A dramatic new roof and an extra 1300 seats will be added to the most popular area of the ground during the winter. This will increase the capacity at the ground to 21000 and further enhance Edgbaston’s position as the premier Test venue outside of London. The stand will be re-opened in time for the Test Match against Sri Lanka in May 2002.The innovative design by architects Bryant Priest Newman and engineers Price & Myers, both firms were part of the team that designed the award winning new indoor cricket centre, will provide spectators with a variety of new facilities. These include new stair access, increased concourse space, new toilets including provision for the disabled, a new covered area for food, drink and merchandise, increased seating under cover, much improved disabled access and new tip-up seating.The design of the refurbished stand will establish a bold modern image for a part of the ground that was originally constructed many years ago. The work will be undertaken by locally based Interserve Building (formerly Tilbury Douglas Construction Limited). The contract will be administered by Birmingham company, Francis Graves Limited.Financial support has been received from Sport England in the form of a £200,000 ‘Safer Sports Ground Programme’ grant towards a total cost of over £2 million.The Club’s Development Manager, Phil Macdonald said “This refurbishment is part of a programme of major improvements at Edgbaston which will ensure that we can provide the very best facilities for our members and cricket followers to watch domestic and international cricket in Birmingham.”Warwickshire’s Chief Executive, Dennis Amiss said “With interest in international cricket increasing all the time this development will enable us to cater for greater crowds in increased comfort and safety. At the 1st Test Match in the Ashes series against Australia demand for tickets far exceeded the available number of seats available. The additional capacity will give a wider audience the opportunity to experience the thrill of international cricket here at Edgbaston.”

After three days of rather ordinary weather in Melbourne, it was probably unreasonable to expect that as many as 110 overs could be bowled on the fourth and final day of this Pura Cup match between Victoria and Queensland at Punt Road.Matthew Elliott defied the odds by enacting a bold first innings declaration; rival skipper Stuart Law followed suit in the second; and Matthew Mott (87), Michael Kasprowicz (4/53) and Andy Bichel (2/43) all energized the prospect that outright points could somehow be seized from the ruin.Even umpires Bob Parry and Richard Patterson tried their best, bringing the players back for a 3.4 over burst at the end of the day after extremely dim light had forced an earlier interruption.In the end, though, there was no chance of extending the match beyond 6:46pm, by which point the Victorians had reached a score of 6/240 as they pursued a target of 312 to win. Even if the clock had been turned back ten months to the finish of the Third Test between Pakistan and England at Karachi, it would have been impossible to find a match ending in more murky or uncomfortable conditions.Queensland duly accepted first innings points after their opponents’ early closure; Victoria took none.That the players had kept matters bubbling away for as long as they did was due chiefly to Elliott’s decision to terminate his team’s first innings at its overnight total of 3/160 – some 257 runs in arrears of the visitors’ 417.And to rival captain Law, who responded in kind. Around two wickets to left arm paceman Mathew Inness (2/19) and some sumptuous strokeplay from Martin Love (34*), Law quickly pulled the pin on the Bulls’ second innings at 2/54 to leave both teams with a minimum 95 overs – in theory anyway – from which to settle the issue.Bichel rapidly defeated Elliott (4) outside the line of off stump for the second time in the match, but a patient Mott shored up the Bushrangers’ defences. Solid support came from Jason Arnberger (33) and Brad Hodge (33), and later from Michael Klinger (44*), to ensure that the required scoring rate never ventured much past four runs an over at any stage of the chase.Ultimately, though, the combination of superb line and length bowling from Kasprowicz and the presence of a mass of black clouds proved unmanageable.The right arm paceman returned fine figures, but deserved even better after finding life where few others could in the pitch and beating the edge of the bat consistently. As they consider their alternatives in the lead-up to 8 November, Australia’s selectors could do far worse than choose him to complement Glenn McGrath and Jason Gillespie in their attack for the First Test against New Zealand.The conditions, too, again denied the teams. Drizzle fell intermittently throughout the day in the lead-up to a heavy shower that forced a half-hour stoppage after tea. The quality of the light was no better than average for most of the day either, and the damp and greasy conditions at ground level forced ball changes on at least four separate occasions.Weather permitting, the teams will return to Punt Road tomorrow for an ING Cup clash. In sympathy with the wintry conditions, perhaps, Queensland and Australian opener Matthew Hayden has the ‘flu and his appearance remains in doubt.

