Yuvraj Singh is on standby and could play his first Test in England if Sourav Ganguly is diagnosed as still suffering from his back problem before the second Test starts tomorrow morning at the historic Trent Bridge ground.

The former Indian captain, with a record of 351 runs in four innings at Trent Bridge, is, otherwise, odds on to be retained. Indeed, barring injuries, both sides are expected to name unchanged XIs.

The BBC’s weather forecast for the match is mixed for Friday, dry or sunny on Saturday and Monday, but rainy on Sunday. The Weather Channel, on the other hand, predicts partly cloudy conditions on Friday and Saturday, showers on Sunday and Monday and scattered showers on Tuesday. Whichever, if either, proves to be correct, the Test will, it would appear, be affected by the elements in some parts.

Crucially, the inclement conditions have hampered outdoor practice — and therefore defeated acclimatisation — for both sides. The Indians needed it more. Both teams were, in fact, compelled to scurry to the national cricket academy at Loughborough, about 45 minutes from here, for indoor tuning-up — not the best alternative.

For Indian cricketers, this is probably turning out to be the most watery visit to England since 1946. All the three one-day internationals against South Africa at Belfast were curtailed, the match against Pakistan at Glasgow washed out and the first Test reduced to a draw, albeit fortuitously for India.

India’s track record at Trent Bridge is not as forgettable as at Lord’s. True, the Indians have never tasted success at the East Midlands ground, but barring 1959, they have not gone under either. On the last tour, in 2002, India’s batting crackled to life in the second innings at this centre. After this, the visitors beat England at Headingley, Leeds, to draw level in the series.

Trent Bridge has a reputation of providing excellent batting wickets. But an adjustment of the mower can easily present a grassier track; inherent in this, though, would be a double-edged sword.

England have been harking back to 2005, when after being, effectively, denied by rain at Old Trafford, Manchester, they got the better of Australia at Trent Bridge to go on to regain the Ashes. To resist this, the Indian batsmen will have to cope better with arerial movement than they did at Lord’s.

In this respect, runs from Rahul Dravid are essential, for this generally lends stability to the rest of the line-up. As for Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman, it would be surprising if they didn’t click sooner rather than later.

A high water table, which cannot be ruled out, especially with the river Trent flowing alongside the field, could again assist swing. This would mean that India’s quicker bowlers will have to match the curve and late deviation of James Anderson and Ryan Sidebottom to keep their side at par with the opposition.

PTI adds: Despite having dominated the first Test, host captain Michael Vaughan, however, refuses to relax.

"Friday is a completely new start and I'm sure the Indian batsmen will get better as the tour goes on," said Vaughan adding that tough work awaits his bowlers at Trent Bridge.

"When you're playing against world-class players they'll analyse their performance and go away and work very hard." Tremlett too agreed to his captain and gave due respect to the Indian batsmen.

"They are obviously great players. They didn't score many in the first Test. But it would be stupid to say they are losing their touch.

"I played in the Lions game and Sachin made a 100 and he looked class. He didn't get many in this game. He still looks a very good player," Tremlett said.

"Dravid is a great player. I got him out in the second innings, which was great for me. I don't think they are losing it. Conditions were quite hard for batting and the ball swung around. "

Teams (from):

India: Wasim Jaffer, Dinesh Karthik, Rahul Dravid (c), Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, VVS Laxman, Mahendra Singh Dhoni (wk), Anil Kumble, Zaheer Khan, Rudra Pratap Singh, S Sreesanth, Yuvraj Singh.

England: Andrew Strauss, Alastair Cook, Michael Vaughan (c), Kevin Pietersen, Paul Collingwood, Ian Bell, Matt Prior (wk), Chris Tremlett, Ryan Sidebottom, Monty Panesar, James Anderson, Stuart Broad.

Sydney, July 26
The Aussie duo of Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath have struck a deal with the Essel Group's ICL, breakaway league's Executive Board chairman Kapil Dev said.

It has been another high-profile scoop by the breakaway league after lapping up former West Indian skipper Brian Lara recently.

''They (Warne and McGrath) have signed contracts so that to me means that they have taken the deal,'' Kapil said.

''A few more young boys from Australia will be signed up. I can't give you their names, because contracts are still being negotiated.

