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It has taken Shane Watson eight years and dozens of medical appointments to reach his hundredth one-day international but he made sure the moment was extra memorable with a Man-of-the-Match performance in Australia’s crushing defeat of West Indies. Watson’s 59 helped Australia set up an imposing target of 257, before he took a wicket and a catch as the 113-run win was sealed.”It’s a really special moment to be able to get 100 games,” Watson said. “It’s something that seemed a long, long way off the last couple of years. To be able to play 100 games and then contribute the way I did today is always nice as well.”The victory continued Australia’s unbeaten run this summer, having succeeded in every match against Pakistan. Their only blemish was the drawn Adelaide Test against West Indies and with four ODIs and two Twenty20s remaining against Chris Gayle’s men, their sights are firmly set on an undefeated home season.”Of course [it’s on our minds],” Watson said. “It was at the start of the summer as well from the Test matches, Ricky talked to us about it at the start of the summer to really do everything we possibly can to go through winning every single game. Unfortunately we weren’t able to do that in the Adelaide Test but throughout the rest of the Tests and one-dayers we’ve played some really good cricket.”Australia’s clinical effort has given West Indies a serious challenge to level the series in Adelaide on Tuesday but the performance of Kieron Pollard was one positive for West Indies. Pollard’s career-best 3 for 45 was instrumental in stopping Australia push on towards 300 and then he top scored with 31 in the chase.Pollard came in with the score at 4 for 44 and together with Lendl Simmons, tried to revive West Indies’ hopes of victory. He holed out to long-on off Nathan Hauritz but Gayle said he had been impressed with the maturity shown by Pollard, 22, who thrived during his stay with South Australia in the Big Bash.”The last couple of days I’ve seen Pollard he looked a different sort of player,” Gayle said. “He looks a more confident players going into these games. I’m happy with his performance but disappointed the way he got out. That was a crucial wicket for us. He was the one guy who was looking to give us the best chance to take us home there.”I think [he has matured], definitely. He seemed a bit more calm to me, the way he went about his batting his selection was spot on. We lost him at a crucial time but I’m sure he’ll get better, no doubt about it. He’s definitely a good prospect to have in the team.”Despite the quick turnaround, Gayle was confident his men could bounce back in Adelaide. They are still searching for their first ODI victory against Australia since 2006.”Not the sort of start we wanted in this ODI series,” Gayle said. “The damage already done so it’s back to square one. We’re looking forward to Adelaide now so hopefully we can square the series and get back in the series as quickly as possible.”

South Africa have no choice but to go for broke in the final Test against England as they aim to level the series at the Wanderers, and their coach Mickey Arthur has admitted it’s a time for gambling and aggression. It makes for a potent mix and promises a fascinating contest on a surface that the home side are determined to make sure will provide a result.Arthur has had conversations with Chris Scott, the Wanderers groundsman, and the teams are likely to be greeted with a heavily grassed pitch on Thursday morning. It’s a move that could well backfire, but South Africa are taking the approach that they may as well lose 2-0 in an attempt to level the contest. It’s an unfamiliar, but desperately needed, attitude from a normally conservative team.”We might gamble a little on the wicket, we’ll just see what the weather brings,” Arthur said. “It’s a gamble you take. The England seamers have bowled very well, but if you are looking for a result it’s a gamble you have to take down the line. Even though you look for a grassy wicket it won’t be a major green mamba out there. It will allow the batters to get stuck in.”We have had a meeting, that’s no secret, and we’ll have a look how it pans out. I always say you can take grass off but you can’t put it back on. We’ll probably make our final shout on Wednesday in terms of what we need once we know the weather forecast. We’ve got to go for it, we don’t have an option.”However, it will take a huge effort for the South Africans to lift themselves after the gut-wrenching disappointment of pulling up one wicket short of victory at Newlands – the second time that last-man Graham Onions had defied them in the series.”Hats off to Onions, is he Man of the Series?” Arthur said with a wry smile. “He has thwarted us, and who would have thought England could have done it three times in eight Tests. It probably shows the resilience of this new England side under Andy Flower and Andrew Strauss.”In a surprisingly open assessment, Arthur admitted the dressing room had been shattered by not completing victory at Cape Town and that the contrast with the joyous scenes in the England camp had hit home.

