PCB agree to host Australia in Sri Lanka

 

*Pakistan's previous home series against Australia was played in England

Pakistan's home limited-overs series against Australia this August is likely to be played in Sri Lanka, with SLC secretary Nishantha Ranatunga and PCB director Intikhab Alam both saying they had agreed in principle to the arrangement. The Memorandum of Understanding has not yet been signed and Alam will travel to Sri Lanka next week to finalise arrangements.

"Sri Lanka Cricket had expressed the desire to host the series to the PCB a month ago and both boards have no problems with it. I do not know about the stand of the other cricket board [CA] yet," Ranatunga told ESPNcricinfo.

Alam revealed that South Africa and Australia itself were the other two nations being considered as venues for the series, but Sri Lanka was selected for commercial and cricketing reasons. A Cricket Australia spokesman said the two boards had kept in contact over the matter of where to play the series, and CA was aware of discussions between the PCB and SLC.

"Pakistan has kept us up to date on its plans for hosting the series they are due to play against us later this year and we are happy with the progress they are making, and with their consultation with us as they move through that process," the spokesman said.

"As part of that, they have kept us in the loop about their discussions on where and when they propose to host this series but have asked us to treat their discussions with us as confidential. Having said that, Sri Lanka has confirmed it is in discussion with Pakistan.

"The discussions between Pakistan and the proposed host nation are continuing, and so are the discussions between us and Pakistan. I would describe those as a work in progress at the moment, with CA-Pakistan talking through fine detail on things such as exact dates."

Pakistan and Australia will play five ODIs and three Twenty20 internationals against each other. The original plan was to play just one Twenty20, but with the World T20 immediately after the series, the countries' boards have agreed to play two extra matches.

Pakistan have had to play their home series in neutral venues since the attack on the Sri Lankan team bus in March 2009. While the UAE has been their location of choice recently, the scheduling of the Australia series just before the World Twenty20, which will be played in Sri Lanka, may have influenced the decision on where to play the five ODIs and one Twenty20 international.

Pakistan have hosted a Test against Australia in Sri Lanka before, in Colombo in 2002. Their last home series against Australia was played in England, in the summer of 2010, after which they have hosted all their home series, including one against Sri Lanka, in the UAE.

Read More

Riaz shines as Lahore record second win...Karachi beat Faisalabad

Lahore Lions' bowlers successfully defended 113 against Peshawar Panthers at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, to help their team to a second victory in as many matches. Lahore chose to bat and were off to a disastrous start, losing their top three batsmen for ducks. The middle order batsmen all got off to starts, but none could make more than Abdul Razzaq's 37 or score at a rapid rate. The end of the innings mirrored the start, with Nos. 9-11 out without scoring. Most of the damage for Peshawar was done by the new-ball pair Umar Gul and Waqar Ahmed, who picked up three apiece. But even this target proved too much for Peshawar to knock off: only two batsmen got into double figures and they managed just four boundaries overall in their innings. Even as the Lahore bowlers shared the wickets around, Wahab Riaz was the pick of the lot: he produced the striking figures of 4-2-9-3, as Lahore rolled Peshawar for 79 to secure a 34-run win.

A solid all-round showing by Karachi Zebras helped them to an eight-wicket victory over Faisalabad Wolves. Faisalabad chose to bat and were dented early on by Anwar Ali who removed their openers. None of their other batsmen could really get going either, as they were limited to 119 for 8. The Karachi bowlers shared the wickets around, with Anwar claiming the best figures: 3 for 29. In reply, Karachi were steered by opener Khurram Manzoor. He made an unbeaten 54, and was involved in half-century stands with Rameez Aziz and Hasan Raza, to help his team ease home with 13 balls to spare.

Read More

Herath torments England as Sri Lanka take hold

 

Rangana Herath exposed England's failings against spin bowling once more as Sri Lanka took a firm grip on the first Test in Galle. Seventeen wickets fell in the day as batsmen on both sides struggled to play the turning ball and set up the prospect of a three-day finish.

The match is not over. England's bowlers - excellent as ever - fought back with five wickets in the evening session, but a first innings deficit of 125 should prove decisive on a surface that is expected to deteriorate. Sri Lanka had stretched that lead to 209 by the close despite a four-wicket haul from Graeme Swann. Bear in mind that England were dismissed for under 200 four times in the UAE and that they have never made more than 253 at Galle, and it becomes apparent that Sri Lanka have established a dominant position.

England's bowlers could be forgiving for wondering what more they have to do to help their side win a Test. They have performed consistently well over the last couple of years - not just with the ball, but with the bat - yet, in the last three months, England's batsmen have failed equally consistently.

