Pathirana stars in opening Sri Lanka A win

Sri Lanka A 240 for 5 (Gunathilaka 57, Rajapaksa 52 Pathirana 52*, Bulcock 3-26) beat Unicorns 237 (Burton 44, Rambukwella 3-18) by five wickets Scorecard

Sri Lanka A have opened their campaign in England with a five-wicket win over the Unicorns in a 50-over warm-up, as slow-bowling allrounder Sachith Pathirana made significant contributions in both disciplines.

Unicorns batted first at Gosford but despite a steady opening stand of 61, were hamstrung by the breakthroughs Sri Lanka A's spinners regularly effected.

Pathirana's left-arm spin and Ramith Rambukwella's offspin accounted for five scalps in total, including the top four, as Unicorns were reduced to 138 for 5 by the 34th over.

The seam bowlers took wickets through the middle overs, with legspinner Seekkuge Prasanna also taking one scalp. Unicorns were all out for 237 in the 48th over. Rambukwella finished with the innings' best figures of 3 for 34, and Tom Burton top scored with 44.

Sri Lanka A began their chase with a 95-run opening stand, driven primarily by Danushka Gunathilaka's 57 off 67 balls. Left-arm spinner Toby Bulcock turned that wicket into a mini-collapse - taking three of the four wickets that fell for 15 runs, but Bhanuka Rajapaksa and Pathirana were on hand to right Sri Lanka A's course.

Rajapaksa made 52 off 62, and though he fell with over 50 runs still to get, Pathirana's 52 not out saw Sri Lanka A over the line in the penultimate over.

Unicorns are a one-day outfit comprised of uncontracted players. They were part of England's one-day domestic competition until this year.

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Cook's descent into private hell

Eventually, with the batting failures accumulating and his captaincy not compensating, the reasons for persisting with Alastair Cook are wearing out

Chappell: England in dire straits but for Ballance

Had an undertaker taken measurements of Alastair Cook as he made his way back to the pavilion, the signs could hardly have been more obvious: after another poor display in the field on the opening day and another poor display with the bat on the second, time is running out for England's captain.

Cook's failure at Lord's was familiar in every sense. Not just because it extended his run of low scores to the stage where they can no longer be ignored by an England management desperate for him to succeed, but for the manner of his dismissal. Cook, as so often, was caught behind after poking at one just outside off stump without moving his feet. He has now gone 26 innings without a century to 26 and averages 13.37 this calendar year. Those are figures that can no longer be ignored or excused.

The groan that rose from Lord's upon Cook's dismissal spoke volumes. It spoke of a crowd desperately willing Cook to succeed; it spoke of a crowd that understood how hard he is working, how much he is struggling and of their empathy for a decent man descending into his own private hell.

He had looked in better touch. He left the ball well. His defensive strokes all hit the middle of the bat and, in general, went straight back to the bowler. There was a sense that this might be his day.

And it is true that he has enjoyed little luck. While Gary Ballance benefited from a reprieve in the slips early in his century, Cook had no such fortune. And while the ball that struck his thigh pad at Trent Bridge might usually have glanced away for leg byes, it instead cannoned onto his leg stump.

But only fools and losers continually blame luck for their failings. Eventually you have to accept that if a result recurs often, there is an underlying reason.

It has not been unreasonable to keep faith with Cook until now. His long-term record remains good - though his average has dropped to a fraction over 45 - and he is, at 29, young enough to come again. But eventually, with the run of low scores growing longer, it appears ever more as if the England management are desperate for him to succeed as much so save their own face as anything else.

They staked everything on Cook. They sacked Kevin Pietersen and decided to rebuild upon the rock of Cook's run scoring. But perhaps due to the pressure that decision added, he has been unable to sustain the form required for a Test opening batsman. The management's faith and continuity is starting to look desperate rather than loyal and sensible. Just as it is becoming impossible to deny the deterioration in Matt Prior's keeping, so Cook's problems have become impossible to ignore.

While Cook is batting ever more like Mike Brearley - who, speaking on Test Match Special, questioned whether Cook would survive his current malaise - he is no nearer to captaining like him.

After an improved performance at Trent Bridge, he chased the game in the field on Thursday and suggested that all the criticism he has attracted had started to distort his thinking. Just when England needed to patiently persist on an old-fashioned line and length attack, they experimented with three men out on the hook and a round the wicket bouncer barrage. It was, by any standards, poor captaincy.

And eventually, with the batting failures accumulating and his captaincy not compensating, the reasons for persisting with Cook are wearing out. If England lose this match, a match in which they won a crucial toss, Cook's future will be hanging by a thread. We may well be in the end days now.

