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Ricky Ponting is not losing any sleep over becoming the first Australian captain to lose the Ashes for 16 years. Ponting took over from Steve Waugh, who with his predecessors Mark Taylor and Allan Border made sure England have not held the trophy since 1989, and when he landed in England insisted he was not worried.”I’m not looking at it as being the first to lose them,” he said. “I’m looking at being another Australian captain to retain the Ashes. It comes back to us being here and preparing well.”Ponting said this series carried no more pressure because Australia had been the favourites for the past ten years. “It is not something we have thought about,” he said. “We are here to play the best possible cricket.”

Shoaib Akhtar, Moin Khan and Abdul Razzaq have appeared before a four-man medical commission. The commission includes Dr Riaz Ahmed, the Pakistan team doctor and Dr Sohail Saleem, a member of the PCB panel of doctors and two other leading doctors. The three players underwent a series of tests and were also given rehabilitation plans.The medical commission is expected to submit a report to the Pakistan Cricket Board in a week’s time. A spokesman of the cricket board reiterated that the commission had not been set up to find a scapegoat. “It has been constituted to find why so many players got injured and what can be done in future to prevent so many injuries. The other objective is to help the players get their names cleared from the general perception that they faked their injuries, if they were genuinely injured.”

The Caribbean, its culture, cuisine and cricket, received wide exposure internationally when the Windies World Cup 2007 delegation hosted a major event in Johannesburg, South Africa, on March 9 to invite the world to the next Cricket World Cup.The event dubbed “the Windies Comes to Johannesburg” attracted about 250 South African and international media and cricket officials as well as tour operators, businesspeople and entertainment personalities from Johannesburg to the Saints Entertainment Complex, where a Caribbean environment was tastefully recreated…palm trees, waterfalls and all.

Chris Dehring, WWC 2007 Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, promised the guests that this was just a taste of what the Caribbean had to offer, but the “real thing” would be on offer when the West Indies hosted the Cricket World Cup in four years time, and it will be the best ever!Dehring said that “the Windies Comes to Johannesburg” event would set the tone for the massive effort that would be undertaken to ensure that the region’s tourism industry obtained maximum benefit from the West Indies’ hosting of the CWC 2007.Chef Athlone Mc Collin, who was sent to South Africa by the Elegant Hotels Group specially for the event, expressed great satisfaction with the response of the guests to Caribbean culinary delights that he prepared with the South African kitchen staff at the venue.

Popular Caribbean band, Square One, added to “the taste of Caribbean Culture” by thrilling the diverse gathering from Asia, Africa, Europe and the West Indies with music from the length and breadth of the Caribbean, including a Jamaican reggae sweep, featuring most notably, “No Woman No Cry”, rendered soulfully by one of the band’s lead singers, Alison Hinds.Square One also paid tribute to the cadence and zouk genres of the French-influenced islands and taught the patrons how to “jump and wave” to the soca hits from Antigua & Barbuda to Trinidad & Tobago, as well as their own high-energy classics. At the end of their performance chants of “We want more!” brought the band back for a well-deserved encore.

MC for the evening, Michael Holding, the former Jamaica and West Indies fast bowling legend, interviewed delegates from seven Caribbean countries who were observing the operations of the CWC 2003.They gave insights into the uniqueness of each island and their preparations for the CWC 2007, while a video feature gave a pictorial overview of the natural beauty and excitement of the Caribbean and the tremendous passion for cricket in the region.At the end of the evening several patrons were eagerly expressing their desire to visit the Caribbean even before 2007.The Windies World Cup 2007 Party was covered in a feature on Sky TV that was broadcast globally.

