The world is a scene of Change, to be constant in nature is itself considered inconstancy! Change, indeed, is painful, yet ever needful. History fades into fable; Columns, arches, pyramids, what are they but heaps of...

Bangalore: The World Series rolls into its second leg on Sunday with Australia (Southern Stars) taking on England and New Zealand (White Ferns) crossing swords with India. Before the start of the World Series I had stressed on the dynamism of the trio in Clark-Rolton-Fitzpatrick in a brief look into the teams.

Bangalore: India's loss to New Zealand is disheartening but there is this consolation that the team did fare much better that it did while in England. So that is a positive sign.

Bangalore: India's success on most occasions depends on its spinners and it wasn't any different in the first match of the World Series. Nooshin's five-wicket haul helped India skittle England for 86 runs – a very fitting reply; given India's performance in England.

Bangalore: Even as the World Cup (men) fever is heating up across the globe, the women are engaged in a World Series of their own. Australia/Southern Stars, New Zealand/White Ferns, India and England will battle it out in New Zealand to stake claim as the number one nation.

Bangalore: There was a time when Indian cricket used to be loaded with domestic tournaments with hardly any international fixtures to top them– so it seemed. The trend now has made a virtual 180-degree turn around.

Hyderabad: Batting sensation Mithali Raj seems to have found a new high – both on and off the field. Her record breaking 214 versus England at Taunton has catapulted her into stardom, especially in her home state Andhra Pradesh.

The Indian team has just returned from a pretty disastrous tour of England where it put up a poor show in the triangular series involving New Zealand and host England.

Bangalore: In my previous column, regarding the gains the Indian team brought home from its trip to South Africa, I had listed a few plus points, which would hold the team in good stead. Having said that, I would like to add that there are quite a few areas that the Indian team needs to take a look into.

Bangalore: It is a different world and a wonderful one at that to be back to work and to a totally different atmosphere. Having been away from work due to national commitment has not in any way deterred my appetite for work.

Cape Town: Thatscricket.com's Mamatha Maben, part of the Indian women's cricket team in South Africa for the four ODI and one-off Test series, continues with her dairy even as the team looks to round of its tour:

We continued to laze around in our rooms as our practice session was scheduled for the afternoon. Since we had to have an early lunch we decided that we would also have an early breakfast.

For lack of time I shall be giving a consolidated version of events. I hope my readers won't mind this. Having had our first match washed out we were looking forward to our first match (complete) on March 10.

Our first One-day International and there was an air of expectancy. We were welcomed on to the ground (Lenasia Cricket Stadium) with quite a bit of crowd (by South African standards) in the stadium - most of them school children. The children created quite a bit of din cheering, singing and stomping their feet on the metal stands.

The Indian women's cricket team was making its historic touch down on the shores of South Africa and the whole team was pretty excited about it. We passed through immigration and customs without a fuss. However we were held up for a long time at the conveyor belt as two of our cricketers found their hand baggage missing.

Bangalore: The so-called formidable Air India has been flushed out of the 25th Senior Nationals in the very first round. Was it the Railways that had Air India stumble? No it was a lesser-known state side. As a matter of fact, just a week ago Air India was defeated by a depleted Andhra Pradesh side in the South Zone championship held at Chennai.

Bangalore: The recently concluded three-day coaching seminar conducted by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) "Coaching the cricket coaches" saw, for the first time, two renowned women cricketers participate.

What a gross injustice it has turned out to be! Is there anybody out there who cares? Well, the last minute swapping of coaches seems not only to have undone the Indian team, but also seems to have caused a great deal of damage to the person itself. The swapping and the eventual treatment meted out to Sudha Shah, it seems, has virtually stilled life in her.

Bangalore: When one sits back to analyse India's below par performance at the 2000 women's World Cup, the thought of how much of a role Srirupa's coup might have had sits uppermost in one's mind.

