Australia’s Top End Tour -­ the experiment of trying Test matches in the far north of the country in what is technically their winter ­- has moved on to Cairns, in far north Queensland and the main jumpoff for the Great Barrier Reef. The place has changed completely over the last dozen years or so, from a sleepy coastal port to a fully fledged tourist trap.Cairns’s Bundaberg Rum Oval has become the 90th ground to stage Test cricket ­ and the third in Queensland after Brisbane’s Gabba and Exhibition grounds. No other state in Australia has had more than one, as any Queensland cricket-lover is very quick to inform you.Cairns has only staged a couple of first-class matches before. John Crawley has painful memories of one of those games;­ during England’s 1998-99 tour, he was set upon in town and beaten up. Bangladesh, crushed by an innings and 132 runs in the first Test in Darwin last week, must have felt rather like Crawley the morning after when they first clapped eyes on the ground here.Three weeks of persistent rain had hindered the preparation, the pitch was greener than expected, and the practice nets were unusable. Brett Lee tried not to get too excited before the match, but couldn’t resist saying: “I haven’t really seen a nice fast green wicket for a while, but this looks [as] close to a greentop as possible.” In the end, the pitch played much better than expected, and Bangladesh enjoyed one of their better days at the Test level as the pleas of Dav Whatmore, their Australian coach, for more patience began to sink in.Cairns, encircled by the dark satanic hills of Australia’s Great Dividing Range -­ not for nothing is it known as the place where the rainforest meets the reef ­- is bigger and brasher than Darwin, but the crowds were expected to be roughly the same. Early ticket sales for this spot of history were promising, but the first-day attendance of 5238 was a little disappointing. It included several busloads of schoolkids, whose shrill shrieks exhorting Lee to give ’em a wave enlivened the morning.The ground, usually a football oval, has one big grandstand but is open on the other side, and if temperatures rise it might yet prove a trial for the press, who are bivouacked in an open tent at wide mid-on. Until the recent sponsorship deal with Bundy Rum was distilled, the place was known as Cazaly’s Oval, after the local sporting legend Roy Cazaly, who is immortalised in the Australian Rules football anthem “Up There Cazaly” -­ the equivalent of baseball’s “Take Me Out to the Old Ball Game” or the Premiership’s latest dirty ditty about David and Victoria Beckham.If there are any devils left in the pitch, they might do Bangladesh’s captain Khaled Mahmud one favour. He trundles down low-slung medium-pacers which skid on to the batsmen a little. But before this match, he boasted the worst bowling average -­ 331.00 -­ of anyone who has ever played Test cricket. Three fours in his first over here didn’t improve it much.Steven Lynch is editor of Wisden CricInfo.

Shane Warne announced his voluntary withdrawal from any official training until the end of his 12-month ban in February, saying that he did not want to “place any team-mates or anyone else in an awkward position”.The Australian Sports Commission (ASC) recently told Cricket Australia that it was unacceptable for Warne to train at any level of the game, including club cricket, under the Australian board’s anti-drug policy. Warne is serving his ban after testing positive for a banned diuretic just before the World Cup earlier this year.”I think it’s ridiculous that six months after the event to now say Ican’t train. [It] just seems there are too many agendas with too many people,”Warne said, reading from a statement. “I have come to the decision that I am going to remove myself from all official training.”He continued: “I will continue to work on my fitness and my cricket skills by myself and with some friends. I know I still have a lot to offer cricket; at what level that is, is out of my control. All I can do is to present myself in the best possible way and hope that the powers that be will enjoy my return [to cricket].”Anticipating queries on a raunchy text-message issue involving a South African woman, Warne refused to take any questions from the media at the Crown Casino in Melbourne, where he held the press conference. He began his address by saying that any allegations concerning his private life would remain private.Over two weeks ago Helen Cohen Alon, a South African mother of three, accused Warne of sending her lewd text messages. Since then, a Melbourne stripper has also approached the media with allegations of an affair with Warne.Despite the controversy, Warne has received some support from various quarters. His wife Simone has said that she will “stand by my husband 100%. I always have and will continue to, especially through this unnecessary heartache. Certain individuals are trying to destroy our family. This will not happen.”Merv Hughes, a former Test team-mate, said that Warne was adversely affected by events. “I saw him a couple of days ago and he’s not the Shane Warne that you know, he’s really flat and it just seems to have really gotten hold of him,” said Hughes. “Shane Warne is a close friend of mine and you’ve got to feel for him with what he’s going through. It would be great if they came out and said ‘Yeah, Shane can train and prepare himself’, because he is going to be the first Australian cricketer to take 500 Test wickets.”

