Javed Miandad, the former coach of the Pakistan side, has said that he may take up coaching assignments in India during the next few weeks. Miandad will be travelling to Delhi later this week to take up a television assignment for the Asia Cup, which begins on July 16.While in India, for about three weeks, Miandad is also contemplating taking up some private coaching assignments. quoted him as saying, “Nothing is final as yet. But I have got offers and if I get the time I will definitely be keen to do some coaching with the Indian players.”Miandad received an offer to participate in a studio-based programme in Zee News during the course of the Asia Cup. “It will be similar to what I did for Ten Sports during the last World Cup,” Miandad said. “I would be giving expert comments on every match.”Apart from Miandad, several other former Pakistan cricketers are set to be involved with various television channels for the Asia Cup. Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Rameez Raja and Imran Khan are some of the others who will be taking part as commentators and experts. Wasim and Waqar have been signed on by ESPN-Star Sports, who have won the rights for broadcasting the Asia Cup.Miandad has already got an invitation from The Cricket Club of India for coaching at their academy in Mumbai.

When India began their Champions Trophy challenge with a relatively easy outing against Kenya at the picturesque Rose Bowl, the outlook was bleak. The forecast was for rain – and haphazard batting. When they ended their innings on a more-than-healthy 290, the rain had stayed away long enough, two batsmen had spent a not-inconsiderable time out in the middle, two had struck stirring blows, and the Indian batting machine was back in its groove.The Kenyans had complained of a lack of international match practice before this game, but they seemed to be in perfect working order when the day began. They had done their homework, in that they kept Sourav Ganguly on the back foot early on, digging the ball in short with enthusiasm if not venom. However, they erred fatally in that they did the same with VVS Laxman. With an uncommon lack of flourish Laxman repeatedly crashed the Kenyans away with short-arm pulls. The early heebie-jeebies of the swinging, seaming ball were banished as the shots resounded off the middle of the bat.But one of India’s main concerns remained unaddressed. Virender Sehwag, asked to bat as though it were a Test match, followed the advice long enough to give John Wright hope that one of his big guns had its sights set right. But, after crackling his way to 17 – including one glorious square-cut off Martin Suji that invoked the Sehwag of old – he threw it away with a desperate charge down the pitch that was completed with a shot that was neither straight-batted nor horizontal, and had his stumps shattered.Sehwag went early on, but it was in the middle of a sedate start, with India on 30 in the 10th over. This meant that Laxman could bat at his own pace, find the optimum gear to drive in, and at the same time not feel as though he was dragging the run rate down. This gave him the chance to forge a partnership with Ganguly that conformed to the traditional route to success in England: keep wickets in hand at the end and you can pick up 100 runs off the last 10 overs without breaking into a sweat.Ganguly was his usual mixture of allsorts. Elegant drives through the off, energetic heaves over the infield, the odd streaky French cut, and of course, the frenetically pinched single. As the weight of runs piled up, the momentum, that elusive-yet-vital ingredient, began to build. The fielding, one of the best barometers of a team’s morale, flagged as the previously athletic Kenyans discovered more and more balls not worth chasing. The bowlers found it increasingly hard to bowl to the fields set for them, and before they knew it Ganguly and Laxman had put on 161.The great Indian charging malaise then claimed two more victims. Ganguly (90) sauntered down the pitch to Martin Suji and yorked himself, while Laxman (79) gave Steve Tikolo the charge and was stumped. By then, though, India had put themselves in a position to take the game away from Kenya. Standing tall on the foundation laid for them, Mohammad Kaif and Rahul Dravid topped off the superstructure. Kaif had a chance to show that there was more to his game than pinching quick singles and Dravid took the chance to convince the last remaining doubters that he had the game to be a star in one-dayers.Dravid (30 off just 16 balls) and Kaif (49 from 29) hustled, bustled and ultimately bludgeoned the Kenyan attack into submission in a 77-run partnership that came from only 41 balls, and took India to 290. The match as a contest ended then and there. Sure, it was only Kenya, but the ease with which India rattled up 290, without the help of Sachin Tendulkar, meant that they have enough confidence behind them to hit the ground running against Pakistan.Anand Vasu is assistant editor of Wisden Cricinfo. He will be following the Indian team’s progress throughout the Champions Trophy.

