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Nayan Mongia, the former India Test wicketkeeper, has announced his retirement after being dropped by Baroda.”I had already written a letter to the Baroda Cricket Association on December 14 expressing my desire to retire from first-class cricket,” Mongia told reporters on Tuesday at his home in Vadodara, “but the shocking decision prompted me to take the step. I was playing well and there was no reason to exclude me from the team. I was dropped from the team even though I had a fitness certificate.” In five innings this season, Mongia has failed to reach fifty once.Mongia, who turned 35 on Sunday, played in 44 Tests with a highest score of 152 against Australia in the one-off Test at Delhi in 1996-97 when he opened the batting. His last Test was the epic victory at Kolkata also against Australia in March 2001, when India won after following on. Mongia’s lowest point came when India’s Central Bureau of Investigation questioned him over his alleged involvement with bookmakers, although he was later cleared of all involvement.Mongia mostly played for Baroda and West Zone, on the Indian domestic circuit.In 183 first-class matches, starting in November 1989, he made 353 catches and 43 stumpings, and scored over 7000 runs.

Terry Jenner’s roles as Shane Warne’s mentor and an ECB legspinning coach have been cleared as a conflict of interest. The ECB received complaints after Jenner had fine-tuned Warne’s action before the first Test at Lord’s, where his six wickets sent a new generation of English batsmen looking for answers.However, an ECB spokesman told Jenner was a consultant rather than a full-time staff member on a program to unearth Test quality spinners by 2007. “As far as we are concerned there is no problem at all,” the spokesman told the paper. “Terry Jenner is his own man. He was involved for one specific project and his work on that is finished.”At a pre-Test net session Jenner, who has coached Warne for more than a decade, worked with him for two hours after spotting some areas where his loop and drift could be improved. Warne then produced what Adam Gilchrist said was “some of the best bowling I’ve kept to from him”. “That’s a pretty big statement, he has set such high standards,” Gilchrist told . “When he bowls over the top he gets that drift towards leg. Then, when you are spinning it, you only have to spin it six inches and you are going to deceive batsmen.”Gilchrist will miss the tour match against Worcestershire, which starts on Saturday, but plans to work on problems caused by Andrew Flintoff bowling around the wicket. The second Test begins at Birmingham on August 4.

A report in The Standard claims that the five-year ban handed down to Maurice Odumbe was recommended by presiding adjudicator Ahmed Ebrahim, a retired Zimbabwean supreme court judge, and not, as first thought, by the Kenyan Cricket Association.Odumbe was banned following a hearing in July which found him guilty of associating with known bookmakers. At the time it was widely reported that the KCA had pressed for the punishment. But The Standard published Ebrahim’s confidential report.”Far from shouldering this responsibility [ as Kenya’s captain], Odumbe has shown himself to be dishonest and devious in his behaviour in relation to the game of cricket,” Ebrahim said in his findings. “He has been callous and greedy in the way he has conducted himself. There is no suggestion that he was in desperate straits and in dire need of money because of some serious difficulty which may have befallen him.”Odumbe has exhibited no remorse. He has not indicated any intention to mend his ways. Instead, he has chosen to cast doubts on the honesty and integrity of people who have despaired of his behaviour. The penalty provided for his `illegal’ conduct in terms of the ICC Code of Conduct is a minimum ban of two years or a maximum of a life ban.”He has not been found guilty of `match-fixing’ but, as I have indicated, his conduct was outrageously reprehensible,” concluded Ebrahim. “In my view, a five-year ban would meet the justice of the case and I so recommend.”The ramifications of the evidence given by Katherine Maloney, Odumbe’s estranged wife, continue. It was her testimony which proved so damning to Odumbe, and which resulted in ICC Anti-Corruption officials again visiting Nairobi last week as part of an ongoing investigation.

Roshan Mahanama and Jeff Crowe are among the four new inductees in ICC’s Elite Panel of Referees, while Wasim Raja’s contract has not being renewed. The panel of four match referees has been expanded to eight, with Chris Broad and Alan Hurst being the other new inductees. Ranjan Madugalle retains his position as the chief of the panel, and Gundappa Viswanath, Clive Lloyd and Mike Procter get an extension.Malcolm Speed, ICC’s chief executive, explained why the expansion was necessary. "The ICC Match Referee plays a critical role in ensuring that international cricket is played both within the rules and within the spirit of the game," he said. "Expanding the Panel to eight gives us a deeper pool of former international players with a strong feel for the game who will be able to apply their knowledge when making judgments about on-field events. Moving to eight referees also provides the ICC with the flexibility needed to meet the international schedule over the coming 12 months."Speed said that there were many applicants for the new posts. "”It was very pleasing to speak to a number of very well qualified applicants for these positions from around the cricketing world. In the end we had many more applicants than positions available and for the ICC this is a strong position to be in. Unfortunately, for some people the strength of the field meant that they missed out on contracts on this occasion. Despite the individual disappointment, it means that the ICC has been able to pick the best available candidates to take on this critical role for international cricket."

