Flintoff not coming to India

Andrew Flintoff's arthroscopy on his left ankle may have gone well but the talismanic all-rounder looks doubtful for the Test series against India starting next month. The England and Wales Cricket Board said in a statement that yesterday's operation went well but Flintoff is unlikely to play before the end of the summer. "Andrew Flintoff has undergone an exploratory arthroscopy on his injured left ankle. Early signs are that the operation was routine and Andrew will begin his rehabilitation accordingly following successful removal of tissue contributing to anterior impingement in the ankle," the statement said. "Andrew will require a programme of strengthening and proprioceptive work before he can start to return to training and bowling. It is anticipated that he will aim to return to playing cricket before the end of the summer," it added. India is scheduled to play a three-match Test series in England, starting on July 19, followed by a seven-match ODI series, the first of which would be played at Southampton on August 21.

WOOLMER'S DEATH COMES FULL CIRCLE

In what could invite worldwide ridicule for their already tattered image, the Jamaican Police will finally announce next week that former Pakistan cricket coach, Bob Woolmer, died of natural cause, said the British media. According to Daily Mail, the Jamaican Police would hold a press conference in Kingston next week to announce that, after two-and-half months of futile probe, they would no more treat it as a murder case. After thorough review of the evidence, the sleuths believe Woolmer probably succumbed to heart failure. "Woolmer was not a well man. It is now accepted that he died of natural causes," the tabloid quoted a source close to the inquiry as saying. The 58-year-old Englishman was found unconscious in his Kingston hotel room after Ireland had shown the door to Pakistan in the World Cup. Woolmer was later pronounced dead in a Kingston hospital. Jamaican Police subsequently claimed that Woolmer had died from asphyxia due to manual strangulation. Mark Shields, Deputy Commissioner of Jamaican Police, later asserted that he was "100 per cent certain" that Woolmer had been murdered. Speculation was rife, spawning conspiracy theories like Woolmer was killed by match-fixing mafia, was subdued with poisoned champagne passed on by assistant coach Mushtaq Ahmed and even al-Qaeda link was also found in the case. But, according to the tabloid, a review by the Metropolitan Police, led by Detective Superintendent John Sweeney, has made it clear that Woolmer died of natural causes.

(Courtesy: PTI)