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ScorecardTharanga Paranavitana prepared for the Test series with a hundred•AFP

Sri Lanka’s top three were able to spend much-needed time in the middle on the third day of their tour match against the South African Invitational XI. Tharanga Paranavitana was dropped twice on his way to a century before retiring, Tillakaratne Dilshan scored an aggressive, almost run-a-ball 74 while Mahela Jayawardene battled for his 26.Kumar Sangakkara was moved down the order after he split the webbing between fingers on his right hand while fielding on Saturday. He did not bat but is expected to recover in the next day or two and team manager Anura Tennekoon said the injury was “not serious.”The home attack had less success than Sri Lanka’s did the previous day, as they sent down a selection of poor deliveries which were pounced on by a determined opening pair. Dilshan was typically forceful from the start, when he was off the mark with a back-foot drive through the covers, until the end when he pulled a short ball into the hands of David Wiese at fine leg.He acted as a perfect foil for Paranavitana, who was more circumspect in his approach upfront but should have been out on 20 when Dean Elgar fluffed a catch at second slip. The chance came off the bowling of Hardus Viljoen during a torrid first spell which cost 56 runs in seven overs. Viljoen is no stranger to Willowmoore Park, having played his amateur cricket for Easterns alongside Marchant de Lange who is in South Africa’s Test squad, but like the Sri Lankans the day before he did not adjust his lengths well enough against an international line-up.Dilshan raced to a half-century before lunch and looked well placed to keep going but the bowlers emerged from the interval with an improved effort. Wiese and Paul Harris kept runs to a minimum and Dilshan was frustrated enough by the third over after the resumption to play a loose shot.Paranavitana took over from where Dilshan left off and showed greater intent as his innings went on while Jayawardene played himself in. Jayawardene scratched around against a more disciplined attack but showed moments of good touch such as the six he scored off Harris, hitting the left-arm spinner back over his head. On the whole, though, the former captain did not look comfortable and was caught by Rille Rossouw at square leg from a pull shot.Paranavitana would have departed soon afterwards but was given a second life when he was dropped on 88 by the usually safe Farhaan Berhardien at point. He went on to bring up his century with a flick on the leg side and retired immediately afterwards, allowing Angelo Mathews to join Thilan Samraweera to get time in the middle.However, the partnership faced just 35 balls with neither batsman appearing to have familiarised themselves with conditions before the weather intervened again. Mathews was dropped at first slip by Harris when he edged Pumelela Matskihwe, who gave a respectable account of himself, then bad light intervened 20 minutes before tea. The players returned for four minutes and six balls before conditions became too gloomy leaving Sri Lanka fairly satisfied with the second day of their warm-up outing.The day had started in promising fashion when the Sri Lankan bowlers needed just 36 minutes to end the Invitation XI’s first innings. Dihara Fernando managed a straighter line than he had on the first day and was rewarded with two wickets as he bowled both Farhaan Berhardien (52) and Wiese (12). Sandwiched between those dismissals was the wicket of Viljoen, who was trapped lbw by Rangana Herath. Harris was the last man out, attempting a cut off Ajantha Mendis and mistiming it to backward point.

Surrey have signed Indian left-arm spinner Murali Kartik for the whole of the 2012 season. Kartik joins on a one-year deal and is available for all three competitions.Kartik, 35, has enjoyed several spells in county cricket, most recently for Somerset where he played against Surrey in the CB40 final in September. He will add experience to Surrey’s squad as they return to Division One of the County Championship.”I am very happy to be signing for Surrey for next season,” said Kartik, who has taken 71 wickets for Somerset at 25.00 in the last two seasons. “Surrey are one of the biggest domestic sides in the world game and I hugely look forward to playing my cricket at an iconic ground like the The Oval.”Kartik will join up with Surrey for pre-season training in the new year and it is hoped his presence will help the development of young spinners Zafar Ansari – who, playing for Oxford University, dismissed Kevin Pietersen in his comeback match in May – Matthew Spreigel and Freddie van den Bergh.The Surrey team director, Chris Adams, said Kartik would add another dimension to Surrey’s bowling attack. “As shown with the signing of Pragyan Ojha for the final part of the 2011 season, a ‘mystery’ spinner can often make a major difference to the outcome of a campaign. Having someone of Kartik’s quality on board for the entirety of next season will be a great boost.”Surrey begin their 2012 season against Sussex at the Oval on April 5.

