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Until the end of the Indian tour of Pakistan, we will be running a daily Paper Round of what newspapers in India and Pakistan, and from around the world, are saying about this series. This is what the media had to report today:

Sourav Ganguly: was surrounded by security men and sniffer dogs when he drank his tea© AFP

Security issues have dominated the build-up to this series, and now the Khaleej Times reports on the plight of the players on tour. The report says, “Ganguly came to [a] coffee bar for a round of tea last evening but nobody was willing to serve him. An astonished Ganguly kept requesting the waiters but no one was obliging. The waiters were not rude – they were only acting under the instructions not to serve anything to any Indian player till somebody has tasted it first and declared it safe. Ganguly was bemused and requested a journalist to help him get the tea. After a bit of cajoling, and [the] voice of reason, the journalist himself was allowed to first go to the kitchenette of hotel Pearl Continent in Lahore, taste the tea, and then declare it safe for the Indian captain.”There is also a vivid description of what was going on around Ganguly as he drank his tea. “It was an amusing sight to see Ganguly have his cup of tea with security men – and their sniffer dogs – gawking at him as if he was a UFO.”And this tight scrutiny was not limited to just food and drink. “So tight is the security that even envelopes dropped in the names of players at the hotel are first checked by top bomb-disposal experts to ensure none of it is a paper-bomb. Rahul Dravid immediately sought out the business centre of the hotel, and spent the next two hours on the Internet.”* * *In a column in Rediff.com, Javagal Srinath looks at the psychological aspect of the series. “I am afraid that verbal abuse will be rampant from the Pakistan camp, as their coach Javed Miandad has already initiated the psychological warfare … A little exchange of words is always good to give a boost to the challenging spirit of the game. But indecent personal remarks and vulgar gestures will not augur well for the so-called friendship series.”Srinath singled out a few players in the Pakistan team and remarked on their mental make-up. “Barring the incident in Toronto, where current Pakistani skipper Inzamam-ul-Haq strode into the crowd, taking the law (read bat) in his own hands, his behaviour as a cricketer has always remained exemplary. A great timer of the ball, Inzy has always been a cool customer – be it in victory or defeat.”However, Srinath’s views differ when it comes to a few other players. “The rest of the Pakistani players cannot be put on the same pedestal. Behind the stumps, Moin Khan could be the real culprit. Wicketkeepers can be a menace to the game if they don’t conduct themselves properly. The stumper’s proximity to the batsmen makes it is easier to exchange words.”He added, “There is Shoaib Akhtar, [who] has learnt his lessons from the World Cup encounter. His arrogant remarks only made our batsmen more determined to treat him disdainfully. Although Shoaib is careful with his words this time, the truth remains that he can’t really promise his own good conduct. The game is such a leveller that nobody can get away with a show of arrogance. Even the real exponents of the game dread making such conceited statements for fear of the curse of the game, which could be severe.”* * *In a syndicated column in Mid Day, Rashid Latif has branded Inzamam-ul-Haq as a captain without any dynamism. “He is a routine leader, who makes changes by rota. It is Moin Khan behind the stumps who has brains and actually effects changes. Inzamam, also, is in very poor form, he has scored only 100 runs or thereabout in his last five innings. He just cannot afford a slip-up.”Latif insisted that there was a huge chunk of pressure on Sourav Ganguly as well. “He [Ganguly] has scored only eight runs in his last four innings. If he does not do well in Pakistan, he could lose his captaincy. This series is being held after 15 years — both captains can’t afford a flop show.”There is also a mention of the batting abilities of both players and a specific citing of Inzamam’s running between the wickets. “When on song, though, both are world-class batsmen. Ganguly will be helped by the lack of bounce on our pitches. Inzamam, if he gets past the first 10-15 minutes, will be difficult to stop. In the initial moments, he is not sure of his movements. Steve Waugh always used to have a short cover for him for those spooned drives. His running between the wickets is diabolical but once he is set he does not rely on it, he hits fours and sixes only.”* * *Shoaib Akhtar has said that he is looking forward to enjoying the pressure put upon him by the millions of fans. In a column which appeared in The Times of India, he said, “Playing our neighbors in front of a home crowd is going to be an interesting and challenging experience. Right now I am keeping calm so that I can enjoy the pressure on Saturday.”Shoaib hopes that this historic series wont be trivialised into a battle between himself and Sachin Tendulkar. “I am sure Sachin would agree that such an approach would be trivialising a game between two good sides.”

