Sachin Tendulkar and Brian Lara have been named as the two captains for the tsunami appeal match between MCC and an International XI, which will take place at Lord’s on Tuesday, June 14.Tendulkar and Lara, two of the greatest batsmen of the past decade, will be joined by the record-breaking spin bowlers, Shane Warne and Muttiah Muralitharan, for a match which will aim to emulate the one-dayer that took place at Melbourne in January and managed to raise US$11 million for the victims of the Boxing Day disaster.”Last month, we were delighted to announce that the two best spin bowlers in the world – Shane Warne and Muttiah Muralitharan – had kindly agreed to play in this very important fund-raising fixture,” said MCC’s secretary and chief executive, Roger Knight. “Today, we can announce that it will feature arguably the world’s two best batsmen as well. Indeed, Sachin Tendulkar and Brian Lara have not only agreed to play in this fixture, but to captain the two teams.”I am sure that cricket fans will be thrilled by the prospect of seeing the best players in the world face each other – in aid of a great cause – at ‘the home of cricket’ this summer.”Other players who have already agreed to appear in this fixture include the captains of New Zealand and South Africa, Stephen Fleming and Graeme Smith, as well as Zimbabwe’s former star batsman, Andy Flower. The names of the remaining players will be announced in due course.Tickets for the match will be priced between £20-£30 for adults, and £10 for children, and are currently available from MCC both on-line (via www.lords.org) and by phone (020 7432 1000). A limited number of hospitality boxes are also available.

Glenn McGrath leaves for what will almost certainly be his last Ashes tour on Saturday, but his old touch in stirring up his rivals remains as effective as his form. In a training camp with the squad at Brisbane, McGrath said that Andrew Flintoff and Steve Harmison carried too much of England’s load, before giving some relief to the next generation of England batsmen.”Four years down the track, if I’m still playing I might need to be knocked on the head,” McGrath, 35, told the local Courier-Mail newspaper. “You never know, but I’m going to make the most of this tour because it could, more than likely, be my last Ashes tour.”McGrath, who has 68 wickets in 11 Tests in England at an average of 18.27, told the newspaper that England placed too much importance on their two main bowlers. “If Harmison or Freddie [Flintoff] have a bad series, then they’re really going to struggle, whereas the Australian team, on any given day, any one of the players can perform well.”England completed a stirring series win over South Africa in January, but the performance didn’t impress McGrath. “Harmison didn’t have a good series,” he said. “The fact that Harmison struggled a bit seemed to have an effect on the rest of the team. If we can get on top of him early, we can keep the pressure on.”Michael Kasprowicz, meanwhile, told The Australian that Flintoff was a danger for Australia, and became the second player in two days to compare an opponent to Adam Gilchrist. Simon Katich revealed that Kevin Pietersen, his Hampshire team-mate, hit like Australia’s wicketkeeper, and Kasprowicz said yesterday that Flintoff was in the same mould. “You can get early wickets,” he said, “but Flintoff can come in and score quickly in the same way Gilly does.”