If and when the end comes for Cook, he might well reflect on the lack of support he has gained from his senior players. For various reasons - fitness mainly - Prior has been unable to provide the support he might have done in previous years, while James Anderson and Stuart Broad let him down with their bowling both at Headingley and in the first innings here. Ian Bell's lack of runs is bringing no respite, either.

Cook is now clinging to his position by the flimsiest of reasons: the lack of alternatives. Neither the candidates for replacement opening batsman or the opening position spring out. If they did, Cook would surely have gone by now.

The most obvious alternative as captain is Bell. He has captained, albeit on a part-time basis, with some success for Warwickshire. He showed himself to be an imaginative leader whose own game seemed to improve with the responsibility.

But not only is his own form a nagging worry - nobody doubts Bell's class but it is now 18 innings since he registered a Test century and, since the start of the Ashes series in Australia, he is averaging 27.53 - but there is some doubt as to whether he can replicate those leadership characteristics at this level.

While at county level Bell is something of a giant, respected by his peers and confident in the environment, most insiders talk of him in very different terms in the England set-up. He is seen more as a follower than a leader and there are doubts whether he could control other senior players as required.

Captaincy might well prove the making of him, but it would constitute a risk.

Joe Root also has his supporters. But just as his premature elevation to the opening spot threatened to derail his progress, so the burden of captaincy might prove unhelpful for a 23-year-old whose game is still in its development phase. He has little experience in the role - his one game as captain of Yorkshire earlier this season ended in Middlesex chasing 472 to win in the fourth innings for the loss of only three wickets - and to promote him now might risk spoiling one of the more exciting prospects in the English game.

Cook has one more chance in the second innings. But if he fails again and England lose the game, his days may be numbered. He will be batting for his future in the fourth innings at Lord's.

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'I was probably a bit naive' - Ballance

It was been an 'interesting' week for England's No. 3 but the only aspect of it that should really matter is how he is slotting into a key position in the batting order

Ballance blunts India's attack

It will not be the first time this week that Gary Ballance's picture has featured on the back pages of the newspapers, but this time he may take far more pleasure in it.

Earlier in the week, pictures of Ballance, without a shirt and clearly the worse for wear after a night out, were published in several papers. He had, it transpired, unwound from the demanding Test in Nottingham, by venturing into the city with several team-mates and, after several hours drinking, was photographed in a somewhat unflattering state by other club goers. Batting it seems, is thirsty work.

While the England team management took an admirably mature response to the incident - they reminded Ballance of his responsibilities and the media that he was a young man unwinding on a night off - the player admitted the episode had been "a bit embarrassing."

So it was a relief that, a couple of days later, he should find himself featured in the same publications for reasons that should make him proud. On a pitch that remains helpful to seam bowlers, Ballance recorded the second century of his brief Test career to keep his side in the game against India.

Ballance is a wonderfully no-frills cricketer. There is little pretty about him, little outrageous and little extravagant. He is pragmatic; all substance and little style.

And he is just what England require. After the gaping hole created by the departure of Jonathan Trott, it was thought that either Ian Bell or Joe Root would fill the No. 3 position.

Instead the job was given to a rookie. And Ballance has shown that, despite a reluctance to come forward, he has the talent and temperament to flourish at this level. He leaves well, defends well and is powerful on the cut, in particular, and the pull. He also has another gear - a savage, thrashing sort of mode - that, he hinted at in a nine-ball spell when he punished Stuart Binny for five boundaries including two in succession to reach his century.

Here he enjoyed one moment of fortune when, on 32, he survived an edge off the unfortunate Binny, that flew between the wicketkeeper and first slip. But he has now scored two centuries and two half-centuries in eight Test innings and shown the welcome ability both to grind it out when necessary and accelerate when appropriate. Whatever England's other problems, they appear to have found a gem in Ballance.

His comments on the innings could have been used to describe almost every innings he has played for England to date.

"I just thought 'I've got to scrap hard here," he said. "I thought it's probably not going to be pretty or very exciting to watch. But at the end of the day, it's about doing a job. I tried to be patient.

"I knew I was going to play and miss, so tried to leave as much as I could and just wait for anything with a bit of width or anything too straight. Luckily, I fought hard, got an edge through the slips early on, and it's paid off, being patient."

His record at Lord's is remarkable. After scoring a century here for Yorkshire against Middlesex earlier in the season - his maiden first-class game on the ground - he followed it up with a maiden Test century against Sri Lanka in June in just his second Test. He also scored a century on the ground as a Harrow schoolboy in the historic match against Eton.

