West Indies take on New Zealand at Edgbaston tomorrow in what has effectively become the opening game of the NatWest Series after yesterday’s washout at Old Trafford. The two teams last met at Port Elizabeth in the 2003 World Cup where New Zealand won by 20 runs. While only just over half of the current West Indies squad played in that game, eight of the New Zealanders who won that day are likely to play tomorrow.While their recent one-day form means New Zealand are the better team on paper, their performances in the warm-up games have been far from convincing, and their confidence is low following their 3-0 defeat in the Test series against England. Though their batting has been impressive, with Stephen Fleming and Hamish Marshall both scoring hundreds, their much-touted one-day bowling strength has not yet been seen.The injury to Shane Bond, the fast bowler, has hit them hard, but Daniel Vettori, who tore his hamstring during the second Test, is on the verge of returning to action. In any case, much will rest on the broad shoulders of Chris Cairns if New Zealand are to get the series off to a good start. Their back-up bowlers took only three wickets between them in last week’s game against an under-strength Essex side, while Derbyshire had little trouble chasing a target of over 250.West Indies, on the other hand, come into this game after some promising performances against Sussex and Kent. The batting is in good shape after successfully chasing 181 in 23 overs in a rain-shortened game at Hove, and Ramnaresh Sarwan, Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Brian Lara are all in excellent form. Apart from a blip in the second match against Ireland, where Ravi Rampaul was carted for 74 from seven overs, the inexperienced bowling attack has performed well, though they will be weakened by the loss of Tino Best, who has picked up a niggling leg injury.Lara, the West Indies captain, was keen that his side made a positive start. “We need to start in front,” he said today. “We’ve been working on the mental side of the game to get the guys hyped up to win games. Our team is full of talent and we’ve got to make sure we harness that talent into something special.”Meanwhile, Sarwan told Sky Sports: “We have the Test series coming up and I think if we can do well in this tournament we can boost our confidence.” He continued, “We played pretty well in the Caribbean, especially in the one-day form recently but it is different conditions here. We will take time to get used to conditions, but we will try and enjoy ourselves as much as possible.”However, there is a chance that no-one will be enjoying tomorrow very much considering the weather forecast. After the sun came out today, the bad weather may again arrive to spoil the party, as it did for the opening match between England and New Zealand. The outlook is not promising, with plenty of rain predicted.New Zealand (possible) Stephen Fleming (capt), Nathan Astle, Hamish Marshall, Scott Styris, Craig McMillan, Chris Cairns, Brendon McCullum (wk), Chris Harris, Daniel Vettori, Daryl Tuffey, Ian Butler.
West Indies (possible) Chris Gayle, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Brian Lara (capt), Dwayne Smith, Dwayne Bravo, Ricardo Powell, Ridley Jacobs (wk), Darren Sammy, Ravi Rampaul, Jermaine Lawson.

Scorecard

If two heavy losses in the Test series weren’t bad enough for the West Indians, then a humbling day at the hands of Derbyshire didn’t exactly help matters. On the opening day of their tour match at Derby, they were shot out for 223, with the offspinner Nathan Dumelow taking 5 for 51 before Derbyshire completed a good day’s work, closing at 102 for 2.With Brian Lara having a breather, Ramnaresh Sarwan took over the reins, and he decided to bat first after winning the toss at the County Ground. Chris Gayle and Sylvester Joseph made a bright start, putting on 52 for the first wicket until Gayle was bowled by Paul Havell for 42 from only 24 balls.Havell then removed Joseph for 23, and Dwayne Bravo’s recent poor run of form continued when he was caught behind off Nicholas Walker for 3. Then Dumelow took centre stage with the first of his five scalps when Devon Smith was caught by Chris Paget, the 16-year-old left-arm spinner making his debut, for 33.Dwayne Smith and Ridley Jacobs put on a stand of sorts, adding 50, but they were both caught off Dumelow, with Smith departing for the top score of 55. In between those wickets, Sarwan was leg-before to Dumelow for 6, and Omari Banks became victim No. 5 when he was caught behind by Luke Sutton, also for 6. Neil Gunter then polished off the tail with the wickets of Carlton Baugh and Dave Mohammed.In Derbyshire’s reply, Andrew Gait was lbw to Dwayne Smith for 13, but Stephen Stubbings and Hassan Adnan put on a steady 54 before Adnan was caught by Baugh off Gayle for 31. Stubbings and Steven Selwood then saw Derbyshire through to the close with no more losses, with Stubbings on 37 not out, and his side only 121 runs behind.

