ScorecardLord’s played host to its first floodlit match on Monday, but now it was The Oval’s turn to put on their Pro40 show. In a dazzlingly close affair, Somerset’s cool heads earned them a last-gasp five-run victory – and a well-deserved promotion to Division One.While Middlesex’s match was deliberately muted – with respect to the St John’s Wood residents – the 8000 spectators watching Surrey, and Mark Ramprakash in particular, push Somerset all the way made enough noise for a full house. In the end, though, it was to be Somerset’s day/night thanks to Marcus Trescothick’s century and a well-judged last over from Steffan Jones.Surrey needed 11 from the final two balls with two wickets remaining but Ramprakash and Neil Saker both fell, leaving Somerset triumphant. The visitors’ 258 had looked short when Ramprakash, who made 115, and Mark Butcher (56) were leading the charge – indeed, Somerset were on target for 300 until Trescothick went on 124 (his first century in the competition this year) – but in the end it proved just enough.Trescothick entertained with a typically forthright century, but was allowed a chance on 53, when he was dropped at mid-on off Saker. This wasn’t the only one of Surrey’s fumbles – Neil McKenzie was spilled on 19 – although Murtaza Hussain finally held on to Trescothick at the third juggle but only when it was too late.Jade Dernbach led a youthful Surrey attack with his usual broad smile which, when he bagged five wickets, turned full beam – no lights were needed at that point. His 5 for 44 was his best one-day bowling and was just reward for finding some extra lift to remove Craig Kieswetter for a duck and Justin Langer for 2, caught at gully by James Benning (9 for 2).Somerset, though, were lifted by two key partnerships, both involving the dominant Trescothick, who added 86 with Neil McKenzie (32) and 83 with the clean-hitting Ian Blackwell, who made 41. McKenzie finally fell to Chris Jordan, a simple chance at backward point, while Blackwell was then deceived by the vicious turn away from Murtaza – he could only prod an edge.The turning point in Surrey’s innings came when Butcher and Ali Brown were run-out in quick succession with 65 still required. Jon Batty and Rory Hamilton-Brown were further victims as the heat of battle burned deeper – both fell to Charl Willoughby – and Jordan soon followed to Jones, but still Ramprakash did not melt. Far from it, he remained cool and calm as he collected some typically stylish runs.Eventually, however, he perished to another run-out in the dying over and with it Surrey’s hopes fell away.

Israel will host Croatia in a European Division Two play-off game in November.As part of the new ICC World League structure, the Croatians, as winners of the European Division Three tournament played over the summer, have the right to challenge Israel, who finished second from bottom at the Division Two tournament in 2006, for the right to participate in Division Two in the 2008 tournament.According to the new ICC structure, each regional division is to consist of six teams. Division One consists of Ireland, Holland, Scotland, Denmark, Italy and Norway, who received promotion having won Division Two. Israel will need to defeat Croatia to remain in Division Two, which includes Gibraltar, France, Germany, Jersey, and Guernsey.The match, to be played on either Sunday November 11 or 18, with the Monday set aside as a rain day, is being embraced by the Israel Cricket Association, with chairman Stanley Perlman delighted at the opportunity to host an international match. “We have been trying to host international cricket in Israel for many years now, and hope that the visit of the Croatian team will pave the way for other countries to tour in the future. We will invite the Croatians to play a couple of friendly matches before the game against our national team as well.”Croatia defeated Spain by four runs to win Division Three in August, which included teams from Isle of Man, Belgium, Portugal, Malta, Cyprus and Finland.

Marvan Atapattu, the former captain, has not to been included in Sri Lanka’s 16-member Test squad to tour Australia after stating his unavailability; while Tillakaratne Dilshan, the right-hand middle-order batsman, has been replaced by Jehan Mubarak.Atapattu probably closed the door on his international career when he snubbed the selection committee for a second time by turning down an invitation to meet them. Earlier he had pulled out of the home Test series against Bangladesh stating ‘personal reasons’, and later went on to play league cricket in England.Atapattu has been out of the national team since the 2007 World Cup, where he did not play any of Sri Lanka’s 11 matches despite being a member of the squad. Sri Lanka reached the final of the tournament, where they lost to Australia.The selectors, who were to leave out Sanath Jayasuriya to accommodate Atapattu, were forced to fall back on Jayasuriya, who is expected to make the Australian series his final one in Test cricket.Thilan Samaraweera, 31, has earned his recall after playing the last of his 39 Tests in England in 2006.Chanaka Welegedera, the left-arm fast-medium bowler from Matale, is the only new face in the side. He forced himself into contention with some outstanding bowling performances in the past six months, notably his first ten-wicket haul to bowl the Sri Lanka Invitation XI to victory over Tamil Nadu in the four-day MJ Gopalan trophy tie in Colombo last week. Highly-placed sources said Welegedera is looked upon as a likely successor to the experienced Chaminda Vaas.Muttiah Muralitharan, who is recovering from an injury to his right bicep, also gets the nod. He is expected to play in the last two ODIs of the on-going series against England, but selection committee sources said that they would not rush him into playing. Murali is chasing Shane Warne’s world Test record of 708 wickets and will travel to Australia needing nine wickets from the two Tests to become the highest wicket-taker.The first Test will be played in Brisbane from November 8-12 and the second Test in Hobart from November 16-20.Sri Lanka Test squad [subject to Sports Ministry ratification]:
Mahela Jayawardene (capt), Kumar Sangakkara, Sanath Jayasuriya, Upul Tharanga, Michael Vandort, Chamara Silva, Thilan Samaraweera, Jehan Mubarak, Prasanna Jayawardene (wk), Chaminda Vaas, Lasith Malinga, Dilhara Fernando, Farveez Maharoof, Chanaka Welagedera, Muttiah Muralitharan, Malinga Bandara.