The tricky part of England’s winter is finally behind them. They havesuccessfully juggled their political hot potato in Zimbabwe – with onlythe occasional glitch of protocol along the way – and the team can now, atlong last, refocus their attentions on their day job. Tomorrow atRandjesfontein, cricket (a sport, lest we forget, that England wereproving to be rather good at come the end of last season) returns to thetop of the agenda.But what an agenda. The small matter of five Tests in six weeks lies aheadof England, and for the first time since South Africa’s readmission tointernational cricket, they are travelling as clear-cut favourites. It isnot a burden that has traditionally sat easily on English shoulders, and withjust four scheduled warm-up days ahead of the first Test at Port Elizabethon December 17, tomorrow’s tour opener, against Nicky Oppenheimer’s XI atthe family ranch near Johannesburg, has taken on an added significance.The Oppenheimers are the hosts with the most, the dynasty at the helm ofthe world-renowned De Beers Corporation. They have had generations ofexperience in polishing rough diamonds and, in that respect, there couldbe no better setting for the return of England’s karatty kids, SteveHarmison and Andrew Flintoff, who have not had a chance to shine since thefinal of the Champions Trophy more than two months ago.England’s other high-profile omission from the one-dayers in Zimbabwe wasMarcus Trescothick, who takes over as captain while Michael Vaughan has awell-earned break. Given the tightrope he has walked in the lastfortnight, his day off will presumably be spent in a darkened room, wherehe can refocus his attentions on field placings and forget the need toavoid diplomatic faux pas.The shift of emphasis away from Zimbabwe and towards the Tests wasconfirmed by the announcement of England’s team for the Oppenheimer match.It contains all eight of the recently arrived Test specialists, who havespent the last few days warming up amid torrential downpours inJohannesburg, and of the seven players who featured in all four victoriesover Zimbabwe, only the ever-willing Paul Collingwood has been pressgangedinto further action. His inclusion is a sure sign that he will berelegated to the bench come the main event.England will not be allowed to exorcise their Zimbabwe demons that easily,however, not with a certain Heath Streak lining up to have a dart at themtomorrow. Streak, who recently called off his floundering civil actionagainst the Zimbabwe cricket authorities who stripped him of the nationalcaptaincy, recently hinted that he might be willing to make a return tothe team. With that in mind, he is unlikely to be going easy on England’sbatsmen, not least Trescothick, whose overseas record pales in comparisonto his home form, and who will be mindful of the need to hit the groundrunning after his break from the game.The weather, however, may yet deny England their opportunity to get fullymatch-focused ahead of the Port Elizabeth Test. With unseasonally dismalconditions predicted for the rest of the week, all 11 of England’sfirst-choice Test players could struggle to obtain any meaningful time inthe middle over the next few days. “If it rains for four days, I’ll saythat we’ll be undercooked for the first Test,” said Duncan Fletcher, withthe sort of guarded admission that made him a natural for diplomaticduties in Zimbabwe.That’s the trouble with today’s non-stop treadmill of internationalcricket. Those who dare to take a breather run the risk of tripping overtheir own feet as they rush to get back up to speed. For England, however,a change (of personnel, as well as venue) is as good as a rest. Given thenumbing predictability of the Zimbabwe saga, they’ll be itching to getinvolved in a real contest, come rain or shine.England 1 Marcus Trescothick (capt), 2 Robert Key, 3 Mark Butcher,4 Graham Thorpe, 5 Andrew Flintoff, 6 Paul Collingwood, 7 Chris Read (wk),8 Gareth Batty, 9 Simon Jones, 10 Matthew Hoggard, 11 Stephen Harmison.Oppenheimer’s XI Ashwell Prince (capt), Andre Seymore, NeilJohnson, JP Duminy, Francois du Plessis, Wendell Bossenger (wk), HeathStreak, Grant Howell, Werner Coetsee, Charl Willoughby, Lonwabe Tsotsobe.

An already beleaguered Pakistan side were hit by more problems when Inzamam-ul-Haq and Abdul Razzaq were ruled out of the last Test, which starts at Sydney on Sunday. Inzamam, who is struggling with a back injury, failed to clear a fitness test, while Razzaq hasn’t recovered completely from a mystery ailment which restricted his participation at the Melbourne Test.With Mohammad Sami and Shoaib Malik already omitted due to injuries, Yousuf Youhana, the stand-in captain, has plenty of worries ahead of the game. “We can’t even name a team yet,” he told Reuters. “We have to replace four players. There will be a lot of changes.”Inzamam, who missed the Boxing Day Test, had shown signs of improvement over the last couple of days, but failed to get through a strenuous practice session on the eve of the game at Sydney. Shahid Afridi is almost certain to play in place of Malik, while Sami will be replaced by either Mohammad Khalil or Mohammad Asif. Khalil, a left-arm seamer, played in the first Test at Perth, but failed to take a wicket in the 25 overs he bowled.

