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Daniel Vettori will have mixed memories of his only Test at the Sinhalese Sports Club. He bowled with splendid control and variation to take his 50th Test wicket in 14 matches at the age of 19, turning in a then career-best 6 for 64. But there was scant support from the other end and Sri Lanka, through a last-wicket stand of 71, set New Zealand a target of 296 in six sessions and 22 minutes. They were bowled out for 131. A series that had started favourably for New Zealand ended with two heavy defeats.On Wednesday Vettori will walk out at the SSC again, now aged 30 and captain of the side – in fact the most powerful captain in world cricket – hoping fate doesn’t repeat itself with the result of this Test. New Zealand need to win to square the series, and Vettori has called on his batsmen to play responsibly and with grit.Winning here won’t be easy, as anyone who follows Sri Lankan cricket will tell you. The last visiting side to win at the SSC, in 2004, were Australia, who displayed mental superiority under pressure. Hurting with three and five wickets down before 100 in both innings, Australia were lifted each time by double-century stands. The key to winning in Sri Lanka has always been to bat long periods, to try and grind down Sri Lanka’s spinners and graft it out. Vettori is hopeful of his side following that route to success.”We proved that we can bat long periods of time but we need to turn the 30s and 40s into something big and that’s going to be the difference between the two sides,” Vettori said ahead of New Zealand’s final practice session. “If you look at our last scorecard you’ll see [Tim] McIntosh had a high of 68 and they had two centurions. That was the big difference between us.”New Zealand battled in patches in Galle – a fact Vettori brought up on occasion – but were undone by the lack of solidity at the top, almost a naivety among inexperienced batsmen. That needs to change if New Zealand are to progress but Vettori feels the change can come only from the individuals themselves; there was only so much he can do to snap them out of their mindset.”In a lot of ways it’s not my responsibility. It’s up to them to get themselves out of it,” he said. “A good Test player finds a way to score runs in whatever mode it is. We’re selling ourselves a little bit short with some of our performances and some guys are not just grinding it out. Look at [Mahela] Jayawardene in the first Test – he almost dead-batted his way to a hundred. He was happy with his performance and he made sure he got the job done. That’s the responsibility that our guys have to get on board.”The changes, according to Vettori, had to be more about technique than personnel. New Zealand need to find an ability to sustain themselves longer in the game. “There were periods over time when were pleased with our performance on one day but we’ve got to ensure that replicates itself on the second day.”Sri Lanka’s seamers, especially Thilan Thushara, proved a pain for New Zealand in Galle but, with Kumar Sangakkara indicating that Sri Lanka were seriously considering playing three slow bowlers, Vettori said his batsmen would focus on the spinners. “We know the quality of the spinners and put a lot of attention into them. We played them particularly well, better than I’ve seen teams play spin,” Vettori said. “I was happy with that. Maybe they had a lot more security with the seamers. For them to have such a dominant role in Tests is something we need to assess. But we need to kick up our gameplan against the spinners.”One mode of tackling Muttiah Muralitharan was the sweep shot, which, contrary to concerns doing the rounds, was not a problem with New Zealand’s batsmen. “The sweep shot is used by a lot of players across the world to Muralitharan and I think that’s the only guy you should use it against,” Vettori said. “Mendis bowls it faster and we’ve worked hard on it. We talked a lot about it with Saqlain [Mushaq, the bowling consultant] and myself being a spinner when I see someone start sweeping me I find it the most difficult.”I’m the only one to have played a Test at the SSC and I have to try and reflect back on that,” Vettori said. “Back then we didn’t get enough runs to put pressure on Sri Lanka. You do try and relive some of your experiences. The good thing about coming to Sri Lanka is that the pitches are pretty similar so we should be prepared.”Eleven years ago New Zealand arrived at the SSC after a hammering in the second Test and disappointed themselves by losing the series with another big defeat. The fate of this contest depends on their ability to hit back hard.

