Hafeez, Azhar take Pakistan to comfortable 196-2

BULAWAYO, Zimbabwe: In-form Pakistan batsman Mohammad Hafeez had two lucky escapes on his way to his third Test century here on Saturday on the third day of the one-off Test with Zimbabwe.Hafeez's luck ran out though two balls from the lunch interval when on 119 he spooned the ball to Gregory Lamb off medium pacer Hamilton Masakadza.However, he and the more sedate Azhar Ali, who was 65 not out, had taken Pakistan on to a comfortable 196-2 at the break in reply, 217 runs adrift of the hosts respectable 412 all out in their first innings.Hafeez's 119 included a six and 17 fours and saw him pass the landmark of 1000 runs.Hafeez rode his luck throughout the innings as in his opening over of the day Chris Mpofu dropped a straightforward caught and bowled chance. He and Ali were also stranded at one end of the wicket but a fielding fumble let them off.Zimbabwe captain Brendan Taylor persisted with seamers through most of the morning, Mpofu bowling ten straight overs but finally opted for a change of tactics when he brought on medium pacer Masakadza and it duly paid off with Hafeez's rush of blood to the head

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Pakistan rebound to take third ODI

A tame batting effort saw West Indies Women plunge to their first defeat in their four-match One-Day International against Pakistan Women, going down by three wickets at Arnos Vale on Thursda. Sent in, after losing the toss, West Indies buckled for 92 off 38 overs and Pakistan then stuttered and stumbled to their target with 17 balls to spare.West Indies lead the series 2-1 with the final game tomorrow at the same venue.The hosts struggled from early on when the usually prolific Stafanie Taylor fell for four and her opening partner Kycia Knight got five, as the score slipped to 10 for two.Taylor skied a catch in the second over from pacer Marina Iqbal (2-12) before Knight slapped the same bowler to point.Deandra Dottin's lean spell continued when she stroked a catch to mid-on to fall for one at 11 for three, as West Indies slid further.However, captain Merissa Aguilleira and Shanel Daley patched up the innings with a 30-run, fourth-wicket stand to stabilise the innings.Aguilleira stroked 34 from 87 balls while Daley supported with 15 from 57 balls.Once they were separated, wickets continued to tumble as off-spinner Nida Dar (4-16) and leg-spinner (3-17) ripped apart the innings.Pakistan also started shakily, slipping to 11 for three as Tremayne Smartt grabbed two for 15 in an incisive opening burst.However, Bismah Maroof hit a patient, unbeaten 41 from 135 balls to hold the innings together and steer Pakistan to victory.

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England win toss, put India into bat in 1st ODI

DURHAM: England captain Alistair Cook won the toss and put world champions India into bat in the first of their five one day internationals here on Saturday.India - who are seeking to restore some honour after losing the Test series 4-0 and the one-off Twenty20 - left out master batsman Sachin Tendulkar because of a toe injury, replacing him with Parthiv Patel, and leaving him stuck on 99 international hundreds.India also handed Ajinkya Rahane his one-day international debut which leaves just four of the side that won the World Cup beating Sri Lanka in April. The home crowd were given a filip as Durham star Ben Stokes got the nod from the England selectors.

Teams
England: Alastair Cook (captain), Craig Kieswetter (wk), Jonathan Trott, Eoion Morgan, Ian Bell, Ben Stokes, Samit Patel, Tim Bresnan, Stuart Broad, James Anderson, Jade Dernbach
India: Parthiv Patel, Ajinkya Rahane, Rahul Dravid, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina, MS Dhoni (captain/wk), R Ashwin, Praveen Kumar, R Vinay Kumar, Munaf Patel.
Toss: England
Umpires: Billy Doctrove (WI) and Richard Illingworth (ENG), TV Umpire: Marais Erasmus (SA)
Match referee: Jeff Crowe (NZ)

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Injured Tendulkar misses ODI against England

