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Graeme Smith and Shaun Pollock can take heart from the surface on view © Getty Images

Graeme Smith might just be enjoying himself a little more in the state of Gujarat than he did in Mumbai. The Sardar Patel Stadium, for starters, resembles more closely the stadia he is used to playing at back home - it’s big, has colourful bucket seats as a backdrop, the outfield is a lush green. And most importantly, the pitch also had just a tinge of green on it - not the kind of grass that would make it a seaming bunsen, but the kind that would hold it together and ensure that the top didn’t come off, as it did when South Africa went down to New Zealand in Mumbai.

Smith was livid after that match, lambasting the pitch after a game of two halves was easily won by New Zealand. When he appeared for his pre-match press conference in Ahmedabad, looking forward to the game against Sri Lanka, he was far more relaxed, and even smiled once or twice, as he fielded the usual questions. But then, that has been the nature of this tournament.

The format has made it such that each team needs at least two wins to be reasonably assured of making it to the semifinal. With one loss and two games to go, South Africa have no uncertainty left - they just must win, to stay in the competition. Sri Lanka, who already have one win, against New Zealand, but lost to Pakistan, can’t breathe any easier. In that sense, the manner in which results have unfolded has meant that this tournament has virtual quarterfinals, even if the organisers did not design it thus.

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Ominous: Muttiah Muralitharan was back at his best, for the first time in the tournament © Getty Images

Sri Lanka, led by Upul Tharanga with the bat and Muttiah Muralitharan with the ball, rebounded emphatically from their opening game defeat to fairly thump New Zealand by seven wickets at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai. In the process, Group B is now deliciously open with three teams having registered a win.

No deception lay in the margin of victory. New Zealand were strangely flat through the day, despite welcoming back Scott Styris and Shane Bond and also winning the toss. Murali emerging from the mild slumber that has thus far held him hardly helped them. He finished with 4 for 23 from ten artful, often bewitching overs, ensuring that Stephen Fleming, who had won the toss and chosen to bat, would ultimately regret the decision as New Zealand lumbered apathetically to 165.

Murali had only picked up four wickets in four matches previous to this and he didn’t arrive till the 26th over. Admittedly, by then the Sri Lankan pacemen had already completed half the job after neither side initially appeared sure how the pitch would play. An adhesive had been used to hold it together and sniffing glue, after all, is said to have uncertain side effects. It resembled a mid-90s Sharjah belter, shiny and showing the merest hint of reflection, and eventually it played like one.

In keeping with Sri Lanka’s recent generosity with extras, Chaminda Vaas, Lasith Malinga and Fervez Maharoof all began shabbily. Vaas served up three wides first and then three no-balls. Finally, he found his bearings in the fifth over, trapping a scoreless Fleming with one that swooned in instead of darting out. Gradually, they figured out the pitch; keep it straight and wait. With Kumar Sangakkara standing up to Maharoof and Vaas, this was the famed strangle, only with pacers rather than spinners.

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Backed into the corner by the late withdrawal of Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif, Pakistan showed incredible self-belief and no little skill to pull off a splendid four-wicket victory over Sri Lanka in the first high-quality match of this Champions Trophy. Sensational allround performances from Abdul Razzaq and Shoaib Malik inspired them, after Sri Lanka’s spin duo had threatened to tilt the game their way. But Razzaq, such a clean striker of the ball when in the mood, just wasn’t to be denied, on a night that Pakistan cricket aficionados will cherish for a long time to come.

When Razzaq, who had earlier taken 4 for 50, came to the middle, Pakistan needed 53 more, with just 47 balls remaining. By the time he thumped Dilhara Fernando for a massive six over long-off to finish matters, 11 balls remained. In the excitement created by his booming strokeplay, Shoaib Malik’s role was nearly forgotten, but his 59-ball 46 was just as crucial after Pakistan appeared to lose their way in mid-innings.

