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The toss was widely expected to be influential, and just as England thrived on it against Pakistan last Saturday, so it undermined them tonight as India coasted to an 82-run win at Kingsmead. Exemplary bowling, including a career-best six for 23 from Ashish Nehra, unstitched England under the lights, and India are virtually through to the Super Sixes while England’s progress is less assured.Set 251 to win, England began disastrously when Nick Knight, after calling for an optimistic sharp single from the first ball of the second over, was thrown out by the diving Mohammed Kaif at extra cover.Excellent bowling from Javagal Srinath and Zaheer Khan followed, with Marcus Trescothick struggling to lay bat on ball. After one defiant, off-driven boundary, he was put out of his misery by Zaheer, whom he pulled off the splice to Sachin Tendulkar at backward square leg.After taking one for 14 from six overs, Zaheer made way for Nehra, who was to make his predecessor’s figures look ordinary. After clubbing successive boundaries back past Srinath, Nasser Hussain, trying to cut Nehra, got a thin edge through to Rahul Dravid.The next ball saw the end of Alec Stewart, caught in front of his stumps like a rabbit in headlights. Although Nehra could not complete the hat-trick, he delivered a further body blow when Michael Vaughan edged another ball of full length to Dravid.Andy Flintoff briefly threw off the shackles, clouting Harbhajan Singh for a massive six over long-on. But Paul Collingwood got another peach of a ball from Nehra that squared him up, flying off the edge to Virender Sehwag at slip.Craig White, driving expansively at Nehra outside the off stump, was another victim for Dravid, and Ronnie Irani edged to slip, enabling Nehra to end a fantastic spell with a double-wicket maiden.Flintoff did what he could to improve England’s run rate, taking two tall leg-side sixes off Ganguly on the way to a half-century which completed a fine all-round performance. But on 64, the big Lancastrian fell victim to a superb catch by Sehwag at wide mid-on, attempting another boundary off a Srinath full pitch. It ended when James Anderson was palpably lbw to Zaheer.When India batted earlier, it took a bustling fifth-wicket partnership of 62 by Dravid and Yuvraj Singh to revive them before Dravid (62) was dismissed in the final over. Flintoff starred in an otherwise indifferent England attack, with two for 15 off his ten overs.Tendulkar made an excellent run-a-ball 50, after clipping the expensive Caddick for a delightful square-leg boundary in the first over of the day. There were early moral victories for England before Sehwag opened the throttle against Anderson, finding the fence at long-on, backward of point and extra cover. Caddick was treated with similar disdain next over, as Tendulkar hit him for four through square leg and six over mid-wicket.Forced into a bowling change, Hussain turned to Flintoff, who did the trick in his first over. Sehwag got a leading edge as he tried to turn him to leg, and Flintoff comfortably held the return catch.Tendulkar went to his 50 in the 15th over, but the critical breakthrough came with the second ball after the 15-over drinks break. Flintoff found extra bounce and Tendulkar, not quite over a square drive, was comfortably taken by Collingwood at backward point. When Ganguly went, driving White high and straight for Trescothick to take the catch running round from mid-on, India scented trouble.Irani and Collingwood kept them in check, backed up by excellent fielding, with one diving, one-handed save by Hussain in the covers outstanding. Boundaries were few and far between, although Mongia, missed by Stewart cutting at Collingwood, took one through mid-wicket off Irani.Collingwood had his revenge when Mongia was out tamely, plumb lbw hitting across a straight ball. But Dravid and Yuvraj then built a vital partnership, initially maintaining the momentum in ones and twos, although Yuvraj opened out with a huge on drive for six off Irani.To England’s relief Anderson, bowling round the wicket to the left-handed Yuvraj, cramped him up as he tried to force through extra cover, where Hussain leapt to hold a fine catch with both hands above his head.Dravid continued to flourish, drilling Anderson for a leg-side six to reach 50. He lost Kaif in the last over, swinging Caddick high to Flintoff, and was himself caught next ball, clouting a slower ball to Collingwood at long-on. Zaheer was immediately run out by Stewart attempting a bye, and when Srinath hit Caddick to Trescothick at deep extra, the innings had ended with four wickets off as many balls.Much to England’s dismay the clatter continued after the break, and they now need an unlikely win over Australia in their final group match – or a series of other results to go their way – to secure a Super Six place.

