Unbeaten Rawalpindi maintain top place

Group I

Rawalpindi Rams registered their fourth successive win and cemented their place at the top of the Group I battle with a narrow two-wicket victory over Sialkot Stallions. Rawalpindi were comfortable in a chase of 220 at 124 for 3 but a few quick wickets pegged them back. However, they went past the target in the 43rd over. Babar Naeem, top-scored for the side with 68 off 74 balls, including seven fours. Naeem also picked up two wickets for 31 runs to restrict the Sialkot innings to 219 for 7. Sialkot were hurt by regular strikes and although Majid Jehangir and Nasir Iqbal scored 44 and 40 respectively, the remaining batsmen floundered after getting starts.

Bahawalpur Stags registered their first win, thrashing Lahore Eagles by 113 runs. Put in to bat first, Bahawalpur were restricted to 228 for 9, boosted by forties from opener Jawad Hussain (49) and wicketkeeper Faisal Mubashir (47) and an unbeaten 39 from Jahanzeb Khan. Lahore's reply never took off and at one point the side were 81 for 6. Afraseem Hussain led the Bahawalpur bowlers, dismissing both openers and middle-order batsman Muntazir Mehdi to finish with figures of 3 for 23 as Lahore folded for 115.

Fifties from Mohammad Idrees and Peshawar Panthers' captain Jamaluddin, and a five-wicket haul from left-arm spinner Jibran Khan, helped Peshawar secure a 21-run win over Abbottabad Falcons. Set a target of 281, Abbottabad lost eight wickets to the left-arm spin pair of Jibran and Mohammad Adnan. Jibran cleaned up the lower middle order and the tail-end to finish with figures of 5 for 42, his maiden five-for in List A cricket, while Adnan took three wickets for 45 runs as Abbottabad were dismissed for 259. Mohammad Naeem top-scored for Abbottabad with a 64-ball 98. Earlier, Idrees and Jamaluddin led their team's charge after the side won the toss and chose to bat first. Idrees scored a 45-ball 52, while Jamaluddin hammered 51 off 29 balls with 12 fours. A late-order collapse, where Peshawar lost their last six wickets for 32 runs, saw the side restricted to 280. Pace bowler Umair Khan picked up 4 for 39, while left-arm seamer Irad Ali picked up 3 for 69 on his List A debut.

Group II

Half-centuries by Ammar Mahmood and Hamza Zaheer helped Faisalabad Wolves to an easy eight-wicket win over Quetta Bears at Iqbal Stadium. Chasing 166, the pair added 113 for the second wicket, with Mahmood remaining unbeaten on 75 off 89 balls and Zaheer falling for 55. Faisalabad had inserted Quetta and had them in trouble at 20 for 3. Ata-ur-Rehman and Mohammad Farhan scored 46 each to show some resistance but Quetta suffered because they couldn't stage substantial partnerships. Waqas Masood and Asad Ali took three wickets apiece to restrict Quetta to a below-par 165.

At Multan Cricket Stadium, a pair of unbeaten half-centuries by Mohammad Waris and Aamer Yamin helped Multan Tigers to a five-wicket win over Hyderabad Hawks. Chasing 220, the game was evenly poised when Multan were at 116 for 5. Waris and Yamin scored 58 and 63 respectively to see them through with just under two overs to spare. Earlier, after Hyderabad were put in to bat, the openers fell without scoring. The middle order then made contributions, with Taj Wasan top-scoring with 52. Nearly all the bowlers chipped in, with Ali Usman taking 3 for 29.

Lahore Lions overcame a late assault by Mohammad Irfan and Hamza Nadeem to sneak home by 13 runs against Islamabad Leopards at Diamond Club Ground. Chasing 270, Lahore were in trouble at 167 for 7 before Irfan and Nadeem added a brisk 88. Nadeem smashed 55 off 30 balls before he was dismissed with Lahore needing another 15. Irfan remained unbeaten with 40 off 32 balls. Lahore, after opting to bat, were carried by half-centuries by the opener Imran Butt (72) and middle-order batsman Agha Salman (57). They were 192 for 6 at one stage before the lower order stepped up to push the score to 269.

