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The three-match series between Sri Lanka and India, which has seen all of22 balls of action, has been cancelled and will be played at a later date.”After consultions with the Indian board, and bearing in mind the weatherconditions, it has been decided to cancel the series and stage it at alater date,” said Samantha Alagama, the media manager of Sri Lankacricket. “It will be played as a tri-series, as originally planned, some time in 2007, most likely after the World Cup. That exact dates and itinerary will be decided after consulting withthe Indian and South African cricket boards.”A Sri Lanka Cricket official told Cricinfo: “The rain has already ruined two matches, and the forecast for the next few days is also not good. We have requested the Indian boardto consider playing the matches at a later date when it’s convenient forboth countries.”The official expressed his gratitude at the Indian decision to stay ondespite the South Africans packing their bags and going home, and saidthat the financial fallout from the cancellation of the tri-series wouldhit the board badly.It has also affected Sri Lanka’s preparations for theChampions Trophy to be played in India in October-November, with no othermatches scheduled before the start of the tournament. Sri Lanka have toplay qualifying games against West Indies, Zimbabwe and Bangladesh beforethey can take their place in the main draw for the competition.

The third day’s play of the final Test between India and Pakistan was bland comparedto the excitement on the first two. Therefore, when Sourav Ganguly addressed the media afterPakistan had moved to within 58 runs of avoiding the follow-on, most of thequestions centered around his maiden double-century a day earlier that had enabled him to better his Test-best after a gap of ten years.”I have been trying to get a double hundred,” Ganguly said. “I have been close a fewtimes in the past, but didn’t get it. It is good that I managed to do it in animportant game.”Ganguly began his innings with India in a state of bother at 44 for 2, a situation that quickly worsened to 61for 4. He then provided the steady hand during an overwhelming 300-run stand with Yuvraj Singh and ensured that India drove home the advantage by piling up 626. It was an invaluable contribution considering that India, leading 1-0 inthe series, were in trouble in the first session. Ganguly echoed that view by labelling it one of his more “important innings”.”We were 61 for 4 at one stage and from there we got to 600. So I think from thatpoint of view and in the final Test of the series it was an important innings.”Pakistan batted solidly on the third day, scoring 283 runs for the loss of only fourwickets but Ganguly felt that the morning session on the fourth day could determinewhether or not the Test has a result.”It [the pitch] does a bit early morning and this is the last batting pair. Soif we can get an early breakthrough tomorrow and the way this wicket is behaving, it willnot be easy for the lower-order batsmen. That is why the morning session will becrucial.”The double-century came during the last month of what has been a remarkable year forGanguly. He has scored 932 runs in 16 innings so far in 2007, making it his mostprolific year in Test cricket but he played down claims of it being the “best yearof his career.””I think in the year 2000 I got seven one-day hundreds, so that wasa good year too. My first year in international cricket was asuccessful one. This has been a good year and I hope I can have some more good timein the middle.”Ganguly’s life in the middle has been a fairytale since his comeback against South Africa last year and refused to get drawn into speaking about his forced exile during Greg Chappell’s tenure as India’s coach. According to Ganguly, his return to the team as a player, and not captain, had nothing to dowith his improved form with the bat termed this fairytale a phase he would like to continue for a while.”I don’t think it was a good time, those eight months [out of the team]. It is justthat I have played well [now] and it has kept on getting better. Even when I not wasgetting runs, the efforts have been the same. It is just that I am a bit moresuccessful now.”