Just our luck! Zimbabwe cricket has spent most of the last few months shooting itself in the foot, and when at last we look like doing things right (albeit against Bangladesh and with no credit to the top-order batsmen) the weather steps in and wipes out the final two days.For Bangladesh it was a landmark, as this was the first Test match (out of six) they have not lost. They will take little satisfaction from it, though, as it was due to intervention by Jupiter Pluvius rather than their own skill. The truth is, though, that they were grossly underprepared for Test cricket, although that was not altogether their fault.Zimbabwe had an unbroken history of first-class cricket stretching back many years when they were awarded Test status in 1992. Regular touring teams, usually the second teams of Test-playing countries, came at the rate of at least two a season during the period between Currie Cup with South Africa, which ended at independence in 1980, and Test status. Bangladesh, on the other hand, had no first-class cricket since they split from Pakistan a generation ago. Their present Test players had no opportunity to play first-class cricket before 1997, and therefore no experience at all of the longer game at any significant standard.I don’t know how much more they could have done to prepare themselves for Test cricket, but their results so far have shown how out of their depth they are. The ICC seemed to fast-track them through to Test status last year, leaving a suspicion that for some of their members, at least, it was for political rather than cricketing reasons.I am not begrudging Bangladesh their Test status; I am just saying that their preparation for it was totally inadequate. With their vast human resources and boundless enthusiasm, it will not be many years before they have a strong side and quite possibly are beating Zimbabwe more often than they lose.We now have Kenya pressing for Test status as well, and they too are badly underprepared for the longer game. We may well have very soon two very weak Test teams who are no match whatever for any of the others – except perhaps Zimbabwe, if our slide continues – in an overcrowded international fixture list. If they cannot give a good account of themselves at Test level, they may well find television companies reluctant to carry their matches, and so may be lost what is at least for Zimbabwe the main source of revenue.So the ICC should be careful to put wishful thinking or political motives behind before admitting Kenya or anybody else to test status prematurely. My feeling is that they should introduce, say, an intensive three-year programme for Kenya, with regular visits to and from strong A teams of other countries, such as Zimbabwe had, and perhaps an unofficial Test or two against a full national side, if other countries can be persuaded to try this. At the end of that time, a cricketing decision could then be taken as to whether the newcomers were ready for Test cricket, and they would either be accepted or have their probation period against A sides extended.I feel this should have been done some time ago. It would have been good to have Kenya as a Test-playing country today – but only if they were ready for it. We all know that such players as Maurice Odumbe and Steve Tikolo, for example, are players of quality, but they have rarely been tested against class opposition in first-class cricket, never mind Test cricket. It would doubtless take them time to adjust, if suddenly plunged into it, but how long? Far better to give them a good step up instead of, as happened with Bangladesh, plunging them into Tests with very little first-class cricket behind them.The sad thing is that it is probably too late to do this for the likes of Odumbe and Tikolo, who have both been around for some time. They will either be past their prime or retired by the time Kenya play Test cricket, or else they will indeed be plunged into it with very little experience in the longer game. More needs to be done now.As for Zimbabwe, I write after a successful first day of the Second Test against Bangladesh, and congratulations to Trevor Gripper for reaching what was his maiden first-class as well as Test century. He has fought back well after being out of form over a long period, and it will be interesting to see how the selectors behave when the team for Sri Lanka is chosen, when one would normally expect them to restore Alistair Campbell to the side.ANOTHER CAPTAINStuart Carlisle becomes the latest victim, in the view of some, to take over the captaincy of the national side, as Brian Murphy has returned home, hopefully only briefly, with a broken finger sustained in the First Test against Bangladesh. He stands a good chance of becoming the first Zimbabwe captain to win his first Test match in charge.There is a groundswell of feeling, among both players and public, that the best man for the job is still Andy Flower. I am certain this is true for cricketing reasons alone. But it is most unlikely to happen because Andy is too strong a character, too uncompromising in his beliefs, to hold the job without making waves. The gulf between him and the administrators is too great to be bridged without a great deal of hard work and a great deal of talk. Sadly, this isn’t happening, and so the Zimbabwe team lacks the strong leader it so desperately needs.DAVE ELLMAN-BROWNI feel it is a tragedy for Zimbabwe cricket that Dave Ellman-Brown should be