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Sri Lankan captain Sanath Jayasuriya considers New Zealand to be histeam’s main rivals in the triangular one-day Coca Cola Cup seriesstarting in Colombo on Wednesday.The hosts will meet New Zealand in the opening match of thetournament, also featuring India. The teams will play each other threetimes in the league phase, with the top two qualifying for the August5 final.”They (India) are not really our main rivals, but they have beenplaying well,” Jayasuriya told a website last week.The Sri Lankan skipper has good reason to be optimistic aboutdefeating India: his men beat the team three times when they last metat Sharjah in October, including in the final.India are also without their star batsman Sachin Tendulkar, who isnursing a foot injury.Indian captain Sourav Ganguly has conceded that the Sri Lankans willbe a tough unit at home, especially in one-dayers. “We will have toplay really well to beat them,” he has said.Forgetting the past, however, will put India in a better frame of mindfor the upcoming series. Last year they were on the verge ofcelebrating their resurgence after the match-fixing scandal when theywere thwarted by New Zealand and Sri Lanka.New Zealand were the first to ruin India’s party with a remarkablefour-wicket victory in the International Cricket Council knock-outfinal in Nairobi last October. Sri Lanka rubbed it in a few weekslater in a triangular series at Sharjah when they dismissed India fortheir lowest-ever total of 54 to run out comfortable winners.But India would not like to remember these defeats and are treatingthis tournament as a stepping stone to the 2003 World Cup in SouthAfrica.For this series, India has made three changes to the team that was inZimbabwe last month. Left-handed batsman Amay Khurasiya replacesTendulkar and middle-order batsman Yuvraj Singh and left-arm spinnerRahul Sanghvi have been recalled.Sri Lanka has dropped several players from the team which had clincheda tri-series at Sharjah in April in a bid to find the right men forthe World Cup.Batsmen Avishka Gunawardene and Chamara Silva have been recalled alongwith fast-bowling all-rounders Suresh Perera and Dulip Liyanage.Fast bowler Nuwan Zoysa was ruled out of the series because of anankle injury and will be replaced by Dinusha Fernando, the chiefselector announced today.Sri Lankan coach Dav Whatmore has welcomed the importance given tomedium-paced all-rounders.”To be successful in South Africa, we need to have considerable fastbowling resources and some of those bowlers must be able to bat,” hehas said.New Zealand have also effected a few changes in the team which hadfailed to qualify for the Sharjah final in April.All-rounder Dion Nash and left-arm spinner Daniel Vettori havereturned to the squad after passing fitness tests. There are sevenall-rounders in the team, described by chairman of selectors RichardHadlee as “strong and experienced” and “selected with Sri Lankanconditions in mind”.New Zealand manager Jeff Crowe said his team’s chances of winning thetournament here were pretty good.”We have come here fresh, without too much cricket and from our winterwith the batteries recharged,” he said. “The last time they (SriLanka) came to New Zealand they beat us in one-dayers. I think wewould like to return the favour this time.”

