Graham Napier, the Essex allrounder, has announced he will retire at the end of the 2016 English season to take up a position running his cricket academy.Napier, 36, made his Essex debut in 1997 and is widely considered a player unlucky not to have earned an England cap in white-ball cricket. The closest he came was when he was named in the 2009 World T20 squad but did not feature in the starting XI during the tournament.It was in T20 where he has produced the most stunning performance of his career when in 2008 he struck 152 off 58 balls against Sussex with a then world-record 16 sixes. His career-best first-class score of 196 off 130 balls in 2011 was also an extraordinary display of hitting against Surrey, at Whitgift School, when he equalled Andrew Symonds’ first-class record of 16 sixes in an innings, a mark which has subsequently been overtaken by Colin Munro’s 23 for Auckland.With the ball, Napier can be quick when conditions – and his body – allows and has developed into a fine death bowler in one-day cricket. In 2013 he took four wickets in four balls during a Yorkshire Bank 40 match against Surrey, where he finished with a career-best 7 for 32. His first-class record, which includes batting and bowling figures around the 30 mark, highlights his versatility as a cricketer.Napier is retiring to take up the role of Director of the Graham Napier Cricket Academy at Royal Hospital School in Suffolk which is due to open in September.”The opportunity at RHS is one that I could not turn down,” Napier said. “I feel the time is right to move on, and give back to the game that has given me so much. I have loved every second of playing for Essex, and will be doing my best to make sure I retire with a bang at the end of the season.”Ronnie Irani, Essex’s cricket committee chairman, said: “Graham has had a fabulous career in all three formats of the game for us, and has been the very definition of loyalty over the past 19 years which is what Essex and its supporters are all about. We naturally wish Graham all the best with his next career move and he will be sorely missed.”

Tamil Nadu recovered a lot of ground in the final hour on theopening day of their three day Coca Cola Trophy (under-25)tournament final against Kerala at the Maharaja Jayachamarajendra Wodeyar Sports Complex in Bangalore on Saturday.Kerala were 188 for two in the 77th over but then in the space of12 overs, they lost four wickets for 20 runs to slide to 208 forsix – which is there they finished at stumps.Put in to bat, Kerala lost an early wicket when their in formopener MP Sorab was caught by Subash Raj off Shrinivas for 10with the score on 29. But the other opener Varun Girilal and wicketkeeper CM Deepak added 78 runs for the second wicket off30.4 overs through careful batting. Girilal was then out stumpedby Vasudevan off Ganesh Kumar for 64. He faced 133 balls and hiteleven of them to the ropes.Deepak and SK Nair then continued the recovery process by adding81 runs for the third wicket off 35.2 overs. While Deepak continuedto bat in dogged fashion, Nair was a bit more aggressive, hitting44 off 97 balls with five fours.Just as Kerala were proceeding along smoothly, things started happening. Left arm spinner Raghuram dismissed Nair and skipperNA Kudua with successive deliveries. A little later, Deepak’slong vigil came to an end when he was caught by Raghuram offGanesh Kumar for 48. He batted 296 minutes, faced 226 balls andhit six fours. Shortly before close, Nambiar was bowled byVelmurugan for 14 and Kerala had lost the advantage that theirtop order had given them.The match started 30 minutes late due to a wet spot on the pitch.

