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ScorecardThe Sri Lankans certainly aren’t having things all their own way as they prepare for the first Test against England, but decided to make a game of their warm-up clash against Derbyshire. After struggling to gain a foothold in their reply to Derbyshire’s 219, they declared 53 behind. The bowlers then suffered some tap, especially from Travis Birt, setting up the prospect of a final-day run chase.However, as with their wobbles against British Universities last week, it is the batting of the Sri Lankans where most interest lies. Facing up to the likes of Matthew Hoggard and Andrew Flintoff is hard enough at the best of times, but without form behind you it becomes even tougher.Four of the probable Sri Lankan top order for the first Test at Lord’s made a combined total of 12 runs between them. The inexperienced opening pair of Michael Vandort – needlessly run-out in a mix-up with Kumar Sangakkara – and Upul Tharanga were quickly followed back to the hutch by Sangakkara and Tillakaratne Dilshan. Much rests on the latter two and they are struggling for meaningful innings.Some respectability was restored by Chamara Kapugedera, a talented player who has already given Australia a taste of his skills, and Farveez Maharoof, who can play a key role with bat and ball. The pair added 66 and it was Maharoof’s dismissal to Kevin Dean that prompted Sangakkara to call the batsmen in.Derbyshire took up the challenge with gusto. Birt launched an all-out attack, including two fours and a six off Muttiah Muralitharan’s first three balls, as the innings raced along at five-an-over. Birt’s fun ended when he was stumped after 53 balls but, along with a more circumspect half-century from Chris Taylor, the lead sped past 200.It shouldn’t be long into the final day before Sri Lanka are given the chance to make amends for their first-innings flop.

Harbhajan Singh has been temporarily suspended from the Indian Premier League following his spat with Sreesanth at the end of the Mumbai-Punjab game in Mohali on Friday.His suspension is pending the inquiry into the incident on Monday, which means he would not be able to play Mumbai’s home match against Deccan Chargers on Sunday.”Based on prima facie video evidence as seen and reviewed by the match adjudicator and referee Farokh Engineer from the tapes provided by Sony & TWI a decision has been reached to suspend Harbhajan Singh pending the inquiry into the incident on Monday, April 28th 2008,” a release from the Indian board said.Engineer will conduct a hearing on April 28 inquiring into the Harbhajan-Sreesanth row in Delhi. Both Harbhajan and Sreesanth will be present and video evidence, if any, will be used during the hearing which will be conducted as per the ICC Code of Conduct.Ratnakar Shetty, the chief administrative officer of the board, said Harbhajan was answerable to both the IPL and the BCCI. “There will be separate inquiries from the IPL and BCCI,” he said.Engineer was the match referee of the game between the Kings XI Punjab and the Mumbai Indians, after the completion of which Harbhajan allegedly slapped Sreesanth, reducing him to tears on the field. Although both players sought to play down the incident, the Punjab team lodged a formal complaint against Harbhajan Singh to the BCCI. The Indian board took a serious view of the incident and asked him submit his explanation before April 28.”The inquiry date has been fixed for Monday in New Delhi. We are not going to sweep things under the carpet. The complaint has to be carefully examined before any decision is made,” Engineer said. “Everything possible will be done to adjudicate it immediately.”The complaint made by the management of the Punjab team has been referred to me by Lalit Modi, chief commissioner of the IPL, for immediate adjudication under the ICC Code of Conduct. I have already started the process and will be summoning all concerned and will also seek any video evidence recorded by the host broadcaster.”Since the process has started I will request the media not to seek any further clarification or information. I will furnish my report to chief commissioner of IPL, keeping in view the ICC code of Conduct and interest of cricket.”The Mumbai Indians are hopeful the issue will be resolved amicably. Reacting to the news that Harbhajan has been temporarily suspended till the hearing on Monday, a top team official of the Mumbai Indians said, “The incident involving Harbhajan Singh and Sreesanth of the Kings XI Punjab was most unfortunate.”The [IPL] governing council has set up an adjudication panel to inquire into the incident. The Mumbai Indians are confident that the decision taken by the panel will be in the best interests of cricket and the Indian Premier League.”IS Bindra, the Punjab Cricket Association president, said they would provide logistical support to Engineer to conduct the inquiry. The hearing will take place at the Maurya Sheraton, New Delhi on April 28th, after which Engineer will announce his verdict.