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Laxmi Shukla 155 in Bengal 303

Saurashtra 0 for 0 trail Bengal 303 (L Shukla 155) by 303 runs
Scorecard

Bengal captain Laxmi Shukla scored more than half his team's runs on day one in Kolkata, hitting 155 as Saurashtra bowled the hosts out for 303. Saurashtra had to bat one over before stumps, and their openers safely negotiated that.

The visitors had chosen to bowl and enjoyed early success, reducing Bengal to 20 for 2 within the first 10 overs. Just when it seemed like opener Rohan Bannerjee and keeper Wriddhiman Saha had steadied the innings, adding 50 together, Saurashtra picked up three wickets in three overs. Bengal went from 70 for 2 to 77 for 5, but Shukla stayed firm amid the carnage. He went about constructing his century at good pace, eventually finishing with a strike rate of 95 - his 155 was dotted with 24 fours and three sixes. He received some support from Subhomoy Das - the pair strung together a 138-run stand. However, once they were separated, Saurashtra did not allow any other big partnerships to develop and wrapped up the innings soon after the 300-run mark had been passed, their bowlers having shared the wickets around. Shukla was the ninth man out.

Railways 223 for 7 (Bhille 60, S Shukla 54, Pankaj 3-69) v Rajasthan
Scorecard

Railways failed to build on a century second-wicket stand between Nitin Bhille and Shivakant Shukla, ending day one in Jaipur against Rajasthan on 223 for 7 after a mini-slide.

Rajasthan struck early after electing to bowl, but Bhille and Shukla dug in after that. They added 117 over 54 overs, and both completed half-centuries. But their dismissals in successive overs, to seamers Deepak Chahar and Rituraj Singh, destabilised Railways. They lost five wickets for 45 runs in all, before a half-century stand between Mahesh Rawat and Murali Kartik arrested the slump. Kartik too could not kick on and Rajasthan struck a couple more blows before stumps. Seamer Pankaj Singh was the most effective of their bowlers, claiming 3 for 69 in 24 overs.

Madhya Pradesh 236 for 9 (Ojha 63, Yadav 4-61) v Services
Scorecard

Madhya Pradesh went to stumps on 236 for 9 against Services, in Delhi, with none of their batsmen making the most of the starts they got. Much of the damage for Services was done by new-ball bowler Suraj Yadav, who ended the day with 4 for 61.

MP had chosen to bat and seemed to have got off to a solid start at 105 for 1 with Satyam Choudhary - their double-centurion from the opening round - and Naman Ojha well set. But both batsmen were out on the same score, and Yadav proceeded to carve up the middle order. Three more wickets fell in quick succession - including captain Devendra Bundela to a run-out - as the hosts wrested the advantage. The lower order was also guilty of wasting starts.

Tamil Nadu 258 for 7 (Prasanna 104*, Aparajith 60, Crist 54*) v Uttar Pradesh
Scorecard

Uttar Pradesh's RP Singh and debutant Amit Mishra combined to reduce the big-name Tamil Nadu batting to 20 for 4. That too, after Tamil Nadu chose to bat. However, a century from the visitors' least-heralded specialist batsman, R Prasanna, and a half-century from their most promising youngster, B Aparajith, helped inject some competitiveness to the total.

Read the full report here.

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CSA likely to hold 'festival of cricket' at Newlands

Cricket South Africa is planning a festival of cricket to replace the New Year's Test in Cape Town in the first week of 2014. The festival is likely to feature Twenty20 matches spread over three days between January 3 and January 6, 2014, and may include some of the country's best known sportspeople.