After months of rumour and little information, signs of progress in the review of the USA Cricket Association’s constitution have finally emerged.In a letter to regional league presidents, John Aaron, the chairman of the USACA League Presidents Reconciliation Commission, has announced that a document will be sent out this week.Referring to the last few months, Aaron said that there had “been some minor victories, several stalling moments and political meanderings that saw the forward progress stumble, stop and start. It has been equally frustrating for the five league presidents of the Reconciliation Commission, as much as it has been frustrating for each of you, particularly in the absence of information emanating from our national body – USACA.”I have called for calm along the way, seeking your patience and cooperation, as we see participated in this renewed effort of getting cricket back on track. I appreciate the support you have given the commission and myself, and now seek your support in reviewing the constitutional document expected to be on the USACA web site within the next 24 hours.”Aaron said that Chris Dehring, the former World Cup organiser charged by the ICC with overviewing the process, was looking for three goals; the distinction between policy making and administration in the structure of USACA; the need to have true regional representation and responsibility in determining national policy; transparency and accountability in the governance of USACA.Feedback from the initial document will be considered with the intention that a final version would be circulated on November 1. Aaron said that the aim was still to hold fresh USACA elections before the self-imposed deadline of November 30.

The national selectors sprung a late-night surprise on Thursday and named Anil Kumble captain for the upcoming three-Test series against Pakistan.The announcement, which was delayed by several hours, was shorn of any drama – MP Pandove, joint secretary of the Indian board, had a dour look and a flat voice as he broke the news after he had gone through the announcement of an unchanged squad for the next two ODIs – but it meant the selectors had avoided the simpler path of plumping for Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the ODI captain and favourite for the Test job, and instead backed the dark horse Kumble. It also meant India would, for the first time, have separate captains in Tests and ODIs.Kumble is probably one of the very few cricketers who has become a captain after having played 118 Tests. He follows in the footsteps of Karnataka team-mate Rahul Dravid, whoresigned from the captaincy for both Tests and ODIs in September. Whileappointing Dhoni – the captain of the successful Twenty20 team in SouthAfrica – for the ODIs against Pakistan, the selectors had sounded out Sachin Tendulkar for the Test captaincy. However, Tendulkar’s refusal made Kumble the outsider in a two-horse race with Dhoni the favourite.”It’s a great honour … it’s something every cricketer dreams of,” Kumbletold Cricinfo soon after the announcement was made. “It wasn’t much of a surprise, though, because I thought I came pretty close to it when I was vice-captain.”Asked about his relationship with Dhoni, Kumble said: “It’s a great asset to have somebody like him behind the stumps – even when he was just the wicketkeeper and I was just a bowler we used to communicate clearly. We’ll definitely complement each other.”It was a typically straight answer from Kumble who told Cricinfo yesterday he would do the job if asked to. “I don’t know what the big deal is, why so much is being made of this. I have said this before also.”At 37, Kumble is the oldest member in India’s current Test line-up. His 566 Test wickets are the most after Shane Warne and Muttiah Muralitharan. Kumble had served as vice-captain of the team before, but has led India once, in an ODI against England in 2002.He retired from ODIs following the World Cup earlier this year in the West Indies.

