Wasim Akram has said that he is keen to get into coaching – but probably not in Pakistan.”There are too many failings in cricket systems in the subcontinent,” he told the PPI news agency. “We cricketers feel more comfortable with foreign coaches. We feel they don’t have any personal agendas against us and will be neutral. We feel we can trust them. That’s what I felt as a cricketer.”Anyway, he said, the Pakistan board has not approached him. “Coaching is a very organised thing, and I am not. I do commentary and leave; that’s better. But I would like to help children, under-16 and under-17.”In Pakistan,” he added, “if you have to become a cricketer you have to be a politician first.”

Sachin Tendulkar has been named in a 15-man Indian squad for the first two Tests against Australia. Mohammad Kaif and Murali Kartik also got the call in a squad that only had room for three fast bowlers. The squad is to meet up in Bangalore on October 4, two days ahead of the first Test. Sourav Ganguly has been confirmed as captain for the whole series.Irfan Pathan, Zaheer Khan and Ajit Agarkar are the fast bowlers selected, while Ashish Nehra, who has recently had trouble with his ankle, was left out. The new selection panel also discussed the names of Dheeraj Jadhav, Venugopal Rao and Sridharan Sriram.The team was picked towards the end of the India Seniors v India A match in Bangalore. John Wright, who watched the Seniors win after India A had dominated the first three days, said: “It was good preparation. Especially today with Sehwag and Yuvraj getting time in the middle and scoring big hundreds. After all the one-day cricket we’ve played recently we needed this – a good, hard four-day game. What was especially pleasing was the players on the fringe also answered some questions – guys like Jadhav, Kaif and Sriram. In that sense it was a valuable four days. Ultimately the Seniors won the game. They came back under pressure to win the game. But it was good to see we have real depth and quality in the India A side.”When asked about India’s recent one-day slump, Wright was hopeful things would turn around in the Tests. “Now we’re back to Test cricket, and to be honest we’ve played some very good Test cricket over the last two series. Sometimes it is difficult to get momentum going in one-dayers, and most of the boys are really looking forward to getting into Test mode. I’ve never had any doubts about this side. I’ve always had huge trust and enormous belief in their ability.”The squad includes Aakash Chopra and Yuvraj Singh, but Wright was non-committal when asked who would open the batting with Virender Sehwag. However, he hinted that it could be Chopra: “We’ve had two boys who’ve done a very good job for us against Australia in Australia and also in Pakistan”Wright was happy with the balance of the bowling attack. “We’ve certainly got enough variation in there. The players enjoy bowling in Indian conditions, which tend to suit them a bit more,” he said, before explaining why Ajit Agarkar got the call ahead of Nehra. “Ashish [Nehra] has done outstandingly well in one-dayers, but the fact that Ajit [Agarkar] has such a good record against Australia went in his favour.”The Australians have made no secret of their respect for this Indian team, and Wright returned the compliment. “We respect Australia, but we must be the only side to have a win and a draw in our last two series against them. I have no doubt that they will be hungry, because they haven’t won here in such a long time.”Squad
Aakash Chopra, Virender Sehwag, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman, Sourav Ganguly (capt), Yuvraj Singh, Mohammad Kaif, Parthiv Patel (wk), Ajit Agarkar, Irfan Pathan, Zaheer Khan, Harbhajan Singh, Anil Kumble, Murali Kartik.

