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Sri Lanka Cricket has confirmed that it will send a strong A side to tour Zimbabwe.The itinerary has not been finalised, but the trip is scheduled to take place between October 10 and 31. At least three four-day games will be played against the full Zimbabwean side, which is using the matches as part of groundwork for a Test return.India and South Africa sent A sides to the country in August but both experienced problems, especially with food which is in increasingly short supply as a result of the government’s attempts to battle the spiralling inflation rate and mass unemployment.In July, West Indies cancelled their proposed A-team tour after players refused to go on safety grounds.

Devang Gandhi, the former Indian Test opener and Bengal batsman, has retired from first-class cricket. Gandhi said his motivation levels had gone down and that he was happy to leave a strong team behind, with a number of youngsters making their “presence felt”.Gandhi, 34, played four Tests for India between October and December 1999 before he was dropped from the squad. He continued to grind out hundreds at the first-class level, where he averaged 42 over 12 seasons, and led East Zone to a Deodhar Trophy title in 2004. Poor form, though, kept him out of the Bengal side for most of this season and he didn’t play too much of a role in their revival.He made his debut against New Zealand in Chandigarh and began on an inauspicious note with a first-innings duck. But he made amends in the second with an impressive 75 and followed it up with another composed knock in the next Test at Kanpur, where he contributed 88 in an opening partnership of 126 with Sadagoppan Ramesh.”I will rate the Kanpur innings as the best of my career,” he said while addressing a press conference at Eden Gardens, “as that was a difficult wicket and I was top-scorer for India in that match.” He was picked for India’s Australia tour in December but a double failure in the opening Test at Adelaide, when he made 4 and 0 and looked completely out of sorts, cost him his place. Gandhi, whose opening slot was taken by VVS Laxman, spoke about the harsh initiation. “My preparations for the tour Down Under was not adequate,” he explained. “Also, I think the batsmen in India develop weakness in facing short balls, as the slow domestic wickets do not allow them to get attuned to such stuff.”He revealed that he would continue to play county and club cricket in England. Gandhi is also a qualified Level II coach through a course offered by the England Cricket Board (ECB), but he didn’t have any immediate plans on that front. “I won’t be doing justice to the kids as I will not be able to give them enough time. I will concentrate on coaching only when I give up the game fully.”Gandhi, who played his final first-class game in December last year, said he regretted not being able to lead Bengal to a Ranji Trophy title. He had a chance to lead East Zone to their first Duleep Trophy title in March 2004 but was thwarted by North in a pulsating final at Mohali.’DG’, as he is called in the Maidan circuit, might be remembered in many ways (not least by Ramesh’s famous statement – “given the bowling we get at the domestic level, why Devang Gandhi, even Mahatma Gandhi will score runs”). But the most poignant memory will be the gesture that ended his career, when on the eve of a Ranji match he offered his place to Abhishek Jhunjhunwala, his partner at Sporting Union. Jhunjhunwala had a fine debut season, culminating in a India A spot, as Gandhi quietly rode into the sunset.

Danish Kaneria, the Pakistan and Essex legspinner, will miss the end of the county season after being asked by the Pakistan board to report to a training camp being held in Pakistan from next week. The camp will include most of the contracted players, exceptions being the ones present at the ICC World Twenty20.Kaneria will miss the NatWest Pro40 match against Northamptonshire on September 16 and the final LV County Championship fixture with Middlesex that starts on September 19.”We are very disappointed Danish could not complete the campaign but we understood this might happen towards the end of the season as we have to respect the wishes of the PCB,” David East, Essex chief executive, told the Essex County Cricket Club (ECCC) website.”Danish has made a massive contribution this season and we look forward to welcoming him back next year after his international commitments have been concluded.”Kaneria, who has already signed a contract with Essex for 2008, told the website: “I’ve had a very good season with Essex but am disappointed we couldn’t get a promotion in the Championship and that I could not complete the season as we are struggling to stay up in the Pro40.”I have given Essex 100% every time in trying to win games for the county. Unfortunately things didn’t go to plan as we lost senior players [Andy Flower and Ronnie Irani] during the season. Hopefully the boys will work hard during the winter and the young guns will be fully loaded next season to try to win trophies and make sure we are in division one of both leagues.”I have enjoyed playing under the captaincy of Ronnie Irani. He has been a big influence on my career with Essex and I respect him like an elder brother and guardian. Graham Gooch [the coach] has also been very supportive and I’d also like to thank every member of ECCC for their hospitality and hope to play for Essex for many years to come.”