Cricket Australia will make a decision on whether to proceed with the Test tour of Bangladesh after its security manager Sean Carroll meets with officials in Bangladesh over the coming days. Australia’s players were due to fly out for Bangladesh on Monday morning but that departure has been postponed due to new security advice from the Australian government.The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) issued updated travel advice on Friday, stating that “there is reliable information to suggest that militants may be planning to target Australian interests in Bangladesh”. The government contacted Cricket Australia directly on Friday afternoon to relay the latest advice, which has led to Carroll being dispatched to Bangladesh to assess the situation.Carroll is expected to meet with the Australian High Commissioner in Bangladesh on Sunday, ahead of further meetings with Bangladesh government, police and security officials from Monday. The Cricket Australia chief executive James Sutherland said that while CA wanted the two-Test tour to proceed, it would not be possible to make any decisions until such meetings had taken place.”Our position is we want the tour to go ahead as planned,” Sutherland told reporters in Brisbane on Sunday. “This has obviously come very suddenly and we’ve needed to make this response. Our preferred position is to continue with the tour, but the safety and security of our players and staff is the absolute priority and the first priority for us is to secure that.”We’ll be endeavouring to get some undertakings and understandings of what the situation is in Bangladesh before making any further decisions in regard to the tour.”Sutherland said Cricket Australia had been advised by the Australian government on Friday that there would be an adjustment to the official recommendations for traveling in Bangladesh as a result of intelligence advice from DFAT and the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO).Although DFAT’s Smartraveller website often advises general caution when travelling in Asia, the wording of Friday’s updated advice – that “militants may be planning to target Australian interests” – is unusually specific. There is no such specific wording listed in the travel advice for neighbouring countries in the region.”The government came to us on Friday afternoon to advise us that they had some credible threats to western interests and on that basis, knowing that the team was not far away from leaving, that we should understand that there would probably be some alteration or adjustment to the travel advice for Australians going to Bangladesh,” Sutherland said.”What we’ve heard from our government and the Department of Foreign Affairs is that there are credible threats to Australian and western interests in Bangladesh. We obviously take that very seriously and we need to respond, and are responding in the manner that we have so far.”However, he also noted that the travel advice was for ordinary Australians travelling in Bangladesh, and the Australian squad would have extremely high levels of security if the tour went ahead.”The DFAT advice is for ordinary civilians who are travelling on holidays or on business in Bangladesh, which is very different to the Australian cricket team, which is afforded the highest level of security by Bangladesh police and armed forces while they’re there,” Sutherland said. “Those things need to be weighed up in the circumstances.”Cricket Australia has kept its players updated on the situation by email and the general manager of team performance, Pat Howard, has spoken directly to some players. Sutherland said he had also been in direct contact with Nizamuddin Chowdhury, the CEO of the Bangladesh Cricket Board, to keep the BCB updated on the situation.”I’ve spoken to my equivalent in Bangladesh and they understand our position,” Sutherland said. “They understand that we’ve taken advice from our government and they will go to every length to provide whatever support is necessary including arranging whatever meetings are necessary for our head of security and others to be able to get an understanding of the situation and what security response there may be from Bangladesh police, government and other security forces.”Australia’s former captain Michael Clarke said on Sunday that he hoped the tour would be able to go ahead, but that the decision should be made by the government and administrators rather than the players. Clarke said he was disappointed that during his international career of more than a decade he had never been able to tour Pakistan, due to security concerns.”A lot of the time as a player you leave decisions like this up to the experts,” Clarke said on Channel Nine’s . “This is one of the occasions you want, DFAT, CA, the Australian Cricketers’ Association to make the decision for you.”If they’re saying lets hold the guys’ travel off for a few extra days, that shouldn’t affect the tour at all. If they’re still saying don’t go in a week or two weeks’ time then we’re having a different conversation.”For the game we need to see teams be able to travel the world and play in all different conditions. I never got to play in Pakistan. I hope over time cricket is played all around the world and we don’t have these problems.”The short nature of the two-Test tour gives Cricket Australia little time to make a decision, and it would be unlikely that the matches could be rescheduled to another location at such short notice. The Australian Cricketers’ Association chief executive Alistair Nicholson said the ACA would work with Cricket Australia to keep the players informed.”We continue to be in close contact with the players, who fully understand that their safety is our foremost concern, that and any recommendations we make will be made with this in mind,” Nicholson said. “We’re also liaising with our security experts, CA and FICA – as the peak body for cricket player associations. We’re awaiting updated and more detailed assessments and will keep the players informed of any developments.”

