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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.

The back page of today’s Adelaide Advertiser provided a mocking commentary on a dismal week for England’s cricketers. “L-Plater,” gloated the headline accompanying “the photos they didn’t want you to see” – photos of England’s broken spearhead, Steve Harmison, walking through his wonky action in Tuesday’s one-on-one coaching session with Kevin Shine. When England boasted in the build-up to the series of the youth and vigour of their squad, they never quite envisaged that one of their most important assets would be sent back to school for remedial work.”It’s hard to watch somebody struggling, especially in front of a lot of people when they are getting abused from all sides,” said Matthew Hoggard, Harmison’s new-ball partner on that first morning at the Gabba. “He openly admits he didn’t bowl well, but he’s worked hard – he was down here yesterday and again at 8.30 this morning. He’s been putting in the hard yards and I think we’ll see a different Steve Harmison come Friday morning.”England’s first full training session at the Adelaide Oval was a vigorous work-out, with Harmison, Andrew Flintoff and Sajid Mahmood all cranking through the gears in a bid to lift England’s prospects ahead of the second Test. But so far in this series it is the Dad’s Army of Australia that has gone about its work with real energy and enthusiasm, something that Matthew Hayden attributed directly to the Ashes defeat of 2005.”We were hungry and ruthless at the Gabba, but it was everything Australia had promised over a 14-month period,” he said, referring to his team’s wake-up call last summer. “It was a very good and convincing win, but our attitude remains that we are second still. We’ve got a point to prove and an unquenchable thirst, and the simple recognition of that fact will stand us in good stead throughout the series.”It’s little wonder Australia are so upbeat. They have just swapped one stronghold at the Gabba for another at Adelaide – a ground where they have won nine of their last 11 Tests, dating back to England’s win in the 1994-95 series. In that time there has been just one draw and one freakishly high-scoring defeat, against the Indians in 2003-04. “Batting here is such an important part of the game,” Hayden added, just to underline the cruel importance of Friday’s toss. “Whatever you do first here is so crucial to the game.”

“We’re here to win,” added Hayden, bullish sentiments that Hoggard, on England’s behalf, couldn’t quite bring himself to share. “It’s important we don’t lose,” was his underwhelming call to arms. It was understandable in the circumstances, but nevertheless it was several worlds away from the in-your-face attitude that this same squad of players – give or take a few notable exceptions – had shown in the same circumstances in 2005. England are playing with their tails between their legs, and that has been as apparent in their off-field comments as their on-field actions.Even so, it’s unlikely England’s toiling bowlers could have chosen a less hospitable venue for such a make-or-break encounter. The cracked, dry heat of South Australia makes for a lower-bouncing, more batsman-friendly surface, although Hoggard vowed to call on all his experience – particularly his arduous, accurate spells on the subcontinent – to carry England through a pivotal five days.Both Hoggard and Hayden were mystified as to why the new ball had not swung on that first morning at the Gabba, although the drier Adelaide surface should offer some reverse swing by way of compensation. That brings Mahmood very much into the reckoning for his first outing, but it seems more likely that England will opt to play both their spinners, Ashley Giles and Monty Panesar.Hayden, however, didn’t appear overly alarmed by the threat posed by the pair – he was so laid-back, in fact, he seemed to mistake Panesar, his old county colleague, for an offspinner. “We’re not overly concerned, because there’s not a lot of threat with either of those two players,” he said, before adding: “Monty’s a good young cricketer who bowls with beautiful flight, very similar to Daniel Vettori’s from New Zealand, only with a different arm.” Vettori and Panesar, of course, are both left-arm spinners.Adelaide’s short square boundaries – 60 metres on either side of the wicket – can be an inviting target when spinners and wayward fast bowlers are in operation, but Hayden refused to get carried away by the momentum that Australia has already gathered in this series. “The thing about batting is it’s such a reactive game,” he said. “You can only bat how they bowl. I think we’ll be looking to play pretty straight as always, and if we have to run a bit more than we’d like to, so be it.”Meanwhile, the buzzword in the England camp this week is “fight”. Flintoff spoke of it in his post-Gabba press conference; Panesar and Mahmood were both pugilistic in their respective columns for Cricinfo and the , and today Hoggard also had his fists up for the cause. “We need to go out and show the Australians we’re here to fight,” he said. “England have shown good resolve and the ability to bounce back in the past and that’s exactly what we need to do this time.”

