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Rahul Dravid, the former Indian captain, felt one-day cricket will be the sore loser especially in the aftermath of Twenty20 cricket’s tremendous success worldwide. He said the busy international schedule could force the number of one-dayers to be reduced.”There is a limited amount of time. Twenty20 cricket is popular now so something has to give”, Dravid said at a discussion forum organised to unveil the Castrol Asian Cricket awards, to be announced during the Asia Cup in Pakistan which starts this month. Dravid, Wasim Akram and Sanath Jayasuriya are part of the panel that will oversee the process that will pick the winners in various categories.Dravid, who captained the Bangalore Royal Challengers during the Indian Premier League (IPL), said he understood the decision to hold the Twenty20 World Cup every two years and the IPL once a year. But he hoped Test cricket would not be severely affected. “The number of one-day games might get reduced,” he said. “I hope they don’t reduce Test matches, too.”Asked if Asia could match its strong financial muscle with on-field cricketing prowess, all three had no doubt the subcontinent would soon rise to become the undisputed superpower.Akram, the former Pakistan captain, felt India could dominate through on-field performances too. “India could well rule the world in the next few years,” Akram said. Jayasuriya said though the Asian nations have the talent, the challenge lies in channeling this talent in the right direction. “We are the financial powerhouse of cricket. Now we need the support to direct the talent in the right direction.”Dravid’s view was more circumspect. “Just because we have the opportunities it doesn’t mean we will rule the world. Opportunities have always been there. The challenge is to harness the talent. The number of off-shore events that you had earlier in 50-overs cricket might be reduced to accommodate a few more Twenty20 tournaments or Twenty20 World Cup every two years, or the IPL every year or some other tournament.”

Dilip Vengsarkar, India’s chairman of selectors, has stressed the need to reduce the number of one-day games in order to tackle the issue of player burnout. Instead of cutting down on Tests per tour, Vengsarkar said ODIs had to be targetted.”We play around five to seven ODI games on every tour,” Vengsarkar told the . “This takes away 14 to 20 days. Personally, these two-Test series do not make much sense to me. It should either be three or five.” The proposed itinerary for England’s tour of India in November includes seven ODIs and two Tests.Vengsarkar also wanted the international schedule to be eased so that national players could participate in domestic cricket. “During most of the domestic matches I watched last season, there were not more than ten people witnessing the matches. You need international stars to take part in domestic cricket to raise the standard. Otherwise it would become very hard to judge quality and temperament for Test cricket. But where do the international cricketers have the time in a packed calendar?”Mahendra Singh Dhoni recently chose to pull out of the Test series in Sri Lanka because he needed a break and Vengsarkar said player fatigue had become a global problem. “The stronger nations have to honour their commitments against the weaker sides as well. But how do you accommodate so many matches? Test cricket should not suffer.”Vengsarkar dismissed the idea that the Indian Premier League had thrown up fresh talent to pick from. “Twenty20 is an exciting and popular format but tell me five cricketers from the IPL who can play for India? A lot of players got exposure but are they good enough to play for India. Only Manpreet Gony, you could say to a certain extent, was a find from the IPL. Players like Yusuf Pathan were in the frame even before the IPL. Test cricket will produce players for Twenty20, not the other way round.”

England’s likely Test attack was forced to work hard by an impressive Queensland batting performance on day one of their final warm-up match before the first Ashes Test in Brisbane. At stumps Queensland had reached 333 for four, with Martin Love capitalising on his two successful seasons at Durham to finish unbeaten on 124.Although England were heartened by the return from injury of both Andrew Flintoff and Michael Vaughan, both of whom were making their first appearances of the tour, they found wickets hard to come by after Queensland, one of Australia’s strongest state sides, won the toss and decided to bat.Andrew Caddick was the pick of England’s bowlers in the early stages, accounting for openers Jimmy Maher and Brendan Nash after they had put on 60 runs for the first wicket. Nash was brilliantly caught in the gully by Marcus Trescothick as he tried to cut, and Maher after making 41 from just 46 balls, guided a lifting delivery in Caddick’s next over to Mark Butcher at third slip.But it was 36 overs before England made their next breakthrough, as two players with extensive English experience, Stuart Law and Martin Love, added 133 runs Flintoff took the first of two wickets. Law, on 68, got an inside edge on to his pad as he tried to drive, for Flintoff to take a straightforward catch.Andrew Symonds then joined Love to forge another century partnership, with Symonds contributing 47 off 65 balls before Symonds, cutting at a lifting ball, edged behind to Alec Stewart. Love’s unbeaten 124 included 16 boundaries and came off 233 balls on a pitch that is ideal for batting.