Arthur denies ‘malicious’ intent

Mickey Arthur has said South Africa were satisfied with the umpire’s and match referee’s decision not to take the home side’s issues over the state of the ball any further in Cape Town. South Africa ‘raised concerns’ on the third day after Stuart Broad was shown standing on the ball, but declined to make the complaint official and Andrew Strauss called the move ‘malicious’.

“I certainly don’t think it was malicious at all,” Arthur said. “If it was malicious we would have laid the complaint as ICC asked us to do. We didn’t want to get involved in all of that.

“We felt it was up to the umpires and referee to make a decision and if they were comfortable with it then so were we. We did raise our concerns and once they were cleared up that was it.”

However, Arthur does think that England will be careful how they handle the ball during the final Test. “I think they’d be very stupid if TV cameras caught them doing anything,’ he said. ‘I don’t think Broady is going to be trapping the ball again.”

“It almost felt as if England had won and we were deflated,” he said. “You carry that edge into the next Test. It was the same in Cardiff [during the Ashes] as they put in a great performance at Lord’s. I walked through to thank Andy Flower and happened to end up in the England dressing room as the players arrived.”The celebrations, rightly so, were as though they’d won. It was bit deflating to come back to our changing room – even though we’d had the better of the Test – and it felt as though we’d lost. I think we’ve got better and better as the series has gone on. I know the boys are smarting and will want to get a result.”The first challenge, though, is to finalise a team that gives South Africa the best chance of winning the Test. They have a number of issues to confront, from the balance of the attack to the form of key members in the top order. Arthur confirmed that Friedel de Wet will be out of action for the foreseeable future with a serious back injury so Wayne Parnell is likely to make his debut, but he didn’t rule out an all-seam attack which would also mean a debut for Ryan McLaren, at the expense of the under-pressure Paul Harris.However, changes to the top-order are unlikely despite Ashwell Prince’s lean series while JP Duminy’s offspin has given him an extra role in the team which could be an additional factor in persuading South Africa to leave out Harris. “I don’t like going in without a spinner and I think Harry has done a tremendous job,” Arthur said. “A spinner in Test cricket is vital, but if conditions offer it perhaps we could look at it.”There is still a sense of disbelief among the home team that they enter this final Test trailing in the series and if South Africa don’t rescue a share of the spoils it will leave a number of people nervous about their positions, not least Arthur himself.”There’s always pressure,” Arthur said. “In any Test there is pressure and I’d lying if I said we didn’t feel it. We have to be able to handle that, it’s nothing new to us, we’ve been here before. We’ve played very good cricket and I think good enough for the series to be 1-1. I won’t say 2-1 because England have been very good too at times. Other than a day-and-a-half in Durban we have played very good cricket so hopefully we can pull out the stops here.”