At the beginning of the series against Australia, India’s middle-order batsman Robin Uthappa had said his team would meet “fire with fire”. On the eve of the fourth ODI in Chandigarh with India trailing 0-2, Uthappa admitted that the “intensity levels had dropped” after the World Twenty20 because “they had little time to plan for a tough series”.Keeping the intensity levels high and playing hard cricket is what Ricky Ponting had said aggression was all about. He felt Australia’s dominance was a result of them training and preparing harder than most teams and their confident on-field attitude was a result of their meticulous planning. In Kochi, Australia had Yuvraj Singh caught on the drive by Matthew Hayden at short cover for 10. In Hyderabad, however, Yuvraj scored a scintillating 121 off 115 balls and Ponting said a team meeting had been held to form a plan of attack against him.”We’ve looked at a few different lines and lengths that we should be bowling to him and some areas that we let him off in the last game. We’ll adjust things a little bit and test him in different areas and see what the outcome is.”Ponting had also said the inclusion of India’s big three – Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid – in the ODI squad after they opted out of the Twenty20 tournament could work to Australia’s advantage because they knew their strengths and weaknesses. That statement was backed up by what followed. Ganguly hasn’t had a hit yet but Tendulkar and Dravid have scored only 90 runs between them in five innings.”If you have a look at a couple of their [Tendulkar and Dravid’s] dismissals, it would have been the way that we wanted to get them out, the way we’ve got them out a few times in the past. We know that they are quality players and on any given day they can be match-winners for India.”Sachin was just working his way into his innings the last game, setting himself up for a big one, so we have to make sure we don’t let him off the hook early on. If Ganguly plays tomorrow, we’ve got a pretty good idea of where we should be bowling to him and, so far, we’ve got Dravid pretty well looked after. But you can’t expect that to keep happening, these guys are going to come good and play well at some stage and we’re prepared for that if they do.”Australia have backed up all their talk with quality performances in the three games so far. It doesn’t matter whether the Indians get in the Australians’ faces on Monday, what matters is if they’ll be able to get on the scoreboard.

Sri Lanka 294 for 7 (Sangakkara 81, Jayasuriya 77) beat Scotland 135 by 159 runs
Scorecard

Sri Lanka’s veteran batsmen proved too strong for Scotland’s bowlers in their warm-up match at the 3Ws Oval in Barbados, as Kumar Sangakkara and Sanath Jayasuriya rattled up an imposing total of 294 for 7 with a pair of brisk half-centuries. With Upul Tharanga anchoring the innings with a composed 70 from 114 balls, Scotland’s resolve crumbled as they were bowled out for 134 in reply.Sangakkara top-scored with 81 from 57 balls, but it was Jayasuriya – inevitably – who provided the turbo-charged start to Sri Lanka’s innings. He thumped four fours and five sixes in a 62-ball 77, with the captain, Craig Wright, coming in for special punishment: his solitary over was clubbed for 20 runs.Farveez Maharoof applied the finishing touch to Sri Lanka’s innings with 28 from 14 balls, including two fours and two sixes, and got in on the act with the ball as well, as he dismissed the dangerous Ryan Watson for 17. Scotland were never in the reckoning from the moment that Chaminda Vaas and Lasith Malinga grabbed three wickets for nine runs.Jayasuriya also enjoyed himself with the ball, taking 2 for 7 in two overs as Scotland’s innings ebbed away. After the game Sri Lanka’s captain, Mahela Jayawardene, said he was satisfied, but they can still raise the bar.”We had a great day out and we are pleased with the result at the end of theday,” he said. “We still can get better and we will be working on ourintensity. There were times today when we slackened of a bit, so we knowwhat we have to do come Friday.”Scotland’s captain, Wright, summed up the game as a “a great learningexperience” and said his players would come back stronger in the other matches.He praised his seamers John Blain, who took 2 for 51, and Dougie Brown (2for 52) for their discipline and smart use of the change of pace. He alsonoted that left-hander Gavin Hamilton played well for his 25 off 59, whichmanaged to keep out Muttiah Muralitharan.