After a ninth-month lay-off from cricket, Indian spin ace Anil Kumblebowled for the first time at the full-fledged competitive level onThursday and said he did not feel any discomfort, indicating that hewoul be totally fit in about two months.Kumble, who is leading the Karnataka State Cricket Association team,sent down ten overs at a stretch against Andhra in a three-day matchof the KSCA Diamond Jubilee All India tournament in Bangalore. “I didnot feel discomfort at all. I got my line and length alright.Hopefully, I will get a wicket tomorrow, ” Kumble, who had figures of10-1-26-0, said.Kumble had already said he was hoping to return to the Indian side forthe tour to South Africa in October. Having already taken 276 wicketsin 61 Tests, the leg-spinner is also looking forward to cross the 300mark.Kumble has returned to competitive cricket after withdrawing midwaythrough a one-day series in Sharjah in October last year and thenundergoing shoulder surgery in Johannesburg in January.

A fine all round performance by national cap, Romesh Kaluwitharana, ensured Colts CC a 58 run victory over Panadura Sports Clubin a key Premier League Limited Overs encounter at Colts cricket grounds today. The victory means that Colts become the group leaders and now look certain to qualify for the semi-finals.Kaluwitharana, coming into bat at number two, scored a well compiled 122 runs, which included nine boundaries and two sixes to erase the bitter memories of the day before, when he was run out without facing a ball. This was his second century in consecutive weeks.Then, when he took the field, he couldn’t stay out of the action. He decided not to keep wicket but held onto a brilliant diving catch at first slip in the seventh over to dismiss opener Anjula Perera.Chaminda Vaas, who captained Colts today, then decided to try his hand at bowling in the 47th over of the innings. Kaluwithrana, clearly delighted to have an opportunity to turn his arm over, took a wicket with his fifth delivery and another in his second over.Panadura SC who were chasing a target of 295 runs to win, batted doggedly but found it difficult to accelerate the scoring. Chamara Silva was the pick of the batsmen. He scored 55 and when he was at the crease Panadura had a theoretical chance. However, Dinuka Hettiarachchi (3/44) bowled him to leave Panadura 187 for three in the 43rd over.Panadura skipper, Sham Liyanage, was not too disappointed by the batting performance and remained upbeat about the remaining two matches two matches against NCC and CCC.”This was our highest total in the tournament so far, out batsmen did well, only thing we gave away too many in the last few overs that was also due to drizzling conditions,” explained Liyanage.Asked to bat first, Colts piled up a massive 294 runs despite the pitch being difficult to bat on the outfield having been slowed by the drizzle.Openers Chaminda Mendis(14) and Kaluwitharana put on 54 runs for the first wicket before Mendis was out in the 14th over. Then Jeevantha Kulatunge(49) joined Kaluwitharana to put up 105 runs for the second wicket and Kulantuge was the next to go in the 37th over.Kaluwitharana was joined by Sajith Fernando(77)and the pair put up 85 runs before Kalu was out in the 47th over. Sajith Fernando hammered the bowlers all around the ground in the final overs. He scored his 77 runs from just 41 balls and hit four sixes. 83 runs were scored from the last five overs.

Our beloved sport has endured a few body blows in recent months; we’ve had scandals, teams slip into administration and several tragedies both on and off the pitch. As a dedicated audience we relish the prospect of football evolving as both a physical activity and an entertainment spectacle, but has anyone stopped to truly consider the detrimental impact this could have on the players?

