Perera, Mubarak's record stand powers NCC win

Group B

Angelo Perera's 244 and Jehan Mubarak's 164 helped Nondescripts Cricket Club (NCC) beat Sri Lanka Air Force Sports Club by an innings and 39 runs at the NCC ground. Mubarak and Perera were involved in a mammoth stand of 405, which was the highest partnership for the fourth wicket in a first-class match on Sri Lankan soil. They came together when NCC were 81 for 3 in response to Air Force's 196. Perera blasted 30 fours and six sixes in his knock that required only 204 balls and it was also his highest first-class score. Mubarak's knock came off 247 balls with 14 fours and two sixes. NCC eventually declared at 552 for 6 with a lead of 356.

Earlier, Air Force were bundled out within 54 overs after being put in to bat. Sohan Boralessa and Dushmantha Chameera shared seven wickets between them. Air Force put on a much improved show in the second innings, scoring 317, but it wasn't enough to prevent an innings defeat. Wicketkeeper Sajith Kalumpriya made an exact 100 while Dushan Vimukthi made 59 and the pair put on 100 for the second wicket. Lahiru Sri Lakmal and Achira Eranga resisted with a stand of 83 for the fifth wicket. Tharindu Kaushal, the offspinner from Galle, finished with a six-wicket haul - his eighth first-class five-wicket haul - to give NCC their first win of the season.

The encounter at the Colombo Cricket Club ground was far more competitive as Sri Lanka Army Sports Club edged past the hosts Colombo Cricket Club (CCC) by two wickets in a tense chase. Chasing 253, a pair of 70s by Asela Gunaratne and Seekkuge Prasanna put Army on track but CCC hit back with quick wickets. Army were losing their grip at 244 for 8 before Lakshitha Madushan and Ravindra Palleguruge steered them home.

CCC were bundled out for 173 after being asked to bat, with the veteran Indika de Saram top scoring with 40. Chatura Damith and Prasanna shared seven wickets between them. Army managed a lead of 55, with Gunaratne scoring 54. Lakshan Rangika, the left-arm chinaman bowler, finished with career best figures of 7 for 78. CCC fared better in the second innings with 307, with half-centuries by Amal Athulathmudali and Chamara Silva and a 48 by de Saram. Prasanna followed up his three-wicket haul in the first innings with 5 for 127 in the second. Palleguruge, the left-arm spinner, finished with 4 for 56. Chasing 253, Army were well placed at 220 for 4, but Prasanna's wicket triggered a collapse. They lost 4 for 24 but the ninth-wicket pair handed Army their first win on the season.

Group A

Sri Lanka Ports Authority Cricket Club moved to the top of the table with thumping 10-wicket win against Panadura Sports Club at the Panadura Esplanade. The win was powered by a double-hundred from Gayashan Weerasekera (217), his maiden first-class hundred, and a century from Sachithra Senasinghe (100) which took them to 423 for 9.

Four wickets from Isuru Udana kept Panadura to 180 as only four of their batsmen scored in double digits. Chaminda Bandara and Tyron Gamage also chipped in with two wickets each as SLPAC made Panadura follow-on. With a better performance in the second innings, Panadura overtook the deficit and scored 258 but that set SLPAC a target of only 16 which they chased with ease to grab 16.09 points against Panadura's 3.09.

An unbeaten hundred from Vishva Wijeratne gave Sinhalese Sports Club a handy first-innings lead to get them 11.22 points in a draw against Chilaw Marians Cricket Club at the Sinhalese Sports Club. Put in to bat, Chilaw Marians were restricted to 208 by four wickets from Dilhara Fernando and two each from Dhammika Prasad, Sachithra Senanayake and Danushka Gunathilaka as not one batsmen could cross the score of 40. SSC were precariously placed at 149 for 5 but Wijeratne's 116 with contributions from the lower order got them to 264 for 8 before they declared.

Chilaw Marians fared much better in the second innings with fifties from Sahan Wijeratne (77) and Saliya Saman (88*) but they opened the tournament at the bottom with 3.35 points.

