Centuries from Chris Nash and Lou Vincent set Sussex up for a comfortable Clydesdale Bank 40 Group A win over Holland at Amstelveen

30-Jul-2011
Scorecard
Centuries from Chris Nash and Lou Vincent set Sussex up for a comfortable Clydesdale Bank 40 Group A win over Holland at Amstelveen. Nash hit an unbeaten 116 and Vincent scored 102 out of the visitors’ 271 for 2 and then Chris Liddle claimed an impressive five wickets for just 18 runs as the home side were bowled out for 123. Only four of the Holland batsmen reached double figures as they were defeated by 148 runs with nearly five overs remaining.Nash and Ed Joyce put on 41 before the latter fell for 21 but then Nash and Vincent got to work, both reaching half-centuries in pretty much even time. Both went on to reach their centuries before Vincent fell with the score on 235 with three overs to go.Nash was then joined by Rana Naved (19 not out) and together they took the total to 271 without further loss. Nash’s knock came from 135 balls and included five fours and two sixes, Vincent making his 102 from 91 balls with five fours and a six.Liddle quickly got to work with the home side’s batsmen and wickets fell at regular intervals, opener Wesley Barresi the first to go with the total on 5 when he was caught by wicketkeeper Ben Brown off Liddle. The left-arm medium pacer went on to claim four more victims as the home side struggled to make runs, finding themselves at 32 for 5 when Tim Gruijters (23) was joined by Tom de Grooth.They put on 47 for the sixth wicket but when De Grooth, the top scorer with 30, was trapped leg before by Luke Wells the fight was taken out of the home side’s reply. Wells claimed 3 for 19 from his eight overs as the visitors claimed an easy win which leaves them in top spot in Group A with their opponents in fourth.

If Yorkshire go on to suffer relegation this year, they may well come to rue the opening day of this match

George Dobell at Edgbaston23-Aug-2011
Scorecard
If Yorkshire go on to suffer relegation this year, they may well come to rue the opening day of this match.This was a day of missed opportunities for the hosts. Despite winning first use of a blameless pitch and despite facing an attack decimated by injury and international calls, Yorkshire squandered their opportunity to set-up a match-defining position. It sums up their performance that they were dismissed just three runs short of gaining a third batting bonus point. Such profligacy may come back to haunt them.The frustration, from a Yorkshire perspective, was that they did the hard work. Several of their batsmen made decent starts, but none of them could provide the imposing total their side required and nearly all of them played a role in their own dismissal. From a platform of 120 for1, it was a disappointing effort.By contrast, Warwickshire could feel well satisfied with their day’s work. The visitors were missing their three leading Championship wicket-takers – Chris Woakes and Boyd Rankin are absent on international duty and Rikki Clarke has a back injury – convincing them to take-on Essex’s Chris Wright, who has signed until the end on season on loan, and utilise their director of cricket, Ashley Giles, as 12th man until reinforcements arrived from Birmingham.Yet, somehow, the makeshift side combined the dismiss Yorkshire for a score that may well turn out to be at least 100 under par. Defying their lack of experience, they turned in a professional performance that did much to explain the differing positions of these two sides in the Championship table. In terms of talent, Yorkshire surely have the edge. In terms of application, they could learn much from Warwickshire.As Giles put it: “We’re four down from the side that played last week – six if you include Trott and Bell – but we found different guys to get the job done today. That’s what good squads do.”While Andrew Miller was not selected as Warwickshire felt he’d had insufficient bowling after coming back from a recent knee injury, Giles’ decision to select Wright surely bodes ill for Naqaash Tahir. Naqaash, a highly skilled swing bowler, is out of contract in a month and has already made his last appearance for Warwickshire. The 27-year-old played a valuable role in the 2004 Championship success and remains a dangerous bowler when the conditions – or perhaps more pertinently his mood – allow. But the suspicion remains that he has promised a little more than he has delivered and that he has not always embrace the training regime that Giles requires. He may yet forge a decent career elsewhere.If Naqaash is Warwickshire’s past, Keith Barker may well play a significant part in the future. It was 24-year-old Barker who produced the key performance of the day, claiming 4 for 73 from 23 impressive overs.Barker is an interesting cricketer. Having pursued a career in football, he played almost no cricket between the age of 16 and 21. He is fast making up for lost time, however, and with an ability to swing the ball at pace and score Championship centuries, it is far from impossible that he’ll be interesting the England selectors before too long.Perhaps, had fate taken a slightly different course, he might have done so already. Barker, the God son of former West Indies captain Clive Lloyd, was a highly promising young cricketer who some at Lancashire wanted to sign at 14. Alas, officialdom intervened and a decision was made that the club shouldn’t offer him a contract until he was 16. By the time they did make him a firm offer – two years later – it was too late. He had signed for Blackburn Rovers two days earlier.He bowled very well here. Swinging the ball consistently, he also generated more pace than any of his colleagues from this gentle surface. More importantly, he claimed four good wickets. Jacques Rudolph was punished for playing across one which straightened, Joe Sayers was bowled off the inside edge as he pushed at one that left him, Gerard Brophy edged a quicker ball that surprised him for pace and Richard Pyrah was bowled by one that nipped back between bat and pad. On a surface offering little assistance, that represented high quality bowling.Wright also impressed. Maintaining a tight line and length, he bowled at a decent pace and probed around on off-stump waiting for mistakes. There will be days when he has to wait far longer, but against a Yorkshire side who appear to have lost their traditional ability to graft for runs, he was soon rewarded when Joe Root, who clearly oozes ability, spoiled his pleasing innings by playing horribly across a straight one and Anthony McGrath felt for one outside off stump and edged to slip. It will have done Wright’s claim for a longer-term contract no harm at all.Chris Metters, the left-arm spinner who was playing for Devon this time last year, also claimed three wickets, though he would probably accept he was a little flattered by that haul. Adil Rashid cut a long-hop to point, Gary Ballance turned an innocuous delivery straight into the hands of short-leg before David Wainwright, out of contract in a few weeks and keen to secure more first team cricket, ended his impressive innings by missing a horrid swing to leg. All three batsmen had played very nicely up to that point, but all three would have been immensely disappointed at the soft nature of their dismissals.And that was the story of the day. Yorkshire surrendered their opportunities a bit too easily and Warwickshire accepted them with delight. The hosts’ batting – weakened as it is – suggests this game is far from over, but Yorkshire will have to toughen up substantially if they are to avoid relegation.

