When the Sri Lankan team watched the sun set behind Table Mountain two evenings ago, the possibility of winning their first series in South Africa still existed. Nowt they are looking only for a draw.

Firdose Moonda at Newlands04-Jan-2012When the Sri Lankan team watched the sun set behind Table Mountain two evenings ago, the possibility of winning their first series in South Africa still existed. Now, not even halfway into the deciding Test match and their focus has shifted substantially. Instead of their sights set on a massive upset they are looking only for a draw as they aim to share the spoils in this series.Geoff Marsh, Sri Lanka’s coach, admitted their poor first day, in which they conceded 347 runs and took just three wickets, cost the chance of shooting for the stars. “We have to play catch up cricket now,” said Marsh. “But if we manage to avoid the follow-on then that will open the game up a little bit.”Sri Lanka still require 232 runs to avoid the possibility of being asked to bat again at Newlands. With the amount of time left in the game, they will have to put in a supreme stand at the crease to deny South Africa their first series win at home since 2008, something Marsh thinks the hosts are anxious to achieve.When Graeme Smith declared, 40 minutes before tea, the decision was somewhat surprising because South Africa could have pushed the advantage. Marsh said he expected Smith to call time on South Africa’s innings because of the importance of clinching the contest. “They’ve got to win the game to win the series so we thought we would be batting at that time,” said Marsh. “They have to give themselves time to bowl us out twice.”Marsh believes Sri Lanka’s line-up is talented and tough enough to put up adequate resistance. “If we bat well, we are capable of making big scores,” said Marsh. “We’ve got some very good Test cricketers with some very good averages and we would expect what we were doing to back that up.”The back up started with captain Tillakaratne Dilshan, who scored an aggressive 78, before falling in a typical fashion, attempting a big shot over long-on. It is his best effort of the tour and his first half-century in the three Tests. Had he still been at the crease, Sri Lanka would have slept easier. “We’d love to have been one down,” said Marsh but added that the team was grateful for the start Dilshan gave them. “Dilshan plays the way Dilshan plays, that’s why he is so dangerous. It’s always good when Dilshan gets runs because he gets them so quickly. He himself wants to be a bit more consistent. Today he batted beautifully. It’s a pity he got out.”Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene are currently at the crease. The pair hold the world-record partnership for any team with their third-wicket stand of 624 against South Africa in Colombo. Although that was achieved in completely different circumstances, it is a performance that Sri Lanka will likely draw some inspiration from.The strip itself may provide the rest of the motivation. From their first day’s toil, Sri Lanka know that taking 20 wickets on a batsmen-friendly pitch will be a challenge for any side. Sri Lanka struggled to make breakthroughs on a pitch that didn’t offer much assistance and a batting line-up determined to attack.More than inexperience, it was the lack of surety that affected Sri Lanka’s bowlers and may be the reason they miss their chance at history. If they do, they can take some consolation in knowing that they have been described as the sub-continental side that has made the biggest strides by South African stalwart Jacques Kallis. “In previous years sub-continent sides have struggled with the bounce in South Africa but they have all improved the way they’ve played the pace and bounce,” he said. “And I think Sri Lanka have improved the most.”When the sun sets on the Test series in three days time, Marsh said his team do not want it to go down with them left wondering about what could have been. “To beat real good sides, you can’t make mistakes but the boys are really keen,” he said. “They don’t want to just play the last Test, win that, and then play badly in this Test.”

Saeed Ajaml’s move back to Worcestershire this summer could be in doubt because of Pakistan’s proposed tour of Sri Lanka. Ajmal had signed to play in the Flt20, which begins in June, but now may be unable to play because of international commitments.

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Feb-2012Saeed Ajaml’s move back to Worcestershire this season could be in doubt because of Pakistan’s proposed tour of Sri Lanka. Ajmal had signed to play in the Flt20, which begins in June, but now may be unavailable because of international commitments.Ajmal played a major role in a short stint for Worcestershire in the latter half of last season. He took 6 for 124 against Sussex at Horsham to bowl Worcestershire to a victory that went a long way to securing their survival in Division One of the County Championship.He bamboozled England in the recent Test series with 24 wickets, helping Pakistan to a 3-0 whitewash, and Worcestershire were keen to bring him back to New Road in 2012.”We were aware when we signed Saeed that there was the possibility of Pakistan touring Sri Lanka,” Worcestershire chief executive David Leatherdale told “There has been no definitive answer. We don’t know if they will be touring or not.”Saeed has signed for us and he is desperate to come. He is a class act and if he can’t come back it will be a blow. If he is available then fantastic, if not then it will be a real shame but we will look at some other plans.”