Bangalore: At the end of the Millennium year the Indian women's cricket scene finds itself touching base at the very place it took off. Yes, they have made efforts to move forward but unfortunately they had themselves believing that they were progressing while all along they were only chipping away aimlessly. The end product… a disfigured display of affairs.

Bangalore: What a lop-sided affair it all turned out to be at the BIL Oval on Wednesday! The second semi-final between host New Zealand and India, which had received a very high billing - in fact talks of an upset victory for India were being floated around- came a cropper at the hands of the White Ferns (New Zealand).

Suspect action or illegal bowling action, normally referred to as 'Chucking' in the cricketing world, is a very touchy subject and one, normally, hesitates to make statements in this regard.

Bangalore: The two World Cup defeats suffered by the Indians at the hands of the Australians (Southern Stars) and host New Zealand (Clear White Ferns), although, on expected lines for them, is definitely a shocker for the Indian team given their pre-tournament high. Well, though all is not lost as yet and they certainly are very much a potent threat in the tournament, these defeats, one feels, were waiting to happen.

Bangalore: The Indian spin quartet holds the key to India's much sought after bid to be crowned champions of the World. Left-arm spinner Deepa Kulkarni of Indian Railways, for one, will have to play a telling role if India have to realise this long cherished dream.

With just about everybody rating India's chances at the 2000 World Cup very high, it makes sense to pause a moment and evaluate these ratings. At the onset lets make it clear that this is no venture to undo the confidence that the Indian team is oozing with, rather it is an earnest effort to weigh the chances.

The die is cast and the Indian team will be shortly departing to New Zealand to take part in the VII Women's Cricket World Cup that commences from November 29. The team appears to be bubbling with confidence and justifiably too. Whichever team has the self-confidence will lead the rest while nobody holds a good opinion of those who have a low opinion of themselves.

Mithali Raj is, without a vestige of doubt, the brightest prospect on the Indian women's cricket horizon. Undoubtedly the most fluent bat on display, Mithali Raj disperses a kind of 'feel good' sense amongst her teammates.

Beyond words! Is the only description that comes to one's mind on the latest development that has come about in the Indian women's cricket scene. Can you imagine that the Indian coach who slogged herself out for the past six months in an effort to prune and fine tune the Indian women's team is now being superceded, at the very last moment. Boy! It can't get any better than that.

There are a lot of things being said and written about sports federations in the country from time immemorial in the print media and of late, in the electronic media. But then the easiest thing to do is to criticise. Criticism, perhaps right from the time the word was coined, was meant as a standard of judging well. Neither blame nor praise is the true object of criticism; the true aim being justly to discriminate and firmly to establish.

Bangalore: Even as the entire nation focusses on the India versus Zimbabwe first Test match at the Feroze Shah Kotla ground, the Indian women cricketers are quietly undergoing their drills in final preparation also at Delhi for the Women's World Cup 2000 scheduled to be held at New Zealand from November 29.

Triumphs and defeats are all transient. All our triumphs are but shadows at noon whereby we measure failure. In human life there is a constant change of fortune; and it is reasonable to expect an exemption from the common fate. In this dynamic world, life itself decays and all things are constantly changing.

The Women's Cricket Association of India (WCAI), which is never short of throwing up questionable decisions, more apt if one were to say unquestionable decisions, once again did the number when they announced the captain of the New Zealand bound Indian side, which did raise many-a eyebrow.

An interesting piece of information was furnished in the July 1995 issue of "The Cricketer", giving a review of the game on the 250th anniversary of women's cricket.

The women's World Cup is around the corner but the Indian women's team, which is in the probables stage, is still unsure of what their future course of action will be.

The World Cup 2000 is just around the corner and the Indian women's cricket team has begun earnest preparations. Rigorous fitness schedules and regular updates on areas of batting , bowling and fielding have given the women an added sense of conviction.

It is a well known fact that men cricketers and men's cricket hog all the limelight that the Indian media has to offer. But are they to be blamed for the way things stand today, in perspective of the fact that other disciplines suffer as a consequence?