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Brian Lara has returned to the highest echelon of the world’s Test batsmen as a result of his efforts in the West Indies’ series victory over Sri Lanka.Lara supplanted Australia’s Matthew Hayden at the top of the Test batting rankings issued by PriceWaterhouseCoopers today. Sachin Tendulkar remains unchallenged as the world’s leading one-day international batsman with Lara in fourth place. The big mover in the ODI batting is Marcus Trescothick of England, who leapt six places to No 7 on the batting list.The bowling is dominated by South Africa’s Shaun Pollock, who sits atop both the Test and ODI rankings.The top 10 lists are:Tests:Batting: Brian Lara (West Indies), Matthew Hayden (Australia), Ricky Ponting (Australia), Sachin Tendulkar (India), Michael Vaughan (England), Jacques Kallis (South Africa), Adam Gilchrist (Australia), Inzamam-ul-Haq (Pakistan), Rahul Dravid (India), Herschelle Gibbs (South Africa),Bowling: Shaun Pollock (South Africa), Muttiah Muralitharan (Sri Lanka), Glenn McGrath (Australia), Harbhajan Singh (India), Jason Gillespie (Australia), Andrew Caddick (England), Makhaya Ntini (South Africa), Shoaib Akhtar (Pakistan), Anil Kumble (India), Jacques Kallis (South Africa).ODIs:Batting: Tendulkar, Ponting, Gibbs, Lara, Gilchrist, Chris Gayle (West Indies), Marcus Trescothick (England), Michael Bevan (Australia), Hayden, Ramnaresh Sarwan (West Indies).Bowling: Pollock, Muralitharan, McGrath, Ntini, Chaminda Vaas (Sri Lanka), Brett Lee (Australia), Shane Bond (New Zealand), Gillespie, Zaheer Khan (India), Harbhajan.

He didn’t quite come to the Adelaide Oval with a smoking gun, but Shane Bond has thrown his hat into the ring for New Zealand Test selectionnonetheless with an impressive performance late on the third day of the tour match against South Australia today. By stumps, the South Australianshad been reduced to a second innings score of 4/130 after they had earlier conceded a narrow deficit on the first.Bond (2/30), vying with fellow pacemen Daryl Tuffey (0/6) and Chris Martin (0/26) for a vacant Test fast bowling slot, had been forced to watchthe action from the sidelines for most of the day as his team patiently chiselled out a 17-run first innings lead.But, when his chance arrived, he seized it with both hands. He induced David Fitzgerald (0) to chop the very first delivery of the Redbacks’ inningsback into the stumps, and then rattled the castle of Shane Deitz (8) eight overs later with a classical yorker. He was bowling down-breeze on ablustery day in Adelaide – and television replays suggested both scalps had been obtained from no balls – but there was no denying the strength ofhis impression. He developed excellent pace and maintained disciplined line and length in each of two spells.Admittedly, Tuffey also bowled well and the spinning prowess of Daniel Vettori (2/43) continued to make life difficult for the batsmen too. But, asthe Redbacks were led most of the way to stumps by the experienced pairing of Greg Blewett (61) and Darren Lehmann (51), there was nomember of the attack more impressive than the 26-year old right armer.Earlier, Tuffey (56) had made a decisive impact of his own with the bat in the course of New Zealand’s progression to a first innings total of 314.Around more than two sessions of vigilant batting from the Kiwis, the powerfully-built right hander added some much-needed aggression to histeam’s innings in the lead-up to tea, clubbing two glorious sixes over mid wicket and slamming several inside-out drives over the off side on the wayto only the third half-century of his first-class career.Therein, he matched the standards of attacking entertainment that had been established by Adam Parore (48) before lunch, and had nearly evenoverhauled top scorer Lou Vincent (74) by the end of his cameo effort.Vincent, for his own part, again played well, but the exuberance that bubbled over into his play yesterday wasn’t quite replicated. Before he playeda delivery from fiery left arm paceman Mark Harrity (2/22) back into his stumps shortly after lunch, he remained keen to play off the front foot andunfurled more of his flourishing and technically correct strokes. But he was also tied down for long periods, never more so than at the outset of theday when the nagging accuracy of pace bowlers Mike Smith (1/38) and Paul Rofe (0/29) kept the accumulation of runs to a premium.The opening 31 deliveries of the day from impressive youngster Rofe were all dot balls, and just three runs were taken from his first 37 in total.At the other end of the day, Vettori also shut down the scoring rate when he lured Blewett into driving a catch to mid on and Lehmann into lobbingback a caught and bowled chance from the final ball before stumps.It all helped to bookend a generally laboured day of batting from both teams.