Those batsmen are running out of excuses. While in the UAE England could claim a lack of familiarity with the conditions and a certain rustiness after a relatively long break from the game, those issues are not relevant here. Nor have they come up against a foe as supremely gifted as the Pakistan spinner, Saeed Ajmal.

On this occasion the destroyer was Herath, a 34-year-old left-arm spinner who, not so long ago, was plying his trade in the North Staffordshire and South Cheshire League with only modest success. He is a clever, disciplined bowler, but he is no Ajmal or Murali or Warne. And, on a blameless, second-day pitch, he should not have been allowed to take six wickets.

Herath gained a little turn, bowled at a gentle pace with traditional variations and received only grudging assistance from the surface. Yet it still proved too much for England. Perhaps mentally disturbed by their experiences in the UAE, several batsmen missed straight balls or played back when they should have been forward.

There were exceptions. Ian Bell, the one specialist batsman to offer any meaningful resistance, was bowled by a beauty that drew him forward, turned and clipped the top of off stump. Bell, who contributed more runs in this innings than he managed in the entire series in the UAE, timed the ball beautifully whether driving or cutting and, when the opportunity arose, showed a willingness to hit over the top. Generally, however, England will reflect that they sold their top-order wickets a little too cheaply.

The sight of Jonathan Trott lying flat on his back with his wicket broken summed up England's performance with the bat. Trott had just been stumped after advancing down the pitch and missing a cross-batted swish at a full toss. In trying to regain his ground he came off second best as his head struck the Sri Lankan wicketkeeper Prasanna Jayawardene in the chest and he was momentarily left stunned and legless as the hosts celebrated all around him.

Andrew Strauss missed a sweep, Samit Patel and Matt Prior both paid the penalty for playing back when they should have been forward - Patel the victim of an arm ball and Prior one that spun past his outside edge - and while England avoided the ignominy of following-on - a distinct possibly when they were 92 for 6 - they still faced the prospect of a fourth successive Test defeat.

That England were not obliged to follow-on was largely due to the performance of their tailenders. They put the pitch - and the bowling - in perspective as the bottom four contributed 88 runs. Broad thumped 28 out of a seventh-wicket stand of 30, launching into a series of pulls, cuts and drives off Lakmal, while James Anderson, Graeme Swann and even Monty Panesar also put the efforts of the top four - who contributed 41 runs between them - to shame. The ease with which Anderson drove, swept and even reverse-swept boundaries spoke volumes not just for his improvement as a batsmen but the failure of his top-order colleagues to take advantage of a blameless pitch and a worthy but hardly fearsome attack.

Herath was well supported by Sri Lanka's seamers and the off-spinner Suraj Randiv. Alastair Cook was trapped on the crease by a fine delivery that nipped back from Suranga Lakmal, while Kevin Pietersen played-on off the inside edge as he tried to drive a good-length ball from Chanaka Welegedara. Randiv, in mopping up the tail, claimed two for 26 to leave Sri Lanka's spinners with an accumulative analysis of eight for 100.

Sri Lanka failed to exploit their advantage to the full in the evening session. After Tillakaratne Dilshan, his head falling to the off side, was defeated by a full delivery, Swann bowled with flight and turn to suggest he remains as potent a force as ever. The left-handers, Lahiru Thirimanne and Kumar Sangakkara, were both beaten by balls that drew them into shots then turned away sharply, while the right-handers Mahela Jayawardene and Thilan Samaraweera were defeated by deliveries that slid on with the arm. Swann had four for 28 by the close.

Earlier Anderson took the final two wickets to claim his first five-wicket haul in a Test in Asian conditions. It took only 6.3 overs for England to finish off the Sri Lanka innings, with Anderson finishing with five for 72; the 12th five-wicket haul of his Test career and his third outside England. Mahela Jayawardene was the last to go for a magical 180. It says much for his performance that the next highest contribution in the match so far is just 52. It may well surely prove the difference.

Read More

Watson and Hussey set up Australia win

Shane Watson and Michael Hussey both scored half-centuries to set up a comfortable eight-wicket victory for Australia in the first Twenty20 in St Lucia. Kieron Pollard's 20-ball fifty, the fastest by a West Indian player in a Twenty20 international, proved to be in vain as the target of 151 was easily overhauled by the Australians with 11 balls to spare.

West Indies were left to rue their slow start, and in particular their struggle to rotate the strike in the first half of their innings after Darren Sammy won the toss and chose to bat. It was not until Pollard arrived at the crease that their run-rate started to lift but he ran out of time, finishing unbeaten on 54 from 26 deliveries, and Australia's innings was more complete than that of their opponents.

