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Division One

Points Table

Ryan Sidebottom: concentrated on line and length to take 4 for 41 © Getty Images

Leaders Kent suffered a frustrating third day after dominating the morning session against Hampshire, who lost six wickets before lunch as they slipped to 182 for 7 and seemingly faced the follow on. But that was about as good as it got, as Andy Bichel cracked 87 and Nic Pothas 74 in an eighth-wicket stand of 138 as they recovered to 325 all out. Kent, with a first-innings lead of 121, pressed for quick runs but lost their way as they creaked to 153 for 7, leaving the game in the balance.It wasn’t much better for defending champions Warwickshire on the first day of their match against Nottinghamshire at Edgbaston. After winning the toss, they were bowled out for 156, with Ryan Sidebottom, who bowled 17 overs unchanged from the pavilion end, and Andrew Harris both grabbing 4 for 41. Nottinghamshire, who had struggled earlier in the week against Middlesex, had an unbeaten fifth-wicket stand of 119 between Chris Read (73 not out) and David Hussey (55 not out) to thank after they had slipped to 75 for 4, closing on 194 for 4

Division Two

Points TableAfter two rain-blighted days at Riverside, there was finally some meaningful action as Durham made 315, thanks largely to Mike Hussey’s 146, spread over three days, with David Masters the pick of the Leicestershire bowlers with 6 for 74. The visitors then reached 217 for 3 by the end of the day, with Dinesh Mongia, who battled through a poor start, unbeaten on 77. Inspired captaincy and sporting declarations will be needed if there is to be any chance of a result.

Shoaib Akhtar: must prove his discipline to team morale© Getty Images

Shoaib Akhtar will escape punishment from the Pakistani board after it found that he did not fake an injury in the recent third Test against India.Shoaib missed the third day of the Test in Rawalpindi because of a back problem which stopped him bowling. It was later suggested that he feigned injury due to a lack of commitment to the cause, but a medical examination last month revealed a bone scan which put him in the clear.However, it wasn’t all good news for Shoaib. In a statement released today, the board reminded him what was expected of him, and that he would have to prove himself in all areas in domestic cricket.”The Board has taken serious note of Shoaib Akhtar’s conduct after he left the field which according to the doctors, management and captain led to demoralizing in team spirit in the dressing room,” the statement read. “There followed an abject surrender by the Pakistan team in the second innings for which other offending members of the team must share the blame for not showing grit and fighting spirit required from the national squad.”Accordingly the board has decided not to invoke a penalty against Shoaib Akhtar, but he will have to demonstrate his discipline to team morale, his fitness and prove his playing ability in domestic cricket to earn selection. Other players have similarly been cautioned that they need to demonstrate 150% commitment to team spirit and morale to merit selection in the national squad.”Meanwhile, four other players also had their injuries investigated. Umar Gul’s will have further treatment for his bad back, Abdul Razzaq should be fit for the training camp set for May, Shabbir Ahmed is suffering from shin splints and should continue with existing treatment, while Moin Khan’s back problem led the medical staff to suggest hydrotherapy should be made available for all wicketkeepers.

The Tasmanian selectors have today named an unchanged squad of 13 to play the Western Warriors in the ING Cup fixture to be held at Bellerive Oval on Sunday 9th February 2003.CASCADE TASMANIAN TIGERS

Jamie COX (Captain)
George BAILEY
Sean CLINGELEFFER
Graeme CUNNINGHAM
Michael DIGHTON
Michael Di VENUTO
Xavier DOHERTY
Brett GEEVES
Adam GRIFFITH
Scott KREMERSKOTHEN
Daniel MARSH
Ben OLIVER
Damien WRIGHT

The final twelve to represent Tasmania in the match will be decided on the morning of the match