Pakistanis 8 for 279 (Razzaq 89*, Hafeez 61, Tait 2-49) beat Australia A 266 (Haddin 129, D Hussey 45, Naved-ul-Hasan 3-42) by 13 runs
Scorecard

Brad Haddin’s sparkling century could not prevent a fighting comeback from the Pakistanis in the VB Series warm-up match at the Adelaide Oval. Twice the tourists’ cause seemed lost, but they regrouped through Abdul Razzaq’s blistering 89 off 61 balls, and then sealed the match with three wickets for Rana Naved-ul-Hasan.Australia A were strolling towards victory at 4 for 254 in the 45th over after Haddin, the captain, had reached his hundred in as many balls with help from Brad Hodge (30) and David Hussey (45). Naved then swung the match for the final time as Australia A collapsed with two run-outs and lost six wickets in four overs.Cameron White fell when Shahid Afridi dropped a caught-and-bowled chance off Haddin, and the ball cannoned into the stumps with White out of his ground. Then Haddin was caught short of the crease 12 runs later to end Australia A’s chances. Naved, who had removed Damien Wright and Nathan Hauritz, finished the game by having Shaun Tait caught behind, although Tait was unhappy with the decision.Pakistan’s day began badly when they slumped to 5 for 117, but Razzaq, who has struggled with a mystery illness during the tour, arrived in the 30th over and showed he was in a healthy state by blasting six sixes and four fours to lead the recovery.Razzaq and Shahid Afridi added 68 from 33 balls as Hauritz was hit the hardest, conceding three sixes in six balls, and Pakistan set Australia A 280 for victory. Mohammad Hafeez had stabilised the innings with 61 before he was caught in the deep off Hauritz, and the thrilling late onslaught included 26 runs from the final 13 balls.Wright, Tait and Mick Lewis collected the first five wickets, including the dismissal of Inzamam-ul-Haq. Playing his first game since the first Test because of a back injury, Inzamam scratched out 10 from 40 balls before falling to Tait.

The Supreme Court has allowed the Indian board to keep its autonomy but yesterday’s ruling has not helped resolve the dispute over the telecast rights which has plagued Indian cricket for more than five months. While the working committee of the BCCI is likely to meet on February 6 to discuss the telecast-rights issue, Zee Telefilms, which had contested the BCCI’s decision to cancel its bid of Rs14000million (approx US$320million) for the rights to televise Indian cricket for the next four years, is certain to take the matter to Bombay High Court.The Supreme Court dismissed Zee’s public-interest litigation against the BCCI on the grounds that the board wasn’t a “state”. However, it allowed Zee to contest BCCI’s decision under article 226 at the High Court.A Press Trust of India report quoted a Zee Telefilms spokesman as saying: “The writ petition has been dismissed under article 32 of the Constitution but is maintainable under article 226 before the High Court.” He added that Zee would be approaching the High Court as soon as possible after consulting with its legal team.Zee, which plans to launch its own sports channel later this year – their lack of pedigree in sports telecasting was one of the bones of contention when the bidding process started – had argued that since the BCCI picked and controlled the team which represented India at international events, its actions were subject to the same clauses that governed the functioning of the “state”.

If evidence were needed that Bennett King’s all-too-brief honeymoon period as West Indies coach is over, it came courtesy of a stinging editorial on caribbeancricket.com which lambasted King for not returning to the Caribbean after West Indies exit from the VB Series.King remained in Australia while the rest of the squad returned home last week, and although a spokesman for the West Indies Cricket Board said that his return was “imminent”, that cut no ice.”It is equally offensive to have the cricket czar taking time off in the midst of a first-class season , especially considering his lack of familiarity with the region’s players,” fumed Ryan Patrick. “What better opportunity could there be to establish working relationships with the individual team coaches and managers, and get their insight on their players?”King’s carefully crafted image as a hard taskmaster has been rammed down our throats. If the team’s on-field performance doesn’t improve soon, the long hot-sun practices will mean nothing.”Patrick’s comments are not echoed elsewhere, where the consensus seems to be that King has not had nearly enough time to make any real impact. Although West Indies were successful in September’s ICC Champions Trophy, that cannot disguise the reality that he took over a side in virtual freefall and one where real class was in short supply.Although King will not be given an easy time if the forthcoming home series against South Africa and Pakistan go badly, the one-dayers in Australia were his first chance to see his new charges in action and probably left him painfully aware of just how big a challenge he has on his hands.There is, however, a sizeable minority in the Caribbean that believe appointing a foreign coach was wrong, and in their eyes King can do no right.

