Imran Khan has criticised South Africa’s demand to change the venues of two matches during their forthcoming tour of Pakistan. Imran, now a member of the federal parliament, said: “I see [the] South African demand [as] illogical after assurances by the Pakistan government that the team would be given highest security. The government is the best judge of the security in the country. Terrorism can take place anywhere in the world and most countries have unpredictable security, including South Africa.”The South Africans are due to tour Pakistan from September 22 until October 27, during which time they will play three one-day internationals and as many Tests. Their itinerary includes a limited-overs warm-up game, an ODI and a Test in Karachi, and another Test in Peshawar, matches which South Africa want rescheduling to other venues.A three-man delegation from the South African board will travel to Pakistan on Sunday to ascertain the security situation. The Pakistan board meanwhile, has assured that top-level security will be in place throughout the tour.Security fears have blighted cricket in Pakistan recently with teams refusing to tour the country following two suicide-bombings in Karachi in May and June last year. As a result, Pakistan were forced to play two of their home Tests against West Indies and Australia at neutral venues last year.One of those blasts, on May 8 last year, was outside the touring New Zealanders’ hotel. As a result, they packed their bags and cut the tour short by one Test. However, New Zealand are set to compensate that match by returning to Pakistan in November this year when they will play five ODIs, even though they have refused to play in Karachi.Meanwhile, Imran blamed the ICC for this whole security palaver: “The ICC has failed to play a lead role, it’s the ICC who messed up the Zimbabwe issue in the World Cup,” he said, referring to England pulling out of their group match in Harare because of security concerns.

Graeme Swann has ended speculation that he is leaving Northamptonshire by signing a new one-year contract.Swann admitted that he had received offers from other counties, but said he was keen to stay at Northants despite Kepler Wessels, the coach, questioning his attitude last season.Talking to the Swann, 23, said: “It’s nice to have all the negotiations finally sorted and I’m now looking forward to playing another season with Northants back where we belong in the first division.”I don’t think things were ever that bad between myself and Kepler. He was probably a bit frustrated with me at the time, but judging by how things went at the end of the season I think that is all in the past now and we’ve moved on.”Swann was offered a new contract at the beginning of August, but preferred to wait until now to commit. “It was more a case of wanting to finish the season first and leave all the negotiations till then," he said. “Although leaving was an option, and there was quite a bit of interest from other counties, the thought of moving was never really there. I wanted to leave it till the end of the season and not have my mind clouded with contract negotiations.”I finished the season really well and it wouldn’t be the best idea to move when we have got back into the first division and with the way we play with spinning wickets here. I want to start next year where I left off last season.”Swann also predicted big things from the two new signings, Usman Afzaal and Steffan Jones and insisted Northants have a great chance of doing more than just avoiding relegation next season.”They are both players with immense experience,” he said. “I toured with Usman with England Under-19s. He is a very good player and will do well. I don’t know so much about Steffan, but he is the kind of player that will improve the team. With the players we have already got, to add these two is a real bonus and hopefully means we will be challenging for silverware.”

