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Sanath Jayasuriya, the elder statesman of the Sri Lanka team, was happy to take the blame for running out team-mate Kumar Sangakkara, a dismissal which contributed largely to their 149-run loss to Australia in the first Test at Darwin.Having got a close leg-before decision against him in the first innings, Sri Lanka were looking to the in-form Sangakkara to make a big score in the second innings. But he faced only four balls before he was run out. He responded to a call for a risky single by Jayasuriya and failed to beat Damien Martyn’s direct hit from cover point.”I misjudged the run and I admit it was my fault. I shouldn’t have gone for that single,” said Jayasuriya, whose own game seemed to be affected after that dismissal. “We had to rotate the strike otherwise if you get stuck on one side for four to five overs you will eventually get out, especially on this kind of wicket. I take full responsibility for that run out.”He added: “Normally I don’t worry about such things. But I was upset when Kumar was out because he was our batsman in form.” Sangakkara had come into the Test having scored an unbeaten double-century in the four-day warm up game against a Chief Minister’s XI at the same venue.Four overs after Sangakkara was dismissed, Jayasuriya was then out for 16 when he fell leg before to a fast swinging full toss from Glenn McGrath, who had openly said that he was targeting Jayasuriya’s wicket during the series.Jayasuriya also revealed that during the 73 minutes he spent at the wicket, the Australians were constantly chirping at him, saying that all they needed was his wicket for them to wrap up the Test.Reflecting on his second innings dismissal, Jayasuriya said: “I missed the ball totally. It swung late in the air in the last minute and I missed it. I didn’t want to play a cross bat shot. All I wanted to do was to play straight and occupy the crease. It was not easy to play shots on that kind of wicket. I thought I would stay as long as possible to see the shine off. Our task was made even more difficult by the accuracy with which the three Australian fast bowlers bowled.”McGrath, Gillespie and Kasprowicz bowled in the right areas constantly. They made very little errors for us to play shots. On a very good wicket we would have gone after them, but certainly not on this.”Sri Lanka are not due to tour Australia until November 2007 and, at 35, it is very unlikely that Jayasuriya will be seen again in Australia. Cairns, the venue of the second Test starting on Friday could probably be his last Test on Australian soil. “It could be my final innings in Australia, but retirement has been furthest from my mind. I am playing well at the moment and I am fit,” said Jayasuriya. “I want to take it tour by tour and see how I perform. Everything depends on my performance. I have been training and looking after my fitness really well.”He continued: “Getting runs in Australia is a big achievement for any team. It is not easy to perform against the best team in the world under their conditions. I have always wanted to perform in Australia. If I get the opportunity in Cairns I will. If I perform well it is good for the team.”Jayasuriya also said that to succeed against Australia you had to be aggressive. “You have to be on top of them all the time. We were on top of them from day one in the 1999 series which we won.”In the present series we have been able to dominate them only in the first innings which is not enough. We had this bad experience of losing to Australia even in Sri Lanka. It is disappointing. The players have realized what went wrong. The bowlers have done their job magnificently. The area that is a worry for us is our batting.”He added: “Whenever somebody gets in he should go on and play a big innings. That has been the unfortunate part of our batting. The batsmen should concentrate more and get through the hardest period and go and get a big one. Each individual must have his own responsibilities. We have been talking of not losing wickets during sessions. When you play the best side in the world you have to play hard.”

The agreement to arbitration by the Zimbabwe Cricket Union has given the rebel players some hope of playing international cricket again. Stuart Carlisle, who is currently in England on the rebels’ “Red Lions” tour, told BBC Radio Five Live: “If the right results come through, you may see a few players come back.” However, Carlisle added: “After three months of asking for arbitration, we are back to square one.”The ZCU agreed to arbitration in its ongoing dispute with the 15 rebel players after the ICC gave the two groups a 14-day deadline, starting from June 30, to start sorting out their differences, and also threatened to intervene if no solution was found. According to the ICC proposal, a three-member committee – with one member appointed by each of the two parties, and a third decided upon by those two members – would address the issues and come up with a solution which would be final. While the ZCU has agreed to this mechanism, the players have sought more time to consider the system. However, the ZCU has denied that the ICC has any jurisdiction to impose a binding solution on them, a viewpoint not shared by Ehsan Mani, the ICC president: “The ICC’s legal advice is clear in saying that it does.”The rebels, who play a Lashings XI in the first of six one-day matches in their three-week tour today (July 14), will be meeting Malcolm Speed, the ICC’s chief executive, to discuss the current situation, but Carlisle insisted there was no political agenda for the Red Lions tour.”It’s been a very stressful period for us and our families,” he said. “We are here to have a bit of fun and enjoyment. We need to have a bit of a break.” Carlisle would not comment on whether international teams should still be touring Zimbabwe, saying only: “It’s not for me to make a decision. It’s up to individual players around the world.”England are due to play five one-day internationals in Zimbabwe in November, and there have been reports that several players are unwilling to go on the tour.