With the series deadlocked after two drawn ‘Tests’, Pakistan A willtry to draw some inspiration from the deeds of their senior team at theGalle International Stadium, when they meet Sri Lanka A in the third andfinal four-day ‘Test’ beginning on Monday.Moin Khan’s Pakistan side subjected Sri Lanka to their only defeat in fiveTests played at this venue since 1998 when they won by a big margin of 163runs last year.It was the only occasion the Galle pitch helped the seamers and WasimAkram, Waqar Younis, Abdur Razzaq and Azhar Mahmood revelled in theconditions to take 17 of the 19 wickets that fell to the bowlers.On the other four occasions it has helped the spinners and Sri Lanka haverecorded three wins and drawn one.It was a memorable Test for Razzaq who became the youngest bowlerto take a hat-trick and the first to achieve the feat in Sri Lanka.The pitch for Monday’s unofficial Test is expected to help the seamers, andPakistan A can gain some inspiration from that.The only setback they face is that two of their quickest bowlers who canexploit such a wicket are not fully fit. Shabbir Ahmed has been ruled outof the series with a groin strain and will concentrate on playingonly in the one-dayers. Irfan Fazil, who has a long run-up, bowled only fourovers in the Sri Lanka A second innings before pulling up due to a stiffback, which coach Mudassar Nazar said was a result of him having to carry aheavy workload. Irfan is expected to play on Monday.Though the series is deadlocked, Sri Lanka A came the closest to victorywhen they were one wicket away from success in the first ‘Test’ at Dambulla.However, as the thinking of the two coaches in the team goes, a winningresult is furthest from their minds in contests of this nature. HemanthaDevapriya (Sri Lanka) and Mudassar Nazar have both said that if they canfind about four to five players who could fit into the national team, thenthey would have achieved something from the series, although Devapriyaadmitted that if there is a possibility of a win, they wouldn’t ignore thatfactor.The weather in this part of the country is a worrying factor. But curatorand Galle District CA secretary Jayananda Warnaweera promised that it wouldn’tbe a problem and little time would be lost as the ground had been upgraded toface such vagaries of the weather.In a bid to give those who have not got an opportunity to display theirtalent in the series so far, the national selectors have made radicalchanges to the squad of 15 named for the ‘Test’.Missing from the squad that was on duty at the NCC are DhammikaSudarshana, Tillekeratne Dilshan, Indika de Saram, Suresh Perera, AkalankaGanegama and Sajeeva Weerakoon. They are replaced by opening batsmanShantha Kalavitigoda, wicket-keeper Prasanna Jayawardene, leg-spinnerMalinga Bandara, left-arm fast bowler Ruchira Perera, and all-roundersMalintha Warnapura and Muthumudalige Pushpakumara.Perera and Pushpakumara return to the squad after missing out at the NCC,but the most interesting change is that of the wicket-keeper. After tryingout two batsman/wicket-keepers in the first two ‘Tests’, the selectors haveresorted to a genuine glovesman in Prasanna Jayawardene.The advent of the one-day game has brought to the fore batsmen who can keepwickets. This has to some extent spread into the longer game as well wherea batsman/wicket-keeper stands a better chance of being selected than agenuine wicket-keeper who can bat a little down the order. Jayawardenefaces such a calamity. To make matters worse he has not been able to retaina regular place at the SSC and, in the only Test he was picked to play(against Pakistan at Kandy in June 2000) he never got an opportunity todisplay his wicket-keeping prowess as rain prevented Pakistan from batting.Now at Galle, Jayawardene finally gets an opportunity to press his claims for a Test place on his wicket-keeping abilities alone. A good performance would surely put pressure on the selectors to include him for the forthcoming Test series against India.The teams: Sri Lanka A (from): Tilan Samaraweera (captain), AvishkaGunawardana, Shantha Kalavitigoda, Michael Vandort, Jeevantha Kulatunga,Chamara Silva, Muthumuthalige Pushpakumara, Gayan Wijekoon, MalinthaWarnapura, Prasanna Jayawardene, Ruchira Perera, Ishara Amerasinghe,Dinusha Fernando, Malinga Bandara, Chandana Samarasinghe.Pakistan A (from): Hasan Raza (captain), Imran Farhat, Faisal Naveed,Toufiq Umer, Qaiser Abbas, Humayun Farhat, Misbah-ul-Haq, Yasir Arafat,Danish Kaneria, Irfan Fazil, Najaf Shah, Salman Butt, Kashif Raza, AzamHussain.Umpires: Peter Manuel and Jagath Nandakumar, Match Referee: Roger Wijesuriya.

Alan Pardew has criticised the quality of Maritimo’s pitch after both teams fired blanks in a lethargic goalless draw.

The uneven surface was a definite factor in the Toon Army’s slow start in Portugal, but despite this Pardew still believes his side did enough to win.

The ex-West Ham boss stated to The Journal, “I thought the pitch was of a very poor standard. Both teams suffered from it.

“But I’m probably the happier of the two managers as we didn’t suffer any more injuries. The performance of the team was outstanding.

“The first ten minutes of the game I thought they were in control and I am disappointed we didn’t get the win with the chances we had at the end.”

Pleased to pick up an away point the 51 year old now has the relief of knowing his next two European ties are at home, with Bordeaux and Club Brugge next up in the Europa League.