Saleh Ahmed Shawon is fidgety, unlike the mostly calm Nazmul Hossain Shanto or the bright-eyed Bangladesh Under-19s captain Mehedi Hasan Miraz. The left-arm spinner is the Bangladesh team’s prankster, making wisecracks and keeping everyone cheerful, while at times, by his own admission, being the victim of his team-mates’ pranks. Despite his antics, Shawon has been the team’s leading wicket-taker since January last year, with 53 dismissals at 16.01 in 30 matches.He doesn’t look at one person for too long and his hands are constantly fidgeting, but he did stand still for the duration of the press briefing. The bowler has also started to like the big stage, and draws motivation from the crowd cheering his name.”I always try to keep my team-mates amused, I joke around, especially when I see someone down,” Shawon said. “I try to poke him, ask him what’s wrong. And they, too, have fun at my expense. I also find a lot of motivation playing in front of a crowd where they are calling out my name and cheering us. Maybe some people take it as pressure, but I like it.”While bowling, he has the run-up of a front-on bowler but slides into a side-on action and flights the ball consistently. He has set himself a target of finishing as one of the leading wicket-takers in this tournament, although he admitted his primary job was to keep the runs down.”In team meetings, we have been told to keep the runs in check,” he said. “I don’t go for wickets. I just want to keep it to 20-25 in my ten overs. [Getting a] Wicket is a matter of luck. We think that our bowling attack can defend a score like 240, which will be hard for any opponent in any condition.”My target is to be among the top five wicket-takers in the tournament, or if possible the highest wicket-taker.”Shawon stated that in a bid to keep the players under less pressure, the team management had told them to approach the World Cup as a set of two three-match series’. Personally, though, he doesn’t seem too nervous about the big stage.”We are looking at it as a series, not a World Cup. We shouldn’t be tensed about playing a World Cup, that’s what our captain and vice-captain have told us ahead of the tournament,” he said. “We have divided it into two three-match series. So we have the three matches in the group stage, and three in the knockout. If we can win six, we can win the World Cup.”It is not really possible to think this way but it is about believing it yourself, you get what I’m saying?”

Jason Arnberger, the Victoria opener, could become an umpire as soon as next season. Arnberger missed all of 2006-07 with a persistent back injury and is waiting to hear from surgeons whether his playing days are over.Arnberger was not given a Cricket Victoria contract for 2007-08 and although he would like to play on, he realises that is no certainty. His problem relates to a joint where his pelvis joins his spine and while doctors have been deciding on his future, he has been doing part-time work as a delivery man and has started an umpiring course.”It’s a career that has interested me for a while now,” Arnberger told . “Although I would love to play the game for a couple more years, I know there’s a chance I may never play again, so I am seriously considering the move.”If a return to batting is ruled out, Arnberger will speak to Cricket Victoria about a possible full-time umpiring position. Arnberger believes the calibre of umpiring in Australia has fallen away in the last decade but he hopes that decline can be arrested. “I think it can improve,” he said. “I think that the standard has dropped off a little bit since I came to Victoria. And they’re struggling to get the numbers at the moment, so the more better candidates they can get, the better.”He has discussed his possible move with Paul Reiffel, his former Victoria team-mate who now regularly officiates in first-class matches, and Paul Wilson, the fast bowler who played one Test for Australia and is now umpiring in Western Australia. “They have told me they enjoy it,” Arnberger said.”I think it’s a bit more difficult when you get up to four-day cricket and the pressure builds up but I certainly want to give it a go. And umpiring at grade level appeals to me, too, because I know a lot of the players and feel as though I will be able to stay in the game a lot longer.”A significant number of umpires in England’s domestic cricket have played at first-class level and although it is less common in Australia, there has been a gradual increase in recent years. Two of the three who officiated in this year’s Pura Cup final – Rod Tucker and Bruce Oxenford – were former state players.Arnberger, 34, was keen to have been a part of Victoria’s campaign last season after a strong 2005-06 in which he was the Bushrangers’ second leading Pura Cup run-scorer, with 721 at 45.06. His first three seasons were with New South Wales but he moved to Victoria in 1997-98 and quickly became a regular at the top of the order, currently sitting seventh on the state’s all-time run list.

