All posts by csb10.top

After piling up a huge total, Orissa dismissed Bengal cheaply and took the first innings lead in their Vijay Merchant East Zone League clash at Cuttack. As the match was drawn, Orissa collected 5 points, Bengal 3, and the first innings lead proved crucial.Earlier, Orissa won the toss and elected to bat first at the Barabati Stadium. Skipper SP Priyadarshan took a liking to the Bengal bowling and slammed 167 fine runs. Although he took 325 balls in his essay, the fact that he struck 19 boundaries must have entertained any spectators present at the ground. Not far behind the skipper was R Mohanty, who managed to help himself to 156. A shade quicker than Priyadarshan, Mohanty took 291 balls and struck 17 boundaries in his innings. The two put on 231 runs for the third wicket and took the game away from Bengal. After batting out 165 overs, Orissa decided that enough was enough. At 454/6 they declared their innings closed.Bengal were in trouble immediately when they attempted to chase the Orissa total. Losing quick wickets, Orissa were reduced to 51/4 at the end of the second day. SK Jahangir returned the figures of 4-2-6-2 and there was little hope for Bengal. On the third and final day, the Orissa bowlers completed the rout, skittling out the Bengal side for 174 in 95.5 overs. The Bengal side were asked to follow on, and were 46 for no loss when the match ended in a draw.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details1:12

By The Numbers – Six on the trot for Pakistan

The second T20I between Pakistan and Zimbabwe more or less followed the same script as the first. Having chosen to bat, Pakistan scraped to 136 again, and the Zimbabwe batsmen were never on course during the chase. Umar Akmal struck a busy 38 to lend the visitors late boost after a regular fall of wickets, and the target was made to look bigger with the Pakistan bowlers dismantling the Zimbabwe top order inside five overs. The asking rate continued to rise and the hosts eventually fell short by 15 runs.Chamu Chibhabha was given out lbw in the third over of the chase despite the ball pitching outside leg stump, Hamilton Masakadza made room and carved Mohammad Irfan to third man, while some sharp fielding from the tag team of Shahid Afridi and Sohaib Maqsood ran out Craig Ervine. Imad Wasim then struck in his second over when Richmond Mutumbami, scoreless for seven balls, was bowled through the gate. The Pakistan fielders cranked up the intensity, cut down runs and ably backed their bowlers up.Sean Williams and Sikandar Raza offered some resistance with a 60-run partnership, using nudges and bunts while occasionally attempting reverse-sweeps and slogs. Just as Zimbabwe looked to find a higher gear, Raza was dismissed by a canny slower ball from Imran Khan for his maiden international wicket. At that point, the equation read 53 runs from 23 balls.Elton Chigumbura, though, gave Zimbabwe an outside chance when he hit two sixes off Imran over long-off in the 17th over. The first one was palmed over the fence by Ahmed Shehzad, and the second cleared him comfortably. The returning Irfan, coming in for Wahab Riaz, snuffed out Zimbabwe’s slender chance by having Chigumbura caught at long-on for 17 off 8 balls. Williams and Luke Jongwe fought it out but could only reduce the margin of defeat.While Irfan generated typical extra bounce even on a slow pitch, Imran was impressive with his assortment of slower cutters. They finished with combined figures of 8-0-60-4 as Pakistan claimed their third straight T20 series win.The match-winning target was set up by Akmal, who came in at 72 for 4, and boosted Pakistan’s innings. He began with a brace of fours before he launched the first six of the game off the penultimate ball of the innings. Akmal was also adept in finding gaps and Wasim managed a couple of fours as Pakistan took 14 runs off the last over.The start too had been bright before the middle order botched it up. Mohammad Hafeez, the other change in Pakistan’s XI, did not take much time to find his bearings, playing a handsome drive and two pulls.However, Tinashe Panyangara dismissed Shehzad for seven in the fourth over, and two overs later Hafeez was undone by the slowness of the pitch when he tamely chipped Jongwe to short midwicket.The Shoaibs – Malik and Maqsood – threatened to mount a recovery but were foiled by the spinners. Their 30-run stand ended when Malik dragged Graeme Cremer to long-on. Instead of going back to rebuilding mode, Maqsood advanced down the track the following over and played an injudicious shot: skewing one into the lap of backward point. Rizwan and Afridi also failed but Akmal lifted Pakistan, despite good variations from Panyangara and Jongwe at the death.

