Australia’s fast-bowling line-up will be able to bounce back at the World Cup despite a lack of experience in the Caribbean, according to Jason Gillespie. None of Nathan Bracken, Stuart Clark, Shaun Tait, Mitchell Johnson and Shane Watson have played international matches in the West Indies, leaving Glenn McGrath as Australia’s only frontline bowler with local knowledge.Gillespie, who has 28 Test wickets at 21.21 and six ODI dismissals from two Caribbean tours, said variation was the key to successful pace bowling in the West Indies. He said Shaun Tait could be seriously destructive on the Caribbean pitches.”On the tours I’ve been on, I’ve found the wickets to be reasonably similar to those on the sub-continent,” Gillespie told . “The outfields are fast and the wickets are low and slow. The guys have to hit the track hard and be patient.”They will have to make sure their line and length is right on the money and they need to hit their change-ups – the yorkers and slower balls. It will all come down to execution. I think Shaun Tait can be a revelation over there. Anyone who bowls 160kph will be a danger in the West Indies. You have to bowl Tait early. He may be a bit erratic but I’ll take that if he’s taking 3 for 55, rather than 1 for 40.”Gillespie said the popular view that Australia were losing their ability to defend big scores and nail their yorkers at crucial times was unfair. “The criticism of the bowlers has been overstated,” he said. “To suggest they’ve lost their aura of invincibility is a load of crap.”I know they will do well in the Caribbean. I don’t think their [inexperience] is a concern. The guys going over there have a bit of first-class and international experience. At the end of the day, you have to get experience in different countries at some stage and they may as well get it now.”Andy Bichel, who helped Australia win the World Cup in 2003, said Ricky Ponting must be prepared to use variety in his attack. “The team that has the most flexibility in their line-up will win the World Cup,” Bichel said. “The one-day wickets in the Caribbean can be a bit uneven, the grounds are small and the bowlers will face some pretty hostile crowds as well.”As the tournament goes on, the wickets will get lower and slower so Ricky needs to consider bowling blokes like Michael Clarke and keep other teams guessing. If Ricky is flexible, I know we have the skill and character to win it.”

News – Kumble announces retirement from one-dayers
Audio – Kumble press conference
Anand Vasu – The man who wouldn’t say no
Mukul Kesavan – In praise of Kumble
Stats – A hero in the shorter version too
Audio – Shastri: ‘Competitive and consistent’
Audio – Tributes from team-mates

“Consistent with our approach from the time Pakistani cricket coach, Mr Robert Woolmer was found in his hotel room on Sunday, March 18, the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) has updated the media on all developments concerning our investigations of this case. The Jamaican police are in a position to inform that it is now in possession of the official post-mortem report from the government pathologist who conducted the autopsy on the late Mr Woolmer.The pathologist report is now available and states that Mr Woolmer’s death was due to asphyxia as a result of manual strangulation. In these circumstances, the matter of Mr Robert Woolmer’s death is now being treated by the Jamaica Police as a case of murder. Steps are being taken to conclude these investigations, which include collecting statements from all persons who in the opinion of the police can be of assistance to these investigations.In due course further announcements will be made as to the progress of our investigations of Mr Woolmer’s murder. The JCF is making an appeal to anyone who may have information that would help us to identify Bob Woolmer’s killer or killers to come forward in order that his wife, Gill, and his family can begin the process of healing.It is our belief that those associated with or having access to Mr Woolmer may have vital information that would assist this inquiry. We appeal to these individuals to come forward now to assist us with our investigation. Our condolences go out to Gill, Bob’s widow, and their sons, friends and members of the Pakistan team.”