One idea being proposed is to start the festival with a T20 game between the national rugby team, the Springboks, and the national cricket side. This may be followed by a women's match on the same day. On January 4, all six of South Africa's domestic franchises are scheduled to play a triple-header to mark the start of the domestic T20 competition. On the following day, there are plans to revive the traditional north-south derby in a shorter format.

The derby between a team from the northern part of the country - then called Transvaal - and the south, in the Western Cape, used to be the marquee fixture of the summer during South Africa's isolation years. The match is likely to be played again, in a shorter format, and members of the public can vote for the players they want to see in each XI.

SuperSport, the pay-television broadcaster, also confirmed that they had allocated broadcast slots to matches on the dates matching those of the proposed festival.

If conducted, the festival is unlikely to help CSA recover its losses from a curtailed India series, but a source told ESPNcricinfo that the event would "ensure content for the ground." Newlands, which is expected to host the festival, may be the only ground to benefit from the innovation, after missing out on a game during the India tour.

After the New Year's Test against India was cancelled, Newlands has been compensated with a T20 and an ODI against Pakistan, in a hastily organised series which got underway on Wednesday. Both Bloemfontein and East London, were due to host India for ODIs but have not been given any alternate fixtures.

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Johnson, Australia rattle England

Lunch England 2 for 55 (Carberry 31*) trail Australia 295 (Haddin 94, Johnson 64, Broad 6-81) by 240 runs
Live scorecard and ball-by-ball details

Australia made productive use of their first sight of England's batsmen in the opening Ashes Test at the Gabba, as they dismissed Alastair Cook and Jonathan Trott within 17 overs to strike back impressively at the Gabba.

Cook built his Ashes reputation in Brisbane three years ago. He made more than 300 runs in the match and England's second-innings score of 517 for 1, the harbinger of their series victory, remains seared in Australia's consciousness.

There was to be no great statement, though, for England's captain on his return to the river city. Cook moved to 13 in unperturbed fashion but then succumbed to an insistent new-ball spell from Ryan Harris, edging a challenging delivery around off stump to the wicketkeeper.

The physical confrontation to relish, however, was Mitchell Johnson's testing of Jonathan Trott against the short ball. Johnson, whose wayward opening spell lasted only three overs, immediately returned upon Cook's dismissal and, with his first ball to Trott, rapped him on the glove with a fast, short one, without quite disturbing the batsman's expression of imperturbability. Australia's captain, Michael Clarke, unhinged by a similar delivery on the first day, would have approved.

Johnson managed a further over with seconds remaining on the clock and it paid dividends when Trott got too far over to his first ball, a relatively nondescript delivery, and glanced a simple catch to the wicketkeeper Brad Haddin.

Michael Carberry, playing in only his second Test at 33, must have felt an onerous responsibility as he reached lunch unbeaten on 31, helped there by a succession of clips into the leg side as Australia's bowlers strayed.

He settled to his task immediately, tucking Harris through the leg side and then punching him down the ground within his first three balls. There was a noticeable one-day element in the manner in which he deliberately steered Johnson over the slips but he had cause to be content with his first hour as an England Test cricketer in Australia.

England were hopeful that once the sun had baked the moisture out of the second-day surface, it would turn into a batting paradise, if not quite the quality of surface of three years ago. But that sense was nowhere to be seen as lunch was taken with the Test in an intriguing position.

Earlier, Brad Haddin was run out six runs short of what would have been a thoroughly deserved Ashes hundred as England required only 7.1 overs of the morning to wrap up Australia's first innings

Haddin fell attempting a second run into the off side, with Australia's last pair together. Carberry's retrieval was slick and Matt Prior did the rest by collecting an awkward take and breaking the stumps.

Haddin had marshalled Australia's lower order superbly for four-and-a-quarter hours in carrying his side from a disastrous 6 for 132 to a total which, if it felt at the innings changeover perhaps 100 runs below par, may at least prove competitive.

Stuart Broad, who had 5 for 65 overnight, accounted for Harris. He walked off with 6 for 81 to a mixture of applause and boos from the second-day crowd. Broad struck with the sixth ball of his second over as Harris, intending to leave a length delivery, only managed to guide it to the wicketkeeper Prior.

