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Loose bowling on day one, and cautious batting on days two and three paved Sri Lanka’s path to defeat, said Angelo Mathews, after the Test in Dunedin. Sri Lanka had let New Zealand advance at 4.48 runs and over in the first innings, before batting at 2.50 themselves. Overall, Sri Lanka batted for 50.4 overs more than New Zealand, yet lost by 122 runs.All three frontline seamers had gone at more than four runs an over in the first innings, where only Rangana Herath maintained an economy rate of less than three. “I was really disappointed the way we bowled and batted in the first innings,” Mathews said. “On that wicket, if there was anything it, it in was in the first couple of sessions. After winning the toss on a green wicket, I expected a lot more from the bowlers.

Was trying to avoid leg-side trap – Mathews

Angelo Mathews’ dismissal was one of the more bizarre ones during Sri Lanka’s innings, as he had his middle stump uprooted attempting to pad away a full Neil Wagner delivery. The ball passed through his legs en route to the stumps. He explained that he was trying to avoid New Zealand’s leg-side trap.
“It was a trap set on the leg side, and I didn’t want to play anything on the leg side to be honest,” Mathews said. “In the first innings as well, I nicked it to the wicketkeeper on the leg side. They had a leg gully and a short leg as well. I wanted to just pad it away because I knew that even if it hits my pad it’s not going to be out because it’s pitching outside leg stump. Unfortunately it hit the inside part of my pad and rolled to the stumps.”

“We bowled a lot of loose stuff. To a batting line up like New Zealand, you can’t really bowl loose stuff because they are going to capitalise. We lost our way in the first couple of sessions and we let them off the hook. We had to bowl really well to get them on the back foot. We had to take a few wickets early, which we didn’t.”While each of New Zealand’s batsmen who crossed 25 batted at a strike rate of at least 66, Sri Lanka’s half-centurions struck at less than 45. New Zealand hit 64 boundaries in the 96.1 overs they faced. Sri Lanka struck half that amount from 117.1 overs.”We were also way to cautious in our first-innings batting,” Mathews said. “We couldn’t really do much batting in the second innings, but in the first innings we respected them a lot more than expected, which was very disappointing from the batters. As I always say – and not to take away from the New Zealand – but the bowlers they are also human, and we have to capitalise.”Sri Lanka batted through until the second new ball in both innings, but scored fewer than 300 on either occasion. Three half centuries were hit from them in all – two of those coming from Dinesh Chandimal.”We definitely could have done better as a batting unit,” Mathews said. “We need to score runs to give our bowlers a chance. Scoring 290-300 is not enough on these tracks. Once the seam movement goes off in the first couple of sessions it gets really good for batting. The batters have to score big to keep us in the game.”Mathews and Chandimal had been together overnight, with Sri Lanka resuming at three wickets down on the final morning. Both batsmen were dismissed offering no shot, after a 56-run stand.”Last evening, I thought me and Dinesh had to dig in deep to save or win the game,” Mathews said. “Either way we had to stay on the wicket till lunch. Unfortunately we lost both our wickets within two or three overs of each other. That really had a big impact on the game.”Mathews said the tailenders’ defiance was among the positives Sri Lanka will take out of the match, and also lauded the bowling of Dushmantha Chameera. Playing his first overseas Test, Chameera was comfortably the quickest bowler across both teams in Dunedin, but having had an economy rate of 5.6 in the first innings and 4.35 in the second, he was also the most expensive.”He’s very raw but he runs in on any deck and he bowls fast,” Mathews said. “That’s all he knows, and what we expect from him. That’s what I told him to do as well. Not think about line and length too much – just try and bowl fast. He’s a tremendous weapon in the bowling line-up because he can upset the rhythm of a batsman. We are trying to use him in a wise way. He’s very young still, he’ll definitely learn more as time goes by.”