Australia’s two debutants, Nathan Lyon and Trent Copeland, are old friends and enjoyed each other’s success on debut

Daniel Brettig in Galle01-Sep-2011One morning during their first week in Sri Lanka, Trent Copeland and Nathan Lyon quietly ate breakfast together in the opposite wing of the hotel from which the Australian team was staying. As the rest of the squad had a communal start to the day in the other breakfast room, Copeland and Lyon kept each other company, reflecting their station as first-time tourists. Neither have a Cricket Australia contract, and neither had taken part in Australia’s training camps in Brisbane ahead of this tour. At breakfast in Colombo they did not look Australia’s 420th and 421st Test cricketers quite so much as students sitting mistakenly in the wrong classroom.Lyon and Copeland stood apart once more on the second day of the first Test in Galle, though for entirely different reasons. Each took a wicket in their first over in Test cricket, heralding Sri Lanka’s disintegration for 105. Copeland’s second-ball dismissal of Tillakaratne Dilshan arrived courtesy of a rasping catch at short cover by Ricky Ponting. The moment was perhaps outstripped for drama when Kumar Sangakkara prodded at Lyon’s sharply spinning first delivery and was snaffled low by Michael Clarke’s left hand.Copeland’s start provided a lift for Lyon, who went on to claim the startling figures of 5 for 34. They have a friendship dating back more than a decade to their shared origins in regional New South Wales. Lyon’s words when faced by cameras and microphones are few, but he saved his warmest for Copeland and the help it had been for both to have a familiar face on a tour where so many others are not.”For Trent Copeland to get his first wicket too was fantastic to see. Someone I grew up with playing country cricket in NSW, debuted with him and seeing him get his first wicket was something pretty special as well,” Lyon said. “I’m 100% stoked for Trent, just to be here with him, spent the time with him for Australia A, but to make my debut with someone you watched play cricket when you were younger and come from the same zone in NSW cricket was something pretty special.”[It helped] loads. We both spoke about it, I’ve known Trent since I’ve been around 13-14, so I’m always a good mate of Trent’s and it is pretty special to have him there.”Reflecting on his day, Lyon said none of the wickets outshone the feeling of walking onto the field as an Australian cricketer for the first time. To receive his cap from Greg Chappell, who actively sought Lyon’s inclusion for the tour after watching him with Australia A in Zimbabwe in July, also sat prominently in the memory.”It’s been one of the best days of my life, best couple of days, receiving the baggy green off Greg Chappell and to be able to take five wickets on debut is something pretty special and something I’m going to hold pretty close to my heart,” Lyon said. “I couldn’t breathe in the huddle [after dismissing Sangakkara]. I was so full of excitement. I wouldn’t say it was the perfect ball, I thought it was a bit wide, but I was quite happy with it in the end.”I was pretty nervous, I don’t really know how to explain it but the nerves were going pretty hot. I was still pretty nervous when the fourth wicket fell and I had to walk out to Ryan Harris at mid off and ask him a few different things, but I was pretty stoked with everything.”[Michael Clarke, the captain, said] just be confident and back my own skill-set pretty much. I’ve got here pretty quickly, and what’s worked for me at South Australia and back in the ACT, he just said stick to your strengths, so I’m not going to come out and do anything different.”Every game, no matter if it’s a Test match or a grade club, I always want to achieve different goals I’ve set for myself, and always looking to play better.”As for the Galle pitch, which offered so much spin and bounce to the slow bowlers, Lyon offered an understandable sentiment both as a spinner and a career groundsman taking time off work to play for Australia.”It’s fantastic, I want to take it [the pitch] everywhere,” he said. “But in saying that it’s the same for both teams so I’ve got no dramas with it. I’m worrying about cricket, I’m not worried about [curating] work right now.”Lyon relies on subtle variations in pace, length and spin rather than any visible changes in his action to deliver a doosra, and said he was quite content to keep that going. A similarly simple method served Lyon’s friend Copeland so well.”I’ve only got one stock ball,” Lyon said. “I’m pretty happy with the stock ball at the moment. If I can keep up the loop and the drop and the drift, I’ll be quite happy with myself.”

