One of the admirable sponsored coaching programmes in this country is open to young boys and girls in its first two phases. But, regardless of how well a girl performs, she is not allowed to go past that. The programme does not cater for the participation of girls after a certain stage. What is the message?

Vaneisa Baksh asks the uncomfortable question.

THE careers of several Victorian cricketers are in limbo amid uncertainty about the international future of captain Cameron White, fast bowler Mick Lewis and, to a lesser extent, recently axed Test batsman Brad Hodge. Chloe Saltau reports in the Melbourne-based daily Age.

Matthew Hoggard, that's who! James Mossop profiles the genial swing bowler, who loves dogs.

Hoggard is such a dedicated dog-walker that on finding himself in the unattractive Indian town of Ahmedabad he decided to take an imaginary dog on a make-believe walk and said the experience kept him sane.

Elsewhere on the world wide web Hoggard talks about his passion.

If I had the choice, I would have been a vet. I love animals and really enjoy walking my dog across the Yorkshire moors when I have some time off. I was always interested in animals at school and my parents let me have a few pets when I was growing up.

Click here to read the interview.

While it's allright to chase your dreams, keep a backup handy, says Aakash Chopra, the Indian Test-discard.

It’s great being a cricketer but conditions apply! It’s great to get paid to play, doing something most of us would do for free but the money is great only if you’re one of the blessed, the 11 out of a billion who actually make it to Team India. Otherwise, millions dream of wearing National colours but don’t even make first-class level. They spend all their adolescence and youth sweating it out under an unforgiving sun and ignoring everything else, including studies, hoping to be among that blessed XI.

If you really want to get up Makhaya Ntini's nose, try talking to him about being a role model for his country's budding young athletes, writes Richard Boock in The Herald on Sunday.

"I just don't accept the responsibility of being a role model for black or coloured people.I accept the challenge of playing cricket for South Africa. I appreciate that people might admire what I'm doing but trying to be a role model for them isn't what I signed up for. It's a huge responsibility to buy into, and I just don't accept it. I accept the responsibility for being a role model for my son but not for everyone else's sons."

Burnout is fast becoming the hottest topic in cricket. Read Stephen Brenkley's discourse on it in The Independent.

Ian Botham echoed the thoughts of a nation by indicating that Andrew Flintoff had to be given proper rest, if not wrapped in cotton wool for most of the summer. Botham was rightly concerned about one player - anyone who saw Flintoff towards the end of the India tour was witnessing a body on the verge of rebellion - but he was fairly late to the general debate.

Ashley Giles will put his feet up this week while England's selectors debate which spinner will replace him for the Lord's Test against Sri Lanka which starts on Thursday week, writes Scyld Berry in The Sunday Telegraph.

The question is perceived to be: Shaun Udal, to bat at number eight and bowl off-spin, or Monty Panesar, to bowl left-arm and do not much else.

Stephen Fleming's conversion rate from 50s to 100s may not make jaws drop but Mark Richardson writes in the New Zealand Herald that he does a fine job of converting the 100s into bigger scores.

Cricket is a game to be relished not an account to be scrutinised, writes Peter Roebuck

Cricket needs to extract itself from the cold embrace of its statisticians. Over the last few seasons these calculators on two legs have wielded an inordinate influence ... In recent weeks, these dismal creations have complained about Jason Gillespie and the authenticity of the World XI matches played last October. The fact that no sensible person cares a hoot about matters of this sort passes them by.

"My parents never stopped me from playing. They gave me good schooling and grooming. They made a lot of sacrifices for me," says Mahendra Singh Dhoni in a chat with The Sportstar.

In the last one year I have learnt to read the game better. I play a different innings every time I go to the middle. It all depends on the situation. It is not just bang, bang. I like to play for the team. People talk of the 183 (against Pakistan). But I like the next knock at Pune. It was different. The innings against England were different. I did not attack because there was no need to take any risk. I could easily get six to eight runs an over. Let me tell you, I will never play for individual honours. It will always be for the team.

"I think Rahul Dravid enjoys Greg's thoughts, but still the skipper has got to carry the team. He's got to agree to the changes and he has done that very well," says Dean Jones. Click here to read the Sportstar interview with Deano.

Stephen Fleming's double-century put New Zealand in a commanding position of the second Test against South Africa but Adam Parore writes in the New Zealand Herald that Fleming's poor conversion rate has hampered him from becoming New Zealand's most-successful batsman.

Bishan Bedi, never short of an opinion, has joined the debate about player burnout, as reported on deepikaglobal.com. And he is clear where the blame lies - with the ICC.

"Both the individual boards and the ICC have to take the responsibility but I feel ICC is the main culprit because they are the ones who decide the schedules. In their efforts to provide more matches for teams like Bangladesh they are making top teams like India and Australia play more."

And he concluded:

"The administrators just have to apply common sense and balance out the number of games. After all you wouldn't want to kill the golden goose, would you?"

Many argue the goose is already well and truly slughtered.

The Indian Express was less than impressed with Sharad Pawar's glowing comments about the Champions Trophy.

"The surprise of the day was in Pawar’s virtually capitulating to all ICC demands, saying that it had resolved all outstanding issues and that it would extend full co-operation to the ICC while conducting the Champions Trophy, the first major tournament to be conducted in India since the 1996 World Cup."

But then again, as the report pointed out, the ICC are deciding on the venuie for the next World Cup at the weekend. Surely the two events are unconnected?

A Test match in Cardiff? And an Ashes one at that in 2009? Well why not, asks Mike Selvey in The Guardian

Aakash Chopra, Indian Test-discard, writes about life in England over the cricketing summer.

The one thing I swore this year around was that I wouldn’t travel to England via Paris. I hadn’t forgotten my experience of being treated like some shady drug dealer/terrorist/evil psychopath last year at Charles de Gaulle and then, on the way back, having Air France misplace my bags.

Chris Read is hoping to challenge Geraint Jones for his England place after being named in the A team to play Sri Lanka.