Australia lost David Warner in the first over of the chase when he tried to flick Krishmar Santokie through the leg side and was bowled by an excellent ball that angled in and then straightened, but that was the only early success for West Indies. Watson and Hussey put together a 108-run partnership that set up Australia's win, and at no stage did they let the scoring rate dip.

Watson struck six sixes in his 69 and was especially strong from midwicket to long-on. The left-arm spinner Garey Mathurin helped Watson out by overstepping and the resulting free hit was dispatched long and high over long-on, and the next over from Santokie cost 17 runs including two muscular Watson sixes.

The runs flowed with ease for Watson, whose half-century came in 38 deliveries, and at the other end Hussey was ticking the scoreboard over as well. Hussey's first six came when he lifted a Darren Sammy offcutter very high, but it was also long enough to clear long-off, and Sammy had no answers to the Watson-Hussey partnership until it was too late.

Eventually, Watson's 43-ball innings came to an end when he skied a catch to deep midwicket off Mathurin, but by then the job was all but done. Hussey brought up his fifty from his 40th delivery and clearly enjoyed the return to St Lucia, the venue of his greatest Twenty20 international achievement, his wonderful 60 not out in the semi-final of the ICC World T20 two years ago.

The next ball, Hussey was dropped at cover off the bowling of Dwayne Smith when Sammy jumped high and couldn't grasp the catch, but by then the Australians needed only 17 from 22 balls. Hussey finished unbeaten on 59 and the captain George Bailey struck the winning runs with a boundary through midwicket to end up on 17.

West Indies just didn't have enough runs on the board. Their 150 for 7 was not sufficient on a small ground and it was a shame for them that Pollard didn't have more time at the crease. The previous quickest fifty by a West Indian was Chris Gayle's 23-ball effort against Australia at The Oval during the 2009 ICC World Twenty20, and Pollard bettered that by three balls.

He struck five sixes in his first fifty runs and he brought up his half-century - his first in Twenty20 internationals - with a single pushed to the leg side when Watson got his yorker right. Pollard's highlight was an enormous six straight that landed on the roof of the stand after it flew back over the head of the bowler Xavier Doherty, and that was part of a 22-run over.

Daniel Christian was punished for getting his length slightly wrong and went for consecutive sixes over the leg side as Pollard raced towards his milestone. He had come to the crease at 66 for 3 in the 11th over after the dot balls began to pile up earlier in the innings.

Smith was the first man out, caught behind for a run-a-ball 10 when Brett Lee found some extra bounce and away movement, and he was soon followed by his opening partner Johnson Charles, who was lbw walking across the crease to Watson for 24. Nkrumah Bonner, sent in at first drop, struggled to rotate the strike and was bowled for 24 from 33 balls when he advanced to Christian and tried to force the run-rate up.

Darren Bravo also found scoring difficult after his disappointing one-day series and pulled a catch to deep midwicket off the bowling of Christian for 12. Dwayne Bravo was part of a 62-run stand with Pollard but was essentially the silent partner, falling for 14 from 11 balls when he gave Christian his third wicket by lofting a catch to long-off.

Sammy was also taken at long-off for 7 before Carlton Baugh sacrificed his wicket to be run out for 1 in the final over in an effort to give the strike to Pollard, who finished unbeaten on 54 from 26 balls. But West Indies fans were left to wonder what could have been had Pollard's team-mates shown the same urgency that he did.

Read More

Sri Lanka v England, 1st Test, Galle, 2nd day Herath haul bowls England out for 193

Tea Sri Lanka 318 (Jayawardene 180, Anderson 5-72) lead England 193 (Bell 52; Herath 6-74) by 125 runs
Live scorecard and ball-by-ball details

	Rangana Herath was England latest spin-tormentor with 6 for 74

All England's old troubles against spin came back to haunt them once again as they were bowled out for 193 on the second day of the first Test in Galle.

Rangana Herath, a tidy left-arm spinner, tore through the tourists' top order with six for 74, while off-spinner Suraj Randiv claimed two for 26. It meant Sri Lanka's spinners had claimed eight for 100 between them and had earned their side a first innings lead of 125. While England avoided the ignominy of following-on - a distinct possibly when they were 92 for 6 - they still have a mountain to climb if they are to avoid their fourth successive Test defeat. On a pitch that is expected to deteriorate, conceding a first innings lead of such magnitude should prove decisive.

