Laxman received this award for his swash buckling memorable innings of 281 against Australia in Kolkata in 2001. India won that Test and went on the win the series 2-1 at Chennai.

Laxman has scored 2190 runs in 35 Tests with an average of 41.32 with three hundreds. He has also played 39 one-day international and scored 873 runs at an average of 24.94. He has also scored a century. He made his debut in 1996-97 against South Africa at Ahmedabad.

The 1985 team led by Sunil Gavaskar won the Best Team of the Century Award, beating Kapil Dev’s World Cup-winning squad of 1983.

In his press conference, Gavaskar said Kapil Dev’s team was a better than the award-winning team.

Former batsman Gundappa Viswanath received the Spirit of the Cricket Award.

Viswanath was one of the most gifted batsman and in the 70s, along with Sunil Gavaskar, was the mainstay of the Indian team. Popularly known as Vishy, he made his debut in 1969-70 and scored a century. He is remembered for his match-winning 97 against the West Indies in then Madras.

Endowed with a wonderful sense of fair play, he took over the mantle from Vijay Merchant and Vijay Manjrekar.

Vishy received this award for his fair play in the 1980-81 Golden Jubilee Test against England in Mumbai. In the match Viswanath recalled England wicketkeeper Bob Taylor who was given out. India lost the match but Viswanath’s fair play was praised by all.

This was Viswanath’s first last Test as a captain.

He scored 6086 runs in 91 Tests with an average of 41.93. His highest score was 222 that he made against England at Chennai in 1981-82. He scored 14 centuries in 155 innings.

Former leg spinner Bhagwat Chandrasekar won the Best Bowling Performance Award.

He received the award for his memorable performance against Australia in 1978. In that Test he claimed six wickets for 52 runs.

Chandrasekhar was a match-winning bowler even on foreign soil. In 1971 he stunned England at the Oval, taking six wickets for 38 runs. He was instrumental in India recording their first series win in England.

Most batsmen failed to figure him out. He could move his polio-stricken right hand through 360 degree. His leg break and reverse googly flummoxed most batsmen. He claimed 242 wickets in 58 Tests.

Mushtaq Ali received the Special Achievement Award. He scored 612 runs in 11 Test at an average of 32.21, with two centuries. He scored 112 runs against England in 1936 at Old Trafford.

He also claimed three wickets at an average of 67.33.

Mushtaq Ali, the flamboyant opener in 1930s and 40s was known for his hard-hitting batting. His flamboyance would even stun his opening partner Vijay Merchant.

Overwhelmed by the occasion, Kapil with tears in his eyes, said, “This trophy means a lot to me...I will keep it for the rest of my life.’’

“We cricketers are entertainers...and I hope you have enjoyed my game and wish that the next generation of cricketers will give their heart out for the country,’’ the allrounder said.

Kapil also thanked Bishen Singh Bedi, Gavaskar and Gundappa Viswanath for their support in his 17-year international career.

Kapil’s most famous moment and that of Indian cricket was the 1983 World Cup victory. The former Indian captain was one of the greatest all-rounders and held the record for the most Test wickets till Courtney Walsh bettered it two years ago.

Kapil who was accused of being involved in the match-fixing scandal was later cleared of all the charges.

Earlier, Tendulkar bagged the popular choice award for the Indian Cricketer of the century.

Receiving the award, Sachin said, “I am extremely happy to get the award.’’

Tendulkar, a man with records galore, has made 29 Test centuries along with Sir Donald Bradman and the most one-day hundreds (33), making it a total of 61 international centuries.

He is also the first cricketer to make more than 10,000 one-day runs. Perhaps the only thing missing from his biodata is that he has never been part of an overseas Test series win outside the subcontinent

Richards was all praise for Kapil Dev while presenting him the award. The explosive West Indian batsman said he was “shaking in his boots to give the award to Kapil Dev”.

Richards said Kapil Dev was one of the greatest all- rounders ever and the award was a fitting reply to those who had tried to sully his name in the match-fixing controversy.

“When the match-fixing broke out and Kapil’s name was dragged into it, I said he could never be involved in such things. Whenever he went out on the field, he wore his heart and passion on his sleeves.