CHESTER-LE : STREET, England: Sachin Tendulkar's agonising wait to score a 100th international century has been prolonged further with the batting great missing the first of the five one-day internationals against England on Saturday because of a foot injury. India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni said he would lead out the same team that lost the one-off Twenty20 match against England by six wickets at Old Trafford on Wednesday. Tendulkar's absence allows fellow Mumbai player Ajinkya Rahane make his one-day international debut and the 23-year-old opener will be called into action immediately after England captain Alastair Cook won the toss and opted to field first. Tendulkar, the game's highest run-getter with 51 test and 48 one-day centuries, needs just one more triple figure score to become the first cricketer to record 100 international tons. Stuck on 99 since scoring a century against South Africa in the World Cup in March, the 38-year-old batsman is reported to be suffering from a swollen toe and was expected to consult a surgeon soon. India surrendered their world number one test status to England following a 4-0 whitewash in that series, a setback attributed both to their poor performances and a spate of injuries to key players.

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Australia beat Sri Lanka by 125 runs

GALLE, Sri Lanka: Australia beat Sri Lanka by 125 runs on the fourth day of the first test at the Galle International Stadium on Saturday as the tourists took a 1-0 lead in the three-match series. Scores: Australia 273 (M. Hussey 95; S. Lakmal 3-55, R. Herath 3-54) and 210 (M. Clarke 60; Herath 5-79) beat Sri Lanka 105 (N. Lyon 5-34; S. Watson 3-11) and 253 (M. Jayawardene 105, A. Mathews 95; R. Harris 5-62)

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Pakistan team doesn’t need head coach: Afridi

KARACHI: World acknowledged all rounder boom, boom Shahid Khan Afridi has said that Pakistan team didn’t need head coach.Talking to Cricket Funzz News representative Nasim Rajput, former captain Shahid Afridi said that the bowling and batting coaches should work under the strong manager. Replying to a question, Afridi said that he would definitely come back in the national team. To another question, he said that let it be Zimbabwe or any other team, each and every victory is vital.Regarding Eid, he replied that it was quite different for him, as despite being in the country he offered Eid prayer for the first time sans father

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ODI series would be great test for us: Swann

England might have a 4-0 Test victory and a Twenty20 win under their belt but off-spinner Graeme Swann feels the upcoming five-match ODI series starting on Saturday would be a great test for the hosts.Swann and Co have so far completely outplayed India on the tour and the off-spinner said they will now look to extend their domination in the one-day series as well."It is a great test for us - hopefully the conditions will suit us and we can pull off a victory. It's where we want to go in one-day cricket, we want to be an improving team and it's a good chance to start," Swann told reporters."We are going to have to be at our absolute best to beat them and we are confident at the moment; that Twenty20 win on Wednesday night has done no harm for our confidence at all," he added.England, who replaced India as the world No. 1 Test team with their 4-0 whitewash, are currently ranked fifth in the ICC ODI rankings. A series victory over India will see them climb up the ladder.Over the years, England have failed to transform their Test form into the limited-overs cricket and Swann said this is an area where they would look to work on this summer."This was an area we need to really watch; it can often be a bit of a damp squib after a Test series and hopefully it will be a positive rather than negative end to the summer," he said."It's not something we have discussed amongst us until now, but I'm sure we will soon. The summer has gone great for us; we are hoping to carry that on in the one-day series. It's a better feeling to be winning rather than losing," he added.In their last two Ashes wins, where they beat Australia 2-1 at home in 2009 and 3-1 away last winter, England were unable to hold on to their form and lost 1-6 in the two seven-match ODI series that followed.Asked about England's poor ODI record, Swann said, "I dunno we've missed a certain X-factor in players but I think we're getting that now in Jake Dernbach and Eoin Morgan.we're starting to find those real match-winners with bat and ball."The five-match ODI series versus India begins in Durham on Saturday.

