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We still have to lift ourselves - Jayawardene

Pakistan in Sri Lanka 2009

Despite a series win, Mahela Jayawardene has said Sri Lanka still need to go a fair distance to hit peak form. Jayawardene, who gave up the captaincy after Sri Lanka's aborted tour to Pakistan in March, felt Kumar Sangakkara was playing the right cards as leader of a somewhat inexperienced side.

"Winning the second Test was a fantastic achievement and a great effort from all the guys in the team," he wrote on his website. "So to play below par and take a 2-0 lead is really pleasing. [But] the fact is that we are not playing brilliant Test cricket right now and there is some way for us to get to our best. As Sanga [Sangakkara] said afterwards, it reflects well on the teamwork and the fact that when we needed something special someone put their hand up.

"The thing is with captaincy is that you need to make bold decisions and you need to think out of the box," he said. "Sanga has been doing that. Sometimes it will work and he'll be applauded. Other times it may backfire and he'll be heavily criticised. That's life, sadly. Sanga knows it too and he has a tough skin so it will be fine for him."

Jayawardene's assessment of what the home needed to do for a clean sweep was simple: "We searched for scoring opportunities and we punished the bad ball. We have to continue that in the final Test."

Having already squandered the series, Pakistan captain Younis Khan was hopeful his side could salvage a face-saving win in the final Test, starting in Colombo July 20. "We have to win this game," he told AFP. "There is a one-day series after this, and if we finish the Test well it will boost our confidence for those matches."

"The batting has let us down badly, but we can't afford another failure," said Pakistan coach Intikhab Alam. "There is a lot of pride to play for in the third Test."

England will want to win Ashes for Flintoff

With Andrew Flintoff set to hang up his Test boots after the ongoing Ashes, his English teammates would do everything to win the series as a farewell gift to the burly all-rounder, believes former Australia wicket keeper Adam Gilchrist.

Gilchrist paid glowing tribute to Flintoff and felt it would inspire England to put their best foot forward in the ongoing Ashes.

"I don't think the Aussies will be affected but it can be a boost for the English players," Gilchrist said.

"I know from my time that a when a great player retired, you did everything you could to see them off with a series win. So England will be up for this Ashes series even more," said the Australian.

Gilchrist had no qualms admitting that Flintoff, as an opponent, often made life difficult for him.

"Freddie announcing his retirement means there will be a lot of Test cricketers sleeping easy now.

"He definitely terrorised me and my team-mates on many occasions," he said.

Gilchrist was of the view that Flintoff, as the premier all-rounder of his era, shouldered more responsibility than his body could endure and paid the price with a premature retirement.

"It's always sad when a player of that calibre retires but his body clearly couldn't cope with the demands. I think Freddie is a victim of his own abilities and skill he happily took on huge responsibility with the bat and ball," he said.

Even though Flintoff's contract with the Chennai Super Kings in the Indian Premier League added to the workload, Gilchrist did not see anything wrong in it.

"That brings physical stress but there is a lot of cricket around too and it's hard not to be drawn to financially rewarding competitions. You have to maximise your earnings in the small window of playing time you have in a career," said Gilchrist, who led Deccan Chargers to a fairytale triumph in the second edition of the IPL in South Africa.

Yuvraj jumps to No.2 after WI series

India News

It was an Indian one-two in the ICC ODI Rankings as dashing left-hander Yuvraj Singh zoomed to a career best second place, in the table topped by his captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

Despite winning the four-match series against the West Indies, there was, however, no such good news for India as Dhoni's men missed a chance to reclaim the second spot in the ICC ODI Championship and remained third.

India needed to win all their matches against the West Indies but they went down in the second tie at Sabina Park even though it could not deny them a 2-1 series win in the Caribbeans.

Yuvraj made scores of 131, 35 and 2 in the three matches against the West Indies while the fourth ODI in St Lucia was washed out yesterday. His series contribution helped him jump two places and he now sits behind Dhoni who has consolidated his number one position.

Dhoni, whose place was under threat from Chris Gayle, Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Yuvraj, produced a consistent performance to strengthen his position at the top.

The wicketkeeper-batsman made scores of 41, 95 and 46 not out to walk away with the player of the series award.

Dhoni now leads Yuvraj by a comfortable 44-point margin.

The team-mates are likely to resume their battle for the top spot in September when India plays Sri Lanka and New Zealand in a proposed tri-series in Sri Lanka.

Yuvraj's leap by two places means Chanderpaul and Gayle have dropped one place each to the third and fourth places respectively.

There was bad news for India opener Gautam Gambhir, who has slipped four places to share 20th spot with New Zealands Ross Taylor. Gambhir scored 57 runs in the series with his highest score being 44 in the third ODI at St Lucia.

Yuvraj, meanwhile, has fallen out of the top five of the ICC Player Rankings for all-rounders.

The left-arm spinner remained wicketless while conceding 53 runs off six overs in the series and his failure to pick up a few wickets means he has slipped five places to eighth position.

Yuvraj's fall has benefitted the Pakistan duo of Shoaib Malik and Shahid Afridi, who have risen to joint-third spot, and the fifth placed Jacob Oram.

In the bowlers' charts, Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh lost three places to 26th while Praveen Kumar dropped six places to 33rd.

Ishant Sharma, however, managed to move up two rungs to 39th.

Strauss ton holds England together

England v Australia, 2nd npower Test, Lord's, 1st day


England 364 for 6 (Strauss 161*, Broad 7*) v Australia

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

Andrew Strauss launched a stirring riposte to Ricky Ponting's 150 in Cardiff, carrying his bat through the first day to hand England the early ascendancy in the second Test. Strong off his pads, and stronger through the point region, Strauss (161 not out) moved within 16 runs of his highest ever Test score and beyond the 5,000-run career barrier. But the significance of this innings lay not in personal milestones but in its impact on an England team which, after the tea break, looked decided shaky against the enigmatic Mitchell Johnson and the consistent Ben Hilfenhaus.

Profligate in the first session, potent in the last, Johnson personified a day of fluctuating fortunes at Lord's. The foundations built by Strauss and Alastair Cook during an historic 196-run opening stand were eroded by a middle order stumble that drew Australia back into the contest. And, in both cases, Johnson was the pivotal figure.

Through his first 11 overs Johnson conceded 77 runs, including 15 boundaries, to allow England the opportunity to build on the bonhomie of their Cardiff escape. Whether overawed by the occasion of his first Lord's Test, upset by the ground's pronounced slope or just shy of form and confidence, Australia's spearhead appeared decidedly blunt in his exchanges with Strauss and Cook, guilty of straying both sides of the wicket and failing to find a consistent length in the period before tea.

But with a change of session came a change of fortune. The ball, which stubbornly refused to swing while still coated in lacquer, suddenly found its arc, with Johnson its pilot. His reverse swing slowed a scoring rate that had threatened to spiral out of control, and eventually accounted for the wicket of Matt Prior, bowled to a beautiful, tailing delivery.

Were it not for the stoic batting of Strauss, who ground his way to his highest Test score on home soil, Johnson, Hilfenhaus and Peter Siddle may well have seized back all the initiative surrendered in the earlier sessions. As it was, England headed to stumps in a position of strength, though perhaps not quite as strong as they might have hoped, after a final session in which four wickets fell for the addition of 109 runs.

Together with Cook, Strauss forged the highest first wicket partnership by an England combination at Lord's (196) in an Ashes Test, bettering by 14 runs the 83-year-old record held by Jack Hobbs and Herbert Sutcliffe. Though Cook fell just five runs short of his century, becoming Johnson's 100th Test scalp in the process, Strauss thrust forth into the evening, denying the probing offerings of Johnson and Hilfenhaus with both old and new balls

Prior to the final session, England's cause had been helped no end by an Australian attack that lurched from the lamentable to the horrendous, and one temporarily without the services of Nathan Hauritz. Hauritz, in dropping a powerfully struck return catch by Strauss, dislocated the middle finger on his bowling hand and was immediately taken from the field for treatment. So savage was the force of Strauss's drive that Hauritz, upon viewing his contorted finger, immediately signalled to the dressing room in distress and almost vomited on the pristine playing surface.

Scans cleared Hauritz of a fracture, and the off-spinner resumed his place in the field in the final session. But the Australians will nonetheless harbour significant concerns over Hauritz's effectiveness over the final four days - both for variation, and also the workload of their fast bowlers, who are playing the second of back-to-back Test matches.

Extras, misfields and overthrows all blighted Australia's morning effort, but by far the biggest disappointment was Johnson, who arrived on these shores trumpeted as the best paceman in international cricket. In a portent of what was to come, Johnson began the day with a full, leg-side delivery that Cook duly clipped to the square-leg boundary. His errant ways continued in the first half-hour, at one stage conceding four boundaries in six deliveries to Strauss, prompting Ponting to replace him with Siddle after four expensive (26 runs) overs.

Siddle, too, was awry, failing to contend with the slope of the Lord's pitch and making life difficult for Brad Haddin. Australia's only saving grace was Hilfenhaus, who began the match with three consecutive maidens and was rewarded after lunch with the wicket of Ravi Bopara. He might also have had Strauss earlier in the second session, if not for the small detail of his no-ball and Haddin's turfed catch. Strauss went onto raise his 18th Test century moments before tea. It was that kind of day for the Australians.