The chances of England’s women beating Australia’s Southern Stars are, if anything, less than England men’s of beating Steve Waugh’s Australia.However, for a few overs at Lincoln No 3 today in the World Series of Women’s Cricket, England’s Australian coach John Harmer thought his side had an opportunity, with Australia 22 for two wickets and Karen Rolton back in the pavilion, bowled by Clare Taylor for four.It wasn’t meant to be for England, though, as they ended up on the wrong end of a 106-run hiding at the hands of their old foes.”When we had them two down that was a nice chance to go on with the game, but it wasn’t the way it worked out. We just had a lesson in how to play steady cricket.”We’ve been up and down really. We need more improvement really. I don’t know where it’s going to come from, but the batters are the ones who’ve got to do it. There’s five batters in the team and someone’s got to make a score,” he said.No England batsman has made a half century in the tournament, and Clare Connor’s 29 was England’s best out of a dismal total of 120 on a perfect summer day today.Most spectators opted to watch New Zealand play India on the neighbouring Bert Sutcliffe Oval, missing Australia’s experienced duo of Belinda Clark and Cathryn Fitzpatrick showing their unwavering class by wrecking some of England’s younger players’ promising efforts.Clark, Australia’s most capped woman, found form after scoring less than 50 runs per 100 balls during innings of six, 23 and 35 in Australia’s three comfortable wins last week, which confirmed her team as clear tournament favourite.”We were in a bit of trouble early with the bat, but we fought back well and I knew that we would be able to recover if we could just hold the flow of wickets falling,” she said.”I knew we were capable of bowling and fielding that well, so I wasn’t overly concerned.”Clark hit 81 off 107 deliveries in Australia’s total of 226 for eight wickets, forcing the pace against England left-armer Lucy Pearson by pulling her shorter balls for five of her eight boundaries. She extended her record to 26 One-Day International half centuries after 71 balls and 82 minutes.”I haven’t hit the ball that well, but today I hit it a bit better. Cricket’s like that, one day you can be hitting it well and the next day not, so I was happy with how I did today,” she saidFitzpatrick pushed her ODI wicket-taking record to 103, 16 ahead of England’s evergreen Taylor, who took one for 26 today.Despite another world-beater, Rolton, failing for the first time in the tournament, Melanie Jones (37) and Julie Hayes (an ODI best 44) took up the slack for Australia.Some deliveries kept low and England’s slower bowlers capitalised, particularly Sarah Collyer (two for 31) and Laura Harper (one for 29).The umpires submitted a verbal report to groundsman Karl Johnson about the up and down, worn Lincoln No 3 wicket, which never let batsmen play strokes with freedom.England opener Arran Thompson showed a little form with four boundaries, but Kris Britt (four for 16), whom Australia selected as a batsman, took two wickets with her leg spin in consecutive balls, including Collyer, who had taken two in two for England earlier. England were then 45 for six wickets and never recovered.They were Britt’s first international wickets and showed the 19-year-old’s potential in a team where the thirty-somethings prospered today.Australia meet India on Tuesday and New Zealand on Waitangi Day. Clark said Lisa Sthalekar will return to the team for that match, but “all in all we’re pretty happy with where we’re at.”As for New Zealand, she said, “they’re always tough, and we’ll back up again and play them in the final as well. We’ve still got a lot of cricket ahead of us.”England play New Zealand tomorrow and India on Thursday.Harmer said: “We’ve got to get away with a win somewhere along the line and we’ve only got two games to do that. We’ve got to restock ourselves tonight.”

After bowling Pakistan out for 239, New Zealand faced the daunting task of chasing down the fourth highest fourth-innings score with two days remaining in Wellington. But their captain, Daniel Vettori, despite another top-order collapse, had his sights trained on a series-clinching win.”I think you have to,” he said. “That’s what our bowling performance has allowed us to do. To restrict them to that score was a fantastic effort from the seamers. It was a wonderful day’s cricket for us, with the ball, and now we’ve got a partnership going so we’ve got to make sure that works tomorrow. It’s a great deck too, so that’s a positive.”Four wickets apiece for Chris Martin and Iain O’Brien, who today announced his retirement, helped wrestle New Zealand back in the game. Pakistan were at one stage 197 for 3 but ended up on 239.Winning will not be easy, especially against an attack in form. Apart from Ross Taylor, batting on 15 at the close, New Zealand’s middle order has failed to cope with Pakistan’s attack. Most worrying was the batting performance in the first innings of this Test, when nobody stepped up against Umar Gul and Danish Kaneria. Yet Vettori was optimistic, especially given how Taylor and Peter Fulton batted 16.3 overs before stumps.”There are no illusions,” he said. “It’s [a win] a long ways away and we just have to believe. Each individual is different in where they’re at with their games but to come off tonight, having that partnership going, puts us in a lot better space than we were last night.”

West Indies 5 for 134 trail Australia 8 for 480 dec (Katich 92, North 79, Hussey 66, Ponting 55, Hauritz 50*, Bravo 3-118) by 346 runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were outMarcus North guided Australia with a cautious 79•Getty Images