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India and England aim for improvements in ODI Championship table

World champion can rise to second place while number-one ranked Test side can climb to thirdSwann needs wickets to retain status as the top-ranked bowler while Dhoni and Tendulkar will need to perform to stay among the top 10 batsmenAfter swapping places in the Reliance ICC Test Championship table, both India and England will be aiming for improvements in the Reliance ICC ODI Championship table when they go head to head in a five-ODI series which starts at Chester-le-Street on Saturday.England made a clean sweep of the four-Test series to claim number-one ranking for the first time in 32 years. Although a sweep of the ODI series will not be enough to dislodge Australia from the number-one position, it will provide England a lift of two places which will put it ahead of South Africa and India in third position.England currently sits in fifth position on 107 ratings points - 10 ratings points behind third-ranked India and nine points behind fourth-placed South Africa.A 5-0 series win will earn Alastair Cook's side nine ratings points and will dock India eight ratings points. This will mean England will join South Africa on 116 ratings points but will be ranked ahead of the Proteas when the ratings are calculated beyond the decimal point whereas India will slip to fifth position on 109 ratings points.In a sharp contrast, India also has an opportunity to leapfrog Sri Lanka into second position. But to make this happen, it will have to win the series by 4-1 or better. A 4-1 series result will put India on 120 ratings points while dropping England to 104 ratings points, a 5-0 win will take India to 122 ratings points - eight behind Australia - while leaving England on 101 points - just one ahead of Pakistan which will take on Zimbabwe in a three-ODI series on 8 September If India wins the series 3-2, it will stay on 117 ratings points but will slip behind South Africa in fourth position if England wins the series 3-2. In the event of England winning 3-2, India will drop to 114 ratings points while England will rise to 110 ratings.To find out how England-India and Zimbabwe-Pakistan series results will affect the team rankings, please click here.Meanwhile, in the Reliance ICC ODI Player Rankings, there will be pressure on Graeme Swann, India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni and India's iconic batsman Sachin Tendulkar who will be looking to score his 100th international century.Swann is currently the number-one ranked bowler in the Reliance ICC Player Rankings for ODI bowlers but he enjoys a slender two-point lead over New Zealand's Daniel Vettori. If the England spinner fails to take wickets, this two-point lead will disappear quickly which will leave the New Zealander as the only bowler beyond the 700-point mark.Swann is the only bowler from either side who figures inside the top 10. The next highest-ranked bowler from either side is England fast bowler James Anderson while India's highest-ranked bowler is Praveen Kumar in 25th position.In the Reliance ICC Player Rankings for ODI batsmen, India boasts three batsmen inside the top 10 - Virat Kohli (sixth), Dhoni (ninth) and Tendulkar (10th). Dhoni trails eighth-ranked Michael Hussey of Australia by 18 points while 10th-placed Tendulkar leads injured India team-mate Gautam Gambhir, who is in 12th position, by eight points.Dhoni and Tendulkar, along with Kohli, will be aiming to produce strong performances in the ODI series which will not only help India to improve its current ranking but will also allow them to move in the right direction.South Africa's pair of Hashim Amla and AB de Villiers is sitting on top of the batting table while Australia's Shane Watson is in third place.Watson also leads the Reliance ICC Player Rankings for ODI all-rounders while the highest-ranked England all-rounder is Tim Bresnan whereas India's Praveen Kumar in 45th position is the highest-ranked India all-rounder in the absence of Yuvraj Singh (fifth), Yusuf Pathan (24th) and Virender Sehwag (35th).
Series schedule:
England v India
3 Sep - First ODI, Chester-le-Street
6 Sep - Second ODI (d/n), The Rose Bowl
9 Sep - Third ODI (d/n) - The Oval
11 Sep - Fourth ODI - Lords
16 Sep - Fifth ODI - Cardiff
Zimbabwe v Pakistan
8 Sep - First ODI, Bulawayo
11 Sep - Second ODI, Harare
14 Sep - Third ODI, Harare
To understand how the team and player rankings are calculated, please click here

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Hashim Amla talks exclusively about his LG ICC Awards nominations

