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Mahela Jayawardene, the Sri Lanka captain, heaped praise on his champion spinner Muttiah Muralitharan who came up with an exceptional bowling performance on a flat track to take six wickets for 131 runs (match bag of 10 for 172) to send South Africa crashing to defeat by an innings and 153 runs in the first Test in Colombo.”Credit should go to the bowlers”, said Jayawardene. “The conditions weren’t easy. We knew in the last two days the South Africans were going to be a very tough nut to crack and they proved to be. They fought really hard and it wasn’t easy to bat on that wicket – it was slower but they scored a lot of runs on that.”Murali bowled exceptionally well for another 60 odd overs again. He is not getting tired. It was difficult for me to get the ball off him. It was a bit of a freak when Murali got a wicket with the new ball. When I took it, I didn’t have that in my mind, but Murali came up to me and said that it might go low and skid through, to give him one or two overs and see how things go. He got a wicket in the first over. That’s the genius in him because he imagines things that other people cannot”.He also praised the rest of his bowlers and said it was a brilliant allround effort with the quicks Dilhara Fernando, Lasith Malinga and Farveez Maharoof sticking to their task well, especially in the first morning. He said getting South Africa out for a low score in the first innings was the key factor to this win.Jayawardene, who was named the Man of the Match for his monumental knock of 374, described the win as “icing on the cake”. “No matter the records we broke, if we didn’t get the result we wanted in the end, it would not have mattered that much. We put in the hard work in the first two to three days to get the advantage and we came out with a win.”He said South African captain Ashwell Prince’s wicket in the second over of the final morning was the turning point. “We planned that we needed an early wicket. To get that wicket in the second over of the day gave us a lot of breathing space and to get another batsman [Herschelle Gibbs] before lunch were two big wickets that definitely gave us the breakthrough.”

Prince admitted that poor batting by the South Africans in the first innings cost them the match. “There was a bit of moisture in the pitch the first morning but I can’t blame it for any of our wickets in the first innings”, Prince said. “They were poor, soft dismissals. The guys were aware of that and came up with an improved batting performance in the second innings. It was a typical South African-style fightback. We showed a lot of character in the second innings and we got a few positives to take out of this match.”Prince said that during the Jayawardene-Sangakkara world record partnership of 624, the longer the pair batted, the more South Africa realized that there wasn’t much of a chance for them to win. “The pitch was very good to bat on and the longer they batted the more relief it gave us to bat for a long time as well.”Making his debut as South Africa’s first coloured Test captain, Prince said that it was not the ideal situation but added: “We improved as the game went on. We can’t win the series anymore, but we can get that one win and hopefully draw it.”Mickey Arthur, the South African coach, described Muralitharan as undoubtedly the world’s best bowler. “Our guys have all played a lot of Muttiah now. We’ve developed game plans and strategies against him. He doesn’t come as a surprise element anymore. We started to play him better and better but in these conditions he is quite phenomenal.”Arthur said the return of fast bowler Shaun Pollock for the second Test starting on Friday in Colombo would be a great motivating factor although as true professional cricketers, the South Africans are very easy to motivate. “We’ve got to get 20 wickets going into the next Test match”, he continued. “We need all the bowling options available. We got to sit down and think as to what’s going to give us the best chance of winning the next Test. We lose [Graeme] Smith, [Jacques] Kallis and Pollock for one Test match means you lose 250 Test caps. That’s a huge amount of experience.”Arthur added that it has been tough for him as coach coming into his first Test series in Australia and now in Sri Lanka, but is satisfied with the way the team has performed, despite the absence of key players.

