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David Graveney, the England chairman of selectors, has defended Duncan Fletcher, the England coach, following England’s defeat at Adelaide last week while dismissing rumours of a rift between the captain and coach.”I’m disappointed with the amount of criticism that’s been aimed at Duncan [Fletcher] solely,” Graveney told BBC Radio Five Live. “The way that we’ve organised English cricket is around collective responsibility, when things go badly, that’s a collective responsibility.”Fletcher was quick to defend himself last week, laying the blame firmly on the shoulders of his batsmen and not the negative non-selection of Monty Panesar. Reports speculated that the captain, Andrew Flintoff, and coach were at loggerheads over Panesar but Graveney insisted the selection committee comprises more than just Fletcher.”The selectors, Duncan, Geoff Miller and I, deliver a squad to the coach Duncan and captain Andrew Flintoff. No-one makes a decision on their own. The process has been in place of many tours before, on which we’ve had a lot of success.”In the first Test, regrettably our seam bowling was not on the money at all, and in the second one we had a mad hour with the bat,” he said. “We’ve got great resolve in this team – we’ve had some success, but we now everyone has to pull together.”We just had a mad hour with the bat and succumbed to the pressure applied by the number one ranked team in the world,” he added. “Perhaps there is the possibility of playing with two spinners in Perth as the wicket is now slow instead of being the quickest in the world.”England drew their tour match with Western Australia today and there were encouraging signs of form from the batsmen, with Alastair Cook, Ed Joyce and Chris Read all making useful contributions. Michael Vaughan, however, did not bat, compounding the confusion of his involvement with the squad.”Our target is for Michael to be available for one day games,” Graveney said. “I know he has fielded all day and did not suffer from a reaction in his knee. But it is unlikely he will feature in these Test matches.”The third Test at Perth begins on Thursday.

ScorecardSanath Jayasuriya’s preparation for the CB Series took a severe blow when he was forced to retire hurt after being hit on the jaw during the Sri Lankans’ defeat by Tasmania. Jayasuriya, who was struck when trying to pull a Tim MacDonald bouncer in the eighth over, left the field for six stitches and later went for an x-ray, which cleared him of a fracture.Brendan Drew also hurt the visitors with 5 for 36 from ten overs and they could only reach 9 for 183 in 47.4 overs. Drew, the right arm swing bowler, was impressive, removing Upul Tharanga (24), Kumar Sangakkara (0) and Chamara Silva (5) in his first spell before coming back for the crucial wickets of Chamara Kapugedera and Farveez Maharoof.The pair had put on 46 when Kapugedera fell swiping straight for 34 and Maharoof went in a similar fashion in the next over for 29. Tasmania continued to exert pressure through the left-arm spin of Xavier Doherty, who collected 2 for 36 off ten.The highlight for the tourists was the form of the captain Mahela Jayawardene and he stayed for 59 balls in making a brisk 51. However, his bowlers were quickly in trouble as Tasmania eased to their target in the 37th over.Tim Paine opened with a half-century and Michael Dighton (45) and Dane Anderson (47 not out) also picked up control of the chase. Nuwan Kulasekara was the most penetrative, removing both openers, but the tourists have some concerns ahead of their first CB Series game against India in Brisbane on Tuesday.

Shivnarine Chanderpaul might have picked up a host of honours at the West Indies Players’ Association awards but in doing so he infuriated both his own team and his opponents in their ongoing Carib Beer Series match. Chanderpaul was unbeaten on 78 at stumps on the first day of Guyana’s home game against Windward Islands when he departed for the awards ceremony in Trinidad.However, neither Guyana’s manager Carl Moore nor their coach Albert Smith was able to explain Chanderpaul’s absence and he was deemed “retired out”. Smith said it was disappointing the batsman had not discussed the situation with the team’s management.”He is our most dependable batsman and has done so much for West Indiescricket as a top-class batsman,” Smith told . “But if he knew he was just using this game for some practice and would then leave the guys he should have at least informed me as the coach and maybe allowed one of the youngsters to play.”The situation so incensed the Windward Islands that when they started their innings after lunch they refused to let Guyana use a substitute fielder. The Windward Islands manager Lockhart Sebastien was furious at the seemingly blasé attitude to a first-class game.”This is not a curry goat match,” Sebastien said. “This is a first-class encounter and things like this are allowed to happen and we wonder why West Indies cricket is in the state that it is in.”Chanderpaul told Devon [Smith] yesterday [Saturday] that he was here just to take a knock but we assumed he was joking. If he knew he had to leave then he should not have played and given one of the other youngsters a chance.”