Nottinghamshire Outlaws went to the top of the Norwich Union National Cricket League Second Division with a hard-fought victory at Trent Bridge. Chasing 178 to win, the Outlaws achieved their target with four wickets and 15 balls to spare.After winning the toss, Essex should have scored more than their eventual 177-9. That they got that respectable a score was due in no small measure to late order hitting from Cowan and Mason, after their batsmen failed to capitalise on a bright start.The Essex openers plundered 30 off the first 5 overs, with Stuart Law in particular profiting from an inconsistent line and length from the Nottinghamshire opening bowlers. However, when Lucas found the right length, it immediately produced dividends – a fine inswinging yorker taking the important wicket of Stuart Law.The arrival of out-of-form England captain Nasser Hussain saw a transformation in the pace of the innings. Hussain, looking for time in the middle prior to the second Test, struggled for timing throughout his innings, scoring just 3 from 28 balls before falling to Paul Franks. The Notts all-rounder showed with his pace and control why is so highly thought of by the England selectors.Irani was the only Essex player to bat with any fluency, consolidating well for 52 as wickets fell regularly at the other end. The Essex captain was finally caught by Harris at deep fine leg skying a Paul Franks delivery. Danny Law chipped in with 22 – including a six over deep fine leg, before falling to David Lucas – Chris Read taking an excellent diving catch.A late flurry of runs from Ashley Cowan and Tim Mason took the score to 177, a total which looked eminently achievable on a sound pitch.The Nottinghamshire batsmen set off purposefully after the early dismissal of Bicknell, caught at square leg off Ilott. Gallian was soon into his stride, striking a eight assertive, and very correct, boundaries in his composed 41.The total was well ahead of the required rate when Gallian fell to Irani. Nottinghamshire then faltered, with an excellent spell from Tim Mason containing the batsmen and forcing them to make mistakes at the other end. Morris looked purposeful, driving powerfully, but fell to Ilott. Afzaal was run out, and Law had Tolley caught behind with one that moved away. Guy Welton’s vigil came to an end when he stepped across his stumps to glance a straight ball from Danny Law, and was ajudged LBW by umpire Jesty.The arrival of Paul Franks, earlier awarded Norwich Union Player of the Month Award, imposed the necessary discipline on the Notts run chase. Pushing quick singles and punishing the bad ball, his partnership with Read seized the initiative for the Outlaws, and rapidly calmed the nerves of the shivering supporters.Man of the Match Read became more confident, reserving particular punishment for Cowan, pulling him powerfully to the mid-wicket boundary as the target decreased. Franks showed what a good selection he could be for England, intelligently marshalling a run chase that was never easy.Nasser Hussain gave the selectors cause for concern, hurting his finger when sticking out a hand in a vain attempt to stop a powerful Read drive when the game was all but lost. The selectors meeting here this evening have enough to discuss – the future of Hick and Ramprakash is certain to be on the agenda, as will the lacklustre performance of Giddins in the last Test. On today’s showing, they could do a lot worse than look to Franks to fill the third seamer spot.

Odd things have happened to touring teams who visit Paarl. Ken Rutherford’s 1994 tourists found themselves with a couple of days on their hands after their match against Boland was abandoned because the pitch was too dangerous. A local drug dealer helped fill in that spare time.A year later Michael Atherton’s England team found themselves playing a one-day game against Boland on the fourth day after the two teams had agreed that a result in a first-class game was unlikely however long they played.The pitch has been sorted out since Andre Bruyns took over two years ago, but the curse of the Winelands struck Stephen Fleming’s tourists on Tuesday morning when offspinner Paul Wiseman sprained an ankle playing Frisbee before the start of the three-day match against Boland.Whether Wiseman will be fit for the first Test starting on November 17 is not known. If there is ligament damage this will only be established once the swelling has subsided. But Wiseman could put no weight on his left foot on Tuesday, hopping up to get his lunch-time fish and chips and hopping back to his table again.It rather took the gloss off Mark Richardson’s unbeaten 118 on the first day as New Zealand put together 273 for five. Not, it should be added, that there was that much sparkle on his century in the first place.Richardson batted all of 395 minutes for his runs after a bright start in his opening partnership, this after he had been the dominant partner in an opening stand of 39 in 12 overs with Craig Spearman.Once Spearman had flapped at Neil Carter to be caught at the wicket, Richardson dug himself so deep during a second-wicket partnership of 113 with Mathew Sinclair that he all but disappeared.Sinclair contributed 86 to the stand, scoring happily all around the wicket, as Richardson tucked himself in behind his bat.From New Zealand’s point of view, Richardson did a job and did it well (apart from being missed by Henry Williams at wide mid on when he had 33). But it was grim to watch at times until he started to open up and play some shots after tea.He was the senior partner in a 94-run fourth wicket stand with Hamish Marshall and was still there at the end. No doubt, considering his 14-hour 306 against Zimbabwe A in September, he probably sees his job only half done.Boland were missing their form bowler, Charl Langeveldt, and on a flat pitch Williams was unable to offer any particular reason why his international career should be resumed when his ban ends at the end of the year.Neil Carter, who has signed for Warwickshire and is regarded as Boland’s overseas professional, was the pick of the attack, left-arm over the wicket with enough bounce to account for both Spearman and Marshall. James Henderson also picked up a couple of wickets with his off breaks, but it was generally a subdued day.Which is what New Zealand might have wanted after the traumas of the one-day series.