Another draw ensued in Colombo, between Ragama Cricket Club and Tamil Union Cricket and Athletic Club. Ragama moved to second place in the table with a first-innings lead which got them 11.67 points after they scored 384 on the back of a hundred from Ian Daniel (142), once they were put in to bat. A six-wicket haul from legspinner Malinga Bandara meant TUCAC were restricted to 325 despite useful contributions from Jeevan Mendis (118) and Pabasara Waduge (99). Ragama were struggling at 150 for 7 in the second essay but their lead of 59 had done the work by then.

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Concerns over Marsh and Faulkner

Australia have further injury worries ahead of the tour of South Africa after both Shaun Marsh and James Faulkner picked up problems during the final one-day international against England in Adelaide.

Marsh, a surprise inclusion for the South Africa tour, left the field in the 36th over of England's chase and has had a scan on his calf while Faulkner underwent scans on his knee on Monday after not travelling to Hobart as part of the Twenty20 squad. Both players will be assessed again in the coming days.

Speaking after the final ODI, Michael Clarke remained positive over Marsh's prognosis. "Hopefully it's not too bad, hopefully it's just something small," he said. "He was celebrating okay, he was still moving all right out there when he went off the field. Knowing what we have got coming up and [physiotherapist] Alex Kountouris, I think they would have kept him off the field just for precaution more than anything else."

Faulkner, the Man of the Match in Adelaide, was the one member of the Test party who was not due to fly out to South Africa this week, instead staying in Australia to play the three T20s against England in Hobart, Melbourne and Sydney before linking with his Test team-mates.

Faulkner made his Test debut at The Oval in August and was part of the squad throughout the return Ashes but could not force his way into Australia's XI which remained unchanged during the five Tests. Marsh made a hundred on his debut against Sri Lanka in 2011 but has played just seven matches for an average of 27.36.

The concerns over Marsh and Faulkner follow the news that Jackson Bird jarred his back in the Big Bash League and was withdrawn from the Futures League match he was due to play as preparation for South Africa.

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Captains uncertain over Bopara stumping

Both Alastair Cook and Michael Clarke admitted to confusion about the pivotal stumping of Ravi Bopara during England's run chase. With England requiring nine runs from nine balls and two wickets still standing, Bopara was given out by the third umpire, after lengthy deliberation, as a delivery from Clint McKay rebounded off keeper Matthew Wade's gloves down on to the stumps, eventually dislodging the leg bail.

Replays were apparently inconclusive in proving whether the bail was fully out of the groove on middle stump before Bopara's foot, which had been raised, returned into contact with the ground. The Laws require the bail to be "completely removed from the top of the stumps" and Cook suggested the TV umpire, Kumar Dharmasena, might have erred when asked about the incident afterwards.

"I don't know if I'm being biased or not but I thought the rule was the bail had to leave both grooves and, looking at the TV screen, I thought there was enough doubt for it not to be given out," he said. "I'd love to be proved wrong in one sense, because it would make my mind rest a little bit easier, but I'm sure the third umpire can explain his decision.

"You don't want to look at that one isolated incident but with Ravi there, with eight needed off eight balls or whatever it was, you've got a very good chance. Ravi can clear the ropes when he wants to and he's obviously taken it deep and we feel in control, even though we're losing wickets at the other end. You don't blame one incident when there are 600 balls in the game but it was obviously a big call at a big time."

Clarke, Australia's captain, said it was his decision to have Wade standing up to the stumps during the penultimate over, adding that he hadn't been as confident as some of his team-mates about Bopara being given out. The dismissal left the last-wicket pair of Chris Jordan and James Tredwell too much to do as Australia wrapped up the series 4-1.

"I had an interesting conversation with Matthew Wade at the start of that over. He wanted to go back and I made it very clear I wanted him up to the stumps, so we went with that and fortunately [we were lucky]," Clarke said. "I couldn't really tell from the big screen [if it was out], there were probably mixed feelings out there, a lot of guys thought once the bail dislodged Ravi's foot was in the air, but I couldn't tell clearly enough, I probably felt 'has he just got his foot down' when the bail's dislodged, but I haven't had a chance to look at it closely on television, and I probably won't now either."

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Machan sets up Scotland win

Scotland kept themselves in touch near the top of the Super Six table with a 21-run victory over Namibia who remain at the bottom.