“If he still did it (indulged in match-fixing activities) he must have been a great actor,” Richards said.

Kapil Dev himself was extremely humble in his moment of glory and attributed all his success to the guidance from the senior players.

Leg-spinner Anil Kumble and off-spinner Harbhajan Singh are both proven match-winners but if India’s recent policy is any indication, only one of them could play in the Lord’s Test.

With foreign pitches not very conducive to their style of bowling, and the seam bowlers doing reasonably well, Kumble and Harbhajan had to compete against each other in the Test series in the West Indies - a trend which has continued on this tour with the two of them featuring together in just two of the seven matches of the just concluded tri-nation one-day series.

Skipper Saurav Ganguly conceded it was tough choice to make between the two spinners but indicated it was something the Indian team would have to live with in away series.

"Both are world class spinners. It comes down to who is bowling well and is in better form," Ganguly said.

On conventional wisdom, it would be a luxury to go into the first Test with both Kumble and Harbhajan Singh. Traditionially, Indian spinners have not done too well in England even while touring in the second half of the summer when the pitches are drier and the sun is hot.

When the Indians last came here in 1996, Kumble had taken five wickets and Venkatapathy Raju just one in a three-match Test series.

In 1990, again for a three-Test series, Kumble bagged just three wickets but leg-spinner Narendra Hirwani scalped nine albeit at a high average of 65.11. Ravi Shastri claimed only two wickets at an average of 170.50.

In living memory, only the spinners on the 1971 tour had done well. S Venkatraghavan and B S Chandrashekhar picked 13 wickets each while Bishan Singh Bedi claimed 11 victims.

Harbhajan Singh is yet to play in a Test in England while Kumble has taken eight wickets at an unacceptable average of 63.00.

Interestingly, the English players feel its a good idea to play both the spinners in the Lord’s Test.

"The wicket at Lord’s has supported spinners lately. It is usually white and dry and playing two spinners is not a bad idea for India," said former captain Michael Atherton.

Similarly, Mark Butcher, one of England’s frontline batsmen, said Kumble and Harbhajan Singh are too good bowlers to be left out.

"They are really competitive and aggressive. You know they are after you," Butcher said.

"Say, you have had a decent opening stand when they come on. They will try to get a few maidens, bowling fairly tight. When they make a breakthrough, everything changes.

"They want to knock you over as soon as you get to the wicket so they crowd the bat at short leg and slip and the tricks start coming out," he said.

Butcher said the fact that they had two different styles also added to their effectiveness.

"Harbhajan has orthodox spin with very good variations of pace, arm ball, over spin going straight through with varying degrees of flight.

"Kumble is very different. Completely unorthodox. He’s looking to get the right hander with the ball that runs on and goes straight. Very good length always, he loves to bowl dot balls.

The off-spin wizard finished with five for 59 as Sri Lanka crushed the tourists by an innings and 196 runs for their biggest victory in 126 Tests, the previous margin being an innings and 166 runs against Zimbabwe here in December 2001.

Bangladesh were shot out for 184 after conceding a lead of 380 on the third day at the Saravanamuttu Stadium to suffer their 11th defeat — the eighth by an innings — in 12 matches since gaining Test status in 2000.

This was Sri Lanka’s ninth successive Test win at home since September 2001, including 3-0 sweeps over the West Indies and Zimbabwe.

Sri Lanka owed their success to 30-year-old Muralitharan, who never allowed the inexperienced Bangladeshi batsmen to settle down with his turn and bounce during his 25 disciplined overs.

The Sri Lankan spinner, the fifth-highest wicket-taker in the world with 430, took 10 Tests fewer than New Zealand paceman Richard Hadlee to bag 36 hauls of five or more wickets in an innings. The New Zealander achieved the feat in 86 Tests and Muralitharan in 76.

The champion spinner finished with 10 for 98 for his 11th haul of 10 or more wickets in a Test, improving upon his own world record.

He is now behind West Indian Courtney Walsh (519), Australian Shane Warne (450), Indian Kapil Dev (434) and Hadlee (431) on the all-time wicket-takers’ list.

Muralitharan reduced the match to a no-contest in the morning session itself when he grabbed three quick wickets to send the tourists tottering at 124 for five at lunch.

