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Scorecard
England held Sri Lanka to 187 for 9 to secure a tight, five-run win in the first one-day international of their limited-overs series at the Nondescripts Ground in Colombo. Claire Taylor’s half-century, her 22nd in ODIs, held England’s middle order together amid a four-wicket haul for seamer Deepika Rasangika as the visitors were bowled out for 192 after being put in to bat. A middle-order collapse hampered Sri Lanka’s chase, and a tight final over from seamer Jenny Gunn sealed the result for England.England made a stuttering start to their Sri Lankan tour, losing opener Heather Knight – bowled by left-arm seamer Rukshala Dharmasiri – without a run on the board. With captain Charlotte Edwards and left-hander Lydia Greenway also falling for single figures, it was left to Taylor and Gunn to repair England’s innings with an 86-run partnership for the 4th wicket.Rasangika then struck back for the hosts, picking up three wickets in two overs – including that of debutant Fran Wilson first ball – as England slipped to 143 for 6. Wickets fell regularly thereafter, with Laura Marsh and Anya Shrubsole providing the only resistance before the visitors were bowled out in the final over.Sri Lanka’s chase got off to a positive start, Chamari Polgampola and Chamari Atapattu putting together a 64-run opening stand. After they were parted, however, England’s spinners ran through the middle order. Edwards, Laura Marsh and Danielle Hazell combined to reduce Sri Lanka to 86 for 5 before Eshani Kaushalya and wicketkeeper Dilani Manodara’s 52-run partnership brought Sri Lanka back into the game.Sri Lanka needed just 55 in slightly over eight overs when Isa Guha returned to the attack and bowled Manodara for a watchful 26. The lower order managed to keep up the scoring rate, Sripali Weerakkody slamming a 16-ball 19 that included a four and a six, but at a cost of wickets. With six runs needed from the final two deliveries, Gunn had Rasangika caught by Shrubsole and then sealed a slim victory with a dot ball to close the innings.The teams meet for the second ODI at the P Sara Oval in Colombo on Wednesday before a series of three Twenty20 matches, starting on November 19 at the Nondescripts Ground.

Andy Flower, the England coach, has backed the under-pressure opener Alastair Cook to perform in the Ashes. Cook, England’s vice-captain, was the only notable failure in the tourists’ six-wicket victory over West Australia. He managed scores of 5 and 9 in the practice game and has only two more warm-up fixtures to find form before going into the Ashes opener with a modest average of 26.21 from 10 Tests against Australia.Despite his poor record, and a difficult summer where 110 of his 226 runs came in a single, career-saving innings against Pakistan at The Oval, Flower insists there is no problem with Cook. “I don’t have concerns,” said Flower. “It’s one game, two innings [against West Australia]. I think he’s going to do well.”England have moved to Adelaide for their second practice game, against South Australia, which begins on November 11, and don’t have a specialist opener as backup for Cook and Andrew Strauss. If Cook were to struggle, then Jonathan Trott, who opened with him against Bangladesh earlier this year, could move up from No. 3 and allow Eoin Morgan to slot into the line-up.It would be a major reshuffle and Flower is clearly reluctant to meddle too much at this stage. He is pleased with England’s progress after their first victory in an opening first-class match in Australia since 1965-66, but stressed the need for his players to gain as much match practice as possible before the first Test in Brisbane.”It was very important for us to get that middle time,” Flower said. “One of our priorities is not to give everyone a go. We are trying to prepare our Test side for Brisbane and while with a squad of 16 or 17 everyone wants to play, our priority is to ensure that our Test XI is as ready as possible for the first Test.”The tourists’ victory against West Australia was not entirely blemish free with the batsmen collapsing to 8 for 159 in the first innings and the home side reaching 1 for 130 in the second, before England surged to victory on the back of four wickets for Graeme Swann and an unbeaten century from Strauss.Strauss’s undisputed position as captain contrasts with his opposite number Ricky Ponting whose future is being debated in the Australian media and Flower emphasised the importance for the leader to perform well. “[Strauss] is an important man, because he’s our leader. Captains want to lead from the front but it’s important for all of our guys to contribute, so I don’t think one batsman is more important than the next. They’ve all got to do it.”With England settled on a balance of four bowlers and six batsmen Graeme Swann’s dual role as wicket-taker and defensive option will be crucial in the series. He is now ranked No. 2 in the world and pressure is on him to deliver the goods in a country where touring offspinners have not had much success.”Expectations on Graeme Swann are high and he will make his contributions, there’s no doubt about that, he’s a very fine bowler,” Flower said. “But he’s one of four bowlers in our Test attack, and it’s important our whole side works together to create pressure – and he’s one of those guys.”