Mark Footitt believes he is ready to make up for lost time when the Boxing Day Test against South Africa gets underway in Durban in just under a fortnight’s time, with Surrey’s newest recruit itching to make his Test debut despite turning 30 last month.Regardless of what happens this winter, Footitt will be starting a significant new chapter of his career at The Oval next season, when he makes his debut for newly-promoted Surrey, having moved on from the club where he rebuilt his career, Derbyshire, at the end of the summer.However, with 158 wickets at 21.57 in the space of two seasons for Derbyshire, Footitt’s 90mph pace and awkward left-arm line has attracted interest from England’s head coach, Trevor Bayliss, ever since he began his tenure ahead of the Ashes last summer.The ferocity of the onslaught that England endured from that other rapid left-armer, Mitchell Johnson, during the 2013-14 Ashes is a significant reason why Footitt’s rare abilities are set to be called upon.However, speaking to reporters at Potchefstroom, where England are warming up ahead of their opening tour match against a South Africa Invitational XI on Tuesday, he downplayed such comparisons.”It’s nice to be compared to bowlers like that. But I’m just me really and I’ll go out and do what I do best.”It is the lessons he gleaned at his original county, Nottinghamshire, that could stand him in the best stead in South Africa. Prior to his release in the 2010 season, and before he underwent an operation in 2012 to remove a disc in his back that could have ended his career, Footitt watched his fellow Nottinghamshire left-armer, Ryan Sidebottom, lead the line for England at the age of 29, having been overlooked for six years since his one-off Test cap against Pakistan in 2001.”I was at Notts when Ryan was there and playing for England so back then it was very much trying to learn from him and speaking to him,” Footitt told”I still speak to him sometimes nowadays,” he added. “I have taken a lot from him playing one Test match and then coming back at a later age and doing well. It gives you that belief that whatever age you are you’ve still got a chance of playing international cricket.”I think you just have to enjoy every day,” he added. “It took a long time for me to get here but things happen and people develop at different ages and I seem to have developed a bit better in the past two or three years.”I think it’s just getting to a certain age and learning your game. When I was younger I was very raw, very pacy but didn’t have much accuracy. But hard work has got me to where I am today. It’s just an exciting time to be here really.”Footitt’s call-up this winter was no great surprise given the traditional importance of fast bowling on tours of South Africa. However, he knows he is in a prime position to be fast-tracked to a debut following the injuries to Mark Wood and Steven Finn that thwarted their selections for the tour, and the surprise omission of Yorkshire’s Liam Plunkett.”I think I’m 100% ready,” he said. “I’ve had a good two or three years in county cricket and after stepping into the nets with the [England] lads I know my game and I know I’m as ready as I can be.”Footitt’s first involvement with the senior squad came on the pre-Ashes bonding trip to Spain – Bayliss’s first involvement with his new team – but his first taste of dressing-room action came in the fourth Test at Trent Bridge, when he was called into the squad and watched from a prime position as Stuart Broad routed Australia on the first morning of the match.”My first day of the Ashes was brilliant with Broady taking eight-fer and bowling Australia out for 60,” he said. “It gives you a great hunger in wanting to be involved and wanting to play for England. Being in that squad and being around the guys was brilliant. It just gave you the hunger to get your foot in that door.”