While Ballance has made a fine start to life in the No. 3 position, there are those who think he could open the batting. Certainly Dave Houghton, a friend of the Ballance family who has played a significant part in the player's development, feels he has what it takes. The cynical might suggest that, given Alastair Cook's form, Ballance is in effect doing the job already.

But Ballance, of course, maintained the party line when asked about England's beleaguered captain. "Knowing what Cooky is like, he'll still be very positive and upbeat," he said. "He's a fantastic cricketer, a fantastic captain and his scores over the years prove that.

"He'll obviously be disappointed not getting a score today. But he'll keep going hard and I'm sure it will be a matter of time before he gets that big score."

Even if the description of Cook as a "fantastic captain" might raise some eyebrows, Ballance's assessment of the game position was much more to the mark.

"We're 70 odd behind, with still some good batters coming in and who can score quickly," he said. "If we can get two more partnerships, and try to get a lead, on this wicket we can put India under a bit of pressure. The third innings is always a crucial part of the game. So if we can get that lead, and bowl well, we can push for a victory."

And his reaction to the coverage of the night out in Nottingham?

"I didn't see it coming," he said, "It was a bit embarrassing. I was probably a bit naive, but I didn't really break any rules. I was just having fun after a Test match. But I'll learn from that, and probably won't do it again.

"It's been an interesting week. I didn't really expect it, but it's nice to score some runs and put us back in a decent position.

"I felt a bit of pressure turning up on day one, with what happened. But everyone around me was very supportive: the coaches, all the players, my family were backing me and saying 'mistakes happen; you've got to learn from it and move on'. Luckily I took a catch in the third or fourth over and that calmed me down a lot."

Ballance may well be calming the nerves of England supporters just as much in the coming years.

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Bowlers allow Dhoni to breathe again

Usually India's bowlers are ridiculed for letting Dhoni down but on a day that Dhoni let them down, they kept their spirits up, didn't let England run away with it, and came up with their best bowling day in a long time

Bhuvneshwar removes four key wickets

It's about 2.40pm on a sultry hot day at Lord's. The sun is out; the food and the cakes and the drinks have flowed; and the mild breeze is threatening to send the stands into naps. But there is some intense Test cricket to follow.

On a pitch that has eased out considerably since the day one that England wasted, India's quicks are showing the hosts how to bowl on this pitch. They have been full, at the stumps, and have given England only a few easy runs, who are 85 for 3 in 37 overs.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar has been exceptional in that there have hardly been any bally to easily leave. He has used the slope well, bowling outswingers to right-hand batsmen before testing them with the other one once in a while. He has been doing the same to left-hand batsmen: take it away, take it away, then bring one in. Just the threat of one coming back in had Alastair Cook pushing at one and nicking behind. Sam Robson edged short of the cordon, was dropped, and yet didn't have enough patience to outlast the nagging new-ball spell of Bhuvneshwar, who has come came back after lunch to feast on Ian Bell's uncertain state of mind. After bowling 17 overs in well under three hours, for 34 runs and three wickets, Bhuvneshwar needs a rest.

There has been decent support from the other end. Mohammed Shami has bowled a few down the leg side, but if one bowler doesn't, how will the batsmen score a run? Ishant Sharma has generated some heat, and has asked questions of the right-handed Bell making the ball hold its line against the slope. The left-hand batsman Gary Ballance has put him off a little, but he has contributed to Bell's fall. But now we are getting into the stage where India usually let their intensity dip. Bhuvneshwar is tired, the ball has lost its shine, the pitch is easing out in the afternoon, and India need some control.

This is also time when Stuart Binny, their big hunch in this series, is about to be introduced. This next half hour has the potential to make or break this Test. England can easily run away with it if Binny is as innocuous as at Trent Bridge. But a tight spell can leave the other bowlers fresh for a pressure-filled burst before tea. On comes Binny, bowls full and slow, Ballance goes after him and gets away with a thick edge. At the end of the over drinks come on to the field. A moment to get your thoughts together, a moment to wonder if you are in control, a moment to perhaps question your own wisdom in sticking with Binny.

Just after drinks, Binny bowls again. The second ball of the over is a good delivery, pitched up outside off, shaping to swing in, and then holding its line after pitching, Ballance plays at it, and edges it. It goes to MS Dhoni's left and Shikhar Dhawan's right. It is high enough. Dhoni takes half a step towards it and lets it go. Dhawan is surprised and reacts late. Before you know Ballance has got four more runs.