Almost as big a prize as winning the last game of the National Bank Series with New Zealand in Hamilton tomorrow will be the two weeks break awaiting India when they return home.A win would mean India had brought the series up to a 4-3 loss, but with the last three wins in succession.Captain Sourav Ganguly said India needed to win the game because of the value to be had from going into the World Cup with three wins under the belt.But just as attractive was the thought of two weeks off after 15 months of action and the break would be welcomed by the side.Ganguly wouldn’t look at success as a moral victory because he said he had never believed in moral victories, winning was the thing.He did say the entire series had been closer than the actual results showed.There had been some lessons for the Indian side after the dramatic collapse which almost saw them lose the game in Auckland, before getting home by one wicket.Ganguly said he had avoided talking too much about what had happened because it was not something the side had struck in 16 months.”There was a bit of panic but I didn’t want to raise the issue. We just took it too easy,” he said.Ganguly said the series had been a hard, mentally more than physcially.Players hadn’t spent enough time in the middle to be physically spent. As far as his own form was concerned he said he was hitting the ball well during the best opening stand of the series in Auckland when he and Virender Sehwag added 70 for the first wicket.”I should have carried on because I had got in,” he said.However, he was confident it would not be too long before he would be back in form.

Cricket returns to the controversial Rangiri Dambulla International Cricket Stadium when Sri Lanka ‘A’ take on Pakistan ‘A’ in the first of three four-day unofficial ‘Tests’ starting on Wednesday.The stadium, built at an estimated cost of around Rs. 300 million, but now running close to the Rs. 500 million mark, is presently under intense scrutiny due to alleged financial mismanagement.The Dambulla has hosted only two one-day limited-over games previously – both played early this year. One was a practice game including past and present Sri Lanka cricketers to inaugurate the ground, and the other, the first One-Day International between Sri Lanka and England played here on March 23.The pitch was sluggish and England struggled against the off-spin ofMuttiah Muralitharan who took four wickets for 29 runs to dismiss them for 143 well inside the 50 overs. Sri Lanka begun well, racing to 50 for one by the tenth over, but lost three wickets for eight runs within the space of 32 balls.A fifth wicket partnership of 70 between Marvan Atapattu and Russel Arnold saw them through by five wickets with almost ten overs to spare. Graham Thorpe, making his debut as England captain, scored the only half-century of the match – a combative 62 not out off 107 balls.A lot of water has flown under the bridge since that inaugural international match, and the once highly praised stadium, has suddenly become something of a ‘social pariah’ when the Sports Minister took it upon himself to replace the elected Cricket Board officials with an interim committee to administer the game.How the Dambulla pitch will behave over four days is a matter of conjecture as no match of such a long duration has been played on it to date.It was a wise move on the part of the Cricket Board’s interim committee to shift the match from the NCC to Dambulla because of the bad weather being experienced in Colombo at present. Although Dambulla was chosen as a cricket venue to prevent the game from the vagaries of the weather, there is no guarantee that it will be free of it.It rained here all Monday, and although there were threatening dark clouds hovering around the ground Tuesday, a stiff breeze kept the rains at bay allowing the two sides to practice.The Cricket Board’s chief curator Anurudda Polonowita who is handling the preparations of the ground here said the pitch would have more life than the one used for the One-Day International against England.On paper, Pakistan ‘A’ look the more experienced side than their Sri Lankan counterparts with as many as seven of the 15 players having appeared in Test cricket and three others in one-day internationals.Skipper Hasan Raza, Imran Farhat, Qaiser Abbas, Misbah-ul-Haq, Humayun Farhat, Danish Kaneria, and Irfan Fazil have all played at the highest level, and Shabbir Ahmed, Yasir Arafat and Kashif Raza in the shorter game.Comparatively, Sri Lanka ‘A’ have only Kumar Sangakkara and Ruchira Perera with Test experience, and skipper Thilan Samaraweera, Chimera Silva and Akalanka Ganegama who have appeared in one-day internationals, even though the original squad invited for training consists of many experienced cricketers.Although winning is part of the exercise, the most important aspect of these tours is to unearth new talent and feed them to the senior national side. In that aspect, Pakistan coach/manager Mudassar Nazar was more to the point when he said that he would be happy if by the end of the tour, he can pick four to five players who are ready to play at the highest level.Sri Lanka won the last ‘A’ series played at home defeating Zimbabwe by 2-0 (1 drawn) in the three unofficial ‘Test’ matches. They were led on that occasion by Samaraweera who played a prominent role as an all-rounder scoring an unbeaten century at Galle and following it up with a match haul of nine wickets at Matara to seal the two wins.The teams:
Sri Lanka ‘A’ (from):Thilan Samaraweera (captain),Dhammika Sudarshana, Ian Daniel, Kumar Sangakkara, Michael van Dort, Chimera Silva, Jeevantha Kulatunga, Sajeewa Weerakoon, Chandana Samarasinghe, Ruchira Perera, Akalanka Ganegama, Dinusha Fernando, Upekha Fernando, Gayan Wijekoon, Muthumudalige Pushpakumara.
Pakistan ‘A’ (from): Hasan Raza (captain), Imran Farhat, Taufeeq Umar, Salman Butt, Faisal Naved, Qaiser Abbas, Misbah-ul-Haq, Humayun Farhat, Shabbir Ahmed, Najaf Shah, Danish Kaneria, Azam Hussain, Irfan Fazil, Yasir Arafat, Kashif Raza.
Umpires: Gamini Silva and Ranmor Martinesz, Match Referee: Don Anurasiri.

