Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

Kumar Sangakkara’s marathon 232, the third double-century of his career and thefourth-highest score against South Africa, handed Sri Lanka control of the second Test in Colombo. An early strike from Chaminda Vaas, and a double-wicket maiden from Sanath Jayasuriya just before the close, then tightened their grip on the game as South Africa closed on 116 for 3.Herschelle Gibbs had worked feverishly hard to overcome his ankle injury,but he came into the second Test with no match practice for many months – hardly ideal preparation for the deciding match of a series. Vaas allowed him no time to shake off the early-season rustiness with a peach of an inswinger first ball that would have knocked back middle stump (1 for 1).Lasith Malinga, Sri Lanka’s new round-armed pace sensation, or “pocketrocket” as he is described by his coach, bowled a remarkable first over thatincluded five wicket-taking outswingers and one rank full-toss to leaveMartin van Jaarsveld utterly perplexed. But the shock value of his weirdaction wore off soon and van Jaarsveld and Graeme Smith settled in.Their next moment of alarm came when Thilan Samaraweera claimed a catch offvan Jaarsveld, on 13, at slip off Rangana Herath. But the TV replaysindicated that the ball may have brushed the turf, and the batsman was given the benefit of the doubt. Thereafter South Africa, with Muttiah Muralitharan safely out of the way, ticked along smoothly.But just when the day appeared to be drifting towards a quiet end, Jayasuriya’s magic arm struck twice in his first over. First, van Jaarsveld(51) mistimed a drive to cover moments after reaching his third Test fifty,and then Nicky Boje, the nightwatchman, was bowled through the gate (109 for3).Smith, who finished on 49 not out, and Jacques Kallis sweated their waythrough the last five overs, leaving South Africa with a fight on their hands to reach the follow-on target of 271 on the third day – although, in such draining conditions, Sri Lanka would probably bank the lead and bat again.Earlier, South Africa’s pace bowlers, led by Shaun Pollock, dragged theirteam back into the match by bowling out Sri Lanka for 470. Samaraweera’s top-edged hook six minutes before lunch proved to be the trigger for a rush of wickets. Five wickets tumbled for 26 as Sri Lanka, who had looked set for a mountainous total, slumped from 392 for 4 to 437 for 9.When Sangakkara finally succumbed to tiredness after nine hours ofconcentration and focus, flashing at a wide delivery and edging to slip,Pollock celebrated with a mixture of joy and relief: Kallis hadgiven Sangakkara a letoff at slip on 57 off him, and Pollock had missed a difficult one-handed return catch off his own bowling this morning when Sangakkara had reached 177.

But Pollock, by far the best of the South African bowlers in this series,was rewarded for all his hard work with excellent final figures of 4 for 81from 30 overs on a placid pitch. If his colleagues – especially Makhaya Ntiniand Nantie Hayward – had shown the same skill and control, South Africa wouldnot have conceded the intiative again.It was Pollock who found the edge of Tillakaratne Dilshan’s bat tobreak through after lunch (399 for 6), and Hayward who sent RomeshKaluwitharana packing after a nick from a swivel-pull was safelypouched by Mark Boucher (416 for 7). Ntini tidied up his figures a touch asRangana Herath chopped one onto his stumps (437 for 9).But it wasn’t all plain sailing for South Africa, on another afternoon of sweltering 39-degree heat, as Upul Chandana cobbled together 40 and frustrated them, putting on 33 for the last wicket with Malinga. Chandana flew out of the blocks with a flurry of meaty boundaries, before South Africa dropped the field back and reduced the scoring to a crawl. Finally, though, with the innings meandering to a tedious standstill, he tried to launch Boje into downtown Colombo and was stumped: Sri Lanka finished on 470.In the morning, after Vaas, the nightwatchman, had fallen to the secondnew ball for 10, Sangakkara batted briskly, with no hint of nerves as he cruised through the 190s. But that was hardly surprising because he has now doubled up all of his last three Test centuries – the last two were his 230 against Pakistan in 2001-02 and 270 against Zimbabwe this May.It was a fine innings, during which he curbed a natural instinct forattack as South Africa plugged the gaps and tried to wear down his patience.He interspersed solid defence with his full repertoire of stylish strokes,scoring an equal percentage of his runs on either side of the wicket andfinishing with 31 fours and one swept six. It was his second-highest score, and only Don Bradman (299 at Adelaide in 1931-32), Eddie Paynter (243 at Durban in 1938-39) and Mahela Jayawardene (237 at Galle last week) have made higher scores against South Africa.Off the pitch, it was announced that Muralitharan, who pulled out yesterday morning, would fly to Australia tonight for surgery. He was already ruled out of the five-match one-day series that follows this Test. However, until his shoulder is opened up, it is not clear quite how long he will be out of action.