Group A
Faisalabad Wolves, one of the favourites for the title, got themselvesup and running in the competition with a 24-run win over Lahore Eagles. And as in their two-run loss in their opening game, it was skipperMisbah-ul-Haq once again leading the way. He followed his 53 withanother cultured innings, an unbeaten 60 that led the Wolves to a parscore of 162. The Eagles never soared, losing Ashfaq Ahmed off thesecond ball of the innings. No one scored more than 29 as Shahid Nazir(two for 26) led a strong Wolves attack to consign the Eagles to theirfirst defeat.Group B
Farce, controversy, Duckworth and Lewis conspired to produce a two-runwin for defending champions Sialkot Stallions against the KarachiZebras. Being bundled out for 106 was no way for champions to starttheir defense, with only Rana Naved-ul-Hasan’s 28 denying Malik Aftab (4for 17) and Danish Kaneria (3 for 11). But when the Zebras came out tobat, Mohammad Asif and Naved-ul-Hasan reminded everyone just why theStallions remain favourites this year. Together they reduced the Zebrasto 69 for five, despite a clever partnership between Faisal Iqbal andHasan Raza that ended with both batsmen throwing their wickets away. Atthat stage, 69 for five, the match was wide open but a floodlightfailure meant that no further progress could be made. The umpires chosenot to wait too long for a potentially exciting climax, whereuponentered Duckworth and Lewis.Group C
In a match studded with superstar comebacks, it was the unheraldedleg-spin of Imranullah Aslam that led the Multan Tigers to a 21-run winover the Islamabad Leopards. Aslam took five for 17 as the Leopardscrashed chasing 148, only Bazid Khan making an impression, with 53.Shabbir Ahmed did his continuing rehabilitation no harm, supportingAslam with three wickets. But the one player all eyes were on didn’tdistinguish himself: Shoaib Akhtar, leading the Leopards, ended withnone for 30 from his four overs, including 20 off the last. Instead, itwas team-mate Azhar Mahmood, whispered off as a potential returnee forthe World Cup, with three for 17, who did much of the damage.Group D
Mohammad Wasim did as all good openers do, carrying his bat through 20overs for Rawalpindi Rams, as he led them to a comfortable 20-run winover Quetta Bears. Wasim, a former Pakistan Test opener, made 86 but itwas only a sixth-wicket partnership with the feisty Yasir Arafat, whomade 43, that led the Rams to 172. No one could replicate Wasim’scontribution for the Bears, a number of batsmen like Shoaib Khan (44)getting off to a good start but not finishing. Emblematic, ultimately,of the Bears finishing close, but not close enough.

16 – The number of times Australia have beaten New Zealand in the last 18 ODIs between the two teams3 – The number of half-centuries for Daniel Vettori in ODIs. Two of them have come against Australia – at Christchurch in 2005 he scored 83, his highest in ODIs103 – The seventh-wicket partnership between Vettori and Jacob Oram – it’s New Zealand’s third-highest for that wicket in ODIs, after the 115 that Lee Germon and Adam Parore added against Pakistan at Sharjah in 1996, and Parore and Dipak Patel’s 111-run stand against West Indies at Kingston.28 – The number of runs Daniel Vettori leaked in his last four overs after conceding just 13 in his first six52 – The number of runs Australia scored in their last ten overs, despite having six wickets in hand after 40 overs15.21 – Hamish Marshall’s average in his last 21 ODIs.51.98 – The average partnership between Ricky Ponting and Damien Martyn in ODIs. In 62 innings they have added 3015 runs46.36 – Andrew Symonds’ average in ODIs won by Australia. Of his 25 fifty-plus scores, only one has been in a losing cause18.36 – Glenn McGrath’s bowling average in ODIs against New Zealand. In 27 matches against them he has taken 53 wickets