Windward Islands edged to a three-wicket victory against Combined Campuses and Colleges at the Trelawny Stadium despite a middle-order collapse that threatened to undermine a solid opening partnership. The win secured Windward a spot in the semi-finals of the WICB Cup.The Windward openers, Devon Smith and Johnson Charles, added 105 for the first wicket, chasing a target of 203, but the innings lost direction after the stand was broken. CCC’s Gilford Moore, who finished with 4 for 41, was instrumental in Windward losing seven wickets for 91 runs. Windward, however, had enough resources to complete victory in the 48th over.Unlike Windward, CCC wobbled at the start of their innings, losing their first five wickets for 85 runs. It needed a half-century from Ryan Wiggins, and useful 30s from Romel Currency and Chadwick Walton, to prop the side up to 202 for 9. Darren Sammy was Windward’s best bowler with figures of 3 for 34.The match between Jamaica and Trinidad & Tobago at Sabina Park had to be abandoned shortly into the second innings because of rain. T&T batted first after winning the toss and were dismissed for 225 in the 50th over. Several batsmen got starts but Dwayne Bravo and Denesh Ramdin top-scored with 43 each. Krishmar Santokie and David Bernard were the top wicket-takers for Jamaica, with three strikes apiece.Jamaica lost Xavier Marshall and Chris Gayle during the chase and had reached 45 for 2 after 10.4 overs before the game was called off. Both teams took two points each from the game, leaving Jamaica on two and T&T on six. Jamaica will have to beat CCC comprehensively on Sunday to reach the final four.

ScorecardIt will almost certainly need a deal to be struck between Lancashire and Nottinghamshire to force a positive result in this match after the whole of the third day was lost to rain.However, Nottinghamshire are in much less need of a win than Lancashire, whose outside chance in the title race would be effectively ended by anything less. Expect Nottinghamshire, then, to set their sights on batting bonus points.

ScorecardSomerset moved back into contention for a first ever County Championship title with a nine-wicket victory over Lancashire at Taunton. The 23 points gained by the home side took them to within two of leaders Nottinghamshire and they will go to Durham for their final game next week in confident mood.Charl Willoughby took 3 for 37 and Alfonso Thomas 3 for 53 as Lancashire were bowled out for 170 in their second innings, Steven Croft top-scoring with 46. That left Somerset needing just 48 to win and they knocked off the required runs in 8.4 overs for the loss of skipper Marcus Trescothick. Nick Compton was unbeaten on 30 at the end.The day began with Somerset 350 for 8 in their first innings, leading by 91 runs. Ben Phillips fell quickly, but Murali Kartik, unbeaten on 38 overnight, moved to his second half-century of the season off 70 balls with eight fours and a six. Some lusty blows from last man Willoughby helped extend the lead to 123 before he was run out by Simon Kerrigan.Lancashire’s hopes of getting back into the game suffered a double blow with their second innings score on 22. Paul Horton was unhappy at being judged lbw to Phillips for two and Tom Smith was caught by Peter Trego at third slip driving at a Willoughby away-swinger.It was 32 for 3 when Mark Chilton was pinned leg before by a ball from Thomas that nipped back off the seam. Then Thomas claimed the key wicket of Shivnarine Chanderpaul, on 20, with a delivery that kept low and brought another lbw decision.At lunch the scoreboard read 62 for 4 and the total was extended to 109 before Croft’s battling innings ended when he was given out caught in the gully off bat and pad, having faced 101 balls and hit five fours. The batsman signalled his annoyance at the decision by kicking the ground and swishing his bat angrily several times on the way back to the pavilion.In the same Trego over Gareth Cross was also out to a bat-pad catch, this time the ball carrying through to wicketkeeper Craig Kieswetter. Saj Mahmood also fell for a duck, lbw to Phillips with the total on 116, but Luke Procter (32) and Kyle Hogg (37 not out) ensured that Somerset would have to bat again with a stand of 41.Procter was caught behind cutting at Willoughby, having faced 108 balls, but Gary Keedy and Kerrigan both departed without scoring as Somerset, encouraged by the result at Trent Bridge, moved in for the kill. Lancashire took five points from the game and must now watch the outcome of a three-horse race for the title in the final round of matches as Nottinghamshire, Somerset and Yorkshire tussle for top spot.