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Rare clear forecast for SL-NZ finale

Match facts

Thursday, November 21, 2013
Start time 1900 local (1330 GMT)

Big Picture

Fans who have followed this series so far may want to sit down before reading the following sentence: rain is not expected to affect the second Twenty20.

By even Sri Lankan monsoon standards, New Zealand's tour has been a miserably soggy one. Fewer than half the scheduled overs have been played, and two of the four matches were washed out. Even the games that produced results did not avoid controversy. Sri Lanka were hampered by a wet ball in their loss in Hambantota, and a irrepressible Nathan McCullum was denied the chance to chase unlikely victory by bad light, in Dambulla.

So in many ways, the whole tour rests on this final match - as long as the weather forecast proves accurate. If Sri Lanka win it, they can claim to have had the better of their opposition, as they were expected to do. A New Zealand victory, meanwhile, will be a coup, and a substantial boost to their confidence ahead of their next subcontinent assignment: the World Twenty20 in Bangladesh, four months hence.

The thorniest of the visitors' obstacles is perhaps Sri Lanka's bowling. Almost every member of the hosts' attack feels comfortable at Pallekele, and they have won all but one of their seven completed matches at the venue. In that time, Lasith Malinga and Ajantha Mendis have taken five-wicket hauls, and Nuwan Kulasekara has carved out a bowling average better than his overall figures.

New Zealand will hope, though, that their own attack, which possesses the type of seam bowlers who have done well at Pallekele, can get through a daunting top four and into that less steady middle order. It is what they have talked about doing all tour, a plan that they have found difficult to put in practice, as many other sides have, in the recent past.

Form guide

(last five completed matches, most recent first)

 Sri Lanka: WLLWW
New Zealand: WWLWL



In the spotlight

Before the second match, New Zealand's acting captain talked of Ajantha Mendis as a particular threat to the inexperienced batsmen who have not seen him before. Although New Zealand are sure to have watched plenty of Mendis video in their preparation, in the past, Mendis' threat has only ever been dulled by actually having played him in a match. Almost pigeonholed as a Twenty20 player now, Mendis remains one of the best bowlers in the format, but he will want to impose himself again, with competition for spin bowlers' places in the team having heated up.

Terrific when he's good, but pretty poor on a bad day, Mitchell McClenaghan has done little to allay the notion that left-armers named Mitch are not pillars of consistency. He had a forgettable tour of Bangladesh, where he was expensive in every match, and was perhaps the worst of the New Zealand bowlers in the first ODI in Sri Lanka as well. After being dropped for the second ODI, though, he came back with what Mills said was his best performance of the tour, in Dambulla, taking 2 for 34 in seven overs. If he can keep that form up, he may be one of his side's best assets on one of the most seam-friendly surfaces in the subcontinent.

Team news

It is unlikely Sri Lanka will try anything fancy in this match, and will instead play its best XI, with eyes on that trophy. The major question is whether Kusal Perera will get a match, which Dinesh Chandimal suggested he is likely to do. If he does not play, Mahela Jayawardene is likely to open the innings and Lahiru Thirimanne will remain in the middle order.

Sri Lanka (probable): 1 Tillakaratne Dilshan, 2 Kusal Perera/Lahiru Thirimanne, 3 Kumar Sangakkara (wk), 4 Mahela Jayawardene, 5. Angelo Mathews, 6. Dinesh Chandimal (capt), 7. Thisara Perera, 8. Nuwan Kulasekara, 9. Sachithra Senanayake, 10. Lasith Malinga, 11. Ajantha Mendis

An injury to allrounder James Neesham's finger means he is ruled out of this match, which may clear the path for fast bowler Adam Milne's return. Anton Devcich has not fired with the bat this tour, and Hamish Rutherford will be pushing for a place again, while Neil Broom will likely replace Rob Nicol in the top order.

