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India’s last chance of meaningful match practice before the first Test inGalle was scuppered today when the P. Saravanamuttu pitch was deemed unfitfor play and the umpires were forced to abandon their three-day game againsta Sri Lankan Board XI.Play started on time, but after the first over, a maiden bowled by DinushaFernando, it immediately became clear that pitch would misbehave even morethan on the two previous days, when players on both sides had been rapped onthe gloves. Sourav Ganguly immediately declared the Indian first innings.The Board XI though were not overly keen on risking the health of theirplayers either – six of whom are in the 16-man squad for the Galle Teststarting on Tuesday. A 15-minute discussion between coaches, captains andumpires ensued.Indian coach John Wright wanted more middle practice for his team and theSri Lankan coach was not averse to playing if the safety of the playerscould be assured. The umpires thus took the unusual decision to order therepair the pitch on the basis of “good faith.”The ground staff got to work. The offending patches were filled with clay,the pitch was watered and cut grass was rolled into the wicket. Strictlyspeaking the watering and rolling was illegal, but the umpires decision toallow it was rooted in common sense and within the spirit of the game.Unfortunately, after four hours of hard labouring the pitch was still deemedunfit for play and the game was called of. The only chance of play was ifboth sides agreed to play only at one end, which had in fact been suggestedyesterday by India, but rejected by the home side. In the end the Indianteam practiced afterwards at the “safe” end.Ironically, the P.Saravanamuttu Stadium was traditionally famous for havingthe best pitch in Sri Lanka, full of pace and true in bounce. It staged SriLanka’s inaugural Test, but was eventually sidelined as the facilities fellbehind those at the Sinhalese Sports Club and Premadasa InternationalStadium. Now, after the period of re-development, the facilities areacceptable, but the pitch is not.Successful matches have been played at the ground this year against Englandand Paksitan A, but this incident may delay the return of Test cricket tothe Tamil Union club. They had hoped to stage the Asian Test Championshipgame against Bangladesh later this year, but the ICC are now unlikely tolook favourably on such a plan.Sourav Ganguly was diplomatic afterwards: “It’s little bit disappointing,but we had a day to bowl and day to bat and that’s better than nothing. Igot a good knock and so did the openers, but it would have been nice if themiddle order had got going as well.”He brushed aside suggestions that the Indian would be going into the firstTest under prepared: “Yes we’ve had just one practice game, but theconditions are pretty much similar to back at home so there shouldn’t be aproblem.”The Indian team now travels down to Galle tomorrow. Sri Lanka take a breakon Saturday and travel south on Sunday.

