Seven of the Sri Lanka side to tour England last month have been included in a 14-man squad to represent a Sri Lanka Cricket President’s XI for the three-day warm-up match against the touring South Africans on Saturday.With the first Test beginning a week on Thursday, the focus of Saturday’s warm-up is the competition for Sri Lanka’s middle-order. Tilan Samaraweera, who had a poor Test series in England, failing to reach double figures in any of his four innings, is being given another chance to regain his place. The SSC, where the Test is being held, is a favourite of Samaraweera’s and his home ground: he averages 77.9 in 10 Tests and three of his five Test hundreds were compile there, including a career-best 142.Samaraweera will fight for a spot in the Test line-up with the 19-year-old right-hander Chamara Kapugedera, who replaced him in the final Test against England, at Trent Bridge, where he struck his maiden Test fifty in Sri Lanka’s victory to level the series.Michael Vandort and Jehan Mubarak, both left-handers, are also under pressure to perform. While Mubarak failed to get amongst the runs and was subsequently dropped against England, Vandort went onto score a hundred in the Edgbaston Test and retained his place for the rest of the series.With Sanath Jayasuriya knocking on the door once again, following a brilliant run in the one-dayers against England and Holland, the pressure on Vandort in particular is immense. Fast bowlers Nuwan Zoysa and Ruchira Perera, and the wicketkeeper Prasanna Jayawardene are the other members of the squad who toured England.South Africa, whose depleted squad numbers just 12 in the absence of Shaun Pollock and Thandi Tshabalala, will name their eleven on the morning of the match. Both players will join the squad next week ahead of the Test matches although time will be tight for Pollock, whose wife is expected to give birth around the same time.Sri Lanka Cricket President’s XI (from)
Avishka Gunawardene (capt), Tilan Samaraweera (vice-capt), Michael Vandort, Jehan Mubarak, Chamara Kapugedera, Upul Chandana, Rangana Herath, Akalanka Ganegama, Nuwan Zoysa, Ruchira Perera, Prasanna Jayawardene (wk), Chamara Silva, Jeewan Mendis, Kaushal Lokuarachchi.South Africans (from)
Ashwell Prince (capt), Jacques Rudolph, Hashim Amla, Nicky Boje, Mark Boucher (wk), AB de Villiers, Boeta Dippenaar, Herschelle Gibbs, Andrew Hall, Andre Nel, Makhaya Ntini, Dale Steyn.

Bob Woolmer, the Pakistan coach, has dismissed as “baseless” reports in a leading British newspaper that there was a rift between him and Inzamam-ul-Haq, the Pakistan captain. And though he admitted he had considered resigning in the immediate aftermath of the Oval Test, he told Cricinfo that “was no longer the case.”Woolmer was reacting to a report in which alleged that not only was he on the verge of resignation, but also that “Woolmer’s relations with Zaheer and captain Inzamam-ul-Haq have descended into acrimony,” since the chaos that enveloped the Oval on Sunday.”I won’t deny that I considered resigning and I did very seriously,” Woolmer said. “I enjoy coaching cricket and I missed that over the last few days. I am very unhappy about the general situation as well, but as far as resigning is concerned, that is no longer the case.”Since the forfeit, all manner of rumours, speculation, allegations and contradictions have emerged from the Pakistan camp. Woolmer denied at least one – that there was a rift with Inzamam. “Inzi and I are absolutely fine. We have had misunderstandings in the past and we had a sort of misunderstanding on Sunday. Until I have a complete grasp of the Urdu language these things may occur but as things stand now, we are fine. We are getting on well and want to do whatever we can for Pakistan cricket.”It is yet to emerge what exactly occurred during and after the tea break on the fourth day of the Test. Reports suggest that a few options were discussed as to a course of action, including protesting on the field or going back to the hotel. Woolmer refused to comment though he stressed “it wasn’t a confused and angry place as is suggested. I was 100% behind Inzamam and the team though and supported whatever decision they took. Advice was offered but in the end we all supported Inzamam’s stand absolutely. I am the coach and my job is to offer support to him – whatever decision he would’ve taken I would have supported him.”Too many questions, however, remain unanswered. With growing suspicion and criticism in Pakistan that their board has bungled their way through this crisis, the questions will keep coming until exactly what happened that day becomes clear.