New Zealand (probable): 1 Anton Devcich/Hamish Rutherford, 2 Tom Latham, 3 Neil Broom, 4 Grant Elliott, 5 Colin Munro, 6 Luke Ronchi (wk), 7 James Neesham, 8 Nathan McCullum, 9 Andrew Ellis, 10 Kyle Mills (capt), 11 Mitchell McClenaghan

Pitch and conditions

The Pallekele pitch has tended to provide assistance to seam bowling under lights, though it has also been a happy venue for spinners. There is a small chance of afternoon rain, which may mean the covers stay on during the day, which in turn may provide yet more assistance to the quick men.

Stats and trivia

• Of New Zealand's last five scheduled Twenty20s in Pallekele, they have lost one, tied two (both of which they lost in the Super Over) and had two abandoned due to rain
• In six innings, Mahela Jayawardene has hit the most runs in Pallekele, making 274 at 54.80, with a strike rate of 133

Quotes

"Kusal Perera is immensely talented. He can win a game on his own, but he needs to get more experience. He had done well in domestic cricket and for the A team. If he is up there when we get closer to the World T20, he will be on one of our key match-winners."
Sri Lanka captain Dinesh Chandimal backs Kusal Perera to overcome his international slump

"Mendis is a quality player. We expected him to play in the one-day series, so we did a bit of research and scouting - especially for the new guys that haven't seen him before. We're anticipating he'll play on Thursday night."
New Zealand acting captain Kyle Mills

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TN batsmen face UP bowling test

Meerut may have a reputation as a crowded industrial place, but the sprawling Victoria Park adds a much-needed expanse of green to the town. It houses the Bhamashah Stadium, which is surrounded by more open spaces for Meerut's young cricketers to train in, much like the city's two most famous cricketers, Praveen Kumar and Bhuvneshwar Kumar, did over the past few years.

Several knots of cricketers - in full whites and with proper equipment - are practising there on the day before the Ranji match between Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. A short walk past them takes you to the main ground, where next to a whitewashed wall that serves as one of the sightscreens, several dozen spectators are watching the two Ranji teams train.

This is the biggest match of the year for Meerut, and signs of that are all around. The ground itself is surrounded by temporary billboards, advertising everything from real estate to fertilisers, and also includes tributes to Sachin Tendulkar as well as notable Meerut cricketers. The boards denoting the scorers box, the media enclosure and the teams' dressing rooms, all sport a distinctive logo with the words 'Ranji Trophy cricket match'.

A wide, white, single-storeyed building - the O'Donnell pavilion, named after a former principal of Meerut College, which owns the ground - is a hub of activity as the organisers try to ensure everything is in order for the match.

Just ahead of the pavilion, some of the UP players are practising taking high catches. It's a nippy, winter morning and the cold isn't making training easy. "Lag rahi hain yaar (it's stinging)," says one of the fielders, wringing his hands after snaffling a skier. The weather will take even more adjusting to for the visitors, with maximum temperatures in Tamil Nadu still well above 30 degrees.

The match itself is being billed as a clash between UP's strong bowling and Tamil Nadu's formidable batting. Tamil Nadu have scored in excess of 450 in the first innings of both their matches this season, with B Aparajith and S Badrinath both having scored double-hundreds, and UP captain Piyush Chawla knew what his side was up against. "They have got one of the best batting sides and we have got one of the better bowling sides in Ranji Trophy circuit," Chawla said. "It should be a good contest."

It doesn't help UP, though, that both of Meerut's finest bowlers are not available for this game. Praveen is out with a shoulder injury and Bhuvneshwar is away on national duty.

Chawla and his bowlers are coming off a rough game in Rajkot, where Saurashtra piled up a mammoth total. Chawla bowled 51.5 overs in one innings. Little wonder then that the only time he got animated, during a short press conference, was when he spoke about the state of pitches in the country.