David Murray, former wicketkeeper of West Indies, had fallen on hard times but wants everyone to know he's still a "tough guy" and despite the many challenges he has faced in life, he's still "in the game".
Click here to read the article by Philip Spooner in the Daily Nation.

Oh blimey, is Darren Gough becoming the new Phil Tufnell? Let's hope not, but if he continues to embrace gimmicks with as much gusto as his bowling then words might just have to be had.

His latest bandwagon de choix? Well, Dazzler is all set to appear in a video for a football World Cup song.

Stand up 4 England is a song by pop punk band Koopa and, The Surfer is surprised to hear itself confessing as it reaches for the repeat button, the tune is actually pretty good.

The cameras are set to roll down at Essex CCC on Tuesday to capture Goughie singing the seminal line "Ner ner ner ner" as he revealed to Cricinfo: "As a keen football fan myself it's exciting to be doing my bit for the World Cup cause - albeit in a small way". Good old boy.

So, does a pop career await? Well, he's keen on any form of TV exposure, as he told The Times. "TV is the way I want to go. It suits my personality."

Today is the Anzac day. It's been said that 'Sport is war minus the shooting', but what happens to sport when the shooting is real? Amanda Smith finds out about the role of cricket, in both the First and Second World Wars: for allied troops, for prisoners-of-war, and for the folks at home. Click here to read the transcript of this fascinating show aired in 1998.

I came across a photo in one of the volumes that's captioned 'The evacuation of Anzac'. The weird thing is though, that this is a photo of a cricket match in progress. So why were these diggers playing cricket when they were supposed to be withdrawing from Gallipoli?

Bill Gammage: Yes I know the photo, it's one Beam himself took actually, and it's one that was taken when the Australians had already started to evacuate the Anzac position. And the idea was that the people who were still on shore would pretend that things were going on as normal to deceive the Turks. Every night more and more Australians were withdrawn. And as more were withdrawn, there were more activities out in the open to pretend that everyone was still there and no evacuation was planned. That way the Turks wouldn't attack at the last minute and the chances of a successful evacuation were increased.

And this cricket match is one of them.

Ian Blackwell, England's batting all-rounder, is keen on having the fixture list reworked to lessen the load and improve overall standards.
He talks about his favourite sporting moments, heroes, and more in an interview with the Telegraph. Click here to read it.

Edward Seaga, former Prime Minister of Jamaica, is shocked at the amount of money that Jamaica would have to cough up to host the World Cup.

The World Cup extravaganza is an excellent example of small countries with small resources trying to do what big countries do on the same lavish scale in order to show that we can throw a good party too ­ even if in our case there are massive crowds of poor and vulnerable people locked out at the gate and, the misery will be greater for the likely poor showing of our team.

The Jamaica Gleaner editorial offers a different view.

The arguments and counter arguments about the cost to the country of hosting a part of next year's Cricket World Cup tournament reflect a sad lack of appreciation by both the Government and the parliamentary Opposition of the real and potential economic benefits.

What’s the best way to celebrate Anzac Day? That’s right – to organize a nude beach cricket match of course. Well, that’s what’s happening in Australia, at least. In New Zealand they’re just a bit too shy.

But there is method behind the seeming madness. Pastor Bob Wright, a church minister and naturist, said the event, to be held on North Belongil Beach, would be a dignified one. He added that the Anzac diggers had often played games of beach cricket in between fighting during the first World War.

The Stuff website reports that New Zealand won’t be hosting a similar event because, in the words of Bill Hopper, the spokesperson for New Zealand Returned Services Association: “Only the Aussies would do it.” The Stuff continues:

Up to 500 nudists and their families are expected to attend the event, which also includes a beach carnival, body painting, sausage sizzle and a fun run. Mr Hopper said his only concern about the event was the combination of nudism with a sausage sizzle.

You can uncover the whole naked truth here.

Christopher Martin-Jenkins says that none of the books on last year's epic Ashes have made it to the shortlist for the Cricket Society Book of the Year award.

The nearest thing to it being Stephen Fay’s description of Tom Graveney’s year as president of MCC: part biography, part insight into the workings of the world’s wealthiest, and most altruistic cricket club. Also on the list are a vibrant account of India’s momentous tour to Pakistan in 2003-04 by a talented young Indian writer half Fay’s age.

Herschelle Gibbs, the South Africa batsman, was dropped for the remaining two Tests against New Zealand. "Gibbs knows all the flaws and pitfalls of his life and lifestyle. He knows what he needs to do," writes Neil Manthorp. Click here to read the supercricket.co.za article.

Is Dalmiya's suspension from the BCCI a result of his past deeds or is it a witch-hunt launched by his detractors? G. Rajaraman delves into the ugly fight.

As the discussion over player burn-out rumbles on, greed could kill the golden goose warns Rohit Brijnath in The Hindu.

Players are not robots, you can't pump in a few litres of nationalism and a gallon of money and ask them to keep playing. They have the right to complain about "too much cricket,'' even if the odd complainant has a belly that makes you wonder whether it's more a case of "too many jalebis.''

It was well worth New Zealand risking Kyle Mills in the No 3 position, says Mark Richardson in the New Zealand Herald.

In difficult conditions, the Black Caps took a punt when they promoted Kyle Mills […] It didn't work, thus exposing managements' necks, but I for one thought it was a good piece of improvisation and would have even gone a step further and had James Franklin follow Mills.

Kevin Mitchell meets Steve Waugh and almost, almost gets him to admit England are going to retain the Ashes when the teams resume battle in Australia in December.

'They've a chance,' he says. I look at him as if he has defected. The Southern Cross will surely fall from the sky on his bronzed head.

The 20-20 World Cricket Classic gets underway tomorrow in Bermuda. The tournament comprises "classic" teams, made up of former Test and one-day players from the major cricketing nations: West Indies, Sri Lanka, South Africa, New Zealand, India, England, Australia and Bermuda (see the full list of players here).

Eight leading cricket nations will pitch battle for the world's first ever 20-20 World Cricket Classic title in Bermuda during April, 2006. Over 100 of the greatest international cricketing legends will represent South Africa, New Zealand, Australia, West Indies, Sri Lanka, India, England and the host team, Bermuda.