Angelo Mathews, the Josephian all-rounder, will lead Sri Lanka under-19 on their tour of England starting next month. Sameera Soysa of Maliyadeva, Kurunegala has been appointed vice-captain.Lalith Kaluperuma, the chairman of selectors, said that the criteria for selection was that the 32 players from which the final squad was selected comprised candidates who were eligible to play in the 2006 under-19 World Cup in February-March, which will be hosted by Sri Lanka.”This was a prior arrangement made with our English counterparts whowill also follow the same criteria on selection,” said Kaluperuma.Initially 60 players went through an elimination process where formerSri Lanka cricketers Norton Fredrick and Muttiah Devaraj had the task of reducing the pool to about 31 players. They were joined by an ongoing under-17 pool of a further 31 players making it 62.The national selectors took over from there onwards and after a seriesof trial matches which included 3-day, 2-day and one-day games, the pool was finally reduced to 32.Kaluperuma said this pool would continue to function until the under-19World Cup and that during the school cricket season further additionswould be made to it if required.Kaluperuma was optimistic that the squad picked for England wouldproduce future Sri Lanka cricketers. “I was very much impressed with the middle order batting and the fast bowling department,” said Kaluperuma.The middle-order batting comprises Sameera Soysa, Dimithri Siriwardena,Sachitra Serasinghe, Dilhan Cooray, Prabudha Perera and Lahiru Peiris. The three genuine fast bowlers Charles Fernando, Chathupama Gunasingha and Nuwan Liyanapathirana will be supported by two fast bowling all-rounders Mathews and Shalika Karunanayake.The spin department is handled by Serasinghe (off-breaks) and SajithPathirana (left-arm spin).The team is scheduled to leave for England on July 15 and play a seriesof two 4-day tests and three one-day matches against England under-19, in addition to two 3-day side games.Sumithra Warnakulasuriya will accompany the team as coach and Ashley deSilva as manager.Team: Angelo Mathews, captain (St.Joseph’s, Colombo), Sameera Soysa, vice-captain (Maliyadeva, Kurunegala), Dimithri Siriwardena (Royal), Suchitra Serasingha (Nalanda), Dilhan Cooray (St. Sebastian’s, Moratuwa), Prabudha Perera (St. Peter’s), Ashan Peiris (S. Thomas’, ML), Chathura Herath (Ananda), Lahiru Peiris (St. Peter’s), Shalika Karunanayake (Maliyadeva, Kurunegala), Charles Fernando (St. Sebastian’s, Moratuwa), Chathupama Gunasingha (Richmond, Galle), Nuwan Liyanapathirana (Wijeya, Matale), Sajith Pathirana (Trinity, Kandy).

Standbys: S.M.A. Priyangana (Nalanda), Madheva Warnapura (Nalanda), Jehan Fernando (St. Sebastian’s, Moratuwa), Rajeeva Weerasinghe (St. Joseph’s, Colombo), Malinga Pushpakumara (Lumbini), Andy Solomons (St. Thomas’, Kotte), Dimuth Karunaratne (St. Joseph’s, Colombo).

For the fifth consecutive year, another West Indies series is shrouded in controversy as the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) and West Indies Players’ Association (WIPA) wrestle over the contentious clause in the match/tour contract that covers players’ individual endorsements and central team sponsorships.Only three of the 13 players chosen for the forthcoming tour to Sri Lanka – Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Daren Powell, the fast bowler, and Denesh Ramdin, the new wicketkeeper – had signed their contracts by the WICB’s deadline of last Monday, the reported. The WIPA said last week that the contract did not sufficiently protect the individual’s property rights “as presently drafted”.The WICB’s executive committee is scheduled to meet today to decide its response to the latest crisis and there are three options in front of them: Advise the Sri Lankan board of the situation and cancel the tour, which comprises two Tests and a tri-series; look for replacements from the A team that is currently in Sri Lanka for a series against the Sri Lankan counterparts presuming that those players are willing to sign the contract; or change their stance and accept the WIPA’s position that the matter be submitted to Justice Adrian Saunders of St.Vincent for a binding settlement for the Sri Lanka tour only.Saunders had earlier arbitrated in a similar situation last year and that allowed the West Indies tour to Australia to go ahead. In the event of the tour being cancelled, it would be an extreme and costly measure and may involve compensation to Sri Lanka and censure from the International Cricket Council.

Tasmania have placed Travis Birt on standby for the injured Michael Bevan for the ING Cup match against New South Wales in Newcastle on Sunday.The addition of Birt was the only change to the squad that beat Western Australia by 62-runs last Friday. However, Bevan, who has an achilles injury, is expected to be fit to line-up against his former team-mates.New South Wales, who lost to Queensland by two wickets in their first match, have called up the offspinner Jason Krejza in the place Don Nash, the fast bowler.Tasmania Daniel Marsh (c), Michael DiVenuto, George Bailey, Michael Bevan, Travis Birt, Luke Butterworth, David Dawson, Michael Dighton, Xavier Doherty, Brett Geeves, Adam Griffith, Scott Kremerskothen, Damien Wright.New South Wales Brad Haddin (c), Nathan Bracken, Shawn Bradstreet, Stuart Clark, Phil Jaques, Jason Krejza, Greg Mail, Stuart MacGill, Matthew Nicholson, Aaron O’Brien, Matthew Phelps, Dominic Thornely.