Ian Bell has confirmed that he wants to continue playing Test cricket despite suggestions that he was considering retirement. The 33-year-old batsman is one of the most experienced members of England’s Test side but has endured a difficult year, averaging 24.29 with one century.Bell said that he had discussed his future with the team management and his family after England’s Ashes victory and decided he still had the “hunger and desire” to play on. He has confirmed his limited-overs retirement, however. Bell is England’s leading ODI run-scorer but has not been involved since the World Cup.”I’ve decided now is the right time to officially stand down from international one-day cricket and put all my focus and attention on my Test career,” Bell wrote in his newspaper column. “I’ve a huge amount still to give in the Test arena and still have so many ambitions left to achieve, both from a personal and a team perspective.”I spoke with Trevor Bayliss, Paul Farbrace and Alastair Cook in the aftermath of the Oval Test. We had a really good talk and I was as honest as I could be. Deep down though, I think I probably knew I wasn’t ready to call time on my England Test career. I still have that hunger and desire. The day you don’t, is the day you step away.”Since then I’ve sat down with the people whose opinions matter most to me, like my wife and my dad, and it became clear pretty quickly that I still have plenty I want to achieve in Test cricket. The words of encouragement I’ve received from so many people and the few days of rest I’ve had have already emphasised to me that I’m in no way ready to finish.”Ian Bell made 215 runs during the Ashes at an average of 26.87•Getty Images

Bell moved up to No. 3 in the batting order during the Ashes, after Gary Ballance was dropped, but despite scoring a brace of half-centuries in England’s win at Edgbaston he only averaged 26.87. His last Test hundred came in Antigua in April, after which he endured a run of single-figure scores – Bell has made 0 or 1 eight times in 2015.Despite some indifferent form since he topped the averages during the 2013 Ashes, Bell has been a mainstay of the side under Cook. He is England’s joint-fifth most-capped player in Tests and on course to overhaul Michael Atherton, David Gower and Graham Gooch over the next few months; with 22 hundreds, only two England players – Cook and Kevin Pietersen – stand above him.England face two tough tours over the winter, with three Tests against Pakistan in the UAE followed by four in South Africa. The last time England were in the UAE, they lost 3-0 and Bell averaged 8.50 but he has set his sights on playing another Ashes series in 2017-18 and the possibility of an English record for wins against Australia.”I’ll say it now, I would love nothing more than to go to Australia in two years’ time and right the wrongs of our last Ashes tour there,” he said. “I’ve also been asked if I would like to become the first ever English six-time Ashes winner and the answer is yes, absolutely. If I’m playing well and feeling fit, that is without doubt my goal.”