Liverpool forward Luis Suarez has again commented on his suspension for racism from last season, refusing to forget the incident.

The Uruguay international was given an eight-match ban after being found guilty of racially abusing Manchester United defender Patrice Evra, but has once more claimed his innocence.

“The suspension, I suppose, you could call strange and unbelievable,” the South American is quoted as saying in The Guardian.

“Without a single shred of proof, they suspended me. I accepted it without saying anything obviously because they could have made the suspension longer and it would have just made the whole thing continue, but my conscience is completely calm, and so is that of the club and my family.

“There was not a single convincing proof that I had done any of the things they accused me of doing. I am very calm about all of it.

“I have played all my childhood and everyone knows that in Uruguay there is a huge black population. I had team-mates and friends of both colours all the time in the national team, in Liverpool, in Holland, where the majority [of players] are from Surinam, and I never had any problem with them.

“Holland is one of the countries in the world where there is the highest number of black players and at no point was there an issue.

“Well, these are the things about football. It seems to me that they had to get rid of a Liverpool player and, well, they definitely were gratified by all of this,” he concluded.

FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. Subscribe FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.

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By Gareth McKnight

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Sarwar Imran, the Sylhet Super Stars coach, confirmed that Mushfiqur Rahim resigned as captain on his own terms ahead of the team’s clash against Barisal Bulls on Sunday. Shahid Afridi’s appearance at the toss merely confirmed rumours that had been going around for close to 48 hours of a change in Sylhet’s captaincy.Imran also revealed plenty of discussion involving the team owner and Afridi, who tried to persuade Mushfiqur to change his decision on the eve of the match. “As far as I know, Mushfiqur said that he wanted to see a change in the captaincy,” Imran said after Sylhet’s nine-wicket win. “There’s a lot of pressure on him. He has to bat, keep wickets and on top of that we have lost two matches by one run and one by six runs. He wanted some relief. I heard about it from the team owner. Shahid Afridi had asked Mushfiqur to remain as captain but Mushfiqur handed it over to him.I spoke to him during the team meeting. He doesn’t want to be captain for the remaining matches in the BPL. We held a few small meetings afterwards. We decided last night that Mushfiqur and Ravi Bopara will help Shahid Afridi in the field, and that’s how it was in the middle today. Three of them will captain in the field, and officially the captain will be Shahid Afridi.”Imran said he wasn’t open to a change at the top, given the team just won one of their first six matches, but said even Mushfiqur was on the same page as far as the change was concerned.Mahmudullah, Barisal’s captain and Mushfiqur’s brother-in-law, said that the resignation surprised him. “It was unexpected. I didn’t know that Mushfiqur won’t be the captain. But of course it is their decision.”This isn’t the first time that Mushfiqur has resigned from the captaincy. In 2013, he quit the Bangladesh captaincy after they lost the ODI series against Zimbabwe but was later convinced by the BCB to continue in the role.

Steve Harmison has suffered a setback in his race to be fit for Saturday’s Friends Provident Trophy final against Hampshire at Lord’s, after pulling up with a stiff back during Durham’s championship fixture against Surrey at Chester-le-Street.Harmison missed England’s recent Test series against India after undergoing a hernia operation, but he seemed to be coming back to fitness when he had a gentle workout against Sri Lanka A last week, followed by a full part in Durham’s three-wicket Pro40 defeat against Kent at Canterbury on Sunday.However, the after-effects of that match appear to have caught up with him, for the moment at least. The Durham squad returned home from Kent at 2.30am, and then began their Championship match a mere eight-and-a-half hours later. Harmison bowled seven overs on the first evening, taking one wicket, but managed just two more on Tuesday morning.”He has got a bit of a stiff back and we’re having it checked out,” said Durham’s coach Geoff Cook. “He won’t take any part today [Wednesday], but we still hope he can bowl tomorrow.”

A limited number of tickets are still available for the Friends Provident Trophy Final at Lord’s between Durham and Hampshire on Saturday August 18. Tickets are priced £40 for adults and £10 for children under 16, and may be bought online via the Lord’s ticket website at www.lords.org or by phone direct from the Ticket Office on 020 7432 1000.