After conceding a first innings lead of 134 runs, Baroda made a dream start inthe second innings running up 236 without loss by stumps on the third day oftheir West Zone Ranji Trophy league match at Baroda on Sunday. Openers ConnorWilliams and Satyajit Parab both hit centuries.Resuming at 320 for seven, Maharashtra did well in ending up with 407. AbhijitKale, 158 overnight, was last out for 222. In a stay of 393 minutes, Kale faced272 balls and hit 25 fours. With last man S Shaikh (12 not out), Kale figured ina partnership of 68 runs off 14.2 overs. NV Buch was the most successful bowlerwith four for 113.In the Baroda second innings, Williams and Parab maintained a good run rate andremained unbeaten at stumps. Both batted five hours. While the 27-year-old lefthanded Williams faced 192 balls for 115 and hit 13 fours, the 26-year-old righthanded Parab faced 225 balls for his 116 and hit 14 fours. The partnership, off69 overs, gave Baroda a lead of 102 runs. Eight bowlers were tried but nonecould break the stand.

Pakistan levelled the npower Test series with a 108-run victory over England deep into the final hour of this gripping Test match. England lost eight wickets in the final session as Pakistan utilised the second new ball to perfection, and wrapped up a win that had seemed most unlikely just 90 minutes earlier.The intensity and theatre of the first four days at Old Trafford continued right to the end of a pulsating final session and a second England collapse. A sensational one handed catch by substitute fielder Imran Nazir off a full blooded Gough drive to bring Pakistan victory perfectly encapsulated everything about this cracking match.There was controversy too though. Television replays showed clearly that a couple of Saqlain’s victims came from deliveries that should have been called as no-balls as the off-spinner overstepped.It was with mid-way through the final session when the dramatic twist arrived to finally determine the outcome of this match. The new ball was taken, and with Waqar’s second delivery, he cleaned up Graham Thorpe, the England lynchpin and hero of the first innings, his off stump sent cartwheeling.Trescothick’s excellent innings was ended by a Wasim bouncer, the ball taking the gloves on the way to Latif, diving down the leg side. Stewart was deceived by Saqlain and dismissed lbw not offering a stroke, soon to be followed by the luckless Knight as Wasim assumed a mode Lancashire fans know well with a sudden change of gear.A Pakistan victory was in the air. Ward edged Saqlain behind, Caddick lost his off stump first ball to the ‘doosra’ and England were teetering on the edge having lost four wickets for one run with Saqlain on a hat trick and Darren Gough on strike. Close fielders crowded the batsmen, several appeals pressurising the umpire. Saqlain who had bowled 41 overs before getting a wicket was suddenly unplayable. Wasim, meanwhile, was spearing in at full throttle from the Stretford end. It was epic stuff.Waqar replaced Wasim and Gough and Cork dug in. The game plan was for Cork to take the spin, Gough the speed. A brief but exciting interlude followed before Cork pushed out to Saqlain and to Pakistan’s delight umpire Shepherd’s finger went up. Only Hoggard to come, and finally enter Nazir.The loss of Michael Atherton fifteen minutes before lunch was probably the pivotal point when England decided not to push for victory. Waqar Younis produced his trademark yorker to clean bowl Atherton after the England opener had recorded his 44th Test half-century. Marcus Trescothick had outscored his partner considerably in the opening stand of 141, and grows in stature with every Test.He moved inexorably towards his first Test century in England, and his second in all. That milestone was passed with a glide to leg off Waqar but Vaughan, meanwhile had looked uncomfortable. Waqar was taunting him but it was Razzaq who got him caught behind.The runs had dried up and England, settling for a draw and the series win, were content to score just 47 runs from the 29 overs bowled in the afternoon session. The match appeared to be meandering along until the spectacular finale.A magnificent Test match will be remembered principally for the centurions: Inzamam, Thorpe and Trescothick; for scintillating stroke play, vintage Waqar, Wasim, and Saqlain the emergence of Hoggard, wonderful crowds, a fabulous pitch and, above all the concluding suspense.Afterwards England’s skipper for this game, Alec Stewart, paid tribute to man-of-the-match and Pakistan’s man of the series, Inzamam-ul-Haq.”Inzamam was probably the difference. He played exceptionally well and took the game away from us,” he said.Pakistan skipper Waqar Younis was understandably delighted, and pointed out the quality of the Old Trafford pitch as a vital ingredient in the gripping encounter over the last five days, commenting that it was: “the best pitch we have played on.””We’ve had a bad year, year and a half, so this victory really pumps us up for the one-day series. It’s very good for the team,” he continued.”Pakistan have got a habit of coming back in the last session. Everybody bowled well, we fielded well – everything was perfect.”