Ricky Ponting delivered a stinging critique of England’s gamesmanship after a contentious final session in which the hosts’ 12th man and physiotherapist made multiple visits to the centre. The Australian captain’s comments were tantamount to an accusation of time-wasting by an England side attempting to save the first Test, and will do little to defuse tensions between the two sides following a fractious day’s play at Sophia Gardens.Hostilities between the camps commenced before a ball was bowled on Sunday, with Mitchell Johnson and Kevin Pietersen involved in a verbal altercation after the latter hit balls in the direction of the Australian fast bowler. They continued after the commencement of play, with Andrew Flintoff temporarily standing his ground to a Ponting catch at second slip, and again when Stuart Broad and Peter Siddle bumped shoulders in the final session. A pitch invasion staged by a pair of protesters further added to the intensity of the occasion.But the controversy most likely to linger was the involvement of Bilal Shafayat and Steve McCaig, the England 12th man and physiotherapist, who made appearances in the 102nd and 103rd overs of the innings despite scant evidence that the batsmen, Jimmy Anderson and Monty Panesar, called upon their services. Shafayat ran gloves and water to the batsmen – receiving a none too subtle chirp from Ponting for his troubles – while McCaig briefly checked on their physical condition at a time when Australia was desperately pressed for time to claim a victory that, barely an hour before, appeared an inevitability.Speaking after the match, Ponting expressed his frustration over England’s apparent stalling tactics, reprising memories of his vocal disapproval of England’s use of substitute fielders during the 2005 Ashes series. An Australian team spokesman confirmed they would not make an official complaint, although Ponting invited the ICC’s match referee, Jeff Crowe, to review the incident.”I don’t think it was required, he changed [the gloves] the over before and I don’t think they’d be too sweaty in one over,” Ponting said. “I’m not sure what the physio was doing out there. I didn’t see anyone call for the physio to come out. As far as I’m concerned, it was pretty ordinary, really. But they can play whatever way they want to play. We came to play by the rules and the spirit of the game. It’s up to them to do what they want to do.”A few guys were questioning the umpires, a few guys were questioning the 12th man, but it’s not the 12th man’s fault. Someone from upstairs was sending him out there. That’s where it needs to be taken up. There was nothing there that we could do out on the ground. We had to get them off as quick as we could and get a couple more overs.”I was unhappy with it, but it lasted a couple of minutes, and we got them off the ground. I don’t want to make that big a deal with it. I’m sure others will be taking it up with the England hierarchy, as they should. It’s not the reason we didn’t win. We’ve got to look at those reasons.”Andrew Strauss, the England captain, denied his side had contravened the spirit of cricket, insisting that the reasons for Shafayat’s presence on the playing field in the dying moments of the game were legitimate.”There was a lot of confusion, to be fair,” Strauss said. “We first of all sent the 12th man out to let Jimmy and Monty know there was time left, and not the overs. Then there was drink spilled on Jimmy’s gloves, and he called up to the dressing room and we weren’t sure if he needed 12th man or physio. If Ricky is upset, that’s a shame.”Our intentions were good. We weren’t trying to deliberately waste a huge amount of time. Those weren’t our tactics. Those two were playing very well out in the middle and the reality of the situation is that Australia didn’t take the final wicket and we got away with a draw.”Both captains sought to defuse the Johnson-Pietersen and Broad-Siddle rows. “It was just a few guys on the ground taking each other’s space,” Ponting said of Johnson’s verbal exchange with Pietersen. Strauss, meanwhile, insisted the match had been played in a good spirit. “I don’t think there were lines crossed,” he said.