Scorecard

If Dilip Vengsarkar, who was in Delhi to watch this game, was specifically looking at a possible reserve opener for the Test series in South Africa, he would have been utterly disappointed by what he saw from Aakash Chopra and Gautam Gambhir. Forget about the pacy, bouncy tracks of Durban, Cape Town and Johannesburg, a slow, low wicket at the Feroz Shah Kotla was enough to see the back of both openers with only 25 on the board, leaving Delhi in a spot of bother at 54 for 2 in response to Tamil Nadu’s first-innings 347.Gambhir and Chopra have been the talk of the newspapers in the lead-up to this match, and the anticlimax could not have been more stark. Gambhir failed to get his bat down in time to a ball that skidded through from D Tamil Kumaran, with just one run on the board. It was a wicket Tamil Nadu dearly wanted, for Gambhir rarely occupies the crease without scoring at a decent clip.Although Kumaran picked up the first wicket, it was Vijaykumar Yomahesh who was a revelation. On a pitch where fast bowlers have struggled to generate any sort of carry or bounce, he consistently got the ball to climb on the batsmen. In each of his overs he bowled an effort ball or two, bending his back and beating the bat for pace. Eventually he was rewarded for his spell as Chopra nibbled at one outside off only for M Vijay at second slip to dive to his right and pluck a stunning catch.Fortunately for them, Shikhar Dhawan and Mithun Manhas, coming together at 25 for 2, were able to see off the rest of the day without further loss. Dhawan, who had battedefficiently for 29, got more loose balls than he should have. At 54 for 2, though, with the ball still reasonably hard, the first hour on the third day could prove decisive.When Tamil Nadu resumed, on 184 for 3, they needed to ensure that they pushed the score as close to 400 as possible. They would not have minded even if the run-rate was a little less, for that would mean more time out in the middle and give the pitch chance to wear out. S Badrinath, who played such a vital hand on the first day, continued from where he left off, but saw R Sathish fall early. Ashish Kapoor could only manage 14,and it suddenly looked as though Tamil Nadu would fold early, thereby nullifying the good work done on the first day.It was then that Vikram Mani, the wicketkeeper-batsman making his Ranji debut, repaidthe faith selectors had placed in him with an innings that made the difference between a low score and a decent one; a total that could be defended so long as the early breakthroughs came. Although he was struck on the knee twice, and looked in serious discomfort at one point, needing to receive treatment on the field, he batted with imagination and confidence.He was able to strike the boundaries – seven in all – and made 52 critical runs at No. 6. While the rest of the lower order did not really score too much between them, they at least hung around long enough to let Mani do his thing.When the Tamil Nadu team was finally bowled out, for 347, they might have felt that they were a few runs short. But the advantage they had was that the best batting conditions of this game are already gone. It was now up to the bowlers to maintain a straight line and generate pressure through tight overs. On this pitch it’s unlikely that any bowler will run through a side, with wickets falling in a heap; a sort of surface that gives little to any type of cricketer. There was little value for strokes, no bounce for the fast bowlers to work with, and whatever turn there was on show was slow.

