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Brett Lee has started an intense training programme ahead of the third Test amid concerns in the Australian camp that he has lost condition and his fearsome speed. Lee spent a month away from the game following his marriage break-up in August and it has left him under-prepared for the tour of India, where he has picked up four wickets at 59.25 in the first two Tests.”Because he’s been a bit underdone he’s been bowling a bit at half- and three-quarter pace at training, concentrating on his technique trying to do everything right,” the captain Ricky Ponting told the . “But by doing that he’s probably taught himself to bowl slow.”For the next week he’ll be doing that dynamic stuff. When he bowls at training he’ll be bowling off his long run to train that back into his body again.”While most of the squad has been given time off to refresh mentally and physically following the 320-run loss in Mohali, Lee will be aiming to lift his strength and his speed. Stuart Karppinen, the team’s fitness advisor, is trying to help Lee regain his spark in the five days that remain before the Delhi Test.”Because of his personal circumstances, he hasn’t done the same volume of work and we want to try to build that up,” Karppinen said. “He’s at 95% and bowling in the mid-140s [kph] but we want him to be able to crank that up. He’s lost speed and condition.”Although both Ponting and Lee played down their on-field disagreement in the Mohali Test, where Lee was not asked to bowl until after lunch on the fourth day, Ponting said it was clear Lee had taken time to find his rhythm. He said if Lee could not regain his extreme pace, his responsibilities would need to be tweaked accordingly.”We’ll have to look at how to get him to bowl in the Test if he can’t bowl express,” Ponting said. “He’ll have to play another role for us. If you look at his spells in the game it’s probably been his first-up spell that’s been his worst. When he’s come back he’s settled into a line and length.”Lee’s experience – he has nearly 300 Test wickets – took on extra importance when Stuart Clark pulled out of the Mohali game with an elbow injury. The fast-bowling line-up at Mohali featured the debutant Peter Siddle and the developing Mitchell Johnson, and with Clark’s fitness still uncertain, Ponting is desperate to have Lee firing in Delhi.”We need him bowling very well,” Ponting said. “He’s the guy everyone in our attack looks up to. He’s a senior player in the team and he’s led the attack brilliantly in the last 12 or 18 months. The rest of our bowling attack really fits in around what he does. We need him back and bowling well to be a chance of winning this series.”

The ICC will hold a teleconference on Thursday to decide on whether the Champions Trophy should go ahead as scheduled in Pakistan or be shifted out to in case countries are not satisfied with the security situation there.A teleconference of the ICC executive board “will take place on Thursday to take a decision on Champions Trophy,” an ICC spokesperson told AFP.In a meeting in Dubai on Sunday, the teams were informed of the security arrangements made by Pakistan while it hosted the Asia Cup in June-July as well as its plans for the Champions Trophy, but failed to reach a consensus on the staging of the event.An official who attended the meeting on Sunday had pegged Pakistan’s chances at “50-50” with players from England, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand expressing concerns about the security situation in Pakistan following the bomb blast in Islamabad on the night of the Asia Cup final in Karachi on July 6.

Somerset chief executive Peter Anderson has once again spoken out strongly in support of the English summer game.Speaking at the County Ground he told me: "For a number of years several leading national media commentators have tried to state the case that interest and playing the game of cricket is dying. The facts that they choose to ignore do not support this view."In 2002 despite being relegated to the second division in both the county championship and the National League interest in Somerset County Cricket Club and cricket in general across the south west seems to be as strong as ever.Membership of Somerset topped the 7000 mark and the official club website received a record breaking 1.5 million hits during the month of August, with Ciderman supporters logging on from as far afield as Australia, Brazil, U.S.A. and Hawaii.Mr Anderson continued: "Cricket is very much alive and well in Somerset and the south west of England. This season over 7000 members joined the club and we enjoyed new record levels of hits on our website."Referring to a recent report from the ECB the he continued: "This document tells us that more adults and juniors are playing cricket in Somerset and Devon and Cornwall, where we also have a large number of members, than before,which is very good news for the Club."He concluded: How much longer do we have to put up with these people saying that the game of cricket is dying?"