Vanuatu have been elevated to Associate membership of the ICC. The decision, which was confirmed at the recent ICC annual conference at Lord’s, was based on the recommendations of the council’s Associate and Affiliate members and the ICC Board.The island nation from the ICC’s East-Asia Pacific (EAP) region had applied for Associate status in 2008 and was required to meet the outstanding playing standard criterion for promotion. The standard involved securing at least one victory and being highly competitive in another fixture against a top 20 Associate team and they fulfilled that requirement by beating Fiji twice in a three-match series in May this year.One of the privileges of becoming an Associate Member is additional funding which will help Vanuatu promote cricket better in the region.Despite having a limited land base, Vanuatu have 18 grounds that have been used in competition in the past 12 months and also boast substantial under-age competition with 113 junior boys’ and 44 junior girls’ teams.And last month the Vanuatu Under-19 men’s team beat their Associate equivalents from Fiji and Japan to reach the global qualifying event for next year’s U-19 World Cup.The elevation of Vanuatu lifts it to the second tier of ICC membership and they become the 35th Associate Member of the game’s global governing body. The ICC also has 10 Full Members and now 59 Affiliates.ICC president David Morgan said: “I am delighted to welcome Vanuatu to Associate membership of the ICC. “It has clearly demonstrated that within its constituency cricket has made the leap from simply existing to becoming firmly established, organised and growing.”The hard work of those involved with Vanuatu Cricket has already borne fruit with significant levels of participation at junior level among girls and boys and impressive performances by the senior men’s team, illustrated by its victories over Fiji in May.”Vanuatu’s application for Associate membership was supported by the EAP’s two ICC Full Members, Australia and New Zealand, and they become the fourth Associate Member in the region alongside Fiji, Japan and Papua New Guinea.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were outThe frustration got to Yuvraj Singh who backed away and lost his stumps to a shooter from Suresh Raina•Associated Press

It didn’t rain runs in either of the two matches at Kingsmead but there was no shortage of entertainment value as the bowlers called the shots in what is regarded as a sloggers’ game. When Chennai Super Kings limped to what looked like a barely defendable 116, Kings XI Punjab trooped off with the belief that a confirmed semi-final berth was just an hour-and-a-half away. But they were treated to a harsh lesson by Chennai’s spinners, led by the wily Muttiah Muralitharan, and never at any stage since their introduction did Punjab look like matching the mounting asking rate.The stern test couldn’t have come at a worse time for Punjab, who after this defeat, became the favourites not to make the semi-finals. Chennai were virtually in the top four before this match but the 24-run win only tightened their grip at second place.MS Dhoni, at the toss, justified the addition of an extra offspinner by pointing to the number of left-handers in the line-up. The strategy worked as the trio of offspinners – Muralitharan, R Ashwin and Suresh Raina – choked the runs and forced them into taking risks. The figures tell the story – their combined quota of 12 overs cost only 38 runs and yielded six wickets.The most decisive phase in the chase was Muralitharan’s spell. He came in when Chennai conceded 13 off an over by Thilan Thushara – the most expensive of the innings – and struck soon with the wicket of Simon Katich, who lost his legstump after shuffling across too far. The ball gripped, stopped on the batsmen and on the whole made scoring very difficult. The array of left-handers struggled to milk the singles, let alone find the odd boundary and went into their shell by shouldering arms.Sensing the truckload of pressure the batsmen had been putting on themselves, Dhoni, interestingly, didn’t over-attack the batsmen and instead placed fielders at the boundary, trying to tempt the batsmen into hitting out. Though the boundary riders came into play only towards the fag end of the innings, the pressure tactics applied by Dhoni contributed to Punjab’s capitulation.Even Yuvraj Singh was rendered clueless, plodding around for 18 deliveries for his six before he backed away in desperation and lost his stumps to a shooter from Suresh Raina. Punjab earlier pinned their hopes on Luke Pomersbach – one among only two batsmen to cross double figures – but he too fell to the spinners, edging Murali to slip.

