Pujara looks to make one-day mark

Cheteshwar Pujara, the India batsman, already has six Test centuries but his limited-overs appearances have been limited to a couple of ODIs against Zimbabwe last year. He has been a part of one-day squads in recent series but has been confined to the bench, and he even took to working on his bowling a couple of months ago to try to increase his ODI utility.

He is likely to add to those two ODI caps next month after he was included in the squad for three one-dayers against Bangladesh which is missing eight India regulars. "Hopefully, I will get a game this time. It is a good opportunity for all the young players who are part of this tour," he said. "Playing against Bangladesh in their home conditions won't be that easy. Bangladesh is a good team. We have a young side so it will be competitive."

The bigger challenge for Pujara in the coming months is the five-Test series in England. India were whitewashed 4-0 in 2011 when they last toured England, and haven't won a Test away from home since then.

Pujara hoped the two warm-up matches ahead of the series will help the team adapt to the English conditions. "We have some time, that is a good thing," he said. "We have two practice games before the Test matches, so it is a positive thing for us. We have enough time for preparation."

The one-day series against Bangladesh ends on June 19, and the first of the warm-up matches in England begins on June 26.

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Fifth day at Derby hampered by rain

Derbyshire v Northamptonshire Match abandoned
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Such has been the unrelenting nature of the rain over the past 72 hours, a combination of a sharp breeze and the dogged efforts of the ground staff were inexorable in preventing Derbyshire's Natwest T20 Blast fixture against Northamptonshire from becoming the latest victim of this grim week of weather.

It was the fifth consecutive day at Derby hampered by the weather after their Championship match against Gloucestershire was badly rain-affected and ended in a tame draw.

Umpires Neil Banton and Peter Hartley were uneasy over several wet patches on the outfield - either side of the pitch - after it was left saturated by the persistent rain that has hit much of the country over the past few days.

Although players from both sides shuttled between the nets and the dressing rooms - bookended by fleeting ventures out to the middle - the inevitable decision came following a third inspection at 6.40pm; ten minutes after the scheduled start time.

The square towards the pavilion side of the ground was the area of concern and although the persistent rain had abated early in the afternoon, the decision was made in light of player safety.

Although the abandonment will hurt Derbyshire's coffers - ticket sales were reportedly healthy for a fixture boosted by the presence of the TV cameras - a no result ensures they're up and running in this season's competition after back-to-back defeats.

The disappointment was shared by both sides despite the share of the spoils ensuring Northants moved to the summit of the North Group. The defending champions have won thirteen of their last fifteen completed games in the shortest format, so the intervention of the weather here was an unwanted outcome from their short hop down the M1.

If there is one comfort Northants can take on the return journey, their unbeaten start to their defence remains intact.

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Pringle dash not enough for Durham

Lancashire 133 for 6 (Brown 66) beat Durham 132 for 7 (McLoed 45, Khan 3-21) by one run
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Ryan Pringe made a late charge but fell one short as Lancashire secured the narrowest of victories, holding on to defeat Durham by a single run at Chester-le-Street.

Pringle took strike with 21 needed in 10 balls and found the boundary twice to leave four needed from the final delivery, but he could only manage two as Kabir Ali escaped having had 15 to defend in the final over.

Durham looked set to reach the target with ease before three wickets fell for two runs in the middle of the order to set up a tense finale.

Durham lost Mark Stoneman in the third over but Calum MacLeod's 45 from 34 balls looked to have put the hosts in control. But three wickets fell for just two runs when Paul Collingwood was quickly followed back to the pavilion by MacLeod and Gareth Breese as Durham were left struggling on 100 for 6 with 23 balls remaining - 34 short of their target.

When Junaid Khan bowled Gordon Muchall in the 19th over, Durham needed more than two runs a ball to win with only three wickets in hand. That left Michael Richardson and Pringle at the crease, with 15 needed from the final over for victory.

Richardson struck three from the first ball by Kabir Ali, with Pringle blasting a boundary with the next and two runs and a single from the subsequent balls. A single from the fifth ball of the over left Durham needing a boundary to win, but Pringle could only find two.

Karl Brown top-scored for Lancashire with 61 from 51 balls before he was removed by Chris Rushworth as the visitors finished on 133 for 6 from their allotted overs. Brown powered to the half-century mark in 44 balls with a flurry of boundaries for Lancashire in a bright performance with the bat before he was caught at long-off by Muchall.

Jordan Clark was the next highest scorer for the visitors with 27 as Durham shared the wickets, with only Pringle not claiming a scalp as Lancashire stuttered to a defendable target from their 20 overs.

