For the scores of cricket fans packed onto the London Underground this morning, there was a special message as the train arrived at their destination. “Our next stop is Oval,” announced the driver over the tannoy, “where I regret to inform you the forecast is for sun.” It was a droll reminder of how futile England’s predicament had become. On Friday their series prospects were marmalised by an Indian batting performance of stunning totality, and now all that remained was a three-day face-saving exercise.Even so, for professional batsmen – a selfish bunch by nature – the idea of batting for three days in perfect sun-blessed conditions should not really have been the chore that England’s top order made it out to be today. Their coach, Peter Moores, had even dangled the carrot in his comments on the previous evening. “Help yourselves,” was the gist of his message as he exhorted them to bat, bat and then bat some more. If they put their own interests first, he reasoned, those of the team would follow soon enough. If Brian Lara was an Englishman in this situation, he would have had designs on a third world record.Instead England’s response was nervy, motley and self-destructive. Massive totals can have that effect on opposing sides – every run that is scored sinks into the requirement like a footstep up a sand-dune – but it could not mitigate the culpability of so many of England’s dismissals. Andrew Strauss’s hook to deep square leg on Friday evening might have been excusable after two days of hard toil, but it was not intended to be a template for what followed.England were limp, as limp as they had been in Lahore two winters ago in a similarly hopeless situation. Alastair Cook, dropped twice while clipping off his pads to leg slip, made it third time unlucky by spooning a return catch to Anil Kumble off the back of his over-eager blade. Kevin Pietersen allowed his more watchful persona to dominate the first 106 balls of his innings, before his hubristic Mr Hyde let rip at Sachin Tendulkar’s very first delivery, and even Ian Bell, a man whose appetite for easy runs is unsurpassed in this side, could not resist a wild slash at a wide one from Zaheer Khan.The flashiness of their downfall made Tendulkar’s sheet-anchor single-mindedness on the first two days all the more admirable. He took no risks whatsoever at a stage of the game when many onlookers were questioning the value of such stodginess. England’s batsmen, by contrast, had been granted a rare opportunity to be lauded for a lack of aesthetic appeal, much as happened to Michael Atherton at Johannesburg in 1995-96. None of them showed much desire to do things the ugly way.Only Michael Vaughan, who was genuinely deceived by an excellent googly from Kumble, and Paul Collingwood – the latest victim of Ian Howell’s ignoble series – could be excused for the manner of their dismissals. But even Collingwood admitted a measure of culpability in the shot that got him out. Talking of England’s approach to such a towering total, he said: “You have to stick to the gameplan of picking on your strengths, which for me was the straight ball on the pads, hitting it to the leg side.” The fact that he missed out on his money shot was all the excuse that Howell needed.

India’s bowlers were good but far from excellent – they did not need to be. It was not until they took the new ball with England already ruptured at 288 for 5 that they finally found the same consistency and aggression that had carried them to victory in the last Test at Trent Bridge. Up until that point their swing – though prodigious – had been misdirected, with Mahendra Singh Dhoni lining himself up a foot to the right of the return crease. The uncertainty they created, however, was enough to break England’s resolve.”Generally you know exactly what the ball is going to do as it comes down, but it’s very hard to line bowlers up when they are swinging it both ways,” said Collingwood, who made it sound rather as if he had spent his summer facing Wasim Akram. “The control that they’ve shown has been excellent, but being brought up on Indian wickets, you have to have that variety. “Though the series is lost, Collingwood insisted that the match is not yet all over for England. “I think everyone in the dressing room thinks it can be saved,” he said. “Whether we can win it or not is a different matter, but there’s plenty of fight in there, and we’ve got two days to show that fight.” History suggests that it is not entirely out of the question. In 1990, England were baked by India’s batsmen to the tune of 606 runs, folded for 340 in their first innings, then batted to the close with David Gower leading the way. Gower, however, was playing for his career. England’s current incumbents cannot even play for themselves at the moment.

