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Australia are sweating on the fitness of Glenn McGrath ahead of tomorrow’s second Test against England at Adelaide. McGrath, who took seven wickets in last week’s Gabba Test including 6 for 50 in the first innings, has been struggling with a bruised heel since the mid-point of that first Test. He did not bowl in yesterday’s net session and played only a minor part in an optional work-out at the Adelaide Oval this morning, and a decision on his fitness will be deferred until tomorrow morning.”It is only a blister and you’d pretty much have to amputate his foot to keep him out of this game,” insisted Ricky Ponting, but there was no doubting the concern in the Australia camp. In the absence of their injured allrounder Shane Watson, Australia are committed to a four-bowler strategy for a match that traditionally favours the batsmen, and Ponting was adamant that there would be no gambles in their selection.”We aren’t going to be able to go into the Test match [with McGrath] unless he’s 100 percent,” Ponting said. “It’s as simple as that. We have to rely on him getting right through the game at his best. With the team balance, we can’t afford to be carrying any bowlers whatsoever. Glenn has to be able to give me what I require of him through the course of the game, and if he can’t then a few more questions will be asked.”McGrath was scheduled to have a further net session later in the day, at the request of the team physiotherapist, Alex Kountouris. “It’s important that he gets a good bowl in today, and wakes up well tomorrow,” said Ponting. “He’s aware of that already and the physio’s spoken to him. It will be hard to keep him out, but he’ll know within himself if he’s not right.”England’s captain, Andrew Flintoff, dismissed any notion that McGrath’s absence would give his side a psychological boost, but the fact remains that in the 2005 Ashes Australia lost both matches that McGrath missed, most notably the corresponding match of the series at Edgbaston. England were again 1-0 down in the series, but when McGrath ricked his ankle on a stray cricket ball on the morning of the match, England’s unfettered batsmen cantered to 407 runs in the first day.McGrath needed two pain-killing injections to get through the Brisbane Test, and Ponting remained optimistic that the problem would be sorted before the toss tomorrow. “Once he’d had an injection at Brisbane he was absolutely pain-free, and me knowing that means there shouldn’t be too much interruption at all through the game,” he said. “But hopefully he will come up alright today and we won’t have to worry about injections”I don’t see why it would get any worse. He’s had this callus on his heel for about 15 years of his career. It got worse last year, but he’s seen a podiatrist and changed his inner soles and shoes to take the pressure away. We hope he comes through with flying colours today.”Even so, Australia have yet to release either of their reserve seamers, Mitchell Johnson or Shaun Tait, from the 13-man squad. McGrath’s absence would be doubly destabilising for Australia given the wayward performance of Brett Lee at Brisbane, something that Ponting attributed to the slippery nature of the popping crease at the Gabba.”Troy Cooley’s had a good session with Brett, working on his run-up and rhythm,” said Ponting. “He was forced to go wide of the crease in Brisbane because he couldn’t keep his front foot and that was in the back of his mind up there. But did steam in in the nets yesterday, and bowled at a very good pace.”

Sreesanth will replace Ajit Agarkar in the Indian squad for the remainder of the Champions Trophy after Agarkar sustained a hairline fracture on his left thumb during the match against West Indies. Sreesanth will arrive in Mohali – the venue for India’s last group stage match against Australia – later this afternoon, and will be available for selection for Sunday’s match.Agarkar apparently suffered the injury trying to stop a full-blooded drive from Runako Morton during Thursday’s game. With Munaf Patel also doubtful due to a wrist sprain and RP Singh clearly out of his depth, India face a serious predicament ahead of the Australia game.The approval to replace Agarkar with Sreesanth was given by the ICC’s Technical Committee. The ICC rules clearly prohibit replacement in the course of the tournament if the player concerned had a recent history of injuries. But a replacement is allowed if the injury to the player concerned was totally unforeseen. Agarkar’s injury obviously falls in this category, hence permission for the replacement was granted.Sreesanth, who averages 34.38 from the 19 one-day matches he has played for India, was not picked for the Champions Trophy – a surprise exclusion. His performance in the one-day series in West Indies recently was mediocre – in the three games he played Sreesanth gave away 158 runs for two wickets – but his attitude and willingness to learn were appreciated by the team mangement, which made his omission from the tournament surprising.Speaking to Cricinfo, Sreesanth admitted that he was pleasantly surprised at being called up, focussing on the season ahead. “Honestly, I couldn’t believe it when I heard the news,” he said. “I’ve been training hard, trying to make it to the South African tour, also looking ahead to my next Duleep Trophy game. This comes as a great opportunity for me.”Though his initial omission from the Champions Trophy squad was a setback, Sreesanth said that there was no shortage of motivation, from within and from senior players. He impressed in South Zone’s comprehensive win over West Zone in Indore, picking up five wickets.”I have always beleived in myself,” he continued. “The presence of so many senior players like [Anil] Kumble, VVS Laxman in the Duleep Trophy match helped and they kept encouraging me.”