ScorecardFile photo: Udara Jayasundera made a painstaking 63 off 153 balls for the Sri Lankans•WICB Media

The Sri Lankans’ bowlers let the NZC President’s XI’s eighth-wicket partnership plunder 124 runs, but batted marginally better than in the first innings to secure a draw in the three-day warm up game in Queenstown. The hosts took a 206-run lead before declaring and the Sri Lankans then moved to 226 for 6 by stumps.A 153-ball 63 from opener Udara Jayasundera led the Sri Lankans’ innings, and heightened his chances of a debut in the first Test against New Zealand next Thursday. He struck up a 108-run partnership with Kithuruwan Vithanage, who hit 61 off 109 himself. Angelo Mathews made an unbeaten 54, while Dinesh Chandimal collected 29. Kusal Perera and Kusal Mendis were dismissed for low scores for the second time in the match.The President’s XI bowlers shared the six wickets between them, Neil Wagner taking 1 for 31. Seamer James Baker picked up the innings’ best figures of 2 for 21.Earlier in the day, the Presidents’ XI’s resumed on 288 for 7, before hitting 111 runs in the next 15.3 overs. No. 9 batsman Tim Johnston hit 62 from 74 balls while Shawn Hicks finished with 79 not out from 85 deliveries. Sri Lanka lent their opposition a hand with 44 extras, including 21 no-balls. Dushmantha Chameera claimed his fourth wicket of the innings to end that eighth-wicket partnership and invite the declaration.

Ricky Ponting has urged the ICC to reconsider the new rule that forces a ball change after the 34th over in ODIs. Ponting believes the early change gives the batsmen too much assistance and replacing the ball later in the innings would be more sensible.”It’s a very big advantage for the batting team to get a new, harder ball that early in the innings,” Ponting told . “They should try this rule somewhere else before trying at the international level because some day something like this is going to cost a team a game and that could well be the difference in a series.”It’s unfair on a team that does everything right. I think the commonsense [solution] would be to change the ball after the 41st over.” Earlier this series Ponting called the mandatory change “fine” but criticised the umpires’ decision to switch balls in the 28th over of India’s run chase at Hyderabad and again at the pre-determined point seven overs later.Brett Lee believes the new rule makes the already difficult task for bowlers in ODIs even tougher. “The newer balls we’ve been using have been pretty shiny and still have the Kookaburra writing on them,” Lee said. “It makes it harder for the bowlers because you’re trying to work with a ball that is as old as possible and you come on at the 34th over and you’re bowling with a new ball again.”Tim Nielsen, the Australia coach, said run-rates were escalating after the balls were switched. “We’ve been going on at four or five an over and it’s got up to seven or eight a couple of times,” Nielsen said. “The different ball is harder and comes on to the bat better.”

Sridharan Sriram stroked his way to an unbeaten 92 as Tamil Nadu madea confident start, scoring 153 for one wicket off 47 overs at close ofplay on the first day of their South Zone Ranji Trophy league matchagainst Andhra at the Guru Nanak college ground in Chennai onWednesday.Morning showers delayed the start of play but good work by the groundstaff saw the game start at 1.15 pm after a delay of 185 minutes.Winning the toss, Tamil Nadu were served well by openers Sriram andRajat Bhatia (21) who put on 62 runs off 20 overs. Bhatia was thencaught by Madhukar at mid off off Ranganath. His fall brought two lefthanders and India players Sriram and Hemang Badani together and thetwo proceeded to accelerate the scoring rate. Off 27 overs, the twoadded 91 runs for the unbroken second wicket when stumps were drawn.Play was extended by 60 minutes and 58 overs were to be bowled on thetruncated day. But bad light lopped off 11 overs towards the end.Sriram was the more aggressive of the two batsmen. He had announcedhis intentions early when he hit medium pacer Shahbuddin over squareleg for a rousing six. His purple patch came when he clouted offspinner H Vatekar for 17 runs off five successive balls (42461). Byclose, he had faced 154 balls and hit six fours and two sixes. Badani,who was composed during his innings of 33, faced 80 balls and hit twoof them to the ropes.

Pakistani players and dignitaries attended a memorial service in Lahore for Bob Woolmer on Sunday.Captain Inzamam-ul-Haq led a contingent of seven players among the 400 mourners at the 100-year-old Sacred Heart Church in Lahore while officials lit candles and laid floral wreaths at a portrait of the late coach.Inzamam, accompanied by team-mates Salman Butt, Imran Nazir, Shoaib Malik, Mohammed Asif, Mohammed Hafeez and Kamran Akmal, said Woolmer was an “excellent coach and above all things was an excellent human being.””After Woolmer’s family, the Pakistan team was the most aggrieved by his death,” AFP quoted Inzamam as saying during the hour-long service.Archbishop of Lahore Reverend Lawrence Saldanha said Woolmer was like a “second father” to his players. “We pay tribute to his excellent qualities. He was known for his passionate interest in cricket. We salute him for his professional competency, as well as his sense of responsibility and commitment,” Saldanha said. “He was also a kind and gentle person who won the hearts of his players who looked up to him as a second father.”Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Nasim Ashraf described Woolmer’s death “a terrible tragedy” and said that he was a “rock of stability” who lived for cricket and loved the sport. “He was internationally known and was the first modern coach of cricket. The world will follow his method and teachings.”He remembered Woolmer as a man of simple tastes, choosing to live in a room at the National Cricket Academy rather than a five-star hotel, who developed a taste for Pakistani food and movies and understood some Urdu. “He would go to food street (a restaurant area of Lahore) and watch Pakistani movies and he once told me that the boys do not know that I understand half of their jokes.”Ashraf lit candles and along with Punjab governor Khalid Maqbool laid wreaths on behalf of President Pervez Musharraf around Woolmer’s portrait, which was decorated with red roses and yellow marigold. “Muslims and Christian citizens gathered here at the Sacred Heart Church over the sorrowful death of coach Bob Woolmer and all prayed for the departed soul,” Maqbool said. “Defeat and victory is part of the game. The disappointment of Pakistani cricket team is just for the time being. It will soon emerge as as one of the greatest cricket teams of the world.”Experts from Britain’s Scotland Yard and a couple of senior Pakistani police officers are assisting the Jamaican police in investigating Woolmer’s murder.