These are the results of the Bowling Performance of the Year award:The winner
Shane Warne
7 for 94 v Pakistan at Colombo (first innings)
Australia won by 41 runs
This was one of Warne’s best performances in years, against the one team from the subcontinent that he has always dominated. With 7 for 94 in the first innings and 11 wickets in the match, he almost single-handedly bowled Australia to a 41-run victory, and showed again the entire range of variations that makes him perhaps the world’s most versatile bowler.The other nominees
Shoaib Akhtar
5 for 21 v Australia at Colombo (second innings)
Pakistan lost by 41 runs
If Pakistan came so close to winning this Test, it was because of Shoaib Akhtar. Australia led Pakistan by a massive 188 runs in the first innings, and were then 74 for 2, when Shoaib produced a breathtaking spell of bowling, ripping out the heart of the Australian middle order in 14 balls. Three of his victims were bowled, and two leg before, as Australia collapsed for 127. There are other fast bowlers in contemporary cricket who have been more consistent, but few have been as unstoppable as Shoaib in the short spells where everything comes together for him.Andrew Caddick
7 for 94 v Australia at Sydney (second innings)
England won by 225 runs
Unusually for a fast bowler, most of Andrew Caddick’s best performances in Test cricket have come in the second innings. This was one of the most memorable: England had lost the first four Tests of the series, but the batting finally clicked at Sydney, and Australia were set a last-innings target of 454. On a wearing pitch with uneven bounce, with novices partnering him, Caddick knifed through Australia to win the game for England.Jermaine Lawson
7 for 78 v Australia at Antigua (first innings)
West Indies won by three wickets
West Indies had toyed with a number of fast-bowling prospects in this series in the hope of finding someone to unsettle the Australian batsmen, but it was Lawson who finally met the challenge with a hostile spell. A number of his victims fell to well-directed bouncers, and he took his last four wickets in successive overs. Australia were restricted to 240, and West Indies were able to keep up with them for most of the game, till their batsmen saw them through in the end to a famous victory.Shaun Pollock
6 for 39 v England at Nottingham (second innings)
England won by 70 runs
On a wicket that was deteriorating rapidly, South Africa would have sensed they were in trouble when they conceded a lead of 83 to England in their first innings. But Pollock kept them in contention with a masterly spell of medium-fast bowling, putting the ball in exactly the right areas, hitting the seam with characteristic regularity, and letting the pitch do the rest, as England were shot out for 118.

Brian Lara: To get my first hundred against South Africa, away from home after 12 tests was very pleasing and the team needed it. The bowling was good but the pitch played very good. I struggled to get set but batting withGanga reminded me of batting with Jimmy Adams and had a very steadyinginfluence on me. Once set I am an attacking batsman and try as hard as I canto get as much as I can.When Peterson came on during the second-last over the field was all up and Iplayed every ball on its merit, the players were up and I went over the top.I did not know that 28 was a record and just did what I thought was right.Today you saw a different Brian Lara, From what I learnt from Jimmy [Adams]and Carl [Hooper] I have become a more determined player and a bettercaptain.I woke up early this morning and watched the Indians play against Australia.Australia and South Africa are teams that the rest of us want to do wellagainst and I took the impetus from Dravid, Laxman and Patel and playedtoday from their strength.Eric Simons: It was a hard day but I am really happy with the way we bowled, especially in the first and last session. It is two good teams and a good contest. On another day we could have bowled worse and come away in a better position. The Nel vs Lara contest was a good experience for the bowler bowling at one of the best batsmen in the world. He has picked up a lot of pace after some technical changes and losing some weight.

Justin Langer and Matthew Hayden went on a roaring rampage of revenge. And Murali Kartik came in for some very special attention. By the time Anil Kumble dismissed both openers, Kartik had given away 64 runs in eight overs.In the end it came unstuck, but Australia had a plan for the spinners. It involved using the sweep, and if the ball was flighted, using their feet to get to the ball. Both tactics were used to good effect. Kartik was not allowed to settle down, with 39 deliveries to the openers resulting in 57 runs. Fifty-four of those runs came in 24 balls, as the batsmen swept and used their feet to drive the spinners. Even Kumble, who later dried up the runs, had a hard time containing the openers.

Stopping the flow of runsWhile Kartik went for runs, Kumble kept his end under some semblance of control, picking up both openers, and then getting rid of Ricky Ponting and Damien Martyn. By dismissing the top two, Kumble stopped the torrent of runs that threatened India’s aspirations for victory.Australia’s openers scored 184 runs between them to lead the assault. It wasn’t the volume as much as the manner in which they collected the runs that pushed India back for a while. Runs came at a strike rate of 77.3, that’s nearly five an over. Almost 70% of these runs came in boundaries.However, after Hayden and Langer were dismissed, the next six batsmen scored 129 runs between them in 261 deliveries, at 2.9 runs an over, with the help of 16 hits to the fence. And Irfan Pathan’s late strikes, which gave the Indians access to Australia’s tail, pushed the run rate down even further.