Division One

Second day

Nic Pothas blazed his way to a century for Hampshire © Getty Images

Just 37 overs were possible in Lancashire‘s crucial clash against Warwickshire at Blackpool, during which time the home side moved on to 429 for 6. Halfway through this match, and with not one innings yet completed, a draw is looking likely.Iain Sutcliffe converted his century to 159 before falling to Imran Tahir, one of four victims for the bowler. Lee Daggett bagged the other wicket, claiming Glen Chapple just after Lancashire had passed the 400-mark.Joe Sayers struck his fifth first-class hundred to boost Yorkshire‘s reply to Middlesex‘s 376 at Scarborough. Sayers steered Yorkshire to 273 for 5, providing the glue where his team-mates came a bit unstuck: Anthony McGrath and Darren Lehmann both falling just short of their half-centuries as they were looking settled. Johann Louw was the most successful bowler for Middlesex, with 2 for 60 from 19.1 overs.First dayNic Pothas rallied Hampshire with a century in a must-win game for the visitors against table-topping Sussex at Hove. Shane Warne also provided inspiration to his troops in his first Championship match in three weeks with 53 as the pair added 117 for the eighth-wicket. Sussex enjoyed the early ascendancy as Hampshire were reduced to 117-5 but Chris Benham then also offered valuable support to Pothas with a half-century. Jason Lewry, Yasir Arafat and Mushtaq Ahmed all picked up three wickets as Hampshire were eventually dismissed for 347. Sussex closed the opening day on 30-0 in reply.

Division Two

Second dayNorthamptonshire cemented a solid position against Derbyshire on day two at Derby. Building on their overnight 122 for 2, they moved to 379 for 7 by the close, meaning they have already carved out a lead of 257 after dismissing the home side for 167 yesterday. Lance Klusener led the charge today, bludgeoning his way to 107 not out off 149 balls, with nine fours and two sixes, while Chris Rogers posted 112.Essex still require 28 runs to avoid the follow-on as Worcestershire built on their commanding position at New Road. The home side declared on their overnight total of 473 for 6 – thus denying Essex a bonus point as the two sides vie for the second promotion spot – and were soon among the wickets. Andy Flower’s dismissal soon after lunch for a painstaking five had the visitors in trouble at 88 for 3 before vital contributions from Varun Chopra (70), Ronnie Irani (66) and James Foster (80) brought about a recovery. But the dismissals of Irani, who passed 1000 Championship runs for the season, and Foster in successive overs to soft dismissals to the spinners gave Worcester renewed hope. James Middlebrook then lost his middle stump to give Zaheer Khan his second success before bad light brought a premature close.Surrey are now in control of their match against Glamorgan at The Oval after dismissing the visitors for 269, with wickets being shared around their bowlers. But Glamorgan’s pace unit struck back in Surrey’s second innings, Dean Cosker and David Harrison removing the top three, including the dangerous Mark Ramprakash, to leave them in some disarray at 45 for 3. However, the home side will be happy with their lead of 209, with seven wickets in hand.

The Barmy Army plans to invade Pakistan © Cricinfo Ltd.

The England and Wales Cricket Board have told the Pakistan Cricket Board to expect an unusually large contingent of English fans for the upcoming series between the two countries following England’s success in the Ashes.Shaharyar Khan, the PCB chairman, told Reuters, “We were expecting some English supporters but we have now been told their number could be higher than earlier anticipated. We should know the exact number soon”.Shaharyar confirmed that Pakistan was prepared to host any number of English supporters but had no plans to put them in separate enclosures. “We don’t want any segregation of their fans. But if we get a request to have separate seating arrangements for them we have no problem with that.”The travelling Barmy Army will be a welcome addition to stadiums in Pakistan. Steadily, over the last decade, Test match attendance has been in sharp decline. When India toured last year in March, they played the three Tests in front of near-empty stands.But England’s win in the Ashes, followed widely throughout the world, has added extra lustre to a rivalry that is, traditionally, keenly contested and eagerly followed. Michael Vaughan, England captain, has stressed the importance of the contest, claiming only good performances on winter tours to Pakistan and India would establish his team as the best in the world.By announcing a full-strength squad for the tour, comprising five one-day internationals and three Test matches, starting from October 26, England selectors dispelled fears that leading players might pull out due to security reasons. The ECB’s refusal to play a Test in Karachi was based on security concerns for players as well as fans.Shaharyar added, “Definitely England have dethroned the world champions and sponsors are now realising the marketing opportunities available in the series. The fans are also now expecting a well-contested series and we are happy that all their leading players are coming.”

