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Scorecard

Sri Lanka’s batsmen missed a crucial opportunity to adjust to the Queensland conditions ahead of next week’s Test and were knocked down on the first day of the tour game by Ashley Noffke. The tourists received an early taste of what the Gabba would be like next week and their top order failed to cope with the tricky bounce and early movement from an attack led by Noffke’s 5 for 36 and supported by Mitchell Johnson, Andy Bichel and Michael Kasprowicz.However, there was encouragement with the performance of the bowlers as they reduced Queensland to 4 for 60 when bad light stopped play 5.4 overs early. Lasith Malinga was a difficult prospect under dark clouds and he captured Jimmy Maher and Chris Simpson while Farveez Maharoof removed Ryan Broad and Andrew Symonds. Symonds’ Test warm-up ended on 22, an innings which included three consecutive boundaries off Malinga and finished with an edge to Prasanna Jayawardene.Jayawardene, the batsman-wicketkeeper who will play in Brisbane after Kumar Sangakkara’s hamstring injury, and Marvan Atapattu were the only members of the top seven who made an impression as the Sri Lankans reached 9 for 210 before declaring to allow their bowlers an opportunity in the sultry conditions. It was a worrying performance and the batsmen have only one more innings to fine tune for the first Test.Sanath Jayasuriya (0), Michael Vandort (4) and Mahela Jayawardene fell in the morning to Noffke and Chamara Silva (0) was run-out chasing an unnecessary second. While Jayasuriya dusted off with a century in the previous match in Adelaide, Jayawardene has looked unconvincing since arriving in Australia and picked up a second zero.Jayawardene lasted only six balls before Noffke had him lbw playing from the crease, which left the Sri Lankans at 3 for 14 after Jayasuriya pushed to gully and Vandort edged to first slip. Noffke was particularly impressive in his first spell, taking 3 for 7 off 11 overs, and he kick-started the opening session, which finished when Atapattu was out cutting on 48, leaving the Sri Lankans at 6 for 81.”It was a bit of hard work in the morning,” Atapattu said. “We were taken by surprise more than anything by the sideways movement. We expected the wicket to be harder and bouncier. But you shouldn’t have any doubts about our talent and ability going into a Test.”Noffke was again heavily involved after lunch, collecting Maharoof and Chaminda Vaas, who fell to a sharp caught-and-bowled, and he took his third five-wicket haul of a fine season to justify his elevation to the new ball ahead of Bichel and Kasprowicz. “It’s never been done before and it’s strange,” he said.”They’re two guys who I’ve learnt a lot from in the past, standing at mid-off and watching them. It’s a good learning experience and it’s just the evolution of cricket, we’re all going to retire or step down and let the younger guy through.”Fortunately for the Sri Lankans, Prasanna Jayawardene was able to push them towards respectability with the help of Maharoof (20) and Malinga Bandara, who struck eight fours and a six off Daniel Doran’s legspin in his 43. Jayawardene’s responsibilities have increased with Sangakkara’s injury and he showed his capabilities during his half-century. Like Atapattu, Jayawardene cut well and hit nine boundaries in his unbeaten 58, which came from 130 balls.

Rahul Dravid is pleased with the players the Bangalore franchise had procured in the IPL auction, and believes his side has individuals who can handle pressure.Dravid, the icon for the Bangalore Royal Challengers, played down the talk of his side not buying any big names. “This is an erroneous perception,” he told Cricinfo. “The quality of Indian and international players in our team speak for themselves. They may not be glamorous in the areas people typically judge them by, but in terms of cricket they are fantastic and at the end of the day this is a cricket tournament and cricket is what is important.”We are fortunate to have such great players in the side. With them in the squad, we will get so much more experience and ability.”Unlike the others, the Bangalore franchise preferred innings builders, like Jacques Kallis, Wasim Jaffer and Shivnarine Chanderpaul, to aggressors. “We have players who have played under pressure,” Dravid said, “and therefore are confident that under similar circumstances in the Twenty20 matches, they will perform exceedingly well.”Although the franchise bought Anil Kumble, they failed in their bid to purchase Robin Uthappa, another Bangalore-based player in the Indian team. Uthappa, who was bought by the Mumbai franchise for a whopping US$800,000, would have not only provided a balance to Bangalore’s batting line-up but his purchase would have also helped fill up one slot among the four catchment area players.”As a Bangalore player, I obviously would have liked to have had Robin, who is from our catchment area, in the team,” Dravid said. “However, in an auction where there are rules and restrictions, it is not always possible to get every player one wants.”In fact, none of the teams were able to get all the players they would have liked to. However, having said that I would like to add that I am excited with the team we have got.”On the potentially match-winning bowling attack that his team has lined up – Dale Steyn, Nathan Bracken, Zaheer Khan and Anil Kumble, Dravid said, “The idea was to have a good balance, which is very important for the tournament.”Dravid said Australian allrounder Cameron White, whomBangalore bought for US$500,000 at the auction, was an “exciting” addition.”I think people are getting a bit confused by the price aspect. It’s just reflective of the current situation in cricket and what people want. White is a very exciting Twenty20 player and his domestic record [with two Twenty20 hundreds] in Australia is phenomenal. He was always on our wishlist.”Asked whether he viewed the 44-day Twenty20 tournament starting in April 18 as a platform to stage a comeback into the Indian one-day team, Dravid said: “I am not looking at this that way. To be honest, this is something new for all of us. There are so many things you want to experience as a player. Personally, I have seen and experienced a lot over the last 12 years [in international cricket]. Now, I am just so glad that at this point of my career, I will be a part of this new experience.”Dravid didn’t want to divulge much about the strategies that his side were planning to adopt during the tournament, set to start on April 18. “It is still too early for me to comment on this. At the moment I am focused on getting fit after my finger injury [sustained during the Test series in Australia] and preparing for the Test matches against South Africa.”