The two-man delegation from Pakistan has inspected the stadium in Mohali – the venue for the forthcoming first Test against India – after being shown around the ground today.According to Reuters, the Pakistanis – Zakir Khan, the general manager of the Pakistan Board, and Sohail Khan, the senior superintendent of the Lahore police – pronounced the ground and its facilities to be “excellent and very impressive”.Zakir told reporters that there was nothing sinister in his inspection, saying such visits were now commonplace and “a part of the cricket family system”.Sohail, meanwhile, claimed that reports that Pakistan were not keen on playing in Ahmedabad were only speculation. “It has all been generated by the press. We will talk to the local administration in Ahmedabad and the final decision will be taken by the two boards.”

Thilan Samaraweera’s return to Sri Lanka’s one-day squad after a three-year absence was the only notable change as Sri Lanka announced their ODI and Test squads for their forthcoming series against Bangladesh.Samaraweera, now 28, was one of nine batsman picked in a 15-man ODI squad as the selectors rested Nuwan Zoysa due to fitness concerns and left out Lasith Malinga from the victorious India Oil Cup squad. Avishka Gunawardene was the other batsman to have been recalled; Sri Lanka now have four specialist opening batsmen. Samaraweera, who last played one-day cricket in the VB Series in Australia just prior to the 2003 World Cup, has a Test average of over 47 and has been seen as less of a one-day prospect. Zoysa’s surprise omission was due to general physical fitness concerns. According to Lalith Kaluperuma, the chairman of the selectors, he was “rested”.Sri Lanka will face Bangladesh in three one-dayers, starting on August 31, before playing two Tests from September 12-16 and 20-24. Bangladesh, coached by former Sri Lanka coach Dav Whatmore, arrive on Wednesday and will warm up for the one-day series with a practice match against a Sri Lanka President’s XI in Moratuwa on Sept 28.One-day squad
Marvan Atapattu (capt), Mahela Jayawardene, Sanath Jayasuriya, Upul Tharanga, Kumar Sangakkara (wk), Russel Arnold, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Chaminda Vaas, Upul Chandana, Farveez Maharoof, Muttiah Muralitharan, Avishka Gunawardene, Dilhara Fernando, Dilhara Lokuhettige, Thilan Samaraweera.Test squad
Marvan Atapattu (capt), Mahela Jayawardene, Sanath Jayasuriya, Kumar Sangakkara (wk), Thilan Samaraweera, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Chaminda Vaas, Farveez Maharoof, Rangana Herath, Muttiah Muralitharan, Lasith Malinga, Russel Arnold, Gayan Wijekoon, Dilhara Fernando, Shantha Kalavitigoda.

Michael Hussey has praised the good showing by Stuart Clark, the New South Wales fast bowler, in his debut Test series in South Africa and believes he is in for the long haul. As Australia prepare to take on Bangladesh for the first time on their home soil, Hussey has singled out Clark as a potent threat to the opposition.”When Glenn [McGrath] made himself unavailable for the tour of South Africa, we definitely needed someone to come to the fore,” Hussey told Sportal, an Australian website. “He got his opportunity after a long wait – really – to play Test cricket, and he grasped his opportunity with both hands by bowling absolutely beautifully on tour.”Clark was a revelation in Australia’s recent 3-0 drubbing of South Africa, claiming 20 wickets at 15.85 in his first Test series after being called up as replacement to McGrath. Clark took advantage of bowler-friendly conditions to lead Australia in total wickets, strike-rate (35.4) and registered the best individual figures for his side – 5 for 55 in the first Test at Cape Town.Hussey added that while Clark’s Test debut was overdue, he made the most of his selection and should consider himself in the running for a place in this winter’s Ashes series at home. Hussey said he expected Clark to be as effective as he was in South Africa even on the Bangladeshi wickets that traditionally offer little asstance to fast bowlers. “I hope this is the start of a long career for him,” he said. “He’s a fine bowler and a good bloke to have around the team,” he said.The first Test begins tomorrow at Fatullah.