This is a horrible miss. This is clearly Dhoni's catch, but he doesn't go for it. Nor is this the first time he has done that. He is an exceptional wicketkeeper standing up to the stumps, grabbing thick edges, making stumpings without a reverse follow-through at all. But standing back he has this annoying habit of not going for the catch between him and first slip. VVS Laxman has seen this often, today is Dhawan's turn. It seems he goes by the height of the ball, not its line. Earlier in the day he caught Cook, an offering that was wider than this but wouldn't have carried to first slip. This one is sailing at a comfortable height so he lets it go for Dhawan, although that can be no excuse.

This is, as they usually are, a keeper's catch, but what is Dhawan doing here? The best slippers are usually seen diving even when the wicketkeeper takes the catch in front of them. You have to expect, nay want, the ball to come to you. Here Dhawan is caught by surprise. He doesn't react at all. This is a huge moment in what is likely to be tight Test on a testing pitch. Over their last two tours, India have squandered winning positions because they tend to switch off. This is becoming a big problem: India just don't stay intense for long enough in Tests. The slips are stacking up.

Ballance capitalises on the mistake and scores a hundred. Moeen Ali, positive but not reckless, adds 98 with him. But here is the difference. India remain disciplined when it would have been easy to start thinking "Here we go again." The first square-cut boundary arrives 19 overs later, at the end of the 57th. Dhoni remains aggressive even as the partnership builds. He has seen there is turn on the pitch, and pulls M Vijay out of the hat. He feels under no pressure to justify Binny's selection and overbowl him. The fielding remains intense too.

Usually India's bowlers are ridiculed for letting Dhoni down. On a day that Dhoni has let them down, they kept their spirits up, didn't let England absolutely run away with it, and come back with two wickets just before stumps. This has been India's best bowling day without Zaheer Khan or spinners playing a lead role in a long time. It has come on a pitch made to order for the home team, and it has left India with yet another chance to post that elusive away Test win. Those who are used to India's bowlers letting the team down will need to sit down and have a seat belt on before even imagining what if Dhoni had taken that catch?

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Bowlers take Tallawahs to convincing win

Jamaica Tallawahs 97 for 2 (Walton 43*, Gayle 37) beat Antigua Hawksbills 96 (Vettori 3-14) by eight wickets
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

The decision to bat first after winning the toss backfired in spectacular fashion for the Antigua Hawksbills as they stumbled their way to 96 all out before the Jamaica Tallawahs cantered to an eight-wicket victory at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua. The Tallawahs move to 2-0 with the win and continue to look as sharp as their title-winning squad from a year ago. Meanwhile the Hawksbills, who missed the playoffs last year, remain winless and could be in for a rough season.

The Hawksbills suffered their first setback in the second over when opener Shacaya Thomas was trapped in front for 1 playing across the line to Jerome Taylor. Hawksbills captain Marlon Samuels looked unflustered by the early loss and hit Taylor for boundaries off three consecutive deliveries, a pair through fine leg followed by a lofted drive over cover, later in the over. The early burst was halted at the start of the third when Samuels was pinned on the back foot by a quicker ball from Daniel Vettori. The frame ended as a wicket maiden when Danza Hyatt played down the wrong line to Vettori for the third lbw decision of the innings to make it 15 for 3 and the Hawksbills struggles only got worse from there.

After brief resistance was offered by Ben Dunk and David Hussey, Rusty Theron came on and struck in the eighth over to bowl Hussey for 15 with a fullish length ball that kept a touch low. Vettori got back into the fray in the ninth while fielding at short fine leg as he seized on some confusion between Dunk and Devon Thomas between the wickets, firing a throw to Carlton Baugh over the stumps at the striker's end to remove Dunk for 12.

Two overs later, Thomas attempted to sweep left-arm spinner Nikita Miller but a top edge went straight to Owais Shah at short fine leg to make it 51 for 6. It was the only caught dismissal of the innings. Carlos Brathwaite missed a flick across the line to give Vettori his third wicket in the 14th before Sheldon Cottrell was bowled in the following over by a yorker from Andre Russell for an innings high score of 21. Russell was on a hat trick after gaining the Tallawahs fourth lbw decision of the match with a full and straight delivery that was too good for Ben Laughlin to make it 80 for 9.

Miguel Cummins and Brad Hogg managed to squeeze out 16 runs between them before another yorker from Taylor accounted for Cummins to wrap up the innings in just 18.3 overs. Vettori finished with 3 for 13 in his four-over spell and later received Man-of-the-Match honors for his efforts.

