The Pakistan Cricket Board has proposed Lahore, Karachi and Rawalpindi as venues for the three Tests for India’s next tour of the country. During India’s historic tour of Pakistan in 2004 the team only played a one-day international at Karachi, fearing that an extended stay in the city could expose them to the risk of a terrorist strike.However the one-dayer went off without incident and Pakistan now hope that India will be willing to play a Test at Karachi. However the Pakistan board has problems of its own – with the managements of the Pindi Cricket Stadium and the Arbab Niaz Stadium in Peshawar, reported. There was a chance that the Rawalpindi Test could be moved to Faisalabad if the Pakistan board is unsatisfied with the working of the management at the Pindi Stadium.For the one-dayers Pakistan has proposed Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar, Faisalabad and Multan as venues.

If Zimbabwe had any reason to think that the list of Australian injuries might make their job in tomorrow’s second Test a little easier, then they should think again. Newcomers in any side want to make an impression, and so rarely do opportunities come in the Australian side that Brad Williams, Simon Katich and Brad Hogg have everything to play for at Sydney.Stuart MacGill’s calf strain was the latest in a line of injuries for the Australians, who have been forced to make three changes to the previous side which walloped Zimbabwe by an innings and 175 runs at Perth. MacGill aggravated his calf while bowling in the first Test but had hoped to be fit in time. However, he failed to pass a fitness test and Hogg steps in to take his place.Williams makes his debut in place of the injured Jason Gillespie, while Katich, set to play only his second Test after a two-year gap, replaces Darren Lehmann, out with a sore achilles tendon. Katich has played 100 first-class games and averages 49.02, including 21 centuries, while Williams has taken 181 wickets at 30.34 in 51 matches. It can be a long wait for international recognition in Australia.Steve Waugh, in his 53rd Test in charge, gave Katich the thumbs up before the match. “He’s ready made for Test match cricket. He’s got a great temperament, a very determined cricketer. I thought he batted very well towards the end of last season. He’s had a good season for Hampshire too.”On Williams, Waugh said: “He’s come back from serious back injuries. He was a tearaway four or five years ago, probably the quickest in Australia, he’s still pretty quick now, but he knows his game better now. He’s worked hard, he’s been 12th man a number of occasions. He’s looking forward to it so it’s a great opportunity for him.”Meanwhile, Zimbabwe’s aim will be to improve their top-order batting and be more competitive in this Test, their first at Sydney. They are expected to name an unchanged team, but were encouraged by Douglas Hondo getting through a full training session yesterday. However, he is still woefully short of match practice. There was also a slight concern over a knee strain to Sean Ervine, but it is not bad enough to prevent him from playing tomorrow.If, as expected, Australia secure another innings victory, it will be their fourth in succession. But one of the most interesting features of the match will be how the Zimbabwe bowlers shape up, how much hunger Matthew Hayden has after his record-breaking innings at Perth, and who, among the other Australian batsmen, can cash in on their opportunity.TeamsAustralia 1 Matthew Hayden, 2 Justin Langer, 3 Ricky Ponting, 4 Damien Martyn, 5 Simon Katich, 6 Steve Waugh (capt), 7 Adam Gilchrist (wk), 8 Andy Bichel, 9 Brett Lee, 10 Brad Hogg, 11 Brad Williams.Zimbabwe (probable) 1 Dion Ebrahim, 2 Trevor Gripper, 3 Mark Vermeulen, 4 Stuart Carlisle, 5 Craig Wishart, 6 Craig Evans, 7 Heath Streak (capt), 8 Tatenda Taibu (wk), 9 Sean Ervine, 10 Andy Blignaut, 11 Ray Price.

Two cricketers at the opposite ends of their career faced the media at the end of the first day’s play at Bangalore. And at the opposite ends of their tether as well, to judge by the outward appearances of Anil Kumble and Michael Clarke.Kumble, who had been laid low by a flu virus and managed just six hours’ sleep on the eve of the match, was tired but contented after becoming the ninth man in Test history to reach 400 wickets. Australia’s boy wonder, Clarke, on the other hand, was utterly unfazed by his achievement in batting for more than four hours on debut to reach an unbeaten 76.For Kumble, it was the third occasion he had brought up a landmark on home turf, after taking his 100th and 300th wickets here at Bangalore too. “It’s just a coincidence,” he shrugged. “Somehow it often seems to work out like that. I did start thinking about it as I got closer, but really we just had to get on with the game, and break that partnership [between Simon Katich and Clarke].”Clarke, for his part, also admitted to nerves, although they were scarcely on show in the course of his innings. “It was great to get off the mark,” he admitted, “but obviously the longer I spent out there, the more comfortable I became. Batting with Simon really helped as well – he’s at New South Wales now, so it was great to spend time with him. He played really well, and deserved a hundred, but unfortunately he missed out today.”Katich, in the end, became Kumble’s landmark victim, as he was bowled off an inside edge for 81. “It’s a great honour to have 400 wickets,” said Kumble afterwards, before setting his sights even higher than that. “Obviously the next target for me is another 35 wickets, to go past Paaji bhai [Kapil Dev], but it’s more important to win this Test, and if I contribute to that then records will take care of themselves. I just want to keep taking wickets, and I feel good at the moment.”Tomorrow it will be Clarke’s own milestone that takes centre stage, and if anyone has the self-confidence to get to a hundred on debut, it is he. “Yeah, I hope I can get there,” he enthused. “I’ll come back tomorrow, aim to put on a good partnership with Adam [Gilchrist], and hopefully get to a hundred.”

