Fans' goodwill remains - Cook

Alastair Cook believes the English public remain largely behind the team despite the events of the winter and its dramatic fallout.

After a somewhat bitty start to the international season with a rain-effected game in Scotland then the T20 defeat to Sri Lanka on Tuesday, which Cook was not involved in, he now gets hold of the team for his first extended run since the one-day series in Australia, which resulted in a 4-1 defeat and, momentarily at least, led to Cook considering his future.

Others did pay with their positions with Andy Flower and Kevin Pietersen the highest-profile casualties. Pietersen's absence continues to be a source of much debate especially on social media, fuelled by Giles Clarke's recent comments that people need to "move on" from the issue and not helped by England struggling to regain winning form.

That Cook has retained his position, seemingly without too many questions asked, has also caused some consternation from his more vocal critics but Cook insists he has not personally felt any animosity from the fans.

"I'm sure if you live your life on social media it would be slightly different but from the people I've bumped into in the street or the pub the goodwill is still there to English cricket," he said. "That's only what I've experienced and it is slightly different when you meet people face-to-face I'm sure.

"People were obviously disappointed with the winter, as any cricket fan would be, and the players were disappointed as well, that's a given. We are incredibly lucky with the support we've got, as we always have whether we've won or lost, and as players were are incredible grateful for the support we get."

But a continued struggle to string wins together this summer against Sri Lanka and India will start to test the patience of even the most loyal supporters.

"No-one's got a divine right to win a game of cricket," Cook said. "Sri Lanka are an incredibly dangerous side so we've got to play some good aggressive cricket. We are going to leave it all out there and we are desperate for a good performance. But that doesn't guarantee anything. The fresh start and stuff is brilliant but it's all now down to playing some good cricket."

	"It would be ideal if everything was settled and everyone knew their role. But we don't know the 13 or 14 we'll take out there. They'll be the decisions we start making now." Alastair Cook

In this one-day series there is also a bigger picture to look at with the World Cup now less than nine months away. Cook took on the 50-over captaincy in 2011 following the previous tournament as England began another cycle of trying to overcome their woes in the premier global event, but Cook conceded that they are nowhere near as clear on their line-up as he had hoped they would be.

"I remember in 2011 sitting down when I first started as England captain saying I want this four years to build up and come the World Cup we'll have a settled side leading into it. I'd hoped to have eight or nine months where it would be settled. That was the theory but I probably wasn't living in the world of reality if I'm being honest because a lot can happen in four years as we've seen.

"Of course, it would be ideal if everything was settled and everyone knew their role. But we don't know the 13 or 14 we'll take out there. They'll be the decisions we start making now because of what happened over the last three or four months. We build towards the World Cup from now."

One aspect of the team Cook did seem much more certain of was the continuation of his opening partnership with Ian Bell. There has been much clamour to shake up England's top order, but the continued absence of Alex Hales showed that was not top of the selectors' thoughts and it does not appear as Michael Carberry, who had a poor T20 yesterday, will split the incumbent pairing although he could yet bat at No. 3.

There is logic in retaining the current partnership which is the second-highest scoring first-wicket combination for England: in 33 innings since they came together on a full-time basis in June 2012 they have averaged 42.28 and even in Australia were regularly forming a solid platform which gives Cook the confidence they can work in a variety of conditions.

"If you look back to that Australia one-day series there were five very different wickets we had to play on," Cook said. "So at Perth when it was a belter and we needed a quick start because we knew 300 would be a par score we got off to a really good start. So we have got the power to do that. But there'll be other times in England or say Adelaide when you're playing on a slow wicket and it nips around a bit. You need the guys to adapt their skills to handle those conditions. That's what I'm looking for as a side."

Quite what England will do with the other end of the order was not quite so certain. James Anderson is back to take the new ball which will give the attack an added edge, and greater experience, but the major vulnerability remains at the death. Harry Gurney impressed in the T20 but, two matches into his international career, he will need someone to share the burden. If England continue to haemorrhage runs in the latter stages Cook will find it difficult to secure the wins to ensure the fans remain on side.

Read More..