Chris Gayle and Chadwick Walton negotiated the swing provided by the new ball during the first three overs taking their side to 14 for 0. Gayle started to open up at the end of the fourth over smashing Samuels' offspin down the ground and into the sightscreen for his first six before the opening pair tore into Cummins in the fifth for 22 runs to take the score to 45 for 0. Gayle ended the over with back-to-back blasts for six over midwicket.

The Hawksbills had a glimmer of hope in the ninth when Gayle miscued a slower ball from Brathwaite to Samuels at short midwicket for 37. Jermaine Blackwood fell two balls later without scoring when a short ball was gloved to the keeper Thomas to make it 62 for 2. Hogg entered the attack two balls later to start the ninth with his left-arm wrist spin but his first ball was a half-tracker and was duly disposed over long-on for six by Walton. Hogg found his length for the start of the 12th, but it didn't matter for Walton, who shuffled down the track and lofted him over long-off for another six.

Walton and Adam Voges combined for an unbroken 35-run stand to end the match with Walton finishing the job by striking the winning runs with a pulled four over midwicket three balls into the 15th over. Voges finished 12 not out while Walton was unbeaten on 43 with two fours and three sixes.

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England squander golden opportunity

They wasted the new ball, they dropped chances and they reverted to the type of tactics that made little use of the sort of pitch of which England seamers should dream

#politeenquiries: England's tactics to tailenders?

Statistics are, very often, misleading. Just as the average person has one breast and one testicle, so scorecards can provide an inaccurate picture of a day's play.

A glance at the scorecard from the first day of the second Investec Test might lead you to conclude that England had bowled pretty well. You might conclude that James Anderson had been tight, that Stuart Broad had been probing and that Liam Plunkett and Ben Stokes had lent disciplined support.

But the truth is England squandered a golden opportunity. They wasted the new ball, they dropped chances and they reverted to the type of tactics that made little use of the sort of pitch of which England seamers should dream. They bowled substantially worse than they had at Trent Bridge.

They had, at last, a green pitch offering carry. They had, at last, an opportunity to test an Indian batting line-up who have questions to answer against the moving ball. And they had a muggy morning on which to bowl. They could - should - have seized this series by the neck and bowled out India for under 200. As it is, India have already recorded their highest first innings total in a Test at Lord's and built a challenging platform.

England wasted their chance. With conditions at their most helpful, England's most experienced seamers bowled too short and too wide. Only one delivery in the first 10 overs would have hit the stumps and, though James Anderson's first five overs were maidens, not a single delivery in them would have bowled a batsman. The Indians were, on the whole, delighted to leave them and see the danger subside.

England's tactics were, at times, baffling. If the sight of Plunkett, on a green surface, banging in the ball with three men out for the hook was frustrating, the sight of Anderson, the man who has taken more Test wickets in England than anyone in history, the man who has the most Test wickets at Lord's, the man who had the second new ball, bowling to India's No. 10 with six - yes, six - men out on the boundary was utterly baffling.

In such helpful conditions - the conditions England have said they wanted for weeks - all the bowlers needed to do was pitch the ball up, bowl at the stumps and allow the swing and the tentative Indian batting to do the rest. But, perhaps through impatience, perhaps through a lack of confidence, perhaps unable to adapt to the conditions after a succession of slow, low surfaces, England bowled short and wide and failed to make the Indian batsmen play at enough deliveries.

There can be no excuses. England's attack leaders have more than 600 Test wickets and 150 Test caps between them. They have, in David Saker, an experienced bowling coach who must surely have suggested they target the stumps more frequently. They were brought up on pitches like this and have the experience to adapt. And, if weariness is a legitimate excuse in the final session, they might reflect that, had they bowled better in the first two hours, they might have had their feet up by tea.

The frustration was that, when they did pitch the ball up, the wickets soon followed. Virat Kohli was the victim of a fine delivery that forced a stroke but then left him to take the edge, while MS Dhoni pushed at a ball he could have left and Murali Vijay played across one. Indeed, when Stuart Binny was the unfortunate victim of an umpiring error, it reduced India to 145 for 7 and left England on the brink of a decent result despite their own modest performance.

	Evidence is mounting that Matt Prior is no longer able to do what he could before. His misses are no longer aberrations. They are occurring too often and costing England too much

But they failed to take advantage. Plunkett was inexplicably instructed to bowl around the wicket and test the batsmen with short bowling - deliveries that were later dismissed as "a little bit easy" by Ajinkya Rahane - and Broad, despite the trouble he caused when he hit a good length, also banged in far too many deliveries. Rahane, leaving well but brutal on anything short, responded with a masterful century that may yet prove the defining contribution in this game.