Live scorecard and ball-by-ball-details1:06

Pakistan spin trio clean up Zimbabwe

Pakistan cruised to a 131-run win over Zimbabwe in the first one-day international at Harare Sports Club, the match following what has become a familiar script during this tour. Pakistan’s lower middle order rallied their side to a good score, and their spin attack, led by Yasir Shah’s 6 for 26, then systematically dismantled Zimbabwe’s line-up. Yasir’s haul was the second best by a Pakistan spinner, and the best ever by a spinner in Zimbabwe.Asked to bat first, Pakistan’s top order stumbled against a spirited Zimbabwean bowling effort before Mohammad Rizwan’s career-best 75 not out and Imad Wasim’s 61, which was his maiden international fifty, boosted the visitors to a challenging 259 for 6. Rizwan and Wasim had added 124 for the sixth wicket, but no Zimbabwean partnership came close to matching them as the hosts crumbled under sustained pressure.Once again, the batsmen struggled to rotate the strike and then inevitably offered Pakistan chances as they sought to ease the pressure with a big shot. The 35-run stand between Sean Williams and Sikandar Raza was the most substantial of the innings, and legspinner Yasir collected his first five-for in ODIs with Zimbabwe having no answer to his combination of turn, bounce and guile.Pakistan had been reduced to a wobbly 35 for 3 in the morning as Zimbabwe’s new-ball bowlers found seam and swing on a slightly resher wicket before Sarfraz Ahmed and Shoaib Malik combined to take the score to 100. When they were both dismissed attempting to attack spin Zimbabwe surged once again, but Rizwan and Wasim weathered their best efforts.Rizwan marshalled Pakistan’s effort from the halfway mark of their innings, starting watchfully against Zimbabwe’s spinners before he broke free with what was perhaps the shot of the day; a checked loft off offspinner John Nyumbu that soared over long on. With Nyumbu, Graeme Cremer and Sean Williams all included in Zimbabwe’s XI, Rizwan faced spin for much of his innings. He certainly showed that he had the aptitude to counter these bowlers in helpful conditions, milking the gaps and finding the boundary with a sweep off Cremer and a deft late cut off Nyumbu.A particular feature of Rizwan’s stand with Wasim was their running between the wickets: something which had been highlighted as an area of concern for both teams after the Twenty20s. Eight twos came off Rizwan’s bat during their stand, while Wasim added seven. This ensured that the score kept ticking over even when boundaries were not forthcoming, and set the platform for Pakistan’s charge at the death.Pakistan added 88 runs in the last ten overs as the big hits became more frequent, with Rizwan bringing up a 61-ball fifty in the 46th over. Wasim brought up a maiden international fifty of his own two overs later, reaching the mark with a superb reverse sweep off Tinashe Panyangara. Wasim had been given a life thanks to Williams’ drop at long-on earlier in the over, and there was a ragged edge to Zimbabwe’s effort at the death. Tempers also flared in Panyangara’s final over, from which Pakistan plundered 22 runs, as the bowler took offence to what he saw as Rizwan’s intentional obstruction of his fielding efforts. The batsman stood his ground as Sikandar Raza played peacemaker, and closed the innings on an emphatic note with his second six, straight over the bowler’s head.Pakistan carried that bellicose attitude into the field, and both Zimbabwean openers were given a thorough working over with the new ball. Yet all 10 wickets fell to spin. Chamu Chibhabha averages 19.72 in matches in which he has been dismissed by a left-arm spinner, and has collected more ducks against this type of bowler than any other – three. He had opened his account by the time Wasim was brought on in the ninth over, but then fell immediately, trapped in front by the left-arm spinner’s first ball.Yasir then took centre stage, nipping one through the yawning gap between debutant Brian Chari’s bat and pad and skittling Hamilton Masakadza with a ball that kept a touch low and rushed on. Raza and Elton Chigumbura fell on the drive, failing to cover Yasir’s prodigious spin, while Richmond Mutumbami’s dismissal came via a stunning reflex catch, low to the ground, by Hafeez at slip. When Panyangara gloved one to slip Yasir had his sixth, and Zimbabwe had crashed from 101 for 4 to 128 all out.

India Pistons set up a title showdown with Chemplast in the Moin udDowlah Cup in Hyderabad on Sunday with a comfortable 49 run win overIndia Cements. In the semifinal clash at the Gymkhana ground, Pistonswere dug out of a hole by the familiar crisis man Robin Singh whoshepherded the lower order to 218 with a priceless unbeaten 80. Inreply, Cements were never in the running, losing wickets at closeintervals and it was only a lone hand of 77 by Sunil Oasis whichhelped them to 169.In the morning, Tamil Nadu seamer J Gokulakrishnan bowled an incisivefirst spell of 5-0-26-3 to leave Pistons reeling at 33/3 after havingbeen put in to bat. Vikram Rathour and JR Madanagopal restored someorder with a battling 44-run stand before both fell in the space oftwo runs to leave Pistons in grave peril at 79/5. Pistons were missingReetinder Sodhi for this vital game, the Punjab youngster havingfallen ill after yesterday’s game and flown back home.Robin was thus the last hope and he responded with the typical gustoof a man who thrives under the challenge of a pressure cookersituation. Two more partners left him along the line after brief showsof solidarity to leave Pistons at 135/7. But although No’s 9, 10 and11 made precisely 13 runs between them, they helped Robin add 83 forthe last three wickets with the skipper running out of partners aftermaking 80 in 90 balls inclusive of six fours. Gokul finished top ofthe pack among the Cements attack with figures of 4/46.Robin led with the way with the ball too, dismissing Jesu Babu withhis first delivery. The other opener VB Chandrasekhar was not hisusual aggressive self, hanging around for 43 balls to make 19 beforeleg spinner Balaji Rao dismissed him. Balaji Rao delivered anothertelling blow by removing S Sharath for three and at 61/5, Cements werein dire straits. Left arm spinner Satyajit Medappa then stepped in andcleaned up the tail in spite of Oasis’ heroics. The Kerala Ranjiplayer was last out for 77 (106 balls, 6 fours, 3 sixes) as Cementsfolded up ignominiously for 169 with 14 balls to spare.

