Ramesh Powar and Suresh Raina have been picked for the Test series in West Indies after their impressive performances in one-day internationals. VRV Singh, the Punjab fast bowler, and Dinesh Karthik, the Tamil Nadu wicketkeeper, have also been included in the squad.India opted to go for the third spinner in Powar and left out Ajit Agarkar and RP Singh. Robin Uthappa was also omitted as the selectors decided against the reserve opener for Virender Sehwag and Wasim Jaffer, who passed a fitness Test on Tuesday. Kiran More, the chairman of selectors, said that they had Mahendra Singh Dhoni to fill the opener’s slot if needed.More defended Agarkar’s exclusion, based on his poor record in Tests but praised his performance in the three ODIs so far. ” We saw the statistics and Agarkar has not been performing as a Test player”, he said. “We also saw the situation on a green top in Karachi where three other fast bowlers were looked in before him. He is bowling well now [in ODIs] and we are happy for him.” Agarkar has been India’s best bowler in the first three ODIs, with six wickets at an average of 15.83 and economy of 3.27 per over. However, Agarkar has never been a regular in the Test side and in his last complete series, against Sri Lanka in December 2005, he took only three wickets at a a strike rate of 118. He was dropped for the last two Tests against Pakistan in January, and the series against England in March.On VRV Singh making his first Test tour, More said, “He has done very well in domestic cricket. He always had potential. He did well in the Abu Dhabi tournament but not in the final. We just can’t count out any player [based on one bad performance]. Somebody gets three ducks we can’t say he is a bad player. We always have to back them up as they have potential.”Test team
Virender Sehwag, Wasim Jaffer, Rahul Dravid (capt), VVS Laxman, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Mohammad Kaif, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Dinesh Karthik, Irfan Pathan, Ramesh Powar, Anil Kumble, Harbhajan Singh, Munaf Patel, Sreesanth, VRV Singh

Brian Lara’s press conference
Download MP3 (right click and select “save target as”)
Streaming Audio: Real :: WMAAfter West Indies took the honours of a rain-hit first day in St Kitts, a pleased Brian Lara addressed the media and said the batsmen had prepared differently this time around. He was upbeat at their performance but hoped they could kick on and make this start count. Chris Gayle, who missed out on a hundred again, felt that Ramnaresh Sarwan and Daren Ganga would carry on their strong position and spur West Indies on to a large total. Cricinfo’s Siddhartha Vaidyanathan reports from St Kitts. Listen in!Download MP3 (right click and select “save target as”)
Streaming Audio: Real :: WMA

Duncan Fletcher has indicated that Andrew Strauss could well be in contention for the England captaincy in this winter’s Ashes, after bouncing back from a 5-0 drubbing in the one-dayers against Sri Lanka to secure the team’s first Test series victory for 11 months with back-to-back wins against Pakistan.”Andrew has captained very well in the sense that he has started with a new side,” Fletcher told reporters after the Headingley Test. “It wasn’t easy for him going through that loss to Sri Lanka but he is a really strong character.”Nothing has highlighted that more than the fact that being captain hasn’t really affected him,” added Fletcher. “He has got hundreds in the second innings twice against Pakistan, which is the hardest time to get hundreds.”Strauss himself hinted that he would be keen to keep hold of the captaincy when Andrew Flintoff returns from injury, saying: “Anyone would love to be the England captain. I don’t think that changes whether you’ve done three Test matches or no Test matches.”I’ve enjoyed doing the job over the last three Tests, but as far as I know, Fred’s coming back for the winter. All we want is for the England team to do as well as possible out in Australia.”Flintoff, however, has played just three Tests this summer, and is not expected to recover from ankle surgery until the eve of the first Test against Australia, at Brisbane on November 23. Strauss is expected to remain England’s leader in the interim, starting with next week’s Oval Test, and continuing through the one-dayers against Pakistan and the Champions Trophy in October.”That is the kind of thing we have to keep in house amongst the selectors,” Fletcher said of the captaincy conundrum. “Every time we meet we debate certain positions but at this stage we have spoken about Freddie being a natural leader in Australia and we will have to talk more when the time comes.”