Malaysia, Guernsey and Fiji were the victorious teams on the opening day of the World Cricket League Division Six in Kuala Lumpur on Saturday.Adverse weather conditions meant one of the three games was shortened and the Duckworth-Lewis method applied after the rain clouds arrived in the late afternoon bringing thunder and lightning. No re-calculations were required for Fiji’s match against Nigeria, or Guernsey’s against Jersey, while hosts Malaysia had their game abandoned against Kuwait but not before D/L was imposed.After a delayed start at the Selangor Turf Club cricket ground, Malaysia’s Suresh Navaratnam dismissed Irfan Bhatti with his second delivery as the hosts made a spirited start against Kuwait. Watched by a small crowd of supporters at a venue that is surrounded by the Selangor Turf Club racetrack on the south-side of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia then removed Aamir Javed five overs later when the 22-year-old was bowled by Hassan Ghulam, while Navaratnam dismissed Sibtain Raza not long after for just one run.Captain Hisham Mirza briefly steadied the innings but the slide continued when he fell for 22, with six wickets being lost before the score had passed 100. After a series of sloppy shots Kuwait were bowled out for 151 in the 47th over, Navaratnam collecting figures of 4 for 15.Faris Almas had his stumps rearranged by Abdullah Akhunzada as Malaysia’s chase suffered some early blows, but captain Suhan Alagaratnam and Ahmed Faiz added an unbeaten 54 for the third wicket and put their side ahead of the required rate before the rains arrived. After a lengthy stop in play, the match was called to a halt and Malaysia won by 38 runs after D/L was calculated.”I am very happy to have won,” said Alagaratnam. “One win and we’re building momentum. I was surprised Kuwait chose to bat, the wicket was a bit sticky early on. Our bowlers, especially Suresh [Navaratnam], did really well and the spinners played a big part. It’s a little disappointing not to have finished the match but we know our strengths and I was glad to see how fast we were to the ball when fielding.””We’re very disappointed to have lost,” added Kuwait captain Hisham. “Our batsmen couldn’t cope with the early swing. If we win the toss tomorrow, I will think hard about bowling first.”We’re missing Mohammad Murad, he’s the kind of bowler that gets early breakthroughs and he works well with Saad Khalid. Nevertheless we’re looking forward to the rest of the tournament. One strong team would have lost today. We can bounce back.”At Kinrara Oval, Jersey took on local Channel Island rivals Guernsey in the sides’ hotly anticipated first round game. Stuart Le Prevost’s side won the toss and elected to bat against Peter Gough’s bowling attackGuernsey’s star allrounder Jeremy Frith made his intentions for the tournament clear after the 33-year-old smashed his way to 80 runs to be the cornerstone of the side’s innings. Frith departed after being caught by Jersey’s Ben Stevens off the bowling of Gough.Ross Kneller ably assisted Frith for some time, with the 28-year-old right-hander hitting a half-century, while after their departure Le Prevost and David Hooper added important runs. Jersey’s bowlers shared the spoils with captain Gough the pick of the attack with 2 for 11.Jersey initially looked like making light work of their target of 252, knocking off 131 runs before a wicket was lost. The fortunes began to change after a passing rain shower forced the teams from the field. Dean Morrison had been run out for 59 before the brief interval, and when the teams returned to the field Ben Stevens departed without a run to his name after being bowled by Jamie Nussbaumer.Nussbaumer then dismissed in-form batsman Ed Farley who dragged the ball onto his stumps to depart for 64, gathering thunderclouds adding to the drama at Kinrara. Corey Bisson added a hard-fought 29 but Jersey captain Gough managed just 17 runs.As thunder and lightning struck around the ground and the rain clouds converged, Jersey began to lose wickets and at six down in the 44th over, it began to look as though the threatening downpours might end the match. Jersey moved ahead on D/L after a 19-run over off Stuart Bisson, but the rain held off and a reinvigorated Guernsey bowling attack fought their way back into the game.Jersey fell just short despite Edward Farley’s half-century•ICC/Peter Lim

With two overs remaining, Jersey needed 14 with just one wicket in hand, and after some tight bowling the target was 10 from the final six deliveries. Tim Ravenscoft bowled James Faudemer with the second ball of the over to secure a nerve-wracking win.”Obviously gutted about today with the fact we couldn’t score a victory but to keep them down to 250 on such a good batting track was good,” said Gough. “I was really pleased with the way our two young lads worked out in the middle. Corey Bisson and Sam de la Haye both worked really hard and now it’s about improving for tomorrow.””I think we were 15 to 20 short of runs on the board and then we didn’t bowl well to begin with which didn’t help us,” added Frith, who was named man of the match. “I am a little disappointed that I didn’t make it to a hundred and got us to 270 but fundamentally today got us two points. Jersey played fantastically and all credit to them, they probably deserved to win. It was a tough game out there but it’s good to walk away with a win and take the two points.”Fiji got their tournament off to a flying start at Bayeumas Oval, beating the promoted Nigeria by 63 runs. Having won the toss and elected to bat, Fiji lost wickets early on but the Rika brothers, captain Joe and his brother Colin, came together and were soon batting fluently in the morning sunshine.Their fightback was cut short when the Fijian captain was removed by Kunle Adegbola, but Colin Rika’s 40 helped his team pass 100 before the lower order took up the challenge. Wicketkeeper Maciu Gauna made an unbeaten 37 from just 35 deliveries while No. 10 Mohammad Khan’s quickfire cameo helped Fiji reach 203 for 8.In reply the Nigerians simply could not handle the veteran Iniasi Cakacaka’s canny offspin, the 43-year-old dismissing key batsmen Ramit Gill and Sean Philips on his way to 4 for 27. Despite the best attempts of Oluwaseun Odeku, who reached 29, Nigeria were bowled out for 140 in 41 overs.the side was on its way to be all out for 140 when Lomani took two bottom order wickets and the victory was sealed for Fiji when Joshua Ogunlola was run out.”It was great to start off with a win and the boys are feeling good,” said Joe Rika. “Iniasi [Cakacaka] did really well to come back after making a duck with the bat, to come back and take four wickets was a great effort. The boys are really happy and we’re looking forward to our next match tomorrow.”