Graeme Swann insisted his relationship with Kevin Pietersen hasn’t been strained by the comments he made in his autobiography which was serialised shortly before the start of England’s one-day series against India that they lost 5-0.Swann, who will lead England in the Twenty20 at Kolkata on Saturday, wrote in less-than-glowing terms about Pietersen’s short spell as England captain which ended in a dramatic falling out with the then coach Peter Moores. Andy Flower, the current team director, has said that he doesn’t like it when players bring out books while they are still playing while Michael Vaughan, the former England captain, was also critical of the timing.However Swann, who had a poor one-day series where he claimed just two wickets in four matches while being surprisingly left out for the game in Mumbai, has said reports of a breakdown between himself and Pietersen, who is struggling to be fit for the Twenty20 due to a fracture thumb, are way off the mark,”England have endured a horror month but I can state right now it has nothing to do with what I wrote about Kevin Pietersen in my book,” Swann told reporters on Friday. “People have claimed my observation that KP is not a natural leader and should not have captained England has caused dressing-room divisions and a breakdown in team spirit.”Well, anybody who thinks that does not know this England team. The reason we lost the one-day series 5-0 to India is because we’ve been outplayed in conditions which suit the home team. No excuses, we’ve been hammered.”As soon as I serialised my autobiography, I spoke to Kevin and explained exactly what I’d written, why I’d written it and that it was not intended as a personal attack on him. He accepted that and we shook hands. My relationship with Kevin is exactly the same now as before the book was published.”Graeme Swann has defended England’s attitude during the one-day series•Getty Images

Swann also defended his team-mates against claims that they have let their on-field aggression become too heated after a number of exchanges with India players during the series. There have also been questions asked about the regular sight of England players shouting at each other and on that count Swann admits he can be culpable”There has been a lot of talk about England’s on-field behaviour in the five-match series, especially after MS Dhoni claimed some of our sledging was over the top and we were arguing among ourselves,” he said. “I’d probably plead guilty to the second charge because I am one of the worst culprits.”As for sledging the opposition, I don’t think any of our chat has been over the top or personal. I know there have been running battles with a couple of India’s players and I think caused by individuals in our team disliking individuals in their team.”We have played India for three months now. You’re never going to like all 11 blokes in the opposition. I can assure you the comments and personal abuse Samit Patel receives from the Indian players is far worse than anything we’ve said.”

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsKane Richardson celebrates after bowling Manvinder Bisla•AFP

Callum Ferguson’s transformation, from a batsman who was struggling to find gaps in the field to a big-hitting finisher, helped South Australia earn their first points of the tournament and heal their damaged net run-rate to a certain extent. Ferguson turned the innings against Kolkata Knight Riders around in a single over and then helped ransack 94 off the last six to set up a match-winning 188 on a slow pitch.The Knight Riders’ 19-run defeat was their second loss in as many matches and a severe blow to their chances of progressing from their five-team group. Their chase was hampered by frequent wickets at one end and the lack of strike to Jacques Kallis at the other. The game was up when Yusuf Pathan fell, with the score on 102 for 5 after 14.1 overs, and all Ryan ten Doeschate and the tail could do was narrow the margin of defeat, which looked like being much larger until 59 runs came off the last four overs.For 14 overs South Australia batted with bluster without being too effective. They slogged, often across the line, and tried to hit everything a bit too hard to reach 94 for 3. Then Ferguson found his fluency, and the boundaries, and added 84 runs with Daniel Christian in 7.2 overs, which changed everything.Ferguson was dropped on 18 in the 13th over, bowled by Yusuf. He had lofted towards long-on, and Kallis ran in too fast, lost sight of the ball, and nearly got hit on the head as it went past him for four. It was Ferguson’s first boundary, coming off his 22nd ball. They came quickly and in abundance after that.In Yusuf’s next over, Ferguson lofted to the straight boundary twice, once for four, once for six. He also pulled with power and paddled delicately, finding the spaces that had eluded him earlier. South Australia scored 20 runs off that over. The acceleration had begun.The Rajiv Gandhi Stadium in Uppal is Christian’s home ground when he plays for Deccan Chargers in the IPL and he too lit it up. In the 16th over, Christian hit his first boundaries, pulling Iqbal Abdulla to midwicket and sweeping over square leg. He brought up the 50 partnership with Ferguson off 29 balls.For an over or two Ferguson rode in Christian’s slipstream, as the allrounder dismantled the Kinght Riders attack, using force to clear the long-on boundary and a deft touch when placing towards fine leg. Christian raced to 42 off 26 balls before holing out to mid-off. Ferguson then ensured a strong finish, pulling Lee into the second tier at midwicket and ending the innings with a massive blow over long-on to end with 70 from 40 balls.Ferguson played the sort of innings Kallis is known for: a steady, if sedate, start followed by a compelling finish. Kallis, however, was unable to do that today. He didn’t get enough strike: at the end of the sixth over, Kallis had faced only eight balls, and only 16 balls after ten. He was caught and bowled for 20 soon after by Daniel Harris, leaving the Knight Riders on 81 for 4.Kallis’ partners had used the majority of the strike to attempt a rash of attacking shots, and perished in the process. Manvinder Bisla struck three fours in the opening over but was bowled in the second by medium-pacer Kane Richardson, whom South Australia had drafted in for this game along with Gary Putland. Putland would finish with 3 for 31. Shakib Al Hasan and Gautam Gambhir hit sparkling boundaries but failed to get past 15.The contest ended when Yusuf skied Putland towards third man and was caught by Aaron O’Brien, who sprinted back from the circle. It was the first ball off the 15th over, precisely when Ferguson had begun his onslaught in South Australia’s innings.