West Indies 559 for 4 dec beat Bangladesh 284 and 176 by an innings and 99 runs
ScorecardPreview – Windies determined to make ammendsDay 1
Bulletin – Bangladesh recover to reach 264Day 2
Bulletin – Lara and Sarwan hundreds put West Indies in controlDay 3
Bulletin – Sarwan’s 261 puts West Indies in control
Quotes – Sarwan: ‘I was pretty pleased’Day 4
Bulletin – Collins steers West Indies to innings win
Verdict – Too many snakes, not enough ladders

Srinagar, the capital of Jammu and Kashmir, is all set to return to the Indian cricketing map. The exotic locale of the Himalayan valley will play host to a first-class game for the first time in 16 years when a series of Ranji Trophy matches of the 2006-07 season are held later this year.”Teams from North India will play matches against Jammu and Kashmir in Srinagar this year,” Peerzada Mohammad Syed, Minister for Youth Services and Sports, said today. It would be the first time that Ranji Trophy, India’s premier domestic championship, matches will be played in Srinagar since the eruption of militancy in 1989-90.Peerzada said he had directed the officers of his ministry to undertake necessary renovation of Bakshi stadium, indoor stadium and youth hostel, and also make lodging arrangements for the visiting players for the proposed Ranji Trophy matches.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out – Sri Lanka
How they were out – England

Sanath Jayasuriya showed his hunger for one-day cricket hasn’t dimmed with a match-winning display at The Oval. He struck a sublime 122 which, alongside crunching fifties for Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara, powered Sri Lanka towards their impressive 319 for 8. While England had Kevin Pietersen there was hope but Jayasuriya struck the key blow in the 32nd over before returning to clean up two more, snuffing out any thoughts of a fightback and, in the process, sealing a 2-0 series lead.Some aspects of England’s play were improved from an effort at Lord’s that was sometimes shambolic, yet the margin of defeat was significantly larger. Steve Harmison was outstanding in his 10-over spell and the ground fielding lifted itself by a few notches – especially the fine catches held by Pietersen and Tim Bresnan. Promising partnerships between Pietersen and Ian Bell then Pietersen and Paul Collingwood shaped a hopeful run-chase but ultimately too much rested on to few.Not all the failings from Saturday were erased, either, with 33 extras being conceded including another criminally high 21 wides. In their current form, Sri Lanka are not a team that need a helping hand and they quickly showed their intent to climb all over England while they are down.Harmison’s early pace brought the wicket of Saturday’s hero, Upul Tharanga, but once Jayasuriya and Jayawardene had assessed the conditions – and found them to be very flat – they set their sights on doing serious damage to England’s bowling figures. Jayasuriya was the first to flick the switch and unleash a volley of rasping boundaries. Sajid Mahmood was brought back following a first two-over spell that cost 26 and proved even more expensive second time around as Jayasuriya put his foot down by taking 17 off Mahmood’s fifth over, including an effortless six over midwicket.Jayawardene lost nothing in comparison to his partner and his fifty was noticeably faster, taking just 50 balls. The partnership raced past 150 and ended in the only way that appeared likely – a mix-up between the batsmen. Jayasuriya ploughed on to his 20th one-day century off 122 balls and continued a fond acquaintance with The Oval after he first signalled his presence to English crowds with a double-century in the 1998 Test. Sangakkara ensured the momentum was never lost and, after a steady start, he showed his own repertoire of boundaries and raced to his half-century from 41 balls with a swing over midwicket off the struggling Mahmood.

