India's tour of New Zealand

India will go ahead with next month's tour of New Zealand despite a pay dispute between the host players and authorities, the country's cricket chief Jagmohan Dalmiya said on Thursday. "As far as the Indian cricket board is concerned, our team will certainly tour New Zealand," said Dalmiya, president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India. Doubts have been raised over the tour after New Zealand's players went on strike over a pay dispute with their cricket board. The Cricket Players Association rejected on Tuesday a pay offer while their employers, New Zealand Cricket, cancelled any further talks and said the two sides had reached an impasse. "What is happening in New Zealand is an internal matter between their players and cricket authorites. We'll be happy to play against any team fielded by the hosts," Dalmiya said in a statement. India are scheduled to play two Tests and seven one-day internationals on the upcoming tour of New Zealand.

West Indies in India

Sunil Gavaskar wants Indian grounds with crowd problems to be banned from staging international cricket. The former Indian Test batsman was speaking after a match in Jamshedpur on Wednesday which was stopped for 10 minutes. The crowd, fearing an Indian defeat, threw bottles onto the field and lit fires in the stands. Match referee Mike Procter initially abandoned play and awarded the game to the West Indies. But rival players persuaded him to allow the final three overs to be completed. The West Indies went on to win by four wickets as Ramnaresh Sarwan hit a last-ball boundary off Ajit Agarkar to help his team surpass India's challenging 283-6.

England in Australia

England fast bowler Simon Jones believes he will get over the serious knee injury that has cut short his Ashes tour. Jones ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee after falling awkwardly chasing a ball on the opening day of the first Test in Brisbane. But the 23-year-old insisted he would not be beaten by the latest in a series of injuries that has blighted his career. "I'd started the game well and was feeling good. Obviously, I'm gutted about what's happened but it's something that I feel I can get over," he said. "I broke my left leg before playing rugby when I was 17 and I've also had stress fractures of the shin and the foot since then. "I've come back from those injuries so I'm backing myself to come back from this too." An England spokesman said Jones would undergo surgery once he returned home. England coach Duncan Fletcher was critical of his team's fielding performance after Australia racked up a huge score on day one of the Ashes series. The hosts finished the first day at The Gabba on a daunting 364 for two, with opener Matthew Hayden batting throughout the day for 186 not out and Ricky Ponting making 123. However, the batsmen were given a helping hand by some dreadful fielding with Hayden lucky on several occasions. Fletcher said: "We just didn't field well which was strange. "I think we have fielded very well on this tour up to the second day against Queensland when we dropped a few catches. "Then suddenly today we came along and dropped some more vital catches and you just can't do that out here." The first escape for Hayden was on 40. Simon Jones held a catch at fine leg but the Glamorgan fast bowler's momentum carried him over the boundary. Strike bowler Brett Lee says his axing from Australia's team to play England had made him more determined than ever to make the grade. He told reporters on Thursday: "I know I can bounce back from it. It's made me very hungry and I'm just going to work twice as hard now and really focus on what I've done the last couple of years." Lee will join former Test players Mark Waugh, Michael Bevan, Stuart MacGill, Michael Slater and Simon Katich in the New South Wales side to host Tasmania in a four-day interstate match at Sydney Cricket Ground starting on Friday. Lee, who turns 26 today, burst onto the international scene in December 1999 when he captured five wickets on his Test debut. His blond hair and ready smile have made him one of the faces of Australia cricket in television promotions.

Sri Lanka in South Africa

Sri Lanka will be looking for their first Test win in South Africa when they take on the home side at the Wanderers for the first of two matches on Friday. Five Tests in three tours have brought four defeats and a draw for the Sri Lankans. Their batsmen prospered in the first two warm-up matches. But the flat pitches in Kimberley and Lenasia will bear little resemblance to the seam-friendly Wanderers strip. Captain Sanath Jayasuriya believes the tourists are better prepared this time. "It's really great to be able to play five one-day internationals in South Africa with the World Cup coming up," Jayasuriya said.

Pakistan in Zimbabwe

Tour match, Harare, day three (close): Zimbabwe A 200-5 drew with Pakistan 456-6 dec Not a single ball was bowled on Wednesday in the Zimbabwean capital meaning Pakistan's bowlers were denied the chance to build their confidence ahead of Saturday's first Test. On Tuesday, the touring team's batsman had continued to gain valuable match practice before a declaring midway through the second day.

Miscellaneous

Pakistan Test stars Saqlain Mushtaq and Azhar Mahmood have both signed two-year contracts at Surrey. Saqlain has been with the club since 1997 and has featured heavily in their success during that period. The 25-year-old off-spinner captured 53 wickets at an average 25.64 last season. He has taken 183 Test wickets in 43 matches for Pakistan and 271 victims in 156 one-day internationals. All rounder Azhar, 27, topped Surrey's bowling averages with 20 wickets at 17.25 in his first year at The Oval last season. He also recorded the season's best figures of 8-61 against Lancashire. "Saqlain has been an integral member of the team in the last five years and has been instrumental in our recent success," said cricket manager Keith Medlycott. New Zealand Cricket is approaching club cricketers to try to begin the domestic first-class season and fulfil its international commitments. A pay dispute involving 128 top players has left New Zealand without a side to face India in a Test match starting 12 December. Meanwhile, new pros signed by state sides face being ostracized by striking players if they pursue their career this season. At least one fringe player who has been signed claims to have threatened by the players' association. Mark Tulloch, a 24-year-old kitchen hand and cycle courier who has signed to play for Wellington, said he had been warned of future ramifications for his career. Veteran fast bowler Devon Malcolm has committed himself to Leicestershire for another season. The new one year contract ensures that Malcolm will continue playing first class cricket past his 40th birthday. The paceman, who joined the Foxes in October 2000, played 40 Tests for England.

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