'Follow England's lead on anti-corruption'

Cricket boards around the world would do well to emulate the example of the English game in the fight against corruption, according to Angus Porter, the head of the players' union in England.

While recent revelations relating to Lou Vincent might have painted an unflattering picture of the extent of corruption in county cricket, Porter, the chief executive of the Professional Cricketers' Association, remains confident that methods used to combat the issue in England should be used as a template in the rest of the world.

"The Vincent revelations are largely historical," Porter told ESPNcricinfo. "They may only have come into the public domain in the last few days, but the ECB and PCA had known about them for some time.

"While they are a reminder that there is no room for complacency in the battle against corruption, we wouldn't want people to use them to express outdated concerns about the English game. Much has been achieved in the last few years and the recent news relates largely to a period before many preventative measures had come into place."

There are, in Porter's estimation, six elements to the fight against corruption. Crucially, given recent suggestions about the restructuring of the Anti-Corruption Unit, they require an independent investigative and disciplinary body, as well as national player associations and the full co-operation of the national cricket boards. That is not an environment offered in India and Pakistan, for example, who do not recognise player associations.

Porter's six-point plan:

1) Unity with independence
"It is incredibly important that all stake-holders act together," Porter says. "So in England we have seen the ECB and PCA work together to find the best way to educate those involved, but also investigate and act where necessary." But at the same time it is, he says, "essential that the independence of the investigative, reporting and disciplinary processes is maintained." So while the ECB may fund the ACU's work, they should not limit, interfere or attempt to influence in its work. And, as Porter points out "we need to be certain that it must not just be independent, it must be perceived as independent."

2) A distinction between the educational and investigative
In England and Wales, the PCA take on the role of educating players about the dangers of corruption and what to do should they be approached. They are not directly involved in the investigative or disciplinary aspects. "This is a particular challenge in those countries that do not have a players' association to help with the education function," Porter says. "It is very hard to go from the classroom with a player to then investigating them."

3) Start young
The prevention process now starts long before players sign professional terms with a first-class county. Anti-corruption education is given to academy players and ingrained in them as they develop through the system. Ignorance cannot be an excuse.

4) An amnesty
In 2012, an amnesty was declared in England in which players could report historic information. While little of significance came to light during that process, it did provide a last opportunity for those who might have been guilty to come clean and offered them no excuses should information come to light at a later date. "Other countries should follow the lead of the game in England and Wales and declare an amnesty," Porter says. "While our amnesty did not reveal a huge amount of new information, it did clear the conscience of a few people and made it very clear that a line had been drawn. There could be no excuse if anything came to light after that date."

	"Confidence in the integrity of the game is paramount. We have achieved a great deal in the last few years and it would be wrong for people to judge the integrity of the English game on historic cases." Angus Porter

5) Tie-in education with registration of players
It has become mandatory for players to have completed their anti-corruption training before they can be registered to play for a county. "Players cannot take the field of play until they have done so," Porter explains. At times, with some overseas signings, this has only happened a couple of hours before a game, but there have been no exceptions. Not only does the process ensure that the players have been educated, it ensures they cannot use a defence of ignorance should they have been found to have engaged in corrupt practices.

"Cricket in England is, we believe, the only sport in the world that has hard-wired education into registration in this way," Porter says. "Again, I believe other countries would do well to follow this example."

6) Allow the prevention and investigation methods to be intelligence based
Over recent days, England players Ian Bell and Ravi Bopara have made comments in the media suggesting that preventative measures taken in county cricket were not as robust as those taken in international cricket. Notably, both called for the ban on communication devices - mobile phones and the like - in international cricket to be replicated in the domestic game. But, says, Porter that may not address the real issue.

"While we are delighted to see the obvious desire of the England players to see that everything possible should be done to combat corruption, it is important we think these things through," he says. "It may be that there is a place to restrict the use of communication devices in televised games, but while members of the public are still able to access dressing rooms during those games, it would seem to be pointless to introduce such a ban without taking other measures first.

"The danger is that such action will give people a warm feeling of contentment that they are doing the right thing, but that it will actually be no use at all. The evidence we have is that fixing usually takes place away from the ground and not on match days."