The island paradise of Bermuda, with its sub-tropical climate, stunning scenery and world renowned pink beaches, offers a stunning backdrop to the inaugural 20-20 World Cricket Classic. Just a stone's throw from the Caribbean and West Indies and a favourite destination from the UK, Europe, USA and Canada, the Classic will undoubtedly prove to be an attractive location to combine cricket camaraderie with tourist indulgence.

More information on the event, and how to obtain tickets, can be found at their website.

iafrica.com sports editor Dan Nicholl had earlier proposed an ingenuous proposition for injecting a little life into very forlorn stands in domestic games. Nudity!

Now comes its side-splittingly funny sequel. Click here for a hilarious read.

Ray White, former president of the South African board, talks about the rise of Makhaya Ntini, the decline of Shaun Pollock and the emergence of some new players. Click here to read the Witness article.

I would like to see Friedel de Wet given a go against the New Zealanders before this series is over. He bowls at over 145 km/h from a good high action and will run in all day. Some say De Wet does not do enough with the old ball but I think that the amount of wickets he has taken this season require that the national team take a long look at his potential. One wonders which of the selectors, if any, have ever seen him bowl?

Peter Roebuck feels that the Centurion Test between South Africa and New Zealand showed what a pampered lot modern-day batsmen are.

.. The current mob glared at the pitch as might a contralto interrupted mid-innings by a loud cough in the fifth row. Truth to tell the top order batting of both sides was abysmal. Bats were hung out to dry like beef on a hook. Batsman fished at wide deliveries. Far from moving smartly into position, feet stumbled between decisions.

Jason Gillespie's double ton, coming as it did from a nightwatchman, was something of a shock. Paul Daffey, in The Age newspaper, looks at another century by a nightwatchman, Tony Mann - the first Australian to that feat in 1977.

Gillespie’s innings was certainly impressive, writes Richard Hinds in The Sydney Morning Herald, but it was hardly a miracle. To find out what led him to this conclusion, read the full article here.

Writing in the same paper, Phillip Derriman wonders what the after-effects of the feat will be – and how many favours it has done Bangladesh. Andrew Miller also considers how Bangladesh will now fare.

Charlie Davis, a cricket statistician, pays a stats tribute to Gillespie. "One might begin (for those who suggest that extreme performances against Bangladesh are meaningless) by noting that Bangladesh had gone throught their previous ten Tests without conceding a double-century," writes Davis.

Also read Davis's article titled the myth of the nightwatchman. The nighwatchman tactic fails more than twice as often as it succeeds, asserts Davis.

"The most successful era in Australian cricket can end in stunning fashion, with one of the oldest teams assembled reclaiming the Ashes and creating history with a third successive World Cup," Malcomm Conn asserts in the Australian.

Ricky Ponting believes that the campaign to regain Ashes is running perfectly to plan. Click here to read the skipper's view.

The Ashes ... in Wales?! © Getty Images

The decision to award an Ashes Test to Glamorgan has provoked a range of reactions from delight to outrage – not to mention much disbelief. But Stephen Brenkley, in The Independent, wonders if it’s really such a surprise afterall.

England and the English could not say that they were not warned. Those with a true sense of history might have realised that in 1905, Glamorgan applied to stage a Test against Australia and lost out to Trent Bridge by one vote.

He adds drily, "Nobody would suggest that staging an Ashes Test is remotely like acquiring a peerage … but Glamorgan offered the most cash."

Christopher Martin-Jenkins also dwells on the financial aspects of the deal in The Times – and points out that
the ECB is fortunate it was another group, the Major Match Group, who were responsible for the decision, given that it has not been received so well outside a delighted Wales.

Derek Pringle, in The Telegraph notes Glamorgan’s financial clout - but explains that there are also some conspiracy theories which are doing the rounds.

Matthew Engel, the editor of Wisden, and his wife Hilary have launched a charity in honour of their son, who died of cancer last year aged 13. The Laurie Engel Fund aims to help rebuild the cancer ward at the Birmingham Children’s Hospital. The Telegraph’s Robert Philip listens to Matthew talk movingly about the need for a new ward, his recollections of Laurie and about a campaign which has already had pledges from Chelsea FC and a promise from Bunbury Cricket Club to stage a cricket match.

"The oncology - a word I had never previously encountered, even in Scrabble - ward is a so-called modern wing of a Victorian hospital," Matthew explains. "It was built circa 1990 when the National Health Service had no money and it's a really cheap and nasty job which everybody hates.”

Read the original, heartbreaking article relating to Laurie's death here.

A subsequent letter to The Guardian sums up the article perfectly.

The warmth and tenderness he so evidently felt for his cherished son was conveyed with a poignancy beyond measure. Somehow, he managed to combine this intimacy with a description of clinical detail that made my head reel. And yet, as he and his family clearly did not ask for sympathy in their darkest hour, not once was it solicited in his writing. Quite remarkable, and quite humbling.

It's a cruel world out there and Mushtaq Ali's family will tell you why. Following his death last year, they have more than just an emotional loss to contend with. Read more about their plight here in The News.

Syed Mushtaq Ali scored India’s first Test century on foreign soil way back in 1936. Seven decades later, the legendary cricketer’s family — one of the best known in Indore — lives in a cramped, derelict house that was built by the player’s father in 1926.

Here's what Sunil Gavaskar had to say on the player burn-out issue. "These players are turning out for their countries. It's an honour to represent your country. I would be willing to sweat 365 days in a year for India. Those who can't stand the heat should stay out."

Read Mike Selvey's response in The Guardian.

Those who cannot stand the heat should stay out indeed, unless they want to end up on saline drips in the dressing rooms of Indore and Jamshedpur. What Gavaskar fails or is unwilling to grasp is the idea that it is not the volume of cricket but rather the sheer intensity of it that creates the problems.

Jason Gillespie's 201 not out against Bangladesh deserves to stand as a contender for the most astonishing innings played in Test cricket, writes Greg Baum in The Sydney Morning Herald.