The match was halted after 12 overs of Namibia's chase on Sunday due to rain after Scotland had posted 279 for 9 They had made brisk progress through Matt Machan and captain Preston Mommsen as the pair took their third-wicket stand to 82 in 15 overs. Machan was on course for his second ODI hundred but fell for 78 off 61 balls and Mommsen departed five overs later as Scotland threatened to lose their way.

However, a stand of 55 between Freddie Coleman and Richie Berrington solidified their position and Berrington added further impetus to the innings with a sprightly 51 although a regular loss of wickets in the later overs meant only 50 runs came in the final nine.

Namibia, who were 59 for 2 when the rain came, were given a chance of chasing down the target by a fourth-wicket stand of 80 between Craig Williams (57) and Nicolaas Scholtz but both fell in consecutive overs to Safyaan Sharif who then made it three wickets in three overs when he removed Christi Viljoen. JJ Smit struck three sixes in a 20-ball 38 but Namibia had left themselves too much to do.

Machan earned the Man of the Match award. "Hopefully we can build on this win and come back tomorrow against PNG," he said. "It was slightly tough to play the game over two days, but we actually did it in the summer against Kenya in Scotland, so most of the guys have done it before and it wasn't too taxing."

Mommsen was thrilled that his side was able to back up its strong batting performance in the field. "Coming back today was a bit difficult, they had a really good partnership together, and we struggled to get a breakthrough. But I think Sharif had a brilliant spell towards the back end, and I think that's what won us the game."

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A Test series before a testing future

Two weeks ago, the biggest question in Bangladesh cricket was whether Shamsur Rahman could become only the second batsman from the country to score a first-class triple hundred. When he failed to do so, everyone wondered if his 267 would earn him a Test call-up. All of that is now a distant memory, after a leaked document has reopened age-old questions about Bangladesh cricket's future.

To consider all factors of this 'position paper' and to implement them will certainly take some time, but just the thought of being pushed off the precipice is a worry.

Bangladesh's captain, Mushfiqur Rahim, has already voiced his disappointment over the plan to send the team down to the Inter-Continental Cup as early as next year. Whether cricket in the country will remain at the same level is a general question, but what will happen to the players? Someone like Mushfiqur may have a Masters' degree to fall back on, but what about others?

What must have been most difficult for Mushfiqur was for all this talk, about such a complicated matter, to engulf his team less than two days before a Test match. As the captain of the lowest-ranked Test team, he already deals with more difficult questions than the average international captain. On one day it is about selection and on another about how secure his country is for visiting teams. Now it is about the most basic of things: his and his country's standing in cricket.

But the cricket itself must go on, and Bangladesh will take on Sri Lanka from Monday, despite the cloud hanging over the host country. The good news for Bangladesh is that they have a settled squad to choose from, containing exciting players apart from Tamim Iqbal and Shakib Al Hasan. Shamsur has indeed earned a place in the squad and is likely to make his debut in Mirpur, and a refreshed Imrul Kayes is another batsman to keep an eye on.

Marshall Ayub and Mominul Haque are the youngest and least experienced Nos. 3 and 4 in world cricket, but are not far behind most in potential. Mominul has made the No. 4 position his own very quickly with two centuries against New Zealand in Bangladesh's last two Test matches while Marshall is a strong-willed batsman trusted to do an important job.

Bangladesh has little to worry about the rest of the batting order or bowling attack, as the selectors have picked the best possible players. Sohag Gazi and Robiul Islam will provide adequate support to Shakib Al Hasan, while Rubel Hossain has a point to prove and a bowling average to bring down. The back-ups are also raring to go, for differing reasons. Mahmudullah has lost the vice-captaincy. Al-Amin Hossain has recently taken five wickets in an over in a domestic Twenty20 match.

Bangladesh have a new fielding coach as well, following the surprise appointment of Mohammad Salahuddin. He has mentored Shakib, Tamim, Nasir Hossain and Mominul, and it looks like he could be a short-term but effective addition to Shane Jurgensen's increasingly efficient workforce.