Scorecard
How they were out

A mentally shattered England folded for 81, their lowest total for five years, on the third day at Galle as Chaminda Vaas led a bowling display which put Sri Lanka within sight of the 2-0 win that will lift them to second place in the world rankings. Vaas ripped out four as England crashed to 33 for 6 before rain brought some relief. However, on resumption the tail folded meekly and the follow-on was unsurprisingly enforced by Mahela Jayawardene, who had earlier reached a majestic double century against a forlorn attack.There was always potential for England’s dramatic slump, but they took it to extremes. Thoughts briefly turned to the record books and their low points; 45 against Australia in 1887, narrowly bettered by their 46 at Trinidad in 1994. Although those ignominies were avoided, their eventual meagre total is the first time they have been bowled for less than a 100 since 2002 against Australia at Brisbane. Sri Lanka bowled superbly as a unit, showing that there is plenty in the surface, but England’s strokeplay spoke volumes of their mind set.For the second match running they had been through a draining experience in the field and the top order didn’t appear in any state to mount a rearguard that would at least save face, if not the series. The bare statistics give the best picture; England’s feeble lasted 30.5 overs, while during the morning Sri Lanka slammed 115 runs in 19.5.The first two wickets were typical of a team that had one eye on the flight home. After spending 149 overs trying to marshall his bowlers, Michael Vaughan inexplicably padded up to Vaas, a horrendous misjudgement with the ball heading for middle. Partly that was good bowling, but the second wicket was a mess all of England’s own making. Alastair Cook dropped the ball into the off side, called for a run then changed his mind. Ian Bell tried to turn around, but couldn’t beat Tillakaratne Dilshan’s direct hit from backward point. It was another feather in Dilshan’s cap during an impressive return to the Test scene and reminded everyone that he remains one of premier cover-point fielders in the world. That one moment put England’s lethargic efforts to shame.Cook failed to make amends with a major innings, nibbling outside off stump as Vaas showed how to bowl in helpful conditions. After swing undid Cook, a brutal delivery from Lasith Malinga brought the end of Kevin Pietersen. A searing ball flew off a length and brushed Pietersen’s gloves through to Prasanna Jayawardene as he tried to sway out of the line. There wasn’t much he could have done and he has one innings remaining to avoid this series being his first without at least a half-century.

England lunched in a miserable state at 24 for 4 and nothing improved after the break when Ravi Bopara, who batted with split webbing in his right hand sustained during the morning warm-ups, limply chipped to mid-on, allowing debutant Chanaka Welegedara to make his first impact. Vaas knew exactly how to operate on this surface, full and straight with a hint of variation, and gained more rewards when Matt Prior was beaten by one which kept low. If he’d been forward he would have had a chance, but England were planted on the back foot in every sense.Rain sent them to the safety of the dressing for three hours, but there was no escaping another tricky spell. Paul Collingwood and Ryan Sidebottom showed some resistance, but once Sidebottom edged Muttiah Muralitharan to short leg the rest folded meekly. Welegedara was rewarded for a nippy burst when he bowled Collingwood with a beauty which held its line and had Matthew Hoggard taken at slip. The shambles was summed up when Monty Panesar was run out in a chaotic mix-up.The scoreline handsomely justifies Jayawardene’s decision to push England to breaking point in the field. He missed out on a double by five runs in Colombo, but made no mistake this time and reached the landmark in empathic style. Facing a comeback over from Steve Harmison he elegantly lofted him over the covers to bring up his double off 406 balls. He’d offered one more chance, on 154, with Prior again unable to gather an edge low to his right off Sidebottom, who looked ready to walk off in disgust.In the last Test played on this ground, before the devastating tsunami, against South Africa in 2004, Jayawardene hit 237 so it was an innings to befit the occasion. Vaas was equally dominant, crunching 11 boundaries in his 133-ball 90. He appeared set for his second Test century when he top-edged Hoggard to Vaughan at midwicket, but even the simplest of catches needed two attempts. The England captain escaped embarrassment on that occasion, but his team are facing humiliation.

Mohammad Ashraful demands Bangladesh give it all in the third and final one-day international in Queenstown after an “unacceptable” performance in the second match. Bangladesh have already conceded the best-of-three series 2-0 to New Zealand but Ashraful felt his side could come back hard ahead of the two Tests.”I believe we can recover from the performance in Napier,” he told the . “Our effort in that match was not up to our usual standard and we’re capable of playing much better than that hopefully we can prove that here in Queenstown.”We need to lift our game in all the main areas but particularly in terms of producing a better performance in our middle order. We can’t afford to lose wickets so quickly; we need to make better decisions when the pressure is on.”From Queenstown, Bangladesh will travel to Dunedin to begin preparations for the first Test. Ashraful, 23, was glad to have the services of Test specialists Habibul Bashar, Shahriar Nafees and Enamul Haque jnr, who fly into Auckland today. Bangladesh have a single win in 49 Tests, against a weak Zimbabwe side in 2004-05, and Ashraful called on his players to play hard against New Zealand.Assessing the opposition, who were completely outclassed in a two-Test series in South Africa recently, Ashraful felt they were a formidable side. “I don’t think New Zealand are vulnerable in the Tests, despite what happened to them in South Africa,” he said. “They’re a good side; they fight very hard and they’re especially tough to play in their own conditions.”The second and final Test, also the last match of the tour, starts in Wellington on January 12.