Mark Cosgrove was meant to be preparing for a season of county cricket with Glamorgan, but that has been put on hold after his call-up to Australia's one-day squad in Bangladesh. It completes a dramatic turnaround for Cosgrove, who plays for South Australia, after he was dropped at the start of the Australian season for being overweight. But he slimed down, scored runs and is now competing for a World Cup berth. Chloe Saltau writes about him the The Age.

Mike Atherton was nicknamed FEC - Future England Captain - in his youth, and now Alastair Cook is being labelled with it:

Now a central contract is within his grasp. And, like Michael Atherton before him, he is nicknamed FEC (future England captain). "I've always been a bit laidback, though there are a few things that do make me angry, such as when my TV won't work. I have a terrible track record for breaking stuff." Including records.

It's ironic that Karnataka, a state which has produced national cricketers aplenty had to wait this long for someone to put Coorg on the cricketing map. That 'someone' is Robin Uthappa. Rajan Bala in The Asian Age writes an appreciation on the first Kodava cricketer to represent India.

There is bravery, at times almost foolhardy, in the Kodava men like there is beauty among their women. It is a race that clings to tradition — ancestor worship is common — and walks upright.

One would have to wonder if it's worth cris-crossing another country half-way across the world just to see your team lose, game after game. Phil Long, of the Barmy Army in India narrates his tale in BBC Sport.

A long and thorough look at the rail timetable revealed the only way to get to Indore by train was by heading out of Jamshedpur on the Midnight Express.

Martin Johnson writes on the charm the start of a new English season brings, in The Daily Telegraph.

Even in a schedule that will soon involve back-to-back one-day internationals in Bangalore and Brisbane, there is still something about the start of an English cricket season which gets the juices flowing. Familiar sounds will be heard ("sorry sir, you can't come into the pavilion without a jacket" … "there will be a further inspection at 4.30"…) and even now, the car park attendants at Leicester and Derby are bracing themselves for the arrival of two Reliant Robins and a bicycle. It fair brings a lump to the throat.

Gold, silver, diamonds and more... read the detailed description of the trophy India and Pakistan are playing for at Abu Dhabi in the Khaleej Times.

The 45-inch tall trophy is made of gold, silver and diamonds with Jaipur's famous meenakari work around. There are five players in action at the bottom representing different cricket playing nations. The Indian and Pakistani players are given symbolic colours of their teams — blue and green. They all are playing around five artistic bats, which have intricate designs and are studded with diamonds. The centre part is like a blooming stem unfolding in a flower like platter. This has 10 gold wickets with red ball striking them at from different directions.

In the wake clashes between the media and police at Chittagong, the Daily Star in Dhaka decided to boycott coverage of the event.

It was not possible for us to file reports while fellow journalists languished in hospital, victims of brutal police assault. To protest this unjust police torture the journalists immediately held a meeting and decided to boycott the Bangladesh-Australia series until the incident was fairly investigated and the guilty police officials were punished.

Graeme Hick scored his first hundred 33 years ago. He was six years old in what was then Salisbury, Rhodesia. Tipped to scale great heights - 'He could become the most prolific batsman since the great Don Bradman,' said one top cricket writer long before he was picked for England - Hick failed to live up to expectations. Looking back, says Hick in this revealing interview to Kevin Mitchell in The Guardian ahead of his final season, he has no regrets.

England have had a splendid winter. Played four series and lost three, but splendid nevertheless. And everyone had moved on from Marcus Trescothick's pre-Test series departure because of a mystery virus until the batsman himself brought it up again. It is an issue that needs to be questioned, writes Mike Atherton in The Telegraph, for something sinister is beginning to happen.

Kevin Mitchell says the Trescothick affair reeks of arrogance as cricket peddles public any old nonsense. Get a whiff of his column in The Guardian.

Aakash Chopra, the former Indian opening batsmen, has his views on the matter.

In the midst of this, Angus Fraser notes that England's learning process carries on ahead of the World Cup after India handed them another lesson at Indore.

"Done. Closure. We are all Ashed out. Let's move on." Mike Selvey pleas for English cricket to quit harping back to last summer and move forward. He warns that "cricket in this country is in no position to rest on its laurels." Find out what he thinks needs to be done.

Monty Panesar knows he still has a lot to learn in the game, but is excited about the challenges that lie ahead. And, he tells The Guardian, far from being a rabbit he has ambitions to be England’s No 8 batsman.

I tried to work on it like I do every aspect of my game. The other England players really helped me. In terms of making a contribution, the least I wanted to be was hard to get out.

It still hurts Narendra Hirwani that he could have played more for India. Mid-day newspaper’s Clayton Murzello talks to Hiru and finds a man still smarting:

When I put my head on the pillow at night I think about how I could have done more with my ability. Not playing for India for an extended period hurts. I am a very emotional person. The fact is that I missed out. They did not pick me when I could have been a success.

How do the Australians show their appreciation when they see a good cricketer? Name a racehorse after him.

Read about how Makhaya the racemare produced the run of the night at Shepparton.

Archie Henderson celebrates the honour and says that for for South Africans seeking solace from a 5-0 drubbing, Ntini provides the answer.

So county cricket kicks off once more, but will the Ashes effect be necessarily beneficial, or is the future actually a bleak picture? Derek Pringle in The Telegraph thinks it won’t be all roses.

But some, like Christopher Martin-Jenkins in The Times can take heart from the fact that county cricketers can reap the benefits. Nevertheless, he acknowledges that domestic cricket is not without its problems – particularly with umpires and scorers at the moment – although he suggest resolutions are around the corner.

A quartet of county captains - Mark Chilton, Mark Butcher, Chris Adams and Jeremy Snape – offer a different perspective with their thoughts on the upcoming county season in The Independent.

And to read Andrew McGlashan’s take on it all, click here

The suicide rate among retired professionals is worryingly high. The Times’ journalist Matthew Pryor talks to a former player, Richard Doughty - who himself considered taking his own life - and finds out why.