Porter also points out that most players involved in the England squads were not party to the pre-season anti-corruption programmes at the counties and might not be fully aware of the extent of the help now offered at domestic level.

"I think James Anderson was the only England player available for the pre-season education," Porter explained. "But the England team's anti-corruption runs parallel to the county teams' so no-one slips through the net. Anderson would have seen Mervyn Westfield give some incredibly powerful testimony on the mistakes he made.

"Confidence in the integrity of the game is paramount. We have achieved a great deal in the last few years and, while recent news reminds us that there is no room for complacency, it would be wrong for people to judge the integrity of the English game on historic cases."

Read More..

Somerset thrive without weight of expectation

Somerset 234 and 108 for 0 (Trescothick 58*) require a further 136 to beat Durham 155 and 326 (Richardson 116, C Overton 5-63)
Scorecard

Expectation can be a burden. Following a testing 2013, Somerset, for once, had little of it before this season. Evidently that is suiting the club just fine. Tomorrow brings the promise of Somerset going second in the Championship. It has been a familiar finish in recent years, but now the circumstances feel very different.

There was no better indication of Somerset's quiet buoyancy than the ebullience with which Marcus Trescothick and Johann Myburgh approached a chase of 248 in the evening sunshine. With two golden ducks in his last three innings, Trescothick could have been forgiven for approaching the task with caution. Instead, he swatted the first ball through midwicket for four.

Trescothick remains an awesome sight, at moments such as these his game seeming designed around causing maximum damage with minimum foot movement. That his game remains in fine working order even in its 39th year was confirmed when Mark Wood, so outstanding in the first innings, entered the fray. A violent pull to long-on, a booming straight drive and a rasping cut provided three boundaries in one over. Over the wicket, or around the wicket? Wood zig-zagged between the two, but it made no difference to Trescothick in this mood.

In the circumstances it was easy to forget about Johann Myburgh - driving with power through the offside and playing the paddle sweep to great effect, he almost joined Trescothick in reaching a half-century by the close.

Somerset batted as if aware that the forecast for tomorrow is less encouraging than today's. By the close, the opening stand was worth 112 in 23 overs; so violent was the onslaught that, at one stage, it did not seem entirely facetious to ask whether Somerset would get into a position to request the extra half hour and so avoid any reliance on the weather tomorrow. The only moment of anxiety was when Myburgh offered Paul Collingwood a hard slip catch, diving to his left, when he had reached 40.

From this juncture rain seems to pose a bigger challenge to Somerset's victory hunt than the Durham bowlers. Admirably as Chris Rushworth and Wood bowled to limit Somerset's first innings to 234, a repeat performance seemed to be asking for too much, especially with the sun effervescent.

Ordinarily Durham could entrust the new ball to Graham Onions: a back injury means that he is not available. In the fourth innings Scott Borthwick is often a potent weapon. Now, the state of his right-hand rather embodies Durham's season so far: he sustained a flaked fracture on his middle finger in this game, a fortnight after chipping a bone on his index finger, and was only able to bat at No. 11 in the second innings.

And when Durham need a spark it is often Ben Stokes who provides it. They would have envisaged him providing a flying start to their Championship defence before England duty took over, but a locker that felt his wrist's wrath during the West Indies tour ended such hopes. At least there is encouragement on this front: he came through back-to-back T20s for the second team and a Championship return at Trent Bridge on Sunday is hoped for.

Still, there was considerable cheer for Durham earlier in the day. While his father David was busy with the latest corruption scandal, Michael Richardson compiled his second Championship hundred of the season. Mark Stoneman almost joined him but, three balls after dispatching Craig Overton over square leg, he misjudged another bouncer attempting to reach his century with a repeat.

Craig is the less well known of the Overton twins, largely because his 2013 season was ruined by a stress fracture on his back. He bowls slower than Jamie, so is perhaps less intimidating to face. But Craig is also more accurate, and generated dangerous movement away from the right-handers. In docile batting conditions, it was an opportune time to take his first five-for in first-class cricket.

George Dockrell, playing his first Championship game of the season, was a worthy ally. As he got the ball to grip off the pitch while maintaining immaculate control - and adding a sharp catch off Collingwood to boot - it seemed remarkable that he was not yet 22.