Chris Dehring, the World Cup chief executive, has conceded the seven-week tournament is too long but said shortening it would have risked important matches being washed out. He also argued that ticket prices were not too high for locals and said the small crowds at some venues were caused in part by the live television coverage in the host nations.Dehring said the next World Cup, to be held on the subcontinent in 2011, might be abridged. “One of the shortfalls of the last World Cup in South Africa was that rain played such an important factor,” Dehring told The Courier-Mail. “We decided this time to make sure you had adequate rain days so there is a rain day for every game.”But, of course, that is going to elongate the tournament. It is a difficult balancing act but you would always prefer a shorter event. It is difficult to maintain momentum in an event over such a long period. We would have preferred a shorter event had it been possible, but to do that there would not have been rain days. I think they may change it next time.”Matthew Hayden said this week the tournament was dragging on too much for everyone involved.Keeping fans interested for nearly two months has proved a challenge and crowds at some venues have been very disappointing. However, Dehring said attendances were not as disastrous as they appeared.”The lower-end ticket prices were certainly cheaper than what they were for a standard one-day international in the West Indies,” he said. “In some countries ticket prices had an impact on attendances but in some countries it clearly didn’t.”In Jamaica it didn’t because the matches involving the West Indies there were very well attended. The fact that it was live on television in small countries where it has never happened before has made a real difference.”Organisers have also been criticised for a perceived crackdown on musical instruments, which some spectators said removed the unique Caribbean feel from the stadiums. Dehring said there was no reason fans could not take instruments like conch shells, provided they were pre-registered with officials.”The conch shell thing was precautionary because we wanted to know who was bringing things,” he said. “We wanted to make sure they were reputable people.”

Scorecard

Ben Edmondson and Steve Magoffin upended their former state as Queensland fell to an innings loss inside seven sessions at the Gabba. The fast bowlers moved to Western Australia in search of opportunities and they reminded the Bulls of what they had missed, picking up four wickets each and knocking the home side over for 133.The Bulls began the day at 3 for 88 but were soon in trouble after losing Craig Philipson for 15 when he was bowled by Brett Dorey. Giving the hosts no chance of a recovery, Edmondson broke through James Hopes, Chris Hartley and Andy Bichel in four overs to stop Queensland’s thoughts of making Western Australia bat again.Steve Magoffin removed Ashley Noffke and Daniel Doran in three balls and ended the game before lunch when he dismissed Nathan Rimmington in his next over. Magoffin claimed 4 for 21 off 12.2 overs while Edmondson picked up 4 for 46.Shane Watson, the No. 3, was trying to impress as he aimed for a World Cup spot, but he ran out of partners and was stranded on 46 not out. The outright loss was Queensland’s third in a row at the Gabba.

Day 2
ScorecardAkalanka Ganegama and Upul Chandana shared seven wickets between them as Sri Lanka A dismissed West Zone for 149 on the second day of their Duleep Trophy clash in Cuttack. By stumps, Sri Lanka A had moved on to 83 for 1 with a handy 259-run lead.Ganegama dismissed Wasim Jaffer, the West Zone captain, for 0 in the first over en route to his figures of 4 for 47, while Chandana’s legspin ran a ring around the lower order. Dammika Prasad, a right-arm medium pacer, struck two telling blows up the order when he removed Dheeraj Jadhav and Rohit Sharma. For West Zone, only the veteran Amol Muzumdar managed 51.Siddharth Trivedi, the medium pacer, removed Mahela Udawatte for 10 but Michael Vandort (38*) and Malinda Warnapura (34*) took Sri Lanka A to a commanding position at the close.Day 2
ScorecardHundreds to Mahesh Rawat and Joginder Sharma, coupled with wickets before stumps on day two, cemented North Zone’s firm grasp over Central Zone in Jamshedpur. Bad light forced an early end to the day, but not before Rawat and Joginder, overnight on 59 and 65 respectively, progressed to their hundreds during a 171-run sixth-wicket stand as North Zone racked up 443.Rawat collected 16 boundaries in his second first-class hundred, while Joginder hit 14 fours and a six on the way to his third. Spinners Piyush Chawla and Murali Kartik each picked up three wickets for Central Zone.Taking the new ball, Joginder then forced Amit Pagnis to edge to Rawat behind the stumps. Rawat picked up his second catch when Shivakant Shukla nicked one from VRV Singh.