History was made tonight when, three decades after Kerry Packer launched floodlit cricket in Australia, the lights were turned on at Lord’s for a day-night match. The fact that Middlesex beat Derbyshire by three wickets in a Pro40 match was almost incidental to the bigger story.The MCC, which is not nearly as conservative as its reputation, is looking ahead. The ground, while boasting the best facilities in the country, is under increasing pressure as other venues acquire international status. It needed lights and this game was a test case, more about placating the neighbours than the cricket itself.In that regard it will be deemed a success. Around 5000 turned out on a glorious late-summer evening, including several hundred of the MCC’s neighbours who had been given freebies. While those numbers might appear low, the fixture was only switched from Southgate last month and it probably suited the organisers to have a low-key curtain raiser. And while the temporary lights were not as powerful as more permanent ones would be, they were more than enough for a decent game to take place.As a further move to ease the worries of the locals, the match started 30 minutes earlier than usual for a day-night fixture and the public bars were shut an hour before the close. The music that accompanies boundaries and wickets was also more subdued.For the Derbyshire innings the pylons barely peeked out from over the top of the stands. At the break, they extended to their full height, and as the sun finally set, their impact was really felt. The general consensus was that the old ground was enhanced by being bathed in light.Over the winter the MCC will engage in consultations with residents and, all being well, there will be more floodlit matches in 2008.The long-term aim has to be the instillation of permanent lights, albeit ones that are likely to be retractable so as not to destroy the ambience of the ground and also to placate planners and residents. Those should be in place in time for the 2009 ICC World Twenty20, alongside ambitious plans to increase the capacity from around 28,000 to more than 35,000.The MCC will not only have to pay for the floodlights themselves; what last night did show was that the lighting in the stands and on the concourses will also need a major overhaul.But the experiment was a success and the first of a number of hurdles was successfully overcome.

Misbah-ul-Haq’s impressive performances in the World Twenty20 have earned him a recall to Pakistan’s squad for the first Test against South Africa in Karachi on Monday. But there was no place in the 15-man lineup for either Inzamam-ul-Haq, the former captain, or Shoaib Akhtar.Misbah was the third-highest run-scorer in South Africa, helping Pakistanreach the final and was also the highest run-scorer in the Quaid-e-AzamTrophy, Pakistan’s premier first-class tournament. He played the last of his five Tests four years ago against Bangladesh. Joining him in the middle order is Mohammad Yousuf, whoyesterday agreed to represent Pakistan, after having initially signed upfor the Indian Cricket League (ICL).But there was no place in the squad for Inzamam, another ICL signatory.Inzamam has retired from ODIs, though insists he wants to play Test cricket.Salahuddin Ahmed, Pakistan’s chief selector, said that Inzamam had been consideredfor the squad but had declared himself unavailable for the first Test.”I spoke to Inzamam and though he didn’t specify the reasons, he said hewas unavailable for the first Test,” said Salahuddin. “If he is availablefor the second Test [in Lahore], he will be considered.”Shoaib’s exclusion was also expected, as he is currently the subject of adisciplinary inquiry into his altercation with Mohammad Asif in SouthAfrica. “Shoaib’s is a policy decision,” said Salahuddin. “The disciplinary inquiry isongoing and only when their decision has come will we take a decision.”Rao Iftikhar Anjum took the third fast bowler’s spot, edging out SohailTanvir, the left-arm, wrong-foot bowler who did so well in the Twenty20World Cup. “Sohail is a very talented all-rounder but we feel he still hassome time before he is ready for the longer version of the game,” addedSalahuddin.Pakistan will field yet another new opening pair when the first Testbegins from October 1. One of Taufeeq Umar, who averages 74 in four Testsagainst South Africa, or Mohammad Hafeez will partner Salman Butt, thevice-captain.Pakistan squad: Shoaib Malik (capt), Salman Butt, Mohammad Hafeez,Younis Khan, Mohammad Yousuf, Misbah-ul-Haq, Kamran Akmal (wk), MohammadAsif, Umar Gul, Rao Iftikhar Anjum, Danish Kaneria, Faisal Iqbal, YasirHameed, Taufeeq Umar, Abdur Rehman