Read More..

McCullum confident in ICC despite leak

New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum has said he has confidence in the ICC's anti-corruption investigators despite his disappointment that his testimony has been leaked to the media.

Details of McCullum's statements to the ICC's anti-corruption unit were published by the Daily Mail earlier this week, including that he had turned down offers of up to $180,000 to underperform in matches. The ICC has reacted by serving an injunction against the paper in an effort to prevent further details of its investigation being published.

But despite the leak bringing intense media spotlight on to McCullum, he said would continue to help the ICC with its investigations and would encourage other players to do the same if they had been similarly approached. Speaking at a press conference in Christchurch, McCullum said he was unable to divulge any specifics regarding his testimony, but he stood by the statements he had made to the ICC.

"I'm obviously disappointed about that but there's nothing I can do about it," McCullum said. "I can't go into the specifics of what's going into the investigation or my involvement in it ... but I will continue to fulfil my role in the investigation. I guess from my point of view the dealings I've had with the group that I've dealt with, I have confidence. How the leak happened, I'm not sure but I have confidence in them."

The Daily Mail reported earlier this week that McCullum was first approached by a former player during the 2008 IPL season and again on New Zealand's tour of England later that year.

"There's still a long way to go. Obviously it had been a number of years and the next little while will probably be a bit tough but my role in the investigation is on-going," McCullum said. "The sport of cricket is a great sport which we're all very privileged to be involved in. Obviously there are a couple of circumstances that have tainted the game but the majority of people uphold the traditions of the game."

Asked what advice he would give any other New Zealand cricketers who came to him to report a match-fixing approach, he said: "There was no hesitancy in my faith in the ICC as such. If one of the players found themselves in the same situation then I would certainly encourage them to go the same route I chose."

Read More..

Carberry clanger highlights England muddle

A crucial dropped catch by Michael Carberry was just one example of England expecting things from players that they do not do a county level

It should never be a surprise when Michael Carberry drops a catch. For all his worth as a batsman and for all his fitness, he has never been a reliable catcher.

His drop of Thisara Perera when the batsman had scored 20 at The Oval defined this game and the muddled thinking that currently pervades in the selection of the England team.

It was a simple chance. It was simple like the chance Carberry missed at backward point in the second Ashes Test in Adelaide when Brad Haddin had 5 and went on to score 118; an innings that hammered a nail into England's Ashes coffin. This time Thisara helped Sri Lanka thrash 37 runs off the final 15 balls of the innings of which his share was 28 in 10. It changed the game.

It cannot be put down to 'one of those things.' It happens too often for that. While not exactly the norm - Carberry has taken some good catches in his career - it is not accurate to describe it as an aberration. He dropped chances on his ODI debut in Dublin and was untidy in the ODI series against Australia that followed. He has a reputation at county level for being far from a safe pair of hands.

Equally, England cannot be surprised that Ian Bell looked rusty as a T20 player: he had not played a T20 match of any sort since England last selected him in this format in January 2011. His class as a batsman is beyond doubt and he surely can develop in this role but to expect him to do it against the world champions is asking a great deal. And England only have three T20s in the rest of the year. If they really see Bell as part of their next World T20 squad, they will have to release him from other England duties to play some T20 cricket for Warwickshire.

Nor can they be surprised that Jos Buttler, for all the potential he oozes as a batsman, continues to make mistakes with the gloves. He was not first choice wicketkeeper at his county last season and, only a few weeks ago, was rested from the first game of the county season by the England management when offered a new opportunity to take the gloves full time with Lancashire. Here he missed a tough stumping chance offered by Kithuruwan Vithanage on 30 off Ravi Bopara.

And they cannot be surprised that Chris Jordan is struggling as a death bowler. He has never successfully mastered the art at county level and Sussex, his county, signed Yasir Arafat as an overseas player for their T20 campaign so that he would not be exposed in that role. Yet here was Jordan, bowling the penultimate over of the Sri Lanka innings and conceding 22 runs.