If only Heath Streak, the reliable and dependable allrounder, wasaround. If only Andy Blignaut, the medium-pacer with a knack fortaking priceless wickets, was around. Then Wednesday’s showdown betweenZimbabwe and South Africa would have illuminated Harare Sports Club asthe one-day series gathers momentum.But gone are the days when fans used to gleefully watch real menpulling fours and sixes off venerated pace bowlers and offspinners.Zimbabwe’s national cricket team has been reduced to a bunch ofamateurish school-boy cricketers and suddenly all the interest andzeal which accompanies the visit of a powerhouse such as South Africahas died down.Cries for Kevin Curran’s dismissal as national coach have developedinto howls. His critics maintain he has been ineffective since takingover from Phil Simmons as he has presided over Zimbabwe’s continueddescent into the abyss of international cricket.Curran knows, by now, that the nation’s confidence in him has hit rockbottom; that it is time to salvage his battered pride by snatching arespectable result out of the series against South Africa.He knows that the nation is now fed up of his perennial excuse thatthe team is still on a learning curve. Curran said this when losinghis first Test in charge against India in August 2005. He repeatedhimself after another comprehensive Test loss to New Zealand thefollowing month. And when drawing 2-2 against lowly Kenya, Curran hadalready proved himself as the devil rather than the messiah forZimbabwe cricket.Only last week Curran, the former Zimbabwe international, was stillsinging from the same hymn sheet. “The encouraging thing is that wehave managed to come through and in the last four days of the matches,and in the shorter version of the game, the idea is to bat through ourovers… and hope to translate the 100s into 200s and then maybe 300runs.”There were some positives that came through against India A and theSouth Africans in that Tatenda Taibu, played admirably well on hisreturn to international cricket after a two-year absence. We hope tocontinue improving- and who knows, we could pull a surprise or two inSouth Africa when we go there for the Twenty20 tournament,” Curransaid following another comprehensive defeat by a visiting South AfricaA side.His view of the national game, although sounding like that of anamateur coach, has become a reflection of how the once-reveredinternational has lost confidence in himself as national team coachand in the team he leads. Charles Mhlauri’s stubbornness would havedone better to drum up the fans’ support and faith in the team.Yet, with all odds staked against Zimbabwe, the team might just beinspired to do well against the Proteas in the remaining two, if onlyto boost morale and confidence ahead of next month’s Twenty20championships.Curran’s batting line-up seems better coordinated since the return ofVusimuzi Sibanda from Australia and the maturity that has beenexhibited by Christopher Mpofu over the past few years. But Zimbabwe’s prospects of upstaging South Africa are far-fetched despite Taibu’s satisfactory performances against South Africa A.Taibu is a bit subdued and his response is measured. “Anything canhappen in a cricket match,” he said. “Hopefully, my being around againfor Zimbabwe can add value to the team.”

Graeme Hick has signed a one-year extension to his contract with Worcestershire to end speculation that he may have moved to Derbyshire. Hick’s deal runs out at the end of this season but he had expressed his wish to carry on playing into his 24th season.Derbyshire had made an official approach to Hick, 40, but he will now remain, and in all likelihood finish his career, at New Road. He recently became the second player since the war to score 100 first-class hundreds for his county after Geoff Boycott for Yorkshire.John Elliott, the club chairman, said: “Graeme is a legend of Worcestershire cricket and I am delighted that he is to continue his long career with us. This is very good news for all our members and supporters and will end any speculation there might have been about his immediate future.”Hick added: “I am delighted to have resolved the situation. My heart has always been with Worcestershire and I very much look forward to the next 12 months.”

