Indian news round-up

The CBFS on Monday threatened to sue the BCCI for breach of contract. Angered by India's refusal to participate in the tri-nation tournament, the CBFS chief executive Zahid Noorani was quoted in the Khaleej Times as saying "We will consult our lawyers to know how we can proceed after this breach of contract by India." The contract with CBFS was to expire this year.

The organisers have downplayed the Indian government's decision. "There will be no great impact on our long term strategy as organisers of international cricket. We will continue to play cricket here in Sharjah with or without India," Noorani said. He added "Our contracts and international commitments are not affected and we will continue with cricket."

The CBFS chief coordinator Asif Iqbal came down heavily on India's decision saying it was based on rumours of match-fixing and involvement of underworld that were entirely unfounded.

Ranji Trophy champions Mumbai crashed to their third successive defeat in the Champions Cup at Perth when they were beaten by New Zealand's Central Districts by 106 runs on Monday. It was the New Zealand team's first win in two matches in the round-robin tournament, giving them an outside chance of qualifying for Wednesday's final if they can beat Western Australia by a big margin in Tuesday's last league match.

Mumbai, after winning the toss, sent in the New Zealanders on an easy-paced wicket. They had the Shell Cup champions reeling at 88/5. But a superb 108-run partnership between captain Jacob Oram and Glen Sulzberger got CD out of a hole and set up the winning margin. The pair led CD's recovery and helped the side reach a fighting total of 268 for nine in their allotted 50 overs. The big-hitting Oram crunched three fours and three sixes. Santosh Saxena was the pick of Mumbai bowlers capturing 3-39 from 10 overs.

Chasing a stiff target, Mumbai skidded to 11 for three in the fifth over before Vinayak Mane (53 from 72 balls) and Sairaj Bahutule (38 in 45) combined to briefly raise their hopes. But the last five wickets toppled for 21 runs and they were all out in the 39th over.

India have moved up the World ODI ranking which will decide on the groupings for the 2003 World Cup to be held in South Africa. The latest provisional ranking was released by Ali Bacher, executive director of the tournament in Barbados on Monday, quotes AFP. The latest rankings takes into account all One-Day Internationals played up to 31 March. India have moved into fifth place ahead of England, following the first three matches of their series against Australia. England lost all three matches in Sri Lanka during March. The final World Cup groupings will be decided on the rankings at the end of September 2001.

Going by the current rankings, for the first time, India will be placed along with Pakistan in the same group. In terms of an International Cricket Council decision, the World Cup pools will be decided on the following basis:

Group A: Australia, Pakistan, India, West Indies, Zimbabwe, winners of ICC Trophy in Toronto in July, runners-up in Toronto. Group B: South Africa, Sri Lanka, England, New Zealand, Bangladesh, Kenya, third place team in Toronto.

The Australian Cricket Board (ACB) will send a nine-member team to Chennai on Wednesday to gain valuable experience in the subcontinent conditions which the Australians consider as a challenging one. According to an ACB media release, during the eight-day tour by the nine players, they will take part in the net sessions where they will have valuable lessons from the spin gurus Bishen Bedi and Erapalli Prasanna. The team will also play practice at the MRF Pace Foundation.

ACB Commonwealth Bank Cricket Academy coach Wayne Phillips who will lead the touring party, said the trip has been designed to subject young Australian players to the difficulties of playing cricket in the sub-continent. "The tour is a chance to educate players about foreign playing conditions that have caused Australian teams difficulty in the past," Phillips said. He added "Even if these players never tour India again, the experience has been designed to help them develop as cricketers and young men."

This is the third squad the ACB is sending to India for training purposes as part of the memorandum of understanding between the Commonwealth Bank Cricket Academy and the MRF Pace Foundation. The agreement has seen players from the MRF Pace Foundation tour Australia in exchange. Players to have taken part in recent training tours to India include Matthew Hayden, Australia's leading batsman in the recent Test series in India, New South Wales wicket-keeper Brad Haddin, West Australian Simon Katich, and Victorian opener Matthew Elliott. The following are the players to take part in the short tour: Anthony Clark (NSW), Sean Clingeleffer (Tas), Steven Coombes (NSW), Simon Dart (Vic), Xavier Doherty (Tas), Mark Higgs (NSW), Brad Hodge (Vic), Scott O'Leary (Queensland) and Shane Watson (Tas).

Indian Test opener and Orissa captain Shiv Sunder Das and former Indian seamer Debasish Mohanty are back for the crucial Ranji Trophy semifinal against Baroda to be played at Baroda from April 5 to 9. According to Orissa Cricket Association (OCA) sources, Das will lead the Orissa side. Both Das and Mohanty missed the quarterfinal game against Madhya Pradesh as they were away on national duty.

Another medium pacer Bipin Singh, who was injured earlier, has also been included in the team. The three players have been included in place of batsman Rashmi Ranjan Das and medium pacers Sujan Mohanty and Sunil Das who were in the squad against Madhya Pradesh. The OCA has promised a sum of Rs. 50,000 for each player if they won the semifinal against Baroda. Earlier the side was felicitated for its victory in the quarterfinal match in Cuttack on Sunday. This is the first time that Orissa has entered the semifinal of the national championship.

The team: Shiv Sunder Das (capt), Sanjay Raul, Rashmi Ranjan Parida, Prabhanjan Mallick, P. Jayachandra, Goutam Gopal (wk), Jagannath Dash, Ajay Barik, Debasish Mohanty, Pradip Das, Suresh Kumar, Yashpal Mohanty (wk), Bipin Singh and Sanjay Satpathy. Coach: Jimut Mohanty.