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Munaf Patel and Gautam Gambhir have a chance to press for higher honours when the Indian team congregates in Bangalore from July 3 onwards for a conditioning camp ahead of the Asia Cup. The Board of Control for Cricket in India announced a list of 23 cricketers who will train at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium.The squad also includes Rohan Gavaskar, Amit Bhandari and Sairaj Bahutule, in addition to the squad that recently won a historic series in Pakistan. Zaheer Khan and Harbhajan Singh, who have missed out recently on account of injury are also back in action.The BCCI also announced that an additional physical fitness camp for mediumpacers will be held from June 7 to 12. The squad for this camp includes mediumpacers already playing for India and draws from a wider country-wide pool to bolster bench strength.Asia Cup training camp Sourav Ganguly, Virender Sehwag, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Yuvraj Singh, Mohammed Kaif, Parthiv Patel, Anil Kumble, Harbhajan Singh, Murali Kartik, Ramesh Powar, Aakash Chopra, Hemang Badani, Sairaj Bahutule, Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra, Ajit Agarkar, Irfan Pathan, L Balaji, Munaf Patel, Amit Bhandari, Rohan Gavaskar and Gautam Gambhir.Mediumpacers for fitness camp Ashish Nehra, Ajit Agarkar, Irfan Pathan, L Balaji, Amit Bhandari, Munaf Patel, Avishkar Salvi, Srishanth, S S Paul, S Mathur, S Trivedi, N C Aiyappa, Gagandeep Singh, Jogender Sharma, Mohammed Faizal and T Kumaran.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) says it will continue its legal battle against the ICC on the issue of hosting the 2011 World Cup after high-level talks at Lord’s today proved inconclusive.The four host nations of the 2011 World Cup met for the second day on Saturday following the PCB’s threat of legal action after Pakistan was stripped of hosting rights due to the security situation in the country. There was no statement from the ICC but the PCB said it was disappointed at the results of the meeting. The matter will now be discussed at the ICC’s annual board meeting next week.Ijaz Butt, the PCB chairman, said he was disappointed those organisational issues surrounding the World Cup remained unresolved and added that the legal proceedings the PCB has brought against the ICC would continue. “I had hoped and expected the support of my Asian co-hosts in resolving these organisational difficulties,” he said. “I am deeply disappointed that no progress was made despite the intervention of both the ICC president [David Morgan] and vice-president [Sharad Pawar].”This means that rather than harmony amongst the co-hosts of the 2011 World Cup we will have disagreement and legal dispute. I do hope that they will reconsider their unreasonable stance so that the legal dispute can be resolved and a hugely successful World Cup organised in 2011.”The ICC reiterated last week that Pakistan would not host matches in the 2011 tournament because of the security situation in the country but the PCB would be recognised as hosts and retain fees from its original allocation of 14 matches. ICC president David Morgan had said the ICC would consider outsourcing Pakistan’s matches to Abu Dhabi and Dubai, though co-hosts India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh were keen to have the matches remain in the subcontinent.

Phillip Hughes might possess Test and first-class averages nudging 70, but he still admits to nerves on the eve of Australia’s Ashes squad announcement. Hughes will be confirmed as Simon Katich’s opening partner when Andrew Hilditch names the 16-man touring party on Wednesday, but is loath to pre-empt the selectors’ decision.”You still love to see the team and know that you’re there,” Hughes told Cricinfo. “You don’t want to take things too lightly. Obviously I’d love to see the team and see myself in it.”Hughes has been in superb touch for Middlesex of late, producing his fourth century of the English summer on Sunday in a limited-overs match against Somerset. His innings of 119 from 112 deliveries propelled Middlesex to their highest ever one-day total, and followed a sequence of three centuries in as many first-class fixtures, culminating in an astonishing record of 574 runs at 143.50.Hughes’ sublime efforts on the county scene have hardly surprised Australian audiences, who marveled as he reeled off consecutive innings of 75, 115 and 160 in his maiden Test series in South Africa. In his 24 first-class appearances to date, he has compiled ten centuries, and will be heavily relied upon to lead the Australian batting order in England.When Australia surrendered the Ashes urn in 2005, Hughes was completing his year 10 studies at Macksville High School on the north coast of New South Wales. Now, he is set to re-unite with Katich at the top of the order, and will look