Ravi Shastri believes that Muttiah Muralitharan is being needlessly victimised mainly because he is an Asian. While admitting that Murali’s action wasn’t without its kinks, Shastri said that there were quite a few bowlers who were “no different from him”.”I don’t find anything wrong with his bowling action,” said Shastri, speaking at a function to promote the ICC Champions Trophy in Bangalore. “I have no problems with his offbreak. He is an Asian, and that has ruffled quite a few feathers.”A week ago, Murali became the first Sri Lankan to sign with an India-based company when he joined hands with Showdiff Worldwide – Shastri is a vice-chairman – to “explore commercial interests”.According to Shastri, Murali wouldn’t have been singled out if he hadn’t taken a significant number of wickets in his career. “Muralitharan is being targeted because he is a very successful bowler,” he said. He was also critical of the different degrees of flexion that were allowed for fast bowlers and spinners and didn’t think there was a need for “different yardsticks”.On a different note, he acknowledged that the present Indian team was getting close to being one of the best Indian teams of all time. However, Shastri reckoned that the Indian one-day team that played between 1983 and 1986 was right on top. That bunch ended up winning the World Cup, the Asia Cup and the World Championship of Cricket in Australia.”The present team of Sourav Ganguly is close to being one of the best,” he said, “but it needs to be consistent, especially in big games.” He didn’t go along with India’s decision to play seven batsmen in one-dayers, and felt that Rahul Dravid should play purely as a batsman. “If six batsmen cannot win games, what can a seventh do?”

Cricinfo will be providing internet audio coverage of the India-Australia Test series, which begins in Bangalore on Wednesday October 6. A subscription to Cricinfo Radio for this keenly anticipated series will cost internet users just $7.99. The webcast begins at 04:00 GMT on the morning of the first Test.The match commentary on www.cricinfo.com/radio, which will be unofficial, is produced for Cricinfo by Virtual Studios in India, and features expert commentary and analysis from Raman Bhanot, Sunil Gujral and V. Srivatsa. The product will be available both in Windows Media and Real Player formats."There is no more keenly anticipated Test series in the cricket calendar than India v Australia," said Tom Gleeson, Wisden Cricinfo’s chief executive, "and we’re delighted to bring it to our huge global audience on Cricinfo Radio. We hope both existing customers and new users who haven’t listened before will join us for what is sure to be another classic series between the sides."Click here to sign up for Cricinfo Radio

Stephen Fleming, who entered the tour with a mystery illness picked up in Bangladesh, has spent the best part of three days trying to stop a “thumping”. Today he got a composed 83 but his side was again struggling as he faced the press. For Australia Glenn McGrath took four wickets for a career total of 461, passing the combined record of Dennis Lillee in Tests, World Series and Rest-of-the-World matches.