The first one-day international of this series can’t come soon enough for either team. For Bangladesh it offers a chance to prove that what happened at Port-of-Spain was no fluke. For India, a chance to prove that it was – and, equally importantly, an opportunity to get on with the game, to push non-cricketing issues back where they belong.From the time they crashed out of the World Cup to developments on the eve of this match, India’s cricketers have been under the utmost scrutiny. Their endorsement clauses have been put under the scanner; their contracts with the board have not been finalised; their conditioning camp has been held in temperatures hovering around 38 degree Celsius and an equally high humidity factor – and it has been labelled “less intense”. Now, 36 hours before the first ball is to be bowled here, their selectors have been “stung” by a news channel into saying the team is a divided lot and that the captain doesn’t enjoy the support of the senior players.A full-fledged cricket match, even if in these sultry climes, will be a huge relief. Rahul Dravid, the captain, said they don’t take off-field issues with them to the playing field. What they will worry about, though, is the absence of Manoj Tiwary, whose debut was eagerly awaited. He had injured himself during a fielding practice session on Tuesday and has been ruled out of his debut series. RP Singh and Piyush Chawla are the other two to sit out the first game.That opens up a string of possible batting combinations. If Virender Sehwag opens, either Gautam Gambhir or Robin Uthappa is likely to be 12th man. If Sehwag bats lower down the order, one Dinesh – Mongia or Karthik – might have to sit out, unless Karthik opens the innings, which he is not likely to. Mongia looks an almost certainty, with his left-arm spin making him a part of India’s fifth bowler combination, given that there are no allrounders in the team.Bangladesh, though currently a more stable side, also have an injury problem to sort out. It’s one they should be quite familiar with by now – Mashrafe Mortaza, their premier fast bowler, has sustained a back injury that might keep him out of tomorrow’s game. Habibul Bashar, the captain, said there was a slim chance he might make it but in any case the team management didn’t appear too worried and said they would take a call on his fitness on Thursday morning.One reason for this, of course, is that Mortaza has come through more serious injuries. Speaking to Cricinfo at the World Cup, he’d listed out the injuries he’s sustained through his career: “Left knee, three operations; right knee, one operation; back, stress fracture – it’s better now but still gives some trouble – some shoulder problems; ankles, damaged ligaments twice.”The wicket at the Mirpur Stadium has a dry look; half an hour of rain today should not have any effect on the nature of the wicket. There are cracks visible even from far but they don’t appear too significant and are unlikely to open up during the course of the game. Dravid expects it to grip, which makes the Bangladesh spin trio crucial. Having kept India’s batsmen on a tight leash at the World Cup, they should prove a handful on this wicket.On the batting front, Javed Omar is likely to get the nod ahead of Shahriar Nafees as the opening partner to Tamim Iqbal, who had stunned India at Port-of-Spain. Bangladesh will look for their middle-order batting duo of Mohammad Ashraful and Aftab Ahmed to come good. They have long promised but are yet to deliver consistently.Ashraful, who will become the youngest Bangladeshi to play 100 ODIs tomorrow, acknowledges as much, saying, “I know that my average should have been better.” He has also been appointed the vice-captain, which should put more responsibility on him. His will be a crucial role if Bangladesh are to capitalize on a weak Indian fifth-bowler combination.Bashar feels the wicket should keep low and slow. It should not be a surprise if the side winning the toss bats first.The ground’s drainage looks good, evident from the way it dried up within an hour of the showers. It has rained twice over the last three days, but unless there are really heavy rains, the game should see the full length.Ravi Shastri has said his team have a point to prove, Dravid has said they are keen to start. Bashar has said that it is good India have come prepared. More than enough has been said before a series between a side that effectively finished seventh in the World Cup and one that exited in the first round itself. It’s now time for action.BangladeshHabibul Bashar (capt), Mohammad Ashraful (vc), Abdur Razzak, Aftab Ahmed, Farhad Reza, Javed Omar, Mashrafe Mortaza, Mohammad Rafique, Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), Saqibul Hasan, Shahadat Hossain, Shahriar Nafees, Syed Rasel, Tamim IqbalIndia Virender Sehwag, Robin Uthappa, Rahul Dravid (capt), Yuvraj Singh, MS Dhoni (wk), Dinesh Karthik, Dinesh Mongia, Ramesh Powar, Zaheer Khan, Munaf Patel, S Sreesanth and Gautam Gambhir