The pitch was certainly in the batsman’s favour. “Good” was Clarke’s verdict, “slow” was Kumble’s. “I’m sure we’re getting the best use out of it, by winning the toss and batting,” added Clarke, “but on the fourth and fifth days it should break up.”Kumble dismissed suggestions that he had lacked support from Harbhajan Singh, who managed just the one wicket, albeit the big one of Matthew Hayden. “He bowled well, maybe [he was] a bit unlucky. But the wicket was slow, and they looked to get after the spinners, and on a first-day wicket, you can’t expect a pair of five-fors and the [opposition] team being bowled out for 200. We still have a very good chance.”Clarke had few problems in facing the Indian pairing, and attributed his expert use of the feet to the schooling from his Indian coach, Neil D’Costa, who sat right there in the press briefing. He added that his prior knowledge of India, where he came with the one-day side last year, helped settle his nerves no end.”One-day cricket in general has been good to me,” added Clarke. “Today was a lot easier as a result. I felt a lot more comfortable with the players and that played a big part. A lot of cricket at the top level is mental, but I backed myself to play in my own way, and fortunately today it came off.”

In the same week that the England & Wales Cricket Board is likely to announce that it is happy with security arrangements surrounding its tour of Zimbabwe, a protester who was beaten by police after waving an anti-government banner during a World Cup match last year said that he was planning another demonstration during England’s trip.The Sunday Telegraph reported how 19-year-old Kindness Moto was arrested and tortured after protesting against Robert Mugabe during Zimbabwe’s match against Netherlands at Bulawayo in March, 2003. The newspaper said that he was held by the police for four days and “raped by officers, starved, electrocuted and beaten on the soles of his feet before being thrown from a moving car.” He has subsequently been arrested and beaten on three more occasions.Moto’s story reflects that of Edsion Mukwasi, the 29-year-old former official of the Movement for Democratic Change, who was arrested outside the Harare Sports Club – where England will play three ODIs – during Zimbabwe’s match against Pakistan in November 2002 for distributing leaflets highlighting human rights abuses. While in custody it is claimed he was repeatedly tortured, and he died three months later from lung and liver injuries resulting from those beatings.Moto claimed that potential protesters are already being rounded up ahead of England’s visit, although he insisted that the demonstrations would still go ahead. With no free media inside Zimbabwe, and with foreign journalists subjected to considerable restrictions, opponents say that this rare exposure to the international community has to be seized on.And, Moto added, with few locals likely to attend – recent one- day internationals have been played out in front of dozens rather than even hundreds of spectators – the ruling Zanu-PF are planning to fill the stands with schoolchildren to give the impression that all is well.

Somerset chief executive Peter Anderson has reacted strongly to the Professional Cricketer’s Association attitude to county clubs using two overseas players.”I am amazed by their reaction on two counts. Firstly what has it got to do with them who we employ, and secondly is it any wonder that the England side falter when the going gets tough if the county pros don’t want to play against the best and at a higher standard that the two overseas players will provide. Job protection has no place in professional sport.”Mr Anderson also offered words of caution to comments made by Glamorgan coach John Derrick about the possible link up with other county teams in the west.He told me: “As everybody knows various factions within the ECB and the media would love to see the abolition of the eighteen county system and replace it with regional cricket. Somerset has always resisted such a move pointing out that there would be no support for regional cricket. “He continued: “What John Derrick has to be careful of in suggesting a merger with Glamorgan, Gloucestershire, Worcestershire and ourselves is that he is not being used by those dedicated to tearing down and obliterating county cricket in Somerset.”He concluded with a stern warning to anyone who tries to interfere: “The club and it’s members will fight to the death to preserve its own identity and independence.”