to continue the form that helped guide Australia to a surprise 2-1 victory in South Africa.”I’ve obviously spent a fair bit of time with Simon at New South Wales over the last 12-18 months,” Hughes said. “We’ve formed a good relationship on and off the field. That really helps, when you get along like that. We’ve batted in the middle together for a while now, and it’s always great when you go to that next level … to go out and open the batting with him. It definitely did help a little bit.”Hughes has used his time with Middlesex to develop an understanding of local pitch conditions – his only previous trip to England was for a three-week carnival with the New South Wales under-17 team – and develop a mental dossier on some of the England players he will face, not least his Middlesex team-mate, Andrew Strauss.He has also taken the opportunity to speak with Justin Langer, currently on duty with Somerset. Like Langer, Hughes is a prolific left-hand opener with an unfashionable technique, and the elder has taken his successor under his wing.”I’ll be catching up with him again and we’ll be going for dinner,” Hughes said prior to Sunday’s one-day match. “He’s a great guy and he’s been great for me. We met up earlier on this trip to England, and spoke a bit during the South African series. He asks me about England, how I’m enjoying it, and just about general life. The big thing he tells me is to be myself. He says that this is the technique that got you to this level, so keep being yourself and keep enjoying it. It’s great to talk to Justin.”Blog with Alex Brown on the Ashes squad between 10.30am and 12.30pm (AEST) on Wednesday

Saeed Ajmal, the Pakistan offspinner, has been fined an undisclosed amount by the Pakistan Cricket Board for speaking out after being reported for a suspect bowling action during the ongoing ODI series against Australia in the UAE.”Ajmal violated the PCB code of conduct by giving interviews to the media without prior permission of the manager and his comments against other team’s players were unacceptable,” Zakir Khan, the PCB’s director operations, told .Ajmal’s doosra came under scrutiny during the second ODI in Dubai and the bowler expressed surprise at the call. He suspected that the allrounder Shane Watson might have tipped off the umpires, Billy Bowden and Asad Rauf, about his doosra. Ajmal put the setback behind him and continued to bowl in the third match.Australian captain Michael Clarke denied that Watson played any part in reporting his suspicions to the umpires. Clarke’s counterpart Younis Khan expressed disappointment at the number of controversies that crop up when Australia play subcontinental teams.

The allrounder Brendon Diamanti has emerged as one of the big winners after New Zealand picked their 15-man squad for the ICC World Twenty20 but there was no room for Jeetan Patel, Tim Southee or Chris Martin. Rather than taking the easier option of choosing a 30-man preliminary group like most teams, New Zealand have confirmed their final playing outfit.It includes fringe allrounders Nathan McCullum and Ian Butler, along with the backup wicketkeeper Peter McGlashan as the selectors looked favourably on lower-order power-hitters. Jacob Oram was chosen subject to fitness as he continues to fight his way back from an injury-interrupted season.Oram’s inclusion meant there was no room for the allrounder Grant Elliott, despite having a strong ODI summer. The selectors preferred Diamanti, whose only international experience came in a rain-shortened ODI against Australia. Diamanti had a productive State Shield season, averaging 47.60 with the bat at a strike-rate of 102.”Brendon Diamanti is [a player] whose skills fit the short game format,” the chairman of selectors Glenn Turner said. “He’s a good striker of the ball an excellent fielder and has good skills with the ball.”In selecting the side we have been particularly conscious of selecting players in the middle and lower order who are boundary hitters. We have retained aggressive but more orthodox batsman in the top order – and we’re looking for that extra aggression lower down the order as well.”The team will travel to England in mid-May and will hold a training camp before the competition starts with warm-up matches beginning on June 1. In addition to the final squad, the selectors named a backup group of 15 players from whom replacements will be picked if necessary.New Zealand squad Brendon McCullum, Martin Guptill, Jesse Ryder, Ross Taylor, Scott Styris, Neil Broom, Jacob Oram, James Franklin, Nathan McCullum, Daniel Vettori (capt), Ian Butler, Peter McGlashan, Kyle Mills, Brendon Diamanti, Iain O’Brien.Backup players Peter Ingram, Shanan Stewart, Aaron Redmond, Craig Cumming, Peter Fulton, Jamie How, James Marshall, Gareth Hopkins, Grant Elliott, Ewen Thompson, Tim Southee, Michael Mason, Warren McSkimming, Chris Martin, Jeetan Patel.