Australian captain Steve Waugh today completed an astonishing recovery from injury to take his place in the fifth Ashes Test against England at the Oval.Waugh tore his left calf muscle 19 days ago attempting to run a single at Trent Bridge and initially he thought his series was finished.Torn calves normally take between four and six weeks to mend.However, he threw away his crutches after two days and underwent intensive treatment for up to 12 hours a day in the hope he would be available for one last Test in England.His inclusion in the XI was not announced until 30 minutes before play while he walked to the pitch in blazer and baggy green cap for the toss.”I’m good enough, good enough,” Waugh said.He admitted yesterday he would not be 100 per cent fit but said it was rare for any Test cricketer to play without a few niggling injuries.All eyes were on Waugh during Australia’s pre-match drills and even though he looked comfortable, team management delayed officially naming him.Doubts ended when he left the squad early and headed for the pavilion to get changed for the toss while deputy Adam Gilchrist stayed on the field in his tracksuit.Waugh elected to bat.It was the 14th straight lost toss for England captain Nasser Hussain.”Lost tosses, not games,” he said.England named offspinner Phil Tufnell and medium pacer James Ormond in two changes to the side which won the fourth Test at Headingley.

As the Irani Trophy encounter between Mumbai and Rest of India resumed on the fourth morning at the Wankhede Stadium, the only point of interest was whether Murali Kartik would scalp all ten, a feat achieved by only four other Indians in first class cricket: Premangshu Chatterjee, Subhash Gupte, Pradeep Sunderam and Anil Kumble. The umpire from whose end Kartik bowled unchanged was – you guessed it – AV Jayaprakash, who had given the marching orders to Kumble’s ten victims just about 20 months ago.The 24-year-old left armer almost got there, picking up the first nine wickets, and even misdirecting a shy at the stumps that would have thrown out Nilesh Kulkarni when Mumbai were eight down. Speaking to the press after the game was over, Kartik said that was the moment when he felt God wanted him to take all ten. Unfortunately Sharandeep Singh was not kept posted of the almighty’s wishes and invited Santosh Saxena to drive a fullish length delivery into substitute Reetinder Sodhi at extra cover.Sharandeep bent his head in embarrassment like a schoolboy caught out by his headmaster after a disreputable act but that took little away from Kartik’s bravura performance. His unchanged spell of 24-6-70-9 – all victims caught – was a record for the Irani Trophy, beating Ravi Shastri’s 9-101 almost twenty seasons ago. Mumbai were bowled out for 184, leaving Rest with a target of 56 runs which openers Sadagopan Ramesh (24) and Shiv Sunder Das (34) knocked off in 35 minutes inside eight overs.Resuming from the Tata end this morning, Kartik had Paras Mhambrey caught at silly point by Mohd. Kaif in his first over without any addition to the overnight score of 145. And in his next over Ramesh Powar was brilliantly caught at forward short leg by Shiv Sunder Das for scalp number seven. Having watched the carnage from the other end, Amol Majumdar seemed to have realised that by playing defensively to Kartik, it was only a matter of time before one of the close catchers pounced. Indeed after the two openers were caught at midon and midoff as they charged Kartik, the next five victims were all snapped up around the bat.Skipper VVS Laxman had opened with Dodda Ganesh from the pavilion end and in the ninth over of the day, he introduced off spinner Sharandeep Singh who had been underbowled in the second innings after matching Kartik wicket for wicket in the first. But it was Kartik who broke through yet again. Majumdar’s intention to go after the bowler was laudable as he jumped out of the crease but the execution was faulty, the ball brushing past him en route to Laxman at first slip.The batsman stood transfixed at the crease for almost a full minute, staring in disbelief at Jayaprakash as though willing him to reverse his verdict. Majumdar’s two hour occupation of the crease had netted 37 from 92 balls with five fours as Mumbai slumped to 175/8. Rajesh Pawar stroked Sharandeep for two boundaries to midwicket but when he sought to give Kartik the same treatment, it proved fatal. The intended sweep was top edged for Jacob Martin to take a splendid catch running several metres backwards from his position at leg slip. It was Kartik’s ninth successive wicket, leaving him with two deliveries in the over to get at Nilesh Kulkarni but he passed up the opportunity and Sharandeep made no mistake.Kartik said the wicket had been seaming early on and providing good carry but got slower and slower as the match progressed. Asked whether his ejection from the National Cricket Academy had raised doubts in his mind about whether he would gain selection for the Irani Trophy, Kartik replied with an emphatic negative. He said he had to leave because of a cracked wrist bone which had not been diagnosed properly and it was the media which had played it up by clubbing him with two others who had been forced out because of indiscipline. The return to peak fitness of this Superintending Officer employed with the Indian Railways should lend a new and formidable dimension to a hitherto nondescript Indian attack in the ensuing season.

