* Hooper hopes to win dress rehearsal on Wednesday

West Indies captain Carl Hooper said in Bulawayo on Sunday that the victory against Zimbabwe in the Coca Cola Cup triangular series had given a lot of confidence to his side and he was now looking forward to defeating India in the next game to be able to go into the final with a positive frame of mind.

"We need a confidence booster before the final and hope to win against India at Harare," Hooper said after his team clinched a five-wicket win over Zimbabwe in a nail-biting finish to confirm their place in the final. "The final against India would be a good match. Zimbabwe pushed us real hard," he said after pipping Zimbabwe with just a ball to spare.

Zimbabwe captain Heath Streak said it was unfortunate to suffer another loss. Patting the middle order for the splendid recovery, Streak said "After the quick loss of the three top order batsmen, Wishart, Flower and Whittal chipped in with good scores. I thought 250 was a competitive score."

* Abid Ali is new coach of Andhra Ranji team

Former Test all rounder Syed Abid Ali will be the new coach for the Andhra Ranji team for the 2000-2001 season, according to N Venkata Rao, secretary of the Andhra Cricket Association (ACA). This was decided at the executive committee meeting of the ACA held at Vijayawada on Sunday. The meeting also approved a budget for Rs 55 lakh for the year 2001-2002, according to a press release.

The meeting also finalised the state selection committees, administration managers and coaches for all age groups for the season including allotment of Ranji matches at home. The Andhra-Goa match will be held at Vijayawada, the Andhra-Karnataka game at Kurnool and the Andhra-Tamil Nadu tie at Visakhapatnam. The meeting also finalised the venues for other inter-state matches.

* Ghavri likely to coach Bengal

Former Indian all rounder Karsan Ghavri is likely to be the Bengal coach for the 2001-2002 Ranji Trophy season. According to The Telegraph, Ghavri has not signed the contract but has had a verbal agreement with Jagmohan Dalmiya on the matter. According to the agreement, Ghavri's term will initially be for one year. The renewal of his contract will depend on the team's performance.

Ghavri, now 50, was the coach of the Mumbai team which won the Ranji Trophy in 1993-94 under Ravi Shastri's leadership. The left hander had played with distinction for Bombay in the seventies and eighties. Ghavri represented India in 39 Tests from 1974-1981 scoring 913 runs and bagging 109 wickets. He also played in the 1975 and 1979 World Cup competitions.

* Andhra play three Ranji matches at home

Andhra first home game in the South Zone Ranji Trophy campaign for the 2001-2002 season will be a match against Goa to be played at Vijayawada from December 2 to 5. Andhra will play two more matches at home. They take on Karnataka at Kurnool from December 10 to 13 and meet Tamil Nadu at Visakhapatnam from December 18 to 21.

This was decided at the executive committee meeting of the Andhra Cricket Association in Vijayawada on Sunday. The meeting also finalised the other fixtures for the state in various competitions during the ensuing season.

In the Under-22 P Ramachandra Rao Trophy and M Chinnaswamy Trophy tournament, Andhra will play all their three home matches at Kakinada. They take on Goa from October 27 to 30 and then play Karnataka from November 4 to 7. Their next opponents will be Tamil Nadu, who they play from November 11 to 14.

In the Under-19 Cooch Behar and Ghulam Ahmed Trophy matches, Andhra meet Tamil Nadu at Vizianagaram from September 22 to 25 and then play Goa at the same venue from October 6 to 9. In the Under-16 Vijay Merchant and V Pattabhiraman Trophy matches, Andhra play all their home matches at Vijayawada. They first meet Goa on November 20 to 22. The other matches are against Tamil Nadu (December 8-10) and against Karnataka (December 14 to 16). In the Under-14 P Krishnamurthy Trophy matches, Andhra play all their home matches at Visakhapatnam. They first play Goa (December 2 to 4) and then take on Karnataka (December 10 to 12) and Tamil Nadu (December 18 to 20).

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