Veteran middle order batsman Aravinda de Silva will miss the first half of Sri Lanka’s tour of Australia after requesting leave for personal reasons.De Silva, Sri Lanka’s highest one-day run scorer, who will retire from all cricket after the World Cup, will be unavailable for the first three games of the VB Series against Australia and England."Aravinda has sent a letter to the selectors, requesting leave for the opening part of VB Series," confirmed team manager Ajit Jayasekera from Bloemfontein on Friday.De Silva, now 37, who was recalled to Sri Lanka’s one-day side in August, scored 91 runs at 18.2 in Sri Lanka’s five-match series against South Africa.Sri Lanka’s three-man selection panel, headed by former Sri Lanka wicket-keeper Guy de Alwis, was due to pick a 16-man squad for Australia earlier in the week but will now finalise selection on Monday when the team returns to Colombo.Wicket-keeper batsman Romesh Kaluwitharana is being seriously considered as de Silva’s replacement despite not being included in Sri Lanka’s provisional 30-man squad for the World Cup.Kaluwithrana’s international career looked to be over when that squad was announced but pressure is now being put on the selectors to reconsider theirdecision after a string of impressive domestic performances.Star off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan will be included in the squad but is also due to sit out the opening games as he recovers from a hernia operation.

SYDNEY, Aug 2 AAP – Australians topped the latest individual bowling and batting Test rankings while Indian icon Sachin Tendulkar fell to his lowest level in almost five years.Tendulkar fell from second place in the PwC rankings to fifth while Australian wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist remained comfortably at the top.Australian opener Matthew Hayden was fourth on the list behind second placed Pakistani Inzamam-ul-Haq and West Indian Brian Lara.No other Australian breaks into the top ten with Steve Waugh steady at 12th followed by Damien Martyn (13), Justin Langer (15), Ricky Ponting (20) and Mark Waugh (20).Despite taking 10 for 98 in his last outing against Bangladesh Sri Lankan Muttiah Muralitharan has fallen narrowly behind Australian Glenn McGrath at the top of the bowling stakes.Shane Warne, who like McGrath hasn’t sent down a ball in Test cricket since Australia’s end of season tour to South Africa, comes in at fourth behind South African captain Shaun Pollock.Reflecting recent success in the series against India, English seamer Matthew Hoggart has climbed three places to be fifth.Jason Gillespie was the next best placed Australian at 13th, legspinner Stuart MacGill was 17th despite not playing since a one-off Test against South Africa last January and Brett Lee came in at 22nd.The last time Tendulkar was as low as five in the rankings was back in November 1997.The only current player to make Don Bradman’s alltime best team, he has been the target of increasing criticism following India’s 170 run drubbing by England at Lord’s on Sunday.Tendulkar was bowled for 12 playing a loose shot off Hoggard leaving the 29-year-old in the unusual position of suffering home press slings and arrows aimed at his previously godlike pedestal.Despite scoring 29 Test centuries at an average of 56.96 – second only to Gilchrist in the top fifty ranked batsmen – a pattern of failure has become evident when India needs something substantial to win or draw matches.Before the English tour Tendulkar admitted disappointment over his inability to grab the initiative especially in the latter stages of a game.This is borne out by Tendulkar’s second innings average of 31.9 over the last three years with no centuries.

Hampshire Hawks start their Norwich Union League Division Two campaign, when they entertain the Gloucestershire Gladiators at The Rose Bowl on Sunday.Robin Smith faces a late fitness test after damaging his finger in the recently concluded championship match, with Lawrence Prittipaul standing by.Jimmy Cook, Hampshire’s first eleven coach told the web site, “The lads are determined to go one better this season, after just falling short of promotion in 2001. A good start against the west-country boys will be just the fillip we need.”Hampshire chose from 12: James Hamblin, Neil Johnson, Derek Kenway, Will Kendall, John Crawley, Robin Smith, Giles White, Nic Pothas, Dimitri Mascarenhas, Shaun Udal, Alan Mullally and Lawrence Prittipaul.

LAHORE – Shoaib Akhtar failed to embark on the London-bound plane with the Pakistan squad last Wednesday and is now most likely to miss at least the first two of a trio of three-day games leading up to the first Test on May 17. That is, if at all he recovers enough to clear a series of fitness tests and is allowed to proceed to England for the tour, this correspondent learnt from a Pakistan Cricket Board official.The injury-prone speedster, who is said to be averse to training sessions and fitness tests, was suffering from a rather mysterious stomach ailment. The condition caused dehydration, and he felt so drained of energy that he asked to be excused from the fitness tests, claiming that he had been administered saline drips.The PCB in turn did not allow him to board the plane with the rest of the team. “The PCB thought that an unfit player should not be allowed to go on tour. If he can get fit quickly enough, he should clear his tests here and then go on tour. Unfit players on tour create unnecessary hassles”, said the PCB official, on conditions of anonymity.Answering a question as to when Shoaib was expected to present himself for fitness tests, the official said that the onus was now on the speedster. As soon as he requests to undergo tests, he would be put through them.As to why he was selected in the first place if his fitness was in doubt, the PCB official said that the report from Down Under, where he had been sent for evaluation after being reported for chucking (for the second time in his career) during the recent one-day series in New Zealand, had confirmed that he had clocked speeds of more than 150 kilometres an hour for 12 days running. “It obviously is beyond someone who is not physically fit to bowl at such speeds consistently for 12 consecutive days. So, on the basis of that report, he was selected for the tour. By the time Akhtar, dubbed as the ‘Rawalpindi Express’, was asked to submit himself for pre-tour tests, he had contracted this stomach ailment, the latest in a series of physical misfortunes which have seen him appear only in three one-day matches in about a year.In the meanwhile, the PCB has spent a fortune on his rehabilitation – according to an estimate the cumulative expenses are anywhere between UKP600,000 to 1 million. The PCB expects to cash in on this huge investment in quick time in England. It remains to be seen whether Akhtar recovers quickly enough to live up to those high expectations and that massive investment.