Even Alex Hales, who became the joint quickest man to 1,000 T20 international runs and top-scored in the match, might progress faster if county and country could agree on his role. Hales, who like Kevin Pietersen reached the landmark in 32 innings, has the ability to prosper in all formats of the game but, after a poor first-class season in 2013, is currently unable to command a place in the Nottinghamshire Championship side.

	It is the selection of Carberry that is most perplexing. While his T20 record is decent, it seems odd to select a 33-year-old at the start of the two-year cycle between World T20 tournaments

While that is understandable, if the county game is largely about preparing players for England, then Hales should surely be playing in front of a 35-year-old former Australia international, Phil Jaques, with a view to him learning the skills that could, in time, help England win World Cup and Ashes series. And the fact that it is an England selector, the Notts director of cricket, Mick Newell, who leaves him out just underlines the muddled thinking that continues to hold England back. The England selectors seem intent on asking their players to perform roles which they do not perform for their counties.

But it is the selection of Carberry that is most perplexing. While his T20 record is decent - though not as good as James Taylor's, who is almost a decade younger - it seems odd to select a 33-year-old at the start of the two-year cycle between World T20 tournaments.

The main reason for bewilderment at the selection of Carberry is not his age or the concern over his fielding. It is the rampant hypocrisy it represents. For while Pietersen was dropped from the team in 2012 for exchanging private correspondence with members of the opposition, Carberry has been recalled having publically lambasted the coach (at the time) of the limited-overs squads in a national newspaper.

And while Pietersen was told he would not be selected again because the England team needed "the full support of all players" with "everyone pulling in the same direction", Carberry was recalled despite criticising Ashley Giles in an interview in which he suggested he had been omitted from the England team for non-cricket reasons and giving a highly disputed version of events on the Ashes tour; so disputed that the ECB is understood to be deliberating whether to take further action over the piece.

And while Paul Downton watched two-and-a-half days of the Ashes and concluded that he Pietersen was "disconnected" from the rest of the team - a version of events that has been disputed by the vast majority of the rest of the Ashes squad - he had apparently not watched enough of the series, or of county cricket in the previous decade, to realise that Carberry's catching was an accident waiting to happen.

Yet it seems there is one rule for Pietersen and another for every other player. And it seems for all the strong words about "support" and "pulling in the same direction" some are allowed to be more opinionated than others.

The shame of this defeat was that England actually showed some admirable characteristics in this game. Harry Gurney, on T20 debut, demonstrated good composure and skill that might see him develop into the death bowler this side so urgently require, while Chris Woakes showed the extra pace and improved skills that could still see him develop into a quality allrounder in all formats. The batting of Buttler, Ravi Bopara and Hales was also impressive.

But if you drop simple catches against the world champions, they are going to punish you.

Read More..

Wood continues good impression

Durham 155 and 121 for 1 (Stoneman 60*, Richardson 57*) lead Somerset 234 (Petersen 78, Wood 5-37, Rushworth 4-70) by 42 runs
Scorecard

"You wouldn't want to face Graham Onions on this," one supporter said as Durham tried to exploit an overcast start to the second day at Taunton. But, with Onions missing with a back injury, Chris Rushworth and Mark Wood provided a reminder of the depth of Durham's fast-bowling stocks.

England have already shown an interest in Wood, involving him in the Lions tour to Sri Lanka. Based on this compelling evidence - and a first-class haul that is now 60 wickets at 22 apiece - he may soon be the latest Durham bowler to earn a Test cap.

From an idiosyncratic start, beginning his run-up like a relay runner about to receive a baton, Wood generates distinctly sharp pace: his deliveries invariably arrived in Phil Mustard's gloves with a notable thud. His natural delivery, short-of-a-length, is a little reminiscent of Andrew Flintoff's, though it comes from a shorter and less stocky frame.

After pushing batsmen back, Wood possesses a yorker that can exploit any hesitation coming forward. Twice he earned the satisfaction of removing the batsman's middle stump; few players would have been able to resist the delivery that accounted for Craig Kieswetter. As spectacular as the sight was, most impressive of all was Wood's relentless line outside off-stump: 97 deliveries in the day yielded only 31 runs.