Traditional dances, callisthenics and spectacular fireworks lit up the opening ceremony for the Under-19 World Cup in the Dhaka. A full house of around 30,000 people packed the Bangabandhu National Stadium.Sixteen countries, including the 10 Test-playing nations and six associate members of the International Cricket Council, are participating in the biennial tournament that started in 1988.Bangladeshi Prime Minister Khaleda Zia formally opened the tournament, which runs from February 15 to March 5 and will be played at six venues. “Bangladesh is now ready to host World Cup Cricket and we are committed to cricket,” she said. “I hope our youth and organisers will strive to turn this pride into success.” Ehsan Mani, the ICC’s president, and Malcolm Speed, its chief executive, also attended the ceremony.

Some 5,000 performers of Bangladesh Army, Navy, Rifles, Ansar, Shilpakala Academy and Rifles School took part in the two-hour-long opening pageantry. It also featured a march past by the 16 teams.The teams now have five days to acclimatise with warm-up matches, before the tournament opens on Sunday with hosts Bangladesh playing New Zealand at the Bangabandhu.

Close Sri Lanka 81 for 1 (Atapattu 29*, Sangakkara 16*) trail Australia 220 (Lehmann 63, Muralitharan 6-59) by 139 runs
Scorecard

Muttiah Muralitharan burst out of the blocks in the race to 500 wickets, ripping through Australia’s formidable batting order to leave Sri Lanka in pole position in the opening Test in Galle. Australia, wasting a crucial toss on a bald, sun-baked pitch, were bowled out for just 220 in 68.3 overs. Muralitharan snapped up 6 for 59, his best figures against Australia. Marvan Atapattu finished off the day with a brace of elegant cover-drives, and Kumar Sangakkara smashed Stuart MacGill for a magnificent six in the last over as Sri Lanka closed on 81 for 1 from 22 overs.It was the 40th time in his 86-match career that Murali had taken five wickets in an innings – extending his own world record – and it wiped out Shane Warne’s six-wicket lead as he extended to his career tally to 491 wickets. The chances of Murali reaching 500 in this game remain extremely remote, but Sri Lanka’s cricket board is taking no chances, speeding up the production of souvenir T-shirts and a commemorative award.Darren Lehmann, back in the side after an Achilles-tendon injury, used his experience and prowess against the spinners to hold the innings together with a battling 63. Lehmann added 72 with Damien Martyn (42) for the fourth wicket, and then 52 for the seventh with fellow returnee Warne (23), who was playing his first Test for 12 months after a drugs ban.The Australian innings, though was dominated by incendiary passages of play. First, midway through the afternoon with a small crowd tiring under a fierce sun, three wickets fell for 15 runs to bring the Martyn-Lehmann recovery to an abrupt halt. Then, straight after the tea interval, the last four wickets tumbled for just five runs in the space of 13 balls.Sri Lanka’s dream day continued as Atapattu and Sanath Jayasuriya added 53 for the first wicket. But Warne’s return to the bowling crease gave Australia something to cheer. There was no wonder-ball to relaunch his career, as eight runs were scored off his first over, but an innocuous straight one accounted for Jayasuriya (35), who missed an attempted sweep.Earlier, Sri Lanka opened the bowling with Chaminda Vaas, their only fast bowler, and Kumar Dharmasena, one of six slow men in the XI. Vaas found a smidgin of swing in his first couple of overs, but the pitch was back-breakingly slow from a fast-bowler’s perspective and, although Hayden offered a difficult return chance on 19, the spinners were always going to hold the key.Justin Langer was the first spin casualty of the series as he rocked onto the back foot and tried to punch Dharmasena through the off side. He was deceived by the low bounce of the offbreak, and Sangakkara took a juggling catch off the toe of the bat (31 for 1).Ricky Ponting, who had finally assumed the Test leadership from Steve Waugh, showed his aggressive intentions immediately. He had batted superbly in the one-day series, clocking up four consecutive fifties, and he started in an equally business-like manner here as 31 runs were added in 39 balls.Muralitharan was drafted into the attack with immediate success, courtesy of an athletic, full-stretch catch by Upul Chandana, sprinting around from a deepish square leg. Hayden, who had top-edged an attempted sweep, had scored 41 from 46 balls, with six fours. The introduction of Chandana was equally successful, this time accounting for the prized scalp of Ponting, stumped by two metres after being lured down the pitch by a flighted legbreak (76 for 3).Martyn and Lehmann steadied the innings for a while, adding 72 in 131 balls for the fourth wicket either side of lunch. Like their colleagues back in the dressing-room, they endeavoured to be positive whenever given an opportunity to score. Lehmann was the bolder, shuffling down the wicket to the slow bowlers as often as he could, even to Muralitharan, whom he lifted for six over long-on.As the partnership started to reach sizeable proportions, Sri Lanka slipped back onto the defensive. Dharmasena operated with a 7-2 field against Martyn, who hasn’t scored a Test century for 25 months. The ploy worked, as he paddle-swept an offbreak straight into the hands of Mahela Jayawardene at leg slip. Martyn had scored 42 from 81 balls and hit three fours (148 for 4).Muralitharan, called back into the attack for a second spell, then spun Sri Lanka firmly back into the driving-seat: Andrew Symonds was adjudged to have edged a fizzing offbreak via his pads to Jayawardene at slip for a debut duck, and Adam Gilchrist’s poor run continued as he toe-ended an awkward sweep to Dharmasena, running in from deep square (163 for 6).Sri Lanka were firmly in charge now, as three wickets had tumbled for 15. But Lehmann, dropped at silly point when 30 off Muralitharan, battled hard, along with Warne. Lehmann chugged past fifty for the fifth time in his career while Warne, riding his luck against Muralitharan, smacked four meaty fours in a valuable cameo.They carried Australia within sight of a competitive score by tea. But Muralitharan ensured that was never achieved after Lehmann fidgeted too far across his stumps, leaving them exposed. Vaas’s offcutter feathered Warne’s outside edge, and Murali mopped up the rabbits: Kasprowicz was bowled through the gate, and Stuart MacGill made a complete hash of a straight one, to leave Murali on a hat-trick in the second innings.