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Pardew added, “Now it will be easier for us as we have to home games successively. It will be like a normal week for us.”

Thirty-six teams, 32 matches and three days of non-stop cricket action would be the best way to describe the 17th edition of the Glucofit Cricket Sixes organised by the Old Wesleyites Sports club.The final day started off with Lumbini Mv, Mahanama College Colombo, Jaffna Combined Schools and Ananda College Colombo already comfortably in the quarter-finals from their merits on day one and two. However none of them could capitalise on moving forward as they fell prey to seasoned campaigners.Lumbini Mv lost to Nalanda College by 32 runs, the favorites from yesterday Jaffna Combined schools lost by two runs to underdogs Richmond College Galle, while Mahanama and Ananda Colleges were undone by St. Joseph’s College and St. Sebastian’s College respectively. The two semi-final matches were electric with four of Sri Lanka’s best schools taking part.The first game between Nalanda and St. Joseph’s was expected to be a one-horse race for the Nalandians. However the Joes had other plans, batting first and racing to 86 for 2 courtesy of a brilliant half-century by Chatura Kumara. Nalanda were never in the hunt and every time they did try to get away with the game, the Josephian bowlers held their nerves and clawed right back, ultimately winning against all odds by a good 35 runs.The second semi-final was a blockbuster with St. Sebastian taking on the in-form Richmond College, who, up that point, did everything right. However inexperience showed as they chased down a mere 55. The boys from the south self-destructed with three run-outs in quick succession to ultimately lose by 13 runs.The final was yet again expected to be an easy victory for St. Sebastian’s given their consistency in the tournament; however the Joes went about their business as usual initially restricting the Sebastian’s to 61 for 2 with some very good bowling and fielding. The highlight in that inning was that both wickets to fall were run-outs.St. Joseph’s started off shakily losing Roscoe Thatil and Chathura Kumara in the first over, but thanks to sensible batting by Jayathilake (28*) and Jayasinghe (21*) the boys from Darley Road managed to win the Glucofit Sixes 2009 in style.Thatil walked away with the best bowler and player of the tournament awards. St. Sebastian’s wicketkeeper PD Dias was adjudged best fielder and even though Chathura Kumara failed in the final he was still the best batsman with most runs and most sixes in the competition. MAS Jayathilake bagged the Man-of-the-Match award for his all-round performance in the final.

Dinesh Karthik: “I’ve worked harder on my batting than on my wicketkeeping on this tour” © Getty Images

Dinesh Karthik has admitted that taking up the dual responsibility of opening the batting and wicketkeeping will be “difficult” though he is ready to do the job if required during the Test series in England. Karthik, who’s opened in the previous three Tests, has been working harder on his batting since that is his primary responsibility on this tour.Originally a wicketkeeper and middle-order batsman but now a specialist opener, Karthik said: “If the team management wants me to do it [open and keep wicket], I will. I’ve done it in domestic cricket so I’m used to it. I just need to be mentally prepared. I’ve worked harder on my batting than on my wicketkeeping on this tour as batting is what’s going to be important. It’s not as if keeping isn’t but I’m working more on my batting.”He wasn’t willing to be drawn into questions about Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s poor form behind the stumps but spoke of the challenges of keeping in England.”I’m playing as a batsman now and he [Dhoni] is doing a fantastic job keeping,” Karthik said. “It takes time to adjust in England. You need to watch the ball closely; it tends to wobble after it passes the stumps and unlike in India it might just go the other way. You have to hope it doesn’t wobble much and be ready to move in any direction.”I’ve always been a keeper – I kept in Ireland, also kept in the second innings in Sussex. I feel good about it. Keeping has always come naturally to be, I’m lucky that way.”

Jamie Dalrymple: a debut at Old Trafford? © Getty Images

Jamie Dalrymple has been added to the England squad for the second Test against Pakistan at Old Trafford starting on Thursday. Andrew Strauss will continue to lead the side in the absence of Andrew Flintoff, who has been ruled out for the next three months with an ankle injury.Liam Plunkett has been retained despite sustaining a side strain playing for Durham yesterday. David Graveney, England’s chairman of selectors, said that Plunkett’s fitness will be re-assessed over the next 48 hours. “We have taken the precaution of including 14 players in the squad for this Test match,” he said. “As Plunkett injured his side his fitness will need to be re-assessed over the next 48 hours.”As we will now be without Flintoff for an extended period, the selectors have appointed Strauss as captain for the rest of the Test series against Pakistan. A decision on the captaincy of the one-day side for the NatWest Series [also against Pakistan] will be made in due course.”We are very disappointed to lose Flintoff as both a player and a captain. The medical staff from both Lancashire and England had worked extremely hard to try and help him overcome the injury without recourse to surgery and Andrew himself had done everything that was asked of him. His priority now will be to ensure he is fully fit for the Ashes in Australia.”Squad – Marcus Trescothick, Andrew Strauss (capt), Alastair Cook, Kevin Pietersen, Paul Collingwood, Ian Bell, Geraint Jones (wk), Liam Plunkett, Matthew Hoggard, Stephen Harmison, Monty Panesar, Jon Lewis, Sajid Mahmood, Jamie Dalrymple.