It took until the penultimate day of the series, and relied on the inspiration of two players who have barely figured through its duration. But, at last, the sight of WestIndies refusing to yield to Australia arrived. As a result, we finally have a contest too; at stumps on the fourth day of the Fifth Test here at the Sydney CricketGround, Australia is at 2/44 chasing a target of 173 to win.The excellent form of Ridley Jacobs (62) has been a constant throughout this summer so it represented little surprise to see him at the heart of a mid-afternoonrecovery which transformed the complexion of this match. But to spot the sparingly used Mahendra Nagamootoo (68) and previously horribly out of formRamnaresh Sarwan (51) also applying themselves earnestly in its midst was certainly unexpected.What made the revival even better still was that it came on the heels of another disastrous morning session for the West Indians. The loss of Jimmy Adams (5), Sherwin Campbell (54) and Marlon Samuels (0) in thespace of five deliveries only half an hour into the day – a surrender which saw them slide to a mark of 4/112 in their second innings – was a grave development giventhat as many as 180 runs were required to even make the Australians bat again. And the miserable predicament was then exacerbated when a defending Brian Lara(28) failed to capitalise on an earlier reprieve and lost his wicket to a beautifully pitched ball from off spinner Colin Miller (4/102) half an hour before lunch.Until Sarwan finally lost concentration after close to two-and-a-half hours of unflinching resistance and sparred away from his body at a Glenn McGrath (3/80)delivery, he and Jacobs added eighty-five runs for the sixth wicket in enterprising style. In the process, they ensured not only that the match would enter a fourthinnings but added a genuine touch of spine to the West Indian performance as well. It was difficult to believe that the former had entered this innings with a bare threeruns against his name in total for the series and with his confidence and demeanour at apparent rock bottom. For that sorry record counted for little today; hesurvived a hat-trick ball from Jason Gillespie (2/57) first up, imperiously thumped the second delivery that he faced to the cover boundary, and then barely lookedback.Although well renowned in the Caribbean for his all-round skills, Nagamootoo was also something of a surprise packet. His hand was predominantly attacking – afeature perhaps best exemplified by a number of straight, lofted blows – but contained a nice mixture of defensive shots as well. His maiden Test half-century broughta completely contrasting response to the far more relieved and reserved one offered by Sarwan; an extravagant series of waves of the bat and some fist-pumping forgood measure ensuing as he reached the mark only a few moments before tea.”I always bat like that,” said Nagamootoo. “I never put myself down; when the bad ball comes along, I always (try and) put it away.””In the beginning, it was really tough. I thought that I would just try and bat for as long as I possibly could.””I’ve not really been in and out,” he replied to the suggestion that he has been unluckily overlooked on this tour. “I was injured and have been doing as much as I canto get into the team. One step at a time in practice and I (just try and) take my opportunities when I can get them.”Nagamootoo’s innings might never have blossomed; his own stand of seventy-eight with Jacobs might never have transpired; and the position of the match mighthave been completely different too, if Umpire Darrell Hair had not denied what looked an excellent McGrath lbw appeal against him when the left hander had onlytwo runs on the board. But, in an ironic way, it seemed appropriate that the decision went the West Indians’ way, if for no other reason than it finally permittedJacobs the sort of support that his form has commanded all the way through this tour. It also helped lay the platform for this to develop into by far the best and mostcompetitive day of the series.Ultimately, the trio’s batting helped swell the West Indian second innings tally to a mark of 352. It also had the crowd of 14728 in an appropriately deferential moodby the time that number eleven and 127 Test veteran, Courtney Walsh, entered an Australian arena for the very last time with a bat in his hand. The Australiansformed their own on-field guard of honour to salute the champion too. In the middle of the most intense battle of the summer, it was lovely stuff.That the out-of-sorts Matthew Hayden (5) and Justin Langer (10) each fell inside the first seven overs of Australia’s pursuit of their victory target – to leave the hostslooking a touch vulnerable for once – emphasised the extent of the fightback. Michael Slater (18*) and Mark Waugh (3*) ultimately held firm but each had narrowescapes along the path to stumps. They, like a reinvigorated West Indian team, will be back to do it all again tomorrow.

Neil Fairbrother’s unbeaten half-century kept Lancashire in the box seat oftheir Championship game against Leicestershire after an action-packed secondday.Overnight rain delayed the start by another hour but the teams seemeddetermined to make up for lost time with wickets and runs flowing on anothergood Old Trafford pitch.First Leicestershire slumped from their overnight 83 for three to 202 allout, with only Darren Maddy’s battling unbeaten 57, his first Championshiphalf-century of the season, offering much resistance.Peter Martin and Glen Chapple each ended with three wickets but it was AndyFlintoff, bowling for the first time since he sustained a side injury inearly May, who did the most damage in a 10-over spell of three for 28.But James Ormond then fired out Mark Chilton, John Crawley and Flintoff inthe space of eight balls, and when Devon Malcolm bowled Mike Atherton for astylish 48, Lancashire were in trouble at 68 for four.Aussie-Italian Joe Scuderi then joined Fairbrother in a vital fifth-wicketstand of 111 in 23 overs, and although Scuderi was out for 46 just beforethe close as he went for a big hit off Daniel Marsh, Fairbrother ended theday unbeaten on 70 – with Lancashire 191 for five, only 11 runs behind.

