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• Gordon Greenidge, who has been helping to prepare Bangladesh for the World Cup, criticised organisers for starting the competition in May when the squad arrived in England yesterday.

  The former West Indies batsman, who has been coaching Bangladesh for two years, believes there is a huge disadvantage for all teams bar the hosts. ``England must be in with a chance,'' he said, ``because it is so early in the summer.

  ``For many of the sides it will be difficult to get used to the conditions. When we left Dakha it was 38 degrees and here it is minus one.''

  Greenidge believes the tournament should have been held back to avoid unpredictable late spring weather. ``July would have been a better time,'' he said.

• Scotland's World Cup squad flew to Sharjah yesterday for training. Two players were missing - Gavin Hamilton, currently on duty for Yorkshire in the championship, and the left-arm fast bowler Asim Butt, who joins the party in a few days.
• Sharjah is also the venue where rival captains Wasim Akram and Mohammad Azharuddin find themselves under pressure as India and Pakistan meet in today's Champions Cup final.

  Akram has had renewed charges of match-fixing aimed at him by a former team-mate, while there are calls for Azharuddin to be replaced as India's World Cup captain by Ajay Jadeja. Rashid Latif, a former Pakistani wicketkeeper, accused Akram and his team of throwing away Monday's match against England, who enjoyed their only success in the three-nation tournament.

• Robert Croft, the England off-spinner, will be available for Glamorgan's first two championship matches and their opening National League fixture against Middlesex at Lord's on April 25.

  There had been some confusion as to whether Croft and the other members of England's World Cup squad would be allowed to play for their counties in the weeks before England open the tournament against Sri Lanka on May 14.