resigning as managing director. He has probably been the most influential administrator in the history of the country.He is a man who will not take no for an answer. Two years after becoming Zimbabwe Cricket Union president, we were playing Test cricket. At the start of his presidency, it seemed unlikely that Zimbabwe, steadily losing top players through lack of incentive and money, would ever play Test cricket. Two years later, he had persuaded every other Test-playing country, except for England, to let us in.After this triumph, which almost certainly would not have happened when it did, if at all, he resigned due to his promotion to become a partner in Coopers and Lybrand. But he returned in 1998 as chief executive on his retirement from business, to find Zimbabwe struggling to play enough cricket at international level through the reluctance of many other countries to play us. Again he would not take no for an answer, and by the end of this year, Zimbabwe will have played every other Test-playing country except Pakistan both at home and away during a period of just over two years.He has not made such a dynamic impact without ruffling a few feathers, but it is impossible to deny the tremendous contribution he has made to Zimbabwe cricket. Dave has always been totally loyal to his fellow administrators. It will be greatly to the detriment of cricket in this country if his energy and influence are lost.Note: I am currently in Mutare to report on the match between the Zimbabwe Board XI and Northerns B, so will be unable to communicate by e-mail until my return next Tuesday.

The cricket world is in danger of being split into two as a result ofthe ICC backing the decisions of the match referee Mike Denness atPort Elizabeth. There are a lot of issues in this episode, which wouldgive birth to all sorts of arguments and in a way every argument wouldhave its justification. What has happened over the last three days issomething, which will alter the functioning of the apex body ininternational cricket if not the history of the game.Mike Denness has gone by the book in meting out sentences to theIndian cricketers. There is nothing wrong with that but the main boneof contention is that he has not been consistent in punishing anyoneand everyone guilty of going against the ICC code of conduct for theplayers. There has been mixed opinions from across the world about theBCCI and the Indians over-reacting because Tendulkar has beensuspended and fined for allegedly “tampering with the ball”. That’ssheer nonsense. The point here is that six players have been broughtto book.

Tendulkar, at worst, can be deemed guilty of cleaning the seam withoutinforming the umpire. Yes, there is some logic in that ruling. But toaccuse him of ball-tampering and imposing such severe fines was goingover the top. There have been instances when past conduct (good orbad) has been taken into account before fining or banning a player.Some referees have even taken the inexperience of a player intoaccount. In the case of Tendulkar, it is a fact known the world overthat he would be the last person to resort to cheap tactics. A finewould have been more than adequate if the referee wanted to get intothe limelight. Sehwag, meanwhile, has just got into internationalcricket and to ban him almost straightaway is being far tooridiculous.The final straw was the sentence given to the Indian captain, SouravGanguly. There was no word from the umpires on the field that his boyswere appealing either excessively or menacingly. That being the casethere was no way Ganguly could have been fined and suspended for notcontrolling his team. Thank God that Denness did not fine Dravid andDasgupta for playing too sedately on the final day! The one thing tobe considered is that going by the book is alright but when theplayers have no right to even fend for themselves, it would be prudentto bring common sense into play and also go by the spirit of the laws.Going by the way Denness has gone about things, it seems that commonsense was something he chose to ignore completely.The ICC as always has shown how reluctant it is to take any kind ofaction based on reason or fair play. It was not a surprise that ICCsupported Denness to the hilt, for if at all any organizing body isfull of double standards, then it is the ICC. If the ICC’sinvestigating authorities can take a single word “NO” to absolvecertain players regarding their alleged involvement in match fixing,then what prevented the ICC taking Tendulkar’s word when he said hemerely cleaned the ball, not altered its condition. Then, of course,the English authorities have always adopted the “holier than thou”attitude towards the rest of the world and even more so in the case ofthe sub-continent.The BCCI should be appreciated for the stand it took and it was timethe bubble burst. There has always been a general feeling backed byenough evidence that the Indian cricketers were hard done by onseveral occasions by the match referees. That the UCBSA has askedDenness to step down is almost a fierce slap on the face of the ICC,which goes to show how strong the international cricket body is. The”Denness Drama” will continue for a fair period of time and it willinteresting to see how the plot unfolds in the next few weeks. At themoment the ICC’s power and its very existence is in question and it isa case of acting now to restore some sense back into this game andavoid further embarrassment in the future.