Match facts

April 13-17, 2015
Start time 1000 local (1400 GMT)A good performance in the West Indies could help England hit the ground running in sterner tests during the summer•Getty Images

Big picture

It will take more than a few glorious Caribbean beaches to cheer up this series between two sides with a desperate need for signs of better times ahead. West Indies are ranked eighth in the world; England (actually as high as third) just feel as if they are after a misconceived World Cup challenge. England have appointed a headhunting firm to find a replacement for their sacked managing director of England cricket, Paul Downton; West Indies, too often, give the impression they would struggle to appoint the headhunter, never mind the candidate. Feelgood is not easy to find.For England, there is the timing of the series. Even allowing for the effect of the World Cup, why on earth did the ECB agree to a series in April, so skilfully undermining the start of their own professional season? A question the departed chief executive David Collier is no longer around to answer.For West Indies, fears run deeper: financial ruin. It would be intriguing to know how India’s claim will play out for more than $40m as compensation for West Indies walking out of their tour last year – however justifiable it may have felt in bringing the matter to heel – if it sounds the death knell for West Indies cricket.If England cannot overcome West Indies – even in the Caribbean – then their prospects in home Test series against the World Cup finalists, New Zealand and Australia, in this fast-approaching summer are not good. Trent Boult, Tim Southee, Mitchell Starc and Mitchell Johnson all lie in wait. But with neither the coach, Peter Moores, not the captain, Cook, impregnable, uncertainty will be dangerously close to the surface.

Form guide

(Last five matches, most recent first)

West Indies LDLWW
England WWWLD

In the spotlight

So James Anderson never cracked the World Cup. As he prepares to play his 100th Test, perhaps even now it rankles: a best of 2 for 30 against Scotland to show for what, all logic suggests, was his last World Cup, an average of barely one wicket per World Cup match (27 in 25 games) and that standard achieved only because of a flying start.Add Anderson’s impression that his standards have slipped as a consequence of his corridor spat last summer with India’s Ravindra Jadeja, who took exception to his routine of waspish asides, and there is a sense of a fine, fit but ageing fast bowler feeling a little sorry for himself. No matter. When Anderson surpasses Ian Botham’s record Test haul for England – barring injury, surely in this series, perhaps even in this first Test in Antigua – he will be viewed, in England at least, as worthy of his place in Test history. In England, his control of swing has at times reached magical levels.Perhaps it does not do to make a habit of writing about coaches not players, but there is reason to make an exception. West Indies’ appointment of a new coach in Phil Simmons, who made impressive use of limited resources with Ireland, has inspired new optimism among the Caribbean cognoscenti. There again he has only been in the job a week: everybody deserves a honeymoon period. Simmons’ reputation for a strong team ethic and good planning comes at a timely juncture.

Team news

After their World Cup trauma, a legspinner is all England need. West Indies have called Devendra Bishoo into their squad. It might be that he has been encouraged back into the fold as a potential addition later in the series if things go badly – but England will still be a little unsettled by the notion that he might play. Bishoo has been in form, too, in West Indies first-class cricket.West Indies (probable) 1 Devon Smith, 2 Kraigg Brathwaite, 3 Darren Bravo, 4 Marlon Samuels, 5 Shivnarine Chanderpaul, 6 Shai Hope, 7 Denesh Ramdin (capt/wk), 8 Jason Holder, 9 Jerome Taylor, 10 Kemar Roach/Devendra Bishoo, 11 Sulieman Benn.The big question for England is whether Jonathan Trott will partner Alastair Cook as opening batsman or whether Adam Lyth, an outstanding batsman in county cricket last summer and a left-handed Yorkshireman of gathering maturity, will win a Test debut. There is a growing sense that Trott will win the vote. Have England identified a persuasive logic in discovering as much as possible about Trott’s state of mind before the summer Ashes, bearing in mind his abrupt departure from the Australian whitewash tour because of a situational stress disorder? Or would a decision to turn to Trott – however fine his career record – be a classic example of English conservatism in favouring the tried and, in this case, not entirely trusted above the next generation?England (probable): 1 Alastair Cook (capt), 2 Jonathan Trott, 3 Gary Ballance, 4 Ian Bell, 5 Joe Root, 6 Ben Stokes, 7 Jos Buttler (wkt) 8 Chris Jordan, 9 Stuart Broad, 10 James Tredwell, 11 James Anderson.