A round-up from the latest action at World Cricket League Division Six in Kuala Lumpur

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Sep-2011Guernsey turned in a disciplined performance to beat hosts Malaysia by five wickets at the Kinrara Academy Oval in Kuala Lumpur in the World Cricket League Division Six, ensuring their promotion to Division Five. Malaysia, second on the tournament’s points-table after five games, also move up to Division Five. Apart from captain Suhan Alagaratnam, none of Malaysia’s line-up could get going after they chose to bat, and they managed only 170 for 9 in their 50. Alagaratnam made a patient, unbeaten 68. The Guernsey bowlers shared the wickets around, but left-arm spinner Jeremy Frith was the pick, claiming 3 for 16 in his 10 overs. Four of Guernsey’s top five batsmen then produced solid cameos – opener Lee Savident top-scored with 40 – to ensure the side got home without much drama and 26 balls in hand. The two teams will now meet in the finals of the tournament on September 24.Guernsey’s captain Stuart Le Prevost said the side had put in a fine all-round show in the tournament. “I think we’ve had a really good all-round week with both our batting and our bowling – Jeremy Frith has been great as usual, plus Lee Savident and Ben Ferbrache have also shown great stuff out in the field.” Malaysia’s Alagaratnam said the side needed to work on their batting. “We’ve played well this week but our batting has let us down in the last few games. Hopefully we can continue to improve and win promotion in February [during the Division Five tournament] too.”Kuwait eased to a five-wicket win against Nigeria at the Bayuemas Oval in Kuala Lumpur but were behind Malaysia on net run-rate, meaning they lost out on promotion. Kuwait’s chase was propelled by a solid opening stand from Irfan Bhatti and Abid Mushtaq. Choosing to bat, Nigeria’s total of 182 for 8 was built almost single-handedly through a 96-run partnership between Sean Philips and Olajide Bejide. Opening bowler Mohammed Naseer finished with the best figures for Kuwait – 3 for 20 with six maidens. Bhatti and Mushtaq then steered the chase, putting on 99 in 15 overs. While Bhatti was solid with 73 off 85, Mushtaq attacked, smacking 66 off 46 with ten fours and two sixes. A half-century partnership followed between Bhatti and Sibtain Raza, putting the game beyond Nigeria despite a flurry of late wickets.Jersey beat Fiji by 28 runs at the Selangor Turf Club in Kuala Lumpur but it wasn’t enough to take their net run-rate ahead of Malaysia’s. Jersey put up 247 for 6 after being asked to bat, driven by half-centuries from captain Peter Gough and Samuel de la Haye. The pair came together at a wobbly 102 for 4 and put on a century partnership to carry Jersey to a competitive total. Fiji’s top order all got starts, but none of them went on to play a long innings. The middle order failed to build on a steady platform, and Ben Stevens and Charles Perchard made inroads with three apiece to give their side a comfortable win.