With the massive challenge of a tour to India just around the corner, Australia’s captain, Ricky Ponting, has admitted he is “shattered” to have suffered a broken thumb at such an untimely juncture. But, as he faces up to possible surgery on Friday, Ponting is confident that Australia’s young batting star, Michael Clarke, will shine in his absence.Ponting suffered the injury – a fracture between the nail and first knuckle – while dropping a slip catch during Australia’s Champions Trophy semi-final defeat against England. The upshot is the likelihood of a Test debut for Clarke, one of the hottest young batsmen in the game, in perhaps the toughest environment in world cricket.”You’d probably think Michael would play,” Ponting told the Sydney Morning Herald. “It’s going to be a hard test for him. There’s probably no more challenging tour in world cricket than touring India, but he will do a good job. He’s a confident young fella, he’s well prepared, he plays the spinners well. He’ll be fine.”He’ll be nervous,” added Ponting. “He’s a bit of a nervous sort of bloke anyway, but he’ll be looking forward to it. He’s obviously been dreaming of playing for Australia for a long time. The fact he has been there and had a bit of success in that one-day tour last year will hold him in good stead for this tour.” On that trip, in November 2003, Clarke scored 70 at Pune and followed up with an unbeaten 44 from 28 balls in the final at Kolkata, as Australia won by 37 runs.Ponting’s own experiences of Test cricket in India have not been good – he was tormented by Harbhajan Singh and averaged just 12 in the 2000-01 series – but his absence is a bodyblow to Australia’s hopes of winning there for the first time in 35 years. From the prospect of making history, Ponting is now facing up to a period on the sidelines, which he rates as “probably the biggest disappointment of my career”.”Being the captain and having to leave the team on the eve of one of our biggest tours in the last few years is pretty shattering,” he said as he awaited the prospect of hand surgery, which would leave him unable to hold a bat for two weeks. “I was really looking forward to captaining the side in India, taking on the challenge of playing India in India.”After the last series there, the end result was disappointing for everyone who was there, but I guess a bit more so for me, not making any runs. Just falling over at the last hurdle as a team was bitterly disappointing, and I’ve been looking forward to getting over there and changing that whole thing around. Hopefully I can get there for the second Test and play a good part in the last three Test matches.””It wouldn’t have been so bad if it was my bottom hand,” he explained, “but being my top hand, a lot of your grip strength goes through your thumb on your top hand, so [batting] is only going to make it worse if anything. I won’t be able to pick up a bat for a couple of weeks, because if there’s any movement on that thumb it will hinder the healing process.””They could put a pin in it, or a screw, and fix that bit of bone back down to where it should be. Hopefully that will make it heal quicker.” Either way, he intends to fly out to India as soon as is medically permissable, even if it means sitting on the sidelines and watching his team-mates perform without him.In his absence, Adam Gilchrist takes over as Australia’s captain, with Darren Lehmann working alongside him as vice-captain. “They’ll do a good job,” said Ponting. “They’ve both got very good cricket brains.”

Kent today announced a pre-tax profit of £51,725 for the year ending October 31, 2003. This compares with a profit of £20,927 in 2002, and a loss of £22,083 in 2001.Carl Openshaw, the chairman, said, "It is encouraging to be able to report an increased profit for the year and a continuation of the improving trend in recent years."Openshaw added that the major factors which contributed to the increased turnover were the weather, which helped a record number of match receipts, the success of the Twenty20 Cup, and the launch of the new ground at Beckenham."Although we enjoyed a successful year both on and off the field, we are aware that finances in cricket remain precarious, and we continue to be grateful for the excellent support we receive from our sponsors, members and commercial partners."

Jacques Kallis (RSA) needs 85 runs to complete 6000 ODI runs
Jonty Rhodes (RSA) needs 65 runs to complete 6000 ODI runs
Thomas Odoyo (KEN) needs 125 runs to complete 1000 ODI runs
Makhaya Ntini (RSA) needs 9 wickets to join the 100 ODI-wicket clubJacques Kallis (RSA) needs 112 runs to complete 500 World Cup runs
Jonty Rhodes (RSA) needs 146 runs to complete 500 World Cup runs
Lance Klusener (RSA) needs 162 runs to complete 500 World Cup runs
Herschelle Gibbs (RSA) needs 135 runs to complete his 500 World Cup runs
Steve Tikolo (KEN) needs 137 runs to complete his 500 World Cup runsLance Klusener (RSA) needs 7 wickets to join the 25 World Cup wicket-club
Shane Pollock (RSA) needs 8 wickets to join the 25 World Cup wicket-clubAllan Donald (37) is six wickets behind leading World Cup wicket-taker Wasim Akram (43)