According to a report from Italian news outlet Gazzetta dello Sport (via Sport Witness), Tottenham Hotspur are considering a club-record deal to sign Napoli striker Victor Osimhen.

The Lowdown: Big interest

Spurs aren’t the only side believed to be keen on the 23-year-old with Newcastle United, Manchester United and Arsenal all linked to the ace.

However, with Kane once again being touted with a possible switch to Manchester City, the Lilywhites could be the most desperate of the lot in the need for a centre-forward signing.

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This most recent update would suggest that Nigeria international Osimhen is a leading candidate to fill the void if Kane does indeed depart in search of big trophies.

The Latest: Breaking the bank

According to the Italian source (via SW), Tottenham are among the clubs making ‘evaluations’ regarding the Napoli man ahead of the summer transfer window.

Furthermore, the report states that any move for the 18 times-capped Nigeria star would cost ‘around €100million’ (£83million), which would shatter Spurs’ current £54million record expenditure for Tanguy Ndombele (Transfermarkt).

The outlet believes Daniel Levy and Co. would have that sort of cash to splash if Kane were to leave.

The verdict: Conte is a fan

Boasting 63 goals and 17 assists in 145 career outings across spells with VFL Wolfsburg, LOSC Lille and RSC Charleroi, it’s clear to see why Tottenham would be interested in the Nigerian striker.

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So far this season Osimhen, who was recently described as ‘unplayable’ by football writer Zach Lowy, has scored 15 times and registered four assists in 25 outings across all competitions. He has proven his quality against Premier League opposition too, scoring both goals in a 2-2 draw at Leicester City.

Given the need for an attacking addition with or without Kane beyond this summer, it’s little wonder that Conte would allegedly personally approve of a move for the Napoli frontman.