Alex Davies was caught behind off Usman Arshad, with Tom Smith, Paul Horton and Steven Croft all dismissed by the 12th over as Lancashire slumped to 54 for 4. Brown and Clark then added some much-needed stability and firepower to move their side on to 127 before the former's dismissal.

Andrea Agathangelou and Arron Lilley were unable to add to the score as Lancashire's innings drew to a close.

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Cairns takes aim at accusers

Chris Cairns has taken aim at his accusers and again claimed he was innocent of match-fixing allegations made against him. Cairns was interviewed by the Metropolitan Police, the ECB and the ICC's Anti-Corruption Unit in London this week, and after arriving back in Auckland on Friday he read a prepared statement to the waiting media.

As part of the statement, Cairns said two former New Zealand players and one current New Zealand player had also given evidence, apart from Lou Vincent and Brendon McCullum. However, he claimed that the players had made no direct allegations against him and that their evidence related to McCullum claiming he had spoken to them about an alleged approach from Cairns.

"Based on the information I was provided in London, I now understand that there were two past players and one current New Zealand player who Mr McCullum said he spoke to about the alleged approach," Cairns said. "Two of these men made statements supporting Mr McCullum's claim that he spoke to them. The third man told investigators his memory was foggy and he could not make a statement in support of Mr McCullum."

Cairns also took issue with the fact that it took McCullum nearly three years to report to the ICC the alleged approach made in 2008. Cairns also claimed that allegations made against him by Vincent were a case of Vincent seeking "to mitigate his sins by blaming others".

"In 2008, he [Vincent] had a lot of problems that he has admitted to," Cairns said. "I endeavoured to become a friend to him in these difficult times. He has betrayed the friendship I offered him. He now seeks to portray himself as a whistle-blower. He is nothing of the sort."

Cairns claimed the interviews in London were conducted at his own request and dealt with allegations he had perjured himself during the Cairns v Modi trial in 2012, and separate allegations of match-fixing.

"I was not arrested or otherwise detained in London and I have not been charged with any offence, criminal or otherwise," Cairns said. "I repeat that each and every allegation against me, that I have cheated at cricket or attempted to induce others to cheat at cricket, is false."

Cairns claimed that the ICC had not interviewed him over match-fixing allegations in the past and he "decided to travel 40,000 kilometres to make clear to the police, ICC and ECB that these allegations are false and that I have nothing to hide".

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Mathews at loss to explain collapse

In his relatively young career as an international cricketer, Angelo Mathews has been party to several appalling batting collapses. Perhaps the most traumatic was Sri Lanka's second-innings capitulation in the Cardiff Test in 2011, when on a flat pitch, needing to survive less than two sessions for a draw, the team succumbed to 82 all out. Eight months later, Sri Lanka suffered their worst ODI ignominy, crashing to 43 after South Africa had made 301 at Paarl.

Yet, Wednesday's defeat, Mathews said, was "one of the worst games I've ever played". Almost that exact phrase was delivered by Eoin Morgan after the previous match, in a series that is proving nearly as unpredictable as a double-pendulum. Sri Lanka had appeared confident and well-acclimatised in the approach to this match, but then served up a performance that undermined all their gains in England.

Mathews said complacency was not at the root of the collapse, but was otherwise at something of a loss to explain the debacle. On Twitter, fans who were similarly dumbfounded joked the team's trip to Manchester United's Old Trafford days before had facilitated the osmosis of mediocrity. But even ardent United fan Mahela Jayawardene will find it hard to blame his strange lbw dismissal on David Moyes.

"We're in the same situation as England after Durham," Mathews said. "Poor shot selection was the main reason why we got so few runs. It was never a 67 wicket. There were no demons in the wicket. It swung a little bit in the first seven to ten overs, but after that it wasn't doing much."

Several Sri Lanka batsmen had been undone by the short ball in the first match of the series and, although more were out to fuller deliveries in Manchester, England's bowlers had clearly drawn up plans to bounce out some individuals. Dinesh Chandimal was conspicuously targeted and though he survived the barrage early in his innings, he was out driving a wide delivery, having been kept pinned to the crease for some time.

"We expected the short ball," Mathews said. "We didn't really deal with it properly. It's hard to explain why we were all out for 67. We knew England were going to come back hard at us, and we just couldn't cope up with it."