Last year was a good one, relatively, for Bangladesh, who won one Test, drew three and lost two. Their progress has been slow over the last 13 years, but it is not the fault of the current lot to suffer the consequences of what happened in the past. And having said that, it is not much of a past.

Bangladesh haven't been given several decades to bed into Test cricket as some other countries were. It can be argued they were admitted to the highest level of cricket a few years too soon, but had the ICC been more proactive than political at the time, they could have told the BCB a lot earlier that they were being considered for Test cricket. First-class cricket might have started much earlier than 1999, a mere year before they played their first Test.

While there have been endless debates about Bangladesh's future, it has never before surfaced as such an institutional question. In the past it had been the odd former cricketer trying to be funny or trying to outrage the media, but generally, the powers that be let their reservations about Bangladesh cricket stay within the confines of their boardroom.

But now that it has come out in the open, it has been disappointing and embarrassing for Bangladeshi cricketers. They now have to deal with ideas and thoughts that should have been the BCB's headache. Instead, the board directors' hasty stance has brought in more criticism and worried cricketers further.

Ahead of their last Test series against Sri Lanka, a string of injuries had thrown Bangladesh's preparations off kilter. Mushfiqur Rahim and Mohammad Ashraful had then changed the course of the game, bringing up the team's first ever drawn Test against Sri Lanka.

It remains to be seen if Mushfiqur and the rest of the team can bounce back in a similar manner from all the mental commotion they must be facing now. Bangladesh cricket has often done well when faced with questions, controversy and injury. This one seems right up their alley.

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Shakib wants sporting Mirpur pitch

Shakib Al Hasan wants a sporting pitch at the Shere Bangla National Stadium in the first Test against Sri Lanka. He said Bangladesh are now capable of handling such conditions, and not just playing on featherbeds.

The home side has never won a Test match in Mirpur. They have lost eight times and drawn twice, both against New Zealand. The pitch has tended to be on the slower side over the last three years, with bowlers getting less assistance as the match progresses. This has been true for both seamers and spinners, with the playing surface not prone to deteriorating.

Shakib said that an even contest between bat and ball would help the home side.

"In my opinion, sporting wickets are good," Shakib said. "Sri Lanka are not the sort of team who play spin poorly or don't have spinners. Sporting wickets give good value to runs and wickets. We are an experienced side, and have played well as a team and individually. I think we can handle a sporting wicket.

"Our bowling attack is good, but a lot will depend on the wicket. It becomes difficult to bowl on a flat wicket. But I believe that if it is a sporting wicket, we have the ability as a bowling unit."

Shakib has asked the pace bowlers and the newcomers in the side to step up, saying they have a role to play if the team is to win. "Everyone has to contribute," he said. "Even if someone takes a five-wicket haul, the others have to take a wicket each, at least. The fast bowlers have a big role to play; they have to take up responsibility. The spinners will continue to bowl according to their ability.

"Our team is not selected but among the batsmen, Marshall [Ayub] has played a few Tests, Shamsur Rahman is new while Imrul Kayes has played Tests in the past. It is not as if they are new so they have any less of a responsibility. The best 14 players in Bangladesh are in this team. They have all performed, and deserve a place. We can win very few matches if we have only one or two performers."

Bangladesh will try to break up the day into small sessions, according to Shakib, who said they would chase a positive result at all times rather than look to draw. In 2013, they lost two Tests, won one and drew three.

"We always play to win," Shakib said. "The days of Bangladesh playing a match just to do well or to draw are long gone. We have to divide it into small sessions, if we do well in those, we can get a good result overall.

"Bangladesh played well against Sri Lanka on the last occasion. We will have some home advantage. We have played well at home in the last two years, so if we can continue on that, we can shorten the difference between the two sides."

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Yuvraj and Anjum Chopra get Padma Shri

Yuvraj Singh and former India women's captain Anjum Chopra have been awarded the Padma Shri, India's fourth highest civilian honour, for their services to cricket. The two cricketers were among seven sportspersons named in the awards list announced on the eve of the country's Republic Day.

"Feeling happy n honoured to join the illustrious list of Padamshree awardees this year," Yuvraj tweeted. "My gratitude to the govt of india. Thanks for all the wishs and msgs this is a grt motivation for me to continue to serv my country in cricket & in cancer awarenes With al my heart & love to al".