Shahid Afridi has withdrawn his international retirement and says he is available for selection for Pakistan in the limited-over formats

Umar Farooq18-Oct-2011Shahid Afridi has withdrawn his international retirement and says he is available for selection for Pakistan in the limited-over formats. Afridi had announced a ‘conditional’ retirement from international cricket in May, after having been stripped of the ODI captaincy, saying he would return if there were changes in the PCB and the team management.Since then, Waqar Younis has quit as coach of the national team and Ijaz Butt has been replaced as PCB chairman by Zaka Ashraf. Afridi said he had not really retired but had only said he wouldn’t play under the previous (Ijaz Butt-led) board.”I didn’t as such retire,” Afridi told reporters in Karachi on Tuesday. “I only said I would not play under the previous board but now the people are changed – exactly as I had wanted – so I am available for selection for the country.”His return to the team may not be immediate though, as Pakistan’s interim chief selector Mohammad Illyas said there would be protocols to follow for the PCB to clear Afridi for selection. “He [Afridi] is good enough to play for Pakistan,” Illyas told ESPNcricinfo. “But he needs to have clearance from the PCB before being available for selection. We will then seriously consider his selection for the team.”I can’t say that he is an automatic selection for the team but at the same time we never questioned his abilities as he has played an ample amount of cricket for Pakistan. We know that he still has cricket left in him. For the PCB, he was a retired player and wasn’t available for selection. Today I learned through the media that he has withdrawn his retirement but as a selector I will have to check his status.”Pakistan will select their ODI squad for the series against Sri Lanka in the UAE after the second Test.Afridi was speaking at the Karachi University Sports ceremony, where he was the chief guest, and was in a pleasant mood. He said he had remained match-fit, and was ready to return under whoever was captain. “I am fit and have continued my individual fitness routine to maintain both the form and fitness required for international cricket. As far as captaincy is concerned I never ran after it and I am ready to play under any captain.”Zaka Ashraf, the new PCB chairman, is a reputed banker in Pakistan, and Afridi said he was looking forward to a professional regime. “I took the decision not to play under the previous board on principle and still stand by it. Now, the management has changed. I learned that the new PCB chairman is very professional and I believe he can handle the PCB’s functioning in a similar fashion to the way he has worked in the cooperate sector.”Afridi’s issues with the previous board began during Pakistan’s tour of the West Indies in May when he was involved in a spat with then coach Waqar Younis. Afridi spoke publicly about the feud, and was charged with a violation of the code of conduct by the PCB. Subsequently, Afridi was replaced as captain in the limited-over formats by Test captain Misbah-ul-haq, with Ijaz Butt saying the board had “solid reasons” to sack Afridi, which he would reveal when the time was right.Afridi quit international cricket but played for Hampshire in the Friends Life t20 in England. He had maintained throughout that he wanted to play for Pakistan and would make himself available should there be changes in the board.

India established firm control on the Kolkata Test through a quick 224-run stand between VVS Laxman and MS Dhoni followed by two quick wickets

The Report by Sidharth Monga15-Nov-2011
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsMS Dhoni scored his first Test century since February 2010•AFP

India established firm control over the Kolkata Test through a quick 224-run stand between VVS Laxman and MS Dhoni followed by two quick wickets before bad light forced a premature end to the day’s play. The Laxman-Dhoni association was similar to their 259-run association at the same venue last year, which set up the declaration and gave India enough time to force an innings win against South Africa.In the morning session Laxman finished his first century in 15 months, a deceptive statistic because he has won India Tests in between, and about 25 minutes before tea Dhoni reached his first hundred since the previous Kolkata effort last February. Twenty minutes after tea India declared their innings closed, resisting the temptation of allowing Laxman time to go for a double-century. In fading light, Umesh Yadav and R Ashwin sent the West Indies openers back.In all likelihood today was going to be about West Indies’ trying to delay the declaration. Their chance to restrict India came early in the morning when slightly variable bounce showed up, and the ball moved around in the humidity and under overcast skies. Yuvraj Singh scratched around for his 25, and Kemar Roach produced two edges off an aggressive Dhoni’s bat by the time he had reached 16. Before Carlton Baugh could catch them, though, the umpire’s call of “no-ball” resonated. Since then a bizarre bad-light stoppage at 10.40am was the only obstacle for India.On his beloved Eden Gardens strip, Laxman batted on unaffected, reaching 1217 runs in Kolkata, at an average of 110.63. Resuming on an overnight 73, he didn’t have to reach out for runs. Fidel Edwards started the day with a 7-2 field for him. Laxman waited and waited until he bowled one straight, and flicked it for four through midwicket.