Like a squirrel getting out and gathering nuts to store away for winter, former New Zealand cricket captain Jeremy Coney has been storing cricketing gems for the summer and an in-depth series of television documentaries to be screened by SKY Television.While documentaries have been done on the history of New Zealand cricket before, Coney has focused not so much on the matches and the feats but more on the characters and stories of those who have played the games.The series is called The Mantis and the Cricket and is scheduled to start on December 18, the day New Zealand opens its domestic international cricket season with the first Test against Bangladesh in Hamilton.Several players have been interviewed on tape for the series which was originally intended to be done in eight shows but which is already looking like it will be extended.Restraints have meant that Coney hasn’t been able to talk to as many players as he would like but there is a chance that he will yet get to talk to more veterans of the Kiwi game.”Getting them to tell their stories has been what I have been after. There’s not a lot in terms of footage that hasn’t been seen before, but there are some nice stories that haven’t been heard,” Coney said.As a former Test player Coney has found the exercise something of a voyage around the game he played, stimulating and informative, and he hopes his series will be the same for cricket enthusiasts.”It has given my appreciation of our history a lot of depth and has rounded it out. I was not one to be immersed with the history of cricket when I was younger.”But to meet and talk with the people who made the history has been special.”It was a privilege to go and see the old players and they have answered everything I asked them.”Some have been quite straight about they felt about things at the time,” he said.Coney said Walter Hadlee and John Reid had been invaluable as they spanned so much of the first era he is pursuing in the series. There was also film of the late Bert Sutcliffe that was made in the year before he died, as well as some archive material SKY held that had not been seen before.Others like Matt Poore, had some lovely stories to tell about the 1955/56 tour of India and Pakistan, including the fact that the players had their own servants on the tour, and the occasion on which one of the servants did his work as the team left the hotel one morning and later the same day walked out to umpire a Test match.Historian Don Neely and former commentator Iain Gallaway had been other well-known identities who had been involved along with Jack Kerr, the 1937 tourist and manager of the 1953/54 team to South Africa and a chairman of the New Zealand Cricket Council, and Tony MacGibbon, who toured with the New Zealand side during the mid-1950s and Johnny Hayes and Merv Wallace.New Zealand had struggled to find its way in international cricket to start with, and had made decisions almost against itself in the early days, such as when deciding professional players would not be included in the 1937 tour of England.But there were other occasions when the part-timers from New Zealand made people sit up and take notice such as when the 1931 side dismissed the MCC for 48 at Lord’s and managed a significant victory which immediately resulted in the side’s one scheduled Test being lifted to three Tests.”The whole project is very much in its infancy but I have enjoyed it. If it works well it may be continued.”I think it is quite important from a historical perspective. There have been enough examples of why that is the case in the last couple of years,” he said.One aspect that did come through to him in talking to players related to the 1949 tour.”I didn’t realise the strength of feeling and character of the 1949’ers. Other New Zealand teams are envious of the position they hold in our game, and the 1999 side call themselves the 99’ers after going through England and winning two Tests and the series.”But there was a real feeling of family in that 1949 side. It was after the war and they were going through that country, almost out of the trenches, it was an age of austerity and they were meeting each night and discussing their cricket and each was wanting each other to do well.”Those sorts of values have changed now, but the series will be good for young people to learn about the game.”I hope people will enjoy it,” he said.