Cricket South Africa (CSA) has delayed announcing the national squad for the tour to Bangladesh, amid reports of a row over quotas between board president Norman Arendse and the five-man selection committee.The squad was to be finalised on Tuesday and Arendse attributed the delay to the fitness of Neil McKenzie and Andre Nel, who have injuries to the calf muscle and neck respectively and are to be assessed on Monday. “If two of the players [Neil McKenzie and Andre Nel] selected for Bangladesh are not fit and will undergo fitness tests on Monday, why don’t we wait until Monday before we announce the squad,” Arendse was quoted by .Arendse denied reports that he wanted Herschelle Gibbs and Monde Zondeki, both of whom are coloured, to be included in the squad. “At no stage did I say I’m insisting on Gibbs and Zondeki,” Arendse said. “I did not mention their names.”The reported a heated discussion between Arendse and the selectors after the squad chosen by them contained four coloured players against the seven required by CSA policy, after which Arendse refused to approve the squad.While not directly touching on that issue, Arendse said: “My role is not to rubber-stamp the squad. My role is to ensure that the CSA transformation policy is complied with. That may seem controversial to some people but it remains the policy of CSA.”However, South Africa coach Mickey Arthur, who is on the selection panel, said he wanted his strongest team on the field in Bangladesh given that it is followed by a three-Test tour of India. “As a coach and a selector I share Norman’s determination to push the transformation agenda,” Arthur told Reuters. “At the same time, I want to be able to look every player in the eye and tell him: ‘I believe you’re the best player for this position’.”

Gateman gets connected
Albert, a gentlemanly Queensland Cricket corporate gateman, has been serving with distinction at the Gabba for years, but one of the downsides of his job is he can’t watch the game. He greets and directs people cheerfully as they exit the lifts and occasionally gets a score update. During the Test a kind businessman gave him an “event com radio” that offers a choice of the ABC or Nine commentary so he no longer misses out.Where is the fun?
First it was the eviction of the Barmy Army’s trumpeter. Now England fans are reportedly boycotting the stadium and even the locals are complaining they are being drowned in stadium regulations. “Queensland has banned fun,” Solomon Rowland, a Brisbane solicitor, said. “It now seems to be illegal to have a good time.” Despite the complaints, the ground and local cricket authorities are happy with the rules.No singing when they’re not winning
England’s on-field performances have not been the only disappointment of the first Test. The Barmy Army’s singing has been as quiet as their support bowlers, although they have not been helped by being scattered around the ground. Before tea a pocket of fans at the Stanley Street end tried to get going and ran through a few of their repertoire, but they could sustain the music for only 12 minutes. Like their playing heroes, the army operates better as a pack than a collection of individuals.

Muthumudalige Pushpakumara led a Sri Lankan recovery in the second Under-19s’Test at Northampton.Pushpakumara scored 125 not out in four hours, including a stand of 129 for the seventh wicket with Kausbal Lokuarachchi after the tourists had collapsed to 74 for six in their second innings.Sri Lanka, who trail 1-0 in the three-match series, finished the day on 268 for eight. They lead by 291 runs, so England’s batsmen have a mountain to climb on a pitch already generating a response for Sri Lanka’s four-man spin attack.England were all out for 263, their last four wickets falling for the addition of 41 runs at the start of the day. Ian Pattison of Durham was ninth out after battling his way to 39 in over three hours.Slow left-arm spinner Ranil Dhammika secured two more scalps to finish with five for 59 from 37 overs, while Pushpakumara accounted for Justin Bishop and Pattison with his off-breaks.When Sri Lanka batted the Surrey seamer Tim Murtagh used the new ball to good effect, taking the wickets of Ian Daniels, Thilina Kandamby and Jehana Mubarak for just seven runs in six overs.David Harrison trapped Malintha Gajanayake lbw, and opener Nimesh Perera was beautifully caught at extra cover by Ian Bell, leaving Sri Lanka just 74 runs ahead with five wickets gone.Then captain Kaushalya Weeraratne was clean bowled by Bishop. It was then thatLokuarachchi arrived to join Pushpakumara.Just after tea Lokuarachchi was missed at slip off Monty Panesar, who later bowled him to break the dangerous partnership.Panesar also dismissed Dhammika before the close, but Sri Lanka remain in the driving seat with Pushpakumara still at the crease.