St Thomas College 22 for 2 trail Royal College 294 for 6 dec (Edussuriya 140*, Ratnayake 49) by 272 runs
ScorecardThe Sri Lanka-Australia Test at Galle might be attracting all the international attention, but the 125th annual Royal-Thomian match – the famed three-day “Battle of the Blues” – at the Sinhalese Sports Club was all the talk in Colombo. And a superb hundred by Dhanushka Edussuriya, which gave Royal College the edge at the end of the first day, was sure to generate headlines tomorrow.Edussuriya came to the crease with his side struggling on 60 for 4 after they had lost the toss and been inserted by St Thomas College. He added 101 for the fifth wicket with Ganganath Ratnayake (49) and then 134 for the sixth wicket in 30 overs with Manoj Morawake (45*).In front of a decent crowd, including a fair number of politicians and corporate big-wigs, the morning session belonged to St Thomas as their seamers exploited the early moisture to rip through Royal’s top-order.But St Thomas’s bowlers, bereft of Chathuranga Somapala who failed a late fitness test, lacked the penetration to press home their advantage, and Edussuriya’s took charge. His innings was a masterpiece of timing and control – he reached his fifty in an hour-and-a-half, his hundred in three hours, and never allowed the bowlers to settle. His stand with Morawake left St Thomas’s wilting, and enabled Royal to declare and give themselves 45 minutes to have a go at St Thomas.The tactic worked, as both openers were dismissed in the nine overs before the close.

Darren Sammy said he was “shattered” to miss West Indies’ tour of India earlier this year but his focus is now squarely on a potential Test debut in England. Sammy, the first international cricketer to emerge from St Lucia, believes his experience in English conditions could help him make the most of the two-month tour.Sammy was named in the squad to visit India in January but sustained an injury shortly before the team departed. He said missing the trip might have hurt his chances of making the World Cup squad but he had moved on since then.”I was out in the wilderness for a few years after playing my last international game and it was one of the major disappointments of my career to get injured the day before we had to travel to India,” Sammy said. “But this is Test cricket and it is where you get a true test of you character and you have to be physically, mentally and skilfully prepared to be successful.”Sammy has spent the past fortnight playing league cricket in Lancashire and believes his knowledge of the conditions will increase his chances of a Test call-up. “I have been playing for Crompton Cricket Club and that has helped me to get acclimatised,” he said.”Since 2003 I have been playing in England annually so I think I am very familiar with the conditions here. So far the pitches have played well because unlike previous years the batsmen have been getting a lot of runs in county cricket with two players scoring double-centuries so far.”Sammy said being part of the Test squad was a great privilege but he felt he had earned his place. “I was not very surprised by my selection because I have been putting in some hard work over the past few years and I have been getting good results,” he said. “I have never played Test cricket so it will be a challenge but it is a hurdle I’m prepared to jump over.”

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

England’s chances of fighting what seemed insurmountable odds and drawing level in the series improved significantly after a thoroughly dominant performance on the third day at Mumbai. They bowled India out for just 279, snatching a first-innings lead of 121, and then stretched that lead to 152 by close of play, though they lost both openers in the process.After the first two days England had the edge, but they needed a strong performance today to further that advantage. They didn’t finish India off completely – Rahul Dravid will still hope for a collapse and a chaseable target – but Andrew Flintoff will have few complaints with his team’s performance in the field. Despite dropping a couple of chances, England put in a wholehearted performance – the fast bowlers were aggressive and disciplined, with James Anderson leading the way on his return to the side, while the spinners played a vital hand, bowling a crucial 21 overs at a stretch in the afternoon for just 46 runs and a wicket, allowing the fast bowlers an extended period of rest before they returned with the second new ball. Geraint Jones came up with three excellent catches behind the stumps and finished with five for the innings, while Flintoff maintained a happy balance between defence and attack throughout the day, keeping enough fielders in the ring to save the runs even as he searched for wickets.Resuming at 89 for 3, India were looking up to Yuvraj Singh and Dravid, the last specialist batting pair, but the batsman who made the most significant contribution was Dhoni. Playing with a restraint most uncharacteristic, Dhoni shook off a blow to the head from Flintoff, batted with admirable composure and responsibility to make 64, but then threw it away in a moment of madness, dashing off for a single after having clobbered Flintoff for three successive fours off his first over with the second new ball.

