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Sri Lankan selectors recalled fast bowlers Dilhara Fernando and Ruchira Perera in the team that will play five One-dayers against England, a cricket board spokesman said on Wednesday.

The first match starts at Lord’s on June 17.

Perera, 29, was recalled after being sidelined with a hamstring injury and Fernando, 26, is back after he worked on a persistent problem with his bowling action.

The pair replaces fast bowler Nuwan Zoysa and Nuwan Kulasekera who played in the Test series.

SQUAD: Mahela Jayawardene (captain), Kumar Sangakkara, Muttiah Muralitharan, Sanath Jayasuriya, Upul Tharanga, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Chamara Kapugedera, Russel Arnold, Farveez Maharoof, Chaminda Vaas, Lasith Malinga, Dilhara Fernando, Ruchira Perera, Malinga Bandara.

See also Sri Lanka vs England, 2006.

The ICC came up with a ridiculous explanation in defence of the petulant behaviour of Brian Lara during the first cricket Test against India when he snatched the ball from Pakistani umpire Asad Rauf and waggled his finger at him.

“Lara showed a little frustration but it was borne out of circumstances,” ICC’s General Manager-Cricket Dave Richardson said.

“Lara is a renowned player, a famed cricketer. He got frustrated (after) the umpire forced the players to make a decision. He did get a little frustrated, snatching the ball from the umpire, but he certainly did not show dissent,” he said.

Richardson also sought to justify the fine imposed on Virender Sehwag for prematurely celebrating a dismissal.

“The Sehwag incident was unfortunate. ICC wants to cut down on excessive appealing. We want to prevent players, tell them not to put too much pressure on umpires. In Sehwag’s incident, it was a case of not appealing. He slipped up (on that account).”

On the controversial Dhoni dismissal, he said he had never come across such an incident — be it in his playing days or as an administrator.

“It (the incident) was quite unique. No decision was made. The TV umpire said he could not make a decision, the on field umpires said we can’t make a decision either. Lara tried to facilitate an agreement (which) was not the right way.”

See also India vs West Indies, 2006.

Fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar has been told he cannot bowl for three weeks and his selection for the tour of England rests on the recommendation of a medical commission, a senior Pakistan board official said on Tuesday.

Akhtar is struggling to recover from an ankle injury after having undergone a knee operation in Australia in February.

Director of Cricket Operations Saleem Altaf conceded it did not appear possible for Shoaib to recover in time to play from the start of the tour this month end.

See also Pakistan vs England, 2006.

Mithali Raj was on Friday named as captain of the Indian women’s team which is set to tour Ireland and England next month.

The Indian eves will play two One-day Internationals in Ireland before moving on to England to take on the hosts in two Tests, three One-dayers and a Twenty20 match during the July 25 to Sept 2 tour. One of the Tests has been scheduled to be played at Lord’s. It would be the first time that a women’s team will play a match at the historic ground.

Former Indian coach Anshuman Gaekwad has criticised Greg Chappell for his comments on Irfan Pathan while hoping that the pep talk by legendary fast bowler Andy Roberts would boost the morale of the youngster.

Gaekwad took objection to Chappell’s comment that Pathan lacked confidence and that affected the left-arm seamer’s performance in the one-day series in the West Indies.

Pathan was dropped from the first Test which ended in a draw at Antigua earlier this week.

“It is coach’s job to help rectify a player’s flaws in technique,” Gaekwad said.

The former Test batsman, who was a member of the Indian team that toured the Caribbean in 1976, said the tips that Pathan received from Roberts at the nets during the first Test would help the Indian spearhead as he attempts to return to the team for the second Test.

Gaekwad cited the instance of Wasim Akram helping Pathan during India’s visit to Pakistan in 2004.

“Same thing can happen here … Roberts sorted out Pathan’s run up and suggested some minor corrections. This will help Pathan a lot,” he said.

Pathan’s coach of junior cricket days, Mehndi Sheikh, said the 21-year old should have played in the first Test.

“Chappell should have boosted the morale of Pathan by allowing him to play in the Test. If the performance is the criteria, then it applies to everyone,” Sheikh said.

Cricket South Africa has confirmed India’s tour of the country in November-December as it announced the national team’s full schedule of home and away international fixtures till the World Cup in the West Indies next March.

CSA CEO Geral Majola, announcing the schedule, said SA’s 2006-07 season would begin next month.

“Cricket fans are in for a bumper season that includes the tour of Sri Lanka in July, the ICC Champions Trophy in India in October, tours by India and Pakistan in November and January respectively, and ending with the World Cup in the West Indies in March,” Majola said in a statement yesterday.

India will play five one-day internationals and three Test matches in South Africa after they visit the sub-continent for the ICC Champions Trophy in October.

CSA’s General Manager for Cricket Affairs, Brian Basson, who announced the itineraries, said: “We are delighted that after months of negotiations, confirmation of the outgoing tour of Sri Lanka and the incoming tours of India and Pakistan have been finalised.

“The reasons for the protracted delay can be attributed to full member countries having displayed reluctance in entering into any fixed tour arrangements prior to final confirmation of the ICC’s Future Tours Programme,” Basson said.

“Additionally, the incoming tours are scheduled to take place between the ICC Champions Trophy and the ICC Cricket World Cup which reduced the period for the allocation of the tour’s itinerary”. (more…)

Star Indian stroke-maker Virender Sehwag has hit a swashbuckling 180 to help his side to 4-361 at stumps on day one of the second Test against the West Indies at St Lucia.

The opener let loose with the willow early in the day and finished the morning session one run shy of his century.

Had he made three figures, Sehwag would have become the first Indian and only the fifth-ever player in cricket’s distinguished history, to hit a century on the opening morning of a Test.