The confidence of England's openers visibly lifted over the course of the first session. Cook, the chief aggressor, enthralled the capacity Lord's crowd in the lead-up to lunch by pulling Johnson at every opportunity - not all of them from bad deliveries - en route to a half-century raised from just 73 deliveries. Strauss, save for a bright flurry against Johnson, was happy to steadily accumulate as part of a partnership that rocketed along to 125 by the lunch break.

Eight minutes prior to lunch, Cook and Strauss bettered their highest ever opening partnership against Australia, eclipsing their stand of 116 from the Perth Test two years ago. They advanced that total to 196 - England's highest opening stand in an Ashes Test since 1956 - before Cook fell in the 48th over to a fuller, straighter Johnson delivery that rapped him on the back pad.

England's day tapered thereafter. Bopara's cheap dismissal was compounded by that of Kevin Pietersen, whose aura is dimming with each innings at present. The prodigiously talented batsmen tried mightily to surrender his wicket before the tea break, and succeeded just after by playing inside a shorter Siddle delivery. Paul Collingwood, the rock of Cardiff, then fell to the loosest of strokes off the bowling of Michael Clarke, and was soon followed by Andrew Flintoff, the departing hero, who edged a Hilfenhaus offering to Ponting at second slip.

The onus fell to Strauss to save the day for England, and the captain duly obliged. He saw off both the reverse-swinging old ball, and the harder new one to ensure advantage remained with the hosts heading into the second day.

Ponting sees 'circus' in Flintoff farewell

The Ashes 2009

Australia captain Ricky Ponting believes England all-rounder Andrew Flintoff announcing his Test exit during the Ashes could create an unwanted 'circus' for the home side in the rest of the series.

Flintoff, whose career has been blighted by injury, chose the eve of the second Test here at Lord's to announce he would quit the five-day game at the end of the Ashes, which conclude in August across London at the Oval.

Ponting, speaking at Lord's after Flintoff had confirmed his Test retirement, told reporters: "I think we were all a little bit surprised with it to tell you the truth.

"If he ends up playing the remainder of the series I'm sure there'll be some outside distractions for the England team to deal with no matter if Andrew wanted it that way or not.

"I've been in teams where it's happened in Australia as well and it can be distracting, not just for the person involved but for the captain as well."

Ponting said the situation England found themselves in now was similar to the one confronting Australia when Steve Waugh, his predecessor as captain, made it clear the 2003/04 series at home to India would be his last in Tests.

"They were probably similar sort of figures in either side and either country. Everyone in Australia loved everything about Steve Waugh, the way he played, the way he led the side.

"We talked long and hard before the first Test of that series and making sure it didn't turn out to be a farewell tour for Steve.

"But as hard as we tried and as hard as he tried not to make it that way, sure enough it became very much heavily focused on everything he did."

He added: "We can't say yet if this will turn into a farewell tour but knowing the stature he (Flintoff) has in the game in England I can see it turning out like that.

"The fans here are very passionate about seeing Andrew Flintoff play so if they know it's the last chance to see him play here and last chance to play at Edgbaston and Headingley then there could be a circus around the ground."

Ponting, asked to assess Flintoff's worth as a player, said: "If you look at his bare statistics, they probably don't rate that flatteringly.

"But as far as someone that has an impact on the way a team plays and performs then he seems to be right up there.

"He just seems to be a guy that everyone would enjoy playing with. He's played the game in great spirit, everything he does, he's always got a smile on his face."

Last week's drawn first Ashes Test in Cardiff was Flintoff's first England appearance of the season following a knee injury. "You couldn't fault the effort he put in last week," Ponting said. "You wouldn't know he was injured."

Asked if Flintoff's decision to quit Tests was a sign that the fast-bowling all-rounder was an endangered species at the highest level given the volume of international cricket, Ponting said South Africa's Jacques Kallis was the exception that proved the rule.

"Jacques Kallis has done it pretty well, he's probably the only one that has got through. There's no doubt we are playing a lot at the moment.

"Andrew has been a superstar player for England. When they're in the middle of those glory years you have to manage them as well as you'd like and get a couple more years out of their career rather than grinding them into the ground too soon."

Focus required amid distractions

England v Australia, 2nd npower Test, Lord's

Match facts
Thursday, July 16 - Monday, July 20 2009
Start time 11.00 (10.00 GMT)

The series resumes after a nail-biting final hour in Cardiff in which England clung to the mightiest of draws after being dominated for most of the match. Since then time wasting and Andrew Flintoff's retirement have become the big issues, but the teams will not be focussing on the pre-match hype when the first ball is delivered.

They will be more intent on a brisk start and continuing their on-field battles in a contest that has already provided more heat than the St John's Wood tube station in summer. Australia enter the match disappointed they are not leading 1-0, while England are buoyant to be level. The visiting batsmen fired at Sophia Gardens, roaring to 674 for 6 before declaring, and their bowlers fell one wicket short of victory. The bowlers on both sides will be more excited by the conditions on offer in this game.

Nothing gets an Australian's neck prickling like the sight of Lord's and the players' baggy greens gain extra power whenever they bob through the Long Room. England's leaders can't understand why their team hasn't beaten their Ashes rivals in 75 years here. Another chapter will be added to the dusty pages of history this week.

Watch out for ...

Lord's is a place for the captains to star. Andrew Strauss missed out twice in the first Test, scoring 30 and 17, and needs to inspire his batting team-mates after they all gave away reasonable starts last week. The home of cricket is also Strauss's county ground for Middlesex, so he knows everything about the revered address. He has not scored a century here since 2006, but has reached triple figures three times on the way to averaging 58.17 in 11 matches.

Ricky Ponting, who has made 27 runs in three Test innings at Lord's, must stand up if his side is to maintain its intimidating batting intensity. In Cardiff Ponting breezed to 150, becoming one of four Australian century-makers, but the second Test will be played in different conditions and against a team that now remembers the last hour of batting, not the 181 overs of bowling.

Team news

Strauss wants to go with five bowlers - Ian Bell has been released from the squad - but his biggest worry is Flintoff's injured knee. Flintoff is bowing out of Tests at the end of the series and will be desperate to play while Steve Harmison is acting as his cover. Graham Onions was in the squad in Cardiff but didn't get a game, increasing his chances of appearing at Lord's, where two spinners are not a viable option.

England (possible) 1 Andrew Strauss (capt), 2 Alastair Cook, 3 Ravi Bopara, 4 Kevin Pietersen, 5 Paul Collingwood, 6 Matt Prior (wk), 7 Andrew Flintoff, 8 Stuart Broad, 9 Graeme Swann, 10 James Anderson, 11 Graham Onions.

Stuart Clark will be talked about but don't expect any changes to Australia's XI. Ponting should confirm the side later on Wednesday and it would be a shock if any of the players who pushed England last week are omitted. Brett Lee remains out with a stomach problem.

Australia (probable) 1 Simon Katich, 2 Phillip Hughes, 3 Ricky Ponting (capt), 4 Michael Hussey, 5 Michael Clarke, 6 Marcus North, 7 Brad Haddin (wk), 8 Mitchell Johnson, 9 Nathan Hauritz, 10 Peter Siddle, 11 Ben Hilfenhaus.

Pitch and conditions

Draws have been common recently at Lord's, but all the bowlers will feel this pitch is a raging seamer compared to the block of cement offered in Cardiff. There was an attractive green tinge on the surface on Tuesday and even though the grass was cut shorter on Wednesday, there is sure to be some life in it for the fast men. The same strip was used in 2005, although nobody is expecting a repeat of the 17 wickets that dropped on the opening day. The forecast is for sunny intervals on Thursday, rain on Friday and some showers over the weekend.

Flintoff to retire from Test cricket

The Ashes 2009

Andrew Flintoff has announced that he will retire from Test cricket at the end of this Ashes summer, although he still intends to make himself available for Twenty20 and ODI cricket, and is expected to be fit for tomorrow's second Test against Australia.
Flintoff, who has missed 25 of England's last 48 Tests through a variety of injuries, suffered another fitness scare on the eve of the Lord's Test, when he reported soreness and swelling in the same right knee that required surgery back in April, after he tore his meniscus while playing in the IPL.

"It's not something I have just thought of overnight, it's something that's been on my mind for a while regarding this series," said Flintoff. "With the knee flaring up again and getting the injections on Monday, now is a time I felt comfortable with doing it. There's been a lot of speculation over my future for the past few weeks, so I wanted to get it out there, and concentrate on playing cricket.

"I've had four ankle operations and knee surgery, so my body is telling me things, and I'm actually starting to listen. I can't just play games here and there while waiting to be fit. For my own sanity, and for my family's, I've got to draw a line under it. I've been going through two years of rehab in the past four, which is not ideal."