Pervez Musharraf, Pakistan’s president, has made his pitch for the resumption of cricketing ties with India, which he said would benefit both countries and also cricket in the region.Speaking at a reception to honour the surviving members of the Pakistan cricket team that went on the country’s first Test tour to India in 1952, he said: “It’s very unfortunate that India has not played us for a long time, we need to leave the past aside, India should start playing us for the mutual benefits and for cricket in South Asia.”

Since that inaugural series, bilateral cricket ties have been intermittent at best. There were no matches between 1961 and 1978, and it’s now 14 years since India played a Test match in Pakistan. Pakistan’s last Test tour of India was in 1999, months before the Kargil conflict led to a further deterioration in relations.”Cricket is a passion in South Asia which is so very rich in talent, andteams will improve if we play each other and sports can add interaction,” saidMusharraf.The late Abdul Hafeez Kardar led that 1952 side, and those team-mates who have outlived him were presented with medallions, Pakistan blazers and Rs 200,000 (US$4200) each. The survivors are Fazal Mahmood, Hanif Mohammad, Imtiaz Ahmed, Israr Ali, Khan Mohammad, Waqar Hasan, Wazir Mohammad, Rusi Dinshaw, Zulfiqar Ahmed, Khalid Ibadullah, Khursheed Ahmad and Khalid Qureshi.

Tasmania 276 (Marsh 68, Mason 58, MacGill 5-79) and 4 for 386 (Di Venuto 174*, Marsh 107*) beat New South Wales 5 for 453 dec and 8 for 208 dec (Mail 107*) by six wickets
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Michael Di Venuto smashed an unbeaten 174 to lead Tasmania to a thrilling six-wicket victory against New South Wales at The Bellerive Oval.Di Venuto and Dan Marsh, who scored 107 not out, shared an unbroken 220-run partnership to guide their team to 4 for 386 in front of a small crowd, which included Tasmania’s new Governor, Richard Butler.Di Venuto, the Man of the Match, smacked 18 fours and one six in his innings, and he was well-supported by Marsh, who hit 10 boundaries. Tasmania’s successful run-chase was the 11th most successful in domestic first-class cricket history, and they did it with over two overs to spare.”We have had some good run chase victories before, so there was belief there,” Marsh said. “We knew it was going to be hard work and we had to play the game of our lives, but it turned out like that.”Steve Waugh, NSW’s captain, praised Tasmania’s performance on a wicket that offered few opportunities for bowlers. “We gave it our best shot,” Waugh said.”I’ve got no complaints with our bowlers. We toiled away pretty hard. We thought there would be some chances at some stage, but they just didn’t happen.Full credit for the way they played, they batted very well.”NSW, who led by 177 after the first innings, had the upper hand as Tasmania resumed their second innings on 1 for 26. The target of 386 looked a daunting task when Jamie Cox was out seven minutes into the first session, lbw to leg Stuart MacGill for 18.But Di Venuto proved inspirational for the Tasmania, who finished last season with the wooden spoon. His third-wicket partnership with Shane Watson (42) delivered 103 vital runs as he went from strength to strength.Watson, meanwhile, failed to replicate his century against South Australia at Bellerive earlier this month and was caught by Mark Waugh in the slips off MacGill’s third ball after lunch.Tasmania picked up six points for the win, mnaking them joint leaders of the table with NSW.

As Australia’s endless list of injuries grows, John Buchanan, the coach, has asked officials for an inquest into the problem. Buchanan has already approached Dr Trefor James, the chief medical officer, about why these injuries, particularly to the fast bowlers, have happened so often and that there needs to be ways of stopping them. He also said that training, playing workloads and general lifestyle issues needed to be addressed.And Buchanan has had backing from Dr Martyn Sullivan, a leading surgeon from Sydney. Sullivan recently openly criticised the gruelling international schedule which bowlers must now face in order to keep playing at the top level. Sullivan, who has recently treated six Australian bowlers, claims fierce competition for places, coupled with a heavy workload, will increase the number of players succumbing to chronic injuries.Sullivan’s and Buchanan’s comments came in the wake of a glut of casualties. As well as the top three fast bowlers being forced out of the team – Brett Lee hurt his stomach and ankle, Jason Gillespie picked up a side strain and Glenn McGrath has a dodgy ankle – Stuart MacGill, Ashley Noffke and Darren Lehmann are also out of action.To make matters worse, Michael Kasprowicz, called in to the one-day squad in India to cover the fast bowling problem, is suffering from a freak buttock injury, but is staying with the squad as the problem heals.Buchanan said: “You start with back-to-back Test matches, players break down, then two bowlers carry an extra load of which one of those then went down in the next game ultimately because of extra load and less rest.”Buchanan also said what bowlers did in their time off needed to be discussed. “I think everybody went into the game physically fit but I think there is a question of match fitness,” he said. “That’s something we need to address – getting bowlers overs under their belt. If we don’t have games, how are we going to deal with that? In days gone by, as you came into a season, basically bowlers used to bowl a lot of overs in the nets or do road running. Probably neither happens to the same degree now.”Ian Healy, the former Australian wicketkeeper who is also president of the current Australian Cricketers Association, recently expressed his concern, saying something needs to be done within the next few years or the repercussions would be severe. He told the British Press Association earlier this week, “Bowling careers will definitely be shortened, if players want to play both forms of the game.”Healy is not the only ex-player to get in the act, with Dennis Lillee also agreeing that the workload is too much. “They should look at a baseball-style rotational program for the fast bowlers. Fast bowling is bloody hard on the body, but one way to prolong careers is to have two completely different teams for one-dayers and Tests.”