ScorecardMatt Coles completed a career-best 10 for 94 on the third morning•Getty Images

Kent lifted themselves off the bottom of the County Championship by completing their second victory of the season by beating Leicestershire by eight wickets at Grace Road.Despite heavy overnight rain, play resumed on time with Leicestershire on 110 for 9, only 59 ahead, and Ben Raine and Charlie Shreck took the score on to 123 before Shreck was bowled by Matt Coles, the seamer’s fourth wicket of the innings to go with the six he took in Leicestershire’s first innings. Coles’ match figures of 10 for 94 were his best in first class cricket. Allrounder Raine finished on 41 not out.Needing just 73 to win on what was still a difficult pitch on which to bat, the Kent batsmen adopted an aggressive approach, and while it paid off for Joe Denly, it did cause the demise of Daniel Bell-Drummond, caught by Angus Robson at first slip off the bowling of Raine for 5, and Rob Key, who lofted Raine straight to Ned Eckersley at mid-on for 4.But Denly prospered hitting 37 off 48 balls, and in company with skipper Sam Northeast, who hit 28 off 25 balls, saw the visitors home shortly after lunch.Captain Sam Northeast praised his three seam bowlers after Kent completed their second victory of the season and lifted themselves off the bottom of the county championship. “Matt Coles, Calum Haggett and Darren Stevens really stuck to their task well after we lost Ivan Thomas [to a side strain] almost at the start of the game, and to bowl Leicestershire out twice and set up the game in the way we did was pleasing,” Northeast said.But he was not impressed with the Grace Road pitch, which was very green and offered the bowlers assistance throughout. “We have to take it as it comes, but we seem to be going from place to place and playing on this type of ‘result’ wicket and I don’t think it’s great for cricket in general, and producing England players and good cricket.”We’ve taken away the points, so people will probably say ‘just be happy’ but I think someone higher up than myself probably needs to look at what is happening at the moment with Division Two wickets.”

Afghanistan are taking a pragmatic approach to the inequities of bilateral arrangements among cricket’s Full Member nations by selling themselves as the best possible means of preparing for assignments against Pakistan in the UAE or other nations on the nearby subcontinent.On the eve of their first ever ODI encounter with card-carrying “big three” nation and early World Cup evictees England, Afghanistan’s coach Andy Moles conceded it was impossible to expect the game’s financial giants to schedule additional series against Associates during the next cycle. Instead, he said his team was being offered up as a warm-up option for encounters against Pakistan in particular, given they both share a base in Dubai.Some nations have already taken up this concept on various tours and not only against Afghanistan. Australia had scheduled a match against Afghanistan in 2012 prior to a series against Pakistan, while also doing similar against Ireland that year and then with an Australia A tour taking in a visit to Ireland ahead of the Ashes. However, other countries, notably England, have been reluctant to do likewise.”What we’re trying to do is offer teams coming to play Pakistan in the UAE a package where anybody coming in there, why not play us as warm-up games,” Moles said. “It’s great for them to get used to playing against Pakistan, but also for us it’s gold, giving us the opportunity to play against these sides before their tour starts against Pakistan.”So we’re trying to package ourselves so anybody going through to Sri Lanka perhaps might drop into the UAE to see us on the way there to give them experience of playing in our conditions, which would be similar to where they’re going, but also it means we get the opportunity to play against their players.”In all reality people aren’t going to say we’ll go play against Afghanistan – there’s not a lot in it for them, let’s be honest. But if we can package something together that the Full Member nations get something out of it as well as us for playing against them, that’s got to be good.”England are scheduled to visit the UAE to face Pakistan in October this year, and Moles said Afghanistan were open to playing whatever form of warm-up fixtures the ECB preferred to get ready for the Test match encounters. England’s team performance apparatus have other more urgent matters on their plate right now, but Moles is hopeful the offer will be warmly received.”We’ve got to be realistic and try to put something together where we can say to England you’re playing Pakistan in October, come to us a week before,” Moles said. “You want a 50-over game, you want a three-day game, you want a four-day game, you want a Twenty20 game, we’ll do whatever you want.”But give us the opportunity to play against the better players, same for all the other countries coming through the region, and if we can approach it in that way we’ve actually got a package that can not only benefit us, but give the opposition coming through a huge benefit than just playing net practice or a match amongst themselves.”There’ll be competition, because we’ll be trying 100% you can be sure of that, but it will get them used to the weather and the conditions. Hopefully that will be a winning situation and that’s the way we’re going to try to tackle that issue.”While debate about the format of the World Cup itself has bubbled consistently across the tournament thus far, the question of how cricket’s second tier nations can develop in intervening years has also been a sore point. Ireland’s captain William Porterfield has often mentioned the fact his team have only played nine matches against Full Members since the 2011 tournament, and the fact that Afghanistan have never played England in an ODI underlines the point.