India’s Test captain Virat Kohli has come out in support of day-night Tests, even expressing his willingness to play with the pink ball. Test cricket, the long cherished traditional form of the game, will start a new chapter in its evolution when Australia and New Zealand play the inaugural day-night Test starting at the Adelaide Oval from November 27.In recent weeks, there has been a raging debate among players, administrators and fans on the feasibility of day-night Tests, particularly the challenges of reading a bright coloured ball during late evenings, and the difficulties batsmen are likely to face due to an exaggerated swing. The main reason to play day-night Test cricket, according to the ICC, is to promote the longer form of the game and arrest the fast-declining crowds at grounds.For Kohli, day-night Tests are both an experiment as well as a forward-looking step in the game. “It is a landmark Test,” Kohli said, speaking on the eve of India’s third Test against South Africa in Nagpur. “It is a big experiment. It is a big step towards changing something in Test cricket. I hope it works. I hope it can be another option as well.”I’m glad two teams have actually agreed to play an official Test like that as an experiment. Credit to Australia and New Zealand, both, that they have decided to do this. Hopefully it will be better for the game. It will be a step which we all might remember few years down the line. Let’s hope so.”Incidentally, Kohli is the first Indian voice, be it player or administrator, to give an opinion on day-night Tests. Kohli said he was open to playing such a match because he saw it as a positive step to promote Test cricket.”As I said, it is a step towards something. If it is officially put into place it will be something different, it will be something exciting. As cricketers we all should be willing and accepting of the fact that we need to step forward and contribute to the game however possible. If this is a step towards improving the excitement and the popularity of Test cricket, then I think every team should be in for it.”Kohli has never featured in a match involving a pink ball, so he said his opinions on the challenges were based on what he had heard recently from other players.”I have heard a few of the players giving feedback on playing with the pink ball. The only thing that they were concerned about is that during twilight it is hard to pick up the ball. During the day it was still fine. And at night it was okay as well, but when the floodlights are not sort of on and the sun is going down is when they found it very difficult.”

In the third last over of the day, Munaf Patel dug in a short one to Misbah-ul-Haq, saw him pull fiercely towards short midwicket, watched Harbhajan Singh stretch his arms out wide, saw him grass the chance, and kicked the ground in anguish. Watching from mid-on, Anil Kumble turned heavenwards. On most days it might have been Kumble doing the kicking.Cricket teams take a bit of time adjusting to their new leader, finding their way before settling into a rhythm. India, especially with the Test and one-day leadership now split, might take a bit longer than the rest. But going by their start to the Test series, a day that they bossed for large parts, it would appear the Kumble work ethic has caught on well and early. India’s first day of the series was played out under Kumble’s giant shadow.On a flat pitch that didn’t offer much seam movement, India persevered. With typical Kumble-esque persistence the four-man attack made the most of their resources, stuck to the basics, utilised the early swing and induced errors. A part-timer, Sourav Ganguly, exceeded expectations and a possible weak link, Munaf, charged in with fire. There weren’t any magic balls, no banana-swingers that swung from leg to off, but just good old line and length. Cricketers love to harp on about the “right areas”. This was the day when they really found them.There were some symbolic passages too. Just like Kumble has experienced through his career, India’s bowlers struggled to extract lbw decisions from umpires. Appeal after appeal was met with a negative response with a few close shouts going Pakistan’s way. And just as Kumble has struggled to get rid of the opposition’s tail of late, the rest of the bowlers had a tough time dislodging them too.Munaf, for the first time in more than a year, showed he could be quick and disciplined at the same time. He burst on to the scene as an erratic fast bowler, tried to convert himself into an accurate medium-pacer and ended up as a confused bundle of nerves. Gettingthrough a day even seemed a bridge too far. This was a Munaf transformed: managing to consistently clock 135kph and generating movement off an unresponsive pitch (one that Ganguly later termed “only down, not up and down”). He bowled the most – 20.4 overs – and his only wicket, that of Shoaib Malik, was through the ball of the day.Zaheer Khan backed him up efficiently but it was Ganguly, maintaining a robotic length, that had most surprised. Rarely has he bowled 12 overs on the first day of a Test and probably never done so in such a metronomic fashion. He entered the Test with his spot under a bit of scrutiny, what with Yuvraj Singh making waves in the one-dayers, but blossomed in a department where, as he candidly confessed, “there is no pressure”.”There was a swing,” he said when asked if it was his best spell, “but I was happy I could hit the right areas. The conditions helped early on.” Was he, India’s most successful captain, impressed with Kumble’s first day at the office? “Fantastic,” he beamed, “he even gave me 12 overs.”Kumble, like he often has, ran the risk of being unnoticed – despite being the most successful bowler, he sent Ganguly for the post-match press conference. All his three wickets were with quick, straighter deliveries and he profited from a pitch where the ball died on the batsmen. When he castled Kamran Akmal his wicket-tally at the Feroz Shah Kotla went up to 50. The number may just get a marginal mention but India refused to forget the Kumble-way through the day.

