Ashish Nehra has been ruled out of the rest of the one-day international series between India and Pakistan after injuring the webbing of his left hand. He will be replaced by Amit Bhandari.Nehra sustained the injury during his last over in the second one-dayer in Rawalpindi, where he took 3 for 44 in the 10 overs he bowled. He had bowled the crucial last over in the first one-dayer at Karachi, and was the pick of the Indian bowlers in the second one.Amrit Mathur, the media manager of the Indian team, told reporters that Nehra’s injury was expected to take around two weeks to heal. Sourav Ganguly, meanwhile, said that Nehra would still be considered for the Test series if he recovered in time.SK Nair, the secretary of the BCCI, told reporters, "The selectors had already decided that Bhandari would accompany the team if Nehra was found unfit even before the Indian team embarked on the 40-day tour. He was the first-choice replacement." Bhandari is expected to join the Indian squad before the third one-dayer at Peshwar.

For the time being at least, West Indies’ brittle pride has been restored. Brian Lara’s world record brought an uplifting closure to a depressing Test series against England, and was followed by an impressive display from a youthful one-day team. But woe betide any player who thinks their winter’s work is done. Because the ultimate indignity could be lurking just around the corner.The Bangladeshis have arrived for their inaugural tour of the Caribbean, and if there’s one team that West Indies could do without facing at the moment, it’s the side with absolutely nothing to lose. The first of three one-day matches starts on Saturday; the second of two Tests finishes three weeks later. It’s a blink-and-you-miss-it stopover, but if anything should go wrong, the world will be wide-eyed in its condemnation.On the face of it, a West Indian defeat is an absurd notion – Lara’s majesty alone could put the series out of reach, while Tino Best and Fidel Edwards are fully equipped to expose Bangladesh’s notorious shortcomings against high-quality pace bowling, just as Jermaine Lawson did the last time the teams met – his second-innings figures of 6 for 3 at Dhaka in December 2002 sealed a West Indian victory by an innings and 310 runs: the heaviest and most humiliating of Bangladesh’s 26 Test defeats in 28 matches.But, as England occasionally demonstrated on their pre-Christmas trip to Bangladesh, the fear of failure can be paralysing. “We are not far away from our first Test win,” said Habibul Bashar, Bangladesh’s captain, as the squad stopped over in Jamaica en route for St Vincent, and the facts back him up. They came within one wicket of victory over Pakistan in Multan last September; held the upper hand for much of the inaugural Test against England in October and, under the astute guidance of Dav Whatmore, are developing a head for heights to complement their undoubted enthusiasm for the game.Lara, for one, is taking nothing for granted. “I’m not going to write off Bangladesh,” he said recently. “The way we’re playing right now you can’t write off anybody at all.” His caution is utterly justified. According to the latest ICC Test rankings, West Indies are cut adrift from the rest of the established Test nations – a 14-point margin separates them from Sri Lanka in seventh place, who in turn are just 11 points behind England in third spot. With Zimbabwean cricket in ruins, this series has suddenly become the battle of the basement.Not that West Indies would acknowledge that fact. Their capitulation against England was characterised by complacency – from the anonymity of their middle-order batsmen (Lara included), to the partying in the stands that followed their first-Test hammering in Jamaica. Bangladesh, on the other hand, are approaching the series from an entirely opposite perspective. Their expectations are nil, and yet their confidence somehow remains sky-high.