Gloucestershire have booked their place in a hat-trick of Lord’s finals, asthey beat Lancashire by 15 runs at Bristol on Monday. Mike Smith led theGloucester charge, with figures of 4-27, as the Lancashire chased falters.The victory furthers Glouctershire’s claim to be the premier one-day side inthe country.A near capacity crowd cheered the Bristol-based side on, with a place in thefinal against Glamorgan beckoning. Despite Mike Smith’s efforts, it was RobCunliffe who earned the man of the match award, for a sparkling 71.Gloucestershire won the toss, electing to bat on a pitch which didn’t seemto have suffered any ill effects of the weekend rain. The game, of course,actually began on the reserve day, after Sunday’s effort was ruined thanksto a sodden outfield. Soon enough, openers Tim Hancock and Kim Barnett werehitting their straps. Hancock peppered the off-side boundary withregularity, whilst Barnett was dismissed just as he began to look settled.The veteran was neatly caught by Hegg, from the bowling of Peter Martin. Atthe other end, Ian Austin was his typically miserly self, bowling at acracking line and length which the batsmen could do nothing with.Chris Schofield entered the attack, and was immediately launched way overlong on, then through the covers, by an ever confident Hancock. Just asHancock looked as if he may destroy the Lancashire attack, he played a looseshot, and was well caught down the leg side by Hegg.New men Rob Cunliffe and Matt Windows kept the score moving, as theyscampered between the wickets at every opportunity. Windows was particularlysavage on anything short, cutting ferociously, whilst Cunliffe played theshot of the day, a perfectly timed off-drive. With the partnership locked on71, Windows found the bucket hands of Peter Martin at long on, dismissed fora fine 43. England all-rounder Mark Alleyne joined Cunliffe, as the boardticked at six an over. Cunliffe was rattled by a bouncer from Flintoff, thenmeekly spooned him to mid-off. It was a sad end to a very fine innings, froma player with enormous potential. In the final slog, Snape and Alleyne felllooking for runs, Alleyne for a classy 32.A target of 221 was certainly within Lancashire’s grasp. Gloucestershirewere weakened without their overseas star Ian Harvey, dubbed the finestdeath bowler in the world. Still, they were not prepared to lie down. JonLewis ripped out Mike Watkinson’s off-stump, whilst Mike Smith removed JohnCrawely’s leg peg. When Smith got rid of Andy Flintoff, to an ill-judgedpull edged onto the stumps, Gloucestershire were well on top. Mike Athertonplodded along at the other end, but was given a torrid time by Smith, whostruck him first on the finger, then on the box.Atherton and Fairbrother gave Lancashire hope, as Fairbrother used the sweepshot to great effect. Snape was in for particular punishment in his firstfew overs, and it was brave of Alleyne to keep him in the attack. Alleyne’sfaith was justified, as Snape got rid of Atherton. The off-spinner, who was(according to the speed-gun at least) varying his pace from 40-65mph, lobbedone up to Atherton who chipped it to mid-wicket. Snape picked up anotherwicket when Lloyd tried to turn to leg, trapped lbw. By now, the requiredrate was well over six.Warren Hegg, with 30, kept Lancashire’s hopes alive. At the other end,Fairbrother, who was batting with a runner, was supreme. He hit five foursand a six in his 74, which was ended by a fine catch in the deep from MattWindows. Chris Schofield played a cameo, and Ian Austin clubbed a few, butit was too little too late.Mention should be made of two others. James Averis, whose figures of 1-37betrayed a brilliant spell tarnished by two expensive overs at the death.Also, Chris Taylor. The youngster, who has played less than half a dozengames for his county, didn’t bat or bowl. But he scampered round theoutfield, fielding with enthusiasm that personified this, truly excellentGloucestershire team.