In the five-over passage before the time-out, Punjab managed only 16 runs. Now with the loss of those two wickets, plus the fall of Kumar Sangakkara, the run-rate dipped to three an over, unimaginable by Twenty20 standards. None of the three spinners looked easy to get away. Murali used flight and got it to grip and turn; Raina bowled a much flatter trajectory and forced the batsmen to check using their feet; Ashwin relied on bowling a more stump-to -stump line. The frustration of not being able to put away the only spinner in the trio without international experience forced Sangakkara into chipping one back to Ashwin.From there, the innings was a freefall and there was an air of inevitability to the result by the 15th over. Punjab’s capable lower-order hitters couldn’t quite turn the script around, and it was all over when 32 was needed off the final over.The worried faces at the dugout was in sheer contrast to when the inimitable Sreesanth nearly scaled the entire perimeter of the outfield in celebration after pegging back Dhoni’s offstump with an inswinging yorker. Back then, Punjab had Chennai in a spot of bother at 70 for 4 in the tenth over, wrecking a brisk opening stand of 40 between George Bailey and Parthiv Patel.Their stand was the only passage of play in the entire match which witnessed some fluency in the strokeplay. They lost control when Ramesh Powar came on in the fifth over, which brought a run-out. Powar was just as effective as Chennai’s spinners, keeping the runs down and applying pressure on the batsmen to build on the opening stand.Sreesanth’s double-strike dented Chennai further and it reflected in the way the lower order failed to push the scoring. They swung their bats at everything, made room to improvise and managed only two fours and a six in the last ten overs, which yielded 46 runs. Punjab managed only twice the number of fours in their entire innings. The gulf between the two sides was, however, much wider than those figures indicate.

Hampshire 216 and 107 for 3 (Carberry 58) beat Worcestershire 132 (Cork 4-10) and 189 (Solanki 73, Tomlinson 3-53) by seven wickets
ScorecardMichael Carberry helped Hampshire to their target with a half century•Getty Images

It may have taken Hampshire a little longer than had seemed likely on the second day, and they stumbled just short of the finishing line, but their seven-wicket victory over Worcestershire was still emphatic enough to delight acting captain Nic Pothas.”This was a clinical performance and comes on the back of a very good pre-season,” said Pothas after his team completed their task with four sessions to spare. “There are obviously areas which we need to touch up on but it’s early and we are still getting into the swing of things. But I’m ecstatic to win.”Needing 106 to polish off Worcestershire, Hampshire might have wobbled if Daryl Mitchell had managed to hold one of two difficult slip chances which came his way, off the bowling of Kabir Ali, when Michael Carberry had made four and 15. Neither stuck, however, and despite losing James Adams (8) – lbw, playing down the wrong line against spinner Gareth Batty – Hampshire were never seriously troubled.Carberry went on to score 58 and should have completed the job with John Crawley. Instead, he played on against medium-pacer Mitchell, who then made it two wickets in five balls with Michael Lumb spooning a gentle catch to backward square leg. That completed a pair for Lumb but, at 99 for three, Hampshire were almost home and dry.The hosts have power to add, too, with Australia’s Marcus North arriving next week, captain Dimitri Mascarenhas returning after the Indian Premier League and last season’s leading bowler, Imran Tahir, due to replace North as overseas recruit come June. As for Worcestershire, they can only hope their Australian – just arrived fast bowler Ashley Noffke – can make a difference, but it is their batting, without the retired Graeme Hick, which looks thin.”It will take time to replace Graeme but I’m happy with the look of the top six,” insisted beaten captain Vikram Solanki. “But we have to work harder to ensure we bounce back from this defeat.”The efforts of Solanki and Chris Whelan, who added 97 for the eighth wicket on the second evening, underlined just how poorly most of their top order colleagues had performed while Worcestershire were crumpling to 53 for seven. And the defiance continued on Friday once light drizzle relented after an hour’s delay.Indeed, it all looked rather comfortable for 20 minutes, not only when Solanki was facing but also for his latest partner, No 10 Matt Mason, as Chris Tremlett and James Tomlinson huffed and puffed without seriously threatening to blow anyone down. No wonder, then, that Solanki berated himself after gifting Hampshire his wicket.The visiting captain moved to 73 – the top score of the match – with the help of a crashing off drive and a scything pull against Tomlinson. But when the left-arm paceman served up a short, wide offering outside off stump, Solanki cut it straight and true to Michael Carberry at point. Still, at least Worcestershire’s No 3 had put some fight back into his team with that 159-ball innings, and last man Imran Arif battled on with Matt Mason until, almost inevitably, Dominic Cork struck with the final delivery before lunch.Cork, always willing to try something different, bounced Mason. It was an outrageously slow slower ball, though, that ended the innings, bowling a bemused Mason for 25. Cork looked mighty pleased with himself – and why not after a highly successful debut which contributed six wickets and 25 handy runs to Hampshire’s cause. Plenty more of both are likely to follow.