"When I hit my bad time, from 2001 until last summer, I kept saying to myself things will get better," says Doughty, who has played for Gloucestershire and Surrey. "But two ex-wives, four kids, one testicle, diabetic, no qualifications, I had nothing, absolutely nothing I had to try and change the way I was living, or I could put a little noose around my neck and jump off the banisters. I’ve thought about it."

Read the full story and discover how he found help.

Ponting's genius fails to obscure cracks in batting, writes Chloe Saltau in the Age.

They might have escaped embarrassment in Dhaka, but the spluttering form of most of Australia's batsmen means the world's No. 1 team can no longer be backed with such certainty to dig itself out of trouble.

Andrew Stevenson, writing in the Sydney Morning Herald, believes Bangladesh's brave fightback has showed that they're no longer cannon fodder.

Beaten, Bangladesh still managed to look like winners. Or, if not quite like winners, Test cricket's 10th-ranked side - with a single victory to their name - had seen enough fear in the faces of their supposedly invincible adversary to know they had arrived as players and as a team.

The New Age, a Dhaka-based daily, eulogised the fighting spirit of Bangladesh players in its editorial.

Salacious debates of a rat killing a rhino began all over the world because Australian cricket is considered far above the game that most other nations play. In the end, the predicted ‘accident’ did not happen but we do not have any reason to be distressed either because our boys have shown that they can even take the best for a tough ride on a good day.

Harsha Bhogle, who was there at Fatullah commentating on the game, feels that it all came down to Australia knowing how to win.

Want to know about how several Australian players played a prank to hit broadcasters in the hip pocket? Read on here.

Dhruba Hazarika went to the Nehru stadium in Guwahati before the match to meet Sunil Barua, the curator. Click here and scroll down to read the piece.

I stared at his knuckles, fascinated by the small, round hardened fleshy blobs on the back of the palms. They were hands that had caressed soil and earth, felt the bricks and the stones, hands that had dug into bags of urea, fingers that had separated dubori grass from the rest. It was not just a farmer’s hands. There were the hands of a sculptor and I kept on watching, fascinated.

Neil Manthorp in Supercricket pays a warm tribute to Peter Robinson, the cricket writer who passed away due to cancer.

He was sharper than any of us, often wittier and certainly more argumentative. Forget crosswords or Sudoku for mental exercise, on long tours to India or England we would stay in shape by disagreeing with Robbo on a subject we knew he felt strongly about. I never saw anyone win - but it was fun trying.

The series in the bag, India’s attitude could not but have bordered on audacity while England deserved the kind break even more than a traveller in the desert looking for an oasis, writes R Mohan in The Deccan Chronicle

Marcus Trescothick's mystery virus explanation was so ham-fisted you could have boiled it up, served it with mash and called it Eisbein, says Mike Selvey in the Guardian.

Trescothick's situation - however it may have been presented to the public - highlights cricket's apocalyptic vision. For great games you need great players, sharp of mind and body. Otherwise you have a sham,says John Stern.

Geoffrey Boycott, never backwards in coming forwards, has sounded the clarion call for England to recall Darren Gough to the one-day squad.

He's a winner, whether it's Strictly Come Dancing or international cricket. Flintoff could do with some help at the moment and England need old heads and young legs.

Read Boycs’ full story - including why Kabir Ali, Liam Plunkett, Owais Shah and Ian Bell aren't going to win the World Cup for England – in London’s Daily Telegraph here.

Goughie himself believes he’s still got it in him to do the job, although he’s not played a one-dayer for nearly a year now.

While he still believes he can dazzle on the world stage, Gough’s had less success convincing his county team-mates to take up dancing in the pre-season warm-ups. Much to Alastair Cook’s relief, down at Essex they’re keeping it strictly non-ballroom.

David Lloyd and Bob Willis take opposing views as they look at England's one-day attitude. Click here to read the Guardian article.

This day, 30 years ago, India's batsmen, led by Sunil Gavaskar and Gundappa Viswanath, chased down a mammoth fourth-innings target of 403 at Port of Spain, setting a stunning world record. Mid-day, the mumbai based daily, revisits the great chase. Also, click here to read KN Prabhu's eye-witness account.

Andrew Flintoff is Wisden's Leading Cricketer in the World, with Shane Warne a close second © Wisden

The primary role of the almanack has changed from a book of reference, whose records section is out of date the second the manuscript goes to the printers, to one in which the quality of its articles is paramount. If not triumphalist, then this year's almanack is unashamedly celebratory.

Chrstopher Martin-Jenkins in the Times writes that "year by year, by imperceptible degrees, Wisden becomes a little more a book to read, a little less an almanack to consult. Under the present enlightened editorial command, Wisden has achieved an astute mix of outstanding writing, a remarkable fact while reliably recording the main events in all strands of the game."

"As an aide memoire, with reference and legacy rolled into one, Wisden, now in its 143rd edition, brings last season's memories deliciously to the fore," writes Derek Pringle in the Daily Telegraph.

For the full story on what's in this year's Almanack click here.

Suresh Raina tells Vijay Lokapally about the hardships he had to endure while learning his cricket.

I enjoyed the hardships. I learnt to be brave and mentally strong to face anything and anyone. Seniors ragged me but nothing deterred me. I had left the comforts of home as a challenge and I never lost my concentration and focus.

Sanath Jayasuriya's decision to retire from Test cricket was bound to elicit tributes. Ian Chappell remembers that glorious week in Singapore when Jayasuriya "gave cricket fans a glimpse of what it must have been like to watch Sir Donald Bradman bat in the 1930s."

Utopia in the stands - Watching the multi-racial supporters in the Carib Beer semis at Guaracara Park, Fazeer Mohammed in the Trinidad Express gives a glimpse of the social makeup of Trinidad.

In a country fighting a guerrilla war with itself and so often pulled in different directions on the basis of race and political preference, sport continues to unite and show a way out of the senseless, inane debates.

Even a seasoned politician like Sharad Pawar has been stumped by the cricket economics.

The BCCI has marketed 25 off shore matches each for $ 8 million plus. This works out approximately to Rs. 40 crore per match. I don't understand this.