Stephen Fleming
On his health in the heat
It’s pretty draining for all concerned and making decisions adds to it. I’m still feeling pretty good when I bat because you have to. It was good to get through last night and start with a clean bill today.On how the heat is affecting the team
Most of the guys are in bed by 9 or 9.30pm. It’s not a 100 [for me today] but I had plenty of energy left when I got out.On walking after edging McGrath
I thought it was pretty obvious and didn’t want to hang around. I’ve got no real personal stance, some days I find myself walking off, some days I don’t. Some days it may equate to being obvious, other days I think I may try and get away with it. It just depends on the mood.On getting out between 50 and 100
The last two years have been pretty good, I’m four and two in the right favour. I thought [McGrath] bowled a brilliant over and it was a genuine dismissal. My concentration was good up to then, and I’m not going to turn out a hundred every time. In the last two years it’s been proper batsmanship.On how the day went for New Zealand
It was another disappointing one on this tour. They played extremely well, the lengths they bowled were outstanding and they’ve got the variation in Shane Warne.On what sort of target they will face
They’ll probably leave us 800 and we’ll probably knock them off in two sessions. I guess they’ll bat till lunch tomorrow. Paul [Wiseman] was getting a few to turn and Shane will always get turn, but something could be achieved if there are a couple of heroes in our side.On the ear infection to Scott Styris
It is disappointing when you need all hands on deck and he’s batting so low down. It exposed the tail a lot earlier than we would have like but it couldn’t be helped. When you are down things tend to spiral on you.On the overall situation
The bottom line is we are being outplayed. We are being thumped.Glenn McGrath
On beating Lillee’s combined record
Dennis was always a hero of mine when I was growing up and someone to look up to. Even people classing me alongside Dennis is a huge wrap, but I’d never class myself equal or above him. When you see Dennis’s record it shouldn’t be 355 wickets, it should be 459.On why Lillee was great
He was a fast bowler’s fast bowler. Some people think I’m a bit boring and don’t have the same charisma and open aggression as him. Whether or not you’d get away with it now is a different thing.On his bowling today
It was hard work and at 0 for 40 things weren’t looking too good. They seemed to be scoring runs, there were a few edges, the luck seemed to be going to the Kiwis. If I kept it in the right areas I thought it would turn sooner or later. To walk off the park with 4 for 66, I’ll take that any day. It was good to get a few wickets for confidence.On the pitch
It was pretty flat, there wasn’t much sideways movement. When I was bowling to Fleming there was a bit of reverse-swing. Warney will come into his own in the second innings.On not enforcing the follow-on
There’s still two full days to go in this Test. Just because we are 300 runs in front people think we should enforce the follow-on. The guys will get a rest, maybe two sessions to freshen up a little bit, and then come at them again when we’ve got [a lead of] 500-plus.On New Zealand’s performance
Fleming and Nathan Astle looked comfortable and put on a decent partnership. We thought if we could knock one or both of them over that was the key. For the rest we just got the balls in the right areas. Jason Gillespie was the pick of the bowlers and we bowled well considering the conditions.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