Icc Cricket : On this week's LG ICC Awards 2011 special ICC Cricket World Radio Show, South Africa's Hashim Amla talks exclusively about being short-listed in three categories - ICC Cricketer of the Year, ICC ODI Cricketer of the Year and the LG People's Choice Award - for this year's event which is due to be held in London on 12 September."It's a huge honour and privilege to be nominated alongside such great players who have also had great years, it means a lot to me. I'm proud to be nominated against all these guys, but no matter what happens it's a big enough honour to be nominated and I'm hoping that regardless of what happens in the awards I hope I can continue to perform," says AmlaThe ICC Cricket World Cup was a highlight for me this year, I really enjoyed it, it was my first World Cup, it was well organised and even though we didn't perform as well as we could have, the team spirit was truly fantastic," reflects the opening batsman who also featured in the recently announced ICC Test Team of the Year.Based on the period between 11 August 2010 and 3 August 2011, the LG ICC Awards 2011 - presented in association with FICA - take into account performances by players and officials in a remarkable period for the game Also on this week's show, fellow nominee Pakistan's Azhar Ali talks about being short-listed for the ICC Emerging Player of the Year and looks ahead to the current series against Zimbabwe. The 26-year-old batsman is up against fellow countryman Wahab Riaz and West Indies duo Darren Bravo and Devendra Bishoo for the title."It feels good to be nominated alongside Wahab Riaz as we play cricket together not only in the national team but also in Lahore for our domestic team. It's great he's on the short-list too, it helps that one of my team-mates is competitive as well and pushing for the same award," says Azhar."Lots of people have helped me throughout my career, I can't name them all but especially Waqar Younis have given me a lot of confidence that I can play my best game and that I am good enough to be here. Lots of people have supported me from the Pakistan National Cricket Academy along with my own domestic side's coaches and captains."The awards are a good incentive, if you keep performing well you'll get the recognition you deserve," adds Azhar.Finally, former India captain-turned-commentator Ravi Shastri looks ahead to the upcoming ODI series between England the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 champions, India, that begins tomorrow in Durham."England will start as favourites for this series, at home, fielding in home conditions and they are in fact a far superior fielding side to India. Fielding is the key here, that will keep India in with a chance in these games. It will be interesting to see where they place Rahul Dravid, he could be handy even at number five or six, unless the conditions dictate otherwise," observes Shastri.This show has been put together by the ICC's global broadcast partner, ESPN STAR Sports.

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Defiant Mawoyo carries bat but Pakistan hit back