Sri Lankan captain Sanath Jayasuriya dismissed any security concerns and said his players felt at home after his side became the first international team to visit Pakistan since Sept 11 terrorists attacks in the United States.”We don’t see any problems here. The two boards have discussed all the issues and we trust them,” the flamboyant opener told Dawn at Gaddafi Stadium.Pakistan had to cancel five major international events in the aftermath of Sept 11 attacks in Washington and New York. New Zealand cricketers returned from Singapore, Champions Trophy hockey was shifted to Holland from Lahore, Pakistan Open squash was postponed, the seven-nation SAF Games were put-off and the West Indies refused to travel to Pakistan but fulfilled their international commitment in Sharjah.”We have never faced any problems coming to Pakistan. We were ready to come for five one-dayers [in October last year] but the tour didn’t materialize. We don’t see any problems and feel just like being at home,” Jayasuriya, who led Sri Lanka to victory in the three-Test series in 2000, said.Jayasuriya didn’t blame New Zealand and the West Indies for cancelling their tours to Pakistan saying the non-Asian countries didn’t understand the Asian culture and situations. “We the Asian and the rest think differently. The Asian boards enjoy different relationship and therefore, we are in more side of helping each other,” Jayasuriya said.Australia and the West Indies also forfeited their 1996 World Cup matches in Sri Lanka when they refused to travel citing security concerns. However, a combined team from Pakistan and Indian played a festival match to compensate for the losses and crowd dejection.”That’s precisely why specially the Sri Lankan board wants to support Pakistan at this moment. When we had a crisis [in 1996], both India and Pakistan came to our support. “That’s exactly why we are here because we want to help and support Pakistan,” Jayasuriya said.Sri Lanka’s Australia coach Dav Whatmore also brushed aside security fears. “Honestly, there is not a problem. The team is very glad and we are pleased to be here to participate in the Asian Test Championship final which is not a neutral venue by the way,” he said.”We are happy to come and support Pakistan. And here we are and let’s hope we have a good game,” Whatmore, in his second term with the Sri Lankans, said. Whatmore said had there been any concerns, their board would not have placed them in a position of anything other than safety.Whatmore, however, refused to comment if this tour of Sri Lanka would clear road for New Zealand to reschedule their tour between April 20 and May 18 and Australia go-ahead with their proposed visit in October.”I don’t want to be drawn into answering that question. What I would like to say is that Sri Lanka are here playing this Test match and we are very happy to do that. But I wouldn’t like to comment on decision made by any other cricket board,” Whatmore said.The Australian agreed that the championship had been devalued after India refused to take part and admitted that the debate would continue on whether actually any of Sri Lanka or Pakistan were the real Asian champions.”What you have said is a statement of facts that India hasn’t participate. And it does devalue the event to a point. But from time to time you have situations like this. “But what’s important is that the Asian Test Championship created only a few years back and is an interesting concept is being played,” he said.