In Chris Rushworth, he had the ideal ally. With a fuller length and longer run-up, Rushworth's style is less distinct than Wood's. But his value to Durham is beyond dispute: he took 57 wickets in last season's championship victory, and a new contract retaining him until 2017 is recognition of his worth.

The scalp of James Hildreth, strangled down the legside to the first ball after lunch, transformed the trajectory of the day. Hildreth, driving with nonchalant ease and timing a pull off Rushworth so supremely that it went for six, had looked serene in adding 79 with Alviro Petersen. When Rushworth disposed of Peter Trego and Alfonso Thomas soon after, it left Somerset stuck in a rut at 154 for 7.

It fell to Petersen to prevent the work of his compatriot Thomas on the opening day going to waste. The judgment he displayed, switching from stern defence at the start of the day to controlled belligerence when Somerset were vulnerable after lunch, was befitting of an established Test player, and a pair of thumping sixes off Jamie Harrison threatened to test the resilience of the press box windows.

But it seemed apt that Petersen's wicket should eventually go to Harrison: Paul Collingwood, who had earlier spilled him in the slips on 30, did not repeat the mistake.

After the first day included the confusion of the Overton twins bowling from both ends, the second brought an even bigger challenge as they batted together. But Craig soon became identifiable by the distance he harrumphed the ball. Three sixes included an astonishing flat-batted pull, reminiscent of a tennis forehand, off Rushworth.

The upshot was that Somerset reached 234. While adding 80 for the last three wickets was commendable, the innings still rather reeked of missing an opportunity to gain a more decisive advantage.

That sense was added to as Durham enjoyed batting in the sunniest conditions of the match. Even with Scott Borthwick going to hospital - he was struck on his right-hand just a fortnight after chipping a bone, and his fitness to bat will be assessed in the morning - Durham lent the first innings scores in this match a new perspective.

Mark Stoneman and Michael Richardson had added an unbeaten hundred by the close - both had reached half-centuries, with Richardson twice dispatching George Dockrell for sixes.

Thomas, who claimed Keaton Jennings with a sharp catch at square leg by George Dockrell, was exemplary again, darting the ball both ways. He deserved more reward, but by the close Craig Overton's drop of Stoneman, 10 runs into his unbeaten 60, had the feel of being a pivotal moment.

Read More..

SL future glows brighter in victory

Encouraging innings from Kithuruwan Vithanage and Lahiru Thirimanne suggested Sri Lanka can handle the Jayawardene-Sangakkara succession issue

Sri Lanka had worked towards this match for some time. Not for the game at The Oval, in particular. Not for the foreign conditions, the opposition, nor even the tour as a whole. Sri Lanka have spent much of the last 18 months consumed in the quest to secure their future. A future beyond Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara.

This reality is only one match old. Things happen quickly in cricket, including the unraveling of seemingly capable sides. The team may not even discover exactly how successfully they have regenerated until the end of next year's World Cup. But in this victory over England, they have suggested there is no cause for alarm. It is not that the seniors were not missed. It is just that even without the juggernauts in the top order, Sri Lanka possessed so much substance.

Sri Lanka's batting was a whirl of kinetic energy; a raw, writhing mass, lacking the shape and finesse Jayawardene and Sangakkara provided but forceful enough to bash through to a daunting score. As batsmen came and swung hard at the ball, the self-belief that had bloomed during the team's successful run in Bangladesh was evident. Kithuruwan Vithanage bludgeoned an important innings, spoiling the impetus England had gained from two early dismissals. He threw his heart at every ball, but used his brain as well, reading the field each over, and shaping only to hit to the open spaces, perilous though many strokes were.

It is too early to suggest this batting unit will achieve the success it had with Jayawardene and Sangakkara, but lately, the signs have largely been encouraging. Lahiru Thirimanne is being groomed as a like-for-like replacement for Sangakkara at No. 3, and his studious method has begun to pay off in 2014. He lacks the power of most of his team-mates, and that vector alone would have seen him left out of many international T20 teams. But he drives himself to collect the singles and twos efficiently, and possesses enough insight into his own cricket to discern the balls he can flay.