Division 1

Durham needed a mere six overs and four balls to wrap up their first Championship victory of the season – a steamrollering of Kent at Canterbury. Min Patel delayed the inevitable with a bolshy 61, at nearly a run-a-ball, but he was cleverly deceived by Ottis Gibson’s slower ball to hand Durham only their second win against Kent. Gibson, 37, finished with the impressive figures of 3 for 58 as Durham won by the convincing margin of an innings and 56 runs.Warwickshire toiled hard without any success on the final day of their match against Sussex at Hove, and were scuppered by two brilliant hundreds from Murray Goodwin (214*) and Michael Yardy (159*). The pair broke the county’s record for the third wicket with an undefeated stand of 385, which had previously been held by Ranjitsinhji and Ernest Killick against Lancashire at Hove in 1901. There was still a danger of the hosts capitulating on the final morning – they trailed by 41 at the start of play – but Yardy and Goodwin defied the bowlers manfully. Yardy hit 17 fours in his 274-ball marathon, while Goodwin was a touch more aggressive in his strokeplay, lofting two big sixes and 23 fours as the game petered out into a draw.Chris Read continued his excellent early-season form with an unbeaten, and sprightly, hundred for Nottinghamshire against Yorkshire in what became a meaningless encounter at Nottingham. Rain ruined the first and third day’s play, leaving the fourth day a leather-chasing affair. Darren Bicknell struck a patient 95 and Russell Warren made 93 before Read took the attack to Yorkshire. After a relatively sedate 85-ball fifty, he opened his shoulders – taking four fours off one John Blain over – moving to his hundred in style with a lofted six. The run-spree gave Nottinghamshire – last year’s champions and considered by many to be favourites this year – maximum bonus points, and Read his second hundred in as many games.

Division 2

A brutal 157 from David Sales set Essex an unlikely 381 to win against Northamptonshire. After losing three wickets with 96 on the board, Alastair Cook – who made 88 in the first innings – caressed an excellent unbeaten 103 to steady the ship, and enhance his claims for an England place against Sri Lanka in May. After Cook blunted the game, the two captains agreed to the draw and took seven points each.Rikki Clarke’s brilliant 130 helped save Surrey’s blushes on the final day against Derbyshire at the Oval, avoiding Surrey’s first opening-round defeat since 1990. At one point, it seemed Derbyshire – who suffered a dreadful season last year – might record their first victory at the Oval in 40 years when Surrey slipped to 246 for 5, holding a lead of just 62. Clarke, though, combined well with Azhar Mahmood (46), with whom he put on 125 in 31 overs. His eighth first-class hundred came from 152 balls, and shortly before half-past-five the players shook hands leaving Surrey on 476 for 8.

Division Two

The game of the day – although, in truth, there wasn’t much competition – came at Taunton where Marcus Trescothick and Neil Edwards helped to hunt down 121 in the last session to help Somerset climb to the top of Division Two.But Trescothick injured his quad muscle and had to bat with a runner during his innings of 69. Nevertheless, he and Edwards batted with an Australian-like aggression to post 50 in the first five overs. In the end, their stand was worth 95, with Cameron White then anchoring as Trescothick saw them home with 69 from 42 balls.Earlier, Lance Klusener’s 122 led Northamptonshire‘s brave battle to hold out for the draw. Starting with three down and trailing by 161 runs, Northants lost three quick wickets and were in some trouble at 120 for 6. Then came a remarkable seventh-wicket stand of 173 between Klusener and Alex Wakely, who added 66. Johan wan der Wath contributed 37 as Northants reached 358 to make Somerset bat again.Andrew Caddick ended with 4 for 91 in the second innings, to finish with seven wickets this match. He now has 46 in his nine Championship matches this term.Two days of rain at Trent Bridge, rendered Nottinghamshire‘s match with Gloucestershire a draw, as Somerset eased past them to the top. Notts moved on from 271 for 4 to 400 for 8 – David Hussey moving on to 180 and Chris Read made 52 – before Gloucestershire declared after the first ball to bring an early finish.