Jean Symes, a South African allrounder who plays for Lions and Gauteng, will be Scotland’s overseas player for the Clydesdale Bank 40 competition

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Mar-2012Jean Symes, a South African allrounder who plays for Lions and Gauteng, will be Scotland’s overseas player for the Clydesdale Bank 40 competition.Symes, 25, replaces George Worker from New Zealand who has been called into the Emerging Player squad. Symes will also play for Watsonian in the Eastern Premier League when not on Scotland duty.He has a one-day high score of 170 and a career strike-rate in List A cricket of 86.13 from 56 games, while his left-arm spin has gathered 47 wickets at 25.98. He represented South Africa Under-19s at the 2006 World Cup in Sri Lanka where he won the Man-of-the-Match award against Scotland.On a previous spell in the Lancashire Leagues playing for Norden he scored an unbeaten 268 against Royton in 2009.”We are delighted to have secured Jean to replace George Worker,” Roddy Smith, the Cricket Scotland chief executive, said. “As a top order batter and left-arm spinner, he was exactly the type of cricketer we were looking for. I’m sure he will be a useful addition for Scotland and Watsonian CC for the 2012 season.”

Brett Lee has revealed his right foot is still broken and the injury has caused him significant pain throughout the tri-series

Brydon Coverdale in Melbourne01-Mar-2012Brett Lee has revealed his right foot is still broken and the injury has caused him significant pain throughout the tri-series. However, Lee hopes he won’t be the bowler asked to sit out of the match against Sri Lanka at the MCG to accommodate James Pattinson, who is set to make his comeback from a foot injury of his own.The Australians have a couple of selection decisions to make ahead of the match, which is the last game before the best-of-three finals, for which they have already qualified. Michael Clarke could miss a second successive match due to injury after the national selection manager John Inverarity said a no-risk approach would be taken to the captain’s fitness.And the selectors will also be keen for Pattinson to play before the finals, having not turned out for Australia since the Sydney Test victory over India nearly two months ago. Ben Hilfenhaus and Clint McKay have been in fine form during the series but someone will need to rest if Pattinson is to play, and Lee said he was keen to stay on the field despite his injury.”It’s still broken,” Lee said of his foot. “I had an x-ray yesterday but the show must go on. You’ve got to do these things when you’re playing for your country. It’s been very painful but I’ve come back a lot earlier than I probably could have or should have. But you have to do that when you’re playing for your country.”I haven’t thought about [not playing on Friday]. Hopefully I’ve been doing my job and playing some decent cricket. I’m not a selector and I’ll never be a selector. I’m just focused on what I’m trying to do, lead the attack. We have got a great squad of players and some serious depth so we’ll wait and see what happens tomorrow night.”Lee suffered the injury while stopping a ball with his foot during Australia’s Twenty20 against India at the MCG in February and he was originally expected to miss the whole tri-series. But his earlier-than-expected comeback has ensured plenty of depth for Australia’s one-day attack, with Ryan Harris now unable to find a place in the squad due to Pattinson’s return.”We’ve gone through periods when we’ve been lacking fast bowlers and we’ve also gone through periods where we’ve had no fast bowlers around,” Lee said. “But now we’ve got seven or eight guys putting their hand up to play Test cricket and T20 and one-day cricket for Australia. It keeps the options open and keeps the older guys and the younger guys coming through knowing that complacency should never play a part.”Pattinson, 21, has played only two one-day internationals and is looking forward to his first short-format match for Australia at home. By including him in the final stages of this series and in the ODI and T20 squads to tour the West Indies in mid-March, the selectors have limited Pattinson’s chances of playing in the longer format ahead of the Caribbean Test series, but he does not believe that will be a problem.”I’ve missed two Test matches but I still feel back bowling in the nets now like I haven’t really been out of cricket a long time,” Pattinson said. “I haven’t had to get back into my rhythm and worry about all that sort of stuff, it’s come pretty naturally for me. I’m just looking forward now to having a go in the shorter format of the game and then hopefully whatever comes with the longer format. At the moment we’re just concentrating on the one-dayers.”And while Pattinson, Lee, Hilfenhaus and McKay is a strong pace line-up, there is little room for error against a Sri Lankan batting order that has made 320 and 283 in the past two matches. Sri Lanka’s captain Mahela Jayawardene said his batsmen always enjoyed using the speed of the quicker bowlers against them, contrary to the stereotype that teams from the subcontinent prefer facing spin.”Everyone says that we don’t play quicks that well but I think out of all the countries we manage the best,” Jayawardene said. “Our guys bat much better when they’ve got pace and bounce – we did that in England, we did that in South Africa, and here we’ve been very consistent.”