In other news: ‘I doubt…’ – Pundit claims Tottenham ace may have played final game for the club, find out more here

Hardly a week after the Indian Premier League (IPL) concludes on June 1, India, Pakistan and Bangladesh square off in a short tri-series in Bangladesh beginning June 8. Each team plays the other once, with the final on June 14. All matches will be played at the Sher-e-Bangla Stadium in Mirpur. No practice matches have been scheduled for the visiting teams.The tri-series will serve as a warm-up for the Asia Cup in Pakistan which commences on June 24. The series is an add-on to India’s punishing schedule, which includes a three-Test and five ODI tour to Sri Lanka after the Asia Cup concludes on July 6.Bangladesh last hosted a tri-series featuring the same teams in early 1998. India edged out Pakistan in a thriller in the best-of-three finals at the Bangabandhu National Stadium in Dhaka.ScheduleJune 8 – Bangladesh v Pakistan (Mirpur)
June 10 – India v Pakistan (Mirpur)
June 12 – Bangladesh v India (Mirpur)
June 14 – Final (Mirpur)
June 15 – Reserve day

Jamaican police are insisting that Bob Woolmer was murdered amid reports that Pakistani investigators have suggested otherwise due to lack of conclusive evidence. Karl Angell, director of communication for the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF), said that the investigation was based on credible evidence.”The pathologist did an autopsy. He said to us in a written report that the man died from asphyxiation occasioned by manual strangulation, based on that our investigation proceeded but we have always said that the investigation is an open investigation and all angles are being looked at,” Angell told .Mir Zubair Mahmood, one of the two investigators sent by the Pakistani government to assist with the police probe in Jamaica, told reporters that there is no evidence to suggest that the Pakistan coach was murdered. However, according to Angell, Mahmood denied speaking to any reporters with such claims.”Mahmood has indicated to us that a report was submitted to his boss that he had no discussion with any journalists or with anybody else regarding the report,” confirmed Angell. “In private conversation with the Constabulary Force, Mahmood said that he is pleased with the way the investigation was going and he made no such deductions.”The complete report from the pathology and toxicology results is being analysed with the help of the Scotland Yard and are yet to be released.

Richie Richardson: ‘You’ve got to think about the future. You’ve got to invest in younger players and give them a chance’ © Getty Images

Richie Richardson, the former West Indies captain, says he disagrees with Brian Lara’s appointment to the job for a third time and would prefer to see Ramnaresh Sarwan given the job.Speaking to the , Richardson, who led West Indies between 1992 and 1996 when Lara was at the start of his career, said the current vice-captain would have made a better option. “If you’re investing in the future and you’re thinking beyond World Cup, you would have given it [captaincy] to a younger player,” he said. “I thought that Sarwan would have got it [captaincy]…I don’t see the point of having him as vice-captain if you’re not going to give him the job at some stage. But at the end of the day, whoever is given the job, we’ve got to support the team.”Richardson said that Lara’s appointment was not a solution to West Indies’ problems. “I have no problem with Brian Lara as captain but he’s coming to the end of his career,” he said. “West Indies cricket is at the bottom and looking to come up. You’ve got to think about the future. You’ve got to invest in younger players and give them a chance. We seem to want to get instant results. We’ve got to forget about that. We’ve got to realise that our cricket is in disarray. We need to create a solid foundation and build from that.”Lara, who turns 37 on Tuesday, previously led the side between 1998 and 2000 and again between 2003 and 2005, but enjoyed modest results with ten wins and 23 defeats in 40 Tests.Sarwan, the vice-captain for the better part of the last three years, was believed to be a contender for the captaincy, as was Sylvester Joseph, who successfully led the A team against England recently. “He [Joseph] is highly respected as a captain throughout the region. I would have loved to see Joseph doing it, but he’s not in the team and it’s just hard to bring somebody from outside just as captain,” Richardson said. “It would have been nice if he was scoring a lot more runs and in the team. Naturally he’d be the one.”The West Indies host Zimbabwe for a seven-ODI series starting in Antigua today.