Division One

A similar story at Edgbaston where, also after two rained-out days, Yorkshire had to settle for a draw with Warwickshire. In another parallel, Yorkshire made 400 before declaring (with nine down). Anthony McGrath was left unbeaten on 188. Warwickshire eased to 254 for 2 in reply, Darren Maddy not out on 135 and there were fifties too for the Ians Westwood (51) and Bell (65). Yorkshire gained enough bonus points to squeeze ahead of Sussex at the top of the table.Division One

Division Two

Tony Frost, the Warwickshire wicketkeeper, has announced he will retire at the end of the season. He made his first-class debut in 1997 and spent the first part of his career as understudy to Keith Piper.Frost, 30, enjoyed an impressive first half to the 2006 season with a run of three half-centuries in three matches against Kent, Durham and Lancashire; his 96 against Durham turned into a match-winning innings. However, he has been struggling with injury over the last few weeks and his place has been taken by Tim Ambrose.Frost said: “There comes a time when you have to listen to what your body is telling you. I have had a fantastic career at Warwickshire and played with some of the great players. I am keen to stay involved in cricket and am delighted that the club is willing to assist me in developing both my coaching and groundsmanship skills going forward”.Mark Greatbatch, Warwickshire’s director of cricket added: “Frosty has done exceptionally well this season, performing under pressure when we most needed him. Everyone at the club wishes to thank him for his career – long dedication to the Bears and would join me in wishing him well for the future”.Frost’s first-class record stands at 3178 runs from 92 matches at an average of 28.12. He has a career-best of 135 not out and claimed 225 catches and 16 stumpings.

While it is generally assumed that the best cricket archives are found in the main cricket-playing countries, one of the best such archives is right here in the USA, at Haverford College in Pennsylvania. The C. Christopher Morris Cricket Library and collection is the largest collection of cricket literature and memorabilia in the Western Hemisphere.It includes over a thousand volumes, and a very large collection of related printed and photographic materials and items of cricket history. The initial suggestion for a cricket repository at Haverford College was made by John Lester, who proposed that cricket, “with a history and literature second to none,” should be given a permanent home in the United States. Haverford College would be an especially appropriate headquarters, he pointed out, because the library already held a considerable nucleus of material including a complete run of the original American Cricketer, a long run of Wisden’s Almanack and much other cricket literature no longer obtainable.The Library’s primary efforts focus on preserving the history of the game of cricket, especially in America, in all forms. The library’s mission is to be a repository where cricket records and memorabilia are exhibited, catalogued, researched and preserved for posterity. It is a place where the traditions of this unique game remain as an available part of the American heritage and where new generations may learn.Recently, the Library has added extensive computer capability at allow internet access to its collection. It has also started a collection of cricket videos, both historical and current in content, that are available in the library for viewing. The C. Christopher Morris Cricket Library is an experience into the rich history of the sport in America with the collection and exhibits bringing to life over 150 years of active cricket the US.

The reactions to Dean Jones’s ‘terrorist’ remark towards Hashim Amla have come thick and fast not only from South African fans, but from the commentators’ box as well. Various experts and media personalities – including former cricketers – agreed that commentators must always be accountable for their comments.Harsha Bhogle, a prominent broadcaster with ESPN Star Sports, pointed out that commentators have to always be on their guard. “We work in a news room or commentary box, so we have to be careful of what we say,” he told . “You have to assume that the microphone is always on. There will be some network somewhere who will be on live even when there is a break. We have directorial microphones too, so we have to be very careful. Sometimes producers do tell us that it is leaking, be careful. I have made up my mind not to swear even when not on air.”Syed Saba Karim, the former Indian wicketkeeper-turned-commentator, did not condone Jones but believed it could have been an honest mistake. “We do chat off camera and off air but I have never experienced anything like this. Nowadays with the ICC being strict with what comes on air, strong action has already taken place,” he said. “Dean Jones is popular with so many cricketers, maybe it came out inadvertently. He must be given a chance to explain his stand.”Madan Lal, the former Indian allrounder, termed it a mistake that could have been avoided. “You have to take precautions while you are on air,” he stated. “You should make no personal comments, especially against religion. Producers anyway warn us from making comments against individuals. I haven’t made or heard such remarks from my co-commentators. However, mistakes do happen and some pay a big price for it, like Jones.”Similiarly, Arun Lal, the former Indian batsman and prominent commentator, maintained that it was a bad mistake. “It’s a very unfortunate incident. Just one of those things, when he has probably tried to sound witty. Knowing the gentleman I am sure he did not mean it. It was just a mistake, nothing else. An apology would have been fine, because as a sportsman you never in indulge in racism. I am sure Deano himself would have been embarrassed with what has happened.”There were others who saw the incident as more than a goof-up. Kirti Azad, the former Indian offspinner, called it “derogatory” and far from a joke. “Jones has been tarnished forever, now no channel would want his services,” he said. Vijay Amritraj, the former Indian tennis player who has been a commentator for various channels, said it was up to the individual to be careful. “Such kind of comments and remarks cannot be allowed for commentators and there is no way what Jones said can be condoned,” he said. “But every individual has a standard of ethics and it is up to every channel to decide one for itself. I do not think that there is any need for a code of conduct in this regard.”

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