Pitch and conditions

Those who like to blame bad pitches for West Indies’ decline will be watching closely. At least there is thought to be little chance of a repeat of the abandonment against England in 2009 because the run-ups were sub-standard, but the pitch is slow enough to drain the resolve of any budding West Indian quick hoping to follow in the footsteps of the Greats.

Stats and trivia

• West Indies have won only two home series out of their last 13 against a top-eight ranked side – one of those against England in 2009.
• Alastair Cook has not made a century in his last 32 Test innings. Since July 2013, he averages 29.96, with a highest of 95 against India in Southampton last year. In 30 Test innings before July 2013, Cook had six hundreds and averaged 54.92.
• Darren Bravo prefers batting outside the Caribbean. He averages 32.32 in his last 15 home Tests compared to 53.67 in 17 Tests overseas.

Quotes

“It’s a big Test series we want to win. I think my position should not really be a talking point as it has been over the last 15 months. I know it is, but I’m here for the most important thing – to help England win games of cricket. I feel I’ve still the energy to do that and the experience over the last three-and-a-half years to lead this young team forward.”
“We are pushing ourselves a lot more now. A lot of youngsters are coming through. New faces that the English don’t know about”

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

Rajasthan Royals may have ended the league stage on top, but it will be the Kings XI Punjab who head into the semi-finals full of confidence after triumphing by 41 runs in a dead-rubber top-of-the-table clash in Mohali.Shane Warne rested himself for the game, and there was not much the Rajasthan Royals’ captain-cum-coach could do watching from the dugout as Punjab’s top order knocked them out of the contest. Shaun Marsh led the way with a 69-ball 115 and James Hopes’ 51 provided him support in a century stand before Yuvraj Singh finally found his rhythm with a blistering 49. Without Warne, Rajasthan looked insipid in the field, and a weakened attack without him and Sohail Tanvir, the tournament’s best bowler, leaked away too many short and wide deliveries.Rajasthan, despite a stumbling start, made a spirited effort at hunting down an imposing 222. There was a fluent fifty from Niraj Patel and two blistering hands from Yusuf Pathan and Kamran Akmal, but the match had pretty much been sealed after Punjab’s batsmen provided a royal feast for the fans in their last home match.Marsh, who has been the in-form batsmen for Punjab, was quick off the blocks. Shane Watson had taken over the captaincy, but Marsh started by spanking two wide deliveries off him for boundaries through the off side. The cut, pull and the lofted straight drive were seen aplenty as Marsh began his assault to go past Gautam Gambhir as the tournament’s leading run-getter.At the other end, Hopes got the occasional boundary while letting his partner take most of the strike, and he had to take some evasive action as Marsh blasted one off Watson that went right under his legs. The Powerplay overs fetched 51, but there was no respite for Rajasthan as Pankaj Singh was taken for 17 in the seventh: Marsh clobbering one over midwicket, before lacing the next through extra cover.Marsh took a single off Dinesh Salunkhe’s first ball to become the tournament’s leading run-scorer, and a rank bad ball was blasted through midwicket to bring up his fifty. At 88 for 0 after ten overs, the Mohali crowd were set for a treat from their batsmen, and Hopes shifted gears as Punjab looked to build an imposing score. He got three boundaries off Siddharth Trivedi in the 11th over, and Yusuf’s offspin was slog-swept into the stands en route to his fifty, which came 30 deliveries.Next it was Marsh’s turn; Yusuf was flat-batted over long-on for four before the Western Australian stepped down the track for to send one sailing over long-on. Yusuf got a breakthrough as Hopes holed on to deep midwicket and the two quiet overs that followed were the brief lull before Yuvraj came out storming and landed the knockout blow.