Somerset County Cricket Club captain Jamie Cox returns to England in April with his new wife and baby after a very successful season down under playing for Tasmania.After leading Somerset to victory in the Cheltenham and Gloucester Trophy in 2001 there is just one problem that he faces when he returns to captain the Cidermen in 2002. At the moment he has nowhere to live with his wife Helen and baby son Lachlan.For the last couple of seasons Jamie has lived in a flat within walking distance of the County Ground, but this year he needs extra space to accommodate his new family.Earlier this week his accommodation problem seemed to be solved, but just before all the arrangements could be finalised it fell through, and Jamie and his family are still homeless.Now the club are once again on the lookout for a house for the Somerset skipper and his family. Ideally Jamie would like to rent a three or four-bedroomed house within easy reach of the County Ground, and would need it to be available from April 1st until September 30th.If there are any readers of the website who think that they could help to solve Jamie Cox’s housing problem please could they give Sally Donoghue a call at the County Ground on 01823 272946.

Durham Dynamos simply cannot get going this season in the Norwich Union League. Yorkshire Phoenix won the only Division One match played today – Worcestershire Royals and Warwickshire Bears meet tomorrow because of the Bears’ involvement at Lord’s on Saturday – by 30 runs at Chester-le-Street, thanks to a good all-round batting display. Darren Lehmann top scored with 70 before off-spinner Richard Dawson took four wickets.Chris Silverwood continues to play an important role as pinch-hitter. Going in at number three in the order, he smashed 58 from 32 balls with 11 fours and a six. With Lehmann’s 70 coming from only 63 balls and Michael Lumb and Anthony McGrath both providing forties, the Phoenix total was an impressive 269 for five from their 45 overs.It was a good job McGrath got some runs, for his two overs in the Dynamos’ reply went for 22 – exactly the same analysis as produced by Gary Fellows. Gary Pratt was top scorer with 61, but he became one of Dawson’s four victims as the England off-spinner brought some order to the attack as one of eight bowlers used and the Yorkshiremen won with a certain amount of ease.In Division Two, Ed Giddins took five for 20 as Surrey Lions bowled out the Sussex Sharks for just 150 at The Oval. The only Shark with teeth was Robin Martin-Jenkins who scored exactly a third of the total. Otherwise the batting was unproductive against the bowler who learned his trade with Sussex. The Lions had slipped to 77 for four at one stage, but then Nadim Shahid with 50 and Adam Hollioake took the Lions home with an unbroken fifth wicket partnership that sealed the win by six wickets.Derbyshire Scorpions’ Stephen Stubbings was 98 not out as his side beat Lancashire Lightening by a healthy seven wicket margin at Derby. It was a very efficient bowling display by the Scorpions who stung Lancashire Lightening by keeping them to 174 for seven in their 45 overs. Stubbings had 12 fours and a six in his innings to secure yet another win for the Scorpions who move up to second place in the table, level on points with leaders Gloucestershire Gladiators.

Lancashire suffered their second defeat in as many days at Newlands as they fell 66 runs short at the hands of a strong Western Province side.Western Province batting first notched 230 for 8 in their 45 overs thanks mainly to opening batter Neil Johnson who scored 107. The WP side were looking set for an even bigger total but the vital run out of Johnson and tight bowling from Gary Yates, Chris Schofield and Peter Martin put Lancashire well in the game at the interterrible start losing Driver, Roberts, Fairbrother and Lloyd in the first six overs to leave them at 11 for 4.A revival was then sparked by Mark Chilton and Joe Scuderi but this partnership was ended when Mark Chilton was harshly given out LBW for 20. If ever a captains innings was needed it was now, Warren Hegg once again deputising for the injured John Crawley decided the best form of defence was attack and along with Joe Scuderi set about restoring some pride to the teams total.Warren Hegg was finally out for a gutsey 61 and Scuderi followed for 27, along with a brave knock at the end from Chris Schofield who injured his back when bowling, the lower order fought well before being all out for 164.