Shaun Pollock has expressed sadness for the Indian public over the decision to relocate the 2009 IPL, but believes South Africa is well capable of hosting the lucrative Twenty20 tournament. Pollock, the former South African captain and current advisor to the Mumbai Indians, said the terror attacks in Lahore had changed his view of the security situation in the subcontinent, and suggested the decision to move the IPL away from India would be welcomed by many contracted players.South Africa and England have been touted as possible venues for the IPL’s second season, and CSA chief executive Gerald Majola – a week after agreeing to stage the Champions Trophy – has confirmed his willingness to serve as tournament host. Pollock, who is currently overseeing a training camp in Durban for eight members of the Mumbai Indians squad, said logistical and timezone considerations could weigh heavily in South Africa’s favour when IPL officials make a final decision on a venue this week.”It is sad because I’m sure the Indian public would have loved to watch the IPL live,” Pollock told Cricinfo. “There was such a huge response to it last year, but I guess it is better that it’s on TV and being played somewhere in the world than not at all.”I have been to the subcontinent many times and for all the talk of risk over the years I have never felt under threat with all the security measures in place. I, like many people, had always felt that because there is such a great love for cricket, no one would jeopardise that. But the attacks in Pakistan were a real eye-opener for me. It showed that anything, even the IPL, could be targetted.”I would be happy if South Africa was chosen as a venue. I probably know the conditions here better than anyone in the world, and that could be of use to Mumbai in my advisory role. There is a very good appetite for Twenty20 cricket in South Africa. We certainly have the people and the stadiums to put on a good event. The timezone will work too, with us only being three hours behind India.”Paul Marsh, the chief executive of the Australian Cricketers’ Association, welcomed the prospect of the IPL proceding outside of India. “Our members want the IPL to proceed provided the safety of the teams is not compromised,” he said. “Given the current situation in India, the decision to move this year’s event is a sensible one and will likely maximise player participation.”Kapil Dev, the former Indian all-rounder and current chairman of the ICL, criticised the BCCI for not consulting players about the relocation of the IPL’s second season. “I would first take the players into confidence and take their concerns first before deciding to shift any tournament that belonged to India,” he said. “The tournament was intended to be held in India, therefore the administrators of the game should have first talked to the players before venturing to shift the tournament.”

New Zealand must win the remaining one-day internationals to avoid a series defeat but their bowling attack has been unable to contain a powerful Indian batting line-up so far in the series. Andy Moles, the New Zealand coach, said that the bowlers had “practised and prepared” but it was imperative that they execute the plans during the game.India’s batsmen scored 273 in 38 overs in the first ODI in Napier, 188 in 28.4 overs before the washout in Wellington, before hammering 392 – the highest total in New Zealand – in Christchurch.”We have got plans for all the Indian batsmen. But any plan is just worth the paper it is written on, unless you bowl to it,” Moles said. “So it is very important that we implement the plans that we have in place. The bowlers need to step and make sure that they are on top of the game.”They [India] have played on small grounds and good wickets. They are world class players. Everything is in their favour. We feel we are making things a lot easier for the Indians than it should be. We will try to get it right in the rest of the games.”Moles said that his bowlers “did a lot of work” on Mahendra Singh Dhoni and had succeeded in nullifying him but were unable to restrict a succession of explosive batsmen. However, Moles felt his team would do better in Hamilton, the venue of the fourth ODI, where New Zealand have won ten out of 12 matches.”We go to Hamilton which is a place where we play good cricket,” Moles said. “We have won there before. We feel that we have a winning knowledge of the ground. All we need to do is to get our act together.”New Zealand have made changes to their squad for the fourth ODI on March 11. They’ve left out the injured Ian Butler and Tim Southee, who went for 105 in his ten overs in Christchurch. Moles, however, backed him. “When you are playing on small grounds and flat wickets, it is difficult to contain batsmen when they get going,” Moles said. “He [Southee] is a young lad, 20 years of age. Even the best bowlers in the world have had bad days.”Moles was also upbeat about Jacob Oram’s progress since he made a comeback from injury. “Jacob is very close to bowling at his best. He bowled eight overs last night [in Christchurch]. We would have liked to have brought him back, but we have a long-term plan for him. He bowled quite beautifully last night and took pace off the ball. By the end of the series he should be fully fit and we can bowl him as and when we want.”