Chris Jordan took home his second Man-of-the-Match award of the series, for his career-best 5 for 29, but it had been James Anderson who made the initial incisions, in a pinpoint seven-over new-ball spell that claimed both openers and conceded only 10 runs. There was no prodigious swing for any of the bowlers but Sri Lanka's batsmen lacked the concentration to move past difficult periods, and the intent to reverse pressure.

"There was no intention of hanging in there and toughing it out," Mathews said. "In overcast conditions James bowls really well on any wicket. He bowled some really good deliveries together with Harry Gurney and Jordan. You can't really moan about the weather or the wicket. It's just us to blame. If we want to stay alive in the series, we've got to win against them in the next game."

Sri Lanka have used Lahiru Thirimanne to open alongside Tillakaratne Dilshan in this series, despite Kusal Perera's presence in the squad, and Mathews suggested that strategy was down to the expectation Thirimanne had a tighter technique for the moving ball. Changes in the top order may be forthcoming, however, after two major batting failures in three matches.

"I thought even though he didn't get enough runs in the Durham game, Lahiru played the part of getting through those vital six overs of Anderson. We've got to get through that spell to try and build up to have batters at the end. I thought he played his part but today, unfortunately, he played a poor shot. The first ten overs at Lord's and Birmingham are going to be vital. With this weather around, we're really going to need solid openers. Thiri is one of them. Unfortunately he hasn't got enough runs yet."

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O'Brien, Buck deny Glamorgan

Leicestershire 109 (Allenby 3-20) and 204 for 8 (Robson 81, Hogan 3-21) drew with Glamorgan 350 for 8 dec. (Rudolph 88)
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Leicestershire were bailed out by the rain in Cardiff as Glamorgan's victory charge was aborted. A collapse of 5 for 9 left the visitors staring at defeat but a combination of weather and some late resistance rescued a draw.

Resuming on 168 for 3 - 73 runs from making their hosts bat again - Leicestershire were stripped back to 182 for 8 but Niall O'Brien and Nathan Buck managed to survive for 21.3 overs before the weather took hold once more.

Play on day four did not start until well into the afternoon because of the wet conditions and when it did, Leicester must have wished they, like every other county game in the country, had been washed out.

They trooped out to the middle just before 2pm, with their hopes resting largely with Angus Robson, who resumed 72 not out and Ramnaresh Sarwan. But the latter went almost immediately, failing to add to his overnight score and nicking Michael Hogan behind.

Hogan, reveling in the conditions, then did for Josh Cobb in an identical manner, with that wicket sparking a barren spell-of run scoring. Over the next 112 balls Leicestershire's total went up by just nine for the loss of three wickets.

Mark Wallace eventually pouched Robson for 81 off the bowling of Jim Allenby, while Hogan had Rob Taylor taken behind for a duck. Allenby then switched ends to clean up Anthony Ireland for a duck and at 182 for 8, the end was nigh.

But O'Brien and Buck dropped anchor to offer resistance and kept themselves at the middle despite numerous breaks for the weather. O'Brien lasted 83 balls in making 19 and Buck's was an even more obdurate innings with his 4 taking up 66 deliveries.

The hard work paid off as both light and rain caused the players to go off, on, off, on and back off again, with it being deemed that enough was enough just after 5.30pm. Glamorgan taking 12 points and Leicestershire 7.

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Jordan aggression speaks louder than words

Highlights: Chris Jordan became the first England player to take five wickets in an ODI at Old Trafford

Chris Jordan loves nothing more than hurling down a few bouncers, but is less bothered about hurling a few words at the batsmen along with them.

He would prefer the more silent-assassin type role and it certainly worked a treat at Old Trafford as he bagged 5 for 29 to inspire England to a 10-wicket win as they bundled out Sri Lanka for 67. Jordan's figures were the best by an England bowler at Old Trafford and the best for England since Chris Woakes' 6 for 45 against Australia in 2011.

In Durham, Sri Lanka appeared to try and ruffle Jordan with a few words and again at Old Trafford there were a couple of occasions when the experienced Mahela Jayawardene appeared to try to engage him. The most the Sri Lankans got back was a stare, and maybe another bouncer. Jordan sounded quite hopeful they would continue.

"That kind of stuff doesn't faze me," he said. "If anything it gets me going a little bit more. I try to leave as much as I can on the field if not everything. I've always been quite an aggressive performer. Too much talking may distract me from my task, so I try to keep my eye on the prize. When you cross that line you are playing international cricket so you try to play as hard as possible."

After having injury problems earlier in his career, Jordan is now renowned for how he keeps himself in shape and gained a glowing appraisal from David Saker, the fast bowling coach.