Pakistan will tour England for the first time since the spot-fixing scandal of 2010, with next summer’s schedule for four Tests, five ODIs and a T20 confirmed by the ECB. Sri Lanka are England’s other opponents and will arrive in early May, a time of the year that regularly leads to a clash with the IPL.Both touring sides will play ODIs in Ireland ahead of limited-overs series with England – a development that goes towards Cricket Ireland’s attempts to secure more regular fixtures against Full Member opposition.England’s Test series against Pakistan will be squeezed into little more than a month, with two sets of back-to-back Test matches separated by an eight-day gap – during which Pakistan will play a tour match against Worcestershire. They have also been given three-day warm-up matches at Taunton and Hove before the first Test at Lord’s begins on July 14.The Test will Pakistan’s first at Lord’s since the events of 2010 that led to Mohammad Amir, Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif being banned for a scheme to bowl deliberate no-balls. Amir could yet be part of the touring squad, having recently begun to play domestic cricket again in Pakistan. The bans on all three will expire next week.Sri Lanka also have two tour matches scheduled, against Essex and Leicestershire, before beginning the three-Test series with back-to-back matches at Headingley – scene of their series-clinching victory in 2014 – and Chester-le-Street. A Lord’s Test in the relative warmth of June follows, then two ODIs in Ireland, five ODIs against England and a single T20.Trent Bridge will not host a Test for the first time since 2009, while Bristol will hope to see the return of international cricket after five years, having suffered a washout during the visit of India in 2014.Sri Lanka in England and Ireland 2016
May 4: Sri Lanka arrive
May 8-10: Essex, Chelmsford
May 13-15: Leicestershire, Grace Road
May 19-23: 1st Investec Test, Headingley
May 27-31: 2nd Test, Chester-le-Street
June 9-13: 3rd Test, Lord’s
June 16: 1st ODI v Ireland, TBC
June 18: 2nd ODI v Ireland, TBC
June 21: 1st Royal London ODI, Trent Bridge
June 24: 2nd ODI, Edgbaston
June 26: 3rd ODI, Bristol
June 29: 4th ODI, Kia Oval
July 2: 5th ODI, Cardiff
July 5: NatWest T20, Ageas Bowl
Pakistan in England and Ireland 2016
June 29: Pakistan arrive
July 3-5: Somerset, Taunton
July 8-10: Sussex, Hove
July 14-18: 1st Investec Test, Lord’s
July 22-26: 2nd Test, Old Trafford
July 29-30: Worcestershire, Worcester
Aug 3-7: 3rd Test, Edgbaston
Aug 11-15: 4th Test, Kia Oval
Aug 18: 1st ODI v Ireland, TBC
Aug 20: 2nd ODI v Ireland, TBC
Aug 24: 1st Royal London ODI, Ageas Bowl
Aug 27: 2nd ODI, Lord’s
Aug 30: 3rd ODI, Trent Bridge
Sep 1: 4th ODI, Headingley
Sep 4: 5th ODI, Cardiff
Sep 7: NatWest T20, Old Trafford

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details3:17

Our batting has been disappointing – Patel

Nawroz Mangal’s second consecutive Man-of-the-Match performance put Afghanistan back in the World Twenty20 as the side coasted to a six-wicket win over Papua New Guinea. Mangal hit a chanceless 65 not out to chase down PNG’s 127 for 6, as Afghanistan reached the target with 10 balls to spare.PNG’s decision to bat first was a curious one with the knowledge that all four morning games at Malahide prior to Thursday’s contest had been won by the chasing team. Afghanistan gleefully accepted the opportunity to bowl first and pinned PNG back to 20 for 2 in a boundary-free Powerplay.Both openers were caught behind for 5 in successive overs – Lega Siaka was out after flat-footed swish to Dawlat Zadran while Tony Ura feathered an edge off an attempted pull against Shapoor Zadran. Vani Morea fell to Mohammad Nabi in the eighth over for 9, given leg-before missing a paddle sweep, though replays showed there was some doubt as to whether contact was in line with off stump.Assad Vala, PNG’s leading scorer in the group stage, added just 7 before he was given out shuffling across his stumps to the medium-pace of Mirwais Ashraf. Mahuru Dai tried to bring life to PNG’s innings by scooping Shapoor over fine-leg but was out next ball for 11 after his uppercut found Mangal at third man to make it 55 for 5 in the 13th.Hamid Hassan had been out of the line-up for Afghanistan’s two losses in the tournament to Oman and Hong Kong, and bowled decently in his first three overs to take 1 for 16 including a reverse-swinging gem that bowled Jack Vare for 13 to end the 17th at 89 for 6. However, Hassan came in for some heavy punishment in the 19th from Norman Vanua and Charles Amini, conceding 20 runs to spoil his figures.Vanua, whose unbeaten 28 off 10 balls at no. 10 propelled PNG to a two-wicket win over Ireland, came in at no. 8 today and provided a similar spark, cracking Hassan over square-leg for six and again through the