The intensity of English football currently resides at an unprecedented level with the physical hardship of each season matched only by the increasing amount of expectation placed upon such fragile shoulders. The football schedule is so congested that players are finding themselves constantly nursing niggling injuries even when they’re not confined to the sidelines.

The magnitude of this escalating strain is highlighted by the worrying increase in cardiac related fatalities. There were seven recorded deaths in total between 1970 and 1989, compared to 10 in the 1990s and an unparalleled 28 in the 2000s. Since the turn of the decade we’ve already lost 11 more individuals, with the recent passing of Piermario Morosini bringing Italian football and subsequently the world to a standstill.

There is still an air of confusion surrounding the death of Morosini, initial analysis suggests that the 25-year-old may have collapsed suddenly due to erratic electrical impulses in his heart. However, there is an underlining universal concern that perhaps not every possible aid is made available to athletes, competing not only in football but also in events throughout the world. In the wake of the tragedy, the Lega Pro chiefs have pledged to ensure that a defibrillator is on standby at the top 134 venues in Italy. This is a promising development but there are still numerous precautions yet to be implemented behind the scenes.

Mario Balotelli, a player who played with Morosini during their time with Italy’s Under-21 side, revealed to La Gazzetta dello Sport that in his experience there are things English authorities can learn from their Italian counterparts.

“New findings need to be acted on,” said Balotelli. “In England there are not the heart checks we have in Italy. It is better to take precautions.” (Goal.com)

If this is truly the case then new measures need to be introduced to ensure we’re doing everything in our power to identify any underlying issues at the earliest opportunity. Italy coincidently has a reputable history of discovering potential heart problems from an early age, as highlighted by none other than Portsmouth’s Nwankwo Kanu.

In 1996 when the Nigerian was at Inter Milan, tests found that he had a congenital heart defect and in November of that year he underwent surgery to replace an aortic valve. To this day the striker is still playing football and since 2000 has publicly continued to address the issue of heart problems in African children and adults, by setting up the Kanu Nwankwo Heart Foundation.

The main obstacle to overcome is finding a way to identify such conditions that display no physical symptoms. Perhaps until we make significant technological advancements in healthcare we simply have to accept this as poignant reoccurring theme within the game. However, we cannot sit idly by when there are still procedures we can promote to help increase the chances of discovering any possible problems.

Professor Sharma, Consultant Cardiologist at BMI The Blackheath Hospital and Cardiac Risk in the Young charity, as well as cardiologist for the London 2012 Olympics, supports the notion that practices like ECG’s should be encouraged amongst athletes across the professional spectrum.

“I’m not saying we should mandate ECGs or make them compulsory, but I think we should make the practice available to anyone who competes at a high level to have these tests done and, unfortunately, that’s not the case in most athletes in the UK,”

“I can tell you that from my own experience as the cardiologist for the largest cardiology charity organisation, Cardiac Risk in the Young, we pick up a serious fault in one in every 300 athletes we test with the ECGs.” (Goal.com)

The evidence is therefore clear and cannot be ignored as we prepare for a particularly intense summer of sport. I’ve developed a worrying fear that the emerging trend of player simulation and gamesmanship will create a ‘boy who cried wolf’ scenario whereby players, officials and crucially the emergency services will be unaware when a player is truly hurt or in danger. This could prove pivotal in those situations where every second counts.

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	Sunil Gavaskar enjoys both his roles © Getty Images

Sunil Gavaskar has found it difficult to decide between which of his two roles, that as a media columnist and also as chairman of the ICC’s cricket committee, he should remain in.”I love writing and I love being on television,” Gavaskar told the . “But I also appreciate the opportunity to be on the ICC committee, to sit along with players who have distinguished themselves, and also the umpires who are in the technical committee.”Being in the ICC committee, I get a perspective from just about every stake holder and that is also something very enjoyable and fulfilling.”The executive board of the ICC had asked him to relinquish one of his roles to avoid a potential conflict of interests. He has until after the next ICC cricket committee on May 5-6 to make his decision. The ICC board will review the issue at its next meeting, during the ICC Annual Conference week, between June 29 and July 4.Regarding this, Gavaskar said, “I just want to say one thing: The BCCI has been in touch with me and they have informed me that there has been no such decision taken at the ICC meeting last week. “As far as I am concerned, that is that.”Concerns were first raised regarding his dual duties after he criticised match referee Mike Procter in his newspaper column for banning Harbhajan Singh for alleged racial abuse against Andrew Symonds during the Sydney Test in January.