England coach Duncan Fletcher praised his two opening batsmen after they had taken the fight to the Pakistanis at Old Trafford.The home side had been set 370 to win after Pakistan had been dismissed for 323 and if England achieve their target the records will tumble.England’s best score to win a Test is 332 for seven against Australia in the 1928-29 Ashes series, and the highest to win at Old Trafford is only 145 for seven by South Africa in 1955.But Michael Atheron on his home ground and Marcus Trescothick gave them the perfect start in the final session of the fourth day, posting an unbroken opening stand of 85 from just 22 overs.Fletcher said: “Those two showed tremendous character; you look at innings like that and you must appreciate how well they batted,” said Fletcher.”All the Pakistan bowlers are threats – they are all world-class. Wasim Akramwas fired up and bowled exceptionally well and Waqar Younis swings it around.”Mike’s proved it on numerous occasions. He likes a good scrap and he hadshowed us again that he’s up for it. Although the wicket’s still playing well,you’ve got to look at the mental side of it.”When you add pressure and they are coming at you like that, it is not easyand those guys showed a lot of character.”Although it’s a nice wicket to bat on, the target will be pretty difficultto get – but having got 85, we’ve put ourselves back in with a chance.”It’s a pitch that produces positive cricket, we are well into the game, webatted well tonight to set it up. It should be an exciting last day.”It’s a big target, it’s not easy to chase anything over 200 in any match,you’ve got to bat properly. You’ve played four days of cricket, it gets to youand you’ve got to show you’ve got the mental strength to do it.”We’ll play every session as it comes by. We’ll look at the first session andtake it from there.”From the public’s point of view, it’s been a very good Test Match. There’sbeen a lot of runs, the rates have been above three all the time, there have been some good catches and run-outs.”

Avishka Gunawardene dominated the second day of the unofficial Test Match atNCC Grounds today with a powerful century that rescued Sri Lanka A from aperilous position in the morning, allowing them to secure a first inningslead, albeit a small one.The Sri Lankans were bowled out for 252, giving them a slender lead of 23,all of which was wiped out in an extended evening session, in which, for thesecond time in the match, Sri Lanka’s opening bowlers failed to make use ofthe new ball. Pakistan finished the day on 55 without loss.Gunawardene had set the tone for his innings the night before with fourrollicking boundaries and continued in the same vein, raising the tempo witheach wicket that Pakistan claimed. Sri Lanka, starting the day on 31 forone, slipped to 87 for five in the second hour of the morning and theprospect of a first innings deficit loomed large.The ever-obdurate Thilan Samaraweera then gave Gunawardene the solid supporthe required in a 109 run stand for the sixth wicket that kept Sri Lanka inthis match. Samaraweera scored just 20 of those, but, crucially, gaveGunawardene a chance to launch a stunning fight-back.The burly left-hander is renowned for the power of his stroke-play. When heplays in a six-a-side tournament it is a forgone conclusion that he willwalk off with the “Most Sixes” award. Unfortunately he has so far provedinconsistent in the national side and has not enamoured some with his overpowering self-confidence.There is no doubt, however, that on song, there are few more destructiveplayers in the world. Jayasuriya can appear positively tame in comparison.He really started to rock after the fall of the fifth wicket. He launchedinto the impressive Danish Kaneria with a flurry of cover drives andthumping late cuts. The fast bowlers were thrashed square of the wicket andHasan Raza, the Pakistan A captain, wasted no time before posting a deeppoint.He was finally dismissed for 132 from 171 balls, having hit 19 fours and twosixes. Revealingly, 75 per cent of his runs were scored between extra coverand third man, which says much for his strengths, but also of the Pakistanibowlers, who obliged him with far too much width.When he was finally dismissed, trapped leg-before wicket by the economicalYasir Arafat, Sri Lanka were still 34 runs short of Pakistan’s first inningsscore of 229. Suresh Perera, another player with a point to prove, continuedthe entertainment with a brisk 45, full of wonderfully clean stokes ofKaneria, including four sixes.Kaneria though had his revenge when the over eager Perera was bowled whilstcharging down the wicket. The leg spinner then cleaned up the tail to finishwith six for 83 from his 25 overs. A tall man with a Qadir twitch at thestart of his run, he bowls at a fair pace, but still gets the ball to dip inthe air. He troubled all the batsmen and fully deserved his rewards.Sri Lanka, though delighted by securing a first innings lead, will have beendesperately disappointed by the performance of an experienced batting order.Gunawardene apart, all the top order failed.Micahel Vandort was the first to go, caught at the wicket off Najaf Shah forsix; Tillakaratne Dilshan occupied the crease for 45 minutes without everlooking comfortable before miscuing to mid off; Indika de Saram waftedlamely at Yasir Arafat to be caught behind for a duck and Chamara Silvaguiding a catch off Kaneria into the hands of Imran Farhat at slip.Not too much then for the Sri Lankan selectors to cheer, though they will bedelighted to have seen Suresh Perera score some runs. The likes of Indika deSaram and Tillakaratne Dilshan have to now make sure they perform in thesecond innings, the last of the match.Pakistan, meanwhile, are sure to be desperately disappointed by theirfielding: they dropped five catches in all today, most of which should havebeen snapped up with ease. The employment of a fielding coach, JulienFountain, on this tour, a relative luxury on an A tour, is clearlyjustified.