While in the UAE England came up against a top spinner with a bag full of tricks, here there were no such excuses. Herath is a worthy cricketer, certainly, but he offers none of the mystery of Pakistan's Saeed Ajmal. Herath gained little turn, bowled at a gentle pace with modest variations and received only grudging assistance from the surface. For much of the time it was, to borrow an expression from the political world, like being savaged by a dead sheep.

Yet it still proved too much for England. Perhaps mentally disturbed by their experiences in the UAE, several batsmen missed straight balls or played back when they should have been forward.

There were exceptions. Ian Bell, the one specialist batsman to offer any meaningful resistance, was bowled by a beauty that drew him forward, turned and clipped the top of off stump.

But generally, England will reflect that they surrendered their wickets rather too cheaply. Andrew Strauss missed a sweep to a non-turning half-volley, Jonathan Trott came down the pitch and missed with a horrible swipe across the line and Matt Prior, squared up and back when he should have been forward, gave the ball time to turn and trap him on the back leg.

Samit Patel's maiden Test innings ended when he, again back when he should have been forward, missed an arm ball and Stuart Broad's counterattack was ended when he missed another sweep. The sight of Trott, flat on his back with his wicket broken after he came off second best in a clash with Sri Lanka's wicketkeeper, Prasanna Jayawardene, as he struggled to regain his ground summed up the balance of power.

Herath was well supported by Sri Lanka's seamers, too. Alastair Cook was trapped on the crease by a fine delivery that nipped back from Suranga Lakmal, while Kevin Pietersen played-on off the inside edge as he tried to push at a good length ball from Chanaka Welegedara, bowling around the wicket.

Bell, at least, offered a glimpse of hope for England. Adopting a positive approach, he timed the ball beautifully and had the confidence to hit over the top when the opportunity allowed. He contributed more runs in this innings than he had in the whole Test tour of the UAE.

He enjoyed one moment of fortune. Sweeping the off-spin of Suraj Randiv on 41, he hit the ball hard but straight at the short-leg fielder who deflected it back to the wicketkeeper; Bell survived as the ball had hit the fielder's protective helmet.

England's tailenders also put the pitch - and the bowling - in perspective. Broad thumped 28 out of a seventh-wicket stand of 30, launching into a series of pulls, cuts and drives off Lakmal, while James Anderson, Graeme Swann and even Monty Panesar also put the efforts of the top order to shame. The ease with which Anderson drove, swept and even reverse swept boundaries spoke volumes not just for his improvement as a batsmen but the failure of his top-order colleagues to take advantage of a blameless pitch and a worthy but hardly fearsome attack.

Earlier Anderson claimed his first five-wicket haul in a Test in Asian conditions as England dismissed Sri Lanka for 318 early on the second day. It took only 6.3 overs for England to claim the two wickets they required to finish off the Sri Lankan innings. Anderson claimed them both, producing a well disguised off-cutter that crept through the sizeable gap between Chanaka Welegedara's bat and pad before Mahela Jayawardene's superb effort was ended by a fine delivery in the channel outside off stump that held its line and took the edge of the bat. Anderson finished with 5 for 72; the 12th five-wicket haul of his Test career and his third outside England.

Read More

Williamson secures hard-fought draw

 

South Africa 474 for 9 dec (Petersen 156, Duminy 103, Gillespie 6-113) and 189 for 3 dec (de Villiers 68) drew with New Zealand 275 (Guptill 59, Philander 6-81) and 200 for 6 (Williamson 102*, Morkel 6-23)

An outstanding rearguard 102 from Kane Williamson negated Morne Morkel's career-best figures of 6 for 23, as New Zealand held on for 80.4 overs to draw the third Test at the Basin Reserve. South Africa gifted Williamson two lives and the umpires one, but a flawless last session, much of it in the company of a courageous Doug Bracewell, ensured his side could glean positives from a difficult series, though they lost 1-0. New Zealand ended at 200 for 6, 189 short of the target they never attempted. 



The sparse Wellington crowd cheered every wicketless delivery, as the full day's quota approached. Hampered by the loss of Ross Taylor, New Zealand had only nine wickets to play with, but Williamson and Bracewell, who played out 19.1 overs together ensured Mark Gillespie and Chris Martin were left unused. The Test had one final twist when the new ball became available with one over to bowl, but Vernon Philander could not break Bracewell, proving there were some things even he can't to with the ball, despite having enhanced his fearsome reputation with each game this tour. 