Smart stats

• India’s total of 631 is the fourth-highest team total in Tests in Kolkata. Of the six 600-plus scores made at the venue, India have made five of them and West Indies the other.

• VVS Laxman’s 176 is his fourth century against the West Indies and his 17th overall. It is also his fourth-highest score in Tests.

• Laxman went past Sunil Gavaskar to become the Indian batsman with the highest run aggregate at a particular venue. He now has 1217 runs in ten Tests at Eden Gardens with five centuries.

• Laxman moved to third position on the list of batsmen with the highest batting average at a particular venue (minimum 1000 runs scored). Don Bradman (in Headingley) and Greg Chappell (in Brisbane) are above Laxman.

• MS Dhoni scored only his second century in 32 innings. His last century came against South Africa in Kolkata in February 2010. In 32 innings since that knock, he has scored 958 runs at an average of 31.93 with a century and six fifties.

• The 224-run stand between Laxman and Dhoni is the third-highest seventh-wicket stand for India in Tests. It is also third on the list of highest Indian partnerships against West Indies.

• There were six fifty-plus stands in the Indian innings. This has been bettered only once by India when they notched up eight fifty-plus stands against England at The Oval in 2007.

Yuvraj walked back a dejected man, a man who knows he can’t afford too many such innings at this crucial stage of his Test career, but out walked a man with the declaration on his mind. He lofted the third ball he faced over mid-on. Laxman was already in his 90s by then, and reached his hundred in the most ‘Laxman of fashions’, taking a Sammy outswinger from outside off and flicking it to the right of mid-on. Roach bowled his no-balls in fading light, and West Indies did the smart thing then, using fast bowlers and bouncers to make sure play was suspended. An early lunch was taken, and eventually only about 10 minutes’ play was lost.Post lunch West Indies tried to slow India down through restrictive fields as opposed to wickets. Dhoni and Laxman still managed to go at over four per over, Laxman through singles and twos, and Dhoni through the big hits. There was a bit of method to Dhoni’s hitting. He chose to be patient when Sammy bowled wide with two men deep, but used the pace of Edwards to beat those men. He didn’t try anything fancy against Devendra Bishoo’s legspin, but welcomed Marlon Samuels with a nonchalant first-ball six over long-on.The singles remained available throughout, and Laxman kept picking them, hitting only two fours in his advance from 100 to 150, his sixth such conversion out of 17 hundreds. As he approached his hundred, Dhoni too took the Laxman approach as the field sets didn’t ask him to take risks. He hit only one four in moving from 68 to 100, but hardly dropped the rate.West Indies were now going through the motions. Dhoni got back into the boundary-hitting mode just before tea, taking 44 off 28 balls after his hundred. In the first over after tea, though, Roach managed to bowl a legal delivery and get Dhoni to edge it. Laxman’s double might or might not have been a consideration, but a mixture of fading light and bouncers at Ashwin made sure India declared with a possible 24 overs to go to stumps.Dhoni led the team out wearing a helmet, which meant India were going to open with spin again. This, though, seemed to be dictated by the state of light. However, he pushed his luck by getting Yadav to bowl the second over. Yadav’s second ball was a peach: it landed on the seam and kicked at Adrian Barath, taking the edge to second slip.That was the last over Yadav could bowl. Kraigg Brathwaite and Kirk Edwards scored seven runs in the first six overs. That allowed the fielders to crowd the bat. A bat-pad opportunity duly arrived, off the bowling of Ashwin, but substitute Virat Kohli couldn’t hold on to it. Kohli was relieved three overs later when the same man Brathwaite was given out bat-pad off Ashwin. This time, though, the edge wasn’t so conclusive. Five balls later, light deteriorated enough to send the players back.