Big occasions usually demand that the big boys stand up and both Rahul Dravid and Ricky Ponting admitted that the vast rift in bowling experience was the deciding factor in Australia’s comprehensive victory. While Australia’s new-ball pairing had 378 one-day caps between them India’s fast-bowling trio had a combined experience – if you want to call it that – of 99 one-dayers.Both sets of bowlers took some time assessing the pitch: Australiaconceded 36 in the first seven overs while India gave away 45. But whatfollowed was a study in contrast. Australia’s bowlers adjusted theirlengths – in fact, Ponting revealed that he thought the surfacewould play differently – while the Indians resorted to pitching it shortand facing the music.Glenn McGrath conceded a miserly 12 runs in his first six overs whileBrett Lee, despite taking some tap early on, came back admirably.Bowling at the death, not only did he dry up the scoring but also crankedup some ferocious pace to intimidate the batsmen. Slow balls and variationdefinitely helps at the death but sheer pace remains one of the most lethal weapons.”One of the reasons why I gave McGrath the new ball was because heenjoys the battle with Sachin [Tendulkar],” revealed an elated Ponting atthe end of the day. “I was asked about their battle yesterday and I said Ithought Glenn would have his nose ahead. After today, he might have edgedhis nose ahead a bit.”Lee, though, couldn’t sustain the pressure at the other end, leaking 27runs in his first spell with an erratic effort. “Probably our new-ballbowling wasn’t as good as we would have liked,” said Ponting when askedabout the areas where he’d be looking for improvement. “But I think weadjusted very well. Our overall bowling from then, I thought, was verygood. We just managed to take wickets at regular intervals which didn’tallow India to get away. I thought our bowling in the last six or sevenovers was really great today. We didn’t give any freebies away so that wasreally pleasing for us.”India’s faster bowlers, though, were guilty of a large chunk of freebies.”They had a fairly inexperienced attack,” said Ponting reflecting on oneof the main differences between the two sides. “Sreesanth replaced Ajit Agarkar.Pathan goes for quite a few runs upfront because he’s mainly awicket-taking bowler. He did the same today. It gave us a chance to getoff to a flying start which was crucial on that wicket. I knew it wasgoing to spin after Symonds got it to turn. But the run-rate was so goodthat we didn’t have to take too many risks against Harbhajan Singh.”India’s new-ball problems weren’t lost on Dravid but he felt it would beunfair to be too critical on the bunch. Several experts, prominentlyJavagal Srinath, the former fast bowler, have spoken about lack of guidanceand Dravid admitted that Agarkar’s absence had probably hurt the side onthis track. “It probably helps to have a senior player,” he continued. “Ajit was injured and being the one who’s working a lot with these young kids, it was unfortunate. His experience would have helped on a wicket like this.”I won’t be too critical on this inexperienced side. They came up againsta very good attack and it was a good experience for them. They’ve a lot ofpotential and we’ve seen that over the last few games. The Australianattack has experience and we need to give these young seamers time.Sreesanth came back well in the second spell. It’s encouraging to seeyoung bowlers with pace and fire. We’re going to need that in SouthAfrica.”On this tournament’s evidence, they’re going to need that and much more.

During his visit to Chennai to receive the sixth CK Nayudu award institutedby the Board of Control for Cricket in India, Lt.Col Hemu Adhikari spoke toCricInfo on his long and illustrious career as player, manager and coach.The ravages of time have left their mark on the diminutive former Indiacaptain, not just physically but also in the occasional lapses of memorythat he displayed. Each time Adhikari turned to his charming wife Kamala,or Kemu as he called her, and arrived at the solution after a briefexchange in Marathi. But the gleam in his eyes was palpable as hereminisced about events obviously close to his heart and his commentary waspunctuated by noiseless chuckles. Here are some excerpts.On his debutI made my debut in 1938 for Hindus. Hindus won the championship that timeand Col CK Nayudu was the captain. I regularly played for Hindus butsubsequently this tournament was suspended and our activities were confinedto University cricket. I played for Bombay University in the inter-varsitytournaments.On the DonWe watched him so closely that we got fed up and felt it was better he keptaway from us because he was a very unique batsman. He made a fool of anycaptain. Place an off side field and he’d play the ball away to leg. He wasa supernatural cricketer. A very shrewd captain but very quiet, modest andconservative. Those were his great characteristics. His concentration wasso great. The players asked me how to get him out. I said the only way toget him is to shoot him. It’s no joke to score 300 runs in a day. I don’tthink we’ll ever see the likes of him again.On the Lindwall-Miller duo & Fred