Yuvraj has had a difficult year in international cricket, and did not find a place in India's ODI squad touring New Zealand. He has, however, seen plenty of highs in a career spanning 40 Tests, 293 ODIs and 34 T20s, most memorably a Man of the Tournament performance in India's victorious 2011 World Cup campaign. He was diagnosed with cancer soon after that, but recovered to make a heartwarming comeback a year later.

Chopra is one of the country's most successful women cricketers, having played 12 Tests, 127 ODIs and 18 T20s between 1995 and 2012. Chopra, the eighth highest run-getter in women's ODIs, featured in four 50-over World Cups, including the 2005 edition in South Africa, where India reached the final, and captained India to a Test series win in England in 2006.

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Safe Mathews could be more creative

If a man does not risk much in life, he cannot complain if his rewards are also feeble. As Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews prepares his men for a new Test series less than a week after their last one concluded, he will perhaps have had a moment to contemplate this truth. In Sharjah, his team had striven for safety above all else and found on day five they could not have travelled a more hazardous route. Though he had a monumental series with the bat in the UAE, Mathews knows his captaincy is still on trial, as he begins in Bangladesh.

If he has valued security in his 12 months at the helm, Mathews has had just cause to do so. He is by far the least experienced Sri Lanka captain since the early 80s, and the path of least resistance must appear tempting to a leader who does not yet have a forceful mandate to rule. In a year, Mathews has not caused obvious strife for the board, nor made startling selection calls. In public, he has been reserved - even bland. Sri Lanka is among the most difficult cricket teams to captain largely because numerous interests must be appraised off the field, but Mathews has negotiated his first year without major incident because his every move has been tempered by caution. Like he does in most innings, perhaps Mathews seeks to become accustomed to the nuances of his surroundings before venturing aggression.

He is also adhering to the script that had been laid out for him before he took the job. Mahela Jayawardene stepped down from the captaincy claiming it was time a young leader took charge while the senior players remained in the team - a sort of captaincy with training wheels with the adults running alongside to ensure no bones are broken - and Mathews has largely played the part, steering along a sturdy course as the wiser heads provide advice when they felt the team was veering off track.

It is a strange and awkward set of circumstances for Mathews to contend with, because as long as Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara are around, he will never monopolise respect in the dressing room. As perhaps the third-best candidate to lead the side, he cannot impose himself on it as definitively as he might like, either.

And it is in imposing himself is where Mathews has been most lacklustre, both on the field - where pre-fabricated, cookie-cutter field settings have been his hallmark - and when speaking about his team's cricket. Challenging Mathews to take a strong point of view is an exercise in futility, most reporters have learned. Ask him what weaknesses he feels Sri Lanka can exploit in the opposition, and in response, a line about guarding against complacency and the class of the opposition is marched out. Ask him what he feels about any burning cricket issue of the day, and he will deflect the question, or defer it to some higher power.

Recently, Mathews was asked to speak on Prasanna Jayawardene's impact on the team, and though he began his reply with intent, claiming "Prasanna has the best hands…", he stalled as he measured the next phrase, then chose the conservative ending - "…going around". You sensed what he really wanted to say was "Prasanna has the best hands in the world" - certainly not an outrageous statement, given it has been uttered many times before (it is hard to get Sangakkara to stop saying it). It is also commonplace for players, particularly captains, to speak glowingly about team-mates, even when completely undeserved, which in this case, it is not.

Mathews' fear of doing and saying the wrong thing seems at present to be suffocating any desire to take a stand, be creative, or put himself and his team on the line. Ahead of the series against Bangladesh, he gave a typically vanilla statement on what he expects in the next four weeks. "Bangladesh have improved vastly in the past few years and we're not going to take them lightly at all. We're not going to be complacent. We're going to go hard at them, play positive and win."

There are signs Mathews can eventually grow into the kind of leader Sri Lankan require. As they lack a menacing attack at present, conservatism suits the team well, though they know now the perils of straying to negativity. Beyond his own batting, which appears to have benefited greatly by the responsibility, Mathews also coaxed calmness and dependability from his team-mates when he batted alongside them in the UAE. Dinesh Chandimal, Prasanna Jayawardene and Dilruwan Perera all made their best scores in the series in Mathews' company. There is no doubt Mathews has far to go tactically, but equally, there can be no question that as long as the seniors are unwilling to take back the reins, he is the best man to lead Sri Lanka.

