Cricket: Champions Trophy Update

Latest news on the ICC Trophy which gets underway in England today:

1 Indian batting supremo Sachin Tendulkar has withdrawn from the tournament and been replaced not by the selectors' choice, Dinesh Mongia, but by the president's choice, Rohan Gavaskar.

Reports out of India suggest that Indian selection convener Syed Kirmani phoned Mongia after Tendulkar's withdrawal, but was overruled minutes later by the office of board president Jagmohan Dalmyia.

Tendulkar and Sri Lanka spinner Muttiah Muralitharan are the most high-profile absentees from the tournament.

2 Pakistan allrounder Azhar Mahmood has been whistled into the squad to replace the injured paceman Shabbir Ahmed. He is one of a cluster of late changes approved by the tournament organisers, including England's Alex Wharffor Kabir Ali, South Africa's Charl Langeveldt for Andre Nel, the West Indies' Ryan Hinds for Dwayne Smith, and Gavaskar for Tendulkar.

3 Considered a leading contender for this year's title, India have moved to provide their New Zealand coach John Wright with more assistance, calling in former Australian left-armer Bruce Reid to work with the pace bowling unit.

Reid is viewed as a useful choice given India's trio of left-armers - Ashish Nehra, Zaheer Khan and Irfan Pathan.

4 The ICC will conduct research into the controversial delivery actions of slow bowlers during the tournament. Previously used as a vehicle for technological experimentation, the tournament will feature umpires wired for stump microphone audio, video officials calling no-balls, and more scrutiny of spin bowlers during their delivery action.

The latter initiative appears an attempt at gaining more information on the vexed "doosra" - the delivery made famous by the likes of Muttiah Muralitharan, who won't be at the tournament, and Saqlain Mushtaq.

5 Australia's playing squad for the Champions Trophy might look impressive, but they can also boast one of the most comprehensive management teams, out-gunning even the New Zealanders for support.

Apart from the presumed video analyst, Australia can call on coach John Buchanan, manager Steve Bernard, physio Errol Alcott, physical performance manager Jock Campbell, massage therapist Lucy Frostick, assistant coach Tim Nielsen, fielding coach Michael Young and media manager Jonathan Rose.