New Zealand may replace India at Sharjah

New Zealand may replace India as the third team in the tri-nation series in Sharjah to be played from April 8-20, following India's pull out from the tournament. "We have received the invitation from CBFS," John Knowles, a spokesman for New Zealand Cricket said on Tuesday. While Knowles confirmed the invitation had been extended, Chris Doig, chief executive, NZC declined to comment. However, he added "It is an additional tour and it has to be discussed at the Board level. Until such time nothing will be made official."

The Pakistan team media manager Farooq Mazhar said "We're doing our best to get New Zealand to Sharjah." Talking to a news agency, Farooq said "The invitation is for a 16-man tour party and we're keen to have New Zealand there. New Zealand has asked for the financial commitments from the organisers and it will be decided soon." Mazhar said the Sharjah organisers had asked Pakistani cricket authorities to negotiate with New Zealand officials on the offer.

Even as the negotiations were going on, CBFS chairman AR Bukhatir denied having any information about the reported invitation to New Zealand to replace India in the tournament. "We have a contract with India and we cannot break it till India itself asks us to do so. People have been talking about Bangladesh and New Zealand and other countries (replacing India).... I don't know...I don't have any information. For me, our contract with India stands," said Bukhatir.

Hanumant back as NCA member, Gavaskar's resignation rejected

The National Cricket Academy (NCA) has rejected the resignation of former Indian captain Sunil Gavaskar at the NCA committee meeting in Bangalore on Tuesday. Talking to the media after the meeting, the NCA president Raj Singh Dungarpur said that "He (Gavaskar) is still part of the NCA."

Dungarpur also said that the former Director of the NCA, Hanumant Singh, who quit the post in December last year citing personal reasons, has been appointed as a member. It may be recalled that after a war of words, Gavaskar put in his papers while Hanumant Singh and Vasu Pranajpe resigned their posts. Balwinder Sandhu has been named as the head coach.

* Gilchrist, McGrath fined for breach of code of conduct

An Australian website has said that two Australian players vice-captain Adam Gilchrist and fast bowler Glenn McGrath have been reportedly fined 50 percent of their match fee for violation of the ICC code of conduct during the first ODI in Bangalore.

The match referee Cammie Smith fined Gilchrist for dissent while McGrath was fined for abusive language. It's understood that both players directed comments at umpire SK Sharma. Non-striker Gilchrist is said to have had a word with the umpire when Steve Waugh was given out lbw by Sharma while McGrath had exchanged a few words with the umpire while walking back at the end of the game. Replays showed Waugh had hit the ball first and the captain was also seen talking to Sharma as he left the crease.

Earlier on the tour, Smith had fined Michael Slater 50 per cent of his Test match fee and handed over a suspended sentence of one match ban to the Aussie opener for airing his views on Australian radio on the warning given by Smith. Slater had verbally abused Rahul Dravid in the first Test but later apologised to the Indian vice captain.

Ticket sale surge in Indore

There has been a surge in the ticket sales for the third ODI between India and Australia to be played at the Nehru Stadium at Indore on March 31. The Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association (MPCA) has so far sold tickets worth nearly Rs 40 lakhs by the second day of the tickets sale on Tuesday. Despite rumours that there was black marketing, cricket fans thronged the counters to buy the tickets. However, MPCA treasurer Dilip Chudgar dismissed reports of black marketing as baseless and said gallery tickets as well as student concession tickets were still available. Chudgar added that pavilion tickets have been a complete sell out.

Indore is hosting an international match after a gap of nearly four years and that is one reason behind the surge in ticket sales. The other reason is the extraordinary performance of the home side in the recent Test series against the Australians. The last match played at Indore between India and Sri Lanka was abandoned after just three overs due to a bad pitch on December 25, 1997, thereby inviting a ban on the city from hosting international matches. The ban was recently revoked after ICC observer Ranjan Mudugale gave a report in favour of the ground.

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