Ridley Jacobs, who did much to save West Indies’ bacon in the epic first Test at Harare, spoke out after the match about his relief at being able to stave off defeat. Jacobs, who made 60 not out, and No. 11 Fidel Edwards survived the last 11.5 overs, in gathering gloom, with the Zimbabwean fielders crowded around the bat, searching for a rare victory after losing their last 11 Tests.”That was the toughest time,” said Jacobs of his last-ditch stand. “When you look on the scoreboard and you see there are more than 11 overs to go and you’re batting with the last man, you start getting worried. But I told him to play straight and stay strong, and we got the job done.”Jacobs told the BBC that Andy Blignaut, the Zimbabwean allrounder, had been the toughest to face. “It’s been a long time since I faced that kind of pace. I was just telling myself to hold on, take the blows and bat it out.”And he admitted: “Everybody at home probably thought we would play much better than we did. But we have an opportunity now to play another Test match and to perform better. We need to go back to the drawing board to revisit everything we need to do to win a Test.”The home hero was Raymond Price, the left-arm spinner, who became only the third Zimbabwean (after Paul Strang and Adam Huckle) to take ten wickets in a Test. But, he admitted afterwards, “I would have given all ten of those wickets to get that last one.”Price went on: “Our goal is to get up from the bottom. We’ve had enough of being in the same category as Bangladesh. We’ve had enough of being called minnows. We hate to lose, and we don’t like drawing – you should see our guys play tiddlywinks.”The second Test of this short series starts at Bulawayo on Wednesday (Nov 12).

Glamorgan have turned to Australia to help ease their middle-order problems.They have signed Nick Selman, a 20-year-old from Brisbane with a dual passport, on a one-year contract ahead of the 2016 season.Selman represented Queensland in both cricket and Australian Rules football at age grade levels before choosing cricket as his first choice sport.Following spells with Kent and Gloucestershire 2nd XIs in 2015, Selman has joined Glamorgan after impressing in two late-season 2nd XI matches.”I’m very excited to be joining Glamorgan, coming to Wales and helping the county to build on their performances of 2015,” said Selman. “I’m looking forward to the challenge of helping the club push for promotion into Division One.”Glamorgan began the season well in Division Two but fell away badly and they were also one of the counties unable to surf the trend of rising attendances in Twenty20.Glamorgan chief executive and director of cricket Hugh Morris said: “We identified we needed more depth to our batting department and Nick is a talented young player who will have an opportunity to score runs for the county as he has done in grade cricket in Australia and in Second XI cricket over here.”Nick has played through the age groups for Queensland and has spent some time in county cricket already, so knows what to expect. I’m sure he will have a big future with Glamorgan.”

ScorecardThe real West Indies finally stood up to be counted again as they levelled the five-match series with a 72-run win in a rain-affected match at Harare. Their comfortable win was down to three magnificent individual performances, top of which was Fidel Edwards, who took the best-ever figures by a debutant with 6 for 22. He blew away the top order as Zimbabwe limped to 150 for 7 in their pursuit of 223 from 32 overs.Edwards produced a deadly display of swing bowling in an inspired spell which destroyed Zimbabwe’s chances of winning after only seven overs. With his first ball in one-day cricket, he produced a superb swinging yorker which uprooted the middle stump of Barney Rogers (5 for 1). In his second over, with consecutive deliveries, he had Vusi Sibanda caught by Ridley Jacobs, the wicketkeeper, for 7 and then trapped Craig Wishart lbw (10 for 3). Every ball was potentially lethal and the West Indian team had their tails well and truly up.Up to this match Zimbabwe had been outclassed, but performed with honour. Now it was back to the bad old days of abject surrender. Mark Vermeulen failed to get behind a rising delivery from Edwards and lobbed a simple catch off the splice to Shivnarine Chanderpaul at gully. Stuart Matsikenyeri then flicked across the line and sent an easy skier to Corey Collymore at mid-on (22 for 5). Edwards’s opening spell read an astonishing 5-1-10-5 – not bad for your first game.When Edwards came off prematurely due to Brian Lara’s desire to make sure of completing 25 overs in case of more rain, the pressure gradually lifted, though Streak failed to score his usual rescue innings. Instead, Tatenda Taibu played what developed into a sparkling innings of 66, while Sean Ervine joined him in a carefree bash at the end to make 37 not out. But it was all meaningless after Edwards’s dream start.The other two outstanding performances came from the opening pair of Chris Gayle and Wavell Hinds. Gayle set the pace with an innings of rare power and brilliance, scoring 51 off 34 balls, while Hinds went on to bat through the innings for his highest one-day score of 127 not out.