I’ll have a maximum for breakfast: Herschelle Gibbs did it at 33 whereas James Wilby did it at less than half that age; pillorying a hapless youngster for six sixes in an over. The schoolboy Wilby, 16 and playing for Diss U-17s in the Carter Cup, utilised short leg-side boundaries and some half-trackers to make his way into the record books before apologising to the unfortunate U-13 star he had professionally ridiculed. “I’ve never hit two consecutive sixes, never mind six. I felt a little bit of pressure because there were people I know standing at the boundary saying to go for it. When it happened I was over the moon.” Lucky for the bowler, it wasn’t a World Cup match being shown live on TV.And a maximum for lunch please: Staying with perfection, Paul Grennan became only the fourth bowler in the history of the Sussex Invitation League to take every wicket in an innings. With a return of 10 for 64 at Scaynes Hill, the 25-year-old swept the club-record of 9 for 12 set seven years ago. Tired from his remarkable achievement in the hot conditions, Grennan was first carried off the field by his team-mates and then had to swap ball for the bat in order to save the game for Southwick by blocking out the last 12 overs.Bollywood invasion: Imagine Saif Ali Khan with Jay Sean, Mohammad Azharuddin and Devon Malcolm on a Bollywood set. Disaster, right? It probably will be. But when the combo appears on a cricket pitch accompanied by other actors, cricketers and even MPs, and that too in Leeds, it could provide humour, fun and vital cash for a charity. There were national flags, screaming fans, Mexican waves being formed to Asian tunes and a certain individual called Dickie Bird over-looking the ‘set’ as Bolly XI defeated a star-studded Yorkshire XI in the recreational Twenty20. Oh and birthday girl Shilpa Shetty availed another opportunity to be in the news.A young warrior: Speaking of Indian presence on foreign soil, a 20-year-old from Chandigarh made his debut for Leicestershire second XI after coming through the ranks, albeit on a talent show in India. Sukhvir Singh saw off 25,000 competitors for that winning prize in Cricket Star, a TV program created by Simon Hughes to give players from underprivileged backgrounds a chance to show their skills. Capturing three wickets on debut, Singh was deeply grateful to the people who voted for him in India.

An unexpected prize: Another successful international tour came to an end as Ugandan players held their heads up high after beating Argentina in the World Cricket League division three final. However, the heads were sunk in shame as two of their players “decided to miss the flight back home” from Australia. Patrick Ochan and Jimmy Okello were nowhere to be seen as the team boarded the plane and are still missing. “They have valid visas until August 24 so they are still legally here,” said an immigration spokesman. Tired from their run of success and wanting and extended break, perhaps? It seems the Ugandan authorities don’t sound too bothered as there is speculation that the pair may have opted for the lucrative shore rather than heading home.I’m out of cash, mate: Spending US$ 317 million for a losing cause and coming home with no pride intact – that’s the story of the dauntless Barmy Army after the Ashes whitewash. According to a study commissioned by Cricket Australia, the series attracted 37,000 international tourists while creating 793 jobs and contributing a staggering US$ 54 million to the country’s gross domestic product. It confirms that it wasn’t only the cricketers who came back with heavy losses. The Barmy Army, however, did get some back by taunting their Australian counterparts about the relative strength of the pound to the Australian dollar and thus over-taking their professional men-in-whites by a distance in the list of achievements on the tour. “Cricket is simply marvellous for jobs and tourism.” Aptly worded by Fran Baily, Tourism Minister.A pleasant ray of light: Afghanistan finally had something to cheer about since the eviction of Russian forces and the removal of Taliban as Hamid Hassan stepped onto Lords’ outfield to represent MCC XI. The first Afghan to do so, Hassan starred alongside Chris Cairns with Mike Gatting branding him a “huge potential”, it was a fairy-tale for the 20-year-old. “To walk out at such a prestigious ground alongside such fantastic cricketers is an honour.” With Pakistan taking a penchant for early World Cup exits, maybe it’s time Afghanistan carries the Asian pride next time round, especially with the tournament being held next door.