North Division

Yorkshire, at least, will be relieved at the rain that brought their match at Derby to an untimely conclusion in the 22nd over, . The Derbyshire seamers had put their team well in the ascendancy, on course for another victory, but in the end it was the weather that had the last word.Yorkshire were put in to bat on a greenish pitch in a damp atmosphere, and were in trouble right from the start. Charl Langeveldt quickly found the conditions to his liking, whipping out Craig White, caught at slip for 1, and Anthony McGrath, caught at the wicket for 0; 6 for 2. Andrew Gale (11) chipped Graham Wagg low to mid-on to make it 23 for 3.Jacques Rudolph got his head down and fought it out, but Adam Lyth ignored the conditions and played some handsome drives, most notably a cover drive that was through the fielder before he could react effectively. His 18, a little cameo, came to a cruel end: he was hit a crippling blow in the box, and when he eventually decided he was fit to face up again, he was immediately bowled by a beauty from Tom Lungley.Shortly afterwards the rain came, and Derbyshire could only survey the dismal landscape with regret. Rudolph finished unbeaten with 14 and, had the rain stopped, he would have carried quite a weight on his shoulders.Stephen and Ben Harmison conspired for Durham to consign Scotland to a 38-run loss at Chester-le-Street. Fifties for Phil Mustard and Neil McKenzie lifted Durham to a useful 230 and as soon as Gavin Hamilton fell to Callum Thorp, the visitors started slipping – they slid from 22 for 1 to 51 for 5, the Harmisons doing most of the damage with three wickets apiece. Neil McCallum and Richard Berrington essayed a mini-rescue – McCallum was in good touch with 60 – but their efforts were, in the end, cosmetic.

South West Division

Gloucestershire and Hampshire got in some early Twenty20 practice at Bristol – and it was a thriller, Gloucestershire emerging winners and new table-toppers with two balls left. Somehow they picked themselves up from 15 for 3 and 27 for 4 – Shane Bond the chief wrecker with 3 for 11 from four overs – and gradually began to pick up the run-rate chasing 145 through Craig Spearman (67 from 44 balls) and Mark Hardinges, who made 49 not out off 44 deliveries. Michael Lumb topscored with 76 to push Hampshire to 144 for 6, while Jon Lewis shone with 3 for 17.Glamorgan continued a gloomy week at Swansea: after being crushed by Northamptonshire in the Championship, Worcestershire outplayed them on Sunday. The visitors restricted them to 135 for 9 from their revised 31 overs; hardly even a competitive Twenty20 total. Worcestershire made light work of the ask, losing only Steve Davies, Moeen Ali and Vikram Solanki, who made 69, as they completed the job comfortably with 17 balls remaining.

South East Division

Surrey wasted no time hunting down Essex‘s 215 in a match reduced to 40 overs, with their captain Mark Butcher and Usman Afzaal leading the charge in an unbroken 109-run stand, each reaching fifty, after Scott Newman’s half-century. James Benning also made 38. Varun Chopra’s 79 from as many balls was the platform from which Essex had built their total but even lower-order contributions from James Middlebrook and David Masters were not enough at Chelmsford and Surrey were home with 22 balls remaining.Middlesex‘s tie with Sussex called off very early at Southgate, leaving Sussex rooted to the bottom with only one win in six.

Midlands Division

The Midlands league was hardly the joy division, with both scheduled fixtures abandoned through rain without a ball bowled. Northamptonshire and Nottinghamshire stay joint second in the Midlands Division after watching the rain at Northampton, while the wash-out between Warwickshire and Ireland at Edgbaston confirmed the sides’ status as the bottom two. The wooden spoon slot is yet to be determined.