Imran Farhat had ensured that Pakistan got an ideal start, with a glorious off-drive and an even better one straight down the ground as Sri Lanka were put under pressure from the off. With Mohammad Hafeez also stroking some lovely shots, even the usually impeccable Chaminda Vaas was made to look wayward as Pakistan rattled along at nearly seven an over.

A superb catch from Kumar Sangakkara standing up to Vaas stemmed that initial tide, but Farhat continued to drive and pull with impunity after Mahela Jayawardene dropped him at first slip when he had made just 25. Fernando was not amused and his anguish was exacerbated when Farhat unveiled a superb off-drive after surviving a huge leg-before shout.

Jayawardene then threw the ball to Farveez Maharoof, who had figures of 6 for 14 in his last outing, and he struck with his very first delivery, abetted by a poor shot from Younis Khan. That brought in Mohammad Yousuf, in such imperious form of late, and he was quickly into his stride despite being struck flush on the helmet by Fernando.

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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.

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…)

Ever since the English season was extended to incorporate Tests in May, Lord’s has been the scene of an inordinate number of slaughters. Gone are the days when it was a visiting side’s favoured venue - these days any team that arrives in the wrong half of the season is sure to be cut to ribbons by a slavering pack of seamers.

Zimbabwe in 2000 and 2003, Pakistan in 2001, New Zealand in 2004 and Bangladesh this time last year. Each has arrived to be confounded by the slope, the zip, and the joie de vivre of a team newly reunited after their winter’s break. The defeats have ranged from an emphatic seven wickets to a thumping innings-and-261, and though the Sri Lankans bucked the trend on their last visit in 2002, they are about to get their comeuppance in the most comprehensive manner imaginable.

Weather permitting, England could and should wrap this match up tomorrow afternoon, and the fact that the star of the show could well be Sajid Mahmood is testament to the extraordinary breadth of the current England squad. To think they were floundering through an injury crisis on the eve of this match. Mahmood’s success, coupled with that of Alastair Cook and the instant recuperation of Marcus Trescothick, shows that the 12-man base of last summer has been widened and deepened with remarkable speed and improbably few teething troubles.

Prior to this match, there had been some debate as to whether England should opt for the honest job-a-day seamer, Jon Lewis, who routed the Sri Lankans in the England A match at Worcester and could have been relied upon to deliver a quick kill, or plan for the future and blood another young quick with a view to bouncier climes Down Under this winter. (more…)

Somewhere beneath his poised and upright exterior, Alastair Cook claims to harbour a shred of nervousness. But as he and his fellow winter debutant, Monty Panesar, faced the media ahead of their anticipated home debuts on Thursday, the fear of failure was clearly not weighing too heavily on his mind.

After hurtling into the national consciousness with a brilliant century on debut, Cook is inked in to bat at No. 3 when the first Test against Sri Lanka gets underway at Lord’s. North-West London in early May is a world away from the heat and hubbub of Nagpur, but for Cook all things are equal when he steps on a cricket field. He was allowing nothing to faze him.

Not even the prospect of shifting from the opener’s slot to one-down, a position he has not played in regularly since his days as a club batsman for Maldon in Essex. “There’s not really any difference,” he shrugged. “The only difference is you put your feet up while the other lads go out straight away. It’s still the same game, and I’ll still go through the same things to make sure my game is right.”

“I always get a bit nervous every time I bat,” he insisted, although England’s fans have yet to witness any evidence to support this claim. This is a man who believes that international cricket is his birthright, and though his chance has come about because of Michael Vaughan’s injury, he is not about to be regarded as a stop-gap Test cricketer.

“Obviously Vaughan is going to be captain when’s back, but if you keep scoring runs, then they can’t leave you out,” he grinned. “I was disappointed to miss the Test in Mumbai through illness, so I’m glad I’ve got another chance now to stake a claim and score a few runs to keep my place.” (more…)

Andrew Flintoff, who is all set to lead England again, on Thursday said he did not consider captaincy a burden and was looking forward to enjoy this responsibility once more.