A scrap is what England have secretly been yearning for all series, and a scrap is what they are in right now, after a wasteful first-day performance at The Oval allowed Pakistan to claim the upper hand in a manner not dissimilar to their incredible heist against Australia at Headingley last month.That England pulled themselves out of a nosedive at 94 for 7, where the Aussies had continued to plummet to 88 all out, owed everything to a restorative stand between Matt Prior and Stuart Broad, two feisty cricketers with the sort of mongrel streak that will be invaluable Down Under later this year. But the fact that England allowed themselves to get into such a mess in the first place will be of far greater concern to the team strategists.”Any time you win the toss on what looks like a good batting deck, it’s not the ideal position you’d want to be in,” admitted Prior at the close. “It wasn’t expected, and we’re obviously below par, but to see the side to a semi-reasonable score was a real good feeling. Everything depends on how we come in in the morning. We have huge amount of belief in our bowlers, that they can come back, fight hard, and get us back in the game by sticking to our plans.”For all Prior’s confidence, it’s not as if the collapse came as a complete surprise, because Pakistan’s seam bowlers have been exemplary all summer long. Mohammad Asif churns through his overs in a manner that somehow comes across as both menacing and long-suffering all at the same time, while Mohammad Amir and now the debutant Wahab Riaz zip and sling their offerings with sharp hostility from an unfamiliar left-arm line. Backed up at last by catching that, with the honourable exception of Mohammad Yousuf, was befitting of a Test match, they caught England cold under the same sort of cloud cover that had scuppered their own ambitions at Trent Bridge and Edgbaston.”By the end of the day it looked a good wicket,” added Prior, “but we’ve seen all series that the minute the clouds come over it seems a different proposition altogether – seaming around, and nipping a bit quicker. But this unit is all about the team. It’s been Colly [Collingwood] in the past, Morgs [Morgan] in the past, KP plenty of times. We now have a team that, in any situation, someone will put their hand up and perform.”Impressively though Prior and Broad fought, however, the current scenario is somewhat different to the one that England had envisaged when talking up the likelihood of a stronger Pakistan challenge in this match. The Oval is renowned as the best batting track in the country – “It is a batting paradise and I have heard a lot about it,” said an enthusiastic Wahab at the close – and if this game was to be a challenge, then it was surely going to be a high-scoring battle of wits between two attacks unused to the conditions conspiring against them.Instead, England’s innings was a continuation of the same old frailties that have been largely masked by the ineptitude of Pakistan’s top-order. They have passed 300 only once in the series so far, and that total of 354 at Trent Bridge owed everything to the only truly substantial partnership posted by either side – Morgan and Collingwood’s 219-run stand for the fifth wicket. The rest have dealt largely in scraps, not least Alastair Cook, whose much-vaunted temperament looked as ropey as his technique in an agonising seven-ball stay this morning. In fretting about what might happen to their excellent bowlers when the sun shines in Brisbane, the focus has been deflected from an uncomfortably unproductive top six.Aside from Cook, everyone has had their moments in this series – Morgan made his century in Nottingham, Pietersen made a chancy 80 in Birmingham, Jonathan Trott chipped in with a brace of fifties in the same game while Strauss has shown fluent form without kicking on – but partnerships have been a rarity. It says something about the state of an apparently one-sided series that a debutant such as Wahab could bound into his end-of-play press conference with the same sort of confidence that he showed in his run-up, and offer next to no deference to a side that has put his team-mates on the canvas with more than a day to spare in consecutive games.”The way we have been bowling throughout this summer, we have bowled to the Australians and to England, and none of the top order has scored,” said Wahab. “England is a good team but today was our day. My confidence level was high always, we bowled well and we got them. Today I just wrapped them up.”The calculated aggression with which Yasir Hameed relaunched his Test career ensured that Pakistan did not finish the day as they had started too many of their previous innings this series, grinding through the overs with close catchers lurking in every corner, even though James Anderson’s late breakthrough did reawaken the possibility of further batting jitters on the second morning. Nevertheless, that ought not to be England’s most pressing concern right now, because – aside from one blip on that third day at Edgbaston – they know they can trust their attack to fulfil their duties. Right at this moment, the same cannot be said of the batting.