India will be happy to get moving in the tri-series with a facile win against Zimbabwe though from our Test experience here, the wicket seems to have slowed down. Our guys call Harare a slower version of the Gabba where there is little assistance and movement for the bowlers. It is a kind of pitch where those who swing the ball stand a better chance of succeeding than purely seam bowlers.That makes us look forward to the next game against India, a side we would most probably meet in the finals. Their fast bowlers have done exceptionally well as a unit and it is something similar to what’s happening with us in New Zealand. James Franklin swings it well and we have a nice balance in our pace department. Irfan Pathan, Ashish Nehra and Ajit Agarkar, give the Indians a good crop of impressive young bowlers. They can be exceptionally dangerous in these circumstances and I have a feeling whoever bowls better and tighter, will hold the edge.Purely from a personal point of view, I would like to push home the advantage I have gained over the Indians from the first game. My job is to try and do better than the Indians, to outperform the likes of Nehra, Pathan and Agarkar. It’s a challenge that I look forward to.In the game against India at Bulawayo, we knew from the start that taking good care of the top three Indian batsmen, Virender Sehwag, Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid, could keep them under pressure. We realised that coming from low wickets of the sub-continent, they could find it difficult to adjust to these conditions. So bowling short-pitched deliveries was the obvious choice. We definitely tried to do it against Ganguly, as well as against Sehwag who can be a devastating batsman if he is afforded the width. It is the same when the ball is pitched up to him.It feels good that success is coming to me with the new ball for in the Test matches against Zimbabwe, I bowled a fair deal with the older ball. In a way it was good that I played Tests before the one-dayers for it upped my confidence and improved my rhythm. I am able to swing it a lot more and that is most welcome. It has been the kind of return I have been hoping for in the international arena. There are a lot of things which I am now doing differently, including my action and approach to the game. No longer do I strive to be a tearaway bowler. I am a lot smarter bowler who can bowl reasonably fast when I want to but I don’t need to do it all the time.Previously I was an emotional bowler who would just be fired up with the ball in his hand and try to bowl as hard as I could. Sustaining such methods throughout was tough to follow up and the harder I tried, the more I opened myself to injury. Now I am smarter and can switch to speed because my energy levels are better spaced. It is also a good protection against injury. I have mixed emotions to New Zealand’s light Test schedule in the next few months. The run of one-day internationals could allow me to settle into a nice groove and when it is time for Tests against West Indies and South Africa next year, I could be better prepared. Every cricketer looks forward to Tests and I am no different. However for a bowler returning from injury, it is important he is not over-bowled all too quickly. Frankly, I am just glad to be back on the field.It would be all too easy and stereotype for me to declare that I hate batsmen and perhaps blood on the pitch is not too bad an idea. But that’s not the truth and besides, Indians and Zimbabweans are truly very nice fellows. It is just that I am very competitive with the ball in my hand and try to do as well as I can for my team.

Scorecard
Queensland have been set a difficult chase of 325 for victory after letting the New South Wales tail off the hook at the Gabba. The Blues were struggling at 7 for 185 before the final three wickets put on 123, including 68 between Beau Casson and the No. 11 Doug Bollinger, to set the Bulls a target that has been reached only four times in Brisbane.Jimmy Maher, who received a short ball in the throat, and Lachlan Stevens cut the margin by 12 runs at stumps to ensure an exciting final day. Andy Bichel collected four wickets and the debutant Chris Swan was impressive with 3 for 56 as the Bulls restricted New South Wales’ progress after 40s to Ed Cowan, Aaron O’Brien and Brad Haddin.However, Casson’s 52 and Bollinger’s 31 not out could prove crucial to the result. “I think 999,999 times out of a million Dougy Bollinger would have been clean bowled or caught behind, he averages 0.8 against us here I think,” Maher told . “Today he had a day out.”

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)

Brian Lara has scored only 102 runs in four innings in West Indies’ series against Australia, but has a backer in Shane Warne, who has tipped him for big runs. “Lara has got at least one big innings in him somewhere and he hasn’t had that quite yet, so hopefully it’s [the] Test match after this one,” Warne said. “To me he is probably the most destructive player in my 15 years in cricket that I’ve played against.”Lara surpassed Steve Waugh as Test cricket’s second-highest scorer during the second match at Hobart, and is only 213 away from Allan Border’s tally of 11,174. Eight of his 30 hundreds have come against Australia, who were menaced by him as early as his fourth Test, when he struck a memorable 277 at the SCG. “I remember in that Sydney Test when he got 277,” said Warne. “If you didn’t run him out I think he would still be batting now. He was hitting the gaps every time.What prompted Warne to speak out for Lara was the sign of old form: a less shuffly, more assured approach. “He looked good in the second innings in Hobart, he looked a lot more settled, he wasn’t moving as much and he looked in ominous form, hopefully for us it’s not the game where he makes a big one.”Lara has looked back to his last Test at Adelaide for inspiration. “I remember playing the Youth World Cup semi-finals here in 1988 but, most importantly, my last Test match here I got 100,” he said in the . “It would be really nice to come to Adelaide again and get some runs finally. I’ve been here for two months and unable to get any sort or runs. I’m looking forward to it and optimistic that things can turn around for me.”

Sheffield Collegiate secured their first National title a day after winning the Yorkshire Premier League. The final of the National Club Championship was being played at the Walker Trust Ground, home of Southgate Cricket Club after originally being abandoned at Lord’s.The ground had been swamped by two and half inches of rain on Friday but on winning the toss, Sheffield Collegiate captain Ed McKenna had no hesitation in batting. Collegiate struggled against some accurate bowling by Roger Myall and Paul Hacker. Hacker bowled through for 0 for 11 from his allotted 9 overs and support bowlers Jon Lord, Richard Halsall and Richard Smith kept the pressure on, all bowling tightly.Nick Gaywood scored an uncharacteristic 30 in 84 balls before Tasker brought some impetus to the innings. Myall returned to help mop up the tail, bowling Tasker for 31 (from 38 balls) and then dismissing John Hespe as Collegiate’s last four wickets fell for just five runs and Myall finished with 3 for 25 from his 9 overs.Eastbourne’s innings started disastrously, losing Richard Halsall for 0 in the second over. The first four batsmen were dismissed for just 13 runs with two wickets a piece from Richard Kettleborough (former Middlesex and Yorkshire) and Andy Wylie.They never really recovered and spinners John Hespe (2 for 19) and Mark Boocock (1 for 25) maintained the stranglehold as wickets continued to fall regularly. Wylie returned to trap last man hacker lbw and Eastbourne were bowled out for just 75 in 34.3 overs.John Carr, ECB’s Director of Cricket Operations presented the trophy and a cheque for £3,000 to wining Captain Ed McKenna with Paul Stevens picking up a cheque for £1,000 as runners-up. Andy Wylie was named Man of the Match for his bowling performance of 3 for 9 in 8.3 overs.