ST JOHN’S – The West Indies cricket team’s two-week preparatory camp for the World Cup is progressing as planned, says manager Ricky Skerritt.Speaking on Friday, the fifth day since the players assembled in Antigua to fine-tune for the tournament in South Africa next month, Skerritt said emphasis has been on personal development."We focused on personal development issues and physical fitness training. So far the expectations have been met and generally we have been making good progress," said the Kittitian businessman who has been in charge of the team since 2000."You try to work on things like personal responsibility; accepting responsibility for what’s needed; identifying a vision and taking action relative to what’s need to be done to get you to that next level."We [are trying] to focus on team building activities and trying to get the guys to commit to the requirements for success," the manager said. "I think all of them are committed to it but there is question of fine-tuning it and putting it into perspective."Skerritt noted that since the players were returning from a Christmas break and some minor injuries the aim was to put everything in place during the camp."We have some relatively inexperienced players who have not been professionals for very long. We have to make giant steps in short time."They play under tremendous pressure and the concentration levels are critical, so we go through mental skills training just like we go through technical and fitness training," he said. "It is something that we haven’t done a lot of in the past and something we need to do more of."The players have today off. From tomorrow they will get into cricket-specific training at the Stanford Cricket Stadium."At that point they will have had seven days [training] – and then they will have six days of cricket. It is quite a lot of work in two weeks. After that there is a four-day break before they do anything else. Our next workout after (January 26) will be the following Friday (January 31) in South Africa," Skerritt said."As we go along we integrate nets with the reality of playing out in the middle. It is trying to get the guys to fine-tune themselves technically and focusing on the requirements for One-Day cricket and then giving them opportunities out in the middle in conditions which are as close as possible to the real match."Skerritt said the Windies have to be careful they don’t go into the World Cup short of match practice.To this end they will have two inter-squad matches, on January 23 and 26, and two matches against provincial sides before they meet South Africa in Cape Town on February 9.The manager said the camp was planned taking into consideration the break in competitive cricket."There are advantages and disadvantages. Most of the teams going into the World Cup would have been playing a series of matches. We would be a little bit short of that kind of opportunity and in that sense someone might say: `Boy, that’s not good.’"But one of the good things about this is that the guys have been able to get rest. They have been able to get some home time, some personal time, so mentally they are going to be able to peak at the right time."We are going to go into the World Cup relatively injury-free. A lot of teams are going into it carrying, I believe, more injuries than they want to. Ideally, you should go into a tournament like that with as few injuries as possible. I’m hoping that it will work in our favour. That’s the plan."

There was scant chance of Shane Warne’s second urine sample being freeof drugs, the Australian Sports Drug Agency (ASDA) said.Warne is returning from South Africa without bowling a ball in the WorldCup after testing positive for diuretics in an ASDA sanctioned test onJanuary 22 this year.The positive test was from Warne’s initial urine sample.Another sample, referred to as the B sample, is now being examined.But ASDA chairman Dr Brian Sando said it was rare for a B sample resultto differ from the initial sample, known as the A sample.”Unfortunately for the athlete, it is very unlikely that specimen, whichreally is part of the original one, is going to show anything differentfrom what the A sample has shown,” Dr Sando told ABC radio.Dr Sando said he was disappointed at Warne’s positive test.”The education programs are pretty widespread,” he said.”And I know cricket has certainly participated in those programs andhave done their very best to educate their athletes about the dangers oftaking prohibited substances and not getting caught by inadvertent use.”But every year, unfortunately, we have a few of these top athletes thattest positive to substances on that banned list, and it’s prettydisappointing.”Dr Sando said it did not matter if Warne was unaware of taking thebanned diuretic.”Unfortunately from an athlete’s viewpoint, there is strict liability,”he said.”An athlete is responsible for what goes into their body.”And so if a banned substance is found in urine testing then thatathlete has to answer as to why and how that has occurred.”Sometimes it is very vague and they are not really certain or they havetaken something for a purpose that wasn’t in anyway associated withtrying to enhance performance.”But they really do have to pay a penalty because unfortunately it’s notpossible to differentiate frequently between those who have donesomething inadvertently and those who may not have been trying to do itinadvertently.”

