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Ray Jennings, the South African coach, has warned his team not to take West Indies lightly despite holding a good record against them. The South African team left yesterday on an eight-week tour of the Caribbean that includes four Tests and five one-day internationals.”The past is history,” Jennings told South African Press Agency. “There’s no point sitting back and saying ‘South Africa have a good record at The Wanderers’, and then we lose a Test there. It’s the same with the West Indies. We have to approach each Test without thinking about what happened in the past. Conditions change, players change, and records mean nothing.”South Africa have won 10 out of 15 Tests against West Indies and have lost just two. They also dominated the last home series between the two sides, winning the Tests 3-0 the one-dayers 3-1.”We will approach each match as a new challenge, and focus on what we have to do,” Jennings said, emphasising that the amount of travelling involved on a tour to the West Indies was also a factor. “Touring is always tough, with all the travelling we have to do – and that travelling includes getting to airports, sitting around waiting for flights, travelling to the hotels. And when you tour the West Indies, there is the additional problem of passport control and customs at each new island. Touring the West Indies is like touring five or six countries on one tour”Jennings also mentioned that South Africa would be on the lookout to improve their overseas record – they lost to Sri Lanka and India by identical 1-0 margins last year. “South Africa haven’t played well away from home recently, and we are determined to turn that around.”South Africa have suffered an early blow to their Caribbean campaign with Shaun Pollock being ruled out of the first Test due to an ankle injury. The team commence their tour with a three-day camp in Antigua. “We don’t want any one player to dominate everything,” he said. “Hopefully, everyone will play their part in the success of the team. I expect the senior players like Makhaya Ntini, Jacques Kallis, Mark Boucher and Herschelle Gibbs who have been there before to lead the way and help the other players get used to the conditions.”Speaking about the sponsorship row which has hampered West Indies cricket recently, Jennings said he was hopeful that the dispute would be resolved. “But whether it is or not will not affect how we approach the series,” he continued. “Obviously, we would like to play the strongest opposition, but we have to focus on our own performance and not allow the problems in the opposition camp to distract us.”

Ashley Giles may be forced to miss England’s one-day campaign in Pakistanto undergo treatment on a long-standing hip injury.The same problem caused Giles to miss the Test series against Bangladeshlast summer but according to his coach, Duncan Fletcher, he was notconsidered a doubt for either of the remaining two Tests of the series.”It’s a slight problem,” said Fletcher. “We’re going to monitor him forthe next two Tests, and there is a chance we’ll want to send him backearly. He felt it in the summer and it is the same thing that hasprogressed.”He is not a doubt for this match, but we will look at the one-dayers, andahead to the Tests in India, and take action depending on how bad it is.”England took similar action last winter, when it was decided that the spurin Andrew Flintoff’s ankle needed to be removed immediately after thefinal Test in Centurion. He missed the seven-match one-day series thatfollowed, and as a result was fully fit for the Ashes series that began inJuly.With a tough tour of India beginning in March, England will want to givetheir No. 1 spinner plenty time to recuperate if the injury proves to bemore serious than it is currently believed to be.

Sanath Jayasuriya has signed a short-term contract to play for Somerset, as a replacement for Australia’s captain, Ricky Ponting, who was unable to confirm his availability. Jayasuriya, now 35, was reported to have been approached by Scotland but apparently turned down the offer.”This is a very exciting short-term signing,” said Peter Anderson, Somerset’s chief executive. “His availability has to be ratified by the Sri Lankan Cricket Board but we are not anticipating any problems.”Jayasuriya is expected to depart for Somerset straight after Sri Lanka’s postponed tour of New Zealand which finishes in mid-April. He will be available for five Frizzell Championship fixtures, four Totesport league matches and the early rounds of the C&G Cup, and is expected to make his debut against Yorkshire at Headingley on April 20.His contract runs only until the end of May, when South Africa’s Graeme Smith takes over after the completion of his international commitments. Albie Morkel, Somerset’s other prospective South African signing, has been replaced by Nixon McLean because of a long-standing ankle problem. In addition, it has been agreed with the ECB that Marcus Trescothick will be available for the opening match of the season.It will be Jayasuriya’s first stint with an English county despite a long 15-year career and he’ll be joined by Upul Chandana (Gloucestershire), Chaminda Vaas (Worcestershire) and Muttiah Muralitharan (Lancashire), who hopes to be fully fit in time for the season. During his time in England, he will be helping to raise funds for the Sri Lankan TWINS Tsunami Schools Project, of which he is Patron.A small gap in Sri Lanka’s international calendar has provided the opportunity for the largest-ever influx of Sri Lankan players into County Cricket. The demand has largely been for bowlers but frontline batsmen Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene are also on the lookout for club or county contracts.