Prior to England's practice session on Wednesday morning, Flintoff gave the team talk in a sombre atmosphere, and afterwards Paul Collingwood immediately came up and shook him by the hand. "Freddie simply said that these four Tests would be his last in Test cricket," a team insider told Cricinfo. Andrew Strauss, the England captain, said the team were saddened, though not surprised, about Flintoff's decision to stand down from Test cricket.

"As players we've had a feeling this would come sooner rather than later," Strauss said. "We feel sad he's had to make this decision at his age, but we're sure it will motivate him even more for this series."

The knee injury that has threatened his participation at Lord's followed a spirited performance in the first Test at Cardiff, in which Flintoff bowled 35 overs but was once again under-rewarded with figures of 1 for 128. Strauss was optimistic on Wednesday that Flintoff will come through a fitness test and make himself available for selection, and he was seen skipping during England's warm-up in the indoor nets, before padding up for batting practice, then sending down a few pacey overs on the outdoor nets.

"The indications are that he's going to be fine," Strauss said. "He had a good bowl today, we just need to see how he reacts to what he did today before we can be 100% sure. At this stage we are hopeful but we can't be sure.


"When you go in with three seamers, you've got to expect all three to bowl a lot of overs. Fred understands that, but this week in all likelihood there will be four seamers and maybe [they] won't have quite as big a workload. We'd never play any bowler in a Test match who we didn't think could contribute as fully as anyone else."

Though he acknowledged that Flintoff's overall statistics do not bear greatness, Strauss lauded Flintoff's effect on the modern game.

"He's had a dramatic impact in English cricket over the past few years, in the style with which he's batted, and for a long period he's been one of the bowlers in world cricket that batters least like facing, although the figures maybe don't show that," Strauss said. "And also as a personality, he's done a huge amount for cricket in the way he's played with a smile on his face. Test cricket will miss him, there's no doubt about that. I'm sure he'll go out in a style that befits his quality, with a bang, with big performances, and with some stories to tell at the end."

Regardless of his immense stature in the England dressing-room, the statistics of Flintoff's recent form and impact on the Test side are not flattering. Since the 2005 Ashes, he has averaged 28.25 with the bat and 34.68 with the ball in 23 Tests (both figures down on his overall Test record of 31.69 and 32.51), and he has not managed a century or five wickets in an innings in any series since then.

Moreover, he has been unable to impose himself on matches in the same way that he did in his 2005 pomp. Although some leeway has to be made for the quality of the opponents he has faced - Flintoff has often been recuperating during low-key series in preparation for the marquee events - the statistics paint a sorry tale. In the 25 matches that Flintoff has missed since 2005, England have won 12, drawn 10 and lost on only three occasions. In the 23 matches in which he has been present, those numbers are almost exactly reversed - won 3, drawn 7, lost 13.

"Being part of an Ashes-winning team was very special, and so was beating everyone in the world for a period of time, and playing a major part in that," said Flintoff. "I'd have liked my career to kick on after that, but being a professional rehabber for two years makes it pretty difficult to do that. It would have been nice if it had carried on a bit longer, but I've no regrets. I'm happy."

Flintoff received a cortisone injection on Monday, and is sure to play through the pain if he has to. "For the next four Test matches I'll do everything I need to do to get on a cricket field and I'm desperate to make my mark," he said. "I want to finish playing for England on a high and if you look at the fixtures going forward, the way my body is suggests I won't be able to get through that."

Gambhir ranked No. 1 in Tests

Indian News

Gautam Gambhir became the number one batsman, replacing Pakistani run-machine Mohammad Yousuf in the latest ICC Test Player rankings issued today.

Incidentally, Gambhir reached the top when the ODI batting chart is also led by an Indian, Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

Yousuf, who had returned to the batting table last week in number one position after his century in the first Test at Galle, flopped in the second Test to drop to fifth position.

Accordingly, Gambhir became the sixth India batsman to lead the batting table in this version of the game.

The 27-year-old left-handed opener is the first Indian batsman after former captain Rahul Dravid to top the batting chart. Dravid had briefly become the number-one batsman after hitting centuries in each innings (110 and 135) of the Kolkata Test against Pakistan in March 2005. Dravid had first achieved the top batting ranking in January 1999 and has been number-one for 36 Tests between 1999 and 2005.

Sachin Tendulkar is the other India batsman in the last 15 years who has topped the batting chart. He first led the table in November 1994 while last time he occupied the number-one position was in August 2002 after the Leeds Test against England. Overall, Tendulkar has been the number-one batsman for 125 Tests between 1994 and 2002.

The other India batsmen to have achieved number-one positions in their careers are Gundappa Viswanath (seven matches in 1975), Sunil Gavaskar (46 matches between 1978-80) and Dilip Vengsarkar (17 matches between 1987-88).

Pakistan captain Younus Khan was able to retain his second position in the Test batting rankings but fell nine points behind Gambhir who, without hitting a ball, has gone ahead of both the Pakistan batsmen for the first time in his 25-Test career in which he has scored 2,271 runs at an average of over 54.

Gambhir's 847 points is relatively low for a number-one position in modern times as usually a batsman nearer to the 900-point mark goes to the top, which reflects that he has benefited from some of the other top batsman being off their peaks.

With only 10 points separating Gambhir from third-placed Kumar Sangakkara of Sri Lanka, the top order is expected to change again, of course depending how the Pakistan and Sri Lanka captains perform in the third and final Test which starts in Colombo from July 20.

The only big movers in the latest rankings are Pakistan opener Fawad Alam, who has entered the table in 52nd position after his 168 on his Test debut, and Bangladesh's Tamim Iqbal whose century in the second innings has helped him rocket 22 places to 62nd spot.

There is also a change at the top of the bowlers' chart for the first time in more than three years with Muttiah Muralitharan handing over the baton to South Africa fast bowler Dale Steyn.

Steyn had briefly joined Muralitharan in number-one position after the second Test against India in Ahmedabad in April 2008. However, Steyn had failed to go top of the table on his own after a disappointing third Test in Kanpur.

For Muralitharan, it is the first time that he has dropped to second position since February 2006. This is because he missed both the Tests of the ongoing series due to injury and a player loses one per cent of his ratings for every match he misses.

World Cup 2011 launched in Mumbai

The 2011 World Cup, to be hosted in the sub-continent, was launched with all the fanfare by the International Cricket Council with a member each from most of the previous winners present along with ICC vice-president Sharad Pawar and Chief Executive Haroon Lorgat.

Clive Lloyd, the captain of the West Indies sides that won in 1975 and 1979 in England, India's 1983 winning-team members Balwinder Sandhu and Dilip Vengsarkar, Sri Lanka's Aravinda D'Silva who played a major role in the 1996 Cup winning squad and Michael Bevan of Australia who was part of the team that won the crown in 1999 and 2003 were those present.

The sound and laser show that showcased the key moments of all the previous World Cups was a breathtaking affair.

Lorgat sought to dispel fears of one-day format being overtaken by the huge popularity of the Twenty20 version saying that the limited overs World Cup continued to be ICC's showpiece event.

"The (50-over) World Cup is the flagship event of the ICC. What we have will hold up in the future," he announced to the audience which had several former Mumbai-based Test cricketers including Ajit Wadekar, Bapu Nadkarni and Umesh Kulkarni.

Lorgat also said that the 2011 World Cup would be over in 40-plus dates and would involve 14 teams.

Pawar, the chairman of the 2011 World Cup Organising Committee, announced that the Indian board has decided to keep the ticket prices at affordable rates to encourage the student community to witness the matches and reiterated that Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium would host the final.

"The Indian board has decided to keep the rates of the tickets low to encourage the student community. We don't want to make too much money out of gates. This has come after what we saw in the West Indies (during the 2007 World Cup)," he added.

The last World Cup was played in front of a lot of empty seats.

Pawar also said that Pakistan, which would not hold any matches, would continue to be part of the organizational set-up.

"I'm upset that a major partner Pakistan is not organising a match due to unfortunate circumstances. They will be very much part of the organising committee and would help organize the World Cup in a dignified manner," he said.

Pakistan's representative - PCB's cricket operations manager -- Zakir Khan took part in the ceremony though he did not attend the meeting of the World Cup Central Organising Committee which preceded it.

Recalling the first two World Cups that he guided the West Indies to victory as captain, Lloyd said in 1975 the limited overs game was in its infancy and to that extent his team can be considered as the pioneers of driving it forward.

"The West Indies has a population of only five million people and to be crowned the best in the world was an achievement," he said.

Sandhu brought the roof down with his comments that the biggest mistake that Lloyd and his men made while playing against India in the final at the Lord's in June 1983 was to hit him on the head with a bouncer.

"The biggest mistake that the West Indies made was to hit a 'Sardar' on the head with a bouncer. Now we have two Sardars in the Indian team, Yuvraj Singh (who was part of the audience) and Harbhajan Singh. And Sachin Tendulkar wants to be part of a World Cup winning squad. If he remains fit India will win the next World Cup," he said.

Sandhu said that the 1983 title triumph was a turning point in Indian cricket as it gave the players the confidence that they can beat the best in the world.

"We then went on to win the Benson and Hedges World Championships in Australia in 1985 and the Twenty20 World Championship (in 2007)," he recollected.