Division One

Darren Lehmann fell three runs short of Yorkshire‘s highest individual score in his final match for the county, but they are well on course for first division survival as Durham fell to 203 for 6 in reply at Headingley. Lehmann’s mammoth 339, a career-best and his second triple first-class century, had a large part to play in Durham’s increasing gloom, and he was well assisted by Michael Lumb, who fell two short of a deserved century. Lehmann became the first Yorkshire batsman to score 300 since the great Herbert Sutcliffe in 1932 and he faced 403 balls, striking 52 fours and three sixes. Gary Scott and Garry Park each hit 77 but Deon Kruis took three wickets to begin the Durham slide, and Jason Gillespie added two of his own.Darren Stevens became Kent‘s third centurion as they continued to make hay against Middlesex at Canterbury. The home side built on their efforts to reach 603 for 6 before declaring shortly after Stevens reached the landmark. He was unbeaten on 126, and received support from Geraint Jones, who made 59 as Middlesex wilted in the heat. Rob Ferley then heaped on the misery for Middlesex, reducing them from the promising position of 92 for 1 to 136 for 4 in a three-wicket burst which removed Ben Hutton, Owais Shah and Ed Smith.For a full report of Sussex‘s key clash against Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge click here.For a full report of Lancashire‘s crucial match against Hampshire at The Rose Bowl click here.

Division Two

Lee Goddard and Graham Wagg’s seventh-wicket stand of 181 lifted Derbyshire to 385 and they had a Mark Ramprakash-less Surrey in some trouble by the close at Derby, having reached 208 for 6.The nineties proved too nervous for both Goddard (91) and Wagg (94) but their fight bodes well for the young pair. Half-centuries from Scott Newman and Mark Butcher added some respectability to the Surrey total, but the mood was not improved when Butcher had to retire hurt on 51.Gloucestershire sealed maximum batting points by coursing to 525, capitalising on their efforts of the first day at Cardiff. Alex Gidman fell eight short of a century, but there were no such alarms for Mark Hardinges, who reached his ton, his second of the season, before falling one run later. Glamorgan‘s Daniel Cherry and Mark Wallace chipped away forcefully at the deficit, putting on an opening stand of 147 before Wallace edged Steve Kirby for 64.Essex built on a solid first day at Grace Road to put them in prime position to claim promotion. James Foster added his eighth first-class hundred before being trapped lbw by Nick Walker for 115 and Andy Bichel provided some lower-order fireworks, biffing 75 from 104 balls with eight fours and four sixes. Bichel then struck two early blows to leave Leicestershire in trouble at 21 for 2, before Darren Robinson (80) and John Sadler dug them out with a commanding third-wicket stand of 109. Sadler remained unbeaten on 71.Monty Panesar ripped through Worcestershire‘s line-up with a five-for to bowl them out for 284, 61 runs behind Northamptonshire, and dent their promotion hopes. He was supported by Jason Brown, who took three wickets, and there were two victims for Steven Crook. The openers Stephen Peters and Chris Rogers increased Northants’ advantage to 85 by the close at Northampton .

Andrew Flintoff has been named as the Leading Cricketer in the World for 2005, as the 143rd edition of Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack prepares to hit the bookshops tomorrow.The award, which was instituted two years ago and has previously been won by the Australian duo of Ricky Ponting and Shane Warne, was a reflection of Flintoff’s towering performance in last summer’s Ashes, a series that the editor, Matthew Engel, unequivocally describes as “the greatest”.”We took soundings from writers and commentators in all the cricketing countries, and there were only two people in it, Flintoff and Warne,” said Engel. “Our cover picture sums up the year as we saw it. Flintoff and Warne are shown embracing after the Ashes series – but the one is just a fraction above the other. We felt in the end that 2005 was the year when Freddie touched greatness.”Both men were ineligible for Wisden’s more traditional honours list: the Five Cricketers of the Year, which dates back to 1889 and is the oldest honour in cricket. By ancient custom, no-one can be chosen twice for this list, but each of the five recipients did nonetheless play their part in the Ashes: three for England, Matthew Hoggard, Simon Jones and Kevin Pietersen and two from Australia, Brett Lee and the captain, Ponting.’The Five’ invariably stir a debate among the cricket-watchers of the world, but as Engel points out, the criteria for selection is steeped in Wisden’s traditions of editorial independence. “The Five have never been the world’s top five,” he explained in The Times this week. “The choice is based on their influence on the English season, and successive editors have cut themselves enough slack to pick players who just happen to appeal to them. It has always been accepted that there is room for whimsy, idiosyncrasy or downright eccentricity. Cricket followers like that.”Cricket followers also liked the events of last summer, when England regained the Ashes after an 18-and-a-half-year gap, in a cliffhanger of a series that will echo down the ages. “It was a triumph for the real thing,” Engel wrote in his typically hard-hitting Notes by the Editor. “Five five-day Test matches between two gifted, well-matched teams playing fantastic cricket at high velocity and high pressure with the perfect mix of chivalry and venom. Here was the best game in the world, at its best.”To mark the occasion, Wisden has revved up its traditional coverage and introduced a special 72-page Ashes section – plus 12 colour plates. The coverage includes “Notes and Quotes” from each Test, reviews of the media by Quentin Letts and Malcolm Knox, afterthoughts by John Woodcock, Simon Hughes and the former Australian captain, Mark Taylor – and even an analysis of how the Ashes changed the English language.And several of the articles in the Comment section also derive directly from the Ashes:

Subhash Dixit, a former India Under-15 captain, died after falling from the sixth floor of a building in Kanpur on June 9.Dixit, a resident of Kanpur, had left home for practice at the Green Park stadium; he went to a nearby shopping complex, from where he jumped. Dixit, 22, is believed to have been frustrated by his inability to make the Uttar Pradesh team for the Ranji Trophy.Dixit was captain of the Indian team during the Under-15 World Cup in 2000. He had also captained the Uttar Pradesh Under-15 and Under-19 teams. He was unemployed at the time of his death and came from a poor family. His father and one of his two sisters suffer from mental disability.Following his death, friends and fans of Dixit held protests in the city on Monday, demanding a compensation of Rs 10 lakh for Dixit’s family. According to PTI, the protestors blocked traffic by putting the deceased cricketer’s body on the road, and only relented when police and civil officials reached the spot. They handed over a memorandum to the Additional City magistrate.Placards criticizing the UPCA (Uttar Pradesh Cricket Association) were on display. The protestors alleged that none of the Association’s officials met Dixit’s family to express their sympathy.A group of people also attacked Shashikant Khandekar, a former selector for the Uttar Pradesh side, at his residence on Sunday evening.The UPCA announced a cash relief of Rs 1 lakh for Dixit’s family. In addition, the association said it would name the state Under-17 cricket tournament in his memory.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball commentary
How they were out