When the going gets tough, the tough are supposed to get going. In SouthAfrica, where things were tough for the Indian team, the medium-pacersfailed to get going in conditions that assisted their trade. Inresponse, the national selectors have sent the whole lot of mediumpacers packing, while announcing the squad for the first Test againstEngland. While Venkatesh Prasad and Javagal Srinath were spared theignominy of being dropped since they were already injured, the trio ofZaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra and Ajit Agarkar were axed. Taking theirplaces are the uncapped, unsung yet talented Tinu Yohannan, IqbalSiddiqui and Sanjay Bangar.”The performance of the medium-pacers in South Africa was notsatisfactory,” said Chandu Borde, chairman of selectors, in explainingwhy the committee had opted for such drastic changes in the medium-pacedepartment. “We though this was the right time to give these guys(Yohannan, Siddiqui, Bangar) a break,” he added.When asked about the inexperience of these cricketers, Borde countered,”We can’t always go by the number of wickets someone takes. We feelthese boys have talent and deserve a chance.”Siddiqui, who made his first-class debut way back in 1992, has a fairlyundistinguished first-class record, claiming 236 wickets in 69 matchesat an average of 30.58. A well-built, energetic sort of character,Siddiqui has been in and out of the reckoning without ever making thegrade until now.Yohannan is the greenhorn of the lot, with just eight first-classmatches to his credit. However, his ability to generate a bit of extrapace and slip in a well-aimed yorker make him a tough customer tohandle.

Railways all-rounder Bangar is perhaps the most deserving of the threenew faces in the side. Having bowled his heart out on Indian tracks for84 first-class wickets at an average of 37.80 , Bangar also makes a morethan useful contribution with the bat. Opening the innings in the longerversion of the game, Bangar’s 3,112 runs include 5 tons and has come at anaverage of 35.77. His ability to move the ball both ways while stillmaintaining a good line and length makes him a very useful player tohave in any condition.The rest of the Indian team retains itself. Connor Williams, by virtueof his showing in the unofficial ‘Test’ against South Africa clings onto his spot as Shiv Sunder Das’ opening partner. The middle-order whichboasts some of the brightest talents in the game – Sachin Tendulkar,Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman and Sourav Ganguly – escapes all manner ofselectoral censure. Deep Dasgupta will continue to don the gloves.

The most interesting thing to note in the forthcoming tour however wouldbe the composition of India’s spin attack. Harbhajan Singh and AnilKumble will do the bulk of the bowling, with Sarandeep Singh waiting onthe sidelines to be called up if needed. Virender Sehwag, who isunlikely to play given the recent controversy over his suspension,completes the fourteen.The press conference announcing the team was marred by needlesscontroversy as the British journalists badgered both Borde and NiranjanShah, BCCI secretary about the selection of Sehwag in the fourteen. However Borde pointed out that the job of the selectors was to pick the side purely on cricketing merit and nothing else. It will now be left to the BCCI top management to decide the final XI that will be take the field on next Monday.India’s 14 for first Test:Sourav Ganguly (capt), Rahul Dravid, Shiv Sundar Das, Connor Williams, Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman, Virender Sehwag, Deep Dasgupta, Anil Kumble, Harbhajan Singh, Sarandeep Singh, Sanjay Bangar, Iqbal Siddiqui, Tinu Yohannan.