If left to their own devices, one imagines that both England and Pakistan – two of the three teams still remaining in the Champions Trophy – would quite happily pack up their bags and walk away now. In the space of three days at Edgbaston, both have pulled off memorable victories against their arch-rivals, Australia and India, and whatever happens in the remainder of the competition, there will still be the warm afterglow from those matches.However Pakistan’s coach, Bob Woolmer, is not about to let his charges rest on their laurels, as they prepare to take on West Indies for a place in Saturday’s final. “After games like that there is a tendency to come off the boil but we’ll have to heat them up,” he told the BBC. “The players have the ethic of trying to get better every day so they’ll be well tuned-in for this match.”Since taking over as Pakistan’s coach, Woolmer has overseen a gradual, but highly visible, upturn in the team’s fortunes. Until the win over India, the results – an improved showing in the Asia Cup, followed by two narrow defeats against Australia at Amstelveen and Lord’s – mattered less than the context, with the entire side visibly approving of his innovative brand of man-management.Little changes to the balance of the team, such as the reintroduction of Shahid Afridi, Shoaib Malik at No. 3, and the use of Shoaib Akhtar as first-change seamer, have paid rich dividends, and Woolmer has struck an immediate chord with his captain, the newly slimline Inzamam-ul-Haq, whose 41 from 79 balls on Sunday was a vital aspect of Pakistan’s victory over India.”It’s good to work with someone who commands such respect,” said Woolmer. “If he leads from the front, the team will always work very hard.” Midway through that last innings, Inzamam became only the second player after Sachin Tendulkar to pass 10000 one-day international runs, and Woolmer is fully aware of the experience that he brings to bear each time he sets foot on the pitch.”I’ve worked with fitter and faster captains,” he conceded. “But Inzamam has a good cricket brain, as you would expect from someone with his experience. He reacts to situations very quickly and has a strong character. He is an excellent captain.”Neither Woolmer nor Inzamam, however, was especially enamoured with the pitch they had landed for their semi-final. Hampshire’s Rose Bowl has long had a reputation as being a difficult venue to bat at, and Woolmer conceded that concentration would be the key to survival. Inzamam’s appraisal was even more blunt. “It is not a good one-day wicket,” he said. “In my opinion it is a difficult track.”In that respect, West Indies have a slight advantage, seeing as they have already played one match at the Rose Bowl – their 138-run defeat of Bangladesh in their opening fixture. Furthermore, they have spent an entire summer getting to grips with English conditions, and in the one-day game they have fared pretty well. They reached the final of the NatWest Series at England’s expense, and last week dumped South Africa out of the tournament in an impressive run-chase at The Oval.”It’s been a very long summer,” admitted Brian Lara, West Indies’ long-suffering captain. “But we’ve got a break after this and what we’d like to do is end on a high. It would be really nice if we could get one step further and get to the ICC final.”