VB Chandrasekhar, the national selector from South zone, has come out in support of John Wright with regard to his comments on team selection, saying that it was well within his rights to share his opinions. Since disclosing his opinions in his book , Wright has faced scathing criticism from other former selectors, who were of the opinion that his comments were in bad taste.In an interview to , Chandrasekhar said that he enjoyed a good working relationship with Wright. “He has the right to say what he has said,” Chandrasekhar said. “He has not named anyone and I respect him for that. We had long meetings, but I never had a problem working or interacting with him. There were no major arguments.”Chandrasekhar stated that Wright’s most productive period was during his initial years as India coach, when he presented new ideas to the selection committee. However, it began to stagnate after that, and the selectors felt the need for fresh inputs. “Wright, perhaps, showed the initiative in the first three years”, he said. “Towards the end, it probably wasn’t there. He was a very quiet man.”Wright mentioned instances during meetings when certain selectors openly expressed their resentment if their chosen players failed to find favour with the rest, but Chandrasekhar said that such cases are bound to happen. “Every selection meeting has a few people leaving with the wrong kind of faces. For instance, there were a few fights while choosing between Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Dinesh Karthik. Karthik got his opportunity first, then Dhoni came along. I feel sorry for Karthik, but if the person performs extraordinarily well like Dhoni, we must all feel very proud about it.”Contrary to Wright’s comments that the system needed overhauling more than anything else, Chandrasekhar defended the five-man zonal selection panel, as it has produced results. He added that such a system is necessary, given the size of the country and the volume of players to pick from. “We are watching matches far away from our zones, criss-crossing the country”, he said. “We watch more domestic cricket than anybody from the team.”

Sport marketing company Nimbus Communications have said it had struck a deal with Rupert Murdoch’s Star to distribute its new 24-hour cricket channel in India.Nimbus, which paid US$612million to secure the rights to screen live coverage of Indian cricket until 2010, said it will start test transmissions of the new channel next month. The channel will be seen in millions of Indian homes via the third party Star platform that already penetrates 96% of homes with cable in India, said Harish Thawani, the Nimbus chairman.Indian homes with cable and satellite was estimated at 55million in 2005 and was projected to grow to 90 million by 2010, according to an industry report this year. “They [Star] will act as our exclusive distributor of cable and satellite in India,” said Thawani.Nimbus secured the live rights for India’s home series earlier this year in the biggest television deal in world cricket. The scale of the deal highlighted the passion for the sport here in India, where it regularly makes the front pages, stars proliferate on hoardings and games are played out on every spare scrap of land.Thawani declined to give financial details of the Star deal but said it was designed to lower distribution costs. He said Nimbus expected to distribute the channel directly to homes in the Middle East and elsewhere in Asia within the next three months.

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

Led by a fluent century by Upul Tharanga, Sri Lanka started their Champions Trophy campaign in fine style beating Bangladesh by 37 runs in the first qualifying match at Mohali. Tharanga’s 129-ball 105, coupled with vital contributions from all the Sri Lankan top-order batsmen, lifted them to an imposing 302, a target that was well beyond Bangladesh, who lost early wickets but managed to lift themselves to 265.Bangladesh’s only triumph against Sri Lanka in ODIs came earlier this year, but from the start it was apparent that another upset today was highly unlikely. Habibul Bashar’s decision to field first was based on the unusual amount of grass on the pitch and the dew factor later in the evening, but none of the Bangladesh bowlers made much impression in the afternoon, though Mohammad Rafique kept the runs in check. Sri Lanka’s fast bowlers, on the other hand, extracted plenty of bounce and movement under lights, and though Aftab Ahmed and Farhad Reza biffed 30s and Saqibul Hasan, the left-handed batsman, managed his maiden ODI half-century, there was never any doubt about which way the match would go.The key to the Sri Lankan innings was regular partnerships for each wicket, with Tharanga being the common factor: with Sanath Jayasuriya he added 67 for the opening wicket in 13 overs to get the innings off to a brisk start; with Mahela Jayawardene, who scored an utterly delightful 35 off 24 balls, he added 63 more in a mere nine overs; Kumar Sangakkara then came in for a 63-run third wicket stand; and Marvan Atapattu, returning from a back injury, put together 51 for the fourth. These partnerships all came in quick time, and ensured that Bangladesh never got a look-in.The batsman who held it all together was Tharanga, who creamed his fifth century in 28 ODIs. When the ball was new and the field in, he boldly chose to go over the top, twice creaming Mashrafe Mortaza over mid-off for fours in an over. Then, when the field spread out, he chipped and nudged it cleverly into the gaps to keep the board ticking over constantly, but also managed to find the fence whenever the bowlers dropped it short and wide. The only blip in his innings came when he played out nine dot balls when on 49, but once he reached his half-century, he motored along smoothly till he finally missed a slog across the line off Mortaza.Tharanga’s was the most substantial innings, but the rest of the batsmen all played vital roles. Jayawardene played with exceptional fluency in his entertaining cameo, cutting, flicking and driving with aplomb. After he was undone by overconfidence, Sangakkara kept the momentum going and then passed on the baton to Atapattu, who returned to international cricket in impressive fashion. Showing plenty of urgency with his strokes and running between the wickets, he farmed the strike around, and biffed seven fours, not all of which were off controlled, conventional strokes.Bangladesh fought back towards the end, grabbing four wickets as batsman after batsman fell in an attempt to force the pace, but Tillakaratne Dilshan and Muttiah Muralitharan whacked 28 from the last two overs to take Sri Lanka past 300.If substantial partnerships for each wicket characterised Sri Lanka’s effort at the crease, then Bangladesh’s reply was stymied by a lack of significant contributions from the top order. Aftab and Reza did their bit, and though it was entertaining while it lasted, the risk factor in their strokeplay was so huge that there was little chance of either batsman being able to sustain it. Aftab charged the fast bowlers and clipped Dilhara Fernando for a magnificent six over long leg, while Reza played a stunning lofted straight-drive off Muralitharan, prancing down the pitch with complete assurance. However, once they were done, the result was never in doubt: Saqibul battled hard for an unbeaten 67, but needed 108 deliveries to get there, and though the lower order all got among the runs, it only helped to the extent of reducing the margin of defeat.Among the Sri Lankan bowlers, Lasith Malinga was the most impressive: though he finished wicketless, he consistently clocked more than 145 kmph and troubled all the batsmen with pace and bounce. Farveez Maharoof helped himself to two wickets in an over – including that of Bashar for a second-ball duck – and with the fast bowlers striking the early blows, Muralitharan’s relative lack of success hardly mattered. Sri Lanka’s effort in the field was out of the top drawer too – Sangakkara pulled off a one-handed stunner to dismiss Shahriar Nafees, while Jayawardene and Dilshan were terrific in the field – and in all, they did enough to suggest that they could be in contention come the first week of November.