He has many mountains to scale before he can match Sangakkara's record - perhaps he never will. But at 24, Thirimanne has a wider range of strokes and a steadier temperament than a young Sangakkara did. The older man had said as much last year. Thirimanne has now been installed as vice-captain in all three formats, and his challenge will be to maintain his rise, as he shoulders more responsibility. Sri Lanka had appointed two young leaders last year as well and, of those, Angelo Mathews grew in stature, while Dinesh Chandimal seemingly regressed.

While Thirimanne held the innings together, others would begin their knocks with ambition. Perhaps it was the assurance they had batting down to No. 8 or maybe it is because even the batsmen had caught some of their new captain's fire. A 17th over formed entirely of slower balls revealed something of Lasith Malinga's soaring self-confidence. Alex Hales, England's best batsmen of the match, anticipated the offcutter and walloped the third ball to the midwicket fence, but Malinga was unperturbed. The next one, even slower, clattered into the stumps and sent Sri Lanka to touching distance of the win.

After the World T20, Malinga had returned to Sri Lanka with his swagger embellished, even suggesting on a television show that he should have been T20 captain a year ago. Sri Lanka fans value humility more than most but they will forgive him his ego if it continues to drive him to success. If his attitude affects the collective mood, then perhaps all the better; a fearless approach has rarely let Sri Lanka down in its limited-overs past.

Sri Lanka were far from perfect on Tuesday. On other evenings, they will have fewer runs off the outside edge. Most games, the opposition will hold their catches. It might have been tougher if they had been asked to chase a good score without the newly retired men there to guide the effort but, through pure white heat, Sri Lanka earned their first win outside Asia this year.

Read More..

McCullum has acted 'quite properly' - ICC

The ICC has said it will "urgently investigate" the leaking of evidence in its match-fixing inquiries and has confirmed New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum is not under investigation and should be commended for his actions.

Details of McCullum's statements to the ICC's anti-corruption investigators were leaked to the media earlier this week, including that he had turned down offers of up to $180,000 to underperform in matches. Testimony given by former New Zealand batsman Lou Vincent on alleged fixing around the world has also found its way into media reports.

Although the ICC's usual policy is not to comment on corruption investigations, the speculation has led the ICC's chief executive David Richardson to clarify that McCullum had done nothing wrong. Richardson also said the ICC "deeply regret" the fact that parts of McCullum's statements had been made public.

"Obviously the ICC considers any leak of any kind of information to be an extremely serious matter," Richardson said, "particularly, as in this instance, when the nature of the information that has found its way to the media is highly confidential and has been provided in tightly controlled circumstances by individuals to the ACSU as part of ongoing investigations.

"We are taking all steps available to us to urgently investigate how certain information in the form of statements has come to find its way into the media, so that we can provide reassurances to the stakeholders within the sport so that they can continue to place their trust in the hands of the ACSU and the anti-corruption units of the respective member boards in protecting the integrity of the sport.

"We wish to emphasise that Brendon McCullum is not under investigation in this matter. Whilst we have privately offered our full support to Brendon, we do so now publicly not only to confirm that, by assisting with the ACSU's enquiries, he has acted quite properly in accordance with his responsibilities as a professional cricketer, but also correct any misperception that he is somehow under suspicion. He is to be commended for his actions and we deeply regret that aspects of his statement are now in the public domain."

Richardson did not comment further on the investigations or whether it was likely that charges would be laid. However, he said Vincent had "co-operated fully with the ACSU's investigators" and that he could not expand on the situation surrounding Vincent at this stage.

Richardson said the ACSU had made "very good progress" since its inception and had received 472 intelligence reports in 2013, more than double the 222 it received two years earlier. He said he believed the increased number of reports made to the ACSU "indicates an increased awareness of the threat of corruption and how it can be addressed".

Read More..

Gloucs build commanding lead

Gloucestershire 252 and 213 for 4 (Alex Gidman 85, Marshall 66*) lead Kent 114 (Will Gidman 4-14, Fuller 4-32) by 351 runs
Scorecard

Gloucestershire sensed a first Championship victory of the season after compiling an imposing 351-run lead at the County Ground against Kent.