Scorecard
Gloucestershire took advantage of perfect batting conditions to reach 278 fortwo in reply to Glamorgan’s 378 in the County Championship Division Two gameat Bristol.Glamorgan’s last two wickets added a further 78 in the morning thanks mainly toGraham Wagg, whose unbeaten 70 included nine fours and three sixes. But Chris Dent (81) and Richard Coughtrie (50) put on 103 for the first Gloucestershire wicket and Kane Williamson (84 not out) and Chris Taylor (42 not out) scored briskly after tea as the home side set about trying to establish a first-innings advantage.The benign nature of the pitch was emphasised by the ease with which Wagg, DeanCosker and John Glover prolonged the Glamorgan innings by 18 overs. After a cautious start to proceedings, which included Cosker being bowled by David Payne for eight, Wagg upped the tempo dramatically by taking 23 off five deliveries from Payne and Jon Lewis.He straight-drove Payne for six, hit the left-arm seamer for another maximumover mid-wicket two balls later and smashed the first delivery of Lewis’ overfor six over wide long-on. Wagg’s power hitting ensured that a fourth batting point, which had looked out of Glamorgan’s range, was secured five balls before the 110-over cut-off mark.Wagg and Glover had put on 59 for the last wicket in seven overs when Glover,who had made 15 on his County Championship debut, lost his off stump as heprodded at a delivery from Ian Saxelby.When Gloucestershire batted, young openers Dent and Coughtrie saw the shine offthe new ball with few alarms and went on to post a century stand inside 28overs. Coughtrie scored eight boundaries in his 83-ball half-century, only to departthree deliveries later, and four runs short of his career-best, when Jim Allenbyhad him caught behind off a defensive edge.Dent brought up his half-century from 92 balls, with 11 fours, and looked oncourse to post his second first-class century, having scored his maiden oneagainst Surrey at Cheltenham five weeks ago.Unfortunately for the left-handed opener, he was run out by Wagg’s throw fromcover as Williamson looked to take a single off Cosker. That brought Taylor to the middle and he and Williamson found the boundary rope regularly in an unbroken stand of 111, with most of the fours driven through the off-side.Williamson struck 12 fours in his 132-ball innings, while Taylor’s 79deliveries yielded eight boundaries.