Good news at last for Canada – they have announced their search for a chief executive to lead their push towards professional cricket. The full-time role will be funded by ICC and the Canada Cricket Association (CCA).Whoever is appointed will report to the CCA president Ben Sennik, with responsibilities for financial reporting, marketing and helping to implement a high-performance program alongside the new coach.The ad states that the ideal candidate will be “preferably fluent in English and French”. But while the CCA is required to have a bilingual policy, in line with Federal Government policy, finding someone who speaks both languages who also has in-depth knowledge of the game both globally and within Canada, and has an excellent business brain may be a task of needle and haystack – though not impossible.Nevertheless, the news couldn’t come at a better time for Canada: putting it mildly, it’s been a bad week. Their preparations for the Intercontinental Cup final were shoddy at best – though not entirely of their own making – and the outcome laid bare what’s wrong within the game. They didn’t look like a unit; their body language was poor, and they hadn’t had enough practice.It’s hardly their fault – they had played little cricket, and some play on artificial wickets when they do – but John Davison’s tag of “village and embarrassing” for one of their World Cup displays was equally relevant on the first day. In retrospect, however, it was a very big ask. Not one member of the CCA, nor any of the selectors, was there to witness the display – a funding issue – but all of which was sorrily contrasted by a smiling, enthusiastic Ireland side and board.And now Canada are without a coach, following Andy Pick’s return to England Under-19 duties. So what better time than to announce that now they are looking for someone who can redress this situation, and inject some much-needed professionalism? Furthermore, the chief executive will be required to offer a clear marketing program which is vital, as funding continues to be a massive issue.The CCA themselves recognise that for the players to become professional is a long process, but this role is exciting news for the country, the new coach and the new chief exec. Now they just have to find them.

Carew : “Lara is very much committed and more mature” © Getty Images

Joey Carew, convenor of the West Indies selection panel, says “a different spirit that emanated from the players” was the key to Brian Lara’s team winning the five-match one-day international series against favourites India. And he has described Lara, now leading the side for an unprecedented third time, as being “very much committed” and “more mature” at the age of 37.After narrowly losing the opening match in Jamaica on May 18, West Indies bounced back to capture the series 4-1. “I have enjoyed the series, of course, being the winner of the series encourages me for that,” Carew said on the CMC CricketPlus programme. “But, more so, I find that there was a different spirit that emanated from the players and I think that was the secret of their success. It proved in every game and I am looking forward to more improvement as we go into the Test [series].”Carew, a former West Indies opening batsman, reckoned that the 5-0 triumph in the preceding seven-match home series against minnows Zimbabwe (two matches were abandoned because of rain) was a solid foundation for the resurgent West Indies to build on. “Most definitely, but also the match practice that we got. It’s a bit different outside there than in the nets and we got the match practice that we needed. So we didn’t come into the India series stale as such. We came in fresh and victorious and I think that helped a lot,” he said.With regard to Lara, Carew remarked: “He is very committed but Brian has always been committed. But somewhere along the line, maybe at 37, he is more mature and the players have matured themselves and I think the team is led properly and they are all pulling their weight. I don’t see much of a difference in Brian Lara’s tactical approach yesteryear to what it is now,” Carew added.Prior to the series, India were ranked No.3 in the world behind Australia and South Africa, compared to West Indies at No 8. But Rahul Dravid’s men have now slipped to No.5. West Indies have remained in eighth place but have gained seven rating points because of the 4-1 series win. It means they are now just five points behind seventh-placed England.The first match in the four-Test series starts on Friday at the Antigua Recreation Ground.