He was brilliantly supported by close-in fielders, with Kumar Sangakkara taking four catches at silly-point.

Opener Al Sahariar was the lone batsman to defy the Sri Lankan spinner in yet another feeble Bangladeshi batting performance, top-scoring with 67 for his third Test half- century in 10 matches.

Sahariar put on 77 for the third wicket with Habibul Bashar (34).

Muralitharan broke the stand when he bowled Bashar with one that turned in sharply after pitching outside the off-stump.

He then had Akram Khan (five) and Aminul Islam (nought) caught by Sangakkara at silly point off consecutive deliveries.

Pacemen Dilhara Fernando and Sujeeva de Silva denied Bangladesh a solid start for the second time in the match, sharing two wickets in the opening five overs.

Left-arm seamer Sujeeva struck with his second ball, trapping Hannan Sarkar leg-before for one.

Fernando removed Ehsanul Haque in his third over, having him caught by Charitha Buddhika in the covers for five.

The second and final Test will start here on Sunday, followed by three one-day internationals on Aug 4, 5 and 7.

Scoreboard

Bangladesh (1st innings): 161

Sri Lanka (1st innings): 541-9 decl

Bangladesh (2nd innings):

H Sarkar lbw b Sujeeva 1

A Sahariar c Sangakkara b Murali 67

Haque c Buddhika b Fernando 5

H Bashar b Murali 34

“We have received Kenya’s confirmation for next month’s tri-series after New Zealand declined our invitation last week. We will announce the programme later this week,” Pakistan Cricket Board director Chishty Mujahid said.

“We will inform the Australian Cricket Board about the development. As for the schedule, we only need to replace New Zealand with Kenya,” he said.

Australia have already confirmed their participation in the August 27 to September 7 event and have announced their squad after the tournament was switched from violence-wracked Pakistan to Nairobi, Kenya.

Mujahid said Pakistan expected alternative cricketing dates with New Zealand after the Black Caps pulled out of the limited-overs event.

“We will definitely take up New Zealand’s refusal with New Zealand Cricket in future discussions and hope they will compensate us with some cricket next year,” he said.

The tri-series was originally planned for the southern Pakistani port city of Karachi, which saw two bomb blasts in May and June that left 26 people dead.

New Zealand had to cut short a tour of Pakistan after the first suicide blast outside their hotel on the morning of the Karachi Test on May 8.

Australian cricket chiefs had expressed concern about their Players’ safety in Pakistan and are still debating whether to proceed with a Test tour in October, with talk that it may be switched to a neutral venue. But Mujahid said Pakistan were still keen to host Australia in October.

The Games will be one of the biggest international events since September 11 but Assistant Chief Constable Meredydd Hughes is confident his team of specialist officers will be able to counter any threat of international or domestic attacks.

“The biggest challenge for us is to marry security with the ethos of the Commonwealth Games, which are billed as the friendly games,” Hughes told Reuters yesterday.

“We’ve built our security plan in a different way. It’s more discreet, there is a lot of activity going on under the surface.”

Six years ago a massive Irish Republican Army truck bomb ripped the heart out of the city centre, injuring more than 200 people.

It paved the way for a billion pounds ($1.6 billion) regeneration project but left deep scars on the city and its residents.

Hughes said that while there had been no specific international or domestic threat to the Games, officers were aware it was a potential target.

The Games are expected to draw one million visitors to the northern English city, including Queen Elizabeth and British Prime Minister Tony Blair, as well as many foreign dignitaries.

“Manchester police have had that experience in 1996 and it is an experience we don’t want to repeat. Therefore we have planned our best efforts to prevent it recurring,” said Hughes.

“We’ve brought in a lot of specialist services. We’ve got specialist search teams and support from 29 police forces here.”

Those specialists include firearms and explosives teams, underwater searchers, aerial search teams and criminal intelligence officers.

Every inch of the city, from its sewers to its waterways, streets, alleys and public buildings, is being scoured for any sign of weapons, explosives or any other potential threat, Hughes said.

Sniffer dogs trained to seek out explosives are being used across all the Games venues, including the village housing the 6,000 athletes and the city’s hotels.