Barney Rogers cracked an unbeaten century, his second in first-class cricket, as Matabeleland recovered from a first-ball wicket to get on top of the situation on the first day of their Logan Cup match against Mashonaland at Queens Sports Club on Friday.Coming in at number three, Rogers finished with 133 runs to his name as Matabeleland, who lost the loss and were sent in to bat, closed the first day with 391 for the loss of six wickets from 98 overs.New Mashonaland captain Tatenda Taibu, probably trying to flex his muscles, tried in vain to have the start of the match delayed as slight drizzle started falling but he did not succeed.If Taibu’s move was meant to frustrate the batsmen, then it worked out as Matabeleland’s opening partnership of Charles Coventry and Mark Vermeulen did not last. Coventry was back in the pavilion for a firstball duck when he was dismissed by Douglas Hondo. The delivery was outside the off stump and Coventry would have been wise to leave it. Instead he lunged at the ball and Grant Flower was there at gully to take the catch. Matabeleland were one down with no runs on the board.Gavin Rennie joined Vermeulen and the runs started ticking along, with Rennie getting most of them. The usually hard-hitting Vermeulen was cautious with his strokes and took 14 balls to get off the mark, but when he did, he was on fire.The proceedings were eventually disrupted as the drizzle grew worse with play only resuming after nine minutes.Vermeulen and Rennie put on 99 runs for the second wicket before Vermeulen was dismissed by Waddington Mwayenga, caught behind by Taibu for 44 runs which came off 54 balls.The left handed pair of Rogers and Rennie restored the innings with Rennie getting his half-century from 72 balls, hitting nine fours after staying at the crease for 100 minutes. Mashonaland made a change to their bowling, bringing on veteran Craig Evans and the move worked out as he went on to dismiss Rennie for 71, having him caught by Dion Ebrahim.Rogers got his half-century after for 75 minutes at the crease, facing 54deliveries and smashing ten fours. His partnership with Andre Hoffman yielded 49 runs before Hoffman, who looked on his way to a big score, was run out for 17 runs with Trevor Gripper throwing in the ball for Taibu to finish off the dismissal.Captain Heath Streak joined in the hunt for the runs but he tended to be on the defensive most of the times, especially against young off-spinner Prosper Utseya.After 193 minutes at the crease, dispatching 19 fours and facing 150 balls, Rogers finally reached the century mark. He did it in style, hitting two consecutive fours from left arm spinner Grant Flower.Amos Maungwa grabbed his first wicket when he dismissed Streak, having him caught at gully by Grant Flower for 40, which came off 102 balls.Gavin Ewing, who grabbed a double-century against Midlands last week, came in and settled immediately, dispatching two boundaries off Grant Flower. He went on to get his half-century after facing 52 balls, hitting ten fours and a six.Utseya got his first wicket when he had Ewing given out leg before wicket for 68 runs which came off 75 balls with 13 fours and a six. Mluleki Nkala was the new man in but he was yet to open his account after facing up to four balls.Taibu used eight bowlers but none of them managed to offer any solution with Hondo, Evans, Utseya and Maungwa grabbing one wicket apiece but their figures were not impressive. The Mashonaland fielding was also disappointing.

Warwickshire’s coach John Inverarity will remain at Edgbaston for a third season, after he was persuaded to stay on by the club.Inverarity, 60, was considering a return to education after having retired from a 36-year teaching career which included being Headmaster of Hale School in Perth. His tenure in education had previously been briefly interrupted by a couple of inspirational stints as Kent’s coach, and then in 2003 he announced that he had called time on teaching as he took up the coaching position at Edgbaston.However, after considering his options, he has now agreed to stay on with Warwickshire in a bid to spur them to further success, as they try to repeat this year’s Championship-winning triumph. Inverarity, who played six Tests for Australia, struck up a winning partnership with Warwickshire’s captain, Nick Knight and the club are relieved to have secured his services for another term.”Everybody at the club is delighted with news that John will be back with us again next season,” Dennis Amiss, Warwickshire’s chief executive, told Warwickshire CCC’s official website. “He and Nick Knight work so well together, and now they can keep building.”

A number of Zimbabwe players have signed a petition calling on Peter Chingoka, the board’s chairman, and Ozias Bvute, the managing director, to resign, Cricinfo has reliably learnt.It is said to contain a number of demands and was signed by 30 players, including captain Tatenda Taibu, who was reportedly the first to sign it. The move came as a result of ZC’s announcement last Thursday that it was introducing performance-related contracts.”The players signed a petition with a number of demands, chief among those demands was that Chingoka and Bvute must step down because they are the greatest failures in Zimbabwe cricket,” one of the players said. “Thirty players signed it but it has not been handed over to Chingoka and Bvute as some of them are now worried about some of the things in the petition.”Chingoka and Bvute need to act swiftly and wisely if they are to defuse a rapidly deteriorating situation before next week’s opening Test against India.

ScorecardSajeewa Weerakoon, the left-arm spinner, took 4 for 28 to reduce South Africa A to 108 for 6 with an overall lead of just 129 at the Nondescripts Cricket Club Ground in Colombo. Sri Lanka A seized control of the match after conceding a first-innings lead of 21 as they were dismissed for 224.Paul Adams and Monde Zondenki took three wickets each to skittle out Sri Lanka A for 224 after they were 16 for 1 overnight. Kaushal Lokuarachchi remained unbeaten on 53. Ian Daniel (48) and Jehan Mubarak (46) made useful contributions. Thami Tsolekile and Johan Botha will resume the South African innings on the third day.

