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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 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.”

At the Wanderers, Johannesburg the decision to put the Eagles in to bat first paid off for the Lions as they successfully chased down a target of 221, winning by 5 wickets and closing the gap at the top of the Standard Bank Cup table.Stephen Cook, batting right through the Lions innings, scored a match winning 87 not out while Dumisa Makalima waded in with 40 not out off 30 balls as the pair put on 68 for the sixth wicket to take the Lions through in 42.3 overs. Thandi Tshabalala, the 21 year old offspinner, was the most successful Eagles bowler picking up 3 for 51.The Eagles innings never gained any momentum until Johan van der Wath came in at number seven. Smashing 70 not out off 48 balls with four boundaries and five sixes he shared a 74-run partnership with Boeta Dippenaar (42) as the two brought some respectability back to the Eaglestotal of 220 for 7.The Titans retook the lead on the Standard Bank Cup table after a six-wicket win against the Warriors at Willowmoore Park, Benoni.Sent in to bat first the Warriors could only manage 186 for 8 as Dale Steyn, taking 3 for 29, made things very difficult at the top of the innings. Robin Petersen put together a useful 56 but could not find a willing partner as wickets fell at regular intervals.The Titans innings started exactly as ordered with Goolam Bodi (56) and Alviro Petersen (72) putting on 133 in 21.3 overs for the first wicket. Petersen, building quite a reputation for himself, hit 10 boundaries and a six. Two wickets from Robin Petersen was never going to be enough tosave the warriors with the Titans winning in 34.1 overs and earning the bonus point.Rain interruptions at Kingsmead, Durban saw a reduction in overs in an exciting tied match between the Dolphins and the Cape Cobras. To add to the rain the lights also failed reducing the overs even further.The Dolphins nearly blew away a semi-final spot as they set after the target of 195 off 39 overs and then 185 off 36. Doug Watson scored a solid 55, but scoring it off 88 balls increased the pressure on the following batsmen. With the crowd calling for Lance Klusener at the fallof every wicket, he left it till there was six wickets down, 39 runs and 26 balls remaining before he came to the crease and was run out for one. It was left to Duncan Brown, 27 off 25 balls, and Robert Frylinck, 18 off 8 balls, to get the Dolphins to within one run of victory.The interruptions had not done the Cobras innings any good as they lost wickets at each resumption of play but Derrin Bassage maintained his concentration scoring 81 out of a total of 193 in the 39 overs available. He was well supported by Con de Lange (30) and VernonPhilander (33 not out) while Andrew Tweedie was the pick of the Dolphins bowlers taking 3 for 47.

Queensland 4 for 209 (Hopes 73, Symonds 62*) beat Tasmania 8 for 207 (Bevan 89*, Wright 52) by 6 wickets
ScorecardSuperb allround performances by James Hopes and Andrew Symonds allowed Queensland to thrash Tasmania in their ING Cup match at Launceston. Set a target of 208 for victory, Queensland romped home with more than 25 overs to spare, thanks to Hopes (73 off 46 balls) and Symonds (62 not out off 35).Earlier, Hopes and Symonds had starred with the ball as well, taking five out of the eight Tasmanian wickets to fall. Symonds mopped up the lower order to finish with 3 for 45, while Hopes took 2 for 49 as Tasmania managed just 207 after electing to bat. Their total would have been a lot worse, but for a spirited unbeaten 89 by Michael Bevan, and 52 from Damien Wright. They were two of only four batsmen who made it into double figures as Queensland put in an excellent performance in the field.The win puts Queensland on top of the points table, and has virtually assured them of the opportunity to host the final, on February 20. They are currently on 30 points, 12 clear of second-placed Victoria and Tasmania.

Watkinson has played down suggestions that he is in line to succeed Duncan Fletcher, after accepting the position of assistant coach for this winter’s tour of Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.Watkinson, who played four Tests and a solitary one-day international between 1995 and 1996, is currently the Lancashire coach. While he is unlikely to go to the Caribbean next March because of his county commitments, his specific role this winter is to look after the bowlers. And he’ll certainly have a job on his hands considering the amount of cricket coming up, along with the injury-prone nature of the typical English bowler.”Duncan is looking for an assistant coach who can give him allround support and who can offer specific knowledge with bowling,” said Watkinson. “This is going to be a tour of seam and spin, and my background gives me strengths in that regard.”But he insisted he was not going to be treading on anyone’s toes: “I am not looking at it as a road to get to someone’s job, but it is nice to think you are held in some regard. I’m treating it as a one-off because it is a quieter period in my job with Lancashire. The club is happy about it and is supporting me and will make all the suitable arrangements.”When Duncan rang me about it, it caught me cold, but I am very pleased and looking forward to it – I suppose an added factor is that two of Lancashire’s bowlers are on the trip.”England have not had a fulltime bowling coach since Graham Dilley’s stint during the 2002-03 Ashes series. Troy Cooley took on the job part-time this summer, but he will be joining forces with Rod Marsh at the Academy in Loughborough.