Ireland are set to tie up a long-term association with the Jamaica Cricket Association (JCA) to enable reciprocal tours between the two counties starting in 2009.The agreement follows meetings between Paul Campbell, vice president of the JCA and representatives from Cricket Ireland, including chief executive Warren Deutrom and chairman David Williams during the recent ICC World Twenty20 Cup qualifying tournament in Belfast.”This is a wonderful opportunity for the players to experience cricket in a different climate and conditions,” said Phil Simmons, the Ireland coach and former West Indies allrounder. “They can only become better players for the experience, and I know how much they will enjoy returning to the scene of their marvellous exploits last year.”Deutrom added that Ireland hope to build on the support they received during the 2007 World Cup, when they were based in Jamaica during the first round.”Cricket Ireland believes that reciprocal relations between our two countries will not only assist in our cricketing development, but will also help us renew great friendships created during Ireland’s memorable World Cup through the Caribbean last year,” he said

Chief executive of the England and Wales Cricket Board, Tim Lamb, has spoken in a radio interview about the timescale for contract negotiations with England coach Duncan Fletcher. He hopes to have it all sorted out before the start of the Ashes tour, in the best interests of the national side.”The detail of the discussion must remain confidential – but we are talking to Duncan on the possible extension of his contract,” Lamb said.”Those negotiations are ongoing, and we hope we will have them resolved before touring Australia in mid-October. Duncan has put it on public record that he wants to continue, and we are talking to him on that basis at the moment.He added: “I think English cricket has moved forward since Duncan took over as head coach and Nasser Hussain as captain – and that is why we are talking to him now.”

He stands elegantly in the lounge of the MCC Club in Kingston where, once upon a time, his mother worked as a cook to earn her living. He owes much to the club; the officials sent little Courtney Walsh to school at the expense of the club.Walsh is not so little any more, physically or figuratively. The gangly fast-bowler became the most prolific wicket-taker in Test history, but he shows no regret as Muttiah Muralitharan and Shane Warne have his mark of 519 wickets firmly in their cross-hairs. By his own admission, Walsh is “a satisfied ex-cricketer” with no intention of involving himself in the sport for the moment.Instead, Walsh runs Courtney Walsh Sports – a shop adjacent to the MCC Club building – and enjoys life in his spare time. “For 17 long years, I played continuously,” he says. “Now my body and mind deserve rest, and I am eager to provide them with it.”To get from 400 Test wickets to 434 took you some time. But once you got past 434, it seems like you just zipped to 519.Yes, that happens sometimes. No matter how hard you try, you may not get wickets. But after that (the 434-wicket mark), luck was probably on my side.Now that you hold the record at 519 wickets, have you ever thought that it may not stay in your name for long?I did not think of it that way. When I left the international arena, I was the highest wicket-taker in the world, and I left cricket with my head held high. I was satisfied.Your partner with the new ball, Curtly Ambrose, is now playing guitar, and your skipper Richie Richardson is running a pub. Do you have any plans to do such things?At the moment, no. I am too tired. I need rest, and I have not thought about what to do in future. It can wait a bit. When I am fresh, I’ll consider different options and decide what I’ll be doing.If the West Indies Cricket Board offers you the post of the coach of the national team, will you accept it?Again, at the moment, there is no such possibility. I’ll do everything, but only after resting myself to the content of my heart as well as my body. I had had no hurry to do anything in my life even when I was playing, and I have no such hurry now.People are saying that the West Indies are slowly returning to a team of some strength. What do you think, as a former skipper of the team?At least they are playing better in this series. Each of them is playing with motivation, and that is evident from their performances in the ongoing series. That augurs well for the future.The West Indian on the road thinks you and Ambrose could have given two more years, which would have let the new crop of bowlers adjust to the pressures of international cricket. The current bowling would be better, and you could have increased your tally too.I think I retired at the right moment, and I have no regrets. My body was not permitting it any more. I played for the country, led the country, and enjoyed my cricket fully in those 17 long years. But during those last days, I was not enjoying it as much as I used to. I am thankful to the Almighty that he has given my body the power to resist the toil of bowling relentlessly for 17 years. Believe me, I am really enjoying every moment of rest now, being far away from cricket and living the cool and composed life of a retired person.

