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After Chris Gayle murdered the South African bowling for the first Twenty20 century, West Indies bowled with such indiscipline against a rampant Herschelle Gibbs that a game that should have been won was lost. They need to sort out their catching, and their bowling, and the Bangladesh game could well be the chance to do it. On the other hand, already with one loss, and Bangladesh having some batsmen who can do some serious damage over short periods of time, West Indies can’t afford to take the result for granted.Bat play: Mohammad Ashraful’s biggest problem in Test and ODI cricket has been his inability to curb his natural stroke-making tendencies. There will, however, be no need to hold back in the Twenty20s and in Aftab Ahmed he has another batsman capable of hitting the ball clean and long.West Indies have Gayle powering them at the top of the order, but the likes of Dwayne Bravo, who did not have a good first game, and Dwayne Smith, are good bets to hit the cover off the ball. And there’s Marlon Samuels, that eternal mystery of West Indian cricket, sublime some days and rather silly on others.Wrecking ball :Fidel Edwards and Daren Powell bowled with genuine pace on a flat deck at the Wanderers and in most conditions they can trouble batsmen. The problem is, there’s a good chance they’ll go for runs as well. Bangladesh have a line-up full of strokemakers, and sheer pace could play a big part.If West Indies have pace Bangladesh have swing in the left-arm of Syed Rasel. He bends the ball back into right-handed batsmen and if conditions help him, can be hard to negotiate.Keep your eyes on: Mashrafe Mortaza has been a taslismanic all-round cricketer for Bangladesh and has played a part in more than one upset. And there’s Gayle – can you really afford to keep your eyes off him in this version of the game?Pitching it right: A good batting track, a touch on the dry side, the Wanderers is a place where you get bang for buck as far as playing shots goes. A quick outfield means that batsmen only have to beat the infield to pick up four.West Indies (likely) Chris Gayle, Devon smith, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Marlon Samuels, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Dwayne Bravo, Denesh Ramdin, Dwayne Smith, Daren Powell, Ravi Rampaul, Fidel EdwardsBangladesh (likely) Tamim Iqbal, Nazimuddin, Aftab Ahmed, Mohammad Ashraful (capt), Shakib Al Hasan, Alok Kapali, Farhad Reza, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mashrafe Mortaza, Syed Rasel, Abdur Razzaq

Alex Tudor, the Essex and former England fast bowler – whose career has been blighted by persistent injuries – is struggling to be fit for the start of the domestic season following complex knee surgery.Tudor signed for Essex two years ago but played just twice last season, when a degenerative knee defect was identified.”I’m really chuffed with the way he has progressed. It’s a case of crossing our fingers,” Ronnie Irani, the Essex captain, told BBC Sport while on tour with his county in South Africa. “Prior to his arrival at Essex, Alex had a hip problem which was the reason why he was released by Surrey .”But we sorted that out and he doesn’t have an issue with that anymore. We are very hopeful that Alex is going to perform wonders for us at this county and if he stays fit then he will do exceptionally well.”Essex’s first Championship game of the summer is against Northamptonshire on April 19 at Chelmsford.