A steady rather than excellent batting display from Tamil Nadu’s toporder saw the home side gain a slight edge over Goa in their RanjiTrophy league match at Chennai on Sunday.Managing to bowl Goa out for 238, Tamil Nadu had a definite upperhand. MR Shrinivas took 5-57, playing a vital role in the collapse ofthe visitors’ batting line-up.Sadagopan Ramesh, opening the Tamil Nadu innings, must have beenhoping to impress the selectors with a sterling display and regain hisposition in the Indian team. He managed, however, to make only 35 off94 deliveries. His partner, Somasetty Suresh, made 65 off 130 balls,top-scoring in his side’s innings.Suresh fell with the score on 114, and Hemang Badani and Hemanth Kumarfell relatively cheaply. S Sharath and skipper Robin Singh thenstabilised the innings, taking Tamil Nadu’s total to 187/4 by theclose of play.

Arthur Morris, the former opening batsman who was the leading run-scorer in the famous 1948 Ashes series in England, has died at the age of 93. Morris was Australia’s oldest living Test cricketer and one of only two surviving members of the 1948 Invincibles squad captained by Don Bradman; Neil Harvey, 86, is now the only living player from that touring party.One of Australia’s finest batsmen of all time, Morris was a left-hand opener who made his Test debut at the Gabba in 1946 in a home Ashes series, and went on to play 46 Tests for 3533 runs at an average of 46.48, including 12 centuries. He captained Australia twice and in 2000 was named in Australia’s Team of the Century, where he was listed to open the batting with Bill Ponsford.”We have sadly lost a cherished link with our past,” Cricket Australia chairman Wally Edwards said. “Arthur Morris was a great man and one of the true greats of Australian cricket who until now had been a treasured connection to an extraordinary era of the game. When Australia’s best openers are discussed his name will always be one of the first mentioned.”Morris scored centuries in three consecutive Test innings during his debut series, against England in 1946-47, and he was especially prolific on the tour to England in 1948. In later years Morris liked to tell the story of how he was often asked where he was when Bradman made his famous final-innings duck at The Oval. His response: “I was at the other end”. Morris made 196 in that innings.However, it was his performance in the previous Test at Headingley that truly impressed Bradman. Set a target of 404 for victory on a dry, dusty pitch, the Australians reached what was then a Test record for the highest successful fourth-innings chase with only three wickets down, and most impressively they managed the entire score on the fifth day. Morris made 182 in just under five hours.”He showed that day every quality demanded of the real champion,” Bradman wrote in two years later. “A rock-like defence, powerful but studied aggression and a perfect temperament. Considering the situation and the state of the wicket, I doubt if a more valuable innings was ever played.”Morris was described by Bradman as having the ideal temperament, quiet and unobtrusive in manner and displaying no nerves, and possessing outstanding courage. Bradman wrote that technically, Morris was “a player of individuality – of distinctive style”, and “a genius [who] does things others could not, and should not, try to emulate”.”The way he holds his bat is unusual,” Bradman wrote. “He plays with stiff forearms when driving on the off, but despite the lack of wristiness, gets the power just the same. Often he will play with the bat well away from the pads when trying to cover drive. Technically, it is wrong, but he seldom makes an error.”One of the most impressive aspects of Morris’ record was the way he quickly adapted to foreign conditions. He averaged 41.18 in Test matches at home and 53.78 away. Remarkably, he played first-class cricket in four countries and managed a century in his first match in each nation: at home in Sydney in 1940-41; against Worcestershire in 1948; against Natal in 1949; and against Jamaica in 1955.His highest Test score came against England at Adelaide Oval in the 1951 Ashes, where he made 206 in 462 minutes as part of Australia’s first-innings total of 371. The next best score was Keith Miller’s 44. Australia went on to win the match to secure a 4-0 lead in the series.Morris will also be remembered as the 24th man to captain Australia in Tests, after stepping into the role for the third Test against West Indies in Adelaide in 1951 when captain Lindsay Hassett was a last-minute withdrawal due to injury. Morris led Australia a second time against England at the SCG in 1954, when captain Ian Johnson and vice-captain Miller missed with injuries.Arthur Morris was described by Don Bradman as “a player of individuality – of distinctive style”•Getty Images