Division One

Second day

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.

Steve Harmison feels England will have a “slight advantage” in Saturday’s crucial encounter against Australia at Jaipur as they’re accustomed to the pitch that will be used. Asserting that he didn’t look at the contest as a prelude to the Ashes, Harmison added that Australia’s defeat last night wouldn’t alter England’s plans too much.The game, which neither team can afford to lose, will be played on the same surface on which England crumbled for 125 against India. The curator at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium felt that the track wouldn’t be as dry as it was the previous Saturday, adding that the Sri Lanka-Pakistan clash – when Pakistan chased 254 and won – could be used as a template.Harmison, though, felt England would just have the edge. “I think it would be a slight advantage if we play on the same wicket,” he said. “I don’t know what the schedule is and what wicket we’re playing on, but if we play on that wicket, we’ll have a slight, slight advantage. Australia haven’t played on it but at the end of the day they’re good players and they can adapt to any surface. As I said, it’s just a advantage.”While revealing he’d struggled to locate the channel that was showing the Australia-West Indies game, Harmison didn’t want to read too much into the game. “We all know what their weaknesses are,” he said, “we’ve played against them often enough, we’ve seen them on TV often enough. We’ve had two days’ preparation, a day off yesterday, something you need to calm yourself after five days in a row.”Would England’s tactics change after watching Australia? “Not really,” he said, “I think a few field placements. I can’t imagine we’ll bowl any differently to Ponting, Gilchrist, Martyn than we planned before. Just because West Indies beat them yesterday, it won’t change the way England performed. I think West Indies played well yesterday. Anybody can beat anybody on any given day. Bangladesh beat Australia last summer and West Indies have looked a good, compact unit for a while now. And they played great last night. I think they won’t be anymore fired up or we any less fired up when they come up against us on Saturday.”Harmison didn’t want to be drawn into discussions about Ashes preludes – he preferred to stick to a simple “No” – but said his training was definitely geared towards the events in Brisbane on November 23. “I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t [thinking of the Ashes]. I’m not going to sit here and talk bullshit about we haven’t got one eye on the Ashes. Because we have. Everybody’s got one eye on the Ashes, you have as well.”Everybody’s looking ahead to the big occasion. But we’re here to do a job, here to win a competition and if there’s any more spice into it then, whoever loses on Saturday goes out. I’d be lying to say we haven’t got one eye on Australia on the 23rd November but we need to win this game to go forward in this competition. Hopefully we’ll do it on Saturday.”But wasn’t it the Twenty20 clash at the Rose Bowl that kicked off the whole Ashes campaign last time around? “As I’ve said before, the Twenty20 was the start of 10-12 weeks of hard cricket in England,” he said. “It was the same environment, same pitches, same conditions. At the end of the day, you’re playing in India, it’s a one-offgame and I imagine 15-20% of the players who’ll play on Saturday will not be involved in Brisbane on the 23rd of November. They aren’t in the Ashes Test squad.”At the end of the day we’ve got 11 match-winners and that’s what we realise. Any one of them on any given day can win a match for England. If any one of them puts up their hand and makes a match-winning contribution, we can end up beating Australia.”

Nottinghamshire have announced plans to give Trent Bridge an £8.2million facelift in a bid to keep international cricket at the ground. They plan to install floodlights – which would make Notts only the fifth county to have them – and to create a further 2,142 seats by replacing one of the stands.Work is set to start next August, subject to planning approval, following the last home game, with a view to the new stand being operational ready for internationals the following year. The stand in question is the West Wing and Parr Stand on the Bridgford Road side of the ground.Other development plans include the creation of a new office and administration block, which will provide a base for match officials and will include a replay screen and electronic scoreboard.With other grounds vying to host coveted England matches, the officials at Nottinghamshire realise that development is a must. “The ECB have set high standards which we are determined to exceed,” said the Notts chief executive Derek Brewer. “As the third oldest Test ground in the world, it’s a local treasure. But reputation alone is not enough.”It’s a big task to raise £8.2million but we are currently working through detailed financial proposals and are in the early stages of discussions with our bankers.”