Chris Gayle flickered but the West Indies’ spark was on the verge of being extinguished as the Australians started to run away with the first Test. On a two-paced second day the hosts worked solemnly to arrive at 8 for 480 until the declaration half an hour before tea, when the match took off, and after an eventful afternoon the limping visitors were 5 for 134.West Indies began their reply in stunning fashion when Gayle exploded in the six overs ahead of the break, but the hope of a sustained fight evaporated in a frenetic hour when the visitors lost four wickets. Travis Dowlin, who is playing his third Test, was the man in charge of the recovery with 40 and needs a couple of days’ worth of help to delay the hosts.Gayle arrived in Brisbane from Jamaica the day before the game and accelerated like a plane on the runway as he blasted Ben Hilfenhaus for three early fours in front of point. After the easy pace of the Australians, Gayle held the crowd’s interest and was such a worry for Ricky Ponting that he removed a third slip and put a man on the boundary instead.The concern didn’t last long for Ponting and Gayle’s departure on 31 to an obvious lbw – he was hit on the back pad by Hilfenhaus but resisted by calling for an unnecessary review – started a horrible period for West Indies. Adrian Barath, the 19-year-old debutant, had been caught behind off a no-ball and moved to 15 when he drove at Mitchell Johnson and was taken by Shane Watson at second slip.Touring batsmen always struggle with the extra bounce on offer at the Gabba and the slips cordon was expecting a lot of work. Dowlin was 7 when he gave Ponting a chance that the captain spilled at second slip. He was so annoyed he sat on the ground reliving the drop. Australia are playing their first Test since the Ashes defeat and Ponting is desperate to avoid the types of donations that boosted England.Dowlin held on to stumps with Denesh Ramdin, who was 20, but there were enough wickets falling at the other end to cheer up Ponting. While Gayle scares the Australians, Shivnarine Chanderpaul has been a major obstacle with his long-lasting innings against them, but he didn’t stay long before going lbw to Peter Siddle. Like Gayle, he called for the third umpire and both of West Indies’ challenges had been used up by the 15th over.Watson scooped his second edge to send back Dwayne Bravo for 0 after he was given out by the replays, this time for an umpire’s referral. Asad Rauf’s raised finger left the visitors in severe trouble at 4 for 63 and gave Johnson his second breakthrough. At this point the Australians were feeling as comfortable as they have here since their last defeat at the ground in 1988-89.Brendan Nash, on his return to his old home ground, counter-attacked with a couple of cuts and pushes off the back foot, which looked attractive but soon led to his downfall. Watson gained some extra bounce at the end of his five-over spell and Nash leaned back to cut, edging to Brad Haddin.Australia’s batsmen had stuck to a cautious method as they resumed at 5 for 322 and built on their total through half-centuries to Marcus North and Nathan Hauritz. North was patient throughout his display and was annoyed when he lapsed against the tireless Bravo, who led the attack in Jerome Taylor’s absence with a hip injury and collected 3 for 118. What West Indies didn’t need after picking up Haddin (38) and Mitchell Johnson (7) in the first session was Hauritz to produce his maiden fifty.While North was careful in his 79 off 157 balls, Hauritz was happy to play his shots and peaked with a couple of pulls in an over from Bravo. Hauritz, who was dropped on 5, is appearing in his first game at the Gabba since he was a Queensland representative and his 50 not out gave him a boost on a ground that hasn’t been friendly to his offspin.North was happy to nudge, leave and defend, and perked up with a crunching straight drive off Kemar Roach for four in the same over he was struck on the arm by a nasty short ball. It was hard work for North, who added 27 in the first session and was hit again on the arm by Bravo after lunch. He swung his bat in frustration at being tricked into following a wider ball from Bravo and Ramdin took a smart catch lunging to his left.The under-manned attack forced North into his cautious mode but there were not too many highlights for the bowlers over the first two days. While Roach remained slippery throughout, Ravi Rampaul picked up his first Test wicket and Sulieman Benn was tidy, the hosts still proceeded to an intimidating total. Already it is the tourists’ game to save.