Traditional rivals Sinhalese SC and Nondescripts CC will meet in the final of the Premier Tier A on Saturday after they won their respective semi-final matches against Chilaw Marians and Colts

Sa'adi Thawfeeq16-Dec-2011Traditional rivals Sinhalese SC and Nondescripts CC will meet in the final of the Premier Tier A on Saturday after they won their respective semi-final matches against Chilaw Marians and Colts.SSC coasted to a six-wicket victory, thanks to a match-winning fourth wicket stand between skipper Thilina Kandamby and Kaushal Lokuarachchi. They put on 128 runs after SSC had faltered at the beginning of their chase of 161, losing their first three wickets for 23.Both batsmen hit half-centuries, Kandamby’s comprising three sixes and five fours and Lokuarachchi’s three sixes and two fours. The Chilaw Marians’ batting capitulated against the off-spin of Sachitra Senanayake, whose five wickets included the first three of the innings for ducks. Marians, asked to bat, never recovered from losing three wickets for two runs and their score of 161 wasn’t a threat.In the other semi-final, NCC scraped through, beating Colts by four runs by way of the Duckworth-Lewis rule after rain had interrupted Colts’ run chase. NCC, asked to bat, reached a competitive total of 263 for 9 with Demintha Dahanayake and Jehan Mubarak each making 60. Colts, led by a half-century from Kushal Perera, were on course to overhaul NCC’s total when rain interrupted play and their target was revised to 225 from 45. They fell short by five runs.When SSC and NCC met in the group match, NCC emerged victorious by six wickets.An encouraging development, from Sri Lanka’s point of view, was that two of their injured fast bowlers Dhammika Prasad and Nuwan Kulasekara showed they had recovered to full fitness.Prasad bowled ten overs and took three wickets for 30 for SSC and Kulasekara’s seven overs yielded 37 runs for two wickets.The Premier Tier B final to be played on Friday will be contested between Sri Lanka Navy and Sri Lanka Ports Authority (formerly Seeduwa/Raddoluwa CC). The Navy made short work of Saracens, routing them for 96 and knocking off the runs in 29 overs to >win by five wickets. Chamod Pathirana, with 47 not out, was the only batsman to get into double-figures for Saracens as they fell to the pace of Sattambi Chamika (4 for 22) and the leg-spin of Dulanjana Mendis (3 for 26).Saracens fought back to dismiss half the Navy side for 53, but their own total was too small for their bowlers to defend.SLPACC were involved in a thrilling finish against Sri Lanka Army whom they beat by one run under the Duckworth-Lewis rule. Army had the game in control when they picked up five SLPACC wickets for 107 runs chasing 248. However, at the 35-over mark, SLPACC had made 205 for 5 in 35 overs, which turned out to be the exact score D-L computed as the target when rain intervened. SLPACC were winners by one run thanks to an unbroken 98-run stand between Dinusha Fernando (57) and Ranesh Perera (43).

ESPNcricinfo previews the third Test between South Africa and Sri Lanka at Newlands in Cape Town

The Preview by Siddarth Ravindran02-Jan-2012

Match facts

January 3-7, Cape Town
Start time 10:30 (08:30 GMT)Can Jacques Kallis return to his best in his 150th Test?•Getty Images

The Big Picture

South Africa haven’t won their previous four home Test series, but a failure to close out this one will cause the most criticism. While the other contests were against teams near the top of the rankings, this one is against a side that was struggling to find its feet in Test cricket after the retirement of Muttiah Muralitharan. A series that was expected to be all one-way traffic is now level at one-all, with Sri Lanka having already achieved their pre-tour ambition of winning a Test in South Africa.After basking in one of their greatest Test victories, Sri Lanka have now scaled up their goal to a series win in South Africa. The Durban success came about through significant contributions from many of their players – Thilan Samaraweera and Kumar Sangakkara making hundreds, Chanaka Welegedera and Rangana Herath taking five-fors, and Dinesh Chandimal scoring vital half-centuries in each innings. That’s something they need to repeat in Cape Town if they are to pose a challenge to South Africa, who remain favourites despite the Durban debacle.The return of Vernon Philander, whose accurate swing bowling has brought him four five-wicket hauls in three Tests, is a cause of cheer for the home side. Sri Lanka, though, have several injury worries – Chandimal is struggling with an elbow problem and a final call on his availability will be taken on Tuesday, while their quickest bowler Dilhara Fernando is also doubtful after suffering knee pain.It has been more than a decade since Sri Lanka played a Test in Cape Town, but their previous match at the venue remains their biggest defeat in Tests. However, as they did memorably in Durban, Sri Lanka need to forget the past and set about taking a shot at history.