By then Marsh was marching towards his hundred, and he struck a six over Pankaj’s head to move to 97, and a single later in the over – that cost 25 – brought up the sixth century of the IPL. The pressure was getting to Rajasthan, and Yuvraj cashed in: he swivelled around to pull one for six, before dispatching one through square leg.Yuvraj was in the sort of mood that caught him when he smashed six sixes off Stuart Broad in the World Twenty20. He did hit five sixes off six consecutive deliveries – though it was spread across three overs this time – before he was run-out off the last ball of the innings, one short of what would have been the tournament’s fastest fifty. Marsh had fallen earlier in the over, but Punjab were way past the par score of 180 initially suggested by Warne.Rajasthan surprisingly opened with Mohammad Kaif and Niraj. Kaif fell early, as did Younis Khan, but Niraj, who held his calm during the gripping run-chase that knocked out the Mumbai Indians, scored a sparkling fifty.He cracked four fours in a Sreesanth over: he worked the ball square on the off side as the bowler gave him width, and launched a slower ball down the ground. VRV Singh tried to test him with shorter deliveries, but Niraj managed to find the boundary. Punjab’s bowlers had frittered away a winning position in their shock loss to the Kolkata Knight Riders, but today they were largely disciplined and were backed up by sharp fielding.Though Niraj kept the score ticking, Rajasthan were struggling at 67 at the halfway mark. Piyush Chawla removed Niraj and Watson, but Rajasthan were given a glimmer of hopes as Yusuf Pathan and Kamran Akmal nonchalantly blasted sixes and scored 54 in three overs to bring it down to 90 off the final six.Punjab had conceded 71 in the final five overs against Kolkata, but Chawla picked up his third wicket, removing Akmal, and even the hard-hitting Yusuf, who’s been a revelation in the tournament, couldn’t save Rajasthan. Warne had experimented with his line-up and Delhi Daredevils will be wary of a backlash come the semi-final in on Friday. As for the Chennai Super Kings, they will know they’re up against a juggernaut.

Hot on the heels of felling Alex Tudor with a nasty bouncer in the third Ashes Test, the Australian tearaway has knocked Jeremy Snape out of the international limited overs series with a short ball that broke the England offspinner’s right thumb.Snape was struck by Lee from the first ball he faced in last night’s eight-wicket win by NSW at the SCG. It was also the first ball Snape faced in Australia.Right-arm Test offspinner Richard Dawson is likely to be drafted into the England squad, but he won’t arrive before tomorrow’s day-night match against England at the SCG.England’s so-far winless tour has been ravaged by injury to leading players and Snape’s sudden exit adds to coach Duncan Fletcher’s already throbbing headache.”The injuries we’ve had on tour have all ben real freak accidents,” said Fletcher.”I don’t think there’s one where we could say that could have been prevented. You just have to be philosophical about it and try to move on.”At the end of the day it’s like anything. If you sit there and get down on yourself you start spiralling down. You’ve got to try to be positive.”What alternative is there?”None.Tomorrow’s match starts at 2.15pm.