Chris Read has reacted with shock and anger at his omission from England’s one-day squad for the NatWest Series. Speaking to BBC Sport, Read, who was replaced by Geraint Jones in the line-up, said: “I’m really surprised and disappointed. I find it difficult to comprehend. If Geraint was going to bat in the top five I’d understand it but there are other batsmen in the top five.”David Graveney, England’s chairman of selectors, termed the decision to drop Read “one of the hardest that I have been a party to in my nine years as a member of the panel”, but that did little to cheer Read. “David made it clear it was a tough decision but that doesn’t help,” Read said. “It makes me a little angry. In the last 12 months I’ve helped England win several games and I’ve always been consistent. It’s a bitter pill to swallow.”Jones, who had earlier replaced Read in the Test squad as well, was selected because his superior batting skills, but Read has performed more than adequately with the bat in the one-dayers, scoring a crucial 15-ball 27 at Georgetown to steal a win against West Indies on England’s recent tour. Read’s wicketkeeping has been outstanding as well, making the decision all the more inexplicable.Read stated as much, saying that he understood the reason for his omission from the Test side. “When I was dropped from the Test team I thought it was a bit harsh but I was not doing what I needed to with the bat,” he said. “But in the one-day side I believe I’ve done everything I can and it seems it’s not enough.”

Navjot Singh Sidhu, the former Indian opener-turned-politician, has been sentenced to three years in prison for a 1988 murder case.The Punjab and Haryana High Court, which found him guilty of culpable homicide not amounting to murder on December 2, awarded him the sentence under Section 304 of the Indian Penal Code. He was also fined an amount of Rs. 1 lakh (approx. US $ 2,200).However, Sidhu will not be arrested immediately as his sentence has been suspended till January 31, during which time he can appeal to the Supreme Court.Sidhu and his friend Rupinder Singh Sandhu allegedly beat up Gurnam Singh in Patiala on December 27, 1988. Gurnam was pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital.Sandhu said that the duo will approach the Supreme Court in case of an adverse verdict. “Even we feel sorry for the family of victim. The matter is now sub judice. After the sentence is declared, we’ll approach the SC,” he said.Sidhu resigned from Parliament after the verdict, but has hinted that he would remain in politics and campaign during the Punjab Assembly elections in February.

John Stephenson, the former Essex and Hampshire allrounder who played one Test for England in 1989, has joined MCC as their new Head of Cricket. Stephenson, 39, replaces Tony Dodemaide, who has returned home to take charge of the Western Australia Cricket Association in Perth.Stephenson, 39, starts work at Lord’s next Monday (June 7). His main areas of responsibility include MCC’s playing and touring programmes – which involve around 450 matches, in Britain and overseas, per year – as well as the strategic management of the playing and practice areas at Lord’s, and supervision of the MCC Young Cricketers programme. According to The Times Stephenson was chosen from a short list that also included his former Essex team-mate Peter Such, the former England offspinner, and Tony Murphy, a former Surrey and Lancashire fast bowler.Stephenson started his career with Essex, spending some time Gooch’s opening partner – and he opened the innings for England with Gooch against Australia at The Oval in 1989, scoring 25 and 11. He moved to Southampton in 1995, and captained Hampshire in 1996 and 1997. But after a run of poor form he returned to Chelmsford in 2002, supposedly as 2nd XI captain – but ended up playing 13 of their 16 Championship matches, finishing as their leading wicket-takler with 48 and also scoring 562 runs. But he was restricted by an ankle injury last season, and has now decided to retire from county cricket. In all, he scored nearly 15,000 runs and took nearly 400 wickets in first-class cricket.He said today: “It’s a great honour and pleasure to be joining MCC at such an active and innovative time in the club’s history. I am also fortunate to be joining such a strong team – including people of the calibre of Clive Radley [MCC’s Head Coach] and Mick Hunt [the PCA Groundsman of the Year]. I am looking forward to working closely with them, and all my new colleagues, to continue improving Lord’s and further enhance MCC’s reputation as the most active cricket-playing and cricket-promoting club in the world. It will be a wrench to leave Essex, where I have enjoyed many very happy years, but I’ve always loved playing at Lord’s – and I can’t wait to start work there next week.”David East, Essex’s chief executive, paid tribute: “John has given great service to Essex, in several different roles, over many seasons. On behalf of all our supporters, I would like to thank him for his many contributions to the Club – on and off the pitch. We will be sorry to see him leave us, but wish him every success in his exciting new role at Lord’s.”