In an enthralling contest which ebbed and flowed throughout, Nathan Astle’s unbeaten 115 proved to be the crucial difference as New Zealand clinched the Videocon Cup with a six-wicket win at Harare. Set a challenging 277 for victory, New Zealand got off to a stunning start, as Stephen Fleming (61) and Astle put together 121 in 18.1 overs, and then rode on that momentum despite a few wobbles against the spinners.Astle’s matchwinning effort overshadowed a couple of fine Indian batting performances – Mohammad Kaif played the outstanding hand for the second time in three games with a beautifully paced unbeaten 93, while Virender Sehwag finally got some batting form back with his first half-century in 16 ODIs.The last time the two sides met in a final, Chris Cairns had struck a magnificent century to make light of a stiff target. This time, he was the supersub, sitting in the pavilion and ready to walk out if the need arose, but as it turned out, his contribution wasn’t even needed, thanks primarily to an astonishing onslaught at the start of the run-chase.India’s bowlers have often stumbled in finals, but it appeared they might have finally got their act together when Irfan Pathan started off with a maiden. The next five overs went for 62, however, as Fleming and Astle rocked the Harare Sports Club with strokes all around the park, taking full toll of the bowlers’ proclivity to bowl on both sides of the wicket. Fleming was especially severe on Pathan, spanking him for five fours in his third over. Astle hammered boundaries square of the wicket on both sides, and Sourav Ganguly was forced to run for cover, spreading the field out after two power plays.India’s seamers leaked 137 from 18.1 overs, but the introduction of spin staunched the runs immediately. Sehwag nailed two wickets in one over, Harbhajan Singh bowled a tidy line and length, and even Astle found run-scoring far more difficult than he had earlier.However, India had one power-play still to use, and when it was finally taken in the 24th over, New Zealand made use of it to get back their momentum – Jai Prakash Yadav was tonked for 14 in his only over. India fought back with their spinners – Yuvraj Singh was almost as effective as Daniel Vettori had been for New Zealand earlier – and the asking rate even climbed to 6.4 in the last ten overs. However, with wickets in hand, and Astle around to provide the steadying hand, the result wasn’t in much doubt.India’s start had been pretty impressive too, but from 155 for 1 the batsmen, save Kaif, lost their way, finally being all out four balls short of 50 overs. After missing New Zealand’s last match, Shane Bond and Vettori both returned to the line-up, and as expected, they were the two class acts in the attack: Vettori bowled with guile, varied his flight and pace cleverly, and deserved his returns of 2 for 35. Bond bowled an incisive first spell, but was clearly below par when he returned, finally hobbling off three balls short of his complete spell.Sehwag provided the early impetus to the innings, but the crucial steadying hand in the middle and the late charge came from Kaif, who batted with all the fluency he showed in Friday’s match, but was even more impressive for the manner in which he read the situation and played according to its demands. When Sehwag was firing away, Kaif played second fiddle sensibly, When Sehwag fell, Kaif took on the mantle of batting through to the end, and when wickets fell in a heap towards the end, he took on the role of main striker, belting three fours in a four-ball sequence off Styris and Bond to help the innings get the momentum it was quickly losing.Kaif’s innings ensured that the early contributions of the openers, especially Sehwag, wasn’t wasted. Struggling for form before this match, Sehwag got into groove early, slashing a couple of fours off Bond, and then carried on from there, taking full toll of the width on offer. Ganguly was all at sea against Bond, but found the lesser pace of Kyle Mills much more to his liking. He fell against the run of play after an innings played in two halves – his first 22 balls fetched him a single, his last 22 got him 30 – but Kaif joined Sehwag in what was the best passage of the innings for India. The 81-run stand came in less than 12 overs as both batsmen made full use of Fleming’s decision to use all the power-plays at a stretch.After 24 overs, India were 153 for 1, a run-rate of 6.37, with Sehwag on course for a hundred. Vettori then stepped in, taking two wickets in an over, including that for Rahul Dravid for a second-ball duck, to peg India back. India continued to lose their way thereafter. Kaif kept his cool to guide the team to a competitive total, but that wasn’t enough to prevent India from sliding to their 12th defeat in their last 16 finals.Speaking of his side’s victory, Fleming said: “It was a great match, a great win and a great series. The all-round strength of our team was what mattered in the end.”Ganguly highlighted his team’s fielding as the weak part of their performance: “We got off to a good start, but couldn’t sustain it. Virender Sehwag put us back in the game for a while with three wickets but our fielding was not up to scratch.”India now face Zimbabwe in a two-Test series, with the first starting on September 13.

IndiaSourav Ganguly c Marshall b Oram 31 (44) (72 for 1)
Virender Sehwag c Vincent b Vettori 75 (65) (155 for 2)
Rahul Dravid lbw b Vettori 0 (2) (155 for 3)
Yuvraj Singh c Bond b Mills 20 (32) (185 for 4)
Venugopal Rao c McMillan b Oram 8 (16) (203 for 5)
Mahendra Singh Dhoni lbw b Styris 11 (16) (230 for 6)
Jai Prakash Yadav c McCullum b Oram 0 (2) (231 for 7)
Ajit Agarkar c Mills b Bond 6 (5) (255 for 8)
Irfan Pathan c Vincent b Oram 10 (7) (272 for 9)
Ashish Nehra c Oram b Mills 0 (2) (276 all out)
New ZealandStephen Fleming c & b Sehwag 61 (66) (121 for 1)
Hamish Marshall lbw b Sehwag 3 (3) (125 for 2)
Scott Styris st Dhoni b Sehwag 37 (41) (183 for 3)
Craig McMillan c Dhoni b Yuvraj 13 (14) (206 for 4)