A round-up of the games from the Quandrangular Under-19 series in Australia

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Apr-2012Kurtis Patterson scored 99, and Travis Head and Meyrick Buchanan made half-centuries, to lead Australia Under-19 to a four-wicket victory in the final over against India Under-19 at the Tony Ireland Stadium in Townsville. Chasing a target of 261, Australia lost two early wickets before they were steadied by a 103-run stand between Head and Patterson. They then took control of the game through a 98-run partnership between Patterson and Buchanan for the fourth wicket. After Patterson was stumped one short of a century, Australia lost two more wickets in quick time, but had done enough to ensure victory with five balls to spare. None of the Indian batsmen made a half-century in their innings but they were well placed for a formidable score at 191 for 4 in the 39th over. However, they lost four wickets for six runs, before No. 10 Kamal Passi hit 41 off 30 deliveries to boost the visitors to 261. Gurinder Sandhu and Ashton Agar took three wickets each for Australia.England Under-19 beat New Zealand Under-19 comprehensively, easing home by nine wickets at the Endeavour Park Ground in Townsville. The pace-bowling duo of Aneesh Kapil and Adam Ball shared seven wickets to bowl out New Zealand for 78 in under 33 overs. Only four batsmen reached double-figures, the openers being among them. A steady start of 34 for 0 was in vain, as 10 wickets fell for 44. Kapil took 4 for 6 in five overs and Ball chipped in with three. England reached their target in just over 18 overs, opener Daniel Bell-Drummond remaining unbeaten on 41.

Mark Ramprakash has been dropped by Surrey for their next County Championship match against Somerset

ESPNcricinfo staff15-May-2012Mark Ramprakash has been dropped by Surrey for their next County Championship match against Somerset following a poor start to the season which cumulated in a pair against Worcestershire last week.Ramprakash, 42, has scored 62 runs in eight Championship innings and his pair at New Road, completed when he was caught down the leg side off Richard Jones as he was out twice in a day, was just the third of his first-class career.Chris Adams, the Surrey cricket manager, said it was not a decision he took lightly. “We have not selected Mark Ramprakash for the game against Somerset which was a very difficult decision to make,” he said. “Mark has had a tough start to the season and has not made the impact with the bat that he would have wanted to.”But you do not score the amount of runs that Mark has without knowing your own game and I know he will work hard to find his form again. The challenge now for Mark is to push hard to regain his place for the remainder of the season.”The difficult start to this season followed a 2011 campaign that was also below Ramprakash’s usual high standards. He was hindered by injury during the year and made 700 runs at 33.33 in 13 Championship matches with one hundred.

Auckland’s Eden Park will host its first Test in seven years when England play there during their three-Test series next season