Chris Gayle has been handed the captaincy of West Indies for their limited-overs series in England and Ireland. He will lead a 14-man squad that does not include the fast bowlers Corey Collymore and Jerome Taylor, who played at the World Cup in the Caribbean.Austin Richards has received his first international call-up and along with Lendl Simmons and Dwayne Smith, he will join the squad after the fourth Test. Richards, 23, is a left-hand batsman from Antigua who has a modest domestic one-day record but impressed in his two first-class outings in 2006-07, making 183 for Leeward Islands against Windward Islands.Daren Ganga, West Indies’ stand-in Test captain, was not included in the one-day outfit and will depart after the Chester-le-Street Test, along with Sylvester Joseph. The appointment of Gayle as the limited-overs leader came after reports that the West Indies Cricket Board executive committee wanted Ganga to take the helm of the one-day side, even though he had played only seven ODIs in nearly five years. The committee did not want Gayle in charge on the grounds of indiscipline.However, the board has ignored the committee’s request and Gayle will lead the squad, supported by Shivnarine Chanderpaul as his vice-captain. Gayle has captained West Indies once before, in a 20-run loss to India at Cuttack in January.The squad’s first challenge is two Twenty20 games against England at The Oval, followed by three one-day matches between the two sides in the first week of July. West Indies then depart for Ireland, where they will take part in a four-nation tournament that also features Netherlands, Scotland and Ireland.West Indies squad Dwayne Bravo, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Fidel Edwards, Chris Gayle (capt), Runako Morton, Daren Powell, Denesh Ramdin (wk), Ravi Rampaul, Austin Richards, Darren Sammy, Marlon Samuels, Lendl Simmons, Devon Smith, Dwayne Smith.

One opens the batting and has struggled for runs of late; the other, a middle-order batsman, has been in fine nick. Yet, come Thursday, the first is almost certain to find his name listed on the team sheet while the second is likely to miss out. Two left-handers, Andrew Strauss and Yuvraj Singh, both made confidence-boosting half-centuries in this game but their situations make interesting reading.Strauss arrived on the Test scene in splendid fashion, carving out a century on debut at Lord’s in 2004 and rattling off nine more since then, but has struggled to reach three figures for close to a year now. Yuvraj burst into the one-day arena in style, blasting his way into public consciousness during the Champions Trophy in 2000, but has been a part of just 19 Tests in seven years since.Strauss is part of a batting line-up in form; Yuvraj is part of a group that’s prone to inconsistency, often reliant on one or two batsmen. Strauss will mostly play because he’s done enough earlier to guarantee another chance; Yuvraj will mostly miss out because he’s done little to show he’s a finished article at Test level. Strauss’s failure made news on the first day while Yuvraj’s half-century was totally overshadowed. Strauss’s success made another story today, Yuvraj got just 25 minutes in the second dig.Strauss came to the press conference all staid and composed. “Lord’s is a special place to play cricket and I’m keen to go out there and score some runs this week,” he said as if to suggest there was no uncertainty. “But what you’ve done prior to the Test match matters very little when the first ball comes out. So it’s about reapplying yourself and sometimes when you’ve had a very big score [like Sachin has] you can settle back down and think you’re on a hundred. That’s the danger of being in good form but I’d prefer to be in good form than in bad form.”Yuvraj entered as if he was taking a jolly stroll in the park. “I’ve been out with injury, it’s been a while since I played a Test but I’ve had some good preparations and I’m looking forward to whatever game I play,” he said, almost in a resigned tone. “There was a bit of pressure yesterday so I thought I’ll take my time. But I got set and the moment I should have cashed in, I got out.He was asked if he would like to open, considering India’s brittle opening combination and also taking into account that he’s done the job in the past, but he dead-batted it with a “I wouldn’t like to comment”. But would he be frustrated if he missed out? This time he was more forthcoming. “It’s tough, I’ve had many disappointments in the past and I also know that the guys ahead of me have played a lot of Test cricket. They have a lot of experience. So I’ll just wait for my chance and whatever game I play in, I’ll try to perform.”Strauss left with a smile on his face, Yuvraj left as if he was continuing the stroll in the park.