Watching Munaf Patel, Ranadeb Bose and Ishant Sharma standing side by side on the eve of the Irani Trophy match, taking turns to bowl, one might have been tempted to feel for Mumbai’s batsmen. Each one of these bowlers is six-and-a-half-feet tall, Bose and Sharma sport mullets and all can appear capable of mean acts. The trio were also India’s second-string bowling attack – Munaf, when fit, is a shoo-in, Sharma had toured Bangladesh and Bose England.Mumbai’s batsmen on the other hand, Wasim Jaffer and Abhishek Nair apart, are diminutive in stature. Two of them, Ajinkya Rane and Prashant Naik, were just one game old and one, Sahil Kukreja, is still raw with one-and-a-half years of first-class cricket to his name.All that said, on a non-supporting pitch it was the short batsmen dominating the tall bowlers. The menace was just restricted to their looks and the frustrated appeals every time they managed to strike the pads. And their captain Mohammad Kaif’s persistence, introducing spin as late as the 36th over, didn’t help the matters. By then, they were a battered lot.Munaf, operating at a speed ranging from mid 120 kph to the mid 130s, rarely put any devil into the delivery. It was easy pickings for Rahane once he realised Munaf wasn’t doing much with the ball. This was a far cry from the Munaf who rattled England on Test debut and the spearhead who was arguably India’s best bowler on their tour to West Indies last year. In fact that bowler has been missing for a while now, what with Munaf ending with none for 71 in his 15 overs, including nine no-balls. Even those figures might not completely represent the tameness he bowled with.

Few other than him may know what is wrong. His fitness issues are public knowledge: his ankle injury restricted him to only one Test innings throughout the tour of South Africa last year. He was then sent back from Bangladesh because of a back injury. Later, after having spent time at the MRF Pace Academy, he said he was fit and was selected for the one-dayers in England. Yet he wasn’t half the bowler he used to be, forcing India’s bowling coach Venkatesh Prasad to comment on his lack of intensity. At this stage of his career, with the selectors watching every move, he can ill afford to have more such days.Bose, the domestic stalwart and the untiring warhorse, came into this match needing to take his game one notch higher. Instead his intensity dipped. He began spraying the ball at a gentle mid-120kph and was duly dealt with. Although he came back somewhat creditably, with a much more accurate spell, he would know that the extra zip was missing. It required him to grab 57 wickets last season for the selectors to take notice; anything less may not be enough.Sharma, the tallest of the three, was thought of as a promising youngster. He had his moments in the tour games in England, showing signs of improvement with every game, but he was a bit too tepid on this occasion. With hardly any movement off the pitch, and a pace that rarely went beyond the mid-130 mark, he was unthreatening throughout the day. He strove manfully – even Abhishek Nayar, one of the centurions, admitted that later – but it was way short of good enough against a quality batting line-up.

West Indies batsman Wavell Hinds has signed a one-year deal with Derbyshire as a Kolpak player. He has played 45 Tests and 114 one-day internationals, but hasn’t featured at international level since the Champions Trophy last October.If Hinds was to play for West Indies during this contract he would have to rescind his non-overseas status, so the move means his international future is looking doubtful. However, his aggressive batting and useful medium-pace will be valuable additions to the Derbyshire team.”It is terrific news for Derbyshire that we have been able to add a player of Wavell’s quality and experience to our squad for 2008,” said head of cricket John Morris. “Wavell has plenty of experience in both the Test and one-day international arena and he has proven ability in scoring runs at the highest level. That is exactly what I was looking for in a Kolpak player.”Hinds is the latest big-name signing made by Morris since he took charge at Derbyshire following Rikki Clarke’s arrival as captain last week.