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Jun-2012Auckland’s Eden Park will host its first Test in seven years when England play there during their three-Test series next season. New Zealand Cricket has released its schedule for the England tour, which will consist of Tests in Dunedin, Wellington and Auckland, along with three Twenty20 internationals and three ODIs.Eden Park has not hosted a Test since March 2006, when New Zealand beat West Indies, although it has remained a regular venue for international limited-overs games. David White, the New Zealand Cricket chief executive, said an England Test seemed like a good fit for Auckland, while Dunedin was the logical South Island venue for a Test after Christchurch’s ground was affected by last year’s earthquake.”Auckland hasn’t hosted a Test match since 2006 and we felt the England tour presented a good opportunity allocate a match to our largest city,” White said. “An inbound England tour brings in a large number of supporters who create a wonderful atmosphere and we are sure the people of Auckland will turn out in force to see two quality teams in what promises to be a fantastic occasion.”We felt it was important to schedule an international match in the South Island and a Test match at University Oval was the logical choice. It was 1966 when the England team last played a Test match in Dunedin so I’m sure the locals will get behind the event. Unfortunately we were again unable to schedule a match in Canterbury due to the lack of a suitable venue for international cricket.”Seddon Park in Hamilton missed on being allocated a Test for the first time since 2006-07, while there was also no room for Napier’s McLean Park on the Test calendar. Hamilton and Napier will both host matches during the limited-overs portion of the tour, which runs through February, before England play a four-day warm-up game in Queenstown ahead of the Test series.Twenty20 series
February 4 – New Zealand XI v England, Cobham Oval, Whangarei (warm-up match)
February 6 – New Zealand XI v England, Cobham Oval, Whangarei (warm-up match)
February 9 – First T20 international, Eden Park, Auckland
February 12 – Second T20 international, Seddon Park, Hamilton
February 15 – Third T20 international, Westpac Stadium, Wellington
One-day international series
February 17 – First ODI, Seddon Park, Hamilton
February 20 – Second ODI, McLean Park, Napier
February 23 – Third ODI, Eden Park, Auckland
Test series
February 27-March 2 – New Zealand XI v England, Queenstown (warm-up match)
March 6-10 – First Test, University Oval, Dunedin
March 14-18 – Second Test, Basin Reserve, Wellington
March 22-26 – Third Test, Eden Park, Auckland

Derbyshire nightwatchman Antonio Palladino reached a maiden first-class century and Australia A then stumbled to 141 for 6, a lead of 234

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Jul-2012
ScorecardFast bowler Tony Palladino scored his maiden first-class century•PA Photos

Australia A endured a more testing second day to their tour of England, as Derbyshire nightwatchman Antonio Palladino reached a maiden first-class century and the visiting batsmen then stumbled to 141 for 6, a lead of 234.There was comfort, however, in a brisk 78 from Steven Smith, batting a No. 3, as well as an unbeaten half-century from a member of the opposition – Usman Khawaja, who has played in six Tests for Australia, but has been given time away from the international set-up to work on his batting on the county circuit.Australia A’s bowlers would not have been pleased to see Derbyshire add more than 200 runs for the loss of two wickets, even if one of their own was at the other end for much of the day. Nathan Lyon and Jackson Bird made solitary breakthroughs, before the county declared 97 runs behind. The batsmen then experienced far greater difficulty than had been the case on day one.After Ed Cowan’s first-innings century, Australia A made changes to the batting order, opening with Michael Klinger and wicketkeeper Tim Paine. Mark Footitt removed both in his opening spell and Peter Forrest fell for 8, before Smith and Mitchell Johnson put on 72 for the fourth wicket. They fell in consecutive overs and with David Wainwright picking up his second wicket, that of George Bailey for 2, shortly before the close, all three results remain possible on Sunday.Such disarray was preceded by the sight of Palladino thumping his way to a century inside the first session. Palladino’s previous highest score in first-class cricket was 66, made while playing for Essex against Durham in 2010. Resuming on 4 overnight, he extended his partnership with Wayne Madsen to 49, before Lyon struck in his second over of the day to remove Derbyshire’s captain for 34.Palladino was joined by Khawaja, playing against a few familiar faces, and hit 12 off an over from Lyon to move past fifty. The bowler repeated the trick a few overs later, taking just 33 balls to move from 52 to 100, bringing up the landmark with a single off Lyon shortly before lunch. He only added six more runs, as he and Khawaja recorded a hundred partnership before Palladino was bowled by Bird.Khawaja made a patient half-century, from 82 balls, adding another 69 with Wes Durston before Derbyshire declared three down, allowing their bowlers to continue the good work.

Western Australia have finalised their squad for next summer, with the Tasmanian wicketkeeper Tom Triffitt and the young Victorian spinner Ashton Agar the only imports from outside the state