Six days into the competition and still Canada found a way to breathe fresh life into this ICC Trophy tournament with an extraordinary two wicket victory over the United Arab Emirates today. Even as Scotland reaffirmed its status as tournament favourite and glamour team Uganda powered its way to another sensational victory, it was the Canadians’ thrilling win which stood out as the day’s main highlight.Following two successive losses in Group 1A, the Canadians bowled with great purpose during the morning session to contain the UAE to a total of 228/7 on a Toronto Cricket Skating and Curling Club pitch that offered even bounce and pace for most of the day.It then appeared that the hosts were poised to record a regulation win as they worked their way toward a score of 183/3 in reply. But a bad mix up resulted in the needless run out of top scorer Ian Billcliff (63) at that point and the wheels suddenly began to fall off the innings.Another run out and the accurate bowling of Mohammad Tauqeer (3/38) and Khuram Khan (1/36) contrived to leave the Canadians requiring 11 runs off the final eight deliveries with only two wickets in hand. Two big strokes from Davis Joseph (10*) helped reduce the odds but the match was still hanging in the balance by the time its fate was finally settled in astounding style four deliveries into the final over.With four runs still needed, Joseph hammered a Khan delivery to long off, and ran two quickly before the return came back. His heart was set on the third and he turned and raced toward the bowler’s end. But partner Ashish Bagai (13*) failed to respond and the pair were joined, stranded close to 22 yards away from where one of them needed to be. By all rights, a comfortable run out should have been effected but a wild throw eluded the wicketkeeper as Bagai madly scrambled back.In the by-now almost complete confusion, Joseph had also headed back towards the striker’s end. But, as the fieldsmen again failed to take advantage of the madness of the running, there was by now a chance for Bagai to beat a quick path to the bowler’s end once more to somehow scramble a fourth and winning run.If predictability is the enemy of good sport, this match had friends in all the right places.Group leader Scotland set up its thumping ten wicket win over Singapore at Malton with another excellent bowling performance. The Scots permitted themselves the luxury of resting arguably their two best pacemen in John Blain and Asim Butt yet still encountered few problems in dismissing the Singaporeans for 114. One of the replacement players, Keith Sheridan (4/13), grasped his chance with both hands, bowling with remorseless accuracy as he cut a swathe through the middle order.Promoted to roles as opening batsmen, Douglas Lockhart (47) and Craig Wright (58) then completed the job with a brisk stand that took their team just beyond the scheduled halfway point of its innings.The Scots stay firmly entrenched at the head of Group 1A, unbeaten from four games. Their last remaining preliminary round match – against fellow competition powerhouse, the Netherlands, on Thursday – will be the most eagerly awaited game of the entire tournament to date.In a team laden with charismatic players, Ugandan all-rounder Junior Kwebiha (109*) has been a revelation throughout the event. Today, he stepped up the level of his performance even further by scoring a brilliant unbeaten century and occupying the central role in an extraordinary end-of-innings acceleration. As many as 166 runs were clubbed from the final fifteen overs of Uganda’s innings – 121 of them from the last nine – as it exploded to a tally of 303/5 that simply took the match beyond Argentina’s reach.Stylish opener Charles Lwanga (58) played a classy innings full of attractive strokes and, following his sizzling 54-ball century earlier in the tournament, pinch hitter Kenneth Kamyuka (36) chipped in to perform another very useful role from the fifteen deliveries that he faced. The power, not to mention the sheer distance, of some of the hitting had to be seen to be believed.Kwebiha (2/31) then returned to capture two wickets with his medium pace in the midst of a comparatively disappointing reply from the Argentinians. Guillermo Kirschbaum (31) continued to bat well but the extent of the task of having to score at better than a run a ball for the entire innings appeared to weigh heavily on the minds of almost all of the batsmen. The South Americans’ cause was not helped either by the absence of Martin Cortabarria, who had broken a finger while wicketkeeping and was forced to