That mysterious blend of pride and humility is all down to Whatmore. In the ten months since he took charge of Bangladesh cricket, he has been at pains to stress how little victory or defeat matters to him. But all of a sudden, with a one-day victory against a [pre-boycott] Zimbabwe to lift the spirits, he is daring to push the envelope just that little bit further. “On their day,” he told a press conference in the Caribbean, “Bangladesh are capable of upsetting any side in world cricket.”It was an uncharacteristically bullish statement, but he was doubtless aware that the reverse is equally true. On their day, West Indies are capable of losing to any side in world cricket, and what is more, they know it as well.It promises to be a nervy series for Caribbean supporters. West Indies have hardly paused for breath since arriving in Southern Africa in November, while Bangladesh are refreshed after a lengthy winter break and a low-key trip to Zimbabwe. What is more, their recent habit in Test cricket (the strongest of their suits) is to compete eagerly for three days before fading away on the fourth and fifth, so the probability of lengthy rain breaks can only help to channel their focus over the full distance.West Indies should still prevail, however, and by some distance. Man for man, they are simply too powerful, and the momentum they have gained in the past few weeks must surely count for something. But after their schizophrenic efforts against England, they do not dare take anything for granted any more.

It can’t be fun being a selector. You only get written about when someone is being critical of you, and you get written about a lot. Not only can you not please everyone, often, you can’t please anyone. That’s what the journalists at Wisden Cricinfo – our staff and some regular contributors – discovered when we put on our selectorial hats, and picked Rest of the World teams for the Super Series contest against Australia next year.What a squishy mess we walked right into. As many as 22 people cast their votes, picking a Test XI and an ODI XI, and no two teams, out of all these, were exactly the same. We collated all the votes and came up with composite teams, and those sides did not match any of the 22 submitted in each category either. That confirms the suspicion that some of us are too hard on selectors sometimes; they will rarely pick the same team that any writer or fan may pick, and as long as the differences are reasonable, one should just let those poor souls be.Feel free to pick on us, though. If you don’t agree with our teams, given below, write to us and let us know, and give us your Rest of the World XIs for Tests and one-dayers.Rest of the World Test team (in batting order)1 Michael Vaughan (13 votes, capt)
2 Virender Sehwag (14)
3 Rahul Dravid (20)
4 Brian Lara (20)
5 Sachin Tendulkar (19)
6 Jacques Kallis (14)
7 Mark Boucher (16, wk)
8 Shaun Pollock (10)
9 Shoaib Akhtar (17)
10 Steve Harmison (19)
11 Muttiah Muralitharan (22)The closest battle in the selection of this squad was between Jacques Kallis and VVS Laxman, who found himself the 12th man with nine votes. The argument in favour of Laxman was his outstanding record against Australia, with an average of 63.52, and three centuries – two in the recent four-Test series, to add to his classic 281 in 2001. But Kallis’s allround skills won him the slot: the differential between his batting average and his bowling average is 11.3, which compares well with anyone in the history of the game.The most popular opener, surprisingly, was Virender Sehwag, who wasn’t even taken seriously as a Test opener until recently – he himself speaks of going back to the middle order one day. His 309 against Pakistan at Multan, and the 195 against Australia at Melbourne that came two Tests before that, underscored his destructive potential at the top of the order, where he can snatch the momentum away in a session, and the match in another.