Scorecard

The feel-good factor of India’s start to their tour evaporated quickly as Pakistan A’s young batsmen launched a murderous assault on the hapless Indian bowlers, achieving a stiff target of 336 with ridiculous ease. Taufeeq Umar, who boasts a Test average of 46 over 19 matches, hammered 104 (89 balls, 13 fours, 2 sixes), and along with Imran Nazir (65, 32 balls, 9 fours, 2 sixes) gave Pakistan A the kind of start that made it possible for them to achieve victory with six wickets and four overs to spare.Just after the 20-over mark of their innings Pakistan’s run rate dropped sharply to 10 an over. That people even noticed this was a reflection on Pakistan’s domination. Zaheer Khan’s return to international cricket began in the worst possible manner – his first over went for 17 runs. But, that figure was left in the shade later in the innings, when Irfan Pathan and Murali Kartik were left dazed and confused. Pathan went for 24 while Kartik’s first over read: 4, 4 byes, 4, 4, 1, 6. It was just that sort of a day. The Pakistan A batsmen came out with a clear plan: they would not let the bowlers settle. The introduction of each new bowler into the attack was greeted with great relish.Sourav Ganguly rotated the bowling as well as he could and tinkered with the odd field setting but there was simply no stemming the onslaught. At the end of 10 overs Pakistan A were 136 for no loss and by 20 overs they had reached 199 for 1, as Umar settled in for the long haul while Imran went hell-for-leather.The opening stand was worth 127 from just 8.3 overs and virtually settled the matter in favour of Pakistan A. Imran was fooled by a clever slower ball from Zaheer, and lost his stumps attempting a big shot (127 for 1). At this stage the Indians were pumped up and had a whiff of a chance of getting back into the game.Naumanullah, tall and strong, walked confidently out to the middle and made sure that the fall of one wicket did not herald another. He contented himself with working the ball into the gaps and picked off the easy runs on offer. The bowlers had wilted and the fielding was anything but sharp. His 35 from 45 balls pushed the score on to 220 before the next wicket fell. By this stage, the Indians had been shut out of the match. Faisal Iqbal applied the finishing touches. He simply toyed with the bowling for his unbeaten 50. He batted with total freedom and rubbed salt into India’s wounds with two sixes and a four.The bowling analyses did not make for happy reading – Zaheer went for 78 from nine overs, Lakshmipathy Balaji for 60 from 6, while Pathan conceded 49 for five. They all lacked the discipline needed to succeed on a good batting pitch, and strayed too often onto the pads. They were full when they needed to be just short of a length and provided the batsmen with the chance to hit through the line.