Muttiah Muralitharan has lashed out at Shane Warne, calling him a “miserable man” and declaring he would not speak to Warne at the unveiling of the new trophy that bears their names. Muralitharan was angered by Warne’s suggestion that the ICC should have Muralitharan’s bowling action analysed during a Test match, despite the fact he has repeatedly passed laboratory tests.”I am very disappointed with what he said,” Muralitharan told the . “He can’t keep his mouth shut because he wants to keep making these comments. He must be a miserable man in his life. But that is his opinion and there is nothing I can do about it.”Warne is the world’s leading Test wicket-taker with 708 victims but Muralitharan needs only seven more to overtake him and that could happen in the second Test, which starts in Hobart on Friday. The rift comes at an awkward time after the two champions were honoured with the Warne-Muralitharan Trophy, which will be held by the winner of the Australia-Sri Lanka Test series and will be unveiled by the pair on Thursday.”Maybe he just doesn’t want me to pass his record,” Muralitharan said. “Why else would he keep saying these things? I will shake his hand [at the ceremony] and go straight off the field instead of trying to be friendly.”Warne wrote in his column on Tuesday that checking Muralitharan’s action during a match would offer “peace of mind” to everybody in world cricket and “surely Murali would want that”. The comments came after a newspaper article on the weekend in which Warne’s mentor, Terry Jenner, floated the idea of in-match testing for Muralitharan.”Terry Jenner played cricket a long time ago and cricket is very different now,” Muralitharan said. “So it doesn’t matter what he says. But Jenner and Warne are still always commenting, commenting, commenting. It makes them feel important.”Muralitharan told the paper he and Warne were not on good terms before these latest problems, as he believed Warne considered Muralitharan had collected too many cheap Test wickets against Bangladesh and Zimbabwe. Although 163 of Muralitharan’s Test victims have been Zimbabwe or Bangladesh players, he also has an outstanding record against England and South Africa and says he can only play whoever Sri Lanka is scheduled to face.Muralitharan said he had no comment about the decision to use his name alongside Warne’s on the new trophy. “That was the decision between the boards of Sri Lanka and Australia,” he said. “I cannot say anything else.”

Ricky Ponting is the most marketable sporting figure in Australia and five of the top ten sponsorship favourites come from cricket, according to a research report. Ponting has become used to life at the top during his career and beat a field including the swimmers Ian Thorpe and Grant Hackett and the footballer Harry Kewell.The Sweeney Sports report, which measured how suitable 70 sportspeople were to endorse brands and organisations, had Ponting first, Adam Gilchrist seoncd and Brett Lee fifth – he was tied with Hackett. The retired duo of Glenn McGrath and Steve Waugh were equal seventh while Shane Warne was 16th. Andrew Symonds improved to 23rd alongside the boxer Kostya Tszyu and footballer Tim Cahill.”The biggest increase in popularity during the past year has been recorded by Andrew Symonds, who sprung from equal 58th position last year,” the Sweeney Sports general manager Todd Deacon said. “Warne’s ranking during his career has see-sawed depending on off-field scandals.”A largely scandal-free year has meant a high ranking, but negative events have tended to send his ranking plummeting.” His final position was up almost a year after retiring.

Michael Vaughan has mixed memories of his two Tests at the SinhaleseSports Club. On his first visit in 2000-01, he fought his way backinto the side at the expense of Graeme Hick, and played a supportingrole in a famous series-sealing win. Three years later, however, onhis first tour as captain, Vaughan experienced cricket’s emotionalflip-side, as Sri Lanka routed his new charges by the record margin ofan innings and 215 runs.There’s no room for a repeat of such a scoreline on this visit.Regardless of the positives that England claim to have carried withthem from Kandy, they remain 1-0 down in the series and in seriousdanger of losing their exalted status as the second-best side in theworld. Since the tour of Pakistan in December 2005, England have lostnine Tests out of 12 on foreign soil, with just one win to show fortheir efforts – Andrew Flintoff’s Ring of Fire-inspired triumph at Mumbai in March 2006.Vaughan personally can take very little of the blame for that record,having been injured for all but three of those contests, but asEngland’s most successful captain of all time, he knows full well it’sa record that needs redressing, and fast. Unfortunately, the SSC isnot the most hospitable venue for visiting sides. Since England’svictory in 2000-01, Sri Lanka have won 10 out of 12 matches – six byan innings and one by 10 wickets. Only the Australians, in a classiccontest in 2003-04, have had the better of them, and even theycouldn’t prevent Muttiah Muralitharan picking up eight wickets alongthe way.”We need to start playing some good cricket,” said Vaughan, as Englandcompleted their final practice session before Saturday’s 10am start.”We have to learn from our experiences at Kandy, move on from that,and react in a positive way. First and foremost, one of the buildingblocks of a good side is: can they show that inner fight? But you needto have that expertise as well, and that’s the one area we have toimprove.”England fought hard at Kandy, without any question, but they were ateam gripped by naivety at critical stages of the first Test. Theywere paralysed by Murali’s menace in the first innings, and thencollapsed to the seamers second-time around just when it seemed they’dcome to terms with the conditions. And in between whiles, of course,they missed crucial opportunities in the field – not least where KumarSangakkara was concerned. “We got ourselves into some greatpositions,” said Vaughan. “We got enough out of that game to suggestSri Lanka are very beatable on their home shore.”The hasty turnaround between Tests is not too much of a hindrance,according to Vaughan. The cool hilly conditions at Kandy were notremotely as sapping as the sticky humidity that has greeted them inthe past at Galle. But the match did take its toll in one respect.Matthew Hoggard, the best of England’s seamers by a distance, has beenruled out because of his back injury, which leaves a very significantexperience void to be filled.The smart money suggests it will be Steve Harmison who fills it.He has not played a Test since the West Indies series in June, and onthis tour he has looked indifferent as well as insipid in his variousappearances at the nets and in the middle. But in England’s finalpractice he galloped to the crease with his enthusiasm reignited, andgave all the batsmen – especially Ian Bell – a serious hurry-up.Opportunities must surely be running out for a man who has contributednext to nothing to Peter Moores’ new regime, but now is not the timeto give up on a character who was once ranked as the best bowler inthe world.