Stan Nel, the Sri Lanka A coach, has blasted some of his players,questioning their commitment and accusing them of “indifference” to defeatafter they lost their second consecutive game in the ongoing triangulartournament also involving the A teams of England and Pakistan.”I found a mixed reaction in the dressing room,” revealed Nel.”There were guys who were really desperate to represent their country andwin who were really hurting inside. Some of the other guys seemed to beindifferent about the result. I am just devastated about the reactions ofthese guys after two defeats.”I am trying to get these guys to understand that losing is not an option.Looking at it after this game, it is the real desire to win that is lacking.I am really questioning every player and want to find out who really has thedesire and who doesn’t. As far as ability goes they match up as well as anyA team around the world.”Sri Lanka go into the second stage of the competition without a single pointafter Pakistan and England successfully chased down targets on Sunday andMonday. The only major positive for the team was the form of Russel Arnold -apparently under pressure as the selectors finalise their squad for India -who scored two consecutive half-centuries.Sri Lanka lost their grip on the game against England A in the final overs as Rikki Clarke and Alex Gidman crashed 62 from just 37 balls. “We lost due to the lack of a little bit of experience,” believed Nel. “I think we lost the grip on the game in the last six or seven overs. Looking at the guys in the field, Ijust thought they were perhaps not giving 110%.”At this stage thinking about the final is not going to do us any good.We’ve got to play one game at a time. We’ve got to set ourselves for thenext match and try to win that and we will go along and see what happensafter that. There is no use thinking any further than the next match.”

Shane Warne has teased Kevin Pietersen with the nickname “600” in honour of his approaching Test milestone. Warne needs 17 wickets to reach the mark and his needling of Pietersen is both playful and a sign he intends to chalk it up during the Ashes.Pietersen said Warne, his Hampshire team-mate, hoped he would get picked for the five-match series and has helped him deal with the pressures of being England’s “wonder boy” after his explosive one-day tour to South Africa. “It’s been such a relief having someone to talk to who’s experienced it all,” he told The Independent. “Warney has done everything. He’s earned his millions, had a ban, been caught doing this or that, and got 583 Test wickets. He’s nicknamed me 600 because he wants me as his 600th.”Warne has also been assisting Pietersen – and indirectly England – by telling him the side’s weaknesses. “He thinks the best way for England to beat them is by blooding some young players who aren’t brainwashed,” he told the paper. “He says he knows he’ll knock Graham Thorpe over, for instance, and that maybe England should choose some batters who aren’t used to being dominated by Australia.” Warne has dismissed Thorpe nine times in Tests, five behind Alec Stewart, his favourite English batsman.The reaction to Pietersen’s emergence has provoked full inboxes, and he is prepared to take advice from throughout the world. Greg Matthews, the former Australia offspinner, is another confidant from Pietersen’s two seasons in Sydney grade cricket.”He was talking to me about how I batted in South Africa,” he said. “He told me that my triggers are a bit too big, meaning my foot movement. So it’s a case of knuckling down to sort myself out.” But he was quick to say Mark Waugh based his career on playing through the legside. Supporters should not expect too many major changes whenever he makes his Test debut.

Keith Piper, the Warwickshire wicketkeeper, has been ruled out of the remainder of the current English season after failing a drugs test. On May 12, Piper pleaded guilty to a doping offence involving cannabis, and on Thursday an ECB disciplinary panel banned him until September 30, five days after the current English season is due to end.A statement issued by the ECB said the panel had ruled that Piper, already serving an interim ban, “be suspended from involvement in all cricket under the jurisdiction of the ECB until September 30, 2005.” The panel added that if Piper, 35, wanted to return to county cricket he should also undergo drug counselling and undertake a drug test before September 30, which would be administered under the auspices of the ECB. The panel also added that Piper would “thereafter be target-tested six times in the following 18 months”. Piper, who had been playing mainly one-day cricket of late, was ordered to pay £250 (US$455) towards the costs of the hearing.In 1997 Piper had failed an in-house drugs test for which he served a one-match ban. His fellow Warwickshire players Paul Smith, now retired, and Graham Wagg have also served drugs-related bans. Last season Wagg was given a 15-month ban by the ECB after testing positive for cocaine and, as a consequence, saw Warwickshire terminate his contract. On Sunday, Piper’s former Warwickshire captain Dermot Reeve, the retired England international, admitted that he was fighting cocaine addiction.Warwickshire’s chief executive Dennis Amiss said: “We feel that Keith Piper’s punishment is appropriate and that it sends out the right message to current and future players. While it is dangerous to draw distinctions between types of drug misuse, and certainly not excusing it, the club considers that Keith’s offence is at the lowest level. However, Keith’s positive test for use of a recreational drug lets down both the county and the game.”We will now work with the ECB and the Professional Cricketers’ Association to support Keith through what will be a very difficult period. In time we hope that Keith can continue giving to the game and we will be discussing the career options that are open to him.”Keith is developing his skills as a coach and while his positive test is a major setback, should he still wish to further his career in this area, the club feel it is appropriate to offer him whatever support and rehabilitation he requires.”