James Anderson appears to winning his battle for fitness ahead of the fourth and final Test against India at The Oval on Thursday, after taking a significant part in Wednesday’s practice session. England’s captain, Andrew Strauss, said he was “very optimistic” that Anderson would be available for selection, but said that a final decision on his right quadriceps strain would be taken on the morning of the game.Anderson, who tore through India’s top order with each of the first four wickets to fall in their second innings at Edgbaston, has 18 wickets in the series to date and has risen to No. 2 in the world rankings. However, he complained of stiffness in his thigh after the Edgbaston match, and the Durham paceman, Graham Onions, was called into the squad as cover.Given how valuable Anderson has become as their attack leader, England have already demonstrated a desire to treat him cautiously this summer. He missed the second Test against Sri Lanka earlier in the season as a precaution, having sustained a side strain midway through the opening Test of the summer at Cardiff.This time, however, Strauss seems happier that his star bowler is ready for action. “We are very optimistic he’s fit to play,” he said. “He had a good bowl today, but like all these things we have to check how he comes up tomorrow morning. It just seems nothing more than a little niggle at this stage.”We’ve set a precedent of resting players in the past and I think it’s sensible at times to be able to do that, because of the hectic nature of the international schedule and you don’t want bowlers breaking down for important series,” he added. “But we will only be resting players if we’re absolutely sure they need a rest.”Anderson’s team-mate, Graeme Swann, took a similarly optimistic view when the squad reconvened for practice on Tuesday morning. “I honestly didn’t know he was injured until he told me this morning that he’s not going to play,” said Swann. “I’m sure once he gets running around, he’ll want to play because I know how well he’s bowling at the minute. I know Jimmy. When he’s doing well, he’s hungry for the ball and he just wants to keep going. It’s when he’s not doing so well, he’s more than happy for a week off.”If Anderson is not passed fit, England will have to choose between Onions and Steven Finn, after Chris Tremlett was once again ruled out by the back injury he sustained prior to the second Test at Trent Bridge. It was notable that England’s bowlers were below-par in the one match that Anderson missed, against Sri Lanka at Lord’s, and Strauss admitted that, even with their current fast-bowling resources, he is one player they would rather not do without.”He’s been very much the leader of our attack for the last couple of years and he’s been outstanding in that role,” said Strauss. “But we’ve had to deal with Stuart Broad being injured, Chris Tremlett being injured and people have come in and done well and that’s always the challenge for you as a side – to make sure you’ve got the strength in depth to be able to mitigate against any sort of injury. If and when we have to deal with that, we’ll deal with it.”He’s very important, not just for the tone he sets but for his relationship with the other bowlers,” Strauss added. “But you can’t rely on one person. That’s one of the things that we’ve been good at: we’ve not relied on one or two people to win us a Test match. We’ve had performances from all 11 and when we’re missing a player it’s important the guy coming in can fill that role.””I think [Jimmy] would be a huge loss, like any of the seamers, but we thought that with Tremlett when he couldn’t play at Trent Bridge,” said Swann. “Up stepped Bressie [Tim Bresnan] and he’s been unbelievable in the two games he’s played. We have got vast stocks of fast bowlers at the minute. I’m not sure where they’ve all come from, but it’s nice for us they have all arrived at the same time, because you can never have enough big fast bowlers.”

Worcestershire have signed Brett D’Oliveira, grandson to Basil, from their academy on a one-year contract.Brett D’Oliveira, a 19-year-old legspinner, will be the third generation of D’Oliveiras to play for the club. His father Damian had a 13-year career while grandfather Basil was a Worcestershire stalwart who also played 44 Tests for England.Nick Harrison, a seamer also aged 19, signed as well. Worcestershire’s coach Steve Rhodes said: “The two young lads are products of our Academy who have taken well to life as professional cricketers in 2011.”Becoming full professionals is in response to the improvement both players have made during their scholarship year, both on the field with their cricket and their preparation off it. We look forward to welcoming them on the full professional staff.”