David Hussey continued his assault on the county circuit, slamming 32 from one over in a rain-reduced one-day match on Monday. George Bailey, Jimmy Maher and Marcus North were also in the runs in their limited-overs games.Hussey, who last week struck 14 sixes in his remarkable 275 for Nottinghamshire, followed up with more fireworks against Derbyshire at Trent Bridge. The match was reduced to 13 overs a side and Hussey, who came in at No. 4, hammered 56 from 20 deliveries, including one four and seven sixes.The highlight was when he cleared the ropes five consecutive times off Greg Smith, the Derbyshire fast bowler, having scored a two off the first ball of the over. Hussey then hit his next two balls over the boundary as well, from Ant Botha’s left-arm spin. Derbyshire, who had Simon Katich and Travis Birt in their line-up, fell well short of Nottinghamshire’s 170.At Chester-le-Street, Bailey’s 92 from 105 deliveries was not enough to earn Scotland their second win of the season as they went down to Durham. Bailey made nearly half of Scotland’s 205, striking three sixes and six fours.Maher made his first substantial contribution of the year for Glamorgan, but they still lost to Surrey at Cresselly. Maher made 76 as he guided Glamorgan to 203 in a rain-reduced contest, while Surrey’s Matthew Nicholson took 2 for 44. Glamorgan’s problems worsened when Damien Wright limped off the field after bowling only four balls, and Surrey reined in the target with two overs to spare.North put in a solid all-round performance to help Gloucestershire to victory over Essex at Bristol. His 55 was important in helping the home team to 222 and he then followed up with 3 for 22 from six overs as Essex fell 22 runs short.Earlier in the week, a troop of Australians dominated the four-day encounters, with Hussey and Cameron White the star performers. Hussey’s career-best 275 was the highlight; he faced only 227 balls and belted 14 sixes, putting Nottinghamshire on track for a massive win over Essex at Trent Bridge.White also set up his side, Somerset, for an eight-wicket victory against Gloucestershire at Taunton. His double-century was a more restrained effort than Hussey’s, but he still only needed 325 deliveries to post 241. North did his best to prevent Gloucestershire giving up the points, but his 106 was in vain.At Northampton, Katich was unable to rescue Derbyshire, who conceded a 205-run first-innings deficit to Northamptonshire. Katich made 85 in the second innings in a fighting partnership with Steve Stubbings but they had little support and Birt (37) was the only other batsman to offer any resistance.Michael Di Venuto was an important part of Durham’s win over Yorkshire at Chester-le-Street. Di Venuto struggled in the first innings but contributed a solid 53 in the second as Durham wobbled slightly in their chase of 131. Yorkshire’s Jason Gillespie took four wickets for the match but the star for Durham was Ottis Gibson, the 38-year-old former West Indies allrounder, who took ten wickets and made 71.Stuart Clark continued to impress in his first season with Hampshire, taking 4 for 48 and 3 for 80 in a draw with Kent at Canterbury. Clark has 18 victims at 18.33 from his three games but his captain, Shane Warne, is not having the impact that might be expected of him. Warne took 3 for 42 and 1 for 142, to take his season tally to 15 wickets at 36.33.Another Australian who will be searching for a change in form is Phil Jaques, who in five matches is averaging only 22.55 for Worcestershire. Jaques made 5 and 0 and was one of the culprits as his team lost to Sussex at Worcester.

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Tasmania gained six points after beating Queensland by seven wickets inside three days in their Pura Cup match at Brisbane. Set a target of 47 in their second innings, Tasmania lost three batsmen in an attempt to finish off the game within ten overs. Michael Di Venuto, the opening batsman, top scored in both innings, although Adam Griffith was chosen for the Man-of-the-Match award for taking six wickets for 76 in the match.Queensland resumed batting on day three at 3 for 54, trailing Tasmania by 84. Things just got worse from there as James Hopes fell leg before to Griffith on the eighth ball of the day. Chris Hartley, the wicketkeeper, managed to hang around for 51 balls before nicking one to Sean Clingeleffer and giving Griffith his second wicket of the day. Matthew Hayden pushed the score closer to the 150-mark batting with an injured finger, but the collapse could not be stopped and the last three wickets fell for 35.Tasmania made a mess of an easy chase and Hopes was on a hat-trick when he snaffled up Michael Bevan and Travis Birt in successive balls. But in the end Di Venuto, along with George Bailey, secured full points for Tasmania. Queensland, the defending champions, will hope to redeem themselves when they host New South Wales on October 27.

Yousuf Youhana will be known henceforth as Mohammad Yousuf, after it was revealed that he had converted from Christianity to Islam. Yousuf, who was the only Christian in the Pakistan team, revealed he had taken the step after attending preaching sessions from a leading religious group.It is reported that his wife also converted with him, about three months ago, but it was decided he would not go public with the news for family reasons. According to Pakistan’s newspapers, his parents are furious.”I don’t want to give Yousuf my name after what he has done,” his mother was quoted as saying by the newspaper. “We came to know about his decision when he offered Friday prayers at a local mosque. It was a shock.”Youhana told reporters he had converted of his own free will, after attending regular preaching sessions of Tablighi Jamaat, Pakistan’s largest non-political religious grouping, which includes among its members Youhana’s former Pakistan team-mate, Saeed Anwar.”I cannot tell you what a great feeling it is,” he told the BBC. Officials in the Pakistan cricket board confirmed that members of the Tablighi Jamaat have been visiting the board’s offices and training camps regularly over the last several years.