Opener Scott Newman has switched over to Middlesex after being released by Surrey a year ahead of the expiry of his contract by mutual consent. His Middlesex move comes after a nine-year spell at Surrey, where he began his professional career in 2002.Newman, 29, played 90 of his 100 first-class matches for Surrey, scoring 6404 runs at 42.69 with 14 centuries. Among the highlights of his Surrey stay was a Championship match against Glamorgan in 2005, when he become the county’s first batsman to make a century and a double-century in the same game.Middlesex have offered a three-year deal to Newman as they look to bolster an inexperienced batting line-up. The county struggled in 2009 as their two senior batsmen – Andrew Strauss and Owais Shah – were busy with international commitments for much of the season.”In Scott Newman, Middlesex have secured the services of a well-respected and vastly experienced county professional,” Vinny Codrington, the Middlesex chief executive, said. “He … is the type of player that would have made a huge difference for us last season. We’re … looking forward to him adding some invaluable experience and seniority to the top of our batting line-up.”Newman was thrilled at joining Middlesex after a tough season, the second half of which he spent on loan at Nottinghamshire. “I am delighted to have signed a permanent contract with Middlesex, which will see me playing cricket here for at least the next three seasons,” he said. “I am relishing the opportunity of establishing my place within the Middlesex side and to playing some regular first-team cricket.”

Two contrasting men led Rest of India’s revival with some lovely exhibition of seam bowling. If Sreesanth, of late, is trying to avoid getting into a hyper-aggressive state and tries to remain calm and focused on his craft, Munaf Patel, who is generally laid-back, seems to bowl better when he gets more aggressive. Both hit the right notes today in slightly overcast conditions to turn out impressive performances on what still is a decent batting pitch.Watching Sreesanth bowl is a fascinating experience. You know what he is capable of in his bowling art – that proud seam and the rest of it – but you also know that he is prone to self-destruction. The entire package is so sizzling that you can never turn your eyes off him when he is on the field.The day started with that familiar sinking feeling as Sreesanth featured in a newspaper supplement talking about his ambition of acting and his thoughts on marriage. On the ground, though, Sreesanth the bowler turned out in full force.Right from the start, he was switched on. With Sreesanth, as always, you don’t only notice his bowling but the entire package of quirky traits. Today, those signature self-exhortations at the top of the run-up were not seen too often, nor was there any special celebration on claiming a wicket. Not that there is anything wrong in either trait, but of late, he has been waging a battle within himself to avoid anything that could be seen as evidence against his attitude.And he didn’t offer any room for criticism of his bowling either. He judged the pitch correctly and knew that full-length was the way to go on this surface. The seam rushed on straight and landed on a good length before cutting either way as the flick of the wrist at the release had wanted it. Sahil Kukreja couldn’t pick him yesterday and his harassment increased today before Sreesanth terminated his misery with a peach that cut in to hit the top of the off stump.He returned in the afternoon to lead Rest of India’s revival with yet another probing spell. He later said that after his stint under Allan Donald for Warwickshire, he has tried to concentrate on his own bowling rather than on what the batsman is doing. There were just a couple of occasions when the old fiery Sreesanth threatened to crack open the lid of self-control.The first came when the umpire denied a plausible lbw appeal against Ramesh Powar. He stared at the umpire, turned and looked at the batsman, then to his fielders and then back again at the umpire. He slowly trudged back and stood at the umpire’s position and had a look down the track as if he was trying to gauge the umpire’s field of vision as he played back the ball in his mind. It was pure drama. The holiday crowd roared at the sight of the old Sreesanth. They had tried baiting him at the boundary the whole day but he remained stoic – on only a couple of occasions did he indulge them with a wave and a disarming smile.Munaf Patel was so sure of his control that at one point he even placed a seven-two off-side field and bowled to it•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