"There is a bit of frustration," Stokes admitted afterwards. "The last session has turned things around a bit. We were extremely unlucky.

"We were pretty happy with our lengths, but our lines could have been better. We talked about it and corrected it. And we had them 140 for 7. So, on the positive side, we keep knocking over their top order."

If such words seem somewhat delusional, the fault was not all England's bowlers. They also suffered, once again, from poor support from their wicketkeeper, Matt Prior, who put down two chances and conceded his 50th bye of the Test summer in the evening session. Such a number includes, inevitably, some deliveries speared down the leg side which no keeper could prevent, but that by no means accounts for all of them.

Prior has enjoyed an illustrious career. He was a key part of the team that rose to No. 1 in the Test rankings and nobody doubts his commitment to the cause. To see him struggling, through no lack of good intentions or hard work, to maintain the standards he once set brings no pleasure.

But cricket can be brutal. And the evidence is mounting that he is no longer able to do what he could before. His misses are no longer aberrations. They are occurring too often and costing England too much. If Jos Buttler is not ready for Test cricket - and it would be asking a lot of a man who has been a first choice wicketkeeper at his county for less than four months - England may well have to turn to James Foster or Chris Read as an interim.

The first chance Prior missed here - Murali Vijay before he had scored - was familiar: it was low and it was to his right. It was, by a generous assessment, the fifth such chance he has failed to take this summer (there have been two other chances which have been closer to his body), with the suspicion mounting that his creaking frame is unable to move quickly enough to low chances to sustain a career at this level.

It might seem that neither chance - the second one a straightforward outside edge offered by Kohli in Moeen Ali's first over - cost England. But in conditions that eased, reprieving Vijay and Kohli allowed Rahane and the lower order to come in against tiring bowlers and a softer ball.

England may also have squandered the best time to bat. By the close of play, a few balls appeared to be keeping low and, if the sun continues to bake this pitch, uneven bounce may become a serious impediment. If they find themselves chasing a challenging fourth innings target, they will only have themselves to blame.

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Rahane quietly bedding in as India's No. 6

Tough enough to score crucial runs, prepared for innings that don't have proper structure, content with not cashing in on flat ones, Ajinkya Rahane could be just the man for India

Highlights: Rahane century keeps second Test even on Day 1 at Lord's

When little Ajinkya Rahane used to lug his cricket kit in crowded Bombay local trains, from Dombivli to Victoria Terminus, an hour in fast services, longer in the slow one that stops at every station, it is highly unlikely he wanted to become a No. 6 batsman.

Fathers don't tell their kids, "Son, my only dream is to see you bat at No. 6." No. 6 is not sexy. You don't face the bowlers at their freshest, you don't get to set the tone, you are just reacting to the stage that has been set for you, sometimes really tough conditions even settle down by the time you come in to bat. When the pitch is easy you hardly get to bat; when the pitch is difficult, you get the tail for company. Your No. 6 has to be tough enough to score crucial runs, prepared for innings that don't have proper structure, content with not cashing in on flat ones, and happy with the opener or the No. 4 being the man.

Rahane, although an opener by training, might just be that man for India. He scored this Lord's hundred - special because everybody he knew built Lord's up massively by Wednesday night - from No. 5, but he is a No. 6 for all practical purposes: MS Dhoni comes in immediately after him. That century scored, rescuing India from 145 for 7, Rahane sought to sit back and deflect attention onto others. He kept repeating the innings was thanks to the top-order batsmen who had seen off the most difficult conditions. He thanked Bhuvneshwar Kumar for sticking around with him.

But if you looked up at the players' balcony when he brought up the hundred, with a push for four off James Anderson, England's best bowler and the bowler whose behaviour India have complained officially against, the sight of every member of the squad applauding that hundred told you he was the man. He had weathered the storm, shown enough discipline to score just one run behind square on the off side, played some gorgeous push-drives before lofting Anderson for a delightful six over long-on.

On Wednesday night Rahane had been nervous. Everyone kept reminding him how special a Lord's century could be. He had himself played a nervous shot to get out in the second innings of the last Test, just a nervous poke at a delivery he could have left alone. Rahane is prone to that. He is a nervous starter. He needs to watch for that push lacking intent early in the innings. This was Lord's, the ball was swinging and seaming, and wickets were tumbling at the other end.