Towards the end, he was reduced to walking singles, one of the fittest men in the side reduced to a heat-exhausted wreck by the capricious whims and fancies of a cricket board that cares only about two things – the bottom line and top dollar.And if the BCCI has its way, Rahul Dravid and his fellow players might have to play ten more such games over the space of the next month, with efforts on to squeeze in five ODIs against Sri Lanka at the completion of this Pakistan tour. If the weather conditions resemble those experienced at Kochi today, the series sponsor might as well be some manufacturer of IV drips.To say that the conditions were inhuman would be the mildest of understatements. By the time the clock-arm had spun around to 12, the mercury was touching 40C with humidity close to 90 percent. The bands were beating a wearier rhythm and the carnival atmosphere was dulled as the pressure-cooker conditions affected everyone.Not that it matters to the golden-goose killers. Who cares about a dehydrated and cramping player or three when there’s money to be made by selling series rights? Who cares if the average fan in the stands slows down like a wind-up toy after not being allowed to bring in any water to drink? As long as the fat cats are happy with their finger food and air conditioning in the corporate hospitality boxes – next dodgy TV deal in the pipeline? – all’s well with the world.India’s players perhaps need to have a word or two with Tim May and friends about forming a strong association that will put a stop to such nonsense. Players are not cattle – and few farmers would treat livestock with such contempt – to be herded across from one obscenely hot venue to another in a season when no one would step out of the shade unless they absolutely had to.The enthusiasm and verve of this Kochi crowd has been a lesson to many established centers where spectators have come to take their cricket for granted while being boorishly partisan. But while such a magnificent turnout deserves due reward, it shouldn’t come in the form of a match in sizzling summer heat. This is no time to play or watch cricket – even an April fool could tell you that.

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Don Maxwell cracked a boundary-laden 114 and Nicholas Ifill contributed 83 as Canada overcame a poor start to pile up 340 for 9 declared on the opening day of the Intercontinental Cup game against Cayman Islands.Canada were reduced to 83 for 4 earlier in the day but Maxwell received some good support, first from Sunil Dhaniram, who made a rapid 37, and then from Ifill to help Canada post a healthy total. However, Ryan Bovell, who ended with three wickets, pulled it back for the Cayman Islands towards the end of the day.The Cayman Islands had to bat just three overs before stumps were drawn but lost Ainsley Hall for a duck and finished at 5 for 1.