Delhi Daredevils fast bowler Mohammed Shami is likely to be ruled out of IPL 2015 because of a knee injury. Details of the injury and the timeframe for recovery – or whether the franchise will seek a replacement – are not yet known as both Daredevils and the BCCI are yet to officially confirm the development.Last week, Daredevils had confirmed that Shami was unavailable for selection because he had “a minor knee injury” and was “consulting a specialist to chart a quick recovery process.” According to an official, however, it is unlikely Shami will recover to make a comeback during this IPL. He said the extent of the knee injury was not yet known, and that the results were expected in the next few days.It is not certain if it is the same left-knee injury that had forced Shami to miss the World Cup game against UAE in Perth. He had recovered from that setback to finish as the fourth highest wicket-taker of the tournament – 17 wickets in seven matches.Shami was one of ten players retained by the franchise last December when it decided to overhaul the squad and released 13 players. If he fails to return, Daredevils will hope Zaheer Khan recovers from his injury to bolster their bowling attack.On Tuesday, Daredevils ended their 11-match losing streak by beating Kings XI Punjab in Pune. They have one win from three games this season.

The maturing of Angelo Mathews as a player and as a captain was the highlight of Michael de Zoysa’s two-year term as manager of the Sri Lanka cricket team.De Zoysa took up the role in February 2013, the same time when Mathews was appointed captain, and completed his term at the end of the 2015 World Cup. He has been replaced by Jeryl Woutersz for the upcoming home series against Pakistan and India.”From the time he (Angelo Mathews) captained in the Bangladesh series through to the end of the 2015 World Cup, it was marvellous to see a young man really filling the shoes he was intended to fill,” de Zoysa said. “With Mahela (Jayawardene) not there and once Sangakkara goes, he will have to do it on his own, then we will really see what he is really made of.”Kumar Sangakkara retired from one-day cricket at the end of the 2015 World Cup and is set to sign-off from Tests during the series against India in August. Suggesting that he continue, de Zoysa said, “it would be a tragedy for him to stop now.””He can probably surpass (Sachin) Tendulkar’s number of Test centuries if he keeps going,” he said. “He is already no. 2 to (Don) Bradman and he will probably retain that position in batting average terms. There is so much more he can offer for Sri Lanka.”Looking at the future of the Sri Lanka team, de Zoysa said the health of the team’s batting was good, but the bowling remained a worry without an impact bowler.”The batting is going to be fairly sound. Obviously you will miss Mahela; no way you won’t miss a guy who has scored 18,000 runs, but someone has to step up,” he said.”(Lahiru) Thirimanne is definitely going to be one of the players for the future. I am very confident (Dinesh) Chandimal will do so too when he is confident of a place in the side. Others who should come through are Dimuth Karunaratne, Kaushal Silva has to be little bit more positive he has tremendous temperament and good technique.”In the bowling department, de Zoysa said, Sri Lanka will “struggle for sure because we haven’t got that destroyer. Suranga Lakmal has to stand up but whether these guys can keep fit for six Test matches we have coming up against Pakistan and India is questionable.”(Shaminda) Eranga and (Dhammika) Prasad have a lot of potential so too does (Dushmantha) Chameera but we will have to see whether he is fit enough for Test cricket,” he said. “Ten overs in ODI cricket is quite a different game against 20-25 overs in a Test match.”De Zoysa also lamented the continued struggles of Thisara Perera and Kusal Perera, two players he earmarked as match-winners, but who were yet to realise their potentials.Sri Lanka’s series against Pakistan is scheduled for June and that would be a time for the younger players to step up, de Zoysa said.”There is no greater opportunity for the young guys than now,” he said.