He also said that he has kept the winners' medal in his safe. "It's a very precious thing for me," he pointed out.

Aravinda, who played a match-winning knock of 100 besides taking three wickets in the 1996 final at Lahore against Australia, considered both the feats with the bat and ball as important and complimented the entire team led by Arjuna Ranatunga for the triumph.

"It was a great team effort. We had a strong batting line up with the openers (Sanath Jayasuriya and Romesh Kaluwitharana) followed by Roshan (Mahanama), Asanka (Gurusinha) and Arjuna which gave me the opportunity to play my natural game," he said.

Bevan, considered among the finest finishers the one-day game has seen, said that though he batted at number six like Yuvraj Singh had done for India earlier, their batting styles were different.

"We had to win seven games in a row and we treated every game as a final," he recalled about Australia's performance in the 1999 World Cup held in England.

He also remembered the sad part of losing seven shirts with the autographs of players when he returned home. "I had kept the coffin (kit bag) outside as I did not want to spoil the new white carpet at my home. When I returned to pick it up it had been stolen," he said.

Asked about the winners' medal, Bevan said it was in his garage.

Addressing the media after the formal launch of the 2011 World Cup, Lorgat ruled out any further possibility of Pakistan still hosting any matches but re-iterated that the PCB will get the hosting fees.

"No possibility (of hosting any match). Pakistan can choose to hold the World Cup with the other three hosting boards," Lorgat said.

"The decision (to pay Pakistan hosting fees) was taken by all the four co-hosts and even the Pakistan representative was present. They will get three quarter million USD per match for 14 matches," he said.

On Pakistan going to court after it was stripped of 2011 WC hosting rights, Lorgat said, "I think perhaps they are not that well advised. They should be engaged in dialogue to sort out the issues and not get into legal issues."

The ICC CEO said the Champions Trophy will be held every four years after this year's edition in September and the Twenty20 World Championship will be held in April 2010 to get the scheduling right.

He said Twenty20 World Cup will not overshadow limited overs World Cup. "You cannot compare the World Cup with the T20 World Cup," he said.

Prof Shetty said Wankhede Stadium renovation work will be completed by October 2010 and it will start hosting matches in December 2010-January 2011.

Flintoff fitness is England's key Ashes problem

England head into the second Test against Australia as yet uncertain over whether all-rounder Andrew Flintoff will feature in their bid for a first Ashes win here at Lord's in 75 years.

The 31-year-old injured his right knee while fielding in last week's drawn first Test in Cardiff, having had an operation on after tearing the meniscus in April while playing in the Indian Premier League.

So vital to the balance of England's side, injuries have meant Flintoff has rarely hit the same heights as he did when starring during the team's 2005 Ashes-winning series.

But he still looked the only England pace bowler able to combat a slow surface at Sophia Gardens where Australia were only denied a victory by a last-wicket stand lasting 40 minutes between James Anderson and Monty Panesar.

It was somewhat overshadowed by a 'time-wasting' row revolving around the home team's questionable use of the 12th man late on the final day.

England have called up in-form fast bowler Stephen Harmison, who in 2005 at Lord's struck Australia captain Ricky Ponting a fearful blow on the cheek, ostensibly as cover for Flintoff.

But Harmison, who could be competing with fellow Durham paceman Graham Onions for a place in a re-shaped attack, may yet find himself playing alongside Flintoff if his friend proves his bowling fitness on Wednesday and suffers no ill-effects before Thursday's start.

England coach Andy Flower was cautiously upbeat about Flintoff's chances, saying Tuesday: "He saw the surgeon that operated on his knee recently and he was quite optimistic about him playing in this game.

"The suggestion is that he should be okay but I think with Fred and his injury record we're always concerned, to be honest," said Flower of Flintoff, who has had a cortisone injection.

"His body's in that sort of state at this time of his career when he seems vulnerable a lot of the time and we can't get away from that but he's a hell of a player and we want him in our side when he's fit."

Harmison took six wickets for England Lions during their tour match against Australia and twice dismissed fledgling opener Phillip Hughes with short balls in the process.

An inconsistent performer, Harmison was dropped during this year's tour of the West Indies and has not played for England since.

However, Flower stressed: "I never drew any line under Steve, that was never the case at all.

"Steve was always in the frame, he's a very good fast bowler and has a very good record for England, so he was always in the frame in our minds."

England captain Andrew Strauss is known to favour a five-man attack and, having seen his bowlers manage just six wickets between them as Australia piled up 674 in Cardiff, will not want to lack for options in the field.

But if Flintoff is ruled out and replaced by a bowler that would mean England had lengthened their tail.

Alternatively, they could bring back batsman Ian Bell.

But after a first Test where three England batsmen got to fifty but did not go on to a century in a match where Australia scored four hundreds, Flower and the selectors may give the top order a collective chance to redeem themselves.

"Certainly, batting-wise we didn't cash in when we had the opportunities and bowling-wise we found it hard to put them under pressure," Flower said

But he took some heart from England's rearguard action, saying: "We were outplayed but we take a bit of confidence from the fight we showed."

Star batsman Kevin Pietersen, who top-scored for England with 69, was widely criticised for getting out sweeping to Australia off-spinner Nathan Hauritz but Flower said the South Africa-born shotmaker should not carry the can for the side's lack of runs.

"I don't think you can just isolate him even though I know he's the most high-profile batsman."

Australia, who saw Ponting lead from the front in Wales with a superb 150, have not lost a Test at Lord's since 1934.

They are again set to be without fast bowler Brett Lee, ruled out in Cariff because of a rib injury.

The Ashes holders may well stick with the same side although seam bowler Stuart Clark could come into contention.

Form and history favour Australia and, as their similarly defiant last-wicket stand at Old Trafford four years ago, which was followed by an England win, showed, a battling draw is no guarantee of future success.

"We played exceptionally well throughout the first Test," said Hauritz.

"The batting was outstanding and we took 19 wickets."

How England would like to be able to say the same.

Herath and Kulasekara were marvellous - Sangakkara

Sri Lanka v Pakistan, 2nd Test, Colombo, 3rd day

Sri Lankan captain Kumar Sangakkara has said his team had expected Pakistan to crack as long as they remained focused on staying in the game, something they hadn't done on the second day. Sangakkara termed his team's seven-wicket win at the P Sara Oval, against the odds, a great achievement and credited his bowlers - Rangana Herath and Nuwan Kulasekara - for out-thinking the opposition.

"From where we were yesterday and at lunch today to be here with a match won, I think it's a great achievement," Sangakkara said. "We should be mindful of the fact that we should have batted them out of the game in the first innings and never put ourselves in a position to have turned the match miraculously.

"We've always known that about Pakistan. It's just the case of how long we can continuously exert pressure on them. The key is not to give them too many runs but hold them in as much as possible until that one crack appears and then try and dominate. We were a bit loose yesterday in a couple of sessions, giving away too many singles and boundaries. Today, after a few discussions last evening, we managed to get the field a bit better for the day that helped the bowlers as well."

Sangakkara revealed that on Monday evening he had a chat with his father at home trying to find a way for his team to achieve a breakthrough.

"Pakistan was in such a strong position where they could have gone on to dominate. But a false stroke let us into the middle order with two bowlers doing a fantastic job," Sangakkara said. "Today it was a case where everything went our way. It would have been nice to win a Test match which sees absorbing cricket."

It was the second new ball, taken straight after lunch, that did the trick for Sri Lanka. At that stage Pakistan had lost their captain Younis Khan for 82 but were still strongly placed at 294 for 2 at lunch with Fawad Alam batting on 164. However, the entire complexion of the game changed when Sangakkara tossed the new ball to Herath, who trapped Mohammad Yousuf with his second delivery. From there onwards it was a downward slide for Pakistan.

"We expected the spinners to get some bite off the new ball. If it lands on the shiny side it would slip through and hopefully hit the pads," Sangakkara said. "We walked onto the ground thinking maybe having the two fast bowlers from both ends, but I tossed the ball to Rangana who came up with a wicket in his first over. No matter who bowled we needed someone to stand up and do something special for us. Luckily we had two people today, [Nuwan] Kulasekara and Herath, who bowled marvelously in partnership.

"Rangana's had a lot of success against Pakistan in Pakistan. It just goes to show it doesn't matter whether you are a freak or an unorthodox bowler if you are patient and you bowl a good line and length. Trust yourself to do well, you can do wonders and win matches. Rangana not only bowled a very good line and length, but a lot of revolutions on the ball and put the ball in the right place.

"For the amount of cricket that Rangana has played at home and abroad, he's matured very well. I remember when I was playing my first years of Test cricket it took me a while to understand how I played and what my game was. Once you understand that things become a bit easier and you can do a lot more of what you have. Rangana's really learnt those lessons well. The other thing is he is just hungry. He's been in the wings and unfortunately fighting against two of the best spinners in the world, one of them the best ever. It's unfair in one way."