There have been some curious, if hardly surprising, official responses to the Stanford 20/20 tournament, from the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB), from the International Cricket Council (ICC) and from one prominent regional sponsor.Presumably the new leadership of the WICB, formally installed at the annual general meeting in Port-of-Spain last weekend, will quickly clarify the relationship between the two.It is still not clear whether the WICB has agreed to ratify Stanford as the official, regional 20/20 tournament, setting aside a period of five weeks at the start of the season in exchange for an annual fee of US$1 million. As it would eliminate the financial, organisational and administrative responsibilities while still being under its auspices, such a deal would seem to be money for jam for the WICB which has seldom been known to operate anything at a profit, far less of $1 million.A statement by Tony Howard, the WICB cricket operations manager, last month that the next first-class season would start three months earlier than usual, in October, and the follow-up from the Stanford organisation that confirmed the dates, and fixtures, for the 2008 tournament as January 25 to February 24, suggested that an accord had been reached.Yet the swift and indignant reaction of Colin Murray, marketing manager of Carib Beer, sponsors of the first-class season for the past five years, indicated otherwise.Stanford’s dates are in the middle of what is usually the Carib tournament and he wondered out loud whether Stanford’s 20/20 wasn’t for his “own personal and selfish gain”. Seeing the Texan billionaire intends to repeat the grants in the inaugural year of $280,000 to each of the participating territories, increased to 21 for 2008, in addition to the $1 million to the champion team, $500,000 to the runners-up and equally unprecedented sums for individual performances, it was a comment seemingly based on pique rather than reason.It was hard to spot anything selfish in such numbers.Such money goes to struggling individual associations that received little or nothing from the WICB in the past and is appreciably more than all the other sponsors of West Indies cricket put together. Murray further questioned how Stanford’s investment would guarantee that the WICB operations “are stable and will continue to benefit from his involvement”. That, of course, is up to the WICB to determine although its record in financial matters is not encouraging.While Murray was making his objections known, Malcolm Speed, chief executive of the ICC, was revealing his members’ “genuine concerns” over Stanford’s plan for a Super Stars tournament, provisionally scheduled for June 2008. It would feature four ICC full-member teams playing against each other on a single elimination knockout basis with the winner to take on the Stanford Super Stars for a jackpot of $20 million, all at the Stanford ground in Antigua.But it needs the ICC’s approval, for which Stanford has guaranteed the WICB $1 million for “successfully negotiating”. It is an extension of the planned match between the Stanford Super Stars and South Africa that was baulked last November as it clashed with the first week of the official West Indies tour of Pakistan.While Speed said ICC members were wary about the effect it would have on players’ workloads, the cap on 20/20 Internationals and the television agreement with ESPN-Star, he also noted that they wanted a slice of the cake “to ensure that their participation will benefit as many of the game’s stakeholders as possible to help facilitate its continuing strong growth”.This really is a bit rich coming from ICC members who drove a torpedo through the fragile hull of the WICB’s finances six years ago by altering the payout for teams on overseas tours. Whereas such contracts had previously been subject to bi-lateral negotiations, a system on which the WICB heavily relied for its very survival, the other nine ICC full members voted to standardise it. It meant that the host was now responsible for all the expenses of the touring team while retaining gate receipts, sponsorship, broadcasting rights and the like.The upshot was obvious. While Australia, England and India, for instance, raked in the money from attendances (up to £3 million for a Test at Lord’s or the MCG) and phenomenal television contracts, the West Indies, with the small size of their populations, economies and grounds set against the high costs of accommodation in the tourist-cricket season, scrunted.

So the rich and powerful became richer and more powerful, and the poor and weak, of which the West Indies are the prime example, got poorer and weaker. It is an arrangement that officials estimate cost the WICB $10 million in six years. Yet, now that a wealthy investor comes forward to give West Indies cricket the financial boost it badly needs, and to encourage its development in unfamiliar Caribbean outposts previously ignored by both the WICB and the ICC, the ICC wants in on the action to further what he calls the game’s “continuing strong growth”.That, presumably, means helping fund ICC tournaments such as the Under-19 World Cup qualifiers in distant lands involving countries such as Afghanistan, Japan, New Guinea, Qatar, Thailand and Vanuatu and the Intercontinental Cup of four-day matches between the likes of Canada, Kenya, Namibia and Scotland that do not play four-day matches in their own competitions – and never will.Whether that represents “continuing strong growth” or not, Speed and the ICC might recognise that there has been just the opposite among some of the more established members, not least the West Indies where there is continuing strong decline.With the cooperation of the WICB, Stanford’s money can help turn the present weakness into traditional strength again. But the ICC should appreciate that it is not for sharing.