Glenn McGrath: new shoes, new hairdo, but the menace of old© Getty Images

With their leader restored at the head of the pack, Australia’s pacemen have stared down a pitch promising sore backs and nothing more. While the game’s frontline spinners twirled potential records in their minds, Glenn McGrath, Jason Gillespie and Michael Kasprowicz did well not to baulk at the damage the deck would do to theirs.Instead McGrath, used in five neat five-over spells, led Australia to a 228-run lead on the first innings and reaffirmed his status at the top of the bowling heap. Until he ran through India’s high-quality batting line-up with 4 for 55 there were concerns that, at 34 and stepping back tentatively from ankle surgery, this could be the tour he ended on the scrap heap.McGrath helped Australia roll over the Indian top order, but they were forced to toil through the lower half, and he added only one wicket to his three on the second day. Forcing Harbhajan Singh to bunt a slow offcutter to Darren Lehmann at cover was nothing to compare with the two daggers he slipped through Aakash Chopra and Rahul Dravid on Thursday, but the method showed another old trick. The rest of the bowlers chipped in with wickets as well, but it was the olden-day work of McGrath, confident and assertive once more, that was the most impressive. He could even start sledging again soon.Throughout his career McGrath’s delivery, actions and haircut had stayed much the same. Like the heavy bowling boots he recently discarded, they were unfashionable but worked. Very well. For this Test, his 98th, he has tried lighter, hi-tech shoes and updated his mop to a style worn last summer by many of his team-mates. In everything but bowling the gangly McGrath has generally been a bit off the pace. In his defence, he missed last season’s catwalk.For almost a year the oohs and aahs came from ankle operations and recovery delays instead of Bay 13 and Yabba’s Hill. Missing both home series against Zimbabwe and India, he bowled for New South Wales late in the season like a county trundler. Doubters said he was too old to make it again. For a short time McGrath agreed.Before returning in Darwin against Sri Lanka he considered quitting, then delayed mortality in his comeback innings with five wickets. Still he was – insultingly, for he has more wickets than any Australian fast bowler – considered only a match-by-match proposition. On arriving in India he was nominated for the tour game and the whispers continued. Was it a bowl-off with Brett Lee? Or an opportunity to lube his joints? Whatever the reason, his head was down while the feet of Gillespie and Kasprowicz were up. The new ball stayed in his hand. Body willing, he will hold it until Nagpur, when he will become Australia’s first fast bowler to reach 100 Tests.By then he might also have created another milestone. If McGrath remains scoreless (as he did in the first innings here) until he strikes off another six victims, he will have 450 wickets – equal to his haul of Test runs. As a hard-practising batsman it would be one record he chooses to ignore.

Western Province 217 and 260 for 6 (Duminy 89*, Henderson 53*) lead KwaZulu-Natal 187 by 290 runs
Scorecard
At Newlands, Western Province extended their lead to 290 with foursecond-innings wickets in hand as Jean-Paul Duminy, with a mature five-and-a-half-hour knock, and Claude Henderson, playing his last first-class game in South Africa, put on 126 for the sixth wicket.Starting the day at 62 for 1, Province lost two quick wickets, both on 84,and then found themselves struggling at 126 for 5 when Henderson joined Duminy at the crease. When they finished, 210 minutes later, they had taken the score to 252 and out of KwaZulu-Natal’s reach.With two more days to go, their will be no thoughts of a declaration and Natal face an uphill struggle to get back into the game.

The ECB Chairman, David Morgan, and Chief Executive, Tim Lamb, will continuediscussions with the England players and their representatives todayregarding the team’s World Cup match in Zimbabwe.There will be no further public comment on this issue today. At this stage,it is envisaged that a media conference will be held tomorrow morning atapproximately 10.30 am at the England team hotel, The Cullinan, in Capetown.