He’ll have good company in Michael Vaughan, whose uncertain form of late is balanced by his fine run against Australia in the last Ashes series, where he made three hundreds. He made the team comfortably with 13 votes, more than the openers nearest to him, Graeme Smith (7) and Herschelle Gibbs (5), combined.Unsurprisingly, every single person picked Muttiah Muralitharan, disregarding the controversies that have dogged him since his career began. The pace of Shoaib Akhtar and Steve Harmison was supplemented by the experience and guile of Shaun Pollock, while Anil Kumble, Irfan Pathan and Chaminda Vaas, all with five votes, missed out by a long distance. Kumar Sangakkara, with four votes, was the reserve wicketkeeper.Some of our writers made interesting punts on the future, given that the matches are a year away. One picked Yuvraj Singh to open with Sehwag, implying that not only will Yuvraj open for India in the coming season, as is being speculated, he’ll do well enough to be considered one of the world’s best. Another backed Geraint Jones for the wicketkeeper’s slot – Andy Flower also got a vote for that place. No-one bet on Kevin Pietersen, though, or young Parthiv Patel.Michael Vaughan won the right to captain the side, ahead of the only other current captain, Brian Lara.Rest of the World ODI team (in batting order)1 Sachin Tendulkar (21 votes)
2 Virender Sehwag (15)
3 Jacques Kallis (15)
4 Brian Lara (18)
5 Rahul Dravid (12, capt, wk)
6 Yuvraj Singh (7)
7 Andrew Flintoff (18)
8 Shaun Pollock (16)
9 Shoaib Akhtar/Chaminda Vaas (7 each)
10 Steve Harmison (8)
11 Muttiah Muralitharan (21)Many more players were in contention for the one-day side than the Test side – a total of 39 players had their names mentioned by our 22 selectors. While the cut-off mark for the Test side was 10 votes, here, it was seven, with three players tied on that position, in a battle for two places. Yuvraj Singh, who has constructed some impeccable finishes for India in recent times, took up the batting slot at No. 6, while Shoaib and Vaas were left struggling for one bowling spot.Pathan, Sourav Ganguly and Herschelle Gibbs just missed the cut with six points each. Boucher also lost out with six points; of the 12 people who picked Rahul Dravid, 11 wanted him to keep wicket. Remarkably, given that he isn’t India’s captain yet, he was also chosen to captain the side. Far-sighted or foolhardy? We’ll know in hindsight.Two men named Chris, Gayle and Cairns, got five votes each. Tendulkar and Murali were the most popular picks, both with 21 votes. (And no, the names and email IDs of the people who left out Tendulkar from either side will not be posted here.) As many as ten of the people who voted for Tendulkar wanted him to bat in the middle order, but at the end, only one other opener made it among the batsmen, so that wasn’t necessary. Andrew Flintoff, who lends such weight to the England team with his stirring allround talent, and Brian Lara were also popular choices, with 18 votes each.Shite, wasn’t it? And to think we call ourselves cricket writers. Disgraceful. You can certainly do better, so please do, and write in to us with your teams. We’ll try to collate readers’ XIs, and we’ll also put up some of your feedback.Amit Varma is managing editor of Wisden Cricinfo in India. None of the teams picked here corresponds exactly with his, so in case you know where he lives, please don’t do anything harsh.

Durham have signed Shaun Tait, the Australian fast bowler, for the remainder of the season. Tait, 21, took 33 wickets in the Pura Cup last season, and is on the fringes of the Australian national side. He was called into the squad for the Australian tour to Sri Lanka as a replacement for the injured Brett Lee earlier this year, though he didn’t play a game, and has played for Australia A. He also attended a pre-tour training camp prior to Australia’s cancelled Test series against Zimbabwe.Durham enlisted the services of Andy Blignaut, one of the Zimbabwean rebel cricketers, last week, but he is only on a one-month contract, and injuries are still keeping out several Durham players.Tait has been in the news recently for his interesting batting technique. He currently bats right-handed, but has said he wants to try switching to a left-handed stance, and possibly even "switch-hitting", where he could bat both rightand left-handed during a single innings. It was reported that he has been talking about these options to John Buchanan, the Australian coach, who is a known advocate of switch-hitting.

Michael Lewis, the Victorian cricketer, told courts that David Hookes was grabbed by the throat and punched in the stomach on the evening he died after a fracas outside a nightclub in Melbourne, the Sydney Morning Herald reported.Zdavko Micevic, a bouncer, was charged with manslaughter and assault in connection to Hookes’s death, and court proceedings in this regard were under way. Lewis, who was outside the Beaconsfield Hotel where the incident took place, said he heard Hookes say “What are you doing?” and “I’m going home” when he was being pushed around by bouncers.Lewis said that he did not see the cricketers being physically or verbally abusive towards the bouncers, but noted that two bouncers “kept on following him [Hookes] and getting in his face.”During the same proceedings Terry Forrest, the defence counsel, told the courts that Hookes was verbally aggressive towards a bouncer on the night in question. He added that Hookes was heard telling a bouncer that the hotel was going to “cop it” on air, when Hookes did commentary.Wayne Phillips, another former Australian cricketer speaking at the hearings, said he saw Hookes get into an altercation with the bouncers after he was asked to leave. When asked whether he heard Hookes tell the bouncers that the establishment would “cop it” on air, Phillips said, “I assume that was the tack he was taking.” Phillips also said that he tried to reason with the bouncers to let Hookes go, but that they seemed intent on intimidating him.