With regular skipper Michael Vaughan being ruled out of the first Test against Sri Lanka starting on May 11, Flintoff looks all set to take over the job which he did with such distinction against India.

The England and Wales Cricket Board today confirmed that Vaughan will definitely miss the match at Lord’s and chairman of selectors David Graveney hinted that Flintoff was likely to take over.

Graveney was wary of putting too much burden on the team’s star player but Flintoff said he was excited at the prospect of leading England again.

“I got an opportunity in India which I enjoyed but to do it at the home of cricket would be fantastic. I enjoy being involved in the game and it’s been quite an easy side to captain - captaining your country can’t be a burden,” the Lancashire stalwart was quoted as saying on ‘cricinfo’.

“It’s been great fun to be honest. The lads all know their jobs and get on with their business and help me out whenever possible. When fielding at slip when I haven’t been captain, I’ve still been thinking about the game. So there’s no great change there and I enjoy the responsibility and being involved in the game,” Flintoff said.

“It’s something I enjoyed rather than feared. Being England captain can’t be a burden, it’s a fantastic job and something I’ve always wanted to do since I was a kid. To get the opportunity to do it in India was great fun. Burden is very much the wrong word,” he added.

See also Sri Lanka vs England, 2006.

Sri Lanka’s preparations for next week’s first Test at Lord’s have taken a further blow with the news that Muttiah Muralitharan is to fly home to Kandy following the death of his aunt.

Murali, who has taken 611 wickets in 103 Tests, is absolutely central to Sri Lanka’s fortunes on this tour, but fortunately for his team-mates, he is expected to return to England on Sunday, in time to complete his preparations for the start of the Test series on May 11.

“He is flying out tonight but will return on Sunday,” confirmed the Sri Lanka team manager, Michael Tissera, who added that Murali had been very close to his aunt and wanted to attend the funeral.

He was not selected for Sri Lanka’s final warm-up match against England A at Worcester, after claiming four wickets against Derbyshire last week.

See also Sri Lanka vs England, 2006.

Simon Jones, England’s injury-plagued fast bowler, will miss the Test and one-day cricket series against Sri Lanka because of a knee complaint and may need surgery to rectify the problem.

Jones, who had the best average of any England bowler during last year’s Ashes series victory over Australia, will be out for six weeks after injuring his left knee during Glamorgan’s C&G Trophy match with Ireland on May 1, the England & Wales Cricket Board said in an e-mailed statement.

“Simon sustained a new injury to his knee, which has damaged the cartilage surface of the joint,'’ said team doctor Peter Gregory. “If the knee does not respond to rest he may need to undergo further surgery.'’

Injuries have marred England’s preparations for the three- Test series starting May 11 at London’s Lord’s. Captain Michael Vaughan has a knee injury, fast bowler Steve Harmison is out with a shin complaint and spinner Ashley Giles will miss the series following groin surgery. James Anderson joined the sick list two days ago when he was ruled out for two months because of a stress fracture of the lower back.

Jones, 27, is no stranger to the treatment room. He suffered cruciate ligament damage to his right knee on the opening day of the 2002 Ashes series and didn’t re-establish himself in the England side until 2004.

Last year, he claimed 18 wickets in four Ashes Tests at an average of 21 before a twisted ankle sidelined him for the final contest. Failure to fully recover from that problem kept him out of the winter series in Pakistan, and after traveling to India in March, he collapsed in practice with a twisted left knee and missed the rest of the tour. (more…)

The Sri Lankan tourists are braced for a pace onslaught in England’s unfamiliar early-season conditions, after arriving in the country for the start of their ten-week tour. After a two-week break to recharge their batteries, the coach, Tom Moody, and the captain, Mahela Jayawardene, fronted up to the press just hours after arriving at their team hotel near Lord’s.

England lost 1-0 in the last encounter between the two teams, on the 2003-04 tour of Sri Lanka, but Moody accepted that the return leg would be a much tougher proposition for a young and largely inexperienced team.