Division Two

3rd dayKent’s captain, Martin van Jaarsveld, lifted his side clear of danger on the penultimate day at Chelmsford, cracking his second century in as many matches to secure a first-innings lead of 226 against Essex. Van Jaarsveld came to the crease with his side in some danger at 113 for 2, still trailing by 52 after being asked to follow on, but a third-wicket stand of 124 with James Tredwell (79) ensured against any further damage. Darren Stevens then set his side up for a draw by reaching the close on 74 not out in a total of 391 for 5. Danish Kaneria was the most successful of Essex’s bowlers with 2 for 109.4th dayJon Lewis and Steve Kirby shared three wickets apiece as Gloucestershire saw off a determined run-chase from Northamptonshire to win by 44 runs on the final day at Wantage Road. Set a daunting 371 for victory, Northants were handily placed overnight on 200 for 5, with Andrew Hall and David Willey unbeaten in a sixth-wicket stand of 98. That partnership was soon ended when Willey fell to Vikram Banerjee for 47, and though Hall fell nine runs short of his century when Alex Gidman pinned him lbw, Steven Crook ensured the chase went on by marshalling the tail with 55 from 82 balls. The end, however, came quickly, as Kirby and Lewis returned with the new ball, and extracted the last three wickets for four runs.England’s Under-19 batsman James Taylor guided Leicestershire to safety with the first first-class hundred of his fledgling career, as Middlesex were thwarted in their victory push at Southgate. After being asked to follow on midway through the third day, Leicestershire were handily placed on 177 for 2 when play resumed, and though Tim Murtagh gave them some early jitters with three wickets for nine runs, including Boeta Dippenaar for 93, Taylor didn’t let their position slide away in a determined 197 ball innings. He received stoic support from the tail, with Paul Nixon making a virtually strokeless 31 in almost three and a half hours, before Wayne White and Carl Crowe flung the bat with more abandon as the match petered out in the closing overs.After losing an entire day to rain, Glamorgan and Derbyshire managed just 5.3 overs on the final day at Cardiff as their match finished as a very soggy draw. In the time available, Robert Croft claimed Daniel Redfern for his third wicket of the innings, but it was all academic.

Division One

3rd dayNottinghamshire cemented their overnight advantage against Lancashire on a curtailed third day at Old Trafford, as they extended their first innings from 263 for 6 to 367 for 9 declared, a lead of 178. The mainstays of their day were the captain Chris Read, who was run out for 63, and Paul Franks, who made 51 from 86 balls in his first first-class outing of the season. Lancashire were left with a solitary over before an early, which was negotiated without alarm.Matt Prior responded to his omission from England’s Twenty20 squad with a bruising unbeaten century, as Sussex fought back after an early collapse against Hampshire at The Rose Bowl. After losing the second day to the weather, Hampshire declared after 5.5 overs on 350 for 8, whereupon Dominic Cork continued his penchant for early breakthroughs by claiming the wickets of Michael Yardy and Ed Joyce. Chris Nash fell to James Tomlinson for 33, and when Murray Goodwin was run out for 7, Sussex were staring down the barrel at 97 for 4. But Prior sprung to the rescue with his first century of the season, as he dominated a fifth-wicket stand of 74 with Andy Hodd, who made 25 before become Cork’s third wicket of the innings.4th dayFor a full report from the final day between Somerset and Durham at Taunton click here.For a full report from the final day between Yorkshire and Worcestershire at Headingley click here.