Maybe they won't be superstars like Warne and McGrath, but they will still be stars,'' he was quoted as saying by 'The Australian'.

ICL plans a million-dollar prize money Twenty20 cricket league involving six teams representing six Indian cities.

Interestingly, the association marks the return of the three superstars all of whom had retired from the cricket.

Kapil, meanwhile, declined to comment the whether Warne would receive up to $ 2 million to play in the league for three years or for that matter West Indian star Brian Lara would be paid $ 500,000 a season.

Harare, July 26
India 'A' tightened the noose on the Zimbabwe select team and looked set to force a follow on after scoring 489 in their first essay and later reducing the hosts to 129 for four, a lead of 360 runs, at the close of second day's play at the Harare Sports Club.

Resuming on their overnight 331 for five, the Indians struggled initially only to cut loose after hosts skipper Prosper Utseya turned to his spinners.

Subramaniam Badrinath (62) and Piyush Chawla (58) joined four other compatriots to score a half centuries in the first innings.

Ed Rainsford struck three times after lunch, including that of Badrinath, all to catches by former Zimbabwe captain Tatenda Taibu.

India's last pair added to Zimbabwe's frustration as VRV Singh twice deposited Prosper Utseya over the media centre before Chris Mpofu finally ended the India innings.

The host team, virtually a full national side in all but name, started confidently with openers Hamilton Masakadza and Tino Mawoyo looking comfortable, and by tea they had reached 31 for no loss.

But, the Indians struck post tea and scalped four wickets.

Brief scores: India 'A' (1st Innings): 489 all out (Robin Uthappa 88; Parthiv Patel 67; Mohd. Kaif 63; Rohit Sharma 66; S Bandrinath 62; Piyush Chawla 58; Mpofu 3-90, Rainsford 3-82) Zimbabwe Select (1st innings): 129 for four (Tino Mawoyo 20; Hamilton Masakadza 38; Taitendra Taibu not out 25; Pankaj Singh 2 for 12). — UNI

Kolkata, July 26
Rubbishing the rumours of joining the Zee-backed Indian Cricket League (ICL), veteran sports administrator Jagmohan Dalmiya said he doesn't need the breakaway league to ''settle scores'' with the BCCI.

''I do not have to look at ICL to settle scores with the BCCI. To get on a parallel board and fight the BCCI is not my cup of tea,'' Dalmiya told Tehelka in Kolkata. He called the cases filed by the BCCI against him as witch-hunt and hinted he could return to the Indian board so as to get his name cleared.

''If a return to the BCCI is required to clear my name, I'll make a comeback,'' he said. ''The BCCI president's chair is not for the asking. I am not aiming for the president's chair. But if that is the route through which I have to silence the critics, I'll go for it.''

For his travails, he squarely blamed BCCI president Sharad Pawar, against whom he has filed a criminal case.

''I'll be happy to go where ever the courts direct me. I've gone through hell, sheer hell. It was like an insurgency. Without waiting the outcome of the verdict, they (Mr Pawar and the BCCI's present establishment) formed a committee.

Jagmohan Dalmiya's application against the BCCI and its CAO R S Shetty for allegedly filing false affidavit and misleading the court is likely to be moved before Calcutta High Court tomorrow.

''An affidavit filed through its Chief Administrative Officer, BCCI, has claimed that the amendments of the Rules of the BCCI made on September 29, 2000, were registered by the Registrar of Societies, Central Chennai on March 22, 2007,'' a source close to Dalmiya told UNI.

Arguments were also made by the counsels of the BCCI, its president Sharad Pawar, secretary Niranjan Shah, treasurer N Srinivasan, vice-presidents Shashank Manohar and Chirayu Amin relying upon the said affidavit of the Chief Administrative Officer that the amended Rules were registered, the source said.

''On an application made by Mr Dalmiya, the Registrar of Societies, Central Chennai, informed in writing on April 11 that the issue of condoning the delay of filing the Amended Rules in 2000 by the BCCI has been referred to the government and no condonation has been granted as yet,'' the source added.

The application had been filed by Dalmiya under Section 340 of the Cr PC providing that a false statement made on oath in a pending proceeding was a serious cognisable offence. — UNI

Kuala Lumpur, July 26
The Iraqi team are on an emotional rollercoaster after reaching their first Asian Cup final as it took a bloody toll back home where at least 50 celebrating fans were killed.