BULAWAYO: Tintotenda Mawoyo became the third Zimbabwean player to carry his bat as the opener made 163 not out in his side's first innings total of 412 on the second day of the Test against Pakistan at Queens Sports Club Friday.After the early loss of Taufeeq Umar, the Pakistan batsmen settled well on an easy pitch and by the close had reached 116 for one with Mohammad Hafeez on 79 and Azhar Ali on 27 They trail by 296 runs with nine wickets in hand.The day, however, belonged to the 25-year-old Mawoyo who picked up where he left off on Thursday as he stone-walled the Pakistan attack.Resuming on 82 he went on to reach his maiden Test century and then, as wickets fell around him, pushed on past the 150-mark.When last man Chris Mpofu was bowled by Aizeez Cheema to signal the delayed tea interval, Mawoyo had become the 47th batsman in the history of Test cricket -- this is the 2006th Test match to carry his bat.The only two Zimbabweans to do it before him also achieved the feat against Pakistan. Mark Dekker made 68 not out in Rawalpini in 1993 while Grant Flower hit 156 not out on this ground in 1998.Starting the day on 245 for four, Zimbabwe lost Craig Ervine early when he gave Juanid Jhan his first Test wicket, caught and bowled for 49, ending a fifth wicket partnership of 94 with Mawoyo.Debutant Greg Lamb, however, dug in to add another 95 with the opener for the sixth wicket.Mawoyo had a major stroke of luck when he was on 98 as Adnan Akmal missed a straightforward stumping off Saeed Ajmal. It was his second chance as Sohail Khan dropped him on the boundary when he had made 25 There was a little bit of uncertainty as he reached his century. Mawoyo thought he was running a leg-bye only to realise it was his all-important 100th run when the umpire failed to signal the extra.Mawoyo faced 453 balls and spent a total of 645 minutes at the crease, hitting 20 boundaries during the course of his innings Only David Houghton, who made 266 in 675 minutes against Sri Lanka in Bulawayo in 1994 and Flower, whose 201 not out against Pakistan in Harare in 1995 spanned 654 minutes, have produced longer innings for Zimbabwe When Lamb fell for 38, the Zimbabwe tail fell apart but they still got the side across the psychological 400-odd mark Saeed Ajmal bowled with guile and variation, his doosras a constant torment to the Zimbabwe batsmen but he was out of luck, finishing with four for 143. It fell to Aizaz Cheema to clean up with tail and he helped himself to four for 79 When Pakistan came out after tea, they were quickly in trouble as Taufeeq Umar was given out leg before to Kyle Jarvis even though the ball pitched outside leg stump Hafeez, however, made light of the setback, hammering one six off Lamb and 15 fours -- three of them off successive deliveries from Brian Vitori as he raced to 79 from just 93 deliveries His partner Azkar Ali was more circumspect, nudging his way to 27 from 72 deliveries but by the close the stand was worth 108 and both batsmen were looking forward to another dig on this batting-friendly pitch. (AFP)

Zimbabwe first innings (overnight 245-5)
T. Mawoyo not out 163
V. Sibanda st A. Akmal b S. Ajmal 45
H. Masakadza b S. Ajmal 11
B. Taylor lbw b S. Ajmal 10
T. Taibu c A. Akmal b S. Khan 44
C. Ervine c and b J. Khan 49
G. Lamb lbw b S.Ajmal 39
R. Price c Azhar Ali b Cheema 6
B. Vitori c Y. Khan b Cheema 14
K. Jarvis b Cheema 0
C. Mpofu b Cheema 8
Extras (7b, 13lb, 1w, 2nb) 23
Total (all out, 150.4 overs) 412
Fall of wickets: 1-71, 2-91, 3-111, 4-176, 5-270, 6-365, 7-374, 8-394, 9-394, 10-412
Bowling: Cheema 28.4-11-79-4 (2nb); S. Khan 24-8-62-1; J. Khan 29-14-55-1 (1w); S. Ajmal 41-9-100-3; M. Hafeez 9-1-30-0; A. Ali 6-1-23-0

Pakistan first innings
M. Hafeez not out 79
T. Umar lbw b Jarvis 4
A. Ali not out 27
Extras (6lb) 6
Total (for 1 wkt, 29 overs) 116

To bat: Younis Khan, Misbah ul Haq, Umar Akmal, Adnan Akmal, Junaid Khan, Sohail Khan, Saeed Ajmal, Aizaz Cheema

Fall of wickets: 1-8
Bowling: Vitori 8-0-55-0; Jarvis 7-3-16-1; Mpofu 3-0-12-0; Price 9-3-19-0, Lamb 2-0-8-0

Match position: Pakistan trail Zimbabwe by 296 runs with nine first innings wickets left in hand at the close of the second day.