Two days before the Dhaka Test, Mathews was asked what he thought of the proposals set to be discussed by the ICC board in a few days, and he led with "that's not for me to decide". His opposite Mushfiqur Rahim, who has played the same number of Tests as Mathews and is roughly the same age, instead delivered a fearless critique of the proposals - the first among current cricketers to do so. Mushfiqur has already shown strength and audacity on the tour. The next month will reveal if Mathews will shed his fear of failure and do the same.

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All-round Pakistan Women claim T20 title

Pakistan Women 72 for 3 (Javeria 38) beat South Africa Women 68 for 9 (Kapp 40, Iqbal 2-14) by seven wickets
Scorecard

Pakistan Women capitalised on a poor batting display by South Africa Women to win the final of the PCB Qatar Women's 20-Over Tri-series by seven wickets in Doha on Friday.

South Africa were put in to bat and their innings had a poor start as pacer Asmavia Iqbal dismissed opener Lizelle Lee off the first ball of the match. That early wicket set the trend for the rest of South Africa's innings. South Africa did not help their cause with four run-outs, and more than half their total came courtesy Marizanne Kapp, who scored a 48-ball 40. After Kapp, the second-highest score in the innings was Sunette Loubser with 8. Iqbal and pacer Sania Khan picked up two wickets apiece as South Africa stuttered to 68 for 9 in their 20 overs.

Pakistan's chase was guided by opener Javeria Khan, who scored 38 off 46 balls with three fours. The side lost three wickets in their chase, but the target of 69 was hardly demanding and Pakistan went past it with nearly four overs to spare.

South Africa captain Mignon du Preez said, despite the implosion in the final, her team had done very well overall on the tour. "We had a bad day at the office today," she said. "We didn't put on the runs needed to have a competitive enough game and we disappointed ourselves. Hats off to Pakistan for playing their game ruthlessly and getting the win.

"But I'm proud of our team's efforts throughout this tour here in Doha, we have shown ourselves and many others that we are definitely a team to watch out for in the World T20. Now, it's time for us to go home and to work out the problem areas that we have discovered here and make sure we are at our peak by the time we reach Bangladesh [for the World T20]."

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Northants confirm three for IPL auction

This year's IPL auction takes on increased significance for English cricket and Northamptonshire are the latest county to confirm they will have a vested interest on February 12.

The ECB has opened up a bigger window for their centrally contracted players and many counties have also relaxed their stance on IPL participation, despite the prospect of losing players for nearly half of the County Championship season.

Northamptonshire have given their full blessing to Azharullah, Steven Crook and their overseas player Jackson Bird to seek IPL deals but losing all three would seriously hamper their chances of retaining a place in Division One of the County Championship for 2015.

Crook was a key member of the Northants' squad that won promotion last season. He took 43 wickets at 26.48 and also averaged 40.16 with the bat. Azharullah did not break into the Championship side until halfway through the campaign but added 25 wickets at 28.68. He also starred with the ball as Northants claimed a fairytale Friends Life t20 triumph, finishing the competition as top wicket-taker with 27 scalps.

Losing Bird, who Northants signed for ten Championship and seven T20 games, would rob them of a bowler who has played three Tests for Australia. An IPL clause was included in his contract.

But the county can breathe easy over David Willey, the very promising allrounder, who was also the subject of strong interest from several IPL franchises. He has withdrawn from the auction to focus on his fitness ahead of the new county season having suffered with a lower-back injury while in Australia with the England Performance Programme.

"We as a club recognise the opportunities offered by the IPL," the Northamptonshire chief executive, David Smith, said. "We will not stand in the way of the players wanting to take part in the competition, due to the development and financial benefits on offer."

Head coach, David Ripley, added: "The IPL is firmly established in the international cricket calendar and we fully understand the desire for players to be a part of it. We wish the lads well if selected, and if they are, it will give opportunities for others to start the season well for us."

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