"Wickets are quite flat these days, and if it is not flat, then it is seaming, so it becomes really difficult for the spin bowlers. Even if you see the list of highest wicket-takers in the last few years in Ranji Trophy, you won't find many spinners in that, hardly one in top 10 or something. So that is a challenge, for a spinner to come on these sort of wickets and bowl your best and try to pick up something out of these nothing tracks."

Neither captain wanted to elaborate on how they thought the Meerut track would behave, but the surface generally favoured quick bowlers in the three matches held here over the past four years.

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Leadership curbing Chandimal's spirit

While Dinesh Chandimal has shown the aptitude to captain Sri Lanka, he seems to be shackled by it, and this has badly affected in his limited-overs batting of late

When Sri Lanka appointed Tillakaratne Dilshan captain in 2011, he rushed back mid-IPL to accept the post. The man that appeared before the press shortly after was unlike any Dilshan that had been seen before. The designer beard had been replaced by a plain goatee, the earring had vanished, and he spoke and behaved in a manner he felt was fitting for an international captain.

Yet, despite his efforts, there was something amiss about his new public avatar. Beneath the weight of all that responsibility, Dilshan had lost something of himself. A man who struggles to get his point across in any language was suddenly wading through scores of interviews in his second language, stumbling over rote-learned lines, slipping on generic phrases.

There were occasional outbursts of mirth, like when Sri Lanka won their first Test in South Africa, but Dilshan mostly caged his mischief, and the team and his own form could not wear his feigned virtues well. It was not until he was relieved of the reins that he truly regained himself. The two years since have been among the most productive of his career, in limited-overs cricket in particular.

Dilshan's tale should inspire caution in Sri Lanka's selectors and the young men they are grooming for leadership. Angelo Mathews had two years as vice-captain before he was placed in charge, and perhaps thanks to that incubation period, there has been no serious slip in his cricket - though there have been no substantial gains either.

Dinesh Chandimal has not been so fortunate. In 23 limited-overs innings since March, Chandimal has not hit one fifty. In ODIs he averages 16.81 and has scored his runs at a strike rate of 62. In four Twenty20 knocks, his average is in the single figures.

There is no doubt that he is batting woefully out of position, and is often tasked with finishing the innings - a job which his cricket is patently not suited to. But even so, his returns have been appalling. Worse, he must now seek to build a side for the World Twenty20 in Bangladesh, where he, ostensibly, will lead the campaign.

There can equally be no doubt in Chandimal's ability. On Test debut, he withstood Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel, Jacques Kallis and Marchant de Lange, to produce two half-centuries that were vital for Sri Lanka's innings, and their eventual, famous win. In his first ODI at Lord's he arrived at No. 3 to lead the chase, and hit a hundred in what he feels is still his best cricketing moment. In Sydney this year, and in Colombo, he has played Test innings that have required considerable fortitude in tough situations. In the longest format, he still averages 58.

But, like Dilshan, there is something clearly amiss with Chandimal now. He has allowed leadership to curb his spirit. The big, extravagant strokes replete with the high follow-through, the deft trips down the pitch, the exuberance - even in defence - have all given way to cautious prods and unsteady footwork. He had quickly gained a reputation as team mischief-maker soon after he arrived at the top level, but now he is fretful and afraid, at the crease and in public.

After Tuesday's washout, a journalist had jovially asked him what he did on wet, miserable nights. Conceding a smile, but turning around to the team manager to confirm that he should answer, Chandimal launched into a 90-second description on how he and his young team-mates spend their time extracting nuggets of cricketing wisdom from the older men, on how to face certain balls and particular bowlers.

Not only that, he said, they cluster together and go from senior player to senior player, like ascetics learning at the feet of learned gurus. It was the most correct thing to say, perhaps, and exceptionally uncontroversial, but unless Sri Lanka's youngsters are the most hideously boring 20-something-year-olds on the planet, it probably wasn't completely true either.