Sri Lanka
Sanath Jayasuriya lbw b Rasel 31 (67 for 1)
Mahela Jayawardene c Aftab b Razzaq 35 (130 for 2)
Kumar Sangakkara c Mortaza b Rafique 22 (193 for 3)
Upul Tharanga b Mortaza 105 (244 for 4)
Marvan Atapattu c Reza b Rasel 40 (260 for 5)
Farveez Maharoof run out (Reza) 0 (1 (262 for 6)
Chaminda Vaas c Reza b Razzaq 4 (273 for 7)
Muttiah Muralitharan run out (Mortaza) 11 (295 for 8)
Bangladesh
Shahriar Nafees c Sangakkara b Vaas 5 (22 for 1)
Mohammad Ashraful c Sangakkara b Fernando 18 (55 for 2)
Aftab Ahmed c Sangakkara b Maharoof 33 (78 for 3)
Habibul Bashar c Jayawardene b Maharoof 0 (78 for 4)
Farhad Reza st Sangakkara b Muralitharan 34 (141 for 5)
Khaled Mashud run out (Jayawardene) 8 (155 for 6)
Mohammad Rafique c Vaas b Jayasuriya 12 (177 for 7)
Mashrafe Mortaza b Vaas 30 (226 for 8)
Abdur Razzaq b Maharoof 21 (264 for 9)

A long-standing dispute between the Punjab Sports Council (PSC) and PunjabCricket Association (PCA) has returned to the spotlight after a localcourt issued a notice on behalf of the PSC, asking the PCA to return theland on which their stadium is built.The PCA Stadium in Mohali was built in 1992 on land leased from the PSC.Inderjit Singh Bindra, the president of the PCA, was then also the sports secretary inthe state government and he is supposed to have taken the lease on anominal annual rent (which some sources say was as meager as Rs 100). Nowthe PSC has demanded Rs 150 crore (US$ 33,366,000 approx), which theybelieve the PCA has earned since 1992, along with an additional Rs 50crore for damages.Pargat Singh, former Indian hockey captain and currently director ofsports at Punjab, filed a petition yesterday at Kharar SDM’s court. Heconfirmed that the PSC had asked the PCA to hand over the land to theSports Council, which, he believed, was the legal owner. Pargat also addedthat the PSC had been forced into this move because the PCA had requestedfor more time in response to the legal notice sent in the second week ofJuly. “Three months is a long time and since there was not furthermovement, we decided to approach the courts.”As the situation stands, the PCA has been asked to file a reply byNovember 15. Bindra insisted he hadn’t seen the notice yet. A few closeobservers point to the political dimension to the whole matter, with theruling party trying to get a foothold into cricketing matters in the stateahead of the assembly elections scheduled for February next year.