ScorecardDominic Cork claimed figures of 5 for 50 as Kent were bowled out for 251•Getty Images

Former England allrounder Dominic Cork proved the years have not hindered his quality with a five-wicket haul for Hampshire against Kent at the Rose Bowl. Cork, who turns 39 next month, finished with 5 for 50 as Kent lurched to 251 all out after their captain Robert Key had won the toss.In reply, Hampshire lost in-form opener James Adams first ball and then Liam Dawson to end a turbulent first day 200 behind at 51 for 2. Cork’s burst of wickets took his first-class career total to 944 and the ex-Derbyshire and Lancashire player is also in sight of another impressive milestone, requiring 400 runs for his 10,000.Key was Cork’s first victim in the 11th over when the bowler took a smart return catch, and the rest was a bit of a procession with Geraint Jones and Martin van Jaarsveld both out by the 26th over. Only the obstinate Joe Denly and Sam Northeast offered any prolonged resistance in a stand of 74 for the fourth wicket.David Balcombe removed Denly after a hard-fought 67 off 153 balls, smartly taken by wicketkeeper Nic Pothas diving to his right in front of the slips. That left Kent on 172 for 4 but Northeast did not last much longer, departing the ball after reaching his half-century to a catch at second slip by Neil McKenzie.Northeast hit nine boundaries in a fluent 50 off 108 balls, and it was then that Cork came on to do his major damage. James Hockley was bowled by Cork, getting plenty of movement through the air, without scoring and Simon Cook went the same way.In between, Malinga Bandara edged Cork to the wicketkeeper and suddenly Kent were 191 for 8 and in real trouble. Their tail gleaned some extra runs, Alex Blake making 31 and helping take the total to 251, thanks in part to a stand of 24 for the last wicket involving Amjad Khan and Robbie Joseph.Left-arm spinner Danny Briggs continued to show his promise with figures of 2 for 26. England selector James Whitaker had travelled to the south coast to look at the form of opener Denly for Kent and Adams for Hampshire, but Adams lasted only one ball before fending a sharply rising delivery from Khan to short leg where Northeast held the catch.Dawson departed with the score on 24, edging Joseph to second slip where Van Jaarsveld clutched onto the opportunity.

Durham County Cricket Club has posted profits of almost £200,000 for the last financial year. With the club having secured an Ashes Test in 2013, and a landmark six-year sponsorship deal with Emirates Airlines signed, the underlying financial picture at Durham is encouraging.Their position is in stark contrast to a county like Essex, which recorded a loss of £216,000 for 2009. With Surrey – who have a long-term match staging deal with the ECB – having announced a profit of £752,000 for the same year, it is evident that a split is starting to appear in the county game – largely between those with Test grounds and the other, smaller, venues.”Revenue from international cricket is, in the medium term, essential to all of the Category A venues of which the recently renamed Emirates Durham International Cricket Ground is one,” said David Harker, Durham’s chief executive.”We are now seeing a recurring pattern where even the bigger, major city centre venues are losing between £500,000 and £1,000,000 in years without midsummer Test Matches. This situation is only sustainable if clubs are able to retain sufficient income from Test Matches in order to fund the costs of running such major venues in the lean years.”Chester -le-Street hosted a Test match against West Indies in May 2009 – the second time the team has played a Test there in three years – but due to the early season start and poor weather, the event yielded lower than expected income.However, the match still returned a small profit for the club, as did the well-attended one-day international against Australia in September of that year. Before the Ashes Test in 2013, Durham will host other international fixtures, including an ODI between England and Pakistan later this year.”Durham, with a commercial debt of £3.5m, does not have the debt levels of many other venues, which for a number of clubs is reportedly between £8m and £19m. I am pleased however that the ECB recognises the problem and that there is currently a lot of work going on within the game to address the issue of major match allocation.”The current ECB process is that grounds that aren’t given long-term staging agreements have to bid against each other to host Tests, one-dayers and Twenty20s. In order to secure big matches, many counties are engaged in re-development projects. Lancashire announced a record loss of £546,000 after Old Trafford didn’t host a Test in 2009 and began their extensive redevelopment plans to try and ensure they earn an Ashes contest in 2013.In