Cricket throws up a lot of pointless statistics that are forgotten asquickly as they are uncovered but a century on Test debut is the typeof record that will be remembered forever. In 132 years of Testcricket, only 18 Australians have achieved the feat, which equates toroughly one every seven years. It’s a truly special accomplishment.Marcus North, the latest man to join the list, has spent ten years waiting in first-class cricket for his opportunity at the highest level. With a late cut for three off JP Duminy, he joined an elite group including Greg Chappell, Doug Walters and Bill Ponsford, and proved that his long apprenticeship had not been wasted.For all the pressure of entering the 90s for the first time in a Test, North said he was less nervous as his century loomed than when he was waiting to get off the mark. He had already seen his fellow debutant Phillip Hughes make a duck and it was the calming influence of the last man to make a century on debut for Australia, Michael Clarke, that eased him through.”I was a bit nervous [as the century approached]. I was probably more nervous waiting to go out to bat,” North said. “I was spending quite a few hours [waiting] before I got my opportunity. But once you get off your mark, that’s always a nice feeling to get off your mark on debut.”Other than that, I think without a doubt the experience that I’ve had at first-class level held me in good stead. Out there with Clarkey at the start, he was extremely good just having a chat every couple of balls or in between overs to kind of calm me down a little bit. I felt pretty balanced out there.”An hour after stumps on the second day, North had not yet had a chance to speak to his wife Joanne and the rest of his family in Perth, where the time-zones meant he brought up his hundred in prime-time. Being ensconced in the team environment meant the enormity of hisachievement hadn’t really hit home.”Don’t get me wrong, I’m pretty chuffed, very pleased to get an opportunity to play for Australia, let alone get a hundred on debut,” North said. “I’m sure that will sink in over the next couple of days.”As North ticked through the 90s he was given strong support by his partner Mitchell Johnson. The pair put on 117 for the eighth wicket, which was a record for Australia against South Africa, and Johnson went agonisingly close to becoming the fifth Australian to score a Test hundred from No. 9 or below.In the end he was stranded on 96 when Peter Siddle and Ben Hilfenhaus edged to the slips off consecutive Morne Morkel deliveries. It’s not quite as bad as being left on 99 not out and Johnson said he was not too worried about the missed opportunity.”Hilfy keeps apologising,” Johnson said. “I’m not disappointed at all.I really enjoyed myself out there. I got the message that came outjust before tea to start going after a few so that’s what I did. Ijust backed myself and got a few over the fence.”Johnson struck five sixes, including three in one Paul Harris over, allof which were slog-swept over long-on or midwicket. Having already hittwo fours in the same over, he set a new Australian record for themost runs in a Test over. His 26 eclipsed the memorable 24 that AdamGilchrist whacked off Monty Panesar in Perth in 2006-07 and Johnson was unaware of the record.”I didn’t know the stats,” he said. “But it’s funny because I wasactually thinking about Gilly while I was out there. Just seeing howhe used to play – that Test in Perth against the English. I want to bemy own person and everything like that but like I say, I reallyenjoyed today.”Johnson wasn’t the only one.

The ICC’s executive meeting in Perth at the end of the month will go ahead, but without Peter Chingoka, the chairman of Zimbabwe Cricket.Chingoka was banned from entering Australia by the authorities earlier this month because of what it stated were his links to the Mugabe regime. The ICC, whose executive made clear last summer that it would not allow meetings to go ahead unless all its members were permitted to attend, had been lobbying the Australian Foreign Office to grant Chingoka a visa.However, Cricinfo has learned David Morgan, the ICC president, was told by Stephen Smith, Australia’s foreign minister, that a decision whether to issue the visa could only be made if Chingoka actually submitted an application. Chingoka refused, despite lobbying from senior ICC officials, insisting that he be guaranteed entry before he applied.Given that Chingoka has been in Bangladesh watching Zimbabwe play ODIs there over the last week and is now believed to be in India, it is clear that no application has been, or will be, made by him.With all executive members having booked flights to, and made hotel reservations in, Perth a decision was made in the last few days to proceed without Chingoka. It is possible he will contribute by means of a telephone link-up from Harare.Chingoka’s stubbornness has left some ICC members unimpressed. Morgan has been publicly pushing the Australian authorities, while behind the scenes it is understood that Sharad Pawar, the ICC vice-president and India’s agriculture minister, has also been trying to put pressure on them. It now seems that their efforts were pointless.This echoes what happened last year when the ICC moved its annual meeting because the UK authorities refused to make a decision whether to allow Chingoka in until he submitted a visa application, which he refused to do. On that occasion, Chingoka’s tactics paid off and the meeting was moved away from London for the first time in 99 years.He was subsequently barred from entering or transiting through the European Union, again because of links to the Mugabe government.