When discussing his maverick team-mate, Vaughan had the look of a manwho was fed up of waiting for the inspiration to return to his game,but he hid it well in his words. “I’ve had a lot of great days withSteve Harmison,” said Vaughan. “If you ask any opposition player inthe world who they don’t want to face in the England set-up, it’susually Steve Harmison’s name that crops up. He knows he’s close to aTest match and very close to getting into an eleven, so I fully expecthim to bowl the way he did today. He’s running in full of gas, andSteve at his best has to bowl at a rate of knots. I look forward, ifhe’s selected, to standing at mid-off and watching him bowl.”For all that England were undone in the first Test, Vaughan’sassertion that Sri Lanka are vulnerable is not without foundation. InSangakkara and Muralitharan, they possess the top-ranked batsman andbowler in all of Test cricket – an incredible achievement for acountry so small – but beyond those two, Sri Lanka’s quality and formis not so thick on the ground. “Take those two out of their attack,and [Chaminda] Vaas, and they are a very inexperienced team,” saidVaughan. “That’s what we’ve got to try to get into. If we get thosesenior players out quickly, and play Murali and Vaas well, we can tryto exploit their inexperience.”That is especially true at the top of the order, where there will beno Sanath Jayasuriya to torment the English bowlers. The last timeHarmison encountered the Sri Lankans, at Headingley in the fifth ODIin 2006, Jayasuriya lacerated him for 97 runs in ten overs, flinginghis forearms at his short wide offerings en route to 152 from 99deliveries. Sanath’s sidekick that day was one Upul Tharanga, who willnow partner Michael Vandort in his first Test since the visit ofBangladesh in July, but the memories of his own century at Headingleywill not compensate for the undoubted nerves he will be feeling.Further down the batting card, Jehan Mubarak is in need of runs, aftermaking 0 and 9 in the first Test, and Chamara Silva failed to convincewith his form either. But England’s struggles are every bit as acute.Ian Bell produced two stylish but ultimately insubstantial innings atKandy, but he was a lone success among the top six. Vaughan, KevinPietersen and Paul Collingwood each made starts without a singlehalf-century between them, while Alastair Cook was suckered twice inseven balls by Vaas’s subtle swingers.Vaughan, however, was adamant that the best remedy for the Kandyexperience was to get straight back and do it all again. “It wasmentally draining, especially losing, but physically we’re fine,” hesaid. That includes James Anderson, who has been labouring with anankle problem since the warm-ups and has at times looked every bit ashangdog as Harmison. There’s no room for moping in the next five days,however. The fate of the series depends on England’sbouncebackability.Sri Lanka (probable) 1 Upul Tharanga, 2 Michael Vandort, 3Kumar Sangakkara, 4 Mahela Jayawardene (capt), 5 Chamara Silva, 6Jehan Mubarak, 7 Prasanna Jayawardene (wk), 8 Chaminda Vaas, 9 DilharaFernando, 10 Lasith Malinga, 11 Muttiah Muralitharan.England (probable) 1 Alastair Cook, 2 Michael Vaughan (capt), 3Ian Bell, 4 Kevin Pietersen, 5 Paul Collingwood, 6 Ravi Bopara, 7 MattPrior (wk), 8 Ryan Sidebottom, 9 Steve Harmison, 10 James Anderson, 11Monty Panesar.