Mike Burns, the new Somerset captain, is counting the days until the new cricket season gets underway in just over three weeks time.The thirty four year old all rounder, who takes over the reins from Jamie Cox who has stepped down after four years in charge, was back at the County Ground this morning after a three week spell in New Zealand, where he spent sometime in Nelson with former Somerset batsman Richard Harden who now lives in the country.The former Warwickshire man whose career has been rejuvenated since he moved west to join the Cidermen in 1997 told me: "All the family went with me and we had a great time travelling the island and sightseeing. Whilst I was out there I had a couple of nets and kept up with my training schedule."Mike continued: "I also had a couple of games of golf with Richard who sadly doesn’t play any cricket at all nowadays but now I’m back here I just can’t wait for the new season to get started."He concluded: "All of the players have trained very hard through the winter and spent time working on their game with Kevin Shine. Everybody here is now looking forward to getting started. It’s really good to be back and I am feeling very confident about the new season."

JOHANNESBURG – Two years after he joined Richie Richardson, Courtney Walsh and Brian Lara in the West Indies’ captaincy out tray, Jimmy Adams in enthused over the progress of the young batsmen who first appeared under his leadership.He won’t go as far as claiming they can win the World Cup, for he accepts that Australia are a mile ahead of everyone else. But he doesn’t see why they can’t get as far as the semifinal or even the final."The Australians play the game at a different level to the rest and you really can’t see anyone touching them," Adams, here as one of the throng of former Test players commentating for television, said yesterday."But the West Indies have shown they are capable of beating every other team in the tournament and, once they get through to the Super Sixes, they have a great chance of going on to the final."He based his assessment on the batting – and on the influence of Carl Hooper, the man who replaced him as captain."It’s very pleasing to see the progress that has been made," the 35-year-old Adams noted. "I’m really excited about the batting unit. In the two years I’ve been away, it’s evolved and getting stronger.""It’s good to see young batsmen coming into their own so that each of them, in their own right, is an international quality player," he added."It’s not only individually but also as a unit that seems to be gelling, with the added experience and class of Brian (Lara), Carl (Hooper) and Shiv (Chanderpaul)."Of those who have established themselves after Adams’ exit, Wavell Hinds, Chris Gayle, Ramnaresh Sarwan and Marlon Samuels entered Test cricket under his captaincy.Hinds is the eldest at 26. Gayle is 23, Sarwan and Samuels 22."That’s the most exciting thing for me, their ages," Adams said. "You’re talking about some of them, two to three years into international cricket, who have had to do a lot of learning at this level under more pressure than most of my generation."He pointed out that he and others of his vintage like Lara, Keith Arthurton, Roland Holder and Sherwin Campbell had "learned a lot of the game at domestic level before getting that level of exposure".In addition, he recalled that his lot had the advantage of starting at a time when the West Indies were still winning. The present generation has entered into the "rough circumstances" of a team enveloped in a culture of defeat."What is of concern is their rate of improvement," Adams said. "Obviously you want it to be as quick as possible but it has to take time and that’s difficult to appreciate for people on the outside who, for better or worse, are concentrating mainly on results."He was magnanimous in his praise of Hooper."I think Carl Hooper has been very good for West Indies cricket and I’m one who hopes that, between his knees and his desire, he can play for a few more seasons to give the next generation of West Indies cricketers a chance to get their feet firmly entrenched in international cricket before we look for another leader," he said.Adams has spent the time since his dismissal as West Indies captain leading Free State in South African provincial cricket and playing club and league cricket in England."I don’t look back on the last two years with any regret," he said. "I’ve had a fantastic time with Free State, both on and off the field, and been able to see at a distance the West Indies team continuing to grow."He was philosophical about his removal as captain but upset that the powers that be in West Indies cricket expected too much, too fast."You go somewhere and get a whitewash, you know that, as leader of the team, it might come down to you," he said, referring to the 5-0 defeat in the Test series in Australia in 2000-01. "That, I don’t have a problem with."What he did have a problem with was the unrealistic expectations that followed the victories over Zimbabwe (2-0) and Pakistan (1-0) at home in his first series at the helm following Lara’s abdication."A lot of people involved in cricket in the West Indies got carried away," he recalled."I tried to put it across to them that we were still very far away from where we wanted to be, that if we wanted to challenge teams like Australia, we were just not there.""I was labelled as being negative and pessimistic when I saw it as realistic," he said. "I’d played international cricket long enough to know what standards would apply and what wouldn’t.""The sort of solutions you heard people coming up with after the defeat in Australia were just totally unrealistic."Since then, everybody’s accepted there is a gap between Australia and the rest of the cricketing world but, at the time, it led to confrontation and differences of opinion," he said.Adams acknowledged that he was unlikely to return to South Africa later this year for another season with Free State.His plans following the World Cup involve club and league cricket and television work with Sky Sports in England during the summer."I have no plans past September," he said. "From there on, we’ll see what happens."In the meantime, he looks forward to following the development of the young players in the West Indies team.