In a gripping match under the lights of Melbourne’s Telstra Dome, where the advantage flashed from side to side, New Zealand collected their first win of a horror tour when Brendon McCullum stole a single from the third-last delivery. New Zealand had a demoralising and dispiriting Test-series loss at Adelaide five days ago, but a change of clothes has made a world of difference.New Zealand have been in Australia for almost a month, but finally the summer had a close contest. In a crisis in whites, they were unable to eye the world champions during the two Tests, but chasing Australia’s 246 they were as cool as the stadium’s air-conditioning in the final 10 overs even though the result was in doubt.The 48th over virtually sealed the four-wicket victory, as Michael Kasprowicz was belted for 22. It included one delivery which went for five wides, and two fours to McCullum and one to Hamish Marshall, who combined for a thrilling 39-run stand off 21 balls. Marshall, the Man of the Match, timed his innings perfectly while McCullum’s 20 from 13 provided the late-innings burst they had always planned.Nathan Astle and Mathew Sinclair set the platform for the acceleration with a 128-run partnership that followed a fine bowling comeback, and the Aussies were in a contest for the first time since the second day of the Brisbane Test. Australia briefly regained control after Sinclair was run out by Andrew Symonds after backing up too far to make it 2 for 128.A run was never an option, and Sinclair’s snooze was even more costly as Astle departed in the next over for 70 off 102 balls when Ricky Ponting caught him spectacularly. The run-chase faltered briefly, but Marshall, Jacob Oram and Chris Cairns kept them close enough to pounce. Then Marshall and McCullum took to Kasprowicz. Australia, so dominant during the Test series, now face two must-win games at Sydney on Wednesday and Brisbane on Friday to lift the glittering new Chappell-Hadlee Trophy.Brett Lee, who only got his opportunity when Australia rested Jason Gillespie and Glenn McGrath, their two most experienced bowlers, was happy to be finally marking his run-up and raised the excitement levels of Australian fans expecting another New Zealand walloping. He thudded a 152kph delivery into Stephen Fleming’s pads with the second ball of the innings, and a second wicket popped out of Ponting’s hands when Sinclair dabbed at an outswinger. He returned at the death to claim Cairns, the opposition’s own returning glamour boy.Cairns has decided to play only one-day matches, and he showed how much New Zealand missed him during the Tests when he joined Daniel Vettori in pegging back a dangerous early onslaught. They applied the brakes after sending the opposition in and then inflicted serious damage as Australia’s early sprint became a limp.Adam Gilchrist had launched Australia’s one-day summer with a spectacular 68 from 54 balls, and they looked like reaching 300 without breaking into a sweat. The speedy opening partnership was ended by a sensational catch by Sinclair on the boundary at square leg. Diving full-length to his left, Sinclair grabbed the chance from Matthew Hayden off Oram (1 for 64). Vettori then snapped up the middle order with three wickets, but it had been Cairns who had prompted an Australian collapse – four wickets for 10 in 18 balls.Cairns has spent his time away growing a bushranger’s beard, and he watched Australia reach 50 in the seventh over by attacking Kyle Mills and Ian Butler. He slowed the run-rate and grabbed the crucial breakthrough when he surprised Gilchrist with one that ducked in through his defence (2 for 113). Relieved to have ended Gilchrist’s fireworks, New Zealand celebrated again when Vettori trapped Ponting lbw, despite an under-edge, and cheered again when Symonds and Damien Martyn soon followed. Symonds mis-hit Vettori to Mills at mid-on while yet to score, and Australia were under pressure at 5 for 123.Darren Lehmann, who finished with a half-century in even time, and Michael Clarke put on 71 for the sixth wicket to stop the rot before Cairns hit Clarke’s leg stump. When Butler found Shane Watson’s edge, Australia had to give up on reaching 250 – unthinkable 30 overs before. They finally managed 246, but it wasn’t enough.

Once upon a time it was all about tradition, but these days cricket has become synonymous with crass sponsorship deals, from Australia’s Pura Milk Cup to the Pepsi-fuelled and LG-cooled Champions Trophy. But when it comes to rebranding their assets, it is the South Africans who really take the officially-recognised biscuit.Since the rejigging of South Africa’s domestic structure in 2003, no-one has suffered more than Cape Town’s cricket fans, who are now expected to rock up to “Sahara Park” in Newlands to chant for the snappily titled franchise team “Nashua Western Province Boland”. But Port Elizabethans haven’t escaped either, and since they last hosted a Test match in 2001-02, their ground has also undergone an implausible name change. The venerable St George’s Park is now an almost-sacrilegious “Sahara Oval”.Sahara (who vehemently deny being anything to do with the similar-soundingsponsors of the all-powerful Indian cricket team) complete a notable set by expecting Kingsmead in Durban to be known as Sahara Stadium, despite the fact that it is the least stadium-like of South Africa’s five Test venues, not to mention the least desert-like. Happily for those traditionalists present, however, the arrival of England’s fans and their plethora of flags meant that the St George and his cross were restored to their rightful position by the start of play.It is a bit of a mystery as to quite what Sahara do (they claim to be a computer company), although it’s not thought to involve alcohol. As of Monday, a new Eastern Province by-law comes into force which prevents the sale of alcoholic drinks after 8pm … shades of Prohibition. Port Elizabeth likes to be known as “The Friendly City”, although this is hardly a move to endear it to members of the Barmy Army – although at least the Sahara Oval will be living up to its name.Mind you, it was a pretty Saharan afternoon for England’s cricketers. Prior to the match, various local superstitions had been voiced about the direction of the wind and its effect on the pitch – if it’s an easterly sea breeze, said the sages, the ball will swing – but if it’s from the west, the pitch will dry out and the bat will dominate. For much of the afternoon session at St George’s (reclaimed) Park, the air was filled with the smoke from a large and noisome bushfire. Sure enough, it drifted across the ground on a westerly wind, and sure enough Jacques Rudolph cashed in on the arid conditions.To give PE its due, however, it has certainly offered a warm welcome to its English visitors, and not just in terms of the weather. The eve of the Test match, December 16, was Reconciliation Day, a public holiday of the post-Apartheid era, and a direct replacement for the old Afrikaner Day of the Covenant.Under its old title, December 16 had been a deeply divisive day of the year, for it served to commemorate the Voortrekkers’ victory over the Zulus at Blood River in 1838. But now, ten years on from South Africa’s first democratic elections, the focus of the holiday has been emphatically shifted. On Thursday the centre of Port Elizabeth was a ghost town, as the entire city forgave, forgot, and decamped to the beach for a party.Andrew Miller is assistant editor of Cricinfo. He will be following the England team throughout the Test series in South Africa.

