Justin Langer’s participation in the first Test against Sri Lanka has come under a cloud after he hurt his foot during a net session. He was to captain the Northern Territory Chief Minister’s XI against Sri Lanka on Thursday, in the opening match of the tour.According to ABC Sport, Langer’s toe was hit twice, prompting a precautionary check-up at a local hospital. Observers said that Langer had a limp and that his injury appeared to be serious.This is the second injury scare that the Australians have had in recent times. Shane Warne hurt himself while batting for Hampshire against Essex. A broken bone in his left hand threatened his participation in the series, which begins on July 1, but his chances of playing have improved dramatically since.

Peter Gregory, England’s chief medical officer, has hit back at criticism regarding the handling of Andrew Flintoff’s ankle injury.In an official release, the ECB wanted to clear up what they called “further misguided and unjustified criticism of the management” about the situation. Despite his injury, Flintoff was cleared to bowl in the first Test against West Indies after a cortisone injection, but the England management came under fire for allowing him to do so, with suggestions that Flintoff was needlessly being rushed back in to action.However, Gregory was quick to point out that wasn’t the case, and that the medical staff were carrying out a routine procedure regarding this type of injury, with a break from bowling and then a cortisone injection top the of the doctors orders. “If the first two stages of this process are not successful, then an operation may be required as a last resort,” Gregory said. “But we would not want Andrew to undergo surgery unless this was absolutely necessary and it would be irresponsible to carry out this procedure until we have exhausted all available other options.”He added: “Andrew’s ankle has responded well to treatment thus far and the risks associated with injection for this condition are far less than for undergoing surgery that would keep him out for a significant period of time.”We are fully aware of the international programme England face over the next 18 months,” he continued, “but elective surgery is not being considered, as the cortisone injection has been effective at present and Andrew continues to bowl pain-free.”Flintoff, who played as a batsman only in the NatWest Series, bowled only 11 overs in the first Test, but still took four crucial wickets in the match, as England won by 210 runs.

The historic 19th-century pavilion at Lord’s is to be closed down on Monday afternoon, for a six-month refurbishment project that will restore the building to pristine condition ahead of next summer’s Ashes series.The pavilion, designed by Thomas Verity and built in 1889-90, is being done up at a cost of around £8.2million. That represents the biggest refurbishment in the building’s history, and takes MCC’s overall expenditure on ground improvements past the £50million mark since its bicentenary in 1987.To enable the contractors to press ahead with the project, the pavilion will be completely shut to MCC staff, club members and the general public until mid-March 2005. It has never previously been closed for any such length of time; even during the two World Wars. In 1914-18, the Long Room was used to produce hay-nets for Army horses, and in 1939-45, it was used for aircrew training.Among the changes in prospect will be the creation of a new roof terrace, the redecoration of the Long Room and the reinstatement of its fireplaces, and the two pavilion turrets being brought back into use.

Sourav Ganguly has said that India’s performance in the next four to five months will be a clear indicator of how good a captain he really is. After a humbling seven-wicket loss to England in the opening game of the NatWest Challenge at Trent Bridge, Ganguly hoped that the batsmen would get their act together before the Champions Trophy.”I will find out how good a captain I am in the next four-five months,” he was quoted as saying in a report by the Press Trust of India. “It’s easy to captain the side when everything goes well like in the last two years. It has been a little rough in the last four-five games. We have to get together as a side. We would find out how good we are.”He also touched upon the lack of application on the batting front. “I know it is a matter of one innings for things to fall in place. It is not quality of the batsmen that is in question. It is just a matter of getting the mindset right.”With the absence of Sachin Tendulkar, out with a tennis elbow, Ganguly said that there was no need to tinker with the batting order. “We do not need to look at the batting order now since Sachin is not available. Viru (Virender Sehwag) is a quality player and we need him to fire. I have to back him.”And it became almost certain that India would stick to the seven-batsmen strategy in the second game at The Oval when he said, “It is not a formula and you cannot take it at face value. It has delivered the results for us and I have to back the batsmen who have done well for India in the past.”