accordance with the requirements of the ECB, additional improvements to Durham’s infrastructure, funded by grant and ongoing equity investment, have also taken shape during the last 12 months. Currently the permanent capacity of The Riverside is being increased from 8,000 to 9,500, with further undercover facilities to be provided for supporters as well as an enhanced ECB Hospitality Area capable of hosting 200 people on a match day.”We are fortunate that with, for example, the hotel and Gateway Building we have a number of long term income generating opportunities to underpin our cricketing ambitions,” added Harker.”Durham CCC is an ambitious club and although we have already achieved many milestones, we must continue to develop our infrastructure and international profile,” said Clive Leach CBE, Durham’s chairman.”Improvements such as the media centre, additional seating capacity and the new hotel development will reinforce the ground’s status on the world stage and should help us to secure more profitable international cricket and other major events for Durham.”That in turn will allow us to maintain investment in the academy and the squad, so that we can continue to enjoy excellent domestic cricket and teams that consistently challenge for honours.”

India have had another Caribbean nightmare. Three years ago they were the kings of Twenty20 but now have some serious thinking to do about the shortest format. For the second tournament in succession they have been dumped without a win in the Super Eights and defeat never goes down well back home. And this from a side in which every member played at the IPL. Ideal preparation? Obviously not.This exit may not create the seismic activity that followed the early flight home in the 2007 World Cup, but it is bound to produce plenty of harsh assessment. The inquisitions had started even before this match, with India only having an outside chance of progressing. That faint hope disappeared once Sri Lanka reached 144 in their run-chase and a demoralised side then gave up the match off the last ball. Four sixes in the final eight deliveries carried Sri Lanka to an impressive success and their all-round performance was the complete opposite of what India have been able to produce.MS Dhoni managed a few smiles in his press conference as he was grilled in expected fashion. Partly that was due to an interruption from the PA announcer about an illegally parked car, but also when he was asked about how this would go down in India. He knows what it will be like. He’s been here before and it won’t be pleasant.”As captain you are always under pressure,” he said. “I think it’s the responsibility of the captain to explain why the team didn’t do well because he’s the face of the team. He gets the credit when he goes well and he also gets the criticism. It shouldn’t reach into your private life but we are leading a country where cricket is a big sport and each time we go out we are expected to win.”But it was the downbeat nature of his assessment of what the team could have done about the situation which was most clear and surprising. “At the end of the day we are on the losing side, nothing much can be done about it because this is the best 15 [players] you can get in India when it comes to T20. At the end of the day if you are outplayed there is nothing much you can do about it.”In hindsight the signs weren’t good to start with. They were the last side to arrive and didn’t opt for a practice match before their opening game. Dhoni suggested it was the last thing his team needed after a 90-minute coach ride from the international airport in St Lucia to the north of the island. They have also chosen days off rather than practice during the event but Dhoni said “one more practice session wouldn’t have made a difference”.They were lucky with the schedule in the group stage as their opening game was against Afghanistan who, for all the romanticism it possibility entailed, were never seriously going to challenge India. That gave them breathing space and the victory against South Africa, led by Suresh Raina’s 101, was a slick display which boded well. In reality they peaked too soon.They couldn’t handle the pace and bounce of the Barbados pitch and Dhoni has admitted some of the batsmen aren’t up to the challenge due to the nature of conditions they are brought up on. There aren’t many bouncy tracks at the IPL. When they were back in St Lucia they were right at home on the front foot and Raina was back in the runs. Nothing was bouncing above knee height. Dhoni admitted that India’s inability to cope with the bouncer was systemic.”Most of us have the problem of playing short-pitched balls. So it is not just the youngsters who had problems. We can’t neglect it any more. But we don’t have bowlers who consistently at 145-50 kph and most of wickets in India don’t have