Toss: Pakistan
Umpires: Ian Gould (ENG) and Rodney Tucker (AUS)
TV umpire: Jeremiah Matibiri (ZIM)
Match referee: David Boon (AUS)

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Mawoyo carries bat as Zimbabwe rack up 412

BULAWAYO: Tino Mawoyo became the third Zimbabwean player to carry his bat as the opener made 163 not out in his side's first innings total of 412 on the second day of the Test against Pakistan at Queens Sports Club here Friday.The 25-year-old picked up where he left off on Thursday as he stone-walled the Pakistan attack. Resuming on 82 he went on to reach his maiden Test century and then, as wickets fell around him, pushed on past the 150-mark.When last man Chris Mpofu was bowled by Aizeez Cheema to signal the tea interval Mawoyo had become the 47th batsman in the history of Test cricket -- this is the 2006th Test match to carry his bat.The only two Zimbabweans to do it before him also achieved the feat against Pakistan. Mark Dekker made 68 not out in Rawalpini in 1993 while Grant Flower hit 156 not out on this ground in 1998esuming on 245 for four, Zimbabwe lost Craig Ervine early when he gave Juanid Jhan his first Test wicket, caught and bowled by for 49, ending a fifth wicket partnership of 94 with Mawoyo.Debutant Greg Lamb, however, dug in to add another 95 with the opener for the sixth wicket.Mawoyo had a major stroke of luck when he was on 98 as Adnan Akmal missed a straightforward stumping off Saeed Ajmal. It was his second chance as Sohail Khan dropped him on the boundary when he had made 25.There was a little bit of uncertainty as he reached his century. Mawoyo thought he was running a leg-bye only to realise it was his all-important 100th run when the umpire failed to signal the extra.Mawoyo spent a total of 645 minutes at the crease hitting 20 boundaries during the course of his innings. Only David Houghton, who made 266 in 675 minutes against Sri Lanka in Bulawayo in 1994 and Flower, whose 201 not out against Pakistan in Harare in 1995 spanned 654 minutes, have produced longer innings for Zimbabwe.When Lamb fell for 38, the Zimbabwe tail fell apart but they still got the side across the psychological 400-odd mark. Saeed Ajmal bowled with guile and variation that often confused the Zimbabwe batsmen but he was out of luck by finishing with four for 143. It fell to Aizaz Cheema to clean up with tail and he helped himself to four for 79. Tea was delayed for almost 30 minutes at the request of Misbah ul Haq with Zimbabwe eight wickets down at the scheduled time

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Mawoyo digs in as Zimbawe reach 314-5

BULAWAYO: Rookie opener Tinotenda Mawoyo continued his slow march at the crease on Friday as Zimbabwe reached 314-5 at lunch on the second day of the one-off Test against Pakistan at Queens Sports Club.Mawoyo has been dug in now for eight hours and 22 minutes altogether, reaching his first Test century after facing 327 balls.At lunch, with 362 balls behind him and in partnership with debutant Greg Lamb he moved on to 117 runs.Mawoyo had some luck along the way. He was dropped on the boundary on Thursday by Sohail Khan when on 25. And with an extraordinary piece of good fortune when on 98 he went down the wicket to Saeed Ajmal, missed the ball and saw Akmal fumble to miss an easy stumping.The Zimbabwean then faced 16 balls on 99 before crossing the line.Even that was an incident. He got a thin edge to Ajmal and ran what he thought would be a leg bye. The celebrations came when umpire Ian Gould made no signal.Craig Ervine struggled when resuming on 38 and he was caught and bowled by Juniad as he tried to hit over the slips but caught the shoulder of the bat.However, he had put on 94 runs for the fifth wicket with Mawoyo, priceless from Zimbabwe’s viewpoint.The Pakistanis tried everything they could to break through under the desperate captaincy of Misbah ul Haq but they secured only Ervine’s wicket during the session.They urgently need one more wicket after the break to get into the tail. If they fail to do that quickly Zimbabwe will be heading for a much better score than they or anybody else expected.