Jacob Oram and Scott Styris, the New Zealand allrounders, have recovered from their injuries and will play in the second ODI against South Africa at Cape Town. Oram, who picked up a groin injury in the first game, will play purely as a batsmen while Styris will get his first chance on this tour, after being laid low by a hamstring problem.New Zealand, who choked in the final stages of the first game and lost by a two-wicket margin, also included Hamish Marshall and Jeetan Patel, the offspinner, for the crucial clash. Marshall, who made 16 from 40 deliveries in the first game, has had a torrid time with the bat and will need to rediscover the superb form he displayed last season, when he was named New Zealand’s batsman of the year.John Bracewell, the New Zealand coach, said that the Supersub will be picked before the game. He also cited injuries to key players as the reason for the reverse at Bloemfontein. “We definitely didn’t plan that Nathan Astle would be one of the bowlers,” he said. “If Styris and Oram play, the bowling strength of the teams would be very evenly matched, no matter the type of pitch. We don’t have a lot of depth in New Zealand cricket and when both of our allrounders are out of action, the balance of the team is disrupted.”South Africa, though, have no such worries and were likely to stick to the same winning combination. Graeme Smith, their captain who will be looking to set a new South African record of 11 consecutive ODI wins, didn’t read too much into the victory at Bloemfontein and insisted that New Zealand were still the firm favourites to win the series. “I know that New Zealand consider themselves a small country [in terms of cricket] but they always give the big guns a run for their money,” he said. “They beat India in Zimbabwe last month and also beat us 5-1 in New Zealand last year.”TeamsNew Zealand 1 Stephen Fleming (capt), 2 Nathan Astle, 3 Lou Vincent, 4 Craig McMillan, 5 Scott Styris, 6 Jacob Oram, 7 Brendon McCullum (wk), 8 Daniel Vettori, 9 Andre Adams, 10 Kyle Mills, 11 Shane Bond, 12 James FranklinSouth Africa (probable) 1 Graeme Smith, 2 Boeta Dippenaar, 3 Jacques Kallis, 4 Hereschelle Gibbs, 5 Ashwell Prince, 6 Mark Boucher, 7 Justin Kemp, 8 Shaun Pollock, 9 Charl Langeveldt, 10 Nicky Boje, 11 Andre Nel, 12 Makhaya Ntini

ScorecardBarbados drove home the advantage by securing first-innings points thanks to a fine 127 by Dale Richards that propelled them to finish the second day on 259 for 5, 18 runs ahead of Guyana, at the Everest Cricket Club.Richards, who hit his first first-class century, was the dominant player early on as he and Wayne Blackman (27) put on a solid opening stand. Kurt Wilkinson provided good support, making just 20 in the 63-run partnership with Richards after Reon King, the pick of the bowlers with 3 for 54, dismissed Blackman with the score on 79.However, after Wilkinson departed, Richards went into his shell and dropped anchor as Ryan Hinds played some aggressive shots during his half-century. The pair took to score past 200 and the game was slipping away from Guyana until King struck with the crucial wicket of Hinds for 57 and then followed up by dismissing Floyd Reifer (5). Richards, who battled cramps in the latter half of his innings, fell just before stumps, leg-before to Esaun Crandon.

Craig McMillan’s woeful batting form in recent times has prompted David Trist, a former New Zealand and Canterbury coach, to call for his sacking from the national side.McMillan, who contributed just 20 runs from three innings in the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy against Australia, has been called by Trist as a batsman failing to deliver the goods. “I’ve been a tremendous supporter of Macca over the years, but I believe the bell is tolling for him now. He just hasn’t delivered of late,” Trist told the . “At times he does not seem to bat to a plan and if there is one it’s hard to work out. There was a lack of conviction about his last innings in Christchurch that concerned me.”Trist, who coached New Zealand from 1999 to 2001, offered the name of Mathew Sinclair, who has played as both opener and middle-order batsman for his country, as a suitable replacement. Sinclair performed credibly during New Zealand A’s tour to Sri Lanka during September and October, and Trist has cited the upcoming series against Sri Lanka and West Indies as the ideal platform to finetune the squad for the 2007 World Cup.Another name highlighting the domestic scene is that of Jesse Ryder, the Wellington batsmen who has scored 133 and 79 to get his season off to a flier. With McMillan out of sorts, and the struggling Hamish Marshall, with 47 ODI caps, getting a five-ball duck to go with a 4 against Central Districts in his last match, Ryder has been marked out as a potential name for the upcoming one-day matches against Sri Lanka.However, Vaughn Johnson, the Wellington coach, has quelled rumours that Ryder is set for the international stage. “There is a lot of talk about Jesse Ryder at the moment, but I think the guy needs to be left alone to have another season of domestic cricket,” Johnson told a Wellington daily. “If he has that, then I think he might be a contender for next year. He’s only a kid and he hasn’t got much of a domestic one-day record.”Ryder, 21, has scored 564 runs at 22 at State Shield level but his first-class record is far more impressive with 1369 runs at close to 50, including a highest score of 236.New Zealand host Sri Lanka for a five-match one-day series beginning December 31.

A three-hour delayed start due to overnight rain denied any chances of a result as the match between Guyana and Leeward Islands ended in a drawat St Maarten. Guyana opted not to enforce the follow-on after dismissing Leewards for 349 and instead chose to bat out the rest of the day. Shivnarine Chanderpaul, the captain, and Narsingh Deonarine played out the 33 overs remaining, scoring 65 not out and 58 not out respectively. Guyana finished on 159 for 2, with Adam Sanford taking both wickets.Earlier, Deonarine took the last three Leeward Islands’ wickets to finish with his career-best figures of 5 for 94 from 28.4 overs. With this draw, Guyana gain six points for the first-innings lead. Krishna Arjune picked up the Man-of-the-Match award for his innings of 157.