Brett Lee has said that missing out on the Perth Test against Pakistan was the most disappointing moment of his career. Lee’s pace would undoubtedly have harried a brittle Pakistani batting line-up, but the selectors opted instead to retain faith in Michael Kasprowicz, who vindicated that with a superb five-wicket burst in the first innings.In a column for the newspaper, Lee wrote, “When I found out on Wednesday night that I would not be in the starting XI for this Test match against Pakistan I was totally gutted. I would go as far as to say that it was the worst feeling I’ve experienced in my career.”Lee said that he had expected to be given a go in Perth, given the condition of the pitch and how he had been bowling in the nets. “The fact that I didn’t get a chance left me feeling awful and to say I was disappointed would be an understatement,” he wrote. “I was devastated.”Lee admitted, however, that he had no quibbles with the attack chosen. “Dizzy, Pigeon and Kasper are completely on top of their game and are bowling superbly.”I completely respect the selectors’ and captain’s decision. I’m not angry with them. It’s simply my own frustration about not playing for Australia, especially under such favourable conditions.”Lee missed out on New South Wales’s Pura Cup match against Tasmania as well, and he said that the lack of match practice was becoming a worry. “I bowl my best when I’m fittest and the best way to get fit is to bowl. That’s how you get your rhythm. You can’t really find a rhythm by bowling in the nets.”Despite his disappointment, Lee said he was delighted for Kasprowicz, who has cemented his position as third seamer over the past few games. “We are great mates and I was first to give him a hug after play on Friday when he got five wickets,” wrote Lee. “I don’t want to see it as a competition between me and him because he deserves all the rewards he is getting now.”

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Brad Hogg hit a fighting century and Ben Edmondson struck with two late wickets to rescue Western Australia from a horror opening against South Australia at Adelaide Oval. Winning the toss and batting, Western Australia were in deep trouble at 6 for 92 after Shaun Tait took four wickets in the first session.Hogg replied with 109 from 118 balls, including 14 fours and two sixes, as he dominated the lower-order partnerships and saved his side. He was 83 when Edmondson, the No. 11, walked out and collected 26 of the 30-run partnership to reach his fourth first-class century.Edmondson then made life difficult for South Australia, taking the wickets of Tom Plant and Mark Cosgrove with his first two balls as the Redbacks slumped to 3 for 4. Greg Blewett and Callum Ferguson ensured there was no further damage until stumps.

Marvan Atapattu will miss the tsunami relief fundraising game in Melbourne on Monday because his two children have fallen ill. Atapattu had hoped to catch Sunday’s flight to Australia but abandoned those plans on Saturday night. "Marvan will miss the game because his children were hospitalised on Saturday," confirmed Ray Illangakoon, Sri Lanka Cricket’s media manager.Muttiah Muralitharan, making his return to international cricket after a five-month layoff, Sanath Jayasuriya, Kumar Sangakkara and Chaminda Vaas will now represent Sri Lanka in the Asian XI, which will also be missing Sachin Tendulkar (elbow) and Shoaib Akhtar (hamstring) because of injury.