Smart stats Kane Williamson's hundred was his second in Tests. It was also the 15th century by a New Zealand batsman against South Africa and the first since 2006. Since their readmission, South Africa have won seven of the eight series against New Zealand. The only drawn series was in 2003-04. Morne Morkel's 6 for 23 was his fifth five-wicket haul in Tests and his first since his 5 for 20 against India in Centurion in 2010. Morkel's 6 for 23 was the third-best bowling performance by a South African in Tests against New Zealand. It was also fifth on the list of top bowling performances by visiting bowlers in Wellington. AB de Villiers' strike rate of 138.77 during his innings of 68 was his highest for a fifty-plus score in Tests. Overall, it was second on the list of highest strike rates for fifty-plus scores for South African batsmen.

South Africa added four clear-cut chances in the second innings to the five they'd missed yesterday. Alviro Petersen spilt Williamson on 10, diving to his right at gully only to palm it to the ground. The drop was particularly painful for Petersen who had appeared to take a low chance cleanly several overs before, only for the third umpire to deem Williamson not out, to South Africa's surprise. AB de Villiers was the next culprit, dropping a low chance at second slip with Williamson on 22. Dean Brownlie then got a life from Graeme Smith, though he didn't capitalise, adding no more runs before being dismissed and Bracewell was shelled late in the day, again by de Villiers at second slip. 



If Williamson had been fortunate to survive till tea, his batting through the final session was pure technique and application. Not having to contend with hooping outswing or biting turn, Williamson tuned his mind solely to blunting South Africa's favourite weapon in the third Test: bounce. Picking the lifters early, he'd duck everything South Africa pitched in their own half. If the balls were fuller - just short of a length - he'd climb on his tip-toes, elbows always high, and punch the ball down into the off side. Yorkers came into vogue later in the session, but having seen Morkel unleash hell with those at the other end, he was prepared. He dug them out dutifully, turning down runs into the outfield to keep himself on strike. 



New Zealand's now-abandoned four-seamer policy had been tried partly because Doug Bracewell's first class career had promised runs at Test level. Until his 59-ball 20 here, he'd barely distinguished himself above Chris Martin as a batsman. Bracewell flirted dangerously outside off stump twice; once off Morkel and once off Steyn, and was dropped in the slips once, but otherwise willow met leather comfortably whenever a stroke was offered. He even ventured two consecutive fours either side of the stumps off Marchant de Lange in the last half hour, as South Africa grew desperate. With Bracewell's defence seeming more secure with each stroke, Williamson no longer bothered shielding him from the strike towards the end. 



Williamson's 228-ball vigil had begun when Brendon McCullum was dismissed in the fifth over. With Taylor undergoing surgery, Williamson had been promoted to No. 4, and his inexperience showed, as both he and Martin Guptill shut down their scoring almost completely for the duration of their partnership. Williamson's first ten runs came from 55 deliveries, and with South Africa able to pool all their resources into attack, it was only a matter of time until the wicket came. Guptill edged Morkel to gully soon after lunch. 



Positivity eventually found its way into Williamson's game, and he and Dean Brownlie resisted, making their second 50-run stand of the game. A serene straight drive off Vernon Philander was followed by consecutive sweeps to the fence off JP Duminy, and Williamson flew towards his second fifty of the series as the field relaxed somewhat. Kruger van Wyk contributed another gritty knock, holding the visitors at bay for 80 deliveries either side of tea, and was perhaps unlucky that Morkel stuck out his left hand on his follow-through to snatch a bludgeoned drive. He partnered Williamson for the longest time of his team-mates, as their stand ate up more than a quarter of the overs New Zealand batted out. 



South Africa were hamstrung by a pitch that had flattened out significantly throughout the Test, but would have been disappointed that in spite of all the missed chances, only Morkel was able to take wickets. Philander was threatening, as always, sticking methodically to the back-of-a-length and off-stump line that had reaped him so much success in the series, but having suffered at his hands so severely, New Zealand finally seemed capable of combating his threat - even if the pitch did much of this for them. Steyn was unlucky, as he has been all series. Most of the dropped chances in the match were off his bowling, and Steyn swung the ball early, at good pace, for no reward. 



Three of Morkel's wickets came from searing yorkers. McCullum couldn't get bat to one that would have hit leg stump, Brownlie let one slip beneath his bat and Daniel Vettori barely had time to register being at the crease before Morkel bowled him first ball. Late in the day, Morkel tried everything to dismiss Williamson and Bracewell, but the batsmen were resolute. An over of short balls was followed by one where he pitched full, but nothing worked. 



Smith vexingly wasted thirteen overs by using JP Duminy, who never looked like breaking through, though among his other regrets may be batting for too long at the start of the day. Though de Villiers made good use of the time they kept New Zealand in the field, making a 49-ball 68, perhaps 388 was far too conservative a lead, given New Zealand had not passed 300 in the series

Read More