Fast bowler Brad Williams and the use of bonus points will feature in an Australian one-day international for the first time when the home team takes on New Zealand in the opening match of the VB Series tomorrow.Williams, the blond-headed speedster from Western Australia, will figure as part of a three-pronged Australian pace attack in a match likely to be contested on a fast and bouncy pitch at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.The 27-year-old was named in the Australian squad for the two closing matches of the recently-completed Test series against South Africa but did not win selection in the final eleven in either game.His domestic career began in Melbourne seven years ago, when he was chosen as a 20-year-old and claimed five wickets in an innings for a Victorian team that played Queensland in a Sheffield Shield match.Under the rotation policy that will ensure that each of the 14 players in the Australian squad will play at least one game through the opening stages of the series, Williams’ debut appearance will give him the chance to complement Glenn McGrath and Brett Lee as part of a pace bowling trio.Queenslanders Andy Bichel, Matthew Hayden and Andrew Symonds will be the three players rested.And, while Williams makes his first foray into international cricket, so a bonus point system will be in operation for the opening time in a limited-overs international on Australian soil.An additional point will be added to the four on offer for victory in each match of the VB Series in those situations where a team finishes a game with a run-rate that is at least 1.25 times higher than that of its opponent.Designed to encourage attacking cricket, the incentive rewards sides batting second for overhauling targets quickly and sides bowling second for dismissing their opponents cheaply.The use of bonus points in elite-level cricket is an Australian invention, having been pioneered in the Australian domestic one-day competition during the 2000-01 season.The VB Series will represent the fourth international tournament in which bonus points have been employed following their adoption by the International Cricket Council four months ago.

Teenage Ariz Kamal wrote himself into record books with acentury on first-class debut as Karachi Whites posted acommanding 316 for three at stumps on the opening day of thefour-day Quaid-i-Azam Trophy match against Rest ofBalochistan at the National Stadium Monday.Ariz, who narrowly missed selection in the Pakistan Under-19team for this month’s Youth World Cup, stroked a flawless119 during his 325-minute stay. His innings was laced with15 boundaries off 288 balls.The right-handed opener, who was dismissed in the fourthlast over of the day yorked by off-spinner Naseer Khan, leftHasan Raza’s entertaining unbeaten 157 in the backgroundwith his century. It was Hasan’s second century of theseason and 14th of career.Ariz and Hasan gave Rest of Balochistan, a run for theirmoney after Faisal Irfan (two for 61) picked up two cheapwickets in the first hour’s play to leave the home team at31 for two. The two young guns, who matched each otherstroke-by-stroke, put on 282 for third wicket.Ariz, who was 26 at lunch in Karachi Whites’ 107 for two,overcame a rush of blood in the second session beforereaching the magical figures in the final session with anexquisitely timed straight boundary.Hasan, on the contrary, was aggressive and braced his nicelycontrolled innings with a flurry of delightful boundaries -mostly through the off side. Having easily overtaken hisinexperienced partner at lunch, Hasan got to his century inthe last over before tea with a sweetly timed cover-driveoff Faisal Irfan.Hasan has so far batted for nine minutes under five hoursand doesn’t look in any mood to throw away the opportunityof getting another double century. He has faced 231 ballsout of his 20 have been converted into boundaries and oneover the fence.