The backpage of the Daily Mail © The Daily Mail

In the Daily Telegraph, Simon Briggs wrote that the town “a poor area in India's far north-eastern corner, has been viewed with concern by England's security staff ever since a bomb was planted here last month by a secessionist group. But yesterday's trouble stemmed from nothing more sinister than disappointment. There had not been an international here for four years, so levels of expectation were immense. The state government even went so far as to postpone elections which would have clashed with the match.”

In the Guardian, Lawrence Booth argued that the Indian board would look to defuse the situation by simply delaying Guwahati’s next go on the rota.

“The situation was not helped by the fact that ticket refunds for abandoned matches in India are a rarity. But the ICC will need more than a bit of extra red tape if it is to find a way of persuading the Indian board that a repetition of these events would not be in its best interests.”

Richard Hobson in the Times tried to explain the local background.

“Guwahati is politically volatile and elections were switched to avoid a clash with the game. As recently as last month, a terrorist bomb killed two people, and the ECB was monitoring developments in the build-up to the game. However, the scenes yesterday were spontaneous, stemming from frustration rather than more sinister motives.”

The backpage of the Mirror © The Mirror

“As ground host, the Assam Cricket Association should look at its own responsibilities. The covering operation was below-par and five English spectators among the crowd — all at the opposite end to the trouble — described information given over the public address as minimal. “All we were told was to be patient,” one of them said.”

And former England fast bowler Angus Fraser, writing in the Independent, claimed that what happened was nothing unexpected.

“While the teams were at the ground fires had been lit on the concrete terraces and plastic water bottles thrown on to the outfield. Though unwelcome, these are scenes that regularly take place on the sub-continent.”

Of the tabloids, the Mirror headlined its report “Madness” and said that England already "had misgivings about travelling to this volatile outpost in the far north east”. And it warned that England now travel to Jamshedpur where, “in 1993, when a police strike reduced crowd control to a virtual free-for-all, Devon Malcolm was nearly killed by a nine-inch steel bolt which whistled past his head by inches.”

And in the Daily Mail, Chris Foy detailed how he had seen one spectator "dragged onto the outfield and given a savage beating with sticks." He also lambasted attempts by local officials to lay the blame on the umpires, warning that "the ICC may decide to take action against the BCCI, Indian cricket's governing body."

As a vice-president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India, it could be argued that Lalit Modi is the most important cricket administrator in the world today, writes Michael Atherton in the Sunday Telegraph.

An intriguing tale from the USA of an expat from India who arrived six years ago and turned to one of the country’s homegrown sports – baseball.

When Amartya ''Marty" Ray, a cricketer from Calcutta, moved to Boston in 1998 to attend college, he didn't even know what a home run was. Today, at age 26, he is coordinator of fan and neighborhood services for the Red Sox.

"Growing up in India I knew baseball was a sport. 'I knew the Yankees were 'the best team. But I didn't even know what teams they played for. I didn't even know who the Red Sox were.

"The natural tendency was to compare it to cricket. 'My first thought was, 'This is odd. This is very odd.' The field has weird dimensions. The foul balls didn't make any sense to me. Then I thought, 'What's up with the gloves? They can't catch a ball with their bare hands?'"

Nabila Ahmed meets Mohammad Ashraful, Bangladesh's shining star. He fondly recalls Bangladesh's historic triumph over Australia at Sophia Gardens and hopes to produce similar in the ongoing series.

Also check out Ricky Ponting's thoughts ahead of the series.

Mike Atherton writes that England and India have different attitudes towards one-day cricket but feels that if England don't want to experience another hellish week like the one that lies ahead of them now, they had better get used to the idea.

Meanwhile Andrew Strauss sits in the inspiring hotel surroundings in Kochi and wonders where England went wrong.

With the series gone, Angus Fraser thinks England's fringe players must stake World Cup claims.

The success of England 'A' players Alastair Cook, Owais Shah and James Anderson in India is a tribute to coaching director Peter Moores, says Vic Marks in the Observer.

This time last year, Alastair Cook was a promising cricketer in Essex getting ready for the 2005 season. Yesterday he was in Essex helping to promote NatWest CricketForce, which will last all summer and involve 70,000 volunteers in maintaining and running local clubs, reports Matthew Pryor in the Times.

iafrica.com sports editor Dan Nicholl comes up with an ingenuous proposition for injecting a little life into very forlorn stands in domestic games. Nudity! Click here to read the hilarious article.

Mark Footitt, the 20-year-old left-armer from Nottinghamshire, is one to watch argues Scyld Berry in the Sunday Telegraph:

When Duncan Fletcher talks about "the exciting young talents" which inspire him to continue at an age when other coaches are flagging, Footitt is thought to be the one he particularly has in mind.

Footitt has played two first-class matches, counting such Test batsmen as Sourav Ganguly and Simon Katich among his six wickets, and is Nottinghamshire's seventh pace bowler in seniority, so he is unlikely to feature next weekend at Lord's, especially as they have two other left-arm pace bowlers in Greg Smith and Ryan Sidebottom.

Ahead of Wednesday's launch of the 143rd Wisden Cricketers' Almanack, its Editor, Matthew Engel, provides another sneak-preview of the decisions behind choosing the five Cricketers of the Year in today's Times.

FOUR days from now the 2006 edition of Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack will be published, the 143rd. It will report, as it has not done since edition No 125, how England won the Ashes. And it will announce, as it has done every peacetime year since No 26 (1889), the names of the Cricketers of the Year.

“The Five” constitutes one of the best loved and most durable traditions in cricket. I think this is partly because the 537 men (it was not always five a year) chosen over the past 117 years are not necessarily the best cricketers. Successive editors have cut themselves enough slack to pick players who just happen to appeal to them. It has always been accepted that there is room for whimsy, idiosyncrasy or downright eccentricity. Cricket followers like that.

Indeed, all will be revealed here at Cricinfo in just a few days' time...

To buy a copy, visit our shop.

This day, 104 years ago, a six-hitter is born. Cricinfo's All Todays Yesterday informs that Arthur Wellard had a first-class average of only 19, but he cleared the boundary over 500 times during his career. He spent his final playing years playing for Gaieties CC, a club founded in 1937.