covers for four before Amini paddled a four behind square later in the over. Vanua ramped Mirwais Ashraf in the 20th and ended unbeaten on 22 off 10, while Amini’s run-a-ball 37 was PNG’s highest individual score in Ireland. The pair’s 38-run stand to end the innings gave the side hope.That hope was extended further on the first ball of the chase as Vanua got Mohammad Shahzad to chase a short and wide delivery, giving a toe edge for a golden duck. Another opportunity was available to get Asghar Stanikzai on 9 in the fourth over, but Amini’s dart for the stumps from mid-on was wide.PNG did their best to keep things tight but Afghanistan were patient enough to wait for the loose ball to release any building pressure. Mangal smacked a boundary over the leg side to start the sixth off Chad Soper and then heaved a half-tracker from Dai over the midwicket rope to start the ninth.The 57-run stand was finally broken by the legspin of Amini, who enticed Stanikzai to come down the track on a loopy good length delivery dragged wide outside off. The turn beat Stanikzai’s edge and Vare whipped off the bails for 22, ending the 10th at 57 for 2.The briefest bit of PNG momentum was stolen back immediately by Mangal, who counter-punched in the 11th by launching back-to-back sixes from Dai’s off spin back over the bowler’s head. The only blips in the chase from thereon were the wickets of Samiullah Shenwari and Mohammad Nabi. Shenwari’s attempted reverse-paddle off Amini went to Dai at backward point and Nabi skied a pull against Vanua to Dai at midwicket in the 17th.But Mangal had brought up his 50 off 43 balls by that point and any hopes of a PNG comeback were completely shattered when Loa Nou bowled consecutive front foot no balls in the 18th, the second of which was catapulted for six by Najibullah Zadran to bring the equation down to nine off 15 balls. Najibullah ended the match in the next over with another six.Afghanistan now go to the World Twenty20 for the fourth consecutive time while PNG end the tournament with three straight defeats when a win in any of those contests – against Namibia, USA and Afghanistan – would have clinched a spot in India for the side.

As fleetingly as the English resistance appeared, it went away just asquickly. Unable to build on the foundation, Michael Vaughan had laid forthem, a score of 342 had to be settled for after 450 had seemed a possibility.Losing seven wickets for 47 didn’t do anything to dispel the perception of a brittle Englishlower-order line-up. Warne and Gillespie ripped through them without too muchfuss.There is not enough consistency for England if they wish to compete againstAustralia. They require sustained periods of excellence both with bat andball. Not glimpses of it.Vaughan basically played a lone hand as no other English player passed 50.Are England playing like the West Indies were a few years ago when all youhad to do was dismiss Brian Lara and the innings would unravel before youreyes?Matthew Hayden and Justin Langer knocked off 100 runs in the blink of an eyewith 342 looking more inadequate by the second.England can still lose this game by an innings. Something which lookedhighly unlikely when they were 2/240, but cricket is a game made up ofperformances by individuals within the fabric of a team.Superb efforts by Warne, Gillespie and McGrath dragged Australia back intothe game. They bowled tirelessly to restrict the Englishman and after thebreakthrough was made, homed in on the lengthy English tail.There is no doubt that cricket is a batsman’s game but it is the differencein class between the bowlers of the two sides which will decide this series,England do not have the same resources in the field that Steve Waugh cancall on. Not one of the English bowlers looks as though he is a constantthreat of taking wickets. They wait or pray for an Australian mistake asopposed to being able to force one.Losing three of their starting bowlers from the original tour party hasn’thelped matters either. The field placings must pay some attention to savingruns which allows the Australian batsmen even more freedom.The shortcomings of the bowlers comes back onto the English batsmen. Theyare then required to bat out long periods of time or do somethingextraordinary if England are to hope to have even a modicum chance ofsuccess.Different times to when England could boast class bowlers such as John Snow,Bob Willis, Derek Underwood, Ian Botham, Graham Dilley, John Emburey and Phil Edmonds.Facing bowlers such as these, the Australians didn’t have the carte blanchethey seem to have done.So where to for England from here? -Defeat in Adelaide means basically theend of the series and another long summer with the only point of interest beingwhether England can snatch a win in a dead rubber like they have on their last twotrips down under.

