71.   The West Indies also have injury woes, with star batsman Brian Lara and up and coming batsman Ramnaresh Sarawan both absent from the Sharjah squad.

72.   Young off-spinner Saqlain Mushtaq began the slide by removing opener Sanath Jayasuriya and star batsman Aravinda De Silva in successive overs.

73.   Lewis, a last-minute inclusion in the England side when star batsman Graeme Hick was forced home with a back injury, struck in his sixth over.

74.   New Zealand brought in former Warwickshire, English county champions, star batsman Roger Twose for his debut and Mark Haslem in place of Bryan Young and Matthew Hart.

75.   Pakistan arrived in Sri Lanka on Thursday expecting an even tougher Test series without their star batsman Javed Miandad.

76.   Pakistan dropped star batsman Basit Ali after poor scores in the previous three innings.

77.   Pakistan has star batsman Aamir Sohail back after a one-match suspension.

78.   Pakistan suffered a double blow as star batsman Saeed Anwar was sent home on Sunday after an attack of typhoid.

79.   Pakistan are almost certain to be without star batsman Salim Malik when their first test against Australia resumes here on Monday.

80.   Star batsman Brian Lara hailed World Cup rival Sachin Tendulkar as the best in the world here on Thursday.