Cricket’s mental side is the part of the game England coach Duncan Fletcher worries about most, and it is where he thinks his side has run into trouble in New Zealand.The side suffered a record 155-run loss to New Zealand in Wellington yesterday and Fletcher said today that there was only a period of about five overs in the middle of their innings when England competed with New Zealand.The game was not the worst he had experienced since becoming coach, there had been some in England that were equal to yesterday.”What was disappointing was that we played some good cricket in India but suddenly things didn’t work out quite right yesterday,” he said.It was always going to be tough playing any side in their home conditions but the manner of yesterday’s hiding has him concerned.”If you could get inside their brain the game would be very, very easy,” he said.While it was easy to see things that were wrong technically, it was much more difficult, in a touring situation, to know if players were being over-cooked with too much practice and play.The players had been flat but there had been no indication before the game that flatness would be a problem.In the immediate aftermath of the loss it had been one of the first times the team had sat in the dressing room for half an hour afterwards and gone through a few things in the form of analysis.He conceded the 244 New Zealand posted after being put in to bat was a very difficult total to chase.A total of 200 would have been very challenging, he said.Having been through India with the side and now on the New Zealand leg he felt the team, before it played yesterday, was the best XI England could field but it had not been a true assessment of their ability.It was possible to throw around a lot of theory but it had to be remembered New Zealand played very well.”Sometimes the opposition can make you play badly. They had a really good day yesterday. They took advantage of the first 15 overs on a relatively difficult wicket and played some good cricket.”They are a very effective unit now and have come back on a high from Australia,” he said.Fletcher did feel his bowlers could be more consistent in their disciplines.”It is all about setting a tone, you set a tone with your batting, the way you approach the first 15 overs, you set a tone with your bowling in the first 15 overs and you set a tone with how you show your energy in the field,” he said.With the World Cup in mind, England had been hoping to have a good idea of exactly where they stood in the run down to the World Cup by the end of this tour.That was why the Indian and New Zealand one-day sections had been put together.But now the pressure was still on the players to prove they were capable of contesting a World Cup by turning this tour around.Whether wicket-keeper James Foster, who was rested for yesterday’s game, would be part of that remained to be seen.He was one of several young players in the side not used to touring, the playing and travelling requirement faced by all sides. He had been lethargic and was probably on a bit of a downer so the management didn’t want to knock his confidence. Whether he was capable or not was still be found out.Owais Shah was another player given a chance and assessments of how these young players cope was an essential part of this tour.

Kenya’s cricketers, humiliated in the recently completed unofficial Test series, salvaged some pride in the first game of a three-match unofficial one-day series at Welegedera Stadium in Kurunegala on Wednesday, as they cruised to a 35 run victory against Sri Lanka A.It was a convincing win – despite some late order hitting by Sri Lanka A’s bowlers that provided a large local crowd with some late afternoon entertainment – that boosted their flagging morale after a difficult three weeks.Steve Tikolo, the highest run scorer in the Test series and by far their best player, was the chief architect of the victory with a chanceless 107 from 119 balls, that guided Kenya to a competitive 248 run target.But Kenya’s three seam bowlers – Joseph Angara, Peter Ogondo and Lameck Onyanga – all of whom had struggled to take wickets in the longer game, also played a crucial part taking seven wickets between them.The locals, who had filed into this glorious tree-lined stadium in impressive numbers, had expected to watch Sri Lanka’s youngsters stroll to a comfortable win. However, the hosts never recovered from a dramatic early slide that saw them slip to 51 for five and then 108 for eight.Avishka Gunawardene started the collapse when groped forward to his second ball, a wide delivery angled across his stumps, to be caught at slip. Gayan Ramyakumara was adjudged lbw as he bestraddled his crease in the fifth over and, next over, Tillakaratne Dilshan slashed wildly to be caught at slip for a third ball duck (25 for three).Only Upeka Fernando, the squat SSC all-rounder, prospered, carving an entertaining 30 from 36 balls. A recovery appeared to be gathering momentum before he was run out after being left stranded mid-pitch by Chamara Silva. Two overs later, Silva feathered a catch behind.The middle order also failed, with Upul Chanadana, Muthumudalige Pushpakumara and Prassana Jayawardene mustering only 36 runs between them, before a belated lower order rally from all-rounder Dulip Liyanage (66 not out) and left-arm spinner Rangana Herath (41).The two left-handers added 98 for the ninth wicket, putting their teammates to shame with the ease with which they accumulated their runs on a placid, if well grassed, slow wicket.But the early damage left them with an ever-increasing