Unlike Dilshan, Chandimal has already proven to be a gifted captain. He is rarely short of ideas, thinks laterally and has the makings of a fine record. Accordingly, Sri Lanka's selectors are unlikely to strip him of the captaincy, particularly considering the potential for damage to Chandimal's confidence.

As a leader, though, he has not learnt to feel comfortable in his own skin. Unless he rediscovers the verve that once propelled his cricket and made him such a joy to watch, his batting may continue to be a poor reflection of his personality and his talent.

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Broad silences early boos

Lunch Australia 71 for 2 (Warner 42*, Clarke 0*) v England
Live scorecard and ball-by-ball details

Stuart Broad received the hostile welcome he knew was inevitable at the Gabba but, at lunch on the first morning of the Ashes series, he left the field with an air of satisfaction. He carried England's challenge with wickets at both ends of the session, Chris Rogers in his second over and Shane Watson in the last over before the break, as England curbed a confident Australia start.

Australia's captain, Michael Clarke, found himself resisting an attacking field from Broad for the last three balls of the session when he might have anticipated taking lunch in more relaxed circumstances. David Warner was at his most dependable in reaching the interval with 42 to his name but Watson did not quite accompany him to the end of the session, deceived by a hint of late movement to edge to Graeme Swann at second slip.

The Gabba has been noisier, it has certainly been more impassioned, but as the morning progressed a sense of quiet satisfaction permeated the ground. The vilification, predictably, was reserved for Broad but even that abuse was restricted to boos as his name was announced and a couple of desultory and unimaginative chants.

Brisbane's regional paper, in a fake show of disgust, is refusing to refer to Broad by name throughout the Test. Suitably, Broad, appointed as the Man With No Name, went about his work with the stony expression of Clint Eastwood in the film so titled, communicating that there was serious business to attend to.

England would have been grateful for a ball change a few overs earlier. It was Broad who pursued it, and won it. Another low trick, one wonders?

Broad accounted for Rogers in his second over; Rogers had only made a single when he was caught off the splice by Ian Bell in the gully.

The weather in Brisbane was set fair and so, almost but not quite, were Australia. They had not been short of confident predictions ahead of the return series and they sorely needed to back it up with a confident start.

It was a good toss for Clarke, to win. A few lonely clouds hung around blue skies to no great purpose and, although the pitch had decent bounce and carry, and enough moisture to give England hope, there was not the sideways movement they might have anticipated.

It was a tight contest, with England restoring control after an initial flurry by Warner. The restructuring of Warner's game is central to Australia's challenge and, with four centuries to his name this season, he was at his most orderly. He did allow himself a more aggressive opening statement, responding to Broad's first delivery - perhaps unintentionally short as his front foot slipped in the crease - by pulling it resoundingly in front of square. Battle was joined, too, with James Anderson as he drove him fulsomely then edged short of gully.

England opted for Chris Tremlett as their third seamer, a show of faith after an indifferent county season and Matt Prior was fit to resume his wicketkeeping role after a calf injury. Tremlett was cut to the boards by Watson in his first over, but although he did not carry much threat both he and Graeme Swann succeeded in giving England the control they craved.

England's biggest scare came for Anderson 20 minutes before lunch. It is a new outfield and Anderson's attempts to slide on it to deny Warner a boundary through midwicket resulted in a huge divot tearing from the turf. Memories of Simon Jones' injury when his knee dug into the Brisbane turf on the opening day of the 2002-03 tour briefly flared, but whereas Jones' tour - and almost his career - ended in an instant, Anderson brushed the mud from his trousers and rose to his feet, relieved to have suffered no permanent damage. That "no diving" orders would go out to the bowlers at lunch seemed inevitable.

Earlier, George Bailey became Australia's 436th Test cap and was presented with the Baggy Green before start of play by a former captain, Mark Taylor. Only four players remained from Australia's first Test of last summer against South Africa. There was enough for Australia in the session to bring hopes among home supporters that this rebuilt XI can make it a contest.