Form guide

(Most recent first)
South Africa LWLWD
Sri Lanka WLDLD

Watch out for…

Only once in the past nine seasons has Jacques Kallis gone through an entire home season without making a Test century. The Cape Town Test is the last one of the South African summer and Kallis is yet to score a hundred, and what is more – he has picked up three ducks in his past four Tests. Luckily for him, the next match is at Newlands, his home ground and one where he has an outstanding record – 1874 runs at 72.07 with eight centuries. No better place then for him to regain form, that too in his 150th Test.

Tillakaratne Dilshan is another batsman struggling for form – he has only two half-centuries in his previous 15 Test innings. After a miserable first seven months as leader, Dilshan had little to show in terms of results, but the Durban victory should give his captaincy a fresh lease. Now that the team is showing signs of a turnaround, he’ll hope his own form too will improve.

Team news

The Durban debacle has prompted immediate action from South Africa. Ashwell Prince has been axed, and the in-form Alviro Petersen returns. He slots in as an opener, pushing the out-of-sorts Jacques Rudolph down the order. The other change to the XI is that Vernon Philander returns to take the place of Marchant de Lange.South Africa: 1 Graeme Smith (capt), 2 Alviro Petersen, 3 Hashim Amla, 4 Jacques Kallis, 5 AB de Villiers, 6 Jacques Rudolph, 7 Mark Boucher (wk), 8 Vernon Philander, 9 Dale Steyn, 10 Morne Morkel, 11 Imran TahirThe only changes to the Sri Lankan side are likely to be due to injuries. Decisions on Chandimal and Fernando will be taken on Tuesday morning, and in case they aren’t fit, Kaushal Silva and Dhammika Prasad are the likely replacements.Sri Lanka: (probable) 1 Tillakaratne Dilshan (capt), 2 Tharanga Paranavitana, 3 Kumar Sangakkara, 4 Mahela Jayawardene, 5 Thilan Samaraweera, 6 Angelo Mathews, 7 Dinesh Chandimal / Kaushal Silva (wk), 8 Thisara Perera, 9 Rangana Herath, 10 Dilhara Fernando / Dhammika Prasad, 11 Chanaka Welegedara

Pitch and conditions

It rained in Cape Town on Monday but the forecast is better for the rest of the week. Smith believes the pitch is dry though there is a tinge of green on it. The Newlands track is usually a good Test wicket, so we can expect a bit for the bowlers early on, and a decent batting strip.

Stats and trivia

• Since South Africa’s post-apartheid return to cricket, Australia are the only visiting team to have won Tests at Newlands. South Africa’s record at the ground in that period is a formidable 15 wins and three losses in 23 matches
• Daryl Cullinan is the only South African batsman to have made more than one Test century against Sri Lanka. Surprisingly, the only batsman in the current squad to make have made a Test hundred against Sri Lanka is Jacques Rudolph
• Thilan Samaraweera is 22 short of becoming Sri Lanka’s highest run-getter in a Test series in South Africa.

Click here for the detailed stats preview to the Test.

Quotes

“We have the capabilities to be at the top and we won’t get there with the way we played in Durban. We need to step it up a little bit and we understand that.”

“If we can win the series, it will be a great achievement as a team. We believe we can perform in any conditions and it would be a big achievement for Sri Lanka if we win.”

Nathan Lyon’s recall in place of a fast bowler will be the only change to Australia’s XI for the fourth Test against India at Adelaide Oval, the national selector John Inverarity has confirmed

