The BCCI president AC Muthiah said that Azharuddin's allegation that he (Muthiah) was opposed to his selection as skipper in 1998 was not true as he was nowhere in the picture then. Muthiah joined the Board's working committee only in 1997 and was elected vice-preseident in 1998. Muthiah said he had always believed that selecting a captain for the team was part of the selection committee and declared that he saw no role in it for him.
The BCCI who decided to have the six-day camp from February 5 in Chennai will select the probables for the home series against Australia on January 29. Talking to reporters from Chennai, Sourav Ganguly who was not consulted by the BCCI for the venue of the camp said "But why Chennai? Couldn't they find a better place?"
South African orthopaedic surgeon Mark Fergusson who led a team to operate on Anil Kumble in 
Johannesburg found that the problem in his shoulder was not as bad as he feared. Kumble, in the meanwhile is happy with the surgery. His recovery is expected to take four to six months.
Former BCCI president IS Bindra and off-spinner Nikhil Chopra are to appear before the disciplinary committee of the board to answer terms-contravention charges. Last August the BCCI issued a show cause notice to Bindra seeking action for bringing the Board to disrepute. The committee's findings would be placed before a general body of the Board for a decision.
Pakistani national selectors have dropped seasoned players like Ijaz Ahmed, Aamir Sohail, Mushtaq Ahmed and Rashid Latif. From the list of 33 probables released for the New Zealand and Sharjah tours. The selection committee under Wasim Bari laid emphasis on fast bowlers and upcoming youngsters. A promising raw 
speedster Muhammad Sami has been included in the list that includes Shoaib Akhtar as well. Sami who is from Karachi has been rated as the fastest bowler on the Pakistani domestic circuit. Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis have been retained. The camp for the probables begins on January 22.
Former Pakistan Test captain Mushtaq Mohammad has said that some of the players in the Pakistan side are neither fit nor sturdy enough to play Test cricket. He said most players were good enough only to play one-day cricket and were not sharp enough for Test match cricket that requires much more stamina, fitness and concentration. He felt this was the primary reason why Pakistan had not been doing well against the stronger teams. He said it was time the senior players took decisions themselves about whether they were fit enough to withstand the 5-day game. He gave recent examples of Daryll Cullinan and Jonty Rhodes of South Africa and said their decisions not to play One-dayers and Tests turned out correct.
There are three changes to the Sri Lankan side for their five-match tour of New Zealand starting this month end. The side will be without Pramodya Wickremasinghe, Muthumudalige Pushpakumara and Tillekeratne Dilshan. The final squad: Sanath Jayasuriya (Capt), Marvan Atapattu (V Capt), Russel Arnold, Mahela Jayawardene, Kumar Sangakkara, Avishka Gunawardane, Romesh Kaluwitharana, Muthiah Muralitharan, Chaminda Vaas, Nuwan Zoysa, Dilhara Fernando, Kaushalya Weeraratne, Aravinda de Silva, Ruchira Perera, Eric Upashantha and Kumara Dharmasena.
The appointment of Geoff Marsh as consultant of the National Cricket Academy (NCA) is likely to be brought up at a NCA meeting later this week. Though Marsh's appointment should not create any controversy, the fact is his contract has not been signed yet. Marsh has allegedly demanded a hefty fee and if the board feels he is not worth it he may be asked to curtail his visits to India. The appointment of John Wright will also be put up for confirmation during the BCCI's working committee meeting next week.
A local motorcar dealer in Bloemfontein has specially commissioned the number plate 300 DON FS on Alan Donald's BMW station-wagon after he took his 300th Test wicket. Earlier Donald drove around a vehicle 
numbered 174 AAD FS, wherein 174 referred to his achievement of becoming the highest South African wicket-taker beating Hugh Tayfield's previous record of 170 wickets.
West Zone will take on South Zone in a trial of strength in a Duleep Trophy match to be played at Surat. Nayan Mongia and Rahul David respectively will lead the more or less evenly matched teams. India team coach John Wright will watch this crucial tie. In the meanwhile, North Zone which is currently leading the points table with 10 points from two games take on East Zone (placed fourth with five points) in Guwahati.
In a build up to the rather crucial elections to the Mumbai Cricket Association, the driver of Ajit Wadekar was beaten up, just outside his home. The driver Bashir Sheikh said two persons approached him and started beating him up saying "your boss is contesting the elections?" The driver received injuries on his face and eyes and was taken to hospital to be discharged a while later after taking treatment. The Sharad Pawar camp while condemning the incident said they had nothing to do with it. Wadekar, who is contesting the MCA election for the post of president, has requested police protection till the elections are completed.
Scores at a glance
A brilliant 116 of 106 balls by Brian Lara failed to take the Windies to victory over Australia in a rain marred Carlton Series match at Sydney. Australia won by 28 runs after the West Indies were set a revised target using the Duckworth Lewis method.
Australia:277-4 in 50 overs (M Waugh 58, A Gilchrist 40, R Ponting 93)
West Indies:211-8 in 42.4 overs (B Lara 116 not out, R Powell 28; S Warne 3-62)
Man of the match:Brian Lara (WI)
Sri Lanka managed to stop the South African 10-match winning trot with a four-run victory at Johannbesburg. The one-day series was however won by South Africa 5-1. The home team were just one short of the record 11 ODI wins in a row by the West Indies in 1984-85.
Sri Lanka:214-6 in 42 overs (M Attapattu 55, R Arnold 65 not out; R Telemachus 3-25 in 8 overs)
South Africa:204 in 42 overs (N Boje 46, N McKenzie 47)
Man of the match:RP Arnold (Sri Lanka)
Man of the series:JH Kallis (South Africa)
England Under-19 managed to draw their three-day tie against South Zone Under-19 in Chennai. Needing to score 294 in 41 overs on the final day the home team ended up at 110-4.
South Zone U-19: 275/8 decl & 201/4 dec
England Under-19: 183 & 110/4
Did you know?…
In 1995 the Bombay Telephones refused to connect Sunil Gavaskar's phone unless he could provide a certificate proving that he was a well-known sportsman!
In 31 Test matches played at home since 1992 Anil Kumble has taken 175 wickets (avg. 21.38), while the next best Indian bowler was Javagal Srinath with just 93 wickets (avg. 24.89) in 24 matches. This piece of stats proves that Kumble will be sorely missed during the forthcoming Australian Test series.
Yesterday's News
Compiled by: Mohandas Menon
