The Indian team in South Africa has declared war on television channels SET Max and ESPN-Star following  comments by their commentators -- former opening batsmen Krishnmachari Srikkanth and Navjot Singh Sidhu respectively -- on captain Sourav Ganguly.

As a result, says Mumbai eveninger Mid-day, SET Max, the official telecaster of the World Cup, is in panic because no Indian player is ready to speak to them live.

Mid-day said an apology over telephone by Srikkanth was rubbished by Ganguly.

The former India opener had suggested that the India captain, who was out first ball in the match against Pakistan, should bat at "number 14", implying that he be dropped from the playing eleven.

"It was just a joke! Please don't take it to heart!" Srikkanth told Ganguly during the call on Sunday.

But Ganguly was not impressed.

"How can it be? He will say this and people will react; and then he says that this was a joke? That just cannot be,"  Ganguly is believed to have said while reacting to the call.

Sony bossman Kunal Dasgupta is also believed to have called Ganguly and asked him not to discriminate against his channel on the basis of comments made by one man.

"Then why do you continue to use such commentators?" Ganguly is understood to have tersely replied.

Meanwhile, the Indian team stands solidly behind the skipper.

England coach Duncan Fletcher has hinted that Michael Vaughan may be too inexperienced to skipper the one-day side.

Vaughan emerged a likely candidate to take over the captaincy after Nasser Hussain's resignation on Tuesday.

But Marcus Trescothick, Surrey captain Adam Hollioake and Durham all-rounder Paul Collingwood are also in the frame.

"One must remember Vaughan is very inexperienced," Fletcher said.

"You have to learn how to play that game, becuase the situations change game-by-game. You've got to have experience in those situations to make yourself a better player."

World Cup organiser Dr Ali Bacher has defended the International Cricket Council's decision not to have reserve days for rain-affected matches.

The system leaves teams sharing the points when games are abandoned, as happened between West Indies and Bangladesh, and Zimbabwe and Pakistan.

Bacher said the decision had been taken in order to avoid travel chaos for teams, fans, officials and the media.

"Logistically, it would have been impossible from an organisational point of view to have included reserve days for matches in the group stage," he said.

"As it has turned out, only two matches of the 40 played so far have been rained off."

Pakistan cricket chiefs have ordered an inquiry into a disappointing World Cup campaign which left the players "ashamed, disappointed, sad and heartbroken".

The Pakistan Cricket Board appointed a three-member committee comprising two former Test players, Naushad Ali and Aquib Javed, and Sultan Rana to probe the debacle.

Pakistan, runners-up four years ago and one of the favourites in South Africa, secured victories only against minnows Namibia and the Netherlands and were knocked out in the first round with 10 points.

Worse, Pakistan lost the high-profile game against India by six wickets, their fourth World Cup defeat in a row to their arch-rivals.

"We are ashamed, disappointed, sad and heartbroken after letting the nation down," an extraordinary statement released by the squad said.

"We knew that we were carrying the hopes of millions of our fans and have failed to live up to expectations.

"We tried our level best, we trained extremely hard and did everything within our reach.

"But things didn't work the way we would have liked to and we have no excuses to offer."

Shane Warne and Brett Lee were needed as witnesses in the case of a Gold Coast businessman accused of trying to blackmail the Australian Cricket Board, his lawyer has said.

Christopher Kent, 45, is charged with trying to blackmail the ACB for $5000 after Warne allegedly kissed his 16-year-old niece in January last year.

The girl and several friends reportedly pursued Warne and pace bowler Brett Lee on the Gold Coast until the pair pulled over in their sports car.

Police cleared Warne of any wrongdoing in the incident and the flamboyant cricketer later described it as an attempt to cash in on his fame.

Today, Kent's lawyer George Defteros told the Melbourne Magistrates Court he would be arguing that both Warne and Lee were required as witnesses at the committal hearing.

Outside court, Mr Defteros said he would argue the cricketers were "pertinent, relevant and required to be cross-examined" at the next hearing on March 12.

"We think that Mr Warne and Mr Lee are going to be very important witnesses for this matter," he said.

Australia's World Cup cricket squad has helped raise nearly $20,000 to assist the victims of January's bushfires in Canberra, the ACB has said.

A total of ten bats signed by the original squad were auctioned on-line at eBay.com.au.

The auction closed on February 3 with the total money raised from bidding reaching $19,680.

Each bat was signed by the original 15-man squad that departed for the 2003 ICC World Cup in South Africa on January 29.

ACB Chief Executive Officer James Sutherland said the devastation of the bushfires had moved the players to help.

"The Australian team was inspired by the courage of other Australians, emergency workers and volunteers who pulled together in a time of despair," Sutherland said.

"We know there are many people around Australia rallying for this cause, and we hope Australian cricket's contribution provides some relief for the bushfire victims who lost so much so quickly."

Police arrested 24 people at Tuesday's World Cup cricket match in Bulawayo - the second swoop on spectators at the tournament.

They were held for allegedly violating laws that ban public protest against Robert Mugabe's regime, lawyers said.

The 24 were arrested at the Queens Park ground in Bulawayo as Zimbabwe were playing Pakistan.

They were being held at Bulawayo's central police station under the Public Order and Security Act, said lawyer Kucaca Pulu.

He did not know under what circumstances they were arrested, because officers of the notorious police "law and order" section responsible for monitoring political activity had gone home early, he said.

As controversy over Zimbabwe's holding of World Cup matches continued, spectators said police had stepped up security at the grounds following demonstrations at two previous matches.

The new batch of protesters took the place of 39 who were arrested on Friday after the match between Zimbabwe and Holland, for holding banners and wearing black armbands.