Should the ICC take action or is it right to stand aside? Send us your views

Despite coming under pressure from the governments of Australia, New Zealand and Britain, the ICC is expected to ignore requests to take action against Zimbabwe when it meets this week in Dubai.The three governments have called on the ICC to ban Zimbabwe because of the country’s dreadful human-rights record which culminated in the controversial slum clearance programme Operation Murambatsvina – which translates as “drive out rubbish” – which has left 700,000 people homeless.Last week, Jack Straw, Britain’s foreign secretary, wrote to Ehsan Mani and Malcolm Speed, the ICC’s president and chief executive, urging them to take action, but yesterday Speed hinted that nothing was likely to change.”For the past three years at least, we’ve been asked that players be allowed not to comply with their agreements with Zimbabwe, or that cricket not be played in Zimbabwe,” Speed said. “The ICC position has been consistent: we say to governments that we don’t take decisions based on political judgments. We expect governments to do that.””We do respect their views, but we don’t make decisions on political grounds and neither are our decisions on playing cricket based on the human rights record of a country. I haven’t had a chance to speak with our president [Ehsan Mani] but our stand on such matters is pretty clear. It’s up to the teams to decide whether they honour the commitments. If the countries want to play it’s fine and if they don’t we don’t interfere in the foreign policy of any government.”Speed added that the 10 ICC members – which include Zimbabwe – were “comfortable” with play proceeding in the absence of an outright government ban.Such bans, however, are not likely because the three countries who have raised concerns would have to change their laws to enable them to prevent their own nationals from traveling to Zimbabwe. New Zealand, however, have indicated that they will refuse Zimbabwe’s players entry to the country should they try to fulfill their scheduled tour in December. Despite New Zealand Cricket announcing that the tour had been cancelled, as recently as the weekend, Zimbabwe Cricket officials claimed to know nothing about that.The ICC’s position is unlikely to be changed on cricket grounds either, even though Zimbabwe’s on-field performances of late have verged on the embarrassing. Yesterday’s humiliating defeat against New Zealand was the latest in a long line of drubbings which many have claimed is tarnishing the integrity of the international game.

Sachin Tendulkar has praised Shane Warne by calling him `God’s gift to cricket’. He has also predicted that Australia would retain their superpower status even after their current ageing crop of players retire.”[Warne] plays his cricket the hard way and has the ability to bounce back from the dead. He’s God’s gift to cricket,” Tendulkar was quoted as saying by . “How many guys can bowl like him and how many guys can be as exciting as him? I’m least worried about what he does in his private life. It’s his life. On the field he has delivered incredibly.”Tendulkar said that Australia’s bench strength was the reason they would remain a formidable force even after Warne’s retirement. “They have a very high standard of domestic cricket in Australia. We haven’t seen many [new] players because it’s tough to break into the Australian side. But as and when it does happen, I’m sure they will be equally good.”Sachin Tendulkar, who has outstanding averages of 53.11 and 49.02 against Australia in Tests and ODIs respectively, has not recovered fully from a surgery he underwent for a tennis elbow. As a result he will miss the Super Series against Australia in October 2005. Tendulkar had been selected in both the Test and ODI squads for the Super Series.

Michael Vaughan, the England captain, insists that there will be no “Ashes let-down” for his side when they play Pakistan. On the eve of England’s departure for a three-Test and seven one-day match tour, Vaughan told reporters at the team’s hotel that his side would have to be at their best to win in Pakistan.”The Ashes are a massive goal and we attained that in the summer. It was great to play the cricket that we did in England. We’ll certainly keep our feet on the ground but we have to draw confidence from the fact we beat Australia and played some fantastic cricket in the summer.”There are only five players from England’s successful 1-0 win in a three Test series on their last tour of Pakistan in 2000-01 – Vaughan, Matthew Hoggard, Ashley Giles, Marcus Trescothick and Andrew Flintoff – in the current squad and Vaughan said his team would have to adapt quickly to the conditions.”It’s a big challenge and opportunity for the team to continue the progress we made in the summer,” said Vaughan, who doubled up as a sightscreen pusher when England won five years ago in fading light at Karachi to clinch a dramatic series win. “The last two years the England team have played some good cricket and the tour to Pakistan is really going to test our skills in conditions which some of the players haven’t played in.”Pakistan’s pitches traditionally offer plenty of assistance to spin bowlers and although Bob Woolmer, the Pakistan coach and former England batsman, said he wanted to play the series on good rather than turning wickets, Vaughan was in no doubt about what sort of surfaces would confront his men.”I would be very surprised if we go to Pakistan and it doesn’t spin. But we have become decent players of spin over the last few years,” said Vaughan. “Look at the World XI team (in the recent ICC Super Test in Australia) and the success Stuart MacGill and Shane Warne (both leg spinners) had against the best players in the world. That shows what success we had against Warne. He managed to take 40 wickets but we took him for a few an over.”Duncan Fletcher, the England coach, said the lack of hype in comparison to the Ashes would also work in the squad’s favour. “After what took place it should be one of the best tours to go on. There should be very few distractions and I think that will be good for the side.”England will be without injured reverse swing specialist Simon Jones, one of their Ashes stars. “He will be missed because he has become a fantastic bowler with reverse swing, but it creates chances for Liam Plunkett, James Anderson and Alex Loudon,” admitted Vaughan. “It will be a real challenge, but an exciting challenge. We just need to stick to our basics and get our plans right.”England play their first tour match in Rawalpindi, a three-day game, starting on October 31 with the first Test at Multan commencing on November 12.