Praising the bowling of joint Man of the Match, Kulasekara, Sangakkara said: "Nuwan is a bowler whose strength is accuracy and movement. [Chaminda] Vaas is very much the same. Nuwan has worked his butt off the last year and a half and he's got to No. 1 in the world in ODIs so he can't be a bad bowler if that's the case. We picked him looking at the Galle wicket and you can't do anything more than that to impress and press for selection. It's tough for everyone sitting out, especially guys like Vaas who've played years and years and done wonders. The three guys who were picked in the two Tests really deserve their places and they've done a lot of good work."

Having won his first Test series as captain after taking over from his predecessor Mahela Jayawardene, he was wary of the obstacles that lie ahead of him.

"When you are winning you've got to be very careful of the fact that you've got to enjoy the good times but also make sure that you are prepared and the team is prepared that when a bad time comes it doesn't last long and we can bounce straight out of those. It's going to get a lot tougher as the years go by but I think we have the depth and the ability to meet all those challenges."

Kulasekara and Herath set up series win

Sri Lanka v Pakistan, 2nd Test, Colombo, 3rd day


Sri Lanka 240 (Sangakkara 87, Gul 4-43, Ajmal 4-87) and 171 for 3 (Warnapura 54) beat Pakistan 90 (Kulasekara 4-21) and 320 (Fawad 168, Younis 82, Herath 5-99, Kulasekara 4-37) by seven wickets


Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

A match in which fortunes swung wildly finally ended in an emphatic seven-wicket win for Sri Lanka, as they sealed their first home series win against Pakistan with a convincing performance at the P Sara Oval. Pakistan were left to rue another batting collapse of monumental proportions, one in which they lost nine wickets for 35 to go from a commanding 285 for 1 to 320 all out. That left Sri Lanka with a target of just 171, which they knocked off in a mere 32 overs to ensure a three-day result.

That had seemed a remote possibility when play started this morning, and seemed even less likely when Fawad Alam and Younis Khan were motoring along during their 200-run second-wicket partnership in the morning. Pakistan had wiped off the 150-run deficit with aplomb, and were building a substantial lead of their own; the pitch was flat, offering little assistance for pace or spin, and the Sri Lankans appeared completely deflated. Sri Lanka got a very small glimmer when Younis gifted his wicket away, attempting a reverse sweep against the part-time offspin of Tharanga Paranavitana with the second new ball just two overs away, and from there it went horribly wrong for Pakistan.

Surprisingly, it was Rangana Herath who took the new ball, and equally surprisingly, he struck immediately, removing Mohammad Yousuf with his second ball. That triggered a spectacular collapse, as seven more wickets fell in the next 92 deliveries. Pakistan had recovered brilliantly from their first-innings debacle, but there was no escape route this time around.

Nuwan Kulasekara had struggled for seam and swing in the first 80 overs, but armed with the new ball in overcast conditions, he suddenly found exaggerated inswing, trapping four batsmen lbw. Misbah-ul-Haq, Kamran Akmal, Abdur Rauf and Saeed Ajmal all got their front foot too far across, though Misbah was unlucky as the ball seemed to be missing leg stump.

Herath, meanwhile, was as effective with the straighter one as he was with the one which turned. The lack of turn accounted for Yousuf, Shoaib Malik and Umar Gul, while turn and bounce ended Fawad's outstanding innings of 168, the second-highest by a Pakistan debutant. His four wickets with the new ball gave him figures of 5 for 99, his first five-for in Tests, and a series which had already seen several twists had another monumental, and decisive, one.

At lunch, though, no one could have seen the end coming, as Fawad and Younis reduced Sri Lanka's bowlers and fielders to a completely dispirited lot, adding 116 in 28 overs for the loss of just one wicket. More than the runs themselves, it was the ease with which Fawad and Younis batted that would have worried Kumar Sangakkara. Fawad, especially, showed excellent concentration, knocking the ball in the gaps, driving fluently through the covers, and cutting and pulling whenever the bowlers pitched it marginally short.

Sangakkara's tactics were perplexing - the second over of the day was bowled by Paranavitana - and when he did turn to his main bowlers, the results weren't much better. Ajantha Mendis had a shocker, either dragging the balls too short or serving half-volleys, and leaked 38 in six overs, including five fours.

As the runs piled up, so did the records: Fawad became only the fourth Pakistan batsman to score 150 on debut, while the partnership was the highest for the second wicket at this ground, and for Pakistan against Sri Lanka in Tests.

It was all going exactly as Pakistan would have wanted it to, till Sangakkara gave the second new ball to Herath. The collapse that followed seemed to completely take the fight out of Pakistan, for when they took the field to defend 170, they were flat and uninspired. Gul and Mohammad Aamer bowled on both sides of the wicket and got none of the movement that Kulasekara had managed earlier in the afternoon. The aggressive Malinda Warnapura cashed in, getting a flurry of boundaries with pulls and flicks to ensure that Sri Lanka never felt the pressure of chasing an uncomfortable target against an attack known to trigger collapses.

The opening partnership added 60 in a mere ten overs, and even when that pair was separated, with Paranavitana playing a careless sweep, Pakistan were never in the contest as Sangakkara carried on from where he had left off in the first innings. Younis brought back Gul for a late spell, hoping for some reverse swing and inspiration, but Gul managed neither. A lofted six by Sangakkara off Malik brought down the target to just 11, but he wasn't in the middle to celebrate his first series win as captain, falling off the next delivery. With Mahela Jayawardene and Thilan Samaraweera around, though, that hardly mattered.

Broad not intimidated by Siddle

England v Australia, 2nd npower Test, Lord's

Stuart Broad has sought to douse the flames of his physical confrontation with Peter Siddle during the fractious final session of the first Ashes Test, but admitted the unrelenting intensity of Ashes combat was unlike anything he had previously experienced in his fledgling international career.

Broad and Siddle twice bumped shoulders at the conclusion of the 64th over of England's second innings at a time when Australia were in desperate pursuit of an innings victory; one of several heated confrontations between players on Sunday.

"He was obviously up for the challenge," Broad told Cricinfo. "I was trying to block as many balls as I could and I just managed to edge one for four which is frustrating for any bowler. I was looking to third man and he was looking to third man and we just brushed shoulders. That's all that was in it really. Every time you step onto a cricket field, especially in such a big series like the Ashes, you expect it to have a bit of needle. It was thoroughly exciting out there. There were two teams desperate to get the result they wanted and that's what you play the game for. It was a great thrill."

Asked whether he had experienced intensity to rival the final day of the Cardiff Test, Broad was unequivocal. "Never," he said. "I wasn't nervous or concerned when I was out there because you're just concentrating on every ball and focussing. But once I was out and there was nothing I could do any more the nerves really got to me. The last hour was the most painful hour I've ever been through. It was hard work and emotionally very tiring."

Broad was largely underwhelming in Cardiff, returning figures of 1 for 129 from 32 overs and compiling modest totals of 19 and 14 from No. 8. His lack of impact with the new ball was particularly concerning for Andrew Strauss, and the emerging all-rounder may well have faced demotion ahead of the Lord's Test if not for Andrew Flintoff's injury scare and the unwillingness of selectors to make wholesale changes in the middle of important series.

If, as is now expected, he retains his place in the England XI for the second Test, Broad will be hoping for a pitch livelier than that which yielded just six Australian wickets in as many sessions in Cardiff. "Hoping and praying - it was a bowlers graveyard really," he said of the Sophia Gardens surface. "You hope to see not too many wickets like that around the world, but hopefully Lord's will give us a bit more assistance and the bowlers can use their skills and get the ball swinging and take more wickets than we took in Cardiff.

"It was a little bit too slow for the seam bowlers to have too much effect. People want to see slip catches and a bit of excitement in the wicket. Hopefully they'll be a little bit quicker throughout the series. I think every bowler would be on my side with that."

Broad's returns on his Ashes debut may not have flattered, but his willingness to take the fight to the Australians will undoubtedly have impressed his captain. Pitted against an opponent renowned for intimidation, Broad bowled with aggression, if not variation, to the Australian top-order and showed no fear when facing up to a snarling Siddle in the second innings.

"We were obviously delighted as a team to have got that result yesterday because it shows the fight and character we've got in the side," he said. "Paul Collingwood was absolutely fantastic - his patience and determination not to get out. We can take that into Lord's, that momentum we gained and hopefully we can put in a strong performance."

Spinners seal historic Bangladesh win

West Indies v Bangladesh, 1st Test, Kingstown, 5th day


Bangladesh 238 (Mortaza 39, Roach 3-46) and 345 (Tamim 128, Sammy 5-70) beat West Indies 307 (Phillips 94, Bernard 53, Mahmudullah 3-59) and 181 (Bernard 52, Mahmudullah 5-51, Shakib 3-39) by 95 runs


Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

Four years and six months after their solitary Test win, Bangladesh sealed a historic second victory when they beat West Indies by 95 runs in St Vincent. Bangladesh's spin twins Shakib Al Hasan and Mahmudullah weaved a tantalising web to shove West Indies to defeat. Spare a thought, though, for David Bernard who thwarted everything thrown at him for 134 balls to remain unbeaten on a fine 52. The win, as special it was, would come with an asterisk that this was a second-string West Indies team.