India 150 for 6 (Ganguly 45) trail Australia 474 (Clarke 151, Gilchrist 104, Harbhajan 5 for 146) by 324 runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

A century on debut for Michael Clarke – and many more to come, surely© Getty Images

Two sensational hundreds, two sensational balls, and a thoroughly ruthless and professional performance helped Australia assume control on the second day of the first Test at Bangalore. With their miracle workers gone, India found themselves staring at defeat, 324 runs behind with only four wickets left.It was a perfect day for Australia. Adam Gilchrist andMichael Clarke dominated the first three hours withsparkling footwork and spanking drives, and then theirbowlers coaxed life out of what had seemed afeatherbed pitch till then. Glenn McGrath showed whatAustralia had missed during their home series lastyear by winkling out two wickets in his first twoovers and Michael Kasprowicz, who won Australia aTest at this ground in 1998, showed how to bowl on aslow pitch by striking two vital blows after India hadsteadied themselves through an enterprisingpartnership between Virender Sehwag and SouravGanguly. Shane Warne then capped a great day for Australia by claiming VVS Laxman with a ball he willcherish: it drifted in, pitched on a perfect spot onleg, and beat Laxman’s prodding bat with sharp turn tohit off.The hope for India lay in an early breakthrough – but itdidn’t come until the last ball before lunch. In thosetwo hours, Gilchrist left the Indian spinners cluelessas he struck a fine balance between caution andattack. He scored quickly, but differently to his usual approach, choosingto go down the ground instead of behind square ashas been his custom. He carted bothAnil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh straight for sixes intheir first overs, and then opened up the field and pushedaround for easy runs. All through the morning, theIndians posted two men on the fence for thesweep, but unlike Matthew Hayden yesterday, Gilchrist didn’tfall for the trap.His first sweep didn’t come until he had 87, a controlled four tolong leg, and his century came up a couple of overslater, with two successive cover-driven fours thatbeat long-off. It wasn’t his usual swashbucklingstyle, but the hundred still came off 103 balls and theIndians just didn’t know where to bowl to him. He fellon the stroke of lunch, to a brilliant return catch,as Harbhajan dived full-length to his right to latchon to one that skimmed inches above the ground (423 for 5).

Shane Warne finally nails his nemesis, VVS Laxman, as Australia take charge at Bangalore© Getty Images

Gilchrist also played a crucial part in guiding Clarketo his hundred. With three figures in sight, Clarke wasa bundle of nerves early in the day. His first two fourscame through edges, before he survived a hugeleg-before shout against Kumble. With a seven-twofield against bowling that was directed outside off, Clarke swished and missed, changed his gloves,and made frequent forays to square leg between balls.But as soon as he traded his helmet for a baggy greencap, Clarke got to the landmark with a clipped two tomidwicket, becoming the first Australian since GregBlewett in 1994-95 to score a century on Test debut. Thenext 50 runs were made in unfettered style, and hesprayed the bowling to all parts as India’s slowbowlers, especially Kumble, were found wanting.Just after lunch, Kumble was thumped for two fours anda six over midwicket, as Clarke moved his feet withballet-like precision.He fell immediately after reaching his 150 as anattempted cover-drive off Zaheer Khan took the edge andwent straight through to Parthiv Patel (471 for 8). Harbhajan mopped up the tail in next to notime to finish with an expensive five-for – but by then, India were already requiring a mighty turnaround.McGrath struck with the fourth ball of the Indianinnings as Aakash Chopra shouldered arms to one thatdarted back in. Replays showed that the ball might havegone just over the stumps (0 for 1). But the body blowcame in McGrath’s second over as a peach of delivery,pitched outside off and cutting in, sneaked throughRahul Dravid’s defence to crash into the stumps (4 for 2). McGrath had struck twice in six balls, and Dravidleft to a stunned silence at his home ground.Ganguly scythed through that tension with two gorgeouscover-drives that had everyone gasping. He didn’t hold backwhen the ball was dug in short, and rolled his wristswhile executing the pull. At the other end, Sehwag letrip as the cover fielders chased some lashed drives.After bowling one over before tea, Warne returned in the 20th over of the innings. Sehwag immediately made room for himself and the ball teasedthe fielder at short extra cover before escaping thegrasp of the one at mid-off.But the introduction of Kasprowicz provided Australia with the double break. Gangulywas cut in half in Kasprowicz’s first over, as heintelligently varied the pace of delivery as well asthe extent of seam movement. Sehwag chipped a straightone uppishly to midwicket, where Justin Langer leapt up and latched on (87 for 3). And then Ganguly was done in by abrute of a cutter, and only managed to edge it toGilchrist (98 for 4).Until he received that Warne Special Delivery, Laxman looked inregal touch, with a couple of sublime flicks of McGrath andKasprowicz. It took a ripping, accurate legbreak toget him out and India finished the day seeking amiracle of Kolkata ’01 proportions.