“Conditions are pretty extreme in Sri Lanka and we know our backyard inside out, but stepping out of that is a challenge,” he admitted. “In the past, that hasn’t been taken as well as it could be, but we’ve got some fresh faces on this trip who haven’t experienced the same issues away from home, so now’s the time to turn a leaf.”

Sri Lanka travel as distinct second-favourites, certainly in the Test series, where the loss of two of their most experienced campaigners, Marvan Atapattu and Sanath Jayasuriya, will be felt keenly. “There are positives and negatives,” insisted Moody. “[Marvan and Sanath] are two wonderful players, but the door is open to a couple of youngsters who could be the future of Sri Lankan cricket.” (more…)

Despite witnessing what he described as the worst batting collapse he had ever seen, Sri Lanka coach Tom Moody still believes his mix of youth and experience can challenge for next year’s World Cup.

Fighting for a place in the VB Series finals, Sri Lanka went from brilliant to blundering in the blink of an eye against South Africa in Perth yesterday, capitulating from 1-137 to 221 all out and handing finals favouritism to the Proteas.

Moody minced few words in lambasting the performance, which leaves Sri Lanka hoping host Australia can register back-to-back victories against South Africa before attempting to beat it in Hobart next week.

“That was a diabolical collapse - probably the worst collapse I have ever experienced and it was unacceptable,” Moody said. (more…)

If there are two things that can be said to mark an Australian summer, they are the beach and cricket.

But this year, both Aussie iconic pastimes have been marred by a series of racist incidents that have shocked most people and threatened the future of international cricket tours down under.

By far the most serious was also the first. More than 30 people were hurt in early December’s race-related riots and reprisal attacks in and around Cronulla beach in Sydney.

Politicians, including cricket-loving Prime Minister John Howard, were quick to reject accusations the riots showed racism is on the rise in Australia.

Instead, the unrest has essentially been blamed on simmering local tensions. (more…)

Australia showed they could survive without their resting captain as a Simon Katich half-century and crucial middle-order contributions steered them to a victory that gave them a five-point lead at the top of the VB Series table. The team had a strange look with Ricky Ponting relaxing on the Australia-Day holiday, and Adam Gilchrist assumed the captaincy, keeping and opening roles in a batting order containing a handful of batsmen under pressure. However, Australia overcame the regular dangers to conquer a tricky and slow pitch and achieve a familiar result.

Restricting Sri Lanka to 8 for 218, Australia were made to work hard over the first 30 overs of their chase before they gradually eased away during a 60-run partnership between Andrew Symonds and Damien Martyn. But just as safety appeared, Muttiah Muralitharan conjured a crucial double blow to remove Symonds and Martyn and drop Australia to 5 for 177.

The successes sparked a flurry of close-in catchers and rejected appeals, but Michael Clarke (16 off 18 balls) and Michael Hussey (26 off 30) erased the flutters of a tight finish and secured the four points with nine balls and five wickets to spare. “It’s always tense till you get that last run,” Hussey said. “We were certainly nervous out there,” Clarke added, “but we played well.” (more…)

Sri Lanka finally fought their way out of a poor patch with their first win of the VB Series at the Gabba which has thrown the tournament wide open. It may be just their third win in their last 13 one-dayers, but it was a resounding one, crushing South Africa by 94 runs. Kumar Sangakkara and Jehan Mubarak both struck fifties to propel them to 6 for 282, which proved to be an insurmountable total on an excellent pitch.

It was a swift comedown for South Africa after the jubilation of beating Australia, at last, earlier this week. And when the post-mortem comes in the dressing room, the toss will probably be first up for dissection. Graeme Smith chose for his team to endure a long, hot day in the field and then, after falling early for three, he watched his side grind their way towards inevitable defeat on a used pitch. Afterwards he was adamant he did the right thing. “The pitch played well right through,” he said. “Our basics let us down.” (more…)