England’s tour of Zimbabwe will go ahead as scheduled despite the media ban imposed on journalists. Thirteen English journalists, including those from The Times, the Daily Telegraph and the BBC, were yesterday denied entry into Zimbabwe to cover the series.The England & Wales Cricket Board felt that they could not abandon the tour as that might result in severe penalties from the International Cricket Council, whose rules do not cover matters related to media accreditation.Michael Vaughan condemned the ban, terming it “totally wrong”. Vaughan was quoted in the as saying, “I’m flabbergasted by the decision. Whether you like the media or not, they have a huge role to play in the game. Through giving the game exposure and with TV rights they bring the game 60% of its income.”However, he confirmed that the team wouldn’t pull out of the tour because of this ban. “There’s something very wrong if our media can’t get in to cover a tour,” he said. “I don’t know how a cricket tour can be called a cricket tour when our media aren’t involved. I wouldn’t pull out because of it, but I’m in contact with Richard Bevan, the Professional Cricketers’ Association rep, asking for advice.”Bevan, though, wasn’t sanguine about whether the matter could be solved. “We’re extremely disappointed in the decision to ban certain newspapers and broadcasters,” he said. “It’s an unacceptable position for the game to be in. I know there are significant discussions taking place but I’m not optimistic.”

Nottinghamshire have announced a profit of £71,215 – a slight increase on the 2003 figure of £71,082. Turnover rose by 9.5% from £4.86m to £5.33m in the year Notts won Division Two of the Frizzell County Championship and also gained promotion in the Totesport League.During the year Nottinghamshire also completed the first phase of the redevelopment of the Trent Bridge pavilion, and successfully staged two one-day internationals and a Test match.David Collier, the Nottinghamshire chief executive who is leaving shortly to take over at the ECB, said: “We are pleased to report results which were above budget for 2004. During the year the Club has invested more than £500,000 in enhancing the facilities at Trent Bridge and has significantly strengthened our playing staff resulting in a ‘double promotion’ season.”It is particularly pleasing to record a 15% increase in membership income and a 24% increase in gate receipts, despite our floodlit totesport League match having been abandoned without a ball being bowled.”Commercial income from sponsorship and ground advertising has risen by 18% and hospitality and catering income by 6%, which was an outstanding achievement by our commercial department during a year in which cricket competed for this source of revenue with the Athens Olympics and Euro 2004.”Net income from the ECB has fallen from £901,366 to £756,937 and now represents less than 15% of the club¹s total turnover.”The 30% increase in policing and stewarding costs at Trent Bridge resulted from a comprehensive training programme for all stewards which has made Trent Bridge one of the best-stewarded and policed grounds in world cricket.Notts have named Lisa Pursehouse as Acting Chief Executive with effect from January 1, 2005, when Collier moves to the ECB. She is currently the sales and marketing manager at Trent Bridge, was responsible for the delivery of the inaugural Twenty20 Finals Day at Trent Bridge in 2003, and is widely respected as one of the leading commercial managers in English cricket.Notts expect to name their new chief executive shortly before the start of the 2005 season. Barry Pailing, the chairman, explained: “We have already interviewed a short-list of candidates for the position. The quality of applicants reflects the esteem in which we are held in world cricket, and I am confident that we shall announce an appointment of the highest calibre before the start of the season.”

Javed Miandad has come out strongly against Bob Woolmer’s coaching methods and is extremely sceptical about Pakistan’s chances in the Test series against Australia. Miandad’s comments came just two days before the start of the first Test at Perth, with the Pakistan team suffering crushing defeats in the last warm-up game.Miandad, who was sacked from the coaching position before Woolmer took over, pinpointed what he says are some basic flaws in the set-up. “When you are constantly experimenting with the team, when you are not sure about your playing XI and batting positions, when the coach is unaware of the particular cricket culture and psychology of Pakistan cricket, what do you expect?” Miandad told .These comments came in the wake of Pakistan’s humiliating ten-wicket defeat at the hands of Western Australia in their latest tour game. “It hurts to see a talented bunch of players struggle like this,” Miandad said. “The problem lies in the fact that Woolmer doesn’t have any idea of our cricket culture and background. Read his statements and you know this is a man not confident and sure about what he is doing.”Results, according to Miandad, were the bottom line in gauging a team, and he felt nothing much had changed ever since he was forced to step down. “He [Woolmer] has been in the saddle for six months now and we are still as inconsistent and erratic. When I left, the team was among the top three in Tests and one-day internationals, although when I took over after the 2003 World Cup we blooded several new players. Since I left has there been any improvement in the rankings or our performances?”Elaborating on the coaching methods that he felt were ideal for Pakistan’s players, Miandad said, “Our players need to be told and coached things in a simplified manner. If you drop a batsman to even give him a bit of rest to recover from a bad patch he loses his confidence and forgets everything he has learnt while in the team. That is why Yasir Hameed is now struggling to score runs.”And Miandad had no hesitation in pointing out that Pakistan will be the team playing catch-up throughout the series. “Given the present state of conditions in the team I am not really hopeful of any major surprise being sprung by our players in the Test series. A series in Australia is not the time or place for experiments or building for the future.”

