Ganguly to miss skippers' meet

Eight of the 10 captains of Test-playing nations will meet in Melbourne on February 12 for discussions to be chaired by the International Cricket Council, The Age newspaper reported on Wednesday.

Australian captain Steve Waugh, 35, a 132-Test veteran, will be the most senior figure in the group which includes Jimmy Adams (West Indies), Heath Streak (Zimbabwe), Stephen Fleming (New Zealand), Moin Khan (Pakistan), Shaun Pollock (South Africa), Sanath Jayasuriya (Sri Lanka) and Naimur Rahman (Bangladesh).

ICC chief executive David Richards will chair the meeting, the paper said.

The Australian team leaves the following day for a three-test tour of India.

An ICC spokesman, Mark Harrison, said only England captain Nasser Hussain and Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly were unlikely to be available for the meeting.

Playing conditions, five-run penalties for rule breaches and the widening gap between the game's rich and poor countries are likely discussion topics.

The director of the ICC's new anti-corruption unit, Sir Paul Condon, delivers the first review of his team's investigations into matchfixing and corruption in cricket on February 10.

Australia Test batsman Mark Waugh, twin brother of Steve, will be interviewed by Australian Cricket Board special investigator Greg Melick on February 6.

A spokesman for the ACB was unavailable for comment on Wednesday.

Mail Cricket Editor