Day two of the match saw Gloucestershire coast to 213 for 4 at the close of play, with Alex Gidman making 85 before succumbing to the bowling of Darren Stevens, while Hamish Marshall was not out on 66.

The match had looked well poised after the home side were restricted to 252 in their first innings, only for Kent to be skittled for a paltry 114. Kent started the day on 33 for 6, still 219 runs behind, having lost six final-session wickets in a humiliating collapse.

And while they faired moderately better when play resumed - resistance was offered by Sam Billings with 42 and Adam Ball's 37 - they still fell too easily. Apart from Billings and Ball, no player was able to reach double figures, with James Fuller and Will Gidman spearheading Gloucestershire's assault with four wickets each.

Early hopes of gaining something from the match rose when Kent sent Chris Dent and Michael Klinger back to the pavilion cheaply, but Gloucestershire soon steadied the ship.

William Tavare fired a rapid 27 before Gidman and Marshall began flailing Kent's struggling attack with Stevens, who finished with three wickets, their only genuine threat. A first win in six games now beckons for Gloucestershire, who have two days to wrap-up victory.

Read More..

Abbott, Tomlinson check Leics reply

Leicestershire 296 for 9 (Sarwan 60, Robson 54, Taylor 53, Abbott 4-55) trail Hampshire 332 (Buck 5-84) by 36 runs
Scorecard

Division Two leaders Hampshire struck three times late on to snatch a modest advantage over Leicestershire on day two of their Championship clash at Grace Road. The home side looked to be on course for a first-innings lead as they reached 187 for 3 in reply to 332 all out, only for a late clatter of wickets to reduce them to 296 for 9 - a deficit of 36 runs.

South Africa seamer Kyle Abbott took 4 for 55 and new-ball partner James Tomlinson ended the day with 3 for 49 as Leicestershire paid the price for several of their top order failing to go on having played themselves in.

Leicestershire needed just 25 balls to clean up the Hampshire tail in the morning session, with Nathan Buck and Anthony Ireland swiftly getting rid of Abbott and Danny Briggs as Hampshire added just 11 runs to their overnight total of 321 for 8. Former England Lions seamer Buck was the pick of the hosts' attack as he finished with figures of 5 for 84.

The Leicestershire reply got off to a slow start as Abbott swiftly had Greg Smith caught by James Vince at second slip for 4. But Angus Robson, brother of Middlesex's England hopeful Sam, overcame a probing opening spell from Tomlinson before unfurling a string of boundaries to all parts of the ground.

He found a willing ally in Ned Eckersley, who rode his luck throughout the morning session - most noticeably when he was dropped by Sean Ervine at first slip off the unfortunate Tomlinson - as the home side reached 79 for 1 at the interval.

After lunch Eckersley was dropped again behind the stumps and survived two enthusiastic lbw shouts from Abbott, but it was Robson who fell for 54 when Tomlinson changed the angle by coming around the wicket and induced a thin edge through to wicketkeeper Michael Bates.

Eckersley's scratchy 34 was brought to an end when he was bowled trying to hit spinner Briggs square of the wicket, but West Indian Ramnaresh Sarwan brought up a quick fifty and Josh Cobb hit Briggs down the ground for six as the home side made it through to tea without further trouble.

Leicestershire captain Sarwan inexplicably skied Abbott's first ball after the interval to Matt Coles at midwicket to depart for 60, and Niall O'Brien carved the same bowler to Will Smith at point for eight four overs later as the hosts slid to 195 for 5.

Part-time offspinner Smith became Hampshire's seventh bowler of the innings and had success in his first over when Cobb nicked one to Bates attempting a cut for 37. Tomlinson then took two wickets in an over with the second new ball - Jigar Naik playing one onto his stumps two deliveries before Ireland nicked through to Vince at second slip. And Abbott snared Rob Taylor for 53 as the left-hander's leading edge flew straight to Hampshire skipper Jimmy Adams at mid-off.

The visitors may have expected to wrap things up before close at that stage, but Buck and Charlie Shreck held out until stumps, adding a valuable 15 runs on a track displaying some variable bounce.

Read More..