Chasing more than a run a ball from the outset, England needed a rapid platform. Trescothick’s start hinted at the possibility of a Jayasuriya-style onslaught but, attempting a third four, he leant back on a drive and sliced a catch to backward point. With the more orthodox pair of Strauss and Ian Bell together the innings didn’t get the flyer that was needed to exploit the fielding restrictions.Strauss tried to hit over mid-on and only located Muttiah Muralitharan at mid-off but in many ways his dismissal opened up England’s best chance of staying in the game. Pietersen started positively with a couple of crunching cover drives – one from a short-of-length ball that was still rising – and a glorious lofted drive over mid-on off Ruchira Perera, whose first two over cost 21. Pietersen found his range and overcame a painful blow to the knee from Lasith Malinga to crunch a forehand smash off the same bowler. Bell was not overshadowed and slapped a stunning straight six off Chaminda Vaas as England upped the tempo.However, Malinga made the breakthrough for Sri Lanka when Bell top-edged a pull and found Muralitharan at mid-on. With the stand flourishing it was bad timing for England and Malinga had again proved a valuable go-to man for his captain. Pietersen, who eased past fifty off 48 balls, and Collingwood formed another sensible stand and were the ideal combination to bring the required mixture of singles and boundaries.But the day quickly turned into the story of one man of which so much has already been written on tour. Jayasuriya kept firing in his non-spinning, leg-stump bullets and Pietersen fatally showed his stumps as he missed an expansive sweep. Collingwood’s typically energetic half-century came off 55 balls but the task was becoming desperate. He fell to Jayasuriya’s quicker ball and Dalrymple went in similar style with a massive air shot.The last three wickets – varying degrees of laughable run outs – summed up proceedings. Sri Lanka have dominated the two matches from start to finish, England haven’t been at the races. It would be a brave person to put money on this series being alive into next week.

Jamaica’s deputy police commissioner Mark Shields on Wednesday denied media reports that a second autopsy would be performed on the body of Bob Woolmer. “I can assure you there is no post mortem, there is no planned second post mortem,” Shields was quoted by AFP.He added that any post mortem would only be announced in consultation with the Kingston coroner’s office. “If there was any question of a second post mortem it would be something that I would discuss with him and announce,” Shields said.Several newspapers carried claims that the first autopsy was not thorough, and some have gone as far as suggesting that there were enough inconsistencies to indicate that Woolmer might not have been murdered at all, but could have died after falling heavily against a bathroom sink.The forensic pathologist, Ere Seshiah, initally claimed that the results of the first autopsy had been “inconclusive”, and Shields conceded that this might become an issue in the event of a trial. “The jury may want a second post-mortem and if we arrest someone this week and charge them, the defence counsel will want a second.”Shields also said the quality of footage taken from the CCTV cameras in the hotel was better than expected. “There were some people in the footage that I’d met in the week after the murder of Bob Woolmer that I could clearly and easily identify,” Shields said.His priority was to locate and interview as many witnesses as possible. “We are working from the inside out – it is those that we know were close to Bob Woolmer, were associates of Bob Woolmer, people who were on the same floor or close to him from the time he returned to the hotel until the time he was murdered.”He also said that it was highly likely that people had left traces of DNA at the crime scene. “The reason we’re taking DNA samples from everybody is to exclude them,” he said.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

Fresh from consigning England to their worst-ever defeat, Pakistan rubbed in the salt with a sparkling bowling performance which took them to a series win at Rawalpindi. It was their tenth victory in 11 ODIs but it was no easy task; a composed display from the bowling attack was required to hold off Kabir Ali and James Anderson’s last-gasp charge. They added 33.England had looked dead and buried at 114 for 8, chasing 211, but Ali added 50 for the ninth wicket and Ian Blackwell and then he and Anderson took England agonisingly close. In the end, though, Pakistan held their nerve to win by a slender 13 runs.They were always going to be up against it after an average showing from their batsmen. Inzamam-ul-Haq had been the mainstay of their innings, his unbeaten 81 taking Pakistan past 200, while Shahid Afridi added 34. But it was just enough.Poor old England, though – just when they thought their bowlers had restricted Pakistan to a realistic target, their batsmen narrowly failed to deliver. Andrew Flintoff top-scored with 40, and Ali posted an unbeaten 39.To be fair to both line-ups, the pitch was the trickiest of the series to date, but it was definitely a day which belonged to the bowlers. England’s attack were first up after Inzamam chose to bat. Pakistan were wobbling at 34 for 3, but Inzamam’s 82nd one-day fifty took them to 210, although this was still way short of his reckoning that 270 was par.While others around him struggled to cope with a turning pitch and some hostile England bowling, Inzamam was as laissez-faire as ever, easing the ball over midwicket, cover, straight – in fact, wherever he fancied – as he moved to an unbeaten 81.There weren’t quite the fireworks that Pakistan’s batsmen have been dishing up of late, in fact it was England’s bowlers who were the sparklers. Liam Plunkett removed their big hitters Afridi and Abdul Razzaq in successive balls to neutralise any danger of a big rearguard and his contribution was just one part of a convincing England bowling display – at long last.Flintoff and James Anderson got the ball rolling, and the wickets tumbling; their pressure caused three wickets to fall for no runs to leave Pakistan in some trouble. Salman Butt and Younis Khan fell in successive balls, then five balls later Kamran Akmal was back in the hutch, too, as Pakistan’s top order succumbed to the squeeze.Flintoff bowled a nagging line and length, and bristled with hostility, while Anderson – who was immediately upgraded from Supersub to opening bowler – proved a worthy foil, using the slower ball to good effect to deceive Akmal. Plunkett slipped in an offcutter later to scythe down Afridi and followed next ball with Razzaq’s wicket to puncture Pakistan’s momentum late on.England’s work was only just beginning though. Pakistan came strongly at them with the new ball as Rana Naved-ul-Hasan took two wickets in two balls to rock their top order and then Shoaib Akhtar followed up with the wicket of Vikram Solanki.In a double wicket maiden that rocked England, Naved got the ball to swing away and was twice rewarded for his efforts; causing Matt Prior to thick-edge through to the keeper and then trapping Andrew Strauss plumb first ball. It wasn’t long before Akhtar got his dues either, banging in a 94mph-belter which Solanki could only edge onto his stumps.