Rahane did show signs of those nerves at the start; his first three balls: an edge that fell short of the cordon, beaten outside off, a single off the inside edge. But in the 37th over things clicked. He had faced nine balls by then. Now he began to get a solid forward stride in, and drove at a wide half-volley with an open face. Later in that over, he pushed one down the ground for four. The innings was underway, except that by the time he had faced 38 balls, Rahane had lost Cheteshwar Pujara and Dhoni. Now he would need to change his game.

Rahane didn't change. With every new batsman he had a chat. Were they comfortable if he took the single early in the over? It took you back to that endearing conversation he had with Ishant Sharma in Durban, with the latter saying he didn't want to face Dale Steyn. There, Rahane fell two short of what would have been a maiden century. He says he has made an attempt to not think of the hundred after that.

Ravindra Jadeja and Stuart Binny could not keep him company for long, but Rahane found an ally in Bhuvneshwar, who nearly scored a third fifty of this series. Like VVS Laxman before him, Rahane trusts tailenders, and doesn't try to hog the strike unless they ask him to. He also says he has been watching videos of Michael Hussey to learn how to bat with the tail. One of the important skills while batting with the tail is to be able to play big shots. You never know if the next over will leave you stranded.

Rahane has made that addition to his game of late. About three years ago, some domestic stalwarts used to fear Rahane would not make it because he did not have the bottle or the big shots. In this innings he showed he had both. Bottle in surviving the early spell, big shots when England were waiting for the new ball. His fifty came in the 71st over of the innings with the new ball almost certain to inflict damage. But by the time the new ball came, Rahane had raced along to 74, cutting Liam Plunkett in front of square repeatedly to avoid the third man trap, and pulling him emphatically.

When the new ball arrived, Rahane went after Anderson. Four, six, and he is 88. Four, four, and 98. Discipline, timing, placement, power, aggression had all been on display. When he reached the hundred, Rahane didn't make a big deal out of it. He showed more emotion when Bhuvneshwar got out, to a bit of a shooter. Bhuvneshwar was half way off the ground when Rahane caught up with him, patted his back, a little thank you there, and a big thank you in the press conference. This No. 6 is quietly bedding in.

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Sammy signs with Hobart Hurricanes

Darren Sammy, the West Indies Twenty20 captain, will make his BBL debut this coming summer after signing with the Hobart Hurricanes. Sammy is expected to be available for the first six matches of the tournament before joining West Indies for their training camp ahead of the 2015 World Cup.

Sammy was captain of West Indies in all formats until last year, when Dwayne Bravo was handed control of the ODI side, and Denesh Ramdin became Test captain earlier this year. However, Sammy remains in charge of the West Indies T20 outfit. He will join England's Alex Hales as the two international signings for the Hurricanes in 2014-15.

"With players like George Bailey, Alex Hales and Ben Dunk, there is a lot of exciting talent in the team already," Sammy said. "I am really looking forward to coming to Tasmania and taking part in the Big Bash League.

"I have heard so much about coach [Damien] Wright, he seems like a West Indian, very cool and an amazing fellow. A few of my [West Indian] team-mates might also be playing in the Big Bash League so I'm looking forward to the contest with them."

Sammy's lower-order striking has made him a dangerous batsman in the shorter formats and his canny bowling has allowed him to take 99 T20 wickets at 25.18 with an economy rate of 7.37. Wright said Sammy would be a fine addition to the Hurricanes' line-up.

"He's a really talented cricketer who can do a little bit of everything," Wright said. "He's a great leader as well and he's been captain of the West Indies for a number of years now also captaining the team for the T20 World Cup in 2012. Sammy will give us that lower-order hitting too which is something we didn't quite have last season."

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Pietersen cameo keeps up Surrey hopes

Surrey 137 for 7 (Pietersen 39, Waller 2-24) beat Somerset 136 for 9 (Trego 30, Dunn 3-8) by three wickets
Scorecard

The scrimmage for the quarter-final berths in the ultra-competitive South Group is becoming increasingly fraught. Having coasted into a position of influence, Surrey's hopes of advancing had suffered a setback of late but Kevin Pietersen played his most significant hand to date with an assured cameo to ensure his side were on the right side of the fine margins this time around. They are now within touching distance of the knock-out stages.

If things had been different, Pietersen would have been across the other side of the capital resting up on the eve of a Test match. As it was, he - for the first time this season - showed why many regard the ECB's decision to discard him as risible. Two trademark cover drives had the crowd purring and Surrey motoring in pursuit of Somerset's 136 for 9.

But his dismissal, succumbing to spin on a surface conducive to slow, take-all-the-pace-off bowling for 39, opened a window of opportunity for the visitors. But, unlike Surrey's astute operators, Somerset weren't able to apply the stranglehold to induce a middle-order wobble.

