Bowden to replace Rauf

Calcutta: Billy Bowden will replace Asad Rauf in the first India-England Test match in Chennai even though the Pakistan umpire is expected to officiate in the second Test at Mohali.

Daryl Harper is the other ICC umpire for the series, which will have Jeff Crowe as the Match Referee.

Pakistan nationals require city-specific visas when travelling to India. According to an ICC release Asad Rauf, who was to officiate in both Tests, received his passport back with a visa appropriate for the original venues.

With the change in venues he required a new visa but due to the weekend, followed by the Eid al-Adha holidays, there was insufficient time for one to be issued, so he has had to step down from the first Test.

Warner talks

Melbourne: New South Wales opener David Warner said he has been in talks with three IPL franchises to join the cash-rich Indian Twenty20 league bandwagon. The 22-year-old Warner said he has been contacted by Delhi Daredevils, Kolkata Knight Riders and Hyderabad Deccan Chargers.

Gillespie ire

Melbourne: Former right-arm pacer Jason Gillespie has accused Cricket Australia (CA) of not supporting its players as the board officials are too occupied maintaining their cordial relationship with their Indian counterparts.

Gillespie, who was banned from first-class cricket after signing a three-year deal with the ‘rebel’ Indian Cricket League (ICL), termed CA’s stand to always abide by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) as a big “joke”.

WI warm-up

Auckland: The West Indies warmed up for the first cricket Test against New Zealand with valuable time in the middle as their three-day match against Auckland ended in a draw.

Chess meet

Chennai: Twelve players, including defending champion P. Karthikeyan and world under-16 champion B. Adhiban, were tied for the lead with two points from as many rounds in the Sri Sai Ram Engineering College Asian Junior Chess Championships here Sunday. In the girls’ section, six players were sharing the lead with two points each. Seven more rounds remain to be played.

Masters golf

Ho Chi Minh City: Digvijay Singh and Amandeep Johl were the highest-placed Indians at the Vietnam Masters as they finished tied 23rd with totals of five under 283. Thongchai Jaidee of Thailand won in a play-off after finishing the regulation 72 holes at 15-under 273 along with Rhys Davies and Andrew Dodt.

World record

Paris: Olympic champion Alain Bernard of France broke the 100-metre freestyle short-course world record at the French national championships in Angers on Sunday. Bernard clocked 45.69sec to better the record by 0.14 seconds.

Staff Reporter & Agencies