Ashley Giles has rounded on his critics after England’s failure in the first Test at Lord’s, by suggesting that a selection of former players would rather see Australia retain the Ashes than watch the current England side achieve what they themselves failed to do.”That might sound bitter, but that’s the way it feels,” Giles was quoted as saying in The Daily Mail. “Michael Vaughan has taken a lot of flak, so has Geraint Jones, so have I. We expected some if we lost, but there has been an amazing amount of stuff hitting the fan.”Giles’s position in the side has come under particular scrutiny, after he contributed 11 expensive and wicketless overs to the 239-run defeat in the first Test at Lord’s. He contributed little with the bat either, and could come under pressure to retain his place as the series progresses.”It’s at times like that when you think, ‘If this is what people think, bugger them’. I am fighting a losing battle here,” added Giles. “But then the other part of you says, ‘Sod them, I’ll get on with it.'”

Division One

Points TableHampshire completely dominated Warwickshire on the second day of their match at The Rose Bowl, thanks to a brilliant undefeated double-century by Shane Watson. Hampshire were 353 for 6 overnight, and added a further 223 runs without losing a wicket. Watson, 91 at stumps on day one, cruised to his century – his first of the season and ninth of his career – and combined brilliantly with Dimitri Mascarenhas, who also struck a century, in a partnership worth 234. Both were unbeaten, as Hampshire declared on an imposing 576 for 6. In reply, Warwickshire stumbled to 145 for 4: Nick Knight stabilised the innings with an unbeaten 97 as the visitors trail by as massive 431 runs.On a rain-affected day at Cardiff, Nottinghamshire gained a lead of exactly 100 over Glamorgan but lost five wickets in the process. Younis Khan struck a fifty and Darren Bicknell, 81 not out overnight, went on to make his second hundred of the season. Bicknell was the first man to fall, dismissed by Dean Cosker, which spelt a collapse for Nottinghamshire who lost five for 20. Robert Croft took three of those to fall, as Notts ended the day on 251 for 7.Ed Smith struck 70, and Ed Joyce was left unbeaten on 71 as Middlesex went to stumps on 238 for 6 against Gloucestershire. Smith, Ben Hutton and Owais Shah all fell to William Rudge who finished with 3 for 64 from 17 overs. Despite wickets tumbling all around him, Joyce was steadfast and patient, taking 166 balls to craft his 71 runs. Middlesex trail Gloucestershire by 95 runs, with four wickets left in hand.

Division Two

Points TableDerbyshire slipped to 64 for 4 in their match against Durham at Chester-le-Street, before Chris Bassano and Australian Jon Moss both hit half-centuries in a stand worth 148. Liam Plunkett took 3 for 49, and Brad Williams 2 for 68. Derbyshire have a slender lead of 58, with Luke Sutton unbeaten on 42, as they ended on 288 for 7.Dominic Cork quickly wrapped up Northamptonshire’s innings, as Lancashire dismissed the home side for 289, Cork ending with impressive figures of 4 for 27. Lancashire stuttered in reply, however, losing three wickets to Jason Brown. Brown and Monty Panesar bowled 68 of the 94 overs in Lancashire’s innings, and it was Brown who dismissed Stuart Law, the only batsmen who could stay for any length of time at the crease. His 111 was his third hundred of the season. With just two wickets left, and trailing Northants by nine runs, bad light called an end to proceedings.Only 51 overs were possible at Worcester with Worcestershire struggling on 177 for 4 against Leicestershire. It was an encouraging start for the home side whose openers, Chris Gayle and Stephen Moore, put on 75 for the first wicket. Gayle’s typically aggressive half-century, at nearly a run a ball, was ended on 51 when he was caught behind off David Masters. But Ben Smith and Graeme Hick soon followed, and as rain forced the players off, the home side were still 228 runs behind with six wickets in hand.