Flintoff and Marcus Trescothick set about repairing the innings, adding 45 for the fourth wicket. But their partnership was less than convincing against a polished Pakistan attack, and it wasn’t to last. Flintoff had a reprieve on 5, when his hooray to long leg had Kamran Akmal and Rana Naved-ul-Hasan careering towards each other on course for a collision. They missed each other, but also the catch.Yet it was England who were hurtling to the danger zone. Naved thought he had Trescothick on 9 – and so did the team, the crowd and the Snickometer. Even Trescothick appeared to concur, too, to judge by his guilty expression. But the umpire gave him a stay of execution.It wasn’t to last. He struggled against Arshad Khan’s first two deliveries – alarming rippers – and then he played the third for non-existent turn. It was a great bowling change after Naved had become a little wayward.If the wheels were coming off for one bowler, though, the entire bodywork of England’s batting was in a state of collapse. Flintoff was next to fall courtesy of another good change: Afridi coming into the attack to bolster the spin attack, and he trapped Flintoff in front. Then Geraint Jones capitulated to his legspin, popping up the easiest of chances to gully before Afridi made it three with Plunkett.England needed their tailenders to pull something really special out of the bag – and the final two pairings nearly delivered. Shoaib Malik came on to bowl the 48th over and had Anderson in some trouble against his spin. Anderson nurdled his way to his highest one-day total of 11 but then came the fall, as Akhtar dismissed him with one which the batsman could only fend to slip.With each member of Pakistan’s attack firing, it proved to be too tall an order and the teams will return here on Wednesday with only pride on offer for England.How they were out
PakistanSalman Butt run out (Solanki) 15 (34 for 1)
Younis Khan b Flintoff 0 (34 for 2)
Kamran Akmal b Anderson (34 for 3)
Mohammad Yousuf lbw Ali 11(58 for 4)
Shoaib Malik c Strauss b Blackwell 23 (118 for 5)
Shahid Afridi b Plunkett 34 (174 for 6)
Abdul Razzaq b Plunkett 0 (174 for 7)
Rana Naved-ul-Hasan c Collingwood b Ali 17 (208 for 8)
Shoaib Akhtar c Collingwood b Flintoff 0 (208 for 9)
Mohammad Sami c Jones b Anderson 0 (210 all out)
EnglandMatt Prior c Kamran Akmal b Naved-ul-Hasan 6 (13 for 1)
Andrew Strauss lbw b Naved-ul-Hasan 0 (13 for 2)
Vikram Solanki b Akhtar 6 (26 for 3)
Marcus Trescothick b Arshad Khan (70 for 4)
Paul Collingwood c Shoaib Malik b Sami (77 for 5)
Andrew Flintoff lbw b Shahid Afridi 40 (99 for 6)
Geraint Jones c Naved b Afridi 12 (106 for 7)
Liam Plunkett lbw b Afridi 7 (114 for 8)
Ian Blackwell run out 29 (164 for 9)
James Anderson c Younis b Akhtar (197 all out)