News

It can't be fun being a selector

Choosing between the best

08-Jul-2004•Amit Varma

It could be a fast bouncy pitch, says curator

Kevin Mitchell, the groundsman from the Gabba, reckons that the pitch at the Cazaly Stadium in Cairns could turn out to be a bouncy one

Michael Clark, the left-arm swing bowler from Western Australia, has confirmed his fitness and is looking forward to the beginning of next season

Michael Clark fit and ready to return

Andre Adams has been thrown a lifeline by John Bracewell, the New Zealand coach, who has said that Adams still has an international future as long as he sorts out his attitude

Andre Adams gets another chance

08-Jul-2004•AAP

Rain has the final say

The rain has returned to put an end to what would have been, in effect, the first Twenty20 international

Australia's cricketers have always been renowned for their competitive attitude, but now they are to be known for their fair play as well

Playing hard but fair

Kevin Pietersen will have to wait longer than expected to be eligible to play for England

Pietersen will not be available for Champions Trophy

In the latest round of Twenty20 Cup matches, there were wins for Leicestershire, Warwickshire and Lancashire, while Gloucestershire triumphed over Northants in a game reduced to just 5-overs-a-side by rain

Maddy hundred overpowers Yorkshire

Mahela Jayawardene, the Sri Lankan vice-captain, is confident of levelling the series in the second Test in the Bundaberg Rum Stadium in Cairns, beginning tomorrow, and hoped that the match would be played on a fair pitch

'We have the skill to perform on a fair pitch' - Jayawardene

Ricky Ponting threw his weight solidly behind Cairns and Darwin as Test venues despite criticism from some quarters about those centres

Ponting backs Darwin and Cairns

08-Jul-2004•AAP

John Read resigns as ECB director of communications

The exodus from the England & Wales Cricket Board has continued, with the news that John Read, their director of communications, is to quit his post

Sourav Ganguly has said that while he was encouraged by India's performances last season, the players needed to guard against complacency and ensure that they improved on it this year

Ganguly warns against complacency

Ricky Ponting will attempt to follow in the footsteps of Steve Waugh, Adam Gilchrist and Mark Taylor by winning his first Test as captain on Australian soil, when the second and final match against Sri Lanka begins at Cairns tomorrow

Ponting returns to haunt Sri Lanka

08-Jul-2004•Christian Ryan

'We have the skill to perform on a fair pitch' - Jayawardene

Shane Warne does not fancy his chances of surpassing Muttiah Muralitharan's world bowling record - not this week, not ever - and has tipped his long-time Sri Lankan spin rival to finish with a possibly unassailable 1000 Test scalps.

Murali's record safe, says Warne

07-Jul-2004•Wisden CricInfo staff

Murali braces up to prove a point

Muttiah Muralitharan recently wore a specially designed elbow brace to demonstrate that he does not throw while bowling

There were no surprises on the first day of the ICC World Cup Qualifying Series 2004, as Bermuda, USA and Canada swept past their opponents

USA stutter to victory

Shoaib Akhtar has been picked in Pakistan's 14-member one-day squad for the Asia Cup, their first outing under their new coach Bob Woolmer

Shoaib Akhtar picked in Asia Cup squad

Australia's Mike Hussey has signed a short-term contract with Gloucestershire, and will return to county cricket while Shoaib Malik is on international duty with Pakistan

Mike Hussey signs for Gloucestershire