World-class New Zealand all-rounder Chris Cairns told the audience at the launch of his book ‘Chris Cairns’ last night that he regards bowling as his trade, and batting as his enjoyment.Speaking at the function organised at the Christchurch Casino, Cairns said getting a five-wicket haul when bowling was the most satisfying aspect of the game.Cairns, who missed the last part of New Zealand’s international season when needing more surgery on his troublesome knees, said he was feeling very good.”My rehabilitation has gone well but it is all in the lap of the cricketing gods,” he said.Cairns said he wasn’t motivated by statistics in the way that Sir Richard Hadlee had been during his career, nor was he blessed with the superb bowling action that Hadlee enjoyed.”I have to work harder on my bowling, I’m not as gifted with my action as he was,” he said.A video presentation of some of the highlights of his career was shown during the evening and inevitably resulted in questions to him about some of the notable moments. He recalled the occasion in 2000 when hitting Australian fast bowler Brett Lee out of the Basin Reserve in the second Test of the series.The Australians had been getting frustrated with the way New Zealand were batting when Lee bowled a short ball to Cairns which he swung at, although his eyes were closed when he connected with the ball, which he hooked over fine leg and into the gardens outside the ground.”I walked down the pitch and Flem [Stephen Fleming] said to me ‘What have you done?’ and I said ‘I just wanted to have a whack at it.’ Flem described it as ‘a moment of clarity.'”Cairns did say that managing to get Australia’s leg-spinning maestro Shane Warne away at times during the last few years had been satisfying.”Warnie made me look so stupid during the first part of my career.”For me to have played alongside a bloke like that was a privilege. I remember at one stage during the Test in Hamilton I took a single with a hit to long off and as I ran by him I heard Warnie say: ‘Thank God for that’, and that was one of the highlights of my career to hear that he was pleased I was down the other end, because so often I had been trying to get down to get away from him in the past.”Asked who were some of the hardest bowlers to hit, Cairns said Sri Lanka’s Muttiah Muralitharan was ‘quite hard’ to hit, as were bowlers who didn’t put any pace on the ball.Among the speakers at the function were his New Zealand team-mates Chris Harris, Nathan Astle and Craig McMillan who poked fun at Cairns over some of their experiences with him during their careers.Others to speak were former New Zealand captain Martin Crowe and former chief executive of New Zealand Cricket Christopher Doig.Crowe recalled the morning of Cairns’ first Test, against Australia at Perth in 1989, when he travelled down in the hotel lift with Cairns.”He was white with fear, a broken man, he was too young at 19 and suffered a stress fracture to his back in that game.”But I also remember when he came back and took a six-for against England and then he went through the most hopeless cricket regime I’ve ever seen in 1995/96.”It took an Aussie, finally, after seven years to sort him out,” he said.Steve Rixon had told Cairns to go out and express himself and as a result for the last five years he had blessed New Zealand with his skill and had made commentary for Crowe a great joy.Crowe said that Cairns’ feats with bat and ball put him in a statistical club whose only other members were Keith Miller, Gary Sobers, Ian Botham and Imran Khan.Doig said it was fair to say that there was nobody who had given him more pleasure, nor greater concern, than Cairns.But there had been no doubt that the “Black Caps walked a little taller, played with greater self-respect when a fully-fit, focused and fizzing Chris Cairns walked onto the paddock with them.”Doig said when a fully-fit Dion Nash was also available the pair were formidable, bringing out the best in their respective games.”It was one of the great tragedies that it was so infrequently that they played together.”Chris had a fierce individual determination to carve out his niche in New Zealand cricket. He was passionate about doing well, and New Zealand cricket doing well,” he said.There were times when his frustrations would boil over and end up inappropriately in the media but he had grown to understand the processes needed to advance his own, and New Zealand’s game.”He emerged from the shadow of his father [Lance] and was the greatest all-rounder in cricket today,” Doig said and it was with huge satisfaction that Cairns had matured into an outstanding individual in his own right.