An all-round performance from Papua New Guinea carried them to a comfortable 38-run win over Vanuatu in the opening game of the ICC WCL East Asia-Pacific Region Division One Twenty20 tournament in Port Moresby.PNG captain Rarva Dikana chose to bat and his decision was justified with the openers Asad Vala and Tony Ura putting on 82 runs in the first nine overs before Vala was dismissed. Ura though, stayed firm, making 73 off 55 balls with nine fours and one six to keep his team on track for a competitive score. Medium-pacer Patrick Matautaava picked up three wickets in the final over but PNG managed to reach 150 for 6 courtesy their strong opening stand and Ura’s half-century.”I am really happy with how I batted today,” Ura said after the day’s play. “Although it was disappointing to get out before the innings ended.”That total proved to be more than a handful for Vanuatu who lost two wickets within the first three overs. They never recovered from their poor start with only three batsmen managing to reach double figures. Joel Tom and Dikana picked up two wickets apiece as Vanuatu were restricted to 112 for 8, handing PNG an easy victory.Samoa stole a thrilling three-wicket win over Fiji with one ball to spare in the second match of the day. Put in to bat first, Fiji lost their openers cheaply before the captain Josefa Rika steadied the innings with 33, but Fiji kept losing wickets at the other end. The final score of 125 was aided by some waywardy bowling from Samoa, who conceded 12 wides in all.With a modest total to chase, Samoa lost their opener Sean Cotter early, before Geoff Clarke and Benjamin Mailata put on 79 runs for the second wicket. The match seemed headed to a predictable finish when the middle order collapsed dramatically, with the next five wickets falling for the addition of only seven runs, and it was left up to Uala Kaisara and Winston Mariner – the pick of the bowlers earlier on in the day – to steer Samoa home with an unbeaten 20-run stand.Mailata was relieved with the result, given that his side nearly made a hash of the chase. “It’s always good to get a win to start a tournament,” he said. “We certainly did it the hard way but it was still a great result.”Papua New Guinea followed up their earlier win in the day with another convincing victory, crushing Samoa by 77 runs. Winning the toss for the second time in the day, PNG chose to bat, and their opening pair bettering their previous effort with a 112-run stand. The momentum they created was enough to carry PNG to 182 in their 20 overs. Faasao Mulivai, who picked up two wickets, was the only Samoan bowler with an economy under six, a statistic that reflected the kind of day their attack endured.In reply, Samoa lost their top three batsmen with just 17 runs on the board, and never recovered. Only two of their batsmen reached double figures, and Uala Kaisara stayed unbeaten on 29, as Samoa finished with 105 for 9.PNG’s Mahuru Dai had words of encouragement for his opponents despite his side’s easy wins. “Last time I saw Samoa and Vanuatu play they weren’t too strong,” Dai said. “But now that they are here in PNG after seeing them again I have noticed great improvement in both of them.”Fiji trounced Japan by 74 runs in the final match of the day, moving to the second place on the points table, with a net run-rate superior to Samoa’s. Batting first, Fiji finished with 160 for the loss of only two wickets, with Kitiano Tavo top-scoring with an unbeaten 45.In reply, Japan’s top-order collapsed, and they never gained the momentum required to chase down a challenging total. Iniasi Cakacaka, who had contributed 33 with the bat, picked up two wickets in his four overs.

Netherlands and Scotland will face off in a series of matches across different formats starting with the four-day Intercontinental Cup fixture on June 21 in Aberdeen, followed by two ODIs and as many Twenty20s.Netherlands last played international cricket in the 2011 World Cup, in which they failed to win a single game. They’ll be missing some players due to work and other commitments, but will have Alexei Kervezee in their ranks for the first ODI and star allrounder Ryan ten Doeschate for the second ODI and the Twenty20s.”The squads are well balanced with plenty of experience,” Netherlands coach Peter Drinnen said. “The World Twenty20 qualifiers are not far away and with increased depth in our squad, the players are keen to seize every opportunity to secure their spot.”Netherlands squads:
Intercontinental Cup: Peter Borren (c), Wesley Barresi (wk), Mudassar Bukhari , Tom Cooper , Tom Whol , Tom Heggelman , Neil Kruger, Matthijs Luten, Ahsan Malik, Peter Seelaar , Eric Szwarczynski , Michael Swart, Berend WestdijkFirst ODI: Peter Borren (c), Wesley Barresi (wk), Mudassar Bukhari, Tom Cooper, Tom de Grooth, Tom Heggelman, Alexei Kervezee, Neil Kruger, Ahsan Malik, Pieter Seelaar , Eric Szwarczynski, Michael Swart, Berend WestdijkSecond ODI: Peter Borren (c), Wesley Barresi (wk), Mudassar Bukhari , Tom Cooper, Ryan ten Doeschate, Tom de Grooth, Tom Heggelman, Neil Kruger, Ahsan Malik, Pieter Seelaar, Eric Szwarczynski, Michael Swart, Berend WestdijkTwenty20s: Peter Borren (c), Wesley Barresi (wk), Mudassar Bukhari, Tom Cooper, Ryan ten Doeschate, Tom de Grooth, Tom Heggelman, Neil Kruger, Ahsan Malik, Pieter Seelaar, Eric Szwarczynski, Michael Swart, Berend Westdijk