While Britain’s police force is famously unarmed, a significant number of officers will carry firearms, Hughes said.

But not all the police’s weapons were high-tech.

Hughes said the city’s best defence was its army of “blunt northerners” in the shape of the more than 1,000 police officers who would be on duty each day.

Hughes said that despite the intensive preparations, police wanted to take a low-profile role at the Games and make it as easy as possible for people to enjoy themselves.

“We’ve done everything in our power to plan for a safe Games. There is no information to suggest anything to the contrary,” Hughes said.

“We know what we have to do and we understand how we are going to do it.” Reuters 

Though most of the Indian shooters were far from impressive in the just-concluded World Championships in Lahti (Finland), they have traditionally done well in the Commonwealth Games and it remains to be seen if they can keep their reputation intact this time around.

The Indian shooters had returned with a decent haul of four gold, two silver and one bronze medal from the last Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur in 1998 and would be keen to improve their medals tally in this edition of the Games.

The performance in Kuala Lumpur was creditable considering the fact that they could manage three gold, three silver and two bronze medals in the 1994 Commonwealth Games in Victoria. The shooters could bag just one silver and one bronze in 1982 and did marginally better in the next edition with one gold, one silver and three bronze medals. Ace pistol man Jaspal Rana will spearhead the Indian challenge while the highly talented young Abhinav Bindra, who has already made his presence felt in recent international events, would be another medal prospect in the competitions to be held at the National Shooting Centre in Bisley from July 27.

Rana’s form in the recent World Championship left much to be desired but the pistol king has the class and calibre to bounce back and keep himself in the reckoning.

The irrepressible Rana had clinched two gold medals in his favourite centre fire pistol event in the last Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur and bagged a silver in the air pistol event.

With a number of strong teams including Australia and Canada in the fray, Rana will no doubt find the going tough and can hardly afford to be complacent.

Seasoned shooters like Samaresh Jung, Anwer Sultan, Manavjit Singh, Bhanwar Lal Dhaka, Vivek Singh, A.P. Subbaiah and Mukesh Kumar have the desired experience to do well in international meets having been in the business for a long time. But they have to be a lot more consistent to make it to the medal podium.

In the women’s section, Anjali (Ved Pathak) Bhagwat and Kuheli Gangulee were the two main medal contenders though Sushma Rana had the potential of putting up a good display on her day.

The women shooters had secured a gold medal in the Kuala Lumpur Games with Roopa Unnikrishnan claiming the honour in the sports rifle event. But Unnikrishanan is not in the team now and it remains to be seen whether the women shooters could secure more yellow metals this time. India will take part in all the 28 shooting events for which 34 gold medals will be at stake. PTI

Australia headed the medals table at the last Games in Kuala Lumpur with 199, while England won 136 medals. The Australians have talked about winning more than 200 medals for these games, which run from July 25 until August 4.

But England chef-de-mission Anne Hogbin said on Monday the best the 433-strong England team could hope for was to close the gap on Australia.

“In KL (Kuala Lumpur) we won 136 medals and we are confident that we can improve on that in Manchester,” Hogbin said at a news conference yesterday. “But it would be unrealistic to beat Australia, but we certainly hope to narrow the gap on the overall medal table and to come out on top in some sports.”

“Recent competitions have shown that we are stronger than ever, so who knows on a good day we may have a few surprises.”

Hogbin said that England had aimed for an overall total of about 145 medals, though she was unsure of the targets individual sports had set with Sport England, which contributed more than £ 3.5 million ($ 5.52) to fund the elite athletes programme for the Games.

The England team was now beginning to feel the pressure of expectation from the local public, she said.

“We are the home team and everyone wants to do well. We want to do well,” she told Reuters.

“One never knows maybe the extra boost from the home crowd can lift someone who is coming fourth into a medal place.

“But, we are being realistic. We don’t want to make a statement that ‘we are going to whop the Aussies’ because it can come back and hit us in the face.”

Hogbin said the increased funding from the national lottery had boosted England’s performance hopes and the Games might be the best chance ever to close the gap on the Australians in a short space of time.

“It is the closest chance we have ever had to date and in the next four years we will narrow the gap further as more funding comes in.” Reuters