Born in the Sydney beach suburb of Bondi in 1922, Morris was the son of a schoolmaster and made his debut in Sydney’s first-grade cricket at the age of 14 as a left-arm wrist-spinner. He gradually moved up the order and became an opener, and became the first player in history to score hundreds in both innings on first-class debut – when at age 18, he made 148 and 111 for New South Wales against Queensland.However, World War II interrupted his career – he served in New Guinea during the war – and he had to wait until he was 24 to make his Test debut. He married showgirl Valerie Hudson, whom he had met during the 1953 tour of England, but after Morris returned from the West Indies tour in 1955, he discovered Valerie had been diagnosed with breast cancer.She had delayed telling him for fear that it would affect his performance on the field. Morris retired from cricket as Valerie’s health deteriorated, and she died at the age of 33, only 18 months into their marriage. He married his second wife, Judith Menmuir, in 1968.An impeccably polite man with a good sense of humour, Morris was interviewed by the in 2008, the day before a Twenty20 match between Australia and a Cricket Australia All-Star XI. Asked if he was going to watch the match the following day, Morris replied: “I might. But not if I am going to miss .”Only last week, the new Arthur Morris Gates were unveiled at the SCG, and although Morris was too ill to attend the event himself, he was represented by his wife Judith. She said that when she had asked Morris why he had gates named after him, he replied “because I was an opener”.With Morris’ passing, wicketkeeper Len Maddocks, 89, is now Australia’s oldest living Test cricketer.

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?”

Marvan Atapattu, the former Sri Lanka captain, is unlikely to make the team for the tour of Australia after refusing to attend a meeting with the selectors.”I got an email from the CEO of Sri Lanka Cricket inviting me for a discussion at 5pm [on October 3],” Atapattu told . “The email said the selectors were going to be there too and I replied saying that I did not want to waste my time with a selection committee headed by Ashantha de Mel.”Following Atapattu’s snub, de Mel, the chairman of selectors, told there would be no further attempts to speak to him and Sanath Jayasuriya would be chosen insteadPrior to the scheduled meeting, de Mel had indicated that Atapattu would be recalled. “We need his experience in Australia,” de Mel said. “He has the technique and temperament to stay at the crease. It will be very important for the two Tests against Australia. I will talk to him about his availability.”Atapattu did not play a single game in the World Cup in the West Indies, despite being in the squad, and was overlooked for the subsequent one-day series in Abu Dhabi against Pakistan. He then announced his unavailability for the home series against Bangladesh citing personal reasons and asked to be released from his central contract, sparking speculation that he might be linked to the Indian Cricket League (ICL).Mahela Jayawardene, the Sri Lanka captain, had also supported Atapattu’s inclusion and called on the selectors to find out whether he would be willing to commit to a tough series.”We love to have him around,” Jayawardene said. “He is a top class performer. For a fact I know that he still wants to continue to play cricket for Sri Lanka. He wanted to be released from his contract purely because he wanted to see other avenues in his career. The best thing would be to have a dialogue with him and find out what he wants to do.”Sri Lanka play two Tests in Australia in November and return for the tri-nation CB Series in February, also featuring India.

ScorecardRailways prevailed in a exciting contest at the Karnail Singh Stadium in Delhi scampering home by 14 runs against Madhya Pradesh. A comprehensive win was on the cards as Madhya Pradesh lost their ninth wicket at 181, still needing another 85, but a fighting stand between Sunil Dholpure (53) and Anand Rajan (17*) gave Railways a scare. Earlier, Madhya Pradesh’s chances hinged around Monish Mishra, who fell for 87, trapped leg before by Sanjay Bangar with the score at 179 for 7. Jai Prakash Yadav rounded off a sound allround performance, picking up four wickets, finishing with a match haul of 9 for 99 and a half century to boot.
ScorecardThe match between Kerala and Vidarbha ended in a stalemate as Kerala chose to bat out the last day to finish at 277 for 6. Sadagoppan Ramesh, overnight on 49, scored 60, while Robert Fernandez and captain Sreekumar Nair helped themselves to half centuries, with Nair and Fernandez adding 101 for the fourth wicket. Akshay Wakhare, the offspinner, picked up two wickets.
ScorecardDebasis Mohanty fell three short of what would have been his first first-class century, as Orissa gained first-innings points against Services Cuttack. Mohanty hung around till the end as his side were bowled out for 399, 53 ahead of Services’ total. He added 161 for the seventh wicket with H Das before Das fell at 312, and his last-wicket stand of 73 with Kuldeep Sharma gave Orissa the lead. Fazil Mohammed and AK Mohanty were the most effective bowlers for Services, taking three wickets each.
ScorecardSeamer Vineet Jain bowled Tripura to their first ever outright win in the Ranji Trophy, beating Jammu and Kashmir by 132 runs at Agartala. Chasing 288, Jammu and Kashmir never recovered from their overnight position at 88 for 4, as Jain made early inroads, reducing the opposition to 98 for 8. He finished with 5 for 40 in 14 overs. Abid Nabi entertained with an unbeaten 37 off 42 balls which included five fours and a six, in a losing cause.