Division One

Points TableOn the first day of Glamorgan’s match against Gloucestershire, a century by Daniel Cherry was of little consolation to the Welsh county, who were relegated to Division Two. Middlesex only needed one point to force Glamorgan, who lie at the bottom of the first Division, to the second Division. Despite this news, which came at midday, Glamorgan’s batsmen managed 350 for 8, thanks to Cherry who was unbeaten on 152. Mark Hardinges and Malinga Bandara each took three wickets for Gloucestershire.Jonathan Trott’s third century of the season gave Warwickshire a decent start to their match against Division One leaders Sussex, but only two of their batsmen made substantial contributions. Trott, who was unbeaten on 130, formed the bedrock of Warwickshire’s innings. Yet despite his knock, and 69 from Nick Knight, there was little of any substance from the rest of Warwickshire’s batsmen. James Kirtley was the pick of Sussex’s bowlers with 3 for 71 from 20 overs.Rain continued to thwart Middlesex’s game against Kent, but there was enough play to see Owais Shah go through to his sixth hundred of the season after being dropped when he had not added to his overnight 34. Earlier, Ed Smith failed to add to his overnight score of 40 as he fell to Amjad Khan, and Khan struck again soon after to remove Ed Joyce for 12. Shah found a willing partner in Paul Weekes, and together they put on 138 for the fourth wicket, to leave the visitors on 297 for 5 at stumps.Surrey made up for lost time in their match against Hampshire, by scoring at over four an over in rattling up 378. There were a pair of 70s for Scott Newman and Mark Butcher, Newman’s 71 coming from just 65 balls. Jonathan Batty then struck a hundred around which his team built a solid total. However, wickets continued to tumble as Hampshire bowled Surrey out, with James Bruce taking 3 for 82. Mohammad Akram then struck in Hampshire’s reply, to leave the visitors struggling on 13 for 2, 365 runs behind.

Division Two

Points TableA partnership of 249 between Mal Loye and Stuart Law gave Lancashire control, on the first day of their match against Worcestershire. Loye, who struck an unbeaten and magnificent 170, and Law, with a brisk 143, dominated the day and rescued Lancashire when they were tottering on 63 for 2. They got off to the worst possible start when their captain, Mark Chilton, was dismissed by the Australian Matthew Mason for a first-ball duck. Although they lost Law, whose 143 came from 189 balls, shortly followed by Andrew Symonds, Loye then combined with Marcus North in a partnership worth 69. Lancashire finished on 388 for 4.Essex and Somerset were again frustrated by the rain at Colchester, but did at least manage 70 overs in which Essex reached 220 for 5. Will Jefferson was the mainstay of the innings with a knock of 93, before becoming the first of two quick wickets for Ian Blackwell. Ronni Irani clobbered four sixes and three fours in his unbeaten 43, before a torrential downpour left the ground underwater.Only 14 overs were possible at Grace Road on another frustrating day for Leicestershire and Northamptonshire. Put into bat by Northants, Leicestershire’s openers made 29 without alarm, with Darren Robinson unbeaten on 11 and John Maunders reaching 15.Durham lost Paul Collingwood, who failed to add to his overnight score of 33, and Mike Hussey in quick succession on a rain-affected day at Scarborough against Yorkshire. Despite the early losses, Gordon Muchall, who struck 42 and Dale Benkenstein, with 59, consolidated in an unbeaten partnership worth 108. Durham ended the day on 260 for 3.