TruemanIt’s very difficult to compare bowlers of that generation and thisgeneration. Lindwall and Miller were the greatest combination I’ve seenalong with Trueman and Tyson. Sir Don Bradman used them very intelligently.Miller was very fast for a few overs. So he used to bowl Miller for 5-6overs and rest him. Then he used to bring on Ernie Toshack who was veryconsistent. He used to attack the leg stump and place a field on the legside, so you just couldn’t score. But Lindwall and Miller were the greatestpair I’ve played against.Trueman was not difficult but he used to attack you very much. He wouldn’tmind even if you didn’t get out. I will blow your brains out, he told me.Keep your brains cool, I replied. I told our batsmen not to talk to thefielders. When Trueman comes you turn around and ignore him, I said.On the treachery of dame luck in AustraliaYou see I’m not offering excuses. But an ounce of luck in cricket is wortha ton of skill. Every time we lost the toss and Australia used to batright upto the next day, then there would be heavy rain. The wickets wereuncovered so when the game was resumed they would just play a couple ofovers and declare. Every time we were caught on a bad wicket. So much sothat in the third Test, the crowd started shouting: Come on Don, be asport, let the Indians play on a good wicket and you experience a badwicket because you have to go to England. I got a ball on my chest once.But it was a good education to have. Even writers like Fingleton andO’Reilly said India had bad luck. One Australian cricketer said that whenselecting Yardley as captain for the England team, the chairman ofselectors asked: Is he lucky? Because we want a lucky captain. That’s howhe was chosen. Luck plays a very great part. Of course Yardley was a goodcricketer also.On the pride of place he gave to fieldingWhen I was in school and college, I used to read books and they saidfielding is the key to success. If you get 100 runs but give away 5-6boundaries and drop a couple of catches, you are not worth your place inthe side. But even if you score zero and save 45-50 runs, you have +50 toyour name. So fielding is the basis on which you must build up your cricket.On his belated ascendance to the captaincy in 1958-59You see, when this came we were posted in the Army and my unit was inDharamsala, about 7000 feet high, where you can’t think about cricket. Ihad just forgotten about it. First they sent me a message and I refused. Mywife spoke to me about it. I told her, when I wanted it, they didn’t wantme, so why should I go. She advised that this was not the correct attitude.Meanwhile my chief sent me a message asking me to come and report to himimmediately. He told me the same thing: India needs you. Your country isbigger than the individual. Just go and play and let the public feel whatwrong the Board has done to you.On his omission from the England tour that followed in 1959As a matter of fact, everybody was surprised, all the papers wrote aboutit. My chief called up the chairman of selectors and asked him the reason.He said somebody had told him that Major Adhikari was not available for thetour because of his professional duties. So my chief called me up saying:”If you don’t want to go, why do you put the blame on us. Have I said noto you, I have given you every opportunity.” I said that this was nottrue. I just didn’t want to go because I was out of practice. I was in aplace where I couldn’t see a cricket ball. How can I go and play a Testseries without practice?On his approach on the England tour of 1971I used to give the boys a lot of fielding practice. We would go onto thefield half an hour before the match started and practice. Some of the boyssaid they will get tired. I said if you get tired in half an hour, you’renot a fit cricketer. Someone from outside, a very prominent fellow, came upand said: “See, you’re doing this, supposing a player gets hurt, then whatwill happen.” I said it’s his bad luck. Supposing you fall in the bathroomon the day of your match. You can’t fight against your fate. At thebeginning of the tour, I addressed the boys and said whatever individualprizes you get, they should be deposited with the treasurer and distributedequally among the players. Because a bowler for example, cannot takewickets unless the fielders hold their catches. So it’s the contribution ofthe entire team that matters. The players said that myself and my assistantshould also have a share. I said we have nothing to do with it, it was youreffort. So the boys got it.On the celebrations after Oval ’71The entire crowd were there outside the dressing room and they wanted thewhole team to come outside. Meanwhile a message came and they said thatPrime Minister Indira Gandhi wants you on the telephone. She said: “Onething you have to do, the moment you land, you will be escorted to myhouse. I want to meet the boys and congratulate them for the excellentthing you have done, you have put India on a very different mat.” And wedid just that.On his philosophy of coachingOnce you’re at the crease, as my own coach had told me: “When the bowlerbowls, just forget everything. Watch his grip and follow it till hedelivers the