Redlynch & Hale must be wondering what they have to do to climb out of the Southern Electric Premier League Division 3 relegation zone.With Iain Souter hitting an unbeaten 107 and sharing a 119-run stand with Steve Fox (59), they posted a healthy 272-5 against Ventnor at Steephill.But the Islanders romped home by six-wickets, veteran Jeff Hose bludgeoning 91 and Academy teenager Mark Miller (60) marking his return from a back injury with a supporting knock.Richie Morgan (84) helped leaders Alton beat Leckford by five wickets, while South African Willen Prozesky took 4-54 and then hammering 153 not out as Purbrook overhauled Hartley Wintney’s 262-8.Third placed Flamingo swept to a fifth successive win, beating Waterlooville by 33 runs and St Cross Symondians got home by five wickets against Hambledon.Hursley Park continued their improvement with a healthy 65-run victory over Bashley (Rydal) II.

Cameron Cuffy’s place in the West Indies team for the forthcoming International Cricket Council’s Champions Trophy isn’t altogether certain.In light of concerns over his fitness, chief selector Sir Vivian Richards confirmed yesterday that following an assessment by the selection panel over the next few days, a final determination will be made.A West Indies Cricket Board release later in the day, which outlined details of an agreement reached with the West Indies Players Association, mentioned that the team "will proceed to Sri Lanka on September 5 barring injuries".After a recent knee operation, the gangling Vincentian fast bowler made an unimpressive return to competitive cricket by playing in the last two preliminary matches of the Red Stripe Bowl.He hardly looked the part and often struggled when bowling and fielding.Cuffy is usually impeccable in line and length at regional level, but he went for 56 runs from his 10 overs on his first appearnce in the Bowl against Barbados a week ago.

• Andy Flower was missing a one-dayer for only the fifth time in hiscareer since making his debut way back in February 1992. He previouslymissed four Coca Cola Cup matches in Zimbabwe in June-July 2001.
• India’s total of 191 was their second lowest against Zimbabwe. Thelowest still remains 168 in 43.5 overs at Bulawayo on February 1997.This was, however, India’s lowest total against Zimbabwe at home,obliterating the 247 for five in 50 overs at Kanpur on March 6, 1996.
• The fifth-wicket partnership of 86 between Mohammad Kaif and SanjayBangar was a new Indian record for this wicket against Zimbabwe. Thisobliterated the previous highest of 83* between Ajay Jadeja and RobinSingh at Benoni on February 9, 1997.
• Douglas Hondo (4-37) took his first four-wicket haul in his thirdappearance, after going wicketless in first two one-dayers (vs Englandin October 2001). His figures are the best by a Zimbabwean againstIndia in India beating Grant Flower’s previous best of 3 for 43 atJodhpur on December 8, 2000.
• Hondo became the fourth Zimbabwean to claim a four-wicket haul in hisfirst appearance against India. The other three are : Gary Crocker(4-26 at Harare on October 25,1992), Henry Olonga (4-46 at Sharjah onNovember 11,1998) and Travis Friend (4-55 at Sharjah on 22-10-2000).Incidentally, West Indian Patrick Patterson holds the record for thebest figures in a debut match against India with figures of six for 29at Nagpur on December 8, 1987.
• Alistair Campbell,on 60,completed 5,000 one-day runs. He was playinghis 175th one-day international and 171st innings. He became the thirdZimbabwean after the Flower brothers Andy (5897 in 193 matches) andGrant (5475 runs in 180 matches) – and the 35th batsman to do so.
• The victory margin of six wickets was the highest for Zimbabwe againstIndia. It was in fact, only the fifth occasion that Zimbabwe waswinning a match against India whilst chasing. Out of the other fouroccasions, Zimbabwe emerged winners on two occasions only after thetarget was reduced.