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Jayawardene resists as Aussies close to victory

GALLE: Australia closed in on a convincing victory in the first Test in Galle on Friday after Sri Lanka's top order was ripped apart for a second time.Sri Lanka, set an improbable target of 379 to win on a crumbling wicket, were tottering at 120-5 at the close of the third day's play at the Galle International Stadium.Former captain Mahela Jayawardene provided a batting lesson for his team-mates, making an unbeaten 57 with the help of eight boundaries.Angelo Mathews was the other not out batsman, on 32, having put on 52 runs for the sixth wicket with his senior partner.Australia start the fourth day's play on Saturday needing five more wickets to win and take the lead in the three-Test series, their first in Sri Lanka since 2004.Sri Lanka need to defy history to stop the tourists -- the highest fourth innings score at the ground is 210 by New Zealand two years ago.The hosts, who were shot out for 105 in the first innings, succumbed to a hostile three-wicket burst by Ryan Harris and probing seam bowling from Mitchell Johnson and Shane Watson.Harris trapped Tharanga Paranavitana leg-before with the first ball of the innings and then bowled Sri Lankan captain Tillakaratne Dilshan in his fourth over to leave the hosts 15-2.Kumar Sangakkara would have been another Harris victim, but survived a review for leg-before off the first ball he faced.Harris, a 31-year-old from Sydney playing only his sixth Test, followed his defiant 23 in Australia's second innings with 2-15 in his first five overs.Sangakkara and Jayawardene, Sri Lanka's two most experienced batsmen, attempted to rebuild with a 37-run stand on either side of the tea break.Watson, who took three wickets in 10 balls in the first innings, broke the partnership when Sangakkara (17) fenced a vicious rising delivery to Mike Hussey at gully.Thilan Samaraweera edged a ball from Johnson to wicket-keeper Brad Haddin for a 14-ball duck, leaving Sri Lanka on 63-4.Harris bowled Prasanna Jayawardene to complete a pair for the Sri Lankan wicket-keeper, but Mathews dug in to ensure the game went into the fourth day.Australia resumed at 115-6 after the entire morning session was wiped out by heavy rain and were dismissed for 210 in their second innings midway through the post-lunch session.Left-arm spinner Rangana Herath finished with 5-79 after claiming three wickets in the first innings.Australia added 15 runs to their overnight score when they lost the wicket of Johnson, who top-edged a high catch off Herath which was taken comfortably by the wicket-keeper.Usman Khawaja put on 40 for the eighth wicket with Harris before falling leg-before to Chanaka Welegedara for 26 to leave Australia 170-8.Australia's total was boosted by a last-wicket stand of 32 between debutants Trent Copeland and Nathan Lyon.Lyon made 13 before he was caught in the deep off Dilshan, leaving Copeland unbeaten on 23

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Sri Lanka in danger of defeat against Aussies

GALLE: Australian fast bowler Ryan Harris grabbed two early wickets to leave Sri Lanka facing defeat in the first Test in Galle on Friday.Sri Lanka, set a tough target of 379 on a crumbling wicket, were tottering at 34-2 by tea on the third day at the Galle International Stadium.Harris trapped Tharanga Paranavitana leg-before with the first ball of the innings and then bowled Sri Lankan captain Tillakaratne Dilshan in his fourth over to leave the hosts 15-2.Harris, who contributed a defiant 23 in Australia's second innings, claimed 2-15 in a hostile five-over opening spell.Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene, Sri Lanka's two most experienced batsmen, both former captains, denied the tourists further success till tea.Both batsmen were unbeaten on 11 apiece after Sangakkara survived a review for leg-before off the first ball he faced from Harris.History favours Australia to win the match and take the lead in the three-Test series the highest fourth innings score at the ground is 210 by New Zealand two years ago.Australia, who resumed at 115-6 after the entire morning session was wiped out by heavy rain, were dismissed for 210 in their second innings midway through the post-lunch session.Left-arm spinner Rangana Herath finished with 5-79 after claiming three wickets in the first innings.Australia added 15 runs to their overnight score when they lost the wicket of Mitchell Johnson, who top-edged Herath and the wicket-keeper took the skier comfortably.Usman Khawaja had put on 40 for the eighth wicket with Harris when he was leg-before to Chanaka Welegedara for 26 to leave Australia 170-8.Australia's total was boosted by a last-wicket stand of 32 between debutants Trent Copeland and Nathan Lyon.Lyon made 13 before he was caught in the deep off Dilshan, leaving Copeland unbeaten on 23.

