructive: 30 balls just short of a length fetched just 12 runs.

Ajit Agarkar was the only bowler who managed to curb the Hayden charge. As the table below shows, against the rest of the bowlers, Hayden scored at more than a run a ball.

Meanwhile, two wickets in the Indian second innings might have saved Nathan Bracken from being dropped for the second Test. One of those wickets was, inevitably, Virender Sehwag’s, whom Bracken has now dismissed five times in the last five innings, stretching back to the first match of the TVS Cup tournament in India. Sehwag did manage 17 runs off Bracken in the first innings, but most of those were after he was dropped in the slips off Bracken early in the piece.

West Indies have suffered yet another injury blow to their tour of South Africa as Wavell Hinds was forced to return home on Sunday because of a groin problem.Hinds picked up the injury during the drawn third Test at Cape Town, and Ricky Skerritt, the West Indian team manager, confirmed that Hinds’s tour was over. No replacement will be sent for ahead of the fourth and final Test which begins at Centurion on Friday, although an extra player may be called up for the one-day series which follows.Hinds is the fourth West Indies player to head home from the tour following injuries to Omari Banks, Jerome Taylor and Marlon Samuels.The latest blow came as West Indies endured another mediocre day on the field, dismissed for just 263 in the second innings of their tour matchagainst Easterns, the South African first-class champions, at Willowmore Park in Benoni.

The Pakistan Cricket Board has warned India of a possible backlash if the Indian team’s tour of Pakistan is cancelled at the eleventh hour. Samiul Hassan, the PCB media manager, suggested that it could demand compensation, or even take the extreme step of severing cricketing ties with India.”We may exercise these options only after receiving an official communication from the Board of Control for Cricket in India, verifying postponement of the series, which has not reached us yet,” he said. Shaharyar Khan, PCB chairman and a retired foreign secretary, warned that an Indian decision not to tour would have far-reaching consequences. “This decision (likely postponement) will affect the relations that have been improving in the recent past. This is a unilateral decision taken without consulting us,” he said.Certain sources from India’s home ministry have suggested that LK Advani, the deputy Prime Minister, has asked the BCCI to postpone the tour until after the national elections – tentatively scheduled for mid-April. Khan though was still hopeful that the impasse could be resolved.”We have not got any word, but we are prepared to wait,” he said. A BCCI delegation is currently in Pakistan, checking out the security arrangements, but Khan suggested that “other things have to be sorted out at the government level”.He added that while the PCB was willing to show flexibility on any concerns the Indian security delegation or board might have on match venues, there was no question of the series being relocated to a neutral venue.”All this talk about us offering to shift the series to Sri Lanka is not correct. Neutral venues are a complete no-no for us for various reasons.” Pakistan have signed several lucrative sponsorship deals for the series, and a cancellation would hit the financially fragile PCB very hard.”We have always had friendly relations with the Indian board and I am confident they would be able to stall any move to postpone or cancel the tour,” said Khan. “We want this crisis to be worked out in a friendly manner.” Many thousands of fans on both sides of the divide will be hoping for the same thing.

Stephen Fleming has been named as New Zealand’s cricketer of the year, after a successful run of form with the bat that has produced 732 runs in nine matches at an average of 56.31.Fleming’s season began with his highest Test score, 274 not out against Sri Lanka in Colombo, and he followed that up with an unbeaten 69 in the second innings. Then, at home to Pakistan, he cracked 192 in the first Test at Hamilton, before leading New Zealand to a maiden Test victory over South Africa.”He is widely regarded as the premier captain in international cricket,” said New Zealand Cricket’s chief executive Martin Snedden, as Fleming also picked up the Walter Hadlee Trophy for the best one-day batting, with 728 runs in 21 internationals.At the awards ceremony, Chris Cairns dropped a broad hint that he might not be retiring from Test cricket just yet, as had been suggested in the media. Cairns said he was thoroughly enjoying playing under New Zealand’s new coach John Bracewell, and although he wouldn’t actually confirm that he would be continuing for the tour of England, he did say enigmatically: “Maybe I want to carry on.”Graham Dowling, New Zealand’s former captain turned match referee, received the Sutcliffe Medal for outstanding service to cricket.Other awards
Redpath Cup (first-class cricketer) – Scott Styris
Winsor Cup (first-class bowler) – Chris Martin
Walter Hadlee Trophy (ODI bowler) – Daryl Tuffey
State Medal (domestic cricketer) – Chris Harris
Phyl Blackler Cup (women’s bowler) – Rebecca Steele
Ruth Martin Cup (women’s batter) – Haidee Tiffen
State Plate (women’s domestic cricket) – Aimee Mason