Pietersen powerfully cut Max Waller to the boundary first ball of the tenth over but fell next delivery, attempting to replicate the stroke. When Robin Peterson haphazardly ran himself out in comical circumstances after a mix-up with Azhar Mahmood, a tense silence engulfed a sold-out Oval as another edgy finale loomed.

But, with the equation set at ten required off two overs, Somerset were up against it and a couple of lusty blows from Chris Tremlett was enough. Had Marcus Trescothick - playing as a makeshift wicketkeeper in the absence of Craig Kieswetter - been able to throw down middle stump or Colin Ingram manage to scamper around from long-on to snaffle Mahmood in the final overs, things may have finished differently - but such are the fine margins in the shortest format.

A two-wicket victory with a couple of deliveries to spare all but ends Somerset's hopes of finishing in the top four but ensures there is a realistic chance of another sell-out crowd at The Oval this season. True, there was no Jason Roy fireworks - he fell for just 4 in the first over - and a two-paced surface didn't allow flamboyant strokeplay but that suited the hosts.

Gary Wilson hardly had to affirm the inevitable when the coin landed in his favour but that alone doesn't guarantee his bowlers will execute the gameplan. Successive defeats hinted that their dependable strategy was unravelling.

Glamorgan's thrilling victory here five days ago apart, the team chasing at The Oval in the last ten domestic Twenty20 games had come away with the points and the hosts ensured Friday's blip in the trend was just that. True, they were aided by a surface fabricated to suit their strengths but isn't that what home advantage is about?

While it would be easy for Wilson to turn to his slower bowlers to roll their fingers over the ball on a two-paced surface for all 20 overs, he placed just as much faith in his battery of seamers. Matthew Dunn is another promising cab off the Surrey ranks and highlights that there is more to the club that meets the eye of many. An inspired spell of 3 for 8 proved decisive and enough for him to earn the plaudits.

Having being crashed to the fence first ball by Nick Compton, he stuck to his guns, bowling fast and full and was duly rewarded. Just as the visitors were beginning to motor, Compton played an atypically ugly heave to be caught at point. It was a needless shot as Somerset raced along at close to ten an over during the Powerplay.

To that point, he had crunched and punched four boundaries in quick succession as he took Tillakartne Dilshan for 13 in the first over; that was the last we saw of the Sri Lankan with the ball. But, Somerset were unable to attune themselves to the pitch and Surrey's astute methods. Their innings became stagnant fairly quickly after a brisk start.

By the time Dunn returned to bowl the penultimate over, the wheels had come off the innings. He The quashed any hopes of a late burst as James Hildreth was caught by Zafar Ansari and next delivery, he exhibited his unerringly accurate yorker - it was far too good for Tim Groenewald. Alas, the hat trick ball was safely negotiated by Waller. but Dunn had already inflicted the damage.

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England hit Jadeja with Level 2 charge

ECB to lodge Jadeja counter claim

India allrounder Ravindra Jadeja has been charged with a Level 2 offence under the ICC Code of Conduct for his alleged role in the incident involving England fast bowler James Anderson on the second day of the Trent Bridge Test. The charge against Jadeja was brought by England team manager Phil Neale, in response to India charging Anderson with a Level 3 offence.

"It is alleged that after the players left the public area and entered the pavilion [for lunch], Jadeja turned suddenly and took steps towards Anderson in an aggressive and threatening manner," the ICC said. Anderson is alleged to have abused and pushed Jadeja.

All Level 2 breaches carry a fine of between 50-100% of the match fee and/or up to two suspension points and come under the match referee's purview. Two suspension points equates to a ban of one Test, or two ODIs.

Jadeja was reported under Article 2.2.11, which states: "Where the facts of the alleged incident are not adequately or clearly covered by any of the above offences, conduct that either: (a) is contrary to the spirit of the game; or (b) brings the game into disrepute."

Echoing the initial ECB response to India's reaction to the incident, England captain Alastair Cook expressed surprise that the exchange had generated such a serious response, describing it as "a big mountain out of a molehill." The India captain MS Dhoni, however, suggested there had been physical contact and appreciated how Jadeja had handled the incident by not losing his cool.

The Indian team's complaint against Anderson was brought to the ICC's notice on Friday, July 11, around 24 hours after the incident. Before formal charges were laid against Anderson, it is understood an ICC lawyer flew to England on Friday and spoke to both sides to see if the issue could be resolved. Anderson faces a ban of at least two Tests if he is found guilty as the minimum sanction for a Level 3 violation is four suspension points and two points equates to missing one Test.

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