Cricket Australia Code of Behaviour Commissioner Mr Alan Sullivan QC today reprimanded West Australian batsman Murray Goodwin for breaching Cricket Australia’s Code of Behaviour.Goodwin was charged by the Western Australian Cricket Association under Rule 9 of Section 1 of the Code for making detrimental public comment regarding the selection of the Zimbabwe Test team.The case against Goodwin, due to be held before a full hearing in Sydney tomorrow (Saturday 1 November) was brought forward after Goodwin advised of his intention to plead guilty.Mr Sullivan was asked to determine the question of penalty, if regarded as appropriate.Mr Sullivan found Goodwin’s comments were inappropriately timed and were potentially harmful to the interests of cricket.In handing down the verdict Mr Sullivan took into account Goodwin’s prior record and his genuine regret in making the comments.He considered that Goodwin intended no malice in the comments he made.WACA CEO Mrs Kath White, who brought the charge against Goodwin, said it was now time to move forward."It is regretful that this had to happen," Mrs White said."In my view Murray’s comments, inadvertent though they may have been, called other players’ abilities into question."We look forward to moving on and putting this matter behind us. I hope Murray can have a successful season for the Retravision Warriors."The reprimand means Goodwin is available to represent the Warriors in Sunday’s ING Cup clash against New South Wales at North Sydney Oval and the corresponding Pura Cup fixture beginning at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Tuesday 4 November.

When the organisers of World Series Cricket decided to play cricket under lights, they could not have believed just how much their revolutionary idea would catch on. It had been done earlier but by gaining a foothold in Sydney it won a respectable face among cricket’s traditionalists. In the 25 years since that first match in Sydney, on November 28, 1978, the cricket world has been treated to a remarkable infusion of innovation that has breathed new life into the old game.A match between Australia and the West Indies was played on that date to test lights, and cricket never looked back. More than 50,000 were similarly curious and they were hooked. Of all the venues in the world for day-night cricket it is hard to go past the SCG – not only because of the climate which makes it ideal for the day-night game, but because of the way the lights highlight the traditional elements of the ground to lend it more character.The day-night phenomenon was crucial to attracting the paying customer support that was necessary to fund the increased pay packets the players picked up. So successful has it been that rather than being the extraordinary, lights at grounds are the norm.A total of 115 ODI day-night matches have been played at the ground. Australia has won 65 of its matches and opposing countries 47.Most runs scored by an individual batsman in day-night matches is held by Allan Border, who hit 570 runs in 25 matches. Adam Gilchrist has the highest score, 131 against Sri Lanka in 1999 while Craig McDermott has taken most wickets, 28 in 20 games.

Mumbai 613 drew with Tamil Nadu 294 and 353 for 4 (Badrinath 110*, Badani 77*) and won the Ranji Trophy by virtue of a first-innings lead
Scorecard
Mumbai won the Ranji Trophy – a staggering 36th triumph – by virtue of their first-innings lead, as their final against Tamil Nadu petered out to a tortuous draw. Any hopes of a competitive match had ended on the third day, so by the close of the fifth, Tamil Nadu’s batsmen were consoling themselves with personal milestones.Subramanium Badrinath crawled to his fourth century of the season – without doubt the least meaningful of the lot – and Hemang Badani was equally painstaking in compiling an unbeaten 77, as Mumbai’s part-time bowlers sent down 49 overs between them. Their season had long resembled a walk in the park, but in the final session of the day, they took it literally. At least Vinayak Samanth, the wicketkeeper, ensured that nobody dozed off completely with his bursts of raucous appealing, although on most occasions, the bat was nowhere close to the ball.Badrinath took 37 balls to move from 98 to his hundred, and a soporofic air enveloped the empty stadium. Barring a flurry of boundaries after lunch, the scoring rate was largely stagnant. Badani’s innings was the antithesis of his century in the previous year’s final, which had given his team a faint chance of victory. This time the match was already long gone.Badrinath and Badani’s partnership lasted for 349 pride-salvaging minutes, and came after Sadagoppan Ramesh had fallen plumb lbw in the fifth over of the morning (180 for 4). But at least Tamil Nadu redeemed themselves after their shoddy showing in the first innings. “We had a great chance to put up a big score after winning the toss,” admitted their dejected captain, Somasetty Suresh. “We also had the home conditions favouring us. It was a really disappointing show on the first day. We learnt a lot when Mumbai batted and showed so much application. We tried to bat like that in our second innings and we did that pretty well. But it was all too late.”Having backed their batting strength and prepared a shirt-front of a pitch, Tamil Nadu lost the game on the very first day. From a spectator’s point of view, the match finished on the third, after Mumbai ground Tamil Nadu out of the contest. After witnessing this drab encounter, the need for sporting pitches could hardly be more pressing, but with the notable exception of Dinesh Karthik, Tamil Nadu’s batsmen simply gave the final away.For Mumbai, though, it was a culmination of a great couple of years. As soon as play was called off, there were shouts and huddles all around. Like a philatelist adding one more to his collection, they neatly pouched their 36th stamp – a full 30 more than their nearest rivals, Delhi and Karnataka.