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Sri Lanka need 379 runs to win first Test

GALLE: Sri Lanka faced a target of 379 runs to win the first cricket Test against Australia and take the lead in the three-match series.Australia, who resumed their second innings at 115-6 with an overall lead of 283 runs, were all out for 210 in the afternoon session of the third day's play on Friday.Left-arm spinner Rangana Herath finished with 5-79.The entire morning session was lost to heavy rain.

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Aussies take commanding lead against Sri Lanka

GALLE: Unheralded Australian debutant Nathan Lyon took a stunning 5-34, including a wicket with his first ball, as Sri Lanka's batsmen capitulated in the dramatic first Test in Galle on Wednesday.Sixteen wickets fell on the dusty, deteriorating track during an eventful second day's play which ended with the tourists enjoying a commanding lead of 283 runs with four wickets in hand.Seamer Shane Watson claimed three wickets in 10 balls and another newcomer Trent Copeland struck in his first over as Australia, restricted to 273 on the first day, skittled Sri Lanka out for 105 by tea.Coming in for their second innings the Australians also found runs hard to come by, collapsing to 115-6 when bad light forced stumps to be drawn.The tourists lost Watson first ball and former captain Ricky Ponting for four, before skipper Michael Clarke (60) and Michael Hussey (15) put on 49 for the fourth wicket.Left-arm spinner Rangana Herath spiced up the contest further when he removed both batsmen in two balls and dismissed Brad Haddin in his next over as Australia slipped from 110-3 to 112-6.Usman Khawaja was unbeaten on two and Mitchell Johnson was on three as Australia look to turn the screws on the hosts when play resumes on Friday.Opener Tharanga Paranavitana's 29 was Sri Lanka's top score as the last seven wickets fell for just 18 runs.Off-spinner Lyon never looked back after removing Kumar Sangakkara with his first delivery in Test cricket -- the first Australian in 117 years to achieve the feat.Brought on after the morning drinks break, the 23-year-old had Sangakkara edging the first ball towards the slips where Clarke dived to his left to take a low catch.Lyon, who served on the Adelaide Oval groundstaff until a year ago, then ran through the tail to justify his much-criticised selection for the tour after just four first-class matches.He is only the 14th bowler in history to take a wicket with his first ball in Test cricket, and the second Australian since Arthur Coningham did it against England in 1894.Watson then ripped through the middle order, extracting considerable reverse swing with the old ball to trap Thilan Samaraweera, Prasanna Jayawardene and Paranavitana leg-before.Copeland, asked to share the new ball with Ryan Harris ahead of the experienced Mitchell Johnson, saw his first delivery hit for a boundary before the second fetched him a wicket.Sri Lankan captain Tillakaratne Dilshan, who had disdainfully smacked the first ball to the cover fence, attempted a similar shot off the next, but found Ponting standing in the way.The 36 year-old former captain dived to his right at short cover to snare a brilliant catch.Paranavitana and Samaraweera added 43 for the fourth wicket, before Watson and Lyon swung the Test Australia's way.When Lyon took a return catch off last man Chanaka Welegedara to claim his fifth wicket, he had the best figures by an Australian debutant since Jason Krejza's 8-215 against India in Nagpur in 2008.

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Controversy hits cricket team

BULAWAYO: After the tour of West Indies, there seem to be differences emerging between the team captain and coach over the playing eleven during the first test against Zimbabawe, According to sources , captain Misbah ul Haq wanted to include either Yasir Shah or Sohail Tanveer in the playing eleven but coach Waqar Younis wanted to include Aizaz Cheema and successed in doing so. During this ordeal, team manager Naveed Akram Cheema remained a silent spectatorThis is not the first time differences emerged over the selection of the playing eleven during a tour. During the tour of West Indies, differences emerged between coach Waqar Younis and skipper Shahid Afridi, which led to the eventual resignation of Afridi.

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