The news that Sourav Ganguly had said that he was asked to resign the Indian captaincy on the eve of the Bulawayo Test, and Cricinfo’s subsequent editorial on the issue, attracted record feedback. Here is a selection of your emails. If you would like to have your say then please emails usIt was wrong for Ganguly to go public like this. In any case he has no place in the Test team. Look who’s sitting out – Mohammad Kaif. Who is a better Test cricketer today – Ganguly or Kaif? And who do we need more – Ganguly or Greg Chappell? Ganguly should be out of the Test team after this series. Indra Vikram Singh India
Ganguly was dead right in going public about the captaincy issue. Everyone is concerned about the fact of his choosing to drop the bombshell in the middle of the match. But the very fact he was asked to step down before the match justifies it. If somebody is right in asking him to step down just before the match, then he has the right to react to it according to his own convenience. The fact that India’s past cricket captains always took it lying down caused the downfall of Indian cricket. Ganguly’s century is being criticized as one against the worst bowling attack in international cricket. If it is so, why in the first place should we go there and play cricket? Soumya Bhattacharya IndiaEverybody seems to have an agenda when it comes to commenting on cricketing issues in India. This includes your own Anand Vasu. How can a coach ask the captain of the team to step down? Chappell is trying to play god here. Let him first establish his credentials as coach before having a say in selection matters, let alone asking the captain to step down. Vimal Thareja IndiaFor someone like Ganguly, the whole world’s a stage and that’s how it has been ever since he took over the captaincy. To be fair, he has used this uncanny ability to `perform’ for the benefit of Team India in the past, best example being his shirt-waving gimmick in England. However, in the last couple of years, without his bat doing any talking, he has had to resort to his mouth to do the job. What we saw yesterday was a cry of a desperate man trying to save himself from sinking. Ganguly was always known to be a shrewd leader. With this, he has proved he can be a wily politician too! Arun Menon IndiaThere is no `I’ in a team. Waiting for a century against Zimbabwe and then washing dirty linen in public is definitely wrong. I am sure whoever asked him to step down had the backing of the powers to be. I see this to be a real discipline problem within the team. That this has been going on for a long time is evidenced by the results. Pankaj Daiya United StatesThe pressure and frustration Ganguly went through in the past one year probably made him go public about internal arguments regarding his captaincy. And, if it was from Greg Chappell, then it is totally uncalled for. Greg is yet to prove himself as coach and blaming Ganguly’s captaincy is not the explanation we expect from him. Punit Malhotra IndiaGanguly’s fans want him to speak his mind. His cricket does the talking often enough and now with experts, this website included, baying for his blood he should open up. Forget about team for the moment. Let citizen Ganguly air his views. Fans love a straight talking leader, one who hates nonsense. Buro Mitter IndiaIn my opinion, Ganguly exercised poor judgment and immaturity in expressing dissent against a coach of legendary stature. Ganguly’s so-called record of being India’s “most-successful” captain is a statistical outcome of the number of matches India plays against B-grade teams. And when India has won Test matches, they have been due to unusual individual performances – Laxman, Dravid and Harbhajan come to mind readily – not Ganguly’s leadership abilities. In fact, more often, we see the Indian team looking totally clueless on the field – does Ganguly realize that, recently, Bangladesh scored 370 runs in a single day against India (spread over 2 innings) – does anyone care to mention that embarrassment? Venkatesh United StatesHow naive can you get Anand Vasu? Are you saying that Ganguly is the sole cause for all that is going on? Throw your mind back to when Gavaskar wrote in a column that John Wright was abused by some Indian players and that is why he did not want to continue any more as coach. Coming from the greatest opener of all time, was that rightly timed? Just because it was not Ganguly you have chosen to ignore that statement. Similarly, nobody complains when VVS Laxman finds it very convenient time to refer to negative vibes in the team a day before Ganguly’s statement. Anil Kumble too asked why he was being discriminated against after getting dropped for the Videocon Cup. India is in trouble and it is ironic that the man who gave a bunch of XI players the tag of a “Team” is being subjected to a witch hunt!! P Satish Kumar IndiaSourav Ganguly has committed the cardinal sin of letting outsiders in on family quarrels. That’s what it is. In tense times, differences arise and it’s the head of the family or, in this case, the captain’s job to hold everything together. By going public with that statement, on the third day after completing his tasteless hundred, Ganguly not only proved how selfish he is, but how conniving he is. I used to like the man for his aggression in standing up against the bullying-tactics of the players from the so called ‘superior cricketing’ nations, but have realized that he is a spent force, desperately trying to latch on to his position at the expense of the team.Praveen United StatesTeam India or Team Disarray? Starting with the captain and coach. It is a sin for Ganguly to come out in the middle of a match and make a statement like this. What is he thinking?He is the captain of the team!! He cannot make comments to take the focus away from the game. Playing for India should be motivation enough to play hard. He can fight his personal battles when he gets back. Ranjit United States

M Baladitya, a wing commander in the Indian Air Force, was appointed media manager of the Indian team for the one-day international series against Sri Lanka and South Africa. Baladitya had been the co-coordinator of the team during the home series against Pakistan.SK Nair, the secretary to the Indian board, told reporters, “Baladitya will look after the media interests of both teams, India and Sri Lanka, as the touring side does not have a media manager. If any assistance is required by the Sri Lankan team, he would help them. As no administrative manager of the Indian team has been appointed this time, he will also do his duty, though we have appointed AV Jagatnath as the coordinator”. Baladitya and Jagatnath will be travelling with the Indian team for all the one-day internationals. Nair added that, as usual, one local manager for each team will be appointed at every venue.Speaking to Rediff on whether his appointment would see an end to planned leaks to the media from the dressing room, Baladitya said: “That I cannot say. I will try my best to keep the media informed as much as possible. Even during matches I will move around and keep giving them required information. The basic intention of appointing a media manager is to keep the players away from the distraction of the media”.