Scorecard

Callum Ferguson finally gave South Australia something to smile about when he joined Nathan Adcock in an 84-run stand as they battled for an unlikely draw against New South Wales at Adelaide Oval. Hopelessly out-played through the first three days, the Redbacks were set an improbable 495 for victory and were 4 for 155 at stumps after their first fifty partnership of the match.Ferguson remained unbeaten on 70 while Adcock was 32 after the second innings started badly. Luke Williams was run out in a terrible mix-up and Stuart Clark removed Greg Blewett, the side’s real hope for a big innings, in his first over and then bowled Mark Cosgrove as the Redbacks tumbled to 3 for 29.The Blues racked up the massive lead before Brad Haddin’s declaration, with Matthew Phelps finishing unbeaten on 127 to add to Dominic Thornely’s aggressive 102, including 12 fours and two sixes from 131 balls. Shaun Tait was again the pick for South Australia with 4 for 62.

The fast bowler Charl Langeveldt will miss the next three one-dayers between South Africa and England owing to a fractured left hand. Langeveldt, 30, injured his non-bowling hand during the third Test at Cape Town.”Langeveldt has left the squad and gone home,” Gerald de Kock, South Africa’s media manager, told Reuters. “He will undergo a scan, and the hope is that he will be able to play in the last three games.”The next match is at Bloemfontein on Wednesday, but Langeveldt will not return until at least the fifth match, at East London on February 9.

England A 118 for 5 (Shah 27*, Dawson 0*) trail Sri Lanka 145 (Bell 4-18) by 27 runs
ScorecardFifteen wickets tumbled on an absorbing first day of the second unofficial Test between England A and Sri Lanka A at the Nondescripts’ Cricket Club ground in Colombo. By the close, England still held the upper hand, but their position was considerably less secure than it ought to have been.By bundling the Sri Lankans out for 145, with the captain, Ian Bell, taking the lead with 4 for 18 from nine overs of medium pace, England had a golden opportunity to stamp their authority on the match and push for a 2-0 clean sweep. Instead, they themselves slipped to 118 for 5 in reply. Owais Shah was 27 not out at stumps, but had Sri Lanka’s captain, Jehan Mubarak, held on at leg slip in the closing overs, England’s position would have been all the more precarious.The day began well for England. Despite losing the toss for the second match running, England’s bowlers took advantage of some slap-dash batting, on a juicy track that was offering assistance from the earliest overs. Rikki Clarke made the first breakthrough, having Ian Daniel caught behind for 9, and though Sri Lanka recovered to 79 for 2, Sajid Mahmood made two important breakthroughs in the middle order, including Mubarak for 11.Bell then swept through the tail, with assistance from the two spinners, Richard Dawson and Graeme Swann. The last seven wickets fell for 48 runs, and only a quickfire 21 from Suraj Mohamed added a sheen of respectability.Sri Lanka’s efforts, however, were soon put into context. Vikram Solanki was caught and bowled for 15 by Nandika Ranjith, but from 77 for 1, England themselves had a dose of the wobbles. Malinga Bandara and Mubarak combined on three occasions to remove Alistair Cook, Michael Powell and Clarke, while Bell was stumped off Suraj for 31. The upshot was that a fascinating second day lies in store.