Batting alongside opener Wasim Jaffer, the pair put on 159 runs before Jaffer fell on 43 after edging a loose delivery to first slip.

VVS Laxman (0) then suffered a similar fate to Jaffer when he was dismissed shortly after following an edge through to the wicket-keeper.

However, Sehwag steadied the ship with skipper Rahul Dravid before the centurion was caught and bowled by Pedro Collins with the score on 300.

The West Indies then found themselves celebrating a double breakthrough soon after when Yuvraj Singh was bowled by Collins for two, the recalled paceman nabbing all four wickets on the opening day.

But Dravid and Mohammad Kaif ensured there were no more setbacks for the tourists, with the pair compiling a solid stand of 55 by the time stumps arrived.

Kaif finished the day unbeaten on 18 while skipper Dravid, delighted with proceedings after winning the toss and choosing to bat, needs just five more runs to collect his 23rd Test hundred.

India 1st innings
Jaffer c Bravo b Collins 43
Sehwag c & b Collins 180
Laxman c Ramdin b Collins 0
Dravid not out 95
Yuvraj Singh b Collins 2
Kaif not out 18
Extras (4b,7lb,w3,9nb) 23
Total (4 wickets) 361
FoW: 1-159, 2-161, 3-300, 4-306

Bowling
Collins 20-4-75-4
Taylor 17-2-56-0
Bravo 10-0-66-0
Collymore 14-1-57-0
Bradshaw 14-4-45-0
Sarwan 10-0-51-0

See also India vs West Indies, 2006.

Samuel Johnson was right - and the old blogger often was - then Sanath Jayasuriya’s return to Test cricket yesterday should rightly have been applauded. “Don’t think of retiring from the world until the world will be sorry that you retire,” he instructed. And the moment that Jayasuriya walked on to a pristine Trent Bridge outfield to try to salvage another failing Sri Lankan innings, the suspicion was that most of the English cricket world wanted a little bit more.

Sri Lanka has to build for the future, and Jayasuriya’s retirement from Test cricket suited such ambitions. But, from a selfish perspective, England has witnessed only nine Test innings from the Master Blaster, which in these days of overkill amounts to nothing at all, so a dose of his flamboyance would have been a welcome addition to the first real day of summer.

Johnson could also have lectured him about how best to proceed. “Let him come out as I do and bark,” he recommended. Unfortunately for Sri Lanka, it was only a last-wicket stand between Muttiah Muralitharan and Chaminda Vaas, two more likely playing their last Test in England, that did the barking; Jayasuriya was soon back in the kennel with the rest.

His 21-ball innings was a bit of a non-event, captured perhaps by the name of the latest album to be voted the best of all time. Could Jayasuriya still hack it? Did he still have the energy? Were his reactions and eyes as sharp as ever? Definitely maybe.

The innings was marked not by the beloved, high-risk carves of old but by a succession of determined leaves while Andrew Flintoff’s challenge was at its height. He had an inelegant moment on nought, when Tillakaratne Dilshan refused his call for an off-side single, and stroked his 15th ball to the cover boundary, but that was where it ended as Flintoff made one bounce a bit and he thick-edged to Kevin Pietersen at gully. (more…)

The Board of Control for Cricket in India adopted the proposed amendments to its constitution at a special general body meeting here on Thursday.

The motion for a straight three-year term for the principal office-bearers (president, secretary, jt. secretary and treasurer) and five vice-presidents and the senior and junior national selection committee was modified to two years, with a provision which allows them to contest for an additional year. “On the basis of their performance, they can contest for a third year,” said BCCI vice-president Shashank Manohar.

Mr. Manohar, who briefed the press, said a debate was held on the extra vote the chairman (BCCI president) to break a deadlock. “It’s been unanimously decided that the chairman would have the right to exercise his extra vote.”

Support to WCAI

The SGM also set a one-year time frame to each of its playing member associations to establish a women’s wing.

“We will support the Women’s Cricket Association of India (WCAI) for one year in all aspects, from offering all infrastructure support and assisting in their bilateral series in India and abroad. All associations except CCI and NSC, Kolkata, have to use the BCCI subvention money for the development of cricket, including women’s cricket in their respective States. We will not recognise the present State associations because most of them are defunct and in some a cases the secretary is not even a primary member of the State association,” said Mr. Manohar.

The BCCI also amended its aims and objectives to set aside a corpus for the development of other sports. “We had decided to set aside Rs. 50 crores at the working committee meeting. Well, it can be Rs. 50 or Rs. 100 crores. We will decide on the sum after the modalities to support promising sportspersons in other sports are finalised. We will give the money to the individuals, not to the associations,'’ said Mr. Manohar.

The SGM also authorised Mr. Pawar to appoint different committees for the 2011 World Cup.

India’s Test campaign in the Caribbean got off to an unconvincing start with the visitors making 235 for the loss of nine wickets at stumps on day one of the first test against West Indies at Antigua on Friday.

In fact, it was some fine rearguard action from Anil Kumble and S Sreesanth that saw the visitors cross the 200-run mark.

Sreesanth remained unbeaten on 24 while Munaf Patel was yet to open his account at the close of the day’s play.

The match saw a typical batting collapse with the batsmen failing against the moving delivery yet again after India won the toss and elected to bat.

Early blow

India’s hopes of getting off to a good start received an early blow when Jaffer edged a Fidel Edwards delivery to keeper Denesh Ramdin. It was only the third over of the match and India were 10 for one.

Jaffer played nine balls and made just one run.

Sehwag and Laxman then steadied the ship with a 41-run partnership before the Nawab of Najafgarh edged a Corey Collymore delivery to Brian Lara at second slip.

Sehwag made 36 off just 37 balls with the help of seven boundaries. The scoring rate became slow after his departure. (more…)