But, it was not all bad for the Indians. It was merely a familiar story. The bowlers struggled while the batsmen succeeded gloriously – every top-order batsman save Ganguly made runs. Virender Sehwag was his usual carefree self. He smote the bowling to all parts, including a trademark uppercut six over third man, making 75 off 68 balls. Sachin Tendulkar was excessively watchful to start with, and he appeared more keen to get a feel of the ball in the middle of the bat than to dominate the bowling. Eventually he played a few gems, but in all it was an innings that lacked fluency. He too, however, ended with a substantial score – 76 from 82 balls.The real gem of the Indian innings, however, came from Rahul Dravid. He came to the wicket with the team scoring at a hectic pace, and settled down to a quiet half-century. After that, though, he opened his shoulders to play some fine flicks, pulls and cuts in a 69-ball 92. India managed 335, but it turned out to be woefully inadequate.

Saqlain Mushtaq has been dropped from Pakistan’s squad for the second Test at Lahore, which starts on April 5. Imran Nazir has been called up to replace him.Nazir stroked four centuries during the ongoing first-class season, and was backed by Wasim Bari, the chairman of selectors: “Imran Nazir has been included in the side because he is in top form. We think he can make a difference to this Pakistan team that is more talented than the first Test results show.”The defeat in the first Test is disappointing. But the Pakistan team is capable of bouncing back,” Bari said. “All they need is to learn from their mistakes and revise their game plan.”Saqlain was dropped after an indifferent showing in the first Test at Multan. He dismissed Aakash Chopra, but was handled competently by the batsmen. At the end of the Test, his figures were 1 for 204 in 43 overs.Squad Imran Farhat, Taufeeq Umar, Yasir Hameed, Inzamam-ul-Haq (capt), Yousuf Youhana, Abdul Razzaq, Moin Khan, Mohammad Sami, Shoaib Akhtar, Shabbir Ahmed, Imran Nazir, Misbah-ul-Haq, Danish Kaneria, Asim Kamal, Umar Gul, Shoaib Malik.

England have moved up to third place in the ICC’s Test Championship table after their 3-0 win in the Carribean while India’s 2-1 series win in Pakistan has lifted them to fourth place, the highest they have ever been in the ratings.The result meant England jumped ahead of India by a single point, while West Indies stayed stagnant in eighth position. With Pakistan losing the third Test, and hence the series, against India, England will be assured of their third spot at least until the end of their home series against New Zealand this summer.India’s rating has risen from 100 to 102 as a result of the series victory in Pakistan. The result put India ahead of Pakistan for the first time since August 2003 with Pakistan dropping from 102 to 99.Earlier this year, India’s rating improved from 95 to 100 due to a strong showing in the drawn series against Australia. India has never had a rating above 100 since the new system of calculation was introduced in July 2003 and has never been as high as fourth since the introduction of the system in May 2001.Prior to the current Test series, India also overtook Pakistan in the ICC one-day championship by virtue of a 3-2 win in the ODI series.