The champagne moment arrived at 4.40 pm local time when the stand-in captain Shakib nailed last man Tino Best in front with a dipping full toss with only ten overs left in the day. Best put up his bat as if to suggest he had edged it but the finger was up and the Bangladeshi fielders moved into a huddle of joy. A limping Mashrafe Mortaza hobbled to the middle to join in the celebrations.

It was an enthralling last couple of sessions in the beautiful Kingstown stadium ringed by sea. The cricket in nature was almost sub-continental in its elements. Spinners operated with several close-in men prowling near the batsmen waiting for a mistake, and an over-excited chirpy wicketkeeper, Mushfiqur Rahim, applying immense pressure on the batsmen and the umpires with his appeals and adding drama with his oohs and aahs. And when the seamers came on, it wasn't seam but reverse swing on view with the slinging Rubel Hossain and the grunting Shahadat Hossain trying their best to break through.

And the plot thickened in the last session, as Bernard found a willing partner in Nikita Miller, taking the minds back to Cardiff where England pulled off a great escape yesterday. But Mohammad Ashraful, who failed in both innings with the bat, stamped his presence in the game by removing Miller, who hung on his backfoot to defend stoutly for 54 balls, with one that straightened to get the edge. Mahmudullah returned to trap Ryan Austin and take out Kemar Roach before Shakib sealed the finish.

Until then, Bernard had proved to be a huge headache to the visitors as he stood solidly between them and history. His CV describes him as a stylish batsman but today he added grit to the existing grace. Even under tremendous pressure, he managed to bat almost elegantly, using his wrists skillfully to ride the turn and the bounce on the final-day's wicket. While the rest around him pushed hard at the ball, he played with soft hands and defended confidently. The contest between Shakib and him was high-quality, with the bowler shifting angles and trying everything in his arsenal - the left-arm breaks, the straighter one, the arm-ball, the round-arm delivery, over and round-the-wicket - but he was in a zone of his own. He moved forward or back, as the length demanded of him, using his wrists to drop the ball down short of the fielders. When the spin strangle got tighter, he had the courage to play the pressure-relieving strokes like the lofted drives and the cuts. He survived a close lbw shout in the 44th over against Shakib when a ball straightened to hit the pad in front of the stumps but that blemish apart, he was pretty solid.

However, Shakib and Mahmudullah ensured no other batsmen would deny them a slice of history. Shakib, hailed by the former Australian spinner Kerry O' Keefe as the "best finger spinner in the world", turned in a suffocating spell of left-arm spin to relentlessly force the pressure on West Indies. Shakib was slightly slow through the air in the first innings and couldn't pose too many problems on a slow track. However, today, he ripped it slightly quicker and immediately looked threatening. He varied his pace, even his angle, by lowering the arm on occasions, and, unsurprisingly, was the better of the two spinners, despite finishing with fewer wickets. He occasionally got the ball to straighten and slipped in a few with the arm.

In his first over Shakib harassed Omar Phillips before going past an attempted sweep to trap the batsman. Later, when Darren Sammy and Bernard added 37 in 11.3 overs, he struck, removing Sammy with a little bit of help from the batsman. Suddenly, against the run of play and just before tea, Sammy jumped out and sliced an ambitious square drive straight to point.

Even when he was not taking wickets, Shakib kept the pressure on and by keeping the batsmen on a leash, allowed Mahmudullah the space to wreak some damage. At one point in the chase Rahim shouted out to Mahmudullah: "Just keep hitting the right areas; the pitch would take care of the rest buddy". Mahmudullah did exactly that to pick up three quick wickets after lunch before he returned to take another two in the last session. He tightened the stranglehold by being accurate and making the batsmen play at every ball. It paid off and how.

Floyd Reifer, who was tormented by Shakib, showed himself to be a prime lbw candidate. Time and again, that front leg was pressed dangerously across but he managed to stab and jab his way out against Shakib. But Mahmudullah broke through finally with one that landed and straightened to strike that front leg. His next victim was Travis Dowlin, inducing a nervous prod straight to short-leg. Chadwick Walton walked in and started off with a second-ball six but was done in by one that kept low from Mahmudullah and was struck in front of the leg stump.

The slide had started with a moment of madness from the opener Dale Richards who added 20 runs in two overs before he had a brain freeze. He ambled out of the crease after being hit on the pad by Shahadat Hossain, all the while looking anxiously at the umpire for the verdict on the lbw appeal, which went in his favour, but was run out by a direct hit. That allowed Bangladesh the opening and they stormed through.

When the day started, it looked as if Bangladesh were dawdling with the bat and not showing enough urgency to either go for quick runs or leave many overs as possible to bowl out West Indies. However, Darren Sammy took a five-for to bowl them out and that proved a blessing in hindsight as it allowed their spinners enough time to bowl them to a euphoric triumph.

Pakistan wrest back initiative with all-round show

Sri Lanka v Pakistan, 2nd Test, Colombo, 2nd day

Pakistan 90 and 178 for 1 (Fawad 102*) lead Sri Lanka 240 (Sangakkara 87, Gul 4-43) by 28 runs


Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

Fawad Alam, Umar Gul and Saeed Ajmal fashioned an extraordinary turnaround on the second day at the P Sara Oval, with Pakistan dominating as completely as they had been dominated on the opening day. Led by superb spells from Gul and an outstanding century on debut from Fawad, Pakistan recovered from a disastrous first innings, limited their deficit to 150, and, by the end of the day two, had wiped off the arrears and moved ahead, losing only one wicket in the process.

When the day began, Sri Lanka were so far ahead it seemed almost inevitable they would rectify their record of never having won a home series against Pakistan. However, so thoroughly did Pakistan control all three sessions that Sri Lanka will have uncomfortable thoughts about chasing a stiff fourth-innings target on a wearing pitch. So far Pakistan had set all the wrong records in this series, but they got it right here: Fawad's tenacious yet fluent effort made him the 10th Pakistan batsman to score a century on debut, but the first to do so overseas. Thanks to that effort and the amazing bowling display, Pakistan can dream about chasing another record: only once have they won a Test after conceding a larger first-innings deficit - against New Zealand in Wellington in 2003, when they trailed by 170 but eventually won by seven wickets.

There were question marks being raised about Pakistan's commitment after there capitulation in the series so far, but as is their wont, they hit back just when their chances had been written off. The pitch remained a pretty good one for batting, though the bounce had diminished, but Pakistan relied on lethal spells of reverse swing, aided by steady spin and an inspirational bit of fielding, to launch an astonishing revival, and then continued it with an utterly disciplined and purposeful batting display.

The morning session belonged to Gul. He was completely lacklustre in Galle, but here was back near his best, reverting to his original action instead of trying to hide the ball with both hands. He generated late swing, bowled at a brisk pace, and maintained excellent control over length and line. He also bowled the ball that announced Pakistan's comeback, slipping in a quick delivery from round the wicket that crashed through Kumar Sangakkara's defences. Sangakkara had progressed serenely to 87 and looked good for many more, but that delivery was an emphatic declaration of the fact that Pakistan were back in business. That's exactly how it turned out, as Sri Lanka lost five wickets after that for just 52.

Gul received plenty of support from Ajmal, who bowled unchanged through the day and finished with deserving figures of 4 for 87. The pitch didn't offer much, but Ajmal maintained excellent control, seldom giving the batsmen easy scoring opportunities. He also had some help from umpire Daryl Harper, who adjudged Tillakaratne Dilshan caught behind though ball made no contact with bat.

It was a day when almost everything went right for Pakistan, with even the fielding getting better. The day started with a superb direct throw from Mohammad Aamer that found Thilan Samaraweera short of his crease. And when Gul returned for a second spell before lunch, Sri Lanka's misery exacerbated, as he struck twice in successive balls. Nuwan Kulasekara drove hard to slip, while Rangana Herath was caught-and-bowled as he tried to check a drive, thus improving Gul's morning figures to 3 for 15 from eight overs.

Angelo Mathews offered some resistance after being reprieved in the slips on 4, but that was hardly enough to stop the rampaging Pakistanis. With the deficit controlled to manageable proportions, their batsmen then set about making further inroads into Sri Lanka's hold on the game.

Khurram Manzoor and Fawad did that by adding 85 for the first wicket, looking untroubled at most times on a pitch that had lost most of its pace. Kulasekara, the first-innings destroyer, didn't get much swing, while the lack of pace meant both batsmen had enough time to adjust their strokes.

Fawad's tendency to shuffle had been his downfall in the first innings, and while he continued to use that technique in the second innings, he was quick enough to work the ball on the leg side every time the bowlers targeted his pads. The most impressive aspect of his batting, though, was his temperament. He was assured in defence, never looked flustered or bogged down by the huge deficit, and worked the ball away impressively against both pace and spin. Nothing demonstrated his temperament better than the way he tackled the 90s - on 92, he stepped back and pulled Rangana Herath high over midwicket for six; then he stepped back and worked the ball behind point for a couple of runs to get to his century.

It contained only six fours and a six, but yet came off just 151 balls, indicating just how well he worked the ball around. His staple run-scoring was the arc between backward point and mid-off, as he drove the ball fluently off both front and back foot, picking the gaps and ensuring that there were never long scoreless periods.