Even if the rain made a result impossible at the Gabba, India, despite their sensational showing on Friday, would perhaps be happy to walk away with a draw and their dignity, but they will live the next days in the fear of their captain being put out of action for the next Test in Adelaide. In the second Test against New Zealand at Ahmedabad earlier this year, Sourav Ganguly became the first player in the history of cricket to be docked a couple of runs for ignoring the umpire’s warning about running on the danger area of the pitch. Now he runs the risk of being the first Test captain to be suspended for slow over-rates.Admittedly, it will be a drastic step for the match referee to consider, but Mike Proctor will be well within his rights to impose a one-match suspension on Ganguly if India are unable to substantially reduce their deficit, which currently stands at 10. “Such decisions are always taken at the end of the match,” Proctor told Wisden Cricinfo last night, “I have had a word with Ganguly and the team management and I will be watching them closely.”This is not the first time the Indians have fallen foul of Proctor on this count. He had fined the entire team 35% of their match fee for slow over-rates in the Hamilton Test during India’s tour of New Zealand earlier this year. While he would not accuse India of slowing down deliberately, Proctor said it was a serious issue. While the Indian management sought to play down the issue, a senior official admitted privately that the matter was of concern to the Indian camp.The new playing conditions of the ICC lay a greater responsibility on the captain for any tardiness on the field. While players can be penalized 5% of the match fee for every over bowled short, the captain is liable for a 10% penalty. If the shortfall is more than five overs, the fine is raised to 10% for regular players and 20% for the captain. At end of the first day, Ganguly was liable for a penalty exceeding his match fee, giving rise to speculations that if the trend continued Proctor would be left with no choice but to hand out a one-match suspension. A shortfall of more than five overs amounts to a Level Two offence under the new ICC Code, which translates to “bringing the game in to disrepute.”While that description can be challenged, it is undeniable that the Indians were markedly lethargic on the field on Thursday, with the wicket keeper and the slip fielders changing ends gingerly. The contrast was remarkable following Proctor’s warning. The fielders sprinted so quickly between the overs that a televsion producer was overheard remarking that it was costing his channel considerable advertising revenue.Wisden Asia Cricket

New Zealand’s Kyle Mills has been officially reprimanded for excessive appealing during Wednesday’s eight-wicket win over Pakistan at Napier.The incident reported by umpire Darrell Hair came when Salaam Elahi was caught behind in the 16th over, with Mills accused of celebrating the wicket without bothering to check that his appeal had been upheld. The ICC has recently clamped down on excessive appealing, emphasising that players must wait for an umpire’s decision.”Kyle admitted he did not address the umpire when appealing for a wicket in the 16th over of the Pakistan Innings,” said Chris Broad, the match referee, announcing his decision. “This is a level 1.5 breach of the ICC Code of Conduct. Kyle has been officially reprimanded and any reoffending of a similar nature within the next year would automatically see him charged with a level 2 offence which would bring more serious consequences.”All players have been officially advised by the ICC of the on-field standards of behaviour expected under the code.”

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Ryan Campbell and Marcus North, who both scored 87, gave Western Australia early control of their Pura Cup match against New South Wales. However, in reply to WA’s 6 for 474 declared, NSW closed well-placed at 2 for 204 on day two with Simon Katich on 71 not out.NSW made a good start in their first innings, and Greg Mail had a slice of luck when he was given a life on 17 after being caught low down at backward point by Chris Rogers off a Ben Edmondson no-ball. Katich then carried on the good platform, hitting 11 fours and a six, to just about finish things on even terms.Justin Langer earlier closed his side’s innings after North was caught by Nathan Bracken at third man off Stuart Clark shortly after lunch. Campbell earlier hit seven fours and four sixes in a cavalier innings, but injured his groin attempting a sweep during his pulsating knock. Campbell, the former Australian one-day wicketkeeper, was not expected to keep for the rest of the match, and team-mate Michael Hussey had the gloves on.The Waugh twins continued a lamentable final first-class match at Perth with Mark Waugh dropping North on 32 off Stuart MacGill. It was the fourth dropped catch of the innings with Steve Waugh grassing two chances yesterday, as well as a Clark blunder with Rogers on 50.After resuming at 3 for 278, Chris Rogers faced just two balls before Clark found a path through his defences after six hours at the crease. But Rogers’s dismissal hastened the arrival of Campbell, who showed the dazzling form that has seen him play international cricket in recent seasons. He took the long handle to a NSW attack which had regularly beaten the bat on the opening day for little reward.Matthew Nicholson, the former WA player who moved back to his home state in the off-season, had a forgettable return to Perth. Campbell smashed him for 16 runs off three balls in one over, but his innings slowed with a century in sight and he was bowled trying to sweep MacGill.North took up the mantle as the aggressor by dominating his partnership with Kade Harvey, and he swept MacGill for six off the first ball after lunch. They put on 75 runs for the sixth wicket before North fell chasing quick runs.