"He's just an ultimate professional," Saker told Sky Sports. "The way he prepares for every game, the way he looks after himself, he's the ultimate professional. He's fantastic to work with, he always wants to get better and he is getting better every game. He's just been fantastic."

England appear to be pushing Jordan into the role of an impact bowler, utilising the pace which has discomforted some of Sri Lanka's batsman, and he is keen to continue to make full use of the short balls available to him.

"That's something we spoke about so hopefully we can continue throughout the series. I want to be able to hit teams hard and use the short ball wisely because you are allowed two in an over. So with the extra man inside the circle I'm sure if the guys can get it up there they will try their best to use all two."

It was a simple decision for Man of the Match, as it was at The Oval when he played a central role in England's victory at the start of the series. On that occasion it was his innings of 38 off 13 balls that played as much a part as his bowling, but today there was little chance of his batting being needed.

England are expected to name their squad for the first Test against Sri Lanka a week on Thursday and only injury will prevent Jordan's name being it. He was a strong favourite based on his Championship form for Sussex before this series but, even having backed that up, he refuses to let his mind wander.

"Today I was concentrating on Old Trafford, now that is done we have to draw a line under that and move onto Lord's. That's my focus." Whether Jordan wants to admit it or not, he is clearly one of the coming men of English cricket

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Trescothick pleased with progress

Warwickshire 294 for 5 (Porterfield 118, Westwood 99) drew with Somerset 411 (Hildreth 98, Compton 92, Overton 56, Trescothick 53)
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It took until mid-afternoon to confirm what had been obvious to most at the crack of dawn: there would be no play at Edgbaston on the final day of the Championship match between Warwickshire and Somerset.

But the desire - the desperation, even - to try to force into even a few minutes' play was understandable. In 2010, Somerset finished equal on points with Nottinghamshire at the top of the Championship table. Had past regulations still been in use, the title would have been shared. As it was, Nottinghamshire took it on the basis of having won more games. For a club like Somerset, who have never won a Championship, such an experience left a scar.

Both teams had an opportunity to earn another bonus point or two that could, come the end of the season, prove crucial. Warwickshire required six more runs for another batting bonus point and Somerset one wicket for another bowling point. With 17-and-a-half overs left of the period in which to gain bonus points - they are eligible in the first 110 overs of each side's first innings - the possibility remained that each team could even gain two more points.

It left Somerset's captain, Marcus Trescothick, frustrated but generally satisfied with the progress of his side. "Our team is completely different to last season," he said. "The way we've approached things and the performances we're putting in: there is no comparison. Last year our batsmen were rolled over and our bowlers were going for plenty.

"We've played good cricket. We're pretty solid. Three of our games have been on pitches like this, but we've had a couple of victories and we're pretty pleased."

Trescothick was not especially impressed by the slow pitch, though it had been under cover for several days due to the rain. "It's pretty soul destroying when you get on these wickets," he said. "It was pretty slow. There wasn't a great deal in it for the seamers. There wasn't a lot in it for anybody. It got slower and slower."

Warwickshire, meanwhile, hope that Tim Ambrose will have recovered from his calf strain in time for the T20 match against Lancashire on Saturday, while Jim Troughton is nearing a return after back surgery and will play second team cricket next week.

"We're stronger than we were last year," Varun Chopra, the stand-in captain, said. "The younger players have moved up a level and some of the senior players just keep getting better. Boyd Rankin bowled really well on a docile wicket, Rikki Clarke is in the best physical shape I've ever seen him and Tim Ambrose is playing well.

"I'm not surprised that Ireland have shown interest in Boyd. But I still believe he wants to play for England and I think he's good enough to do so."

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Ireland open door to Rankin return

A day after Boyd Rankin revealed his time on England's Ashes tour led him to contemplate giving up the game, Cricket Ireland has expressed the hope that the fast bowler could still play for them at the 2015 World Cup.

Rankin retired from playing for Ireland towards the end of 2012 and made his England debut last year before playing in the last Test of the Ashes series in January. But, after enduring an unhappy tour, Rankin appears to have slid down the pecking order of prospective England fast bowlers and might be open to the possibility of a return.

While there is a qualifying period of two years for players returning to play for Associate nations after having represented Full Member nations - it was recently reduced from four years - the ICC does have the ability to waive this in the case of exceptional circumstances. Precedent was set when they allowed Ed Joyce to return to Ireland duty less than four years after he represented England. Then, as now, the catalyst was the prospect of a World Cup.