Australia’s media, tired of yet another Shane Warne incident, are signalling that they’ve had enough – their message suggests that it’s time to lower the boom on Warne. And even some team-mates are alleged to be concerned.The latest scandal involving lewd text messages allegedly sent to a South African divorcee, and mother of three, has Australia’s media united in the view that they are tired of Warne’s larrikin antics.Leading the way has been Mike Hedge for AAP. He wrote that it must surely be time for Cricket Australia to acknowledge that the world’s best team could do without the world’s best legspinner.”Yet again it seems Warne has allowed his unique combination of arrogance, stupidity, naivety and immaturity to get the better of him,” Hedge wrote. “Even if he didn’t bombard a South African woman with suggestive messages – and he hasn’t yet said he didn’t – Warne’s record is so damaged that he needs to be cut loose.”Greg Baum, a widely respected cricket journalist from The Age in Melbourne – Warne’s home town – said the latest incident was “a tatty tale of decline”. He fired shots at Warne, and also at the television company which employs him as a commentator while he’s suspended for using drugs on the banned list.”Channel Nine reports on Warne’s indiscretions while continuing to employ him – as a colleague drily notes – as the highest-paid cricket reporter in Australia. Warne bitches about media intrusion on his private life, while making a fistful of money working in media. Not even when his wrong ‘un is working can Warne have it both ways,” he wrote.”Warne is not a bad bloke on the terms on which most people meet him, but that is not enough. Reputable sources say his Australian team-mates are tiring of escapades; after all, what tarnishes him also tarnishes them. Believe it or not, most care about the team’s reputation. And Stuart MacGill keeps taking wickets.”Sydney Morning Herald writer Richard Hinds said: “In an age when the human fallibility of sporting heroes is exposed with depressing regularity, another Warne scandal comes as little surprise. What seems staggering is that Warne would be so reckless – and, yes, stupid – as to repeat the phone-message offence that last time cost him the Test vice-captaincy.”One leading sports psychologist refers to the condition where high-profile athletes fail to learn from past mistakes as the ‘pedestal complex’. Surrounded by doting officials and smitten fans, they fail to see how normal rules of behaviour can apply to them.”In the Australian, author Roland Perry noted: “If this latest allegation is true, someone should tell Warne to pull his head in, drastically improve his behaviour towards women and then surgically remove his mobile phone. If he were left with letters to write, he wouldn’t bother. Trouble is, no one will counsel him. His employers, Cricket Australia, the state team and Nine, either haven’t the nerve, or the inclination. Cricket Australia is staying out of it. None of our business, we are told. But it is.”Nine thrives on the controversies. In 2000 they were euphoric over the messy drama involving the English nurse, who received dirty phone messages. Mike Monroe on A Current Affair interviewed her. Then Warne – under contract – was forced to come on the same show, humble and defend himself. Nine’s ratings were terrific. Just watch how they handle this latest allegation.”Andrew Ramsey wrote in the Australian: “It became apparent to many close to Australia’s World Cup success in South Africa last year that the level of camaraderie and spirit among the players was heightened when Warne departed the tournament in the wake of the scandal over his taking a banned diuretic.”None deny Warne’s undisputed genius with a cricket ball, but his propensity for erratic mood swings and his ability to create unwanted media storms have created a sharp edge to the intra-team harmony.”While the critics sharpened their pencils, the woman at the epicentre of the storm – Helen Cohen Alon – urged Warne to take a lie-detector test. “He’s a fantastic guy, there’s nothing wrong with him,” she said, before adding the proviso, “it’s just that you cannot get away with things that you try and do to a woman all the time.” It might take more than a lie-detector test for that to penetrate through to Warne’s inner consciousness.