Australian opener Justin Langer has turned down the offer of becoming Derbyshire’s captain next season in order to prolong his Test career.Derbyshire are looking for a new captain after Luke Sutton recently left to join Lancashire, but Langer, 34, does not want to play a full domestic season in England. “Throughout our negotiations Justin has been very honest and obviously found this a very difficult decision to make,” Derbyshire’s chief executive Tom Sears told BBC Sport. “We’ll keep in touch and there is every possibility we may talk again about him coming to Derbyshire in the future.”I can fully understand his position and the reasons why he declined our offer at this stage. Every player wants to play at the highest level possible and you have to admire Justin’s ambition and drive, exactly the qualities we wanted him to bring to our club.”Sears says Derbyshire, who have finished in the bottom two of the County Championship for the past three seasons, are keen to bring in a world-class player: “We have the finance in place but we will not be rushed into any decisions and we will make sure we get the right player and the right person who is going to be worth the investment.”

England’s reserve wicketkeeper, Matt Prior, believes he has what it takes to open the batting for his country on a regular basis, after cracking 72 from 84 balls in England’s warm-up match against Pakistan A at Bagh-e-Jinnah. His efforts were not enough to prevent England slumping to a one-wicket defeat, but in his first outing since the Test series began, it was enough to drop a subtle reminder to the team management.”I’ll be happy playing in any position for England but if I was opening the batting I would absolutely love it,” he told reporters at the Gadaffi Stadium. “That’s where I enjoy playing the most, especially in one-day cricket. I have done it for Sussex for the last two seasons and I feel I play my most natural game there. The new ball does a bit but if you can get through that bit, it’s okay.”It’s more suited to the way I play,” he added. “I enjoy taking bowlers on and being positive against them. That freedom works for me. The one thing I have got better at over the last few years is trying to eliminate how many risks I now take. I used to take too many when I started in my first season. I was trying to get 200 runs off 100 balls whereas a strike-rate of 90 is also fine.”Prior, 23, has been Geraint Jones’s understudy on this trip, where opportunities for the non-Test players have been hard to come by. But he was philosophical about spending so much time on the sidelines. “I knew I was the No. 2 and that’s what you expect. You work hard and try and give yourself the best chance, but if the guy above you is doing well then there is not a lot you can do. It’s pretty much out of your hands. You just carry on working hard and give it your best when you get the opportunity.”After the defeat in the Test series, Duncan Fletcher admitted that too much time in hotel-rooms had blunted England’s competitive edge. For Prior, the tedium could have been even more debilitating. “It was a little weird actually, finding myself back out in the middle and asking for a guard,” he said of his innings at Bagh-e-Jinnah. “I have managed to stay in some sort of form through the tour , but when you haven’t played in a match for a while, you hope that your natural ability takes over until you get used to the match situation.”I wouldn’t say it’s frustrating but you’re just itching to get out there,” he added. “You do all the training, get motivated, sit in at the team meetings and you’re almost getting wound up for the big day and when it comes, you just sit and watch. But that’s what I expected and there isn’t much you can do about it. When the chance comes, I absolutely love just being out there. Even fielding, just running around was brilliant.”Prior’s potential role in the one-day series is complicated by the new ICC regulations that permit a Supersub to be brought in at any stage of the match. Last summer, Vikram Solanki was the nominated man, although Michael Vaughan’s knee injury might mean he now steps up to the starting XI.”I don’t know where or how I will be involved,” said Prior. “Some people say Supersub, others the top of the order. I don’t really know, it’s out of my hands and when I get the opportunity all I can do is take advantage of it. There was a lot of media speculation last summer about me being the first Supersub but it never materialised. Vikram was used and he did really well so there’s not much you can do about that.”Prior’s style has been likened to an old-fashioned pinch-hitter, a batsman who can be relied upon to take a few risks and smack a brisk 20 or 30. “I don’t see it as an insult because different people perceive it differently,” he said. “It’s just a term to describe someone who plays positively at the top of the order. Some people might call Gilchrist a pinch-hitter. It’s not something I worry about.”