In fact, India’s batting was characterised by long periods of circumspection, but the few rushes of blood were their undoing – Irfan Pathan made 26 from 80 balls, in the process adding 44 for the sixth wicket with Dhoni, before deciding to charge down the track to Shaun Udal, handing him his first wicket of the series. Yuvraj’s flash outside off was a needless stroke too, while Dravid battled hard for a half-century and then touched a ball down leg side after being reprieved at the same score.England, on the other hand, kept up the intensity throughout. Flintoff and Anderson bowled superb spells in the morning, with Flintoff’s bouncer battle with Dhoni being particularly memorable. A well-directed short ball clanged Dhoni’s helmet when he was on 14, and then followed an exhilarating tussle, as Dhoni crashed a couple of boundaries, including a hook, and further riled Flintoff by taking plenty of time between overs, and sometimes even deliveries. After one such delay, a charged-up Flintoff responded with a wayward bouncer that flew past both batsman and keeper for four byes. It was fiery, aggressive stuff, but at the end of it all, Dhoni was still standing.The afternoon session was less exciting, but England’s spin duo of Monty Panesar and Udal did a crucial tie-up job, restricting the runs and ensuring that the Indians didn’t snatch back the momentum. Dhoni’s run-out – a marginal decision from the third umpire, for replays didn’t conclusively show that the bail was off the groove completely in time – should have signaled the end of India’s resistance, but Sreesanth and Anil Kumble did another defying act, adding 55 for the ninth wicket. Sreesanth – with a first-class batting average of 5.42 and a previous highest of 19 not out – mixed studious defence with meaty blows to ride up to 29 before running out of partners.A deficit of 121 was a huge minus to come back from, but India put in a spirited performance in the field, with Sreesanth – suitably inspired after his knock – putting in a particularly fiery spell. The openers departed cheaply, but the first-innings cushion means England hold all the aces going into the fourth day.

England
Andrew Strauss c Dhoni b Munaf 4 (5 for 1)
Ian Bell c Dhoni b Sreesanth 8 (21 for 2)
India
Yuvraj Singh c Jones b Flintoff 37 (94 for 4)
Rahul Dravid c Jones b Anderson 52 (142 for 5)
Irfan Pathan c Hoggard b Udal 26 (186 for 6)
Mahendra Singh Dhoni run out (Anderson) 64 (212 for 7)
Harbhajan Singh c Jones b Anderson 2 (217 for 8)
Anil Kumble lbw b Panesar 30 (272 for 9)
Munaf Patel b Anderson 7 (279 all out)

Adam Gilchrist considers retirement "almost daily" and could bow out at the 2007 World Cup. The end-of-career revelation, which is based on his desire to spend more time with his family, comes despite an amazing surge of three run-a-ball centuries in his last four Tests and baseball interest from the Boston Red Sox.In an interview with Inside Cricket Gilchrist said he was "excited" when he thought about not touring. “The big question which I find myself pondering on an almost daily basis lately is how much longer can this last?” he said. “That’s why my battle to survive in cricket these next few years is going to be a mental battle more than a physical one. It seems I’m always questioning myself now as to whether I should be away and how good it would be to be at home."Gilchrist, 33, said he has felt like this since his two children were born. "At this stage Harrison and Annie are at an age where it’s all lost on them," he said. “But by the time they reach a stage where they can identify with what I’ve done or where I fit in society, I plan on being around a lot more and in a better position to keep a rein on things.”The World Cup in the West Indies is Gilchrist’s "carrot" to continue playing. “I suspect I won’t be going around three years from now," he said. “That’s providing I still warrant a place in the one-day team and even that’s coming from a guy who’s said he’s never going to go on and on and sap it for everything possible."During his last four Tests against Pakistan and New Zealand Gilchrist scored 113, 121, 162 and 60 not out. At the end of the 2-0 series win against the Kiwis an approach from the Red Sox, who were impressed by his clean hitting, was revealed.