ball and see from where he’s delivering, from near the creaseor away from it. Because he can move the ball from nearer the stumps muchmore but with the same delivery and same action, if he bowls from thereturn crease, the ball may not swing or swing less.” Whenever our teamwas going out, I used to tell the Board that I must get the team one monthbefore for practice. India was known to be weak against bouncers. So I gotthe boys to play bouncers on a cement wicket with a wet ball. I told thebatsmen, if you can’t hook, just duck it. We practiced first with a tennisball without wetting, subsequently with a wet ball and then by slowlydecreasing the distance between thrower and batsman. I personally feel,though I may be wrong, that a coach must know his pupils physically,mentally and spiritually. A foreign coach may not be able to put thingsacross. My whole principle of coaching was not to change the basics. At theage of 19-20, you can’t ask the boy to change his grip or stance. You mustimprove on what he is. There was an incident when an English cricketer wasbatting. He played 2-3 drives through the covers with his foot on theonside, nowhere near the ball. So the bowler told him: “My chum, look atyour foot, it is nowhere near the pitch of the ball.” The batsman replied:”You look at the foot, I look at the ball!”Parting shotRemember, the will of fortune can never remain all the time down. It hasgot to come up sometime, isn’t it, it can’t remain static. It is coming andit will come up. I am very optimistic about Indian cricket.

Pakistan A and junior cricket teams are to tour England within the next couple of years as both cricket boards have agreed in principle on the exchange of visits. Shaharyar Khan, chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), said that he had reached an understanding with the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) on the exchange of cricket tours at the junior level.”Pakistan A and junior teams are likely to tour England within the next couple of years. One of the teams will be in England next year,” he said. “These tours help the youngsters gain confidence ahead of more serious and professional cricket. The international exposure makes talented youngsters more mature.”The ECB is also planning to send their junior and A teams to Pakistan. “This is a sort of junior teams exchange programme and players from both countries would be involved in it,” he said. The Pakistan senior team will tour England again in 2012, and it is the first time in many decades that there is a gap of almost six years between the two tours to the country.”I know it is a long gap. But this is how the ICC Future Tours Programme (FTP) has been finalised. It is possibly the only country in the world (England) where teams can play summer cricket and ECB has got too busy a programme over the years.”England on the other hand has two visits to Pakistan over the next six years that does not include their trip to the subcontinent for the 2011 World Cup.Meanwhile, the PCB has nominated Brigadier Munawwar Rana on the FTP’s committee that would look into the reservations of member countries. Munawwar had already served on one of the ICC committees a few years back. “Some apprehensions have been shown by the ICC member countries regarding the next seven tour programmes and a committee has been formed to look into their concerns”, Shaharyar said. “We have nominated Brig. (rtd) Munawwar Ahmad Rana on the PCB’s behalf to look into these objections”.Shaharyar added that the PCB had no concerns on the programme as it was already facing a hectic schedule ahead. “There are some member countries who have shown concern. As far as Pakistan is concerned, we already have a hectic schedule ahead. This is irrespective of the fact that during some seasons, we do not have enough international cricket and a few are quite hectic.”

Marcus Trescothick said his hundred against the Patron’s XI on England’s first day of competitive cricket in Pakistan has given him a good platform for the tour.”I am just very hungry to do well after this hundred,” Trescothick said after scoring an unbeaten 124, in a five-and-a-half-hour knock which included 16 boundaries and two sixes.Trescothick’s valiant innings spared England embarrassment in their first outing since winning the Ashes last month. England finish the day at 256 for 9 against a young Pakistani side. Trescothick watched his colleagues fall quickly with England tottering at 60 for 6 at lunch, after winning the toss and deciding to bat, but the left-handed opener kept his composure.”I just wanted to get in and spend as much time at the crease and that was the main objective today – just be there for a long period of time.”PCB Patron’s XI bowler Yasir Arafat, who also played for Scotland in the last English season, chipped in with four wickets for 45 runs, cleaning up the middle order in the process. Trescothick then helped add 177 runs for the next three wickets.”The ball was nipping back a little bit and the Pakistani bowlers got wickets as they bowled wicket to wicket. Arafat just got the ball to seam a little bit both ways. He bowled pretty well and troubled the guys a lot.”