Shahid Afridi, the Pakistan allrounder, is likely to miss the four-nation Twenty20 tournament in Canada next month due to a wrist injury. He is also attending to his wife, who has been unwell for a while.”We will consider Afridi for the tournament only when he is fit,” Salahuddin Ahmed, the chief selector, said on Saturday. An MRI report on his wrist is expected on Monday.He also missed Pakistan’s eight-day training camp at the Army School of Physical Training in Kakul which concluded yesterday. His selection for the tournament will depend on his availability for a series of practice games in Lahore before the team leaves for Toronto.Canada, West Indies and Bangladesh are the other teams in the series which runs between August 14 and 17, at the Maple Leaf North-West Ground in King City.

The ECB will meet today to discuss proposals for an English version of the IPL as it considers broadcast tenders for the 2010 season.A number of proposals have been floated in the last fortnight, but the one which is based on three seven-team regional leagues appears to be the one with the broadest support.The idea of ditching the existing county structure altogether seems to have been sidelined, despite the backing of some senior county chairmen. Last week Giles Clarke, the ECB chairman, said that city-based teams were not something that would work in England.”I always thought city cricket was the future,” Lancashire’s Jim Cumbes told The Times. “It’s more identifiable, it’s new and it gives an opportunity in the future for there to be other city franchises.”Clarke, who is already risking a showdown with leading players over his unequivocal stance on their participation in the IPL, is also at odds with some of the chairman. One is quoted in today’s Guardian as saying: “We yearned for strong leadership for years and now Giles has come along and we are terrified.”The need for a review of the existing Twenty20 structure, to capitalise on the success of the format without necessarily aping the IPL, has, in turn, led to discussions about the future of the County Championship, and that has not gone down well in all quarters either.There have been suggestions of three-day Championship matches, which Leicestershire’s chief executive David Smith rejected outright. “The old system was workable on uncovered pitches,” Smith told the , “but as soon as the pitches were covered, the cricket was awful to watch. To put it simply, three-day cricket won’t produce Test players.”

Bangladesh’s batting woes have been well documented but their main fast bowler Mashrafe Mortaza said the attack must also lift if the team is to avoid another drubbing on Wednesday. They lost the opening ODI against Australia by 180 runs after falling for their lowest one-day international score but Mortaza knows the bowlers need to help out by restricting Australia more.Early in the innings Shahadat Hossain could not keep the openers tied down and then through the middle overs Shaun Marsh and Michael Hussey easily picked off ones and twos while taking few risks. It let Australia build a solid platform that in turn allowed Hussey to pick up his rate in the final overs and guide Australia to 254.”In the last game I was bowling tight from one end but Rajib (Shahadat Hossain) was leaking runs,” Mortaza said. “Against Australia it is mighty important to bowl a high percentage of good balls. We had a chat with the AIS bowling coach Damien Fleming during our warm-ups and he also stressed on making scoring difficult and said that you win yourself a point with every dot ball you bowl against Australia.”But even if the bowlers do their job on Wednesday, the batsmen must also show far more concentration to challenge Australia. In the opening game they were bundled out for 74 with nearly half their overs still available and Mortaza hopes the top order can show more confidence the second time around.”I personally thought that two or three of our top-order batters did not look confident in that game,” Mortaza said. “I am not giving excuses but the drop-in track was difficult for run-scoring and we did not look like working our way out of pressure at any time.”We have to be more than twice as good, play our natural game and get near 220 or 230. That’s the only way we can get over Saturday’s poor show.”