Marvan Atapattu breathed a sigh of relief after Sri Lanka clawed their way back © Getty Images

Marvan Atapattu
On Sri Lanka’s performance
To start with, it wasn’t our best performance on the field, but having saidthat, having come back to the dressing-room we wanted to make up for whathappened in the Asia Cup against India when we lost by four runs chasing270-odd. It was a good pitch and it did not deteriorate as much as peoplewould have thought. It was low but good for batting.On the run-chase
As Graeme [Smith] said we were able to pick up singles easily for ashort while in the middle of the innings. But we planned the chase in such away that the required rate never lifted above seven. It was under six formost of the time. And we ensured that we still had batsmen remaining at theend.On Kaushal Lokuarachchi’s return to the team
Lokuarachchi only went out of the team because of a few unfortunate incidents, but he is a competitive player and can contribute to the team in all three aspects of the game.On the importance of the win for the series
It is definitely good to have won the first game of the series. But they are a good, competitive side. Not many sides would have put 260 on the board. Even in the Asia Cup we did not see many of those kind of scores. It’s just that on the day we played better.On Sri Lanka’s revival
Credit should go to everybody, from the manager down to the 15th player.Everyone is contributing. Everything has fallen into place. People aretaking responsibility and everyone wants to do well. When those things fallinto shape it is so much easier to be the captain.Graeme Smith
On the game
At the end of the day 263 should have been enough for us. But if I look atthe bowling, we did well in the first 15 to keep them to 70, as against thenew ball the wicket was probably at its easiest. Our problem was from the 15-overs mark in the middle when we couldn’t contain enough runs. With thespinner bowling they were going at six or seven per over without taking toomany risks. The boys fought well to get back to where we were, but Sri Lankaplayed well at the death.On whether South Africa have the right attack for Sri Lankan conditions
I am not going to sit here and moan about my bowling attack because I knowthere is nothing better. We have got to work, challenge the guys and getthings right. We talk enough and we practise enough and there is nothingmore we can do. The guys have got to take responsibility and go and do thingsin the middle.On whether the new-look batting order worked
We are looking to get our strikers into the game a little earlier tokeep sides under pressure and take more advantage of the middle periods.When you try something new there is always going to be some working-through,but I’m pretty happy with how it went today.On the commitment of the players
The boys gave it everything and there was huge disappointment in thedressing-room. We can’t ask for anything more in terms of commitment. Wequestioned the team’s commitment, and the pride and the passion for playingfor your country after the Test match, but the guys gave everything today.We just need a little bit of a luck change. I am pretty sure we are close.

Inzamam-ul-Haq has announced he wants to play league cricket in England in an attempt to salvage his international career. Inzamam was dropped by Pakistan after managing just 19 runs in six matches in the World Cup, and watched his replacements go down fighting in a 2-1 defeat against England in the NatWest Challenge.”Since there is no domestic cricket being played in Pakistan, the only way I can satisfy the selectors about my fitness is to play some league cricket,” said Inzamam, who shed several pounds ahead of the World Cup. “I have contacted some league clubs in England through my Pakistan team-mates who are in England. Hopefully, I should be active in league cricket by early July.”Inzamam is now 33, and has played 85 Test matches for Pakistan, at an average of 48.92. “I retain my hunger and passion for the game, he added, “and I am not disheartened at being dropped after the World Cup. It happens to every player. You just have to fight back and make a comeback.”

Local league started in Bulawayo over the weekend and the most encouraging result came from the newly introduced Bulawayo Development team which recorded a comprehensive win over Milton by 184 runs. Both teams were making their debuts in first-league cricket.This innovation augurs well for cricket and the future development of black cricket in line with the policy of the Zimbabwe Cricket Union, and their progress will be closely followed.In the other match BAC beat Queens Sports Club by six wickets, with the highlight being the performance of 15-year-old Shaun Williams who took three for 21 in 5.1 overs.In the other matches played, Bulawayo Sports Club beat Macdonald Club by 44 runs while Jimbos – another club new in the league – lost to Crescents by 95 runs.Over the past few years cricket in Bulawayo has suffered from both lack of interest and apathy and it is most pleasing to see new additions to the league. The introduction of Test cricket, television coverage and the continual all-year-round cricket has provided the interest and realization that cricket and all that goes with this great game can and will be enjoyed by all races in Zimbabwe.To prepare for the forthcoming Logan Cup competition next year, Matabeleland are preparing to undertake a short tour to Kenya later in the year and are currently negotiating with the Kenya Cricket Association to organize dates. This will allow the Kenya team to prepare for the proposed overseas tour they wish to undertake early next year.