Muttiah Muralitharan’s first Test tour with the Sri Lankan team to Australia in 12 years has so far been a tale of police escorts at the airport, security fears, plainsclothes people in the crowd … and plenty of hype.While it’s true Muralitharan had received a hostile reception on previous tours from crowds who continue to chant “no-ball” despite his regular clearances from the ICC, the escorts were there, in fact, to ward off the media, while the plainsclothes are part of Cricket Australia’s normal plans.So as Muralitharan stepped up to bowl his first ball of the trip, it was unsurprising that he found rumours of the so-called bearpit ready to bait him in Adelaide had been greatly exaggerated. In their place was a placid Sunday crowd who were quiet as church mice, save for the children playing cricket on the hill. It was hardly fire and brimstone.Of course, this practice match, against a Chairman’s XI, has not attracted the beer-swilling, barracking kind of fans – the cold and the lack of Australian stars has made it ideal for the quiet enthusiast – but nevertheless Muralitharan couldn’t have had a quieter, easier start to his tour as he adjusts back to playing cricket for the first time since August.In fact, the only problems came from the weather. “It was so, so windy,” he said. “Fast bowlers can’t bowl in the wind, and the wicket was so slow because of the rain.”The day also tested his bicep for the first time in two months since he injured it playing for Lancashire against Kent. He then missed the ICC World Twenty20 and the one-dayers against England. But he confirmed his recovery was “coming along well ” and that this warm-up (30 overs today – “no problems” – and more expected on Monday) could be ample preparation for the Tests: “it depends on the management.”Physically he looked in great shape, and he’s made of stern stuff mentally too. He ignored Arjuna Ranatunga’s advice not to tour here and has previously welcomed the rigorous public testing of his action, when Mark Nicholas and Michael Slater oversaw an experiment on television in which he bowled in a brace.It doesn’t bother him, though, and he will merely keep trying on the pitch. “I try my best and that’s all I can do. Mentally, I am very strong, stronger than most other people. I keep fighting – if I have to bowl 40 overs, I will bowl 40 overs. I have to keep trying because if you don’t keep trying you’re not going to achieve anything.”Far worse than any no-ball chants – “Now I’m used to it” – would be racism. “Whatever race you come from you are born with it, you can’t change anything. But no-balling, people can say whatever they want – they are opinions, that’s all. But they’re not using the filth. Before they use the no-ball if they use the filth word then it’s bad.” He says nobody has shouted anything racially-oriented at him in Australia, although things have been thrown at him, during the Super Test in Sydney last year – “Those kinds of things aren’t good.”He’s not going to expect an entirely trouble-free tour, though, anticipating “good times and bad times.” But so far, so good, while Ricky Ponting and Andrew Symonds have helped by appealing for cricket fans to appreciate his craft and leave aside the no-ball chants. “I would like to thank them for saying that. Symonds is a very good friend of mine and he would have also felt very bad with whatever happened in India.”Those things should have not happened. People have to come and just enjoy. In Sri Lanka you wouldn’t have had a problem like that, because people come and enjoy. Even if you lose they would congratulate the other team, so that’s the way it should be.”He is about to enjoy his cricket, with the team aiming for their first Test win on Australian soil. “This is the best chance because you won’t see in a few years’ time Sanath [Jayasuriya] playing, or Marvan [Atapattu] or me or so many others playing. At this time Australia are also in a winning frame of mind, so it’s not going to be easy. We have to do something special in the middle to beat them.”And winning is more important to him than the chance to overcome Shane Warne’s Test record of 708 wickets on Australian soil; he is nine short of the record. “If I can’t do it here I will do it against England. I’m going to be playing for another two years or three years so eventually it’s going to come, so the challenge is to win a Test here.”

The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) and the West Indies Players’ Association (WIPA) have again committed themselves to a new dispensation of cooperation, after settling their latest pay dispute. The two sides have also pledged to work together to dispose of all outstanding matters (including retainer contracts) no later than August 31.The WICB have agreed to pay the players a total of US$100,000 for the four preliminary matches in the upcoming tri-series in Singapore and Malaysia, and an additional US$50,000 if the team reaches the final.”WICB and WIPA each recognise their common interest in the development and success of West Indies cricket,” a joint statement signed by Ken Gordon, the WICB president and Dinanath Ramnarine, the WIPA executive president said. “The relationship in the past has been one of conflict and controversy – a situation which is inimical to West Indies cricket, particularly for the stability, growth, and development of the game in the Caribbean.”Both parties recognise the goodwill which has made this agreement possible and restate their desire to improve the earnings of the Board and the Players whenever practicable.”The parties settled the dispute, after the WIPA agreed to accept a minimum fee of US$30,000 for the junior players and the upper figure for the more seasoned players now stands at US$75,000. The WICB claimed that the WIPA’s original demands for payments ranging from US$40,000 to $US95,000 per player was unacceptable.The two parties have also committed themselves to making public statements on controversial issues, only after every reasonable effort has been made to resolve differences internally.”Both parties acknowledge that there is a Dispute Resolution Process, as is contained in the Collective Bargaining Agreement which will be signed by August 31 and emphasise their commitment to follow this process,” the statement said. “Both parties commit themselves to engage in a relationship of mutual respect and the honouring of all agreements arrived at between the parties.”

