Ray Jennings has targeted a whitewash in the forthcoming Test and one-day series against West Indies and termed it as “the most crucial series of my career”. Shaun Pollock was also upbeat about the team’s chances and hoped to be fit for the entire tour.The South African board expressed their concern over the sponsorship crisis in the West Indies, including Brian Lara being excluded from the first Test squad. But they acknowledged it is an internal matter and hoped it was resolved before the South Africans arrived. “We have sympathy for the board’s predicament,” Gerald de Kock, the media liaison officer, was quoted as saying in the , “but we don’t have any control or influence over their affairs.”Shaun Pollock, who captained South Africa on the 2001 tour of the West Indies, wished that they played against the strongest team. “I’m sure they’ll work something out before the first Test,” Pollock told , a Durban based newspaper. “The missing guys form the core of their side and it would be silly if they missed out. From a personal point of view, I would be disappointed if we didn’t play against their strongest team.”Pollock, who led his team to a 2-1 in the Tests and 5-2 triumph in the ODIs, added, “People need to understand that the West Indies are unique in that, strictly speaking, they’re not playing for their country; they’re playing for a collective entity made up of different independent islands. That makes a big difference to their outlook and can lead to complications.”Pollock, though, had his own worries with a left ankle injury and he had to pass a fitness test before being cleared to play. The injury had kept him out of the second Test against Zimbabwe last week. If the injury persisted, he might be forced to miss the first two Tests and fly out for the rest of the series. “It’s still niggling me,” he said. “I can run OK, although there’s a little bit of pain, but it’s slamming the left foot down that is the problem. It’s basically a wear and tear injury that’s been equated to patella tendonitis [tennis elbow] that’s difficult to get rid of unless you rest it.”Nicky Boje, according to Pollock, would have a huge role to play in the series. Boje, the left-arm spinner, had a great time in the 2001 series picking up 15 wickets at 29.46. “The West Indies have a lot of left-handers and Nicky will be able to turn the ball out of the rough outside their off-stump.”

Nicky Boje has flown home from South Africa’s tour of the Caribbean and will miss the five-match one-day series, which starts in Jamaica on May 7, after suffering from irregular breathing during the fourth day of the final Test in Antigua.Boje, 32, did not take the field for the final four sessions of the match after being examined by a cardiologist. A media statement issued by Cricket South Africa said he had suffered a recurrence of the breathing problems he developed on the first day of the Test.South Africa’s convenor of selectors, Haroon Lorgat, who is in Antigua, confirmed that Boje would be flying home as a precaution. Boje himself was philosophical. “I wanted to be part of a winning team,” he said, “but health problems have to be sorted out.”It is the second health scare that Boje has suffered in the past six months. In December, he missed the first Test against England to undergo treatment, after a cancerous growth was discovered in his thyroid gland.Lorgat added that no replacement would be called for Boje.

Sourav Ganguly shrugged off an indifferent start to his English season and cracked a defiant 142 for Glamorgan in their County Championship game against Kent at Cardiff. He smashed five sixes and 15 fours and was the last man out after a tenth-wicket stand of 80 with Andrew Davies had salvaged some pride for his struggling side. Ganguly had got into his groove in the first innings with a solid 69 and ended up as the joint top-scorer along with David Hemp. However, Glamorgan had fallen too far behind by then and were eventually beaten by ten wickets.The other Indians playing in England didn’t have much to cheer. Irfan Pathan couldn’t pick up any wickets in his 23 overs while playing for Middlesex against Surrey at Lord’s and ended with 0 for 73. He had earlier made a good impression with the bat, though, and his breezy 68 had taken Middlesex to a healthy 437 in the first innings. There was a mini-battle in the game as Pathan faced Harbhajan Singh, his Indian collague who is representing Surrey this season. Pathan spanked 11 fours in his 93-ball knock, including a brief charge against Harbhajan, but he was finally deceived by an offspinner that turned sharply and was bowled. Harbhajan finished with 2 for 87 from his marathon 35-over bowling spell.