Iraq shocked the more fancied South Korea 4-3 in a penalty shootout after it was scoreless after extra time on Wednesday to put them on the brink of their greatest footballing achievement.

They had only got as far as the semi-finals in 1976 and lost in their last three consecutive quarter-finals at the Asian Cup, but now travel to Jakarta for an all-Arab final with Saudi Arabia on Sunday.

"Everyone is happy and we have reason to be happy because this victory brings us to the final and we deserved that," said Iraq's Brazilian coach Jorvan Vieira, who has been in charge for less than two months.

Goalkeeper Noor Sabri was Iraq's hero, making a crucial save in the penalty shootout to steer his side into the final, and he dedicated his team's fighting spirit to his beleaguered compatriots in his war-ravaged homeland.

Noor illustrated the grim personal cost his teammates have endured to play at the Asian Cup and how they are doing their bit in lifting spirits for those suffering in the Iraq civil conflict.

Iraqi players dream of playing in Europe and the big salaries of the continent's club professionals, away from the perils of their war-torn country where their talents go unrewarded, and their run to the final could open doors.

Reports have already linked Nashat Akram with English Premier League side Sunderland. — AFP

Stanford, July 26
Third seeds Sania Mirza and Shahar Peer survived a scare from Tatiana Poutchek and Anastasia Rodionova to advance to the doubles quarterfinals of the $600,000 Bank of West Classic tournament here.

The Indo-Israeli pair came through 6-1, 0-6, 11-9 in over an hour against the unseeded Belarussian-Russian duo at the WTA Tour hardcourt event on Wednesday.

Sania and Peer will now be up against the Uzbek-German team of Akgul Amanmuradova and Angalika Bachmann.

Sania, who is aiming for a second successive doubles title after her triumph in Cincinatti with Bethanie Mattek last week, and Peer failed to convert two breakpoints in the third set, which saw them being broken thrice.

Amman, July 26
National record holder Preeja Sreedharan fetched the first medal for India at the ongoing Asian Athletics Championship here, winning a silver in women’s 10,000m race.

Sreedharan (36 minutes, 4.54 seconds), however, clocked much below her record 33:19.71 effort in the Federation Cup in Kolkata in May this year and finished behind Kareema Saleh Jasmin of Bahrain (34:26.39) on the first day of the event.

North Korea’s Mi Gyong Kim was third with a timing of 38:29.90.

In men’s 1,500m race, Chatholi Hamza (3:49.11) was beaten to a podium finish by Qatar’s Abubaker Ali Kamal, who won the bronze with a timing of 3:47.22.

Hamza was also way off his season’s best mark of 3:40.19, which he clocked in the Bangkok leg of the Asian Grand Prix in January.

Hamza’s compatriot Sajeesh Joseph also ran well below his season’s best of 3:42.57 (Guwahati leg of Asian GP last month) to finish sixth with a timing of 3:53.89.

Saudi Arabia’s Otmman H Shaween won the race, clocking 3:46.85, while Sajad Moradi of Iran came second with 3:47.01.

In men’s high jump, Hari Shankar Roy cleared 2.18m but had to settle for the fifth spot in the 16-player field. His effort was also below his national record of 2.25m set in 2004 as well as his season’s best of 2.21m in the Federation Cup in Kolkata.

Hup Wei Lee of Malaysia won the gold with a jump of 2.24m.

In the men’s hammer throw final, Nirbay Singh came seventh in a 10-athlete field with an effort of 62.54m, way off the leaders.

Ali Zinkawi of Kuwait grabbed the gold with a throw of 75.71m.

Tajikistan’s Dilshod Nazarov was second with 75.70m, while the bronze went to Japan’s Hiroaki Doi, who threw the iron ball to 70.74m.

Four events of women’s heptathlon were held and two Indians - Sushmita Singha Roy and JJ Shobha - had mixed fortunes.

Singha Roy won the 200m race in 25.21 seconds, came third in 100m hurdles (14.94s) and high jump (1.69m) and fourth in shot put with an effort of 10.54m.