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Injured Neesham out of final T20

New Zealand allrounder James Neesham has been ruled out of the second T20 against Sri Lanka to be held on November 21 in Pallekele. The injury that ruled him out was a result of a sprain he sustained on the little finger of his left hand in the third ODI in Dambulla.

Neesham had injured the finger while fielding a return hit by Nuwan Kulasekara off his own bowling. The following day, an x-ray revealed no fracture to the bone, but a subsequent ultrasound showed there was moderate damage to the tendon. If the first T20 had gone ahead, without rain intervening, then Neesham would not have played in it either, as he had been ruled out of both T20 matches.

Paul Close, the New Zealand physiotherapist, believed Neesham would need at least a month to recover. "It's important we allow Jimmy's finger sufficient time to heal in order to achieve a full recovery. We expect Jimmy to be back playing again in around four to six weeks."

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RCA poll glitch stalls Modi comeback

Lalit Modi's plan of returning as a cricket administrator in India, via the Rajasthan Cricket Association (RCA) elections, has been put on hold because of confusion over the election dates. The association is split into two factions, each of which has announced an election date, and the dispute over who controls the RCA is now being contested in various courts across Rajasthan.

Modi had been banned for life by the BCCI from all cricket matters in India but the ban was stayed by the Rajasthan High Court in October, following which he announced his intention to run for the RCA president's post. His appeal before the court exploited a technicality - since the RCA is governed by the Rajasthan Sports Act, the BCCI ban cannot be applied to him - and the court agreed with his contention.

The incumbent, CP Joshi, then advanced the election date from December 7 to November 23 while the opposing faction announced it would hold the election on November 24. Those dates, however, are now a matter for the courts to decide.

Modi said his decision to make a comeback - he became the RCA president in 2005 - was because of the way Joshi had ignored cricket in Rajasthan. "Cricket has taken a beating in Rajasthan. My opponent has not done anything for the game. I was hoping as a federal minister he [Joshi] would have done a lot but I am disappointed. We had worked very, very hard and it is about time we start getting our act together," Modi told ESPNcricinfo from London.

He said he'd been in touch with various district associations within Rajasthan and was expecting healthy support on the elections. "I have good support from various associations and we are looking forward to the elections on November 23 and 24."

Modi's ally in the current campaign is Sanjay Dixit, a senior bureaucrat who had helped Joshi defeat him in a bitterly fought RCA election in 2009. Dixit, who was elected RCA secretary, was a vocal critic of Modi's autocratic style of functioning but he and Joshi too fell out. Dixit was then replaced by KK Sharma as the officiating secretary at RCA.

On Monday, Dixit issued a press release pointing out to an order passed by the RCA election officer that stated that he had returned to function as the secretary while deciding to "divest KK Sharma of all functions with effect from October 28". Dixit himself announced the elections on November 24.

Asked why he had decided to join hands with Dixit, Modi said both men were on the same page as far as cricket was concerned. "Sanjay and I were together as far as cricket is concerned. Then we had differences on certain issues. But he is a strong cricket administrator without doubt, which we had seen when I had left and he came in briefly at RCA. But he had a difference of opinion with Joshi and he was disappointed by the non-performance of the RCA," Modi said.

Modi and Dixit might be positive about their alliance but there is no clarity and certainty about the poll dates. The biggest hurdle surrounds the legitimacy of the list of candidates and voters. There are 33 voters, one from each of the affiliated district units of RCA. Even though both Joshi and Modi are in both lists, their alleged attempt to push their own supporters into the final lists has only worsened the situation.

"What most of the voters have been demanding is a free and fair election and I am ready for that," Dixit said. "But the other party is not agreeing to, which has caused confusion. The voter list is being changed by them to suit themselves and it has resulted in multiple litigations. In a field of 33, if you change seven voters, it is as good as sealing the fate of the election."

The Sharma faction's response was similar as it blamed the Modi-Dixit combine for creating the mess.

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