Australia 1 for 28 (Ponting 11*, Hayden 12*) trail England 6 for 551d (Collingwood 206, Pietersen 158) by 523 runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball commentary
How they were out – England
How they were out – Australia

It has happened again. Down 1-0 after a first-Testthrashing, England have been revived for the secondAshes series in a row by batting first in the nextmatch. Through brilliant returns from Paul Collingwoodand Kevin Pietersen they grabbed the momentum fromAustralia, posted 6 for 551 and promptly declared infive-star luxury. The series gained further life whenJustin Langer edged Andrew Flintoff, who decided toopen the bowling, and the home side were 1 for 28 atstumps.Collingwood clipped a superb 206 and Pietersen backedhim up with a sensible 158 as England enjoyed anotherwildly successful day on a pitch offering nothingencouraging to the fast bowlers. Together they etchedthemselves into Ashes history with England’s highestfourth-wicket stand against Australia, passing the 288of Nasser Hussain and Graham Thorpe at Edgbaston in1997.Individually they coped well with Australia’spersistent tinkering in the field, the attempts atregular containment and Shane Warne and Stuart Clark,the biggest dangers in an ineffective attack.Collingwood closed a 70-year double-century droughtfor England Down Under when he became the first sinceWally Hammond to achieve the milestone. It was anoutstanding all-round innings that has sealed his spotat No. 4. Pietersen has been criticised for sitting aspot lower in the order but the move has workedspectacularly in this game.The top four blunted Australia and then Pietersen andCollingwood were allowed to capitalise, driving theirside into a position that was unthinkable for even themost positive England supporter over the past week.They narrowly avoided going three sessions withoutAustralia’s hyped attack taking a wicket and thechilly wind that blew between lunch and tea was morebiting than Glenn McGrath and Brett Lee.It took an edge from Clark, who was easily the leadingfast man with 3 for 75, to end Collingwood’s stay of392 balls and signal the tea break. India havepunished Australia at home like this recently, butonly occasionally do they allow themselves to betreated so badly in their own conditions.Adelaide is not Warne’s favourite ground and he hasnever given up as many runs against England as his 1for 167. Struck for centuries in consecutive inningsby opponents who usually shake whenever he flicks hiswrist, he has started to look like a 37-year-oldinstead of a vibrant 20-something. Spin has been greatbut slow and his first wicket didn’t come until his47th over. He barely acknowledged it.Age is also telling for McGrath and his left heel. Hewas on and off the field in the opening session for boot treatment and was belted for three fours by Pietersenin his first over of the morning. Clark was preferredto start proceedings and McGrath was only called for athree-over spell. He delivered 12 in the day, most ata speed in the mid-120s, and the decision to passhimself fit is in the process of back firing.

England have no such concerns thanks to the 310-runpartnership between Collingwood and Pietersen thatrattled at 3.68 an over. Collingwood’s century arrivedfrom his second ball this morning and he was measuredin the first session before outscoring Pietersen by 27runs in the second.The most spectacular of his 16 fours were lofteddrives to bring up his 150 and 200 as he corrected hiserror on 96 in Brisbane. Warne was the first to watchthe ball sail over his head while Michael Clarke wasthe victim when Collingwood joined Hammond and REFoster as the only Englishmen to scoredouble-centuries in Australia.Until his dismissal Collingwood came closest to losinghis wicket on 109 when Michael Hussey had a chance ata direct hit and missed. As Collingwood walkedfollowing his edge 97 runs later Pietersen ran over tohis team-mate to join the loud applause and the BarmyArmy sang his name.Australia had shut down Pietersen by employing Warnearound the wicket, sometimes with five men on thelegside, but he was happy to let the ball thud intohis pads and occasionally used his feet to attackhalf-volleys. Lee was hammered by Pietersen on acouple of memorable occasions; one thumping straightdrive was just out of the bowler’s reach and a finehook shot sped to the short square boundary. However,Lee was convinced Pietersen nicked him on hisovernight score of 60, but Steve Bucknor ruled not outand was supported by the technology.A quick single from Clark brought up Pietersen’ssecond century against Australia and his double-armraise paid particular attention to his fiancée andLiberty X singer Jessica Taylor, who was standing andsmiling in the Sir Edwin Smith stand. A similarattempt at a run caused his downfall when Ponting under-armed sharply from midwicket. By then England’sgrip on the match was as secure as Pietersen’s bearhugs of Collingwood.