see out the day in hospital.Although the Ugandans had entered the match between the two previously unbeaten Group 2A teams as hot favourites, they could barely have been more impressive. Although they still have two preliminary matches left to play (against France and Israel), they now look near-certainties to head their group and to move into the next phase of the competition. It would take a serious reversal of form for them to be denied.Denmark meanwhile tightened its hold on the leadership of Group 1B with a convincing six wicket victory over Papua New Guinea at Sunnybrook.Just a day after claiming a hat-trick to skittle the United States, Soren Vestergaard (2/17) produced another excellent display to join Thomas Hansen (2/14) in ruining the Papua New Guinean top order. Lars Andersen (5/24) then went to work on the middle and lower order batsmen to limit the total to a paltry 92, only Jamie Brazier (26) and Aukuma Noka (23) looking comfortable with the bat.For a short period in the early afternoon, the appearance of thick grey clouds and the occasional spot of rain threatened to halt proceedings. In seeking to put an end to the game quickly, the Dutchmen lost four early wickets, opening bowler Tuku Raka (3/21) returning his best figures of the tournament as he applied the screws to the early scoring rate with excellent line and length.As the prospects of any kind of serious rain-enforced interruption receded, though, so did the Papua New Guinean hopes of preventing the match from reaching a very early finish. The hard-hitting Aftab Ahmed (39*) and Mickey Lund (22*) joined in a quickfire half-century partnership for the fifth wicket that ended the contest with more than twenty-three overs still remaining.Rohan Alexander (110*) starred as the United States of America recorded a 49-run win over Hong Kong at Maple Leaf. With partner Dave Wallace (68), Alexander dispirited the Hong Kong attack with an opening partnership of 153 that went a long way to settling the outcome of the match. Tabarak Dar (4/34) grabbed a series of late wickets but several dropped catches and misfields allowed the total to reach 254/8.The Hong Kong side made a reasonable fist of the chase, but the task of scoring at better than five runs per over against a disciplined attack proved too challenging. Javid Nasir (4/46) stood out with the ball.In defeating East and Central Africa by four wickets and with 37 deliveries to spare, Malaysia also completed a solid win.Although the task of overhauling the score ultimately proved more challenging than expected, the Malaysian bowlers effectively set up the win by holding the Africans to a score of only 140. Rohan Suppiah (3/20) generated an outstanding ten over spell to inflict much of the damage.Well contained by Shamsher Madhani (2/22) and Arif Paliwalla (2/22), the Malaysians fell to 33/4 early in the afternoon. But an excellent innings from Rohan Selvaratnam (48*) and fine support from Suresh Navaratnam (34) and Muniandy Krishnamurthi (15*) was enough to tilt the balance decisively back in the Malaysians’ direction.

The selectors are likely to pick only a 15-member squad on Aug 2 forIndia’s three-Test series against Sri Lanka later next month, keepinga slot vacant for Sachin Tendulkar, whose fitness will be known by Aug10.According to Indian Cricket Board sources, the five-member nationalselection committee headed by Chandu Borde has suggested picking a 15-member squad for the Test series to be played between August 14 andSept 2.In case, Tendulkar, nursing a hairline fracture to his right toe, wasunavailable even after Aug 10, when he is to go in for a second bonescan, a replacement would be named then, the sources said.The master blaster, who skipped the on-going triangular one-day seriesin Sri Lanka, is said to be feeling better now.However, the committee would discuss Tendulkar’s fitness with sportsmedicine expert Anant Joshi, before meeting in Mumbai to pick theteam, the sources said."If the star batsman is confirmed fit by Aug 2, Tendulkar wouldstraightaway be included for the tour. If not, the 16th slot would bekept vacant at least till Aug 10 and another player will be named incase he is ruled out for the tour," the sources said.According to the sources, three members of the team playing in theongoing tri-series – VVS Laxman, Zaheer Khan and Ashish Nehra areunlikely to find a place in the Test team as they are suffering frominjuries.BCCI executive secretary Sharad Diwadkar had on Thursday said thatfour to five changes are likely from the team which is playing in theone-day series presently.