Percy Sonn, the ICC’s ever-entertaining president, regaled the media fornearly 45 minutes after his arrival in Colombo, but the sense of humourwas conspicuously absent when it came to his views on South Africa’swithdrawal from the tri-nation series that also involved India and SriLanka. With the ensuing three-match series between Sri Lanka and Indiaalso on the verge of being cancelled, Sri Lanka Cricket is in disarray andlooking at a considerable sum in the red.Sonn, who broke the ice by speaking of his love of the country, trips upnorth to see the elephants and the efficacy of the local oils, invoked thespirit of cricket when he spoke of South Africa’s withdrawal from thetour. “It’s always disappointing when cricket is called off,” he said. “Thespirit of cricket is also about a commitment to play even under the worstcircumstances.”There was a chuckle or two when he spoke of his experiences managing ateam in the townships – “On a Friday night, I’d have to beat up people tokeep them sober for the next day. Some days, if we didn’t have enoughplayers, we’d fill in with school boys.”Sonn went on to state that it was now for Sri Lanka Cricket and CricketSouth Africa to sit together and decide when the matches could be played.He said that the issue would only be presented before the DisputeResolution Committee if both countries couldn’t come to an agreement onthe matter.While admitting that security was a touchy subject, Sonn stated thatcricket had to live with ground realities. ‘The world we live in is animperfect place,” he said. ‘Every country has some issues. The place whereI was born is often referred to as the crime capital of the world, but Ihave never felt that way. I feel as safe there as I do here.”We in the cricketing family have to make the most of the situation andlook to play at all times. We must go out of our way to ensure that thespirit of cricket overrides all the diversities in our cultures.”Sonn spoke of how the 1995 Rugby World Cup in South Africa had helpedbring the country together, and also alluded to Pakistan’s tour of Indiain 1999, with the two countries on the verge of another war, as examplesof how sport could have a positive effect on life.With the ICC’s own tournament, the Champions Trophy, due to be held inIndia in October-November, Sonn said that every precaution had been takenon the security front. “It will be a feast of cricket,” he said. “We havean opportunity to create the best of cricket in India, a country whereeveryone watches the game.”He said that his reaction had been one of “deep disappointment” when helearnt of South Africa’s decision to leave Sri Lanka. “It’s not for theICC to judge the South African decision,” he said, before going on to addthat if all countries were amenable to the idea, the ICC might considermaking the security assessment themselves, rather than leaving theresponsibility to private agencies.He said that the decision to ask for an independent opinion, in the wakeof South Africa’s own security team declaring Colombo unsafe, was part ofICC protocol, put in place after South Africa had dithered prior to theirtour of Pakistan in late 2003. He said that Sri Lanka Cricket would haveto calculate their losses and then talk to South Africa about reschedulingthe matches within the framework of the Future Tours Programme.The man who was president of the United Cricket Board of South Africaduring the last World Cup, laughed when asked what security arrangementshad been made for his visit. “They’re so efficient that I don’t see them,”said Sonn with a chuckle. And when someone enquired whether he felt safewhere his countrymen had not, he smiled and said: “I’m from Cape Town. We aredifferent.”

Justin Langer and Matthew Hayden went on a roaring rampage of revenge. And Murali Kartik came in for some very special attention. By the time Anil Kumble dismissed both openers, Kartik had given away 64 runs in eight overs.In the end it came unstuck, but Australia had a plan for the spinners. It involved using the sweep, and if the ball was flighted, using their feet to get to the ball. Both tactics were used to good effect. Kartik was not allowed to settle down, with 39 deliveries to the openers resulting in 57 runs. Fifty-four of those runs came in 24 balls, as the batsmen swept and used their feet to drive the spinners. Even Kumble, who later dried up the runs, had a hard time containing the openers.

Stopping the flow of runsWhile Kartik went for runs, Kumble kept his end under some semblance of control, picking up both openers, and then getting rid of Ricky Ponting and Damien Martyn. By dismissing the top two, Kumble stopped the torrent of runs that threatened India’s aspirations for victory.Australia’s openers scored 184 runs between them to lead the assault. It wasn’t the volume as much as the manner in which they collected the runs that pushed India back for a while. Runs came at a strike rate of 77.3, that’s nearly five an over. Almost 70% of these runs came in boundaries.However, after Hayden and Langer were dismissed, the next six batsmen scored 129 runs between them in 261 deliveries, at 2.9 runs an over, with the help of 16 hits to the fence. And Irfan Pathan’s late strikes, which gave the Indians access to Australia’s tail, pushed the run rate down even further.