It seems increasingly likely that Herschelle Gibbs will opt out of South Africa’s forthcoming Test tour of India, the scene of his infamous dalliance with match-fixing in 1999-2000, which led to a six-month suspension from the game.Gibbs, along with Nicky Boje, has been seeking assurances from the Indian board that he would be immune from prosecution if he was to set foot in the country again, and last week the pair answered and returned questionnaires sent by the Delhi Police as part of their ongoing investigations.However, the situation has been compounded by Gibbs’s wretched run of form in both international and, latterly, domestic cricket. He scored a scintillating hundred against West Indies in the Champions Trophy, but aside from that he has not passed fifty in either form of the game since March, and after consecutive defeats, he has been dropped by his provincial side, Western Province Boland, for the next round of the SuperSport Series.Western Province Boland were thumped by the Titans in their most recent SuperSport fixture, a defeat which has led to a purge of their senior players. Graeme Smith is taking a break to meet with South Africa’s new coach, Ray Jennings, but both Paul Adams and the former Zimbabwe allrounder, Neil Johnson, have joined Gibbs on the sidelines.In Gibbs’s absence, Henry Davids takes over at the top of the order, where he will form a new opening partnership with Andrew Puttick, the man who stepped in as cover for Gibbs in Sri Lanka earlier this year, and who will be among the favourites to take his place on the India tour. “Herschelle has made himself unavailable for India,” Western Province Boland’s coach, Peter Kirsten, told iafrica.com “and right now he’s taking a break. He’ll be back, and when it really counts, I’m sure we’ll see the real Herschelle Gibbs.”The United Cricket Board has yet to make such a forthright statement as Kirsten, although their spokesman, Gerald de Kock, did concede that Gibbs’s withdrawal was on the cards. “It won’t be a black mark against his name if he doesn’t tour,” he emphasised. “But it’s still not definite that he won’t go to India.”

Sri Lanka have called up Shantha Kalavitigoda, a 28-year-old uncapped opener, for next month’s rescheduled tour to New Zealand. Kalavitigoda’s surprise inclusion follows his impressive 39 and 83 against England A earlier in the week, which came on the back of another good domestic season.Kalavitigoda’s considerable first-class experience – 100 matches, 11 hundreds and a rising average of 32.86 – and reputation for being a reliable performer led to him being preferred to a number of younger rivals, most notably Ian Daniel who missed his opportunity to impress against England A.Sri Lanka have also recalled Ruchira Perera, a left-arm fast bowler who has bounced back after suspicions over his bowling action, in a 14-man squad that includes five pace bowlers, two spinners and seven batsman. Nuwan Zoysa’s knee problems, coupled with Perera’s fine form in the recent provincial tournament, persuaded the seven-man selection panel to give Perera, now 27, another chance after a difficult two years since his last Test against South Africa in November 2002.Earlier that year Perera’s bowling action was reported as suspect during the first Test against England at Lord’s. Although remedial action led to him being given the all-clear, his confidence leaked away and prior to this year’s provincial tournament he’d almost given up hope of another chance. But he caught the eye in the final, capturing 9 for 127 and taking a hat-trick.Marvan Atapattu, as expected, has been retained as captain with Mahela Jayawardene as vice-captain. Kumar Sangakkara will keep wicket after the retirement of Romesh Kaluwitharana and that leaves Sri Lanka with the option of playing an allrounder or an extra batsman at No 7.Sri Lanka leave for New Zealand on March 23 and will play a warm-up game before two Tests in Napier and Wellington starting on April 4 and April 11. The tour will be followed by a five-match ODI tour of India which has been arranged at the last minute.Sri Lanka Marvan Atapattu (capt), Mahela Jayawardene (v-c), Sanath Jayasuriya, Kumar Sangakkara (wk), T M Dilshan, Thilan Samaraweera, Shantha Kalavithigoda, Upul Chandana, Chaminda Vaas, Rangana Herath, Farveez Maharoof, Nuwan Kulasekara, Lasith Malinga, Ruchira Perera.