Short cuts

Shot of the day
Paul Collingwood’s lofted four over the head of ShaneWarne to bring up his 150. He tried a similar shot inBrisbane last week and failed, but stayed true to hisaggressive instincts and was rewarded.Highlight of the day
Collingwood again. His double-century was only thefifth by an Englishman in Australia. Wally Hammondscored three, the last in 1936-37, and RE Foster’s 287came in 1903-04.Partnership of the day
Collingwood and Pietersen gave Justin Langer andMatthew Hayden a target to aim for this summer for themost hugs in a liaison. There was a lot of love on theoval as they produced the highest fourth-wicketpartnership for England against Australia.Surprise of the day
Bored of Pietersen andWarne’s battle, the Boony Army tried to start aMexican Wave in the middle session, but the Barmy Armywere gripped by the action and refused to haveanything to do with it. How times change.Wave of the day
Glenn McGrath has never given up as many runs withouta wicket as his 107 in this innings, but theperformance did not steal all of his humour. When theBarmy Army cheered his century McGrath gave a thumbsup as he walked back to his mark.

The first of five one-day internationals between Pakistan and West Indies at Rawalpindi has been abandoned due to heavy rain.Umpires Daryl Harper and Aleem Dar called off the match after three days of torrential downpours left the ground waterlogged. “The umpires asked the curator if he could hand them over the ground in three hours time but he said this would not be possible despite the rains having stopped,” Pakistan Cricket Board spokesman Naushad Ali said. “They have called off the match due to wet conditions of the ground and square.”Brian Lara said his team would now focus on Thursday’s second match. “The weather wasn’t great but we have to move on,” he said. “The focus is now on the second match as the series moves on.”Pakistan will be boosted by the return of Inzamam-ul-Haq. Despite the fact that the first ODI was abandoned, the match will still count as part of the four-match ban he received in the wake of the Oval affair. Having missed Pakistan’s three games in the Champions Trophy and now this one, for which he wasn’t selected, Inzamam will be allowed to return for the second ODI in Faisalabad on December 7.

Kevin Pietersen was only convinced of a move to No. 4 when he realised England’s brittle tail was limiting his batting opportunities. Shortly before John Buchanan questioned Pietersen’s commitment to the touring team, Duncan Fletcher revealed the England management had been trying to get its most gifted player to leave his favoured place at five since before the Ashes series.After being stuck with the struggling lower order for three consecutive innings in Perth and Melbourne, Pietersen finally decided to shift mid-match at the MCG and arrived ahead of Paul Collingwood. Pietersen made only 1 before being bowled aiming a drive off Stuart Clark as England fell to their fourth defeat of the contest.”We’ve been trying to get him to four but he just feels very, very comfortable at five,” Fletcher said. “Then Kevin discussed with us that he was batting with the tail a lot and he wanted to bat four. We said ‘Are you sure you want to? He said he’d rather do that than be caught with the tail that we’ve got at the moment.”England’s original top four batsmen were used to blunt Australia’s attack in the hope Pietersen and Andrew Flintoff could provide a surge in the middle, but Flintoff has been shut down and Australia have rushed through the tail. Despite the imbalance and the direction of the series, Pietersen was unable to shelve his personal feelings until after his seventh innings.Pietersen, who has scored 420 runs at 60 in the series, will be used at second drop in Sydney from Tuesday and be followed by Collingwood. Fletcher said Collingwood was ready to “do what’s best for the team” and knew Pietersen was the better player. “Colly realised we were not using Kevin’s full potential,” Fletcher said.The difficulty in getting Pietersen to fit in with the side’s plan was highlighted by Buchanan when he said Pietersen seemed to be distanced from the group. “He talks about how much of a team man he is, but I can’t see that,” Buchanan said. Pietersen was one of four England players who did not attend the team’s large Christmas lunch the day before the Test.Buchanan has also noticed Pietersen spending a lot of time fielding on the boundary when his skills could be used better inside the ring. “I wonder whether the criticism of him is because he’s different from the group,” Buchanan said. “Difference is important in a team dynamic, we have some different players in our team, but it’s how the difference is managed.”Concerns over the size of England’s tour group, which has expanded to almost 100 and includes the players’ families, have been raised as possible distractions to the side, which heads to Sydney trying to avoid a cleansweep. However, Fletcher said the arrangements were similar to previous trips and would be reviewed when they returned home.”We have it in England when they are on the tour there,” he said. “We see it as no different. When we go back there we play seven Tests and the wives will be there for all of them. We just believe that with the amount of cricket that’s played that people are as comfortable off the field as they are on the field.”