Saturday, April 19, 2003:::
“We understand we are playing against the best team in the world. It’s not going to take mediocre performances to get on top of them. We have to be on top of our game and make sure nothing affects us,” West Indies skipper Brian Lara, ahead of the second Test against Australia
Source: FOX Sports, Australia
“I like that extra bit of responsibility put on my shoulders, knowing that Glenn (McGrath) hasn’t been here for the first and second Tests gives me a bit more of a chance to step up. Roles can always change and what makes a good player is a player who can adapt to his surroundings or what he’s been asked to do,” Australian speedster Brett Lee
Source: Daily Telegraph, Australia
“The crowds over here (in the West Indies) can be distracting for players on the boundaries. Not in a bad way, they just like a chat. Our blokes are pretty friendly towards the spectators and on occasions we drifted off a bit there, so it’s just something to watch. It’s not a bad thing, we’ve just got to be aware of it,” Steve Waugh, after telling his players to be more focused on the game
Source: AAP in the FOX Sports, Australia
“By the look of this pitch (at Trinidad) there will be another result in the next five days and we need to ensure it goes our way so that we can retain the Frank Worrell trophy for the fifth consecutive time,” Australian batsman Justin Langer, ahead of the second Test against the West Indies
Source: BBC, UK
Tuesday, April 15, 2003:::
“Not getting the century does not disturb me. I am quite happy to do the job for my country. You play for the team not for yourself.” Mohammad Kaif, during the TVS Cup at Dhaka
Source: PTI on Rediff.com”At the international level, is it really the captain who should motivate his players? Kepler Wessels was always adamant that if a player needed to be motivated by his captain at this level, then the player was way out of his depth.” Jonty Rhodes, on the specious reasoning behind removing Shaun Pollock from captaincy
Source: News24, South Africa”I don’t think I have written any letter to the Board. I do not see any reason why I need to take permission to start an academy or to do commentary.” Former Indian captain Mohammad Azharuddin, on being asked whether he obtained the BCCI’s permission before opening a cricket academy
Source: Sun Network, India”It’s become apparent that he needs a bit of a break. He’s very disappointed with it [but] he doesn’t want to let people down by coming here with an injury.” Lancashire manager Mike Watkinson, on Harbhajan Singh’s unavailability for the county season
Source: The Guardian, UK”You can’t rule out anything in Pakistani cricket. Anything can happen there, so you never know.” Speedster Wasim Akram, on being asked about a comeback to the national team
Source: The Pakistan Tribune, Pakistan

England start favourites for the first npower Test at Lord’s, which starts – weather permitting – at 10.45am today. Anything less than a comprehensive victory – to mirror the one they achieved at Lord’s three years ago, in the first match between these sides in this country – will be seen as a failure, despite the injuries which have reshaped Nasser Hussain’s bowling attack.

In a perfect world Hussain would be tossing the new ball to Darren Gough and Andy Caddick, with Andy Flintoff flexing his muscles as a fourth seamer. But all those three are absent with injuries, and instead Hussain has a promising debutant (Jimmy Anderson), a man feeling his way back into form (Matthew Hoggard), an erratic but speedy tearaway (Steve Harmison) and a fill-in medium-pacer (Anthony McGrath, another debutant). With last year’s runfest against Sri Lanka in mind, Ashley Giles is there too – but the forecast this time is unlikely to produce the hard flat pitch served up last year.England’s batting has a more settled look, at the top of the order anyway. The tail looks flimsy, but then so does Zimbabwe’s bowling attack. Alec Stewart, England’s most-capped player, retains his place at the age of 40 as much for the runs he’s likely to contribute as for his wicketkeeping excellence: if England didn’t have three No. 10s, then Chris Read or James Foster would probably be padding up instead.But Hussain still has less to worry about than his counterpart, Heath Streak. Streak and Grant Flower are the only survivors of the Zimbabwean team that was walloped at Lord’s in 2000, and Flower is the only member of the entire touring party who has scored a Test century. That’s a lot of pressure for someone who managed only 18 runs in four completed Test innings on that tour three years ago.The good news for Streak is that at least some of his batsmen are in form. Stuart Carlisle has started the tour well, and Mark Vermeulen, the opener, spanked a career-best 198 against Sussex last weekend.Teams
England (probable) 1 Marcus Trescothick, 2 Michael Vaughan, 3 Mark Butcher, 4 Nasser Hussain (capt), 5 Robert Key, 6 Alec Stewart (wk), 7 Anthony McGrath, 8 Ashley Giles, 9 Matthew Hoggard, 10 James Anderson, 11 Steve Harmison.Zimbabwe 1 Mark Vermeulen, 2 Dion Ebrahim, 3 Stuart Carlisle, 4 Grant Flower, 5 Tatenda Taibu (wk), 6 Sean Ervine, 7 Heath Streak (capt), 8 Andy Blignaut, 9 Travis Friend, 10 Raymond Price, 11 Douglas Hondo.