India have announced their one-day squad for the seven-match series against Australia which starts on 11 December.Monica Sumra and Varsha Raffel, who both play for Railways, are in line to make their international debuts.India are currently training in Mysore which is the venue for the firsttwo games. It will be the first time an international has been played at the ground.The series will act as a warm-up for the forthcoming World Cup in South Africawhich commences in March 2005.India Mamatha Maben (capt), Mithali Raj, Anju Jain, Anjum Chopra, Jaya Sharma, Hemalata Kala, Jhulan Goswami, Amita Sharma, Arundhati Kirkire, Varsha Raffel, Deepa Kulkarni, Neetu David, Nooshin Al-Khadeer, Monica Sumra.

Cricket is supposed to be all about balance, an asset that is required in all skill areas of the game. But for New Zealand collectively in 2004, the balance, or imbalance, lurched from the Test-match side of the game to the one-day area. While that has mitigated the disappointments associated with the one-day game, it is fair to say that the decline in Test fortunes has been of even greater concern.What the reversal does show is that the majority of players among New Zealand’s 20 contracted players are capable of doing well in both forms of the game. However, the mindset that allows them to perform to a high level in both disciplines had yet to be acquired.So dramatic was the decline that what should have been a game to be remembered for being among New Zealand’s best Test victories – the superb match against South Africa at Eden Park – was lost in the mire of disappointments associated with the losses in England and Australia.The similarity in defeat – competitive for the first three days before appearing deflated – assuredly has some potential for case study by sporting psychologists, but New Zealand fans would settle for greater shows of determination by players to immediately halt the rot. That process won’t be helped by the biggest blow to the side in the year – the unexpected retirement of Mark Richardson, whose cricket engine conked out. The problem lay in the fact that he retired two or three years earlier than the team management and selectors had hoped for, as they sought to ease a replacement into Richardson’s role. Instead, there is the likelihood that the coltish Michael Papps will be expected to grow into the role quickly while another stopgap measure is employed in the search for a long-term opening combination.

The return of Daniel Vettori to his best bowling form, and the emergence of Jacob Oram – especially in the absence of Chris Cairns from the Test stage – have been especially welcome, while the rapid growth undergone by Brendon McCullum, the wicketkeeper, has given the next generation of New Zealand internationals a solid core to work around. But there’s still no sign of a return from Shane Bond, and in his absence the search continues for a genuine fast bowler. So far Ian Butler has hardly been given a good deal, but chances are extensive use will be made of him sooner rather than later. Stephen Fleming continues to go from strength to strength, and ended the year as the highest runscorer in the New Zealand game. He’s already the best catcher, the most successful captain. Now if only he could bowl.Cricket’s profile in New Zealand remains high, in spite of the increasing incursions of rugby into summertime. And while success in ODIs tends to keep the less committed punters happy, the more traditional supporters are looking for a resolution to the Test indifference that has taken root.Top performers:Jacob Oram Firmly established in the Test side, he responded with 690 runs, and two centuries, to end the year with an average of 57.50. The second of those centuries, scored in trying circumstances against Australia at Brisbane, highlighted the quality of player that Oram has become.Daniel Vettori finally got into his groove. A feeling had persisted that Vettori’s lack of wicket-taking had much to do with the pace of the modern cricket calender. This year his 38 wickets at 32.31 demonstrate that he is well and truly back.

Scorecard
At Boland Park in Paarl Boland took revenge over North West by beatingthem in this Shield encounter after losing the three-day game the daybefore. Batting first after winning the toss North West put together a decenttotal of 241 in their 45 overs, with the opener Richard Stroh making 89. Then 54 from Mohammad Akoojee consolidated the innings. Boland nearly lost touch with the required run rate, but scraped home in the end with five balls to spare, thanks to a run-a-ball 94 from Smith and 43 not out from their wicketkeeper Wesley Euley.
ScorecardAt the Technicon ground in Bloemfontein Free State made light work ofEasterns as they raced away to win by eight wickets with nearly 16 oversto spare. Easterns never came to grips with a drying pitch after being sent in, and were bowled out for 160 in 44.3 overs. The wickets were shared around, with Christo Ferris picking up 3 for 35 in his seven overs. Jonathan Beukes and Colin Ingram then put on 98 for the second wicket as they raced away at over five runs an over to make sure of the extra bonus point. Beukes was eventually caught and bowled by Sean O’Connor for 85 off 84 balls, but Ingram ended not out with 64 off 73 balls.Keith Lane works for Cricinfo in South Africa.