Daniel Brettig17-Jan-2012Nathan Lyon’s recall in place of a fast bowler will be the only change to Australia’s XI for the fourth Test against India at Adelaide Oval, the national selector John Inverarity has confirmed.Inverarity has named an unchanged squad for the final match of the series, indicating that Lyon’s return to the team was guaranteed after missing out on a speedy pitch in Perth. Lyon has taken only two tail-end wickets in the series, but will be leaned on heavily on an Adelaide surface that will invariably take turn as the match progresses.”A spin bowler has always been a priority in Test matches at Adelaide Oval and it is very likely that Nathan Lyon will replace one of the other bowlers in the final XI for the fourth Test,” Inverarity said.”The fact the Australians were able to dismiss India in only 60 and 63 overs in Perth and the extra two rest days because the Test finished early has meant that there is reduced concern about excessive workloads for the fast bowlers. Michael Clarke’s team will be striving to maintain the momentum with a win in Adelaide.”The choice of which fast bowler to drop for Adelaide will be a vexing one, given that all delivered piercing spells at the WACA ground. Ben Hilfenhaus and Peter Siddle are the two quicks arguably in need of some rest, having played every match of the India series so far.Siddle, the most durable member of the pace attack this summer, has played in eight consecutive Tests since forcing his way back into the team for the final match in Sri Lanka. However his bowling method may be better suited to Adelaide than Hilfenhaus, who has not enjoyed much success at the ground for Tasmania and was left out of the XI for the corresponding Ashes Test last summer.Ryan Harris’ fitness is constantly monitored, but he has a strong record of performance at Adelaide Oval from his time with South Australia. Mitchell Starc’s case is also strong, given his wickets in both innings at the WACA and also the selectors’ desire to build his experience and poise for future international assignments.The unchanged squad also affords further chances for the top order batsman Shaun Marsh and the wicketkeeper Brad Haddin, both of whom have endured difficult series against India despite Australia’s 3-0 domination. Shane Watson was again not considered due to ongoing calf trouble.

Ricky Ponting’s removal from the Australia ODI team has pushed the former captain closer to retirement, leaving him to decide whether or not he wants to go on as a Test batsman only

Daniel Brettig20-Feb-2012Ricky Ponting’s removal from the Australia ODI team has pushed the former captain closer to retirement, leaving him to decide whether or not he wants to go on as a Test batsman only. John Inverarity, the national selector, said there was obvious disappointment when he informed Ponting of the selection panel’s decision, and admitted a retirement from all forms was now a possibility.Inverarity and his fellow selectors, including the national captain Michael Clarke, are adamant that Ponting should go on as a Test batsman. However, they have acknowledged that by taking away limited-overs cricket they have left a vast gap in Ponting’s life that had previously been filled by the game’s most prevalent format. Having returned to Sydney from Brisbane, where he played the last of 375 ODIs, Ponting is expected to speak publicly about his future on Tuesday.”He made a double-century in his last Test match and we are hoping he remains available for Test cricket, but there can be no guarantees,” Inverarity said. “Ricky is going to consider his future over the next couple of days and talk it over with his family and with his manager. He’s wondering whether he retires completely from ODI cricket … and then of course there are the implications for Test cricket.”For a man who plays cricket like Ricky has over the last 15 or more years, he has been an integral part of the team in ODIs and Test matches. If he drops out of the ODIs then there is a possible lack of momentum there. There are three Tests in the West Indies, then as I understand it no more Test matches until October-November.”Beyond the West Indies tour, Australia’s next scheduled Test matches are at home to South Africa and Sri Lanka, before keynote tours of India and England in 2013. Ponting has previously expressed a desire to return to England and win back the Ashes, but that may now look a very distant goal without the routine of ODIs to help keep him sharp and internationally drilled.However, Ponting was second only to Clarke on the run tally for both sides in the recent Test series between Australia and India, and his collection of 544 runs made it his third-most prolific Test series of all time. He also has considerable value in the field, remaining one of the sharpest fielders in the world, and important experience in the dressing-room.Whatever happens, Ponting’s immediate Test future remains his own call. Inverarity was generous in his praise of how Ponting took the news of his one-day axing, relayed to him over the course of two phone calls either side of his flight back to Sydney.”I spoke with Ricky this morning, I think how he took the news is a measure of the man. He was disappointed and understandably so, but he took it on the chin,” Inverarity said. “He is a gem of a human being, a wonderful bloke, and he takes everything in his stride. He was under enormous pressure two or three months ago, and he never wavered from his dedication. He’s a very resilient and wonderful human being.”It is a tough decision but when you take over a position like this you know these things are on the cards. You don’t put your heart to one side, but your head has got to dominate, and to the credit of the NSP, everyone holds Ricky in the highest regard, as a player and as a person, but we’ve got a decision to make, and we made a decision we believe is the right decision and the best decision in the interest of Australian cricket.”