Viv Richards, chairman of the West Indian selectors, has defended the inclusion of inexperienced Bajan fast bowler Fidel Edwards in the squad for the second Test against Sri Lanka in Jamaica.”I was very very impressed when I first saw him at the Academy in Grenada, and there are a few people who did say a few things about him,” Richards told reporters at the Beausejour Cricket Ground after the first Test. “There are a few scouts around who did say their little bits about that individual. This is what selection is all about if we are looking to rebuild and maybe to move forward in future.””That, I think gives you the sort of inspiration for us to do what we are doing at present. This is what it is all about,” said Richards. “We had made some enquiries about him this season, not having played for Barbados with his injury or whatever. Certainly, I saw him as being a product that we could work with in the future.”Richards added that he appreciated Edwards’s attacking approach and round-arm action. “It is an unusual action, and I felt that we need people like him at this stage if we are looking to improve further in the future. We felt that he does attack the crease with pace.”

West Indies 272 for 4 (Hinds 113, Lara 93*) trail Sri Lanka 354 by 82 runs

Inspection followed inspection at the Beausejour Stadium in St Lucia on the scheduled fourth day of the first Test between West Indies and Sri Lanka. There was a lot of rain overnight, but after the weather relented it looked as if a start might be made after tea – but the ground was still wet in places, and as the clouds closed in again the umpires, Billy Bowden and Daryl Harper, finally admitted defeat and called play off for the day.Play will start earlier than scheduled tomorrow, weather permitting, but with only one day’s play left and West Indies’ first innings not yet completed, it seems certain that St Lucia’s inaugural Test – the first of this short two-match series – will end in a draw.

Dennis Lillee has reacted sharply to Sunil Gavaskar’s criticism of Australia’s sledging tactics, saying that sledging would never leave the game completely.”Sledging has gone on since W.G. Grace and it will go on as long as any sport is played, not just cricket,” Lillee was quoted as saying in . “If they think it’s too bad, the authorities are there to stop it.””I think it’s funny coming from someone who took his bat and went home when an umpire’s decision went against him,” said Lillee, referring to the Melbourne Test between Australia and India in 1981. Gavaskar, adjudged lbw to Lillee, was so incensed at the decision, that he dragged his partner Chetan Chauhan off the field, and was placated only on the sidelines by Col. Hemu Adhikari.Lillee also responded to Gavaskar’s charge that bowlers in school games anywhere in the world are verbally abusing batsmen after seeing their heroes do it on TV. “I don’t know how much junior cricket he has watched in Australia. That’s not right.”

Lancashire are considering a move away from Old Trafford after 138 years, to a purpose-built stadium on the east side of Manchester.Old Trafford first hosted a Test in 1884, even before Lord’s, and is one of the country’s oldest grounds. But time has taken its toll. The stadium has become increasingly run down, and is constantly overshadowed by the nearby football ground, the home of all-conquering Manchester United. There are financial problems as well: attendances for major games have been dwindling, and as a result, Lancashire have held rock concerts there to increase revenue – only for local residents to complain about the noise.The proposed new site would be next to the 2002 Commonwealth Games stadium, where Manchester City now play, and close to the velodrome and national squash centre. It would also seat 30,000 – a 30% increase on Old Trafford’s current capacity.A club statement released today said that Lancashire, together with the council, will be “working jointly to determine whether such a move would be a viable option for the club not just financially but in terms of providing a venue that will attract prestige competitions, maintain Manchester as a venue for international cricket and enhance attendance and membership in a modern, state-of-the-art stadium.”But they added: “No decisions can or will be taken on this issue without the support and approval of the club’s members.”