Click here to read a tribute to Wellard, penned by the Nobel laureate Harold Pinter.

It’s not just in the sporting arena where great acts take place, finds Peter Roebuck, as he meets some ordinary people performing extraordinary deeds around Johannesburg during his time there for the Wanderers Test.

David Gower feels Yuvraj Singh is actually batting better than Lara at the moment.

That Rahul Dravid is doing well as a batsman after becoming the captain is no surprise. But Rajneesh Gupta reveals that "Dravid’s average of 45.59 is now the highest for any player, who has captained his country in 10 matches or more".

Hard decisions must be taken. Sometimes good men must be omitted, writes Peter Roebuck in the Hindu while Rajan Bala, in the Deccan Chronicle, sympathises with Andrew Flintoff.

England leave backwaters but still face a swamping, writes Lawrence Booth in the Guardian. 'England's limited-over side may have been shot down in flames, but they know all that counts is the Ashes', feels Angus Fraser.

Paul Collingwood talks about the tough conditions at Cochin.

We weighed ourselves about six times through the day - when we arrived at the ground, after batting, bowling and after lunch - so we could monitor how much fluid we'd lost.

Mike Haysman in Supercricket pays tribute to a lionhearted batsman,showing just how Test cricket should be enjoyed.

I asked him when he decided to throw all the medical advice out of the window and prepare to bat. He said he wasn’t exactly sure but as things were reaching a climax and Clarke was dismissed, he automatically retreated to the back of the change room.

"Rahul Dravid, in his tactical nous, is not always brilliantly inventive but what made him outstanding in Kochi was that he played his hunches," writes R Mohan in the Deccan Chronicle.

England have had some pretty miserable one-day tours in their time, but this Indian misadventure is shaping up as the worst yet, feels Simon Briggs.

'Hot stuffed' screamed the Sun while Daily Mirror lashed out against the side, claiming England threw in the towel.

England may have only reluctantly agreed to this ODI schedule, but what they cannot deny is that the ground covered during the series shows just to what extent cricket has become a pan-India phenomenon, writes Jonathan Dyson in the Mid-Day.

It wasn't just the tabloids. Former cricketers don't see much of silver lining either. England's attempt to turn a one-sided one-day series into a contest melted into the Arabian Sea yesterday, said Angus Fraser in the Independent.

However, Cricinfo's Andrew Miller says despite the recent losses England have got their priorities right.

The ICC will insist its technical assessment is right to a ‘T’. The umpires panel officers will spew statistics about how their panelists are 95 per cent right. What they may not record is the number of goofups of their favourites. Nor will they see the pattern that appears to suggest something else, writes R.Mohan in The Deccan Chronicle

Mike Selvey watches Ramesh Powar and is transported back to a bygone age:

His stock in trade is old-fashioned well-spun, nicely flighted off-breaks - with not a doosra in sight - all of which is rather comforting in a nostalgic sort of way, like the Sunday smell of Bisto or reruns of the Good Life.

The prospect of reuniting Australia's most successful pace combination does, at first, sound like cause for a pre-emptive tickertape parade before the Ashes, writes Alex Brown.

Any thoughts of McGrath and Gillespie returning to lead the attack in a throwback to a golden period of Australian cricket would seem unrealistic, however nice an image it may be for the romantics.

Chloe Saltau, of the The Age, finds out that "Dizzy" didn't expect the call up and was "getting ready to play for the Yorky boys".

Yuvraj Singh tells Lokendra Pratap Sahi that his improvement has everything to do with change in thought process. Read the wide-ranging interview in The Telegraph for more.

Brian Lara talks about his form, and about various issues plaguing West Indies cricket in an interview with the news channel CNN-IBN.

I think in the West Indies, we just sit back on our rocking chairs and think that we are going to churn out the next Vivian Richards or Gary Sobers. But we do not have to do anything. That is not the case anymore. We are a lot more disciplined, there is a lot more technology in sport and a natural talented player is now coming back to the field. This is the area I think that we'll have to look at.

It’s a selection based on the premise of immense, if as yet unrealised, potential and the promise he carries with him. Whether Uthappa understands it or not, a singular honour has been bestowed upon him as he comes into the squad at a time when Ganguly and Laxman continue to be overlooked, writes R Kaushik in the Deccan Herald.

Six years ago, cricket fans in the north thought Yuvraj Singh had an attitude problem. He was known to cast his wicket away to innocuous bowlers and not pay attention on improving upon his technique and temperament. But the left-hander from Chandigarh has come a long way since then, feels Vijay Lokapally in the Hindu.

The residents of Kailash Nagar in Kochi’s Thamanam area, where Sreesanth lives have decided to rename the place as Sreesanth Nagar. Read on at the Mid Day.

Sreesanth becomes Kerala’s first player to play for India in Kerala and it's a dream come true for him.

This is the moment, I’ve always wanted to experience — to step out off a flight onto my own city as an India cricketer.

It took a little under an hour in the end; but oh what a painful hour, writes Dan Nicholl, in iafrica.com.

Nothing but heartache, screams a headline in the Star. Meanwhile the catching controversies continue to haunt the South Africans. One South African player is prepared to swear on his life that Boeta Dippenaar's catch off Brett Lee was cleanly taken and another player is equally convinced that Matthew Hayden took the catch off Jacques Rudolph on the bounce, reports Neil Manthorp in supercricket.co.za.

A hundred demons were slain at the Wanderers yesterday as the Australian tailenders took their side to the verge of victory and then completed the task, writes Peter Roebuck in the witness.

Yuvraj’s ton rates among one of India’s greatest in ODIs, says R Mohan in the Deccan Chronicle.

A princely Yuvraj brought out so eloquently that when a batsman is in his pomp everything else can be made to seem irrelevant — the pitch, the match situation, the opposing bowling. His century on Monday was one of the great hundreds of the limited-overs game, all the more lustrous as it came on a sluggish surface that batsmen hate the most in the one-day arena. It should rate among the top 10 by an Indian batsman.