Canterbury were forced to follow on after finishing 234 short of Otago’s 601, but half-centuries by Todd Astle, Brendon McCullum and Peter Fulton ensured that they comfortably drew the game. Otago were led by James McMillan, who took career-best figures of 7 for 105 to restrict Canterbury to 367, but in the 51 overs left in the day Canterbury cantered to 213 for 2.Resuming at 330 for 7, Canterbury added only 37 more before being bowled out, with McMillan adding two more wickets to the five he had on the third day. Chris Harris was the first batsman to be dismissed on the final day, being bowled by McMillan for 122. The tail didn’t contribute much, allowing Otago to have another shot at the Canterbury batsmen.Todd Astle and McCullum immediately eased the situation with a 111-run stand for the first wicket. When Astle and McCullum fell after getting half-centuries, Fulton took over, making an unbeaten 62 before play was called off. Otago took two points from the game, thanks to the first-innings lead they managed.

Stephen Fleming has been rested for the first two one-day internationals against Sri Lanka after New Zealand Cricket decided to adopt a rotation policy ahead of the forthcoming World Cup in West Indies. Daniel Vettori will lead the team in Fleming’s absence.Also missing from the first two games is Shane Bond, the fast bowler who will undergo a reconditioning program. Bond has had a long history of recurring injuries but is likely to be back in the team for the last three ODIs. John Bracewell, the coach of the New Zealand team, has embraced the rotation policy of giving key players enough rest before crucial matches, something that has worked well for the All Blacks rugby team.Vettori will be returning to the team after a short break himself, as he was rested from the two Twenty20 matches that New Zealand played against Sri Lanka following the Test series. He has prior experience of leading the team, having done the job on eight occasions when Fleming was either unavailable through injury or rested.The five-match series begins on December 28 in Napier, with the second match being played in Queenstown on New Year’s eve.Squad for first two ODIs Daniel Vettori (captain), Andre Adams, Nathan Astle, Peter Fulton, Mark Gillespie, Hamish Marshall, James Marshall, Michael Mason, Brendon McCullum, Jeetan Patel, Ross Taylor, James Franklin.

ScorecardIt was a day for the Das’s at Cuttack. Shiv Sunder Das, the former Indian opener, amassed his maiden first-class triple hundred while Rashmi Ranjan Das chipped in with his first hundred as Orissa continued to dominate against J&K. SS Das took 500 deliveries to reach his landmark, before the declaration arrived, while RR Das, the more aggressive of the duo, cracked ten fours and two sixes in his knock. J&K began their reply on a disastrous note – going into stumps at 6 for 2. The Orissa Cricket Association declared cash prizes of Rs 30,000 and Rs 10,000 for the heroes of the day.
ScorecardJai Prakash Yadav led Railways’ fightback against Kerala on a rain-affected day at Delhi, polishing off the tail to end with a five-wicket haul. Resuming on 223 for 6, Kerala lost their last four wickets for only 41. Railways were soon reduced to 64 for 3 before a spate of showers, at 1:11pm, abandoned play for the rest of the day.
ScorecardRobin D’Souza and Saahil Dhuri snaffled three wickets apiece as Goa edged ahead of Madhya Pradesh on the second day at Indore. A 60-run stand for the second wicket between Monish Mishra and Amit Pal helped MP cruise to 72 for 1, chasing Goa’s 223, before D’Souza triggered a mini-collapse. Murtaza Ali, in just his second first-class game, chipped in with 49 but the rest of the batsmen struggled against Goa’s medium-pace duo.
ScorecardAnand Katti’s 93 led a lower-order revival to lift Assam to 308 but Vidarbha foughtback with 151 for 2 at the end of the second day at Nagpur. Katti’s knock spanned more than five hours and he received valuable support from the tail – Nos.9,10 and 11 added 60 between them. Vidarbha, though, weren’t done yet with Amit Deshpande (59) and Harshal Shitoot (51) piloting them to a healthy total.
ScorecardTimir Chanda ensured that Tripura had the better of the attritional battle at Agartala. His cautious unbeaten 98 helped Tripura extended their total to 275 before his three wickets rattled Jharkhand’s top order, reducing them to 59 for 3. Rajiv Kumar and Santosh Lal steadied the innings with a couple of plucky innings, taking Jharkhand to 169 for 5 at stumps.
ScorecardOnly 28.5 overs were possible on a curtailed day at Delhi as Himachal Pradesh extended their total to 315 before Services responded with 31 for no loss. Manish Jha, the medium-pacer, polished off HP’s lower order to end with his first five-wicket haul in first-class cricket.