Sourav Ganguly’s suggestion for a best-of-three finals in one-daycompetitions betrays the depths to which his confidence levels haveplunged. A final offers the most capable assessment of the mentaltoughness of a team and how they react under pressure, because thereis no second chance. The ability to raise one’s game to suit theoccasion and peak at just the right time, is an essential ingredientof a good team. Ganguly’s remarks are a telltale sign that he knowsthe team is simply not good enough at the crunch. Rather then doinghis damnedest to resolve the problem, he’s suggesting means toavoid dealing with it. “We have to learn to win under pressure” headmitted immediately after the final, but that can be done only byplaying when the pressure is the maximum, not by diffusing it acrossthree matches.The defeat at the Harare Sports Club last Saturday was India’s seventhloss in a row in a tournament final. It all began with the Pepsi Cupagainst Pakistan at Bangalore in April 1999. The Indian bowlers letthe game slip away in the first session by allowing Pakistan to hoist291. Any hopes of making a match of it hinged on getting a decentstart but when the Indian top order collapsed to 63/5, there was noescape route. Against the same opponents in the Coca-Cola Cup inSharjah less than two weeks later, India won a useful toss but losttwo wickets in the first over without a run on board and were rolledover for 125 to gift the match on a platter.In the Coca-Cola Cup in Singapore in September the same year, Indiaposted a challenging 254 despite losing Tendulkar for a duck in thefirst over. The bowlers had West Indies on the mat at 67/4 and later128/5 but were clueless in the face of a ferocious assault by RicardoPowell. Precisely one month later India entered the LG Cup final inNairobi having swept all their matches in the round-robin league.After restricting South Africa to just 235, the batsmen fumbled agreat opportunity to succumb by 26 runs with two and a half overs leftunused.The next episode in the gloomy sequence also occurred at Nairobi’sGymkhana Club Ground in October 2000. It was the climax of the ICCKnockOut and India were delighted to be inserted after losing thetoss. Ganguly and Tendulkar added 141 for the opening wicket but themiddle order lost its way. Still, 264 was a competitive score and whenNew Zealand slumped to 132/5, the signs were propitious. A crucialrun-out miss relieved Chris Cairns who proceeded to shut India outwith a marvellously paced effort. Later in the same month, a 245-runthumping ensued at Sri Lanka’s hands in the Champions Trophy inSharjah, a collective abdication of duty of monstrous proportion.Looking at the pattern, India have conceded 290 or more on three offour occasions they’ve bowled first which puts the batsmen underenormous pressure rightaway. To have a ghost of chance, the cardinalrule is to keep wickets in hand even at the risk of falling behind theasking rate early on. But the top order has usually tried to do toomuch too soon, with negative results. This was exemplified againsta West Indies attack last week having just three specialist bowlers.The Indians had a gilt-edged chance to step up the ante in 20remaining overs of part time spin bowling but Sodhi and Dighe wereleft high and dry and just failed to close it on their own.Batting first, India erected the foundations of victory with 250 plusscores two out of three times. In each instance, they quickly prisedout the opponent’s upper half but threw it away in the last 25 overswith a combination of loose bowling, lax fielding and unimaginativecaptaincy. It’s been suggested that one reason the Indians freeze inlive match situations is because they don’t simulate situations ofcomparable pressure in the nets. But more alarmingly the Indians seemto be using defeat as a stepping stone for further defeat. Perhapsthey ought to take a leaf out of author Richard Bach: “That’s whatlearning is, after all; not whether we lose the game, but how we loseand how we’ve changed because of it and what we take away from it thatwe never had before, to apply to other games. Losing, in a curiousway, is winning.”

ScorecardJake Ball helped put Warwickshire under severe pressure•Getty Images

Nottinghamshire pressed home their advantage on the second day of their LV= County Championship match against Warwickshire at Trent Bridge.Having begun the day on 404 for 5, the home side advanced their first innings score to 600 all out, their highest total since 2007.After first-day centuries from Alex Hales and Steven Mullaney, the lower order capitalised to good effect. Chris Read made 69, Samit Patel scored 46, Brett Hutton 37 and there was an explosive cameo from Jake Ball, who ended unbeaten on 49.In response, Warwickshire reached stumps on 100 for 4 with Laurie Evans on 39 and Tim Ambrose on 18.The visitors removed Luke Wood and Patel in the first hour but were then frustrated by an eighth-wicket partnership of 91 between Read and Hutton.Read went past 50 for the eighth time this season, reaching the landmark from 74 deliveries. A couple of runs later saw him reach another milestone as a standing ovation greeted the announcement of his 15,000th first-class run.Hutton hoisted to mid-on off Jeetan Patel, a wicket which gave the spinner his only success at a personal cost of 155 runs, and then Boyd Rankin induced Read to clip into the hands of Jonathan Trott at deep midwicket.There then followed a delightful last-wicket partnership which saw Ball and Harry Gurney add 40 from only 16 balls, which included a maiden over.Ball, who struck four sixes, blazed his way to a career-best score but was left stranded one short of his 50 when Gurney’s stumps were rearranged by Chris Wright for nought.Warwickshire were soon reduced to 10 for 3 in reply, as Ball and Wood put them under early pressure. Sam Hain was fourth to go, failing to make the most of being dropped by Hales in the gully by nicking Gurney into the safer hands of Mullaney at second slip.Evans offered dogged defiance in the final session, which was disrupted by two short stoppages, and added an unbroken 59 with Ambrose, who had to wait until his 40th delivery before getting off the mark.Warwickshire ended the day 500 runs adrift and still require a further 351 to avoid the follow on.