that kind of bounce,” he said.”But we should also remember we are good players of spin. So we shouldn’t be ashamed that we can’t play short-pitched bowling. We have to play even against short balls but we can’t be ducking and leaving all the time in Twenty20,” Dhoni said.Win or lose, the role of the IPL was bound to be at the forefront of India’s performance. Dhoni has said it’s unfair to compare the two, but if anything this World Twenty20 has just gone to reinforce that the quality is actually spread pretty thinly in that tournament. It’s a domestic event, albeit a big and brash one. Dhoni also made a subtle suggestion that players needed to take responsibility for themselves.”I’ve had no setbacks because of the IPL but at the same time players need to be smart because IPL is not only about cricket,” he said. “You have to respect your body and if you don’t do that then IPL is draining. If you play late games and go to the parties and travel the next day it takes a toll. But if you take care of yourself 45 days of cricket shouldn’t affect you because we play 200 or more in a year.”It’s a question of priorities for this India team and maybe international Twenty20 is now down the list. Now that they are top of the tree in Test cricket the BCCI is trying to arrange Test series left, right and centre so they can retain the mantle. South Africa’s tour earlier this year was adjusted to include two Tests and Australia are now being asked for the same when they visit in October. If the BCCI really do want to help the future of Test cricket then it’s a great move, but it is clearly more than coincidence.India next’s assignment is a triangular series in Zimbabwe alongside the hosts and Sri Lanka with what, in effect, is a shadow side. Senior players, including Dhoni, are being rested, which suggests he is more tired than he has admitted.However, for Dhoni there is a huge challenge on the horizon over the next nine months – preparing his team for a World Cup on home soil. Failure here will be hard to stomach for the billions of fans, but failure next year won’t be tolerated.

Kumar Sangakkara must be a relieved man. Despite their high net run-rate going into the game, Sri Lanka had some running to do to ensure their semi-final spot. And unlike West Indies and Australia, they had to contend with the Indian batting line-up on a wicket that favoured their style of play.As if on cue, India’s top order led by Suresh Raina forgot their travails against the short ball on the slow and low St Lucia pitch, to get off to a great start. Sri Lanka then clawed their way back into the game, with Thissara Perera, Thilan Thushara and Lasith Malinga bowling fine spells to restrict India to 163. Sangakkara acknowledged the efforts of his seamers who excelled with their yorkers in the end overs.”I was thinking they would make a big score,” Sangakkara said. “But we showed a lot of character to come back and not just cut down the runs, but take wickets too.”Sangakkara admitted that his side’s first target was to reach 144, 20 short of the victory target but enough to stay ahead of India on net run-rate. “We were keeping an eye on 144. We said ‘If we feel we can win this then we go on to chase this, but if we can’t, we make sure we get 144′,” Sangakkara said.At one stage, even that target seemed stiff, after the in-form Mahela Jayawardene and the experienced Sanath Jayasuriya fell in the first two overs. Tillakaratne Dilshan shook off his indifferent form and brought Sri Lanka back into business with an attacking 33. Sangakkara then combined with Angelo Mathews to take Sri Lanka close to their first objective, which was met with seven balls remaining.Buoyed by having knocked India out of the tournament, Chamara Kapugedera and Mathews sealed the morale-boosting win with a flurry of sixes, including one off the last ball of the match. Sangakkara was full of praise for the youngsters, who showed tremendous character to switch gears and turn the tables on India.”You never want to lose guys early, especially Mahela, who is in top form,” Sangakkara said. “But Dilshan got the momentum back for us and we talk about how capable our younger players are and they have shown how they can handle the pressure. Mathews and Kapugedera are going to be around for a long time.”Everyone in the squad has to keep working hard and no one can sit back and relax as we have these young guys pushing everyone really hard,” he said.Sri Lanka’s victory meant West Indies had to beat Australia by a substantial margin to get into the semi-finals ahead of them. As it transpired, Australia won that game comfortably to confirm Sri Lanka’s rightful place in the knock-out round. There they will face a red-hot England side, but given his youngsters’ ability to raise their game in the crucial moments, Sangakkara will be upbeat about his team’s prospects.