On the same day that Cricinfo reports of the chaos inside Nairobi’s largest and most influential province – the Nairobi Provincial Cricket Association – it emerges that one side – Swamibapa – has threatened to pull out of the NPCA’s Super League.Swamibapa are reported to be considering the action after being docked 80 points by NPCA officials for not fulfilling their fixtures. The club maintains that it did not do so because seven of their players – including national captain Steve Tikolo – were on international duty at the ICC World Twenty20 in South Africa.The club felt aggrieved with the league’s decision as they had written to the NCPA fixtures secretary, Miq Assaria, requesting the postponement of their matches since they could not raise a team.”We have been penalised 80 points so far and it would not make much difference to us if we play the remaining matches or not because there is no way we are going to recover,” Peter Ongondo, one of the seven and Swamibapa’s captain, told The Nation.The newspaper reported that senior NPCA officials, including acting chairman Sukhbans Singh, claimed to be unaware of the matter. Sadly, this is a typical response from those running the NPCA, and Cricinfo’s attempts to find out what is happening within the NPCA have been equally fruitless.The NPCA Super League appears to be a two-horse race between Kanbis, the defending champions who are on 149 points, and Stray Lions one point behind. Swamibapa are fourth with 68 points.

Australia will use a target that only one team has bettered to inspire them as they attempt to create a world record of 17 consecutive wins. Despite being outplayed by India for the second day in a row, the home side have not ruled out a surge for victory even though they will resume wanting a further 348.Only West Indies, who stormed to 7 for 418 against Australia in 2003, have captured more than the 413 Australia need, but coach Tim Nielsen does not believe it is out of reach. “In the back of their minds they think this will be a pretty special thing to do,” he said. “That tends to fire them up a little bit and get them enthusiastic.”Many great moments have occurred under Ponting during the unbeaten streak, which stretches back to 2005, but one thing missing is a huge fourth-innings pursuit. It would be a remarkable way to collect the new mark – an India win is the most likely result – and Australia’s task was made even harder when both openers were lost as they reached 65 by stumps.Nielsen was not concerned by the early losses and his outlook was boosted when Ponting (24) and Hussey (5) made it through unharmed. “One way or another, if we play well enough, we’ll give ourselves the chance to chase down a really big total and get the record we’re looking for,” he said. “It’s an achievable result for us and we feel as though we’ve got the quality of batsmen and pretty good conditions on our side.”Despite his optimism, Nielsen knows the final two days will not be easy and the team is desperate for a couple of big hundreds from the top order to secure a stable base. “Ricky and Michael will be vital in that regard to set it up for us,” he said. “The good thing is the wicket’s still in pretty good shape, the outfield’s fast and we’ve seen that when batsmen get in they find it easier to score.”Nielsen said the side was still suffering from being dismissed for a below-par 212 in the first innings and the problems were not caused by a lack of group impact from the pace brigade. He also insisted the players remained upbeat. “We knocked a few runs off the total tonight,” he said, “and there’s still a positive mood around the rooms.”

South Africa’s coach Mickey Arthur played down concerns that the team will be under-prepared for the Test series against India, which they go into without any practice games.A scheduled warm-up game against India A was cancelled but Arthur said South Africa’s tours of Pakistan and Bangladesh in the last six months have given them enough experience of subcontinental conditions. “There have been a lot of noises about not playing a warm-up match, but we’ve been in the subcontinent a huge amount lately and the guys are sound in terms of the different techniques required,” he told .”Warm-up games tend to be good for the first day and a half, and then the intensity wanes,” he said. “We believe we can replicate a warm-up game quite easily with some intensive centre practices.”Coming home (after the successful Bangladesh tour which ended on March 14) has allowed the team to be refreshed and re-energised, and we thought it was the best way to re-focus on getting back into the swing of things. We know it will be hard work, but it’s a mental shift more than anything else.”After a week which saw Charl Langeveldt pull out of the India tour saying he did not want to be included on the basis of his colour, South Africa’s captain Graeme Smith admitted the team had been affected by the selection controversy. “The evidence of this week shows that the off-field stuff does have an effect on the team,” Smith said. “There are a few things we need to work through, they can’t be left undealt with. We need to find a way to deal with these issues so we can concentrate on the cricket.”The first Test of the three-match series starts in Chennai on Wednesday.