Manoj Prabhakar's plea rejected

Opening batsman Chris Gayle was omitted from the West Indies squad for the first Test against Australia, as questions of his eligibility remained unresolved, cricket officials announced on Saturday.

The selectors left the hard-hitting, 23-year-old left-hander out of a 14-member squad, though the West Indies Cricket Board said he should be eligible despite his choosing not to represent Jamaica in the Carib Beer Challenge final against Barbados this weekend.

Gayle instead opted to play in the inaugural Double Wicket World Championship, currently taking place in St Lucia.

The WICB on Saturday said in a statement that it believed he was eligible, as did the Jamaica Cricket Association, but was awaiting Gayle's own report before making a final ruling.

Talented right-hander Ramnaresh Sarwan, the recently-appointed vice-captain, also missed selection because of injury. The 22-year-old damaged his index finger on his right hand two weeks ago and has been ruled out.

West Indies and New Zealand remained unbeaten to top their groups and reach the semifinals of the inaugural World Double Wicket Cricket tournament at St Lucia's Beausejour Cricket Grounds.

The two teams will be joined by pairs representing Pakistan and Sri Lanka, which clinched the other two spots for Sunday's semifinals.

The tournament winner will receive US$65,000 and the runner up US$30,000.

Saturday's play produced both disappointment and excitement. The clash between West Indians Carl Hooper and Chris Gayle and Pakistanis Wasim Akram and Shahid Afridi, which had been billed as the match of the tournament, ended in an anticlimax when Pakistan conceded the match after Afridi suffered a back injury.

Later, England's big-hitting Andrew Flintoff made up for the disappointment by belting 12 sixes, but was out four times and had his score reduced by 40. England's 112 was the highest of the tournament so far, surpassing Pakistan's 107 on Friday.

Medium pacer Henry Olonga who protested against President Robert Mugabe's ruthless regime in Zimbabwe during the cricket World Cup has been granted a work permit by the British immigration authorities and he is expected to be there later this week.

According to reports, the 26-year old pace bowler was packing his belonging at a safe house in South Africa to prepare for his epic journey to a new life in England.

A report in The Mail on Sunday said a jubilant Olonga, who quit international cricket at the end of Zimbabwe's World Cup campaign, said: "I am so very pleased. I have a lot of people to thank for what they have done for me.

"So many people have played a role in this affair and I owe them all a deep debt of gratitude. Hopefully, when I get to England, I can repay their friendship. This is a dream come true."

The Uttaranchal High Court has rejected former cricketer Manoj Prabhakar's plea for quashing of an FIR lodged against him in a chit-fund case in which he was arrested in 2001.

Justice Irshad Hussain rejected Prabhakar's petition that the FIR be quashed as he was not a director of the company, which allegedly cheated people.

The court order paves the way for Prabhakar's trial in a Haldwani court. Several people have alleged that the former cricketer siphoned off their money.

Brad Hodge excelled with bat and ball as Australia A beat their South African counterparts by 25 runs in the second match of their limited overs cricket series at the Manuka Oval, Australia.

Hodge topscored with 69 and then took five for 28 off six overs as South Africa were dismissed for 209 in reply to Australia's 234 for eight.

The win gave Australia a 2-0 lead in the best of five one-day series.