Steve Waugh, former Australia captain
The great thing about Matthew Hayden was that he redefined what an opening batsman was. He changed the face of Test-match batting for ever. His real legacy will be changing the way cricket was played. He always tried to dominate and went after the opening bowlers in the first session.He was so good it was sometimes embarrassing to bat at the other end. Once, when he got a century on a difficult pitch in Johannesburg [in 2002], I told him: “Mate, you are so good this is embarrassing.”Shane Warne, former team-mate
He had an aura about him when he went out to bat. The thing that will be missed is his aura around the side with the young players in there now. It’s another player gone that will be very hard to replace.Stuart Clark, Australia fast bowler
I think he made the right decision. It is a shame though, he has been a great player for so long you just expected him to be the same forever. But we all get older and someone else comes along to take our place. If his replacement can do half the job he did they won’t be bad players.Ricky Ponting, Australia’s captain
I don’t think there’s any doubt about that [he is Australia’s greatest opener]. You can even look back through the history books of the game and try and see if there’s ever been a better opening batsman in the game, let alone Australia.The thing that defines him best is leading into the last World Cup, when his position in the side was under a bit of pressure. He took it upon himself to reinvent his game, at 33 or 34, to take that time to sit back to work out a game and strategy that was going to work for him. He put that into place for months and months, to get him right, then he was one of the great players of the World Cup. No matter what he’d done, or how well he’d played, he was always working on ways to become better and to make the team better.Glenn McGrath, former Australia fast bowler
It’s been an absolute honour and a privilege to play with him and even more so to call him a mate. And to me Matty is a legend of the game; he’s got nothing left to prove. His career stands alone. He’s an amazing person and an amazing player, I was just very lucky to be a part of it. Every time I walk out on the field, I’d have him in every team I’ve played in so, if that’s the decision he makes I can only wish him all the best. Hopefully now we’ll be able to spend a bit more time together off the field.Adam Gilchrist, former Australia wicketkeeper
He was an inspirational player who possessed extraordinary mental strength. His greatest asset was his belief and faith in himself, coupled with an amazing work ethic. Whenever someone told him he couldn’t achieve something he just became more determined to prove them wrong. He was a brilliant opening batsman who I loved representing this country with.Jason Gillespie, former Australia fast bowler
He intimidated opposition fast bowlers; they might deny it, but he did. I’m sure a few of them thought about wearing a helmet when they were bowling to him. I did. He was like Viv Richards, the way he’d stand there chewing the gum and taking them on. As a team-mate it gave you a massive lift to know you could sit in the dressing-rooms with a cup of tea and watch him and Langer do the work.Kellie Hayden, Matthew Hayden’s wife
I’m really excited, it’s going to be great. It’s also sad, it’s been a great journey. I’m glad he’s made the decision.Damien Mullins, chairman of Queensland Cricket
He is truly one of the legends of Queensland sport. In Sheffield Shield cricket, only Sir Donald Bradman scored more runs in fewer matches than Hayden.David Boon, Australian selector
He was very strong and very proud and he had his way of motivating and encouraging others to respect the baggy green cap and to respect what it represented.Jack Clarke, Cricket Australia’s chairman
Matthew was one of the greatest ever players to pull on the baggy green. To open the batting with an average over 50 in 103 Test matches puts him among the all-time greats of the game. Matthew was an integral part of the most successful era in Australian cricket history. It would be an interesting task if the Team of the Century was to be selected today to rate Matthew against Bill Ponsford and Arthur Morris.Greg Chappell, former Australia captain
It’s a career he can be rightfully proud of, he’s achieved a lot. After early setbacks he went away and rethought his game and philosophy on batting and he came back an aggressive, positive player. He intimidated bowlers, he was reminiscent to me of someone like Gordon Greenidge. He did very much the same, he monstered bowlers and really changed the momentum of the game.Along with Warne, McGrath and Gilchrist he was one of the most important players of that era and that success that Australia enjoyed. I think his record places him among the best players we’ve had through our history, he’s certainly one of the most dominant opening batsmen we’ve had.Mark Waugh, former Australia batsman
He was a tough player and mentally very strong. He had his own game and he wasn’t too concerned about what other people thought of it but in the end it worked for him. He played over 100 Test matches for Australia after waiting a very long time to get in there initially, so not only physically a big effort to play 100 Tests but mentally to come back from challenges, especially early on in his career.