required rate. Needing nine runs per over in the last ten, they successfully aimed some beefy strikes, but eventually lost their last two wickets to be bowled out for 212.Earlier in day, when the captains walked out to toss, the heat was already stifling and Kenya opted to bat first, making good use of the opening 15 overs, despite the early loss of Kennedy Otieno, dubiously caught by Pulasthi Gunaratne diving forward at mid on.Both Steve Tikolo and Ravindu Shah, both in commanding form after productive performances in the Tests, were unafraid to loft the Sri Lanka A fast bowlers over the infielders, exploiting the vacant spaces in the outfield and allowing them to canter along at a run a ball.But Upul Chandana, quickly sensing their comfort against the seamers, slipped his left-arm spinner, Rangana Herath, into the attack in the tenth over of the innings. Shah promptly swiped across the line of his fourth ball and was bowled for 26.However, Tikolo pushed on, striking the ball crisply off his pads and displaying an air of calm authority throughout, as he raced to 50 from just 51 balls.Hitesh Modi, struggling with his form and lacking fluency, settled into a supportive role, as the fielders spread and the Sri Lanka A spinners wheeled away from both ends.After the fielding restrictions had been lifted Tikolo tempered his robust strokeplay, probably out of concern for the inconsistent batting to come. However, despite being content to safely manoeuvre the ball into the gaps, he still scored quickly, reaching his century off 106 balls.In the 33nd over Modi, searching for his first boundary, mistimed a lofted drive and was well caught by Chamara Silva sprinting backwards from mid on (154 for three).Maurice Odumbe, who scored 72 runs in six innings during the unofficial Test series, harried his way to 18 before a burst from Pulasthi Gunaratne pulled Sri Lanka back into the game.Fresh from an impressive display in Dambulla, the strong fast bowler slipped fast yorkers through the defensives of both Odumbe and wicket-keeper batsman David Obuya.Tikolo was running out of partners and having just reached the three-figure mark he tried to swat Dulip Liyanage over mid on and was caught by Chandana (218 for six).Gunaratne and Liyanage soon worked their way through the lower order, with Gunaratne once again impressing with well-directed yorkers.Both sides now return to Colombo for the second match Moratuwa on Saturday.

India’s 10-wicket loss in the first National Bank Series Test has not gone down well at home.Early reaction has condemned the highly-touted Indian batting line-up for failing to adapt to the conditions, which were not unreasonable.Some of the newspaper reaction follows:The Hindu: “Gone with the wind. That was the plight of the Indians in this windy city, following a batting performance that was deeply disappointing and shocking.”When the first National Bank Test was still in the balance, a star-studded line-up got skittled out in 38.1 overs for 121, on a seaming track with bounce, that any visiting team should only expect to encounter in New Zealand.”It was a display bereft of character, determination and application, and that which lacked the will to fight, especially after the bowlers, led by the lion-hearted Zaheer Khan, who registered his first five-wicket haul, had restricted New Zealand to 247, providing India more than a glimmer of hope.”The opening Test of the National Bank series here at the Basin Reserve thus finished well inside three days on Saturday.”With Stephen Fleming’s men, requiring just 36 to take the lead in the series, openers Mark Richardson and Lou Vincent knocked off the runs without much fuss.”With a sizable holiday crowd roaring in delight, Richardson cracked Ashish Nehra to the point boundary to make New Zealand’s 300th Test a memorable one for the host.”And The Hindu columnist, former Indian opening batsman Kris Srikkanth said: “This was an atrocious batting performance, and I still cannot believe that we batted so poorly. Just goes to prove that we are extremely vulnerable when the ball seams and bounces.”From the Indian display it becomes obvious that we have only two world-class batsmen, Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid, who are capable of adapting to such pitches. There is far too much hype about the others.”What’s happening now is that, for purely commercial interests, the Indian side is being hyped up, and the expectation among the people becomes ridiculously high.”All these ratings, there are so many of them now, have no meaning unless they are backed by matching performances by our cricketers when it counts.”We tend to get carried away by performances at home; easily forgetting that the real test for any batsman is how he fares in conditions like that prevailed in Wellington.”Indian Express: “Repeating the same mistakes which spelt their doom in the first innings, India’s formidable batting line-up crumbled for the second time in three days as the visitors crashed to a humiliating 10-wicket defeat against New Zealand in the first Test on Saturday.”The Indians gave an extremely poor account of themselves as they managed to bat just 96.5 overs in two innings to suffer one of their worst defeats in recent times allowing the hosts to take a 1-0 lead in the two-match series.”After pace spearhead Zaheer Khan captured his first five-wicket haul to restrict New Zealand’s first innings lead to 86 runs, the batsmen put in an appalling display to be bundled out for a paltry 121 in just 38.1 overs on a Basin Reserve pitch which had eased out considerably.”