India's tour of England

Second Test, Trent Bridge, day one (stumps): India 210-4 v England Virender Sehwag hit his second Test century as India's batsmen frustrated England in bowler-friendly conditions on the opening day at Trent Bridge. An all-seam attack restricted the tourists to 210 runs in 66 overs before bad light brought an end to the day an hour early. But, despite extravagant swing, which saw regular playing and missing, just four wickets fell. There was some good news for England, in the form of a slight improvement in the fitness of sidelined opener Marcus Trescothick. The Somerset star broke his thumb a fortnight ago in his county's Cheltenham & Gloucester quarter-final victory over Sussex and was all but ruled out for the remainder of the season. Treatment in an oxygen chamber, though, has improved Trescothick's prospects and he hopes to return for Somerset in their championship match against Lancashire at Blackpool starting on 27 August. England's Matthew Hoggard still believes the second Test is an open one despite a good opening day for India. And he believes that along with his fellow bowlers, England can improve upon their first day's display. "It was swinging a lot from around off stump, but not from middle and leg," explained Hoggard. "Sometimes you can have too much swing, but you would still like to put those conditions in a suitcase and carry them everywhere with you. "When it does swing too much it's very hard to find the right line and length, but I thought that everybody bowled tight and I think it's just a matter of time before we start nicking the edges and providing chances."

Australia's tour of Pakistan

Former Pakistan captain Imran Khan has said he is not surprised Australia are worried about touring Pakistan. His comments came after Australia batsman mark Waugh said more recent violence in Pakistan would place further doubt over Australia's scheduled tour in October. Imran, now a politician, said: "Australian fears about touring Pakistan are genuine as the international media has sensationalised events in Pakistan. "But I think both boards should resolve the matter amicably for the sake of cricket."

Miscellaneous

Australian Test captain Steve Waugh will play for county side Kent from 21 August until the end of the season. The 37-year-old will make his debut in a Norwich Union League floodlit match against Leicestershire. Waugh, who has joined the club as a replacement for Andrew Symonds, last played in English county cricket in 1988 when he turned out for Somerset. Stuart MacGill took five wickets for 63 on his Nottinghamshire debut as Worcestershire collapsed to 201 all out at Kidderminster. But the hosts struck back, Alamgir Sheriyar bowling Guy Welton in the fourth over to leave Notts five for one in reply when rain stopped play. Having opted to bat first, Worcestershire had looked in good touch on 121 for two but three wickets in quick succession ripped the heart out of the innings. Australian leg-spinner MacGill, replacing Nicky Boje as overseas player, began the rot, removing Ben Smith and Vikram Solanki. Surrey have announced that Mushtaq Ahmed will deputise for his Pakistan colleague Saqlain Mushtaq during the upcoming Morocco Cup. Saqlain is on his way to meet up with the Pakistan squad taking part in the three-team tournament in Tangier, before returning on 22 August. Leg-spinner Mushtaq, who is currently playing league cricket in Staffordshire, last played county cricket in 1998 for Somerset. Essex have finally confirmed that Australian Test batsman Mark Waugh will play for the club in their final four matches of the domestic season. The news comes exactly a week after Waugh, 37, told journalists in Sydney that he had signed a short contract to represent Essex for the fifth time since 1988. South Africa's sports ministry is confident its inquiry into the United Cricket Board's decision to scrap race quotas will be completed by the end of August. The UCB decided to rescind race requirements at international and senior provincial level at a July 7 conference, the culmination of three years of investigation into the progress of its transformation policies.

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