First-class domestic squads for 2004-05 Pura Cup and ING Cup competitions with notable player gains and losses:Victoria Cameron White (capt), Jason Arnberger, Rob Cassell, Gerard Denton, Matthew Elliott, Brett Harrop, Shane Harwood, Ian Harvey, Brad Hodge, David Hussey, Mathew Inness, Nick Jewell, Brendan Joseland, Michael Klinger, Michael Lewis, Andrew McDonald, Jonathon Moss, Peter Roach, Graeme Rummans, Tim Welsford, Shane Warne, Allan Wise.
Gains – Gerard Denton (Tas). Losses Darren Berry (retired).Queensland Jimmy Maher (capt), Andy Bichel, Scott Brant, Lee Carseldine, Joe Dawes, Chris Hartley, Nathan Hauritz, Matthew Hayden, James Hopes, Shane Jurgensen, Michael Kasprowicz, Martin Love, Damien MacKenzie, Ashley Noffke, Aaron Nye, Clinton Perren, Craig Philipson, Nathan Rimmington, Wade Seccombe, Chris Simpson, Andrew Symonds, Shane Watson.
Gains – Shane Watson (Tas). Losses – Stuart Law (retired), Steve Magoffin (WA).Tasmania Ricky Ponting (capt), George Bailey, Michael Bevan, Andy Blignaut, Luke Butterworth, Sean Clingeleffer, Jamie Cox, Michael Di Venuto, Michael Dighton, Xavier Doherty, Andrew Downton, Brett Geeves, Adam Griffith, Rhett Lockyear, Daniel Marsh, Scott Mason, Damien Wright.
Gains – Andy Blignaut (Zimbabwe), Michael Bevan (NSW). Losses – Shane Watson (Qld), Gerard Denton (Vic).Western Australia Justin Langer (capt), Ryan Campbell, Beau Casson, Michael Clark, Ben Edmondson, Sean Ervine, Adam Gilchrist, Murray Goodwin, Kade Harvey, Brad Hogg, Mike Hussey, Sam Howman, Steve Magoffin, Shaun Marsh, Damien Martyn, Scott Meuleman, Marcus North, Chris Rogers, Luke Ronchi, Craig Simmons, Adam Voges, Darren Wates, Brad Williams, Peter Worthington.
Gains – Sean Ervine (Zimbabwe), Steve Magoffin (Qld). Losses Jo Angel (retired), Paul Wilson (retired), John Taylor (Vic).New South Wales – Simon Katich (capt), Aaron Bird, Doug Bollinger, Nathan Bracken, Shawn Bradstreet, Stuart Clark, Michael Clarke, Edward Cowan, Brad Haddin, Phil Jaques, Jason Krejza, Grant Lambert, Brett Lee, Stuart MacGill, Glenn McGrath, Greg Mail, Don Nash, Matthew Nicholson, Aaron O’Brien, Matthew Phelps, Dominic Thornely, Liam Zammit.
Gains – nil. Losses – Steve Waugh (retired), Mark Waugh (retired), Michael Slater (retired), Michael Bevan (Tas).South Australia Darren Lehmann (capt), Nathan Adcock, Greg Blewett, Ben Cameron, Mark Cleary, Mark Cosgrove, Daniel Cullen, John Davison, Shane Deitz, Chris Duval, Callum Ferguson, Jason Gillespie, Ryan Harris, Mark Higgs, Trent Kelly, Graham Manou, Mick Miller, Paul Rofe, Jack Smith, Shaun Tait, Matthew Weeks.
Gains – nil. Losses – Andy Flower (Essex).

England’s wicketkeeper, Geraint Jones, has been cleared of a breach of the ICC Code of Conduct after a hearing relating to the dismissal of Bangladesh’s opener, Nafees Iqbal, during the second Test at Chester-le-Street on Sunday.Jones, whose nine dismissals was a record for an English wicketkeeper in a home international, was called before the ICC match referee, Alan Hurst, after claiming a controversial catch to end a spirited 50-run opening stand between Iqbal and Javed Omar.With the match already in the bag and Bangladesh fighting to avoid a two-day defeat, Nafees walked after gloving a low catch off Andrew Flintoff, but stopped and attempted to resume his innings after the TV replay screen suggested that Jones had taken the catch on the bounce.The Bangladeshis lodged an official complaint through their tour manager, Col Latif Khan, but Jones was found not to have breached Rule C2, Level 1 of the ICC Code which relates to conduct that brings the game into disrepute.”On the evidence presented, the actions of the player did not breach the ICC Code of Conduct,” said Hurst. “Video evidence of the incident was inconclusive, and the player’s intent was not proven.”The hearing was attended by Jones, Latif and Nafees, along with Dav Whatmore and Duncan Fletcher, the respective coaches. All Level 1 breaches carry a minimum penalty of an official reprimand and a maximum penalty of 50 per cent of a player’s match fee.

Brian Lara has decided to sit out the three-day tour match against Sri Lanka A at Shenley to give himself a breather before the first Test, which starts on Thursday (July 22). Lara hit 113 against the MCC at Arundel in the last tour match, but has been suffering from flu, which forced him to cut that innings short.Ramnaresh Sarwan took over the captaincy in Lara’s absence, and also opened the batting in place of Chris Gayle, who is also being rested. Sylvester Joseph has been drafted into the team to fill Lara’s position in the middle order, and Tino Best has replaced Pedro Collins as the third specialist fast bowler.The Sri Lanka A side, which includes future stars such as Ian Daniel and Kaushal Lokuarachchi, has won all seven of its tour matches so far.