The second occasion came immediately after that lbw shout, when he hurled a couple of bouncers at Powar, who was trying to upset Sreesanth’s length and composure by walking down the track. After one such delivery left alone by Powar, who suggested later he should have upper cut it, he walked down the track to have a few words. For couple of deliveries, he even shortened his length and bowled with wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha standing up to the stumps, but thankfully shelved the idea quickly. He later played it down saying it was a just a friendly encounter with his IPL team-mate and he was in control of his emotions. For the main part, though, there was no side drama: just good old classical seam bowling.A short while before his chats with the umpire and Powar, Sreesanth had drawn Wasim Jaffer forward, out of the comfort zone, and produced few mistakes but without any success. Couple of deliveries collided with the inside edge and a few rushed past the outside edge but by presenting a visual evidence of Jaffer’s weakness, Sreesanth had done his job in inspiring Munaf to up his game.Watching Munaf bowl is a not a tantalizing treat; he doesn’t make the ball swerve in intriguing parabolas but you know his performance won’t vary inconsistently like a sine curve. You know what you will get from him: steady line and length and bit of seam movement and on his good day, some extra bounce. He doesn’t possess a visually arresting art to crash into the team ahead of the other flashy contestants but when they slip up and you are looking for something steady and trusted, he presents a strong case for himself.Today, Munaf had been economical in the morning but he was bowling back of length when the pitch required him to be fuller. He upped the ante in the second with some inspired performance where he hit a fuller length and immediately began to taste success. He was much more animated post-lunch, constantly asking his acting captain S Badrinath for field changes and increased his pace too.He got one to bend back in to go through the defenses of a lunging Jaffer before getting one to hold its line outside off to remove Prashant Naik. He was on song throughout that spell. Time and again, the ball landed on a length in the off-stump channel and either moved in or straightened. He was so sure of his control that at one point he even placed a seven-two off-side field and bowled to his field.It’s a luxury that MS Dhoni doesn’t have, at this point, with the Indian bowling line-up. By bowling as well as they have done, Sreesanth, through out the day, and Munaf, in the improved afternoon performance, have sent out the right signals. And they will get another shot in the second innings. However, both would know that one game doesn’t make a summer. It’s still too early to say, though, whether they are good enough to be drafted into the national team at the expense of RP Singh and Ishant Sharma for they would have to reprise this effort spell after spell, and day after day.

ScorecardLancashire felt they had a point to prove today. The Championship match against Sussex was played on the same pitch that had been scheduled for the abandoned Twenty20 match between England and Australia the previous evening – which meant the same bowler’s run-up would be used and the damp areas on the outfield would be the same. There was a little more rain overnight and in the early morning, but play started only 15 minutes late, with patches of sawdust covering the offending areas. Neither umpires nor players seemed to have any problem with it.Lancashire decided to bat on winning the toss, but after a rain-spoiled day will wonder whether that was wise. The Sussex seamers, while not devastating, managed to extract considerable movement from the pitch and the slip cordon was on red alert throughout. Lancashire, having dropped Steve Croft from their team, were left without a regular opening partner for Paul Horton and, rather than disturb the comfort of their usual middle order, sent their wicketkeeper Luke Sutton in first.They began with justified caution, feeling their way against the opening attack of Corey Collymore, who was particularly adept in moving the ball across the right-handers, and Robin Martin-Jenkins, who was to bowl a tight eleven-over spell from the Brian Statham End, which had been condemned the previous evening. Sutton drove Martin-Jenkins straight for a classical boundary, but soon lost Horton for 6, pushing at a ball from Collymore that moved away and handing first slip a comfortable catch.Mal Loye began rather scratchily and on 7 escaped a difficult chance in the slips, off Collymore again, but then began to play with the confidence of the man in form that he is. Martin-Jenkins removed Sutton, feeling for a ball just outside off stump and edging to second slip for 17, but he had done a useful job in taking the score to 50. Dwayne Smith had by now replaced Collymore and moved the ball considerably, although occasional loose balls outside the off stump gave the batsmen some encouragement and the cover fielders some fetching to do. Unlike your usual seamer, Smith gets through his overs at commendable speed. He had the reward of VVS Laxman’s wicket, the Indian being thoroughly beaten and trapped lbw by a quick off-cutter for 6.Sussex were also welcoming back their Indian leg-spinner Piyush Chawla in place of Yasir Arafat, and he was introduced before lunch. He was not afraid to toss the ball up invitingly on occasions and displayed an interesting variety of deliveries, while the batsmen played his first few overs very carefully. Lancashire went in to lunch at 71 for 3, Loye holding the innings together with his unbeaten 38.The afternoon session always seemed doomed, as the Met Office predicted. There were two interruptions, the first after just one maiden over had been bowled, before the weather had the final say. Loye cracked a ball from Smith through the covers for four off the back foot to reach his 50, a mixture of watchfulness and aggression that took him 116 balls. But he fell for 58 to an unsightly mow that he doubtless deeply regretted, as it resulted in a simple catch sliced to backward point. The bowler was Ollie Raynor, whose second delivery it was, so the batsman had certainly not had a good look at him before playing a risky stroke.Raynor in fact tied the batsmen down in an economical spell of seven overs for only eight runs. Faf du Plessis played some handsome drives, but most of them seemed drawn magnetically to the fielders. Lancashire’s fifth wicket went down for 131 when Mark Chilton was another to fall in the slips, fishing outside off to a ball from Smith that proved to be the last of the day. The umpires at this point decided the light was too bad for play, and shortly afterwards a light rain arrived and decided the famous old Test ground was a nice place to settle down for the day.The weather forecast for the rest of the week is grim. This match may well be doomed to a draw, but in between the showers there is hope of some good cricket, and the possibility that good bowling may yet make what play there is interesting.