Scorecard

Ashley Noffke and Queensland’s inexperienced openers unveiled a new era as they demoralised Tasmania, almost claiming first-innings points on day one of the Tigers’ title defence. Noffke showed there will be life after Michael Kasprowicz and Andy Bichel, who are both injured, stepping up with 5 for 33 as Tasmania fell for 158.Greg Moller and Ryan Broad then immediately justified Jimmy Maher’s decision to drop himself to No. 4 and expose younger Bulls to the new ball, carrying the score to 0 for 136 at stumps. Moller, who debuted last summer and was in his fourth game, was the dominant partner with 75 while Broad, playing his eighth match, reached 57.Queensland fielded a wildly inexperienced side with Kasprowicz (calf), Bichel (shoulder) and Chris Hartley (wrist) ruled out. Noffke led the green attack – Maher was the side’s next most prolific bowler with ten first-class wickets – on a surface with similar-coloured tinges. Chris Swan, the Gold Coast swing bowler in his second match, collected Michael Di Venuto in the second over before Noffke captured the next five wickets.Giving up only 15 runs in 12 overs before lunch, Noffke had Michael Dighton lbw before picking up a wicket in each of his next three overs. Tim Paine was bowled, George Bailey was caught at third slip by Aaron Nye and Dan Marsh edged a short ball to the debutant wicketkeeper Murray Bragg.After lunch Noffke took care of Birt for 36 and Swan and Ben Cutting, who is playing his first game, chipped in to finish off the Tigers and collect two wickets each. In contrast the more experienced Tasmania attack had no impact, although it was led by the same men who rattled Queensland in Wednesday’s FR Cup game, and the Bulls came within 23 runs of a first-innings lead at the close.

Scorecard

New South Wales Breakers survived a late collapse to stumble across the line by one wicket in a thrilling first final at Melbourne’s Central Reserve. The Breakers looked set to overhaul Victoria Spirit’s 136 and needed only two runs with three wickets in hand.But the loss of 2 for 0 within nine balls put the game back up for grabs until a wide and a single nudged New South Wales home. The Breakers, last year’s champions, were well led in their chase by Kate Blackwell (41) but Cathryn Fitzpatrick’s 4 for 29 from ten overs ensured a tight finish.Fitzpatrick began well, taking two wickets as New South Wales stumbled to 2 for 16. But Blackwell steadied and pushed her side close enough to take a 1-0 lead in the best-of-three finals series.Victoria’s batsmen struggled to convert starts and were bowled out in the 47th over. Charlotte Anneveld and Rene Farrell claimed three each as the home side failed to build a threatening partnership. Jessica Cameron, 17, top-scored with 28 but she was one of five in the innings to reach double-figures and fall short of a big score.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball commentary
How they were out