Brad Hogg’s disappointment at not getting a game in the CB Series has been intensified because he considers himself to be in the best form of his life. But the promotion of Cameron White, who with Andrew Symonds has filled Australia’s spin needs, leaves Hogg unsure of his place ahead of the World Cup.The selectors have released Hogg for Western Australia’s Ford Ranger Cup game against Queensland today in an effort to get him some game time. Hogg was named 12th man for Australia’s first four CB Series matches as they went with a four-man pace attack.”The disappointing thing with this season is that this is the best I have ever bowled and I just can’t seem to get a game,” Hogg told . “I’ve been told I am the No. 1 spinner and Cameron White has been in there mainly for his batting.”Hogg’s Pura Cup form this year is good; he has 15 wickets at 20.53 from three games. But in limited-overs games he has struggled to have the same impact. He has only three wickets at 54.66 from his four domestic one-dayers in 2006-07 and was required for only two of Australia’s Champions Trophy games, where he took 0 for 17 and 1 for 11.Hogg said should he get the opportunity to play in the World Cup in the Caribbean he would be well-placed to trouble opposition batsmen. “I played a couple of Tests and a couple of one-dayers in the West Indies and I really enjoyed it over there,” Hogg said. “I am better for the experience there and I know the conditions. I’ve done it all before and when I do get some opportunities I will show what I can do.”In the absence of Shane Warne, Hogg was Australia’s leading spinner at the 2003 World Cup and was a key member of the winning team, playing every game and taking 13 wickets at 24.76. He remains hopeful that there will be a place for him in the 15-man World Cup squad.”I reckon I’ll get a couple of [World Cup] games and it is just up to me to perform well,” he said. “The team is probably going to be a little bit different for each venue we play at and I hope I will get my chance.”

India’s coach Greg Chappell will be provided special security when he arrives in Kolkata for Thursday’s opening one-day match against Sri Lanka at the Eden Gardens.Officials in Kolkata are clearly not taking a chance with regard to Chappell, who was confronted by an unruly fan during the recent home series against the West Indies. Chappell, 58, was pushed and hit on the back when the Indian team arrived at Bhubaneswar airport in the state of Orissa on January 22. Chappell, who was rushed into the team bus stationed outside the airport gate, escaped unhurt.Kolkata police official PK Chatterjee said his force will not allow such an incident to happen again when the Indian team arrives over the next 24 hours. “Special security has been planned for Chappell,” Chatterjee told AFP. “We will not allow Bhubaneswar to be repeated. We will throw a ring around Chappell during his stay in the city.”If Chappell travels by car from the airport, police vans will escort the vehicle till the hotel. If he goes by the team bus, at least five senior police officials will be deployed inside.” Thousands of security men will frisk each spectator at the entrance of the 100,000-seater Eden Gardens on match day, Chatterjee added.Kolkata police commissioner Prasun Mukherjee also heads the Cricket Association of Bengal, which is organising the match. Chappell, who took over as Indian coach in June 2005 for a two-year term, has faced close scrutiny in a cricket-mad nation desperate to see its team succeed on the international scene.