Arjuna Ranatunga, the former Sri Lankan captain and serial Warne-baiter, haslabeled Shane Warne as a potential liability for the forthcoming Test seriesagainst Sri Lanka and described Australia’s current team as “unimpressive.”In an interview with Australia newspapers, Ranatunga, now a politician,believes Sri Lanka’s batsmen have little to fear if, as expected, Warne isnamed in Australia’s Test squad on Friday for the first time since aone-year drugs ban.”I feel that they will struggle, especially under these conditions,”Ranatunga is quoted as saying. “The present Australian team areunimpressive, when you look at the teams they used to have with the Waughsand Glenn McGrath.””Sri Lankan sides are quite good with spin … and Warne might have anissue here. Warne has been out a long time and he might struggle to getthrough the Sri Lankan batting line-up.” Ranatunga added, “The Australianspin attack is not impressive at all when you see that we have Muraliand others on our side.”Ranatunga had made a pastime out of baiting Warne ever since, on the eve ofthe 1999 World Cup, Warne suggested that the Sri Lankan team would be betteroff without Ranatunga.Ranatunga urged Sri Lanka’s current team to stand up to Australia in thefield. “I don’t know about this team but we used to feel when we gave it[verbally] back to the Australians they would crumble. I was one person whowas always against sledging but that was how it seemed. I’m not sure whatthis [Sri Lankan] team will do.”

Until the end of the Indian tour of Pakistan, we will be running a daily Paper Round of what newspapers in India and Pakistan, and from around the world, are saying about this series. This is what the media had to say today:Kapil Dev has denied that he is India’s bowling coach. Speaking to The Times of India, he said: “The media has got it all wrong. I won’t be the coach as such. I will be just giving tips to the bowlers. It’s like the Bangalore camp at the start of the season. We [Sunil Gavaskar and others] gave them a few pieces of advice.Kapil also spoke about his improved communication skills. “You have heard me talk to the players earlier. I will be doing the same.”He shared some of his memories of Pakistan. “Pitches in Pakistan are no different from here,” he said. “On the first tour, I was too raw, they hit our spinners all over the park. On the other tours, I got some helpful tracks. I remember a fast pitch at Sialkot, where Navjot Sidhu got a hundred. Also, a Lahore pitch, where the ball moved a lot.”* * *Imran Khan has tipped India to win the one-day international series and Pakistan to win the Tests. Speaking to the Press Trust of India, he said, “[The] Indian batting is strong but Pakistan’s bowling attack is very balanced. So I foresee India doing well in one-dayers because batsmen win you one-day games. In Tests, Pakistan will have an edge as bowlers get you [the] 20 wickets need for a win.”He brushed aside the relative freshness of Pakistan’s side as being a factor in the series. “Pakistan has a young side,” he said, “but youth brings with it aggression and if they are aggressive in their approach, they can beat India.”* * *Zaheer Abbas agreed with Imran that India’s batting would pose Pakistan a few problems. Speaking to Dawn, he said, “India’s bowling is adequate without being extraordinary, but their batting strength is much stronger than Pakistan’s, on paper. Pressure, for sure, will be on the home side because of the high expectations. Although Pakistan’s bowling is stronger, it will entirely depend on the fitness and form of fast bowlers Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Sami.”Despite India’s batting strength, Zaheer thought Pakistan would win the one-day series. “The Indian bowling line-up lacks spin penetration and [Murali] Kartik is not [a] great turner of the ball,” he said. “I feel that with Shoaib and Sami leading [Pakistan’s] bowling line-up, followed by support bowlers such as Abdul Razzaq, Saqlain Mushtaq and Shahid Afridi, Pakistan have an upper-hand in the one-dayers.”* * *Dawn has reported that Shabbir Ahmed is available for selection against India. Shabbir has returned from Australia after a week’s training with Darrell Foster, the coach assigned to help him rectify his action. A PCB spokesman has said that Foster’s report regarding Shabbir’s action should be available in the course of this week.