Scorecard
The New Zealanders took control against Sri Lanka Development XI on the second day of their opening tour match in Colombo. Four New Zealand batsmen scored fifties to help the touring team push for a possible victory on the final day.Resuming from their overnight score of 43 for 1, the New Zealanders lost Tim McIntosh early in the day, but Ross Taylor joined Daniel Flynn to construct a 109-run partnership for the third wicket. A 97-run partnership between Taylor and Jesse Ryder followed by a massive 155-run stand from the unbeaten Daniel Vettori and Brendon McCullum for the seventh wicket put the game beyond the hosts.The Sri Lankans did pull things back with three quick wickets to reduce the New Zealanders to 258 for 6 at one stage, but lost the advantage to a resolute seventh-wicket partnership.Legspinner Jeewan Mendis was the most successful bowler, picking up four crucial wickets.

The unrest in the Delhi and District Cricket Association appears to have ended with the administration convincing Virender Sehwag and other players who had protested against it to remain in Delhi cricket. Arun Jaitley, the DDCA president, said the players’ concerns were put across “in a dignified manner and were well appreciated by us”.”I hope everybody plays happily together, which they will,” Jaitley said.Jaitley’s statements came at a press conference on Tuesday, a day after he met Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir, in the presence of former India captain Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi. He spoke at length but on broad themes, without mentioning specifics or making any concrete commitments.Sehwag’s main concern with the running of Delhi cricket was with the selection process, both at Ranji and junior levels. Jaitley said they had addressed both issues. “The principle concern was that steps are required to be taken to ensure that the selection process of the teams is absolutely fair,” Jaitley said, “and, secondly, no interference of any kind in that process is acceptable or to be tolerated.”He admitted that more care was needed with the selection process at junior levels. “The effort of those who assess the performance in junior cricket has to be more,” he said. “Because people are still maturing, still developing, assessment is also difficult. In fact we would like some of our most tested and trusted selectors, if some of them can, to spend their time even on junior cricket.”Jaitley hinted at a reduction in the size of the selection committee. “Suggestions were also made about reducing the size of the selection committee. My colleagues have also discussed it, and this suggestion has also found favour with most of them – in fact all of my colleagues.”The selection at junior levels has always been a major bone of contention, with allegations that it is there that the sports committee obliges the various people that ensue that it remains in power. It has also been alleged that the sports committee, by way of favours, keeps the executive committee appeased and exercises its power unchecked. When asked why the sports committee’s recommendations were almost never overruled, Jaitley said: “I can tell you the best way to run the system is to not confront your own bodies. You have to reconcile with your bodies, you can make suggestions, and I have not found them in defiance of the executive committee. I don’t think they will be.”Jaitley also said that they were looking at the feasibility of a “cricket advisory body, comprising senior players” and he had already sought suggestions on this. “In principle there is absolutely no difficulty. But we have to explore the idea – what functions it can perform and to shortlist individuals who can fit into that role and are also willing to give some time. It’s a matter that will be required to be explored.”Sehwag had threatened last week to quit Delhi cricket if the selection process didn’t become more transparent. “There is too much interference and manipulation from the sports committee in selection committees,” Sehwag had said. “The sports committee has got too much power. There is more interference at the under-16 and under-19 levels than the Ranji Trophy. In a squad of 15, for instance, the sports committee tries to influence the selectors and slip in one or two of ‘their own’ boys.” With Sehwag many other players found voice, and Gautam Gambhir, Ishant Sharma, Ashish Nehra, Aakash Chopra and Mithun Manhas also threatened to leave.