England batsman Kevin Pietersen has admitted that the tumultuous events of the last few months over him quitting captaincy and the sacking of former coach Peter Moores had drained him mentally during the ongoing tour of the West Indies. In an interview to the , Pietersen opened up about the way he was treated as captain, saying he didn’t always get what he wanted and the whole experience caused a lot of hurt to him and his family.Pietersen failed to establish a proper working relationship with Moores and the rift between the two cost the coach his job. Pietersen, however, insisted that the team atmosphere has been sound all tour, despite the sudden personnel changes now with Andrew Strauss and Andy Flower stepping in as captain and interim coach.”What happened in January (quitting from captaincy) drained me mentally and I know people have been watching me and talking about me throughout this tour,” he told the paper. “It’s been a heck of a tough time and I’m at the end of my tether now. Really and truly I can’t wait to get home.”I liked the way the guys played under me and the approach that we had, but I never had everything I wanted as England captain. That’s the thing that gets me. My England captaincy was not the England captaincy I wanted, that’s what will live with me for a long time.”There was a lot of hurt for me and my family at the way it ended and a lot of what was written was unfounded, but the bad feelings don’t linger. I wouldn’t have done anything differently with the benefit of hindsight because I did everything by the book. Straussy got what I wanted but good luck to him because he’s a top man. I know he’ll make the most of it.”He added that he had made a conscious effort all tour to allow Strauss to make his own decisions and will perhaps offer advice during the Ashes this summer.”I haven’t offered much advice on this tour to Strauss nor have I been asked for it,” Pietersen said. “It’s been too close to the bone in terms of what happened in January and that has made it difficult for me to get involved in decisions.’I haven’t wanted to step on his toes. I’d rather let him get on with it and do what he needs to do. Maybe in the summer it will be time for me to voice my opinion a bit more but for now I’m keeping myself to myself.”He also insisted that he would never consider captaincy again. “It’s not somewhere I want to go and dive into,” he said. “After the way I was let down I just don’t think I want to get involved in that again.”

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out
AB de Villiers made a fine 84 before Peter Siddle ended his resistance•AFP

The transitional period is over. An emphatic series win in South Africa will imbue Australia with confidence that, after a harrowing six-month search, they have uncovered a crop of cricketers capable of competing with the world’s best.The Australians sealed a comprehensive 175-run victory at Kingsmead shortly before tea on the fifth day, prompting scenes of jubilation from a team barely recognisable to that which last tasted series success on South African shores. In claiming an unassailable 2-0 series lead, Ricky Ponting’s band of rookies defended the No. 1 Test ranking earned by their venerable forebears and created a difficult situation for Andrew Hilditch’s selection panel when the likes of Brett Lee, Stuart Clark and Andrew Symonds return in the coming months.How South Africa long for such a problem. Just a fortnight ago, Graeme Smith’s men commenced a series they firmly believed would deepen the scarring of a fledgling Australian line-up and result in a new world order in Test cricket. Instead, they slumped to their first defeat in 11 series, and first at home since Australia last toured in 2006. A long period of introspection beckons.Three years ago, Australia relied upon Shane Warne to spin them victory in Durban. This time, it was the unlikely figure of Simon Katich, the occasional left-arm wrist spinner who, prior to Tuesday, had claimed just one Test scalp in four years. Katich took three of the final four wickets to fall on the fifth day to close out South Africa’s second innings at 370 (the injured Smith did not bat) and make a dead rubber of next week’s encounter in Cape Town.Ponting has been accused of tactical rigidity since the retirements of Warne and Glenn McGrath, but is now unearthing new, improvised methods of achieving victory. The captain’s manouverings have looked all the better for the herculean efforts of Mitchell Johnson and Peter Siddle, both of whom have made major improvements in the past year and look a combination capable of leading the Australian attack for years to come.