Worcestershire’s season continues to go from bad worse. Not only has New Road flooded for a second time, making any more cricket there this season unlikely, large amounts of the players’ kit has been damaged leaving them short of supplies ahead of the Championship match against Surrey at Guildford.The squad are going to have to share whites and equipment after flood water got into the lock-ups at New Road. Steve Rhodes, the director of cricket, also lost his laptop after swimming into his office to try and rescue some possessions.”There has been around four feet of water in the dressing room where the players store a lot of their kit and equipment, ” Rhodes told the Press Association. “The floods also got into the lock-up where most of the training gear is kept and caused a lot of damage.”A lot of players are waiting for new kit to be delivered but we will have to muck in and help each other out for the game at Surrey. Some of the guys will probably have to wear other people’s whites and share their kit. The situation will cause us a bit of a logistical nightmare but we all pull together and get through it.”Worcestershire are still waiting to announce the new venues for their next batch of home matches and to find out the ECB’s decision on the Kent and Lancashire Championship games that were abandoned without a ball bowled.The ECB initially ruled the Kent game would be replayed later this month, but that sparked angry reaction from other Division One teams. With the Lancashire game also off they may be forced to overturn that ruling as fitting in a host of rearranged fixtures wouldn’t be possible.

Steve Harmison, the England fast bowler, will make a surprising return to cricket just three weeks after a hernia operation. Harmison had only expected to be available for Durham’s Championship match against Surrey on August 13 at the very earliest – and that was even with his recovery going well.But he has been named Durham captain for their three-day match against Sri Lanka A which starts on Wednesday. He started running in the week following the operation and was given the all-clear at the end of July to resume more strenuous exercise.In his absence, and that of Matthew Hoggard, England’s attack has lacked an incisive edge. But Chris Tremlett showed great promise in the first two Tests against India, with 10 wickets at 19.60, and has received praise from Harmison himself.If Harmison’s comeback goes well, he could be available for Durham’s Friends Provident Trophy final at Lord’s on August 18.

Despite the exodus of Australian players from county cricket in the past few weeks, those who remain are still making their mark as the season slowly comes to a close. Justin Langer’s strong form continued as he lifted Somerset to the top of the Pro40 division two table with half-centuries two days in a row.Langer’s productive week began at Canterbury on Monday when he turned around Somerset’s poor start with 92 from 105 balls before a run-out denied him a century. However, his efforts were enough to take the team from 2 for 6 in the early stages to 8 for 214, a total that was fractionally too high for Kent.The home side wobbled to 5 for 45 – the medium-pacer Peter Trego claimed the first five wickets – before a remarkable fightback was led by Ryan McLaren. His unbeaten 78 nearly pushed Kent over the line but they fell two runs short, finishing their 40 overs at 7 for 212.The next day at Taunton, Langer followed with 53 from 47 deliveries in Somerset’s impressive 6 for 287. Leicestershire never looked like reaching the target and were dismissed for 177, allowing Somerset to edge one point clear of Durham with two rounds remaining.While Durham’s Pro40 form has been good, they sit right in the middle of the County Championship division one table. However, they could jump towards the top if they can beat Worcestershire at Chester-le-Street this week and thanks partly to Michael Di Venuto that is a strong possibility.Di Venuto, who averages 74.66 this season, made 50 as Durham closed day one at 7 for 201, having already passed the visitors’ 182. Seventeen wickets fell in the day and the stars of the first innings treated the Riverside Ground like a fountain of youth. Ottis Gibson, 38, continued his age-defying season with 7 for 46 and the main resistance for Worcestershire came from Graeme Hick, 41, who slapped a quick 64 from 65 balls.Stuart Law’s Lancashire were also hoping to edge towards the top of the division one table in their clash with Kent at Canterbury. Law made 66 to help Lancashire close day two at 8 for 316, just short of the home side’s 327, which had been set up by Matt Walker’s 142. With a line-up boasting Law, Muttiah Muralitharan, VVS Laxman and, earlier in the tournament, Brad Hodge, Andrew Flintoff and James Anderson, Lancashire would be disappointed to have only three wins from their 13 matches so far.