The way young cricketers come through the ranks in Indian cricket is set to undergo a radical change with the Junior Cricket Committee making some strong recommendations that will put India more in line with the Australian way of running their feeder tournaments. The primary aim is to reduce the quantity of cricket played and put the accent on quality. The under-15 and under-17 grades of cricket will be done away with and a new under-16 age competition will be created. Further the under-22 concept will be done away with, and the team will play as an A side.”The honorary secretary was of the opinion that the accent in age-group cricket was on quantity and as a result quality was suffering,” a Board of Control for Cricket in India source revealed. “The total number of matches played in junior tournaments is very large and now with the addition of women’s cricket there is over pressure on the grounds and wickets resulting in sub-standard playing conditions,” the junior cricket committee concluded in its last meeting in Mumbai on December 24.One of the primary concerns revolved around the utilisation of resources in each situation. With increasing pressure junior cricketers were not in a position to benefit from the facilities and infrastructure that was intended for them.Keeping in mind these conditions the committee, after discussing “the matter threadbare,” decided that state and national tournaments will be played at the under-16 level only. Matches within each zone will be played on a league basis and the top two teams will contest a knock-out tournament at the national level.The age-group that remains untouched is the under-19, thanks primarily to the Cooch Behar Trophy, which remains a flagship competition. However, even this is set for a revamp. Currently, matches are allotted to a single venue in a zone and all states from that zone compete to make it to the next round. It has been decided that this tournament will be played on a home and away basis. Even when it comes to the under-19 limited overs tournaments the BCCI has decided that matches will be taken to different venues within a state rather than being restricted to the one big venue.The under-22 inter state tournament will be converted to an A team format where each state can only field a maximum of three of its Ranji players in the side. This means that each state will be forced to use the under-22, or A competition to give young players coming through the ranks a chance to play competitive cricket at a level where the junior or national selectors are in attendance.The other item the committee took up in earnest was the revival of inter-school cricket at the national level. At the moment the School Games Federation of India is in charge of conducting the state, zonal and nation schools tournaments. However they lack both the expertise and the financial clout to conduct the cricket tournament in a manner befitting the interest levels that the sport generates. Therefore it was decided that the BCCI would become actively involved in the running of a national schools tournament.Two proposals were submitted in this regard. The first model suggested that each state “hold their inter-school tournament comprising a minimum of eight school teams. The top two teams from the zone would automatically qualify to play the all India knock-out tournament.”The second model proposes that each state pick a team of schoolboys, from various schools, to represent them. Each of these states will then play in an inter-zonal tournament and once more the top two sides from each zone will play in the national tournament. However, after discussion that focused mostly around how the states would actually pick the schoolboys team to represent them, this model was discarded. It was decided that the first model be adopted.What this will do is ensure that each school had a sense of pride in its team and it will be possible to eventually identify a “National Cricket Champion School.”

The chances of Australia going to Pakistan next month grow slimmer by the day with the Australian reporting senior players would pull out of the trip if it goes ahead. The visit is dependent on a security inspection, which is currently due to occur after the country’s elections on Monday, but Cricket Australia said in a letter to the Pakistan Cricket Board it has been advised not to travel.”We are aware of the significant concerns that the players have and they are concerns we share,” the Cricket Australia public affairs manager Peter Young told the Australian. “We’re still moving through a process and we have a way to go before that process is finalised.”The paper reported “most of Australia’s senior players have made it privately clear they would pull out of any visit”. The violent situation in Pakistan may force the security visit to be cancelled, but Young said no decision had been made, believing there were “significant obstacles” which need to be worked through. “But that’s not to say the obstacles are locked doors,” Young said.Nasim Ashraf, the Pakistan board chairman, raised suggestions of a boycott for the return 2009 tour if Australia did not take part in next month’s series. “We’re obviously keen to see them here and the circumstances of them visiting here have to be considered in isolation at that time,” Young said. “The particular circumstances this time include significant concerns about safety and security that we just can’t ignore.”