Andrew Flintoff was wearing an increasingly haunted look after his side went 3-0 down in a series that is beginning to feel like men against boys, writes Lawrence Booth in The Guardian.

There are many things wrong with England's one-day side, now 3-0 down in the series, but the biggest worry is what is happening to Andrew Flintoff, writes Simon Briggs in the Daily Telegraph.

Honeymoon reaches an abrupt end for Flintoff, feels Richard Hobson in the Times.

A stunning last hour turned a fascinating Test match upon its head. South Africa looked a beaten side. And then things started to happen, writes Peter Roebcuk in the Witness.

The fourth day's play at the Wanderers was intense, exciting cricket as 22 players fought with every ounce of their remaining strength to secure the spoils for their country. Roebuck takes in the day's play while suggesting that more than any of the Tests played this summer, this contest offered a perfect preparation for the coming Ashes series.

Regardless of the result, Jacques Kallis has had a splendid first match as captain of his country, writes Peter Roebuck in the Witness.

Roebuck, in the Age, feels that the Australians were again found out on a firm surface.

Jim Maxwell spoke to Michael Hussey, who rescued Australia in the first innings with another gritty knock. You can listen to the interview here.

The visitors can learn a lot by studying the home team, writes Geoff Boycott in the Hindu.

As England look to bounce back, Vic Marks asks, in the Guardian, if Matt Prior is the best man to open the innings.

Dravid must fix top order blues, writes Ayaz Memon in the DNA.

Justin Langer's sickening blow to the head - in his 100th Test - at the Wanderers is an indication that at some point in a batsman's career the reflexes start to slow down. Peter Roebuck, in his column for The Age, commentson how some hostile fast bowling from the South Africans had the Australians ducking, weaving and, ultimately, back in the pavilion.

"I don't understand this obsession with the World Cup. In a World Cup year the tournament will obviously gain importance but it is not the be all and end all. We need to look beyond the World Cup." Rahul Dravid is interviewed by Vijay Lokapally in The Hindu.

Mark Richardson writes in The New Zealand Herald that Mathew Sinclair should take the rumoured contract on offer in South Africa because the game owes him more than the New Zealand cricket environment can offer him.

"We have a very good idea of what our strongest one-day side is. If everyone's fit and ready to go there is probably only one position we would want to look at sometime over the coming weeks." That was what Duncan Fletcher said, in reference to the World Cup, after England lost the first one-dayer at Delhi. Read Mike Atherton's take on it in The Sunday Telegraph .

England are deprived of four regulars and they have not disgraced themselves. So they do not deserve many brickbats for their efforts so far, but it is debatable whether they are making the most of their resources. Vic Marks asks in The Observer whether Matt Prior is the best one-day opener in England in Marcus Trescothick's absence?

In an era when 260 is looked upon as being nothing more than a par score, the bowling figures of James Anderson and Kabir Ali do not appear too disastrous, writes Angus Fraser in The Independent. He goes on to say that England might well make two changes to the team that lost the first two one-day internationals.

Sledging and walking have been contentious issues for as long as the game has been played, writes Barry Richards in his column for the Sunday Times. But there's a fine line between a noble stance and disruptive one, he adds. Read on about the question that has vexed many an international batsman.

Mark Waugh, in his column for the Sydney Morning Herald, observes Australia's performance in South Africa and breathes a sigh of relief when surmising that Ricky Ponting has finally found a quality back-up paceman to Brett Lee and Glenn McGrath - Stuart "Sarfraz" Clark. Read more here.

Terry Jenner, Shane Warne's mentor, has attacked England's attitude to spinners following an unveiling of the ECB's latest technological gizmo: Virtual Warney. England have used a machine which replicates leg-breaks and an assortment of other deliveries called Merlin in the past, most notably during the Ashes last year as a theory to counter the threat of Warne. The new machine, to be known as the Virtual Warney, is far superior and can replicate different types of bowling.

Jenner, though, is utterly unconvinced:

"I'd suggest England should save their money and put it into junior development," Jenner said. "I bet it can't do Shane's deliveries in the same sequences as he does them. It's impossible. You've got to read the ball from the hand. Merlyn didn't have a hand and I doubt this one does.

"If Shane bowls against England like he bowled at the end of the second Test against South Africa, it won't matter how many machines they've looked at. The pressure gets to you. That was vintage Shane against South Africa. If you can't get off strike, he's gonna getcha."

There's more on this at the Sydney Morning Herald

As a batsman, Ponting has shown a rare ability to keep things simple. Where Lara has waxed and waned and Tendulkar has wrestled with adulthood, the Tasmanian has replaced youth's folly whilst retaining its vigour, writes Peter Roebuck in The Sydney Morning Herald.

Alex Brown writes Australia's pacemen will have NASA to thank for a revolutionary new method of swing bowling in time for next summer's Ashes series. Click here for Harsha Bhogle's take on 'contrast swing'.

Who is Adam Parore's tip for the key player if New Zealand are to seriously ruffle the South Africans this month? Big allrounder Jacob Oram. Find out why in his article in The New Zealand Herald.

The precociously talented Suresh Raina revealed a cricketing brain far beyond his experience in a match-winning innings worth its weight in gold, writes R Mohan in the Deccan Chronicle.

Should Suresh Raina go on to become the next superstar of Indian cricket, as coach Greg Chappell is predicting, future biographers are likely to cite yesterday's match as the moment he came of age, says Simon Briggs in the Daily Telegraph. Click here to read the former England mediumpacer Angus Fraser's match report in the Independent. Lawrence Booth feels that England were undone by Raina's grace, timing and youth.

Chandrahas Choudhury is bewitched by the art of Ramesh Powar and Powar, in the Hindustan Times, himself reckons that flight is his strength.

Prince counts amongst the most tenacious of cricketers. Although he has a limited range of strokes, he knows his game and fights with every bone in his body, writes Peter Roebuck in the Witness.

Roebuck, in The Age, concentrates on Stuart Clark and the failure of South Africa's opening batsmen.

A South African finally stumps Warne. Nope, not a cricketer but a bidder. Click here to read the details.