Pakistan will play three Tests and five one-day internationals on their tour of India, which starts with a three-day warm-up match beginning on February 27.The venues for the matches will be announced later, but the Tests will start on March 4, March 12 and March 20. The first one-dayer was scheduled on March 28 after another warm-up game on March 26. The next four ODIs will be played on March 31, April 3, 6 and 9.According to the schedule forwarded by the Indian board, Pakistan would kick off their tour with a three-day warm match from February 27 to March 1. The BCCI is expected to announce venues for the series next week after a meeting of its Programme and Fixtures Committee.Abbas Zaidi, the director of the Pakistan board, had earlier said that they wished to play most matches in areas close to the Wagah border so that people could travel from Pakistan to watch the matches.This will be the first time in six years that Pakistan will be playing a full series in India. The last time they visited India was in January 1999 to play a two-Test series apart from one Test match which was part of the Asian Test Championship. The Test series, remembered mainly for Anil Kumble taking all ten wickets in the second innings at Delhi, was drawn while Pakistan triumphed in the Kolkata Test and went on to win the Asian Test Championship.Schedule
Warm-up game – February 27 to March 1
First Test – March 4 to 8
Second Test – March 12 to 16
Third Test – March 20 to 24
Warm-up one-dayer – March 26
First ODI – March 28
Second ODI – March 31
Third ODI – April 3
Fourth ODI – April 6
Fifth ODI – April 9