Ponting has leaned heavily on Johnson in this series – the left-armer has bowled 101.3 overs in Johannesburg and Durban, 78 more deliveries than his opposite number, Dale Steyn – and will be aware of the need to reduce that workload in future. The selection of a specialist spinner, such as Bryce McGain, could got far to resolving that issue, and the Cape Town Test may be viewed as an opportunity to tinker.The answers are less obvious for South Africa. Blessed with a gifted, youthful line-up, they will no doubt rebound from this disappointment and challenge the likes of Australia and India in the years to come. But their lack of edge and intensity since Melbourne will deeply concern Smith in the immediate term, given the high hopes held for the return series in South Africa and the establishment of a new cricketing dynasty.Australia’s quest for a third consecutive Test victory over the South Africans, dating back to the Sydney Test, began inauspiciously on Tuesday, with Michael Clarke turfing Jacques Kallis to a straightforward chance at point. The reprieve was Kallis’ second from the bowling of Siddle – the first coming from the first ball he faced on Monday – and prompted dejected looks among the Australians. Johnson, though, ensured the mistake would not fester, removing the South African allrounder in the next over with a shorter, angling delivery that deflected off the outside edge and came to rest in the sure hands of Ponting at second slip.Siddle was soon rewarded for his persistence with the wicket of the dangerous AB de Villiers, effectively terminating the South African resistance. This match could well have been Siddle’s finest on the international stage, and his delivery to de Villiers – fast, angling in, seaming away and shaving the edge – was from the very top shelf. South Africa were 279 for 4 midway through the session, and fighting for survival.The hosts benefited from another reprieve when the luckless Siddle watched forlornly as Brad Haddin spilled JP Duminy diving to his left. But, again, reinforcements were close at hand, and Ben Hilfenhaus promptly accounted for him with a short, sharp delivery that deflected from the gloves and flew to Haddin, no doubt grateful for his chance at redemption.The initial in-roads made by the pacemen, it was left to Australia’s makeshift spin attack to close out the innings. Katich removed Paul Harris on the stroke of lunch, and Marcus North dismissed the dogged Mark Boucher in the ensuring session to place Australia within sight of victory. Katich returned for the wickets of Morne Morkel and Steyn, and a famous Australian triumph was sealed.

ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat believes the referral system has helped considerably in reaching correct on-field decisions. “The referral system has improved the rate of giving correct decisions,” he said. “The idea is to give [the umpires] sufficient help to get the decisions correct. We have seen that the percentage of the correct decisions has gone up from 94% to 98% with this system in place.”A final decision, he said, would be arrived at soon. “The ICC’s cricket committee will decide on the matter in May and put forward its proposal to the executive board in June.”The system, first trialled internationally on India’s tour of Sri Lanka in July-August last year, was also tried out in the two-Test series between New Zealand and West Indies in December.A slight modification was introduced for the current series between West indies and England, with the number of referrals per team in each innings reduced from three to two. Depending on the success, it may stay that way for the South Africa-Australia series later this month.The system has not been without its fair share of criticism, though. Sachin Tendulkar, who was part of the India team when on that Sri Lanka tour, recently said he was not impressed with it. “There is still an element of uncertainty in the system,” he said. “I still prefer the Hot Spot system to identify the contact between the ball and bat.”