Keith Fletcher, the former England captain, admits he’s surprised with the progress made by Alastair Cook, England’s opening batsman, and predicts he could end up as one of the “all-time greats”. Having played a vital role in Cook’s formative years in Essex, Fletcher sent out a clear warning to India’s bowlers ahead of the forthcoming Test series.”He’s done better than what I thought,” Fletcher told Cricinfo on the sidelines of the Indians’ tour game against England Lions at Chelmsford. “I always thought he’ll be a good Test player but he’s got there quicker than I thought he would. He began playing for England at the right time but I didn’t think he’d have quite the success that he’d have.”It’s a phenomenal start – six hundreds – and he’s just 21. So if he keeps on getting better, which he should do, there’s not reason why he shouldn’t be one of the all-time greats. He’s good between the ears.”Fletcher was instrumental in Cook’s development as a cricketer, calling him “just about the best young batsman I have ever seen”, and recalled watching him smash club bowlers in Essex. “I used to go and watch him play club cricket. I just saw the way he moved and the way he could destroy club bowling and was so impressed. And he was 16 then.”I saw him score 170 against quite a good attack with overseas players playing. He doesn’t seem like a batsman who can destroy but he used to really get after them. And that’s when I thought he could be an absolute crackerjack.”Fletcher reckoned that the forthcoming Test series, starting on Thursday at Lord’s, could end up being a high-scoring one. “I’ll be very surprised if [Rahul] Dravid doesn’t get a couple of hundreds in the Tests, [Sachin] Tendulkar too. The bat might dominate the ball, which will be nice. I think it will be a hard-fought close series.”I think it depends on the wickets – Lord’s we’ve had a lot of rain, but is usually a good batting wicket. England may have a slight advantage at The Oval – it has pace. It may come down to our seamers against India’s batters.”

Trinidad and Tobago, fresh from their quarter-final victory over Barbados in the Stanford 20/20 tournament on Saturday, face an intriguing Nevisian test in next week’s second semi-finals, and manager Omar Khan and Daren Ganga are confident they can go all the way.T&T suffered a middle order batting collapse after a strong start against the Bajans, but some tight bowling and outstanding fielding enabled them to restrict their arch rivals to 96 and earn a 46-run win.Khan, though feels if the players continue to perform as a team, they can lift the inaugural Stanford 20/20 title. “That (winning) was our intention from the start,” Khan told after the team’s return home on Sunday. “When we started the tournament, we discussed taking it one game at a time, and we have the intention of playing four games. We have played two and won. We have two more to play.”Khan, a former T&T player, also stressed that his team are not worried about their next opponents, despite Nevis’ huge score of 213 against Antigua and Barbuda in their quarter-final. “We are not concerned about that because we know the bowling we have. We bowl to a plan, and we have the players to stick to that plan. The coach [former West Indies wicketkeeper] David Williams has done a tremendous job in working out who we have to bowl to what score.”Reflecting on their batting performance, Ganga acknowledged that his team made some mistakes, but stressed they would rectify that in time for the next match. “I think we were looking for too much boundaries in the period when we were supposed to turn over the strike and put away the bad balls,” he said. “We also had two run outs at crucial times. But at the end of the day, we were able to get a victory, and I’m sure we’re not going to make the same mistake twice.”Ganga was also optimistic that T&T could get the better of Nevis, saying the key is their performance in the field. “Basically we are going to ensure we play to our strengths,” he said. “We were very good in the field. We did achieve the kind of total we wanted and we were able to defend it.” Ganga also lauded youngsters William Perkins and Mario Belcon for the strong starts they gave the team in both matches, while also praising the other young players for their performances.But looking ahead to the tests ahead, Khan felt the mental aspect of the game will be the most critical part of his team’s campaign. “We have to continue playing intelligent cricket, very organised and planned cricket,” he said. “So it’s all about fast action game and you’ve got to keep thinking all the time and our intention is to outthink the opposition. We know we have batting from 1-11, we have very strong batting, and the guys made some mistakes, especially in the middle order, but we know they will come good [against Nevis]. If our batting comes good we know it will be hard to match any totals that we can make.”