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Junaid Khan bowled a match-winning spell•AFP

Ireland’s first game since their World Cup heroics proved a disappointment for the 2000 spectators that turned up to see the first of the two-ODI series against Pakistan, who won by seven wickets with more than eight overs to spare. A typically steely grey, showery Belfast day, prevented play from commencing until 2pm. And with conditions helpful to the seamers, Junaid Khan ripped the Ireland middle order apart with four wickets in five overs. A 38-over game was the original plan – and a 36-over one after a short break – but Ireland conspired to reduce it further when they were bowled out in exactly 20 overs.The total of 96 was pitiful – Ireland’s lowest since the 2007 World Cup Super Eights – especially after Paul Stirling had thrilled the home fans with a startling innings of 39 off just 22 balls. Stirling, 20, who also plays for Middlesex, had finished off his World Cup with a match-winning 100 off 71 balls against Netherlands, and was on a similar trajectory here as he helped himself to seven fours and a six.His opening partner was Ed Joyce, who switched places in the order with William Porterfield. Joyce had been keen to move up during the World Cup, but coach Phil Simmons resisted changing an established opening pair. But Porterfield was soon replacing Joyce, dismissed by Tanvir Ahmed.Stirling took a liking to Tanvir, who bowled too short. His next over went for 19, including an enormous six over mid-on. Stirling took 12 off Umar Gul’s next over, and clipped Junaid’s first ball to the boundary when he came on to bowl the sixth over. Four balls later he was gone, skying the ball to cover where Mohammed Hafeez sprinted 20 yards, and dived full length. From 44 for 1, Ireland steadily lost wickets as Junaid made good use of the seaming conditions.Alex Cusack, promoted to No.4 in the absence of the injured Niall O’Brien, was bowled in the last over of the Powerplay, which yielded 49 runs and three wickets. Porterfield followed for 4, caught behind trying to fend off a rising ball from Gul. Kevin O’Brien, having exchanged his dyed pink hair for his natural orange, gave his fans a small taste of his World Cup pyrotechnics. But, on 15, he tried to cart Junaid through the covers and saw his stumps demolished.Soon enough, Ireland were floundering at 66 for 6. Gary Wilson, who replaced Niall O’Brien behind the stumps, briefly showed his World Cup batting form before the rain returned. After a 20-minute break the innings was recalculated as 36 overs. But there was little chance as many overs would be required; the Ireland batsmen failed to cope with a disciplined attack in tricky conditions. Saeed Ajmal claimed 3 for 7 off his three overs, including Trent Johnston and Boyd Rankin off successive balls. Younis Khan, who had taken two wickets in his previous 221 ODIs, induced John Mooney to carve to cover and a three-figure score proved beyond Ireland.Rankin and Johnston bowled nine overs before the interval, which were negotiated safely by Taufeeq Umar and Mohammed Hafeez. Hafeez’s six into the trees at square leg off Rankin gave the large Pakistani contingent more to sing about. The openers continued steadily towards their target after tea, and had made it to 73 when Stirling took a sharp catch at slip off Cusack.Cusack’s gentle medium-pace fetched him three wickets but Ireland had too little on the board, and the end came with 8.3 overs to spare.”We’ve let a lot of people down today”, Porterfield admitted. “We played too many poor shots on that wicket, nobody got their head down to forge a partnership. It wasn’t a gung-ho situation, but too many of the batsmen made poor decisions.”Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq was happy with the result, his first success in his new phase as ODI captain, achieved in conditions vastly different to those they experienced four days earlier on the other side of the North Atlantic. It was some measure of revenge for the only previous ODI meeting between the sides, the famous Ireland victory at Sabina Park in the 2007 ICC Cricket World Cup. A small group of Pakistan fans chanted “No more Ijaz Butt” during the presentation ceremony. The Man-of-the-Match award was deservedly picked up by Junaid.