Scorecard

Electrifying batting by Shikhar Dhawan and Mahendra Dhoni rendered the second game of the Challenger Series a no-contest, as India Seniors made short work of the target of 276 set by India B with eight wickets and more than three overs to spare. The bowlers received an absolute hiding as Dhawan and Dhoni put together an opening partnership of 187 in 26 overs, which was only broken when Dhoni retired hurt on 87. India B were left to regret the profligacy of their batsmen, most of whom threw their wickets away after they had got a start on a lovely true pitch that was perfect for strokeplay.Since yesterday’s game featured a run-chase of similar proportions which went down to the wire, it was assumed that India B’s score of 275 – although 30 fewer than they should have made – would test the Seniors. Dhawan and Dhoni began cautiously against the Delhi pair of Amit Bhandari and Ashish Nehra, both of whom were sharp and on the spot; for a few overs singles were the only scoring strokes. But then Dhoni broke the shackles with a pull for four off Bhandari in the fifth over, and a gorgeous back-foot cover-drive in the next over off Nehra showed that he was beginning to hit his stride.Dhawan was soon matching him shot for shot, at one point taking fourboundaries off a Nehra over, and the two batsmen went neck-and-neck tohalf-centuries. What was praiseworthy was how they combined booming strokes with astute tip-and-run cricket, ensuring that the strike was rotating constantly and the bowlers were continuously making adjustments of line for the rightand left-handed batsman.Dhawan revealed a marked preference for the off side reminiscent of SouravGanguly in his early days. Indeed, of the 14 fours he had struck by the time he reached his hundred, all but one came from strokes to the off. Dhoni batted with a shade more dash and flair, and his style brings to mind Virender Sehwag: he loves to carve the quick bowlers extravagantly over point, and displays the same disdain for spin bowling.When Sehwag, India B’s captain, introduced spin in the 11th over in the form of Sridharan Sriram, Dhoni struck the first ball so fiercely back at the bowler that he had to leave the field wringing his hand, and did not appear again. Another spinner, Ramesh Powar, was summoned to finish Sriram’s over, and found his first ball swept for four and his second sent sailing over long-on for six, where it came within two feet of taking out one of the watching selectors and of smashing one of the windows of the press box just above him.Dhoni hit three more sixes – two of them thrilling hook shots off Nehra and Joginder Sharma – until he got cramp and had to leave the field (187 for 0). There was a temporary lull in the game as Sourav Ganguly replaced him and was tied down by Sehwag’s accurate offspin, but the game was as good was won; shortly afterwards Dhawan brought up his hundred off 90 balls. When Ganguly fell at 246, Dhoni re-emerged to see India Seniors home, bringing up his hundred and the winning runs with the same shot.India B’s total was made to look woefully inadequate, something which musthave been all the more galling for the losers considering how comfortablethey seemed for most part of the innings. After Sehwag won the toss, batting for the most part was absurdly easy against an attack of modest quality, and India B kept up a run rate of over five an over for all of the innings.But VVS Laxman and Sriram gave up their wickets wastefully within three overs of each other in mid-innings when set and, from there, wickets fell so regularly that India B had only two wickets left with eight overs still remaining. Powar, at No. 9 far low too for a man of his skill, saw Nehrathrough a few quiet overs before pulling off some flamboyant strokes totake India B to a respectable score.That India Seniors took so many wickets reflected more the profligacy of the batsmen than the penetration of the bowling. Lakshmipathy Balaji, who finished with four wickets, was especially culpable, bowling far too many short ones and at no stage looking like he could land three successive balls in the same spot. Nor did the quality of the bowling improve after the break, and Sehwag was left helpless by the toothlessness of his attack. Joginder Sharma, in particular, took some heavy stick from the two openers and went for 63 from his six overs.It said much for the poverty of the bowling resources on view that the twomost disciplined bowlers of the game were the rival captains, Ganguly andSehwag. Of course, the pitch was a batting beauty, and gave very littlehelp to the spinners, but even so it is a worrying sign that so little ofthe bowling seen over two days has been of above-average quality. Thestrokeplay for most part of the evening session was spectacular, however, and it seems that the future of Indian batting is in good hands.

The war of words between the West Indies team sponsor, Digicel, and its rival, Cable and Wireless, gathered momentum with C&W lashing out at Digicel’s statement which said accused them of “continued ambush marketing”. They described Digicel’s comments as `half-truths, mis-statements and blatant lies’.Digicel had blamed C&W for declining their offer to make some concessions involving Brian Lara’s and six other players’ individual sponsorship deals to avoid affecting Digicel’s agreement with the WICB. Responding to this, C&W said in a statement to that Digicell is “unilaterally sabotaging the work of the Caricom Prime Ministers” and that C&W could no longer “sit back and allow its integrity to be attacked, and West Indies cricket to be threatened.”C&W also questioned Digicel’s ability to call themselves “proud sponsors of the game”, considering the leaked memo to the press that questioned the integrity of some players who also happened to have personal endorsement deals with C&W. “Digicel have embarked on a crusade to follow the memo up with pressure on the WICB to drop these players from the team and abandon their obligation to field the best players.”The statement also mentioned that C&W had entered into personal contracts with all the players – except Lara – before April and May last year; two months prior to the agreement between the West Indies board and Digicel. C&W added that a copy of the individual contract, without the player’s name and financial details, had been furnished to the board, so they were fully aware of the players’ endorsement deals prior to this agreement. These contracts, C&W said, were in line with their sponsorship of the 2007 World Cup.”Frankly, it is outrageous that Digicel can, with a straight face, claim to support West Indies cricket out of one side of its mouth, while working to destroy it out of the other.”The release also denied that C&W had refused to match Digicel’s US$20million-five-year sponsorship offer, saying that they had offered US$30million.C&W demanded “that the WICB fulfill its mandate to field the best, most capable West Indies team by reinstating the seven Cable and Wireless-sponsored players to eligibility, and that Digicel stop its capricious behaviour and its attempts to buy and bully its way into getting what it wants.”