Ray Jennings, the current coach of the South African team, does not have the unanimous support of all the players as full-time coach, according to reports. Jennings has reapplied for the full-time role after gaining support from the players, including Graeme Smith, the captain. But not everyone in the side would be happy if Jennings’ appointment as coach – a position he has held since October – was made permanent.”I would be very disappointed if this was the truth,” Jennings told the News24 website. “I know that no coach will have the support of all the players he works with. Yes, it is true that I challenge the players to lift their game. I would be lying if I said it had been plain sailing, because there have been words between me and some players, but nothing serious.”Jennings has maintained a good track record since his appointment. Under his guidance, South Africa have won three Tests, lost three and drawn three. In one-day internationals, Jennings enjoys a 83 percent success rate, having won the series against England 4-1 and Zimbabwe 3-0. Jennings’ term ends after the Caribbean tour and the new coach will take up the post on June 1.”I challenged Graeme Smith at times and I must have irritated him when things did not pan out as I wanted,” continued Jennings. “Overall, however, we have a good relationship and I believe I have the support of the senior players such as Shaun Pollock, Jacques Kallis, Makhaya Ntini and Smith.”This relationship with the players is like a marriage, which is not perfect overnight. You have to work at it. I think the players who do not want to continue with me are those who are unsure of their positions in SA cricket. If there are guys who play games behind my back, the next coach will also not be able to trust them.”Jennings was hopeful of becoming the full-time coach. “I will be much more comfortable if I should get the post as full-time coach,” he said. “It will create stability. I feel I can continue with these players and I am prepared to listen to people.”Gerald Majola, the CEO of the United Cricket Board of South Africa, refused to comment on the allegations and mentioned that the shortlisted candidates included overseas players.

In what has been a season-long tunnel from hell, New Zealand eventually discovered light in the form of a series-clinching Test victory over Sri Lanka. The disconsolate looks of March during the series against Australia were at last replaced with smiles, celebrations and a result to arrest New Zealand’s flagging Test ranking.The record shows that New Zealand won three of its nine Tests this season, but with two of those being innings victories in Bangladesh, this win marked the first significant Test success in over 12 months. Erasing the haunting memories of the Australians was never going to be possible, but nevertheless there are a lot of positives to be taken from New Zealand’s emphatic victory.Playing in temperatures as low as 13 degrees Celsius had an unsettling effect on Sri Lanka, with only Chaminda Vaas and Tillakaratne Dilshan able to play to their potential. In contrast, New Zealand rarely put a foot wrong – their hands are another story – from the moment Stephen Fleming won the toss.Chris Martin produced an impeccable line, found the edges, and Sri Lanka’s much-vaunted top order succumbed. Were it not for the three lives New Zealand handed Thilan Samaraweera during his 73, Sri Lanka’s first innings of 211 would have been a whole lot worse.Lou Vincent’s majestic 224 was a timely reminder of his ability as a batsman of international quality. While Vincent was the little general for 534 minutes at the crease, handy knocks from Craig Cumming, Fleming and Kyle Mills provided him with crucial support to allow New Zealand to amass a lead of 311.When Sri Lanka batted again, the New Zealand attack applied the clamps and the pressure proved too much. The need of the hour was for a disciplined approach today, but the procession of loose strokes on display was scarcely believable. Sri Lanka appeared to be on a fishing charter, not at a cricket ground.New Zealand, meanwhile, put up an improved performance in the field. Brendon McCullum’s catch off Shantha Kalavitigoda was out of this world in the context of an indifferent recent run behind the stumps, and Nathan Astle’s second three-wicket haul of the match underlined how valuable his consistently straight bowling is.New Zealand’s victory also meant that, excluding the Bangladesh series, they have now won two out of 15 Tests under John Bracewell. However, with Australia proving a class above them this season, it won’t be until after the outcome of the Ashes is known and New Zealand have completed its next two Tests series – against Zimbabwe and South Africa – that we will have a true picture of Bracewell’s effect on the side.