Run Forrest run
It’s a nice line for a movie. Not always in cricket. Virender Sehwag,who was in complete control in the middle and had started to indulgehimself against the seamers, ran himself out. He whipped ashort of a length delivery from well outside off through midwicket andran two. Speed often kills, greed sometimes kills. He turned for thethird run, perhaps thinking Muttiah Muralitharan wasn’t going to get his throwquickly to the bowler. Muralitharan relayed the throw to Sanath Jayasuriyastanding near the 30-yard circle. The ball reached the bowler ThilanThushara who broke down the stumps, with Sehwag making a desperatedive at the crease.To run or not to run
Mahendra Singh Dhoni pushed the ball towards long-on and set off for a run.Just a tiny snag in the operation, though. Yusuf Pathan was caughtball-watching and only responded after he realised there was no mid-onin place. Dhoni had a few words to say to Yusuf. Next over, Dhonicalled Yusuf again for a quick single. This time, Yusuf respondedimmediately. He shouldn’t have. There was no run in it and he wascaught well short of the crease. As he walked off he spit the chewinggum in the air and flayed it with his bat. Wonder if it got stuck onhis bat.Shout loud and long to get the umpire’s nod
It’s a nice philosophy that works many a time. Nuwan Kulasekara hitSachin Tendulkar’s pad with an in-cutter and turned around to screechout an appeal. The umpire Brian Jerling was impassive. Kulasekara persisted with the appeal. Tendulkar decided it was time to show his bat to Jerling, indicating an inside edge. Mistake. The umpire showed the fatal finger. The replays didn’t reveal any edge but showed that the ball was missing leg stump. Ah well…Version two: Yuvraj Singh is caught in front by that man Kulasekara again. He knows his umpires well. Again, he let out a long cry from hell that moved Gamini Silva enough to lift his finger. Yuvraj was dead in front of the middle stump but Silva missed out a minor detail – a big inside edge.Shout loud and long but have a look at the batsman too
Dhoni tried to glance a delivery down the leg side off Farveez Maharoof and the bowler went up in appeal for a catch. He pleaded. Jerling kept quiet. Maharoof was turning red when Jerling asked him to have a look at the batsman. A puzzled Maharoof turned to see that Dhoni had long vacated the scene. A sheepish grin spread across his face when Mahela Jayawardene enveloped him with a bear hug.Six thrills
Adam Gilchrist once said that the greatest thrill about hitting asix is that the batsman knows that it’s a six a fraction of a second beforethe rest of the stadium knows. Yuvraj would have reallyappreciated that feeling today. Hitting sixes is not uncommon for himbut he swung his nemesis – Ajantha Mendis- over long-off today. Hehit Mendis for a six in the previous tour but that was an act ofdesperation before Mendis swallowed him in the same over with aperfect carom ball. However, today, Yuvraj had pocketed the queen(red) and won that board game.Crowd trouble
Ishant Sharma was hit by a nut/stone/unidentified flying object by some nutter in the crowd when he was standing at fine leg in the 24th over. But to blame the crowd for one person’s moment of madness would be wrong. They have been a lovely crowd actually, swaying to the tunes belted out by the local band and enjoying the game under the lights. Play was held up for five minutes when Jayawardene went with the umpires to the offending area to pacify the crowd while the Indians got into a huddle near the pitch. Security thickened immediately around the boundary line.Old trick fails some times
Ishant speared one down the leg side, evading the attempted glance from Thillina Kandamby. Dhoni, perhaps egged on by the appeals when India batted, let out a shout. The thought had to be applauded: Belt out an appeal to escape from a wide. However, umpire Brian Jerling proved a killjoy and extended his arms. Hopefully, in gully cricket, it still works.Stumped
The equation for Sri Lanka was 56 from 39 balls when Zaheer Khan yorked Maharoof. It was the perfect yorker that squeezed under the bat and hit leg stump. Well, almost perfect. The bail didn’t fall. What’s more, the ball proceeded to run away to the fine-leg boundary. A reporter wondered whether the stumps were sponsored by Fevicol. Alas, Maharoof didn’t prove tooadhesive, though. He fell in the next over, yorked by Ishant, who thanked him as he departed.