"There is, in the higher echelons of the ICC, some sympathy for the view that the best players for each nation should appear in the World Cup," Warren Deutrom, the chief executive of Cricket Ireland, told ESPNcricinfo.

"There is a sense that it would be a shame if a player like Boyd was not there. And that has given me a sense that all is not lost in the hope to see him playing for Ireland in the World Cup."

Several substantial obstacles remain before such a dream could become a reality, though. Not least, the fact that Rankin himself has not been consulted on the idea and the fact that both the ECB and Warwickshire would have to agree. The ICC would also have to agree to make a special dispensation for Rankin.

While that would, in the short term, be of benefit to Ireland, it might have a less positive impact for Associate nations in the long term. If other players feel there is the prospect of little penalty should they abandon their Associate team in the hope of playing for a Full Member nation, it could lead to a further dilution in the quality of the game below Test level.

William Porterfield, the Ireland captain and a team-mate of Rankin's at Warwickshire, said: "I haven't spoken to Boyd, but I'm pretty sure he still harbours the aspiration of getting into more England sides and doing well for England. But he bowls upwards of 90mph and, if was to become available, then as far as I'm concerned he is more than worthy of a place."

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Cook needs senior support - Anderson

Alastair Cook has taken a lot of criticism for England's recent slide but he could not be blamed for their latest batting calamity, as they subsided to 99 all out in Durham. Ruled out with injury, all he could do was watch on grim-faced at the procession of batsmen.

It is not yet confirmed whether Cook will take his place for the third one-day international at Old Trafford although a lengthy net - he arrived well before his team-mates on Wednesday morning - suggested his chances of a return are promising.

Such has been England's constant lurching from one failure to another since last summer, with only sporadic success to offer respite, the fact he has emerged unscathed in terms of his position is viewed by his detractors as a lack of accountability for what has gone wrong.

However, James Anderson - one of the few senior players left from a core that has been ripped out of English cricket - believes Cook was not given enough help in Australia when the going got tough, which was pretty much from day two of the Test series onwards.

"I don't think over the winter that senior players helped as much as they could with taking pressure off Cooky, a captain's job is difficult and he needs his senior players around him to share the burden," Anderson said. "When you're in Australia and you get on to a bit of a down slope, you can get a little bit insular I guess, start worrying about your own game perhaps."

Anderson, Ian Bell and, when fit, Stuart Broad are now the long-standing international figures alongside Cook - Matt Prior could be added to that list in Test cricket if his Achilles allows him to play again - and Anderson wants them to take some of the burden off Cook's shoulders as they face a race against time to try and build a team for the World Cup alongside reviving the flagging Test side.

"If we want to win the World Cup, we're going to have to start playing well quickly. I think the senior players have got a huge role to play," he said. "As a captain, it can't always be his job to discipline people or think of tactics or make bowling changes. It's everyone's job to be thinking about the game, how the team can improve and be offering that advice, it doesn't always have to come from the captain.

"That's where the senior players come in. When we've done well in the past is when we've had five or six guys who can stand up in the dressing-room and give feedback, that shares the burden and takes a bit of pressure off the captain."

As the senior pace bowler - a role he has held for a considerable number of years now - it is down to Anderson to set the tone with the ball whenever he plays. He has bowled nicely so far in the series, although there was an expectation of more early wickets at Chester-le-Street, and you would think a return to his home ground would fill him with excitement, but memories of a poor Test against Australia last year linger.

"You'd think so," he said, with the hint of a wry smile when asked about a happy homecoming, "but I've not played very well here in the last few international games. But certainly the first two games of the series I've bowled well and hopefully I can continue that."

You would also think that Anderson would know exactly what type of pitch to expect but he was hedging his bets, although he hoped the groundsman had had enough time to prepare something "that suits our fast bowlers".

That did not appear to be what Angelo Mathews, the Sri Lanka captain, was seeing as he termed the surface "subcontinental" after a quick glance. He could be forgiven, though, for the notion after the surface they encountered in 2011, which certainly had shades of Colombo about it. Offspinner Suraj Randiv took 5 for 42 and Tillakaratne Dilshan opened the bowling. "Three years ago was a real subcontinental type pitch," Anderson remembered.

Not that it did Sri Lanka much good as they lost the deciding match by 16 runs in an absorbing encounter - something this series could do with after two one-sided matches. That was also a series where England had started well at The Oval then crashed to two heavy defeats before fighting back. It is debatable whether this current England team have the confidence, or belief, to come back from 2-1 down. Cook will be desperate that it does not come to finding out.

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