Chris Hartley has some big gloves to fill when he makes his domestic one-day debut for Queensland in the ING Cup final against the Western Warriors at the Gabba on Sunday. Hartley replaced Wade Seccombe, who was included in the Australian Test squad, in the only change to the Queensland team for the ING Cup decider.However in his first class debut earlier this season, Hartley showed that he is not daunted by the big occasions. He became the first Queenslander since Matthew Hayden to score a century on debut when he scored 103 against South Australia. He went on to represent the Prime Minister’s XI against India in January.Seccombe has been a lucky charm for Queensland in the past decade, playing in the 1995-96 and 1997-98 Mercantile Mutual Cup victories. He was also an integral part of Queensland’s 1994-95 and 1996-97 Sheffield Shield wins and the hat-trick of Pura Cup titles between 1999-00 and 2001-02. Queensland have won six of their past seven ING Cup matches this season, including the last five on the trot. Their only loss in that sequence was against Western Australia at Perth.A final decision on whether Jimmy Maher, who suffered a hamstring injury, returns to the team is not expected to be made until Saturday. Maher scored a massive 187 when the Bulls amassed a record 4 for 405 against Western Australia in Brisbane earlier this month.Squad 1 Jimmy Maher (capt), 2 Stuart Law, 3 Martin Love, 4 Clinton Perren, 5 Craig Philipson, 6 James Hopes, 7 Chris Hartley, 8 Andy Bichel,9 Ashley Noffke, 10 Nathan Hauritz, 11 Scott Brant, 12 Chris Simpson

A battling, unbeaten innings of 85 from Craig White could not prevent England from being asked to follow on in the fourth Ashes Test at Melbourne. White’s innings salvaged a measure of pride for England after the tourists had been reduced to 118 for six in reply to Australia’s 551. England were eventually bowled out for 270, and an unbeaten 55 from Michael Vaughan took them to 111 for two in their second innings, still 170 behind.England, 97 for three overnight, were soon in dire straits. Nightwatchman Richard Dawson departed in the fourth over of the day, edging a turning delivery from Stuart MacGill to Martin Love at slip. Robert Key fell six balls later, lbw to an inswinging Brett Lee yorker.Nasser Hussain was MacGill’s second victim, brilliantly caught by a diving Matthew Hayden at short leg. The England captain got an inside edge on to his pad as he tried to sweep, and the ball ballooned up off his forearm.White then joined John Crawley to forge a 54-run partnership that initiated England’s fightback. It ended when Jason Gillespie was brought back, inducing a skyer from Crawley as he tried to pull. Justin Langer ran in from mid-on to take the catch.James Foster joined White, and another 55 runs were added in 23 overs before the next wicket fell. Steve Waugh eventually brought himself on, and ended Foster’s valiant effort by trapping the Essex wicket-keeper lbw for 19. Andrew Caddick and Steve Harmison were both dismissed by Gillespie with the new ball.Gillespie ended with four for 25, and White was left unbeaten after hitting MacGill for three sixes and scoring nine other boundaries in a stay of more than three hours.Sent in again by Waugh, Vaughan and Marcus Trescothick continued to attack before an umpiring howler by Russell Tiffin triggered Trescothick, adjudged lbw to a ball which hit him outside the line. Mark Butcher also fell before the close, playing firm-footed at Gillespie and edging to Love at slip.Vaughan and Hussain saw out the nine overs remaining, as Vaughan took his tally of Test runs scored this year to 1,397, overtaking Dennis Amiss’s England record.