England 154 for 3 (Hussain 41*, Thorpe 1*) trail West Indies 311 (Smith 108, Hinds 84) by 157 runs
Scorecard

Nasser Hussain and Mark Butcher had to call on every ounce of their Caribbean experience, as England grafted their way into a challenging position on the second day of the first Test at Kingston. Faced with a ferocious onslaught from West Indies’ two young firebrands, Fidel Edwards and Tino Best, Hussain and Butcher batted throughout the afternoon session to carry England to 154 for 3 at the close, in reply to West Indies’ 311.Had it not been for a tempestuous 20-minute mini-session, almost two hours after a heavy downpour had all but ended the day’s play at tea, England’s situation might have been even better. Instead, in the 3.1 overs that were possible, Mark Butcher was caught behind for 58 to give Edwards his third wicket of the innings, and West Indies had gained a unexpected reward for their wholehearted efforts.It might have been reward at a cost, however, as Brian Lara had to leave the field with a dislocated finger when he dropped Butcher at second slip, moments after becoming involved in a heated conversation with the umpires. Lara was taken to hospital for a precautionary x-ray on the little finger of his right hand, but is expected to be able to bat.Butcher’s wicket – caught behind by Jacobs two balls after his escape – brought to an end a 119-run third-wicket stand with Hussain, who battled through to the close with 41 not out. They had come together with the score at 33 for 2, and the reception they both received would have evoked memories of that tortuous morning at Kingston six years ago. With the speedometer nudging 94mph on occasions, Edwards used his low slingy action to whistle bouncers past half-formed hook-shots, and spear yorkers deep into the batsmen’s blockholes, while Tino Best – who has yet to take a Test wicket, but has several genuine scalps to his name already – made it his mission to cause the batsmen as much discomfort as possible.Edwards had already blown away both openers in the space of two overs: Marcus Trescothick, whose feet haven’t started moving yet on this tour, was bowled for 7 off the inside edge of his limp bat (28 for 1), before Michael Vaughan, with a casual flick and a crisp drive to his name already, was tempted to chase an outswinger and deflected a simple catch straight into Lara’s midriff (33 for 2).

Butcher, playing in his first match since he twisted his ankle against Jamaica, was especially sketchy early on. In fact, he very nearly registered his second golden duck in successive Tests at Sabina Park, as he fended Edwards away with a combination of bat and thigh, and watched the ball dribble inches past his off stump. And things got worse before they could get better. He was dropped when 4 by Ramnaresh Sarwan at forward short leg, and was sent to lunch with his ears ringing when Best clobbered him flush on the side of the helmet.Meanwhile Hussain was all grit and grimace, playing low and late and concentrating purely on survival. He too was extremely fortunate to survive his first delivery – a booming outswinging yorker from Edwards that just flashed past his off stump – and Best followed that up with a brute of a bouncer that clipped the elbow and cracked into the helmet. Some of Hussain’s body language implied that the pitch was beginning to misbehave, but as the shine came off the Kookaburra ball and the menace went out of the attack, he too began to take some liberties, clipping Collymore for four midway through the afternoon, before hooking Edwards to the fine-leg boundary.But Best was strangely ignored by Lara throughout most of the afternoon, and Butcher capitalised on his absence, bringing up his half-century with a clip for three through midwicket. Hussain reached tea on 40 not out, after picking up his scoring rate in the closing overs of the session, when he came down the track to drive Chris Gayle for four. Gayle’s introduction was a welcome change of tempo for England, and might have been influenced by the bank of menacing clouds that eventually swamped most of the evening session.Earlier, England had needed just 12 deliveries to wrap up the West Indian innings, without any addition to their overnight 311. In the second full over of the day, Andrew Flintoff grabbed a sharp left-handed chance low at second slip to remove Edwards for 1, giving Matthew Hoggard his third wicket of the innings. But West Indies needed just 19 balls, late, late in the afternoon, to get the breakthrough they deserved.Andrew Miller is assistant editor of Wisden Cricinfo.