Ben Smith has agreed a two-year extension to his existing contract which will take him to the end of the 2008 season. Smith is in his fourth season with Worcestershire since moving from Leicestershire and recently scored a century in three successive championship matches.”I have made it no secret that I would like to finish my career with Worcestershire and I am delighted that we have agreed to this contract extension,” said Smith. “It gives me some future security and I can concentrate on helping the team achieve the success it is due.”

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has suggested that Sri Lanka’s forthcoming tour of India be split into two parts to accommodate both the Super Series, as well as South Africa’s scheduled five-match one-day series in the country. Tryphon Mirando, a Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) official told AFP that the proposal was “being considered.”The Sri Lankan team was originally slated to visit India for three Tests and seven ODIs in October and November, for their first full tour of the country since 1997. However, with the Super Series having been scheduled for October, and the South Africans making plans to play their matches between November 17 and November 29, the BCCI was forced to propose a split tour.According to the BCCI proposal, Sri Lanka will play seven ODIs in November after the Super Series, and return again in December to play three Test matches. This would result in India playing a total of 12 ODIs at home, against Sri Lanka and South Africa.India are due to tour Sri Lanka for a triangular series from July 30 to August 9, and will tour Zimbabwe from the end of August.

Inzamam-ul-Haq will lead the Asian XI against the African XI in the forthcoming Afro-Asia Cup. He has Rahul Dravid as his deputy, and a strong squad of 15 for the three one-day matches, which will be played in South Africa from August 17 to 21. “It’s a great honour for me and for my country” a delighted Inzamam told AFP.Virender Sehwag, Irfan Pathan and Anil Kumble are the other Indians in the team. Kumar Sangakkara, Sanath Jayasuriya, Muttiah Muralitharan and Chaminda Vaas represent Sri Lanka while Mohammad Ashraful is the lone Bangladeshi in the team. Pakistan are well accounted for, with Yousuf Youhana, Shahid Afridi, Abdul Razzaq, Rana Naved-ul-Hasan and Shoaib Akhtar making the cut.The team was selected by a panel appointed by the Asian Cricket Council and comprised Majid Khan (Pakistan), Ravi Shastri (India), Graeme Labrooy (Sri Lanka) and Mohammed Shafiqul Haque (Bangladesh). The African Cricket Association is yet to pick its team for the series.Asian squad Inzamam-ul-Haq (capt), Rahul Dravid, Virender Sehwag, Kumar Sangakarra, Sanath Jayasuriya, Yousuf Youhana, Shahid Afridi, Abdul Razzaq, Muttiah Muralitharan, Chaminda Vaas, Naved-ul-Hasan, Irfan Pathan, Mohammad Ashraful, Anil Kumble, Shoaib Akhtar. Reserves Marvan Atapattu, Mashrafe bin Mortaza, Khaled Mashud.

Michael Vaughan does not feel his substitute-fielding method is against the rules, but Rudi Koertzen, who will umpire the fifth Test, has vowed to crackdown if anyone abuses the regulation. Vaughan said his players were drinking so much that they had to leave the field for toilet breaks, although Ricky Ponting believed the continual rearranging was against the spirit of the game.”It is a situation Australia are not happy with but we feel we are doing nothing against the laws,” Vaughan told . “I am certainly not telling my team to go and have an extra five minutes’ rest. If a player needs the toilet he has to go to the toilet. We are not a team that is going to try to bend the rules. We are quite an honest team.”Koertzen told England had not taken advantage of the situation while he umpired in the first two Tests, but he did not watch the third and fourth matches. “I always allow players to go off as they need to, so long as they don’t abuse the system and are not acting against the spirit of the game,” Koertzen said. “You can’t go overboard and do it all the time. If that’s the case, then I will put a stop to it.”Billy Bowden, who will also stand in the decider, told the paper he would meet with Ranjan Madugalle on Monday to discuss the issues. “Until then, it is hard for me to talk about [them].”Vaughan said the debate should not get in the way of a fantastic series. “I do not want to get into an argument about it,” he said. “There has been a lot of talk and I am sure there will be a little more.”