Younis had a close shave for lbw when on 4 - replays showed the ball had hit pad before hitting bat - but he slowly got into his groove, timing the ball sweetly down the ground and giving the bowlers no chance. By the time the last ball of the day was bowled, the Sri Lankans were more than ready to walk off, and the hopes of a series win was suddenly much farther away than it had been eight hours earlier.

Ponting left fuming at England 'sportsmanship'

Australia captain Ricky Ponting slammed England for a lack of sportsmanship after a controversial conclusion to a dramatic drawn first Test here at Sophia Gardens.

Ashes-holders Australia were poised to go 1-0 up in the five-Test series before England's last-wicket duo James Anderson (21 not out) and Monty Panesar (seven not out) held out for the final 40 minutes to salvage an unlikely draw.

But twice during the 10th wicket pair's 69-ball stand, England 12th man Bilal Shafayat ran onto the field to offer Anderson batting gloves while physio Steve McCaig was eventually ordered off by the umpires after making it to the middle on the second occasion.

During the last Ashes series in Britain in 2005, which England won 2-1, Ponting became incensed at the hosts tactic of bringing on a 12th man just to give their fast bowlers a breather.

And he let fly on his way back into the pavilion at then England coach Duncan Fletcher after he was run out by substitute fielder Gary Pratt during Australia's fourth Test loss at Trent Bridge even though, on that occasion, fast bowler Simon Jones was off the field with a genuine injury.

Ponting kept his anger in check this time around but made his feelings plain to reporters after stumps.

"I don't think it was required. He (Anderson) changed (gloves) the over before," Ponting said. "I don't think they'd be too sweaty in one over.

"I'm not sure what the physio was doing, I didn't see anyone call for the physio, as far as I'm concerned, it was pretty ordinary really.

"But they can play whatever way they want to play. We came to play by the rules and the spirit of the game, it's up to them to do what they want to do."

"I was unhappy with it," Ponting, man-of-the-match for his 150 in Australia's only innings of 674 for six declared, said. "I don't want to make that big a deal of it. It's not the reason we didn't win."

There had been two flashpoints earlier in the day which suggested tempers were fraying.

Before play got underway, England batsman Kevin Pietersen and Australia quick Mitchell Johnson clashed while both teams were warming up on the outfield and during the match itself Stuart Broad and Victoria pace bowler Peter Siddle appeared to be involved in a shoulder-barging incident.

But Ponting played down the impact of both dust-ups, saying of the former: "It was a case of a few guys on the ground taking each others' space."

And, as for the second, which was dealt with by umpire Billy Doctrove, Ponting said: "He handled it and got on top of it pretty quickly.

"It was probably accidental. Move on. It was a great game of cricket and we should be remembering that."

Ponting also defended his decision to bowl part-time spinner Marcus North in the closing stages, rather than fast bowler Mitchell Johnson - Australia's spearhead in the absence of the injured Brett Lee - on the grounds he wanted to get in as many deliveries as he could at the 10th wicket pair.

England, who needed 239 to make Australia bat again, finished on 252 for nine at stumps and Ponting said: "We were running a bit short on time, once they got ahead.

Australia were the dominant side for most of this contest, the first Test ever staged in Wales.

Ponting led from the front in a batting display where further hundreds from North (125 not out), Simon Katich (122) and Brad Haddin (121) saw four Australians score centuries in the same Test innings against England for the first time.

England were clearly buoyed by coming away with a draw that owed plenty to Paul Collingwood's painstaking innings of 74, which spanned nearly six hours after he'd come in with his side in desperate trouble Sunday at 46 for four.

Back in 2005, Australia saw last wicket duo Lee and Glenn McGrath save the Old Trafford Test only for their team to ultimately lose the series.

Ponting warned England against getting carried away ahead of the second Test which starts on Thursday at Lord's - a ground where Australia haven't lost a Test since 1934.

"I'm not sure if they look at it like a win, they're not 1-0 up, they've been outplayed for four days," Ponting said.

"They'll have more soul-searching and selection issues than we will. We know what we've done so well here and we can take a lot of confidence from that.

"All the batsmen looked exceptionally good and the bowlers toiled hard on a surface that offered nothing. We've got to realise how well we've played."

Strauss tells England top-order to shape up

England captain Andrew Strauss told his batsmen to raise their game after his side just did enough to hang on for a draw in the first Test against Australia here at Sophia Gardens.

Last-wicket duo James Anderson and Monty Panesar saw out the final 40 minutes here Sunday during a 69-ball stand that took England to safety and left the five-match Ashes series all square at 0-0 ahead of the second Test, which starts at Strauss's Lord's home ground on Thursday.

Their efforts built on the foundation laid by Paul Collingwood's patient last-day innings of 74 which spanned nearly six hours.

But when Collingwood came to the crease England had collapsed to 46 for four and it was not long before they were 70 for five.

Apart from Collingwood, no England top-order batsman managed more in their second innings than Strauss's 17.

And the Middlesex left-handed opener admitted that simply wasn't good enough on a pitch where, only the day before, Australia had piled up 674 for six declared featuring hundreds from captain Ricky Ponting (150), Marcus North (125 not out), Simon Katich (122) and Brad Haddin (121).

"The top order didn't perform well enough," said Strauss.

"We all had a part to play in our own downfall, there were a lot of ways of staying in there and we didn't find them."

Strauss could only watch as Anderson and Panesar showed England's premier batsmen how to keep Australia at bay.

"I was on the edge of my seat," Strauss, who was seen holding his head in his hands during England's last-wicket stand, said.

"It was horrible to watch. As a batsman, to watch Nos 10 and 11 do your job for you is not a place you want to be. There's a huge amount of relief."

He too praised Collingwood's application, saying: "He's a tenacious little red-head. He never takes a backward step.

"That was his route into the Test team and it's kind of the only way he knows. In circumstances like that you almost expect him to do something along those lines and it just underlines his value to the side."

But there was controversy during the closing overs when England twice sent on 12th man Bilal Shafayat, once even accompanied by the team physiotherapist, in what appeared to be clear attempts at time-wasting.

A somewhat sheepish Strauss said: "Our intentions were good. We weren't out there to waste a huge amount of time.

"We first of all sent out the 12th man to let Jimmy and Monty know that there was time left rather than just the overs.

"And then a drink spilled on his (Anderson's) glove. There was a lot of confusion to be honest."

Australia captain Ricky Ponting was clearly unimpressed with what he labelled England's "ordinary" tactics but Strauss said: "I personally thought the game was played in a pretty good spirit the whole way through."

Meanwhile Collingwood, speaking ahead of England's second Test squad announcement on Monday, said: "We showed great character and heart, there is a lot of passion in that dressing room so we can take a lot from this."

Anderson, who batted for 72 minutes Sunday, said he sensed the game was going England's way when Ponting brought on part-time spinner North in an ultimately futile attempt to get through more than the statutory 15 overs in the final hour.

"They were putting a part-time spinner on and Monty was playing it very well," explained Anderson, who finished on 21 not out after resisting Australia for 53 balls.

Panesar, who like Anderson is also a left-handed batsman, thanked his "cricket buddy" Collingwood for helping him improve his game.

"I was pretty nervous when I got out there," said Panesar, who faced 35 balls for his unbeaten seven.

"But I'd been doing some work with Colly and Jimmy and I played straight, watched the ball hard and, thankfully, we are sitting here with a draw."

Pietersen in a heated argument with Johnson

Kevin Pietersen got into a heated argument with Australia pacer Mitchell Johnson before the start of the final day's play in the first Ashes Test that clearly rattled the right-hander while he went into bat in England's second innings, here today.

The tension boiled over when Pietersen struck a ball that went close to hitting Johnson, who was warming up with his teammates before the start of the day's play.

The Australian pacer was not amused and confronted Pietersen and the pair was captured by TV cameras standing chest to chest, exchanging words and eyeballing each other until Johnson was pulled away by fellow pacer Stuart Clark.

The incident completely agitated Pietersen and it was clearly visible during his 16 minutes stay at the crease.

Pietersen edged an aggressive Johnson just short of second slip and also survived a close lbw appeal from Peter Siddle. He was finally cleaned up by Ben Hilfenhaus for eight runs.

Sangakkara leads Sri Lanka's dominance

Sri Lanka v Pakistan, 2nd Test, Colombo, 1st day

Sri Lanka 164 for 3 (Sangakkara 81*) lead Pakistan 90 (Malik 39*, Kulasekara 4-21) by 74 runs


Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

Sri Lanka have never won a home series against Pakistan, but they took huge strides towards rectifying that statistic with an utterly dominant performance with ball and bat on the first day at the P Sara Oval. Pakistan were coming off an abject batting display in Galle, but they sunk even lower here, being bundled out for an embarrassing 90 after winning the toss. Sri Lanka's batsmen, led by captain Kumar Sangakkara, then gave them a batting lesson, easing to 164 for 3, already 74 in front.