Scorecard

Bangladesh defeated a New Zealand Cricket (NZC) XI by four wickets in a day-night Twenty20 game in Hamilton to pick up their first win of the tour. After the Bangladeshi bowlers had restricted NZC XI to a modest 133, Farhad Reza’s 17-ball 31 propelled the visitors to a win with three overs to spare.Sent in, NZC XI had a slow start reaching 19 for 2 in 5.3 overs. They were propped up by James Marshall and Scott Styris who added 39 for the fifth wicket. Marshall top scored with an unbeaten 33, which included one six and a four. For the Bangladeshis, opening bowler Shahadat Hossain took 3 for 15 off his four overs.The visitors’ chase began poorly with the openers falling cheaply but the next five batsmen contributed with scores over 20 to ensure victory. Three run-outs had threatened to derail the Bangladeshis’ reply, but Reza and Mehrab Hossain jnr added 47 for the sixth wicket to ease their side’s concerns. Michael Mason was the most effective NZC XI bowler, conceding only 21 runs off his four overs.After having lost two of their three previous games of the tour – with one match abandoned, the Bangladeshis will take some confidence from this win, which comes ahead of the first ODI against New Zealand on Wednesday.The game was a charity match to help raise funds for people affected by Cyclone Sidr, which ripped through Bangladesh in November and killed more than 3000 people. The ICC also donated US$250,000 to the Bangladesh Relief Fund at the start of the match.

Cri-zelda Brits, South Africa women’s team captain, is confident her side will do well in the ICC World Cup qualifiers in Stellenbosch despite losing allrounder Johmari Logtenberg from original squad.Logtenberg, who was South Africa’s vice-captain, has quit cricket to concentrate on golf. “We decided as a team that we would focus on what’s important, and that’s the World Cup,” Brits told supercricket website. “We are sorry about Johmari, but we can’t look back.””It’s a pity about Johmari, but her retirement provides opportunities for other players,” said South African Women’s Cricket president Kerri Laing.South Africa will be hosting the qualifiers, scheduled between February 18 and 24, after the tournament was moved from Pakistan last November following the imposition of emergency in the country.Brits said the postponement had meant that some of the players had got the chance to play provincial matches ahead of the tournament. She reckoned Ireland would be South Africa’s toughest opponents among the seven teams they would up against in the tournament. “We haven’t seen much of them and our match against them in the 2005 World Cup was washed out, but I think they are pretty good, although I don’t think they’ve played much recently.” Ireland and South Africa are in different pools for the qualifiers and can only face each other in the semi-finals or the final.South Africa’s first match of the qualifiers is against Bermuda on February 18.

Geoff Lawson would like to see Pakistan playing more Test cricket over the next few years, but admits there is little that can be done about it.Pakistan are scheduled to play only three Test series in two years and one less if Australia pull out of their scheduled tour to the country next month. As the Future Tours Programme (FTP) stands, Pakistan will play Australia next month, host India towards the end of this year and then go to Sri Lanka in July 2009. Their last Test series was in November-December last year against India.”It is strange that that we play only three Test series in two years but I am not responsible for the FTP and I don’t organize the programme,” Lawson said at the National Stadium in Karachi. “It’s a little bit like India a few years back where we had lots of ODIs but few Tests. More Tests would be great sure.”Towards that end, Australia coming, even if for a shortened tour, would help and Lawson said that getting them over was the top priority. “My first concern is that Australia come over,” Lawson said. “We can’t affect what Cricket Australia or their players do but we can affect our own preparation and cricket. My focus is to make sure that our minds are on cricket and that we are mentally and physically ready to take on Australia when they do come.”Things are coming together for Pakistan in that respect. As ever, they will rely heavily on their pace attack for the series, in particular Mohammad Asif and Umar Gul, who have both been out with injuries recently. Lawson said, however, that the pair was getting back to full fitness. “They’re both working hard at the National Cricket Academy in Lahore and are bowling again. Asif is bowling off a three-quarters run up and if his elbow holds up, he will come back an even better bowler.”Gul has come back from Australia [after a check-up on his back] and has been cleared and is doing some gym work now.”Pakistan are also looking into the possibility of hiring a sports psychologist for the side, a recommendation that Lawson had made after the tour to India. “We’re in the process of trying to organize it,” Lawson said. “Every major sporting team has one and we want to do everything to make our team the best side.”I have suggested a few names from Australia who have experience with cricket, but I am also open to local names as they might understand and work with the Asian mindset better.”