Brydon Coverdale04-Jul-2012Western Australia have finalised their squad for next summer, with the Tasmanian wicketkeeper Tom Triffitt and the young Victorian spinner Ashton Agar the only imports from outside the state. The fast bowlers Jason Behrendorff and Matt Dixon were upgraded from rookie deals to full contracts, as was the batsman Tom Beaton.The opening batsman Wes Robinson was not offered a new contract after a disappointing summer in which he averaged less than 30, while Michael Johnson and Martin Paskal were also dropped. The Warriors had already lost the fast bowlers Mark Cameron and Brad Knowles to retirement, and the batsman Luke Pomersbach is also gone from the squad after being handed a deal by Queensland.The other departure was of Luke Ronchi, who is pursuing a career in his country of birth, New Zealand, and it was his absence that opened the door for Triffitt to move from Tasmania. But Triffitt, 21, won’t have it all his own way behind the stumps with two young glovemen, Cameron Bancroft and Sam Whiteman, signed on as rookies.Bancroft, Whiteman, Will Bosisto and Ashton Turner are all new additions to the rookie list and they will all be part of Australia’s squad at the Under-19 World Cup, to be held in Queensland in August. Agar, an 18-year-old left-arm spinner, is also part of the World Cup squad and has been signed to a full contract, joining Michael Beer as the only specialist spinners on the 17-man list.”Ashton Agar has been recruited with a view to increasing our spin bowling options and he will team up with Michael Beer,” Lachlan Stevens, the Western Australia coach, said. “Allrounder Ashton Turner is also a promising spin option and the competition for spots between that trio will be similar to what is being created with our three wicketkeepers, and that’s what we are after.”Essentially we are hoping our senior players can create a new legacy for the Warriors brand by being competitive with the best sides in Australia and showing leadership with their on and off-field responsibilities.”Western Australia have also named a 10-man development squad, designed to provide opportunities for players sitting just outside the contract list. The former Test batsman and coach Geoff Marsh will head the development squad, which includes former state squad members Jake Fawcett, Drew Porter and Luke Towers, as well as the former Tasmania batsman John Rogers and the former New South Wales allrounder Tim Armstrong.Western Australia squad Ashton Agar, Tom Beaton, Michael Beer, Jason Behrendorff, Travis Birt, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Liam Davis, Matthew Dixon, Ryan Duffield, Marcus Harris, Michael Hogan, Michael Hussey (CA contract), Mitchell Johnson (CA contract), Mitchell Marsh, Shaun Marsh, Marcus North, Nathan Rimmington, Tom Triffitt, Adam Voges.Rookies Cameron Bancroft, William Bosisto, Joel Paris, Ashton Turner, Sam Whiteman.

Ruhuna Royals kept their semi-finals hopes alive with a comfortable four-wicket win, having restricted an uninspired Basnahira Cricket Dundee to 123 for 4

The Report by Andrew Fernando25-Aug-2012
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsNasir Jamshed guided Ruhuna’s chase with a half-century•Ron Gaunt/SPORTZPICS/SLPL

Ruhuna Royals kept their semi-final hopes alive with a comfortable four-wicket win, having restricted an uninspired Basnahira Cricket Dundee to 123 for 4. Nasir Jamshed guided Ruhuna home in 16.4 overs with a measured 51 from 46 balls, after Aaron Finch had provided an explosive start to the run chase. Wahab Riaz took 2 for 19 for Ruhuna in his last match before the Pakistan players depart for national duty in the UAE.Basnahira had little to play for, with last night’s Kandurata win ending their chances of reaching the semi-final, and at times in their final match, the lack of motivation showed. Tillakaratne Dilshan’s run out was almost solely down to lethargy. When Rilee Russouw called him for a single to mid-off, Dilshan sauntered down the pitch, when only a sprint would have got him home. A lunge at the end when he realised the throw was already coming in was not enough to save him.A failure to take risks even with plenty of wickets in hand also hamstrung the innings. Of the seven batsmen who came to the crease, only Cameron Borgas scored at quicker than a run a ball. Ruhuna bowled with discipline, but in failing to even attempt the big shots Basnahira resigned themselves to a poor total they would always struggle to defend. They may have also been hampered by an injury to Russouw, who was hit on the nose by Lasith Malinga as he and Borgas were progressing steadily after two early wickets.Aaron Finch led Ruhuna’s reply with four fours and two sixes in his bellicose 28, while Jamshed played anchor at the other end. Basnahira’s spinners crimped the flow of runs through the middle overs, but even Rangana Herath’s return of 2 for 16 couldn’t apply sufficient pressure to induce panic. Wickets fell towards the end as Lahiru Thirimanne and Riaz were dismissed in the same Mahmudullah over, but Jamshed ensured there would be no hiccups, crossing fifty just before the winning run came via a no-ball.