A spell of 3-3 in 14 balls from Robert Croft put Glamorgan in a promising position onthe opening day of their match against India A at Swansea, as the tourists slumped to 149-6in the 53rd over. However, Glamorgan`s hopes of making further inroads were thwarted bypersistant rain which swept in from the Mumbles and prevented any further play after 2.35pm.The Welsh county had earlier reduced the tourists to 26-2 after a disciplined openingspell by David Harrison, with the young seamer dismissing both openers, Shiv Sunder Dasand Satyajit Parab, at a cost of just 4 runs in 28 balls.The tourists then recovered from being 26-2 in the 12th over, thanks to a watchful partnership of116 in 35 overs by Sridharan Sriram and Rohan Gavaskar before both were dismissed by Robert Croftafter scoring 62 and 61 apiece. Gavaskar was well caught by a diving Owen Parkin at shortthird man as the Indian miscued an attempted drive after striking 8 fours and a pull for6 off a short ball from Darren Thomas.Sriram quickly lost his new partners Vijay Bharadwaj, who was leg before to Parkin for1 and then Hemang Badani was adjudged leg before for 0 as he padded up to Robert Croft.Then Sriram was caught at first slip by Mike Powell off Croft, after striking 6 foursin his patient innings.Sriram`s departure meant that the Indians had lost four wickets for just 7 runs in thespace of 5.2 overs, but heavy drizzle, followed by more persistant and heavy rain meant thatno further play was possible.

John Wright was quick to stress on Thursday that the conditioning camp for the 36 probables would be no picnic. He was talking to the media after having briefed the players on the objectives and methods of the preparatory camp.”We want to make it challenging, hard-working and also fun,” he said. “We will take the opportunity to spell out plans and goals to achieve in the coming season.”After testing the probables’ fitness over the first two days, the 36 would be divided into four groups to promote a healthy spirit of competition. Wright said that he would be working in co-ordination with Andrew Leipus, the physio, and Gregory King, the newly appointed trainer from South Africa, to ensure that all the boys were up to speed by the end of the fortnight.

India may have had the better of the exchanges in the first Test, but Matthew Hayden showed just what might be in store for the Indians in the remaining Tests. His 99 was remarkable for the utter disdain with which he treated even the good balls. Of the 98 balls he faced, 51 of them pitched on a good length, which were dispatched for 52 runs. When the Indians pitched slightly short, though, Hayden was far less destructive: 30 balls just short of a length fetched just 12 runs.

Ajit Agarkar was the only bowler who managed to curb the Hayden charge. As the table below shows, against the rest of the bowlers, Hayden scored at more than a run a ball.

Meanwhile, two wickets in the Indian second innings might have saved Nathan Bracken from being dropped for the second Test. One of those wickets was, inevitably, Virender Sehwag’s, whom Bracken has now dismissed five times in the last five innings, stretching back to the first match of the TVS Cup tournament in India. Sehwag did manage 17 runs off Bracken in the first innings, but most of those were after he was dropped in the slips off Bracken early in the piece.

Bilal Shafayat, England’s Under-19 captain, has taken an early lead in the2003 Walter Lawrence Trophy stakes.The 18-year-old all-rounder has made an early bid for the £5000 prize byscoring a 73-ball hundred for Nottinghamshire against Durham UCCE at TrentBridge on Sunday April 13 – just two days into the start of the first-classseason! Dismissed for 105, his 78-minute ton included four sixes and 15fours.The giant Will Jefferson (he’s almost 6ft 10in tall), led the field forbarely a day with his historic hundred off 101 balls on Saturday when hebecame only the third batsman to score a century before lunch on the openingday of the first-class season. His 101-ball hundred for Essex againstCambridge UCCE at Fenner’s followed those by Glamorgan’s Arnold Dysonagainst Kent in 1937 and by Chris Broad for Gloucestershire against OxfordUniversity in 1980. It was the earliest this feat had been achieved but notthe earliest a first-class hundred had been scored. That record belongs toSomerset’s Michael Burns who narrowly beat Michael Atherton to the mark on 7April 2000.The Walter Lawrence Trophy was first awarded in 1934. Last year’s winnerwas Matthew Fleming with a century off 66 balls against the Sri Lankans atCanterbury. Matthew received a cheque for the sum of £5000 from Aon,supporters of the Trophy, at a ceremonial dinner in the Long Room at Lord’slast year.The Walter Lawrence Trophy is awarded to the batsman who scores the fastestcentury off the fewest balls received in all first-class cricket eachseason.