In the wake of Bangladesh’s victories in Test and one-day series against Zimbabwe at home, the Bangladesh Cricket Board has honoured the players with huge cash rewards. Those who were part of both the Test and one-day squads will receive 300,000 Takas (approx US$5000) and those who featured only in the ODIs will get half the amount.While making this announcement, Reazuddin Al Mamun, a BCB advisor and chairman of the media committee, said that the cricketers had fully earned the bonus through their historic success. Bangladesh’s 1-0 triumph in the Test series ended their barren run of 34 Tests without a win and they followed that with a scintillating comeback in the one-day series where they won 3-2 after losing the opening two games.The BCB also rewarded Dav Whatmore, the Bangladesh coach, Robbie Hunt, the physio, and the trainer Stuart Karppinen with 300,000 Takas each (approx US$5000) while Latif Khan, the manager, and Nasir Ahmed, the computer analyst, well receive half that amount.Habibul Bashar, the Bangladesh captain, was elated with this financial bonus and thanked the board for recognising their performance. He told : “We tasted our maiden Test and one-day series victory against Zimbabwe which was an occasion to savour in the history of Bangladesh’s cricket.”

Javed Miandad, former Pakistan captain and coach, is considering taking the Pakistan Cricket Board to court over the controversial circumstances in which his coaching contract was terminated. Miandad, who was sacked in June last year after the series defeat against India, had 11 months left on his two-year contract. The board then appointed Bob Woolmer, the former South African coach.”My lawyer had sent the Board a notice few weeks back in which he had asked them to properly explain the reasons behind my contract’s termination prematurely (in June),” said Miandad. “The Board first asked for some time and then finally sent its reply but my lawyer is not satisfied with their explanation. He is now planning to file a suit against PCB shortly as he feels the circumstances in which they have terminated my contract is not proper.”Earlier, Shaharyar Khan, the PCB chairman, was reportedly quoted as saying that there were “other reasons” besides the home loss to India for sacking Miandad from the job. Miandad responded in a vehement manner by sending a notice to the board demanding a public apology for terminating his contract.”Basically, my lawyer had sent them the notice because he wanted an explanation from Chairman Shaharyar Khan for some of the statements he had made on my removal as coach and the premature termination of my coaching contract,” he said. “They have now said in their reply that the home-series loss to India was the primary reason for removing me as coach and appointing Bob Woolmer.”

Despite losing the second Test against South Africa by an innings and 62 runs, Tatenda Taibu, the Zimbabwe captain, said that he was encouraged by his team’s performance. Speaking to the media after Zimbabwe’s fourth innings defeat in their last six Tests, he said: "Our performance here was better than during the first Test at Cape Town."The batsmen now have a deeper appreciation of the need to build partnerships. Of course we did not then go on to build those partnerships but I am happy that we have started the thought-process. The bowlers learnt that on these wickets there is little room for error. You just have to hit the spot correctly. I think that young Graeme Cremer has improved tremendously." Cremer, a right-arm legspinner, took six wickets in the two Tests, and while he was hammered for 86 from nine overs in the first match, he was far more economical in the second, conceding 106 runs from 26.5 overs.Taibu also indicated that the experiences from this tour would help his team in the future. "This tour has shown us where we stand. I am sure that when we play the next Test we will play much better, because the boys know what they have to work on now." Zimbabwe’s next Test series is in September, when they will host New Zealand.Commenting on the shoulder injury he sustained while stretching to gather a ball on the second day, he said: "My shoulder is still sore. I got injured during the ICC tournament in London in September, and I have just played with it since then. Sometimes it feels sore, sometimes it’s a bit better."