Michael VAUGHAN (ENG) – Captain“I expected us to win games if cricket, but I certainly didn’t expect to win 10 out of 11 test matches. Going into this tournament I was confident we could progress and play well in the tournament.””There was a nice air of confidence going into Tuesday’s game, where we had the belief that we could beat the Australians. Getting to the final is something that is great, but to be honest we expected to be somewhere near it because we felt we played well against India and the wins against India gave us a lot of confidence going into the tournament.””The consistency that the team has showed has been pleasing. Winning game after game is very, very difficult on the mental side more than anything. I can’t speak highly enough of the team and the effort they’ve put in.””It’s the second biggest one day tournament in the world after the World Cup. Being in our home country makes it a little bit more special. A final is a final so it’s a massive occasion for the team.””It’s something to try to achieve, but we not going into tomorrow’s game treating it any differently to what we have done the last few weeks. We’ll just try to relive the performances we’ve given and if we can do that I’m sure we can put the West Indies under some pressure.””We felt we needed a bit more athleticism in the field and a bit more depth in our batting. We feel that Vikram SOLANKI and Alex WHARF have given us both those credentials. We’ve still got to play well, but I feel we’ve played good one day cricket over the last five weeks and in the summer we didn’t play well enough.”

Sylvester Joseph – back in the international frame© Getty Images

Shivnarine Chanderpaul has been dropped for the fourth and final Test against England, starting in Antigua next week, after managing just 101 runs in six innings this series. But the West Indian selectors have resisted the urge to make wholesale changes to their batting line-up, despite the feeble second-innings capitulation at Bridgetown that handed England their first series win in the Caribbean for 36 years.The circumstances which led to Chanderpaul being dropped were far from straightforward, with the board admitting that he had told them he felt "tired and lethargic". He was asked to meet with one of the board’s medical panel to be checked out, but Chanderpaul “showed some reluctance to comply with this direction” and was sent home "for further evaluation".West Indies now have only their pride to salvage, but Chanderpaul aside, they have put their faith in the batsmen who let them down in Barbados. The solitary change to a squad of 13 is the introduction of the local boy, Sylvester Joseph.Joseph, 25, toured Australia with the senior squad three years ago, and has four ODI appearances under his belt, but he has yet to play a Test. He did, however, stake his claim with a decent performance in the recent warm-up game in Barbados, scoring 36 and 50 for a Carib Beer XI against England’s second-string attack.England, not for the first time this series, have a air of serenity about their preparations, although they are not without need of a bit of fine-tuning as they seek to inflict West Indies’ first whitewash in a home series. In particular, the wicketkeeper’s role has come under the spotlight, with Chris Read impressing behind the stumps, but consistently failing to produce a big score with the bat.Since Alec Stewart’s retirement, Read has managed 162 runs in 11 innings, and with Geraint Jones waiting in the wings, he knows he has to come good soon. “He’s got to get a few more runs,” admitted England’s coach, Duncan Fletcher. “He’s been given quite a good run in there and it’s an area we might have to look at, even though his keeping has been very good.”Jones took his chance with an impressive 66 in the warm-up game in Barbados, but Fletcher was loath to read too much into that. “You’ve only seen one guy in a three-day game compared to a Test match,” he said. “Once they step up to that higher level it’s totally different.”In the meantime, Fletcher’s main concern is to keep his team fully motivated, even though the tour’s main objective has been completed. “It’s very easy to lose a cricket game and very difficult to win one,” said Fletcher. “Anyone can lose it, but to win is hard and they have to make sure they develop this culture that you just keep dominating and don’t relax at any stage.”West Indies squad
Chris Gayle, Daren Ganga, Brian Lara (capt), Ramnaresh Sarwan, Sylvester Joseph, Dwayne Smith, Ryan Hinds, Ricardo Powell, Ridley Jacobs (wk), Tino Best, Pedro Collins, Corey Collymore, Fidel Edwards.