After Streak put West Indies in, Zimbabwe’s front-line seamers, Streak and Andy Blignaut, called the tune at the start of the match, as they swung the ball sharply under a cloudy sky. But the luck went West Indies’ way, and Gayle decided to ride it. He began with an amazing six over extra cover off Blignaut, following it next ball with a one-bounce four over long-on. Blignaut lost his cool immediately, the next ball swinging way down the leg side for four wides.Streak had bowled his first four overs for just four runs, but he too wilted under Gayle’s assault, his next two overs conceding 28 runs. Hinds joined in the fun with a six that just cleared the midwicket boundary, but so high that it might well have travelled further vertically than horizontally.Gayle raced to his fifty off only 30 balls, but then suddenly exchanged his broadsword for the unaccustomed rapier and paid the price. Trying to dab Ervine through the vacant slips, he was brilliantly caught by Taibu for 51. It was the 16th over and West Indies had already amassed 96 for the loss of only one wicket.Lara came to the crease and as soon as Ray Price came on, Lara looked to target him, hitting him for the longest six of the day over long-on. But in Gary Brent’s next over, Lara fell in a similar fashion to Gayle, for 14, trying to dab a ball through the slips and edging an easier catch to Taibu (124 for 2).Then came a period of consolidation as Ramnaresh Sarwan, needing to impress after three failures, settled in with Hinds. The rate gradually increased as the partnership developed, and Hinds went on to score his fourth one-day hundred off 127 balls as the sky darkened and rain approached.Sarwan, on 47, holed out to Vermeulen on the cover boundary off Streak (231 for 3), but Hinds continued to step up the pace, ruining Ervine’s impressive figures by plundering 17 off his final over. His 127 surpassed his previous one-day best of 125 not out, but the untimely rain prevented an onslaught in the last five overs.About 90 minutes’ play was lost, and when play restarted Zimbabwe’s target, according to Duckworth-Lewis, was 223 off 32 overs. That was always going to be tricky, but Edwards soon made it impossible. This result left both teams with all to play for tomorrow, the final day of an excellent series – weather permitting.

Kenya left for the Caribbean today to start a ten-week tour during which time they will participate in the domestic Carib Beer Series. They start their campaign against the West Indies ‘A’ team at St. Kitts on January 9.”It’s going to be a great tour for us since we will play in all the Carribean islands during the eight weeks,” said Andy Moles, Kenya’s new coach. “It is a long tour and there are opportunities for both the younger players and the established ones to show what they can do at a different level of the game, in a different environment.”The team, which includes three junior players, will be without the country’s leading bowler Thomas Odoyo, who underwent a successful knee operation in December. “I’m sad to have to miss the tour but I have to save my future career,” said Odoyo. “I hope Alfred Luseno who takes my place in the team will be a good replacement and will learn a lot during the tour.”Kenya squad Steve Tikolo (capt), Martin Suji, Peter Ongondo, Maurice Odumbe, Hitesh Modi, Brijal Patel, Lameck Onyango, Alfred Luseno, Kennedy Obuya, Maurice Ouma, Francis Otieno, Collins Obuya, Ravindu Shah, Rageb Aga.

The worst-kept secret in cricket is finally out in the open. It was confirmed this morning that Andrew Flintoff will return to England after the fifth Test against South Africa at Centurion. He will see a specialist on Friday, with a view to naming a date for surgery on his troublesome left heel. The timing of his departure is designed to leave Flintoff with as much time as possible to prepare for the Ashes series, which begins in July.In Flintoff’s absence, Matthew Hoggard – England’s leading bowler in the Test series – will be retained in the squad, and can expect to play his first one-day internationals since the tour of Australia in 2002-03. Simon Jones will also be staying on as cover for Steve Harmison, whose damaged calf prevented him from taking the new ball in South Africa’s second innings last night.Flintoff’s participation in the final Test had been in some doubt, but he played after a cortisone injection had eased some of the pain, and was England’s most penetrative bowler, with figures of 4 for 44 in the first innings, and two early strikes on the fourth evening as well.While England will miss a formidable presence in the one-day game when the seven-match ODI series begins, the surgery should ensure a fit attack in time for Australia’s tour, where England will attempt to win a series against the Aussies for the first time since 1986-87.