Australia suffocated under a massive total set up by Sanath Jayasuriya’s century-making return from a shoulder injury as Sri Lanka sealed their second win of the VB Series. Jayasuriya’s brilliant 114 from 96 balls bounced the tourists to a massive 7 for 309 and while Australia felt in touch on a couple of occasions they were unable to conquer the unusual situation and lost by 51 runs.Trying a strange line-up that omitted the in-form Phil Jaques and Glenn McGrath, Australia were punished for their experiments as their back-up seamers were thrashed and the opening batsmen missed their chances to push for longer stints in the current roles. Sri Lanka carried the vibe of their wonderful batting performance into the field and Australia suffered a poor start – the required run-rate was already above seven at 3 for 41 in the 13th over – to place too much pressure on the rest of the order.Michael Clarke spent ten balls on zero before making a useful 67 and when he was partnered by Andrew Symonds, who crashed 31 in 32 balls, Australia were hopeful, but as Symonds departed to a horrible mix-up at 6 for 184 the cause was downgraded to hopeless. Sri Lanka, the world’s No. 7 team after a poor run in New Zealand and India, have beaten both of their top-two rivals in the past week and this success was due to the clever changes of pace from their seamers, the spinning problems created by Malinga Bandara, who captured 4 for 58, and Jayasuriya’s inimitable strokeplay.”Everything is falling in place and everyone wants to keep going the way they are going,” Marvan Atapattu said. “It’s all about winning habits. There was a time when we couldn’t chase 225, but everything falls into place when you’re winning.”Jayasuriya left the one-day tour of New Zealand earlier this month after falling in the shower and hurting his shoulder, but he showed no signs of discomfort – or slipping – as he flayed his third century at the SCG. Arriving in Sydney on Friday, Jayasuriya shook off the jetlag with a 39-ball fifty and his hundred arrived 46 deliveries later to give his side a stunning start against the world champions.In a 163-run partnership with Kumar Sangakkara, whose sweet 78 from 95 was delicious support, Jayasuriya lifted a sleepy start with a burst of fierce boundaries once Nathan Bracken and Brett Lee finished their opening spells. Brett Dorey was thrashed for 34 off four overs and quickly Supersubbed while James Hopes went for 36 from three, including 19 from his first, as Sri Lanka reached 100 in the 16th over.The onslaught forced Ricky Ponting, who refused to delay the Powerplays, to bring back both Lee and Bracken, who collected 2 for 40 from nine, to stop the demolition and he spent the remainder of the innings constantly reshuffling. The changes didn’t worry Jayasuriya and he continued to trouble Australia until he started to cramp.Jayasuriya’s boundary blasting – he hit ten fours and four sixes – ended when he played a weary shot and was stumped off Brad Hogg at 2 for 187. Sri Lanka used the platform extremely well and careered past the 300-mark thanks to Mahela Jayawardene’s 56 off 48 balls and a late 31 from Marvan Atapattu.Ponting also adjusted his batting line-up after the early problems and Brad Haddin was employed at No. 5, pushing Symonds and Michael Hussey back to seven and eight. Haddin was the most comfortable of Australia’s batsmen until he was bowled between his legs by Muralitharan’s doosra for 41, but the gamble stole time from his senior and regular team-mates.Haddin makes way for Adam Gilchrist this week after a two-game stint and there will be further questions over the make-up of the opening pair following Jaques’s 94 in Melbourne on Friday and the failures of Damien Martyn and Simon Katich. Ponting worried about his batting order after the previous match and his concerns remained tonight.Under severe run-making pressure, Australia could not find regular fluency and needed James Hopes (43) and Brad Hogg (22 not out) to prevent a Sri Lankan bonus point. What they really wanted for such a big chase was an in-form Jayasuriya.

Australia
Damien Martyn c Kulasekara b Vaas 8 (1 for 16)
Ricky Ponting c Muralitharan b Perera 13 (2 for 26)
Simon Katich c Mubarak b Perera 13 (3 for 41)
Brad Haddin b Muralitharan 41 (4 for 110)
Michael Hussey run out 0 (5 for 111)
Andrew Symonds run out 31 (6 for 184)
Michael Clarke c Muralitharan b Bandara 67 (7 for 188)
Brett Lee c Dilshan b Bandara 3 (8 for 197)
James Hopes c Vaas b Bandara 43 (9 for 257)
Nathan Bracken c Atapattu b Bandara 0 (258)
Sri LankaJehan Mubarak c Haddin b Lee 2 (1 for 24)
Sanath Jayarsuriya st Haddin b Hogg 114 (2 for 187)
Kumar Sangakkara c&b Symonds 78 (3 for 227)
Leading edge trying to play to legMahela Jayawardene b Bracken 56 (4 for 280)
Tillakaratne Dilshan c&b Clarke 6 (5 for 289)
Russel Arnold run out 6 (6 for 297)
Chaminda Vaas c Hussey b Bracken 2 (7 for 309)