The pitch at the P Sara Oval offered some assistance for the bowlers, with the ball doing a bit in the air and off the seam on the first morning, but by no means was batting as difficult as the Pakistan batsmen made it out to be. Sri Lanka's bowlers, though, made the most of the conditions: Nuwan Kulasekara, Thilan Thushara and Angelo Mathews pitched it in the corridor, got movement in the air and off the pitch, and that combination was far too lethal for Pakistan's diffident top order. Kulasekara was the pick of the lot, wrecking the top order and finishing with well-deserved figures of 4 for 21, while the rest offered excellent support.

Kulasekara made up for his lack of pace with control and movement, shaping the ball both ways and giving the batsmen few scoring opportunities. He started by setting up Khurram Manzoor with a couple that moved in, before slipping in one which held its line and took a thin edge on the way to Tillakaratne Dilshan, the wicketkeeper. Pakistan's 38th opening combination in 136 innings had been separated after only 14 deliveries.

Worse was to follow as the experienced middle-order trio of Younis Khan, Mohammad Yousuf and Misbah-ul-Haq followed in quick succession, with two of them failing to score. The two Ys both fell to shots which were avoidable - Younis chopped it on to his stumps when trying to cut one from Thushara that was too full for the stroke, while Yousuf, after getting two fours in his first three balls, drove Kulasekara lazily to point. Misbah was kept on nought for ten deliveries, before Kulasekara nailed him with a superb delivery which nipped back and took the inside edge. In only 35 minutes of play, Pakistan had slumped to 19 for 4.

Ironically, the batsman who survived this opening onslaught was a debutant, opening the innings for the first time in first-class cricket. Fawad Alam came into the team for Salman Butt, and quite surprisingly, walked out to bat first up after Younis won the toss. His pronounced shuffle ultimately cost him his wicket, but there were still positives for him from his debut innings - he played straight, and he left deliveries well outside off. He played only 19 deliveries in the first 11 overs of the innings, but he was patient, and finally got his first four in Tests with a superb back-foot punch off Mathews. That was as good as it got, unfortunately - noticing Fawad's big shuffle, Mathews cleverly nipped one back into the left-hander, and trapped him plumb in front.

The 32-run partnership between Fawad and Shoaib Malik was the longest of the innings, and once Fawad left, there was little resistance from anyone except Malik, who played with a poise that was sadly not emulated by the others. He struck the ball crisply down the ground when the bowlers pitched it up, and was excellent with his judgment of deliveries outside off stump. Abdur Rauf offered him company for more than nine overs but didn't get a run in 34 balls, while the rest didn't even bother to spend time at the crease. After the seamers had done the early damage, Ajantha Mendis hastened the end with wickets off successive balls as Pakistan's innings folded in 36 overs.

They spent the rest of the day toiling in the field, ending with only three wickets to show for their efforts as Sangakkara gave them a lesson in batsmanship. He was fluent right from the start, clipping Mohammad Aamer for a couple of delightful fours through mid-on. He was equally decisive against the spin of Saeed Ajmal, twice cutting gloriously when offered the width. He became more circumspect towards close of play, but still latched on to scoring opportunities, ending the day with a glorious pull in the last over of the day from Gul, and finishing just nine short of Pakistan's first-innings total.

To their credit, Pakistan didn't lose the plot in the field, taking three wickets and creating more opportunities. Malinda Warnapura fell to a rough lbw decision, Tharanga Paranavitana got an under edge after looking solid for his 26, while an out-of-sorts Mahela Jayawardene was trapped by a superb delivery which spun and bounced.

Pakistan's fast bowlers ran in tirelessly, but the one who looked most likely to take wickets was Ajmal, the offspinner. On a dry pitch where the odd ball was already showing signs of misbehaving, Ajmal had most of the Sri Lankan batsmen in a spot of bother. He spun a couple past Sangakkara's bat, had Jayawardene miscuing more than once, and had a close lbw appeal turned down against Thilan Samaraweera. Unfortunately for Pakistan, they gave away so much ground in the first three hours of play that it'll require a Herculean effort for them to stay in this match, and the series.

England pull off great escape

England v Australia, 1st npower Test, Cardiff, 5th day

England 435 (Pietersen 69, Collingwood 64, Prior 56) and 252 for 9 (Collingwood 74, Hilfenhaus 3-37) drew with Australia 674 for 6 dec (Ponting 150, Katich 122, North 125*, Haddin 121, Clarke 81)


Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

James Anderson and Monty Panesar produced the most important innings of their lives as England's final pair survived 11.3 overs to pull off a thrilling escape at Cardiff. When Paul Collingwood fell for a monumental 245-ball 74 England still trailed by six, but once Australia had to bat again, valuable time was taken out of the game leaving Andrew Strauss and a packed Cardiff nervously clock-watching. The Australians threw everything into the final hour in an electric atmosphere with the crowd cheering the two unlikely batting heroes as though the Ashes had been won.

A vital moment came when Anderson collected consecutive boundaries off Peter Siddle to finally erase the deficit. It meant that two further overs would be lost from the remaining allocation, but there was yet another twist. Australia had bowled their overs quickly during the final hour, which meant it came down to a clock-watch situation for the batsmen. The crucial mark was 6.40pm: at that point it meant there was no time for Australia to start a run chase.

The closing overs were in the hands of Nathan Hauritz - who rose above all the pre-match concern over his quality to claim three final-day wickets and six in the match - and Marcus North. Anderson, outwardly calm while inside he must have been churning, blocked confidently but also picked up vital runs to just edge the lead ahead further. Meanwhile, Panesar, the most unlikely of batting saviours, watched the ball like a hawk. Having left expertly against the quicks he played with soft hands against the spinners, and one of the biggest cheers of the day came when he square cut North for a boundary.

However, while Anderson and Panesar were there at the end to soak up the acclaim the escape wouldn't have been possible without one of Collingwood's most determined innings for his country. He came in early after Kevin Pietersen lost his off stump, shouldering arms to Ben Hilfenhaus, and soon faced an England card that read 70 for 5. He found vital support from Andrew Flintoff, Stuart Broad and particularly Graeme Swann, who overcame a peppering from Siddle, to share a 20-over stand.

Collingwood fought with very ounce of the grit that makes him such a valuable player. He survived some early scares against Hauritz when an inside edge fell just short of Simon Katich at short leg and another delivery almost rolled back onto the stumps until Collingwood stepped on it. He went 31 deliveries after lunch without scoring, but unlike some of England's other batsman he isn't someone who gets overly twitchy when his own score his moving along.

Collingwood's fifty came off 167 balls, the slowest by an England batsman since Nasser Hussain against West Indies in Port of Spain during the 2004 tour, but the pace of his innings mattered not a jot. His only mistake proved his downfall as he chased some width from Siddle and Mike Hussey took a juggling catch in the gully. He could hardly believe what he had done and couldn't even bring himself to remove his pads as he watched the two tailenders defy Australia. Collingwood isn't a superstar; he doesn't fit into the hero mould, but here he was both.

Ponting admitted it was a tough result to take and Australia were ahead of the game virtually throughout the final day. Pietersen, who had an early-morning confrontation with Mitchell Johnson during the warm-ups, never settled against the swinging ball as the quicks probed away on the full length that causes him problems. His troubles ended when he completely misjudged the line from Hilfenhaus and didn't offer a shot. It was excellent bowling from Hilfenhaus, who had been shaping the ball away and made one hold its line, but Pietersen's back lift and footwork are currently not in sync.

In the eighth over of the session it was time for Hauritz and he was in the wonderful position of being able to bowl with men around the bat. He immediately found more turn, and posed a greater threat than England's spinner managed over two days, and made one bounce a touch more against Andrew Strauss as he tried to cut.

While the England captain can perhaps be partly excused his shot as the cut is a legitimate option against the offspinner, the same can't be said for Matt Prior. He had already flirted with danger by dabbing Hauritz through short third man and had also been beaten twice outside off stump by clever changes of pace and flight. Trying to go through the off side again he was undone by extra bounce and gloved a chance to slip.

Flintoff fought against his natural inclination to attack, playing watchfully against Hauritz as he accompanied Collingwood for 23 overs. The out-of-sorts Johnson, who was later horribly wayward with the second new ball, broke through when Flintoff pushed at one going across him and before tea Broad had also gone, trapped leg before playing back at Hauritz.

For Hauritz it appeared he would provide the ultimate response to his critics by securing a Test victory until he tired slightly in the tension-filled closing stages. Collingwood and Swann took a large chunk out of the evening session, with Swann completing an impressive match with the bat. Shortly before tea he was given a peppering from Siddle who sent down a violent over that struck three painful blows - two on the glove and one on the elbow - which required the physio to come out twice in three deliveries.

His runs were also crucial as England ate away into Australia's lead before he went for a pull against the impressive Hilfenhaus and was palpably leg before. Collingwood now had just two bowlers for company and when he departed an Australian victory looked assured. England, though, dug deep, deeper perhaps than many thought Anderson and Panesar could.

However, despite the scoreline still reading nil-nil the reality is that England were a distance second-best for much of the match. Australia have shown that, despite the loss of many greats, they are a unit of huge desire who will take some beating. At least this time, though, it won't be a whitewash.