Worcestershire 457 for 8 dec and 102 for 0 (Moore 58*, Mitchell 44*) beat Glamorgan 279 (Imran 5-50) and 279 (Ali 6-58)
ScorecardIn mid-afternoon, after some determined resistance from the doomed Glamorgan, Worcestershire completed their third championship victory of the season and moved to second place in Division Two of the championship. They owed much to their dynamic quartet of seam bowlers, who bowled with admirable skill and persistence on what remained to the end a sound batting wicket.Glamorgan began the day with 189 for 7 following on, just 11 runs ahead. Perhaps local supporters doubted their team’s ability to finish off the match quickly, or else they were desperate to ensure that victory was completed, because several hundred of them turned up for play that might well have been over within half an hour. But the overnight pair of James Harris and Jason Gillespie continued their stubborn defiance of Worcestershire’s impressive pace attack, and soon took the score past 200. Despite a couple of frenzied appeals, they rarely looked in trouble, and every now and then played a handsome drive that reached the boundary.It took almost an hour before the first wicket fell, as Harris groped outside the off stump to a rather wide ball from Mason and was given out caught behind for a very creditable 43. The pair had added 79 for the eighth wicket and successfully avoided the innings defeat. Still the visitors refused to roll over, and it was not until Kabir Ali took the new ball that he was able to break through the defences of David Harrison (7) and remove his off stump.Finally the last man Dean Cosker hung around for a while, until he was caught at the wicket for 8, off Kabir again. Gillespie was left stranded on 49, the highest score of the innings, off 91 balls, an admirable mixture of steadiness and well-judged strokes, most notably a powerful off-drive to the boundary off Kabir with the new ball. For once, the new star Imran Arif had failed to feature, but Kabir stepped in with six wickets, a fine performance that had locals calling for a recall to England colours.By a curious coincidence, not only did both Glamorgan innings total 279, but in both the seventh wicket had fallen at 165. The last three wickets had thus added 114 runs each time, rather an indictment of the top order, especially those who had reached double figures (in nine instances out of twelve in the two innings), yet failed to go on to a major score. Worcestershire needed 102 to win.It had taken the home side 93 minutes to wrap up the innings, and they thus had an awkward period to survive before lunch. Daryl Mitchell and Steven Moore did so solidly while adding eight runs, but even after the break they left nothing to chance and took a while to get going. In the tenth over Moore twice pulled Gillespie for four and then cut him for another, and they were away.Moore at 37 was dropped at slip off Harris, while Mitchell on 27 lofted a drive that just cleared mid-off, but the end result was never in doubt. Glamorgan just did not have the bowling firepower to upset Worcestershire. Moore reached his fifty with a big six over long-on, over the new stand at the Diglis End, off Cosker; it took him 75 balls.Shortly afterwards, Mitchell cut Alex Wharf for four to win the match by ten wickets – except that, as they had completed a single before the ball went over the boundary, under the dubious new law he was only credited with one. He finished on 44 to Moore’s 58. Unusually, there was not a single extra conceded in this innings, a small but definite credit to Glamorgan.The emergence of Imran has caused some excitement at Worcester. With Imran to add to their already impressive international pace attack – imported though it may be – of Kabir, Jones and Mason, they now boast a line-up stronger than many Division One teams this season. Their ambitions and expectations are high, and they confidently expect to return to the top league next season.A last note on Imran: Worcestershire’s chief executive Mark Newton announced that he has today signed a contract with the county for 2009 and 2010, conditional to his obtaining a British passport, which he believes to be imminent.

Chaminda Vaas and Chamara Silva are notable absentees from Sri Lanka’s squad for the Canada Cup Four Nation Twenty20 tournament to be played in Toronto next month, while Dilhara Lokuhettige, Jeevantha Kulatunga and Thilina Kandamby have been rewarded for consistent first-class contributions.Kumar Sangakkara, who underwent a surgery on the index finger of his right hand last week in Australia, and Muttiah Muralitharan, also nursing an injury, were not considered for selection. Farveez Maharoof makes a comeback after an eight-month injury lay-off.Vaas, who recently became the fourth bowler to take 400 one-day international wickets, was replaced by the 28-year-old Lokuhettige, an allrounder who played eight ODIs in 2005.Silva, who scored 878 runs at 46.21 in 2007, has been dropped after failing to score more than one fifty in his last 11 ODI innings; his last three scores, all against India, read 0, 0, 1.He was dropped in place of Kandamby, who top scored with 463 runs at 77.16 in Sri Lanka A’s tour of South Africa. Captain of the A side, Kandamby was among the probables for the Champions Trophy. He is seen as primarily a one-day specialist and played four ODIs in 2004.Kulatunga, 34, has been called up for the first time in an 18-year first-class career. He has been a prolific scorer in domestic cricket and in May steered his club Wayamba to a 31-run victory in the inaugural inter-provincial Twenty20 final against Ruhuna.Otherwise there are no major changes to the ODI squad that lost 3-2 to India at home last month. With Sangakkara ruled out due to a finger injury, Tillakaratne Dilshan will keep wickets.The four-nation Twenty20 tournament, also involving Pakistan, Zimbabwe and hosts Canada, was scheduled to be held between August 14-17, but was postponed due to sponsorship issues. Bangladesh were slated to feature in the tournament, but the revised dates clash with their home series against New Zealand.Sri Lanka Squad: Mahela Jayawardene (capt), Sanath Jayasuriya, Mahela Udawatte, Chamara Kapugedera, Jehan Mubarak, Tillakaratne Dilshan (wk), Jeevantha Kulatunga, Farveez Maharoof, Nuwan Kulasekara, Thilina Thushara, Ajantha Mendis, Thilina Kandamby, Dilhara Fernando, Dilhara Lokuhettige, Kaushalya Weeraratne.