Shobha was second in 100m hurdles (14.66s) and shot put (12.56m), third in 200m (25.32s) and fourth in high jump (1.60m). — UNI

New Delhi, July 26
Suresh Kumar won the country’s second bronze, while R. A. Kalaskar and Dilbagh Singh also ensured podium finish as defending champion India assured itself of eight more medals in the fifth Commonwealth Boxing Championship in Liverpool.

Having won a bronze through Praveen Kumar in the 91kg category, India added another bronze after Suresh Kumar lost his semifinal bout to New Zealand’s J. Blackbourn in the 69kg category.

Suresh was trailing 3-4 and was left with a broken nose when the referee stopped the contest midway through the opening round.

But Kalaskar brought back smiles to the Indian camp when he out punched Canadian P. O. Cote 20-10 in the 60kg quarterfinals. He would now be up against Tanzania’s P. C. Mtagwa in the semifinals.

In the 64kg category, Dilbagh Singh thrashed Tanzania’s B. B. Mapinda 21-1 to advance to the last four, where he will take on E. Doyle of Scotland.

The other semifinalists are World Cadet champion Sunil Kumar (51kg), T. Nanao Singh (48kg), Santosh Singh (54kg), Manjit Singh (75kg), Pramoj Kumar (81kg) and Baljeet (+91kg).

India was voted as the best team of the tournament in the last edition - with four gold, three silver and two bronze medals - held in Glasgow. — PTI

Mr Badal presented a cheque for Rs 1 crore to Baljit Singh Sethi, director-general, National Rifle Association of India, for upgrading shooting ranges in the state.

New Delhi, July 26
Twenty teams in the B Division and 21 in the A Division would vie for top honours in the Delhi Soccer Association (DSA) Open Clubs League, beginning on July 28 at the Air Force ground. The teams in both divisions have been divided into three groups each.

The top two teams of each group will qualify for the Super League to be played on a round-robin basis.

The teams: B Division: Group A: Goans, Cosmos, Ashoka, Young Sports, Young Bengal, Dwarka and Union.

Group B: New Friends, Gulabi Bagh, Shakti, Victory, Venus and Punjab Heroes. Group C: Collegians, Columba’s, South India, Delhi Tigers, Lodhi AC, Golden Stars and Delhi Students.

A Division: Group A: Royal Rangers, Gorkha Heroes, Goodwill, Garhwal Diamond, Rohini, Frontiers and Youngsters. Group B: Moonlight, Glorious, Uttarakhand, Delhi Cantonment, Royal, Nivia, Uttaranchal Heroes and Royal Bengal. Group C: Indian Air Force (Palam), Paschim Heroes, B.B.Stars, Young Boys, Veterans, State Bank and Ajmal.

Coach does not want to risk Beckham
Los Angeles: Los Angeles Galaxy coach Frank Yallop wants to keep England football icon David Beckham on the bench until his sore left ankle is healed and the midfielder is 100 per cent fit. The 32-year-old did not play in the Major League Soccer (MLS) team’s 2-1 victory over Mexican club Pachuca on Tuesday and might not appear in Saturday’s next Super league match here on Saturday against Chivas Guadalajara. “He’s a little bit ahead of where he was a couple of days ago, but why risk it? Why risk him getting another bang on it and him going back to square one?” said Yallop. — AFP

Indo-Pak volleyball series
Visakhapatnam: S. Kodanda Ramaiah, vice-president of the Volleyball Federation of India(VFI) on Thursday said arrangements were being made here for two matches of the five tests volleyball series between India and Pakistan on August 7 and 8. Talking to newspersons here, he said both teams would reach the city on August 6, after participating in the Commonwealth Championship in Kolkata. Ramaiah said the other three tests would be played on August 10 in Chennai, August 12 at Coimbatore and the final at Hyderabad on August 14. He also announced the names of players and officials of the India and Pakistan teams. — UNI

ESPN gets rights for August 16 ODI
New Delhi: ESPN-Star Sports have acquired the broadcast rights of the India-Scotland ODI to be played at Glasgow on August 16. “We are absolutely delighted to bring the India-Scotland ODI to millions of cricket followers in the country,” R. C. Venkateish, managing director, ESPN Software India Pvt Ltd, said in a statement here on Thursday. “We have almost uninterrupted international cricket lined up over the next 15 months and we will continue in our endeavour to add more exciting properties to the list.” — PTI