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After being cleared of a stress fracture, Jacob Oram, the New Zealand allrounder, is hopeful of being fit for the three Test series against Australia which begins in March. Oram has been diagnosed with a stress reaction and is receiving treatment for a bruised vertebrae which is likely to prevent him from bowling during the series. However, he could still play as a specialist batsman.”If I was asked to play as a specialist I’d love to but that won’t be easy because the middle order is fairly packed at the moment,” Oram told . “And if I did [play as a batsman], it would only be a short-term thing because ultimately I want to be an allrounder. It’s not really my call, but it is something I’m interested in.”Oram’s performance with the bat during the recently concluded two-Testseries against Australia should give him the edge over Craig McMillan andHamish Marshall, two other contenders for middle-order berths. Oram toppedthe Test batting averages in that series, and his magnificent 126 at theGabba was the only century for New Zealand.”Plenty of people are saying to me `give up the bowling, your body is not up to it’ but the reason I worked so hard on my bowling was to help my chances of getting in the side.”I played as a specialist batsman at Headingley [against England last year] and it felt like I only had one arm so being an allrounder is a nice thing to fall back on and something I would never let go of lightly. As for when I bowl again, I don’t know, I don’t think anybody does and we are not putting any deadline on it.”Aware of Oram’s importance to the side, New Zealand Cricket’s medical teamis chalking down a comprehensive recovery programme for him. Oram has not been given permission to run yet and is not expected to play club cricket for a fortnight.However, there better news for Daniel Vettori, who was given the all clearto return to action for Northern Districts this weekend after recovering from back injury

Scorecard

A dour series characterised by safety-first tactics and lack of initiative exploded into life on a Chinnaswamy Stadium pitch that might have been prepared by Pol Pot’s henchmen rather than a curator. But all these years later, despite the eyebrows raised over the diabolical playing surface, memories of that Test centre around one of the great pyrrhic efforts in the history of the game.Sunil Gavaskar’s 320-minute vigil spanned 264 balls, on a pitch where only one other batsman – Imran Khan – lasted more than two hours. More importantly, it held the fabric of the final-innings chase together despite periodic incisions from Wasim Akram, Iqbal Qasim and Tauseef Ahmed. But once Gavaskar fell for 96, adjudged caught after the ball brushed his arm-guard, India folded to leave Pakistan victorious by the wafer-thin margin of 16 runs.Pakistan had made their luck after being skittled out for 116 at the first time of asking. On one of those blink-and-you’ll-miss-it opening days, Maninder Singh picked up seven of 12 wickets to fall as India appeared to take an iron-fisted grip. After Kapil Dev had made the early breakthroughs, Maninder’s beguiling loop and guile flummoxed the batsmen on a surface where the ball was already starting to turn at alarming angles.But Qasim and Tauseef, slow left-arm complemented by sharp offspin, then triggered a stunning collapse that saw India lose their last six wickets for just 19. And with the destiny of the series in the balance, Pakistan dug deep in the second innings, even promoting Javed Miandad to open in a bid to thwart Maninder and friends. Rameez Raja, Imran, Saleem Malik and even Qasim chipped in with gritty contributions, but Indian shoulders really sagged after Salim Yousuf, the wicketkeeper, ground out a priceless 41, adding 51 for the ninth wicket with the stonewalling Tauseef.Needing 221 for the win, India went into the rest day on 99 for 4, with Gavaskar having compiled a masterly 51. More than the shots he played, or the precision of his footwork, what took the breath away was his judgement of which balls to leave and which to smother with that straightest of defensive bats.The following evening, he threw a party at the team hotel, mere hours before he would once more step onto the burning deck, as he had done countless times during his halcyon years. Facing him would be Qasim, who had been given invaluable tips on the line and length to bowl by that prince among left-arm spinners, Bishan Singh Bedi.Qasim teased both Azharuddin and Shastri into lofting back return catches, and when he then bowled a restless Kapil, the momentum had swung irrevocably away from India. Gavaskar followed soon after, and as he trudged off, many teary eyes knew that he would never again step into the breach for an Indian side. But the exit of one living legend prompted another, Imran, to cajole his courageous side towards an epochal victory, and a first series triumph on Indian soil.